Our fraternal Easter « 2 by 2 »
« 2 by 2 »said the notice inviting us for the second consecutive year to have a beautiful family experience in the little localities of Láchar and Cijuela, very close to the city of Grenada. « 2 by 2 », as Jesus sent his apostles to proclaim the Good News of hope and salvation which, with Him, came for all; a new humanity where all, men and women, are brothers. « 2 by 2 », brothers and lay Marists together in family. A family united by the same project, the same enthusiasm, the same Risen Jesus. In mission and in life, from breakfast to supper, in washing the dishes, in looking after the children, at the steering wheel, on the guitar, at play, laughing and joking, in singing, in dialogue and in prayer. Learning from others at every instant, growing together as persons, as friends, as Christians. Sharing life with old and new friends at Láchar. Father Mariano, Ángela, Pili, Juana… And so many others who welcomed us with open arms, offered us their homes, their company and their hope. A very beautiful experience we had already lived last Easter.
But at the same time, chance had it that we were lodged in the presbytery of Cijuela, where our children played and forged bonds of friendship with the children of neighbouring homes, inhabited by families of very modest means with serious financial and social problems. Our children gave us a good lesson in what it means to be free of prejudice and to be capable of coming close to the most deprived with, precisely, the look of a child. They played together in the square, our children visited their houses and theirs ours; through them we came into contact with their parents. These persons in need allowed us to talk to them and to learn about their sufferings and their hopes. « Bizarre! You do not stop your children from playing with ours », they told us. « Stay and live with us… », they asked us, and we started to dream that that was not as foolish and unthinkable as habitual routine made us think.
It was an experience filled with vitality. « 2 by 2, Láchar and Cijuela », the motto could not be more revealing. We dreamed for the space of several days. It was only a dream, but it is only by dreaming that some of these dreams are able to become a reality. We are left with the memory of some marvelous days, the hope of having met the Risen Jesus in the hearts and looks, the smiles of the aged and the children, on this Easter we lived together, united by the dream of Champagnat.
In my head are ringing the words of José Antonio Pagola: « We can ‘function’ as religious communities gathered around the cult, but if we do not transmit compassion or demand justice, if we do not defend the forgotten or look after the least, what remains of the project which inspired the whole life of Jesus?… It is not a matter of neglecting the cultic celebrations, but of further developing the welcome of, listening to and accompaniment of people in their trials, their works and their hopes… Contributing, from the viewpoint of the Gospel, to a more human world. »
A happy fraternal Easter to all!
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Josediego Villanueva
Fraternity« Hno. Servando Mayor »