Memo to Self: Remember to Pray for the Martyrs of Zacualpa
By Fátima Morales
July 8, Wednesday 10:45 am
Today our team paid a visit to a museum where we learned about the or massacres that Catholics from the region of Zacualpa, Guatemala suffered during the 80s. I have to admit that I went into this day lighthearted and looking forward to learning bit of the history of the region. From talking to my teammates it seems that most did not expect a heavy experience.
How to describe what the impact of this visit? I wish I could share a bit of all the missionaries’ experience but I’ll limit myself to my own.
Part of the tour included viewing a room where martyrs gave their life for their faith. Let me describe the room; it was about the size of a queen size bed with perhaps a little bit more room to move around. Three of the walls were covered in crosses which bore the names of the men who perished there and the fourth wall had corpus (Christ) with the usual wounds in addition to a missing arm and a gash on the left arm. Our guide explained that this Christ’s arm was not restored to show how many of the bodies were found in the room. In the floor there were holes that had once served the purpose to drain the blood from torturous wounds.
Stepping into this room helped me move from sympathy to empathy for the Mayan people of Guatemala. I was moved to touch the walls of this room. I laid my hand on the first two walls letting a wordless blessing come from my heart. When I touched the 3rd wall (which by the way still had the stain of a bloodied hand) a small heaviness settled on my chest and tears started to flow. These tears were quiet, not like my usual tears. In that moment I saw more clearly the the suffering that these brothers and sisters in Christ had endured. As I continued moving around the room I almost stepped onto the lid of the hole I previously mentioned. I knelt down to touch this as well and realized that it was in this position I could see from what would have been viewpoint of the martyrs there. I wondered if they were able to receive the sunlight and a view of the grass outside that I could see.
After standing and leaving that room, my steps were more careful and reverent. I realized that if these martyrs are canonized (because, yes, the process has been started), I had just touched a first class relic by touching those blood stained walls. I close this entry with this hope: that the tears that I shed in that room brought at least a bit of healing for the poor souls who passed on there and that they are living the fullness of God’s glory now.
– Fátima Morales
