God punished me!

 

 It is truly heartbreaking to hear so many say that "God punishes". But it is indeed the reality here. Meet Eusebia an older lady who lives in our little Caserio. She is a regular here at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home and Gabriel and I have been getting to know her a bit more intimately here lately.

On one of our visits to her home where in she runs a small bodega, she shared with me that my blue eyes, light skin, and light hair reminded her of her daughter, because her daughter had been born with colored eyes and light complexion which is very rare here in Peru but does happen in the mountain regions.  I thought that was so sweet until I saw the tears coming from her eyes and learned that such memories brought her great sadness about losing her daughter so many years ago. She explained to me that her daughter died when she was only 2 years old.

When I carefully asked how she died she told me that "she died because God punished her". I gently asked why she thought God punished her by taking her daughter and she said that it was because she had left and stopped going to Church for a few months after she gave birth to her daughter. She said that “God was angry with me for leaving the Catholic Church and punished me by taking my daughter's life”.

My heart just sank for so many reasons. One, is for the fact that we just celebrated Eusebia 65^th birthday as a community here at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home. And to know that she has been living with such pain and unwarranted guilt about her daughter's death for over 40 years, is just so heartbreaking. Secondly, my heart sank because this is the reality here, so many have a mistaken understanding of the truth, which prevents them from experiencing the love and mercy of Jesus out of fear. Instead, they have been given man’s twisted account which is far from the truth in which we can find in the Bible.

I feel that the concept of Free Will has not reached much of Peru or at least those I have encountered. The confusion of the effects of our actions and the consequences of them has been very distorted at best.  The Church teaches that “punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin.”(CCC 1472) In other words, when we freely choose to sin, we take upon ourselves the consequences of sin, which we often refer to as punishment.  In essence, we punish ourselves when we sin, not God. 

This confusion is so immensely full of despair. If the majority of the poor feel that God or Jesus punishes and lays down traps and tempts them throughout life then who or what is it that they can turn to for help, mercy love, and forgiveness? So many I meet and pray with feel that they are condemned and have a great fear of God. These lies and mistruths keep them bound and prevent them from falling into the arms of our Lord Jesus who died on the cross in order to save sinners like us. The fear and the belief that God strikes one down or takes one's daughter, son or other relative because of the sins one commits is just so against who God is but it is a very common ideology of the people we serve. And to be truly honest I am not sure what it is even founded on.  

Because when we turn to the bible, in search of the truth we can find that God is all-knowing. (John 3:20) We also know that he loved us so much that he sent Jesus his only son to die on the cross for our sins. (John 3:16,1 Peter 3:18-20)  Jesus’s death demonstrates the perfect love and mercy in which he has for every human being. It is far from a demonstration of fury, hatred, rage, and condemnation. Saint Paul encourages us to remember that “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”(Romans 8 :1)

And let us always remember that we are human, and we fall sort of the mark every day. But we must take comfort in knowing that we may take refuge in Jesus no matter how it is that we fall short. And there is no better example of this truth than in the words of Saint Paul “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of these. But for that very reason I was treated mercifully, so that in me Jesus Christ might exhibit his inexhaustible patience, making me an example for those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16)

So, we ask of you all to please pray for our sweet friend Eusebia that she will come to know the merciful love of our Father and of His son Jesus Christ. And please pray for Gabriel and I that we may be loving servants of our Lord and that somehow we may become true vessels of his love and mercy to all those we encounter. And lastly, be confident, though we are many miles apart we are praying for each one of you by name.

Karen and Gabriel Del Castillo

Mission Post Santa Maria Magdalen’s home

Caserio Santa Clara. Amazonas, Peru

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

To Cry Is Human, but to Lament Is Christian / PART 2 / Where the Gospel takes you.

Shared from my journal entry dated June 29, 2024 | Saturday just 2 days after 

we were forbidden from leaving Peru.

Yesterday we celebrated the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Paul

I find it only fitting to share the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ with you. After finding out that migrations will not allow us to leave Peru and return to the States for a short-term rest. Our idea was to find a place where we could lament and rest in the Lord and well, heal from the disappointment of our situation. Praise the Lord we have indeed found that place.

It is a little fishing town where we encountered the nicest lady named Milu, she is a spitfire and she is so in love with the Lord, and the poor. She has taken Gabriel and me in and has made sure our every need has been taken care of. She seems to be a very important figure in the small town. She is constantly on the phone planning the pickup and drop-off of donations. When she meets people on the street, she tells them she will be at their house later to drop off different items like baby clothes, strollers, and other items. All at the same time making sure that the townspeople are not polluting the beach or ocean all while taking Gabriel and I under her care and treating us like family. It is incredible and I am in awe watching her minister to the people here.

I told Gabriel she is such a role model for me and watching her defend the Gospel and the poor without shame and with such boldness gave me such encouragement. Gabriel told me that I would, soon be the Milu of Santa Clara when I am her age. (not sure if it was a compliment or a dig at how old I am due to the fact I just turned 50).  He said instead of the beach town, I would be the spitfire old lady known for defending the mountain and its poor people.

If Milu and her love for the Lord and for us was not enough Jesus made sure to shower us with so many days of wonderful Gospel Messages to encourage and fill our hearts. We as a family have always prayed each day with the Gospel reading for the day. And well the theme for the time we spent in the little fishing town once again seems to have been planned just for us.

Each day we were able to enter right into the Gospel readings. It is as if Jesus was speaking directly to us. Encouraging us, loving on us, being personal and intimate with us, and ensuring us that he was with us and that we are at the center of his will. It seemed we were living out the Gospel once again which if you know you know! There is no better place to be than where the Gospel takes you.

One of those days Gabriel and I were reflecting on the daily Gospel, which was the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Paul, and as we reflected on the lives that these two men had before coming Disciples of Christ, reflecting on their call to missions and what they were able to achieve for God’s Kingdom, we really had no idea what the Lord had planned for us.   

As we meditated on the fact Peter was a fisherman, and Paul was a tentmaker. Peter denied Christ, but then turned and strengthened his brethren; Paul persecuted the Church, the Body of Christ, but then turned and brought the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Their encounter with Jesus and their conversion of hearts leads them to a life of missions of sharing their testimony with others. They both lived to win souls for Christ including dying to themselves, and up to their martyrdom in Rome: Peter was crucified upside down on the Vatican Hill; Paul was beheaded.

Milu her niece and I

And as we prayerfully reflected on the fact that Peter was a man who was aware of his sin and how it offended God. His awareness of his sin would bring him tears of repentance and a contrite heart. Paul enjoyed a struggle and was ready for a battle, and to fight the good fight, he knew he needed the Lord because without him he was weak. He trusted not himself but in the Lord who could conquer all things.

These two amazing missionary disciples brought Gabriel and me a lot of hope and renewal of our faith and the love for our mission here in Peru as we prayerfully reflected on the Gospel Message and what it meant for our own lives. But you cannot imagine what came next. During our prayer time, the open doorway allowed the breeze and sweet smell of the sea and the sound of the ocean to accompany our morning prayer and as we wrapped up with a song, Milu appeared in the doorway to invite us to a procession in honor of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. With a bit of hesitation, we said yes. What a gift the Lord had for us,  it was as if it was Jesus himself inviting us as we were living the Gospel, we were on the shore being called to follow Him, we were in the boat with Him, we were with him when he calmed the sea, and we were just like the disciples, ordinary people who because of his mercy and love were changed forever and were empowered to share the Good News to those they encounter.

Gabriel and I have been to many processions since becoming foreign missionaries, but we never dreamed the procession we were invited to would be along the shoreline of the ocean, among whales, sea turtles and so many different fish, not even Milu who was born in the small sea town knew all their names. It was as if we were transported into another world. And it is safe to say that our broken hearts and disappointment of being forbidden from leaving Peru turned into sweet Joy and a new invitation to enter into our mission here in Peru in an even deeper way.

You may already know I am not one to take many pictures, so we have Milu to thank for these. I pray you enjoy them, and I also ask you to keep Milu in your prayers as we give thanks to the Lord for this incredible holy, and divine encounter and new friendship.

I pray this unbelievable, incredible, yet real testimony strengthens your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ! No matter where you are at, no matter the afflictions you encounter, or the denials and trials you face, be confident that the Lord is with you. Seek him in the Gospels and in the Sacraments. Be brave enough and dare to live out the Gospels each day! You may just find yourself in the middle of one of them, and all you have to do is reach for his hand, Jesus will be there, and he won't let go, he won't let you sink he won't let you drown! Just fix your eyes on him and be brave enough to give your life completely to him! I am confident you will not be disappointed. 

Mission Post: Santa Maria Magdalena's Home 

Caserio Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru   

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

To Cry Is Human, but to Lament Is Christian / PART 1

 

 

Gabriel's shoes, He wears these for everything, alter serving, ministries, work and play! 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am so thankful for your prayers and your authentic and genuine love for the poor, including Gabriel and I. 

Recently, I have been reflecting on how we deal with disappointments we face in our lives when our plans do not align with the will of God. All this stirs around in my heart and in my mind after Gabriel and I experienced a very disappointing situation this past month.

  Last month we were excited to make the long journey to Lima, which started with a 7-hour car ride from our mission post to the closest airport, where we took a 1.5-hour domestic flight in order to board our international flight back to America out of Lima. For selfish reasons, we were desiring to escape Peru and the poverty we face every day here and to rest for just a few weeks. We had meetings planned with benefactors and we wanted to speak English, watch TV, and eat American food all while spending time with family and friends. We had planned on shopping for the much-needed supplies, such as buying tennis shoes for Gabriel’s huge feet, he is a 12.5, and well that size seems not to exist here in Peru. We had also planned for Gabriel to attend Faith Camp, and while he was there for a week my childhood friend and I had planned on going on a little girl's trip to celebrate our 50^th birthdays. This all sounds normal right, I mean it sounds not really over the top, and well deserved. Even speaking with other missionaries and many other missionary organizations they encourage visits back to one’s Passport country for periods of rest, and for time to reconnect with loved ones and benefactors. All of this makes very good sense, but not the reality for Gabriel and I.

 

You see all these plans came to an end when the Migration official pulled us to the side and began to question all the paperwork that gives me the authority to leave Peru with Gabriel. Despite the official and legal documents from the USA, all of which have been translated and legalized in Peru, along with my Peruvian permission to travel which I received from our local Peruvian Notary and was authenticated by the Regional College of Notaries here, all seemed not to be good enough for the immigration official. He accused me of being a habitual lawbreaker as he saw how many times we had traveled in and out of Peru without the proper documentation and insinuated he could place me in jail. As the officials were working on what they were going to do with us, I frighteningly turned to Gabriel and told him if they arrested me, that he needed to Call Father Robert (the Priest we work under) so he could pick him up.   

 

Praise the Lord, they did not arrest me, but they did deny us leaving Peru. In 2018 this happened to us, because I did not know the paperwork that I needed in order to leave Peru since it was my 1^st year here. But ever since then, the paperwork I have has been accepted and we have returned to the States at least 3 times since becoming foreign missionaries, so it never crossed our minds that this time would be any different. However, that was far from the truth as It seems that Peru has changed their laws once again and it may be impossible and not feasible for us to return to the USA due to our unique situation until Gabriel is 18, a legal adult here in Peru. With that said it was a disappointment because our plans did not align with God’s will for us. It is easy for someone to get discouraged in moments like these and question where God is in all of this. To be honest, we knew after our 1^st year in missions that making the decision to come back to Peru could mean we would never be allowed to leave again. Or rather not able to leave until Gabriel turned 18, so I guess some may say we had it coming! .

 

 But both Gabriel and I have been reflecting on the fact that as foreign missionaries we are to enculturate, we are to live in solidarity with the poor, to be a person that dies to self and give until it hurts. There is often a mentality that a foreign missionary is a jet setter that they fly to and from exotic lands and give to the poor and when they are done or need a rest they go home and tell stories of their experience. Similar to the idea that a missionary is a superhero, savior, or has the ability to change the world, which is all far from the reality of foreign mission life. The reality of life in foreign missions is that it is not just a vacation, it is a vocation, and one must be ready to become poor as Jesus did. Not just for a week or a month or a year, we must be ready to face the fact that we were called to live in solidarity with the poor. And that may mean dying in a foreign land or being forbidden to return to your home country like in our case. We can cry about this, and no one would blame us, after all we are only human, and foreign missions is hard. But that would be in error if that’s what we decided to do because we mustn’t forget we are called to something much more than just being human, we are called to sainthood!  

 

Instead, we must have faith and lament because that is what a Christian would do. To lament is trusting in God; it is not crying, it is knowing that the safest place to be is in the center of His will, and not our own. Jesus lamented in the garden and God answered his prayer, God did not remove the cup, the suffering, but rather gave him the strength and the courage to continue forward with the plan they made before time began. Jesus then prayed the prayer he once taught the disciples, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). He ended his prayer like those laments in the Psalms, with a response of trust, resting in the perfect will of his Father, which turned sorrow and disappointment, and even fear into joy. 

 

With all this being said we ask you not to be concerned about our situation, that we are unable to leave Peru, but rather pray for us and pray that we will always desire to be in the center of God's will for us. Pray that we will be even better at living in solidarity with the poor and that we can give even more to them than we have in the past years. Pray for the poor we came to serve so many years ago who cannot escape, who have nowhere to rest or run to when they need a break from the realities of Peru. Please pray that we are not forgotten and that somehow Jesus will find a way to support the mission here at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home despite the fact we cannot meet with benefactor’s face to face or fundraise from Stateside.

 

Pray that we will not regard faith as a mere commodity, something that we have a lot or very little of, depending on our circumstances. But rather that we will always know the importance and necessity of maintaining the disposition of a faithful servant. That we will have the courage to mirror Jesus and have unfailing faith and trust in God’s will for us. We ask you to pray that this disappointment and sorrow be turned into so much joy that others may see it and come to ask, “How can we have such peace about being denied returning to our home country” and our response will be “Because we are in the center of God’s will for us”, “We are with Jesus!”

 

Please do not cry for us as we are not crying, we are lamenting. Pray for us, pray we can be confident that through our lamenting we will only be made more human and in the center of God's will.

 

We love you all and pray that you will always remember us and the poor we live among in your prayers. Each one of you holds a special place in our hearts and prayers and we are so very grateful for each of you.

 

May we learn to Love Like Jesus! Let us Rejoice and be confident in our sweet and merciful Lord! 

P.S. If you can fit in your prayer time a few prayers that somehow, we can find shoes big enough for Gabriel here. 

 

Mission Post: Santa Maria Magdalena's Home 

Caserio Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru   

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

 

 

By the power of the Eucharist, We are sent!

     

This past week I have really been reflecting on how my life has been transformed. And how grateful I am for the community of beautiful people I have around me everyday.  With that I have also been reflecting on the immense love I have for each member within it. This love is not by my own merit but from the Eucharist, from Jesus himself, from a real encounter I had with him.

     The encounter I experienced was so personal and though years ago, it still is very much a part of my life still today. In short, the encounter transformed me, and that experience gave me a burning desire for others to have an opportunity to experience Jesus in the same way I had. To experience his love, mercy, and forgiveness.

    You see, years back one night I laid prostrate in front of the Blessed Sacrament alone, crying, and screaming because I felt that I had been forsaken. I was in a pit of dark sin and temptations that haunted me since I was a young girl. I was broken and had been ripped apart by what the world had offered me. I felt like I had no one that cared or loved me. But then in the midst of my dramatic childlike tantrum, I heard the words “Stop crying, it has been long enough my dear, get up and follow me, I need you, I love you”! In an instant my tears, fears and sadness were gone. There is really no human reality in which as mortals we can ever fully understand what happen, so I will not bother trying to convince you. However, by faith I believe it was a mystical experience, an experience of being transported to some higher reality, because that night I saw Jesus’s face, I felt him touch me. This encounter changed my life forever, and every encounter since, be it, through receiving communion or during adoration or through serving His beloved Poor in Peru has been for me, an intimate encounter with Jesus.

    Jesus, knew my faults, my sins, and every time I denied him. Yet he came to me and picked me up off the floor, He held me and whispered in my ear just how much he loves me. He asked nothing in return from me, nor did he find me not worthy of His love.

    This encounter I had with “The Lord, who breaks no one, yet allows himself to be broken. The Lord who does not demand sacrifices, but sacrifices himself, freely giving himself to me”, asking nothing from me, was incredible and Divine.  He held me and loved me and gave me new life in him and invited me to follow him.

    There was a burning desire in my heart to tell others of my experience and found that my personal experience of love and healing that I had with Jesus in the Eucharist was not just for me to keep for myself but to share with others. When he told me to stop crying and invited me to follow him, he was inviting me to share my experience of His living presence in the Eucharist to those who are suffering, sick, held captive by sin, and forgotten. He invited me to share His love with others.

     It has been said that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life! (CCC1324) And Pope John Paul II said, we should feel the missionary spirit, we should feel “sent as missionaries of the Eucharist" to carry to every environment the great gift received.”

     Perhaps to better understand we should reflect on the words of the Archbishop of India, Telesphore Toppo, who wrote about the effects and the mandate we receive at the sacrifice of the Mass “We are sent out into the world to make the symbols of the Eucharistic worship become realities of a Eucharistic life. We go out into the world after the Eucharist challenged by the word of God, prophetically charged by the Spirit of the risen Lord and committed to work for the transformation of the world. This is the meaning of the phrase: We proclaim your death O Lord, until you come. That is, we are going out to continue the work of Christ to bring about the Kingdom of God where Divine love will be translated into human love, where Divine life will be manifested in communion, where creation will be transformed into a new earth and new heaven in which all the peoples of the world will live as brothers and sisters. The Eucharist empowers us to do this. This is the ultimate goal of all our Eucharistic celebrations”.

     So, this week as we the Universal Church we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body, and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi, (depending where you are in the world it could have been celebrated this past Thursday, the 1^st Thursday after Trinity Sunday or like here in Peru it is celebrated on the 1^st Sunday following Trinity Sunday). It is only fitting to say by the power of the Eucharist we are called to go out and bring the Jesus we have so intimately experienced and known personally,  to others who do not yet know Him.  We are called to go out with enthusiasm, without fear, without counting the cost, and with courage and a boldness within us, telling our testimonies from the rooftops, so all will know what Jesus has done for us in our own lives! Not by our own merit do we set out, but by the power of the Eucharist, we are to become tabernacles in procession to those in need of His love.

 

 Mission Post: Santa Maria Magdalena's Home 

Caserio Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru   

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

My 1st year in the mission field in 2018, 
 I saw this done by one of our missionaries at our 1st mission post and had to recreate it and incorporate it into our ministries. 

This past Thursday we had a special adoration here at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home for the Feast of Corpus Christi. The night began with testimonies and teaching about Eucharist Miracles, followed by a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, starting with mediation on Mother Mary as the very 1st Tabernacle than the procession took us to the Chapel in where we meditated on Jesus’s presence before us, offering himself to us,  his humble poor,  so that we may taste the sweetness of his love, mercy and experience if we dare to choose such a divine life with Him and in Him. Knowing full well that He will inflame our hearts in such a way that we become tabernacles in procession to those who need His love and mercy. 

Love like Jesus! Is something I often say!

So, it was an honor to have yet another opportunity to love like Jesus this past Wednesday which as you know was not only Ash Wednesday (the start of Lent) but the feast day of Saint Valentine.

Which was a great reminder of the way Jesus loved us and also of what we as followers must do.

Saint Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to encourage them to “do everything in love"

He wrote "LET ALL THAT YOU DO BE DONE IN LOVE” 1 CORINTHIANS 16:14.

And that was the theme we had in our hearts. And though it may be a bit strange for Casa de Santa Maria Magdalena (for single mothers) to host a romantic Valentine's dinner and mini retreat for couples who live near the home, but we did.

With that said we wanted to honor them. To invite them to receive the sacrament of marriage, and for them to know just how important they are to our community. Their testimonies, their witness of love and sacrifice that they are for the community.

I had an opportunity after the mini-retreat to encourage them to live a radical life and to love like Jesus. Reminding them that the community is watching, that their children are watching, my own son Gabriel is watching. And the single women this home serves, along with the children are in need of a GOOD and HOLY example of love, sacrifice, marriage, and family.

So praise the Lord for the opportunity to honor them and serve these beautiful couples. Some are already close to Jesus and others far from knowing the true meaning of a marriage; but we are so blessed that by the grace of God, these couples have except the mission, and the challenge to learn to love like Jesus.

We are so grateful to announce these 11 couples have agreed to meet each week to deepen their faith, and to strengthen their marriage. As a community, they want to work towards knowing the sacrifice it is to love like Jesus. Please pray for them as they embark on this new journey.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support for us and the poor we serve.

To learn more about the mission here or to become a partner follow the link below

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

Bearing Fruit

Someone recently messaged me to tell me how great I was for being a missionary. And how they thought so highly of me. I quickly thought to myself who does this person think I am? And after the week I had of ministries, I wonder if “I” am even making a difference at all here or even worthy of being called a missionary. So of course, under my breath, I mumbled the words “They obviously have mistaken me for someone else.”

 I thought if they knew who I was, a sinner, a person who struggles daily to serve Jesus and those that the Holy Spirit puts in my path they would not have sent me such a message. There are so many needs here, from visiting the sick, and fighting for the women who have been abused, thrown away, and forgotten, to leading surrounding pueblos in the celebrations of the Word, I seem to fail at carrying the weight of it all. I fall into the temptation day in and day out, believing that “I” have a lot to do. When in reality it is Jesus who has a lot to do, and he desires me to help and to take part in His mission.

 But never the less this week has been one of those weeks where it seems I have not done much good. Maritza (one of the single mothers) that I have been helping fight for child support had a hearing this week and well it did not go as planned and justice was not in our favor as corruption and payments under the table have obviously won the Judge's heart. And my involvement has been now magnified and questioned by the opposing father and his lawyers, showing their deep disapproval of me and my desire to walk and guide my dear friend through the court process. Needless to say, it gave both of us a very uneasy feeling, which the devil decided to amplify and manipulate, making us both scared and worried for our safety.

 On top of that it has been one of those months where there have been so many financial needs here from cancer treatments to those who have no food, along with our normal ministries and alms has really had me asking myself “Who do these people think I am?”, “What more can I give, that I do not have”

 These words of discouragement came back to me as Friday and Saturday Maritza along with her children and I began the Coffee harvest. If you do not already know the coffee on the land here at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home is picked and given to Maritza to use for her children. The Harvest does not bring in much but with the proceeds, she is able to buy the extra things the children and her need.  

  However this season was proving to be a bit different, when we started with just us, we quickly realized that we were not going to be able to advance before the rain and before the ripened fruit fell to the ground and went to waste, so we had to hire 2 people to help us pick it all in order to get it all in on time. As we were picking, I was overwhelmed by what I was experiencing and the goodness of God. I have never seen the trees so full of coffee. We were able to bring in 3 times more coffee than the prior harvests and there is really no explanation other than it was a gift from above.

 So, you can imagine when I was preparing for this weekend’s ministries, I chuckled a bit and shook my head, and said “Jesus you did it once again”. I just love it when he gives me the opportunity to live in his truth and in His Holy words, confirming the fact that I am not alone and that all I need to do is stay united and trust in him. And in return, he only asks me to give my life and all he gives me to others near me and to love like him!  In short, the readings this week made me feel as if they were meant just for me, as reinsurance, as a whisper straight from Jesus's lips to my heart!

 The second reading tells us our love should not be just words and talk, it must be true love, which shows itself in action towards everyone around us. (1 John 3:18).

 Here is the passage in its entirety.

 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. 1 John 3:18-24

 The Gospel reading, I am certain most of us have heard more than a time or two, but I must say this week, I felt it really come alive.

 At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15: 1-8

It is not easy to love those around us. Or to put our words in actions and deeds. To do so we must grow, and we must allow ourselves to be pruned in order to grow into the likeness of Jesus. We must have confidence and trust that when we remain united with him, when we allow him to prune us and allow him to live in our hearts that we will be able to bear much fruit. This week’s readings enhance our dependence and our need to abide and remain with Jesus if we desire to mirror his very essence to those around us.

 In closing, in response to the praise I received earlier in the week. I am no one special. I am just a person who had a life-altering encounter face to-face with Jesus and ever since it has been my mission to encounter him over and over again and the only way to do this is to follow him and to stay united with him. These encounters allow my heart to overflow with his love and goodness, so much so that it flows onto those around me. 

I just want to do what was commanded of me!

 “I” alone cannot bear any fruit. “I” alone cannot make any difference here, “I” alone have absolutely nothing to my name other than the name of Jesus which flows from my lips. “I” alone cannot win a court case, “I” alone cannot solve the needs here, or cure cancer, “I” alone cannot even meet the needs that present themselves daily to me, “I” alone cannot make a coffee tree produce 3 times the amount of coffee than past years. But remaining in Jesus, seeking his will for me daily, accepting my many limitations, and maintaining a love for him above all the comforts, marital wealth, and status of this world allows Jesus to work miracles.  After all, Jesus says “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit, for you can do nothing without me.” John 15:5.

 The only one worth praising here is Jesus, because as Saint Paul says “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”. Galatians 2:20

 

May we learn to Love Like Christ! 

We love you all and we are so grateful each one of you! 

Mission Post: Santa Maria Magdalena's Home 

Caserio Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru

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Santa Maria Magdalena's Home