It Suddenly Dawned on Me...

One of the very interesting things about living so close to the equator is that the day begins and ends in a very particular way. Dawn, and sunset, take approximately 15 minutes. There is no real twilight. It really is a bit like the old Dudley Moore sketch where the commentator says that "night fell" and, all of a sudden we hear the sound of something dropping to the floor.

One of the consequences of this is that there is no sense here of the day gently waking up; or, for that matter, of the evening waning - it really feels like it's night one minute and day the next (or vice versa). This means that, at least as I see it, the day begins and ends rather abruptly. Of course, it also means that there isn't the problem of trying to drive in twilight which can be very tiring, not to day dangerous - not that I have dared to try driving here.

I thought it would be nice to show you how dawn progresses so quickly here - to be honest, I'm not sure that I have achieved it but here goes anyway. What follows is two series of photographs. In each series, each photo was taken 5 minutes after the other. Hopefully, it will give you some idea of what I'm talking about

Historic Town of Penonomé

Over the last two posts I have been talking about my visit to the novitiate in Penonomé. The novitiate is on the outskirts of the town (as a matter of fact, the novices haven't been allowed to visit it yet!). It is really a very pretty town that has managed to preserve quite a bit of it's history - at least it's colonial history.

The name Penonomé comes from two "indian" words. I use the word "indian" in inverted commas because the people who spoke that language were not indian and had no contact with India. They came to be called indians because when the Spaniards, led by Christopher Columbus, first discovered America (although, as any Irish person knows, St. Brendan had already discovered it - he just didn't feel the need to tell everyone!!!), they believed that they had already travelled as far as India. That is why some of the Caribbean islands are referred to as the West Indies - it actually recalls an historic misinterpretation of events that came to be preserved in language as a way of referring to this part of the world.

Anyway, returning to Panamá: the indigenous peoples, of whom there were quite a number, spoke a number of different languages that have now disappeared and are no longer known. What has survived are many of the place names, of which Penonomé is one example. Nomé, it seems, was a well known "indian" and this is the place where he died - this is what is commemorated in the place name - it means "the place where Nomé died".

There are still some indigenous groups extant in Panamá. They live in specific areas (not reservations, but they are specially protected). These areas are known as Comarcas. These people, apparently, have a very different way of organising themselves compared to the rest of the population. Firstly, they have no real leaders. The Caciques (a sort of tribal leader) do not have any real authority over the various family groups although they are highly respected. They also have a role in resolving disputes and dispensing justice in minor matters. As a matter of fact, the Panamanian state recognises the Comarcas to the extent that they have, and apply, many of their own laws. I have had no experience of the Comarcas so I can't say a lot more about things there - if I do I will pass it on.

Returning to Penonomé - it has preserved a lot of its colonial architecture and is really a very pretty city to visit. These buildings are largely adobe buildings - not the computer programme but a mixture of stone and mud which hardens in the hot sun; they also have traditional tile roofs - the tiles are made from clay, too. You will be able to see in the photographs how modern house owners prefer the benefits of zinc rooves that are less prone to becoming damaged and are also more watertight - however, as you can see, they often cover the zinc with the old fashioned tiles to preserve "the look".

Take a look at the photographs and see what you think. Why not leave a comment?

Note the small windows due to strong sunlight

No front gardens - large back gardens for growing things

Every major town has to have its park

Buildings here are generally very well kept

This is a "false house" with a stage in front of it for public events

Museum with sign about campaig to keep it open

Lots of local sculptures

Note how the clay tiles are used to cover the zinc roof

Plants for decoration but also for shade

Entrance to a very beautiful hotel with enclosed patio

Modern Penonomé - not half so pretty

Patio of hotel

Traditional rooftops

A lot of care taken to preserve the old facade even when modern buildings replace the original ones

This spot marks the geographical centre of Penonomé

Original pulpit in the Cathedral

Body of the Cathedral

Cathedral

The Augustinians in this Part of the World

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I would say a little bit about what I learned from the novices reagarding the various countries from which they come, and what the situation of the Augustinian Order is in them. Obviously, this is nowhere near a systematic or thorough analysis of these countries but, in so far as it goes, it is interesting, indeed shocking in one of the cases.

There is already a lot about Panama on this blog so I won't be repeating myself in this post. I will confine myself to what the novices had to say about Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

Colombia: The Augustinians are a strong presence in Colombia and the Province there is numerous. Vocations are plentiful. In fact, in terms of South America, Colombia is probabl the country where the Order is strongest. As well as being involved in many parishes and some secondary schools, the Augustinians also have begun a university in Bogotá which is indicative of the type of project they are capable of undertaking. Even the fact that the Colombian novice can be "spared" to go to work in Cuba is a sign of the extent to which Colombia can take on new projects and initiatives.

The situation is very different in Nicaragua where, despite having a novice and, as I mentioned yesterday the "Pedagogue" of the novitiate, there is no longer an Augustinian presence in the country. To be clear, in Augustinians terms, all of Central America is considered to be one jurisdiction which is known as the Vicariate of the Antilles, a Vicariate of the Provice of Castille (one of the Spanish Provinces). The vocation situation has not been as successful as in Colombia and it has not proved possible to maintain the parish which we were running in Nicaragua; it is very likely, however, that we will return there as soon as is possible.

Cuba is an interesting development in the life of the Order. In the days before the revolution the Augustinians ran a number of parishes in Cuba but, with the government's rejection of organised religion that presence came to an end some time ago. In the past few years that presence has been restarted. There are now five Augustinians, living in three communities on the island. They look after three parishes. It seems that congregations in the churches are very small, and mostly elderly, but this is a situation that is changing little by little. Certainly the two men in the novitiate (one of whom was a doctor before he joined) is a sign of a growing interest in religion on the part of the population. It is likely that the recent visit of Pope Francis will contribute to this growth.

El Salvador was the story that shocked me, I have to say. The Augustinians run a parish in San Salvador, the capital city. To say that there is a problem with law and order here is an understatement. Armed gangs have largely taken over the running of the city and it is extremely dangerous there. Buses are regularly attacked - at least one was even set on fire while the passengers were still on it, leading to 14 deaths. People are afraid to leave their homes; even to go to work or to do their grocery shopping. Once you leave your house you are a potential target, and you are not safe in your home either. The Salvadorean student told me that the father of a friend of his was killed; those who carried out the killing went to the funeral, made a note of who was attending, and killed them all over the following two years. I can only imagine what it must be like to try to preach the gospel in the face of such horrors as these. The danger on the streets means that many people are too afraid to even go to the church. This is a church that is living in a very dangerous situation, one that will not be resolved easily. Obviously, in this context, the Order can only do its best to maintain its presence in the hope that it might be of some help to all those who are trying to live out their daily lives in the shadow of such fear.

International Novitiate

I spent the weekend at the Augustinian Novitiate which is located outside the town of Penonomé

Entrance to Novitiate

which is in Coclé province. This is the first time that the Panamanians have had their own novitiate. Until now the novitiate has been held in the Escorial Monastery outside Madrid, in Spain, or in either Chile or Colombia. The novitiate is a very important stage of the initial formation of all Augustinian friars. It is a one-year period (sometimes longer) during which the novices dedicate themselves to learning about prayer, the history of the Order, the spirituality of the Order, and the religious life in general. Having the novitiate here in Panama is a very significant step in the life of the Vicariate of Panama as it marks another milestone on their path towards becoming a Province of the Order in their own right.

The Novice Master is Fr. Raúl, one of the first Panamanians to join the Order. He is joined in the running of the novitiate by Br. Glen who is a Salvadorian (from Nicaragua).  He is known as the “Pedagogue”; his role is to assist the novices with the various studies that they undertake during the year.

There are 9 novices in the novitiate – 4 from Panama, 2 Cubans, 1 Salvadorian, 1 Nicaraguan, and 1 Colombian who is in formation as part of the Cuban Delegation. A very international group with a good spread of ages and experiences – one of the Cubans, for example, was a doctor in Cuba before he joined the Order.

There is also a community of six friars who run a secondary school on the same campus. This has the advantage of giving the novices contact with some other members of the Order and also being a support for those specifically involved in the formation programme.

I was there to give some talks to the novices, 3 in fact – one about the changing realities in which the church finds itself; the second about what it means to be a disciple, and what that might mean in the context of the Augustinians; and the third in which we looked at some of the ideas of St. Augustine in relation to these questions. Mercifully, all went well and we had lively discussions during and after each talk.

Br Glen - Pedagogue

I will say a little more tomorrow about some of the things the novices told me about their own countries – for the moment I will leave you with photos of the novices, their master, and their dog

Fr. Raul - Novice Master

Panama - Cuba - Panama

Colombia (for Cuba)

El Savador

Nicaragua

Cuba

Panama

 

Panama

The Importance of the Seminary for the Church in Panama - The Challenge of Maintaining Standards

It is wonderful to know that there are so many seminarians studying for the priesthood here in the seminary in Panama City. There are, between diocesan and Augustinian students, over 70 in total. However, when you consider the overall statistics of the Panamanian church things look quite different.

Just looking at the diocese that includes Panama City is instructive:

The diocese has only 98 parishes compared to 200 in Dublin, a city of comparative catholic population. However, the average size of a parish here is 50,000 people and some even have more than 100,000. Each of these parishes has one priest, well, most of them have; some have no priest at all. Where there is no priest there is a permanent deacon or lay pastoral workers. This is very different to Irish parishes where, if I remember correctly, the average population is between 8,000 and 10,000. There are very few parishes without a priest in Ireland, but, as we all know, this is changing.

There are 149 priests in the Archdiocese here: 84 diocesan and 65 from religious orders (Some dioceses have much fewer. The diocese of Chiriqui has only 10 diocesan priests). The numbers make very stark reading and that is why the work done in the seminary is so important. 

Of course, having more priests is only one part of the challenge. An equally important part is to ensure that the priests who are in ministry are well prepared for the work they will be doing. This involves a formation that is academic, spiritual, and practical. My role here is to help in the academic formation of the seminarians; I do, of course, get involved in the other aspects, but to a much more limited extent. 

Academically, the challenge is to try to make sure that the students advance as far as they can and engage with both philosophy and theology (both required for formation for all seminarians) to the best of their abilities. Many of them come from situations in which academic formation (schools and other colleges) was not always easily accessible – either physically, because of the difficulty of getting to school, or because of the need to work to support their families. 

This means that teaching here has to take account of this as it is just as important that the teacher keeps up with the class as it is that the class keeps up with the teacher. 

Keeping the academic level as high as possible is important. That is one of the reasons they are happy to have me teaching here… not that I am so wonderful or anything, but I have, at least, had the opportunity to pursue further studies in the area of theology. 

There are two major initiatives this year to try to improve the academic standard of the education the seminarians are receiving.
Firstly, the seminary has paired up with the Universidad Bolivariana of Colombia. This is a well-established catholic university and will now be the institution validating the seminarians’ work and granting them degrees on successful completion of their studies. This is important because it provides an external impetus to keep the standards up. At the moment a lecturer from Colombia is here, giving an intensive course on St. Thomas Aquinas to bring the students up to speed on this important philosopher and theologian. On top of their normal classes the seminarians have an extra 4 hours of lectures every day on St. Thomas, 2 in the afternoon and 2 at night (for one week). I don’t know how they do it!!!

The second thing that they are doing here is that the seminary has teamed up with the Universidad Santa Maria la Antigua (the catholic university of Panama) and the students will now be taking some of their courses there, and some of the lecturers from the USMA will give lectures in the seminary. There is a lot of excitement among the seminarians about this, especially with regard to taking advantage of the university’s facilities (and very good reputation) for teaching English. I have been asked to give some lectures in the university while I am here.

So, as we have heard so often in Ireland, much done, and more to do! My commitment to help here is part of the Irish Augustinian support for developing and mission territories. In time, the Panamanian church will have its own teachers but, for the moment, they need a little help.

Exercise and Sport in the Heat

Even though this will surprise people who know me, I am not known as a person who takes regular exercise. I do, however, try to walk with some degree of frequency. Here in Panama, however, even walking presents its challenges. Take today for example, the temperature went up to 34 degrees and humidity was as high as 100% according to the weather app on my phone - I'm not saying that it is entirely accurate but it does give an approximate idea.




I went for a walk this afternoon with Juan, one of the seminarians. I wasn't a long walk (about

30mins) but we were both absolutely soaked by the time we got back - I actually put my head in to the freezer over the fridge for a couple of minutes to try to cool it down a bit; just for the record, this doesn't work but it does give you quite a sharp headache.

All of this really makes my mind boggle when I see the seminarians playing sport, which they do every day. Soccer is the big favourite but they also play basketball. Some of them prefer to use the gym equipment which is provided - it looks home made, and certainly doesn't include fancy computer controls, but it seems to do the job - I don't consider myself an expert in these matters. The energy they put in to all forms of exercise is impressive and they are very competitive. Sometimes there are competitions - I was asked to contribute towards the prizes last week; I gave $20 which, apparently, will give them the prizes for a number of competitions - good for them.

Anyway, I'm back from my walk, I will do it again, but I'll need to get over this one first.

The Augustinians in Panama

I had an interesting weekend. The Augustinians arrived in Panama in 1966 and, in preparation for

Escorial Monastery

their 50th anniversary, they have a series of assemblies organised - partly to plan and coordinate the celebrations but also as part of an overall reflection on the work they are doing here. I was looking after one of their parishes here for the weekend.

The first Augustinians to arrive here were Spanish and, for many years, Panamanian vocations weren't forthcoming. The Spaniards (some still remain) were all from the Escorial Province (named after the famous monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial, part of the royal palace, outside Madrid). As Panama became more and more established as a mission it became what is called a Vicariate which is an administrative area of the Order which is smaller than a Province (numerically) and still depends on its mother Province for support - personnel, expertise, finances, etc.

Gathering of the Vicariate - Carlos de la Cruz 3rd from right front row

The Vicariate is headed up by a Vicar who is the representative of the Provincial here; he is elected by the members of the Vicariate. The current Vicar is a native Panamanian, Fr. Carlos de la Cruz OSA.




While numbers were initially slow to increase, now, however, things have changed. There are over 30

members, currently, in the Vicariate, and almost all of these are Panamanian. There are only 4 Spaniards left here which, in itself, is a testament to the work that the friars have done over the years. It is hard to think that this Vicariate will not be an independent Province in the years to come.

It is very striking for me that the average of the members of the Vicariate (including the Spaniards who are now, largely, quite elderly) is in the early 30s; in the Irish Province the average is 72. This is a very young Vicariate and the future looks very promising.

It's also worth noting that there are two Augustinian bishops here in Panama - one, Jose Ulloa, is the Archbishop of Panama City; the other, Manuel Ochogovia, is the bishop of Colon-Kuna Yala

Jose Ulloa, Archbishop of Panama City

Manuel Ochogavia, Bishop of Colon-Kuna Yala