Sunday, a day of rest and recovery from the pilgrimage yesterday, was much needed today. After sleeping in and a nice lunch here at the nuns' home, I went with Sister Joana to the parish she serves. It is in a nearby neighborhood and it is called the Church of Jesus of Nazareth. The church is small but beautiful, with colorful stained glass windows and wooden pews. There is a small adjacent building for parish gatherings and, behind the church there is an even smaller building that was made of mud bricks by members of the community about forty years ago that served as the original church. Today, I think it serves as a reminder for this rather poor parish just what they can accomplish when they work together and to be thankful for the improvements with which they have been blessed since then. Next to this building, there is the skeleton of a larger structure that is going to be the new parish hall. It is being constructed solely from the goodwill of the parishioners who usually work on it on Sundays, the only day they are not working to make a living for their families.
Before mass, Sister Joana and I attended an administrative meeting with the leaders of the youth group and the people who plan the extra activities of the parish. We discussed the budget, the Festa Junina that the parish held a few weeks ago, the upcoming day of service that the parish will be having, and the parochial mass that will be held in July. It was good for me to learn just how active the whole of the parish is, working together and also working with other small parishes in the area to praise God and serve others.
Just before mass, Sister Joana introduced me to the priest. He was very surprised that my name is Katherine. Though not a common name here, there are other people who are called Katherine, but I suppose I should explain exactly why he was surprised--
Last year, one of the Sisters here passed away. She was one of the original sisters from Rochester, New York, who was instrumental in establishing the nuns' community here. She served the parish of Jesus of Nazareth for many, many years and was dearly loved. There is a picture of her in the rear of the sanctuary above the last pew, where she sat during every mass. This sister's name was none other than Katherine. So, whenever someone who knew her is introduced to me, and since I am staying in her former home, usually there is a moment of surprise, and then many say, "Oh Sister Katherine has returned!". I really did think that this was just a nice coincidence, our names being the same, until the other day when I learned that not only do we have the same first names, but we also have the same middle names, Marie!!
Therefore, the priest's surprise was justified. When he began the mass, after the initial blessing, he proceeded to introduce me to the congregation of about sixty people, which then proceeded to SING to me! Oh goodness did I turn bright red! It was so unexpected and so kind of them to welcome me so wholeheartedly.
After mass, I attended the youth group. of about fifteen students ranging from twelve to twenty-three years old. We began with a prayer, followed by some singing and dancing. One of the young men in the group plays guitar so he led the singing and then made up these incredibly hilarious dance moves for us to do. There was more laughing than dancing, but the awkwardness of the situation made us all a little more comfortable afterwards. The discussion for the night centered around service and whether or not one should do service inside or outside one's own community. It was interesting for me since I am about 4600 miles away. But, I think the consensus was that both are important, a conclusion with which I was very happy to agree.
