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Monday, March 30, 2015

Bridges Across the Abyss

Last week we heard the Gospel parable about Lazarus and the Rich Man and the great abyss that divided them after death.  Last week we also had a medical brigade come down from the States  to Honduras for a surgical mission.  I was grateful again to see how San Benito Jose Medical Center becomes a bridge in a variety of ways.




It is beautiful to see the encounter of people from the so-called *first world* and *third world,**gringos* with *catrachos,*appreciating each other with a sense of solidarity, of being brothers and sisters.  The gringos are edified by the patience, the gratitude and the faith of the Hondurans.  The Hondurans are edified by the generosity and kindness of the medical team from the States.  SBJ is a wonderful bridge in that way across the abyss between rich and poor that unfortunately still exists.

More importantly, SBJ also becomes a bridge between the abyss between each of us and the Lord.  The gap between divinity and humanity is huge, but the heart of Christ is the bridge.  The doctors and nurses encounter Christ in His distressing disguise of the poorest people, for whom medical care is completely out of reach economically.  The poor encounter Christ in His healing and consolation, that they are not forgotten by Him and that He is able to work miracles in their lives.  I was grateful to hear from the patients so consistently their gratitude to God first of all and secondly to the team at SBJ. *Primero Dios* was the constant refrain as they gave thanks.

Thanks be to God for our Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis who lives out the title of *pontiff,* which means *bridge* in Latin, in his love for the poor and his call to solidarity with them.  May we also allow the heart of Christ to be the bridge that draws us together to the Father.

(If you would like to understand more of what happens at San Benito Jose, you can go to the link here on our website)

Gratefully in Christ,
Fr. Richard Roemer, CFR
Comayagua, Honduras
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