Cardinal Adam Maida challenged the congregation at the Feb. 16 liturgy in the Shrine Chapel of Lady of Orchard Lake "to apply the lessons we have learned from our own experience as immigrants to the present situation of immigrants in our midst today."
Calling Fr. Joseph Dabrowski's "inspiring life . . . a story of heroism and faithfulness," Cardinal Maida said "those of us of Polish heritage have particular reason to be justifiably proud of how far we have progressed in the last century. We have come a long way."
The cardinal continued:
"The sad truth is that, due to ignorance and prejudice, there was a time in the history of our country when many dismissed all those of Polish heritage with insulting jokes which showed us as inferior and tried to keep us as outcasts from the higher levels of society . . .
"In the Gospel passage today, we are given the incredible witness of the love of Jesus to reach out to those whom society considered outcast, those who are marginalized, those who are "unclean" . . .
"When we see the extraordinary compassion of Jesus, we can ask ourselves whether we, who once experienced being considered "outcasts," can identify with those whom society would call "outcasts" today. As an immigrant people, we have experienced our time of being considered "outcasts" and now we are in a position to reach out with compassion and welcoming arms to the new immigrant populations who are entering our country today. Rather than consider the more recent immigrants from backgrounds different from ourselves, we have the opportunity to welcome such people into our society and help them to experience the healing touch of Jesus . . .
"Do we find ourselves questioning whether these people are "enough like us" to belong to our society? Do we see them from a distance and question the way they look, dress, or act? In the back of our minds, do we harbor the hidden prejudice that these people are not as smart or capable of being full members of society as we are?
"Our inspiration and loving example is, of course, Jesus Himself. Jesus saw through the social conventions of his time to see a person who was suffering, alone, and marginalized. Jesus was not afraid to reach out and touch the stranger. Our challenge today is to reach out and welcome those who are on the margins of society.
"Today, we pay honor and tribute to one of the great heroes in the history of Polonia in the United States, Fr. Joseph Dabrowski. Inspired by his tireless efforts, and encouraged by the words of the Gospel today, we look to the future with great confidence and hope. We have indeed been able to accomplish so much in these last one hundred-plus years. We have been able to go from being considered outcasts to fully participating in society. May we continue to serve as a source of hope for our own Polish community and always keep our arms open to the newest immigrants who come from far and beyond to our shores."

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