Easter Sunday

Vive la resurección! Today, Easter Sunday is being celebrated throughout the world by those who have a firm belief that there is something beyond death. I was fortunate enough to participate in some of the events of Holy Week here in Honduras.

Friday night was a long procession which wound through the town with stops for prayers for the poor, the homeless, the people in Honduras who are most in need of life and hope. Two groups of people carried two statues. The men carried a statue of Christ laid out on a funeral bier. The women carried a smaller statute of the Virgin Mary. At each of the stops, the bearers were rotated and those who had finished their turn quietly joined the back of the line. Those chose to carry the statues were the older people of the congregation, many bent with years of work in spent fields of maize and beans. The procession ended in the church where a very passionate homily was given by the visiting bishop. I was impressed that he addressed the current problems the Catholic Church is having with their history of sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

As we marched along, I thought of the people who had originally carried Christ’s body through the darkening streets, furtively and with fear that, even though dead, the authorities might wreak further vengeance on His followers. Obviously, authorities were aware of what was happening as they posted guards around the closed tomb.

Last night was the Easter Vigil Service. Another procession. This time it headed out of town for more than a mile to the bull riding stadium. It was quite spectacular to look back up the road and see the long line of candles. Virtually no street lights made the experience even more powerful.

As we sat in the darkened arena, I was struck by the fact that, in all likelihood, I was one of maybe five or six people in the audience who had ever read a book. I tried to understand what the powerful, dramatic liturgy must mean in this setting. We, in Canada, are always comparing any experience with the glitz of TV, constant video streaming, and instant text messaging with photos attached. We have, for the most part, lost the ability to be amazed. We have also lost the ability to be moved by silence and awe.

This afternoon, to switch topics quickly, a neighbour family is having a celebration for their daughter’s first birthday. It is to start at 2:00 but the speakers have been pounding out Christian Latino music for over an hour and it is still awhile before start time. Chairs are set out under an awning and, obviously, quite a number of guests are expected. I will see soon.

Last Thursday, another neighbour took us to the nearby dam to tour the electrical generating plant. Unfortunately, it was locked because of Easter week holidays and he was unable to get in. However, he then asked if we wanted to see the hot springs. What? Hot springs within thirty minutes of where we live? Incredible. Nestled in the steep gorge at the foot of the fifth tallest dam (according to my neighbour) in the world and flanking the small river that poured out of the dam were two hot springs of varying intensity. We hadn’t brought swimsuits so only stuck our hands in. Obviously, I will be making use of those springs as soon as I get a vehicle and more complete instructions in Spanish. There are so many amazing wonders tucked away in this small country that no one seems to take account of or visit.

My daughter visited here for eight days and that was great. We took in two football matches in the stadium in San Pedro Sula. As well, we joined the flocks of people heading to the ocean during Holy Week. We beat the rush by a day so only saw a few thousand on the beach. The national obsession with hitting the beaches and riverbanks during Holy Week is amazing. Every bridge looks down on hundreds of people in the water. The beaches are wall to wall people.

School begins again on Tuesday after three days of break. We have some sorting out to do with new satellite centres and so forth. Three girls are set to finish Grade Eight this week and that is exciting. It may take an extra week but, still, we are making progress.

TTYL
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