This past week I completed week 4 of my studies. One of our classmates, Niehls from Holland, returned to his homeland at the end of last week and so that left Yukka (from Japan) and myself in class together. Now, there are other students in the school, but all of us are at different levels of competency in Spanish. In terms of competency, Niehls was a buffer between Yukka and myself. Believe me, not that I am so far advanced, but my command of Spanish is better than Yukka's, so I felt like we proceeded very slowly this week in our learning to accommodate for the differences in competency. While in the beginning I was okay with this, it is now becoming an obstacle to progressing at a more rapid pace. I originally enrolled for 4 weeks of group sessions for exactly this reason. I did enjoy the camaraderie and learning some of our cultural differences, but now it's time to pick up the pace. I will now enroll in 3 hours of private classes so that I can cover more material in a shorter amount of time. While I still make many mistakes, many of the things I am learning is in essence a "review" for me, so I am not a "first time learner", but rather, trying to retrieve information that I once learned many years ago. I will miss having Yukka in class because she is a very beautiful person and has shown me all the good aspects of the Japanese culture.
Something that might be of interest to those of you who may want to learn or review Spanish... in reviewing the past participle for an exam I had on Friday, I came across a website for learning Spanish that I have found very helpful. Again, most of the topics were a review for me, but I find that I need to review some of these "early" learnings so that I can refrain from making, what I consider, silly mistakes. If you are interested you can find the website at www.StudySpanish.com. I look forward to continuing my studies and advancing to the next level. Because of the shift in the manner in which I will study, my hours at the school will change as well. I am looking forward to this for two important reasons: (1) I will be able to stay in the community longer in the morning and as a result have the opportunity to celebrate Mass more frequently than solely on Saturday mornings, and (2) I will not have to fight with the early morning traffic and the crowd on the bus every morning. I think these two consequences for the change in schedule will help both my confidence in liturgical Spanish and provide me with peace of mind in the morning. So, I will keep you posted if this change was beneficial to my learning and my acclimation to priestly ministry in another language.
This past week, the members of my community were away in Puebla for a meeting of all the Brothers. Originally I was going to go with them, but as it turned out, the amount of time away from school was going to be too long for me as I had already paid for school for this past week. They were away because we did celebrate Mexican Independence Day during the week. So, the week left me mostly alone (there was a young man and his young son who acted as "security" during this time) and provided me with much time to think, pray, and reflect upon my experiences... and of course to watch Netflix! There were a few moments during this time when I thought to myself, "What are you doing here?", and " You are never going to really learn this language, you might as well give it up now." Fear has a way of allowing self destructive thoughts to enter my mind. Yes, I am not fluent, but I have only been here for 4 weeks! I have to keep reminding myself that this is going to take time. I have to be honest with myself and with others when I am feeling stressed, lonely, overwhelmed and frustrated. I am typically a strong person, but at this point in my life, it is difficult to be the one who does not know, the one who doesn't "get it", the liability and not the asset. It is difficult for me to be the weak one, and yet I have to remember the words of Paul, "when I am weak, I am made strong in Christ Jesus.". A tough and humbling lesson for me this week.
I will be headed to the US on Tuesday for Provincial Council meetings. I am very excited about being in St. Louis and staying with my community I lived with this past year while I attend meetings. I will also have the opportunity to preside at Our Lady of the Pillar during the week and on the weekend. It will be great to see some of the people who became important to me during my sabbatical year. It will also be good to be able to speak with confidence!
So, to keep you all up to date with my life here in Mexico, I took a few pics of our property and community dwelling. You can get an idea of how we live here by the pics. The dwelling is an "open air" arrangement with rooms that open up to the outside. In many ways, it is similar to the community dwelling in Hawaii but without the scenic view of Diamond Head... so enjoy!
A typical bedroom
part of the property
Community Chapel
Entrance to the Chapel
Small Grotto to Our Lady of Guadalupe
Memorial for the Deceased Brothers
Marianist Cross
As I have done in the previous two weeks, I leave you with my homily for this Saturday. It was very fitting that the Gospel pertained to the seed that fell on different soil. There were indeed moments during this past week when I felt dry, overburdened with worry, anxious and fearful. The Gospel was a good reminder of what can happen when I let the Word of God fall upon the "good soil" of my life....
Homily, Sept. 19, 2015: TM 6:13-16, LK 8:4-15
When we pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love,
patience, gentleness and not envy, insults, conflict with one another, and a
love for money, then we live the commandment that Paul encourages Timothy to
live in his letter. The pursuit of those
great ideals can only come to believers if the Word of God is planted in good
soil. How many times have we heard this
parable, and if you are like me, I often think, well, yes, I am planted in good
soil…look at all the good things I do, all the good things I say to others, I’m
a Marianist, I better be in good soil!
But if the Word of God is living and active, then we must always be
aware that the soil must be fed and nourished.
The seed cannot grow in dry earth.
It needs to be watered, tended to, pruned back and have enough sunlight
in order for the seed to grow and bear much fruit. Even if we have had good soil in the past, it
does not guarantee good soil for life-we must actively work on our relationship
with Jesus and our relationship with the Word of God that has the power to
transform our lives. Did you ever notice
that you can hear the same Scripture passage over the course of years and each
time the passage may mean something a little different to you? If we do not
tend to the soil of our lives, then we stifle the power that the Word can have
in our lives individually, communally, and as a Church. We will always have fears, worries,
insecurities, confusion and doubt in our lives.
That’s not the problem. The issue
is how do we handle these situations in our lives? Do we give up or give in? Or do we know that
our lives are firmly planted in the soil of Christ Jesus and that with him we
can overcome anything? We have to work each day to ensure that the Word of God
falls on the good soil of our lives, it’s our life’s project, and it is not a
onetime thing. Through prayer, the
reading, reflecting and sharing on the Word of God, and through works of mercy
we can avoid envy, insults, conflicts with one another, and love for money and
pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness, for this
is what grows in the good soil of the Word of God. Do we want to bear good
fruit or be stuck in our ways that we may think may be good, but in the end
does not bear the fruit that the Word of God invites us to bear? Let our seeds produce
much fruit today!
Cuando
buscamos una vida de rectitud, piedad, fe, amor, paciencia, y mansedumbre y no
envidia, insultos, conflicto entre sí, y un amor por el dinero, entonces
vivimos el mandamiento que Pablo anima a Timoteo a vivir en su carta. La
búsqueda de esos grandes ideales sólo puede venir a los creyentes si la Palabra
de Dios se siembra en buena tierra. ¿Cuántas veces hemos escuchado esta
parábola, y si usted es como yo, a menudo pienso, bueno, sí, estoy plantado en
buena tierra ... mira todas las cosas buenas que hago, todas las cosas buenas
que decir a otros, yo soy un marianista, yo seré mejor en tierra buena! Pero si
la Palabra de Dios es viva y eficaz, debemos siempre tener en cuenta que el
suelo debe ser alimentar y alimentada. La semilla no puede crecer en tierra
seca. Se necesita ser regado, tendido a, podados atrás y tener suficiente luz
solar para que la semilla para crecer y dar mucho fruto. Incluso si hemos
tenido un buen suelo en el pasado, no garantiza un buen suelo para la vida
tenemos que trabajar activamente en nuestra relación con Jesús y nuestra
relación con la Palabra de Dios que tiene el poder de transformar nuestras
vidas. ¿Te has dado cuenta de que se puede escuchar el mismo pasaje de las
Escrituras en el transcurso del año y cada vez que el pasaje puede significar
algo un poco diferente a usted? Si nosotros no solemos el terreno de nuestras
vidas, entonces nos ahogamos el poder que la palabra puede tener en nuestra
vida individual, comunal, y como Iglesia. Siempre tendremos miedos,
preocupaciones, inseguridades, la confusión y la duda en nuestras vidas. Ese no
es el problema. La cuestión es cómo manejamos estas situaciones en nuestras
vidas? ¿Nos damos por vencidos o cedemos? O sabemos que nuestras vidas están
firmemente plantados en el suelo de Jesús y que con él podemos superar
cualquier cosa? Tenemos que trabajar todos los días para asegurarse de que la
Palabra de Dios cae en tierra buena de nuestras vidas, es el proyecto de
nuestra vida, y no es una cosa de una sola vez. A través de la oración, la
lectura, la reflexión y el compartido sobre la Palabra de Dios, y por medio de
las obras de misericordia podemos evitar envidias, los insultos, los conflictos
entre sí, y el amor por el dinero y sigue rectitud, piedad, fe, amor, paciencia
y mansedumbre, porque esto es lo que crece en la tierra buena de la Palabra de
Dios. ¿Queremos dar frutos buenos o ser atrapado en nuestras formas en que
podemos pensar que puede ser bueno , pero al final no da el fruto que la
Palabra de Dios nos invita a llevar? Que nuestras semillas producen muchos
fruto hoy.
Have a great week, and I hope to hear from you... prayers and hugs!
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