Spiritual Affairs

The parish of Juruena has 25 mission Churches so it is not possible to cover them all.   Neither will we get a chance to visit them all during the course of our visit as many of them are quite a distance away and have Mass only once a month.   However, the ones we are visiting will give you some idea of what the rest of them are like.   If there is one word that sums up the structure of the Church here in Juruena, it is "COMMUNITY."   Whether in the town or out in the more remote regions of the parish, each area where there is a church has a community leader who looks after much of the organisation and running of that particular parish community.   While Fr. Paudie will visit as often as is possible, the community can still function on its own and is not dependant on a priest all the time.   This is how the Church functioned in the early years of its formation.   I heard that no priest turned up in Two Mile Borris the first Saturday evening I was away (Sorry about that - I did have arrangements in place whatever happened).  But just think about it......while Fr. Paudie was home in Ireland over the Summer months, there was no priest here in Juruena and none to cover either.   Fr. Sean kindly visited on two occasions from Castanhiera but otherwise, the parish functioned on its own as regular as if he were here.   Again, the Community Leaders lead weekend prayer services instead of Mass and will lead funeral prayers or whatever is necessary.

On Saturday we visited the Church of St. Joseph.   It is a small community maybe 20km from Juruena.   A young couple were getting married that afternoon so that also doubled up as the monthly Community Mass.  All the community would be involved in the wedding anyway!!   It was most interesting to see the Community Leaders in action and how it was all organised.   Apart from Mass and the Wedding, which Fr. Paudie celebrated, the rest was done by the Community Leaders.
 

Inside the Church of St. Joseph

 

Outside the Church of St. Joseph

 As you can see from the pictures, the Church is very small.   It has been rebuilt quite recently.   There was a wooden structure beside it but that has now been replaced by this one.   It was all nicely decorated for the wedding celebration.   At the beginning of the Mass the Community leader welcomed everyone but then, as is customary for the wedding, the sponsors / witnesses are introduced by name and process into the Church before the bridal party.  These sponsors must be married couples in good standing in the church.

The wedding celebration was vibrant with prayer, music and song.  Again, it was parish community people who led the singing and music and all necessary formalities of the day.   As a special treat, Stella played the bridal march as they entered the Church and also played an instrumental piece of music after Communion.   Her talent was much appreciated.


Sponsors line up for the wedding

Bridal Party

As soon as the wedding Mass was over, the celebrations all took place on site!   Beside the Church is a community hall, soccer field, and cooking area.   Before the Mass begun, the BBQ was up and running cooking the meat.   This is no ordinary BBQ though - most Church Communities have a community BBQ which is capable of feeding hundreds of people if necessary.   It is built in sections, each about 4ft in length so you light a fire in as many sections as is required for the crowd.   Liam claims he never ate meat as tasty as we got here at the wedding reception!!!  

On Saturday evening we went to the Church of St. Clare which is in the town of Juruena itself.   It is one of three communities in the town and is of particular interest to us as the proceeds of the Circle of Life CD will be used to purchase stain glass windows for the sanctuary area of the church.   This church too is new and still under construction even thought the community itself has been in existence for a long time.   The site has recently been extended so all the usual ancillary buildings will be built in time similar to the main church.   The Church of St. Clare is somewhat similar in shape and size to Littleton.   There are currently no windows or doors in any part of the church and the entire floor area is concrete.   It is just a shell now but will gradually be finished as the money becomes available.  

There was quite a large congregation at this Saturday vigil Mass which takes place every week.   There was no hiding at the back of the church as during his homily Fr. Paudie introduced each one of us to the congregation.   We received a very warm welcome from everyone.   The cheque from the proceeds of the CD will be presented at the Mass here next Saturday evening.   In the picture to the right you can see where the stain glass windows of St. Clare and St. Francis of Assisi will be put.


Mary and Liam are Introduced

Church of St. Clare

Once again community involvement is very evident.   People are very proud of their parish community and carry out their ministry with great enthusiasm.   What stood out for us here was the  emphasis on married couples.   The community leaders look after all the formalities in terms of preparation of the church for Mass, organisation of the liturgy, rotas, announcements, etc.   He/she will be accompanied on the altar by their "other half!"  But equally so will all the readers be accompanied by their spouses.   They all process in to Mass with the priest at the beginning.   As each readers comes forward, their partner accompanies them to the ambo and stands with them as they read.  

The main church beside Fr. Paudie's house if the Church of St. Pedro Apostoli.    Although it is in existence for a good few years not, it recently received a face life.  The front tower area was added while Fr. Paudie was in Ireland this Summer.   It was also re-painted in the Moycarkey colours!!!   The front circle window is awaiting a stain glass window but otherwise is complete.


Church of St. Pedro Apostolo

The site here houses many buildings which all serve the community.   To one side of the church is a large parish hall which is used for all kinds of functions both religious and secular.   Behind that is the building which houses a number of consultation room for the practitioners of herbal remedies.   This is a free service run by parish volunteers and is available Tuesday to Friday.  


Open Area Behind the Church

BBQ Area

Directly behind the church is a multi purpose roofed open area which has the mega BBQ structure to one side.   As it is warm practically all year, many meetings take place in this open area.   Earlier tonight I met the parish council who were holding their meeting to finalise plans for the big "Festa" on Friday celebrating Our Lady of Aparecida.   Much more about that in Friday's report!!



Catechetical Building

  To the other side of the church is the Catechetical Centre which is somewhat like a small school   It was built in the last three years and is a great resource for the parish community.   All religious education takes place outside of school so religious instruction for both children and adults is a major element of parish ministry out here.   All faith formation including preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation is done by lay catechists again on a voluntary basis.

Mass here in the St. Pedro Apostoli is every Sunday morning at 8.00am.   Similar to Saturday evening, Fr. Paudie introduced each one of us to the congregation.   The inside of the Church is very nice and has air-conditioning which certainly makes it more pleasant.  Here, as in all the other churches, the music and singing was beautiful and upliftiing.   Everybody in the congregation sang, the words being projected onto a large screen on the wall.   Stella played a few tunes tunes after Communion which received a great applause.



Entrance Procession for Mass



Inside the Church of St. Pedro Apostoli

On Sunday evening we visited another Parish Community just a few km outside town.  But with new housing development and expansion of businesses it now almost jouned up with the edge of Juruena.   This is the newest parish community named after St. Francis of Assisi and is only in existence for the past year.   We have spent much time working over at this site clearing vegitation tyding up the surrounding area.   We each planted a tree marking our visit to Juruena. 



St. Francis of Assisi Parish Centre

 This buildig is currently used for Mass but will eventually be the community hall when a new church building will be built on this site.   A beautiful new floor has recently been completed partly fundraised by the generosity of the people of Moycarkey Borris.

The Planting of Trees

It is now Wedneday10th October and we were out in St. Francis of Assisi Community Centre this morning planting trees in memory of our visit to Juruena.  

Mary

Bart

Our thanks to Stella for following her dream of travelling to Fr. Paudie in Brazil.

We are delight to have had the opportunity to share this experience of  lifetime.



Stella




Liam



Fr. Joe


Our thanks also to Fr. Paudie, his parishioners, and the Kiltegan Fathers for their kind hospitality