I haven't written for more than two weeks and so here's a long post on what's happening.
Last Wednesday was the fourth anniversary of my ordination to the diaconate in the diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán.
The last four months have been quite different than the previous years.
Since March 23 we have been quarantined, staying at home except for designated days to go out. As a result my diaconal activities were very limited.
I probably could have gotten away with going out to villages occasionally, since I know the mayors and, according to our pastor, the police recognize me. But I decided that I should not count on any privileges. Thus, I travelled only on the designated days, mostly recently only once every two weeks.
I did go out for several days during Holy Week and in early May to accompany the municipality’s program of providing some basic items, driving some of the workers as well as some of the bags. In a very real way, that was my diaconal service, accompanying the outreach to the poor.
A few weeks ago, at the suggestion of the pastor, I got letters from three of the mayors that would, hopefully, le me get around a little to do some pastoral work. Then I found out that the Catholic Church at the national level had obtained a salvo conducto for the clergy. Thus I could go out from Monday to Friday within the limits of the diocese.
About a month ago, the church at a national level released protocols for public Masses – masks, distancing, use of gel and disinfecting of persons on entering the church, communion in the hand, and disinfecting of the church before and after the Masses or services. Even though people were having celebrations in some villages, even here in Plan Grande, I did not feel comfortable presiding until the protocols were out. For the most part the protocols are being followed here in Plan Grande, as well as in the main church in Dulce Nombre. One of the problems is that though the government has been claiming to distribute several million masks, many people do not have them. Two weeks ago, I bought a hundred from a friend in Santa Rosa.
Other things are slowly resuming,
Just before the curfew began, I was planning to meet with several couples for their pre-marriage interviews. There were about 15 couples ready for the meetings which we had to postpone.
I finally met with one couple and then, at the pastor’s insistence, met them again to talk with the young man who was not baptized. We finally arranged his baptism last Wednesday and the couple’s wedding yesterday.
I baptized the young man in Dolores on Wednesday, a nearly perfect way to celebrate my diaconal ordination. It was a joy to be able to celebrate with him and with a small group of folks.
The celebration included a young couple who were presenting their forty-three day old child. Here there is a custom of presenting a child in church forty days after birth.
The pastor asked me to preach the day after, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, at the Mass in the neighboring town of Candelaria. It was the third Mass I’ve been to since March and the first I’ve preached at.
One very distant community in the parish, about an hour’s drive from where I live, has six couples ready for the sacrament of matrimony. I had decided to go there and meet with the couples and their witnesses since they cannot easily get out of their area. There is no public transportation. In addition, they are not supposed to go out except on the days designated by the last number of their id. Obviously, not every couple would be permitted to go out the same day. So it made sense for me to go. So I have gone out three times and had two interviews each day.
What is fascinating about these couples is that the initiative to seek the sacrament of matrimony came from them. They began meeting and discussing a number of things. At first, they had some resistance from some folks in their village since they were meeting without someone from the village’s church council. But finally they began receiving the preparation for the sacrament. Now they only have to wait a few details and would like to be married in August. Of course, they have to do this in a small ceremony, probably six separate wedding. Two of them women will also have to receive baptism before the wedding. I have encouraged them to wait for a bid celebration next year and I have promised to help buy a chancho hornado – a roasted pig – for the celebration next year.
What is encouraging about this group is that the initiative came from them; they didn’t wait for someone to say that they could start marriage preparation. They met and then asked for it. I am encouraging them to continue to meet after their weddings and form a base community among themselves.
I am waiting to hear from other couples in other villages for the interviews. I also have to look into how to prepare a few of them for baptism before their wedding. I am looking forward to this opportunity to serve.
Two weeks ago, the clergy of Honduras were supposed to have our national study week. Of course, we couldn’t get together but they managed to have online Zoom sessions for five mornings. I wand psychology. as looking forward to this because the theme was the protection in the church of children, minors, and person in situations of vulnerability. The study week was led by Father Daniel Portillo of CEPROME of the Pontifical University of Mexico. About two hundred clergy participated, including a few bishops. I was aware of most of the information since I had been at a meeting on the theme in November 2018 in Bogota, Colombia, sponsored by the Latin American Conference of Religious and I had also just finished a four week online study with CEPROME on Abuse in the Family. But it is so important that we in Latin America begin to face this openly and seriously.
This week there is supposed to be a four-morning online study for the diocesan clergy on COVID and Corruption in Honduras. There will be presentations on the theme from the perspectives of sociology, economic, medicine, the law, I am looking forward to this.
The situation continues with serious outbreaks in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and several departments on the north coast. Here in our diocese, the situation is mixed. There were efforts to open up a bit, but they have been pulled back in Gracias Lempira and may be in La Entrada Copán.
The situation is difficult for many, especially those in the cities where people are not working and for those who depended on the informal economy, selling items in the streets. In our parish there are people who do not have enough to eat but many people in the countryside have some access to food. Yet, the situation could get more serious. A neighbor told me that in Dulce Nombre beans are about 28 lempiras a pound, though they are about 5 lempiras less here. (One lempira is about four cents of a dollar.) A few months ago, beans were 15 lempiras a pound.
One bright spot is that the 7000 of green coffee sent by the association of small coffee owners in El Zapote arrived in Ames and the money has been received by the association. They will therefore have some money to help with basic needs. Those is central Iowa can contact El Zapote Coffee which recently had a drive through sale of coffee in the parking lot of St. Thomas Aquinas Church.
What to expect?
I do not know. The medical system is severely threatened. And even though the government has received more than 100 million dollars worth of aid, corruption has been serious. Whether the system will be able to respond to the cases is unknown.
Yet people continue their lives.
What do I say to people? Don’t lose hope.
I also share with them what a friend who is a doctor working with COVID-19 patients has told his medical colleagues:
Don’t panic.
Be positive.
Kindness counts.
Wash your hands, wear protective gear, and stay home if you’re sick.
I think that’s good advice for all of us.
On a personal note, I have been able to be in contact with folks – Skype, Zoom, and a good phone calling plan have enabled me to talk with friends not only here in Honduras but also in the US and Palestine. I am also participating in some discussions with folks in the US and participated in some education events here and from Mexico. Reaching across borders, if only electronically, is important. I have spoken once with my spiritual director and have to arrange another session the end of this month.
I have been doing a lot of reading. I completed ten books in June – six of them novels! But I also have read two books by Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out and Clowning in Rome, both of which have been very helpful. I am also in the middle of a monumental work of Gerald Schlabach, A Pilgrim People: Becoming a Catholic Peace Church.
What the next months hold is unpredictable. I won’t do my usual fall trip to the US since the situation of the pandemic is still up in the air. I do hope that I can do some more writing – mostly on the book on my path to the diaconate that I’ve been trying to put together for about a year.
In the meantime, be safe, stay sane, pray a lot, and wash your hands.
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