RELATIONSHIPS – Accompanying One Another to Christ
Micaela Mendez Vazquez
8/29/2022
Every Day we live in a steady and continuous connection that is linked in the decisions we intentionally make and in how we are called to live. The shared and common experiences that we encounter in our service that each of us carries out as Franciscans unite us; because where there is one, there is all. Our contribution, our investment with the ‘pueblo’ (people) defines and shapes the entirety. As part of our accompaniment, the scope of relations includes but is not limited to pastoral activities, assisting in the identification and formation of permanent deacons and their wives, developing the leadership among the parish women, engaging youth, and establishing family ministries.
The leadership development process prepares them to identify the needs of others, organizing the Church’s response to those needs, and addressing the injustices or inequities that lead to them. Through this work, we find a richness of culture, language, traditions, and customs which bonds us into becoming one with the ‘pueblo’ we are serving. Our service is not simply “to do” but “to be and connect” and it would not be possible to carry out our ministry without living and sharing in what is their essence of life. What we have to offer is a total commitment of heart and soul; we do not just share our knowledge; we share our living experiences in social harmony. Thus, we share our life as we build the relationship with our ‘pueblo’ and communities.
Since entering these sacred lands, we experience the abundance of God’s love every day. The Indigenous people have been carrying out and passing down from generation to generation their traditions and methods of praying by means of rituals; in the caves, in the springs, and in the gratitude of the yearly harvest – a blessing that they have obtained. In this way, we experience the lived Gospel experience though which Jesus invites us, to build the “Kingdom of God.” Building it with its own faces from the place where we find ourselves, serving others and accompanying one another to Christ.
For Consideration:
Who accompanies me as I move through life?
Whom do I accompany? In what ways do I serve?
How do I experience abundance and celebrate with gratitude?