Happenings

Last Friday and Saturday there was a training of catechists in the parish of Dulce Nombre. I helped out on Friday in the session being held in the village of El Zapote de Santa Rosa.

I was originally scheduled to do three of the session, but Thursday night about 10 pm the sister in charge of the trainings called me and asked me to do three more since one of the persons scheduled couldn’t do it. I had done one of the sessions before and one was a repeat of one I had prepared. When we got to the site of the trainings I talked with the others involved and we combined some sessions; so I only gave four presentations!

There is a recently ordained priest who was recently appointed the associate in the Dulce Nombre parish, since the pastor, Father Efraín Romero, has so many responsibilities in Caritas. Father Julio César Galdámez went out with me in the morning to do one session.

I drove out to El Zapote with Father Julio and then drove him back to Dulce Nombre since he had to give his talk to the group of catechists in the training there. Then I drove out again – and back at the end of the day. It’s a 45 minute drive over a bumpy dirt road that is gravel in a few places. However, you’ve got to watch out for the potholes. Yet there are a few places on the road where the view is stupendous. Riding along a ridge, you can see valleys and mountains on both sides. Truly, God’s creation is wondrous.

On Saturday I went to pick up Sarah Hood, who graduated from ISU in 2001, who’s here for a month. Things went relatively smooth, though she did have to wait over two hours between deplaning and finally getting through customs. The lines were long and slow.

On Sunday we went out to Dulce Nombre for the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ. The people here have a great devotion to the Eucharist, even if they do not have easy access to Mass, especially in the countryside.

But this Sunday there were processions in many places. As we left Santa Rosa, groups were preparing alfombras – carpets of colored saw dust – for the procession.

In Dulce Nombre the community finished Forty Hours of adoration of the Eucharist just before the Mass that began at 9:00 pm (sort of ). The procession after Mass was simple but moving. There were scripture readings, prayers, and a reflection at four altars set up around the main square outside the church. The theme that pervaded the reflections was the called to discipleship and mission - a very strong message that the Latin American Bishops emphazied at their meeting in Aparecida, Brazil, in May 2007.

In the afternoon Sarah and I went out with Padre Efraín to Plan Grande for Mass, first communions, and baptisms. The Mass was celebrated in the new, still unfinished church – the first Mass celebrated there. I felt that this was a great blessing for me. This is the place where the March 2008 St. Thomas Aquinas, Ames, spring break trip helped with the foundations. It was a great joy to see the church nearly finished and to realize that St. Thomas had a role in building this church.

The community worked hard on this church - not only working on the building but raising funds. They sold tamales and ticucos; they held raffles; they even went, as a community, to pick coffee to raise funds.

This is also the community that has responded the most in trying to connect with the religious education at St. Thomas. Cards have been sent back and forth between kids in religious education at St. Thomas and in Plan Grande.

This week should be fairly busy for me with Caritas, orienting Sarah to Santa Rosa, and just the ordinary work and events. I hope all turns out well. For the last month I have had my first bouts with stomach ills – I’ll get to a doctor this week if I’m still feeling out of it. But it’s not been fun, though it’s not been as bad as some people experience here.

When I mentioned this to Father Efraín yesterday, he talked about the “mal de mayo” – the May sickness – that afflicts a lot of people. The rains begin in May and so the water can be infected with all sorts of nasty microbes. And so the health centers are mobbed with people suffering al sorts of intestinal problems. I don’t think this was my problem, but I guess my illness is an act of solidarity with the people here (though I would rather have the solidarity be reflected in efforts to prevent all of us from getting sick.)

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A happening I missed was a reunion of some of the guys I went to high school with. We connected primarily through Facebook and a first get together was set up for June 13-14. I had to back out because of commitments here, but the chance to connect again with guys I knew in a formative stage in my life has been a blessing.

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The Corpus Christi photos and more can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/johndonaghy/sets/72157619790334163/