Hands full with the Gospel

A Facebook friend shared this photo of me with the heading: “And down in Honduras, GB John Donaghy has his hands full.”

My comment, “Yes, the Gospels are a handful.” I haven’t written on this blog for over a month – some for personal reasons, some for being busy with ministry.

Looking at the past month, thinking of the Gospels as a handful is a good way to help me discern the ways I have tried to live the Gospel and the ways I have failed – as well as the ways the world around us puts obstacles.

CONFIRMATIONS

The first two weeks of the month were filled with confirmations and preparations.

The confirmations were scheduled for February 12 and 13, but we had to schedule confessions beforehand. 

Other years we have had one day with several priests hearing confession in the main church, but this year the pastor didn’t find priests nearby to help and so we had confessions in six different locations, beginning January 29. This meant that we had to prepare a penitential rite as the confessions began and have music, reflections, and some silence, during the hours of confessions. 

I had worked with the catechists to prepare these as well as the confirmation Masses. We also prepared for a Mass at the end of the confessions since almost half of the confirmation candidates had not received their first Communion.

For the most part, the catechists did a really great job. But in one case, the catechists in the town where the confessions were scheduled had not prepared a place large enough for the confessions. So at the last minute we had to scrounge for a place. People from a nearby town knew someone and we moved there. There were two problems. First, there was no room private enough for confessions and so Padre German heard confessions outside, behind a curtain. Second, it rained; if it hadn’t rained we could have had Mass outside; but with the rains people were smashed together in a small space.

We had asked the bishop to come for three days, but his schedule changed and he could only come for two. So we had to find ways to accommodate all the candidates in three locations. This was no easy task – with, finally, 427 confirmed. But we got through it, without a lot of hassles.

The catechists and people in their communities did a marvelous job in all this. Saturday, the morning confirmations were under a tree between the church and the village school. Thank God it didn’t rain. 

The second was in a community center. The problem here was that the water hadn’t been connected for the bathrooms. But, the day before the Confirmations some young guys were there digging the trench for the water line.

Sunday was in one way easier. We celebrated in the new auditorium in the parish center in Dulce Nombre.

After the confirmations, I had several  parish meetings – of delegates, of catechists, and of a team to help resurrect the base communities. 

LENT

Then Lent arrived - a little faster than I expected. 

Ash Wednesday, we had a Mass at 10 am in Dulce Nombre. Delegates of the Word came from most of the communities and they took the ashes back for Celebrations of the Word with imposition of ashes later that day. I went to two communities for Celebrations of the Word with Communion – and imposition of ashes.

Last Sunday, we had the Rite of Election and inscription of the catechumens. We had 30.

In some places in the world, the rite of election is celebrated with the bishop or his representatives. But here we’ve been doing it at the parish level. Also, in most of the world the catechumens write their name in a book. We don’t have a book and we have another difficulty. There are people – even young people – who cannot write and there are many who can sign their names but it takes almost a minute. So, we have them write their name on a card before Mass and place their card in a basket which is received by the pastor.

At the morning Mass, I left with the elect after the rite for a short session to reflect on their experience and on the nature of temptations. It went well, though many of them are reluctant to speak out.

They will celebrate the three Scrutinies in their villages. Where the pastor or I cannot be present, a delegate or catechist will lead an abbreviated rite of the scrutinies. 

Those "elect" will have a retreat in their villages with their sponsors and then will be baptized and receive their first communion at the Easter Vigil. 

They will not be confirmed until later in the year. I wish at least those over 18 years of age could be confirmed at the Easter Vigil, but the custom is to delay the confirmations. I may have to talk with the bishop about this.

During Lent there are numerous activities in the villages. Every Friday most villages celebrate the Stations of the Cross. We encourage them to celebrate the Stations in the streets.

We will have a parish Stations of the Cross on the Friday before Palm Sunday, traditionally the day of Our Mother of Sorrows. The pastor has asked me to prepare them – as I have done for many years.

The pastor will try to get to as many of the more than 45 villages for Mass and for confessions during this season.

In addition, the sisters in the parish will lead retreat days in ten sectors of the parish. I won’t be involved in this – though I have enough to do.

Catechists

I had a meeting of the catechists in February. In some places we are trying to restart the catechesis. Some catechists have dropped out since the beginning of the pandemic. Some have left, migrating to the United States. It has also been hard to start up again.

But there are a good number of persons wanting to start as catechists. I am hoping to design a process to do this in a systematic manner and at an accelerated pace so that they can be integrated into the processes in their villages. I will have the first meeting of new catechists at the beginning of April.

A few weeks ago, I started an online Diplomado program on the new Directory for Catechesis, sponsored by CELAM, the Latin American Bishops Conference. Though I am a little disappointed with the course, it has gotten me to study the document and I hope to do a proposal to help design our parish’s formation for catechists. 

Social Ministry

This Monday we had a meeting of Social Ministry. We invited each village to send at least one person. Twelve arrived – but, though the number was small, the energy, the experience, and the initiative were astounding. I left the meeting with hope.

This Saturday, the diocesan Caritas office will have a workshop on Social Ministry in the parishes.. I’ve been asked to lead a part on the spirituality of social ministry. I relish the opportunity, though I wish I had more time to prepare. I expect that my contribution will reflect my personal experience in my ministry as deacon.

WORLD EVENTS

There have been several world events that are quite important and affect my ministry. 

On February 15, the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH), was arrested to face a hearing for a request for his extradition to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking, use of weapons for drug trafficking and conspiracy to use weapons in drug trafficking. The hearing is scheduled for March 16.

Whether he will be extradited is still in question, since the judges who will decide were appointed by JOH. In addition, JOH’s attorneys are trying to investigate if there are charges against him in Honduras (which would mean he’d have to face them before being extradited (a convenient way to put off or avoid prosecution in the US).

This is an historic moment, not because he is the only Honduran extradited to the US for drug charges – his brother is in prison in the US. This could signal a real challenge to the rule of drug lords and their allies in the Honduran government at all levels. But that will not be easy. 

On February 24, Russian leader Vladimir Putin sent troops of the Russian Federation to invade Ukraine. The implications of this for us here are still unknown, though it could be disastrous. There’s a saying that when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold. But I think it could be more serious. When the US sneezes, the poor get pneumonia.

UPCOMING

Sometime in the next few weeks, stained glass windows will be installed in the Dulce Nombre Church. They will be placed in the main sanctuary and in the two side chapels. We are doing this, in part, to cut down the glare that comes f=through the plain glass windows. 

Alejandro Carbajal who painted the murals in the sanctuary of the Dulce Nombre church has done another mural at the back of the church – near the ceiling, above the door.

To emphasize that we are called to mission, to go forth to encounter others (in the words of Pope Francis, Jesus is walking out, with a woman and a man by his side. The scene is what one sees when one exits the church. We are sent forth in mission with Jesus.

Alejandro's work has had an impact here. In fact, the mayor of Dulce Nombre is working with him for a two week session of muralists arriving from around Latin America to paint the walls of Dulce Nombre. They will also be painting some walls on the church grounds. They will be here the last week of April and the first week of May.

PERSONAL

Today there was a deanery meeting of the clergy. It was in a balneario – a recreational park with several swimming pools. I ended up being able to do laps – the first time in almost fifteen years. I only did eight laps to-and-fro. I used to be able to do 30 or more. But then I’m almost 75 years old.

After two years, I finally went to the dentist on February 24. I had made an appointment a few weeks before the pandemic, but it was, of course, cancelled. Three teeth were filled and I have to have a root canal, beginning next Monday.

Next week from noon Monday to Friday, we have a diocesan clergy retreat, after my root canal! I will largely be incommunicado. Pray for us.

I am hoping to be able to get to the eastern US in May or June, to visit family and friends. More later.

Have a blessed Lent. I’ll try to write a little more often.

Lent, where did it go?

Holy Week – Semana Santa – is upon us. 

For some here in Honduras this is a week of vacations. In past years, many people went to the beaches or rivers to escape the heat. Others took part in the great processions and religious services in their cities and towns. This year it will be different, though we will be having limited celebrations. But life goes on – with its joys and sorrows.

A lot is happening in Honduras and in the world and I’m trying to make sense of it. For me, this means paying attention to the people I encounter. This doesn’t always offer concrete “solutions,” but it may help me and others understand what is going on and begin to work together with the people for ways to envision and create societies that are more just. 

And so, I’m writing this to help me articulate what I’m seeing and to help others see the human side of what is happening. 

A VILLAGE IN TRANSITION AFTER THE HURRICANES

Last Sunday I went to a distant village to preside at a Celebration of the Word with Communion and meet with a committee which is leading to effort to help them recuperate from the effects of last year’s hurricanes.

The village was cut off from other places for several days during and after both hurricanes. The road into the community was seriously affected with several landslides that took out parts of the road. It was still slippery last Sunday.

After the Celebration I spoke with the committee. They have asked for a study of the situation and, with the help of a friend, a geologist will be coming this coming Saturday. I wanted to help them prepare for the visit and think of what questions they had for him.

I was rather impressed with their thoughtfulness as well as their intent to be helping all in the community, regardless of religion or political allegiance.

I have tried to be very careful, avoiding taking over but helping them develop their skills, praising their initiative. I look forward to Saturday.

Before I left several of the women on the committee brought me to the sacristy where there were bags of cement, cyclone fencing, and a few bags of fertilizer. They told me that this had been brought to the community the week before the March 14 primary elections by the supporters of one of the candidates. One supporter had the keys of the church and put the “bribes” there. The pastor wants the material out as soon as possible.

For me, this reveals some of what is wrong in the Honduran political scene.

Some candidates use gifts like cement and fertilizer, to try to influence people to vote for them. For me, this comes very close to bribery. They also try to manipulate the church and other institutions. 

These actions also exacerbate the divisions and even violence that permeate the political process here – even at the level of municipal elections. Families are divided over candidates, threats have been made against candidates, and more. A concept of politics as working together for the common good is largely unknown or, if it is acknowledged, policies outweigh their pious words.

POLITICS

Honduras had primary elections on Sunday March 14. The three major political parties were to choose their candidates for national and local offices – president, members of congress, and mayors. The candidates chosen will compete in the national elections in November. As of Tuesday, this week the national electoral commission had not released the results. 

The lines were long here in Plan Grande and there was even a car supporting a major opposition party, LIBRE, even though one of the candidates for the National Party is from our village.

Before the elections there was the usual electioneering – signs on buildings and on cars, caravans of cars going through the streets in towns and even venturing into the countryside with their supporters – waving flags, shouting slogans. There were even cases of candidates handing out provisions, bags of cement or fertilizer.

The ruling political party, the National Party, had two major candidates – one of whom is rumored to be involved in corruption. Both candidates are closely tied to the current president. (The president’s brother has been convicted of drug trafficking in the US and the president has been mentioned in a press release on the conviction of another drug trafficker in the US.) In the Liberal Party, the family of one candidate has been implicated in drug trafficking. The opposition party, Libre, will probably choose the wife of the president who was thrown out in a coup in 2009.

During the campaigns, at least in our municipality, the competition between two candidates proved extremely divisive. Families and communities are divided over the candidates. There was one incident that I’ve heard of in which a vehicle of partisans of one candidate ran into the vehicles of the other. There are also rumors of threats against one candidate.

Politics, which has been filled with corruption for many years and which has been largely a contest between two parties until 2009, has been even more polarizing. 

Is there a way out? I don’t know.

At the national level I have my doubts, largely because of the influence of the two major political parties and their access to money for campaigns as well as their reliance on a system that awards members of the party.

At the local level, there may be some opportunities. I know two young men (in different parties) who were candidates for mayor in their respective municipalities.

But I believe that the real efforts need to be made to help people at the local level organize, assume responsibilities for their lives, and go forward to pursue the good of their communities, without being involved with political parties. In the meantime, many people feel powerless and this, I believe, often leads some to look for a way out, by going to the US.

COFFEE

The coffee harvest is almost completely finished in our area. There seems to have been a good harvest, except for those areas affected by landslides and for those coffee farms that have not been severely affected by roya, the disease that devastated almost all of Honduras about five years ago. In addition, many of the coffee bushes are beginning to flower.

While I’ve lived here in the countryside, I’ve noticed an influx of Guatemalan workers for the coffee harvest, with whole families coming here to work.

Because of COVID-19 and the difficulty to cross the borders, there are not many Guatemalans, at least in our area. But there have been a good number of people coming from Intibucá as well as from around Copán Ruinas. These are most often Lenca or Maya Chorti.

This came home to me last Sunday when I was driving to a community. It was about 8:30 am when I noticed three young guys walking up a hill and offered them a ride. They were grateful and I left them off near the international highway between La Entrada and Copán Ruinas.

I asked them where they had come from and when they had left to start walking. They had started in San Agustín about 5:00 am. They had been working in the coffee harvest and were going back to their villages. In order to get some work they had left home and lived for months away from home.

These guys at least were close to home; many of the people I met in Plan Grande had come from Intibucá – many hours away from here.

This is part of the desperation and the lack of local work that feeds the desire to look for a way out, often seeking to go to the US.

COVID 19

COVID 19 is still present and is most forceful in the large cities and on the north coast. There have been a few cases in parts of our parish with a few deaths, but – thanks be to God – the situation seems manageable in our area, though the major hospitals are experiencing difficulties, due to a broken public health system that really has not responded to people health needs for ages.

I have three major concerns. 

First of all, the public health system needs major overhaul which must include decent wages that are paid on time, sufficient medicine for the needs of the poor populations, and preventive measures.

Secondly, there is a great laity in terms of issues of medical security measures in the face of the pandemic. Pickups and cattle trucks were packed solid with people during the coffee harvest, with few people wearing masks. The political car caravans also had pickups filled with people, often without masks. In the church we try to have the people wear masks and use gel, but it is extremely difficult for many reasons. Some don’t see the need for these measures – some think that it won’t affect them since there haven’t been cases nearby; a few have an almost magical notion of religion, saving God will protect them; others just don’t have the money to buy gel and masks. A teacher in a rural community told me that the government has not provided masks or gel for the children in here school.

Thirdly, we have no idea when vaccines will arrive for the general population. Some have arrived and medical personnel have been vaccinated, which I perfectly justified. There are reports from the government that several million doses will be coming – but they have been saying this since early February. It does appear, though, that Russia will be donating several million doses of the Sputnik vaccine. But the question is who will get these vaccines. Will they be doled out as political favors or as ways to “buy” votes before the November national elections?

All this leads to great uncertainty.

MIGRATION

It is hard for me to get a good handle on the numbers of people who have migrated from our area of Honduras.

A few weeks ago I went to a community for a Sunday Celebration of the Word with Communion. I asked about a catechist from there whom I had seen a few weeks before but he wasn’t answering my phone calls. He left for the US, I was told. But then a few days ago, he showed up at the parish council meeting. He had gone but was deported and flown back to Honduras. He was a very committed and capable person and so I was surprised that he had left.

A little before that I heard from someone on Facebook who was from the area but had been living in another part of the country. He was a real leader in his parish and with youth in his diocese. But he had left and found a job in the US.

Two Sundays ago I came across someone who had left from here about 18 months ago with his son. He had decided to return home.

Twice, in the past three weeks the pastor has asked me to talk with couples who wanted their child baptized before the husband left for the US with the child.

I knew the first couple and spoke with them. I began by saying that I was opposed to parents going with their children, mostly because of the insecurity and danger. The husband told me that the coyote (as they call the one arranging the transit, for a price) had told them that at the border they were letting in parents with children. I tried to tell him that this was probably not true and was a misunderstanding of what was really happening. But he still was planning to go. 

I went ahead with the process of baptismal preparation and the baptism. But shortly after he wrote me to tell me that the trip was put off by the coyote, who said the situation had changed at the border.

I don’t trust coyotes. I don’t know if this coyote had misunderstood what was happening at the border or was manipulating the information to obtain clients. 

I talked with another couple and we were going to meet again but they called me to say that the husband and child weren’t going together and so they could wait for baptism afterwards.

These are not isolated cases. I keep hearing of people leaving, trying to go to the US. I have also heard of a friend who is going to Spain - with papers.

What is happening?

My guess is that people are desperate and are grasping at straws, trying to find a way out of the abyss they perceive around them here in Honduras. I can only try to encourage people to stay, try to find ways to help them stay, and pray.

At least two things really need to change.

First of all, Honduras needs and deserves a government that is honest, transparent, just, and concerned about the good of all its people, especially the poor. 

Secondly, US immigration policy needs to change so that it is more open to the needs of the people here who can offer a lot to the US. How much of the meat packing and the agriculture work is being done by migrant labor? At least, the US could look at programs that offer short-term work for people from poor nations. 

I know of a fair number of people who have taken advantage of a Canadian program (all too limited) to spend several months in agricultural work – mostly in Québec. 

I know the US has or had recently a very limited form of this, but my guess is that it hardly responds to the needs of US agriculture and the number of people here who would profit from it. 

I will leave policy planning to others who have more knowledge and experience in this. I only demand that it be a policy that respects the rights of the poor and is otherwise consistent with Catholic social teaching. For more on Catholic social thought on the issue confer the statement of the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States, Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope: A pastoral letter concerning migration. 

In the meantime, we work to help the people live in dignity and find ways to live their faith. It’s the least we can do. 

THE PARISH

The murals of Saints Francis and Clare in the Blessed Sacrament chapel have been finished. They are astounding.

The artist has been working on the other side chapel, which will feature murals of Saints Isidore and María, patrons of agriculture workers, and Saint Nunzio Sulprizio, a young blacksmith who died of cancer. He is gone for two weeks but will return after Easter and probably finish before the end of April.

Lent has been subdued. 

We won’t have our parish-wide Stations of the Cross tomorrow, but people in many of the villages have had small groups praying the stations on Fridays.

The pastor has gone out and celebrated Mass and heard confessions in most of the villages. Today he’ll be in a nearby community and so I’ll be able to go to Mass to celebrate the feast of the Annunciation.

Yesterday was the commemoration of the martyrdom of Saint Óscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador. Padre German celebrated a special Mass in the main church at 6:00 pm. I went, assisted at the altar, and preached. It was a great honor to be able to speak of San Romero.

Holy Week will be different this year. 

We are encouraging small celebrations in the communities and had about 55 people in a training session. 

We often have had Lenten retreats in the sectors of the parish, often led by the Oblate sisters who are in Dulce Nombre; but this year the pastor decided to have the retreats in each village, led by people who came to a training session last week.

In addition, the parish is sending out about a few people in mission to the communities. 

My week will be busy. 

Palm Sunday I’ll be in the main parish Mass in Dulce Nombre and will help send out the missionaries who will spend several days visiting people in various villages.

Tuesday and Wednesday I will be going to two villages to visit the sick and also to facilitate a Lenten retreat.

Thursday we will have the Chrism Mass in Santa Rosa de Copán for this part of the diocese. In the afternoon, I’ll be presiding at a Celebration of the Word with Communion in Concepción, with Washing of the Feet.

Friday, if all goes well, I’ll be going to a distant village for the Celebration of the Passion with Communion. 

Saturday, for the Easter Vigil, we are obviously not having one big celebration. The pastor will be in Dulce Nombre; Fernando, the transitional deacon, will be in San Agustín. I’ll be in Vertientes, and we will be joined by people from nearby San José El Bosque. We will have it in the new church that they are building in Vertientes, which is quite large. I am looking forward to this.

Sunday, I’ll be at the morning Mass in Dulce Nombre where we’ll welcome back some of the missionaries who spent Holy Week in several villages. After that, if all goes well, I will have Easter lunch with some of the Dubuque Franciscan sisters.

As you can note, we are not as restricted in our celebrations as in some parts of the world (and even some parts of Honduras), but I will be taking biosecurity measures very seriously.

LAST FRIDAY - Sorrow and Hope

Last Saturday we got word after the Parish Council meeting that a young woman, about 15 with special needs and epilepsy, from Debajiados, had died. The young woman was always at Masses and Celebrations with her mother. She was almost always full of energy and joy. 

Padre German decided to have the funeral Mass in Delicias Concepción where here body was to be buried. I went to Debajiados to see if I could help bring people to the Mass. Four cars were filled with people.

Marcelita's casket in the back of a pickup

Padre German preached but I read the Gospel - Matthew 11: 25 - 30. I was close to tears as I read: "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the simple people." Marcelita was one of these.

I also led the prayers of commendation around the casket at the end of Mass. I again found myself close to tears. 

Marcelita was a moment of grace for many, in her weakness and infirmities. Celebrating her funeral Mass, was, as father mentioned in his homily, a moment of experiencing Easter. 

TODAY - Hope

I am off in about an hour to the nearby village of El Zapote Santa Rosa for Mass. The pastor will have arrived there earlier for confessions. 

I don’t know if he’ll want me to preach but I find today’s feast – the Annunciation – is a feast of hope.

In the midst of darkness, there is light. In the midst of darkness, a young woman learns that she is going to give birth – to the Son of God. God is with us, sharing our joys and sorrows, our hopes and disappointments. And she says yes. And, though this is the work of God, the responsorial psalm reminds us that God invites us to say yes: “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.” 

 In Spanish, we have a beautiful way to speak of childbirth: “ella da a luz”; she brings to light. We need that light – and we need people willing to risk themselves, as Mary did, to bring that light to the world.

Summer, Lent and life in the parish

SUMMER 

Summer is here in our part of Honduras. Here we have two seasons – summer (the dry season) and winter (the wet season). 

In our part of the country, in the mountains in the south of the country but on the Atlantic side of the Continental Divide, we have a short dry season – usually from February to May. The rest of the year is the rainy season. The dry season is usually the hottest time of the year. The sun is strong and it seldom rains, which makes for dusty roads.

This year, after all the rain in the middle of the year and the heavy rains of the two hurricanes that hot Honduras, it is a welcome change to not have to worry about wet, muddy, slippery roads.

AFTER EFFECTS OF THE HURRICANES 

A few times in January, I thought I wouldn’t be able to get up a few hills that had become very slippery, with just a little rain. A few times I thought I wasn’t going to make it or would get too close to an embankment. But, with the help of God and a few friends, and the fancy tools of the new parish car, I got where I wanted to go. 

The other day, meeting with catechists in one sector of our parish, we were sharing how we felt about this past year. I realized that I was not really fearful of COVID-19, although I am extremely careful and share my concern with others. But I realized that I really am a bit afraid of getting stuck in the mud – again! 

One day I had to go to a distant village where I had gotten stuck trying to go up a small hill and, for a few moments, I hope the meeting was cancelled. I didn’t want to get stuck. But I went there with no problems. 

But going around to a few distant aldeas (villages), I noted the effects of the hurricanes, especially roads that are very narrow because of landslides, including some that may suffer more damage when the rains come again in late May. It’s been three months since the hurricanes and still there are roads that have not been repaired or have only had minimal repairs.

The after-effects of the hurricanes are still wreaking havoc in Honduras and people are still suffering.

In our parish we are working with one community which will probably have to relocate most of the houses. They have organized a committee to oversee the work and have prepared a report and a map of the situation. Out of the 131 houses in the village, 5 sere destroyed by the landslides and land settling and 40 more were slightly damaged or are at risk. We hope to help them as they rebuild or relocate.

Last Friday I took a friend, a Dubuque Franciscan sister, to San Pedro Sula to pick up their community’s car which had been in accident.

The traffic into and out of San Pedro Sula was terrible. But what really shocked me was what we saw at the entry into San Pedro. The roads from Santa Rosa de Copán and from Tegucigalpa come together just as one enters the city. Recently an overpass was built to ease traffic. 

Now, there are more than thirty tents with people displaced by the hurricanes – three months after these disasters. When will the government do something to respond to theses needs? Money has been promised and some has come in – but will it be siphoned off for enrich corrupt politicians and their allies? And, since this is an election year here in Honduras, will aid be politicized, going to party followers and not to those really in need? And will the aid be publicized as gifts from a politician or a political party, rather than the money which has been designated by donors or governments for the good of those affected? 

THE COFFEE HARVEST 

In our part of Honduras, coffee is harvested between November and March, depending on the local climatic conditions. For your information, coffee “berries” (which have the coffee beans inside) mature at different times on the same coffee bushes; thus, they have to be collected three or more times during the harvest season.

This year many people are reporting good harvests. There are some people whose harvests are poor because of coffee rust (la roya) or the loss of fields by landslides. 

We have had several good harvests of coffee in the parish coffee field. I help a little with the harvest but I cannot harvest even one-fourth as fast as many people who have been harvesting since they were four years old. But I do transport the volunteers who come in from distant villages and often help bring the lunch prepared for them by women here in Plan Grande. There should be at least one more harvest later this month.

PROJECTS

For at least eight years, the parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Ames have been providing partial scholarships to high school and middle school students in a distance education project in four places in our parish. This year about 150 students were helped. The program, called Maestro en Casa (Teacher in the Home) or IHER (Honduran Institute of Education by Radio) meets a need, mostly for those who live in remote rural communities who would otherwise have little or no access to study past sixth grade. They listen to radio program, have workbooks, and meet once a week with a teacher. It may not be the best option, but it does help.

About seven years ago, after a visit from Fr. Jon Seda from St. Thomas Aquinas parish, a group of small coffee farmers began working together to improve the quality of their coffee and to export quality coffee to the US through St. Thomas Aquinas. Now a separate group, El Zapote Café, is importing coffee from this association which now includes twenty-one members, two of whom are women. 

Working with some foundations here and with the help of the Iowa group, the association is building a processing facility which will help them to cut costs, improve the quality of their coffee, and uses processes which do minimal damage to the environment. It has been a great joy to see their growth.

Moises, the president of the association, with his son

After the second hurricane hit our area, we began receiving assistance from other parts of the diocese – mostly in terms of food stuffs and clothing. We have been able to deliver these to rural communities. On Ash Wednesday, I combined taking 56 bags of provisions to a community with presiding at a Celebration of the Word with distribution of ashes and communion.

The work on murals in the church continues. The chapel with the Blessed Sacrament is being painted now with images of Saints Francis and Clare.

Work on the other chapel will probable begin in March and will include images of Saints Isidore and María, patrons of agricultural workers, and Saint Nunzio Sulprizio, a 19 year old who was recently canonized (on the same day as St. Oscar Romero and Pope Saint Paul VI); he was an orphan who was maltreated by an uncle and died about much suffering. He also was a blacksmith; in Dulce Nombre there are many blacksmiths, mostly making horseshoes and so his image will remind them of the dignity of their work.

PASTORAL WORK

We are slowly and cautiously opening up in our parish pastoral work.

We had our first Parish Council meeting in January. We have our second this Saturday.

The pastor, assisted by a recently ordained transitional deacon and a seminarian in his year of pastoral experience, have been visiting many communities for Mass as well as visits to the sick and the sacraments of baptism, confession, anointing of the sick, and a few weddings.

I have begun to visit communities on Sunday mornings several times a month to preside at Celebrations of the Word with Communion. Sometimes I will also visit the sick.

Last Sunday I visited, bringing communion to four persons in three homes in a community. It has no communion minister and so there are few occasions when they and a neighboring have communion. The pastor gets out there every two months for Mass, but I think I’ll try to get out there about once every two months or so. I was reminded of the importance of this when a catechist in the village told me that Don Efraín, who is partially blind, asked her when I was coming to bring him communion.

I have begun meeting with small groups of catechists in the rural sectors of the parish. It has been a very good experience because this has provided a space for me to hear how they are feeling, to help them think through what they might be able to do now and what they might be able to do in the future. I have come away from them with a sense of hope, since I see their enthusiasm but also the growing ability of some to make thoughtful decisions on their own, not referring every issue to the priest or deacon.

I’ve started the meetings sharing how we are feeling after all that has happened this year. I hear some fear of the pandemic as well as some depression because of the isolation, some sadness because of the suffering of people as well as some spirit of struggling to go forward as we can. I heard of efforts to help others in the community as well as efforts to pray in family groups. After I’ve visited all the areas, I need to plan how to go forward – with great care, but helping the catechists develop a strong pastoral sense and a capacity to carefully discern what can be done.

I’ve also had some meetings with people preparing for baptism or marriage. There will probably be more as Lent ends and people prepare for baptisms of children and for marriages after Easter. 

I had one last baptism before Lent last Sunday in Dulce Nombre.

THE PANDEMIC

The pandemic is still here and recently it seems to have affected our parish more than before. 

There is one community that has been severely affected and there have been cases even here in Plan Grande. Here, the families of those affected have mostly been very cautious and have avoided contact with those outside their households. 

There are also continuing cases in the town of Dulce Nombre. 

Santa Rosa de Copán has been affected quite a bit. This week a priest of the diocese died as a result of COVID-19.

When will the vaccine get here? The President had said that we could expect it n the second half of February but now the government is saying the first vaccines will get here in March. We shall see. But what will really be important is careful attention to how the vaccine is distributed. There is a great danger of politicization and favoritism. 

 

LENT

Lent will be different this year. 

We won’t have village-wide Stations of the Cross on Fridays or the large parish Stations on the Friday before Holy Week.

Ash Wednesday was much like it was in the past, since it is largely decentralized. In the morning, we had a Mass at 10 for the Delegates of the Word from more than half the villages. The blessed ashes were shared with them for distribution at a celebration in their communities.

In addition to that Mass, Padre German, the pastor, had at least four other Masses. Fernando, the transitional deacon, went to two villages and I presided at three Celebrations of the Word with Ashes and Communion. 

My last was here in Plan Grande. The surprise for me was the presence of at least twenty of those who had come here to Plan Grande to work in the coffee harvest. Most were young people from Esperanza, Intibucá. It was a joy to see them present for the celebration of Ash Wednesday with members of our Plan Grande community. 

DUST 

 “Remember that you are dust and to dust you have to return,” I said many times on Ash Wednesday as I traced a cross on the foreheads of many people.

As I prepared for preaching, I began to think about this.

According to Genesis, human beings were made from the dust of the earth. What a miracle. God transforms dust into a living being in God’s own image. 

Yes, we will die and return to dust. But God will transform this dust into the new creature, resurrected in and with Christ.

There is hope – though it looks as if evil and suffering will triumph. But our God is a God of miracles and transformation.

Last Friday, talking with Sister Pat in the car on the way to San Pedro Sula, she asked me for some references or ideas about the Cross and Resurrection, as she prepares a presentation for a congregation of sisters. I was inspired and said that that it is important to consider “the transformative power of suffering-with.” Note that I didn’t say “suffering,” but “suffering with.” 

As we talked, I realized that this is part of my understanding of the power of Jesus. He suffered with us; he suffers with us – and this is transformative. 

I need to develop this and will try to use this Lent as a time for reflecting on this, especially in light of the hymn in Ephesians 2 that reminds us that Christ Jesus humbled himself and took on our humanity, to the point of suffering with us. By this we are saved.

There is hope. There is resurrection.

Lent has begun - a chatty blog post

On Ash Wednesday I served as a deacon at the morning Mass in Dulce Nombre. The Mass was mostly for the delegates of the Word who would be signing the people with ashes in their communities. As the readings began, Padre German leaned over to me and asked if I was ready to preach. Of course. I try to have something prepared – sometimes, as yesterday, written out – if only on a sheet of paper.

After Mass, I went to two distant villages to visit the sick and sign them with ashes. In the past I’ve often gone to a community that didn’t send a delegate to the morning Mass, but this year I decided to visit the sick – a great way to begin Lent. I’ve visited these communities two or three times before to bring communion to the sick, partly because they don’t have a communion minister. I had planned to go later but a delegate in the community had told me that someone told her that I would be there February 24. I don’t recall saying that and couldn’t go on Monday because of car repairs. So I decided to go.

Three persons had gotten worse since the last time and so I was glad to see them and share Communion with two of them. What was interesting was that the next day the pastor will be in both villages for confessions and Masses. The one village has arranged for someone to transport five of the sick to the church for confession.

WORKSHOPS

In the last two weeks there have been a number of workshops which I have led or in which I helped.

We are beginning a new way of doing religious formation of children in several villages. Up to this point, most of the preparation has been to prepare for sacraments. The new manner, promoted on a national level, is by ages. Since it’s new material, I met with catechists from six villages. I’m hoping that this works out well.

I also had a meeting for those who are preparing to become new catechists; thirty-one arrived.

The parish is trying to help revive the base communities and so we had all-day workshops in two zones of the parish last week and in the other two this week.

The day after Ash Wednesday I went to a forum on environmental issues sponsored by JPIC, a Franciscan association for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation. It was informative and I made a few contacts to get information about issues of mining nearby.

MISSIONARIES

The Church in Latin America has made mission central to its life, especially since the 2007 meeting of the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida, Brazil. Since Padre German came to the parish, we’ve been having missions in the parish, usually weeks when parishioners go forth two by two to villages, visiting homes to evangelize the people. Recently we have also had missions for the first half of Holy Week.

The missionaries do not go out without formation. Last Tuesday we had a training session. Since the Honduran Church has set peace and reconciliation as its central theme this year, I spent almost two hours on the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. It was not easy to prepare, but, thank God, I have been studying the works of John Paul Lederach and Father Robert Schreiter. In addition, Sister Nancy Meyerhofer has shared with me some of the materials she used in a diocesan meeting and with the youth leaders in her parish. I also had worked on this theme for a December week of classes for the Honduran Conference of Religious.

I know that at least four of the missionaries had been instruments of reconciliation in communities where they had gone in previous years. I was also encouraged by the response of the participants as we tried to work through the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. I hope that we can have a few day-long workshops to help us develop our capacity to be instruments of peace and reconciliation in the parish. The pastor is talking about places of listening, where people can come and share what is happening in their lives – most of all in those who are suffering distress because of the violence around them.

This is very important and I find it hopeful that we are beginning Lent with this vision.

RITE OF ELECTION

Sunday, we had the rite of election of catechumens, who will, God willing, be baptized at the Easer Vigil. We had fourteen. However, three of these did not get to the rite of election in December for various valid reasons and so we celebrated the rite of entry in the catechumenate at the beginning of Mass. One of the most moving parts of this rite is the signing of the persons with the cross on their senses. For me, the most poignant part is when the minister and the godparents kneel before the catechumens and sign them on their feet.

After the initial rites, as we sat down to listen to the readings, Padre German leaned over and asked me if I was ready to preach. Despite trying to deal with all the details of the rites, I was ready.

UPCOMING

This next week and a half, after a clergy meeting, I have four days of training for catechists in different zones of the parish, as well as a meeting with the communion ministers and youth leaders and a deanery meeting. As usual, I will go to a rural village Sunday morning for a Celebration of the Word with Communion.

Then, God willing I will be gone for eleven days. There is a symposium on the permanent diaconate in Germany sponsored by the International Diaconate Center. After some thought and conferring with the bishop and the pastor, I decided to go. Since this is probably the last time I’ll get to Europe, I decided to spend a few days of “vacation,” visiting Chartres, Paris, and Dachau.

When I get back we have the annual clergy spiritual exercises. Then it’s only two weeks to Easter. Lent this year will be a whirlwind. I just pray for some calmness – and conversion.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

On Sunday, February 16, I went to Debajiados, a remote village for Celebration of the Word with Communion. It’s one of my favorite places to visit. After the Celebration I went to take Communion to two women. They both live far from the town church and so I drove about 10 minutes and then hiked up the hill for about 10 to 15 minutes. I didn’t go alone – I was accompanied by 5 adults and 13 kids. Some of them were relatives of the two women I visited. It was great to have them with me.

On Saturday, February 22, I did six baptisms. On Sunday, February 23, after Mass in Concepción, I went to San Juan for a Celebration of the Word with Communion. It was not easy to preach the Gospel of loving your enemies. There have been three killings there in the last few months.

We are repairing and repainting the church, inside and out. Here's how the church looks as they apply paint to neutralize the oil-based paint. God willing, we will have a mural on the apse, above the altar. An artist will be coming in April or May.

We have had a few cold and rainy days. The cold goes right through you, since it’s so damp. Though people in the US might find my complaining, trying to sleep when it’s 59 degrees in the bedroom means two or three heavy blankets. I really didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. This is what the world here looked like at 5:48 am.

Lent, plant-based burgers, and the real world

There is a discussion in the US Catholic Church about eating plant-based burgers during Lent. There have even been statements from church authorities, like the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Perhaps the problem is not the burger but the discussion.

I am a vegetarian and I like veggie-burger once in a while. Most of them are okay but nothing to brag about, though the black-bean burger at an Ames, Iowa, restaurant is outstanding.

Ash Wednesday, after morning Mass in which we sent forth more than thirty persons with ashes for their communities, I went to visit the sick in two communities, bringing ashes and communion.

How was I supposed to talk to them about fasting? I did explain to some the three disciplines of Lent – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But fasting and abstinence. Every day is a fast day for most of the people I know. And abstinence? Most people in the countryside here in Honduras might have meat once a week – or once a month! My guess is that most of the world is in the same situation or worse.

I am sorry, but the discussion about plant-based burgers is what we need to abstain from. Try beans and rice and tortillas, what I ate today at a workshop with members of our parish.

Parce, Domine,parce populo tuo.

Saint Oscar Romero put it well in a September 3, 1978 homily:

When Pope Paul VI modified the meaning of penance for the Christian people, he said that there are different ways to understand the meaning of penance in the Christian life.  

Fasting is done in one way in developed countries, where people eat well, and another way in underdeveloped countries, where life is almost always lived in a fast. In this situation, he said, penance means to put austerity where there is much well-being and to put courage and solidarity with the suffering and efforts for a better world where life is almost a perpetual fast. 

This is penance, this is God’s will.

Coming to the end of Lent

Holy Week is upon us. Summer, the dry season, is also beginning. It has been dry and hot, and there is plenty of dust. But that doesn't mean that the land doesn't bring forth beauty. Almost every time of the year has its flowering trees and bushes. Here's how it was a few days ago from my home.

But I've been busy, as usual.

Last Thursday our pastor went to San Agustín to celebrate the feast of La pastora, Mary the shepherdess, a unique feast of Mary found in Spain and here in San Agustín. He left me to work with the missionaries who will be visiting several communities in the parish during the first half of Holy Week.

On Friday Padre German presided at a Mass here in Plan Grande to mark the end of the novenario for Miguel Ángel, nine days of prayer in the home after the burial. Miguel Ángel was nineteen years when he died. He has had many health problems. But in January, he disappeared. He did not recognize his parents and wandered off. His family began an extended search – which ended finding his body in a morgue in San Pedro Sula about March 8. He had died near Copán Ruinas on January 30, from a head wound. It isn’t clear whether he fell from a truck or was hit by a truck. He carried no ID, but thanks be to God they identified him by his fingerprints. Otherwise, he would have been buried in an unmarked grave.

I went to one of the nights of the novenario in the home of his parents. I noticed heads of garlic braided hanging on a beam. His father told me how he was very good at selecting garlic for planting and harvesting. It was good to hear Don Pedro talk about his son, with affection.

I remember him. He had prepared for confirmation one year but got very sick and couldn’t get out of bed. The next year he was confirmed. He was a simple young man – with special problems.

Saturday was Parish Council. Our pastor left me with several tasks since he had some meetings. But gratefully he came at the end to deal with some difficult situations.

Later Saturday afternoon I went to a meeting of some people with the pastor in Dulce Nombre preparing the liturgies and popular devotions for Holy Week.

After the meeting I headed to Dolores with the pastor for Mass. I preached and stood by as he prayed the third scrutiny over six young people who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil.

Sunday morning, I went to Vertientes for a Celebration of the Word with Communion. I purposely went there because they have five elect who will also be baptized at Easter. I presided at the Third Scrutiny.

After the celebration I went to visit the sick, bringing Communion to an old woman confined to bed and to a blind old man. One of those to be baptized is the grandson of Don Gustavo and lives where his mother cares for his grandfather. I tried to impress on him the importance of showing love to his grandfather and also telling about his upcoming baptism.

The feast of St. Joseph, March 19, is Fathers’ Day here in Honduras. Being neither a father of family or a father in the church was not an impediment to celebrating it with the people.

I started out accompanying our pastor to visit a 98 year old man in one of the most distant villages. He was sitting up in the dirt-floored kitchen of the house where at least one of his sons also lived. After confessing him, Padre German asked his wife about their state in life. He asked both of them if they would like to get married in the church. Yes, though it was hard to understand Don Fausto. They were married right there. He was anointed after the wedding ceremony. Father hadn’t brought consecrated hosts and so said a short Mass using a low table for the altar. So moving.

We then went to the nearby town of San José El Bosque to celebrate their feast day. Padre German heard confessions for about 45 minutes, followed by Mass in which I preached. What I found interesting was the large number of men in the congregation. In fact, I think almost half of those attending were men.

Before Mass, I was in my usual rare form – talking with people, joking with them trying to find a little about their lives. I sat down with a few men by the back of the church, talking a bit about fathers’ day. A young man mentioned that he was with a woman and they had a little girl. I asked him if he was married – as I also asked a few of the other men there. I then said, “Why don’t you get married?” They were surprised – but in a very good-natured way. I didn’t have time to pursue this with them since the Mass was about to start. But I still continue to wonder (and, at times, marvel) at the presence of men with a wife and family who are attending Mass but aren’t married. I hope my jocular way of asking about this stirs some to seriously consider marriage.

Tuesday, I had to go to San Pedro Sula to renew my permission to be in Honduras. I am in the middle of seeking permanent residency and so have to get extensions every two months or so. This time, Sister Nancy had asked if she could go with me. With great joy, I said yes. It’s always great to have time with one of the Dubuque Franciscan sisters. We arrived at the Immigration office at 9 am and were out by 9:45 – which must be a record! Then we had lunch, went shopping in a large grocery store (even by US standards), and drove back. A long but good day.

Wednesday, I worked on the parish Stations of the Cross. We’ll celebrate them in Dulce Nombre on Friday and I had to get them done so I can go to Santa Rosa on Thursday to get them printed. I should have done this way before – but I’ve gotten into the bad habit of procrastinating. (Does this mean I’m getting more Central America?) I did finish them and you can find the text in Spanish here.

Thursday I passed by the parish and Padre German reviewed the Stations. When I arrived he was working with about twenty men digging a trench by one of the buildings, since the basement has been flooding. 

After he reviewed the Stations, I took them to Santa Rosa de Copán to be photocopied since it’s cheaper there. I used the trip to get some food shopping done and to drop by Weekend’s for a pizza.

Back in Plan Grande, I led the Holy Hour. At the end of the hour, I blessed the small congregation with the Host in the monstrance. I’ve done this a few times, but each time I find myself praying that the blessings of Jesus in the Eucharist may pass to all corners of Plan Grande. I feel as if God is blessing all of us here, not just in church, with his presence.

Tomorrow, I’ll leave early for the parish Stations of the Cross in the streets of Dulce Nombre. Holy Week has begun.