SPAIN, Fátima Alvaredo, mda. “It has been a marvelous experience for me. It has made me leave the comfort of my daily life and approach my neighbor. What I have found is dignity. Since that day, when I stroll through Madrid and see people on the ground, I become aware of how many people we pass by without looking them in the face. It has made me think. I have met Christ in them. I love this Schoenstatt,” writes Leonor in a commentary note on ‘Encuentro,’ an apostolic project in Madrid that is truly not understood as a project, but rather as a social attitude in “solidarity from the Shrine to the poor,” as Joao Pozzobon says. “Jesus tells us that the way to know Him is to find his wounds. And the wounds of Christ you will find when you do works of mercy, giving to the body -to the body-, and also to the soul, but I underline the body of your wounded brother, because he is hungry, thirsty, naked, humiliated; he is a slave because he is in prison, in the hospital. These are the wounds of Jesus today;” Pope Francis’ words that are transformed into acts in the streets of Madrid since that 23rd of December of 2012, the beginning of ‘Encuentro.’ And not only in Madrid since the news appeared on schoenstatt.org.
“DO WE COME OUT OF OUR LETHARGY? In every corner of our world, there is someone who needs our hands to calm their solitude, their hunger, their thirst, their sadness,” writes Lizzie Loetz from La Paz, Bolivia. Juan Barbosa from Argentina, referring to the history of Amparo, related in the mentioned note, comments: “Without a doubt, a true proposal for an urgent response to the needs of the world today. Can I be joyful, in solidarity and positive with my neighbors from where I am? How can I not be, if Amparo with nothing…is! Let us begin now! Let us not lose the opportunity for helping!” And there were several who said: “I can do it in my city.” Silvia Losada from Argentina wrote: “I meditated on how easy it is to give alms to the poor, but it is not so easy to look them in the eyes and touch them. As a pending task, it will be my resolution from now on. Thank you for awakening me from my lethargy.”
I can do it in my city
A schoenstatt.org collaborator from Germany relates: “This note about Encuentro has already changed my way of approaching street people. I always gave them something, but now I look at them and place the coin in their hand, not into the hat or the empty glass they have. On Sunday, I met anew a man who I had seen two weeks before, immediately after reading the note. Once again he was in front of the basilica in my neighboring city, opening the large and heavy door to those who entered or exited. At his side were his bag and a cup from McDonald’s where sometimes people placed a few coins. The last time, I smiled and greeted him and left some Euros in that cup. This time, I placed two Euros in his hand, and he said to me: ‘Thank you, nobody does that.’ I thanked him for his service at the door and asked him why he was doing this and he commented: ‘I am here every day. I can help. This way I feel useful.’ He had a smile and brightness in his eyes and added: ‘Thank you for asking me. It was here, at the door of the basilica, that I recalled the words of Francis: “Life is lived more intensely on the outskirts.”
ENCUENTRO: a way of looking with new eyes
“I am very happy to know that this project is reaching far and wide many hearts, that it has changed their way of looking and acting and because schoenstatt.org wants to spread it to many countries and places. On its behalf, I want to write you and tell you why this project emerged and what are its objectives,” writes Fátima Alvaredo.
“I have been in an ONG for two years in Valladolid. From there we go to accompany the homeless people. We know everyone in the city, and we try to help them, accompanying them when they are in legal difficulties, and we try to guide them. There are social workers who help them find employment and to receive formation.
At Christmas, the desire in my family (in Madrid) emerged. But I could see that it did not make sense in Madrid to do it this way because the same commitment would not exist nor could the entire city be covered. Therefore, I had an idea that is the project, ENCUENTRO. I remembered one of the people we visited in Valladolid. The only thing we did was to accompany him out of loyalty, since he never needed anything because the community of neighbors he had around him took care of him admirably in everything. He had made many friends in the area and was loved by everyone. I thought it would make sense this way in Madrid, given that if we could motivate the people to be capable of caring for those people they came across everyday – because they belong to the same neighborhood or they come across them – we could end with the needs of the world and would only mean opening up the heart. It is about bringing dignity to the person at one’s side and helping them with the least of their needs. And it is understood both by the atheist and the religious, by both the rich and the poor.
Everyone understands that people have dignity, and it costs nothing to stop, look them in the eyes and ask if they need something to get minimally involved and help with the minimum needs they have (hygiene, clothing and food). This is something we do monthly (because there are still not enough people). We go out with those who have arrived (youths, seniors, families with children have come). We go out into our neighborhoods and offer basic necessities (food, hygiene articles and clothing), and we already know their stories, their needs, what they like, thus it becomes easier each time. And the people end up getting hooked and without the necessity of an organization, they can go out and greet them without fear because they already know them and they are neighbors. If there is a need that could not be fulfilled that day, the one who lives the closest will take care of it. Thus this slowly begins to take form. We also already have donations that help us cover more items. On the routes, we always have prepared separately some fruit, a sandwich, croissant, zumo, and cookies. And if they can cook, we give them can goods, clothing and deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste and towels. Each one of us donates five Euros and thus we are able help along on each route. We begin with prayer each day in the Shrine. A volunteer leads this daily, and we share the routes according to the number of persons present. The idea is not to perform social work or to volunteer, rather it is to take an active part in life and to become involved in the present problems; to make it a campaign of solidarity by listening and accompanying the person at our side who we do not see or hear. To be like Joseph Engling who would say ‘everything for everyone.’”
I understood that here I had a mission to fulfill
José Antonio, one who goes out into the streets for ENCUENTRO, relates: “Truly, great missions are always placed on weak shoulders. When they told me to participate in Project Encuentro in December, I thought it was another new activity that would rob me of my freedom. When I went out into the street and saw normal persons like you and me who life had treated harshly for no apparent reason, I understood that here I had a mission to fulfill and in the measure in which I went about seeing them face to face. As I listened to their stories, I began to see Jesus in their gazes, in their words and I understood that it was more joyful to give than to receive and that more joyful is the one who needs less than the one who has the most.
I saw faces, which were grateful for each one of my gestures, for each attempt I made to approach them. They felt loved, and they felt they were persons. We had achieved the miracle of filling the lives of some marginalized persons who felt loved and valued for a few minutes.
Six months have passed, and they begin to know us, they wait for us, we know their names, their small adventures. We ask them about their personal concerns, we begin to be a part of their family and as such we also begin to feel the need to return to see them.
In reality, we receive much more than what we give. We return home filled with sadness on the one hand for all the human misery, and on the other hand, we thank God that we have feelings, and we give thanks for what we have and for what has been given to us freely, but clearly understanding that nobody is exempt from being on the other side of the line at anytime, and we will always like that there are others who would go to visit us and give us a bit of human warmth.
Project Encuentro is a true encounter with the God who is waiting for us in the street. With the God who extends his hand to us and says, “Blessed are the poor of spirit because they will see God.”
A testimony: Thank you for not only being theory
Last Friday when we were conversing with a man in the streets of Madrid, we saw how a stunned man observed us the whole while. When we bade farewell, the man approached us, amazed, to congratulate us for not only being theory but also practice and for knowing how to transmit love from the gaze to the gestures. He told us that thanks to us, he had been able to see the hero of daily life walk the streets of Madrid. Truthfully, a perfect summary of what our spirituality tries to radiate. The world needs heroes who in silence know how to make the ordinary something extraordinary!
And you, will you come with me?
Translation: Carlos Cantú, Schoenstatt Family Federation, La Feria, Texas USA 07162013
