CHERRY HILL – Bringing his signature style of creativity, humor, faith and storytelling to Saint Thomas More Parish on the evening of Oct. 1, Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS, led a call to action.
“We have to recognize the beauty in each other; we’re all brothers and sisters in Christ,” he said during a slide presentation titled “Migrants as Missionaries of Hope: Arts and Stories.”
The award-winning author and artist shared his personal artwork and stories, and lives of the saints and Catholic leaders who model the Gospel and Catholic social teaching, in an hour-long presentation to more than 70 people.
Co-sponsored by the Faith and Justice Team of Saint Thomas More Parish and the Diocese of Camden’s Office of Life & Justice Ministries, the event came just after National Migration Week, Sept. 22-28, and right before the Jubilee of Migrants in Rome, Oct. 4-5.
Through his art, Brother Mickey shared words from notables like Pope Francis: “Never close the door on those who, in the depths of their hearts, long to feel welcome”; Dorothy Day: “If we could only learn that the only important thing is to love and to show that love and express that love over and over whether we feel it or not”; and Saint Thomas Aquinas: “When we allow fear to take us over, it drives compassion right out of our hearts.”
He also recounted stories of encounters with the young and vulnerable in his travels as an educator and artist.
Years ago, for a religious education conference presentation to 350 youth in Los Angeles, Brother Mickey created coloring books filled with his sketches of different representations of the son of God and His mother.
“I depicted Jesus as Native American and Middle Eastern, and Mary as African,” said Brother Mickey.
The youth remained silent as they colored, he recalled, “until one boy said, ‘I never saw a Jesus who looked like me before.’”
Another time, he sketched a mural on the wall at Joseph’s House in Camden – which serves the homeless – and provided opportunities for residents to take part in painting inside its lines. He recalled a particular young woman’s experience, saying the woman was relaxed as she reflected on memories of her painting ceramics with her mother at their dining room table.
“It’s heartbreaking, but that’s what these paintings are all about,” he said. “Art calms us, brings us together beneath the surface.”
Brother Mickey also shed light on the current immigration situation in the
United States, through his own personal art and news photos. One sketch depicted the Holy Family in a cage, while another showed the Three Wise Men going through airport security. Shortly thereafter, a slide showed a new photograph of a little girl being separated from her father by border agents.
“How are we permitting this to happen? Where’s the Gospel in our crazy world?” Brother Mickey asked.
One model of hope, he said, is Saint Joseph, the patron of immigrants. One of Brother Mickey’s paintings depicts him wearing a baseball cap and backpack, carrying a knapsack, with the boy Jesus on his knee.
Brother Mickey continued on, using a quote from Pope Francis, “‘Saint Joseph shows great tenderness, which is not a mark of the weak, but of those who are genuinely strong.’”
He also shared personal photos of his interactions with Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, who is a tireless advocate for immigrants at the southern border.
Speaking on the diversity in local parishes like the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, Brother Mickey presented depictions of three Marian icons honored by those parish faithful: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Altagracia and Our Lady of Czestochowa.
His final painting of the evening showed the view from his bedroom window in South Camden, overlooking the city and the dawn breaking.
“Every morning as I brush my teeth, I watch the sun rise over a beat-up Camden,” Brother Mickey said. “There’s always beauty everywhere, sometimes in the least-expected places.”
Dr. Michael Sims, director of the Diocese’s Life & Justice Ministries, said he was pleased with the turnout. “People saw the human dignity of our brothers and sisters in his stories. We must see in the other, Christ himself.”
Chris Baeckstrom, leader of the Faith and Justice Team at Saint Thomas More, agreed. “When Brother Mickey talks, he gives you hope.” At the same time, “He challenged all of us to welcome our neighbor.”
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