Our Lady: The Soul of A Nation

By Brother Daniel Leckman, S. J.

I believe that every nation has a soul, and that this ‘soul’ is often expressed through the culture of its people. Some may argue that the culture of a nation has nothing to do with its soul, and everything to do with the artists behind it. This approach may be correct, but it does not appeal to the romantic in me! Therefore, whenever I travel to new places, I often turn to the arts in my quest for an understanding of the elusive spiritual side that a nation may have. 

Venezuela was no different: If I was at a theatre watching a play, in the streets, listening to original music of local people, or at an evening of Venezuelan folk music (none of which I truly understood much in the end), I always paid careful attention to the artistic expression of the heart/soul of the nation. But it was not in the capital of Caracas that I finally had a taste of the real soul of the country, but in the village of Guasdualito.

Impressions from Venezuela – Postlude

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

On Saturday, we returned to Canada, after seventy-seven days in Venezuela. We even got diplomas from the Instituto Universitario Jesús Obrero for our language study.

In lieu of describing our final days in the country, I thought I might compile some of my experiences of studying a foreign language in the form of advice: not advice on how to study another language, but rather advice if you find yourself on the other end, as a host to a foreign student. We were very hospitably received in Venezuela by the Society―and the society―and so much of this comes out of positive experience. So, although I’ve put these tips more in the form of negative prohibitions, much of the content was gleaned from what my Venezuelan friends were doing right, and then inferring the opposite. But, of course, some wisdom comes from the more frequent of the frustrations of being a child in a new language.

The Spirit of Faith and Joy

By Eric Hanna, S. J.

I left Maracaibo, near Venezuela's northern coast, early in the morning and set out with my hosts in the direction of the Colombian border. We were heading for an area near the Rio Limon, home to a branch of Venezuela's indigenous people: the Wayuu. My trip's destination was a primary school run by a Jesuit education organization called Fe y Alegría (faith and joy).

The journey took about an hour and a half. The landscape slowly transitioned from dense forests into flat, white plains of sandy soil. We rolled past copses of hardy, dry trees and herds of skinny cows. After crossing the bridge over the wide, rolling river we quickly arrived at the school. It is a school for the children of the Wayuu community, composed of a few hundred students from grades one to six.

Impressions from Venezuela III

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

We are now past our half-way mark here in Venezuela, and I feel, to some degree, ‘settled in’. So instead of chronicling our doings over the past fortnight, I shall begin with a theme that I hinted at before but did not elaborate: Venezuelan politics.

‘They Will be Divided’

Most of us could probably only name a handful of the heads-of-state around the world, but Hugo Chavéz would almost certainly be among them. Naturally, before coming to Venezuela, I was curious to visit the country he leads (or rules?). And, as fate would have it, he landed in Caracas at almost the same time we did back in May, returning from medical treatment in Cuba. As we drove through the night streets of the city, we could hear the live reports of his arrival on the radio.

Impressions from Venezuela II

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

It seems like longer than two weeks since I posted my first Impressions from Venezuela, and indeed the time has been full. But there has been one theme which has predominated, at least in my mind: astronomy.

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord: A Venezuelan Pentecost Vigil

By Brother Daniel Leckman, S.J.

This past Sunday, the Church celebrated the feast of the Pentecost. This is not usually a big celebration for me. It may inspire some prayers to the Holy Spirit, but it definitely not pulling off an all-nighter to spend some time with the Lord! Things are a little different in Venezuela. Across the city of Caracas, all night vigils were being held for young people to celebrate this feast; one that helps us see how the Spirit can transform a heart into a missionary heart, one more in union and harmony with the heart of Christ.

Impressions from Venezuela

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

Two weeks ago, I arrived, together with two companions from my community in Toronto ― Daniel and Eric ― in Caracas, Venezuela. We are here to study Spanish and to be immersed in a different culture. There is an informal twinning between the Jesuits of Venezuela and English Canada by which we send each other men for language studies. Fittingly, we are staying in the Philosophate, i.e., the house of our Venezuelan counterparts who are studying philosophy. Apart from the superior and a theologian, there are about ten young Jesuits scholastics here. This provides for a lively environment and plenty of opportunity to converse in the local language. Meanwhile, our hosts have hired a tutor for formal language lessons; we are at it for a total of four to six hours a day during the week, not including homework, making for a truly intensive experience.

I have had the privilege of spending time in several different countries over my life and in recent years got into the habit of writing down my impressions and experiences to share with others. I kept a daily, online journal during my visits to the Atacama Desert of Chile, and last year, when I was in Nairobi, sent around a bi-weekly newsletter by electronic mail. This time around, I have decided to use the new-fangled ‘blog’ (viz., ‘web-log’) technology. I plan to make posts here at Ibo roughly fortnightly.

Venezuela: A Prose Poem

By Eric Hanna, S.J.

I have drunk deeply from the cup of life!
Outside my windows, people sing.
At dinner, tiny Sister Wilma cackled like a wicked witch at the jests of young scholastics.

The white walls of the Casa Praetoria were sprayed with neat, red letters spelling "con los trabajados y Chavez!"

The woman who worked at Fe y Alegria explained that there were three hundred thousand students being educated for free or for voluntary donations.

The one who worked at JRS said that they have to bend over backwards with politeness to a mistrusting government in order to change the word 'refugee' to 'person' in the minds of policy makers.

You Are a Mist

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

… Wel bið þam þe him are seceð,
Frofre to fæder on heofonum,     þær us eal seo fæstnung stondeð.
[… Well is it for him who seeks mercy,
Comfort, from our Father in heaven,     where, for us, all steadfastness standeth.]
(The Wanderer)

I recently left for Venezuela for a summer of Spanish language studies with two other men from my community. When I was saying goodbye to some of my companions who are remaining in Canada, we spoke of when we would next see each other. We often do this in our culture when we make our goodbyes. ‘I’ll see you at such-and-such a place,’ we say with confidence and a firm handshake. When we bid farewell, we tend to anticipate our next encounter.