“Love ought to show itself in deeds more than words.” — St. Ignatius of Loyola
Sitting in a folding chair for Mass outside Parroquia de la Immaculada Concepción in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, I found myself worrying about words.
The sign of peace was coming, and I fumbled with my phone, hoping my translation app would tell me how to say “Peace be with you” in Spanish.
The app froze. The moment arrived.
I looked helplessly at my female Mexican seat neighbors, swallowed my anxiety, and timidly said it in English instead: “Peace be with you.”
They gently smiled, clasped my hands and replied warmly, “La paz.” Others in front and behind me followed suit.
In that instant, the barrier I had built out of language and hesitation dissolved. I had been preoccupied with words, but they responded with love in action.
That moment came to define my experience at the Encuentro Binacional pilgrimage across the U.S.-Mexico border the weekend of October 12. While bishops presided and dignitaries processed, I kept noticing one group — women, religious and lay alike — who quietly embodied the Gospel through their deeds.
At the heart of it all were the women of the Kino Border Initiative: Sr. Tracey Horan, SP, and Joanna Williams, who — along with other Kino women — organized and guided pilgrims from both sides of the border with a spirit of welcome that needed no translation. They managed logistics, soothed tensions and kept the pilgrimage moving — not for recognition, but for love.
Sr. Bethany Welch, SSJ, from Philadelphia, proclaimed the Word of God at each pilgrimage stop with the conviction of one who has truly lived it. Lia García from the Archdiocese of Baltimore spoke courageously on behalf of immigrants in the U.S., giving voice to those rarely heard. Sr. María Magdalena Silva Rentería, representing the situation in Mexico, reminded us that the struggle for dignity doesn’t end at our border and called each of us who see Christ in the migrant to prophetic action now.
None of these women were publicly acknowledged during the Mass. Yet for me, their fidelity to the call of Christ spoke louder than any title or homily. They reminded us that the church’s credibility rests not in words but in deeds: feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, accompanying those who suffer and confronting unjust systems.
Their example was profoundly Ignatian: finding God in all things, even in the dust of the borderlands and the shared smile of a stranger.
I went to Mexico worried about saying the right words; yet, these women I encountered were already doing the right work, and that difference revealed something essential about discipleship today. Amid debates about immigration, laws and belonging, the heart of it all is human dignity: mothers, fathers and children made in the image of God, longing not for pity but for solidarity.
These women, and the migrants they serve, remind us that love must cross every border before policy ever will. Their witness calls us not just to care about migrants or talk about their plight, but to accompany and advocate for them and to translate our love into action.
Reflection Question:
When the next opportunity arises to act on behalf of migrants and refugees — whether in your parish, your city or your vote — will you be caught worrying about the right words, or will you, like these women, let love speak through your actions?
Not sure where to begin? Find the upcoming One Church, One Family event nearest you here — or plan one of your own on October 22 and/or November 13!
