The meeting allowed young people to experience and celebrate God's mercy through the people who suffer the most or are going through a moment of vulnerability in their lives. This edition was held at the Fundación Instituto San José in Madrid from March 23 to 27.
Eva is one of the participants of this meeting and it is the first time she participates in this proposal of prayer and service under the umbrella of St. John of God. "I signed up to participate in the Hospital Easter because I wanted to experience Holy Week in a more intense way and I was attracted by the fact that I could experience it in a hospital context. I had never thought about living Easter surrounded by the sick and I was curious. I think that living Easter with people who are suffering has given me the chance to rediscover the very human face of God. I have been able to contemplate these days how God was present in the small details that I have been able to perceive during the moments that I have been with some of the sick who are cared for in this center, as well as in the moments of celebration lived with them. I would like to keep many glances, small details that I have been able to contemplate during the times with the sick, and with the testimonies that I heard during Good Friday at the table of experiences where a worker of the center, a sick person who is currently in the center, a volunteer and a brother shared their testimony of mercy, and through which I could discover how faith is able to sustain and give full meaning to people who are going through an illness. I took away with me a great experience of mercy, which gives me a new way of being and of living my faith, more incarnate and hospitable".
Close to those who suffer
The Hospitaller Easter is a proposal that the Brothers of St. John of God have been offering for more than 20 years to young people so that they can live and celebrate the Paschal Mystery, the center of the life of every Christian, together with other young people and from an experience of prayer, service and encounter. For us, the Brothers of St. John of God, opening our centers and communities to welcome young people who want to live these days of Holy Week is also an opportunity to live the faith with them and it deeply enriches us to be able to share and celebrate together the days of the Easter Triduum. We would like that the young people at the end of these days could take with them an experience of a Samaritan Church and close to the suffering people. In recent years we have also opened the experience of the Hospitaller Easter to families and we have seen the great richness of being able to share the faith with each one from the concrete reality they are living.
This year, the Hospitality Easter was celebrated in the San José Institute Foundation of Madrid, a social-health center of the Brothers of St. John of God whose mission is to provide comprehensive care to people with complex clinical processes in subacute and chronic phases, with a high level of dependency, on an inpatient, outpatient and home care basis. "Making young people participants in all the Mystery that is hidden behind people who are going through a process of illness helps to live life with greater depth and greater meaning. We are fortunate to be immersed daily in this Mystery that lies behind each person who is suffering a process of illness. That is why when young people come to live an experience of service we try that they can also experience it. We belong to the great family of the Brothers of St. John of God whose charism is Hospitality, so we try to welcome people in the best possible way.
The presence of young people gives us a lot of joy and for the patients it is an enrichment. Some of the patients who are admitted to our center do not have families, so we consider this type of activity to be very important because it gives us the opportunity to be with them for a while. They really appreciate the fact that there are young people who, instead of going on vacation, come to this center to participate in the Hospital Easter".says Ana, a collaborator of the San José Institute Foundation of Madrid.
Activities
For Silvia, this was the third time she joined the St. John of God Youth group with her husband and daughter to participate in the Hospitaller Easter. "I have felt at home and have been able to experience God's mercy in the encounter with the sick. I have been able to love without conditions and without calculation. I have been able to share these days of Holy Week with my family and with the great Hospitaller family with which I feel very united. Every Easter that I have had the good fortune to participate so far has been different and has helped me to recharge my batteries and to try to reread my life from the faith. I am very happy to be able to share and celebrate my faith with such diverse and pluralistic people. From this year I would like to highlight the Holy Thursday celebration we had with the sick and especially the gesture of the washing of the feet. In this simple gesture I was able to relive the experience of Jesus and the importance of abasement and of being at the service of the people who need it most"..
The meeting began on Wednesday the 23rd with a promising starting point, an evening prayer in which the young people were invited to listen to the call to happiness launched in the Gospel. Until Sunday, with the Eucharist of the Resurrection, multiple activities took place: moments of encounter with the sick in the different units of the center, tables of living experiences, reflective dynamics, prayer vigils, etc. One of the highlights, both for the participants and for the patients of the center, was the Eucharist of the Resurrection. San José Institute FoundationThe event, which took place on Friday morning, was the Way of the Cross of Mercy. We had the opportunity to accompany Jesus on the road to Calvary, keeping in mind the many men and women who today continue to carry the cross of hunger, hatred, violence, marginalization, sickness and loneliness.
"In these days so crucial for the life of the followers of Jesus, we tried to get the young people to discover and celebrate God's merciful love in the midst of a world of sickness."adds Brother Luis, one of the organizers of the Hospitaller Easter. It has been a healing experience for all of us that encourages us to live our faith from the experience of the Risen One. May we be able to bring to life the motto that has accompanied us during these days of Easter. ("Blessed are the Merciful") wherever we are.
San Juan de Dios Youth
San Juan de Dios Youth is formed by a small group of young people and brothers of St. John of God who try to offer to other young people who so desire the opportunity to come into contact with the charism of Hospitality. At the same time, we are responsible for promoting and disseminating values and attitudes that foster awareness and commitment to the world of health and marginalization. For this, we offer during the year some spaces and times for commitment, service and reflection from the faith and Hospitality. More information about the Hospitaller Easter and about us can be found at:
www.facebook.com/groups/jovenessanjuandedios
www.jovenessanjuandedios.org
Brother of St. John of God
