Almighty and merciful God,

whose Son became a refugee

and had no place to call his own;

look with mercy on those

who today are fleeing from danger,

homeless and hungry.

Bless those who work to bring them relief;

inspire generosity and compassion

in all our hearts;

and guide the nations of the world

towards that day when all will rejoice

in your Kingdom of justice and of peace;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

With numerous Old Testament exhortations to ‘welcome the foreigner in your midst’ and Jesus’ own assertion that when we welcome a stranger we welcome him (Mt 25. 35), the Bible is unequivocal about our response to refugees. In any case, as the novelist Khaled Hosseini said (long before anyone foresaw the new tidal wave fleeing Ukraine), “Refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions as us – except that a twist of fate has bound their lives to a global refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale.”

Today’s prayer for refugees, from the Church of England website, is an apt prayer for this day on which we remember St Joseph. For Joseph, like millions today, was forced to flee a violent despot in a desperate bid to protect his young family (Mt 2. 13-18). In the excerpt below from L’Enfance du Christ by Berlioz, a chorus of shepherds sing a blessing as Joseph readies himself to take Mary and Jesus from all that’s familiar and to seek safety in Egypt. Like all refugee families, they left with urgency, fearful, not knowing whether they’d be pursued, or what dangers lay ahead on the road. In their words to the holy family, the shepherds end by singing: “God go with you, God protect you, guide you safely through the wild!” a prayer which we echo with deep feeling for all on the move today.