A pastoral jackpot

01.01.1970

Fr Woodruff tells us about a group of inspirational people who made an impression on the parish and who help others appreciate the Gospel.

Margarita died suddenly  when she took the 20 hour bus trip to Cuzco from Lima to visit her ailing mother. For some time before taking her trip we had noticed a persistent cough. On arriving in Cuzco she collapsed; her family took her to hospital and she died within 24 hours. She was 60 years of age.

Pisac, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas a few kilometres from Cuzco, was Margarita's hometown. She grew up there and later went to work in Cuzco and then moved to Lima. She was about 45 years of age when she introduced herself to our parish community. She had been active in her parish community for many years so she came to us with ideas and initiative.

At the time of her death she was leading a team of four women - herself, Libia, Alfonsina and Dulia - who offered a short programme for adults who wished to prepare for the sacrament of confirmation. I had agreed to help them work out a programme of about eight sessions rather than the 22 session programme they had used the previous year.

The small team of friends was enthusiastically advertising and inscribing interested adults when Margarita made her final journey to Cuzco. Her death shocked and demoralised them. They were not only a team but close friends. Margarita used to invite them to her house after Mass for breakfast and a chat. They had bonded as friends, especially in their work as an outreach team to help a new parish community form a charismatic prayer group. One way or another they had spent lots of time in each other's company.

Libia, Alfonsina and Dulia wondered what to do next? Alfonsina was so upset that she did not want to continue without Margarita. Libia and Dulia, in memory of their deceased friend, were looking for a way to stay with the confirmation project. In Libia's words, "I like to talk to, to get to know and understand other people; I like to communicate my joy to them. I like to encourage people so that they can feel at peace with themselves as I do."

However, they knew they needed support and approached Luis, a married man with two teenage children, but who could have been the son of any of them. He offered to help them prepare each session but could not accompany them in the Sunday afternoon sessions with those preparing to be confirmed. They accepted his offer and then put pressure on me to provide the session outlines.

Fr Michael McKinnon, an associate from Ballarat diocese showed me a recent book on the sacraments of initiation published by his diocese. I liked the approach and most of the content. The book had outlines for 30 sessions but we only needed seven so I went to work with the scanner and computer, copying, cutting, pasting and modifying to suit our needs.

Luis was surprised at his willingness to work closely with a team of older women who are now grandmothers, Libia is a great-grandmother. He commented, "They are deeply committed despite their limitations in terms of theological preparation and experience as catechists. I have had the good fortune to catch glimpses of the depth of their Christian faith. They work as a team, rotating roles in the sessions with the young adults preparing for confirmation.

To top it off, they amaze me by their flexibility and openness to new ideas. I think the key to their success is that they are friends and work as a team."

Luis recognises the varying gifts of each member of the team. Dulia is quick to understand and explain the content of each topic. Alfonsina is always ready to help in whatever way may be needed. Libia is a live-wire whose sense of humour rubs off on others. In his own words, the bottom line for him is: "I have always felt their loving care, their appreciation and respect for me, and that has allowed me to feel at ease with them."

Throughout the programme I have chatted on and off with all involved and three aspects of this team's work have prompted me to wonder whether we have finally hit the jackpot with a catechetical programme? First, the number of people participating in the programme grew during the programme (some always drop out of all other catechetical programmes); second, enough people are still asking for the programme to warrant us running it again this year; third, the team is rearing to go once more.

These three women give witness to the Gospel doing as Jesus told his first disciples: "In this all will know that you are my disciples, in that you love one another." Margarita helped her friends appropriate this basic teaching of Jesus of Nazareth.

Fr Peter Woodruff first went to Peru in 1967 and has retired to Australia.