MISSIONARIES OF HOPE AMONG THE PEOPLES
A few days in August in Vitoria-Gasteiz, I had the opportunity to meet with Estíbaliz Ruiz de Gauna, a lay missionary with experience in missionary work in Ecuador and a mother of a family. We shared about our lives in the mission we each carry out, and thus, we arrived at the motto of World Mission Day 2025: “MISSIONARIES OF HOPE AMONG THE PEOPLES.”
The reality we live in is not conducive to hope. Problems surround us globally, continentally, and regionally: war, hunger, death, totalitarian political systems, increasing violence, corruption, impunity; so many people without work, shelter, or land to farm, forcing them to emigrate from the countryside to the capital or the United States.
I was wondering, Estibaliz, in your reality in Guatemala, how do you live and experience Hope? Do you have signs that help you live it? Where do they come from?
In the environment where I live: the indigenous Maya-Achí people, and as a Dominican Missionary of the Rosary, for the past six years in San Miguel Chicaj, Guatemala, I reflect on what we have experienced and discovered, signs of hope that sustain us and help us recognize God’s passage in this dark history of violence, war, and death. This reality is the environment that nourishes us and allows us to live in process as “Missionaries of hope among the peoples.” The communities of the parish of San Miguel ask us for biblio-theological-pastoral formation and accompaniment of adults and young people. This desire to know the Word and live it is already a sign of hope.
I can say that the foundation of hope arises from living WITH and AMONG the people, CONTEMPLATING AND VALUING THEIR LIVES: austerity, poverty, their spirituality, their sense of solidarity; their leadership committed to maintaining their identity and dignity; and their commitment to living the values of the Kingdom, from the family, the communities, in the fight for justice, impunity, and in their democratic organization. I would say that among and with the poor, we evangelize, learn humanity, and sustain one another on our pilgrimage.
Based on this foundation, I want to refer to several significant groups with whom we walk according to God’s plan, in the same direction, with their own goals. These groups nourish and sustain our hope:
The Conference of Religious of Guatemala Committed to the Impoverished (CONFREGUA).
Within Confregua, the “SENTINELS” group for the dignity of the State.
AMERINDIA Photo
- CONFREGUA is our home. It welcomes us, educates us through its various committees, and keeps us informed of current events through the analyses it offers us monthly, presenting them and proposing a biblical reading each month based on the new situations that reality presents to us. This leads us to read the Word from the perspective of reality and to make concrete commitments in our actions as Christians, consecrated Christians who engage us in the streets, in the fight for justice and against impunity: marches, Stations of the Cross, Vialucia, novenas, Christmas Posadas, which are prepared with the voluntary participation of congregations committed to following Jesus and the Kingdom, together with lay people. Indigenous peoples are a light for us in this ongoing struggle to uphold the values of democracy and in the fight against corruption and the care of our Common Home. They are spaces of community prayer where we discover the presence of God in one another, in our brothers and sisters, with whom we proclaim our faith in God, Lord of History. 2. SENTINELS for the Dignity of the State: An interfaith group that emerged in 2005 with the goal of standing guard, that is, monitoring all fronts of society that advance and oppose the values of the Kingdom of God: Life, hope, equity. We make a commitment, looking toward the horizon proposed by Jesus. Their commitment is manifested in the streets, joining forces with Confregua and praying for situations of injustice and impunity, attentive to the new cries of our history today.
- AMERINDIA is another significant reference that provides us with continuing theological formation, which strengthens our faith and commitment. Its annual program includes ongoing theological meetings and open forums on Christianity, spirituality, and democracy where lay people and consecrated life meet together.
We share and ask the Lord to allow us to continue on this path of being “MISSIONARIES – OF HOPE – AMONG THE PEOPLES.”
Arantza Ladrón de Guevara
MISIONERA DOMINICA DEL ROSARIO