Mexico Meets Baltimore at Sacred Heart of Jesus
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April 7, 2022From late January 2022 until early of March 2022, Fr. Alipio Flores, C.Ss.R., Associate Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Baltimore, went on vacation to his home country, Bolivia.
During his time away, the Redemptorist Community and Parishes of Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Patrick welcomed Padre Carlos Hernández Talaveras, C.Ss.R., of the Province of Mexico. Besides helping us in the sacramental life of the church, Padre Carlos has also brought dynamism and fraternal warmth to our community.
P. Carlos any opening words for our readers? "To all the assiduous readers of this beautiful magazine, I greet you fraternally in Christ the Redeemer, Mary, Our Mother and Perpetual Help, and in Our Holy Founder, St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori. Thank you for reading this magazine and for being part of the Redemptorist family."
Who are you and what Redemptorist Community do you belong to in Mexico? "I am Father Carlos Hernández Talaveras and I am part of the Mexican Redemptorist Province. My current community is Santa Anita in the city of Irapuato, Guanajuato in central Mexico."
When were you ordained? "I was ordained at the hands of Cardinal Monsignor José Salazar López on September 30, 1978 at the Redemptorist community of “Santisimo Redentor” in Guadalajara, Jalisco."
What was your experience like after being ordained as Redemptorist priest? "Three days after being ordained and having no vacation, I joined my first community called “Santa Anita” in Irapuato. There I started my pastoral, apostolic, and missionary work."
"It was also there that the Provincial Government asked me to start a minor seminary. It worked for two years until I moved to another community. None of the young men made it to Ordination but a few did enter the Novitiate."
"My first change of community led me to the Minor Seminary in San Luis Potosí. I was a teacher, prefect of discipline, and a psychology student at the university there. I previously started studies in Guanajuato but because I moved, I attempted to continue studies at the University of Potosí."
"I was then sent to the community of Monterrey. Finally, I was able to finish my degree in psychology. As I followed my own schedule of studies, I was able to take the subjects that I was missing according to my needs without neglecting my community duties. This was the condition under which I was given permission to finish the degree. Thanks be to God and the support of my brothers in the community, I was able to complete studies, do an internship at the psychiatric hospital, teach classes at the same university, and do a postgraduate degree."
"I was then moved to the community of Perpetual Help in the city of Torreón, Coahuila. There I started as a fulltime missionary. I also developed my passion and sense of being a Redemptorist. I returned to the community of Irapuato, which had been my first community. I was the Superior and Coordinator of Missionary work of the Province."
"Later on, I was asked to continue as Coordinator of the Missionary Work but to do it more justice, I asked to be relieved of the position of Superior. As Missions Coordinator, my base was in Guadalajara, Distrito Federal in the community of Santísima. I continued in the missions but at the same time I was responsible for communities in Monterrey and Obregon. I then had a little break and was reappointed as superior in Irapuato and Guadalajara."
"I left the office of Superior in 2018 and was then asked to coordinate missions with headquarters in Puebla. As we can see, the life of a missionary is ever-changing. You come and go but at times you may return to a place. This is evident in the countless times that I have belonged to the Irapuato Community, even when I was a novice."
"In 2020, we closed the missionary work in Sierra de Puebla and started a new mission in Sierra Gorda de Querétaro. Two days before finishing the first stage of the mission, the Parish Priest who had requested the mission, told all the missionaries that the mission was suspended due to the pandemic. We returned to the parish headquarters to say good bye until further notice. Again, I was sent back to Irapuato because of its proximity to the now-closed mission."
"This was done in case something was needed at the mission. I am still in that community but then was asked to serve temporarily in this beautiful Baltimore Community. In my humble opinion, I not only say but affirm that the Redemptorist life must respond to the reality that God, our Father, is putting before us. We all know the growing pains in our world due to the loss of a value for life, love, and peace, in addition to the increasing distance between nature and humanity."
"What can we not say about humanity’s unfettered desire to rule the world in which one consistently seeks to place self above God? What are the qualities of today’s and future Redemptorists? The future Redemptorists have to continue cultivating many qualities, without which it is impossible to work in the world today. The golden trait of Constitution 20 “Strong in faith, rejoicing in hope, burning with charity, on fire with zeal, in humility of heart and persevering in prayer” guides us to recover authenticity in prayer and be concrete in deep discernment in addition to living the pastoral sensitivity. This is one piece of the multiple and complex identity which the future Redemptorists must hone."
"Finally, I end by remembering two unforgettable experiences as a priest: being a priest and a university student at the same time and as a missionary, in various places with its ups and downs and its ever increasing depth."
(Courtesy of Baltimore Beacon.)
