Update from Fr. Scott in Mexico

Fr. Scott’s Mission receives monthly support from our Nativity Care and Share Fund. His most recent letter gives us an amazing picture of the challenges he faces and the faith of his people.

PARROQUIA de STA. TERESA DE Ávila En Monterrey NL A.R.
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta.Solo Dios basta.                                                                                                                                         (Whoever has God needs nothing. God is enough.)

Dear friends of the Church the Nativity.

Almost a year has passed since I last wrote. I got to see some of you in person during my Friday morning January visit. Fr. Tim Schoeder rode back to Monterrey with me this year. I had told him that it was safe in December and next day organized crime burned a man alive in his car a block from the parish (I confess I did not tell Fr. Tim about that until he was already here). Father´s visit this year to Monterrey was short, 7 days. Some 30 people were executed by organized crime in that time span according to the daily newspapers “Execution meter” that publishes the number killed daily by cartels. This afternoon I had a funeral for a 19 year old that was plucked from the street, tied and executed in less than 30 minutes, the family thinks they confused him with someone or he was in bad company, either case can cost one’s life. So far this January 80 some people have died in a similar fashion, but this afternoon Ernesto Javier was the only one that mattered to his family. His younger brother was one of the 900 we took on retreat last year; we were too late for Ernesto. In another incident two of our youths lost their mother as she was forced off a bus and gunned down in front of the grocery store, she worked as a guard in the one of the State prisons.

At times we think things have gotten better, we have more soldiers, more federal police and a new local professional police force much better paid. Yet I fear we have become numb and still have a long ways to go. A car is stolen every 30 minutes in the metro area, half of those are carjacking. Kidnapping continues to be a big business and has affected people rich and poor. We have blocked all the windows that face the street and built a concrete steel reinforced wall around the church. Although we trust in God, He got us the money to build the wall! Our most eventful day was last Palm Sunday when we were singing the Our Father in the 7:00p.m. packed liturgy….suddenly hundreds more started pouring into the church, I had never seen such hunger for Eucharist, I thought to myself for a moment, just before we all dropped to the floor, not exactly out of piety, a fire fight had started outside of the church and all had run for shelter. We were lucky and in a few minutes it was over in our area, one of our new guards who had just started that day was not so sure he wanted to work for us anymore (he had bullets flying over his head). The parish itself has a security force of 12 which protects people from unorganized crime on the streets around the church as some 9,800 come to our 18 weekend liturgies.

As I mentioned in the beginning of my letter we took some 900 youth to retreat last year and have some 400 in parish groups. We have planned 28 youth retreats this year and want to double the number of youth groups. We are working on what will be the basement of our evangelization center and hope to get at least to ground floor by late spring. I guess the real story at Sta. Teresa is not violent crime, but the growth of our Eucharistic community and the hunger for God´s Word. We doubled the number of those in our Bible Institute from 200 to 411. New groups of this and that start up monthly, even though I discourage them sometimes until we have more space. Somehow everyone finds a place to gather in even if that means there are five or more groups gathering in our worship space itself. Our Episcopal Vicar describes Sundays at Sta. Teresa as a festival of faith. The Lord has blessed with the aid of a “retired” 50 years priest Monsignor Peña who lives and works at the parish. We were also sent another associate, so there is three of us here now who live at the rectory. Given that fact we are an industrial city and many cannot come during the week to confession, we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation on Sunday. Poor Father Tim got trapped and heard confessions for almost five hours straight, until I rescued him and sent him to the rectory. Since there is mass practically every hour, the lines never end. I still try to make sure that there is always an empty pew or chair to remind us of those out there who still have not found their place at the table of the Lord. Our mission will never be complete until all are seated.

I started this letter in January and I now we are in March. Lent is upon us. 250 more people have been executed by organized crime in the weeks I have taken to finish this update. We can only hope that of the thousands that came to Ash Wednesday this year, through the cross and passion will come to the new Easter life in Jesus the Christ.

God bless.

Fr. Scott Michael McDermott Eichhorst

Monterrey, Mexico 6 of March, 2012

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