Reflections from Peru: Fr Matt Anscombe share some thoughts from his experiences in Perú.

Finding God in the Day to Day:

Sometimes there are things we see in our daily lives that really touch our hearts. Perhaps we have to slow down and be open to see them. In a chaotic, extremely noisy, and dusty city like Lima, it can be difficult to get away from the distraction to appreciate these special moments, however, one such moment happened for me just this week. On my day off, I walked from the Society’s mother house in the trendy and picturesque suburb of Barranco to the equally pleasant area of Miraflores. There’s a beautiful Jesuit church on the edge of Miraflores dedicated to our Lady of Fatima. Next to the church is a Blessed Sacrament chapel where there is Exposition throughout the day and I often drop in there. I’m always impressed by the number of people who pop in for a visit and for their great reverence. Young and old, male and female. It almost feels like second nature for many. It’s a place of sanctuary. There’s a stillness there, even in spite of the fact that there is a massive building project across the road. On Monday there was the sound of pneumatic drills, cement mixers and lorries dumping gravel. Even with all the ‘bulla’ (racket), this is a place of encounter.

So, the special experience was this. I was in the chapel; people were dropping in and out. An elderly lady in a wheelchair with a carer; a devout-looking young man in his twenties; a jogger. All sorts. Then a grandmother came in bringing her granddaughter with her. The child was probably only four. The grandmother indicated to her to be quiet and they sat in the bench in front of me. She held her grandchild tight to her and took her little hand and made the sign of the Cross over her. She was then whispering little prayers into her ear and directing her to look towards Jesus. I found it extremely moving. It was a picture of tenderness; family love; a desire to share faith. It stirred something in me. They sat quietly for about ten minutes. When the two of them left, I felt compelled to just go to the door and thank the grandmother for the witness she had given. Directing her granddaughter’s gaze towards Jesus!

The experience of a couple of days in Barranco and Miraflores is totally different to being in the parish. It’s like light and day. All the tourists are in Barranco and Miraflores. They would rarely see the reality of how millions live in this city. Driving across the city to the parish in Carabayllo is an eye-opener. I really feel at times that I’m taking my life into my own hands with the traffic. It’s the last 40 minutes of the almost two-hour journey where the contrast becomes starker. Exiting the perilous Pan-American Highway, I drive into the densely populated area of Comas. Dwellings on the surrounding hills, reaching several hundred metres above ground level, dominate the view. As I head to the very edge of the city, the heat and dust increase and, as I reach Carabayllo, the traffic and the surrounding buildings all seem that bit more chaotic. When I reach the parish and park up, I wonder “How on earth did I find myself here? A square peg in a round hole!” But the parish is actually an official “sanctuary”. It is a place where people find Jesus, and you just have to look at those milling around, be it working, commuting, to recognise Jesus is in our midst.

Catechesis in the Parish:

Something I’d like to share with you is the experience of catechesis in the parish. Catechesis and sacramental preparation are an important part of all parishes anywhere in the world, but here it almost seems to be a way of life.

When I first came to Perú, there was an expectation that people would be very devout and that Mass attendance would be high. I was surprised to find that isn’t the case. Whilst Perú may be considered a Catholic country, there are huge swathes of people who have no contact with the Church. Or, if they do, it might be just to come once a year to an anniversary Mass for a loved one, at which there would be little or no understanding of what is happening. It’s really complex and hard to describe exactly. Occult practices are widely advertised (not so occult!). Shamans, witch doctors, amarres (love spells – a sort of curse if anything) are advertised all around. Some of these occult practices include Christian prayers. Gosh, it’s very complex. There is a real mish-mash here. Ancestral spirituality from the highlands and Amazon regions, mixed with Christianity. Hard to get a real handle on it.

In the midst of this, the Church in Perú, and the whole of Latin America, I believe, seeks to offer real solid catechetical grounding for families. For example, if a child is brought for baptism under the age of 8, then the child is simply baptised following an official talk with parents and God-parents. However, things change as the children come forward for sacramental preparation when they are older:

8-12 years: Children from 8-12 years old enter the two year Family Catequesis programme. This runs from April to December. This is, effectively preparation for First Holy Communion, although, if the child is not baptised, then they receive baptism in the second year of the programme. Children come to Mass on Sunday morning at 9.30am, and afterwards they split off into different groups and are taken through their weekly theme by their ‘Animador’, perhaps best translated as ‘group facilitator’ The facilitators (catequists) are young people, who have been confirmed and are committed to their faith and they ‘animate’ the children. We have 16 animadores in the parish at present, ranging from 15 years old to 33. Before the children come for their catechesis, the animadores meet with a teacher (one for each year group), who runs through the themes and gives them ideas of how to best communicate the ideas etc.

The parents come to a meeting during the week before a particular session and meet with their ‘Parejas Guías’, of whom there are 20 in the parish. These are adult catechists, who work as a mentoring couple to parents. They discuss the theme with them, break open the Scripture and help the parents to be able to talk about the weekly theme as a family at home. I think this is the heart of Family Catechesis; encouraging families to pray and talk and deepen in faith together. The materials we use are slightly outdated and consist of simple sheets. I am encouraging the parish to move to the more modern colourful books recommended by the Bishops’ Conference of Perú. First Holy Communion is traditionally celebrated in parishes on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – 8^th December, a major Holy Day and national holiday in Perú.

On a Thursday evening, the Parejas Guías for the 2 stages (2 years) meet for an hour and discuss the theme for the Sunday following the coming Sunday (confused, so am I at times). This allows the Parejas Guías to have reflected in advance on what they will be discussing with the parents. I am officially in charge of the group of 10 Parejas Guías for Year 1. I don’t always feel up to the task but they go easy on me!

Confirmation: The parish currently has a one-year Confirmation programme for young people from 14-18 years old. The diocese actually recommends a two-year programme and so I am seeking to put that in place. Confirmation runs from March until December and this year the young people will be confirmed during the 9-day parish festival (Our Lady of Guadalupe) on 6^th December. Catechesis is every Saturday from 5.30pm until 7pm. The young people attend the 7pm Mass. There are over 30 catechists involved in Confirmation, which is pretty impressive. I wish they’d share them around a bit – that’s another question for me to answer!

Many of those in the Confirmation programme are not baptised and so they receive the Sacrament at the beginning of October (I think I’ve got over 40 baptisms coming up soon) and then make their First Holy Communion at Mass afterwards.

Adult catechesis and marriage preparation (not a lot of people are married here!) are another matter. I’ll go into that another time. If you’ve made it this far you’re doing well.

Well, I hope there’s some food for thought there. I’ve included a few photos. But remember, keep looking for Jesus in the day-to-day and the hustle and bustle. God bless. Fr Matt.