More than division, the Gospel today speaks of passion:
‘I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!’
HE is a 52 years old parish priest like me. He is Padre Carlos Enrique Castellano, who works tirelessly as pastor of San Miguel Febres Cordero in Guatemala City. Despite twenty four years of being a parish priest, he is still full of life, ardor and energy. He is at the cutting edge of pastoral ministry in Central America, a pastor who inspires leadership and service among his lay people. “Yo soy un pastoralista (I am a specialist in pastoral ministry),” he shared with me. This means that he didn’t only take further studies in pastoral ministry in Madrid, Spain, but he is also responsible for establishing one hundred seventy five small faith communities and for building centers and rooms for different spiritual and social outreach ministries in his parish.
Aside from his successful work of building a faith-filled community, It’s quite impressive to see how Padre Carlos has established a daily medical clinic for his people, complete with personnel, such as a doctor, a nurse, a laboratory technician, an x-ray technician and a psychologist, and medical equipments. “How does Padre Carlos pay for the personnel salaries and for all the apparatuses,” I asked one of the leaders. “We do a lot of fundraising like bingos and raffles, “ he answered. “The people pay a meager fee of twenty quetzal per visit, which is very low in comparison to an average one hundred quetzal that private clinics charge,” he added.
Aside from a medical clinic, Padre Carlos has built a computer room and a “salon de belleza” where young people are equipped with vocational skills. Again, how he thought of these projects and put them to reality is amazing .
Every week, Padre Carlos would say outdoor Masses around his parish vicinity with trained leaders who do all the preparation and exercise ministries such as playing music, proclaiming the Word of God, and assisting the priest in distributing communion. He has also allowed the rare practice of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament among his people in different “colonias” without his presence. He claims that this practice has deepened his people’s prayer and community life.
Aside from the eight Masses he celebrates on Sundays, Padre Carlos would officiate an average of five Quinceneras every Saturday, not including weddings and baptisms, all by himself. That’s such a tough act to follow for us parish priests in the United States.
Such is the passion and the energy of Padre Carlos in his ministry in spite of some oppositions, criticisms, and jealousy of his parishioners and fellow priests.
More than division, the Gospel today speaks of passion: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” This is the passion of the pastor and the people of the Parish of San Miguel Febres Cordero. It’s a passion to bring the light of the Gospel and the fire of the Holy Spirit to people’s hearts, homes, and communities. It’s the zeal to build “casas de fe” (houses of faith) in a society that is continually affected by secularism. It’s the passion to help the poor, not only in their spiritual needs but also in their corporal needs. It’s the fervor of building small Christian communities where families are nourished with the Word of God, the Catechism of the Church, and the love, support, and fellowship.
It’s good to know that there are people like Padre Carlos and his parishioners who are filled with passion for pastoral ministry. Their unextinguished passion is the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s something I also wish for myself and for my own parishioners.
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Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California and earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. For twenty years, he has been in the parish ministry of large multi-cultural communities. Since 2002, he has been the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles. Please email Fr. Rodel at [email protected].
