BRAZIL, By Leonardo Rodrigues – Jumas Guarapuava, via www.jumasbrasil.com.br •
It was a cold Sunday (23 July) in Guarapuava, with temperatures around 6°C, but the wind made it feel colder. At about 6am, the Street Coffee crew gathered in front of Our Lady of Agony, the parish church in Santa Cruz neighbourhood. For those of us who are used to a certain degree of comfort, it is already difficult to get up in the cold weather. Imagine what it’s like for those who live on the street! With this in mind, the Street Coffee Project was created to take clothes and food to the homeless, but above all, to take the Blessed Mother’s love through someone to talk to and listen.
Initially, just the Milites Mariae group participated, offering it up as contributions to the capital of grace in preparation for the covenant of love. But it grew into something bigger, and today, the whole Boys Youth (Jumas) in Guarapuava are a part of it. In addition to the bonds we form around the shrine, this experience of reaching out to others also unites us and is in keeping with our branch motto: Schoenstatt Reaching Out. We become instruments taking Our Mother’s love to those who need it most.
After praying, we go through town looking for people who need food for the body and the spirit. On the way, we found many homeless people who often become emotional as they tell us their lives stories or moments when God touched their hearts when we prayed with everyone at each stop. At the end, everyone headed towards Santa Cruz parish for the first Mass of the day, to give thanks to God and the Blessed Mother for another Street Coffee Project day and asking that we may be united to Mary every day and that the Fire of Christ can warm our hearts.
Video from 2014
Original: Portuguese, 31 July. Translation: Sarah-Leah Pimentel, Cape Town, South Africa
