One Christmas a few years ago I was in Havana, Cuba.  I had just been to the midnight Mass in the Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Habana (Cathedral of Saint Christopher of Havana) is the seat of Jaime Lucas Ortega, Alamino, the Cardinal Archbishop of Havana, Cuba.  The Cardinal had given a passionate homily to the congregation gathered.  After Mass I began to walk back to the house I was staying at.  The problem was due to the darkness of night I walked way to far thinking I was going the right direction.  I eventually got my bearing and came onto a main street near where the house I was staying.  

As I walked down the main street near where I was staying the time was around three am in the morning.  What became interesting to me was the shouting of the words, "SIDA!!!" and then a pause and again "SEEEE DAAAAA", "SEEE, DAAAA".  I continued to hear the word cried out by a Cuban Taxi driver mocking a lady boy prostitute.  The word 'Sida' in Spanish means AIDS and a lady boy prostitute is a homosexual male prostitute who dresses up in transvestite fashion like a woman.  As I watched the Taxi driver leaning out of his car taunting the lady boy prostitute from across the road I felt sorry for the lady boy prostitute.  The lady boy prostitute waddled around speaking in a high pitched voice trying to act feminine yet for me looking a mere parody of sexualised femininity with a masculine twist.   The taxi driver after mocking the lady boy drove off as I walked past the lady boy prostitute.  As I walked past I was praying a rosary I had recently bought in Cuba.  The inspiration came into my head to give this parody of a man the rosary as he must be a terribly confused person.  I turned around and walked back towards the confused man and told him I have a gift for him in my bad Spanish.  The confused man looked bemused and opened his hand and I gave him the rosary.  As I gave him the rosary he squeeled in a high pitched whimsical and comical fashion "FOOORRR MEEEEE!". I said maybe a word in reply and walked away.   

Our Lord loves all his children including those who are most confused and scarred.  This young man I suspect must have been deeply scarred due to acting in such a profound parady of true masculinity in Christ.  Yet we are called to love the lost sheep and bring them back into the fold of our Loving Lord Jesus Christ.  I pray that this Christmas that all the lost men and women will be brought into new life in Jesus Christ.  

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1: 5

Kecharitomene 

Dear All,

Here is another story from when I was recently out in Brazil.  Please refer to my previous blogs to understand the context better.  I have changed a few names for the sake of confidentiality.

One friday night in Forteleza, Brazil, Jorge and I decided to visit the 'Lost Girls'.  The 'Lost Girls' are a group of young women who can be found a tourist part of Forteleza.  In this particular area of Forteleza there is a group of bars and restaurants catering mostly to tourists.  Outside the bars and restaurants in the evening especially can be found a number of pretty women trying to persuade the tourists to enter their respective establishments.  This encouragement from the pretty ladies is especially prevalent among the young women outside the bars and clubs.  My friend Jorge and I wanted to talk to these particular women gently about the love of Jesus.  Hence we purposely walked past these establishments.  As we walked past these establishments the inevitable happened.  a group of 4 or 5 'Lost Girls' approaches swivelling their hips and stroking our arms and trying to seductively get us to enter their bars/clubs.  Jorge and I told these girls we just want to talk to them.  So we asked them why they were doing this kind of work?  The girls would explain they needed the money, some enjoyed the attention etc. as we spoke to these ladies some spoke of how they have had sexual relationships with some of the tourists.  A few of the girls claimed their 'boyfriends' had promised to them nice things etc... As Jorge and I listened to these girls we tried to find out if they were really happy with this way of life of using seduction to get a mostly male clientèle to enter into their bars/clubs.  A few spoke of not feeling happy or would not really answer the topic but rather changing the subject.  I had to get my friend Jorge to help translate some of the Portuguese as I am not fluent in the language.  As we spoke to the girls we tried to emphasise gently that it is only Jesus Christ who can fulfil the desires of their heart and make them happy.  I remember one pretty lady I was talking to in particular.  This particular lady told me that she did not enjoy this type of work but wanted to get money so that she could finish pay for her training to be a hairdresser and to look after her child.  I asked her if her family knew about the work she did trying to be a  promotions girl convincing men to come into bars/clubs in a seductive way.  She told me that she had recently told her mother and brothers who were upset with her.  I told this pretty lady how much she is loved by God.  I emphasised to her in a personal way that Jesus Christ loves her and that if she trusts and follows him that he will help her.  I told the woman that I would pray for her and that Jesus loves her before I left these 'lost girls'.  As I was leaving she told Jorge that she was grateful that we had approached and told her about the Love of Jesus.  

A few weeks later Jorge and I returned to visit and talk to the lost girls.  I asked were the pretty lady who was studying to be a hairdresser is?  Jorge and I were told that she had quit her job.  The girl explained that 'pretty lady' was not doing a good job in bringing people into the bar/club.  The girls would get 1 Rio from the 5 Rio entrance to these bars if they got tourists in the bar.  What ever the reason I thank the Lord for intervening in this womans life and showing her their other more legitimate and less compromising jobs of making money.  Moreover, I thank the Lord for the reaction I saw from this woman who was touched in her heart to be told she is loved so much by Jesus Christ.  

In conclusion Jorge and I spoke to these 'lost girls' a number of times.  These girls would talk to us once they recognised us.  Most of the time we just listened to them, had small talk, joking,  and gently tried to tell them we would pray for them and that they were loved by Jesus.  They did not always listen... But they at least were able to know that their are men who care more about their souls then their bodies.  Men who loved God more then a woman.

Totus Tuus Maria

Sean