The Mission begins

Hello to our benefactors, family and friends,

Our day started with prayer and Mass. Fr. Pascal reminded us, based on the reading from Hosea that we were like those who go out into the desert and experience trials and difficulties. As we begin the mission work, we will be stripped down of all the structures we normally rely on; our fundamental needs will stare us in the face….our weaknesses and our neediness. He said that it is in these moments that we can hear God speaking to our hearts and we can be transformed.

The one group left to show a movie (Witness of Hope) to the mothers in the aldea (mountain village) while we played with their children. This Missionaries of Charity also accompanied us.

El Paraiso, the aldea that we were this morning

Sarah with her new friend

Ben playing

Fr Pascal with the kids

Mary with some chicas

The other group helped with the food hand out for 120 families. Without this help, many of these people would die.

strange things in Honduras

One of the Missionary of
Charity sisters who helped us

The Gift

Dear Family, Friends and Benefactors,

We arrived to Casa Guadalupe, where we are staying in Comayagua, late afternoon yesterday. We were warmly greeted by the Friars.

                                                     Mary as we depart from the airport

We first celebrated Mass to start the mission, had dinner, orientation, and then BED! We were tired!

The Gift

Today, we spent our first day in a silent retreat. At Mass, Fr. Francis Mary talked about Jesus saying, “come to me” and “I will give you rest”. The gift. We came on the mission to give but he asked us to receive first before we can give. He asked us to disconnect from the world, from our busyness, our jobs (no easy feat) …. in order to hear God speaking to us.

                     Mass in the Friary with Fr Francis Mary, Fr Dye and Deacon Alan Sims

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta said that we need to be alone with God in silence so that we can be renewed and transformed.

                                                     A view from Casa Guadalupe

During the retreat we also had talks by Fr Francis Mary concerning the obstacles in our life that keep us from being in relationship with God: sin, pride, lack of forgiveness, and a lack of acceptance. Br Ignatius Pro gave a talk on prayer and Br Diego lead the group in a specific way of prayer called Lectio Divina.

                                                                   Br Ignatius Pro

It was a great way to start our mission. After the Holy Hour and dinner, we gathered to start preparing for our mission tomorrow. We have people who are going to help with a monthly food handout that the Friars do on the first Monday of the month, some going to a mountain village, along with the Missionaries of Charity to do a program for kids and mothers, and some are going to help build a house.

                                                     Sarah, Jasmine and Meghan

Please keep us in your prayers and know that we are praying for all of you. Thank you for your support; this trip would not be possible without you.

God bless,

The Mary Our Queen Mission Team

We're on our way!

Dear friends, family, and benefactors,

Fifteen of us from Mary Our Queen are headed to Comayagua this morning. We're excited and looking forward to our mission. Please pray for us.

Honduras 2014

Mary Our Queen is going to Comayagua, Honduras for our tenth mission trip, July 5-12, 2014. We are looking for people who want to serve Christ in the poor. You don't need to know Spanish just a willing heart. All teenagers with a parent and all adults of the parish (and our friends) are invited. The deadline for applications is March 15, 2014. For more information, you can contact the parish office or Patti Di Rito at pgdirito@gmail.com.

“To love God and neighbor is not something abstract, but profoundly concrete: it means seeing in every person and face of the Lord to be served, to serve him concretely. And you are, dear brothers and sisters, in the face of Jesus.” (Pope Francis, Address during Visit at the Homeless Shelter “Dona Di Maria,” 5/21/13)

We Arrived Home

Dear Friends, Family and Benefactors,

The Mary Our Queen Missionaries arrived safely home last night. We want to thank you all for  your prayers and financial support for this mission trip. It is only through you that we were able to do this mission. It's hard to put to words what we all experienced but it was profound. It's a bit weird to be home again and to start to think about going back to work and getting back to our "normal" lives. We know we are different than when we went down to Honduras but trying to figure out how to live our daily lives since our mission trip is challenging.

On Friday, the Friars took us for a hike in a cloud forest Panacam National Forest. It was a peaceful day of fellowship and beauty. Once we arrived, the whole group hiked to a waterfall and we ate a  picnic lunch.

Brs. Gabriel and Justin walking the the cloud forest

One of the views from the mountain

Brs Justin, Gerard, Mark Mary, Dismas, and Gabriel

Tom, Paul, Patti, Mary, Meghan and Marcia

After that, the group split up. Some continued to hike the whole loop (it was either 5 kilometers or 5 miles...not sure but it was long) and some went back and enjoyed a peaceful afternoon being together and watching the hummingbirds flutter about.  After the hike we stopped at a lake and had a fish dinner.

The group eating dinner at the lake

Please pray for the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal http://franciscanfriars.com/ and all of their work they do. 

The chapel

Our last night eating in the refractory with the Friars

Thank you for being part of this mission.

The Mary Our Queen Mission Team

The Mary Our Queen Mission Team along with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

Showing Up and Giving Your Time

Greetings from Honduras!

One of the greatest gifts we can give another is our time, our concern, and our love.

Many times the poor have no one to care for them. Serving the poor isn’t just about giving things to the people, but developing a relationship with them.

Today we had the honor of going with Br. Gabriel as he brought Communion to some homebound people. 

Dona Juana told us that we were her daughters and was so thankful for us coming with Br Gabriel

Marcia. Meghan, Br Gabriel, Mary and Patti

It was an amazing experience to see Br Gabriel “be” with each person. It was like nothing else matter at the time but the person or persons in front of him. 

Br Gabriel saying goodbye to a blind man

Each of the people we visited was very grateful that we came too. Although we have limited Spanish, love is a universal language.

We were in awe at their faith!

After receiving Communion a man deep in prayer

Thanks again for your prayers and support.

Hello from Honduras!

One thing we have all learned on this mission trip is that we might have our plan for the day, but God has another. Yesterday, a single mother knocked on the door and needed the Friars' help to move some construction supplies. Paul and Tom original plans were to finish up the roof that morning but they stopped what they were doing to help (see Paul’s last blog).

One thing we have all learned on this mission trip is that we might have our plan for the day, but God has another. Yesterday, a single mother knocked on the door and needed the Friars help to move some construction supplies. Paul and Tom were going to finish up the roof that morning but they stopped what they were doing to help (see Paul’s last blog).

Tom with some of the woman's children while waiting for a truck to be available. The Friary has 11 turtles                      

On this mission trip, not only have we lived the prayer life of the Friars, we have also accompanied them in their daily works. The team divided up many times and we went two by two with a Friar. Yesterday, Mary and Marcia went to San Benito (a medical clinic that the Friars oversee) with Br Gerard to speak with the people while they were waiting to see the doctor. The people sit outside often for hours before they can get in. They offered hope in Christ to people who may not have hope and prayed with them. Although not fluent in Spanish, we are able to communicate love, care and hope.

Meghan and Patti went to the grocery store with Br. Mark Mary to buy some food for the Friars while Br Gabriel went into town to run some errands. The Friars don’t buy any food. They either beg for food or have a benefactor donate what they need. It was our blessing to be able to buy the Friars some food. It reminded us of how much we have and how good we have it in the United States.

Please keep us in your prayers. We are being blessed many times over by just being here.

The Mary Our Queen Mission Team