Retreat with the Augustinian Pre-Novices

There has been a lot going on over the last few days. I was asked, on Thursday, to give a retreat to the Augustinian pre-novices on Saturday and Sunday. As you can imagine, that required getting the head down to prepare something to say to them. There are 16 pre-novices here, 5 of whom have applied to go to the novitiate this year. The Augustinians are the biggest religious order here and get by far the highest number of applications to join. It is not surprising, therefore, that the bishops of the two largest dioceses in the country (Panama City and Colón) are Augustinians.

The pre-novices are a very impressive group of young men. Very articulate and seem very capable. And, which is terribly important, they seem to be happy, and to get on well with each other and with the professed communit.

The pre-novitiate is in the north  of the city and is set in what, until recently, was a rural setting. The friars still have a sizeable garden which they use to provide their own fruit and vegetables - this is not something to take lightly, in the seminary where I stay we rarely see a vegetable and, when they do appear, they are normally peppers or onions, nothing like the variety we would typically have in Ireland. Obviously, this has implications for health - like it or not, vegetables are good for you!

What is not good for you, however, are mosquitoes, and the Augustinian pre-novitiate has plenty of them! I was bitten well over 30 times. In fact, having taken too much sun (not something that is easily avoided here) and the insect bites, I wasn't feeling terribly well when I got back to the seminary I stay in. I'm hoping this will pass as there is also some sort of a virus doing the rounds in the seminary which is hitting lots of people and causing fever, diarrahoea and that sort of thing. Not what I would like to be dealing with when travelling.

On my return I found some people looking for a priest to preside at a service of  Renewal of Vows for 36 married couples. The priest that was to join them had backed out at the last minute and they were under pressure. I was able to help them out but I sort of crashed for a while when I got back.

In the evening I had to give a talk to the seminarians. Each week one of the formators (they consider me to be a formator here) gives a talk on Sunday evening which  is a reflection on the readings that will be heard at mass during the coming week. I was glad that I had gotten ready towards the end of last week as I wouldn't have had time over the weekend.

The Radio, traditional dancing, and St. Paul... and a scrape

I had a very enjoyable, and very varied weekend. On Friday night the seminarians held a night to

Seminarians

mark the month of May as the month of Mary. Each diocese put on something - some of them sang, some of them danced, and one of them in particular had a song composed that reminded me of the music of the Spanish Tunas, university groups from the middle ages that went from house to house singing to their sweethearts - it was really something.

 The Diocese of Chitre, an area known for its folk brought some traditional dancers. The men wear simple white shirts, a hat known as a pintado, and a small bag known as a chacara. This is still an outfit that is seen quite often here at formal events. The women wear long dresses known as polleras (literally chicken dresses - the long skirts would have been used long ago to shoo chickens from the house etc). They also use very elaborate head dresses which are highly symbolic. The head pieces were originally made from a combination of pearls and whitened fish bones - nowadays they are made from plastic, unless you want to spend an absolute fortune and have one made of pearls.

On Saturday I spent the day preparing for some talks I am due to give next weekend, and then, in the

evening, I went with a group of seminarians to Radio Maria, the Catholic radio station. This is part of an international organisation which operates also in Ireland. However, I don't think that in Ireland it has anything like the listenership that it has in Panama. Each week the seminarians do a one-hour slot which involves a biblical reflection (normally on the following day's gospel) and then a discussion on some topic. On Saturday we were talking about power - it actually turned in to quite an interesting conversation.

On Sunday morning I went to St. Rita's Parish to help with masses there and then, at lunch time, I was invited by a friend of mine who is Panamanian, from a Chinese background. We went to the old colonial part of the city and had a great chat and a chance to catch up on all the news, as well as sharing ideas for various activities.

When Claudina left me home I went with a group of seminarians to see the new film on the life of St. Paul. I have to say that I enjoyed it very much - I hadn't really expected to! After the film we went to get something to eat and then, after a very enjoyable evening, we managed to jam the minibus against the roof of the garage. This seems to be something that happens from time to time and they were able to free it before too much damage was done - other than to the driver's ego!

Fiesta and a History Lesson

Can't figure out how to rotate these pictures

Every parish here, and every chapel, has to have its Fiesta. This is a combination of a relgious
celebration and all sorts of other things that people can get involved in.Some of these fiestas are very eleborate affairs, and some are much simpler - that very often depends on the type of area you are in, because that can determine the amount of money available to spend on the whole operation.

Last night I was in a parish called Pueblo Nuevo to take part in their fiesta. The lead-up to the big day is marked by a novena - in this case, in honour of Our Lady Help of Christians. I was asked to say the mass last night and to preach. Pueblo Nuevo is an interesting parish here in many ways.

Firstly, it is one of the oldest churches in the diocese (despite the fact that its name means, in English, New Town). The altar piece that you can see in the photo is 101 years old and is the original one from this colonial period church. Other things that give the age of the church away are the statues that are to be found in it which are all of a very high quality and have none of the garishness that is to be found, very often, in other, more modern churches.

It is very unusual here to have such an old building that is not in the city centre. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the climate here is so severe that things don't generally last that long. In fact, if the altar piece had been made of wood it would probably have rotted by now, or been eaten by termites. The second reason that its survival is unusual is due to the phenomenon that is, unfortunately, common in many parts of the world - very often parish communities want to have more modern buildings and better facilities and, when they see other parishes building brighter, more spacious, and more striking buildings, they often want an "upgrade".

That makes it interesting to ask why the church in Pueblo Nuevo survived in its original form. My guess is that the answer to this question is actually quite easy to ascertain - poverty. Pueblo Nuevo is what is called here a "Barrio Popular". The thing about a barrio (neighbourhood) that is Popular, is that it is not popular, in the English sense of the word. Barrio Popular means a sort of local authority area which, unfortunately, tends to be almost exclusively inhabited by the poor, the unemployed, and people facing many challenges. These people, simply put, have greater needs for their scarce resources than the building of churches. And, unsurprisingly, these people have a great spirit. As seems to be reflected all over the world, people who have been through a lot and who have to cope with difficult and often precarious situations, are very often open, resourceful, and creative people - with a great sense of humour. Sometimes, in wealthier areas, people can find it hard to let their hair down or they can put themselves under pressure by having high expectations.

Presentation - Image of Mary Help of Christians with a Panamanian twist

The parish priest, Fr. Israel, invited me to join them for the evening and we had a lovely time. Some of the seminarians came and made up a choir and we had a very lively celebration. The generosity of these people is really amazing and they even gave me a presentation at the end of the mass and then, as is considered to be quite normal here, we had a meal with the organising committee.

These occasions are very important for maintaining the sense of community in an area. In fact, in poorer areas, they are probably particularly important (even though they are certainly more modest affairs than those in wealthier areas) because they encourage people to take a break from a daily grind that can be very grinding and to celebrate who they are and what they have achieved.

Permanent Deacons

One of the things that is very evident in the Panamanian church is the very active presence of a large number of permanent deacons. Archbishop McGrath - a North American bishop of Irish descent who was bishop of Panama City around the time of the Second Vatican Council returned from the council as an enthusiastic implementer of many of the decisions of the council. One of the first things he did was to establish the permanent diaconate in his diocese - what began as something small and uncertain has become a major element of the local church here.

Most parishes have a permanent deacon. These are men, normally married, who present themselves for formation and ordination to the diaconate, they are accepted into a formation programme by the diocese and proceed to be ordained as deacons to serve in the various parishes of the diocese. These are all men who already have a full-time job - their service as deacons is something extra that they take on to serve their community. Many of these are teachers or professionals, but the diaconate is by no means restricted to such people - there are also many who are mechanics, plumbers, electricians, farmers, bus drivers and, as you can gather, from all sorts of backgrounds, social groups, and educational situations.

Last Sunday I found myself in a parish for two masses. At one of the masses I had two deacons and, I have to say, it was overkill - we were falling over each other. However, in many cases the deacons are very effective and lead their communities in services such as weddings, funerals, baptisms, Sunday and weekday services, catechesis, administration, and, of course, visiting the sick and burying the dead.

I have heard some criticism from some of the priests regarding some of the deacons but, as far as I can see, there is the same variety of willingness to work and ability among the deacons as is to be found among the priests. Although one things seems certain - for the permanent diaconate to work properly, the deacons need to be given space to develop their ministry. If the deacons only work where there is already a very active priest, the deacon will have difficulty finding a space to be anything other than a helper: if the deacon finds himself in a situation where there is often no priest available, he has much better chance of developing a ministry that is more meaningful not only for himself, but also for his community.

As dioceses in Ireland are beginning to explore the permanent diaconate as one of the ways to address the fall in the number of priests available for ministry, they could do a lot worse than look at the experience of the Panamanian church. I wonder, however, if they would be willing to accept that the Panamanian church has much to teach - I am of the opinion that it has.

It ain't half hot Mum...

I haven't been keeping the blog up to date over the last few days as there was an awful lot going on. I was asked to give a retreat to the seminarians at the end of last week so, as you can imagine, that required preparation. I have been preparing for another workshop on the theme of vocation, I have also been helping a number of students with their written work and have had quite a few callers for confession - I suppose it's more appealing to go to confession to someone who is not always around the place. I was busy with masses in a parish over the weekend.

Of course, all of this was made quite a bit heavier by the fact that we had electrical problems here in the seminary. A man came in to repair something, which he did, but, after he had left we realised that quite a few of the rooms had been left without power and that the air conditioning had stopped working in many of the rooms. Unfortunately this happened at the same time as both the temperature and the humidity had risen significantly. We are just coming in to the rainy season here so high temperatures and humidity is not surprising, but it is not easy to keep going without the help of the air conditioning. It is almost 8.30am as I write this blog and already it is 32 degrees and 82% humidity. I have three hours of class later, finishing at 1.15pm - by that time I expect that both temperature and humidity will have risen as we will then be at the hottest part of the day.

It is quite extraordinary to experience the effects of the air conditioning breaking down. First of all breathing becomes a bit of a chore - it's a little bit like when you open the oven door and the heat takes your breath away. Everything begins to feel a bit sticky and, even if you have showered carefully, it is almost as if there is a film of dampness over everything - clothes in the wardrobe become damp, paper becomes damp too, making it difficult to write, and sleeping becomes very difficult. But one of the most frustrating aspects of this situation is the way in which insects of all sorts of shapes and sizes begin to infiltrate themselves in to your living space. Mosquitoes, cockroaches, flies, fruit flies, various type of ant, beetles, and spiders all appear as if out of nowhere. In fairness, all of the ones that I saw here this weekend were small, but I have seen, in the past, insects that are really quite big - sometimes as big as the tablet one would put in to the washing machine.

We are now back to normal and the air conditioning is back on - thank God!!! I do notice, however, that I now prefer to have it set at 25 degrees, rather than the 18 degrees that I favoured when I first got here. A certain amount of acclimatisation is inevitable I suppose.

Hot and heavy

As the rainy season draws in not only is there an increase in rain, there is also a significant rise in the temperature. Well, as many people helpfully point out, it is not really the that the temperature has rise hugely, it is more that the humidity is more noticeable - in fact, it feels as if it has gone through the roof.

At certain times of the day, particularly just before it rains, it almost feels like you can't breathe - it litrally takes your breath away. If it weren't for air conditioning I don't think I would sleep at all.
This isn't just something that bothers the visitor to Panama, the locals suffer from it too, although not to the same degree.

This morning we had mass in smaller groups than usual. The group that I was with had the option of a large and spacious room with air conditioning, or a small room with no air conditioning, and, you've guessed it, they went for the smaller room. I thought mass would never end and, even though it was only 6.45am, I felt like I should be heading back to bed.

The only solution is to keep hydrated, to use a body moisturiser, and to realise that nobody is really interested in your complaints.

It certainly isn''t pretty...

One very noticeable thing about modern languages is the extent to which they borrow words from other languages. Sometimes this is done because the native speakers of a language feel that they don't have a word to express something that is very useful - for example, until very recently, Spanish had no verb "to become". This obviously meant that certain things were difficult to express. They have since adopted and adapted the Italian verb "diventare", meaning, "to become".

There are some other words that would be useful in Spanish but that I have never been able to find - one example that I come across regularly is the word "compromise". In Spanish they do have a word "compromiso" but this means "commitment" - in fact, it can be amusing to hear English speakers using "compromiso" in a sentence when they just presume that it means "compromise": you hear things like, "We made a commitment about our plans" when, what they wanted to say was, "we compromised on our plan".

There are many examples of words being transferred to other languages directly. Their meaning is often changed, as, indeed, is their spelling.

One example that has become very common here in Panama is the English word "pretty". Sometimes this maintains the English spelling but, more often than not, it is spelled phonetically, according to Spanish language pronunciation and becomes "priti", "prity" or some other variation. However, and if you don't spot this, "priti" doesn't mean "pretty" in the normal English sense of the word. In fact, the English meaning of the word seems strange to the Panamanian young people and they find it hilarious that we use the word differently - many of them, in fact, seem to be convinced that we have got it wrong in English, and that we are using a Spanish word - it's curious how quickly culture develops.

Back to "priti" - here is means what the English word "cool" has come to mean; ie, something that is good, fashionable, desirable etc. Thus, it is not unusual to here the lads here speaking about a meal being pretty, even a lecture being pretty, or, to my surprise, even myself being referred to as pretty: when I heard that I realised it was time to explain what the word means here.

So, it seems, that, at least in Panama, priti ain't pretty.

"It's raining it's pouring..."

While Irish people are very familiar with rain, I have rarely seen it rain it Ireland the way it does here in Panama. On Friday it began to rain at 12 noon and continued until 9pm. This was not drizzle or just heavy rain, it was almost as if everywhere was under a power shower.

The sheer volume of water falling means that there is a lot of water that has to run off the roads etc. All over the city there are large storm drains to accomodate this type of occurence but, unfortunately, people are inclined to dump rubbish in these drains which causes them to clog which, in turn, leads to localised flooding throughout the city. These floods exacerbate an already chronic problem with traffic transforming a commute of one hour into one of three or four hours.

Friday's rain was so intense that it literally washed away the earth from under a mango tree (which is a very large tree). Its roots no longer having protection, the tree fell - on top of one of the cars of the seminary causing significant damage.

When this happened two things followed - people descended on the tree to retrieve the mangos and the car was covered with a cloth until the insurance company can come to investigate what happened.

When the rain stopped the usual heat came back and we were treated to the sight of steam rising from the basketball court as the water evaporated.

It is evident that the newly-refurbished chapel has a problem with water seepage and damage can be seen at various points in the ceiling. If this is not addressed there will be trouble ahead - it will be interesting to see if something is actually done about it as my impression is that expectations of work being well-finished are not high here. Time will tell.

I got news last night of the death of one of my community in Ireland. Fr. Jerry Hickey OSA has been sick for the last while with leukemia and finally succumbed to his illness yesterday. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam, RIP

So that's a "NO!" for ecumenism...

My class with the catechists the other evening turned out to be more interesting than I had anticipated. In fact, it turned out to be a lot more heated than I could have imagined.

I was talking about the history of theology and, when I came to mention the Protestant Reform, I spoke about Luther. Now, one of the things about Luther is that a great many of his famous 95 theses are not in any way objectionable to Roman Catholic theologians, or, for that matter, to the teaching office of the church, even in its most famous incarnation as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (as the newspapers like to remind us - formerly known as the Inquisition). The truth of the matter is that Luther's theses were a call to church reform, a call to rein in some of the abuses that had crept in to Catholic practice, and a call for more openness, especially in relation to the Bible.

However, Luther's challenge to papal authority at a time when that authority was considered to be absolute, was judged to be unforgiveable. This, together with his allegiance with a number of German princes who wanted to shake off the shackles of the Holy Roman Emperor, meant that, after the first skirmishes, there was no going back for Luther.

The proof of this can be seen in recent talks between the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church, at the highest levels, to more towards uniting the two groups. While this union is unlikely to happen in the next year or two, it is very likely that it will happen probably sooner than many had expected.

In Panama (and, indeed, throughout Central and South America), however, Luther is considerably less palatable. The experience here of so many evangelical sects (in the village of Sabanitas, with a population of about 2,000, I counted 54 different Protestant churches, meeting rooms, temples, and various places of worship), many of whom are very aggressively anti-Catholic, means that ecumenism is not looked on favourably by many Catholics. Their view is that Luther started a process that has led, in our own time, to a whole array of people who are anti them, what they hold dear, and what they stand for as catechists and community leaders. Evangelical apologists will often trot out well-rehearsed arguments quoting Luther, Calvin, and other reformers, to attack such things as the veneration of Mary, the viriginity of Mary, the authority of the Pope, and many other things - the catechists, in their communities often feel assailed by these people and unable to cope with them. They also see their families being broken up along religious lines and the relationships breaking down in whole communities.

This, understandably, has created an attitude towards these historical figures that is far from welcoming. I found it interesting to see how exercised some of the people got when they heard me saying that some of Luther's ideas were good, and very reasonable, considering the context in which he was living. There is one lady in particular who, I think, will have difficulty forgiving me. Hopefully, we will be back to business as usual on Wednesday next (Tuesday is a public holiday) when we will be leaving the reformers behind and going on to talk of other matters.

It is, however, very interesting that people have more of an investment in theological ideas than they might at first think.

Wildlife

The seminary in which I am working is, very much, in the city. But, like many Central and South American cities, you are never too far from wildlife. In fact, the seminary probably has more than its fair share since it has quite a bit of land that is not built on, and many trees. Furthermore, it is next door to a university that has an extensive campus.

They tell me that there are many monkeys here, but I haven't seen them. But I have seen a great many other things. First of all, the ants: every square inch of this place is alive with one type of creature or another. If you leave a sweet paper on the ground, in at most three minutes it will be covered by ants. I don't know much about ants but there is a great variety of shapes, sizes, and even colours. Most are perfectly harmless to humans but some can give you quite a nasty nip. So far I have not been bitten by one (this year).

I have, of course, been bitten by mosquitoes. While mosquito control is pretty effective in Panama City, there are still a lot of them around. As everyone knows, these insects can spread harmful diseases - most notably here you have to be careful of Nile Virus and Fever (which I got once in Ecuador, and don't want to get again).

There are also many crickets who sing, in my opinion beautifully, all night long. At this time of the year they are accompanied, on the bass line, by the frogs! And frogs are not the only reptiles. Iguanas are regularly seen dashing about the place.

There are many birds, too, that are often very attractive, and quite different to what we normally seein Europe. Probably the most evocative of South America is the hummingbird. This is an amazing bird that has hollow wings that allow it to flap like mad and stay motionless while it extracts the nectar from plants. There are many different types of hummingbird - the picture shows the most common one here.

Mammals are not absent either. Yesterday, while I was teaching, I spotted a Ñeque which is a large rodent, about the size of a small lamb. These are herbivores and not aggressive. As a matter of interest I have often eaten these while in Ecuador where they are highl prized - although I have to admit that I had eaten it before I knew what it was. If I had known that it was basically a rat with no tail I might have thought twice.



Outside my window at the moment there is a sleeping three-toed sloth - known here as the lazy bear

(although it is not, technically a bear, I believe). These animals sleep for up to 18 hours a day by hanging from the branches. Their incredible camouflage together with the amount of noxious material they accumulate in their fur seems to keep them free from predators. The picture of the sloth here is from the internet as I couldn't get a good picture due to the natural camouflage.

That's it for the moment - any other unusual sightings and you will be the first to know.

Rain is not the only thing that can soak you here

Yesterday I began the day by saying Mass at the Hogar San José which is a centre run by the Mother Teresa Sisters where they receive (mostly young) people with various types of handicap. In fact, as was very clear at the Mass yesterday, those who are received in the home have sever handicaps, both physical and mental. A great many of them are children. The reality is that their families simply can't provide for their needs. Already at financial breaking point, many of the poorer families find themselves to be simply unable to countenance anything like the costs involved in caring for a child that needs special care and attention, whether that be medical, psychological, or any of the many types of therapy that we tend to consider as normal in the more developed parts of the world.

Parents of children who have these very particular needs in Ireland find themselves in a state of constant battle to gain access to the necessary services, here the battle seems to be of a different sort - to be able to cater for the basic human needs of the child. The sisters provide care in a safe, clean, and well run environment and it is clear that the kids like them very much. Everything is very gentle and the place is maintained to a very high standard, unlike many of the public services that are to be seen around the city. I'm not sure that there is a huge emphasis on therapy, but, at least for the children who make it in to the centre, their lot is greatly improved.

After Mass I headed off to a Convivencia (Workshop) for young people in preparation for World Youth Day, due to be hosted by Panama, next January. I arrived to San Miguelito (once the most densely-populated place in South America, now surpassed by the famous Favelas of Brazil) to find a huge circular church. I have no idea how many people it can accommodate, but yesterday there were well over 600 young people from about 16 to 25 years of age, all preparing for WYD.

If anyone is thinking of coming to Panama for WYD then they had better be prepared for a very lively experience. I, certainly, have never seen 600 young people dancing and singing hymns, roaring with laughter, and having the time of their lives (dancing all the time, despite the heat at 34 degrees). I suspect that January's celebration will be one of the most lively ever held - and the hottest!

I felt sorry for the man who was asked to give a talk to these young people - Fr. Miguel Angel Keller, and Augustinian, has worked here for many years, but this was one of his most challenging talks, I imagine. These young people weren't really in the mood for listening to a talk, they just wanted to keep dancing and singing - I have to say that it was really lovely: a sort of organised chaos with a multitude of goodnatured, good-humoured people.

At two in the afternoon, as the temperature was continuing to soar, they headed off on a short pilgrim walk - about a half an hour, up the steepest hill I have ever seen, to gather at a statue of Christ where the bishop was to join them for an open air Mass at 3pm - all of this in the heat of the afternoon. As they were setting out, however, the heavens opened and there was an absolutely torrential downpour which drenched everyone in seconds. While this did have the advantage of lowering the temperature somewhat, it also meant that everyone was now soaked to the skin. I have to confess that I was quite happy that I had to get back home (my lift wasn't waiting for Mass) so I got out of the whole thing relatively unscathed, but, I heard later, that by the end of the Mass, the bishop and the priests had dried out from the sun and then ended up soaked again, this time by sweat - one person told me that it looked like somebody had turned a hose on to them.

The event was a big success, and well done to those who organised it, but it also reveals some of the challenges that organisers will have to take seriously for WYD - the heat, the rain, the availability of drinking water, sunburn, and food will all need to be planned for very carefully.

Vocations Week Celebration

This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday. As a lead up to this celebration which is traditionally associated with vocations to the priesthood and religious life the seminarians had dedicated this week to the whole idea of vocation. I was the one who was responsible for the masses this week so I had to preach on that theme each day.

Last night, to finish off the week, they had a celebration. First they played volleyball (during which one of them hurt his leg - he went off to hospital today, still not back) which they followed up with a small party. They told me that it was a barbecue but they actually only barbecued chorizo sausages and the rest of the food was crisps, minerals, and things like that.

It was, all in all, a very simple celebration but they really enjoyed it. They don't really get a lot of down time together and this was a moment to be made the most of it. In fact, today there was a notable lift in the atmosphere around the place.

I had a quiet day and did some work in my room - I didn't realise I was on the mass this morning as well but, it seems someone stood in for me. Tomorrow I am going to a Convivencia, which is a sort of meeting cum workshop. I will have more to say about that tomorrow

Locks and Blocks

I was invited yesterday to go to the other side of the country (which isn't a very long distance away due to the fact that Panama is an isthmus) to visit the new extension of the famous canal. The old canal, which is still used, is not wide or deep enough to accommodate the modern supertankers so it was decided that they would open another parallel canal to the existing one. This has the added benefit of increasing the overall traffic through the canal(s) which will bring a significant increase to the income the state gains from the canal.

Ships are booked in approximately seven years in advance to pass through the canal and they pay according to the value of their cargo. It is a gargantuan operation and the money earned from this enterprise contributes greatly to the National Domestic Product of Panama. In fact, if it weren't for the canal, I suspect the country would go broke in a matter of months.

Two years ago when I was here I saw the new lock gates that had been designed and built in Italy and assembled here. they are each bigger than the pitch in Croke Park! The trip yesterday was to see them functioning but...

Strikes here mean that everything stops. Large crowds hold their demonstrations on the streets of cities  - as you might expect. What is a little bit different in Central and South America, is that they also block main roads by placing barricades on them. These barricades are supervised/ protected/ guarded depending on your point of view. Travelling when there is a strike is just not possible - and is extremely unwise. It looks like the visit to the lock gates will have to wait until another day.

Permanent Deacons, Lay Leaders, and Clergy - all responsible for the life of the church

This week has turned out to be much busier, as I suspected. I was asked over the last few days to take on a course with a group of 87 catechists. This involves a three hour lecture on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. As is not unusual here, there hasn't been a lot of time to get ready so my focus has been on preparing classes over the last few days.

INFAP - not too sure what the initials stand for - is a body set up by the diocese here to provide theological, catechetical and religious formation for cathechists, young people, and for those preparing for the Permanent Diaconate (and anyone else who might be interested). The group that I am working with inludes people from all of these groups, and also has a few Anglicans thrown in for good measure.

The whole set up, which is huge, is managed by a Columbian nun who is a Dominican Sister of the Presentation. Sr. Rosemary is a highly competent person who has the whole thing running like clockwork. She is also one of those sisters who tends to get her way. Something tells me I might be doing more work with her in the future. In fact, I am quite happy to do this as it is a very interesting group to be part of.

Panama doesn't have nearly enough priests to staff its parishes - and has never had. This means that trained laity and permanent deacons are vital to the life of the church here. I have never seen so many permanent (mostly married) deacons - and I have certainly never seen anywhere where the role of deacon is so well understood, valued, and deployed in ministry. These men, who also have their day jobs, work in a very dedicated way in their parishes - they lead Sunday services, they preside at funerals, baptisms, and weddings, they lead catechesis groups, they bury the dead, and do so many more things.

Trained laity are another essesntial element of the church here. Catechists who pass on the faith to others are also community leaders, in every sense of the word. It is a wonderful experience to see how these two groups, together with the clergy, are all responsible for the life of the church in Panama - so different to Ireland, or, for that matter, anywhere else I have ever lived.

As Ireland begins to notice more and more that there is a lack of priests we would do well to learn from somewhere like Panama - but, I suspect, we are unlikely to do so.

In the meantime, it's the head down for me as I try to stay ahead of the posse, preparing classes for next week - Good Night!

Ten Thousand Young People - at least.

This morning there was a special event. For the last 17 years, in Panama City, they hold what they call a Eucharistic Appointment. People are invited from over the country and, essentially, they hold a large open air Mass in a football stadium. To facilitate this many parishes drop a Mass or two to encourage people to travel.

I was expecting to see pretty much what you would see every Sunday here, just on a bigger scale. In fact, there was a lot more to it. This event is geared very much for young people and there were well over 10,000 of them present at the Mass, and very engaged with it. Last night they gathered for an all night vigil at the stadium which consisted of an extended sort of holy hour, a lot of singing and an awful lot of cheering and clapping - one of the things that Central and South Americans do very well is noise, very often very musical, but, sometimes, just noise. I didn't go to the vigil as I didn't fancy spending all night sitting on the ground in the heat - while it does cool down at night it only cools down to 26 degrees or so.

This morning when we arrived at the stadium there was already a huge amount of people who had taken their seats - those who arrive there earliest get the seats in the shade. A large number of priests, religious and quite a few of the country's bishops were also there. But the star of the show was the Panamanian youth. It's actually amazing to see 10,000 young people all singing and clapping together - really enjoying the whold experience. In my estimation, young people made up approximately 90% of the congregation.

Next year, Panama will host the World Youth Day Event with Pope Francis in attendance. On today's evidence, they will have no shortage whatever of very willing, and very capable volunteers. The day really was a credit to the organisers.

As we arrived they had laid on a really lovely breakfast for the priests, seminarians, and workers. This was followed up after the Mass by another feed, for lunch. But, in fairness, we needed it by the time the three-hour Mass in the sun was over (including a homily that lasted 46 minutes!). Since I was one of the ones asked to distribute communion, I was in one of the hospitality boxes for a lot of it but, when I went down to do my job I was in left in no doubt as to the fact that it had got extremely hot in the meantime.

It was an enlivening experience that also left me worn out by the end of it - enlivening because of the sheer enthusiasm, exhausting because of the heat.

In the afternoon one of my past pupils came to visit me. He had to leave the seminary due to health problems two years ago. He has now got the all clear and is considering returning to take up where he left off. A very fine guy - I was sort of hoping he might go for the Augustinians.

Home for Handicapped Children - Hogar San José

I was asked to say Mass this morning for the sisters that run a centre for handicapped children. These

are the Mother Teresa's sisters who came to Panama some years ago. The centre they run, called Hogar San José (St. Joseph's Home) is a very big operation. I'm not sure how many residents they have in the centre but it must be somewhere between 75 and 100. Many of these children have very severe handicap of one type or another. Most seem to have both physical and mental handicaps.

If it weren't for this centre, which is really a lovely place, I'm not too sure how these children would survive. Most Panamanian families just don't have the financial resources to provide for these children and the state is not in a position to help.While they do have a good public health service here, it doesn't appear to be working very well. People pay in to a social insurance scheme which, in theory, will ensure that they receive medical care for only a small fee. However, as I was reading in the newspaper here yesterday, the Seguro (the Social Insurance) has been the victim of corruption on more than one occasion. Most recently, it has come to light that a group of employees have creamed off more than $300,000. The paper makes the point that, once again, this has happened without any consequences other than the damage it does to the health service. Basic medicines are not available, the state can't afford to provide the basic medical and surgical services that are needed by so many, and people have no choice but to go to private clinics whose prices are beyond the means of most.

All of this means that the services provided by the sisters, and so many other church organisations, are absolutely vital for many Panamanian families. If the church were to withdraw from healthcare and the care of the elderly I can only imagine that things would quickly degenerate into social chaos. As it is, although the sisters do receive some state support, they are mostly reliant on donations to run their centre.

Many individuals and businesses are very generous in contributing but it does mean that the sisters are constantly on the lookout for help.

The sisters I met this morning are from India and the Phillippines. There common language is English but it is not easy to get an English-speaking priest to say Mass for them. That was the reason I was invited and we had a nice gathering. I will probably go back before I leave Panama.

Lots to do

Today has turned in to a busier day than expected. I began with three hours of one to one teaching with a student who has fallen quite a bit behind. The hope is that he might do better in this tutorial type situation. He is a very fine guy but when it comes to academic things, it is all uphill for him. He'll get there, but it will take a lot of work for him.

After class was finished I had a meeting where I was asked to teach another course - this time to a group of 87 lay people who work as catechists in their various parishes and communities. I have worked with this group before. They are really lovely. They do their day's work and then come to spend two and a half hours twice a week listening to lectures. I will be guiding them in an introduction to Theology. I'm looking forward to it, although I know it will be a challenge.

After the meeting we had to go to the opening of the monthly retreat for the seminarians. I will be giving the retreat next month but I certainly won't be as energetic as the man they have this time. He was full of beans - but he also preached for a very long time.

I'm off now to hear confessions in a university. I have done this before, too, and I know it will be busy. The chaplain of the university is a past pupil of mine so it's nice to be able to help

When Art is not Beautiful

The fabric of the building of the seminary has seen better days. There is none of the buildings that

New Chapel in Seminary

would not benefit from refurbishment and some of that work has already begun. Over the past year the chapel has been renovated. Previously, it was a dark and really pretty grim place. Now they have certainly brightened it up by putting in a new floor, a new sanctuary area, and a much brighter colour on the walls. Of course, as with any property, once you do up one part of it, the state of the other parts becomes evident.

I am told that they will be painting the main building over the coming months although it seems that the priority is being given to the outside of the building even though much of the inside has peeling paintwork and shabby walls. I'm sure they will get around to it eventually, but, I suspect that the facelift that is currently taking place may have something to do with the upcoming World Youth Day celebrations that are to take place in Panama next January. Pope Francis is expected to attend the celebrations and, while it is unlikely that he, personally, will visit the seminary, I imagine that there will be a lot of international visitors looking for accomodation around the time of the gathering.

The Original Santa Maria La Antigua

One more word on the chapel: the patron of Panama is St. Mary, the Ancient (Santa Maria la Antigua). This is a picture that has quite an interesting history.

It began its life in one of the chapels of the cathedral of Seville (Spain). When this cathedral was remodelled in the 14th century the old building was largely demolished. However, one of the walls that remained standing was the wall on which this particular image hung - hence, the ancient. Out of devotion for this image, with the discovery of America, two men called Enciso and Balboa, founded a city called Santa Maria la Antigua del Darien (Darien is a province of Panama) and, having vanquished the local "Indian" leader in battle, they consecrated his house as a chapel under this advocation.

This was the first chapel to be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin in the new world.

In 1671 the city was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt close towhere modern-day Panama City lies. Having been the patron of the diocese of Panama City since the 16th century, Santa Maria la Antigua was named as patron of the Panamanian nation in the year 2000.

Practically all churches here have a copy of the image in one form or another. In the new chapel for the seminary they decided to have the image made as a sculpture. Unfortunately, the sculptor's considered view of what is beautiful doesn't correspond with the opinion of most other people. You judge for yourself. I apologise for not being able to insert the picture the right way up.

When you just can't get enough chicken...

From when I got here on Sunday evening (it is now Wednesday) all the meals, with the exception of

Mondongo

 one, have been the same - Chicken and Rice. A piece of chicken, either fried or roasted served with boiled rice which sometimes has some corn through it. While it is certainly fine as food goes, and is definitely a lot more than many people have, it is, I'm afraid, a bit repetitive. But that's only for me. To the Panamanian palate - and indeed, throughout Central and South America - it is considered to be a very good meal and is one that they enjoy very much.

Even in the very North American style shopping malls that have the usual food courts it is very noticeable that the Panamanians have little interest in the burgers and chips or the chinese food - they will, prevalently, opt for chicken and rice here too. There is a Panamanian fast food chain called Mr. Pollo (Mr. Chicken) that definitely has longer queues than McDonald's or anything else like that.

There is some variety even within the paramaters of chicken and rice. Sometimes it is as described above while at other times the chicken is chopped up and mixed in with the rice. This actually a different dish and is called Rice with Chicken.

Panama, unlike many American countries, is known for the variety of meat in its diet. In the seminary, however, where they are on a very tight budget, chicken is the default dish.

Boiled Plantain

Rice is never absent from the main meals. Yesterday evening there was as special gathering of some of the seminarians who are from the same diocese - in this case the Archdiocese of Panama (City). The 13 seminarians, together with the group of Korean seminarians, gathered to share a pizza and some minerals. As the pizza was served plates of rice arrived to accompany them - if you don't have rice, you haven't eaten.

Today, at lunch time, I was told that we would be having a change from chicken. What they didn't tell me was that we were having Mondongo which is a dish made from tripe and other similar things gleaned from a cow which was served with boiled plantain and, of course, rice.

I will eat most things but I have a real problem with Mondongo. I just can't take either the taste or the texture - especially the texture. The Panamanians seem to love it but, I'm afraid, watching them eat it makes my stomach lurch - which they roar laughing about!!!

However, the ladies in the kitchen remembered my previous experiences with Mondongo and had something different for me - Chicken and Rice! And, boy, was I glad of it!

Heat and Air Conditioning

When I arrived on Sunday evening I was met by the usual Panamanian heat which tends to be accompanied by quite a high degree of humidity. I have experienced this before, of course, but I have never really gotten used to it.
Yesterday morning was actually quite fresh by Panamanian standards. The temperature reached 32 degrees by 11am and seemed to be staying there. In the afternoon clouds gathered and there were some spots of rain. This normally means that the temperature will drop by a number of degrees but, unfortunately, that wasn't to be the case yesterday. The rain never materialised and, by 3pm the temperature had gone up to 37 degrees - and humid.
The only way to deal with this sort of heat is to remind yourself to take things slowly. That sounds easier than it actually is. It's hard not to stride out just as you would normally but, if you do, you will soon have to slow down and maybe even stop for a few minutes. The heat very quickly drains you - or at least me - of energy. This only makes it more amazing for me to see the seminarians playing football and basketball in the afternoon sun. They are acclimatised to the weather and have no difficulty running and jumping in the same heat that just wears me out.
I went with Eric, one of the seminarians, as far as the local supermarket yesterday afternoon - a walk of perhaps 15 minutes but, by the time I got there I was absolutely boiling and drenched with sweat. I have heard it said that horses sweat and people perspire - but there is no doubt in my mind but that I was sweating: more than any horse!
The air conditioning in the store was very welcome and provided a welcome respite, even though I knew I would have to do the same again in a few minutes - except this time would be uphill.
I find the air conditioning to be wonderful but all the advice is that it is not good for your health to go from hot to cold and back again. In fact, every year when I have been here I have got chest infections for this very reason. However, it's either use the air conditioning or sleep - I can't do both.
The seminarians don't like, or very even want, air conditioning. In the newly refurbished chapel they have installed air conditioning but, at Mass yesterday and today, it was switched off: I thought I was going to leave a puddle where I was standing. I'm hoping that over the coming weeks I will be better able to put up with the heat.
For the moment, I'm still in transition from 10 degrees in Dublin as I left to 32 degrees here this morning. The forecast for the afternoon is thunderstorms (which are spectacular here) which will hopefully bring the temperature down. In the meantime, I begin teaching today with a three-hour class - in a room with no air conditioning.

Arrived - 2018

I arrived yesterday evening after what felt like an unending day. Getting up at 3am I got an email from KLM telling me that my flight from Dublin had been cancelled but that they could accommodate me on a later flight with Aer Lingus (to Amsterdam) at 6.15am (instead of 5.55am). That was fine except for the fact that the email was in French and I wasn't entirel sure of everything in it. Anyway, I had no choice. Then, at 3.45am, I received another email from KLM telling me that my flight would now be at 2pm - this was worrying as my connecting flight from Amsterdam to Panama was due to depart at 1pm.
As it happens, the Aer Lingus staff were great and put me on the earlier flight and I arrived to Amsterdam where I had a 4 and a half hour wait for my next flight.
This flight was to last 10 hours and 50 minutes and was absolutely packed with people - it's a long time since I have seen a totally full flight going anywhere! The plane was comfortable but it was a bit of a squeeze - let's just say that the lady beside me was a similar size to myself - when we arrived in Panama we were absolutely wrecked.
I was met at the airport by the Rector of the seminary who told me that they have quite a few things lined up for me - more of that another day; and by the time we got to the seminary I was only fit for the bed.
This morning I was up at 5am for Mass and got a lovely welcome back from the seminarians. It was great to see so many familiar faces and I'm looking forward to getting down to business but I have no lectures today (the first time I didn't have class on my first morning) which is great as I am still a bit washed out after the journey yesterday.
I met some of the Augustinian students this morning. They have 16 in the first year of the pre-novitiate. They seem to vary in age but are a really lovely group. I expect I'll get to know them a bit better over the coming weeks.
I'm off now to unpack and get the room organised. This year I have been given a very nice room - a bedroom and a study, which makes things much more comfortable than in former years - and thank God for air conditioning.
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