Practicing the Rule of Life

So many injustices are suffered in silence as isolated people try to resist oppressive systems acting without the knowledge of the majority. The Betharramite mission is, by necessity, a discovery of the suffering of this world, and of its human treasures. To follow the Betharram rule of life is often in the first place to listen, to offer the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Betharram in compassion and solidarity and by the mystery and miracle of God, to know how to receive it back through sharing.

In over 25 years of religious vocation and missionary presence among the poor, Father Sergio Gouarnalusse SCJ knew and accompanied many “disfigured” faces.

As soon as I had made final profession I was entrusted with a pastoral mission in our Province-Vicariate which meant that I spent an important part of my life with the poor. When I paid a visit to our schools my major care was to see that the pupils could have contact with the poor. I believe that without such contact it is impossible to understand the Gospel.During those years I was called to fulfil my mission for the poor in Catamarca, in Santiago del Estero, the aborigines of Salta, the peasants of Tanja (Bolivia), as well as in other modest sectors in Santiago del Estero, and in a school where the pupils were from the lowest social classes of Rosario. In every situation one comes across cases similar to what Pope Francis was talking about recently: “The Church is the servant of the Gospel”, she is servant of the Kingdom. God is to be found among the poor and shows himself through them. As mystics of the Incarnation we are called to recognise Him in the person of the poor.

Article 115. With men and people affected by all kinds of injustices and poverty, we contemplate the disfigured face of Christ, who “put himself in the place of all victims.” In all our works, we should make ourselves present to all people in their different forms of poverty.
Article 116. Presence among the poor presupposes an authentic discernment of our position in mission. It reflects on our personal and community lifestyle. It makes us always more attentive to the most deprived. Religious and the communities should take part in initiatives concerning human rights, protecting the environment, the quality of life, and the protection of the weakest.

As a commentary of articles 115 & 116 of our Rule of life I will simply share three experiences.

The first is with peasants in Bolivia. Together Argentines, Paraguayans and Brazilians, we went to a parish in Tanja where there was no priest. In January we organised courses for lay ministry and we celebrated Holy Week with each of the Catholic communities. They were lively communities where faith and life were always one. When the courses were announced we got ready to receive about 60 delegates from the different communities. These arrived on foot, walking about 8 hours on mountain paths and at altitudes between 2 800 metres and 4 200. At Yanchara, the parish base, people got ready to receive all the delegates, and give them food and drink. I was amazed and edified by their longing for formation, by the numbers of those coming for the course, and by the ease whereby they applied the Gospel to their own lives. They attached importance to participation, they discussed and took decisions in community. They were equally aware of their weaknesses. I remember a conversation about the fact that alcohol was a cause of marginalisation. Their willingness to work is amazing among these people; they risk life and limb to go and sell their produce in the fair in Tanja or Villazone, 50km away covering the distance in 2 to 4 hours. They practise the values of the Kingdom: community, work, solidarity, sharing, dialogue, and faith linked to their life.

The other experience is about one I had with the aborigines of Argentina, a people known as the Matacos (meaning animals of little importance) and who describe themselves as Wichis (people). They are the most numerous of all the aborigines of Argentina; they live in the Chaco region in the north of Argentina and since they are living among the Creoles they are marginalised. This zone is rich in its many contrasts, but I must admit that its people are the most forgotten in our country. We used to go there several times a year to collaborate with the parish of Santa Victoria Este; the Wichi were generally of the Anglican Church, because the English were there already bringing the Gospel in the local language. Catholicism was regarded as the religion of the creoles. Despite that some of the tribes were Catholic, for example Santa Maria and Pozo del Toro. With the latter we formed cooperatives to sell the goods which we had made using the sacred wood known as “palo santo”. In this way we were carrying out our missionary mandate. We also sold honey. To reach where they lived was a tough exercise – the trip from Tartagal the most important town on the way could take from 8 to 15 hours! I learned a lot from these brothers; they lived the values of the Kingdom which our western societies have lost. For them people and speech are valuable. Whenever a Wichi came to the meeting he didn’t just walk in but waited patiently to be called. Then the group would listen to him respectfully, discuss and give a response.

I still remember the day we launched the idea of the cooperative at the beginning of the mission. We thought that it wouldn’t interest them because it was something of a novelty. After a week or so the tribal leader asked me questions about the idea because it had begun to interest them!

Another time, a member of the tribe who was alcoholic tried to abuse one of the women. In their tribe such a situation was rare, not so with the Creoles. They didn’t know what to do. Finally they decided to go and report the incident to the police. A few days later the question of forgiveness arose in the Gospel but I didn’t want them to feel accused. They spent a few days in discussion after which they decided to withdraw the complaint and give the culprit a second chance. In their culture discussions are always simple conversations. There is no violence – one of them speaks and after a moment of silence they have their answer. Not to talk about their relationship with nature: they know how to use it and how to care for it; it is really a source of suffering to see how the Creoles mismanage nature. Such are the values of the Kingdom! The individual, word, nature, respect, dialogue and the decision reached through dialogue. One can meet the living Christ on the suffering faces of these men and women who are often treated as animals of little importance.

Finally my experience with the peasants of Santiago del Estero: This was tough because of the political context of the situation. In this province of Argentina the rural population has been driven out of its land. These peasants were born here and have lived here for several generations, yet they have no rights of ownership. Production of soya, the laundering of dirty money, drug trafficking, are some of the reasons why the wooded properties of Santiago are tempting. It also explains why the peasants are threatened with being driven from their land and also why the Civil Servants do very well out of the situation. At Pellegrini where I spent 10 years on mission there were often land related conflicts. Entrepreneurs with armed bands would arrive, threaten the peasants while the police, justice and central government took the part of the wealthy. As for the communities their sole source of protection was to organise themselves, but this was never simple because local government depends largely on the state. They are finally told that without the help of the government there is nothing that can be done! Yet certain communities succeeded in organising themselves and put up resistance. You can see Jesus in these men and women persecuted, falsely condemned and thrown into prison, whose houses have been torched, whose cattle have been slain and who, themselves have sometimes been assassinated. Ezequiel, a five year old youngster was hit by a bullet meant for his uncle while they were cycling along the village road. This child was the first of a series of killings which took place in Santiago because of land. In some communities this climate of death has enhanced the longing to live and they became an example for other communities. People have learned the art of organisation and the importance of caring for the forests and cooperatives. In the villages of Santiago the values of the Kingdom are present, especially for festivities forgotten by Western civilisation.

"The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us” It is the strength of the Incarnation. Jesus became man; Jesus became poor. That is how he continues to show his love and to show us the merciful love of the Father and the presence of his Kingdom.

Sergio Gouarnalusse scj

Father Sergio Gouarnalusse scj is currently the superior of the community of San Juan Bautista (Buenos Aires, Argentina)