A Procession and a Story

BY CARMEN ALOMÍA, PROVIDENCE ASSOCIATE

The script for the procession with the gifts at the anniversary Mass gave an overview of the mission in Carabayllo, Peru. It was written and narrated by Providence Associate Carmen Alomía who was the emcee at the Mass.

We present our work of the last 50 years to the Lord. It is represented by the different generations who have lived, worked and struggled together with the Sisters during all these years. It also represents our commitment to continue the work of evangelization because of the testimony of their lives, given to God, in the town of Carabayllo.

Older adults bring photographs of Vatican II, the arrival of the Sisters in 1967 and the marches for rights

With the call of Vatican II, Canadian missionaries (priests and religious) arrived in Carabayllo. From the beginning of the mission, with the challenges posed in the documents of the Council, biblical study of our reality was very present in the first Christian communities animated by the Sisters. It was basic to their faith to seek the well-being of all those who lived on the hillsides, all those who demanded from the different levels of government (through paperwork and marches) basic services for a life worthy of God’s children. Receive Holy Father all the effort of this generation, to fulfill your word in daily life. 

God of Life, we ask for your strength to be given to the ecclesial and civil authorities, for every man and woman who seeks the welfare of all, especially the poorest of the poor, demanding their rights and fulfilling their obligations. Together may we remove the stones in the path of justice, truth and honesty so that we may not stumble and fall. We pray to the Lord…

Adults bring photographs of Medellín, Puebla and Aparecida

Faith in action … The Latin American Episcopal Conference guided our pastoral work in its different fields. One area was working with the poor through education and preventive organization to face the difficulties that they experience in the areas of health. The first document was Medellín (1968), which told us what the role of the church was in the current transformation of America in the light of the Council. The second was Puebla (1979), which challenged us with the suffering faces of Christ. The last one was Aparecida (2007), which re-thought the preferential option for the poor. Therefore in Carabayllo, in the field of health, professionals and settlers along with the Sisters promoted the medical station, preventative measures in each area through health delegates and attention to cases of extreme need. All this walking in service of the community we place in your lap, Lord of Health.

Merciful Father we ask you for all the professional laypersons, that Christ, healer of body and soul, may guide their professional actions in their fields of endeavour. May they show quality of service as followers of Christ our Lord. We pray to the Lord…

University students bring photographs of St. Vincent de Paul, Óscar Romero and Gustavo Gutiérrez

This generation of university students receives Christ’s legacy of how to live our Faith in LIFE, from the testimonies of holy men and women, men and women committed to the People of God. The Sisters welcomed into their lives the spirituality of St. Vincent de Paul. Vincent challenges us to live the affective and effective love, especially toward the poor. The Sisters also introduced us to Blessed Oscar Romero who was the voice of the voiceless and who experienced martyrdom because of his defense of the most abused of the Salvadoran people. In a similar way the Sisters presented us with the Peruvian theologian, Father Gustavo Gutiérrez. Right to this present day he helps us understand and practise our faith in daily living through Liberation Theology. The Sisters affected our ecclesial history by the dedication of their lives to the project of the integral liberation of humans. May the Holy Father receive the vitality of these young people as a promise to follow Him and to persevere. 

Young Christ, we ask for the young people that you may be their reference to life. In the life choices they make may they always be present to your favoured ones who are the most fragile in society. We pray to the Lord…

Adolescents bring photographs depicting labour rights, women’s rights and the rights of children and adolescents

This generation of adolescents receives the legacy of the fruit of the years of struggle of their parents and grandparents who, motivated by their faith, demanded from the State health services, education, water, electricity and quality transportation as well as respect for labor rights, rights of women and children and adolescents. Receive, O God, from the hands of these adolescents who are the hope of the church and of society, the promise of the continuity of this work which seeks the common good.

We pray Holy Father, for the adolescents of this assembly of Carabayllo, Lima North and Peru, that they may follow the example of their parents and grandparents and continue seeking the justice of God in their lives. We pray to the Lord…

Children bring the Bible and the flags of Peru & Canada

Our children and grandchildren, bring before you God, the Word that feeds, that sustains and that illuminates our path yesterday, today and always. They bring the Word in the hands of these three children, who encouraged by their domestic and local church, will grow in the practice of the Word of God. Two sister countries, Canada and Peru, have been united for fifty years in the Action and Contemplation of the Word. Receive Loving Father this promise of continuing with the evangelizing work, wherever we are.

Jesus Christ, you had a special care for the little ones. We pray for our children and for their families to be true domestic churches, where the Word becomes experience. For the local church, so that its primary action will be the evangelization of these children, we pray to the Lord…

Sisters bring the bread and wine

Sister Sandra, Superior of the Congregation and Sister Joey, who represents one of the four Sisters who came to Carabayllo on December 10, 1967, bring before you Lord the bread and the wine that are the fruit of the work of humans in the field and in the city. They work to forge a just and egalitarian world. Receive their work Lord.

We ask you, Father of Love, for the poor, for those who are without work, that they may find justice. For those of us who are gathered here in front of your altar, nourished by your word and your Eucharist, may we strive to walk our path. We pray to the Lord…