During his visit to Bulgaria this week, Pope Francis ensured that the status of refugees has been a key focus. Bulgaria has hosted tens of thousands of Middle Eastern refugees mainly fleeing violence. They have usually come into the country through Turkey.
In acknowledgement of volunteers supporting refugees in a variety of ways Pope Francis said: they “have learned to see with God’s own eyes. God is not worried about details, but seeks out and awaits each person with a father’s eyes.”
“Seeing with the eyes of faith is a summons not to spend your life pinning labels, classifying those who are worthy of love and those who are not, but trying to create conditions in which every person can feel loved, especially those who feel forgotten by God because they are forgotten by their brothers and sisters.” (refer Joshua J McElwee, National Catholic Reporter, 6 May 2019)
May this be a reminder to us all of the invitation and call to truly live “with the eyes of faith“!
Brigidine Sisters, their partners in ministry and with the support of many volunteers are working with refugees in a variety of ways. One significant way by which this is happening in Australia is through the work of the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project (BASP).
For more information about BASP or ways you could support this work financially or as a volunteer go to: https://basp.org.au/