FINDING A HOME
This painting represents the reality of so many people in the world looking for a place to stay, especially as they flock into crowded modern cities, searching for jobs or fleeing from various situations of conflict. The need to create living spaces for them is acute. Like Joseph and Mary, who found no place at the inn, millions of people risk ending up unsheltered in the streets and deprived of a dignified dwelling which they can call home.
Painting by Fr Raul Tabaranza MCCJ
MISSION IS FUN
WE RECEIVE MORE THAN WHAT WE GIVE
BY FR JALVER LIZCANO MCCJ
ON THE 25th of December, we once again met in the Parish, as our days of missionary experience came to an end; each one of us with a small suitcase and one or two boxes of yucca, bananas, cocoa, oranges, etc. …. foods produced in these lands and given to us, apart from hugs, by the Christians, as signs of affection and of their gratitude for the time shared together.
This beautiful missionary experience had begun a couple of weeks before, when we travelled from the capital of Colombia, Bogotá, to the region of Arauca, in the Eastern part of the country, a journey of about 12 hours by bus. There, in the village of La Esmeralda, Fr Miguel Tapias, priest in charge of the parish of Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Our Lady of Carmel), was waiting for us. In Colombia, during Holy Week and Advent-Christmas, the rural parishes are visited by missionaries who accompany the communities when and where the parish priest is not able to be present.
On the evening of the 7th of December, with the so-called celebration of the candles, the Christmas season officially commences. From then, the preparation begins for living Advent time and celebrating Christmas. The missionaries arrive at the assigned villages and towns, make contact with the catechists or those in charge of the communities, begin organising the timetable for the novena, decide where the crib will be set up, adorn the venue with lights and other Christmas decorations, rehearse the carols, finalise the itineraries for the visits to the families, and plan additional activities involving children and young people. This atmosphere of anticipation is in preparation for the big party on the evening of the 24th of December.
So, after many pleasant experiences, the time arrives to say goodbye. The gestures of gratitude expressed by the community are the greatest reward for the missionaries who travelled from afar to meet with these communities and share their faith. At the culmination of the festivities, the families typically approach the missionaries with a bag, which is seen as a gesture of affection, containing the fruits of the earth, the fruits of their labour (not merely their leftovers), the best of what they produce with their hands daily.
I JUST HAD TO LEARN FROM THEM
Every Saturday, after breakfast, I would take my backpack and go to the Alto de Cazuca, located at the southwest outskirts of the capital Bogota, to carry out some activities which I had organized for the children of that area.