One of the commitments that the Shalom Catholic Community made to the Holy Father during the 35th Anniversary Convention was the creation of the “oasis of mercy” in areas of vulnerability. The initiative, which matured over these five years, gave rise to the so-called Spaces of Peace. With enthusiasm and joy for the fruits already harvested in these spaces, the Community will present to the Pope the experiences of these new “oasis of mercy”. The Local Responsible Person of the Chaves Mission (a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Pará), Dilma França, will represent the poor achieved by the initiative during the meeting with the Pope for the Shalom Convention 40 Years. In an interview with Comshalom, she explains a little about the experience of serving the poor in the Space of Peace in Chaves, the first Space that was deployed in the Shalom Community.
COMSHALOM: What is the Space of Peace?
Dilma França: The Space of Peace is a response of the Shalom Catholic Community to the poor. It’s in fact a divine inspiration. It is a social project that targets people who are in situations of social and personal vulnerability. Through it we perform preventive work in the lives of children, adolescents, young people and also provide assistance to families who are in vulnerable situations.
COMSHALOM: Dilma, it will not be the first time that you will be at the Convention, but the first time that you will be attending when the Space of Peace is built and in operation… Since it [the space of peace] was a gift offered at the feet of Peter, to the Church, how does it feel to know that you are a part of this gift?
Dilma França: I feel kind of like Moysés [the founder of Shalom Catholic Community], because he was chosen by the Archbishop of Fortaleza at the time, in 1982, Dom. Aloísio Lorscheider, to offer a gift to the Pope [John Paul II] and he chose to offer his youth. So this time when I take part in the Convention and am “taking the Space of Peace”, I also feel in the same way, being able to offer, in the name of the Community to the Pope, and in his person, to the whole Church, this answer that is an “oasis of mercy”, which is to be able to concretely offer this great gift to God. It is a joy to know that this promise that our founder made is literally being realized through the Space of Peace.
This year, in which we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Community, and to be present as the Space of Peace, as the human promotion it is very different, because I feel as if I have this gift in my hands to be able to present and to offer. It is something very great and at the same time a great joy to realize that God, Himself, leads all things and gives us the opportunity to be here, while offering our lives through presenting this gift.
COMSHALOM: How has your life and mission changed with the functioning of the Space of Peace?
Dilma França: In my life, the joy of witnessing God’s promises coming true, because Space of Peace is for me a child who was thought of, dreamt of, planned for and was born. I realize that what God had promised to us, He gave me the grace to witness it come to life. So my heart is filled with a great gratitude for the kindness of God which allowed me to be here and to accompany each step.
For the Chaves mission, I am able to understand that we are able to touch in a concrete way the will of God for the mission. Because every mission brings a particular prophecy, here in Chaves are the poor. Throughout all these 26 years that the Shalom Charism is here, we have always worked for human promotion, but the mission today has a direction, because we touch on what is the will of God. Through the Space of Peace we are able to see the path, the conduction of God. For the mission, the Space is an assurance that we are living the will of God.
COMSHALOM: What does it mean to you to be a friend of the poor? What does this friendship with Jesus’ favorite give you?
Dilma França: It’s a great privilege, because they are Jesus’ favorite friends. So to live with the poor, is to be and to learn from them. I usually say that the two verbs: love and learn we conjugate throughout our lives. I can answer that in my life, to be a friend of the poor is to have this privilege of loving Jesus’ beloved friends and learning from them, because Jesus himself said that whoever does not become like a child, does not have a poor heart, will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. So I need to be in this “school” with them, to be able to get down and learn, because if we don’t learn, we miss out on opportunities. During these twelve years in Chaves, every day I have a new opportunity, a new learning experience with the beloved friends of Jesus, so for me it is a great privilege, a great joy.
COMSHALOM: What are the characteristics of the poor in Chaves?
Dilma França: When you talk about the poor who are in Marajó, in this reality of the municipality of Chaves, they are extremely simple people, but open, cheerful, welcoming people, who do not let themselves be overwhelmed by sufferings and difficulties. And one often imagines that in Chaves you will find people in extreme poverty, but this is not so. We touch on spiritual, moral and intellectual poverty. They are people who are working with açaí, who are harvesting and mixing açaí, who are “throwing” shrimp on the beach, fishing and hunting, they subsist in this way. They are very simple people and have an immense capacity for welcoming. The marajoara is very artistic, for dancing, for expression.
Service
Shalom Convention 40 years
Date: September 23-28
Place: Rome
Theme: Shalom: Friends of God, Friends of the young and Friends of the poor.
More information: http://comshalom.org/40anos