Yolanda Chávez

Humanitarian agencies warn of increased risks of trafficking, sexual exploitation, abuse and violence against children in disaster settings. We cannot turn our backs and forget the little ones of Venezuela.

In Mexico, thousands of mothers known collectively as Las Madres Buscadoras search for their disappeared children, refusing to let the collective look away.

Belonging is not always inherited. Sometimes it is chosen. Sometimes it is forged in the fragile space between loss and hope. Many migrants understand this deeply.

These prayers rarely appear in books about spirituality. They are too brief, too ordinary, too woven into the fragile rhythms of daily life. Yet they carry a depth that formal words sometimes cannot reach.

Before speaking of hope, we need to allow ourselves to lament; not to remain trapped in pain, but to honor what has been lost. For tears do not draw us away from God, but bring us closer to what is most human within our faith.

 "For many migrants today, 'returning by another way' is no longer a metaphor," writes Yolanda Chavez. "It is a lived discernment.

Jesus does not merely resemble today's migrants and displaced people; Jesus is with them. From his very first day, the life of the incarnate God is bound to those who have nowhere to stay.

For more than 30 years, Yolanda Chávez made her home in Los Angeles, where she formed her family and discovered her vocation as a theologian. But one day, the country that had been her home closed its door on her.

Migrant women serve the church humbly and faithfully. The church depends on their labor, but often fails to care for them in any meaningful way.

This compelling narrative invites readers to reflect deeply on the authentic meaning of ecclesial community: a church not constrained by bureaucratic structures and rigid norms but one that truly incarnates God's presence in the lived experiences of its people.

The human quest for transcendence and meaning has not disappeared with modernity, but has adapted to the evolving cultural landscape.

May the church not limit itself to responding with defensive speeches or stances toward migration issues, but instead become a truly living community, offering the bread of hope and the welcoming embrace that so many migrants long for.

Reading this book by veteran journalist Ray Suarez from a Catholic perspective raises fundamental questions. What are we as a church failing to see in the waves of migration?