'Its A Small Church But It Contains The World'
By Sister Lourdes Fernandez MM
Albania is a small country in South Eastern Europe known not only as the birthplace of the parents of the Blessed Mother Teresa but also because of its extraordinary history. The Albanian people and the Church suffered severe religious persecution under Communist rule. By the 1980s, albania had become the most isolated country in the world. In 1995, the Maryknoll Sisters found their way there. Here Sister Lourdes shares with us their experience in the land tha once was declared by Communist dictator Enver Hoxha as 'the world's first completely atheist state.‘
On May 1, 1995 the Catholic Church started activities in Pogradec,’ Veronika recalled, ‘and it brought happiness to my family.’ Veronika and four other young persons were baptized at Easter 1997 when Albania was in turmoil. ‘The darkness and ugliness of gunfire surrounded us but inside our hearts was a fire of joy and love,’ she said.
Healing their broken wings
A deep ethnic conflict between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians had the Balkan peninsula in crisis once again in 1999. Kosovar refugees fled to neighboring Balkan states. Our small community reached out to refugee camps in Pogradec until the day of ‘liberation.’ The compassionate energy of our youth was an education in peace building between the Kosovar Albanians and ethnic Albanians. It inspired me to start a project to enhance the missionary character of our newly baptized Catholic youth. This was a live-in community in mission that went on for three consecutive summers. We started each day with morning prayer and gathered in the evenings for reflection and prayer. We filled our days with a variety of ministries, visiting the sick in the hospital, meeting with groups of children, youths, women and a few men. A married couple we met in one of the villages were very curious about us. They questioned us like ‘interrogators.’ We responded patiently and soon enough their facial expression transformed them into bright-eyed little ‘children’ fascinated with a new discovery. ‘What is prayer? Teach us to pray. We were living in darkness even before Communist rule. This village has nothing of that, no mosque, no church. We thank you for coming.’
Veronika Sharing with the Community how and why she came to the Church
Christmas scene in our little church
Our presence attracted attention from the drivers and passengers on the mini-buses we took going to the villages. The young missionaries weren’t short of words with people of all ages including their own family members who had doubts about what their mission project. A parent asked his two daughters, ‘What do you gain from this “mission”? Are you running away from life?’ Sara and Ester assured him, ‘On the contrary we are closer and learning much about life. You work hard to keep your family alive and happy. You get very tired from work as a day laborer, but you are thinking not only for yourself but of others. That is mission. Mission is learning and helping. It’s a chance to gain a better life.’ The two considered the encounter a very special mission. ‘For the first time we had a peaceful conversation with our father. After all these years he listened and believed’
Powerhouse
Veronika Sharing with the Community how and why she came to the Church
Because of the Crucified
Christ Our sixth anniversary was also very special. At the homily, community members simply shared what led them to the Church. One told us, ‘I came to learn English but when I entered the building the statue of a man nailed to the cross struck me. I wanted to know why he was crucified. My classmate invited me to come and see, and here I found myself and God. The beginning of the Church was a beautiful experience of following God and I responded, “I am here.” I’m emotional because six years ago we created this community of St Joseph the Worker Catholic Church. I had been to other churches before but was mysteriously captivated and found God in this small church. It’s my joy and desire to continue with this community and I pray that it will bear much fruit not only in Albania but beyond. I enjoy knowing the Maryknoll Sisters and my life is completely changed.’Discovering the Light
Christmas 2001 was very special in this pioneering mission of the Maryknoll Sisters. The Christmas Vigil Liturgy prepared by the youth was a very unusual drama - the birth of Jesus in Pogradec. It was the Christmas story of our community. Christmas! The night when Jesus came to give light to the whole world that was in darkness. We were once in darkness and didn't know about God. But today, how strangely we have changed, how very different we have become. We see a new life, a different world that is very beautiful, an entirely changed world. We see a new Pogradec, like a new Jerusalem, brightly descending from the heavens. And we hear a gentle voice, 'From today onward, I am your God in your midst. You will be called “Little Candles.” You will be a light in dark corners to bring light back to this town. Your candlelight will never be extinguished. I will make you strong. I will make everything new for you. Shine, O Little Candles and light other candles for the world.'Young and Zealous
On the feast of the Epiphany, ten members made a promise to be Little Candles to bring the light of faith to others and into the dark peripheries of life. I see them as a third millennium equivalent of the earliest Christian missionaries; like the little ones who had seen and followed the star; like Mary Magdalene sent by Jesus to tell the brothers and sisters that he is the Risen Christ. Today, they are spread out in different areas: Ina, Kristina and Valentina in Tirana, Paola, Maria, Mark and Veronika in Elbasan, Anxhelina and Ester in Pogradec, Sara in Neuberg, Germany, confronted with confronted with trials and challenges but never giving up.I’m back at our Center in Ossining, New York, for a while but am still very much with them in mission through email. Their faith commitment and enthusiasm for mission attract curiosity and participation in peacemaking and community building. When people ask them why they do the things they do and how much money they get in return, they reply, ‘Gift freely received, gift freely given.’
You may write to: Sr Lourdes Fernandez MM Maryknoll Sisters Center PO Box 311, MARYKNOLL NY 10545-0311, USA Email: lfernandez1943@yahoo.com