As you know over the years our parish has participated in a partnership with Jesu Cristi Resucitado Parish in San Felix, Venezuela. It’s part of our archdiocesan mission effort. I served in the mission in Venezuela for five years back in the eighties. You’d never know it from my Spanish, but I was there. Things were better for Venezuela back in those days.
Since 1970 a number of other priests from the archdiocese have served there. Today there is only one priest left from the archdiocese. That’s Fr. Greg Schaffer. Call him the last man standing. Amazingly he’s been down there for about as long as I’ve been at St. Victoria.
From time to time, Fr. Greg and I connect by phone. Unlike when I was there the government is less than friendly to the Catholic Church. A few months back Fr. Greg was arrested because he advocates for the poor and marginalized of his parish. After being interrogated by the authorities he was finally released.
Fr. Greg knows the harsh realities of his parishioners. They struggle to make ends meet and often don’t have enough food to put on the table. Recently a man came to him. He desperately needed surgery but had no money to pay for it. Fr. Greg paid for the surgery out of his own pocket. As he saw it if it could save a life, it was worth it. That’s Fr. Greg, in the hardships they endure he humbly walks with his people.
As I think about Fr. Greg in Venezuela I can’t help but contrast how different our worlds are. I can see my family any time I want. At one point Fr. Greg went several years without getting home to see his family. He didn’t want to risk not being allowed back into the country to serve the people he loves.
Because of the oppression there people are fleeing Venezuela in droves, especially the young people. In contrast this area including our parish is growing because it’s seen as an ideal place to raise a family.
Living in this kind of ideal setting it’s easy for me to settle into what I call my “Victoria bubble” forgetting that this is not how the rest of the world lives, including the people Fr. Greg serves in his parish in San Felix, Venezuela.
In the Gospel for today there’s irony in what happens. A man born blind comes to see while in the end it’s the Pharisees who are blind. While the Pharisees harden their hearts to Jesus the blind man opens his heart to Jesus who then heals him.
This story begs the question. Where is it that I’m blind. What is it that I’m blind to? I’m not talking about my eyes here. No doubt Victoria is a beautiful place to live and that’s wonderful. But I don’t want it to slip me into my little “Victoria bubble”, that bubble where I forget this is not how the rest of thew world lives.
May our Lenten journey help remove from our eyes the scales that keep us blind, blind to our responsibility to live in a way that we never forget our less fortunate brothers and sisters, be they in San Felix, Venezuela or anywhere else in our world where people suffer because of injustice.