Yesterday I traveled to Elizabeth, NJ to celebrate Ash Wednesday.
This vigil was unique in that it took place outside the Correction
Corporation of America detention center. This purposefully inconspicuous
building is tucked in an industrial zone outside the city. It houses
300 undocumented persons. They live in chains and prison uniforms even
though many have never committed a crime. Their prison is kept out of
the way so we will forget about them.
Rend your hearts and not your garments, thunders the prophet
Joel. Each Lent when I hear this passage I am reminded that my life
makes it so difficult to rend my heart. Each Lent I want to know how to
do this better but I never know quite how.
This year when the opportunity to go to Elizabeth came up I thought
it might be a step forward. The vigil was a reminder to me that Lent is a
time to more fervently mirror the compassion and mercy of God.
Beginning with those who find themselves imprisoned strangers in a
strange land is a good place to start.
