Reflections

Andrea De Castro

Casa Maria Eugenia

Chaparral, New Mexico

December, 2006

(Andrea, a graduate of Assumption College and a native of Rhode Island, is spending her AMA year working alongside the Assumption Sisters in Chaparral, New Mexico.)  She writes:

 

It was December 12th, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Tina and I visited Las Cruces to see the elaborate celebration. Many people gathered in a small area called Tortugas to celebrate Our Lady and give thanks to her. The natives dressed in their traditional costumes wearing headdresses and carried instruments as they danced. And I realized that all this song and dance was for one immaculate woman. It was a spectacular sight to see.

Tina and I entered the Church there, to say a prayer and to escape the commotion for a bit. As I knelt there, my thoughts wandered and I was suddenly overcome with emotion, a mix of sadness and joy. Until now, I had been drifting so long, not knowing what to believe or think. I was like a fish in a big empty sea being carried by the current and at any moment something bigger than me was going to swallow me up.

But here on the border, I found my soul again, I found my faith and everything I stood for. Here, I was reminded by these simple people, whose faith is stronger than most, what is means to just believe. Here, hope lies in the face of a stranger. The border, a place of faith and a symbol of hope has inspired me to believe again. And so in that quiet little church I gave thanks and praise to Our Lady.

 

Andrea and her young friend prepare for the Posada.

 

 

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Getting ready for Chaparral

 

 

Andrea with her middle school class

 

 

A small church in Las Cruces