Cena Pan y Vino

Towards the end of last week - the week when there was no internet - a very interesting event took place here.  Called the Cena de Pan Y Vino (the Supper of Bread and Wine) it is a major event in the life of the Archdiocese of Panama and, indeed, in the life of the city.  With the exception of World Youth Day, it is also one of the largest Catholic events that I have ever seen - I'm not sure how something similar would go down in Dublin but, something tells me, the Irish church wouldn't have the courage to try it - remember the Eucharistic Congress when the worry was that nobody would come and then, as it turned out, Croke Park wasn't big enough???

The supper is actually a very simple affair.  It is a type of supper but, as the name suggests, those who participate only receive a small bread roll and a small glass of wine - this is a supper that is not about the menu.  In fact, this supper is the big event in the year for the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and religious life.  This is an idea, brought from Chile, by the famous Bishop McGrath (who I have since discovered is from an Irish background).  It's goal is to place the issue of vocations firmly on the table in a way that makes everyone conscious of it - and it does achieve it!!!  This year was it's 44th time to do this.

Almost 3,000 tickets were sold for the supper this year and over 2,000 people turned up to the large Convention Centre on the night.  Each ticket cost B./ 15 (Balboas - which are, in fact, North American Dollars).  This is a not insigificant amount of money in a country where the average take home pay is around B./ 280 per fortnight.  The money raised through the event is what funds the seminary throughout the year (probably not entirely but largely).

The night itself is a mixture of song, music, and dance with a number of testimonials.  This year the two testimonials were very interesting.  The first was given by the Cardinal of Havana (Cuba) who shared his own vocation story which, as you can imagine, was not straightforward in a country such as Cuba.  Later we heard the story of the parents of two of the seminarians.  These two guys are both deacons and, identical twins.  They both decided they wanted to join the seminary about 6 or 7 years ago and their parents were very unsure about it - to say the least.  Their parents shared what has been their journey over these years and, now that their two sons are to be ordained priests on December 27th, reflected on how their understanding of what it means to be a priest has changed over those years.  Both accounts were very moving and it was a night that gave all those present a lot to think about.

The seminarians participated too with a sort of mini-musical which focused on the issue of making the choice to investigate and pursue a vocation that one might think they have.  It was very impressively done and there were lots of rehearsals before the big night.  As Paddy Ryan used to say long ago in Ballyboden - "A good night was had by all!!!"
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