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 For Catholics who care...

Meeting Christ in the man they call Juan Pablo...

4/3/2015

17 Comments

 
This is a story of Jesus asking me to do something for Him.  Then, permitting me His Grace… all that is necessary to answer His call.  It is also the story of Juan Pablo – a Salvadoran native, and a veteran of their decade-long Civil War of the 1980s. And it is the story of a string of aqua blue glass beads-- a discarded rosary that found its way to Juan Pablo.   

It began on Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.  During the reading of Mark's Gospel, the narrator’s voice filled the church, and weighed heavy on my heart:   
                           At noon darkness came over the whole land
                           until three in the afternoon.
                           And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
                          “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
                           which is translated,
                          “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
                           Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
                          “Look, he is calling Elijah.”
                           One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it
                           on a reed and gave it to him to drink saying,
                           “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
                           Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

As we knelt, I said:  “If I were there, I would have saved you.”  Suddenly, a voice outside me replied:  Really…  What are you doing to save me now?


I looked up in surprise.   I glanced over at the priest on the altar; I half expected that he was in on it, or that he had heard Jesus’ question as well.  Then I looked around at the rest of the congregation, but they remained faithfully bent in reverence and prayer.  No one else seemed to hear Him!?  After mass, I left the church hastily - eager to call a friend about what had happened.

Two days later, I sat home alone reading about the Martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero (Pope Francis had recently declared him a martyr), and how he is due to be beatified in San Salvador on May 23, the day before Pentecost.  I was struck by the fact that even outside of Catholicism,  Archbishop Romero is honored by other Christian denominations, including the Church of England;  that he is one of only ten 20th-Century martyrs to be depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London.  I hadn’t ever thought much about him, simply because, in our Catholic tradition, there are so many other things to think about! 

But that was about to change.

Every Wednesday I travel to The Albany City Mission to work in their kitchen to help feed the homeless.  In almost three years, I’ve rarely missed a day.  I know the men who loiter there.  I know who likes rice, who can’t eat pork, who never smiles, who has fallen off the wagon, who doesn’t buy into The Mission’s mission, and who does.

 Enter Juan Pablo.

The massacre that raged on in the small Central American country he called home had left Juan Pablo with a sick spirit, nearly blind, and destined  to wander these some 35 years without real family, friends or homeland.   Today, Juan Pablo is a pilgrim in a foreign land searching for Christ among us. He lives some days on the streets and some days in a homeless shelter in Albany, NY.  

I knew the face of this drunken, little man very well.  I have smiled at him; asked him how he was doing?  Tried to feed him….    But he barely and rarely responded to me.  However, this past Wednesday something was different.  As he sat at his table, staring into the mayhem of pre-lunch preparation, I decided to challenge myself to speak to him because I was able I recognized that he is Jesus and Jesus is waiting for me.

I sat next to Juan Pablo, and tried to engage him:  I asked him if he were hungry?  If he were Native American or Latin (at the time I didn’t know?).  If he could see me?  For the first time, it became clear to me that Juan Pablo had very poor vision, and that much of the time he must not have even realized I was speaking to him because I stood too far away.  Now, I was sitting shoulder to shoulder with him…close enough for him to smell the scent of my perfumed lotion.  He turned to me, and and answered my question pointedly: “I am from Central America.  I am from El Salvador!”   Shocked at the coincidence of my encountering the life of Archbishop Romero only the night before, I asked Juan Pablo if he knew Romero.

 “Of course.” He replied.  “I am a soldier.  He was a great man!  We would do anything for him.  He brought God to the people wherever he went….”  

“You knew him?”  I repeated excitedly.  Inspired by the undeniable fact that God was with me just then, and had been since Palm Sunday Mass, I felt compelled to give this sad stranger something to hold on to.  I went to my coat and found the rosary I had taken from a small wooden "give-away" box at our church.  It was one of many that I've collected, and when I lifted it from the box I felt a bit guilty for wanting it so much.  I took it anyway, telling myself I would give it to someone who needs it.

The crucifix’s silver patina was rubbed off in places, and some of the glass beads were chipped.  Clearly, someone had been praying to Mary for her intercession on these beads for a long time; I had been praying hard on them, and now Juan Pablo could as well.  He took the rosary from me as if it were a handful of precious gems, and laughed gleefully  to himself.  From that moment on, I ceased to exist in his world.  Now, it was just Juan Pablo, the rosary, his memories of San Romero, and his feeling that all was right in his world - if only for these few minutes .  He turned from me, and kissed the crucifix of the rosary. Then, Juan Pablo hung the strand of glass beads around his soiled neck, and walked away.

17 Comments
Richard Anthony link
4/3/2015 05:25:54 pm

What a powerful and vivid story, So moving in its simplicity and open to all sorts of thought-provoking spiritual interpretation.

Coincidence (God's hand?) was surely at work in your reading about Archbishop Romero then to meet Juan Pablo (John Paul) several days later who actually knew the man. It's also coincidental that the pope at the time of Romero's assassination was John Paul II.

You must take great satisfaction in knowing that your gift of rosary beads to Juan Pablo was so gladly received and that in your work with the mission's kitchen you may well have entertained angels, or Jesus Himself, unaware.

Reply
Dennis
4/3/2015 11:58:59 pm

Evelyn, your devotion to Christ and the principles He taught, are inspiring. Christ did promise...seek and you will find!

Reply
evelyn link
4/4/2015 12:58:18 am

I'm smiling at you Dennis. I'm glad we are on this path together. Thank you.

Reply
Louise von Brockdorff
4/4/2015 12:22:33 am

God does talk to us, BUT we need to be open to what HE says to us as well doing what HE asks us to do...
Evelyn thank you for reminding me how much God can do when we listen....and follow HIS will!
A Blessed Easter....

Reply
Mary Wellington
4/4/2015 01:24:11 am

Evelyn what a story! It is truly spiritually moving. As I read your blog I was moved by how you did not give up on this man and something about him was capturing your attention. One has to wonder was it God working through you. You did not give up on him and what a difference you just made in his life. Thank you for that wonderful story/message.

Reply
Janet Kirch Wenner
4/4/2015 04:18:03 am

Yes, when God speaks to us personally, it IS personal..... I also have been greatly moved and inspired by Romero's writings and example. Of course one immediately notices the parallels with St. Thomas Becket; I was completely unfamiliar, though, with the carvings above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey. Thank you so much for mentioning that! I looked it up quickly and it appears that three of the 10 are Roman Catholic, three Anglican, one Baptist, one Lutheran, and two non-denominational Protestant. Half of them, I had never even heard of. I wonder how they were selected? I feel more research coming on.....

Reply
Janet Kirch Wenner
4/4/2015 04:32:10 am

Isn't it interesting that Mother Teresa is included in a group of martyrs?

Reply
evelyn link
4/4/2015 05:03:07 am

We will all be waiting to hear what you come up with Thanks!

Reply
Edie
4/4/2015 09:24:34 pm

WOW! Very powerful. I love how God works in our lives. Yours, Juan's, each of us. Glory to God. Amen

Reply
jackie white
4/5/2015 02:53:47 am

Very inspiring. That was a biggy. Let us not neglect to look at the small things in our everyday lives. They are there. I was taught the three S's. SIGHT to SEE the SIGNS. I am on the look out. Are you?

Reply
evelyn link
4/5/2015 03:56:15 am

Thank you Jackie. Prayer has taken cateoract from my eye. Hopefully, one day, it will pull the beam from my eye as well. Happy Easter

Reply
holly augi
4/7/2015 12:09:54 am

I am amazed at how far and ture you have traveled . It is a inspiration to share your thoughts and prayers. THANK YOU

Reply
evelyn link
4/7/2015 01:11:17 am

Thanks Holly. I'm glad you're following the blog. Have you created a "room for the Saints" yet at your home as a way of introducing your grandson to prayer?

Reply
Dennis
4/7/2015 09:37:34 pm

Lent can be a challenge particularly the years with little inspiration. Easter, though, always brings a sense of wellness and renewal for me. I was talking with a priest after Easter this year and it seemed to me he was exhausted . I soon realized I have never wondered how Lent might be for priest's . Again, for me anyways, lent has always been a personal journey....even when my lent commitment has been to serve others, its a journey that brings me closer to Christ. Priests, on the other hand, have the responsibility of guiding many through this time of inner reflection. Like me, many people rely on lent to help them stay close to Christ and I can imagine lent is personally important to all priests as well. With all us needy parishioners how does a priest get alone time, personal time, prayer time focused on self? I've been wondering about hearing confessions and the increased numbers to be heard during lent. The weight of that cross? Like lead I suppose. So, for the first time in my life, I thought about the sacrifice a priest gives every lent....I don't know what I am trying to say...but it has been on my mind.

Reply
eveln link
4/7/2015 11:09:15 pm

Thank you Dennis for writing the note of thanks we all should have pen to our Pastor. Beautiful.

Reply
Bertha Rogers
4/7/2015 10:14:41 pm

Hi Evelyn,
Your writing is inspired; that's for sure! Thanks for sharing this!
And see you soon.
xxx
bertha

Reply
evelyn link
4/7/2015 11:12:09 pm

I've prayed harder and my writing benefited. Thank you for reading along!

Reply



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