by Father Patrick Longalong
The prophet Amos does not mince words: “Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land” (Amos 8:4).
He condemns those who exploit the vulnerable for profit, those who use their power not to protect but to oppress. Sadly, this warning is not ancient history. It echoes in our own time.
My family experienced this firsthand. In the early 1980s, my parents returned to New York and began the process of bringing my siblings from the Philippines. Our two eldest sisters were already U.S. citizens, but another sister, born abroad, needed to be petitioned. My father hired a Filipino lawyer in Queens to handle her case.
At first, things seemed promising — my sister arrived in New York, and the lawyer assured us her green card would follow soon. But months turned into years. Each time we asked, he demanded more money. Already struggling financially, my family kept paying, hoping for resolution. Then, unexpectedly, the lawyer died. When we tried to retrieve my sister’s file, his office claimed there was nothing under her name. In truth, we had been scammed.
Years later, my sister received a letter stating she was being deported. Fear and despair set in. Having been burned once, my family felt helpless. Then came a grace we did not expect. My mother, my sister, and I went to see Father John Garkowski, a priest who, we have learned, was also an immigration lawyer. He listened with patience and compassion. Without hesitation, he pulled out his letterhead, wrote a simple request to USCIS, and sent us home.
He did not ask for money. He did not complicate the process. He simply used his knowledge and authority to help.
A month later, to our astonishment, my sister’s green card arrived in the mail — bearing a photo of her as a teenager, nearly 20 years younger. What one man’s corruption had dragged into years of fear, another man’s integrity resolved with compassion and simplicity.
This is the tragic reality Jesus points to in today’s Gospel (Luke 16:1–13). The dishonest steward is clever in securing his future, but his cleverness is self-serving. Jesus challenges us: If people can be so resourceful in serving wealth, why can’t we be just as bold and committed in serving God? “No servant can serve two masters. … You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
St. Paul, in the second reading, reminds us that prayer is part of that service. When we pray for all people — even for leaders we might distrust — we entrust ourselves to God’s justice and mercy.
Prayer forms us to live with integrity and compassion, to resist the temptation of corruption and exploitation.
The lesson is clear: Authority and knowledge are gifts from God, entrusted to us not for self-interest but for service. Like Amos, we are called to denounce injustice. Like St. Paul, we are called to pray for all. And like Father Garkowski, we are called to use whatever position we hold to lift up the poor, the vulnerable, and the forgotten.
In the end, faithfulness in small things — honesty, compassion, generosity — shapes us for faithfulness in greater things.
And those who serve God with integrity never leave others empty-handed, but fill them with hope.
Father Longalong is the pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, Queens Village, and coordinator of the Ministry to Filipino Immigrants.