 |
| From left to right: ARCWP Priests: Olga Lucia Alvarez, Janice Severe-Duszynska, and Katy Zatsick |
(The huge Center Hall of the Convention
Center was nearly filled to capacity. People who came
up to talk had tears in their eyes,
saying that this is the kind of liturgy they've been waiting
for all of their lives...
We are grateful for Olga being with us
and her strong and touching homily. We are also much appreciative
of Judith Bautista's poem, "From
Below," which Olga selected as the reading. Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP)
“I’ll never believe without putting my finger in the nail marks and
my hand into the spear wound.” John 20: 25
Olga Lucia Álvarez Benjumea ARCWP
Translated by John
P. Wentland
The Gospel text we just heard leaves me
disturbed and makes me reflect basically on various aspects: the fear, the
cowardice of the disciples and the honesty of Thomas.
We notice in the text that the disciples are hiding in an
unknown place, with the doors firmly closed, we're never told where, or at
least the text doesn’t tell us.
Many of us are locked in, paralyzed, full of fear and cowardice.
We wait for an announcement from heaven… Only the presence of Jesus through
the Ruah [ ר֫וּחַ ] of God is able to dislodge us from the situation of
terror, pessimism and distrust. We have to discover his presence within each of
us, an attitude which will help to fulfill our heartfelt desires in a
commitment, not only of word but with concrete action.
Thomas, called “Twin”—known as well
as “The Doubter”—offers us the principal key to how, as disciples, we can
implement our work of actual commitment.
Thomas was not hiding; he was outside confronting the dangers of
the enemy, and encountering the material and sociological terrorism. He was not
living some kind of utopian dream, full of some fantastic illusion.
Thomas not only challenged the disciples; his
challenge is also for all of us when he says: “
“I’ll never believe without putting my finger in the nail marks and
my hand into the spear wound.” John 20: 25
 |
| from left to right: Olga Lucia Alvarez, seated Janice Sevre-Dusynska, Katy Zatsick |
Thomas
invites us to become aware of the reality we live in this world, in our
countries; wars popping up mercilessly against innocent people. He invites us
to not only see, but to touch, live and feel the pain, of the ones suffering,
living in prison, tortured physically and psychologically. Knowing the reality
of the immigrant, the displaced, those without family, without home, those
sick, the unemployed, the marginalized, those abandoned, the hungry, those
without health, without education. Knowing the situation faced by women and
men, excluded because of for their sexual or gender option, those rejected and
excluded for thinking differently!
Every
suffering human being is a Christ who shows us, his extended, his feet, the
wound in his side and his tortured body, so that we might put our finger and
feel completely their pain and sorrow, making them our own, healing them with
our sisterly and brotherly love.
May we
accept Thomas’ invitation to live the Gospel challenge.
Let us
present at the Offertory, our cowardice, our indifference, our fears, in the
face of the obvious actions—violations of human rights—carried out by our governments,
actions that wound, mistreat and kill our indigenous peoples, our peasants, our
black populations, our elderly, our defenseless and innocent women and children.
Their only sin is to live amongst such over-abundance. That's why they are
displaced, threatened and killed so that their lands can be appropriated just
as King Ahab took over the vineyard of Naboth (1 Kings 21).
In our
country, this is what we live every day, and not because that’s what the media
tells us, because, after all, to them, everything is a "false
positive"—the opposite of the little boy who cried “Wolf”, they say
“Everything’ll be fine!” This experienced pain comes directly by word of the
widows, the elderly, the faces of the women and children we see on the streets of
our cities, sitting at the foot of a traffic light begging for a piece of
bread, with a sign proclaiming: "We are displaced from the violence!” whether
they be in Cauca, Uraba, Caquetá, Chocó, the areas we know where are located U.S.
military bases, where the two flags—our Colombian tri-color and the U.S.
red-white-and-blue—wave so closely in unison. If you hold out your hand to
these suffering people, you are likely to be
identified as someone who is helping the armed opposition groups. Of
this no one says anything; there is no commentary, no questions, for fear of
receiving "a stray bullet."
What are we about to offer at our Offertory? Let’s share
publicly that we are going to offer in our Eucharist the making real and living
his presence through that invitation Jesus offers us each day, touching and
healing all injustice and sorrow:
“Do this in memory of me” 1 Cor. 11:24
++++++++++++++++++
“SI NO METO MI DEDO EN LA SEÑAL DEJADA POR
LOS CLAVOS Y MI MANO EN LA HERIDA DEL COSTADO NO LO CREERÉ”
Juan 20: 25
Olga Lucia
Álvarez Benjumea ARCWP
El Evangelio que acabamos de escuchar, me
deja inquieta y me hace reflexionar fundamentalmente, en varios aspectos: el
miedo, la cobardía de los discípulos y la honestidad y compromiso de Tomás.
Observamos en el texto que los discípulos
estaban escondidos en un lugar desconocido, con las puertas bien cerradas,
nunca se supo dónde, por lo menos el texto no nos lo dice.
Muchos de nosotros/as, estamos encerrados/as
paralizados/as llenos de miedo y cobardía. Esperando un anuncio del Cielo… Solo
la presencia de Jesús a través del soplo de la Ruah, es capaz de sacarnos de
esta situación de terror, de pesimismo, desconfianza. Tenemos que descubrir su
presencia en el interior de cada uno/a de nosotros, actitud que nos ayudará a
llevar a cabo nuestros sinceros deseos en el compromiso, no solo de palabra
sino con hechos concretos.
Tomás, el llamado
“Mellizo”, conocido también como el incrédulo, nos da la clave principal, para
que discípulas y discípulos podamos realizar nuestro trabajo de compromiso
real.
Tomás, no estaba escondido, él estaba afuera
desafiando los peligros del enemigo y desafiando ese terrorismo material y
sicológico. Él no estaba viviendo de utopías, ilusiones o fantasías.
Tomás, no
solo retó a los discípulos, discípulas, también el reto es para
todos/as nosotras/os, cuando dijo:
“Si no
meto mi dedo en la señal dejada por los clavos y mi mano en la herida del
costado, no lo creeré” Juan 20:25
Tomás, nos invita a tomar conciencia de la
realidad que vivimos en este mundo, en nuestros países; las guerras que brotan
sin piedad contra seres inocentes. Nos invita a no solo mirar, sino a
tocar, vivir y sentir, el dolor, del ser sufriente que vive en una cárcel,
torturado/a, física y psicológicamente. Conocer la realidad del inmigrante, del
desplazado, sin familia, sin hogar, enfermo/a, sin empleo, marginado/a,
abandonado/a, con hambre, sin salud, sin educación. Conocer la situación que
viven mujeres y hombres, excluidos/as por su opción sexual o de género.
Rechazados/as y excluidos/as por pensar diferente!
Cada ser
humano sufriente, es un Cristo que nos muestra, extendiendo sus manos, sus
pies, la herida de su costado y su cuerpo torturado, para que metamos nuestro
dedo, palpemos su dolor y tristeza haciéndola nuestra, curándole y sanándole
con amor en sororidad fraterna.
Aceptemos la invitación de Tomás que nos
desafía a vivir el Evangelio.
Presentemos en el Ofertorio, nuestras cobardías, nuestra indiferencia,
nuestros miedos, ante los hechos palpables de nuestros gobiernos, que hieren,
maltratan y asesinan a nuestros indígenas, campesinos, afros, ancianos, mujeres
y niños indefensos e inocentes. Su único pecado es vivir en la abundancia. Por
eso les desplazan, amenazan y asesinan para hurtarles sus tierras al igual que
lo hiciera el rey Ajab, con la viña de Nabot (1 Reyes 21).
En nuestro país, esto es lo que vivimos a diario, y
no porque nos lo digan los Noticieros, ya que para ellos, todo es “un falso
positivo”. El dolor nos llega directamente narrado por las viudas, los
ancianos, rostros de mujeres y niños, que vemos en las calles en nuestras
ciudades, al pie de un semáforo, mendigando un pedazo de pan, con un
aviso diciéndonos: “Somos desplazados de la violencia” bien sean del Cauca, de
Urabá, el Caquetá, del Chocó, zonas donde sabemos están ubicadas las bases
militares de los EE.UU, donde ondean muy unidas las dos banderas, nuestro tricolor
colombiano y la americana. Si tiendes la mano a estos seres sufrientes, te
confunden con alguien que está ayudando a los grupos alzados en armas. De
esto nadie dice nada, no se comenta, no se pregunta, por pánico, a
recibir “una bala pérdida”.
¿Qué vamos a presentar en nuestro Ofertorio?
Compartamos públicamente qué vamos a ofrecer en nuestra Eucaristía para hacer
real y viviente su presencia de aquella invitación que Jesús nos hace cada día,
palpando y sanando toda injusticia y dolor:
“Hagan esto
en memoria mía” 1 Corintios 11:24
CONTACT: Jack Wentland, CORPUS,
FCM, CITI
LATIN AMERICAN WOMAN
PRIEST TO GIVE HOMILY AT EUCHARIST
REMEMBERING MARTYRS
FOR JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA
For
the eleventh year, the Progressive Catholic Coalition (PCC) will offer a Mass
at which both women and men priests preside at a Mass offered at the School of
the Americas Watch (SOAW) gathering in Columbus, GA. On this 25th Anniversary of the martyrdom of two
women coworkers and 6 Jesuits at University of Central American in El Salvador
in 1989, this Eucharist calls attention to the need to continue the workclose
the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, located in Fort
Benning Georgia, whose graduates lead the attack on the Central American Jesuit
University.
Just
as in previous years, PCC organizers expect hundreds to take part—from among
the thousands of activists who gather at the event. Each year the “Eucharist of
All the People” has prayed for justice in Latin America and asked blessings on the efforts for
justice in the Church.
On Saturday, November 22, 2014, participants will gather in the Columbus Convention Center at 5:30 PM for
Eucharist. The theme of the liturgy is “Women and Men Witnesses to Justice in Latin America.”
This year the
homilist will be Colombian Roman
Catholic woman priest Olga Lucia
Alvarez, ordained in 2010 in Sarasota, Florida and serving in her native Colombia. She is the first Latin
American woman ordained priest. There are now three other women priests working
in Colombia.
The PCC is an adhoc planning
community that grew out of a recognized need to bring to participants in the
SOAW event—especially the young who may not be aware of the reform movement in
the Catholic Church—the message of hope for justice in the Church. The justice
issues represented by the PCC include ordination of women, optional
celibacy for priests, marriage equality & openly embracing all people of
every sexual orientation, academic freedom for theologians, greater lay
participation, financial accountability/transparency, transparency of diocesan
files of credibly accused sex offenders, justice and due process in church
affairs, true religious freedom for all—including women religious. The church
reform organizations sponsoring PCC@SOAW 2014 include: Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, Call to Action-usa, CITI
Ministries, Inc., CORPUS, Federation of Christian Ministries, Roll Away the
Stone and Women’s Ordination Conference.
In addition to the Eucharist, the
Progressive Catholic Coalition maintains an Information Table on Ft. Benning
Road on November 22rd and 23th to offer information about the work of their
sponsoring organizations.
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