The Gift of Peace and a New Understanding - 2nd week of Advent Reflection - Mission Post update

 

Second Sunday of Advent from Santa Maria Magdalena’s Home

I confess this is not at all your normal picture for the Advent Season!
However, it is where my heart is! 

The Gift of Peace and a New Understanding!

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and grant us your salvation.

 This Advent season for me at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home has been filled with many new and different blessings this year. And I pray that this Advent season will be the same for you.

As we light the second candle of our advent wreath this week and as we listen to the Gospel reading this week may we be confident in the fact that John the Baptist is not calling us to strike our breast or make harsh acts of atonement for our sins. But rather it is an invitation to change our way of thinking and the way we look at the Lord. My friends there is nothing we can do to make Jesus LOVE US MORE nor is there anything we can do to make him LOVE US LESS!

The prince of lies will tell you that you are unworthy and that you are unloved. But I am confident Jesus wants us to see, know, and feel the immense compassion and mercy he has for us all! Jesus wants us to recognize that he was born in a stable among animals and laid in a manger, that he hung on the cross not by three nails but by his love for us! He loves us no matter how many times we fail, how many times we commit the same sin, or how many times we turn our backs on him.

The conversation that Saint Maria Faustina had with Jesus has been with me during my prayer time for the last couple of days and I would like to share it with you in hopes that you will find it a blessing for you and for all those you encounter. Because indeed it is a message everyone deserves to hear!

Let us know and be confident that the Lord Loves us and he will indeed heal us!

He wants us !

He longs for us! 

He desires us! 

He is all we need! 

He will give us Peace and a new understanding!

But only if we let go and let him! 

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and grant us your salvation.

The Goodness of God.

“The mercy of God, hidden in the Blessed Sacrament, the voice of the Lord who speaks to us from the throne of mercy: Come to Me, all of you. Conversation of the Merciful God with a Sinful Soul.

Jesus: Be not afraid of your Savior, O sinful soul. I make the first move to come to you, for I know that by yourself you are unable to lift yourself to me. Child, do not run away from your Father; be willing to talk openly with your God of mercy who wants to speak words of pardon and lavish his graces on you. How dear your soul is to Me! I have inscribed your name upon My hand; you are engraved as a deep wound in My Heart.

Soul: Lord, I hear your voice calling me to turn back from the path of sin, but I have neither the strength nor the courage to do so.

Jesus: I am your strength; I will help you in the struggle.

Soul: Lord, I recognize your holiness, and I fear You.

Jesus: My child, do you fear the God of mercy? My holiness does not prevent Me from being merciful. Behold, for you I have established a throne of mercy on earth — the tabernacle — and from this throne I desire to enter into your heart. I am not surrounded by a retinue or guards. You can come to me at any moment, at any time; I want to speak to you and desire to grant you grace.

Soul: Lord, I doubt that You will pardon my numerous sins; my misery fills me with fright.

Jesus: My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of my goodness? For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy. Do not argue with Me about your wretchedness. You will give me pleasure if you hand over to me all your troubles and griefs. I shall heap upon you the treasures of My grace.”

St. Maria Faustina, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul

 

On this second Sunday of Advent let us recognize that we are human, we are sinners, and that through seeking Jesus we will encounter his love, mercy, healing, and help so we can become what God has created us to be!

Also, I feel we should honor all the great things that the Lord has been doing at Santa Maria Magdalena’s Home!

ALL SAINTS DAY CELEBRATION! 

The young Men of Santa Maria Magdalena's home 

The women young and old 

1st Thanksgiving Feast after mass

            

 Every Last Thursday of the month
 I bake birthday cakes and we celebrate the birthdays of that month.

One of the mothers decorated the manger! 

1st small home for long-term mothers 

it is almost complete we have paid for doors and windows, and they should be installed before Christmas. 

We are now waiting on our Lord to send funds for furniture for the home. 

We beg for your Help! 

With confidence, I ask in the name of Jesus and his poor whom this home serves for you to pray about becoming a monthly mission partner with Santa Maria Magdalena's Home!

We need monthly mission partners. Our 1st financial goal is set at $3000.00 per month

Take to prayer and ask Jesus if he is desiring you to serve the poor here. 

Together let us radically love all those who he sends to this home! 

We love you all and pray for you everyday! 

Karen and Gabriel 

Mission Post: Santa Maria Magdalena's Home 

Caserio Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru

1st Sunday of Advent- Hope

 

1st Sunday of Advent Reflection from 

Santa Maria Magdalena’s Home

A home for abused and abandoned Mothers and their children.

 

         “Let all who hope in you rejoice, triumph for ever.

       You will shelter them and they will glory in you”

 

Perhaps the 1^st Sunday of Advent this year has a very new meaning for me.

As we celebrate the 1^st Sunday of Lent and as we light the 1^st candle in our advent wreath here at Santa Maria Magdalena’s Home, I cannot help but reflect on this morning's prayer from Psalms 5 which was titled A morning prayer for help!

It is so fitting for this Sunday and for this home. With such injustice, mistreatment, and cruelty that has been experienced among those who gathered in the sala this morning, it is this Hope in the coming of the Lord that gives us all strength. That gives us something to look forward to. If not the mundane, cruel, taunting, and wicked world would just get the best of us all. But instead, here at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home this morning it is as if we gather in hope, with confidence that the lord hears our voices, that he hears our prayers, and our cries.

The home has become a refuge for so many in the past months, they come, and they go; but they all have something in common. They all have experienced pain, heartbreaks, and terrible physical and emotional pain. But somehow this home brings them peace and hope. They want to believe; they desire to find the one responsible for this hope and joy they experience while here.

Today after morning prayer, I was walking with one of the women today, together we were admiring the flower gardens, and listening to the birds while her children played, running about the grounds of the home. She asked me why everything was so pretty, and why I allowed her to stay so long. I told her because Jesus helped me many years ago in the same way by sending people to my rescue. I also told her the reason that the home and the grounds are so beautiful is because Jesus built this home for women and children just like her and I and that Jesus desires her and her children to be happy, to have hope in Him. I affirmed with her that Jesus wanted to love her radically and this home is one way he shows His love for her. That he wants her to see Him in all its beauty in the birds, in the flowers, and in the sound of the river running by the home.

 

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who support this home because this morning’s prayer nor this morning’s conversation with this mother would not have been possible without your help, without your YES!

It is through the mission of the home, It is through your prayers your donations that allow these women and children and the surrounding community to experience hope and love!  

 

If you’re not already partnered with us, please prayerfully consider becoming one! So many good things are happening here. Incredible miracles and healing of hearts and souls! It is easy just follow the link

https://www.familymissionscompany.com/santa-maria-magdalenas-home/

 

Psalm 5
A morning prayer for help

It is you whom I invoke, O Lord. In the morning you hear me.

 

Let my words come to your ears, O Lord:

hear my sighs.

 

Listen to the voice of my crying,

my King and my God.

 

As I make my prayer to you,

Lord, listen to my voice in the morning;

in the morning I will stand before you and await you.

 

You are not a God who loves evil.

The wicked cannot stay near you,

the unjust cannot remain in your presence.

 

You hate all who do evil –

you destroy all who speak falsehood –

the Lord abominates the bloody and deceitful man.

 

But in the abundance of your mercy you will admit me to your house:

I will worship you in your holy temple, with fear and reverence.

 

Lord, guide me in your justice, protect me from my enemies:

let me see the path I must follow.

 

For there is no truth in their mouth – their heart is a bottomless pit –

their throat is a wide open grave – their tongue seduces.

 

Punish them, Lord,

and let their own plans destroy them.

 

On account of their crimes, thrust them from your presence;

for they are rebels against you.

 

Let all who hope in you rejoice, triumph for ever.

You will shelter them and they will glory in you.

 

For you bless the just, O Lord,

and your good will surrounds them like a shield.

 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

 

Amen.

 

It is you whom I invoke, O Lord. In the morning you hear me.

---

 

We pray this Advent season will bring you closer to Jesus! May he hear your cries and your prayers! May we have HOPE in HIM!

WE LOVE YOU ALL

Karen and Gabriel Del Castillo 

Mission Post: Santa Maria Magdalena's Home 

Caserio de Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru

Become poor like the poor you serve!

Blessings to you my brothers and sisters:

           September marks six years of Gabriel and I living and serving as full-time lay Catholic Missionaries here in Peru. As Gabriel and I praise Jesus for his radical love and faithfulness for us, we have also taken a moment to reflect on the past years and wanted to take a moment to share with each of you some of our experiences.

The call to serve as full-time missionaries has been an experience that has kept us most of the time on our toes and the other half on our knees praying. Begging for the needs of others, our own needs, for wisdom, for strength, for miracles, for new friendships, for help in fighting off creatures and insects, and the learning of local customs, and language.   It has been raw; it has been intense, and it has been full of many glory stories and moments of thanksgiving. Nevertheless, we should be careful not to glamorize full-time mission life, it is far from a vacation to a remote location that can be shared on social media simply for a few “likes”. Rather I would say it is quite the opposite.

In fact, there is a sense of being forgotten or unremembered that comes with the call to full-time foreign missions. I do not share this with you, for you to have pity on us or to say that we have been totally forgotten about.  However, there is a truth about missions that perhaps is not foreseen prior to selling everything and saying goodbye. We are out of sight and out of the minds and prayers of many because of the nature of the vocation.  

There is no denying that we have left what we have known since birth to serve Jesus's poor in a foreign land. We will always be foreigners in the mission field no matter how much we learn the language and customs or how many years we have served in our post. We will always have family in the States, graduations, birthdays, celebrations, and holidays missed due to our call. For us the world we left is engraved in our hearts the way we left it so many years ago; yet months, years, and time just keep their normal pace, and the memories that we had engraved into our hearts and minds have slowly become very distant to the reality.

With that said I have been reflecting on the fact that I once struggled with the meaning of living in solidarity with the poor, after all, it is a term often loosely used today by many, so the real meaning and significance of the word can be distorted at best, and maybe even used for propaganda. However, over the last six years, Jesus has really shown me the true meaning and important significance of the phrase to live in solidarity with the poor. Perhaps this call means something different to those of you reading this, and that’s okay.  But for me, in this season of life, Jesus has revealed to me that to really live in solidarity with the poor, we must be united. Perhaps JP II said it best when he calls all missionaries to, “immerse themselves in the culture to whom they are sent.” REDEMPTORIS MISSIO § 53.

That means we must recognize and understand the life and culture of the poor in order to immerse ourselves in the culture.  Indeed, there is a harshness to the reality of the life and culture of the poor. Sure the 1^st things that come to mind for many is the injustice, lack of material goods, housing, and Gospel poverty. However, being forgotten and unremembered is so real among the poor. The culture of the poor is forgotten, they are often than not unremembered. Alone with no one to share with them the hardship, injustice, and unforgiving realities of living in their ruthless environments, they go without knowing the love that Jesus has for them because there is a lack of the Church, lack of priests, sacraments, preaching of the Gospel and laity willing to join the mission.

    Let's be honest the poor in whatever country are really out of sight and out of mind until a special collection is taken up on a rare Sunday, or the Church as a whole brings them to mind once a year on the, World Day of the Poor, or when summer rolls around and the youth go on a mission trip. Do not get me wrong these are all great things, but the question arises is this unity? is it solidarity? Maybe it is for a short moment in time, maybe perhaps there are the few that hold the poor in their hearts and in their prayers for more than a short moment. 

Which brings me to reflect on the fact that as I have immersed in the culture and have been living among the poor full-time for the past six years, I have become starkly aware of the fact there is nowhere to deviate my eyes, nor road to cross or activity to occupy my time that allows me to avoided or that can remove the fact I live among the poorest of the poor.

Solidarity is unity, solidarity is sharing goods and materials, education and knowledge, sufferings, and joys, it is the act of living, the act of praying, and making sacrifices for one another.  Once you think you have given everything you have, you are asked to give even more. Sacrificing until it hurts and then offering even more just as Jesus did for us as he died on the cross.

Pope Francis has urged us to “become poor like the poor we serve”. So, as I reflect on the last six years here living in solidarity with the poor, I firmly can say we live together in unity in the abyss of the unremembered and forgotten.  For Gabriel and I this has been our hardest struggle over the last six years. However, we are so thankful that in our daily prayers, we are always reminded by a whisper from the Holy Spirit that we are not forgotten or unremembered and we confidently take this same message to the poor we live among. With the intercession of all the missionaries who have gone before us, it is in solidarity with the poor that we serve, and it is our lives we give to those we live among in the hope that we will be worthy enough to enter one day in Heaven. But the only way to heaven is the cross and we cannot do this without becoming poor like the poor we serve often than not who are forgotten and unremembered.

And for all of our mission partners who have become poor like the poor that we together have served over these last six years; we honor you and thank you for your missionary hearts and all the sacrifices you have made. The mission here would not be possible without you and your YES. Together we have labored in the fields so that the poor can confidently know that they are not forgotten and far from being unremembered. Because of you, we have been able to live in Solidarity with them and bring them Jesus.

 

Together let's encourage others to remember the call to live in solidarity with the poor that can truly only be achieved by becoming poor themselves.  

The call to missions is not glamorous but indeed it is glorious, and together I am confident that we one day will hear “Well done Good and Faithful Servant” 

Matthew 25:23

 

And all this to say; Let us agree, as did the Apostle Paul, to always remember the poor!

Galatians 2:10

Check out the pictures below to see what's been going on here?

 

*Disclaimer*😏

I am terrible at taken pictures, I rarely have my phone with me and my camera on my phone, well it has seen better days! With that said I pray you will enjoy the pictures and I hope it gives you a glimpse into the life here. 

Long-term mothers - Small homes 

We had enough funds to get started but not to complete the 1st of 3 small homes at the back of the property for the long-term mothers who will be joining us. This house is already spoken for. However, we do not have the funds to complete it. We are roughly $3000.00 short. 

School anniversary

We helped Jasmine our neighbor and friend construct a lantern for the parade that the school had for their anniversary.  It is the Inca man below in the picture. She won the entire contest, and she is so shy, but she was grinning ear to ear. 

 

This picture does not do the lanterns justice. I am amazed how they all have candles in them yet not one catches on fire! 🔥

Priest retreat

Thanks to everyone who donated to the retreat for the priests here. It was a blessing for them to have a time of retreat, rest, and formation. If it wasn't for you, they would have just had formation all in one day and returned to serving. 

Gift bags with little candies and a drinks

Father Robert, He is super excited as you can tell

Gabriel as always helping, oh and he wishes he could have stayed with the priest at the retreat. He looks up to so many of them. 

Bishops and Father Burgas celebrated their anniversary of their ordination the week of the retreat. So of course, we had to celebrate them with a cake! 

A time for rest and fun! 

It always blesses us to take people to our secret swimming hole! 

This time we took Martiza and her children. 

The smile on Martiza's face and watching her play with her children was priceless! 

Wedding time!

No not the sacrament of marriage but it is a huge step in the right direction one may say. 

Praise God Manuel and Liz have been a huge part of Santa Maria Magdlene's home, and it is an honor that I was asked to be their witness for their civil marriage. 

They have lived together for 15 years and have two children. Please continue to pray for them as they are now asking questions about the Catholic Church and the sacrament of marriage.

 Often in missions, we have to take a lot of baby steps and then wait and pray. It is an incredible experience to watch it all unfold. 

Birthdays!

It is easy to recognize a community living in solidarity with one another when it seems that all we do is celebrate birthdays! 😂😂

Jose's Birthday two weeks late! His Grandmother who raised him since he was 2 died on his birthday this year. Please pray for her soul and for Jose's loss and healing! 

David's 4th birthday 

My 49th birthday 

Funeral

Jose was raised by his Grandmother! She passed away on his birthday this year. She was loved by many. It was incredible to see all the people who stopped everything they were doing to celebrate her life. 

Adoration Night! 

Thursdays are adoration night, and it is safe to say the attendance level is growing. What a blessing and of course after we share what we heard the Lord speaking to us, have some coffee and cookies and play games! 

Following the old truck up to the house which is full of people which are coming for adoration.  

English and altar serving classes!

Gabriel every Friday teaching these two!

Altar serving classes about an hour away from Santa Maria Magdalena's home

Gabriel teaching the children about the altar and showing them the "stone panels that might hold a  hidden treasure: a relic of saints and martyr." But no one at the Church or the Priest can confirm if it really does. 

Visa time 

To live in Peru full-time, we must obtain a religious visa. Not hard, but not easy and they must be renewed every year. 

Since we have been here 6 years; The migrations office has advised/suggested to us that we need to obtain a religious visa that allows us to stay longer without having to renew each year. 

So, Gabriel and I had to make a trip to Chiclayo Peru to have Interpol take my fingerprints, one of many steps to obtain our new visas. 

Santa Maria Magdalena's Home wish list 

TV for formation classes $ 400-800.

Funds to finish the 1st small home $3000.00

Prayer requests 

Please pray for a mother who spent a few days with us but since as returned to her abuser. 

Please pray for another mother (Sandra) who trying to find the courage to leave her abuser. 

Contact us with your prayer intentions, follow our blog, or make a donation at the following links.

Email:  karendelcastillo@familymissionscompany.com

Web Site: delcastillo.familymissionscompany.com

Santa Maria Magdalena's Home