Personal Accounts

We received these two reports from Columban priests working in Valparaíso and Santiago this morning. We are so thankful that we had no major injuries or damages in the Columban family.

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Earthquake in Chile

(report by Fr. Derry Healy, the director of the Columbans here in Chile)

We are all well and alive, just the shock of the whole experience. All the Columban group are safe and haven´t suffered major damages. Most of the contents of the houses were turned over with the shake. I was not long in bed and was woken up to what I thought was someone trying to break it as the woodwork creaked and the front door vibrated. Soon I felt the whole house shaking and I just and ran for it and up on to the street. Our house is wooden and on stilts on the edge of a ravine. I felt like it was never going to end. Many of us spent the rest of the night on the street with the people. Here in Valparaiso, we gathered the people around, clear of building and electricity wires and got a fire going and made a 40 litre pot of tea. Luckily we has a supply of cups in the Ecological Centre.

I managed to contact all the Columbans (lay missionaries, Associates, Sisters and priests) by yesterday afternoon. Mobile phones were the first to get back the signal. he Centre House in Santiago has suffered minor damages. Also some of our chinches presnet some cracks, but nothing major. Communications, water and electricity are being gradually restored. Since the last major earthquake on March 3rd 1985, strict anti-sismic building regulations have been put in place in Chile and this has prevented a major disaster. This earthquake was much stonger than any experienced in rcent years.

Yesterday, Saturday, was like a "Holy Saturday" just contemplating suffering and vulnerability and in a limbo situation. Today Sunday the gospel of the the tranfiguration gives us new hope and wonder and while the little Christian community would like o stay on Mount Tabor, they are now chllenged to become envolved in the wider community and keep hope alive amid so much disaster. Today there has been here movement and people are trying to get to normal. There are still some tremors as I write this. People around here are still on the street and won´t go back into their apartments yet.

Derry.

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Report by Fr. Dan Harding, an Australian Columban working in Santiago

This earthquake at 8.8 at the epicentre on the Richter Scale was one of the most powerful in history, or rather since recording earthquakes began. It was the fifth most powerful earthquake ever recorded in history and lasted almost 3 minutes. Even though the city of Santiago is several hundred kilometres from the epicentre, the level of intensity for us here in Santiago was 8.5 on the Richter scale. Remember the Haiti earthquake was 7.0 on the Richter Scale. The largest earthquake ever recorded was in Chile in 1960 at 9.5 on the Richter scale. 
 
Speaking personally it was a terrible shock to be awoken from deep sleep at the beginning of the earthquake. I was awoken by my small dog barking and birds outside fluttering wildly. I thought to myself that a neighbours' cat must be at the birds. So I got up and turned the light on. Just then the earthquake started in great intensity and all the electricity cut out. I was lucky to get outside and hold on to a fence in the darkness as the earth, trees and buildings around me shook wildly. It was an extremely frightening experience. One is completely helpless, not knowing what is going to happen and trying to catch one's breath. Luckily none of us in the Columban Centre House were hurt and there was only minor damage to the buildings. After an earthquake everyone goes out onto the street for fear of after shocks. I spent the rest of night with hundreds of neighbours out on the footpath in pajamas in the cold morning air. 

Much of the central part of Chile with over 80% of the population has been badly affected by the earthquake and the following Tsunami along the coast. Over 2,000,000 people have had their homes damaged or badly affected. Since the earthquake at 03.34 am Saturday morning local time, we have received over 90 after shocks which will continue for months ahead. Some of the after shocks like one at 8.30 this morning (Sunday) were in themselves small earthquake at 6.5 on the Richter Scale. The death toll is at 708 and climbing with dozens of disappeared. 
 
The epicentre of the earthquake was only 90 kilometres from the city of Concepción, which is 500 kilometres from Santiago to the south along the coast. We Columbans do not work in Concepcion. There has been massive damage to Concepcion, its twin city Talcahuano and other cities between Santiago and Concepcion such as Chillan, Talca, Linares and Rancagua. In Concepcion, a 14 story apartment block fell over backwards and snapping into various parts. Rescue teams are still working on this building with over 40 people still unaccounted for. Continuous after shocks hinder the rescue work. 
 
Today Sunday, police and now the military are trying to hold back looters in Concepcion and Santiago from looting supermarkets, shops, banks etc. Few supermarkets are open here in Santiago today for fear of looters. The metro is not yet functioning. There is a sense of panic in the air with large lines at petrol stations and the few shops open. This afternoon when I had to travel through the older part of Santiago, I saw hundreds on buildings damaged, burst water mains and families with a few pieces of furniture living out on the footpaths.
 
The Terminal at the International Airport in Santiago was severly damaged and only now are a few flights arriving from overseas. People wanting to leave Chile have to travel over the Andes to the Argentinian city of Mendoza and from there fly to Buenos Aires. In the city of Chillan, south of Santiago, a wall in the local jail collapsed and over 200 prisoners escaped. 
 
The earthquake at 03.34 am Saturday morning, was followed 20 minutes later by a Tsunami along the Chilean coast up as north as Valparaiso, which is on the coast near Santiago. Giant Tsunami waves entered the coastal cities of Talcahuano, Constitucion and many coastal resort towns such as Ilorca, Duao and on the island of Juan Fernandez, washing out to sea hundred of house, buses, cars and people. As Chileans are used to earthquakes and Tsunamis, many people from the coast managed to escape to higher ground before the arrival of the Tsunami. At this stage, it is not know how many people were drowned by the Tsunami, but it is estimated that at least 150 people were drowned in the city of Constitution alone. In one coastal town, a Ferris Wheel was dragged upright from a small fair by the Tsunami wave a distance of 250 metres. 
 
It is Sunday night here as I write this email. Hundred of families are sleeping outdoor in Santiago alone because their homes have either been destroyed or seriously damaged and are dangerous to occupy. Most damage in Santiago is in the older colonial part of the city. In this area, there are families sleeping in all the parks, plazas and outside their damaged apartment buildings. Many beautiful old colonial style churches have been damaged or destroyed. All around Santiago and on the main highway to the south, overpasses have collapsed effectively destroying much of Chile's advanced highway system. Thousands of people in Santiago as well as in the south do not yet have electricity or water connected. 
 
We Columbans have asked the people in our parishes to pray and to help as much as possible the victims of the earthquake and the Tsunami. We will most likely be organizing special masses and collections and fund raising activities in all of our parishes. 
 
Chile is one of the most organized countries in South America and especially well prepared for earthquakes and tsunamis. All schools have earthquake practice and for those near the coast, tsunami practice. Chilean rescue teams played an important role recently in Haiti. In less than two weeks, we will have a change of government which will complicate somewhat the recovery efforts.
 
Please keep the Chilean people in your prayers and we Columbans serving here. We thank God that none of us were hurt in any way.


 


Blessings,
 
DAN HARDING

Fr. Michael Sinnott Freed

Yesterday afternoon, Fr. Michael Sinnott was finally freed. We're all very thankful to have our prayers answered and to reach a peaceful end to this ordeal. Here's an article from the CNN website on his release: Irish Priest Freed. Thank you to all who have been joining us in prayer during the last month.

Day of Prayer and Fasting

Today, the Columban community was called together in a special day of prayer and fasting for Fr. Mick Sinnott. We met with our priest coworkers in the chapel "San Columbano" for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It was a special time and we hope that Fr. Sinnott can feel the presence of God wherever he is, and also that he can feel the presence of his friends around the world who are praying for his safety. For those of you interested in joining us, we've printed a prayer below that you can say at home. The original is in Spanish, and an English version follows.

Oración para la liberación del padre Michael Sinnott (Ministerio de Campo del colegio San Columbano - Ciudad de Pagadian) En tiempos de sombras y preocupaciones, te pedimos, Señor, que mantengas al Padre Mick Sinnott libre de daños. Guíalo en cada minuto de su camino y en cada minuto de su viaje. Que en la luz de la mañana, oh Dios, pueda tener siempre una visión de tu imagen en lo profundo de su ser, que los hilos de la gloria se tejan en su conciencia. Que él vea el misterio del amor modelado en tu imagen, más profundo que el saber, más duradero que el tiempo. También oramos por los secuestradores. Despierta la semilla de tu bondad divina en sus corazones. Hazles comprender que el dolor que pueden causar al P. Mick es también un dolor que causan a la humanidad. Hazlos compasivo a las necesidades de P. Mick y que le den su pronta liberación. Te lo pedimos por Cristo nuestro Señor. Amén. Postdata: P. Michael Sinnott es un sacerdote Columbano de 79 años que fue secuestrado el Domingo, 11 de Octubre, 2009 en la Casa Columbana de Pagadian (Mindanao - Filipinas) por hombres armados cuando hacía su caminata por el jardín.

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Prayer for the liberation of Fr. Michael Sinnott In times of shadows and worries, we ask you Lord, that you keep Fr. Mick Sinnott free from harm. Guide him in every minute of his path and in every moment of his voyage. That in the light of day, oh God, he is always able to have a vision of your image in the deepest part of his being, that the threads of glory knit themselves in his conscience. That he sees the mystery of love modeled in your image, deeper than knowing, more lasting than time. We also pray for the kidnappers. Wake up the seed of your divine kindness in their hearts. Help them to understand that the pain that they cause Fr. Mick is also pain that they cause humanity. Make them compassionate to the needs of Fr. Mick and may they quickly set him free. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Postdata: Fr. Michael Sinnot is a 79 year old Columban priest who was kidnapped by armed men on Sunday, October 11, 2009 from the Columban house in Pagadian (Mindanao - Philippinnes) while he was walking in the garden.

16 Days in Captivity

This is a translation of the testimony given by Karleen B. La Fuente at the Prayer Rally held in Pagadian City on Oct 24, 2009. Karleen is a beneficiary of Hangop Kabataan founded by Fr. Mick Sinnott who was abducted October 11, 2009 in his Columban House in Pagadian City. (The original version is written in the Visayan language.)

My name is Karleen B. La Fuente. I am 14 years old and am a second year high school student and one of the beneficiaries of Hangop Kabataan Foundation founded and headed by Father Mick Sinnott.

I was born a Special Child. My two legs are deformed. From one year old until I reached five, I’m using my knees in order to walk. I was so glad to be enrolled in Hangop Kabataan Foundation. My classmates who are deaf are the ones who will carry me from our house to our school bus, and carry me again until we reached our room. They brought me home after class.

They do that each time my sister, who is also my caretaker, is not available.

I am very very thankful to Fr. Mick Sinnott. If not for him – maybe until now – I still would be walking on my knees. It was Fr. Mick who facilitated my Medical check-up in an Orthopedic Center in Davao City. He wanted me to have artificial legs or prosthesis. The doctors’ recommended having an orthopedic operation to gain equal height for my legs. Fr. Mick unreservedly agreed with the advice and immediately, together with the staff of the foundation, facilitated again for the expenses of operation on my legs. For three months, I stayed at Davao General Hospital and another three months at Davao Jubilee Rehabilitation Hospital who made my prosthesis or my artificial legs.

Fr. Mick helped me without condition and without reservation, so that now I can almost walk normally wearing my artificial legs. As I grow older, my prosthesis has to be re-adjusted and repaired, and as always, Fr. Mick is always at my side, helping me with whatever is needed. My thankfulness to Fr. Mick is very immense. I am very very thankful to Fr. Mick for helping me throughout until now.

And now, from my heart, I beg those who took Fr. Mick Sinnott – please, please have mercy on him. Have mercy on the Special Children, the deaf, the mute, the mentally and physically challenged children under his care – we are hoping that he will come back home to us. Please free Fr. Mick because we love him so much – especially because Fr. Mick is not in good health. Please have mercy on him and have mercy on us, we need him so much! Would there still be somebody like Fr. Mick Sinnott who would love and care for us Special Children? Please, I beg again, have mercy on us, free Fr. Mick Sinnott.

Fr. Michael Sinnott

I've reprinted an article here from Fr. Shay Cullen, who worked with Fr. Sinnott in the Philippines. It talks a little about the kind of work he has been involved in. Please continue to pray for his safe return. So far, the Columbans have not been contacted by the kidnappers and do not know who is responsible.

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The Abduction of Father Michael Sinnott
(Fr. Shay's columns are published in The Manila Times,
in publications in Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, and on-line.)
http://www.preda.org/archives/2009/r09101402.html

Father Michael is a true dedicated self-sacrificing missionary. This is an appeal to all people concerned with the kidnapping of Father Michael Sinnott, my former professor at the Columban Seminary in Navan, Ireland and co-missionary here in the Philippines to pray for his safe release and return to his mission and the people he served for so many years.

He was taken as hostage by four men as he took an evening stroll in the garden of the Columban Missionary House in Pagadian last Sunday, 11th October 2009. Four men barged in, grabbed him and bundled him into a van that was outside the gates. Later it was found burnt and Father Michael was seen being taken away in a boat across the bay. No one has taken responsibility for the abduction.

Father Michael has a heart condition and needs his daily medication. At his age, 78, he will be greatly challenged by this terrible ordeal. We appeal to the people who abducted him to respect his dignity and medical condition, treat him with kindness and not harshly, and provide him with his medication. There is a wide search going on all across Northern Mindanao as I write this and we can only hope and pray he will be released unharmed. The outpouring of love and respect for him by the people all over the Philippines is overwhelming.

He is a totally committed missionary, a man of the people of the Philippines and especially those of the Pagadian area in North Mindanao. He has given his life faithfully and without complaint for over 45 years to the people of all faiths without distinction or discrimination, but with a love that has been shared equally to all.

He gave himself as a missionary to uplift the poor to work for justice and change this world to better the lives of the poor and to save the children from abuse and exploitation. He has a home for children with special needs that need him to return safely. In this apostolate, working for human rights and the dignity of the person, we can only hope that his rights and dignity will be respected too. Michael never hesitated to help anyone, least of all the victims of neglect and abuse.

So too the poor, deprived, abused and those crying for justice, he has a heart for them all. He has been their hope and pastor. He is a quite and gently spoken man but his words have always been wise and inspiring and encouraging to those struggling for justice and equality. He is an advocate of peace and non-violence and has been working for social reconciliation for all of his Missionary life.

He is a symbol of all that is good and decent in this world, but now he is taken as a hostage. Columban and many thousands of Missionaries, men and women, ordained and laity have given their lives over the past centuries to make real a new way of living together - the Kingdom of justice and love, truth and equality, respect and freedom. We pray and hope and plea that he will not be harmed. We appeal that his captors will respect his life's dedication and commitment to the dignity and rights of the Muslim and Christian people alike. I appeal to the authorities to do nothing violent if he is located with his captors but to negotiate a peaceful release and return.

These are the hazards and challenges that we missionaries face in this difficult and challenging life. In difficult missions, in order to serve the most needy the sick and the oppressed, we have to face the threats of people who oppose the work for justice and freedom. Being a missionary is the most challenging call these days. We all know here that we could face the same danger and ordeal and have to accept it with fortitude and strength of mind and heart and trust in God. The Gospel is the path to a more meaningful life, to care and help others without reward is the heart of it. Father Michael worked for such a world and may he come through this hardship and continue his life of service to those in greatest need. END

Visit www.preda.org for more related articles.

Prayer Urgently Needed!

An 80 year old Columban priest was recently kidnapped in the Philipines. Please pray for his safe return home. We've attached an article here that is from the Columban Mission Newsletter in the US.

October 12, 2009 Fr. Michael Sinnott Kidnapped in the Philippines COLUMBAN FATHER MICHAEL SINNOTT KIDNAPPED IN THE PHILIPPINES Columban Father Michael Sinnott was kidnapped October 11, 2009 around 7:30 p.m. (local time) from outside his home in Pagadian City, Province of Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, as he was taking an evening stroll in the garden. As Church workers were closing the gate to the compound in the Columban house in Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur, on October 11 2009, a man pushed his way through saying he wanted to talk to a priest. Then three or four heavily armed men appeared, forcing the gate and dragging 79-year-old Irish Columban Father Michael Sinnott from the garden into a white pickup truck, before speeding off. The vehicle was later found abandoned and torched in the nearby beachside area of Santa Lucia. Fishermen told police that they saw the group boarding a small motor boat heading off in the direction of the town of Tukuran. A statement from the regional director for the Columbans in Manila, Father Pat O’Donoghue, said that police and other law enforcement agencies had been called. Patrol boats were mobilized, but found nothing. Father O’Donoghue said that no motive has been given for the kidnapping and, as of 11:00p.m. on October 11, there had been no contact. He added that he is worried for the safety of the aging priest, as he underwent quadruple bypass surgery in Cebu in 2005 and has been under medication ever since. “One of my greatest concerns for him is that he does not have his medication with him, which he needs,” he disclosed. Father Sinnott was ordained on December 21, 1954, after studies in Ireland and the United States. Father Sinnott has worked in Mindanao since he arrived in The Philippines in 1957, except for a period in Ireland as rector of the Columban seminary, a short stint studying liturgy in Paris, and a few years in Manila as the vice director of the Philippine region. Father O’Donoghue is asking people to pray for his safe return.

Que en Paz Descanse

Sadly, our friend and coworker Fr. Mike died just hours after we posted the last entry asking for prayers.  It all went so fast that we're just now processing all that has happened during the past week. After about a week in the hospital, the doctors told him that he had liver cancer. The cancer was also causing lots of blood clots. One of those clots killed him just 3 days later while he slept. We went in to visit him in the hospital on Thursday, the day before he found out his diagnoses. None of us had any idea it was so serious. He had obviously lost weight and had difficulty breathing, but other than that was the same old Mike. He joked, had us sneak him extra water behind the nurses' backs and complained that there was nothing good on television. We told him how big Joshua was getting  - the hospital wouldn't allow us to bring the baby in for a visit.  We made plans to get together once he was better and get caught up. 

Funeral services here last three days. The body is put on display for two days and then is buried on the third. We had the wake in Puente Alto, the poor parish where we worked together.  The church was filled all three days, with standing room only.  He has one sister, who made it down and was touched by the turnout and the love that the people felt for her brother.  She decided to have the body cremated and bring his remains home with her to the US. Once she saw all the emotion at the funeral though, she had second thoughts.  She now understood that Fr. Mike had much more family than she knew about.  We'll miss you, friend.

Please Pray

A dear friend of ours is very sick.  His name is Fr. Mike Cody and he's a Columban priest originally from Boston.  We formed a close bond during our formation period back in Chicago, as he was the coordinator of the Lay Mission Program in the US at the time.  Our friendship grew when he soon after was assigned to work in Chile in the same parish as us. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.  The picture below was taken of our house mates, before David and I left for Chile in 2004.  Fr. Mike is the second from the top left.

Lost

Many may be wondering where we've gone. We've been enjoying summer and with it, not having time to blog.  We got back from our two and a half weeks in Santiago a little worn out. We visited lots of friends and had a great time reconnecting with loved ones.  Everyone loved meeting Joshua, doting on him and loading us up with toys to bring home to Alto Hospicio. Once we got home, we began preparations for a big visit - David's parents!  They arrived about a week ago and have just loved spending time with their first grandson.  Their visit has also given us some time to ourselves. We had our first night out in three months while the grandparents babysat and have been catching up on movies.

Other than having family with us, we're also thanking God for answered prayers.  The young boy who was shot has made a complete and surprising recovery.  He is now home, walking around without a visible scratch.  He came to church last Sunday with his father in order to thank the community for all their prayers.  We told him that he had international prayers coming in as well, and he also thanked all of you for remembering him.  The quickness of his recovery has really been a miracle and he has definitely been touched by the community's support to him and his family.  We're hoping to get him to give a talk at our next youth retreat so that other kids can hear a new perspective on just how precious each gift of life actually is.

Tragedy (Anna)

It's almost 2 in the morning and I should be in bed.  We leave for Santiago tomorrow morning and have spent the last two days preparing for Joshua's first trip in a plane and our first vacation as a family.  Our preparations were interrupted with some pretty sad news though.  Our neighbors across the street own a "Salchipapa," which is northern Chile's version of McDonalds.  They sell hot dogs, fries and other varieties of greasy yet delicious foods that we shouldn't be eating.  Needless to say, we spend a lot of time over there.  We learned that their youngest son, 19 years old and just a year out of high school, was shot two days ago and is now in critical condition in the ICU.  It was a big shock, especially because this particular son was such a great kid.  We got to know him at a retreat that we gave for the youth in the parish early in the year.  Even though he didn't participate in the youth group and didn't really know any one there, he quickly became known as an outgoing, enthusiastic believer.  He loved God and had a way that attracted the other kids to him and made them feel at ease.  He also knew lots of fun "dinámicas" (silly songs and games for groups), which are imperative in any Chilean youth work.  I went over to their house tonight, hoping that the information I had heard was wrong, and that it wasn't really their son who had been shot.  But, when I passed through the door and saw his mother's face, I knew that it was unfortunately true.  We sat and talked for awhile as she explained to me how he was and what exactly had happened. He was at a friend's birthday party and on the way home, was mistaken for a drug addict who owed some dealers money.  A car drove by and opened fire on the group he was walking with. Three boys were shot, but he was the most critical and also the youngest.  The doctors tell his mother that he's lucky to be alive but it's what they're not telling her that has her most worried - namely, whether he'll make it or not.  I've learned that the most important thing we can do at times when things aren't in our control is to pray.  So, we prayed together, asking God to heal her son and to bring the family strength and hope.  

It's hard to decide which stories get shared with our friends and family back home and which stay with us here in Chile.  It's not that we want to scare people, but sometimes we think it's important for them to know the reality.  It's easy to tell people that we work in an area where drugs are a problem, but gets harder when that reality hits home and we tell them our neighbor was shot by drug traffickers.  I think it's important for us to hear these personal stories though in order to really understand what others are going through. It's important for us to feel empathy, to share in others' suffering and help with some of that burden when possible, even through simple prayer.  The nature of our work and where we live lends itself to tragedy, but that doesn't make it easier to handle when it hits.  We're praying for a happy ending to this one and appreciating life a little more than we did this morning.

Thinking of the Children

As we near closer and closer to our court date (just two more days to go!), the excitement builds.  We've successfully bought every used baby item for $1 or less available in Iquique/Alto Hospicio and we think we may be ready.  However, our happiness is stunted a little at the recent email that Anna received in her inbox from a fellow Columban - a priest working in the Philippines with human rights issues. He helps run a center for children rescued from prisons and sex slavery.  The children's stories moved us to tears.  There are many children in the world who lead lives feeling unwanted and unloved. We remember and pray for all of them today.

Building Community with Traditions (Anna)

As a cradle Catholic, I think an important aspect of our faith is tradition.  It's one of the reasons many of us (I proudly admit it) liberals stick around.  All that incense, genuflecting and repetition may get to some people, but the truth is that I love it.  I didn't always love it. In fact, in those defiant teen age years I spent a lot of time visiting my friends' non-denominational churches and contemplating the pros and cons of Buddhism. I was on the verge of trading in the Holy See  until I came to the deal breaking conundrum, "What about the Eucharist?" and not only that, but what about the rosary?  And the advent candles? And the peaceful silence?  Being Catholic is more than subscribing to a certain religious doctrine, it's belonging to a culture. I wasn't willing to un-train myself out of all those rituals and traditions, so I decided to get confirmed.

And now I'm a Catholic missionary. Who knew? This week on the mission has shed a new light on all of those traditions and exactly just why they're so important. November is Mary's month in Chile and traditionally, Catholics across the country would gather each evening in the local chapel to lay roses at Mary's feet and to bring all their sorrows, hopes and thanks for her intercession and to pray the rosary.  In recent years, attendance has dropped drastically and nowadays, it would not be uncommon to find two or three abuelitas (grandmas) praying for the community in solitude.

This year, our community decided not us! In our pastoral council meeting the month before, we decided that we could do better. We couldn't let our rich traditions go by the wayside and be forgotten. The older people in the community reminisced fondly of the whole family coming together in prayer and of the early morning Misas del Alba (sunrise services) with the added bonus of breakfast afterwards. These practices instilled the basics for their prayerful attitudes as adults and they wanted to share them with their grandchildren.  Marian devotion is still alive here, but it is more and more a personal devotion.  Each Sunday, Mass ends with a song devoted to the Virgin and many of the faithful pass by her statue, touching her feet and genuflecting, whispering their prayers in the hopes that Mary will share them with her Son. But, individual and communal are different things.  The community needs to be strong in order for the church to grow and that's why traditions and rituals are so important.  They give people a sense of belonging, of unified purpose and of mutual understanding. They help us forget our petty disagreements and come together for the greater love of God.

Through that conversation, many ideas emerged.  If the people wouldn't come to us, then we would bring Mary to them!  Three days a week, we decided that the statue would be taken in procession and left in a home of a community member overnight. That family would set up an altar outside where all their neighbors would be invited to join in prayer.  We would have the Misa del Alba once a week and on the rest of the days, we would come back to the chapel for prayer.  One older women cynically commented, "They won't come. There's no more interest in these things."

The first night out, we had 20 people show up.  From children and youth, to adults and the elderly, the community came together and unified in prayer. The older ones led the prayers delightedly. The younger ones looked on in eagerness, trying to pick up on the patterns so they too could join in. We've now finished our first week of Mary's month and I can happily report that we've had consistent turn up each evening.  Always a good crowd and always a happy conversation to follow. It's nice to belong to a community.  And it's nice to be able to pass on the traditions that we've found so meaningful in our lives.  It has been a good week on the missions and I think that a few more people are a little more hopeful in the next generation of Catholics.  They say that a culture that does not change is dead.  We are changing, while remembering our roots.  I believe that God is very present and active in this community and that we just need to open our hearts a little in order to help people discover that presence.