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 65th 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
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