You put the altar where?
Some Catholics have participated in outdoor Masses. Usually a liturgy team, in the absence of a little chapel, will find a place that is conducive to prayer. Picture yourself in San Rafael with a panoramic view of the ocean and towering green mountains, that entrances people from all over the country. Where would you place the altar?
On a learning curve:
San Rafael celebrates its "fiesta patronal" during nine days that lead up to the feast of the archangel Rafael. This year we find something unusual: a group of youth who want to have a Mass to begin the celebration. In years past, the youth either had no organization or leaders with different priorities.
This looks like a good place...
With all the innocence of a young person with her own notions of where a Mass can be celebrated, the youth leader placed the altar right beside a booth for selling Presidente beer. In choosing this place she demonstrated a view which sadly represents a majority in San Rafael... there is no conflict between the booths which increase the demand for beer and rum, and a celebration with origins in the Catholic tradition.
Beer and rum compared with fishing:
There are mechanisms in place which limit the growth of the Paraiso fishermen and their catch. They restrict themselves to the local market and the size of their refrigeration units puts a condition on the quantity of fish they can store. The unstable electricity supply translates into justifiable fear among the population, reluctant to purchase large quantities of fish at bulk prices. So we find no avaricious fishermen competing to increase their market by any and all means. Instead, we find business people who fish for the day.
Compare this reality to the alarming growth of the rum and beer industry. They have managed to wipe out of the local producers of spirits: all "mom and pop" businesses. In earlier decades people knew how to make a sugar cane drink with a low alcohol content, plus different kinds of wine from rice, lemons and other fruits. Now they have been shoved out of the market. In their place, powerful establishments compete in a war for expanding markets. They barge into any little town and "offer" to set up the fiesta patronal. They bring in entertainment and huge speaker systems. That's the "come on" in a racket which guarantees a sure supply of drunk people with empty bottle strewn by the roadsides and Styrofoam cups littering the hills.
Mass with the ocean view:
With so much God-given beauty around, we easily moved the table and chairs to a location overlooking the coastal mountain range as it meets the sea. The fishers of men for life in the spirit of Christ meet on an uneven playing field with the fishers of men for Barcelo and Presidente industries. They have the loud music, expensive drinks and the flashy vendors. In two weeks they will be gone, leaving a sour taste in the minds and hearts of the community. Will they continue to make inroads into the lives of humble people? Just one Presidente beer costs what a man can make working a whole day picking coffee! They youth who participated in the little ocean Mass have begun to reflect upon the meaning of their patronal feast. Their awareness is like a tiny voice in the midst of a thunderstorm of blatant commercialism.
