We feed, rehabilitate and love Argentina's forgotten

LITIR NOLLAG ATHAR LIAM 2007

Padre Liam’s Christmas Letter.

Guím síocháin agas sonas ort féin agus ar do mhuintir le teacht an linbh Iosa, agus gach ráth ort Athbhliain.  

“Hear the herald voice resounding

Christ is near it seems to say,

Cast away the dreams of darkness,

Welcome Christ the light of day!”

I love preparing this Christmas letter each year because it is a chance for me to reflect on all the happenings both in my own life and in the lives of the many people who are dear to us in our homes.  Fitting it all within the limited space of a Christmas letter is always difficult but this year it is a greater challenge because one would have to write a book in order to relate the many events and happenings that have taken place.  To the many people who has touched our lives with love and care in the past year, please be assured that whilst some visits or events are not mentioned they are certainly not forgotten!

Joy and sadness are part of all our lives, and the interweaving of both was brought home to me throughout the past year.  Two great friends and supporters of the Homes went to their reward.  Although I believe they have passdto eternal happiness with our beloved Lord, this temporary separation is  nevertheless hard to bear.

John Davis brought joy into many people´s lives.  In this destitute area, there are few centres for care and rehabilitation and certainly none that reach the poorest of the poor.  A  child who falls from a tree is condemned to a life of suffering and disability for the want of a local rehabilitation centre.  My dream was to establish such a place but it seems impossible because it was so difficult to explain the concept over here.  In the end, I managed to persuade a local couple, both architects, to help us.  John Davis and his wife Mary in Merseyside invited this couple to England where they encountered the Poor Servants of the Mother of God.  These Servants run  St. Joseph´s Nursing Home, a place with  the most up-to-date facilities.  Our Argentinian friends, in collaboration with St. Joseph´s, ended up designing a Rehabilitation Centre withan excellent hydrotherapy pool.  This was built with generous help from the Irish government and inaugurated by President McAleese during her visit in 2004.  The centre is now making a big difference to the lives of many residents, relieving their sufferings and helping  to improve their quality of life.

 In 1998, John and Mary were involved in a bad road accident on a Welsh motorway.  John was left severely quadriplegic and suffered severe depression, a true, dark night of the soul, for a long time.  Thank´s to Mary´s love and her experience as a nurse, John returned to a fairly full life.  The love of Our Lord , his wife´s devotion and expertise as well as the benefit of superb modern technology helped John to rediscover his zest for life.  His interest in our homes never faded.  He always kept in contact and was always available to help.  It was not easy to help our staff understand the merits of water therapy.  Once again, John came to our rescue and invited our physiotherapist and some of our assistants to visit St. Joseph´s centre.

Against all odds, John survived for nine years after his accident.  He finally went home to God on 13th April last.  He left all his orthopedic equipment to our homes.

It had been his strong desire to come and visit us.  This was not to be but his beloved wife Mary brought over his ashes which were buried here in July.  We are forever indebted to John and Mary and we pray for them daily.

“With hearts filled with gratitude

we thank You, Lord our God,

for gifting us with good friends”

Mother Mary Hayes.

My mother Mary was, like, John Davis, an outstanding and most generous friend of our Homes. Her house became a centre, especially in the early days of the Homes, of receiving donations, medicines, etc, for Argentina. It was a storehouse for Christmas cards which were sold to supply us with basic necessities.

She received a beautiful passing to Eternal Life. One of our great saints of the Hogar Santa Teresa, Mario Junior, obtained for me the grace of been with her in her final hours. The night before her passing, I asked Mario Junior, a two and half year old baby who soared to Heaven on the 6th  May last, to obtain for me the privilege of been with Mam at the culmination of her earthly life. He organized all of this to the last detail. I had my hand in hers, and was saying ‘Come Lord Jesus, Come Holy Spirit, Come Mary, Mother of God’ Whilesaying these prayers she passed beautifully and gently to Eternal Life Mam allowed me to keep pace with her through the process of dying.

The death of husband, wife or children must be the keenest loss anyone can suffer. The death of parents affects priests especially.

Blessed are You, Lord our God,

who  has given to us holy parents’

Mary Bartnikowski.

There is pain in the departure of loved ones but there is also joy in the arrival of new friends.  Mary Bartnikowski ias an author and professional photographer in Palo Alto, California.  She visited our homes during the year and was a wonderful  help to us.  At my invitation, she  has kindly written  a short reflection.

“I am falling in love here at Santa Theresa Del NiñoJesus. The residents have hugged their way into my heart and are making it difficult to leave. There is no sense wearing any lipstick around here – with all the affection it gets kissed right off.

This is a new experience for me to live and work with people who have been abandoned and forgotten by their own families: Mario was riddled with insects when he arrived here, Sandra was found in a dungeon abused by her own stepfather and several men in her neighborhood, Maria Inez was discovered in a field eating grass, left there to die by her family. Angelica was tortured by her father and brother; they bashed her head repeatedly, burned and tore her clothes. Lita had worms and parasites from extreme physical neglect.
Almost everyone was brutally abused, denied food or water, ignored, or lived in subhuman conditions. One boy was found eating his food out of a dish on the floor like a dog.

And now they are nurtured, happy, and live in a gorgeous home. They are loved by the certified saintly staff, who have taught me in leaps and bounds about patience, tenderness, and unconditional love.

It is an extended healthy family here and I am included in that circle of love. I am offered fresh juice from the orange trees in their ampleorganic garden, meals appear in front of me unasked and we do things together; participate in Mass, eat meals, sit in the paradisiacal garden listening to exotic birds sing and see riots of flowers blooming all day. How can I possibly leave?

There have been many profound moments during my stay here. As I feed Lucas, a rambunctious teenager in a wheelchair, his lunch, he throws his arms around my neck and gives me a take-my-breath-away hug. He does this in the middle of every meal. Then one night during bed time – Lita laid down in her bed beaming a blissful smile ready to fall asleep under her cozy blanket. She looked beatific. On one rainy night several residents waiting for Mass to begin excitedly motioned from their wheelchairs for me to join them. The next day we took Angelica who cannot talk but speaks volumes with her eyes into town on the bus. Her enthusiasm and laughter at all the shop windows and activity made me feel content and happy to be alive.
Unconditional love is what I have received here every day. How can I go back to the real world now?

Father Liam started the home 18 years ago when he found a boy tied to a tree just left there to die by his family. He could not sleep so he did something about it. In his own words he says, “Love solves everything. If everyone did one small thing to help it would change the world. I feel called to do this work. We are all disabled. Stuck in ourselves, we are sad, depressed, self centered. The call to the priesthood is to heal the broken hearted.”

His work heals lonely and forgotten souls. And to help him, he has attracted a staff of 25 peoplewho are certified saints. I have been treated withonly kindness, love, and patience every hour of my time here exactly like the residents are. All the people who work here are from the local community in Obera Argentina, Eusebiathe cook, Raquel, all the girls, Hector the miracle gardener, the strong men, Fabricio, and Angelo. Sara, Gladys, and Cachowho steer the ship, they all regard each resident with tenderness and pure love. It is a family here and I have been enveloped in love ever since I got here.

Unlike the real world it is a paradiscialoasis; the homes are large and scrupulously clean with high ceilings and lavishly lush gardens. The last few days have been cold and the fireplaces were blazing to cheer and warm everyone up. Today was difficult as Mario Jr died this morning. He came to the home two and a half years ago when he was close to dying in a hospital after his 17-year-old mother abandoned him. A child prostitute, she fled when she saw him. He had hydrocephalia, fluid on the brain; his head grew to be larger than his body. Barely kept alive by the hospital nurses  and doctors they expected him to die any minute so they reasoned they did not have to treat him. When Father Liam found him he did everything he could to get him into the home and to finally have his head drained of fluid. He had to make a difference in this little baby’s life.

Love did solve everything as he came here to live and was loved and kissed until yesterday when he died peacefully. His coffin was so tiny in the funeral limousine but his heart was bigger than his body as everyone who knew him loved him fiercely. After the service; fit for a king, we buried him and sang at his flowered gravesite. Today we all have an angel in heaven watching over us. This place is a miracle. The love here radiates through the homes and out into the world. I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen anything like it. I am leaving tomorrow and I already miss it.

The Good News and the Big Ask!

As you know I am deeply grateful for all you are doing to help the poorest of the poor in our care here in Argentina.  I am delighted to report  the Homes of Santa Teresa of the Child Jesús and OPur Lady of Lujan now have charity status in Ireland under the title Saint Teresa Oberá Support Fund.  This comes at a time of great need.  We must now raise 100,000 Euro to build special accommodation as well as 15,000 Euro  which is the monthly cost of running the homes.

I am asking you to consider a particular special proposal this year: to make regular contributions to St. Teresa Oberá Support Fund via a Standing Order.  Our homes obtain an extra tax benefit where PAYE taxpayers make donations of 250 Euro or more in any calendar year.

I am also hoping you might draw the attention of some of your friends and contacts to this proposal.

Once again, I thank you for your constant help and solidarity.  You <re in our prayers here in Misiones and I know we are in yours too.

“We shall never cease from exploration/ And the end of all our exploring/ Will be to arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time” (T.S. Eliot).   May we all continue to explore ways to make this world a better and a more humane place.

Until we meet again- love and prayers from all in the Our Lady of Lujan Home and the St. Teresa Home.

.Padre Liam Hayes S.V.D.