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Our Claretian mission team set out from Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala early one morning. The long cayuco, a dugout canoe, held all seven of us as we glided over the quiet waters of the Bay of Amatique. With a skilled hand at the tiller, we found the mouth of a small river, then motored up it as far as it could be navigated. Our guide, machete in hand, cut a path for us through – to my eyes – impenetrable rainforest undergrowth towards a settlement of simple farmer’s huts.
Villagers eagerly awaited. A Franciscan nurse improvised a clinic. We all had assigned tasks. A Mass would be celebrated. Afterwards, the small community gathered around rough tables set up under a thatched roofed champa. We shared a chicken and yuca broth with corn tortillas. What little they had, they shared gladly.
Like the apostles in today’s Gospel, we met Jesus there in the sharing of a meal, the breaking of bread. How could we not see him in those villagers? His peace was with us. Listening to his words opens the path to repentance and forgiveness of our sins. The commandments serve to keep us on a path that may seem as bewildering as ours was through that rainforest. A Our Claretian mission team set out from Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala early one morning. The long cayuco, a dugout canoe, held all seven of us as we glided over the quiet waters of the Bay of Amatique. With a skilled hand at the tiller, we found the mouth of a small river, then motored up it as far as it could be navigated. Our guide, machete in hand, cut a path for us through – to my eyes – impenetrable rainforest undergrowth towards a settlement of simple farmer’s huts.
Villagers eagerly awaited. A Franciscan nurse improvised a clinic. We all had assigned tasks. A Mass would be celebrated. Afterwards, the small community gathered around rough tables set up under a thatched roofed champa. We shared a chicken and yuca broth with corn tortillas. What little they had, they shared gladly.
Like the apostles in today’s Gospel, we met Jesus there in the sharing of a meal, the breaking of bread. How could we not see him in those villagers? His peace was with us. Listening to his words opens the path to repentance and forgiveness of our sins. The commandments serve to keep us on a path that may seem as bewildering as ours was through that rainforest. A gathering storm hastened our departure. We knew we had nothing to fear.