On healing touch and the wall at the border

Editor’s note: Sister Mary Montgomery, SP, presents the second installment in her blog series. She is finishing up a month-long stay living and working at the U.S./Mexico border as part of the Kino Border Initiative’s program “Catholic Sisters Walking with Migrants.” Sister Mary has been participating in the month-long program in Nogales Sonora, Mexico, funded by a grant from the Conrad Hilton Foundation.

Healing Touch at the Border

During my early days at Kino Border Initiative (KBI), I noticed that Ann Marie, a volunteer for two weeks from Washington, D.C., was experiencing neck/shoulder discomfort while chopping vegetables with me and others in the kitchen. I asked if she would like a simple Healing Touch “treatment.” “Yes!” she exclaimed. I shared a simplified version of the method I was trained in. Ann Marie felt heat from my hands and some relief from pain. A few days later, Susie, a volunteer for a month from Nebraska/Ecuador, also wanted Healing Touch for her aching neck and shoulders. She was fine with receiving it at a table near the back of the dining hall where a few families were finishing their meal.

Susie’s treatment was the beginning of multiple simplified Healing Touch sessions shared with mothers, some children and a few fathers. Nearby, Sister Jan Gregorcich, SSND, was visiting with a mother and her daughter. Sister Jan invited the daughter over to see what this was all about. Within five minutes Sister Jan became my translator. She was a wonderful assistant explaining the process and joining me in praying silently with each recipient.

The daughter became my next client, with her mother following later after a few other clients. Some clients went to get their spouses so they could also receive this treatment. One woman expressed that her heart had felt like a heavy rock before the experience. And afterwards she felt like singing. … All expressed gratitude, many experienced peace and felt more relaxed, some shed a tear, or tears. I felt each session with every person a privilege, a blessing and even, sacramental. 

The Wall

I have mixed emotions about the wall at the U.S./Mexico border. I did not like the plans for its building. The news reports during the building of sections of the wall made me uneasy. The first time I was close to the wall was the fifth day of my immersion experience with the KBI in Nogales, Mexico. On this day Sister Tracey Horan lead a group of students and two faculty members from Brophy College Prep in Phoenix, as well as Sister Yliana Hernandez, PBVM, from New York and me, to see and learn about a portion of the wall and many experiences that people have at the wall.

During the walk we also encountered the memorial site of a teenager, José Antonio Elena Rodriguez. He had been shot 13 times at the wall by a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. His death occurred 10 years ago. The memorial for his anniversary of death took place a few days before I arrived. Sister Tracey told us that School of America Watch event participants were present for it as well as three bishops, including Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Tucson. I was very moved in the moment. I have prayed with and to José Antonio for better and more just laws for persons seeking asylum and immigrants fleeing violence and parents seeking a safe place to raise their children and to earn a living.

The wall, 30 feet high, looked very strong and impassable to me. I learned that it isn’t very strong at all. But it is dangerous due to its height and the concertina wire on the U.S. side as added deterrent. I could not help to reflect: How is this wall helpful/harmful to the United States and to citizens of Mexico and beyond?