The Bible is about human
flourishing…I suggest that while “human flourishing” is certainly not the only
metaphor to describe the message of the Bible, it is a way of describing God’s
work that needs to be restored to a place of stature and that provides insights
into the whole message of the Bible.
-
Jonathan
T. Pennington, The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological
Commentary (2017)
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| Peter McWhir visited from Calgary and quickly became a member of the family here in Pozolapa |
I can’t get this thought out of
my head. The Bible is about human flourishing. Mission Mexico is about human
flourishing. The Bible vision is in process. The Mission Mexico vision is in
process. The Bible speaks to who we are as people and who we can and should
become. Mission Mexico tries to offer people in the mountains of Mexico an
opportunity to become whom they wish to become and people in the Diocese of Calgary an opportunity to become whom
they wish to become.
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| These students, seen here with Brother Cepillo (Salvador), are learning to play guitar at the Champagnat High School of the Mountain |
Here in the mountains of Mexico, the
task of human flourishing is a most challenging one. The realities of village
life (little paid work, low salaries if there is work, low prices for local
crops, difficult access to educational opportunities, little access to health
care, high costs of transportation, discrimination against the indigenous
peoples, etc.) make the simple task of survival a difficult one for many. But
the Bible’s message is one of hope, and Mission Mexico does what it can to
nourish that hope.
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| This youth group from the Cathedral in Tlapa works for human flourishing for all |
Mission Mexico supports a number
of “projects” year round, such as the Champagnat High School of the Mountain,
or the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of the Mountain, or the La Estacion Day
Care Center, or the Xalpitzahuac Health Project, or the dozens of scholarships
assisting students in different universities. Thousands of people benefit
regularly from this solidarity. But every week seems to offer different
opportunities to serve the people in this quest for human flourishing.
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| Father Ruben Torres is a priest and anthropologist and works tirelessly for human flourishing |
For example, the hope is that in
this month of May (and if not, surely in June) the rainy season will begin. The
soil here in the mountains is not very rich, and for years the government has
offered fertilizers to the impoverished peasant farmers. But there has always
been a lot of corruption and mismanagement with this program. A new federal
government that took power in Mexico in December of 2018 is trying to assure
that the fertilizer reaches the needy farmers, but many of the farmers are not
aware of the changes in the “rules of the game,” and they often lack the
documentation necessary to prove just how much fertilizer they need or proof
that they really do have a piece of land that they wish to plant. So I have
been driving all over the mountains recently trying to “help out” in as many
cases as I can.
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| With the rainy season starting soon, there will be days that I won't be able to get to where i want to go |
It’s the same thing with
education at this time of year. Most schools and universities begin offering
registration and/or “entrance exams” in May or June for the new school year
that will begin in August. Graduating high school students are especially
challenged because the university or teachers college or technical school where
they hope to study is often located in a city to which the student has never
traveled. So I have tried to be as “helpful” as I can in many of these cases.
If anything, it will be education, I daresay, that most nourishes the hope of “human
flourishing” in the impoverished indigenous villages.
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| Marist Brother Wicho (Jose Luis) is the director of the Champagnat High School of the Mountain, where the message of "human flourishing for all" is exemplified |
And there are the “usual” daily
crises that impact the lives of so many families: unexpected illnesses;
unexpected deaths; unexpected emergencies. For example, in recent weeks I have
taken a thirteen-year-old girl three times to a psychologist for therapy
after a violent sexual assault by several men. The girl was so traumatized that
she couldn’t even speak for a week after the incident; she just sat on the dirt
floor of her house crying. The sessions with a gentle female psychologist who
speaks her language is helping the girl immensely.
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| Preparing corn (pozole) for visitors to a village festival; the local religious leader, Tomás, is blessing the corn |
And sometimes there are “occurrences”
that work out favorably for this “human flourishing.” A few weeks ago, a
hardware store went out of business, and Mission Mexico was able to buy at cost
price a large supply of materials for “Alex’s Welding Shop” at the Champagnat
High School of the Mountain. “Alex´s Welding Shop” offers training to students in welding,
plumbing, and electricity, and is named after Alex Graf, a young man from
Medicine Hat who died in a traffic accident in 2014; his family and friends
sent a donation to begin this project, and they continue to support each year.
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| Marist Brother Checo (Sergio) is in charge of Alex's Welding Shop |
All of these attempts to assist the poor in
their situations of need are possible because of the generosity of people in
the Diocese of Calgary who support Mission Mexico. I mentioned in the first
paragraph that I see Mission Mexico as an opportunity for people in the Diocese
of Calgary to become whom they wish to become. I am thinking of the desire of
people to be good human beings, to share with those in need, to witness to the
message of Jesus that we are all sisters
and brothers. For parents, I would hope that it is an opportunity to educate
their children that we can journey together in this struggle for human
flourishing. I thank all of you for your solidarity with this cause. God bless.
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| The chapel at the local Diocesan Seminary of Tlapa has three flags flying in front: Mexico, the Vatican, and Canada. Why Canada? Because of the incredible solidarity for the Mountain from people in the Diocese of Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
