From the Director…
Dear Fellow Missionaries,
The journey of Lent continues. We walk by faith trusting in God who cares for us.
Sometimes we see clearly the hand of God, and sometimes the hand of God is nowhere to be
seen. Fr. Tomas Kraft writes as he celebrates his retreat. Each priest yearly makes a
retreat. You might think that we pray all the time and are devoted to God daily, so why do
we need a retreat. The Church wisely guides priests away from work including leading
prayer to a different way of celebrating time. Not time measured by appointment hours and
Mass schedules, but the movement of time seen in the changing colors of the sky.
This month we are reminded of death and resurrection. How sad the stories you will
read. How tragic and how avoidable these deaths. Yet we are not left with death, but life.
The beginning of Lent is determined by the date of Easter and then counting backwards to
find Ash Wednesday. A subtle reminder that Easter is more important than Lent. In all of
our trials and life struggles, it is Easter that keeps us alive. What a sad journey it
would be if it ended in the middle of Lent. So whatever your Lent, whenever it is, do not
stop until you've reached the end.
Sadly, it is time for me to end my directorship of the Dominican Mission Foundation. I
have enjoyed this year of first getting to know the Missions, becoming a part of your
lives and the lives of our missionaries and others I've met. This has been a transforming
part of my personal journey. Thank you. I ask for your prayers as I move on into another
journey and promise that I will continue to pray for you. A new director has been
appointed. Next month he begins his work among you.
Much love,
Fr. Martin Diaz, OP |
WORDS FROM THE DESERT:
Reflections While On Retreat
By Fr. Tomas Kraft, O.P.
Mexicali, Mexico
"When the full fields begin to smell of sunrise And the valleys sing in
their sleep, The pilgrim moon pours over the solemn darkness Her waterfalls of silence,
And then departs, up the long avenue of trees…." (Thomas Merton)
"Her waterfalls of silence." Once again, I am on my week retreat at Saint
Rita Abbey, a Trappistine monastery in the St. Rita Mountains near a small town called
Sonita, Arizona (an hour south of Tucson). The solitude and silence of this high desert
setting are perfect for prayer. I always pray for you, my benefactors and even more
intensely while on retreat. Walking down a dirt road at mid-afternoon, I was acutely aware
of God's love. I am alone. The wind and the trees dancing; the sun touching my back and
warming the dry desert. To my right and my left, the majesty of God … mountains of
power and love rise from the earth. The creator God awing me, inspiring me to love and
forgive. My walk continues into the late afternoon when the sun begins to fall, the moon
rises, the stars shine like lamps in the night … God's love watches over me.
"When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, The moon the stars which
you arranged, What are we that you should keep us in mind, mortals that you care for us?
(Psalm 8)
We are mortals, sinful beings, whom you have made little less than a god; crowned with
glory and honor. Think about it … crowned with glory and honor. Our glory is the
Lord. We glorify the Lord, who has crowned us with glory and honor. Our crown is the fact
that Jesus saved us from sin and death and has given us life forever. This is the good
news that I preach to the poor here in my parish, Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Mexicali.
Today I began to reflect on the beatitudes, especially the second one: "blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Recently, there were three funerals in our parish on three consecutive days.... |
