is for days I want to send these lines to your blog. In addressing the various friends
monks and lay people who, from time to time, and especially in these days, looking for news from us, I wish I could get, especially to those friends with whom I have brothers lived his formative years, years with many beautiful memories, nice, a lot of memories that have accompanied me in these ten years of Chile, remember that in many instances (and this is one of those) make you feel less of that something called remote and - why not - alone.
A Nando, Fabio, Alberto, Alessandro, Renato e. .. Other: I agree that what may come as a gesture of remembrance and affectionate - if it can be used - as a reason to reflect and think once more to the things that "touch" with our life force of people and consecrated.
Curicó I arrived about a month ago, leaving behind the decade of Santiago, the roles of rector and pastor, a community of active and well lay brothers joined us, a dynamic and engaging and pastoral life, let me tell you , a spacious room!
Despite the discrete "Resizing volume" of the room forced me to maximize space "to the millimeter," the impact of the city was more than positive: a beautiful and welcoming city, full of greenery, a city where finally able to get around on foot breathing clean air (goodbye to the smog of Santiago!) and under a sky, finally, really blue and persistently. In
parish was better not to go yet, because the official exchange rate (with a Bishop to welcome) the day was scheduled for February 28. Meanwhile, the community began in the early rounds in the kitchen, forcing me to "squeeze your brains" and remember how I could prepare women of the house when I was little (I must say that my menu is very poor, but until now nobody manifestado signs of gastro-enteritis and, dare I add, I almost amuses me to think about how to vary the classic Bolognese sauce. .. but you better not think about it too!).
All very quiet while I was beginning to be felt in the eagerness to know the new reality of the parish and integrated as soon as possible in their pastoral activities. Allow assignments of greater responsibility (see parish priest and superior) is good, but as one is aware of everything, having engaged for several years, will remain in the blood some "bacteria" (See "Bacterium priests") to delete them it takes time and especially the ability to "plunder" that we all hope, but in fact ....
came the night of 26: all about making well-planned recruitment of the parish, well prepared to welcome those who would come from Santiago, the quiet young pastor (fr.Tullio) antevigilia the event.
And suddenly everything stops: at 3:35 am on Feb. 27 that we are left to improvise "dancing" and "jump" like never before.
We found ourselves in the front garden, over the long kick, telling we were right: none of us still imagine how devastating and extensive was the earthquake we were living. Gradually came the first news of what was passing in Curicó (soon we would see for yourself the terrible damage) and only Successive what happened in coastline due to the tsunami. We were able also to communicate with our family in Italy to calm and communicate to the Province that we were fine.
and you get no light and with a little water on Sunday, February 28, the day of assumption of the parish through the papers one could give an account of the disaster at the local and national. It began
replicas, some really strong and some days very frequenti e, sopratutto, iniziava il contatto con la nostra gente: visitarla nelle loro case, ascoltarla, “registrare” necessitá, angustia, pena, progetti infranti…
È a partire da questo contesto e in questo contesto che ho iniziato a riflettere come non mai, a chiedermi e a chiedere (al buon Dio)… senza risposte, a cercare di “delimitare” seriamente ció che é essenziale e fondamentale (a livello umano e nell’impegno apostolico/pastorale), a ridimensionare quanto sembra “vitale” e “necessario” e non lo é, o lo é solo parzialmente.
Nessuno di noi tre ha mai manifestato una particolare paura, aiutati forse in questo dal renderci conto di vivere in una casa ben solida, come solida ha dimostrato essere la chiesa parrocchiale che non ha avuto danni (il 70% delle chiese della diocesi é fuori uso: varie distrutte e molte con seri problemi strutturali, mentre quella che ci è stata affidata è intatta). Peró tutti e tre abbiamo “toccato con mano” la estrema fragilitá dell’esistenza umana: l’esserci e il non potere esserci piú (in termini ovviamente di vita) nello spazio di secondi (sono cose che si dicono, peró viverle direttamente é diverso).
Accanto a questa prima e immediata riflessione in negativo, sono scaturite riflessioni positive nel senso che ti fanno non solo say that life is a beautiful and great gift that God gives us (there are many people who have lost everything, but feel grateful to God for having preserved in their lives and their families, hence their "draw" the strength, the desire, the will to start over, to rebuild after all ...), but that life itself, and especially in the perspective of faith and profound, it assumes a special beauty when you retrieve or accentuate, not as ever, certain values.
spontaneously and with more and more strength and develop a spirit solidario: neighbors worried about each other (in some cases overcoming difficulties and deleting old or resentment); Families united in grief and sorrow of having lost everything, but especially in conjunction with the emergency afforontare capable of creating small communities where they prepare and take meals in common, sharing a tent, gather the children and they do play . To feel that someone cares about you, asks you what you need most, listens to you, accompanies you: all this makes you feel good and helps a lot to develop (and sometimes in a way unheard of) that seed of hope that we all carry inside.
And here is grafted a reflection that I call "pastoral": the earthquake hit us at the beginning of the new pastoral year (March to September is like us by you) and there are many parishes whose church patronage and are no longer viable. At a meeting of all priests of the diocese with the bishop said it was not necessary if propio reinvent, certainly re-think this pastoral year 2010/2011.
Project diocesan pastoral parish pastoral plan: things are certainly important, but at this time should be put to the side to make way for the priority of "rebuilt" rebuild / build spaces that allow celebrations and pastoral activities, but most recover force that "pastoral charity" which often takes over on the right but sometimes excessive "zeal" organizational transforms the "pastor" in a "manager". Pastors and priests are called to a pastoral person, that you spend listening, in assisting in reconstruction work and with people, to lift the spirits and, as a fundamental basis, focusing on the moments of the Eucharist and prayer. You're probably not the kind of pastoral care that should be characterized more apostolic life, and this already in terms of "normality", without having to wait for an earthquake we take away the church and patronage?
three of us "luck" of not having lost any church or patronage, but I hope that the next "Luxury" we can afford in terms of pastoral activities (already started actually) takes root and keep this person's ministry, a ministry which the model is fundamental and essential to the "modus operandi" of the Lord.
I assure you that all my impatience "pastoral" (a load area that put me?, When do we start?, And so on ...) are losing more and more power (not so easy to remove them all at once, even with an earthquake) and I am rather thinking of how to "enhance" the time of being with, to do with ..
Certainly this third community of the delegation had to suffer not just for "being born": a long and careful discernment, not the last time the diocese of Melipilla (thank the Lord for that no, because the church and convent where it was thought to go ... have had serious damage in the earthquake), the arrival of some 'too "busy" in Curico ...
Peró nothing is accidental: if we are here in a town where we are practically the only male religious community, there is a reason: What are you asking, what is expected of us good God? What we witness as religious and as a Franciscan brotherhood?
Give us time to reflect and answer these questions ... if we can find a response.
An affectionate greeting.
Fra Giuseppe
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