Trust—the Absolute

Don Antonio, the trusted xiñá (religious leader) in his village

Trust is the glue of a communal narrative. It is a given, the absolute without which all the rest doesn’t work.

   An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture

                                                   Peter Block, Walter Brueggemann, John McKnight (2015)

 

A flavorful mango can turn a bad day into a good one

Trust—the absolute. Without it, all the rest doesn’t work. There is lots that “doesn’t work” in Mexico, and it seems that every day something occurs that leads the Mexican people to lose even more trust in their governing authorities.

Don Toño, who was the maintenance man at the orphanage in Tlapa when
Mission Mexico built a dormitory there in the year 2000 

This week the federal government of Mexico refused to renew permission so that the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (part of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) might continue their work in trying to determine the truth of what happened to the 43 “disappeared” students from the Ayotzinapa Teachers College, here in the State of Guerrero, in September of 2014. In reporting this decision, the New York Times used adjectives such as “corrupt” and “brutal” and “cruel” to describe the justice system in Mexico. How can one trust a government that seems to be doing everything possible to hide the truth of what happened to these students?

Members of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts

Trust—the glue of a communal narrative. Building trusting relationships with the poor and those who work with the poor is what Mission Mexico has been about since its founding. Jean Vanier expressed this well in his book called Community and Growth: In the end, the most important thing is not to do things for people who are poor and in distress, but to enter into relationship with them, to be with them and help them find confidence in themselves and discover their own gifts.

Don Margarito, who sells bananas to suuport himself in Yosondacua

Mission Mexico partners with people interested in helping the poor discover and nourish their gifts. Education plays a key role here. It can be a slow process—but it is a vital process. As George Monbiot expresses it in his book How Did We Get Into This Mess?: Politics, Equality, Nature, Progressive change requires mass mobilisation. But, by identifying and challenging power, by discovering its failings and proposing alternatives, by showing the world as it is rather than as the apparatus of justification would wish people to see it, we can, I believe, play a helpful part in this mobilisation…

Conrado and Icodia at their indigenous wedding ceremony at 4 in the morning

The Catholic Church here in the mountain of Guerrero is one such “partner” with Mission Mexico. The pastoral agents promote awareness and organization. The church respects the enculturation of the gospel in the lives of the indigenous peoples.

Bishop Dagoberto with Fathers Eugenio and Vicente in Xochitepec

The Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of the Mountain is another “partner.” The team at this center educates and accompanies—and defends—the people in their many struggles for justice and for respect for human rights.

Abel Barrera from Tlachinollan and family members of the 43 disappeared students

The Champagnat High School of the Mountain is another “partner.” This school offers quality education to about 240 indigenous students a year. The students come from different cultures, and their learning is not simply “academic” (although that is an important element). The students learn to see “the world as it is rather than as the apparatus of justification would wish people to see it,” and they learn to work together to seek ways to transform life in their impoverished villages.

Brother Cepillo, who has been at the Champagnat High School since its beginning in 2004

And every day Mission Mexico gives a helping hand to other organizations or other people struggling for life here in the mountains. This occurs because of the trust that others have in Mission Mexico. All of this assistance couldn’t occur if generous people in southern Alberta didn’t have this same trust in Mission Mexico—trust that their solidarity is helping to make a difference in the lives of the poor here. Thank you for this trust.

An honor to be invited to the wedding of Conrado and Icodia

Holy Week 2016 in the Mountains

Norma attending the Easter service in Xochitepec

To say, “I believe in Jesus Christ…who rose from the dead,” then, is to say I believe that the Resurrection goes on and on and on forever. Every time Jesus rises in our own hearts in new ways, the Resurrection happens again. Every time we see Jesus where we did not recognize him before—in the faces of the poor, in the love of the unloved, in the revelatory moments of life—Jesus rises anew. But that is not all. The real proof of the Resurrection lies not in the transformation of Jesus alone but in the transformation awaiting us who accept it. To say, “I believe in Jesus Christ…who rose from the dead” is to say something about myself at the same time. It says that I myself am ready to be transformed. Once the Christ-life rises in me, I rise to new life as well…Resurrection is about transfiguration.

                                                         —from In Search of Belief by Joan Chittister (Liguori).  

Children in Alcamani playing during Holy Week

This transformation/transfiguration spoken of by Joan Chittister is nowhere more evident in the mountains of Guerrero than during Holy Week. All of the villages have their customs and traditions; it is rare that there be no procession on Palm Sunday or celebration of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday or via crucis (way of the cross) on Good Friday.

Palm Sunday procession in Xochitepec

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus in the via crucis in Pozolapa

Of course, there are often differences. For example, it is not uncommon to have a “washing of the hands” ceremony on Holy Thursday rather than the washing of the feet. The same sense of service and loving-kindness is shared. And the bread and wine used by Jesus at the Last Supper often becomes tortillas or crackers and Pepsi or juice in the villages.

Foot-washing service in Llano de la Parota

This year hundreds of young people (and a few not so young) from other areas of Mexico visited the mountains during Holy Week and lived in different villages. I spent the week in the parish of Xochitepec, where every one of the 26 villages of the parish received such a contingent of young people. These young people coordinated the Holy Week services with the local leaders, and they visited families, and they interacted with children, youth, and adults.

Young people journeying to the mountains in the Mission Mexico truck

One group of young people in Aguaxoco: Bart, Ita, Edgar, Edilberto, Coco

My admiration for the sacrifices endured by these young people is beyond measure. They had to adapt to local ways of living in an area of scarcity, and everyone not only endured the experience—they loved the experience. If church is about community, they built community. If church is about love, they witnessed to love.

Children in Aguaxoco participating with the young people from Tlapa

I was privileged to accompany Father Vicente, a Missionary of the Holy Spirit, as we went around during the week to see how the different groups of young people were doing. It was amazing to see the joy not only of the young people, but of all of the members of the villages where the young people were living.

Father Vicente is in his first year of service in Xochitepec. The past four years he was
studying Canon Law in Madrid, Spain. Just a little contrast...

Of course, Vicente and I couldn’t “hit the road” without our favorite copilot, Ramiro, an architect from Mexico City who comes each year to Xochitepec for Holy Week. Ramiro is a great artist, and he brought with him all kinds of paints, paper, brushes, markers, crayons, etc. The joy he brought to hundreds of children who were able to express their creativity in color was immense. I daresay that most architects spend Holy Week vacationing at some beach; Ramiro and his wife, Beatriz, and their daughter Maria, and Maria’s boyfriend Eduardo spent the week helping to bring transformation to the lives of the indigenous people in this impoverished mountain region.

Ramiro—an incredible human being!

Painting in the village of Plan Ranchito

It was a most tiring but rewarding week. Resurrection hope was rekindled in the lives of many. Lives—of the young people visiting? of the people in the villages? mine?—were hopefully transformed and transfigured. Hopefully all of us are strengthened in our resolve to work for and witness to the new life that every human being should be joyfully experiencing. That is my wish for all of the people who read this note. Happy Easter!

Jesus crucified between the two thieves in Pozolapa

New flame—new life—kindled in Xochitepec

Easter morning in Xochitepec