Pope Francis Meets The World in Rio

“I’ve been run over twice in this city” she says proudly as if it were a joke. She talks really fast, as if overwhelmed by anxiety, but at the same time so internally joyful. She then walks in the middle of traffic holding one hand in the direction of the incoming cars without even looking and with her other hand she drags me with her. This person is one of the many guiding angels I would meet during my time in Brazil. After the adrenaline rush from crossing the street I look up and am struck with awe as I spot one of the 7 wonders of the modern world, the “Christ the Redeemer” statue, which is now lighted, on a mountain top. She leaves me in front of the church and disappears out of sight before I can process that it is closed and all lights are off. I’m severely exhausted after a 10 hour flight and it is past 9pm (or past 2am for my body due to the 5 hours of jet lag). I’m in a questionable neighborhood far from the city center, it’s dark, and I don’t have a place to stay. I begin to question the stupidity of my choice. Little did I know that this was all part of kairos.

– The following events occurred between July 20th and Aug 4th 2013

Kairos: The Time When God Acts

The ancient Greeks had two words for time: chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to chronological or sequential time, while kairos signifies a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens. It is the right or opportune moment.

Guided by Angels

Earlier that day I landed on Rio de Janeiro. By the time I left the airport it was around 7pm and I was in shock. It is pitch black! I got used to the never-ending summer sun in Spain where even at 10pm there would still be some twilight. I forgot to account for the fact that I am now in the southern hemisphere where it is the middle of winter.

Many things went wrong getting to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Of particular consequence was getting there before they started officially receiving pilgrims for World Youth Day. My contact is only a piece of paper with an address and no telephone number. It is the address of a church. I look at it and think that it’s late so this church is probably closed, nobody is waiting for me and I probably don’t have a place to sleep yet. I’m not sure where I have to go, it is dark, and I’m afraid. Even some locals in the airport tell me it’s dangerous for a foreigner to go at this time. I consider taking a taxi to a hotel in Copacabana, play it safe and tomorrow I will find my place in the morning. Yet, in the plane before landing in Brazil I contemplated what my aunt had said in Seville: “I walk with the confidence that God will place what I need in my life.” I prayed a rosary for guides on where to go. Once in the airport something told me to not be afraid, to stay the course, that I will be taken care of. I contemplated whether it was madness induced by exhaustion, but went ahead anyways. Then a series of guiding angels, one after another, would show up totaling about six people. I call them angels because it would be strange how most of them wouldn’t be people I asked for help, but would quite literally come to me at the kairos as if already expecting and knowing what I needed.

No Place to Sleep Yet

Entrance to my home

This led me to the church, which was closed. On the side I saw the house of the priest and after a few minutes of screaming two people came out. Of course I wasn’t expected this date or time, and they start making phone calls to see what can be worked out last-minute, since the school where most pilgrims would be located is not available. I’m finally taken to a neighborhood with many narrow streets, like a maze, built on a hill. It is what is called a favela, places associated with extreme poverty and lawlessness. I’ve come on a special day, they are celebrating two birthdays and everybody is out with plenty of food, drinks and loud music. I am welcomed with hugs and cake. Then a huge, scary looking man comes to me and tells me that as a pilgrim for WYD they are honored to receive me, that now I’m part of their neighborhood and no one will hurt me. I’m glad I got that out of the way. I rejoice the way all things came together after arriving in Brazil. There is a difference between arriving out of my own efforts and being guided there by angels. Yes, I could’ve found my way but there is a sweetness felt from the gestures of a God that carries you. I go to my sleeping area and find out that I’m sleeping on the bare floor. I slept like a baby on the floor and woke up refreshed and rejuvenated the next morning. Makes me think how silly it was the big deal I made out the fear of sleeping on the floor during the first few weeks of the Camino.

Pope Francis

“Go without fear to serve. The life of Jesus is a life for others, it’s a life of service. To evangelize is to give testimony in the first person of God’s love, it is to overcome our selfishness, it is to serve by washing the feet of our brothers like Jesus did.” Pope Francis looks up as he addresses over 3 million people from all over the world representing the young church. I listen to his voice and realize that I had never heard him before. It is so humble and simple in tone you’d think that it came from an old farmer in a small village.

The evening before the Pope’s arrival a mob of protesters in Rio had set cars on fire. They believe the government is mishandling funds that should go to the people instead of the three world-wide events Rio de Janeiro is hosting in the next 2 years: the World Cup, the Olympics, and World Youth Day (which is why the Pope is in Rio). The day Pope Francis arrives the car carrying him took a wrong turn away from the safely guarded streets. It began to be mobbed by hundreds of pedestrians wishing to get a closer look at him and the car was trapped. I see it live on the news and hope it is not a mob of protesters. Thankfully it wasn’t.

World Youth Day 2013

World Youth Day is not a day, but an event spanning a week. It got started in 1984 by Pope John Paul II when he made a call for young people (from teenagers up to 35 years) for a great gathering of faith, hope and unity. 175 countries come together in Brazil to show the world the witness of a living and renewing faith, that is universal in character, knows no boundaries and is driven by the same belief that diversity in fraternity is possible. All in accordance with why the church is called catholic. The greek word “Catholic” means “universal” and “according to the whole”. This event is now held once every 2 or 3 years at a different country.

What do you generally experience there?

• A lot of people (there was nowhere you could go in the city to be alone or away from other pilgrims)

• A lot of joy (which didn’t stop even though most days were cold and rainy)

• A lot of singing and dancing

• A lot of flags being carried around

• A lot of people exchanging cultural gifts related to each other’s countries

• Many concerts throughout the city  (I was surprised to see the Puerto Rican group Son-by-Four. I didn’t know they turned to christian music)

• Several artistic events, hikes, cultural activities and seminars throughout the city

• A lot of walking (due to the amount of people, public transportation was inoperable many times, especially during the main events where all went to the same place)

• In addition to all the events held throughout the city at all times, there were 4 main events held at Copacabana beach where all pilgrims were encouraged to be. For 3 of these, Pope Francis was present.

• The last night of WYD you get to sleep on the beach or the street for the vigil.

  

  The Puerto Ricans who welcomed me to stay with them for the Vigil. It was a pleasure.

  • It was bitter cold and many did not sleep at all (the bright lights hitting your face and the noise doesn’t help either)

  • Some stay up the whole time playing music, singing and dancing.

  • Not enough portable toilets. The lines were long and near them the stench was so horrible it was nauseating to me.

The scene on the streets at 3am

What did I personally experience in addition to the above?

• I felt overwhelmed due to the number of people, which inevitably led to being crushed at times by the mob. At times it felt like torture and I wondered why I was there.

• Some people thought I was crazy for being there alone. I learned there that most people go in groups.

• I received a lot of germs from all over the world, one of which led to a nasty cold.

The uncomfortable things I experienced, particularly due to the multitude, made me reflect on something I heard from a missionary preacher once: “It is better to hang around a bunch of goofy sheep, than to be eaten by wolves”. It is an analogy for what it can be like in the church, a place where so many are lacking and don’t practice what is preached. I remember that the speaker also pointed out that being able to be in community with such a goofy sheep is a good sign of having the graces to go to heaven, because it’s not normal or natural to take all of that crap and stay there.

The proud believers who have it all figured out

One other thing I experienced was many local people who during WYD were “Proud to be Catholic”…. They would share how they’ve been catholic christians all their lives, as if it were a badge of honor, how they like the new Pope, etc… Sometimes I would ask them: “How do you live your faith?” Some would have absurd answers like “I’m Catholic but I don’t believe what the Bible says”, or “I’m Catholic but I don’t follow what the church teaches”. Others wouldn’t have an answer to that as they don’t practice their faith. This is not something that is limited to my experience here in Brazil, but something I’ve seen everywhere I’ve been. Very commonly I would see people who just take a part they are comfortable with in the Bible or what the Church teaches, reject everything else, and they call themselves practicing Christians. A living faith is a pilgrimage, a journey, not a cultural quality you are born with.

This is a danger also for those who take in the whole gospel, as history has shown. If the tension of building a better world, or of witnessing  to God’s love disappears, it’s time to re-examine where you are headed spiritually. As St. Augustine said, and I paraphrase: “A faith that is not challenging you to move forward is a faith that is eroding and moving backwards”. In the realm of faith you cannot say “I’m comfortable where I am, I’ve found where I need to be with God (or spiritually), so let me stay here.”  It is a transformation journey that doesn’t end in this life.

Favela Life

MJ statue. In this favela he recorded “They don’t care about us here”

Brazil is one of the most economically unequal countries in the world with the top 10 percent of its population earning 50 percent of the national income and about 8.5 percent of all people living below the poverty line. One in five people in Rio de Janeiro live in a favela, some of which are run by drug lords. Traffickers ensure that individual residents can guarantee their own safety through their actions and political connections to them. They do this by maintaining order in the favela and giving and receiving reciprocity and respect, thus creating an environment in which critical segments of the local population feel safe despite continuing high levels of violence. The situation is improving and many favela’s have been pacified, although the pacification is considered superficial by some. There is still ways to go, but the recent economic growth in Brazil is causing the rate of poverty to fall and the poor classes to enter the middle classes.

The favela I stayed in is not one of the of the bigger ones known for such a harsh reputation. I slept in  a space the community uses for special activities or meetings. Because of that, all the nearby neighbors would share in the hosting and care-taking job. Yes, at the beginning I was sleeping on the floor, but as the days progressed they started endearing themselves to me and the setting changed. They found mattresses and thick blankets, they started treating me to breakfast, leaving snacks in the table, preparing hot tea and soup for the cold evenings, they would take turns in serving me dinner, they would wash all my clothes, in other words I was being spoiled. In the beginning I would mainly play with the children due to the language barrier. As my Portuguese improved I would relate more with the adults. I would be invited into their homes, go to parties with them, go for a jog around the lake, take the children to the scouts. All in all it was a beautiful encounter with their culture and their humanity.

Two Contrasting Musical Genres

Below is a sample of two Brazilian genres I was introduced to while staying here. The first genre, “Funk” has nothing to do with what you might think of when you hear the word. It was a genre that developed in Rio’s favelas, and is disliked by many due to its emphasis on sex and severe social issues facing the poor in Rio (a similar situation to how people in Puerto Rico can be polarized about Reggaeton, especially back when it started). The second genre is “Pagode”, which is a sub-genre of the more well-known Samba, and it is slower, more melodic music that is generally pleasing.

Funk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re3pYBwxllU

Pagode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWSsLbhnEg4

Volte Sempre: Until Next Time

I stayed in Rio beyond the end of WYD, for a total of 16 days. The last evening I prepared a little ceremony for my hosts where I gave a small talk and gave them a ceramic “coqui”, which is the representative animal from Puerto Rico.

Coqui: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54-FzuE-w0U

It was hard to go through this ceremony as most of them would be in tears during my talk. It was Sunday, so afterwards we headed to mass where the parish was honoring WYD volunteers which included the people hosting me. Afterwards they had a reception in the basement with food and drinks. Never in my travels have I met a people who is so welcoming and hospitable. I’m not talking just about my hosts, but also of the many Brazilians I met out and about the city. People there wouldn’t wait for you to ask for help, they would sense it and come to you. When it involved asking directions, instead of just pointing the way they would many times stop going where they were headed and take you where you needed to go. It would be cute how some women that I just met would hold my hand to cross the street.

A Purpose Emerges

In WYD I would meet many people belonging to types of groups and communities that I never even conceived possible within the Church, and I was very curious about it. One of the last days I met Eucaristos, a New Community. I was invited to live with them and experience their way of life for a week or two in São Paulo. It would be confirmation of what would become the guiding purpose of my journey during my time in Brazil: to explore and experience living with different expressions of my faith.

On my last evening in Rio I am struck with disbelief as I look at the teary eyes of the beautiful people in the “Recanto Familiar” favela, a place that feels like home. I also think of how being here led me to an invitation by Eucaristos in São Paulo, where I am heading the next day. Little do I know that there my travels will experience a complete re-direction and an extension beyond anything I could’ve planned for (and beyond the length that my visa permitted). In those final moments with them I come to realize that all my anguish and anxiety from seeing all my plans in getting to Brazil fall apart was all part of God’s plan. It is kairos, the appointed time in the purpose of God.

Pope Francis Says Before Leaving Brazil

What do I expect as a consequence of World Youth Day? I expect a mess. But I want a mess in the dioceses! I want people to go out! I want the Church to go out to the street! I want us to defend ourselves against everything that is worldliness, that is installation, that is comfortableness, that is clericalism, that is being shut-in on ourselves. The parishes, the schools, the institutions, exist to go out! I ask you to be revolutionaries, to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes that you are incapable of responsibility, that you are incapable of true love. Jesus is capable of letting you do this: He is ‘the way, and the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6). Let’s trust in him. Let’s make Him our guide!

Bullet holes in front of the favela police stations

Going to sleep during the Vigil

Taking the kids to the scouts

Saying goodbye to the mexicans. They were the non-brazilians I bonded with the most

Feijoada with my hosts

Northeastern Forro party I went to with my hosts

The Christ covered in clouds

Taking the bus in Rio. A good substitute for a roller coaster

Son by Four

It is very common in this area for people to have tattoos of those they love (here is her daughter’s name)

In case it wasn’t obvious that you shouldn’t pee on the floor

Breakfast: an overdose on juices and cakes

Amanda from Mexico

Capoeira training room