Padre Roberto has two Saturday masses, one at the parish and one in the local hospital. Or at least, I thought it was in the hospital… more like *at* the hospital…
Allow me to explain. Because Mexico has a highly secular elite, with a strong separation between Church and State in law, priests sometimes have trouble getting into hospitals to care for people. There are no chaplains, for example, in a secular hospital. And, I might add, there are no chapels, and no masses.
Padre Roberto and I decided to head out to see (yet another) film this evening. I was a bit worried my presence was a distraction to him, but as he put it, “If I live alone I don’t get to see movies I want to see, because I don’t want to see them alone. With you here, I can go and see them!” Made sense to me.
Today I had a chance to visit with another friend, an older lady who owns a lovely home in the parish where I had stayed the last time I was in Cuernavaca. Padre Roberto and I, as well as the parish secretary and her family, were invited for dinner. And what a dinner it was! Where do these Mexicans pack away all the food that they eat?
One thing that I was worried might get me in trouble here at the parish (in Mexico) is the fact that I’ve been reading the gospel and concelebrating (with my own part of the Eucharistic prayer). You see, I can practice these ahead of time, so I actually sound pretty good in Spanish. Unfortunately, this also gives people the impression I can actually *speak* the language, rather than just read it.
My friends Lily and Jorge came by the parish this evening for the 6pm mass. The church was packed, so I only noticed them when it was almost over. They were the other two of the three friends who met me at the airport, so I was really delighted to see them again. And their generosity was proven once again, as we priests received a gift of… Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Mmmm… At any rate, we are planning to see one another again for dinner on Sunday. I look forward to it.
I had my first official Spanish classes at the IDEAL school today, and by the time I got back home I was just beat. Padre Roberto has his day off on Monday, and because he prefers to spend it outside the parish we headed out to visit a nearby town: Tepoztlán!
The last time I was in Mexico I connected with the Dominguez family, who have sort of “adopted” Padre Roberto and, now, myself. After the masses of the day I headed over to their place in Juitepec (a suburb of Cuernavaca). Dinner was delicious, and after we went for a walk in a nearby “greenbelt” area (although given it is dry season, it was more of a “brownbelt”). Padre Roberto joined us a bit later, and we played a rather silly game board game involving eggs dressed as people (click the link to see what I mean).
It is presently Saturday, a little before 2 pm. I’m now on my 5th day here. I made a decision before coming here to not start Spanish lessons before spending one week here, so as to be able to “refresh” what I already had. After all, why pay a school to teach me things I already know? This, it turns out, was a wise move, for two reasons.
Well, I made it to Cuernavaca. I was received at the airport by three friends, including Padre Roberto with whom I am staying. We had lunch at the airport itself, and then took a tour of the basilica and grounds of the shrine of Our Lady of Guadelupe. I’d been there before, but I had only seen the church itself, so I was glad to get a chance to see more. On the hill itself where the apparations took place there is a good lookout over Mexico City, and you really see how absolutely ENORMOUS the place actually is.
Hello friends, I know it has been a while since I have blogged, but it has been part of a personal choice of mine for the past couple of months. Still, I wanted to let readers know that I’m still alive :-) and will be away for three weeks starting tomorrow: I am returning to Cuernavaca to continue by study of Spanish. Talk to you when I get back on February 8th!
