Advent 2022

This has been quite a different Advent for me.

Apse mural, Dulce Nombre

Advent began with the visit of the image of the Virgin of Suyapa in the parish. This year, the tiny image of the Virgin of Suyapa has been visiting all the dioceses of Honduras. The image arrived in our parish on Saturday, November 26.

After a visit to the church in Concepción, we celebrated with an all-night vigil in the parish auditorium, attended by more than 1000 people.

I took a few breaks and fell asleep for a short time before Mass at midnight as well as in the early morning. We also had a Mass for the first Sunday of Advent in the parish at 9 am – at which I preached. 

That week, I had the first of five pre-marriage interviews I've had in the last four weeks. The couple first meets with the pastor and then has a twelve session formation with leaders in their villages. Before the marriage date is set, I meet with the couple and two witnesses. For me, it is an honor to be able to be present and to help them in their final stages of preparing for the sacrament of matrimony. 

That week, Sister Nancy Meyerhofer, a Dubuque Franciscan sister who is a good friend and has been here in Honduras for 16 or so years, came over for a short visit. We had a two hour long lunch and a long supper and many hours of talk. She was very much responsible for enabling me to be able to come here to work in the diocese in 2007. She and the other Dubuque Franciscans will be leaving Honduras next month, which will leave an empty space in Honduras and also for me.

The second Sunday of Advent the parish received forty into the catechumenate, who, if they persevere, will be baptized in the Easter Vigil.  I work with the catechists and so I was glad to see them there with the new catechumens who were between 14 and 40 years old. I talked with them before the Mass and then I went with them after the Homily for a reflection period. I had a chance to speak with a number of them and it was a joy to hear of their desire to be baptized. One catechist, from a village that has 9 catechumens. introduced me to two young men in their twenties who have learning difficulties; they were so enthusiastic that I could not help but feel the hand of God in all this. A day later reflecting on this I was filled with tears of joy. 

Since I had not been at a complete Mass that Sunday morning and hadn’t had the chance to receive Communion, I went to Mass that afternoon in Dolores and preached. 

Monday through Wednesday we had a diocesan assembly, evaluating and looking toward the future. I found myself often just hanging around, sometimes with the priests and lay people. The last day I was standing around with a number of people. They asked me how long I had been there in Honduras. When I said 15 years, they said that I was in one sense a Honduran – one even saying that I was more catracho [Honduran] than gringo. 

Also, a number of them from the southern part of the diocese talked with me about Father Beto Gallagher, a US Capuchin priest who worked there for several years. (I wrote about him in part of the past found here.) He is buried in the church in San Marcos Ocotepeque. I find myself humbled and graced that I remind them of him. He was a priest who was really with the people. One man told how if Frey Beto was in a meeting and someone arrived and there were no chairs, he would give up his chair and sit on the floor. He was my type of missionary. 

Friday, I had a meeting for new catechists. The attendance was low, probably because many are working in the coffee harvest. Picking coffee is one of the few ways that many people in the countryside have to earn cash. I completely understand their absence. 

I used this session to help the new catechists understand the Mass. Previous sessions for the new catechists have included discussion of Baptism, grace and sin, and the Bible. The new catechists also are expected to attend the meetings every other month for all the catechists. In this way, I hope that they will be ready in about two years. 

Saturday, there was a get-together of people from the deanery in a rural ecotourism center outside of Corquín, which featured animals, including crocodiles.

What was most interesting was the road to the center, which was by a river that had been diverted by the hurricanes of November 2020.

The third Sunday of Advent I went to the early Mass in Dulce Nombre, where I preached again. Our pastor, Padre German Navarro, is very open to having me preach, which is a blessing that many deacons don't have. I think it is also a chance for him to rest, since he usually has four or five Masses each Sunday in different parts of the parish.

I had been invited to attend the middle school graduation of the students in the IHER program in Dulce Nombre on Sunday afternoon. The student listen to radio programs during the week, fill out a work book, and have classes on Saturdays and Sundays. I was glad to see so many young people, including some I know, continuing to study after sixth grade, since most rural villages only have elementary schools. This program is an alternative to classes on Mondays through Fridays, which would be difficult for many from rural villages. About 150 students receive partial scholarships each year, thanks to our sister parish, St. Thomas Aquinas in Ames.

Monday there was Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the small village of Torreras. Lo and behold, the Mass was held in the home of one of those who had graduated in Dulce Nombre the day before!

That Tuesday two good friends from Central Iowa, Gary and Nancy Guthrie, arrived and I picked them up at the airport. 

They had come mostly for a meeting of the Central American associates of the Dubuque Franciscans. They are associates in the US and it was good to have them here to know the Central American associates, who come from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. 

Gary and Nancy have been here before and speak Spanish (having been volunteers with the Mennonite Volunteers in Bolivia and El Salvador in the 1980s.) We had a great visit – mostly talking and eating a few simple meals before and after the meeting. They even got a chance to work a few hours on the parish coffee fields. I didn't get a picture of them, but here's my pickup loaded with people who helped with the coffee picking, going back to their villages.

    

Monday, their last night here, we went out to the El Zapote coffee association’s buildings and watched the machines at work.

The meeting of the associates was a good time to get to know a bit more the other Central American associates. Since the sisters are leaving, we have to find our way to live out the Franciscan charism and to keep a relationship with the sisters. This will be a challenge and we all have to work on this.

The sisters and associates

Padre Loncho celebrated Mass (and I served as deacon)

Sister Brenda Whetstone who was visiting sharing bowls with Gary and Nancy.

New associates with Sister Pat Farrell

On Monday, I made a visit to the parish center to talk with a muralist who is there to paint ten images of American saints in the church (above the columns in the nave.) These are the saints we plan to commemorate: Saint Martín de Porres, Santo Hermano Pedro de San José Betancourt, San Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin , Santa Kateri Tekakwitha, Santa Dulce Pontes, San Francisco Solano, San Toribio Romo González, San José Sánchez del Río, San Pedro Claver, and Santa Nazaria Ignacia March Mesa. (How many can you identify?) It was hard to make the choices and we didn’t include the many blessed from the Americas. We hope this helps people recognize sanctity in our continent.

Wednesday, after leaving Gary and Nancy at the San Pedro Sula airport on Tuesday, I met with a urologist in San Pedro and tried to make an appointment for a test in January.

On a personal level, I’ve had bronchitis and then a bad cold. Not fun. As a result, I haven’t got out to visit the sick. 

 Tomorrow, there is a get together for the clergy of the diocese. 

 In some ways this has not felt like Advent – and I don’t feel ready for Christmas. But it ‘s coming. 

Saturday Christmas eve, I’ll spend the morning and early afternoon baking – making cinnamon rolls and more.

Then, I’ll be at a 6 pm Mass with baptisms in Plan Grande. I’ll also go to Dulce Nombre for the 10:00 pm "Midnight" Mass, which has been a custom. Christmas morning I’ve been invited to a community for a Celebration of the Word with Communion.

After that, I’ll head to La Entrada for the traditional Christmas lunch with the Dubuque Franciscan sisters. For me, it will be bitter-sweet since It’s the last time I’ll be at a holiday meal with the sisters. 

The week after Christmas I have two commitments, one will be working with several priests to develop materials for the weekly meeting of the base communities. But I’m hoping to take it easy, cleaning the house, preparing for the new year, and catching up on reading and correspondence. 

In the meantime, I ask you for your prayers for our parish and for me. I pray that your lives may be filled with hope. May God-with-us bless all of you who have read this.

A week (or so) in Advent

It's been a busy 9 days.

Saturday, December 7, I went to Lepaera, Lempira, for the celebration of the ordination of young man in the diocese. Nery Gómez was at my diaconal ordination and so it was a blessing to be able to serve as one of the deacons at his priestly ordination. It was a good day and several hundred people showed up.

Padre Nery Gómez

The next day, Miguel, another transitional deacon was ordained but I couldn’t get to his ordination – since I had other commitments. Now I am the only deacon in the diocese. I expect that several seminarians who have finished theology and are in a pastoral experience year will be ordained deacons at the end of next year. The bishop is talking about opening a process for more permanent deacons – but it will probably be several years until any are ordained.

Padre Nery Gómez, Monseñor Darwin Andino and Deacon Miguel (ordained priest a day later)

Padre German, the pastor of our parish, Dulce Nombre de María, went to Miguel’s ordination and left me to preside at the Sunday afternoon Celebration of the Word with Communion in San Agustín on Sunday afternoon. We also celebrated the entry of six more young into the catechumenate. It’s always a joy to see new people wanting to enter the Catholic community. This year I want to be a little more involved with the catechumens and I hope to interview each of them in the next three months.

Monday, I went to Santa Rosa de Copán (about 50 minutes away). I had to change the oil in the car and I also decided to use a laundromat there to wash eleven days of dirty clothes. I usually wash my clothes by hand at home – but when it’s rainy or when my time is too occupied, I’ll go to a laundromat.

Tuesday, I did some work at home and then went to Granadillal for a Celebration of the Word with Communion to mark the end of the novena for Francisco Pérez. The custom here is to have nine days (a novena) of prayers after the death and burial of a loved ones in the homes. At the end, they often request a Mass, but since Padre German had a funeral at the exact same time, they asked me to come. I’m glad I could, since I had brought Communion to Don Francisco several times.

Wednesday morning, I skyped with someone from Italy who is doing some research on deacons in Latin America for a masters’ degree. After that, I went to Dulce Nombre to help with the clean-up of the church. There have been some renovations to the inside of the church, including some work on the walls and some electric work. But it needed a thorough cleaning with all the accumulated dust. When I arrived a crew was at work but soon the firemen (bomberos) from Santa Rosa arrived to do a high-pressure water cleaning of the walls and ceiling. They even washed down the two towers outside.

Thursday was the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of my favorite feasts.

Several years ago I had the chance to visit Mexico City and visit the shrine to see the image on St, Juan Diego’s cloak (tilma).

In the afternoon, I went to Descombros, one of the villages whose patron is the Virgin of Guadalupe. Mass started late and so I drove home in the dark – as the moon was rising. It was a gorgeous large moon that I noted on my left as I drove from San Agustín. But then the moon was in front of me and later at my right. The road is full of curves and thus, though the moon didn’t move, I felt a bit disoriented seeing it first on the left and then in front of me or on the right. When I got home to Plan Grande, the sky had clouded over and so I recovered my orientation – though I never really lost it. I’ve travelled the road from San Agustín to Plan Grande about two or three times a month for the last four years.

  

Friday morning, I went to a meeting that the coffee association from El Zapote was having with some workers from Caritas Santa Rosa who are overseeing a project from a Spanish Catholic foundation. The foundation will be doing some work on food security including providing seed money for projects for women as well as for gardens. They will also be helping the coffee growers improve the quality of their coffee as well as use methods to use the pulp and the waters used to wash coffee for fertilizer and more. This will prevent the pollution that often results from the disposal of the coffee pulp and the waters (called honey waters) in streams.  It was good to see them and hear of these ways to advance their production and improve the lives of their families.

I didn’t stay for the whole meeting since I wanted to get to the Saint Lucy Day Mass in Camalote. As I arrived they were finishing the procession. As I passed them, I noted a young woman on crutches. When they got to the church, I noticed that the young woman was being carried on the back of her mother. This couldn’t have been easy since she seemed to be about 14 years old. What care and concern – and what effort – her mother showed.

After Mass, I headed off to Gracias, Lempira, to the house of the Dubuque Franciscan Sisters. They were going to receive a woman into the novitiate with a Mass and a special ceremony. The president of the congregation had come to be part of the ceremony.

Padre Loncho came for Mass as well as other associates of the Franciscan sisters from Gracias. I was blessed to serve as deacon at the Mass.

It was very moving to see another young Central American woman continuing her formation with the sisters. Katy has been with them several months already and she and another aspirant had spent a week with me studying Catholic Social Teaching.

The reception into the novitiate took place after the Gospel. The Mass ended with each person present being invited to personally bless Sister Katy.

I stayed overnight – and enjoyed a time with the sisters. They are family for me here. I have spent Christmas with the sisters since I’ve been here, But, since they are going to Iowa for the chapter’s chapter of elections, I have to find another option for Christmas day.

I left early Saturday morning since I had some responsibilities at the parish – interviews with two couples who are going to get married. The pastor does the initial interviews and then they receive their faith formation in their communities. Then, before they are married, they come to the church with two witnesses to be interviewed, to make sure there are no problems and that they are ready. It’s a joy to see young people wanting to be married sacramentally, seeking God’s grace for their life together. While I was waiting for the couples (who arrived late), two other couples came to be interviewed by the pastor. One is a young man who was involved in the church and in youth ministry but then accompanied a young woman. They have an eighteen-month old daughter. I told them how glad I was to see them beginning this step.

I often encourage young people to get married – in a gentle welcoming way. There are a good number of other couples who also are thinking of sacramental marriage. That is a good sign in this culture. For any number of reasons – financial, rigid interpretations of church marriage regulations, and more – there are many couples living without being married civilly, at even less by the church. That’s another blog post.

Sunday, I presided at the Celebration of the Word with Communion here in Plan Grande. The local Delegate of the Word had asked me to preside since she was going to be gone.

In the afternoon, I went to San Agustín for Mass.

There is a custom here to celebrate birthdays at Masses. Today we celebrated the birthday of a 96-year old man. I had greeted him before Mass, without knowing it was his birthday. He is almost always at the San Agustín Masses and Celebrations of the Word and, though he is hard of hearing, he always has a word and a hug. What a joy to be able to celebrate with him.

There is also a custom to present babies at Mass when they are a few weeks old – using around forty days after birth. After we sang the Mañanitas for Don Manuel, we celebrated the life of a small baby girl. The old and the young, the full range of life.

I got home early and had dinner. Tomorrow volunteers will be working on the parish coffee fields, picking coffee. I will help with transporting them from their villages in the morning but can’t help in the fields or in taking them back to their homes. I have a dental appointment – to have a tooth pulled. Then I’ll take two days of rest.

One random note. Most deacons don’t preach regularly. Since last Sunday, I’ve preached six times – at  three Masses and three Celebrations of the Word.

As I look back, I note that death and life have been part of this week, Also, I have witnessed people beginning to live out their vocations – a priest, a woman religious, and two couples. Though there is much in Honduras that does not bode well for the poor, there are small lights in the lives of the people here. God is making a way out of the darkness.

Finally, to prove I’m not at all that virtuous, here’s my dessert tonight – a large bowl of pistachio ice cream – and I had two bowls last night and am tempted to have another tonight.

The diakonia of Saint Francis of Assisi

As I prepare for the feast of St. Francis tomorrow, I began reflecting this morning on how Francis can lead me to be a better deacon.

It is probable that Francis was a deacon. But even if he wasn’t, his life shows the call to diakonia of all the baptized.

As I understand the diaconate, we are called to serve, to accompany, to be with those at the margins of our church and our world. In a special, sacramental way, we are called to bring the needs of the poor to the table of the Lord and the gifts of the table of the Lord to them.

We are called to make clear the bridge that exists between the church and the world. As Msgr.  Paul McPartlan wrote, “The deacon stands at the altar and prepares the gifts with clean hands, but he stands also where the practical need is greatest, getting his hands very dirty.”  I slightly revised this to reflect my experience, “The deacon serves at the table of the altar with clean hands because he has dirtied his hands serving at the table of the poor.”

We deacons do this not just at Mass, reading the Gospel, occasionally preaching, preparing the altar, and distributing communion. We do this in our daily work, in our daily contact with the poor and marginalized, in our preaching by lives of service, justice, and love.

When I think of Saint Francis, I see him among the poor, not neglecting to preach in the highways and byways of his world, not failing to enter and pray in churches.

For me it is interesting that his conversion is marked by two events – his encounter with the leper and the call to repair the church which he heard in the church of San Damiano. 

The church and friary of San Damiano

Then he began to repair any number of churches, but still in contact with the poor and the marginalized.  He also began to preach – not just by his words but by his deeds.

But he always had a soft spot in his heart for the marginalized, especially the lepers. In his Testament he pointedly wrote:

The Lord granted me, Brother Francis, to begin to do penance in this way: While I was in sin, it seemed very bitter to me to see lepers. And the Lord Himself led me among them and I had mercy upon them. And when I left them that which seemed bitter to me was changed into sweetness of soul and body…

Face of a poor man. Detail of a statue near San Damiano.

And so, tomorrow I will renew my ministry. I will celebrate the feast in a Franciscan way, assisting at Mass in the morning and preaching and then having dinner with the Dubuque Franciscan sisters here in Honduras.

Francis, renew in me, the spirit of Christ the servant, who emptied himself and became flesh for love of us.