6 Masses in three days and 3 celebrations on Sunday

The last three days of August I spent a lot of time in Masses – six to be exact. Then on Sunday I was at one Mass and two Celebrations of the Word with Communion.

This is nothing like what our pastor does. He usually has at least four Masses every Sunday and at least two Masses at least four days during the week. Our parish is large – forty-eight places where Mass is celebrated: four municipal centers and over forty rural towns and villages. So I had a glimpse of what he does these past few days.

Wednesday, August 29, we had confirmations in San José El Bosque and in San Agustín.

When we have confirmations, I try to get to each place an hour before the Mass to help the catechists and others make sure that everything is ready. I also talk with those to be confirmed, making a fool of myself trying to get them to respond enthusiastically during the Mass.

The morning Mass was in San José El Bosque, up in the hills. The people had prepared the site very well. They had the altar prepared and seats for the confirmation candidates under sewn-together grain bags. They also had arches at the entryway with balloons.  

I noted one special touch: the youth had worked the day before to prepare little floral arrangements along the side of the road leading to the site.

Another little detail. Here the people like to have offertory processions on special occasions. Here they presented, besides the bread and wine for communion, symbols of their work: a hoe, a trowel, a grinding stone to make tortillas, and the book used for preparing the candidates for confirmation. 

The afternoon Mass was in San Agustín. I rushed to get there and we started a bit late. The church was packed, with people standing at the door. Here's a picture of me with our bishop and pastor. 

On Thursday, the diocese celebrated the feast of our patron, Saint Rose of Lima. I served as deacon at the Mass there, with the bishop presiding.

In the afternoon, the bishop returned to the parish for the Mass of the institution of fifteen new extraordinary ministers of Communion. They come from twelve different places in the parish and bring the number up to twenty-nine.

I was very pleasantly surprised when the church was filled to overflowing with people who came to accompany the new ministers. It was heartening to see this outpouring of faith.

Only some of the sites have a tabernacle prepared and so only some ministers took Communion to their communities. The villages planned to welcome the new ministers who would place the Eucharist in the tabernacle and then lead a short prayer.

In the next month I will visit some of the places where there is no tabernacle for Sunday celebrations, bringing the Eucharist so that the extraordinary ministers can distribute it during the celebration and afterwards take Communion to the sick in their village.

I didn’t get photos, since I was serving as deacon. But I took a few photos afterwards.

The two Communion ministers for San Antonio Dolores

Friday we had confirmations in two other parts of the parish. The morning celebration was in San Isidro La Cueva which was filled to overflowing. People were standing at the windows looking in. 

Lots of people had come out for the celebration. One of the newly instituted communion ministers was there. His granddaughter was there at his side and I could see the love and the pride she had for her grandfather. I was really touched.

In the afternoon the Confirmations were in Concepción, Copán. They held it in the town’s community center since the church is too small.

Saturday, I got to Dulce Nombre to interview a couple before their upcoming marriage. After that, I went to Santa Rosa for a few necessities.

Sunday, I got up early and went to the 7:00 am Mass in Concepción. As usual, Padre German had me preach (giving him a few minutes of respite).

Then I went to Vertientes, where there are two new Communion ministers. They don’t yet have a tabernacle and so they don’t have the Eucharist reserved in their little church. (I found out later that they are building a new church at a nearby site which I visited.)

Site of the new church to be built in Vertientes

I was very happy that the second reading, from James 1, offered me an opportunity to speak on the ministry of the communion ministers.

“Religion pure and undefiled consists in this: caring for the widows and orphans in their need and keeping oneself unspotted before a corrupted world.”

The main ministry of our communion ministers is to visit the sick and the aged – the widows and orphans of our time.

I also could speak a little about the corruption rampant here in Honduras.

After the celebration, we visited an older blind man who has been about six years in bed. A relative takes care of him and, as I usually do, I spoke with her and expressed my appreciation for what she does, mentioning that, as she cared for Don Gustavo, she was the hands of God.

After visiting the site of the new church, I went home for lunch and a bit of rest. But first of all, I cooked and ate the elote that the family of Don Gustavo had given me. 

It's not Iowa or Jersey sweet corn, but with salt and real butter it is a treat.

In the evening I visited San Juan, Concepcion, for a Celebration of the Word with Communion. The youth group there plays a major role in the celebration. Even though they have a celebration in the morning, they decided to have one in the evening, in part to offer an opportunity for the young people who studied.

After the celebration – it was about 8:15 pm – they offered me dinner. Regretfully, I said that I would put off their offer to another day since I wanted to get home. I also don’t like to drive at night.

Monday I slept to 6:45 am and spent most of the morning and afternoon washing clothes and making lentil soup. 

I was also fortunate to find two young guys who began to cut the grass around the house (with machetes) before the rain began. They’ll finish it today after work.

Today, Tuesday, I also slept in. But I spent this morning beginning work on the booklet two priests and I are preparing for base communities for next year.

So I try to be present to the people here, with the hope that what I do and who I am can help them open themselves even more to the God who loves us tenderly and who calls us to the freedom of God’s children.

And I am blest to live here in the midst of such beauty, in a country that is rich in people and resources, but impoverished by corruption and greed.

Celebrating Sister Water

May 30 is Arbor Day here in Honduras and many schools have their students plant trees. But today I went to the community of San Isidro La Cueva to bless their water source and to pray with them.

Some people had come to plant trees. Other came to help do some cleaning out the forest around the water source. But our reason for gathering was to bless the water source.

The community had asked our pastor to come but he was going to the nearby community of Agua Buena to pray at the inauguration of their water project. Yes, Agua Buena, Good Water, has not had a good water source until yesterday!

I met Luciano, the president of the Water Board (Junta de Agua) at the church and we walked to the watershed where the spring is. 

The watershed is four manzanas, almost 7 acres and the spring serves the eighty or so households in the village. This year they had sufficient water during the dry season in contrast to last year.

Before we had a small celebration, they took me up to the spring. As we entered the forest, it was significantly cooler, full of vegetation. It was a bit slippery and people gave me a hand trying to negotiate the path.

Halfway up the hill there was a pool that collected the water from the rock that is the source of water. We gathered at the pool and I talked for a while with the people there.

A few people took the opportunity to drink from the source, using a “cup” made by folding a large leaf!

I concluded our time there with a short blessing of the water source. I also commended them for their care of the source and the need to continue caring so that the grandchildren of the children around us could enjoy it.

We then went down to a lower pool that gathers the water from above.

Finally, we gathered below, just outside the forested watershed and prayed.

I had found a few prayers that I used, including this one from Franciscans International.

Creator God, whose Spirit moved over the face of the waters, who gathers the seas into their places and directs the courses of the rivers, who sends rain upon the earth that it should bring forth life: we praise you for the gift of water. Create in us such a sense of wonder and delight in this and all your gifts, that we might receive them with gratitude, care for them with love, and generously share them with all your creatures, to the honor and glory of your holy name.

 Then we prayed parts of psalm 65: 10-14:

You visit the earth and water it… God’s stream is filled with water; you supply their grain. You prepare the earth: you water its plowed furrows, and break up the clods. With the rains you soften the earth, blessing its plants…. The meadows of the desert turn green; the hills are robed with joy.

I also shared a legend I had recently read about Saint Isidore, the patron of this community. The saint was with the owner of the land he worked one hot summer day. Don Ivan de Vargas noted that he was thirsty. Saint Isidore knelt down, put his staff in the ground, and said, “When God wants it, here there will be water.”  Fresh water bubbled up and they drank.

I then spoke briefly about how impressed I was with the care they are giving for their water source. I also urged them to continue their care for God’s gift of water and to develop a sense of awe before this gift.

Several men also shared their concern for the water and their desire to have a larger celebration next year. We walked down the hill for a small snack.

I left filled with a deep joy, an appreciation of the labor of this community, and deep gratitude to God and to the people that I had a chance to celebrate with them the gift of water.