It’s great to be back: my first visit home since last June! I am serving in Santiago, Chile now, since a year and a half ago when our Provincial superior asked me to go there to be the director of the seminary for Latin America of our Congregation of Holy Cross. I am helping in our Family Rosary in Chile, too.
Chile is a beautiful country and very varied, on the southern tip of South America. It’s a long, thin country defined by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the high Andes Mountains to the east. Chileans are a lively people. They have a vibrant culture, and they love to dance and to sing. Family is at the core of Chilean life and Christian faith has been too, until recently since materialism has been addicting people with its false promises of a superficial happiness. The country is a bit better off than most of Latin America, but that means that there is a group of people who are well off, while most people are of the working class and poor. They have credit cards now too, but that means they wind up struggling with big debts over their heads. Anxiety driven mental illness is epidemic! They see, as we do, that humanity is beset by serious problems on many sides.
Role of Family Rosary
Our Family Rosary mission began there in 1960 when Father Peyton conducted a hugely successful Rosary Rally. A crucial mission is before us now, helping families to wake up again to realize that the Lord is the source of the love they look for in their families.
The Need for the Lord
I see so many in Chile like the people in the Gospel text we’ve just heard: hungry, frantically looking for something they-know-not-what.
To them – to us – the Lord calls: I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.
Here, now, at mass we are partake of His banquet, the Holy Eucharist!
Here, now, let us partake deeply of Him: meeting Him, knowing Him, loving Him so that we can authentically call others to the banquet. Hear, now… people we love around us and, particularly through our Family Rosary mission, people in Chile and around the world.
- To view the Rosary prayer and Mass streaming live, please visit our Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Please invite your loved ones to join us too! (If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
