Tag Archives: Honduras

The Gift of Prayer – Mass Cards from the Passionists Available On-line

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Now you can order Passionist Mass Cards, enroll a loved one and arrange to have a Mass Card sent, all on-line!

Whether you wish to have prayers said for someone who has died, someone who is ill, or someone who is celebrating a birthday or anniversary, a Passionist Mass Card is an excellent way to show that you care. Your loved one will be prayed for at Masses celebrated by the Passionist Community here in the United States and in the missions. Give the gift of prayer: that’s what your loved one – and the world – need right now.

Your donations for these cards go to support the work of the Passionists.

To order a Mass Card, visit: http://thepassionists.org/masscards/

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Sean Clores on Waiting Out the Storm

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As the rain falls in Mandeville, the people line the streets, standing under the store awnings that provide some shelter. Storms in Jamaica are unpredictable, quick, and fierce, leaving little time to prepare for them. Getting out of a taxi, Steve and I found ourselves caught in one of these storms. Instead of waiting it out, we ran through the streets trying to get back home. I stopped for a second, in my soaked clothes, and noticed how the whole town stopped. All of the people stood patiently waiting for the storm to pass, while we were hurrying to go nowhere. Why were we in such a hurry?

A couple weeks later, we went back to Stony Hill. It was an opportunity to visit some of the people who have been so important to the Passionist Volunteer Program. While walking through the mission of Mt. Friendship, I found myself caught in a storm, similar to the one in Mandeville. Quickly, I looked for any type of shelter that could hold me over until the rain stopped. Finding some in a small shop, I sat looking out as the rain fell over the mountains.

Until this moment, I really hadn’t taken the time to just sit and think. This was the first time I had come back to this mission since my previous service trip in January. At that point, I was a student at Fairfield University with no intention of dedicating a year to service. Now, eight months later, I sit as a Passionist Volunteer in the same place.  I wondered, “How did I end up here? What am I doing here in Jamaica? Where will this experience lead me?” These, along with many other questions, ran through my mind. After a few minutes, the rain stopped and I continued on with my day, coming up with no answers to those questions.

I realize now that the more important question is: What am I looking to accomplish here? Growing up, many things were based on production. From school to jobs, the harder I worked the more productive and successful I would be. Unlike at home, I can’t be as productive as I want to be here. Changing that mentality is my biggest challenge. I’m learning that the most important thing I can bring is presence, not productivity. In being present with the people, I am giving all that I have.

In 2002, Archbishop Edgerton Clarke welcomed PVI to Stony Hill.  He asked that the volunteers share two things with the people: love and truth. By sharing those two gifts, we allow other people to walk with us as we walk with them. Through these loving and honest relationships, we can learn so much about ourselves, while giving hope to the people we serve.  Building that type of foundation takes time, especially in this new setting.  All we can do is wait out the storm.

- Sean Clores is a Passionist Volunteer serving in Honduras.

Please consider a donation to help the Passionists in their ministry to people living in poverty: Please make checks payable to PASSIONIST MISSIONARIES.

Passionist Missionaries Inc.
526 Monastery Place
Union City NJ 07087-3398
Tel: 888/806-6606
E-mail: AGardiner@cpprov.org

Donate on-line by clicking the button below.
The Donate Now button will redirect you to Caring Habits, Inc. (CHI) which is the credit card processing company for The Passionist Missionaries website.

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Si Díos quiere (God willing)

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When walking down the main street of Talanga, you’ll most likely see public buses (yellow relics of school districts from across the U.S. that no longer meet emissions requirements) painted across the backside with phrases like “PROPIEDAD DE CRISTO” (Property of Christ).  Many homes and businesses are decorated with an assortment of posters of the Virgin Mary, Bible quotes, and Crucifixes.  My sense so far is that the prevalence of religious references in public has to do with a blend of cultural tradition, heartfelt belief, and … attempts at crime-prevention.  I think grocery store management was thinking about the latter more than anything else when they plastered the huge sticker of Christ emblazoned with the words “NO MATARÁS” (Thou shalt not kill) on the cash register.

There are also a few phrases Hondurans often use that incorporate religious belief into everyday conversation.  It was startling at first to hear such overt religious references casually spoken, like “Si Díos quiere” (God willing) or “Si Díos lo permita” (If God allows it).  Even though I can recall people in the U.S. talking about God’s will in our lives, it seems like they are always in reference to big unknowns, like terminal illnesses and natural disasters, but here the sentiment pops up casually and often, such as:

Me: See you later this afternoon!

Honduran co-worker: Si Díos lo permita …

My first thought is … that’s crazy … can’t we at least take for granted the few hours between now and this afternoon when we have our meeting? I’ll see you soon. If God allows it. The phrases are more than just conversation niceties or kitschy superstition.  Actually they seem to suggest a way of looking at things that is full of gratitude, by acknowledging that every minute we have is pure gift.

I think that sometimes in the past, it’s been easier for me to assume that my plans trump those of the universe and that I’m in charge of my own life – it’s almost never that I’m challenged on those assumptions.  Supposedly, I’m an individual and I’ve earned what I have. In contrast, for so many of the families we work with here in Honduras, it’s not a given that things that are necessary to make a life – like work and food and open beds in the one public hospital in Tegucigalpa – are available.  How is it that I have those things through the [gift, luck, rigged system ...] of my family?  More and more as I have waded through both the incredible heaviness and the unexpected joys here in this community, a phrase like God willing seems like a truthful reflection of the big-ness, the interconnected-ness, the mysterious-ness of life itself.

- Melissa Eells is a Passionist Volunteer serving in Honduras.

Please consider a donation to help the Passionists in their ministry to people living in poverty: Please make checks payable to PASSIONIST MISSIONARIES.

Passionist Missionaries Inc.
526 Monastery Place
Union City NJ 07087-3398
Tel: 888/806-6606
E-mail: AGardiner@cpprov.org

Donate on-line by clicking the button below.
The Donate Now button will redirect you to Caring Habits, Inc. (CHI) which is the credit card processing company for The Passionist Missionaries website.


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A Year End Message from Fr. Robert Joerger, C.P.

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Dear Friends of the Passionists,

As our year comes to an end, we have much to be grateful for. Your prayerful and financial generosity has helped us sustain many of our ministries in Haiti, Jamaica, West Indies, Honduras and those in the poorest neighborhoods in the United States.

More importantly, you have shown your concern for our aging and infirm Passionist priests and brothers. These men have sacrificed a lifetime to minister to the youth in parishes and retreat houses, console the sick and dying in hospitals and clinics, and preach the words of our founder, St. Paul of the Cross, in parish missions across this country.

Like many of you, we, too, have experienced a challenging financial year and have had to make many difficult decisions. We are committed to our mission that is of God in all walks of life, but especially to the poor and suffering.

To do this, we rely on your gifts. We are partners who are called to reach out to the men, women and children who need the medicine, the housing, and the comforting words that the Passionists can provide because of your generosity.

If you have already sent your gift, please know we are very grateful. If your means allow and you can still make a gift or bless us with an additional gift, know that our ministry needs are great and your gift, of any amount, is appreciated.

On behalf of the Passionist Community, I ask God to bless you and your families this Christmas and may your New Year be filled with all that is good.

Yours in Christ,

Father Robert Joerger, C.P.
Provincial

Please consider a donation to help the Passionists in their ministry to people living in poverty: Please make checks payable to PASSIONIST MISSIONARIES.

Passionist Missionaries Inc.
526 Monastery Place
Union City NJ 07087-3398
Tel: 888/806-6606
E-mail: AGardiner@cpprov.org

Donate on-line by clicking the button below.
The Donate Now button will redirect you to Caring Habits, Inc. (CHI) which is the credit card processing company for The Passionist Missionaries website.



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