We desire peace not war
18.08.2010
The parish of Rancho Anapra prays for peace in a Mexican drug war zone.
During the last seven years here in the parish of Corpus Christi, our Mission Group of 50 to 80 people has been surging out onto the streets of our dusty Colonia to pray, preach and sing, and in so doing invite people to a more active participation in their Catholic Faith Community.
At times we have been rained out and scattered by electrical storms, flash-flooding, baked by the heat, blown about by spring’s high winds and the resulting dust clouds. In short it hasn't been for the faint hearted!
Given the increasing drug related violence and enormous loss of life in our parish and city of Ciudad Juarez, we have recently begun to celebrate open air ‘Masses for Peace’ in a major traffic roundabout at the entrance to our Colonia.
The response has been encouraging as many families gather on Tuesday evenings at 7:00pm for the celebration of the Eucharist and frequent Processions which have taken place to highlight our need and desire for peace in Ciudad Juarez.
The roundabout is situated close to checkpoints which are manned by members of the Mexican Armed Forces and we have received only positive support from them. Indeed, some of our parishioners come from the same southern States as the soldiers, hence fraternisation is common.
The parish priest Fr Istibal Valenzuela from the neighbouring parish of San Marcos, along with his parishioners, have been supportive and regularly join in with us in a welcome gesture of inter-parish solidarity.
Camera crews have also arrived from different media outlets all enquiring about our humble peace initiative. One crew even confided to me that after covering a recent story about a human decapitation, they were pleased to be able to end their news broadcast on a positive note, that note being our Mass for Peace.
The folk of Rancho Anapra are indeed a most collaborative and wonderful group of people. In these days when the Year of the Priest is drawing to a close, I can certainly attest to the blessing of what it is to be called to live as a Columban missionary priest for the Catholic Church in Rancho Anapra.
Fr Kevin Mullins works in Juarez on the USA/Mexican border.
