Why?

Why, in the midst of massive poverty, do poor people vote for and follow politicians whose loyalty is to their bank accounts and narrow interests?

Why do the poor let themselves be lured by promises of prosperity and by gifts from political parties and government officials?

Why do people continue their allegiance to political parties that seek to consolidate power?

There are questions mostly for here in Honduras – though they may have relevance elsewhere.

I see people who line up for hours to get a few pittances from a government that spends thousands and millions on projects for “tourism.”

I see people who applaud those who bring in medical brigades when the clinics lack basic medicines almost all year.

I see people who hold on to their political allegiances more than to their faith.

Why don’t they rebel? Why don’t they see what is and is not in their interest and then get together and do something?

I came across one possible answer this morning as I read the Old Testament reading in Vigils in Benedictine Daily Prayer, Exodus 6: 1-13.

God tells Moses what he is going to do to liberate the people of Israel from slavery and give them a land flowing with milk and honey. But what happens?

Moses told this to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and cruel slavery.

Or, as the Jerusalem Bible puts it:

…so crushed was their spirit and so cruel their slavery.

I see and feel, at times, how crushed people are in their slavery, in their lives of seeking how to survive, to subsist in the face of poverty and injustice. I feel at times that people’s spirits have been destroyed in many ways, not least of all in the way that the society as a whole (and especially some parts of political institutions) despises the poor.

And so I can begin to understand why things continue this way.

But what can we do?

I see our efforts in the parish to open the faithful to a vision of the Gospel through the base communities as one way of doing this – giving them a sense of their dignity, but also encouraging them to develop a spirit of solidarity and community.

I saw it the last few days as I participated in a workshop on Alternatives to Violence in Gracias, Lempira, prison – the third of my experiences in workshops there. I saw how people crushed by the economic and social system could open up spaces of dialogue and listening.

And so, in the midst of this, I see that we must offer hope, by being signs of hope, people who listen to the cries of the poor, people who accompany the outcast, people who try to be sings of God’s presence by our love.

It’s not easy, but maybe we can become what the Catholic Worker has often urged us to be – a new society in the shell of the old.

Graced embrace

Last night I got home after three days in the prison in Gracias, Lempira.

I had been there twice before for Alternatives to Violence workshops, but this time I was a participant, not a facilitator.

I stayed with the Dubuque Franciscan sisters in Gracias, which is always a blessing and a chance for reviving spirits. It also helped that Brenda had medication for the amoebas I picked up somewhere and that caused me immense problems last Saturday.

Before heading to the jail, I spent a short time in the sisters’ chapel, before the Eucharist, praying and reading the scriptures. Monday’s Gospel was Matthew 25: 31-46, where Jesus identifies himself with the imprisoned, or, as they like to say here, those deprived of liberty.

I was imprisoned and you visited me.

I was surprised when I entered the prison and a number of those who had been in previous workshops came up to me and gave me warm hugs.

I felt “graced by the embrace.”

During my time there, several shared very openly with me. I feel overwhelmed by the confidence they placed in me. Part of this was due to the workshop, but not all. I was really overwhelmed by how I was treated and by how open several were with me. I wonder if they see me as a “grandfather” type.

The workshop was only three days and I will return occasionally to help with workshops as well as with helping them in their efforts to be facilitators.

I hope that we might be able to begin something like this in the Santa Rosa prison. Sister Pat and I will be looking at ways to do this with the help of folks in Santa Rosa, especially those in prison ministry.

These workshops have offered the participants a chance to begin to explore alternatives to violence. But they have also opened spaces where they could speak and be listened to – something those in prison seldom experience.

I am glad that we have begun this and I hope we can continue, expand, and deepen these experiences – in prison and without.

Today I feel a great sense of gratitude, having been graced by my time in prison.

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:

In the cold, faith is alive

After warm weeks in December and February, we are in the midst of a cold, rainy spell. I know it’s not like what my friends are experiencing in the Mid-West and East Costa of the US, but when you have no indoor heat and the low is in the high forties and the high in the low sixties, it feels really cold, especially since it’s a wet cold.

But in the midst of this, life goes on in the parish.

Last week there were celebrations for Candlemas Day, February 2, in the neighboring village of Candelaria. The next day was the feast of the Virgin of Suyapa, the patron of Honduras and the patron of the church here in Plan Grande. The people went all out decorating the church for the occasion. Mass was preceded by a procession.

On Friday we had a meeting of catechists, to begin the year. Sixty-two came; though I had hoped for twice that number, we had a good meeting.

This year, as part of the celebration of the centenary of the diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán, the statue of Saint Rosa of Lima is being brought to all the parishes for a week.

Last Saturday the statue arrived at the turn-off to Dulce Nombre from the main highway from Santa Rosa.

 It was accompanied to the parish by a good number of people who came out. They walked a bit and then stopped to pray at the site of the killing of a mayor a few months ago. Then all crowded into trucks until we reached the gas station at the edge of town.

 Procession and Mass followed.

Sunday afternoon the statue was to be taken to Delicias, Concepción, in Zone 4 of the parish. In a cold rain, we took the statue in vehicles to the turn off just past El Zapote Santa Rosa. There people from zone four were waiting

The statue was put in the bed of a pick up and the people started walking to Delicias, an hour away, in a cold rain. I was too wimpy to accompany them all the way, but I am amazed at the faith and commitment of these people.

Today I’ll accompany the people of Zone 2 for part of their evening of confessions, Mass, and all-night vigil.  

Tomorrow there is a 9:00 am Mass and distribution of ashes in Dulce Nombre; from there people will take the blessed ashes to distribute in their home communities. I hope to accompany some of them.

Celebrating mercy and a centenary

Sunday, January 31, thousands of Catholics gathered in Santa Rosa de Copán to celebrate the opening of the Holy Door for the Year of Mercy in the cathedral as well as the hundredth year of the diocese.

The diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán was established on February 2, 1916, and includes the five southwestern departments of Honduras. The region is mountainous and includes some of the poorest municipalities in the country. The majority of the people live in small villages in the countryside and subsist on corn and beans – as well as the production of coffee in the mountains.

The celebrations started with a procession to the cathedral.

The Holy Door was blessed and opened by the bishop.

Mass followed with thousands receiving Communion.

After Mass, people flowed into the cathedral through the Holy Door.

May God bless the diocese with peace and a faith rooted in the Gospels and seeking to transform the world with the mercy of God.