Blog
News | Stories | Updates | Commentary
With the generosity of a few people plus collaboration from the locals, the fundraiser for Scarlet was finished on Mother's Day. I didn't win anything in the raffle, but Scarlet has her cast off and is recovering well and crawling. Thanks to those who donated!
This Lent, here I've started to open the chapel in the evenings when there isn't a Mass. It goes from 6:30 to 8:00 with adoration. It's the free offer of God's heart that is always open and inviting. People here are not accustomed to this type of personal freedom, they are only accustomed to the church being opened for scheduled community events. I'll be going around offering little leaflet invitations. Please pray that God will draw all freely and personally to His heart in the church! "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." (Jn 6:44) When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself. (Jn 12:32)
I was able to buy about 20 bibles for the community here using funds that I had planned to use for returning to Boston for the funeral services of Fr Jim but have redirected for benefiting the people here in his name. It took an 8 hour round trip to Quito to get them, I bought them from the Pauline bookstore there. They are good because they have a plastic cover and have large type in the New Testament, which is important for the rural areas as there's often a lack of vision care there. Plus, the cover has a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe...
Along with this, I'm doing a presentation on different relevant themes in the Bible, each Sunday of Lent. I get out the video projector and put together a Powerpoint presentation with other dynamic elements, and go into some of the cool things about the Bible, the background history, and some personal stories, with multimedia. The idea is not a class, but biblical "paseos", or outings, like you would make an outing to a river (that is common here). The idea is that the Bible is like a river, a big mystery with a lot of entry points and a lot of different ways to make use of it. So, it's coming to know the Bible in the same way that someone would come to know the river, by guided visits. Please pray for the people and for me!
And so it was great for me to read what Pope Francis shared last Sunday about Lent and the Bible:
How do we hear the voice of God? We hear it in his Word. For this reason, it is important to know Scripture, because otherwise we do not know how to respond to the attacks of the evil one. And here I would like to return to my advice of reading the Gospel every day. Read the Gospel every day! Meditate on it for a little while, for 10 minutes. And also to carry it with you in your pocket or your purse. But always have the Gospel in hand. - Pope Francis, Angelus Address, 2/22/15
Have a great start to Lent!
Pope Francis, 2/18/15:
The littlest, the weakest, the poorest must make us tender: they have the “right” to have our soul and heart. Yes, they are our brothers and, as such, we must love and relate to them. When this happens, when the poor are as of our home, our Christian brotherhood itself takes on life. In fact, when Christians go to encounter the poor and the weak they do so not to obey an ideological program, but because the Lord’s word and example tell us that they are our brothers. This is the principle of the love of God and of all justice between men.
Pope Francis' homily yesterday. From my experience, it is true: mission to the marginalized is a scandal to so many church-goers! But "the way of the Church is precisely to leave her four walls behind and to go out in search of those who are distant, those essentially on the "outskirts" of life." ***************
For Jesus, what matters above all is reaching out to save those far off, healing the wounds of the sick, restoring everyone to God’s family! And this is scandalous to some people!
Jesus is not afraid of this kind of scandal! He does not think of the closed-minded who are scandalized even by a work of healing, scandalized before any kind of openness, by any action outside of their mental and spiritual boxes, by any caress or sign of tenderness which does not fit into their usual thinking and their ritual purity. He wanted to reinstate the outcast, to save those outside the camp (cf. Jn 10).
There are two ways of thinking and of having faith: we can fear to lose the saved and we can want to save the lost. Even today it can happen that we stand at the crossroads of these two ways of thinking. The thinking of the doctors of the law, which would remove the danger by casting out the diseased person, and the thinking of God, who in his mercy embraces and accepts by reinstating him and turning evil into good, condemnation into salvation and exclusion into proclamation.
These two ways of thinking are present throughout the Church’s history: casting off and reinstating. Saint Paul, following the Lord’s command to bring the Gospel message to the ends of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19), caused scandal and met powerful resistance and great hostility, especially from those who demanded unconditional obedience to the Mosaic law, even on the part of converted pagans. Saint Peter, too, was bitterly criticized by the community when he entered the house of the pagan centurion Cornelius (cf. Acts 10).
The Church’s way, from the time of the Council of Jerusalem, has always always been the way of Jesus, the way of mercy and reinstatement. This does not mean underestimating the dangers of letting wolves into the fold, but welcoming the repentant prodigal son; healing the wounds of sin with courage and determination; rolling up our sleeves and not standing by and watching passively the suffering of the world. The way of the Church is not to condemn anyone for eternity; to pour out the balm of God’s mercy on all those who ask for it with a sincere heart. The way of the Church is precisely to leave her four walls behind and to go out in search of those who are distant, those essentially on the "outskirts" of life. It is to adopt fully God’s own approach, to follow the Master who said: "Those who are well have no need of the physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call, not the righteous but sinners" (Lk 5:31-32).
In healing the leper, Jesus does not harm the healthy. Rather, he frees them from fear. He does not endanger them, but gives them a brother. He does not devalue the law but instead values those for whom God gave the law. Indeed, Jesus frees the healthy from the temptation of the "older brother" (cf. Lk 15:11-32), the burden of envy and the grumbling of the labourers who bore "the burden of the day and the heat" (cf. Mt 20:1-16).
In a word: charity cannot be neutral, antiseptic, indifferent, lukewarm or impartial! Charity is infectious, it excites, it risks and it engages! For true charity is always unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous! (cf. 1 Cor 13). Charity is creative in finding the right words to speak to all those considered incurable and hence untouchable. Finding the right words… Contact is the language of genuine communication, the same endearing language which brought healing to the leper. How many healings can we perform if only we learn this language of contact! The leper, once cured, became a messenger of God’s love. The Gospel tells us that "he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the word" (cf. Mk 1:45).
Dear new Cardinals, this is the "logic", the mind of Jesus, and this is the way of the Church. Not only to welcome and reinstate with evangelical courage all those who knock at our door, but to go out and seek, fearlessly and without prejudice, those who are distant, freely sharing what we ourselves freely received. "Whoever says: ‘I abide in [Christ]’, ought to walk just as he walked" (1 Jn 2:6). Total openness to serving others is our hallmark, it alone is our title of honour!
Pope Francis, today:
"If you are looking for God you won't find him sitting on a comfortable couch flicking through a magazine, or sitting at your computer. The search for God means having the courage to set out on a risky path, it means following our restless hearts."
Pope Francis, yesterday, visited Ecuadorians and Peruvians in the poor margins of Rome.
I've left Puerto Quito and I'm in Chontal now....
I will miss my neighbors:
But it's on to Chontal!
After a trip to Quito, I finally got to take this picture that I had wanted to for a few years. Of course, my mother's side of my family is from the country Armenia, and so I have a little fun telling the people here that my Mom's side of the family is from Armenia - that I'm actually half Ecuadorian!
More coming soon ...!
Pope Francis, from February 5 - "The Pope contemplated Jesus’ description of the attitude his disciples must have as he sends them out among the people. They must be people with no frills attached - “no food, no sack, no money in their belts" he tells them - because the Gospel, "must be proclaimed in poverty" as "salvation is not a theology of prosperity". It is purely and simply the "good news" of liberation brought to all who are oppressed:
"This is the mission of the Church: the Church that heals, that cares [for people]. I sometimes describe the Church as a field hospital. True, there are many wounded, how many wounded! How many people who need their wounds to be healed! This is the mission of the Church: to heal the wounded hearts, to open doors, to free [people], to say that God is good, God forgives all, that God is our Father, God is tender, that God is always waiting for us ... "
"It’s true, we have to help and create organizations that help in this: yes, because the Lord gives us the gifts for this. But when we forget this mission, forget poverty, forget the apostolic zeal and instead, place our hope in these [human] means, the Church slowly slips into becoming an NGO, it becomes a beautiful organization: Powerful, but not evangelical, because it lacks that spirit, that poverty, that power to heal".
20150126_151558
At Amigos del Arca, practicing for the Hat Dance tomorrow:
20150126_154435
20150126_151516
I'm in Puerto Quito now, getting fully moved into a new cement house for a couple of weeks. The house is owned by the Franciscan sisters here. My next door neighbors got their house through the sisters' efforts. There's a single mom, with her 3 disabled daughters, plus another daughter and a son. Three of the daughters have their own kids, so there are about 8 little kids going about. I got a picture once when I coralled them into the back of the jeep. They are awesome kids!
Here's the picture of the house I'm settling into for a few weeks:
There's not always running water, but I have a water tank that I use for washing, like an outdoor shower.
My first night there, I was reading in a chair and falling asleep, when I felt something squishy land on the back of my neck. I found out later it was this guy. But he died the next day, after he fell from the ceiling again and landed on the cement floor ...
Here are some more early pictures of the inside. There's a kitchen, two bedrooms (though one doesn't have windows), and a living room. The bathroom is outside, with a toilet and shower (though with the water situation, showers are rare).
I was also able to make a Friday visit to Amigos del Arca, the local program for the disabled in Puerto Quito:
All is going well, I hope to visit Quevedo soon and Santo Domingo.
I hope to write again soon!
Hi everyone, Here's the latest video with an update on the reconstruction that has happened in Chontal, through the funds raised in the Gofundme fundraiser. Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/7al-psGEAaw
Friends, please remember Fr Jim Czerwinski, OFM in your prayers, a friar who passed yesterday unexpectedly in Boston. He was found in his bed in the morning at St Anthony Shrine in Boston. It was a surprise to all. He was a good friend to many and he really gave himself to those who are at the margins of society. I met him when he arrived in Boston a few years ago, through a men's faith sharing group at St Anthony's. He helped me a lot in a time of need, and he was a big supporter of my vocation, of my mission to Ecuador and this blog (and the book that came from it). He was a constant confessor and spiritual director at the Shrine, and a man of the people, someone who was always out and about with the people who frequented the Shrine. He was particularly mindful of the poor and people going through tough times, and always generous with his time and attention. We shared a lot of meals and chats together (we saw eye to eye on a lot of things), and made a few short road trips. I remember when I left for Ecuador for the year in 2013, he gave me a bit of cash and also a suitcase that was just what I needed, and that I still use. I will miss him a lot and there will be a hole in my life. A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: he that has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence. (Sir 6) May he rest in God's peace and always be remembered.
https://stanthonyshrine.org/2015/01/02/please-pray/
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sorry, I've been a little behind on updating, but I'm hoping to do a monthly update soon. I've been in Chontal since December 15, and will be leaving on Monday to go to Mindo and then to Puerto Quito on Wednesday. I'm hoping to visit a lot of folks in Puerto Quito, including students and teachers at the high school, as well as the children in the village Santa Cecilia who will be receiving their first Holy Communion. I'm aiming to make it to Quevedo and Santo Domingo in January as well, so it'll be a busy month. I'll be living in a new, small house owned by the Franciscan sisters, close neighbors with a local family that is full of kids, so I'm hoping to survive that! There's the possibility of visiting US lay missioners in the eastern part of the country too, but that isn't finalized yet.
In Chontal, I had the joy of supporting the local school in a lot of ways for Christmas. I brought down a Santa outfit that I bought with a donation from an anonymous friend. The school had their annual Christmas program and celebration party, and Papa Noel made an appearance. I had brought some fake snow as well, so that got worked into the presentation.
The kids hear all know about Papa Noel, but it is the first experience of him coming to Chontal. I asked a young girl about a week beforehand, "Is Papa Noel coming this year?" She looked down sadly and lowered her voice and said, "Papa Noel never comes here." Well, that all changed! It was just great to give both the kids and all the parents too a big lift, that they are important and special to God, especially in this Christmas in the midst of the crisis of the landslides, a crisis that doesn't yet have a long-term solution.
I've been visiting with people most affected by the landslides who received funds from our fundraiser, and am hoping to share a video soon, it's uploading now to Youtube.
Here's a video of the Santa presentation. I tell the kids that it's from Jesus that I get all my generosity - and my joy. Then I start with the ho-ho-ho laughing and everyone applauds, it was great! Afterwards, I told the people I would ask God if he would give us some snow from the North Pole, but I needed the faith of the kids. You can hear the "Sii"s when I ask them if they beleived God could do that. Then I ask them for a louder response, you can hear the "SIIIIII". What's funny is that afterwards, a lot of people ask me how I did the snow thing. I tell them, the faith of the kids :) .....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMFXOtOhO9g
Latin America is the “continent of hope”! ...She hopes in new ways of development which combine traditional Christianity and civil progress, justice and equity with reconciliation, scientific development and technology with human wisdom. Fruitful suffering with joyful hope. We can protect this hope only with great amounts of truth and mercy, the basis for all realities and revolutionary engines of an authentically new life.
-Pope Francis, from the Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 12/12/14
Rumor has it that someone is coming after me to Ecuador ...
Subscribers receive news and updates, and gain access to the subscriber-only pages
