My first experiences in La Carolina.
When I first arrived in this town, I quickly got to know a little bit about what was happening; this included a Meeting of Holy Family Group Leaders. The organisers of the meetings invited me to come and participate in the meeting. At the time I felt a bit reluctant thinking that this “wasn’t for me”. Meetings with young people at my age! However I accepted. I thought it would be pleasant to spend a day with Jesus of Nazareth, the Jesus of history and then move on to the Christ of faith. So I attended the day.
In order to identify ourselves better with the Jesus of history, we were invited to dress like the people of the time. For the men this meant putting on the Talit at prayer times, choosing a Hebrew name and using that name throughout the whole weekend. A very lovely and original idea! This was the welcome that I experienced.
On the following day we began the day by praying the “Our Father”. It was explained to us that this prayer had a particular resonance for Jesus and we prayed it in Aramaic just as Jesus did!
In order to get to know the historical Jesus, we looked at the history, the place and the period in which Jesus lived. To do this we got into groups and we studied the places where Jesus lived and worked during his life, from his birth right up to the resurrection. We looked at: the political situation, the religious structures, and social groups including women, children, different sects and movements. We did all this in a relaxed way and in a festive but at the same time, serious atmosphere. (At time I almost felt I was actually there in the places we were talking about)
In the evening we tried to recognise the Jesus of history in the Christ of Faith, true God and true man. Afterwards we reflected on some themes such as: Who is Jesus for me? Who do people say that I am? We reflected on the meaning of the reign of God, the filial attitude of Jesus towards the Father, (for Jesus, God is Abba) and finally the need to share and live our faith in community. The reflection was deep and was very fruitful for all. Just as Jesus confided his work and his project to the disciples, so too the Good Father at the end of his life confided to all the members of the Holy Family the mission of extending the reign of God Alone following the example of Jesus Mary and Joseph.
The day ended with a paschal meal. We tried to place ourselves within the culture of the time, which was a difficult task in spite of the fact that we are living in a Mediterranean culture. We prepared the meal very carefully, with the lamb, bitter herbs, the prayers, the chalice, the necessary rites…all that was necessary to create the right environment for a Jewish Passover meal
I felt very happy to have participated in this meeting; I forgot my fears and I thanked God for the experience and for having been invited to participate in this celebration.
Teo, from the community of La Carolina (Jaén)
Now let us listen to what Tomas, a participant from Malaga experienced.
It is difficult to express in words all that I felt during this weekend. All the experiences were formative and enriched our work as leaders of Holy Family groups. We worked together in a very relaxed way and the day-to-day activities were not in the least monotonous.
Personally I was engaged in lots of activities during the day – activities that left me with very little time for myself. But, during the meeting, I really wanted to dedicate a little time to God and to myself so as to grow in my relationship with God and to value that relationship more.
Perhaps the formation was not totally what I wanted or expected but nevertheless I was very glad to have it and when the weekend ended I was extremely tired but satisfied. I felt that I understood a little bit more the person of Jesus Christ and as a consequence I felt stronger in my faith. Very often we Christians can feel rather weak because we are not sufficiently knowledgeable or committed and we are unable to defend ourselves when we are challenged. This experience, shared in this humble house with brothers and sisters that I barely know was life-giving. I came to a greater understanding of the historical, social and religious background to the life of Jesus and as a result I have grown in faith and my life has taken on a new meaning.
To sum up, the experience has been invaluable in form and content and what we learned will always remain with us. From this small seed a huge tree will grow – a tree that will give fruit in the children that we are accompanying in these groups. This is the mission that God has given us: “ Let the little children come unto me”. I look forward to seeing you all in Malaga in October. I have had an unforgettable weekend. Peace to all.
Tomas Sanchez de los Rios,
Holy Family Group Leader in Malaga
