Candles. Flowers. A little Frank Sinatra...
the ingredients for a romantic dinner for two. For couples in the US its something we take for granted, a nice meal in a nice restaurant once in a while, to celebrate, to take time to for each other, a much needed night spent together away from the kids and the noise.
But what about here? I didnt realize until the other night just what a rarity it is for the poor to be able to spend a quiet evening together with their spouse.
On Sunday the friars held a day long couples retreat with the purpose of helping couples from our neighborhood refocus on each other, center their relationship on God and recieve grace as they struggle for their families. At the end of the day they closed with Mass and Holy Hour and then....Dinner.
We missioners were responsible for one romantic, classy dinner. We transformed the dining room of Casa Guadalupe into an elegant banquet hall...with candles and fresh flowers and white tableclothes. We hung pictures and sheets and Christmas lights and at the end it was a completely different room. Alba and Natalio, with lots of helping hands, prepared an amazing meal. We served as waiters and waitresses, all dressed in our finest black tie garb.
When the Mass finished we all waited at attention for them to arrive. And...
It was beautiful. To see their faces as they entered, especially the women. Women who have never, ever had the opportunity to be treated to a romantic dinner out, never eaten in a nice restuarant, who work and fight hard for the survival of their families at the cost of their own needs and desires. It was beautiful to see their faces light up at the sight of the flowers and the cards that were just for them and to be waited on as if they were the most important people in the world. For the couples it seemed such a gift just to have one night away from home, with out the kids, just to talk to each other.
As dinner finished several couples shared their testimonies. One man shared that the retreat had touched him very deeply and though he and the mother of his children had been together for over 15 yrs they were not married (very common here) but that he hoped that very soon they could recieve that sacrament. Others shared how beautiful it had been to share the day with other couples and learn from each other.
Finally one women confessed that the dinner, the evening had been "the best gift she'd ever recieved." Looking back on it now it seems such a perfect image of Christ's declaration that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last, and of what heaven will some day look like, when the poor and the wretched take a seat of honor at the head of the banquet table. I hope one day I am there to witness it.
But what about here? I didnt realize until the other night just what a rarity it is for the poor to be able to spend a quiet evening together with their spouse.
On Sunday the friars held a day long couples retreat with the purpose of helping couples from our neighborhood refocus on each other, center their relationship on God and recieve grace as they struggle for their families. At the end of the day they closed with Mass and Holy Hour and then....Dinner.
We missioners were responsible for one romantic, classy dinner. We transformed the dining room of Casa Guadalupe into an elegant banquet hall...with candles and fresh flowers and white tableclothes. We hung pictures and sheets and Christmas lights and at the end it was a completely different room. Alba and Natalio, with lots of helping hands, prepared an amazing meal. We served as waiters and waitresses, all dressed in our finest black tie garb.
When the Mass finished we all waited at attention for them to arrive. And...
It was beautiful. To see their faces as they entered, especially the women. Women who have never, ever had the opportunity to be treated to a romantic dinner out, never eaten in a nice restuarant, who work and fight hard for the survival of their families at the cost of their own needs and desires. It was beautiful to see their faces light up at the sight of the flowers and the cards that were just for them and to be waited on as if they were the most important people in the world. For the couples it seemed such a gift just to have one night away from home, with out the kids, just to talk to each other.
As dinner finished several couples shared their testimonies. One man shared that the retreat had touched him very deeply and though he and the mother of his children had been together for over 15 yrs they were not married (very common here) but that he hoped that very soon they could recieve that sacrament. Others shared how beautiful it had been to share the day with other couples and learn from each other.
Finally one women confessed that the dinner, the evening had been "the best gift she'd ever recieved." Looking back on it now it seems such a perfect image of Christ's declaration that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last, and of what heaven will some day look like, when the poor and the wretched take a seat of honor at the head of the banquet table. I hope one day I am there to witness it.