Divine Presence

For the last three years, I have been ministering in San José, Baní, a community in the south of my country, Dominican Republic. The community is made up of very poor people who came down from the mountains, looking for a place to settle when they were displaced from their farms for the construction of a dam.

I love the school, Espíritu Santo, Fe y Alegría, where I minister, as well as my work as a school counseler for junior high and high school students. I also work with their parents and their teachers, giving workshops as needed. Someone who is depressed may need my patience while I wait with him or her, or someone who has had a serious failure may be grateful for my words of affirmation. Sometimes I see results and realize the effects and importance of my presence. One experience that touched my heart was when a mother told me, “I will always be very grateful to you because of that time I came to you so desperate. If I had not spoken with you that day, I don´t know if I would be alive today.”

My preparation for spiritual direction taught me that I can look for God in the people and places where I have always discovered His/Her divine presence and miss God completely when He/She comes in a new way. So I have discovered, as Joyce Rupp says, that “if I only look for God in the good things of my life I will miss many facets of this loving presence.” So, I am more aware that I need to focus on the unexpected, uncomfortable experiences and situations or parts of my life as well.

Walking and working with the most vulnerable and needy as they strive against injustice and violence, I also feel called to do my part to change structures and systems that oppress and impoverish people. I believe that everyone has something to learn and to receive from other people, no matter what their age or situation in life, and so with gratitude I trust that God will continue to guide me to enter into the people’s struggles and my own, so I/we can grow and help others in our mutual journey as I/we experience the God of the surprises in His/Her evolving world.

Participating in the Vision Integration Committee has brought me to live more aware of the care for life in all its expressions, more conscious that we are truly connected and interdependent as part of creation. It keeps me open to participate fully to better life on earth, through doing the little but significant things that make up my life.