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by Leonel English translation below)  En el noveno aniversario del asesinato de Berta Cáceres, mujer luchadora por la defensa de los pueblos y de la madre tierra, el pueblo lenca hizo una ofrenda en un ritual con flores, cantos, con incienso y con la participación de los niños y niñas que representan la razón por lo que se lucha. Lolita Chávez viajo desde su pueblo en Guatemala, de Santa Cruz de Quiche, para animar la ceremonia. Sus palabras fueron de una espiritualidad de mucha riqueza para el tiempo que se vive en el presente. Es bueno que dejemos que Lolita nos diga algunas ideas de la espiritualidad maya. ¿Cuáles son los elementos que más sobresalieron en el ritual Lenca-Maya? A Guatemala en lengua Quiche se le llama Ixim Ulew que significa tierra de maíz, porque somos, según el libro maya del Popol Vuh, gente de maíz. La característica importante de nuestra espiritualidad es que tenemos un vínculo sagrado con la madre tierra, la casa común, como le decimos en nuestros movimientos; pero también otra característica es la defensa territorial, la defensa de la red de la vida, la defensa de la Abya Yala, mal llamada América, pues nosotros la llamamos Abya Yala. Es la sangre que corre libre porque no queremos imperialismos, no queremos invasores, no queremos empresas de muerte que generan ecocidios. Eso nos han ensenado nuestros abuelos y abuelas, sanadores de los territorios. Por la defensa de esa sangre libre tenemos mártires que han luchado contra los imperialistas que han impuesto guerras a causa de la codicia del dinero. Lolita habla sobre su historia y su memoria. Los pueblos originarios, dice, han tenido una experiencia milenaria y una de las recomendaciones para la gente de este tiempo es volver a la tierra, abrazar a la tierra, a la vida. En cuanto a la espiritual de los cristianos sugiere que no solo tiene que abrazar a la humanidad, pero también tiene que abrazar la biodiversidad, abrazar los árboles, los ríos y el agua. Nuestra espiritualidad debe estar vinculada con ese tejido profundo con otro conteo del tiempo. En la espiritualidad, Lolita habla de un tema importante. El cristianismo no debe olvidar la memoria, la historia, la sangre de los mártires. Ellos han luchado y han dado sus vidas por la casa grande que es la madre tierra: tiene que haber redistribución de la tierra y reciprocidad, abrazando el centro que es la vida. No puede haber una expresión espiritual si no se respeta que hay gente que pasa hambruna, que no ve las personas que van caminando, los que son migrantes; que no toma en cuenta sus ritos a la gente que están en las fincas sufriendo muchas injusticias; una persona no se puede llamar cristiana mientras no esta sintiendo el dolor del empobrecimiento debido al racismo y a las potencias mundiales. La gente de buena voluntad necesita tener un compromiso con su fe porque, como nuestros abuelos nos decían, tenemos cuatro cuerpos que son: el físico, el mental, el espiritual y el energético. Necesita la gente de este tiempo, abrazar su alma y su horizonte; saber de dónde viene y saber tejer sus altares para reconocer la memoria. La espiritualidad que nos ofrecen los pueblos originarios es el cómo el vehículo que conduce a construir un presente y un futuro donde el centro no es el dinero o el poder, sino la vida, especialmente la vida de los más sufridos y maltratados. The Spirituality of the Maya-Lenca Native Peoples.  On the ninth anniversary of the murder of Berta Cáceres, a woman who fought for the defense of the people and Mother Earth, the Lenca people made an offering in a ritual with flowers, songs, incense and with the participation of the boys and girls who represent the reason for which they fight.
Lolita Chávez traveled from her town in Guatemala, Santa Cruz Quiche de Santa Cruz to animate the ceremony. Her words were of a spirituality of great richness for the time we live in today. It is good that we let Lolita tell us some ideas of Mayan spirituality. What are the elements that stood out the most in the Lenca-Maya ritual? Guatemala in the Quiche language is called Ixim Ulew, which means land of corn, because we are, according to the Mayan book of Popol Vuh, people of corn. The important characteristic of our spirituality is that we have a sacred bond with Mother Earth, our common home, as we call it in our movements; but another characteristic is the defense of our land, the defense of the network of life, the defense of Abya Yala, wrongly called America, because we call it Abya Yala. It is the blood that runs free because we do not want imperialism, we do not want invaders, we do not want death dealing companies that generate ecocide. That is what our grandfathers and grandmothers, healers of the territories, have taught us. For the defense of that freedom, we have martyrs who have fought against the imperialists who have imposed wars upon us because of their greed of money. Lolita talks about her history and the historical memory of her people. The indigenous peoples, she says, have had a millennial experience, and one of the recommendations for the people of this time is to return to the land, to embrace the land, to life. Regarding the spirituality of Christians, she suggests that they not only have to embrace humanity, but they also must embrace biodiversity, embrace trees, rivers and water. Our spirituality must be linked to that profound weaving of the fabric of the passage of time. In spirituality, Lolita speaks of an important theme. Christianity must not forget the memory, the history, nor the blood of the martyrs. They have fought and given their lives for the great home that is Mother Earth: there must be redistribution of the land and reciprocity, embracing the center that is life. There cannot be a spiritual fulfilment if there is no respect for the fact that there are people who suffer from hunger, who do not see the people who are walking, who are migrants, that does not take into account the rituals of the people who are on the farms suffering many injustices; a person cannot call himself a Christian if he or she does not feel the pain of impoverishment due to racism and world powers. People of goodwill need to have a commitment to their faith because, as our grandparents told us, we have four bodies: the physical, the mental, the spiritual and the energetic. The people of this time need to embrace their soul and their horizon to know where they come from and to know how to weave together the strands of memory into altars of conscious memory. The spirituality that the indigenous peoples offer us is how the vehicle that leads to building a present and a future where the center is not money or power, but life, especially the life of the most suffering and mistreated. #HondurasDelegation #SHARE2025 By Teresa  I have been serving for the past five months as a Catholic missionary at a children's home in Trujillo, Honduras. Trujillo is just one hour east of Tocoa, where Juan López was assassinated. They are also in the same Diocese of Catholic churches - the Diocese of Trujillo. Since Juan's death, each church in the Diocese has had a banner of Juan placed at the front of the church in remembrance and in a constant call for justice. I'd sit in mass every Sunday and see this picture of Juan; I'd pray for him and for his cause and for his family. I knew bits of his story and the history of the Guapinol; I only had a few pieces of a puzzle, and never expected to see the whole picture so personally and completely.
In the Bajo Agaun, in Tocoa, we visited Thelma - the wife of Juan López- in her home. We sat on the couches he'd have sat on, in the space where he shared life with his family. We met his best friends and coworkers and visited his office where he organized and worked. And probably most touching of all, we visited his tomb and celebrated his life in a small way, through poetry and song. We sang "Ven con nosotros", which happens to be one of my favorite Marian hymns we sing at the children's home. Saying it was an honor to visit these places can't describe the feeling well enough. To see the places he loved and fought for, and especially to meet the people he loved and continues to love was humbling as I realized the sheer strength and love of this community. My mind and heart was opened to their lives and their struggles. As I sat after encountering this community and family, after hearing the incredible stories, the terrible fights, and the inspiring hope, one question went through my mind. What can I do? I live very sheltered at the children's home and have limited abilities to leave, especially to go outside of the community. What could I possibly do that could be of any help? I think this is a question many people on the delegation have, especially as they prepare to go back to the US. I asked Jose, and he gave me the paraphrased wise words of Oscar Romero - you have to do something. That did not give me much guidance on what to do, but was the kind of straight-to-the-point wisdom I needed. My goal isn't to have some grand impact, my goal is only to help. I looked up the quote later and what Oscar Romero said in total was, “We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well”. It's so easy to hear, feel, then forget. But I can't do that. We can't do that. We have to experience and be impacted and then act in whatever capacity we can. We cannot permit a moment like this to be an isolated event in our lives. It is a privilege to do that, to forget. A privilege that our brothers and sisters in Bajo Aguan do not have. And because they are our brothers and sisters, we share their pain and have a responsibility to them and their struggles. Therefore, forgetting is not a privilege we have either. So, I'm left pondering and discerning - what can I do? I'm resolved to do something, and do it to the best of my abilities within the mission I serve. I can't do everything, but if I do a part and someone else does their part and someone else, their's, pretty soon, we'll have everything done - together, as a community. |
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