Four confreres from the Province of Mexico – Fathers Paco Colunga, Manuel Meza Chavez, Roberto Morales Guerra and Agustin Cantu Drauaillet – have spent the past year conducting a mission that involved training parishioners at St. Mary’s of the Assumption Parish in Whittier in Redemptorist spirituality, the Scriptures, and leadership.
Unlike conventional missions presented in church, this one was held in neighbourhood homes, and the people were actually doing the preaching. More than 50 parishioners in six different neighbourhood sectors have participated. Each day the confreres visited the homes, anointed the sick and celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation before the evening missions were held. The Mexican confreres also organized a special novena/ mission in preparation for the parish’s centennial celebration on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary a few weeks ago. Fr. Manuel will return in October to teach a course on liturgy, and then three Mexican confreres will help St. Mary’s of the Assumption Parish prepare to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The mission has done a great deal to renew the Spanish- speaking community since the global pandemic. Hosting the mission in homes enables us to reach many people who usually do not come to church for services. Generally, we encounter those who have more recently immigrated and tend to be poorer. The 54 parishioners who have been involved in the training missions hope to transition into Partners in Mission. They already have embraced the Redemptorist charism, and their enthusiasm is contagious.
by Patrick Keyes, C.Ss.R.
Courtesy of Denverlink, update of September 2, 2022.
