In a far and remote corner of New Mexico is this chapel of Santo Nino de Atocha in Chimayo. Many of the American soldiers sent to the Philippines just before the Second World War were from New Mexico because they could speak Spanish. During the siege of Bataan and Corregidor and the subsequent Death March, many of them prayed to the Santo Nino for deliverance. Those who survived attributed it to the intercession of the Christ Child. After the war, they made yearly pilgrimages to this site in thanksgiving and undying gratitude, a practice that has persisted to this day having been taken up by the next and younger generations.
As I knelt in prayer in that chapel, I was struck by the convergence in that chapel of the Spanish roots and origins of my faith, the American influence in my outlook and tastes and my being a Filipino. And all of these converged and came together in the Santo Nino. “Pagkahaba-haba man daw ng prusisyon, sa simbahan pa rin ang tuloy.” Everything and everyone eventually goes back to their Source.
Such convergence also reveals our solidarity. We may be many but we are one, all children of the one God. We have one home, Earth. We live and die together on this planet. When Pope Francis visited the slums of Varginha in Brazil during the recent World Youth Congress, he made this impassioned appeal for solidarity:
“I would like to make an appeal to those in possession of greater resources, to public authorities and to all people of good will who are working for social justice: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity! No one can remain insensitive to the inequalities that persist in the world! Everybody, according to his or her particular opportunities and responsibilities, should be able to make a personal contribution to putting an end to so many social injustices. The culture of selfishness and individualism that often prevails in our society is not, I repeat, not what builds up and leads to a more habitable world: rather, it is the culture of solidarity that does so; the culture of solidarity means seeing others not as rivals or statistics, but brothers and sisters. And we are all brothers and sisters!”
It is wiser for the rich man to store his grains in the bellies of those who are hungry and his goods in the hands of those in need. I may not have much but what I have I will share with those who are hungry, naked, lonely and in need.
And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
Luke 12:13-21