Author: ANTONINO

Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade
(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

I have tried, but I have to confess that I have never been able to watch a football game from the beginning until the end because of the agony I feel and see, not only among the football players, but also around me in the people who are watching it in person or in TV. It is uncommon to see people really «enjoying» the game. It is common to see the watchers agonizing over each movement that is done inside the field. I don’t see too much concern about the players. What I see is a big concern about winning or losing. And what I find strange is that in the same moment and in the same place, I have seen people yelling and screaming of joy and excitement, and at their side there are people crying, feeling defeated, sad and frustrated.

It was during a Marathon at the Special Olympics. A group of ten Special young boys and girls were running, competing with each other to arrive first and to be the first; to be the winner. Some of them were Down syndrome, some Autistic and others with other special challenges. There were thousands of people watching from the balcony.

They were running and running. People were roaring with excitement, with applauses and words of encouragement and support for those they expected to be their heroes. Of course some were faster than others, and consequently some were ahead of others. This was the purpose of the marathon. And of course the winners would be rewarded with special expensive medals. The losers, well… too bad. Nothing could be done about that. This was a competition and rules are rules.

At a certain a point of the race, a fifteen-year-old girl fell on the ground. It was obvious that not even the adversaries enjoyed that moment, but that fall, helping her to lose, would be helping others to win. That’s part of sports. That’s part of competition. Some have to lose in order that others can win. Rules are rules.

But something happened that completely changed the atmosphere. They were ten young people running and doing what they had been taught to do. They had been taught to run faster than others and to be ahead of others, because they were supposed to win. All the techniques had been taught and learned properly. But seeing their colleague in pain, all of them forgot that they were supposed to win. All of them stopped and came to her aid. One of the boys kissed her knee that had been scratched and told her. «This is going to help you feel better». Then all of them joined hands and kept running and arrived all together at the same time.

According to the story there was not one dry eye on the balconies. True human life is not about competition. True human life is about helping one another. True human life is about People Helping People.

Love and Peace
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade
(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

I went to Brazil for the first time in 1983 when I was working full time with the Portuguese Community of the Diocese of Oakland in California.

Fr. José Marins, a great Pastoralist and Theologian, who had been an expert during all four sessions of the Council Vatican II had told us in California that Latin America was the laboratory of the Church of the future. I was anxious to learn about the Church of the future. Before leaving to Brazil I asked permission to stay there for three months exploring the «laboratory» of the Church of the future.

I visited Parishes, talked with priests, with people, Bishops, visited shanty towns (favelas) and especially talked with the poorest of the poor that I could find around me. At a walking distance from the place where I was staying (my sister’s house), there was this super-miserable and filthy shanty town, one of the famous «favelas» of Brazil. No running water, no electricity; the walls of the «houses» were made of cardboard and pieces of plastic. Right on the corner of that «favela» there was a room under construction by the Parish, where people could have meetings. It was in that room with little mountains of sand and wood that I was asked to talk about God. It was in that room under construction that a little five-year-old girl, Sandra, changed my spirituality when she taught me that God is our Mother.

There was a Bible group made up of women who used to meet on Wednesdays to share the word of God. I don’t think that any of them had studied beyond their primary school; not even my sister, Matilde, who was the leader of the group. I found interesting that usually a reading was given and there was always one of them who would say: «Can you please read it again»? Sometimes the same text of the Bible was read two or three times. Then they would start sharing. Not an intellectual discussion but a simple sharing from their heart. «What word or sentence or verse touched me most?».

They were aware that the Word of God is the «salt of the earth and light of the world» (Math. 5; 13, 14). That’s why the biggest challenge was «What does this Word have to do with the reality where we live». I had no idea that in that small room, under construction, a group of almost illiterate «subversive» women were building something more powerful than the atomic bomb.

One day I saw a group of women walking in the direction of the city hall. Again, Matilde was leading them. They had posters in their hands upon which were written their requests to the President of the city. They were asking for three things only: Water, Electricity, and Safety without violence. This last one was referring to police assistance in that surrounding area to avoid crime. But they added «non-violence». The reason was that in general, to avoid violence, it was normal for the police to use violence. Sometimes they would kill in order to prevent killing.

These same women would visit the street markets and would ask for vegetables that were not good for sale, like potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and green leaves that had been damaged. They would bring those products with them and cook big pots of soup, especially for the children. Those big pots of soup were able to transform every day into Christmas day.

This was one of the many things that I saw in Brazil before returning to California.

Years later, I visited Brazil again. It was very hard to believe my eyes. That filthy, dark and violent shanty town was completely transformed. In the place of the shanty town there was what looked like a little city with beautiful and attractive houses, a school and a church where I said Mass and baptized babies.

The Bible in the hands of a small group of «crazy» Christians is more powerful than an atomic bomb. Love is more powerful than indifference.

Love and Peace
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

It happened 36 years ago, during the month of August. Actually it was August 15. I remember not because I have a good memory, but because it was the day when the church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. Another thing I remember very well was that it was during the peak of the Summer’s heat.

I was standing at the altar celebrating the Eucharist. In my home Parish it is the Feast of «Nossa Senhora do Monte» (Our Lady of the Mountain). I was facing the people. The Church was packed. Many people were standing. Among the standing people there was Gina holding her four-year-old daughter, Irene, in her arms. I assumed that no matter the child’s weight, she was not a light weight for Gina.

At a certain point of the Mass I saw Gina lifting her daughter to the level of her face, and she deposited a very gentle kiss on her sleeping daughter’s forehead. Very naturally. Very normally. Very gently. Then she kept looking at the altar. I confess that this was a little epiphany for me.

In that moment I thought: «That sleeping child will never know that her mother kissed her today. She will never know how much her mother would always find ways to express her love for her, even when she is asleep». Yes. It was an epiphany for me. Besides the Bible, mothers have always been for me the best teachers about God’s love and my relationship with God. I fell into contemplation and started thinking and I still think that Irene was asleep and she would never know that her mother kissed her in that moment. It was a gentle and secret kiss.

I believe that the majority of expressions of love that mothers have for their children go unnoticed. During that day I fell into deep contemplation thinking of how many times God kisses me during the day and during the night without being noticed by me. Then I discovered that God is a permanent surprise. He always holds me in His arms and always kisses me, performing so many miracles in my life even when I don’t notice it. God is a permanent surprise. The only thing I ask God in this moment is that He will help me to be open to his gentle and secret kisses. To his gentle and secret surprises.

Love and Peace
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

The Power of a touch

I have never had a «good» reputation of being a strict follower of strict rules.

In my former Parish in California I always started my Sunday Masses with a little procession from the front door to the altar. The altar servers, the readers and Ministers of Communion were always very neat and very serious about their role. I cannot say the same thing about their Pastor who was supposed to give them a «good example» of a «sacred» behaviour. Sometimes I would tell somebody to sing louder, sometimes I would tell a lady to give a hug, in my name to her husband, when she got home after Mass or just tell him that was missing him, sometimes I would steal a baby from their parent’s arms and then they had no choice but go to the altar if they wanted their baby back. Well sometimes it was funny… especially when the baby would make everybody smile, before jumping to his father’s arms.

One of my «bad» habits was to gently touch people on their shoulders.

My Parish was very «white». If my Parishioners were not white they were Indians from Mexico or Central America, and a good number of Filipinos, but not Afro-Americans.

One Sunday I was following the entrance procession when I saw a very dark Afro-American man. Very well-dressed and polite. And as usual when I passed by him, I gently touched him on his shoulder.

The Mass ended and he got lost among the Sunday crowd. On the following Thursday, this same man appeared at the Rectory’s door. I gave him a hug as usual, invited him to come in and sit down. And then, during this informal conversation he told me that the reason why he was visiting me was because he wanted to be baptized. I expressed my joy with another hug. I called the lady in charge of the adults Baptism preparation and he joined the group of adult people who were in their journey to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.

Some people kept telling me that during their meetings, the man mentioned different times that the moment he decided to be baptized was the moment «when Fr. Bernardino touched me».

One day I was talking with him and I dared to ask him: «George, some people have told me that the moment you decided to receive the Baptism and become a Catholic was the day I touched you. Is there anything, any story that I said that moved you to make that decision?»

«Yes. You said some things that touched me, but the real moment I decided to receive the Baptism was one Sunday, when I was in church, and you were walking to start Mass and you touched me. I was new in the city, I didn’t know anybody and you didn’t know me and you touched me. You recognized that I was there. You didn’t ignore me. You made me feel at home». Then I thought: «Who would ever guess that under that neat suit there was a «baby» in need to be touched»?

On that day I confirmed, even more, what I already knew. The Church has more than seven Sacraments. The Church has eight Sacraments. The eighth Sacrament is the Sacrament of Hospitality. But one day I said this to a colleague from Brazil and his answer was. «No. Hospitality is not the eighth Sacrament. Hospitality is the only Sacrament. Without Hospitality the other Sacraments are good for nothing».

Today’s first reading (Gen. 18, 1-10) talks about the way Abraham welcomed three strangers. The Gospel (Lk. 10, 38-42) talks about the way Mary and Martha welcomed Jesus.

Many people will find Jesus and a meaning for their lives not through the Bible…. they don’t know, and don’t read the Bible. And not through Catholic activities, because most of those activities don’t attract them. They will find Jesus and his Church if we welcome them and love them. This is the Sacrament of Hospitality.

Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade