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From the Director…Dear Fellow Missionaries, Each time that I took a group of college students from St. Andrew's Newman Center (UC, Riverside) to Mexicali, Padre Tomas made sure we had a tour of the factories. The factories have been a blessing. They have meant jobs where none existed previously. This month we feature Fr. Tom Kraft writing of his experience in the factories a year ago on Ash Wednesday. There he stands in front of the factory determined and full of joy, ashes ready for the people. I remember when Fr. Tom was first assigned to Mexicali. At the time, I was assigned to St. Dominic's in Los Angeles. Fr. Tom came through making his way to his new assignment. Either he asked me, or I volunteered, to drive him from Los Angeles to Mexicali. After we'd arrived and he settled in a bit, we talked of his new life. Like all of us Dominicans when we take on a new assignment, he had thoughts of "Did I make the right choice?" "Is this where God is going to use me to the best of my abilities?" "What challenges will God send me?" It is easy for me to see Padre Tomas standing in front of the factory determined and full of joy. Padre Tomas is an instrument in the Lord's hands. During this season of Lent, let us open our hearts to the Lord's living presence. God calls each of us to be an instrument in the hand of God. Mother Teresa talked of being a pencil. Whatever instrument you are, take this time of Lent to renew your love for God and your love for all people. Pray that humanity will come to know Christ in and through the love we have for each other. Fraternally, Fr. Martin Diaz, O.P., Director |
ASH WEDNESDAY IN THE FACTORIESBy Fr. Tomas Kraft, O.P. "Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning. Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God." (Joel 2, 12). The prophet speaks so clearly. How do we rend our heart and return to the Lord? Are we so far from the Lord that we need to return? "Padre Tomas, where are you going to celebrate the Ash Wednesday service?" a member of our parish, Juan, asked me. I smiled and said, "The factories." "The factories?" he said with a doubting look on his face. "Yes, con el favor de Dios, (with the grace of God), I will distribute ashes inside and outside many factories today." I am a bit nervous before I begin the Liturgy of the Word. It is Ash Wednesday and I am standing outside a factory waiting for the crowds to arrive. They are on a 15-minute break. With permission from the factory managers, I begin the Ash Wednesday service. I devoutly proclaim the word of God; the workers, tired from the first four hours of their morning shift, listen attentively to God's word while quenching their thirst. "What is the season of Lent all about? What is the meaning of the ashes? What does it mean to return to the Lord?" My preaching is short and precise. With their break time passing quickly, I challenge the workers to truly live their Christian commitment to give alms, to pray, and to fast. Then the lay minister and myself put ashes on the foreheads of the workers. "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." I watch with wonder as the many young men and women come to receive ashes. What is the attraction? Do we really need to repent? Yes, I feel like John the Baptist crying out in the street or in the factory, "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel." Change your life; do a U-turn; get on the right track called Jesus. The Lord calls you to a life of holiness, faithfulness, and joy. Repent of your evil doing and.... |
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