2-page spread:
By Edgar Lopez, O.Carm. On May 22, 2009, in downtown Colima, Mexico, Jesús Larios Avila was consecrated to the / priesthood by the local bishop, Most Reverend Jose Luis Amescua Melgoza. The roaring thunderous skies during the ceremony at the minor cathedral reminded us of the sacredness of this event. Father Jesús, nicknamed “Chuy” (pronounced Chew-Ee) has become the third Carmelite ordained Mexico. Traveling to Mexico has become a worldwide concern for our health these days. Since the outbreak of the N1H1 virus (swine flu) last April in Mexico City, tourism has come to a complete halt until just recently. For Carmelite Father Tracy O’Sullivan (Pastor), Maria Moran, (Director of Religious Education) and myself traveling from Saint Raphael parish in South-Central Los Angeles to the ordination in Colima there was a sense of cautiousness rather than a fear of the virus. When we first arrived at Guadalajara International Airport the day before the ordination, government officials were giving away disposable face masks and a small brochure with information about the virus to all of the travelers. At the airport, Chuy had already made arrangements with Erika (secretary of our mission house in Mexico City) to drive us to Colima, a three hour-trip to the southwest region in Mexico. We arrived during the beginning of the rainy season. The temperature was in the mid-90s with lots of thunderstorms occurring in the afternoons. I was astounded to learn from Chuy that the word Colima in the indigenous Nahuatl language (traditionally called Aztecan, a branch of Uto-Aztecan language family spoken by 1.5 million people in Central Mexico) means: Place conquered by our great grandparents. It is literally the place because of its clean streets and slow rhythm of life. The hotel, Los Candiles (The Lamps) where we stayed, provided a sense of going on a week-long silent retreat. And indeed that is how I felt having only spent three nights there. On the day of the ordination, Chuy phoned the hotel to ask what time we were planning to arrive at the cathedral so he could give us some last minute instructions (this is Chuy at his best!). He sounded calm and at peace with himself. In just a few hours that day, he was going to go from Deacon Jesús to Father Jesús! It is going to be a double blessing as well for Luisa and Jesús Larios Avila, Sr, (Chuy’s parents) since one of their three sons is already a priest for the diocese of Colima. The choir performing at the ceremony was conducted by the seminarians of the diocese. Their chanting and singing helped make this liturgy a solemn and sacred celebration. Obviously one could not help but notice how precisely the entire liturgy was executed. This of course is no easy task. The Master of Ceremonies had rehearsed all of the musicians, acolytes and
There are no comments yet
You may leave a public comment regarding this article:
*
Your name
*
Your email address (will not be published)
Remember me
?
Subscribe to comments
?
?
Your comment will appear within 24 hours.
1
