Sostener

Maybe it is the benefit of full nights of rest. Maybe it is getting three good meals daily. Maybe it is the work of the Holy Spirit. Maybe it is the excellent pedagogy of the Maryknoll language program. Whatever the causes, I am cautiously pleased to report a very good day of classes in which it seemed like I found an enlarged capacity for sustained conversation. I felt like a chatterbox in the first two periods with Profesor Osvaldo. At the mid-morning coffee break I was concerned that I had spent the store of words I had for the day, and I would be tongue-tied for the third and fourth class periods, when I go solo with Profesora Sara. But that was not to be the case. To the contrary, I kept talking and talking. It was an equitable exchange, too: I was giving as much as I had to give, and Profesora Sara was giving as much as she had to give.

Dare I say that Pentecost has come to me? Before today, had there been a day when I was able to keep a conversation going freely for two 50-minute periods on my own with my interlocutor? No, there had not. Had there been a day when I did not have to struggle to find the words? No, there had not. 

How did it come so easily today? How did the gift of sustained conversation come through now, as if all of a sudden? I’d like to know so that I can repeat the outcome tomorrow and every day thereafter. It cannot be as easy as just talking, is it? There has to be something more to it, right? 

Whatever went right, let’s hope it keeps going right. To that end, Profesora Sara asked me to generate a brainstorm of ideas for themed conversations. As I mentioned in a previous post, the instructors wish to move me into conversations that are meaningful for my ministry context. So we will have, hopefully, more cultural exchanges focusing in on the peoples of the Caribbean and Central America. We will talk about pastoral ministry in a parish environment. We will talk, as we did this morning, about religious life and its distinctive characteristics. I am sure Profesora Sara will have many questions for me in this area that will open up a discussion. 

After classes I lingered at Maryknoll, attending Mass celebrated by the Korean student priests, then having lunch with my guru Father Ken. Our conversations dilate my soul, and when we part I feel like I can walk more closely with Jesus in the light of God. I’ll be hanging out at Maryknoll tomorrow and Wednesday as well for midday Eucharist. Another visit to the Mennonite volunteers is also coming up. 

Plans for the trip to Uyuni and its salt flats are coming together. It looks like four of us from Maryknoll will be joining a three-day tour with other travelers. My flight has been booked; accommodations have been arranged. Things are definitely taking shape. More information to come before the journey commences next Wednesday.