What’s it like to be an itinerant priest in Guatemalan, visiting your many parishes on a bi-monthly basis? With so much to do and so little time for hearing confessions, performing weddings and baptisms and celebrating the Divine Liturgy, there is both a sense of “great joy and great sorrow,” … [Read more...]
WITH THE FAITH OF ANGELS A CHURCH IS BUILT
April 29, 2018 by · 1 Comment
Solomon, I have outdone thee,” were the words spoken by Justinian the Great in the 6th century as he beheld the awe-inspiring beauty of his newly rebuilt cathedral of the Holy Wisdom of God- St. Sophia in Constantinople. Since that time, Orthodox Christian churches have endeavored to replicate … [Read more...]
THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS IN GUATEMALA
April 9, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
From the Saturday of Lazarus to the celebration of Pascha, we walked in Jesus’ footsteps in and through the humble village of Aguacate. Through our Orthodox Holy Week rituals the Mayan faithful felt the power of Christ’s passion, transforming the familiar ground upon which they walked into their own … [Read more...]
TOUCHING HEAVEN IN GUAXACANA
February 11, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
One of the joys in visiting a parish in Guatemala is the warm welcome given to the visiting clergy. Such was the case upon our arrival at the village of Guaxacana (wa-sha-ca-na) on January 28th. Not only was the Orthodox community celebrating the 14th anniversary of its founding, but also the … [Read more...]
MIRACLE IN THE JUNGLE: A FAITH REBORN, A VISION FULFILLED
December 11, 2017 by · 1 Comment
On May 28, 2012, Fr. Andres Giron and I made an historic visit to the humble village of Los Angeles in the region of Ixcan. It would be the first time that Fr. Andres would meet with them on their spiritual journey to the Orthodox Church. To celebrate this special occasion, some of the village men … [Read more...]
NEW VIDEO UPDATE ON CLINIC
December 9, 2017 by · Leave a Comment
Archbishop Athenagoras of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Mexico, motivated by his pastoral concern and deep love for the Mayan people, initiated the construction of the FATHER ANDRES GIRON CLINIC in the remote village of Aguacate, Guatemala. Now after two years of compassionate medical outreach … [Read more...]
HOLY CROSS PARISH MEDICAL/DENTAL TEAM OFFERS CARE IN GUATEMALA
July 19, 2017 by · 2 Comments
Four years ago, the first OCMC mission team to visit the Mayan Orthodox Christians in the highlands of Guatemala elicited this poignant response from the late Fr. Andres Giron: “Now we know that we are not alone.” Since that time many teams have arrived offering their musical, catechetical, medical, … [Read more...]
FINDING PARADISE IN THE MISSION FIELD
June 8, 2017 by · Leave a Comment
What is the happiness that God calls us to? Can we find paradise on earth? Serving now as I do in the fertile mission field of Guatemala, I often experience privileged moments of spiritual joy in the humblest of settings. My first such mission epiphany occurred in Tanzania upon my arrival some … [Read more...]
PALM SUNDAY COMES ALIVE IN AGUACATE
April 10, 2017 by · Leave a Comment
Palm Sunday was a new and very moving experience for me among the Mayan faithful. Of course, the church was packed as usual, but they raise the celebration to a new level with their love of processions and the enormous sizes of the palm crosses, which they wave joyously to the … [Read more...]
MEDICAL MISSION UPDATE- GUATEMALA
March 8, 2017 by · Leave a Comment
As the debate rages on in the US over medical insurance, poor people in countries like Guatemala can only dream that one day they might have some kind of medical coverage or even a doctor to see them. The scale of the crisis in the highlands of Guatemala where we have our clinic is not so much … [Read more...]
