Father Rudolph Juarez, right, stands with Fernando Olvero in a church in Jalpan, Mexico.
By Father Rudy Juarez
For The Catholic Messenger
I recently returned from the Sierra Gorda in the Mexican state of Querétaro. I drove two and a half hours through mountain curves to get to Jalpan de Serra, named for St. Junípero Serra, the founder of five missions in the Sierra Gorda in the 1750’s prior to his founding the missions in California.
I was tired driving through the mountains, but I was in a new air-conditioned SUV, while Fray Junípero walked from the state of Vera Cruz all the way to Mexico City before arriving at the Sierra Gorda. He along with his fellow Franciscans walked because Franciscans did not ride horses — that was reserved for the nobility.
In Vera Cruz, Fray Junípero suffered an insect bite to his foot. This insect bite left him with a permanent limp, yet he still walked 430 miles between Vera Cruz, Mexico City and the Sierra Gorda. Even in illness, he did the work of the Lord.
While in Jalpan, I met a young man who shared that he had been living and working in Georgia when he became ill. He was so sick that he could no longer work and had to return home. He told me that he had never really practiced his Catholic faith. But, instead of cursing his illness, he told God that he would dedicate his life to the service of God if he was healed.
When Fernando Olvero was healed, the proud and independent young man became a humble servant of God. Fernando now works as a janitor for the parish church of Jalpan — one of the original missions founded by St. Junípero. I found him polishing benches, sweeping floors and joining the youth group in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
The saint with a limp and the janitor with a new purpose in life are examples that when affliction strikes us, we can either decide to quit or keep moving forward grateful for another day of life and another opportunity to make a better world and do the work of the Lord. No matter our affliction, you and I can still do the work of the Lord. As Scripture says: “Heal me Lord, that I may be healed; save me, that I may be saved for you are my praise.” (Jeremiah 17:14) God with us!
(Father Juarez is pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Davenport and the vicar for Hispanic Ministry for the Davenport Diocese.)
