30/09/2018
India. That word we all heard with some intrigue, respect, and eagerness.
It’s easy to ask from the outside. The classic “How are you? Did you like it?” Occasionally comes a “Is it as horrible as they say?” And a “I couldn’t do it.”
The latter has made me reflect quite a bit these days. We are made to serve, to give ourselves, to step out of ourselves and learn to see Jesus in the person next to us. But we all know we are limited. BUT, where is our limit?
It’s simple, it’s a limit imposed by our heart, by our capacity to love.
We live in a wheel of constant pressure, work, and demand; we ourselves have become part of this wheel by demanding more of the same from ourselves. But suddenly, one day you stop and think “I’m doing something wrong.”
Personally, I have never had an idea of God as a judging judge. I have always thought that since God is the purest love that can exist, He will judge us exclusively regarding that. So the question will be, How much have you loved?
If I’m not mistaken, India has been a kind of slap for all of us in that sense.
I imagine many of you have experienced the same; I spoke with my parents, my sisters, and grandparents and they couldn’t believe it: photos of the streets, little anecdotes of the adventure that living there every day entails, the moment of telling your mother you’re carrying an orange bottle for reasons you’ll explain when you return, bites, true physical exhaustion, constant noise and heat, lots and lots of heat. “I’m happy mom.” It’s the phrase I told them every time I had the chance to talk to them. Beyond the impact of India itself, they were shocked by a surreal image: 200 HAPPY people in India.
Luckily for me, I arrived in Calcutta a few days before the group and during that time I had the opportunity to share some moments with the sisters. I will never forget the first Mass I attended with them. It was 6 in the morning in Calcutta. We rang the bell of the Mother House. A smiling nun opened the door and invited us in and to take off our shoes. And as soon as we entered, an army of little sisters of charity. The first thing I thought was “With how dirty India is, how can their habits be so white?” Then the Mass began.
They didn’t look at a piece of bread, they looked at a person. Without hearing a word I could perceive the inner dialogue these nuns were having, without blinking and with a fixed gaze on their goal, the Custody.
It seemed enviable to me.
Kneeling without moving, some serious, others smiling, tall and short, some white and others black. They all shared one thing: their gaze. To Him.
Later, we had the opportunity to distribute some dinners with them to the people on the street. Despite the bad faces of some, even being kicked out on some occasions, they never stopped laughing. Thanks to them I understood that we were not there to take anyone out of poverty, nor were we going to change lives. They explained that all we could do for them was to give them the love we would give to Jesus, that was the only way to restore their dignity. “Try to see the gaze of Jesus in the eyes of the poor”; for the first time I really understood that phrase.
I could say that one of the best things I take from this trip is the amount of admirable and spectacular people I have met, starting with the little sisters, passing through the Indians and ending with the Hakuna group.
As each day passed, I got to know more and more people, each more special, with whom I have practically lived everything on this trip. Airports, Calcutta, Hotel Sakalá, World War I trains, deserts… I could go on, but I think we all know well what I’m talking about.
I arrived in India with the idea of meeting people like me, and to my surprise little by little I have been meeting people from whom I could only learn.
In that sense, I am sure we have all won, we have all taken with us more than one person who outshines us, people who just by seeing them day to day make me think “Rocío WAKE UP”, friends for life.
For that and a thousand more reasons that would require pages and pages, I can only say to you and to HIM one thing: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
