After living for two months (from December 27, 2010 until February 15th) in the Casa Hogar—La Paz with Las Mínimas de María Inmaculada Nursing Sisters, I was invited to move to a parish just about a mile and a half closer to downtown Irapuato.
I made two trips by taxi…bringing my poorly packed suitcases with me. I moved into Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Parish with Father Felix Castro Morales and Patricia Almanza, his secretary. We make a fine three-some. Father is 57 years old, somewhat of a loner, but is very brilliant and has a doctoral degree in theology. Patricia is 47 years old and is very quiet and reserved and has a medical degree for general practice. Father has written 28 books on different topics…all on display in the office. She moved in with Father when her father decided to marry again after his first wife died. Patricia had helped her father and 2 young siblings after her mother died. She was practicing medicine in her home in the same town. She is single, a great lady and very caring. Last week-end we went to Morelia and stayed in her home there where she is use to practice medicine. Now she works in the parish office with 2 other ladies. In the house there is also a handy man, a part-time laundry lady, a part-time cook and as many as 3 young men who work on the renovation of the church. They come to the house very early in the morning and start hammering.
While at the nursing home I was not able to get too involved with the “abuelitos” (grandparents). I could push wheelchairs to the dining room or chapel. I could help feed some of the women. The men and the women are totally separated…separate dining halls, sleeping areas and they even sit in separate sides in chapel. I spent my days doing chores, walking downtown and visiting different convents of religious Sisters. I met some nice Sisters especially at the monthly retreat days for which all religious women are invited to attend. Religious communities share the responsibility of hosting these retreat. I had so much free time while at the nursing home that I even started embroidering!
Now, since I have come to live in the parish, I have not had one ounce of free time! I rise at 6:00 a.m. and walk to a nearby church for Mass because this parish has an 11:00 a.m. Mass and a 7:30 p.m. Mass. Both times are very inconvenient for me. I come home from Mass and I prepare breakfast for Father, Patricia and me. Around noon I run around to the market buying the ingredients for the meals. I prepare the 2:30 p.m. lunch and around 8:00 p.m. I prepare dinner. Here, the three meals are big. Breakfast consists of fruit, oatmeal, some sort of meat, refried beans and coffee. For the noon meal we have a salad, meat, beans, rice, tortillas and chile (chile is made with seared and crushed jalapenos and tomatoes). All meals have hot sauce, tortillas and limeade. We get 2 plastic bags of limes picked from Father’s sister’s tree. Dinner at the nursing home was a piece of bread and a tea…something very light. Here, we eat a regular meal of meat, rice, beans and fruit.
After dishes and tidying up I run to the office downstairs and help the office ladies with the registration of people for the sacraments, or I type certificates or answer questions for “walk-ins”. The questions are all the same: “What do I need to get married?” I always think of what Father Jose Luis would answer when people at St. Joseph in Salem asked the same question: “You need a boyfriend (girlfriend).” People would look and then smile. What they want to know are the requirements of the church. The requirements are written in little policy booklets they have printed out…so I just read them to them.
This parish house is like a palace. It is attached to the church on one side and to the municipal building (soldiers and guards all around it) on the other side. The house has three floors. The second floor has huge arches and a breeze-way overlooking a large plaza with two huge artistic rock sculptures which have water features. They must belong to the government. Father has complained to them that the one nearest our church is leaking water into the house. When Father was assigned here he had to do research and retrieve building space that had been taken by the municipal people. Usually the church does not get back that which was taken by the government, but…Father used his wit, the newspaper, documents and everything he could get his hands on to prove that some space had been taken. They finally gave it back but did naughty things…reap electrical wires, water pipes, etc. in the process. Father quietly re-wired and re-piped stuff back.
It has taken five years to repair and renovate this building which was falling apart and in great disrepair. Father never asks people for money. He has organized the parish in “pequeñas comunidades” (small communities) to teach the people their responsibility of caring for their church. So far so good. The government also gave money to restore the historical facet of the building.
Time is quickly passing. Spring is here! But here in Irapuato it is like summertime. It is hot. The weather reporter said that the equinox happened on March 18th because the “serpent” shadow showed up on the side of the pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula.
Lent is a beautiful time to experience new beginnings and so I will start packing to move to Huanusco, ZAC and be in a new parish…by April 17th. So many wonderful workshops and spiritual thoughts have been given during this Lenten season. There are so many churches and retreat centers here. It is so nice. God grant us much growth in our hearts…so we can be closer to Him.
