December - St. Augustine Catholic

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aAt a fern farm in Crescent City, Fla., under the hot sun and a mesh net cover, which traps the humidity, Aldegunda Albarran wades through rows of foliage exposing herself to snakes, insects, pesticides and the elements. She and the other mostly Mexican workers here only pick the ferns that are ready for harvest that will soon be shipped around the country and to markets as far away as Japan. They stoop over deeply in order to cut the ferns near the roots, starting early in the morning to avoid stifling late-afternoon heat. Albarran and the workers tell jokes, laugh and talk about things going on in their lives, their sore backs and the recent cost of living increases effecting things like milk, gas and housing. Weather permitting; with a good rate of picking, they may earn $40 to $50 a day. Some of these farm workers live up the road in mobile homes and apartments north of Seville, Fla. Some of them, like Albarran, are legal and have led stable lives in the community for a long time, while others are undocumented and worry about new measures being enforced by the Department of Homeland Security to target employers hiring non-resident workers. The situation has been a serious worry to not only workers but Florida’s agricultural industry. “Immigration will come into a town and take everyone they find, going into homes, so the people run,” said Albarran’s daughter Myra, a teenager who said her mother has been doing this work since 1989 when the pay was just 18 cents per bunch. Now, the rate is 25 to 28 cents. Maira said she hopes to become a nurse one day. Albarran, who is a resident, is clearly respected by the workers here, and is a volunteer and point person for the Farm Worker Ministry of the Diocese of Saint Augustine. From two satellite offices, Crescent City and in Green Cove Springs, staff of the Farm Workers Ministry minister to local farm workers. Worried about loss of employment in agricultural jobs and a reduced demand for the ferns – a luxury item in a nervous American economy – more families are coming to the ministry to make ends meet this year, according to Olga Lara-Moser, who, with her husband Al, coordinates the Farm Worker Ministry for the diocese. “We are getting more requests for food and for help with utility, rent, and medical bills,” she said. Recently a farm worker’s mobile home burned to the ground. Olga arranged for the woman and her daughter to pick up some Tom Tracy furniture and clothing. Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire but the home was destroyed. The adult farm workers here are so busy in the fields and raising their children that realistically they don’t have time to learn English, but their children, mostly American born and attending public school, do, often becoming good students and citizens. A typical scenario is for the wife to work in the fields while the husband may take a job in construction. Aldegunda Albarran with her daughter Maira. Aldegunda has worked at the fernery for 18 years earning between $40 and $50 a day. Pedro, a legal resident, who has been working in the fernery for 18 years and supports a wife and four children, said he doubts many other people will ever want to do this kind of work. The Mexicans here work in tremendous heat, cold winter mornings and suffer from insecticide induced itchy skin. They encounter snakes and rats. “Nobody else will do this work if they deport us to Mexico; and everybody here is Mexican,” he said. The U.S. Bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign, created to educate Catholics and the general community about undocumented persons in this country, breaks down some of the myths that may be driving the antiimmigrant sentiment in the United States: • Immigrants do pay taxes – federal, state and local. • Immigrants come here to work, not for welfare. • Immigrants may send some money back to Mexico, but most of it stays in the community. • Immigrants contribute in a positive way to the economy. “The people here now are contributing to the community and they do pay taxes but often don’t get anything back for that,” said Al, who points out that the Farm Worker Ministry assists workers with annual tax preparation during tax season and connects adults with English-speaking classes and tutoring programs run by the ministry. “I would like to improve communications with the growers so we can help each other deal with the problems that come through our doors,” he said. Father James May, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Crescent City, said he views the farm worker and immigrant population in his midst as good people trying to do the best they can under the circumstances, and that he is impressed with how the community unites to help one another. He organized a special collection for the family displaced by the mobile home fire and was touched by the mother’s reticence to even mention her tragedy to him. “We need to open our hearts more and be bothered by the situation of these people and about their well-being,” Father May said, adding that new immigration measures taken in Florida and around the country are not helping the situation. “We allow the Mexican people to come here to work but conditions are poor and it is difficult for them to carve out a decent living. We act as if the ‘American Dream’ is not really for them.” “But the greatest happiness you can have is to make other people happy and my job as a priest is to show how the Gospel is speaking to us now. If you are going to be a Christian then let your light shine. When you respond to the Gospels your own faith is increased,” Father May reflects. Dignifying Human Work • Do our attitudes show respect for the dignity of work and the human person? Or do we see not human persons, but “labor costs” or “illegals”? • Do our laws and institutions protect workers? Or do we see human persons as a “workforce,” which exists to produce economic goods? • Do we honor the “work of human hands”? Or do we accept as normal that many of Florida’s working poor can only afford to live in dilapidated rental trailers. -Florida Catholic Conference St. Augustine Catholic December 2007 25
culture culture Bake these cathedral cookies for Christmas Windows of Peace By Michelle Sessions DiFranco Philip Shippert I’ll never forget that first day of being away from home when I went to college. I remember fighting back tears when my folks drove off after a day of helping me move into my campus apartment. I tried to shake it off and get excited about the semesters that were ahead at the fine art school I had worked so hard to get into, but my heart sank even more when I caught a glimpse of the Detroit “neighborhood” surrounding the campus. I cringed at all the vacant homes with broken windows and trash littering the yards. My parents weren’t even gone five minutes, and I was already homesick. In the coming days, I started to acclimate to my new surroundings. I met a few fellow classmates and found contentment with class projects and decorating my new studio apartment. But what truly brought me a pure and complete sense of peace was something far beyond the distractions of interior decorating, homework and socializing. It was the peace I felt when I went to Mass just a few blocks from campus. There, in the darkest corridors of the inner city, stood a very large, old cathedral that wasn’t in the best shape on the outside. But inside, people who knew, believed, and prayed the same parts of the Mass exactly as I knew them, surrounded me. And I was listening to the same Gospel and receiving the same Eucharist as my family back home. I truly felt in communion with them. I once heard the Catholic apologist, Pat Madrid, say that the way people see the church can be likened to the stained glass windows that adorn the church buildings. From the outside, they appear dark, mysterious and nonvibrant. But inside the church, the windows glow, illuminating everything and depicting messages of hope, love, and – for me, peace. On that day, I was so glad to be inside that church. My homesickness was gone. Do you know of someone who is away at college or even serving our country overseas? Give them a message of hope, love and peace, Cathedral Window Cookies More Ideas 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup shortening 1/2 cup softened butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs 2 ½ cups flour, sifted 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder Philip Shippert 1 package of hard candy, finely crushed. Church cookie cutter (can be purchased online) • Design your own church or cathedral! Easy instructions for making your own cookie cutters can be found online. Using a search engine, type in “making your own cookie cutters.” • Make them in just minutes using store-bought sugar cookie dough (don’t forget to roll out dough 1/8”). 26 St. Augustine Catholic December 2007
Page 1 and 2: catholic St. Augustine December 200
Page 3 and 4: catholic St. Augustine contents Dec
Page 5 and 6: from the bishop “Born of the Virg
Page 7 and 8: fr. joe in the know with Fr. Joe De
Page 9 and 10: theology 101 by Elizabeth Solsburg
Page 11 and 12: your marriage matters romance Roman
Page 13 and 14: spiritual fitness by Father Bill As
Page 15 and 16: Creating a St. Augustine takes grea
Page 17 and 18: Home from War Christmas has special
Page 19 and 20: As the head nurse for the tent-hosp
Page 21 and 22: parish parish profile San José Par
Page 23: Part Two of a Two-Part Series on Im
Page 27 and 28: around around the diocese Mary T. D
Page 29 and 30: A Refreshing Stop books, gifts, rel
Page 31: catholic St. Augustine The Magazine

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