ASH WEDNESDAY IN DULCE NOMBRE

What do you do on Ash Wednesday when you have more than 45 places where people gather for worship in a parish?

Padre German, our pastor, has five Masses in four different locations. But that leaves out more than forty communities.

I was going to go to a distant village, but I thought it best not to go at this time, since my body’s defenses are low, due to last Thursday’s chemotherapy.

So almost all the villages sent a Delegate of the Word or someone else to the 10 am Mass in the main parish church. Ashes were blessed and distributed to those attending.

After Mass, little plastic cups of ashes were given to those who would distribute them at a Celebration of the Word in their communities. In some communities, where there is an extraordinary communion minister, they would have a Celebration of the Word with Communion.

I attended the 10:00 am Mass in the parish and served as deacon, in a limited way. I did preach but I decided not to distribute the ashes, nor communion, nor purify the vessels.

It was a blessing to be with the delegates and some others who came for Mass.

After Mass, I went back into the church to pray – and was awed by the beauty around us.

Ash Wednesday in Dulce Nombre

The parish celebrated a 9:00 morning Mass in Dulce Nombre de Copán for Delegates of the Word from the villages of the parish, as well as for people in town. After Mass, the Delegates were given ashes to distribute in their villages later today.

I assisted as deacon at the Mass, reading the Gospel.

During the imposition of ashes, our pastor, Padre German, gave me a special responsibility.

He imposed the ashes on the foreheads of all those in attendance, using the formula, “Remember you are dust and to dust you will return.”

I was at the side with a Bible. (I didn’t know that we would need the Book of the Gospels.) After people had received the ashes they came to me and placed their hand on the bible. I invited them: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Some people were a little taken aback at this – and a bit confused. But I was struck by two little girls who put their hands on the Bible, heard me tell them to repent and believe in the Gospel, and then responded with a heartfelt “Si!” – Yes!

Lent is a time to say “Si!” – Yes – to the Good News, in a world plagued with bad news.

In the afternoon I went to Delicias Concepción for a Celebration of the Word with Ashes and Communion. I returned home in the dark - but it was a day filled with light.

Accompanying in the cold

It’s unusually cold here – lows in the forties and highs in the fifties or low sixties – with lots of rain and fog. Note: we don't have indoor heating (though I did take advantage of a small space heater I had a few times.)

But in the midst of this life goes on. People go out to harvest coffee; neighbors produce sugar from their sugar cane; kids go to school. And people participate in the life of faith.

The day before Ash Wednesday, the statue of St. Rose of Lima was brought to the church in El Zapote de Santa Rosa. That night there were confessions, Mass, and an all-night vigil. I stayed for the Mass and got home at midnight.

The statue arrives in El Zapote

Ash Wednesday we had Mass and blessing of ashes in Dulce Nombre. Many delegates of the Word had come for the Mass and for ashes to take back to their communities.

Padre German and I distributed ashes, recalling that we are dust and to dust we will return. Then those who had received the ashes placed their hands on the bible and were advised by the sisters who work in the parish to convert and believe in the Gospel.

Used with permission of Canal2 Dulce Nombre

I then took eight of the delegates to Zone 4, one of the areas very far from the parish center. Later that afternoon I passed by the church here in Plan Grande while ashes were distributed.

Ashes in Plan Grande

Thursday morning I accompanied a car from El Zapote taking the statue of St. Rose of Lima to meet people from Zone 2. We crammed into two pick ups for part of the trip but later the people walked in prayer to Vega Redonda. 

Walking toward Vega Redonda

Crossing the bridge into Vega Redonda

They had confessions, Mass, and an all night vigil last night.

Today the statue will be transferred to the main church in Dulce Nombre.

In the evening there will be confessions with priests from the deanery with the bishop, followed by Mass and an all-night vigil.

I plan to accompany the celebration until the end of Mass. Tomorrow I have a meeting with Communion ministers in the morning and then will accompany the transfer of the statue of St. Rose to the parish of San Juan Bosco in Santa Rosa.

The rain and the cold continue. But that still doesn’t stop our ministry.

This week I also attended a meeting of the coffee association in El Zapote de Santa Rosa. They distributed the cupping results to the members who had sent a sample. But they were also meeting with a group of women from the United States who are looking at possibilities for projects that would combine work on nutrition with prevention of violence against women. The meeting was arranged by Caritas of the diocese of Santa Rosa which has been working with the Association, helping them obtain legal status. Here's a photo:

Ash Wednesday in Debajiados

Padre German sent me to Debajiados for Ash Wednesday. 

It’s one of the most remote villages, about twenty kilometers from Dulce Nombre. To get there you have to go almost to the top of a mountain and then take a road that goes down into valley for a few kilometers. They have water, but they are just not getting electricity.

I got there and was immediately besieged by about 6 kids who had been in the school next to the little church. 

The young teacher, who just began last month and has only a high school degree in business administration, has about 18 kids in five grades.

Only one person was at the church, but soon people came – mostly women and a few kids. Three men in the music group were there and a few guys hung around the back for a while and then left. (Outreach to young guys is going to be a real challenge throughout the parish.)

We were going to have a Celebration of the Word with distribution of ashes and communion.

I began the celebration with a few questions about Ash Wednesday and Lent. The group was surprisingly participative; two women were very talkative and knew a lot.

I wanted to discuss the three Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Talking about prayer was easy enough. 

But then there was the problem of fasting. I explained that the church discipline of fasting is three meals, without snacks. They are accustomed to think of fasting as not eating all day.

But then I asked them about abstaining from meat. “How often do you have meat?” I asked. “Once a year, usually, for Christmas.”  I asked them if this meant they didn’t eat chicken. “Yes,” they said.

Then I talked about almsgiving, trying to give them an idea that this doesn’t just mean giving money. It means sharing, being in solidarity with others. I gave the example of someone who didn’t have beans; they could decide that all of them share a few beans; that would help someone in need.

In many ways I was humbled by this experience. It also reaffirmed my vegetarianism, which is not based on either health issues or animal rights. I stopped eating meat in 1976 out of solidarity with the poor, not wanting to take away basic grains to feed cattle and leaving so many without. I still hold to that – even though I realize that it’s not a direct correlation. But not eating meat is one very small way I can share with those in need.

Another humbling aspect of my visit in Debajiados. they had lunch for me - coffee, beans, tortillas, and eggs with pacaya. I didn't eat much - which surprised them - but it was a meal shared with love.

And so Lent begins for me.

ADDENDUM:

The folks in Debajiados will probably long remember my reading of today's Gospel. Jesus tells us to perfume our heads while fasting "perfumate tu cabeza." I read it too fast and said "perfumate tu caballo" - perfume your horse.

SECOND ADDENDUM:

At lunch I talked with a few people, including two young men who had never gone to school. One, 16 years old, is starting first grade this year. I commended him for this.

The woman who had made lunch noted that she and many in the village could neither read nor write, though some could read but not write. A pastoral worker soon told me why.

This village did not have a school until about four years ago.

Ash Wednesday in Assisi

To celebrate the the beginning of Lent, I got up early and walked to San Damiano, the small church where Francis heard his call to repair the church.

Lauds and Mass were simple, sung by the friars and the congregation, mostly women religious. The priest was young and gave a short, to the point, homily. Then ashes were blessed and we came forward to be signed. I was surprised when the ashes were dropped on the top of the head, instead of being put on the forehead. But the symbol spoke clearly.

After Mass I walked back to the guesthouse for breakfast and spent th day visiting a few places.

But most of all it was a day, dry like a desert. Tuesday had been full of strong emotions, but the strongest I experienced Wednesday was homesickness for Honduras. I really missed home.

But I also became aware of the way I look for and want security and control. From my reading I am beginning to see that a central part of Francis' message of poverty is the need not merely to relinquish stuff, but more important to live in the precariousness of life with faith in the providence of God.

Francis was so intent on poverty because he feared that houses and books would lead people to seek their security there, rather then in God. The poor don't have that type of security and neither did Jesus.

So, to seek things is to look for other sources of security. And,  Francis once said, if we have possessions, we will need weapons to protect them!

So, I struggled Wednesday.

But the day ended well, with Evening Prayer at Santa Chiara.