America

With God’s grace, we have continued our missionary work in the community of León El Manzanillo, which we have been sharing with you in previous posts. On Saturday, August 2, as we do every month, we went door to door in the village, encouraging families to participate in the activity planned for that day and extending an invitation to attend Sunday Mass.

In the afternoon, we shared with those in attendance the theme: “The Love of the Father” and continued with the making of baskets from recycled newspaper. In addition, a special activity was held with the children to teach them the importance of proper hand washing, and we took the opportunity to introduce them to the idea of the Holy Spirit using the idea of Living Water.

On Sunday, August 24, we gathered for our monthly get-together. After participating in the Eucharist and sharing breakfast, we began with training on the topic “Home Visit Guide.” This topic was extremely important, as it will allow us to make improvements to the visits we already make in the “El Manzanillo” Project, as well as in future mission projects. It should be noted that, as part of our call to share the Gospel, we go to meet our brothers and sisters in their homes or wherever they carry out their activities, and it is prudent to follow certain guidelines. After introducing ourselves respectfully, and provided they are willing, we share the Word of God with them.

Home visits are a true pillar of our calling, as they enable direct contact with people who may be going through difficult times, such as hopelessness, poverty, marginalization, etc. Through these visits, we offer them a different path, guided and strengthened by the light of God’s Word.

The second topic we discussed during the gathering was “Sincerity, honesty, and integrity.” Below is a brief description of these values:

• Integrity is a fundamental virtue that invites us to act with righteousness and justice, respecting what belongs to others and approaching our responsibilities with integrity. It is a commitment both to the proper management of goods and resources and to the fair treatment of others, implying not taking advantage of or taking what does not belong to us.
• Sincerity reflects our authenticity in words and actions. It is the ability to interact without hiding our true intentions or resorting to falsehoods. However, this virtue must be accompanied by prudence, which helps us choose the right moment and the right words to express our thoughts. In this way, we not only care for other people’s feelings but also our own, since not everyone reacts well, understands, or appreciates what we want to share with them.
• Finally, honesty is related to living in accordance with truth, justice, and integrity. It is also understood as the virtue of always acting with righteousness in our intentions and decisions.

Each of these values reflects aspects of Christ’s character in us. They not only strengthen our personal and family lives, but also contribute to building a trustworthy, strong church with a good witness before the world.

On Sunday, August 31, we gathered for our first Spirituality Workshop. That day, we used the Lectio Divina guide to share a moment before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The reading we used was from the Gospel of the day, Luke 4:16-20.

We also meditated on section 1 of the document “Missionary Methodology: Spirituality, Lifestyle, and Model of Intervention LMC,” which emphasizes the importance of spiritual nourishment, since without it, our spirit weakens. We find this nourishment in the sacraments, in the Word, in prayer, in community, in spiritual retreats, etc.

CLM Guatemala