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Pastoral Thought
Some thoughts about my recent visit with two
Solidarity delegations from Wilmington to our sister Diocese of San
Marcos, Guatemala…
Visiting a remote caserio of 25 or 30
families, we found the whole community turned out to meet us. One
man — Gilberto — who belonged to St. Michaels parish in
Georgetown — introduces us as people embrace us. We go into
the chapel to pray; spontaneous prayer arises from all the adults
simultaneously. The village leader, a catechist, thanks God,
and us, that we have been sent here as a sign that God loves and
cares about them; tears flow. These people who have almost
nothing are so grateful. We are humbled, we who have so much.
Is this what Jesus meant: "Blessed are the poor"?
A spokesman in a different small community
explains that everyone used to work on the coffee plantation (finca)
but prices fell and work is scarce. Some try to immigrate,
but it costs $4,000. What they really want to do is educate
their youth past 6th grade, into high school, so they have a chance
at a career. It costs $158.00 a year per student.
In another plantation area, two men who give 20+
hours of their week to church work explain that their dream is to
get 8 or 9 acre parcels of land for families to raise crops and be
self-supporting. But the cost is so astronomically high that
we turn away and shake our heads. For some problems, no
answer. But they keep on.
We all know we’re better persons by the
end. These struggling people stay close to God. Some of
them have settled here. Their faith, hard work and family
ethic are a gift to us. We try to share ourselves a little in
return through solidarity. Our own parish has not
participated because of the existing demands of our own Hispanic
Ministry. But we all can be aware.
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Father John
Hynes
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