Called by the Spirit ~ Embracing the World Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit Paraclete Province — USA and Caribbean November 2017
The Indigenous People of Paraguay
In This Issue The Advent Call to Hope, Peace, Joy, Love 2 All Because of a Dream 3 Reaching Out to a Refugee Family / Pastoral Care for Women 5 An SSpS Offers a Lifeline to Refugees Who Fled Timor Leste 6 House of Hope 7 The Itaipú Binational and the Indigenous People 8 The Eyes of the Beholder 10
The Advent Call to Hope, Peace, Joy, Love
Dear Friends and Co-missionaries, As we approach the close of this Church year on the Feast of Christ the King (November 26), let us recall with gratitude the gifts and blessings of the year that is passing. Our Sisters in mission throughout the world are deeply grateful to you for your prayers and generous support. May each of you be blessed! In many ways, the lives of people everywhere have been affected by the ravages of natural disasters (wind, water, fire, earthquakes); refugees and immigrants fleeing war, oppressive governments, and poverty; victims of terrorism and violence; the marginalized affected by intolerance and racism. In this “darkness”, we enter into the Season of Advent / Christmas. We light the candles of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love as we prepare our hearts to welcome anew the Light of the World—Christ, our Lord and Savior. What does this mean for each of us? In the New Year 2018, following the example of Christ—Emmanuel, God-with-us, let us foster hope, peace, joy, and love among those we encounter in our daily lives. Sr. Mary Miller, SSpS
Dear Readers, The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters of the Paraclete Province (United States and the Caribbean) wish each of you the blessings of these holy seasons and the graces to live joyfully! May your New Year 2018 be filled with hope, peace, joy, and love. You and your loved ones will be remembered in our prayers throughout the year. May Christ, God-with-us be with you always! 2
Dear Readers, During the year 2017, Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters throughout the world have focused their attention on the theme “Communion with the Marginalized and Excluded”. With utmost respect, compassion, and tenderness for the dignity of each person, Jesus invited everyone in communion, especially those in need, the sick, the outcast, and anyone pushed to the margin. With Jesus, the SSpS Missionary Sisters work to widen the circle of loving communion with the marginalized and excluded, especially the poor, children, women, the elderly, the exploited, the trafficked, the prisoners, immigrants, refugees, those who stand at the crossroads; in short, whoever is in a situation of marginalization , exclusion, or destruction of life has a special place in our SSpS ministry. No one is excluded from the Reign of God! No one is excluded from the Heart of God! In this issue of SSpS MISSION, we share some of the stories of how this focus has played out in Life and Mission. Through them may you widen your communion with the marginalized and the excluded.
May the Holy Triune God live in our hearts and in the hearts of all people! St. Arnold Janssen, SVD
All Because of a Dream Our Commitment to Life Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters – Angola The Angolans are people who value life. It is their belief that the witch is one who destroys life so he himself can live longer. Many innocent people die because they are accused of being witches. As missionaries we seek to evangelize this culture of death. Our story tells of how Sisters risk their own safety to save others. It took place in the village of Cacuaco. A nine-year-old boy became very sick with malaria. After taking him to various quack doctors, they brought him to St. Luke’s Center at Kifangondo, where Sr. Marta works. He was unconscious. After some days of medication, he improved. Though still weak, he was discharged. At home, he had a dream that the catechist, Victorino, and his daughter, Margarida, offered him some fruit and invited him to work with them in the field. The boy screamed in his sleep: “Uncle Victorino and Margarida, I don’t want to work with you.” Soon the boy became sick again. The family did not take him to the Center but to another place where he received traditional treatment. At first he became very weak; but gradually he got well and was preparing to go to school. Again he became very ill. The night before his death, he screamed in his sleep, saying over and over: “Uncle Victorino let me go; I don’t want to go with you!” The family of the boy accused the catechist and his daughter of being witches. The family said that if the boy dies, they also will die. The boy died. On their way back from the cemetery, the family of the boy convinced all who participated in the funeral to kill Victorino and his daughter. One of the relatives went to the house of the catechist to inform him about the conversation. He advised Victorino and the daughter to flee in the direction of the river. The people were furious and, armed with bolos, stones and wood, started to chase them. Coincidently, Sr. Neusa was driving home from work. She saw the multitude running. She stopped and asked what happened. The mob responded, “We will kill the witch!” Sr. Neusa asked, “Who is the witch?” They answered, “The catechist Victorino!” Sr. Neusa hurriedly turned around and sped through the way the mob opened for her. She reached Victorino and Margarida, who were almost to the river. She pushed them inside the car, made a turn, and once again sped past the mob that was shouting furiously, “The witch should die because he ‘eats’ life!” 3
Victorino and Margarida hid in our house at Funda. The mob entered our backyard insisting that we hand the witches over to them. Alone with the postulants, Sr. Neusa had difficultly removing the people from the backyard. She phoned Sr. Marta Sojka, the Regional Leader, and told her to call the police. The people did not believe that the police would come because they only wanted the witches. But the police came. As the people were leaving the backyard, someone shouted, “Let us kill Margarida’s children!” Sr. Neusa quickly drove to Margarida’s home where the children were. When the mob arrived, Sr. Neusa was already there and blocked them from entering the yard. Sr. Neusa asked the postulant to get the children and take them around the back of the house and to our convent.
Then the police arrived and the majority of the people left in fear. The police wanted to know what had happened. Sr. Neusa related everything. The police asked permission to interrogate the catechist and his daughter who were still in the house. When the police left, the people dispersed. In the evening, the Sisters in the community gathered with the family to listen to their story. Because they could no longer live in the village, the family decided to go back to their province of origin, Huambo. At 10:30 in the evening, the Sisters drove the catechist and his family to the town of Viana. From there, they took the bus to Huambo. On that day, the lives of innocent persons were saved!
More About Angola Angola is still rebuilding its country since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, and the National Union for the total Independence of Angola (UNITA) led by Jonas Savimbi, followed after its independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but fighting resumed again in 1993. Up to 200,000 lives may have been lost and 4 million people displaced during the years of civil war. Savimba’s death in 2001 ended UNITA’s insurgency and cemented the MPLA’s hold on power. Through a new constitution in 2010, elections held in 2012 installed Dos Santos as president.
Ministries of Our Sisters in the Region EDUCATION: Elementary & High School: Literacy programs; training in first aid and other skills. HEALTH CARE: Hospitals, health centers and mobile clinics; dispensaries, leprosarium, ministering to people living with HIV/AIDS. SOCIO-PASTORAL AND PASTORAL: Children & youth values formation; women promotion (literacy & agricultural projects); Street Children Center; catechesis; Bible apostolate; formation of lay leaders; parish work; mission groups; Basic Christian Communities; Justice and Peace initiatives. 4
Reaching Out to Refugee Families Sr. Dolores Zok, SSpS - Poland We (our SSpS Sisters in Poland) have been in contact with some Syrian refugee families, for the past two years. One couple, Shadi and Marii, have three children. Sr. Renata and Sr. Celina started visiting them and helping in various aspects of life. At present, Sr. Celina and I visit them in the small town of Dobrodzien. Our Sisters were asking for help from the Bishop of our Diocese, Andrzej Czaja. He put a lot of effort into the issue of the living situation of this family. Through his request a large company donated a beautiful house for them. In Opole, our SSpS Community is taking care of another Syrian family. Sr. Aldona, with the support of the Bishop and an organization called Caritas, helped them to find employment. We are trying to keep in contact and invite them to our house very often.
Sr. Dolores Zok, Marii and Shadi, Sr. Celina and Sr. Marcelina their religion, even though the living conditions and the social help in Poland are less promising than in Western Europe.
In the beginning, several people from Syria came to the area and our Bishop offered them houses and other places for them to live, but it was not necessary as they preferred to go elsewhere. Most of them went to Germany.
As SSpS, we are happy that we are open to our brothers and sisters from Syria. We are grateful for their presence in our lives because our own hearts are changing and becoming more sensitive towards human poverty and struggle. They make us aware that we are one human family belonging to our one God who is LOVE.
The two families we are in touch with are Christians and they have chosen to remain in Poland because of
Pastoral Care for Women Prisoners Sr. Annette Fleischhauer, SSpS - Germany I have been working in chaplaincy ministry in the women’s prison in Berlin for more than a year. In the beginning it was a very strange world with big walls, and the loud noise of opening and closing doors. I was afraid to enter the prison cells. The reason behind starting a ministry in the prison was to meet those who live at the absolute margins of society. There is a growing number of Sinti or Roma women from Eastern Europe who are discriminated in the other parts of Europe. Many of them committed robbery in organized groups. Communication with them is not easy but I sense that many of them appreciate my presence. Every second Sunday, when we celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, they express their faith, lighting a candle, or kissing the icons of Jesus and Mary. When women talk to me about their lives, their stories are similar: they suffered violence, rape, and lack of care since their childhood. Violence and abuse continues in their life as adults. Many of them drown their pain in drugs. They enter a vicious cycle of consuming drugs and drug-related crimes. Some want to get cigarettes from me, the only “drug” which is allowed in prison. Others are trying to find someone to talk to. Talking with me in prison is governed by professional secrecy. My own faith experience in difficult moments helps me to confirm “you are not alone in your suffering.” I see as my service there, offering an empathic and open ear, to listen to their stories, to show my interest in them, to encourage and raise hope that another life is possible. 5
An SSpS Offers a Lifeline to Refugees Who Fled Timor Leste From our Sisters in the Province of Timor, Indonesia and Ucan News - Atambua Rostiana Bareto, 49, experienced tough living conditions as a refugee when she and her family settled in Atambua, Western Timor, on the border with Indonesia. Despite the fundamental challenge of making ends meet, she and her husband decided to stay and avoid the political instability back home. More than 250,000 people fled Timor Leste or were forcibly transferred West following the violence that escalated around the independence referendum on August 30, 1999. Many returned to Timor Leste after the declaration of independence in 2002. but some 100,000 people chose to continue their lives in East Nusa Tenggara Province, including 60,000 people in Belu Regency. Since her arrival, Rostiana, now widowed, has not received any assistance from the government, causing great frustration for her family and many others living in similar conditions. Their lives began to change when they met Sr. Sesilia Ketut, SSpS. Seven years ago she gave Rostiana some money to start her own cloth-weaving business. Working with a group of widows, she learned to weave, cook, and make bags, rosaries, flowers, and wallets which were sold to markets. Now, more than 300 widows, whose husbands either died before or after the 1999 conflict, are receiving help from Sister. Sr. Sesilia said she decided to work with the widows because she felt moved by their suffering in the early days when they first sought shelter in Timor.
Sr. Sesilia Ketut with some refugee women
To help those in Belu Regency, Sr. Sesilia established the “Forum for Women and Children� in 2002. The Forum continues its operations today providing aid to the people in cooperation with non -governmental organizations such as the Jesuit Relief Service, UNICEF, and Save the Children. They provided critical support services in the areas of domestic violence and victims of rape, especially much needed educational services. Every year, dozens of former refugees return to Timor Leste. Since 2000, Sr. Sisilia has facilitated the return of more than 400 people to their homeland.
Our Charism calls us to serve those who most need to receive the Good News of God’s all-inclusive love. Their stories become our stories, and our story cannot be told without them. 14th SSpS General Chapter Congregational Directions
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House of Hope Sr. Tressa Sebastian Nayathu, SSpS - Russia As the name reveals, “House of Hope”, the center which we Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters have run in Irkutsk, Russia, since 2004 brings hope for many children. Children come to this house with hope that they will be accepted, loved, fed, and able to relax. All of them have parents; however, the situation in their homes and the life style of their parents is such that they are happier to stay over night in the center. On 7 June, we went to town with the children to take part in the celebration of “Russian Day”. It was very hot and was unbearable for the children so soon after the snows had melted. When we noticed the difficulties the children had to walk with others under the hot sun, we found a cooler place for them to rest. To their surprise, there was a clown distributing fried sunflower seeds. The children approached him and talked with him and he gave each of them a packet. There was such joy on their faces and they commented: “It is really a fantastic day!” There were traditional dances and songs of the various countries Children from the House of Hope celebrating “Russian Day” that were part of Russia when it was the in Irkutsk, (Siberia) Russia “USSR”. Disappointed, I asked myself why the children did not watch the cultural program. They were happy with the simple seeds, but I was interested in the performance of the artists. I realized that we went there to make the children happy and that was achieved. Unlike the adults, they don’t require sophisticated things and wellplanned programs to be happy. So, I ask myself “can something as simple as sunflower seeds make me happy?”
Channel of Healing Sr. Marisa Fernandez, SSpS - Timor, Indonesia Arnoldus Meno, lovingly called Opu Arnold, has played a great role in the mission of St. Yoseph Clinic, run by the SSpS Sisters in Kupang. Arnoldus, serving as an occupational therapist, is an engineer by profession and had a humble beginning. As a young boy, he help our Sisters in the clinic before he took up his studies. Then, following a dream he returned to the clinic to serve people with disabilities and later got trained as a therapist. He helped the Sisters in different ways: building a house for disabled persons who were abandoned by their families, getting funds for them, “Opu” Arnoldus Meno working with a and so forth. After gaining further education, he went on to work in oth- child in the mission clinic of St. Yoseph er SSps clinics as an occupational therapist. Through his work with the Sisters, he is influenced by their spirituality and charism. He deals with disabled people from different socio-cultural backgrounds in a pleasant manner. He always has a smile on his face. He calms an emotional child with a simple joke. The commitment of Opa Arnold in serving the disabled is obvious from his own words: “I dedicate myself to these people because they are sent to me by God”. Through the hands of Opa Arnold, God works miracles on those he serves. We witness that healing touch daily in the clinic as he brings smiles to the faces of others. 7
THE ITAIPÚ BINATIONAL AND THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE Ava Guarani Paranaenses Sr. Mariblanca Barón, SSpS - Paraguay Itaipu on the Parana River is the largest dam in the world.
They shared their traditional religion, which was still intact, with the other communities they visited every month for prayer dancing. “When we arrived at a community, we men went hunting and saw the work of the oporaia (religious leader). Immediately we got a lot of meat. The women stayed to cook and make the chichi. We stayed there praying for a week. People came from everywhere. There was no worry about food or anything else.”
On April 26, 1971, two governments led by dictators, Paraguay and Brazil, made a secret accord regarding Itaipu that changed the course of history for the Ava Guarani and the Ache peoples. Because of the agreement, the Parana River lost its identity and its Guarani caretakers, its “Jary Kuery”, that is its protectors. According to the Ava Guarani, the environment in which they lived along the river was luxurious, extremely beautiful, full of waterfalls that fall from all the streams and rivulets toward the Parana. ‘Nande Ruvusu” (our Great Father) had given them this sacred place for them to care for, to enjoy, to live from its fish and the animals of the mountain.
Gathering of the communities for prayer and social time.
There was an abundance of food, rich in protein and everything that was needed for good eating and good living. For the Ava Guarani, to dam the Parana River was unthinkable because it was sacred. It would be a crime against creation. They were sure of the protection of ‘Nande Rusuvu’. Na Epifania tells us that when she first heard that they were going to dam the Parana she said: ”They won’t be able to do it because the water was put there by God.” Some resisted until they saw how the waters rose. Only then they bowed before the inevitable.
View of the Parana River before construction of the dam. 8
“We did not want to die by drowning. When we left the water was already rising and the people from Itaipu did not give us any explanation, otherwise we would have simply stayed by the lake.” All of this brought on a deep spiritual crisis. The religious leaders were discredited: ‘Nande Ruvusu’ was less powerful than the white man. The Ava Guarani people were consternated in the face of the imminent rise of the river. There was no way to escape. Sergia Cardozo de Pirai, Pto. Adela, said that they were treated worse than the animals. The animals at least were rescued and put in refuges and large reserves. When the Parana River was dammed up, it turned violent and swallowed everything in its path. But the saddest part was the enforced eviction of the 38 indigenous communities, unattended, treated worse than the animals. They became ill from the stress of abandoning their natural habitat. All of the territory of the Ava Paranaenses was underwater or turned into well guarded refuges and reserves for the animals and plants. The people were never reimbursed with new lands in compensation for their traditional territory which is legally theirs, according to the Agreement 107 of the International Organization of Labor, a UN Organization, that the government of Paraguay signed. BREAKING THROUGH THE FENCE After the efforts to regain their lands proved fruitless, the indigenous communities decided to go into a place near the Biological Reserve of Limoy, which, as they were informed, belonged to the State. As soon as they arrived in their former habitat, the Ava Paranaenses built a temple of their traditional religion, put up houses and a school. A year later, they were judicially evicted because a person presented a property title in the civil court. 9
The evening before the eviction and in the early morning of September 30th, they had the heavy work of moving to a place within the zone of the reservoir of the dam in a branch of the Itaimbey River, 8 kilometers from where they had been. For the first time in 40 years, the indigenous peoples broke through the fence and returned to their ancient land. THE EVICTION On the morning of September 30, 2016, a huge caravan of police cars full of police, a truck with horses for the mounted police, two huge tractors trailers (supposedly to carry the indigenous people), a truck and a car from the Paraguayan Institute for the Indigenous with “gifts”, a truck full of police from the Group of Special Operations, and a group of farmers (to take down the houses and put them on the trucks) arrived. It all appeared as if they had to get tid of a very dangerous group. To the surprise of the authorities, there was not a soul in the place except two Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS): Sisters Angela Balbuena and Mariblanca Barón who had stayed to document the indigenous movement. When the destruction of the houses began, a huge tractor arrived immediately and destroyed the crops of the indigenous. They also carried away, like war trophies, the small animals such as chickens, guinea hens, ducks, chicks, and two motorcycles that the indigenous were not able to take with them in their flight. After tearing down the houses and the school, they set fire to everything. The camp of the indigenous consists of less than a hectar of the Biological Reserve of Limoy. This reserve has 14,842 hectares, not counting the reservoir which belonged to the indigenous, where they buried their dead. Continued on page 11
The EYES of the BEHOLDER Last week I looked out at our inner court and felt bad because the trees had lost their leaves and the fallen leaves were all over the ground. While I was standing there feeling bad about this mess on the ground, our 101 year old sister came up behind me and with joy in her voice exclaimed: “Aren’t those golden leaves just beautiful! I love that color!” Somehow, I think of myself as a positive person but now I have to wonder. When I look at all the devastation from the hurricanes in the Caribbean Islands where I spent ten years of my life, the terrible ruins from the earthquake in Mexico or the devastation in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, my heart aches. Then I saw the picture on TV of a rescue team going into the ruins of a large building destroyed by the earthquake in Mexico, knowing that the building could collapse on them but they were working to rescue someone who was calling out for help. Words came back to me that I read some years ago. “It is the pain and suffering of others that brings out the good in each of us if we but listen to God’s voice in our life and the lives of others.” The Spirit can do great things through us if our dedication is generous and wholehearted. Our mission is really to allow God’s love to flow through us into our loveless world, bringing true life and love. St Paul tells us, “The love of God is poured into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit.”(Rom. 5:5) It is that Holy Spirit who gives us those new eyes. If we really view life through God’s eyes, we will always find good in every situation because God’s love is there. Those leaves may look dead but even on the ground they remind us of the many changes that we experience in our lives. I think that that may be the plan for the changing of the seasons. When I have been in the tropics for many years, I begin to miss the seasonal changes. Our lives too are seasonal. As we approach each changing year, we have to keep our eyes focused on the “gold”. Sr. Pat Snider SSpS Directress, Holy Spirit Missionary Association 10
The Itaipú Binational and the Indigenous People, continued from page 9 The Parana River no longer belongs to the people, not even the protective spirits who care for it, who also remain under the water. But one day they will rise and will bring justice. REFLECTION This story reminds us of certain situations in which many indigenous peoples of this world are living. In as much as the event points out the element of social injustice, it also leads us to notice that in the indigenous peoples or original peoples one finds a strong relationship with the earth, their sense of community, their sense of time, their relationship with their ancestors, and their religiosity. This story shows us certain distinct elements that conform to the identity of the indigenous peoples: a question that even in the area of anthropology is not easy to define. And then, there is their relationship with the Catholic faith, the institutional Church, theology, and so forth. Here we are confronted with the questions we
probably seldom ask ourselves, but which define our thoughts and our actions. Who is the ‘other’? How do we see the ‘other’? It is important to be conscious and know one’s theological framework because it can either lead one to appreciate the different cultures or to judge them without establishing a dialogue of life with the Gospel. JESUS IS OUR MODEL In the mystery of the Incarnation, God became man. Jesus was not a generic man. He was born a Jew, formed by the Jewish culture of Palestine that was occupied by the Romans. He spoke Aramaic. He did not eat pork or other foods that were prohibited by the Torah. He believed that the earth was flat and was the center of the universe. Jesus was a person of his time and circumstances. That Jesus was born in a certain culture tells us something very important about God. God makes us of an ‘imperfect’ culture to reveal himself. “Jesus is God revealed in a language that we can understand.” S.D Gordon This language which human beings can understand is the language of human culture.
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The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (also known as Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters) are an international—intercultural community of 3,100 Catholic, religious women, serving in 49 countries. Missionary activities include pastoral work and catechesis, education, nursing and health care, social work, adult education, and many other services to uplift the vulnerable and promote human dignity.
SSpS MISSION Magazine is published quarterly by: Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit ~ 319 Waukegan Road, Northfield, IL 60093 www.ssps-usa.org ~ (847) 441-0126 Editor: Sr. Mary Miller, SSpS 12