Your words burn with the sting of perceived betrayal, a wound that cuts deep because it strikes at your sense of home and security. But I must ask you: what is the root of this anguish? Is it not the very thing that cast Judas into perdition? For he too looked upon his nation, his place among the twelve, and thought his own hopes betrayed. And what propelled him? The love of money, that grievous tyrant which puts the soul beside itself. He betrayed the Lord of the world for thirty pieces of silver. What can be worse than this madness? You speak of structural betrayals, yet I bid you examine whether the real betrayal is not within your own heart, where the passion for economic security and the envy of another's place have kindled a fire that threatens to consume your peace.
Do you recall how the disciples, in their last meal with the Master, reasoned among themselves which of them was the greater? Such jealousy so troubled them that Peter, in his pride, declared, “Though all men shall be offended, yet will I not be offended.” He trusted in his own strength, and Christ left him destitute of help, that he might learn human frailty. So it is with those who fix their gaze on the apparent advantages of others, whether migrant or neighbor, and cry out that they are being supplanted. The Lord taught us to watch: “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” For the spirit that now stirs you to demand the removal of foreigners is the same spirit that would, if left unchecked, drive you to far worse betrayals of the charity Christ commands.
You ask why institutional support exists for strangers but seems lacking for local citizens. Yet consider how the Son of God, with full foreknowledge, washed the feet of the man who had already chosen to betray Him. He gave him the most intimate sign of fellowship, the sharing of the salt, which ought to have restrained all wickedness. And He did not recoil even when that man approached with a kiss, the sign of love made into a mockery. So here is the standard: not to demand that the state favor you above others, but to see in every supposed competitor a soul for whom Christ died, and to entrust your economic fate to the God who orders all things. Did not Job, stripped of everything, give thanks in extreme sorrow, saying, “The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away”? Are we greater than Job, that we should refuse to bear with patience the shifting fortunes of the labor market?
You long for security and honor in your native land. But what is this security you seek? Does wealth bestow it? No; the rich man must flatter rulers and subjects, fear false accusers, tremble at the desires of the covetous. Poverty, true contentment in God, is a calm harbor, a place of refuge, an imitation of the life of angels. For we are citizens of heaven, and this world is not our home. The barbarians of old left their country and home to worship the Incarnate Word; should we not, who are called to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, lightly esteem our earthly ties when they become snares of resentment and division? The one who makes scrupulous enquiry about every perceived slight does so out of fear and cowardice; but the one who abstains from such brooding does so out of contempt for earthly passions and hatred of the devil's schemes.
Let us then, instead of praying for the expulsion of others, pray that God would “make us meet” to receive the eternal inheritance, make us strong enough to carry the cross of economic uncertainty without betraying the law of love. For it is not external policies that can truly harm your soul; only the surrender to envy and fear can do that. The Master allowed the traitor to be made manifest, not by compulsion, but by leaving him to his own greed. Be on guard, therefore, that the love of gold and the desire for preferential treatment do not work in you a counsel more deadly than any policy. Go now, and give thanks with much joy even in this trial, for the Lord who permitted the betrayal of His own Son will surely work all things for good to those who are called according to His purpose, making them more than conquerors through Him who loved them.