By Fr. Rey Tejico, CICM

Like tribal people everywhere, the Mayan Indians of Guatemala are under siege from the Government, the military and intrusive lowlanders. Fr. Rey Tejico, a young Filipino missionary, tells us how the Church is trying, albeit belatedly, to respect and integrate the Mayan culture into the liturgy and to ensure that it enriches our Christian life.

The Chaos of Ignorance

When in 1992 our Province evaluated its missionary presence in Guatemala the decision was made to make a more radical commitment to pastoral missionary presence among the Indians. As a result of this decision a team of CICMers took up the task. We were convinced that we had given the right answer to the question: where is our presence as a missionary Congregation most needed in Guatemala today? The two places we chose were Aldea Lo de Fuentes and Tierra Nueva II.

Aldea Lo de Fuentes

Aldea Lo de Fuentes goes back to pre-Hispanic times, to the Poqomam culture. Forty percent of the population still use the Poqomam tongue and 60% of the women still wear their typical dresses. Aldea Lo de Fuentes is close to the capital. During the past two decades there have been major migrations of the Indigenous People toward Guatemala City in search of a better life. In Aldea Lo de Fuentes we find many different Mayan language groups: Kiche, Keqchi, Kaqchikel, Kanjobal, Ache, Awakatekos, Sakpultekos. This does not make things easy for us missionaries. Where in 1981 there were 660 Indian Families in Aldea, there now are 1442 (approximately 7,500 people). There are only a few Ladino families.

Tierra Neuva II

Tierra Nueva II is part of the municipality of Chinautla and is about 10 miles from Guatemala City. It’s population is close to 1000 families with an average of 5 members per family. This settlement is the result of a migration from rural areas which began in 1986 and continues today. In the past two decades the army has systematically y driven Indians from the rural areas to better able to control any insurgency.

Development Aggression

The peoples culture is important. We are doing our best to study and integrate the cultural values of the Mayan people into our ministry. Because the government’s development model for Guatemala is concentrated on the improvement of a few privileged people, there are many situations of social injustice and discrimination: a high rate of unemployment, large number of homeless people, serious problems in the fields of educations, health and nutrition. Many of our people live in harsh conditions. They have to work long hours at low wages. There is a lot of pressure from outside the community to abandon Mayan cultural values.

We want to connect our Church to the real life of the people. The Mayan culture has not yet disappeared from the map. They still have their own educational system which is built around the life and customs of the Mayan people. Its social order still has well-defined boundaries and values.

Respecting the Mayan Culture

We have developed a catechetical approach which respects the Mayan culture. We try to take into account their way of informal learning, formal initiations and rites and customs from within the Mayan culture in the past, the church failed to adopt Mayan customs and ritual. Today we are trying to make a special effort to learn the beauty of the Mayan religious customs and culture and to sue them in our liturgies and preaching.

Planting Rites

In May, we celebrated in Lo de Fuentes the May an rite of planting season, tx’opo’n a large number of people of all ages of Mayan origin and even two Mayan priests participated. The people themselves may not all have realized the significance of this celebration in the Catholic Church, but it was a beautiful experience, rooted in the life and culture of the people. There was Mayan music played on typical Mayan instruments.

For 500 years the Mayans have been celebrating the first rains and the planting season, asking special blessings from mother earth, thanking the Creator for all life, all gifts receive and asking for peace in the country. An altar is covered with white flowers and colorful candles. Each color has a special meaning. Green blesses the earth. Black appeases the evil spirits. Red is for love and romance. White stands for peace. Yellow for protection. In their prayers the Mayan priests ask for blessings from heaven. Some people think that the Mayan customs are on the decline and, indeed, some Indians in the urban settings do seem to lose interest in their traditions. But in our two missions many Mayan customs are still alive among the people.

Truly Mayan

As CICM missionaries we do want to help our people to integrate their culture into their religious practices and faith. We want to help this Church to become one that is truly Mayan and expresses the soul and heart of Mayan people in their religious rites and thinking.

Most of the poor Mayan families who settled in the slum areas as squatters were driven away by the military police. In order to pressure their government to give them protection they organized protest rallies, camping in front of the Palacio Nacional.

Fr. Efren de Guzman, SVD

As we prepare this article from Fr. Efren the news from Angola is bad. Things have deteriorated again and the longed for reconciliation between UNITA and the Angola Government seems far away. In the midst of very difficult material and physical circumstances, Fr. Efren and his little group struggle on. It is amazing that he finds time at all to write these brief thoughts, memories, dreams and prayers, special mixture which we call Angola Diary.

Our Call to Reconciliation

“Africa today is not Africa of long time ago, of wild animals running the vast plains enjoying nature which God provides. Yet never before has the jungle law of kill or be killed made itself.” The religious, ethnic, social, political and ideological differences among peoples in Africa have led to increasing conflict. Certainly we cannot succeed in forcing people to get along, but it is our Christian mandate to try, and if it fails, then we must help victims of conflict to pick up the pieces of their broken lives, and broken homes and start again.”

Street Children

Most of them are orphans. Others do not know if their parents are still alive. Tears fell from our eyes as we heard one of them protesting over the radio> His name is Kito, 10 years old. He said: “We are like outcasts, our future is to build our houses in the sky and on the sea! And if he policeman finds that we have no money, he takes our one good shirt! Where are the homes and schools for us? What is our future... to become bandits or prostitutes? Just wait...one day we will take revenge!” A minute after the journalists left him in the street a policeman walked up and shot Kito dead. He died before we reached the hospital.

Land Mines

Angola is one of the countries most affected by landmines in the world with more than 15 million in place especially in agriculture areas. We have the worst bombarded and devastated cities in Africa like Kuito, Bie, Huambo. We have 78% illiteracy. We have one of the world’s highest cost of living and very low salaries. Example: a beer costs 5 to 8 US dollars. 80% of our food goes from the outside. For every five children, three are dying of hunger or disease. For every five Angolans, three are hiding dangerous arms. Meanwhile, Angola is number four producer of diamonds in the world and number two producer of oil in Africa. The United Nations have done something good in constructing roads, bridges and reconciling the rebels and the government troops. But the big question is: “How do they spend more than one million US dollars a day? We call this UN-NGO corruption!

Refugees

Last week we discussed the situation of refugees worldwide. There are few countries throughout history which have not encountered the desperate situation of refugees. Statistics are difficult to asses as they fluctuate according to world crises. But there are, at present, approximately more than ten million refugees worldwide and over half of these are women and young children.

Pruning

Three days before New Year the only daughter of our elder Disedero de Costa (a government vice minister of oil exploration) was kidnapped. This old man is trying to help us build houses for the lepers in Funda. How can your console a friend who is experiencing deep trouble? How can you explain that life’s fruitfulness comes through the pruning knife or affliction? We prayed with hands lifted to God for his daughter’s safe return.

Abductors

For the safe return of our Vice Minister’s daughter the kidnapper’s ransom was one hand half million US dollars. Some relatives couldn’t control their tongue and immediately the whole of Angola heard the news. They lost contact with the kidnappers. Tragically, the police suspected some relatives of the Vice Minister as the kidnappers. These relatives were imprisoned and tortured! Meanwhile, the Vice Minister himself, was dying and his wife was very sick. Friends and people prayed a lot and behold after 28 days of waiting the secret agents liberated the daughter from her abductors. And as a sign of gratitude to God the parents requested us to celebrate Mass and exorcise their house against evil. The alleged suspect of the crime was former Governor Ventura who is also accused of corruption and the alleged murder of his predecessor Government Skees.

The Principle

After New Year we had a Community Farmer’s Meeting. One of our leaders illustrated the principle that we’ll never accomplish anything unless we do our part. We must keep on in spite of disappointments. And remember, if we sow abundantly, we can expect a bountiful crop. And, yes, the hardest part of harvesting is getting started with the new planting.

Lepers

We celebrated a special day for the lepers. We had many visitors from the Ministry of Health, NGOs, religious, friends and our people and our Polish superior Padre Andre and Sister Dolores. Also, today big fighting is going on between the army and police forces. From, 20 to 30 km. one can hear explosions. Same reasons for rebellion: lack of food and salary.

When the storms seem unending, I wish you to remember the sunshine. As you teach love to those who know only hate. When you are over concerned with material matters, I wish you to step back and pay attention to your heart. When you are in pain life’s conflicts, I wish you courage and hope.

By Fr Joseph Panabang SVD

Vacation Talk

Sr. Bernadette Dery, first year novice of the Holy Spirit Sister in Sunyani, was in Kintampo giving a vocation talk on sisterhood. She stressed that to be a religious sister one must leave her country behind. During the open forum Sr. Bernadette was asked why she should leave her country behind. She got somewhat confused but after a while she said with authority, “Because the country is too big for the plane to carry.” The people who filled the big church laughed their hearts out.

Rivers Spirits

Haunted by the traditional fear of river spirits, few villagers dare to go to the waterfalls. Aware of such traditional beliefs, I erected a big concrete cross beside the water which flows majestically into the depths below. With the white cross, the, the waterfall is not a dreaded place anymore but a place where people look forward to visit - a place for prayer, a place now called “Our lady of Kintampo Prayer Park”.

Moses and the Burning Bush

November to March is called Harmattan in Ghana. It is the season when dust from the Sahara Desert if blown like clouds all over West Africa. One can see the yellowish sun directly with the naked eye as the dust weakens its rays. Bush fires are a common thing because the grass is all dried. Forest after forest and even sometimes a whole village is simply burnt day in and day out without human concern despite our beautiful laws on banning fire! It was at this time when Fr. Martin Buckely, SMA caught three men lighting a fire in the forest. He brought them to the Chief. Instead of reprimanding them according to the law, the Chief said, “God spoke to Mosses in a burning bush.
If it was good Moses, it is also good for us,” Fr. Martin could only look on with a smile of dismay.

Oil Tank

Working on the same premise of being wise as a snake and innocent as a dove, Fr. Joachim Zok, SVD, in his attempt to stop the neighboring people fetching water from the mission tank, poured pure vegetable oil into the tank. With oil shimmering all over the top, no one dared to get water anymore. No one ever thought that oil, being lighter than water, is only shimmering on the surface and not at the bottom.

Ulcer Attack

Laurence Appaiah, one of my church helpers, came asking for a cup of milo without sugar because he was having ulcer attack. He came at the time when I was packing and sorting things out for the poor and needy. “Why Father?” he kindly asked. My ulcer is also bothering me. I feel I will die any moment from now. so I decided to start giving my things away,” I said. He almost forgot his cup of milo starting at me unbelievably.

Bush Driver

I made a wrong turn at a busy intersection in Accra City, capital of Ghana. All the cars beside me (front, back, left and right) stopped. An impatient taxi driver stuck his head out of the car and yelled, “Eh Obruni, wo ye bush driver anaa?” (Eh white man, are you a village driver?”) Immediately I shouted back, “Ampal Me firi Kintampo.” (It is true, I am a bush driver but from Kintampo Village.) Instead of the expected and usual exchange of insults, everybody was laughing. The tension was eased and another driver got out to direct the traffic jam. “Bush driver” is used her as an insult to a reckless driver.

Sr. Tammy Saberon from Zamboanga del Sur is saying good-bye to the Philippines. Sr. Tammy is a well known to our readers because she is the author of the well-known tape, God has a Dream for You, with all the songs she wrote which inspire us all to missionary work.

Sr. Tammy’s days of mission awareness in Mindanao are now over. While she was there she did extra ordinary work animating the students of Immaculate Conception College and the surrounding areas to become missionary minded. She was a great supported of Familia Misyon. She became a marvelous promoter of the MISYON magazine. Without people like Sr. Tammy our magazine would never get anywhere.

Now the strange thing is, taking over from Sr. Tammy as you can see from the photograph, is none other than the notorious Sr. Virgie Mozo. Sr. Virgie has finished a stint in Latin America and now comes to Mindanao to continue the mission awareness work which Sr. Tammy had done. Sr. Virgie is another live wire filled wit love of God and filled with the desire to share this love. I’m sure you have seen a lot of her photographs and articles in MISYON Magazine.

Srs. Virgie and Tammy are typical of the new generations of Filipino missionaries going out to all over Asia, Latin America and Africa bringing the tenderness of God, along with sense of Filipino humor and the willingness to eat anything, sleep anywhere and learn a new language. God bless you both, 
Sr. Tammy and Sr. Virgie, in your new work. Sr. Tammy back in Hong Kong. Sr. Virgie now in Mindanao.

P.S. WE hope that Sr. Tammy herself in Hong Kong will continue the wonderful work she did there before of promoting Misyon Magazine in that ‘Filipino colony’ where there are now over a hundred thousand Filipinos.

By Malou Saranza

My daughter has a halo brace on her head. To many, it seems as if she is in a cage. But my husband and I see that Therese is one of the freest children this world has ever known.

“Mommy! My head is hurting again!” exclaimed my daughter Therese. “Really, sweetheart?” I said, concerned, “Why does my head hurt everyday Mommy?” I turned to my husband Boy, who looked at me a little helplessly. “Mommy you know as well as I do the doctors can’t find anything wrong with Therese. I mean, wasn’t it a relief to know it isn’t it a brain tumor?”

I nodded, half-convinced. Therese’s headaches which began when she was only five years old and which at first we thought were just her way of getting attention, were getting more and more severe. Boy and I had just completed the 14 weeks of the Christian Life Program of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) and we had learned to just trust in the love of God healing, but there were times when I just had to ask, “Why my child, Lord? Pain relievers don’t work for her. If there is something wrong, show u where to look, it’s not tumor, they say. So, what is it?”

Falling Into a Trap

“I’m withdrawing the prescription for the pain relievers, Luisa. Let’s see what happen,” said the doctor.

What happened was that the headaches stopped. But we notices that Therese was starting to have difficulty walking. Not only that, she was also beginning to lose grip on pencils and crayons. Alarmed, we once more brought her to the doctor and she ordered the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) be done on her. We would have to fly her to Manila for this.

At the back of our minds, we were really hoping to avoid this procedure. It was already December at the time and our family was spending Christmas in Bohol. Folks there had advised us to consult mananambal. Although Boy and I were already reading the Bible then, we did not know that consulting with such spiritist was a grave sin against the Lord. What deceived us even more was that this mananambal even had images of Jesus and the saints in the room. She used these side by side with eggs, rings, coins, gold, and other items. We hopped from one mananambal to the other whenever one failed. The last one we consulted advised us that the reason this was happening was because someone was mad at Boy and had used barang-barang against Therese. We hung on to the mananambal’s promise that the year would not end without Therese being healed, even as we helplessly watched her painfully losing her ability to walk.

Breaking the Deception

December 31. It was the end of the year. Boy and I eagerly watched for the sign the Therese would be healed. The mananambal said we had to observe the color of her bowels. If it was black, that meant the evil things in her body were finally being released. We waited expectantly at the mananambal’s “chapel” with all the images of the saints.

“Look, Mommy,” said Boy excitedly. “Therese is lifting up her hands!” you see, all this time, Therese could no longer lift her hands. But this was the only time we rejoiced. Because December 31 soon became January 1 and still Therese was not healed.

By January 2, Boy and I could hardly do anything but cry. It was clear to us that Therese would not be able to go to school anymore. Her strength was practically all gone, we knew had to rush her to the doctor once again. Days earlier, I had gone into prayer and had picked up the Bible. I cut the Bible and the first verse that my finger pointed to spoke of consulting spiritists and other occultist practices

Only then was I enlightened about the grave sin of idolatry that Boy and I had committed. I immediately told Boy about what I had read and we both sincerely repented for what we had done. Spiritism had not done us any good. It was time now just wait on the Lord.

Blank Wall

The doctors continued to face a blank wall. The Series of tests and other examinations revealed nothing. It seemed as if Therese was not sick at all. Yet, why couldn’t she walk? Why was she virtually paralyzed from the neck down?

Our friends, relatives, leaders and co-members in our Action Group in BCBP were a great source of support. They prayed continuously for our family and visited us to comfort us often, there were times when I felt I could not take much more. But Therese herself would lift me up by saying, “Mommy, let’s sing my favorite song, Shine Jesus Shine.”

It was often this way. Therese herself would be my source of comfort whenever she sang a praise song as she was being examined by the doctor, often refusing to answer questions until she finished a whole song, it was Therese’s attitude toward prayer that encouraged me to pray even more.

Light and Hope

The doctors were finally able to tell us what was wrong. They said that Therese was suffering from a congenital instability. They all said that they doubted if she would ever walk again, but they would make an effort to help her by installing a halo brace into her skull to keep her ordonthoid bone from hitting her medulla so she could continue breathing. But before the halo brace was installed, she would have to stay in one position for almost two months with a traction to keep her from moving. This was a difficult time for Therese who very badly wanted to go back to school. We encourage her by saying that through our prayers, God would make it very possible for her to go back to school soon, if she would just cooperate with the doctors.

The day came when the doctors installed the halo brace on Therese. This brace looked like a cage around her head. It would not spare her from discomfort, but at least it would enable her to regain the use of her legs.

Why?

The most logical question that we asked the Lord throughout all this time was why was He allowing all these to happen to us. In times like these, it is very difficult to see the wisdom of the Lord. But as the months passed, Boy and I saw how much closer our family was becoming. Not only that, we were being cleansed from our tendencies to put our trust in money and other treasures. When Therese first got sick, we thought that having money to buy medicine would be enough. Now we see that is only the Lord we can really cling on to for healing. We cooperate with the doctors for they were given the knowledge by the Lord to help the sick, but we look only to God’s perfect will for what will happen next.”

Then we look at Therese and we start to praise God. She is not the typical child on the street who plays unconcernedly and runs and dances and jumps. But neither is she the typical child who cries at the slightest discomfort, or throws temper tantrum when she doesn’t get her own way. In fact, her uncomplaining acceptance of her condition is an inspiration not only to us, but to those who come to visit her.

Many say that they expect to give Therese comfort when they come to her. Instead, they receive comfort from Therese, who candidly speaks about God’s goodness to her and to us.

Boy and I cannot claim to know completely why God has seen fit to make us undergo this trial. But we can completely trust that everything will turn out well for all of us as we continue to put our hope in Him who controls all that goes on this earth.

(Salamat sa Kerygma!)

By Fr. Pat Sayles

Key text for the Jubilee

The spirit of the Lord is upon me He has anointed me To bring good news to the poor, To bind up hearts that are broken, To proclaim liberty to prisoners, To set the downtrodden free, To herald the Lord’s year of favour. (Isaiah 61)

THE GREAT JUBILEE of the year 2000 will be held to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. It is seen by the Holy Father as a time of special favour from God, of special blessing not only for Christians, but for all the world.

It is a time to humbly ask forgiveness for our own sins and also the sins of the Church and of the world, so that we may all experience a new springtime of God’s grace.

“The church cannot cross the threshold of the new millennium,” the Pope says, “without encouraging her children to purify themselves.” He calls each of us to renew our own lives in a spirit of solidarity with others, in particular, the most needy.

We must open our hearts to the poor. We cannot honestly celebrate 2000 years since Christ’s birth while turning our backs on the poor.

In fact, when we open our hearts to the poor. The Lord opens His heart to us. The closer we come to the poor, the closer the Lord comes to us. The poor are a special means of salvation to the world. Generosity to the needy, the oppressed, and the downtrodden, the weary can cover our multitude of sins and bring us many blessings.

I have put the story of Lucho on this page because Lucho and other shoe-shine boys and other children like him challenge us all in our hearts ever wider to embrace the whole world with our love.

In these three years of special preparation for the millennium the Holy Father asks us to renew our live with stronger faith, surer hope, deeper love.

The time is precious, and this wonderful opportunity for grace is too special to be put to one side because of the busy lives we lead.

Our thanks to all our wonderful Columban benefactors who have opened their hearts to the poor and needy.May the Lord give you all many wonderful graces at this special time.

May your personal preparation for the Great Jubilee be a precious time of the Lord’s favour.

Our special thanks to you all for supporting the work of missionaries who carry on the mission of Jesus himself to preach the good news to the poor.

We must open our hearts to the poor. We cannot honestly celebrated 2000 years since Christ birth while turning our back on His poor.

JESUS FULFILLS THE JUBILEE TRADITION

Jesus, going back one day to the synagogue of his home town, stood up to read. Taking the book of the Prophet Isaiah he read this passage: “This Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” The prophet Isaiah was speaking of the Messiah.

“Today,” Jesus added, “this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. The day of salvation has come.” All Jubilees refer to the Messianic mission of Christ. It is he who proclaims the Good News to the poor. It is he who springs liberty to those deprived of it, who frees the oppressed. The Jubilee, a year of the Lord’s favour, characterizes all the activity of Jesus. (TMA11)

The Jubilee is a time of the Lord’s favour, a year of remission of sins and punishment due to them, a year of reconciliation between disputing parties, a year of manifold conversations and penance, and a granting of indulgences on a larger scale than at other times. The Church ties to ensure that all the faithful can benefit from this grace. (TMA 14)

The Family Breadwinner 10 year old

It was four in the morning. As sometimes happened at that hour I was at Lima’s main airport. I had just seen someone o ff on their long journey back home. My parish was nearby. “Hello Father Pat,” I heard a chirpy voice say. “Hi, Lucho,” I said. Lucho was a ten-year old boy from my parish. He was grinning up at me as he clutched a dirty wooden box on his right shoulder. It was full of an assortment of brushes and polishes. His two hands were black with polish and his old tattered T-shirt and blue ragged jeans were almost were almost as black. Lucho was working as a shoe-shine boy.

It was hard going for the shoe-shine boys on the night shift at the airport. I would always see some from my parish there. They always gave me a friendly greeting. “How’s it going?” I asked. “Great! An American gave me five dollars.” Lucho was pleased with his night’s work.

“I’m heading back now,” I said. “Do you want a lift home?” He nodded.

We journeyed back in an old Volkswagen, chatting. A school building in a shanty town is a busy place. First school takes over from 1pm until 6pm. The third, for adult education, takes over for the rest of the evening.

Lucho was attending afternoon school from 1 to 6, so he would crawl into bed about 5 am and sleep through until midday before preparing for school. In the evening he would have something to eat and then head for the airport. We stopped at his home, a shanty hut with a cardboard roof and walls made from cane. He lived there wit his mother and five brothers and sisters. Life is hard in the shanty towns. Without employment, there is nothing because there is no health service, no social security system, no pension scheme- -nothing.

“You know, Father,” Lucho said proudly, as he was getting out of the car. “I don’t keep any of the money I earn for myself. When I go in the house now I will leave all the money I’ve earned tonight on the table for Mum. In the morning she will see it, and she’ll be able to go off to the market and buy us some food to eat. You know, I’m the only person in our family who earns any money. Good night, Father Pat.”

I was left feeling very humble in the light of a ten-year-old boy’s nightly sacrifice for his family.

By Bo Sanchez

“Bo, what’s your secret for being holy?”
Yeow! Questions like those make my stomach do triple somersault inside. But instead of screaming till my lungs explode, “I’m not holy!” I answer their question with great solemnity.

“I suffer for Jesus as much as I can,” Their eyes dilate, their jaws drop, and their bodies freeze. I go on, “I sleep only two hours a day so I can pray more; I put broken glass inside my shoes, that through the pain of each step, I mortify for the sins of the world; and I only eat a bitter food so that I will hunger more for the pleasures of heaven...”

“Oh, Bo...” Some in the audience are now almost on bended knees, ready to venerate this saint in front of them. “And my best secret for holiness is...” and I pause for greater effect, my eyes scanning the hushed crowd, all of them on tiptoe, waiting for my sacred pronouncement, “...is knowing how to crack jokes, like this entire conversation we’re having.”

Secret? There aren’t any, because loving God is simple. Oh yes, as we grow older, we start searching for more complex theories that will fulfill our lives and give us peace of mind. So we start reading this famous philosopher; this modern thinker; that New Age stuff...

Only to find out that in the end, Lola was right, after all. Remember her? She said to you...
Be a good child.

Say “I’m sorry” when you’re wrong.

Return things that don’t belong to you.

Say your prayers daily, when you wake up and before you sleep.

Help the poor and needy.

Love your mom and dad because they‘ll grow old and die before you know it and then you’ll have regrets forever.

Don’t lie. Never cheat. Always tell the truth.

Pray the rosary while going to work or school.

Go to Mass (and come early to prepare for it.)
Don’t be selfish, or it’ll give you nothing but misery.

It’s not a complete list. (Jesus has to be Lord over every area of your life.) But it’s a great list. I’ve tried them out and whadya know? Lola was right, after all.

By Sr. Kathleen Melia

The people of Midsalip, Mindanao, in the Southern Philippines feel threatened by the authorization given to the British and Australian mining giants RTZ-CRA to begin explanatory work on half a million hectares of their land. The bishops and Columban missionaries who work in Mindanao share the concern that the transnational’s quest for profits will destroy ancient people. Their land and their culture.

Gold has always been present in Midsalip. One can see it in the bracelets and earrings of the Subaanen women, in nuggets panned from the rivers, and in the stories of the people. According to the faith of the Suabaanen people, God placed this gift in the land for their well-being. Gold until recently was a benign companion to the enjoyed or admired, or used to buy food or clothes. In 1996 all this changed with the news that CRA-RTZ, the largest mining company in the world, was coming here to mine for gold. It had applied for contracts covering in all 500,000 hectares of Subaanen Ancestral land.

When the Subaanens learned this, they had to face many serious questions: What will happen to us when our mountains are bulldozed, our soil is destroyed, and the graves of our people buried under poisonous rubble? Where will we bathe or fish when our rivers are polluted? When the trees on our mountains are all cleared away, what will happen to the knowledge we have gathered over generations about health care and medicines? Our belians (shamans) carefully gather the roots of forest trees facing the rising sun – is this gift to be lost forever? What about our sacred mountain where God is present to our belians for the enlightenment and guidance of the Subaanen people? Can God ever come close to us again as a people when the place of his presence is destroyed?

The Subaanens talked among themselves. Despite the limitations, the majority are illiterate, they are scattered over many mountain ranges, food is often scarce – they decided to act. They went among the people to have petition letters to the President signed. At great hardship to themselves they went to Pagadian to meet the representatives of CRA–RTZ who had flown in from England and Australia. For some of the rich mining company representatives, the consultation was a ‘show’ to be got on with. For the Subaanens this journey was a sacred undertaking in the interest of the land that is theirs by right from God and from their ancestors. The message of the Subaanens was clear. “We do not want you to mine on our lands” but the representatives from the company showed little concern. In end-of-year statements there will probably never be any mention of real losers – the extinction of a people, or trees and birds and animals, the loss of a unique language and culture, the poisoning of land and air and water. Short term financial profits would seem to be more important than the right of a gentle and beautiful people to continue living in peace and harmony on their ancestral lands.

The following letter from Bishop Zacarias Jimenez of Pagadian in the Philippines was read to shareholders attending the AGM of the mining company in London by Sister Margaret Murphy.

Dear Respected Shareholders,

Greetings of Peace!

For more one year now, thousands of my country people, men and women, have been trying to let your company know that they do not wish them to mine in our lands.

The Subaanen people, indigenous to the area, have made petitions and have spoken out on radio. The Visayan people who have lived in the area for more than 50 years have also made petitions. Both communities have gone to Pagadian to meet with RTZ-CRA and to inform the company that they do not wish them to mine in our lands. Both communities have walked in protest through the streets of Midsalip. My Archbishop and three other Bishops who are concerned about he sovereignty of our country and the lives of our people, have joined with me to appeal to our Government no to sign the contracts with RTZ-CRA. I, myself, have written personally to our President.

It seems until now members of our Government here, along with directors in your company, have not been able to hear our appeal. We Filipinos love our country as you do yours. We love our land, our mountains, our rivers. Our tribal people have lived on the land here for countless generations. The land is sacred to them. They are acquainted with the different species of plants and trees, birds and animals inhabiting the tropical forest here; they have cultivated their land and here they bury their dead. The land is precious to all of us and we want to live here in peace.

Our country has a huge foreign debt so in order to attract foreign investments our leaders made a mining law which greatly favours foreign companies. In our region alone your company has applied fro contracts covering one half million hectares of the land of Filipino people. Our leaders do not seem to take into account the fact that your company’s investment will be for a short time only. For this short time investment our sovereignty as a nation and the future of our people is threatened. Since the company have the right to expatriate all the profits, you, the shareholders, will probably earn some money. However, many of our people here who own lands where all the minerals are will become paupers. Our rivers and seas will become polluted, our mountains will become deserts and our ricelands poisoned, our forests birds and animals will become extinct. The very existence of the Subaanen, a gentle and beautiful people will be put at very high risk.

Because of this, I appeal to you, my brothers and sisters. Please heed the appeal of our people here. Please do not allow ourlands, our rivers, and our mountains to be destroyed. Please do not allow your company to mine in our area.

On behalf of our people, I thank you for giving this your serious attention and for the possible action that you will take to our favour.

With deepest regret,

+Zacarias C. Jimenez, D.D.
Bishop of Pagadian

One of the great missionaries of the century was James Walsh, the Maryknoll Bishop who spent many long years in prison in China. His great love for the poor and the marginalized of the world came to the surface in a moment of illumination which he describes here. Though these words were written long before the Vatican Council, they anticipated its spirit and have a power that we can feel even today.

I saw him in the ricefield. He stopped working as I approached and leaned on his hoe. The sweat of a hot day under the South China sun glistened on his brow. His coolie suit of blue denim was covered with dust, and the end of his frayed trousers disclosed a clumsy pair of stub-toed bare feet. He was a big boy for his age, but there was no comeliness in him twice. He was a clodhopper.

I knew his father, a blunt old farmer, respected, hardworking and honest. I knew his elder brother, who was being educated at a city school. I inquired about the family. I spoke to him of his brother’s progress. Then I tactlessly asked if he also would not like to do to the city and study books. He looked up in naïve surprise, turning his whole countenance upon me with the openness of a sunflower. Complete frankness was in his gaze, gaze, but a mist of puzzlement also clouded his eyes. I had hit upon something he did not quite understand, although he knew only too well the answer. He replied very simply and without a trace of feeling. “I am not bright enough to go to school; my family says I am good only to work in the fields.” His father was not a harsh man; he was merely a truthful one. He had read his son aright and had told him that he was not made for anything else but a life of labor. The boy did not question this. He merely did not understand it. He did not resent or rebel. He was not envious of others more normal, more gifted. He was content.

But he was also puzzled. And I knew he was to remain puzzled through a whole drab life of obscurity and toil, until God gathered him in His arms to explain the mystery to him in the realms of light.

That puzzled resignation written in his honest eyes imprinted itself indelibly on my memory, and it stirred me as I have seldom been stirred. I have known love. I was not insensible to the ties of affection that bound the members of a singularly happy family, and the very name of my mother was to me like a song of angels. I have had friends that I thought were cherished in the fiber of my soul. I have lavished admiration and affection on every special object of God’s creation on saints and sunsets, geniuses and golf courses, on babies, birds and bunnies and on many other things besides. In short, I have had my transports. But I thought I had never scratched the surface of love before as I felt the fiery surge that came to me now. It was romance, if you will. Certainly it was predilection.

“I choose you," sang in my heart as I looked at my awkward farmer boy, perfect picture of the underprivileged soul. “I choose you, and with you the countless million of God’s children like you: men – white, black and brown; souls impoverished and unendowed, I choose you, and dedicate myself to you. I ask no other privilege but to devote the energies of my soul to such as you. For in this sudden revelation shines an incarnation of my life’s ideal. You are my father and mother my sister and my brother; you hold the center of my dreams. Men of no attraction, you attract me, soul of no distinction, you draw and dazzle me. Clodhoppers of the world, for your own you claim me.”

There is, of course, a special reason for the deep impression made on me by this living symbol of the world’s need, I am a missioner, I am a man sent by the Catholic Church to minister to such as he. That Church has the recipe for every need of all the sons of men. She overlooks none. There is guidance for the gifted. There is opportunity for the energetic. There is development for the rugged and the strong. But for the frail and the forgotten, for the puzzled and the poor, there is also something; for that Church is a true mother and it is for her weakest children that she reserves her deepest interest and her tenderest care. I am proud to be a missioner, with a vocation that has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor.

Shine on, farmer boy, symbol to me of the thousand million like you who drew the Son of God from heaven to smooth and bless your weary anxieties and your puzzled brows. Come to me often in your barefooted squalor and look at me from out those hopeless and bewildered eyes. Do not let me forget that vision, but stay by me and preside over my dreams. Teach me that souls are people. And remind me everlastingly that they are magnificent people like you.

Salamat sa Maryknoll

“I Love The Chinese People”

As a Christians we have always realized that people are ‘souls’ James Walsh reminds us of complementary truth that ‘souls’ are people! The evangelist must keep these two truths together.

By Sr. Emma de Guzman, ICM

Sr. Emma discovers (what some men never realize) that looking after a child is a full time work-unless you are very creative!

I thought that baby-sitting is not one of my qualities, until it was put to the test one day. Nicole, the two-year-old daughter of Kudji who works with us in the Center, was alone at home. Her brothers and sisters were in school and Kudji needed to o to the dispensary with their three-months-old baby. Being the only adult at home, I was requested to look after Nicole.

Nicole is a healthy two-year-old girl with big black doe eyes. She is learning to speak. We began by learning some sentences on how to indicate parts of the body; interspersed by running when she is tired or when she refuses to learn. Next is allowing her to play with one of our reserved pails of water which is a very tempting game. But this interest for water does not last long; I had to be more creative to keep her going. I tried to coax her to sleep but she won’t. It’s too early. More running on our cemented floor.

Then all of a sudden a bright idea struck me - - ant hunting. We have plenty harmful ant-houses. I pointed out one to her, a small black ant quickly scampering on its way to the grass. In her 2 years old mind, this is an interesting toy; she quickly followed it.

Then she saw another and grabbed it. Poor ant, I told myself, you’ve just been discovered as the most interesting toy for a two-year-old African girl. No dolls, no plastic toys, no paper or pencil to scratch some words on but live house ants for two-year-olds. Inexpensive, interesting, harmless, non-boring toys. Ant hunting! I’m not sure if the Society for the Protection of Animals will accept this, but this bright idea took Nicole’s attention fro the rest of the morning. We gathered in an empty match box all the ants he had collected. They were dazed ants; but after a while in the match box, they’d start moving and escape that prison where a two-year-old giggling child had just placed them in security.

After two hours of watching this two-year-old girl, was able to do a bit of reading while she did some ant-hunting. All I needed to do was point out the ant- path on the cement wall or on the ground. It actually occupied our whole morning until her mother arrived with the baby. I enjoyed this morning’s baby-sitting with Nicole. It was a real break and a change from our normal daily life of In-Service-Training of Youth and Adults.

Your prayers are requested for the full recovery of Sr. Emma who recently had a heart attack.

Little Tenzin Gyatso was just three years old when he was recognized as the incarnation of Chenrezi – the Buddhist god compassion – and the next Dalai Lama.

A son of simple farmers from the north-eastern village of Pari Takster, he was brought to Lhasa with his family, but had to live a part from them in the Potala Palace. It was, for a young child, something of a ‘golden prison’. For five months each year he had to stay in a musty room, reciting religious mantras, under the gaze of his stern-faced tutor and Regent. From his window, or sometimes through his telescope on the roof of the Potala, he would view the world outside, and watch the cowherds coming home looking happy and carefree. Little did they know, he recalls, how much the Dalai Lama would have like to be with them!

Today he lives much closer to the people, in a modest house, and takes care to make himself accessible.

When I go in for the interview, he seems tall but otherwise it’s exactly as I expect. He has a big warm smile and an extraordinary ability to make me feel at ease in his presence. Its’ more like meeting an old friend than a revered leader, let alone someone who has been worshipped as a god-king since early childhood. He also has a most full of people to wild laughter wit the ease of an accomplished comedian. I start with an inevitable and definitely serious question.

Do you think that your policy of non-violent resistance is working?

I think so. We have world wide sympathy and support because of our non-violent approach. If we engaged in violence we would get more publicity, of course, but his might not increase sympathy or support in the long run. One significant result of non violent approach is that Chinese intellectuals not only outside but also inside China are showing more understanding of the Tibetan issue. In the long term the most important thing is for China and Tibet to live peacefully as neighbors. To achieve this we must carry out this freedom struggle non-violently.

Aren’t Tibetans running out of patience? Don’t some of them want a more confrontational approach?

If my non-violent approach does not bring about a constructive result and the situation remains as it is then feelings will grow, especially among the younger Tibetans.

Don’t you feel that time is running out?

Yes, it is running out. The Chinese population in Tibet is increasing day by day. Whether intentionally or unintentionally some kind of cultural genocide is taking place.

Do you think there is a danger of a Tiananmen Square situation occurring in Tibet?

Potentially it’s there. There is a potential for bloodshed and the danger of some violent eruption is recognized.

Can the international community do something to help avert this?

It can help by supporting the negotiations we are driving at. Mine is a ‘middle way’ approach. I am not insisting on total independence, just some kind of genuine self-rule.

What do you say to critics who say that you can’t compromise on independence in this way?

[Long pause] historically we have the right to independence! But my main concern is to preserve Tibetan culture. Tibetan culture has the potential to create a better, more peaceful society. Tibet is in a strategically important position between India and China and making it a ‘zone of peace’ will help guarantee peace between those two countries. So preserving Tibetan culture will benefit no only six million Tibetans but millions of Chinese and Indians!

In order to make Tibet a genuine ‘zone of peace’ the most important thing is human compassion. You can’t do it if there is hatred and anger. The political status of independence is, I feel less important than this. Political independence without peace – with civil war, for example, like in some of the African states – is no use.

The Chinese have so far rejected all your initiatives. There’s a deadback in negotiations. What is your next step going to be?

[Laughs] up to now we have been seeking greater international support. At the moment the Chinese leadership is in a process of transition. This current situation will not continue for much longer, perhaps a few months or one year. And then I think things may improve.

If China disintegrates as the USSR sis will the Tibetan Government-in- Exile be ready to push forward its own independence agenda?

If China falls apart there maybe bloodshed. So I hope it does not work in this way and that the changes are evolutionary. I think the people in China who are prepared to do anything to cling unto power are only temporary, a more democratic atmosphere must come.

Your plans for Tibetans involve establishing a Western-style democracy. Up to know you have played a very central and prominent part. How easy will it be for you to take a back seat?

My main wish is for a genuine stable democracy to be established. There are bound to be problems at the beginning. I hope that these problems appear within the next 20 years so that I am still around to do something to help solve them. That is my main objective.

Is a female Dalai Lama possible?

Oh yes! Why not!

You have traveled extensively and have met with many heads of state. They have expressed plenty of sympathy for the cause of Tibet but this hasn’t really been translated into effective pressure on China. How does this make you feel?

I think this is normal. There is no reason to lose our determination now. You know, even during the Cultural Revolution, Tibetans kept their hope. We were isolated. There was hardly any support from the outside world. But now I think our situation is much healthier. The international community is much more aware and much more supportive. So today although the situation inside the country is very grave, I think it is much more hopeful than before.

Salamat sa New Internationalist.

The Dalai Lama’s

FIVE-POINT PEACE PLAN

1. Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace. Withdrawal of Chinese troops and military installations.

2. Abandonment of China’s population-transfer policy which threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a people.

3. Respect for the Tibetan people’s fundamental human rights and democratic freedom.

4. Restoration and protection of Tibet’s natural environment and abandonment of China’s use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of nuclear waste.

5. Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese people.

By Fr. Rey Tejico, CICM

Like tribal people everywhere, the Mayan Indians of Guatemala are under siege from the Government, the military and intrusive lowlanders. Fr. Rey Tejico, a young Filipino missionary, tells us how the Church is trying, albeit belatedly, to respect and integrate the Mayan culture into the liturgy and to ensure that it enriches our Christian life.

The Chaos of Ignorance

When in 1992 our Province evaluated its missionary presence in Guatemala the decision was made to make a more radical commitment to pastoral missionary presence among the Indians. As a result of this decision a team of CICMers took up the task. We were convinced that we had given the right answer to the question: where is our presence as a missionary Congregation most needed in Guatemala today? The two places we chose were Aldea Lo de Fuentes and Tierra Nueva II.

Aldea Lo de Fuentes

Aldea Lo de Fuentes goes back to pre-Hispanic times, to the Poqomam culture. Forty percent of the population still use the Poqomam tongue and 60% of the women still wear their typical dresses. Aldea Lo de Fuentes is close to the capital. During the past two decades there have been major migrations of the Indigenous People toward Guatemala City in search of a better life. In Aldea Lo de Fuentes we find many different Mayan language groups: Kiche, Keqchi, Kaqchikel, Kanjobal, Ache, Awakatekos, Sakpultekos. This does not make things easy for us missionaries. Where in 1981 there were 660 Indian Families in Aldea, there now are 1442 (approximately 7,500 people). There are only a few Ladino families.

Tierra Neuva II

Tierra Nueva II is part of the municipality of Chinautla and is about 10 miles from Guatemala City. It’s population is close to 1000 families with an average of 5 members per family. This settlement is the result of a migration from rural areas which began in 1986 and continues today. In the past two decades the army has systematically y driven Indians from the rural areas to better able to control any insurgency.

Development Aggression

The peoples culture is important. We are doing our best to study and integrate the cultural values of the Mayan people into our ministry. Because the government’s development model for Guatemala is concentrated on the improvement of a few privileged people, there are many situations of social injustice and discrimination: a high rate of unemployment, large number of homeless people, serious problems in the fields of educations, health and nutrition. Many of our people live in harsh conditions. They have to work long hours at low wages. There is a lot of pressure from outside the community to abandon Mayan cultural values.

We want to connect our Church to the real life of the people. The Mayan culture has not yet disappeared from the map. They still have their own educational system which is built around the life and customs of the Mayan people. Its social order still has well-defined boundaries and values.

Respecting the Mayan Culture

We have developed a catechetical approach which respects the Mayan culture. We try to take into account their way of informal learning, formal initiations and rites and customs from within the Mayan culture in the past, the church failed to adopt Mayan customs and ritual. Today we are trying to make a special effort to learn the beauty of the Mayan religious customs and culture and to sue them in our liturgies and preaching.

Planting Rites

In May, we celebrated in Lo de Fuentes the May an rite of planting season, tx’opo’n a large number of people of all ages of Mayan origin and even two Mayan priests participated. The people themselves may not all have realized the significance of this celebration in the Catholic Church, but it was a beautiful experience, rooted in the life and culture of the people. There was Mayan music played on typical Mayan instruments.

For 500 years the Mayans have been celebrating the first rains and the planting season, asking special blessings from mother earth, thanking the Creator for all life, all gifts receive and asking for peace in the country. An altar is covered with white flowers and colorful candles. Each color has a special meaning. Green blesses the earth. Black appeases the evil spirits. Red is for love and romance. White stands for peace. Yellow for protection. In their prayers the Mayan priests ask for blessings from heaven. Some people think that the Mayan customs are on the decline and, indeed, some Indians in the urban settings do seem to lose interest in their traditions. But in our two missions many Mayan customs are still alive among the people.

Truly Mayan

As CICM missionaries we do want to help our people to integrate their culture into their religious practices and faith. We want to help this Church to become one that is truly Mayan and expresses the soul and heart of Mayan people in their religious rites and thinking.

Most of the poor Mayan families who settled in the slum areas as squatters were driven away by the military police. In order to pressure their government to give them protection they organized protest rallies, camping in front of the Palacio Nacional.

By Fr. Melanio R. Viuya Jr., CICM

I just arrived from the village of Lida, 70 kms away from the parish convent. Even on foot it’s difficult because one has to cross the forests and the rivers with my Land Cruiser. Fortunately this old and rusty vehicle still runs rather well. It has already done more than 60, 000 km on very bad roads in the forest, I guess one has to multiply every kilometer by 3 to have an accurate picture of its true suffering.

Slow Journey

A portion of the 70 km travel was in a valley where the coffee buyers have recently cut a road. Yet again, this 16.5 km road was muddy and bumpy as the sun hardly penetrate to make it dry. I could hardly see the road, not much because the wind shield has a number of cracks but because there was the danger of hitting a trunk of tree hidden among the grass and bushes. There were also unseen holes and hills which could jolt the car violently and give the passengers a good shock to wake them up from slumber. I have to confess that both happened several times. I have pitied the vehicle and the passengers, of course.

Simon Kimbangu

Finally, my companions and I arrived at our destination. The village is densely populated, three or four families in one parcel of lot. The people themselves complain of lack of privacy, or problem we seldom hear from the village folk. The village is the seat of Kimbaguists in the region, a religion similar to the Iglesia ni Kristo in the Philippines but with a bit of Aglipayan and Rizalita characteristics. It is founded by Simon Kimbangu who is believed to be a prophet of Zaire. Many newly baptized Catholics leave the church and join the Kimbaguists who love lively music, with their innumerable flutes, drums, cymbals and the like.

Basic Communities

It was not my first time to visit the villages. I had already gone there to talk about the Basic Christian Community (BCC). This time, it was the follow up. The people had a lot of question about it. Though in general they are doing well according to the plan, there were nevertheless some confusions. They are very enthusiastic about the (BCC) because every Christian is given the opportunity to lend a helping hand in the work of the Church. The catechist used to be a lone ranger; he, but only he, was doing all the work. With the BCC they’ve experienced the sharing of responsibilities. They are given enough space to grow, to become mature in their faith. There are, for example, four bituka which can probably be translated as ‘sitios’ in the Philippines. Each etuka takes turn for the daily morning prayer which consists of reading the psalms and reflecting on the daily gospel. When someone gives birth or gets sick or dies in the etuka, the BCC takes care of everything, from the prayers to food preparations. What they appreciate most is that they are consulted before any decision is taken - which is actually done in consensus. (Yes, we rarely resort to dividing the house).

Pastoral Problem

During my short stay in the village, we held several meetings with the leaders of the BCC. With the youth, with those who are responsible for the catechumens, and others. the neighboring villages came over for the meetings and prayers. Apart from the meetings prayers, confession, Eucharist and baptism there were also the discussion in between these events. During these conversations I was confronted by a real pastoral problem with regard to the sacraments and the people’s customs and traditions. There was this couple who got married according to the custom f the place (the man giving dowry to the family of the woman). Marie, the wife, had always been hoping to get married in the church. Yet Etienne, the husband, kept on refusing because, according to their customs, the wife has to bear a lot of children first before getting married in the church. After 21 years, Marie had borne, only one, and a girl at that! The family of Etienne told him to get another wife so that his name will not be erased from the face of the earth. He then took the second wife, (yes, that is allowed in their customs) who gave him a son. The daughter of Marie is already married and has twelve children. Marie still lives in the house of Etienne but no longer sleeps with him. She plants in the farm of Etienne to help their daughter feed her children. She is still in the eyes of the people, the wife of Etienne. The second wife lives in the same house, too.

Dilemma

The problem now is that Marie desires to confess and receive Holy Communion. However, thought she’s the first wife, since not married religiously she may not receive she may not receive the sacraments. But she cannot be married religiosity to Etienne because he has a second wife. If she ever insists to receive the sacraments, she must first divorce her husband. To divorce him requires a lot of money because she needs to pay back the family of man the amount and the things her family received when they got married. Where on earth will she get that money? On top of this, she will be tries in court and may go to prison on the ground of “destroying the harmony and the family”. That, she would not surely like to happen.

This problem was discussed in public. I asked them: If ever Marie is allowed to receive the sacraments, what would be the people’s reaction? The opinions were varied. There were those who were in favor because she’s already old. They younger ones were against because it would set a precedent that those who are not married in the church will insist also on receiving the sacraments. The poor woman finds herself between two great rocks colliding against the other. Is this not one of the reasons why many Catholics leave the church and go to other faiths?

Due to the extent of the parish (65 villages, where a village may be 70 kms away from the centre as in our case; another village may require a two-day travel by canoe) and because of the lack of priests (I am for the moment the only priest who ministers to those villages) the people seldom get the occasion to celebrate the Eucharist.

Culture Enriching Church

And so we face the age old Christian dilemma: how to be faithful to the teaching of Christ and at the same time respect the local culture and customs? And how do we distinguish between light and shadow in the native culture? How do we purify the culture and enrich the Church with new creative human diversity? Surely the Basic Christian Communities are the best place for these questions to be solved.

Due to the extent of the parish (65 villages, where a village may be 70 kms away from the centre as in our case; another village may require a two-day travel by canoe) and because of the lack of priest (I am for the moment the only priest who ministers to those villages) the people seldom get the occasion to celebrate the Eucharist.

The catechist used to be a lone ranger; he, but only he, was doing all the work. With the BCC they’ve experienced the sharing of responsibilities.