BOLIVIA, Roberto Henestrosa •
“On the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, the Church gives us hope where Jesus encourages us to follow him, where the dream of faith prepares our hearts to establish our eternal dwelling place next to the Father.” —
This was a touching prologue by Bishop Braulio Sáes on the autumn morning of Sunday, May 16, with calm and warm weather. However, this homeland burns with anxiety to be blessed as our shrine. It is physically ready, but the Blessed Mother prepares those hearts for even longer so that more pilgrims will know that you are well here. A time in which the family, with so much pain, has lost many loved ones. A time when the fear of being close to each other is latent, when we are more distant than ever, she comes to tell us that we are not alone, that we should get closer to Him.
The date for the blessing of the shrine is still open, but life goes on
May 9 was the second date set for the blessing of the shrine of Santa Cruz and also could not be carried out due to the worsening of the pandemic in our city. However, the conquest has not stopped.
The different elements of the shrine have been conquered and blessed: the figure of St. Joseph, the Unity Cross, the processional cross, the Father Symbol and the image of St. Michael the Archangel.
Let us go out; let us carry the Gospel without fear
Mons. Braulio remarked that Francis asks us to be a reaching out church and that, although we have many fears, we have to rely on St. Michael the Archangel and his army that defeats the enemy.
At the end, he invited us to embrace the cross as a way of salvation, knowing that Jesus is waiting for us on the other side of the road, preparing us a place next to the good Father.
Original: Spanish, 2021-05-20. Translated by María Aragón, Monterrey, México
