2020-03-27 BANGLADESH

Testimony of Br. César Barba Gómez, Missionary in the Marist District of Asia

Listening to your voice again – Following in the footsteps of the Spirit

I arrived in Bangladesh on exactly 19 November 2019, on a flight from Thailand, with the airline THAI. On that memorable day, I was welcomed by Brothers Eugene and Alexander at the International Airport of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, thus ending a long journey that by plane alone, with its three transfers, lasted about 26 hours. Many experiences have taken place since then and I want to share them from a human and spiritual point of view. Breaking the silence is not easy for me, much less writing, but I recognize that if I am here today it is because of a loving design of God’s presence in my life.

I was called by God to the consecrated life when I was very young and I decided to enter it, when I had just finished my secondary school and a few days before turning 16.  I entered the Institute of the Marist Brothers in Mexico City, Mexico, on August 6, 1977. I made my first vows when I consecrated myself to the Lord on 11 July 1981 with 19 other fellow novices in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. From then until last year I had dedicated my life and my apostolate to the education of children and young people in several of our Marist works in my country, including a public high school or a mission among the indigenous people. I am convinced that each of the apostolates and services entrusted by my superiors, each and every one of them has contributed to preparing me to live this new ministry in Bangladesh, a place of mission of the Institute for 13 years, where Christianity is a minority and the marginalized need  us.

It is well known to many today that the Institute of the Marist Brothers is urgently called to create international communities of lay people and brothers where it is possible to share life, spirituality and apostolate in community, involved in places where God’s call to serve cannot wait. I heard this call again very strongly: “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). So, aware of my own human limitations, of the trials of staying in my vocation, I received the invitation to become a member of the Marist District of Asia (MDA) in December 2015, during the annual retreat of my province of Central Mexico, this invitation was reconfirmed in February 2017 and finally the call became clearer in April 2018.

Sometime later, a letter came from Brother Ernesto Sánchez Barba, Superior General, asking me, before making any decision, to first participate in the Lavalla200> Programme, from the beginning of August to the end of September 2019, by living a process of personal and group discernment between laypeople and brothers, forming two small communities to live, share and understand more clearly what an intercultural community is, for a multicultural world. The constant communication with the Brothers in charge of the programme, Jeff and Angel, as well as with the General Council, was decisive in confirming the call and during our retreat at l’Hermitage in France, which took place during a Eucharistic celebration in the General Chapel, where the seven members, who form the 4 LaValla200> group, received our destiny from the hands of the Superior General, symbolised by a simple cross.

As a partners of the spirit

During four months of immersion in the culture and language of Bangladesh, the first thing I experienced with all its rigour, was to realise that to enter a culture totally unknown to me, I had to start from scratch, and so it was, to put into practice patience and open myself to the action of the Spirit, starting by hardly recognising the sounds that people use in their language, to all this, add the range of sounds and signs in their writing;  the customs, traditions and ancestral relationships; the ethnic groups; their past and present marked by profound political, social, cultural and religious changes; their diet which basically consists of rice, dal (a greatly appreciated delicacy), vegetables, various flat vegetables, fruits, fish, chicken and chilli. The food is very spicy, but they also use desserts that are generally made with rice and are very sweet. I really enjoy the food which is very healthy for me so far.

 The brothers run a school and two hostels, with the help of two Marist Missionary Sisters and two lay people, and they also have several teachers who speak the language of the region well. With the support of the Brothers in Bangladesh and after consultation with them, I decided to study the language. I have been living in Dhaka for a month and a half with the Jesuits who give me what I need to live.

The Brothers run a school and two hostels, with the help of two Marist Missionary Sisters and two lay people, and they also have several teachers who speak the language of the region well. With the support of the Brothers in Bangladesh and after consultation with them, I decided to study the language. I have been living in Dhaka for a month and a half in the house of the Jesuits, who give me what I need to live. Nearby is the place where I am going to receive  classes. The plan is to continue studying for at least six months.

There are many other details to be mentioned, but I think that the most important thing at the moment is to be able to feel the action of the Holy Spirit in confirming that the Marist Brothers and the Marist Sisters have learned the language, their commitment to the Bengali children and youth in the education and formation of their persons and their dignity. May Jesus and Mary continue to show their protection and help through our presence and witness.

_________________

Br. César Barba Gómez
Bangladesh, 20 March 2020                       

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