Writing CubitaNOW ~ Friday, July 14, 2023
Cuban priest Jesús Margoleta, parish priest of Varadero, gave a homily on Jesus and fatigue this Sunday.
They are moved as Cuban father Margoleta reflects on what they suffer every day. “Simply sad, heartbreaking, unbelievable to be able to endure so much pain. Courage Dad, you know we can’t lose hope and you are a living example of this.”
“How much sorrow it makes me feel for the whole town and so many dear ones. . . May the good God always support you in your continued attendance at that beloved church. Hugs and our safe prayers,” they said.
Below I share an excerpt from a sermon by Cuban priest Jesus Margoleta Facebook By Arepago Cubano: Social Thought of Christian Inspiration.
Many times, good Jesus, during night prayer or in the moments of great light during the celebration of the Eucharist, I feel a weight on my shoulders when you name me today. It’s like a weariness, which I call shepherd’s weariness. I listen to the weariness of my own sins and the sins of others and release them into the heart of the other as he approaches the sacrament of reconciliation.
Tired of the memories of my old people and many old people who have died and are about to die as they look at their present without a future.
I cannot exempt the fatigue of a coachman who charges two hundred cents to deliver me from twenty blocks, from his horse’s grass, eight hundred liters of oil, or four thousand sneakers for each of his three. Children at the start of the school year.
Fatigue due to physician frustration when the physician prescribes but is unable to administer medication due to lack of medication or intervene until trocars, scalpels, probes, sutures appear.
Tired of dirty, polluted and dilapidated cities, victory speeches, unploughed fields, crippled industries, collapsed bureaucracy.
Tired of my people who have left and are leaving. My young people, my own family, my laity who complained about the Church yesterday, my brother priests. Tired of not knowing what to say with them because I have nothing to offer here.
Tiredness, this weariness, very weariness, all weariness, your loved ones, your burdens, your yoke, my good Jesus, my rest, my meeting place, I offer them to you, I embrace them, I embrace you Sorrow, laziness, indifference, impotence Embrace and purify us, so that we do not act on the destructive intent of the violent, who long to achieve a crueler end than cry endless horror.
My good Jesus, I know that only You know the heart of God and that You alone reveal the mercy of God the Father.
Fill me with your good news, show me your mercy, and give me that joy that relieves my weariness. Not only I, but also my people, to whom you have joined me as a pastor; Turn the sadness of their faces into bright joy, speak your word over them, and the strength of your love will be revealed. Amen.
