Laws of Man are not a Moral Compass

Greetings and blessings to everyone!

  We want you to know that each and everyone of you are in our prayers. It has been very heartwarming to receive so many emails from many of you who are worried about us and our situation with COVID here in Peru. The outpour of such kindness and prayers, we recognize as blessings and a gift from God.  Our situation here in Peru with the COVID virus is ever changing as I am sure is the case in the US. In July the government removed, for the most part, all of the military from our area and we were left with the obligation of maintaining the social distancing order and the nightly curfew which mandated that we were to be in our homes between 10 pm and 4 am each night. Although we had been asked by our Bishop and priest not to return to our formal ministries such as sacramental prep classes, youth group and bible studies we found comfort in the new normal of just being open to the Holy Spirit and knowing that soon our churches could open and formal ministries would be allowed to continue as we felt we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.  

    However due to the rise in COVID cases, as of August, the 1^st our region, along with many more regions, have now been placed back on a strict quarantine and they have moved our curfew up a few hours making it now mandatory to be in our homes each night at 8 pm until September. With the nightly curfew comes a mandatory stay at home order each Sunday, making the possibility of the Church doors opening here in Peru impossible any time soon, along with halting once again travel between any other regions of the country. Not to mention there is absolutely no concrete idea of when international travel will be allowed to resume which has made it hard for the Peruvian economy as many of the poor here rely on tourism for their family’s income. The government has said that, they are hopeful by the end of 2020 or the 1^st quarter of 2021 being an option of when international flights may return.

    It is surreal to think about what toll and effect this pandemic has taken on so many people’s lives and of the effects caused by the heavy handed governments which have had to take action out of fear rather than faith. I must note that I do not stand on either side of the debate. With one side fussing loudly about the need to wear masks and the other side screaming of the unjust of government overreach by shutting down their lives and meddling in their personal movements and affairs, it seems that picking one of their sides would not solve much when dealing with this pandemic.  It is important to know that with the eyes of the world we cannot combat the virus or its effects on this world; but to see with prudent eyes would be to see it through the eyes of the Lord and perhaps that is the best way to combat this pandemic.

    Knowing are actions must be a mirror image of the Lords merciful nature, and the need to obey the greatest commandment “You shall love...God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength....You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31) it gives a narrow gate to enter but we can be confident that our actions will be aligned with those that Jesus spoke about.

  I cannot help but think of the words of Saint Benedict: “that a person love not his own will nor take pleasure in satisfying his desires, but model his actions on the saying of the Lord, ‘I have come not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”(John 6:38)

 

  With that said I must share with you of my personal struggle during this quarantine, but 1^st I  desire to enlighten you of the familiar story of the two sisters Mary and Martha, which often replays in my head during my personal prayer time. As I recall the many times lately “I” have become a hindrance in Christ’s Mission set before me. I am very much a “Martha”, a planner, go getter, and a worrier, instead of mirroring the wisdom of Mary and her peaceful silence and contemplative nature like I know I should. After all, Jesus told Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things. Mary has chosen the best part and she will not be deprived of it.”(Luke 10:41-42)

     Do not get me wrong Martha’s concerned nature and the life she lived of service is not frowned upon by Jesus; after all the Church celebrates ST. Martha and her life of service every July 29^th. However, Jesus addressed the fact that we cannot always live a life of service at all times. We must also have time for prayer and Holy Silence to set before the Lord. To desire to seek His face and the ability to possess a life of contemplation is also a very important role as a Christian and for our own sanctity. 

Although the Martha in me has definitely been challenged everyday during this time of uncertainty,  I have also been very blessed to see the new fruits that have come from living day to day, guided by the Holy Spirit and of contemplating on the face of Jesus in Holy Silence, rather than a “to-do” list.  As I have been reminded of the fact that to follow Christ also means that we should make His cares, wishes, concerns, and loves our own cares, wishes, concerns, and loves, rather than those of our own will. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). But to do this “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.”--Blessed Mother Teresa and it is “In silence and quiet the devout soul advances in virtue and learns the hidden truths of Scripture.”--Imitation of Christ

 In keeping this commandment, we obviously cannot live in this world, there is no mistaking that the only way to do so is to realign our hearts to that of our Lords. I know as a Christian I cannot without prudence solely live of what the Government demands of us, and live strictly on adherence to their rules, because their laws are not a moral compass, nor can I live on the liberal view point, with the mentality that I can live as if only my rights matter and are more important than my neighbors. Instead I must be focused more on the universal call to holiness and what that means personally for me and for those souls that I may help bring closer to Christ.

  In this season it seems that Jesus desires to highlight the Martha in me, as I have often forgotten to be more like Mary.  As I often heavily weigh my worth and how God sees my worthiness by the works of my hand.  The fact that I am always engulfed in the works of my hands rather than just sitting attentively to Jesus with my gaze fixed to his face has indeed been stressed during this pandemic, leaving no doubt that this season for me was meant to be a season  of change and a season of renewal. 

 With that said I have realized that within our vocation and ministry that we must welcome the opportunity to sit in Holy Silence with our Lord. It is a constant balance that we must maintain not to become too much like Martha and not enough like Mary. Since being called to live as a foreign missionary I have often worried if I am doing enough, If I was sacrificing enough for those I serve. So you can see that when the pandemic hit I felt our ministries were hindered significantly and I begged the Holy Spirit to prepare a way for us to show us how best to serve in this time while still obeying the rules of the government. Thanks be to God, through prayer and discernment the Holy Spirit made it clear to us where we could draw the line between following the rules imposed by the Peruvian government that hindered us from being able to keep the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbor.

  So, with that we have been able to make a respectable and holy decision to not actively visit the elderly in their homes. Forgoing our normal home visits that consisted of prayer and friendly conversation, instead we felt it to be more prudent to visit from a distance, so we have been walking to their homes to check on them and leaving food for them. We have also made the super hard decision to not visit the communities up in the mountains. As we felt that they are so many hours away from this crazy mess, secluded in their own world without intrusion from the outside world, we did not want to bring them harm and enter their secluded communities and bring the virus. Instead we communicate with them via telephone and have been able to check on them and pray together in that way.

  Thankfully, we have, yet again, learned new ways to serve as the Holy Spirit has led us to unusual opportunities this past month.  Thank goodness since the government has reactivated the quarantine measures, we have yet seen the military here in our town. We pray that in this round they will not return to restrict our movements any further than what they are. Because at the moment we are able to move around during the day and to buy our provisions as needed for ourselves and for those we have been helping by supplementing them with food.

  Also, without the militaries presence the children can play a lot longer together outside than the allotted 1 hour per day limit. and thank goodness the police next door has not said anything to them overstaying their play time.  And since our formal ministries have not yet been approved to resume it has provided the opportunity for all three of us to spend more time with the children here.

  I must tell you how Gabriel came up with a new way to serve his friends. He designed a water jug holder, complete with cup holders and had a local young man weld it into existence. It was really awakening to us the 1^st day that Gabriel wheeled out the new water jug holder for the afternoon fun and games in the plaza. It is something so simple that we often forget the riches we have while being able to afford to buy clean drinking water. A 5-gallon jug here is roughly 2 US dollars. Clean water here is a luxury and the children feel so honored to be invited for a drink of clean water and to have their own cup to drink from.  Since water is such a sacred symbol in the bible, and I cannot help but pray that Gabriel’s water ministry will be able to bring others closer to Christ in the way he intended.

  Julianna has been taken this time to fix broken statues, a bit of a different kind of ministry you can say. It all started with her fixing a broken crucifix that had been thrown to the side of the church and ever since she has been asked to repair others from people here in our town.

  We also have used some of the of extra time that we have on our hands to bake cookies and homemade chicken pot pies to deliver to our older neighbors in the community.

    Each Thursday night we still have Holy adoration and on Sunday we have a celebration of the word, despite the church doors having to remain closed.  We remain obedient to this time and as a family fervently pray that others may hear us as we proclaim the word of our Lord and rejoice in song.

     I can not help but cringe when the church bells rings, as we know it is not to announce Mass is about to start. Instead the only reason they ring is to announce that another person has died. It has become way to common of a sound. Just this week we had another death, not directly because the person had the illness but because of depression due to losing his job because of the governments shut down to stop the spread of the virus. Mr. Luis leaves behind his wife and 7 year old son. This is a ministry that is very hard for my children and I, we ask that you please keep us in your prayers and all those who have passed since March.

I know it is very possible that as my family has, that the recent times have been riddled with many uncertainties for you and your family as well. We pray that you may be blessed to seek and to encounter the face of Christ, and that within your search you will encounter the most holiest of places where you may sit in the midst of His silence,  far away from the noise. You may find to carve out the time in your day, may be difficult at 1^st but rest assure, that once you open your heart and silence the noise, your appetite for such prayer will increase over time; because during these intimate times in prayer your heart will be inflamed with such love and holy wisdom that you will be drawn more and more to these intimate and holy encounters with Christ. There you will find your moral compass! 

We love each one of you!

Karen, Julianna and Gabriel Del Castillo

We would be honored to receive your prayer request. At anytime you may send them to us through our email address listed below.

We would be extremely blessed if you would pray for us to remain obedient and humble to the will of our Lord.  

We thank you for your prayers and your support. 


Without the sacrifices made by each of you this work would be impossible. 

Prayer request
 Email:  karendelcastillo@familymissionscompany.com

Donations Web Site: delcastillo.familymissionscompany.com

 Fridays, I would say are pretty normal here at the Family Missions Company for those of us who are going through formation training to become Lay Catholic Foreign Missionaries.

But I have to say out of all the great talks and the wonderful classes we participant in everyday that Friday Nights ranks high on my list.

See here at FMC Friday night is a very big deal. All the missionaries here look forward to it,  just as much as we did back at home. Nope, we do not go to a Football Stadium to see our children play or to watch the awesome school band. We have a simple night of praise and worship. We simply sing songs and praise Jesus after dinner.

I have spent many of my Friday nights as a mom at a football stadium cheering on both of my older boys playing for their school football team. Many of those nights having to drive out of town to be able to watch them play.  Some of those nights I remember were some of the coldest nights of my life, spent outside in the rain and sleet sitting on cold wet frozen bleachers just to show my love and support for the my boys and the community.

This past Friday night I was reminded by Frank Summers the founder of Family Missions Company that we are not called to be in the stands at the football field we are called to be ON THE FIELD. Each and everyone of us should be right in the middle of the football field playing the game. I was reminded that Christ died a terrible awful death. That involved many horrific things that were done to Him that we seem to put in the back of our minds. Like having nails hammered into His hands and feet so they could hang him from the Cross. Having a sword stuck into his side. Christ died on that Cross for each and everyone of us because he loves us. Not for us to just sit in the stands to cheer him on. Or for us to attend Mass and sit in the pews of a church in front of the altar for just an hour each Sunday. 

He died because he loved us much more than we could ever imagine.  

Today October 22 is World Mission Sunday, a day that leads us to the heart of our Christian faith – leads us to mission! Donations that were made made today will go to help support the work of priests, religious and lay leaders in the Missions who share our faith with those most in need.What a great day to recall to our minds the love Christ had for us. Jesus spent his life as a Missionary going from town to town preaching to all the Nations about his Father. Jesus preformed miracles and made disciples as he followed his Fathers will for Him.

Saint Pope John Paul Wrote in his Encyclical Letter Mission Of The Redeemer 

“ I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim to all peoples.” 

“It is only in faith that the Church’s mission can be understood and only in faith that it finds basis.” 

Could one even imagine what life would have been if Jesus just sat in the bleachers instead of getting out on to the Field? 

So today we are challenged to take a moment to reflect how it is that we uphold the duty of our Faith.

My friends we are the Church, and I am so blessed to call each of you my friend because each and everyone of you have encouraged me to get out of the stands and on the field. 

Pope Francis says, “enable the missionary heart of Christian communities to join in prayer, testimony of life and communion of goods, in responding to the vast and pressing needs of evangelization.”

Broken and Hungry for Love

 A Call to Missions -

 Broken and Hungry for Love 

 For most of my life, I sought love and approval from those around me. In fact, I can confidently say that my desire for those things put me on a path that lead me through trials and made me who I am today. 

Those trials have made many view my family as broken, unworthy of any kind of earthly love much less divine love. The sad thing is I believed all that was true, I believed I was broken. But it is truly amazing how God can mend the Broken. How he can love the most unworthy of His servants. My family and I remind you, we are sinners. We have done nothing to deserve his love, a love he pours out over us relentlessly. Our Lord’s understanding of love and the worth of his people is priceless and commands a certain respect but more so creates a longing for an intimate relationship with him.  His love for us demands a proper reaction from us and that reaction should be a true desire to know him; to be closer to the one who loves us so unconditionally. 

St Thomas Aquinas boldly stated “The actual effect of the Eucharist is the transformation of man into GOD”.  St Thomas knew something I had not known before. He knew that when we seek Christ within that tiny white Host during Holy Communion. Christ himself will most certainly be there, veiled and concealed in the host. He knew that eyes could not see, and the unbelieving souls that approached the host could not have ever know it was truly Christ, but it is Christ that sets a fire that is set within our hearts. A desire that we would truly become one with him and know of his, no strings attached love for each of us. The past is the past. Unconditional love; that is what he has for each of us.  That is the missing link to our soul. My soul had been starving for all those years and my heart was in need of his unconditional love, in order to find fulfillment in my Faith, religion, and life all together.  I had to come to terms with that fact. God loves me and my broken family unconditionally and only He can fulfill us, no other love of flesh can do that. The Eucharist truly transformed my family into one with him. 

 A little less than 2 decades ago, I, as an adult, became Catholic; receiving the body and blood of Jesus Christ for the 1^st time in my life. I honestly had no Idea that God would place on my heart the desire to know him & everything about the wonderful Catholic Church and her teachings. I had no idea he would use our brokeness to help others see his healing powers. 

 We find an amazing peace and strength only our God could give to my family and I.  An amazing peace that allows us to recognize that he is calling us out of the boat and into the water just as we heard so many times in the Gospel reading found in Matthew 14: 22-33, with Peter saying…… "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Just like Peter, we too have been tempted to stay in the boat out of fear and doubt, but Christ is there with open arms asking my family to trust in him and to just stay focused on him. He is asking us to have confidence in his love and his forgiveness and to get out of the boat and follow him to the ends of the earth.  

 God is calling my family into a life among the poor and to many this might sound unheard of or foolish. Corinthians 1:18 says “for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power God.” He truly saved us, He has softened our hearts and for over two years, has mended the broken pieces in preparation to send us out. My family has heard his call for us to live our life in a radical way, among the poor.  To live among the poorest of the poor; to totally surrender to His will and to look to Him and beg of him to supply all that we need. To tell those who have not heard of his miracles, that He waits to perform  for them in their lives. To tell how he can make the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk. To tell how he wants to love them. To tell how he will never ever break their hearts. To tell how he has been waiting for all of us, for over 20 centuries in the tabernacle as the great St. Josemaria Escriva points out. To tell how he just wants to love us unconditionally & to fill our hunger.  Two thirds of the over 7 billion people living today have never been introduced to Jesus. 

In the book written by ST. JOHN PAUL II, called MISSION OF THE REDEEMER it says “NO BELIEVER IN CHRIST, NO INSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH CAN AVOID THIS SUPREME DUTY: TO PROCLAIM CHRIST TO ALL PEOPLES.”

 We are very grateful God has called us to become Catholic Foreign Lay Missionaries among an amazing mission team known as the Family Mission Company based out of Abbeville Louisiana. Over the last year, we have sold or given everything we have away. We take only what fits in our suitcases and the words of our Lord with us to some of the darkest corners of the world to proclaim His good news. We embark on this not so glamorous, but oh so glorious call to a life in foreign missions this September.  After our three month training has ending, in early January we will be assigned a country where we will live among the poor and will journey with them as we seek the face of Christ among them and share in our love for our Catholic Faith with in their communities.

He has healed, He has called, and each day he continues to renew us, and in response my children and I have been undergoing a divine transformation; by detaching ourselves from the world’s materials as He transforms us into beggars for the Gospel. We have detached ourselves from our possessions and will live on the providence of our mission partners in order to serve the poor and live in solidarity with the poor. Though poor ourselves, we will live lives of generosity to the poor, showing a preferential option for the poor, as the Church teaches.

 Romans 10:14-15 it says ^“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" 

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove

than the hunger for Bread” Mother Teresa

Follow the link to become one of our much needed mission partners delcastillo.familymissionscompany.com

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