I am talking about the sexual abuse of minors that occurred within Catholic institutions in Spain. They are not 4 or 33 cases in the Basque Country, or 58 in Navarre, or 1246 cases in the Spanish State. They are very many more, a lot more, as it will be clear once they are known. […]
My dear Pello, I am dedicating this brief, humble, heartfelt tribute to you. In a way it is a futile attempt, because there are so many who have already praised your gifts and achievements better than I am capable of doing; so I congratulate everyone. I gladly endorse all the praise. So, I will be […]
A Tribute to Pello Zabala ( + in Arantzazu on Feb 2nd, 2022) “Once upon a time a violin heard a nightingale sing. The small bird produced registers the violin had never heard before: gurgles, trills, high-pitched and happy gurgles. The violin was envious and wanted to sing like the nightingale; realizing that it could […]
Franciscans and poor clares, benedictines, mercedarians, Jesus’ companions inspired by Ignatius of Loyola, carmelite men and women, passionists, Marists…. an endless list. They were instituted to relieve, accompany, educate, heal, and care for those who are alone or have nothing. Or to devote themselves to “contemplative life”, “working and praying”, deeply living in profound communion […]
The pages I am presenting to you, dear reader, are much more than just a series of pertinent, well-documented, up-to-date reflections on spirituality. They are the reflective testimony of a lifetime. They are true words of witness. They exude the breath of life. Félix Placer, a free, dedicated man who at the age of 84 […]
On January 22nd, Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese writer and poet, Zen buddist monk and teacher of life in mindfulness died at the age of 95. He was a peace activist. He fought in the VietNam and was persecuted both by the communist North as well as by US backed South. In 1972 he became a […]
Miren deeply hated the profound fear her mother experimented at all times as if glued to her body, her tendency to see everywhere the footprints of evil and death, her language full of be-carefuls and just-in-cases. She deeply hated the consequences of that fear: days were always full of prohibitions, rules, prayers, Masses and other […]
I stand by what I said: justice, in spite of the law and social habits, in spite of money and charity. Humility, to be myself. Liberty, to be a human being. And poverty, to be free. Christian faith, to walk in the night, and, above all, during the day. And in all, brethren, I stand […]
At the end of the Christmas festivities, I return to the narrative in Luke’s gospel about the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem, shepherds that look for, find, and build peace. We see ourselves in them. And to better see ourselves in them, let’s say it again in case it is still necessary: all the […]
The heart will always keep all the memories, all the journeys, all the landscapes, all the winters, all the waves with their beaches, all the rivers with their banks, all the laughter and tears, all the good and bad times. Only the heart saves us where we place the language of tenderness, the unreason of […]