I share with you
here my experience of the Meeting of Religious Life from Indigenous Communities
in the town of Machetla II (Diocese of Huejutla, Hidalgo, Mexico). I arrived on October 20th in the
morning and all of the sisters were already there. The joy of everyone was very contagious. My congregational sister, Sr. Ana Luisa
Prieto CCVI, introduced me to various sisters from the Conference of Major Superiors
of Religious for Mexico (CIRM) as well as the sisters from the organizing
committee, and the hosting Bishop – a very nice priest. I quickly felt at home.

Then they invited
us to go to the altar of the Mayan culture and they explained to us each point beginning
with the East: from where the sun rises there the life of each person is born
and the fertility has its origin in the sun. In the West: there is the water
that encircles life and where the sun is hidden: it keeps energy. The
equilibrium. Life is transformed. In the North: there is power and strength.
The South: is the place of thorns, the place of self-sacrifice and place of
flowers.

After eating, we
were presented with the objective of the gathering and the methodology: THE
PATH OF INDIAN THEOLOGY: TOUCHING THE HEART OF GOD, a method of reflection from
the perspective of native theology. A guide for theological reflection from the
ancient narratives of our ancestors. The person in charge of the topic was Juan
Manuel Garcia (a layperson with a lot of experience) who emphasized that this
methodology consisted of living and feeling reality with the pains and joys in
the life of our peoples. That is, to share the joys and pains of the LIFE of
the people and in that reality contemplate the will of God and of the
ancestors, explain the historical response of God to the problems, and build a
new ideal reality of life from the project of God.
We shared in the
group about our own ancestors. We had
many experiences in common: the values of life, a great love of the earth, working
together, the deep sense of community, trust in God, and our way of
contemplating the nature and value of our native languages. While we have a lot
of particularity and differences between cultures, something that unites us is
our struggle to care for God's creation: ecology.
We ended the day
with a very beautiful Eucharist presided over by 5 priests and accompanied by a
chorus of children and teenagers who played the violin. All the religious women
were with our flower chains (on the head, around the neck and in the hand).
After the Mass, we had dinner and left in a truck that took between 10 and 12
sisters according to how it was organized.
The community welcome each of us into a family. I loved this gesture!
I stayed with a
family that spoke a language I had never heard before. The woman who welcomed
me has 2 sons and 6 daughters but they are all out of the house. Most of her
daughters are in Mexico City; one of her children is in Monterrey and the other
in Canada. She lives with her daughter-in-law, a granddaughter and a grandson.
Her house is very well cared for thanks to the efforts of her and her children.
They were a very nice family, and I happily
stayed with them for two nights.

Sr. Herlinda, a
Guatemalan religious, shared the clock of the Mayan culture, an instrument used
since ancient times to measure the passage of hours, minutes and seconds. They
had 13 calendars and 18 months and from that they knew the quality of people
and how everything was connected and integrated. That is why the people of this
culture ask you: how is your heart? There
is also a deposit of wisdom of the ancestors who give us advice through stories.
Some phrases that were constantly repeated included the importance of sharing
food with the needy, with the deceased and the attitudes that help create inner
peace; for all this strengthens the heart.
Theology is the experience of God in the Indigenous communities and
peoples, because they recognize God in everything.

What wonderful
teachings I received and carry with me! Now my question is how do I offer this
back in our religious family and in the town where I am? For all this helped me
strengthen my heart, because when we touch the depths of our being, we can
speak from the heart. Being there allows
us to listen to our dreams. Inspiration springs forth from the source of all
being. I will find the way; I know and feel it.
I end this time
with much gratitude for all those women of faith I gathered with, for our
Congregation, and for Sr. Ana Luisa Prieto. Thank you.
Written by Sr. Sofia Mamani, CCVI
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful and powerful experience with us, Sofia. I am very happy that you were able to participate in this event. Shirley T. Vaughn
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