Holy Week Services at the Border

The OSP-IHM core community ministering at the border celebrated Holy Week with migrants at the Casa del Migrante in Reynosa, Mexico. The experience of walking with our suffering brothers and sisters was profoundly heart-wrenching and hope-filled.

To prepare for Holy Week, Sisters Carmen, Rose, Elvia and Mary Elaine, with the participation of the children, created a mural of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. They also helped the children to make “salvation bracelets” with a different color to commemorate each of the four days. The mural, which was hung on the wall, and the bracelet served as visual reminders of the sacred events that take place during Holy Week.

The celebrations took place in the open patio of the migrant shelter where there were no polished pews, ornate paintings nor marble sanctuary. A cement floor, metal folding chairs, wooden altar, simple cross, plastic basin for washing feet and bells from the Dollar Store made the perfect scenario for experiencing the Paschal Mystery in our midst. The reverence with which the men, women and children in the Casa del Migrante participated in the washing of one another’s feet, Via Crucis and adoration of Jesus on the cross was testimony of their faith and hope in a God who accompanies them in their suffering and promises them new life.

It is truly a privilege to accompany our migrant brothers and sisters in McAllen, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico.