TRAGEDIES AND HOPES. A perspective from Latin America.

For more than 15 months, we have been experiencing difficult situations in the form of a pandemic, which affect not only the health and lives of millions of people, but also their economies through the decline in production and consumption in almost all sectors, which has completely paralysed the mobility of the whole of society for weeks and months.

The authorities have despised life and,  in particular, that of the most vulnerable, the elderly and the poor, who in statistics represent the majority of the deceased; many of them are experiencing the tragedy of hunger and disease; death has become all too familiar, as if it were part of the daily landscape. Young people do not care about the risk of contagion of the pandemic given the improbability of a dignified life and prefer to go out to face repression in the streets.

The social situation is very serious. Last week, we had a personal meeting with the Bishop of Fontibón, Msgr. Juan Vicente Cordoba, S.J. who  told us of his concern  for  the parishes and families who live in the most vulnerable areas that are the 50 or so parishes that border our smelly Rio Bogota. There is an urgent need for global solidarity on the issue of vaccines and an urgent need for local solidarity to alleviate hunger, insecurity and medical care as a result of the saturation of intensive care beds and the cessation of all necessary surgical operations for more than a year.

What was our response? Our leaders communicate by phone with certain groups of elderly people in different areas of the city to accompany them from afar according to the charisms of Ascending Life, and we are aware that at all times but even more so in the face of this tragedy, we must discern, according to the breath of the Spirit, how life has changed us, what we will do to adapt as individuals, families and members of a Movement. We must reflect on the mission of the Movement in the face of so many unprecedented challenges that have become global.

We must focus on spiritual health. On the continent of hope, Ascending Life is animated by the Spirit via the Word, the orientations of its bishops and priest advisors (in early 2021, our Counselor Gonzalo Amaya, S.J. died of Covid 19) and by its animators, from Mexico to Uruguay. From the LAI Executive Committee, we receive and publish in our teams the monthly newsletter of LAI as well as the circulars of our coordinator Susana Zonni Echenique, with news that encourages us to continue to move forward, even slowly, despite the difficulties. We also share our own documents produced in each country on topics relating to the elderly. With ups and downs, the Movement is maintaining and adapting to this historical situation.

We frequently coordinate aid to the most needy such as food and clothing in a very selective way, aware that we are not a welfare movement. We accompany in a more virtual way the joyful and festive holidays of mothers or grandparents in the Residences of the Elderly through Internet platforms, favoring listening to the Word and reflections on life.

We, the leaders of the Latin American Movement, have an appointment every Friday at 7 p.m. and for nearly two hours, to share sorrows and joys, to pray for our patients, our members or our loved ones of Ascending Life and to celebrate birthdays. We alternate the coordination of each virtual meeting and offer fun themes of random form.

In our families, these Friday meetings are expected with joy and it is normal that some of our family members, spouses, children or grandchildren, join the meeting and actively participate, which makes the meeting more enjoyable. We find it wonderful that, despite the circumstances of isolation, we can, with the help of these communication platforms, do so many fun things and share our sorrows and prayers.

Through social networks as a group of Ascending Life from Latin America and the Caribbean, we daily share the Eucharist, the Lectio Divina, lectures and spiritual readings such as the Journal in the presence of the Lord with biblical thoughts, and class readings.

Thus, we remain virtually united in the hope of embracing the old-fashioned way, again, as at our last Latin American meeting in Chinauta, Colombia, where we prepared our next meeting in Argentina which had to be postponed because of the pandemic. Together with the facilitators of our various countries, we are currently preparing the virtual celebration of World Grandparents' Day, established by Pope Francis at the end of July.

We know that a better world, in peace – a source of collective joy – is possible if we are attentive and faithful to the will of the Creator in the implementation, in our lives and in our Movement, of these values that are justice, solidarity, the safeguarding of the planet, friendship, spirituality, joy and service to others.

Bogota, D.C., 29 June 2021.