Christmas and New Year Letter from Peru 2018

Photos and Text by Fr. Nick Harding, OMI

(Editor’s Note: From time to time, Fr. Nicholas J. Harding, OMI sends letters and photos about his ministry in rural Peru, this one came just in time for the holidays and we are happy to share his story.)

Dear friend in Christ:

Greetings !   Here in Peru, being south of the equator, we are beginning summer. Since I am 15 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, it  helps maintain a mild climate year-round. In January, I will begin my third year here.  I am very grateful to God:  good health, an exceptionally fulfilling & fascinating  mission.  Nevertheless, there are many difficulties and challenges.  Also, the parish where I am pastor is so huge, it threatens to be overwhelming.

The most daunting aspect is reaching our towns in the high sierra (over 4,000 meters) on dangerous windy dirt roads at distances that  can take more than 8 hours. Also, the “UPI’s” or recent invasions of squatters , with thousands of shacks (no water or drainage, no paved roads, almost no schools or clinics)  is almost surreal and humanly speaking impossible to evangelize. However, that is where the Christmas message of hope in the Messiah rescues me from despair.  We are only two priests to visit about 50 communities.

There is a great deal of popular piety among the people…both Afro-Peruvian and Indian.  In one community, they made a Christmas tree from tires painted green. In the more developed portion of the parish, secularism has affected/infected the young.  Also, there is  widespread abuse of drug and alcohol. Sects from the USA abound.

People work in the agricultural fields (citric fruit, grapes, asparagus)…very low wages by US standards.  There are vast chicken farms. In the mountains there is a huge variety of potatoes. We have some maquladores/factories producing T-shirts (hard to believe but the wage is  only about sixty dollars for a 60 hour work week). There are several polluting mines in the parish area (gold, silver, lead, copper.)

There is quite a bit of HiV+ folks, TB, zika virus (recently had a funeral for a baby).  I have had many funerals for people killed but it is not as violent as Tijuana. We have a massive prison with 2,400 inmates.

I have had numerous instances where Divine Providence has been exceptionally evident:  protection, helpful people sent to me, inspirations for solutions, delightful moments to keep a sense of humor, fine health up until now.

The bishop Hector Vera came for our feast day (Christ the King)  and confirmed  over 300 young people. We are still doing first communions which will perhaps total 1,000.  Every Saturday we do infant baptisms, which will be about 1,000 this year.

A messy part of  being pastor is recruiting, animating, selecting lay leadership  for ministries/apostolates.  We need to balance the need for rotation/new blood versus continuity /valuable experience.  I need to afford and organize formation of laity for the summer vacation period in January and February.

I am able to relax on my day off by going to the  nearby  ocean beach (but the water is quite cold).  Also,  in the parish there are ancient archaeological sites of  the Chincha civilization (the Huaca Sentinela, for  example).  There are prehistoric petroglyphs at Huancor.  There is a beautiful chapel built by Jesuits in the 17^th century in the next door town of el Carmen (with Hacienda San Jose which was a slave plantation).

I think the meaning of Christmas is summed  up well by St Athanasius  “the Son of God became a Son of Man, so that sons of men can become sons of God.”

May Almighty God bless you with a truly blessed Christmas and wonderful Happy, Holy New Year 2018!   In the Christ Child’s love and peace,  – Fr Nick Harding omi