PASTORAL CARE OF CULTURE

Hearts Singing the Love for Their Grandparents and For Peace

I am delighted and honored to preface this book “Versos de Paz para los Abuelitos”. It is the fruit of the work of the young people of our parish, Saints Peter and Paul in West Valley City, Utah. In these pages, they make their hearts vibrate to sing love for their Grandparents who are alive or already in heaven because of Covid-19 and for Peace.

It is the fulfillment of a dream, namely that of strengthening the intellectual, poetic, literary and cultural capacities of the young people of our parish community and seeing them become protagonists in the world of culture. Also, within the framework of the Pastoral Care of Culture, we want to train, help, accompany young people to love culture, to be present in the world of culture: books, music, theater, art, and finally they become missionaries of the third millennium as Pope Saint John Paul II says.

This book is the fruit of marvelous encounters. The first is between me and the parish community of Saints Peter and Paul. Since August 2020, Bishop Oscar Solis has appointed me to lead this parish which has as Patrons, two great missionaries of the Church, Peter and Paul. I decided to give my time, my energy, my strength, and my knowledge to the promotion of the New Evangelization in this multicultural community. The second is with writer Brigida Lopez and me. When I announced the activation of the Ministry of Culture, Brigida immediately came to my office and gave me her full availability to help in this ministry. It is one of the pillars of this pastoral care of culture. She demonstrated her talents well during the First West Valley Peace, Justice and Life Week organized by our parish, with the collaboration of Gloria who is a member of the pastoral team. The third was between me and Miriam Burbano, a woman of culture and hope. The project for this book was born during a WhatsApp conversation between Miriam, Brigida, and me, talking about culture. Culture is important in a society. As they say, a person without culture, is a lost person. Through literature, social battles, she is in the process of awakening the conscience of Young Latino Writers (JEL) by offering them the necessary instruments to enter fully into the world of American Culture, into the world of culture in general, and in this great concert that we call "Globalization". The fourth is between you dear readers and the authors of this anthology. When you read these pages, you will know these young writers and their deep thoughts. Personally, I read them and sometimes I would be in tears of joy. They are really "budding geniuses" as indicated by the name of a great television program with great educational value from Quebec that talks about general culture. In the USA, this show is known as "It's Academic."

Although from Latino American families, these young people were almost all born here in the USA and become part of the great family of North American literature in which are among the excellent names like Washington Irving (1783-1859), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), Henry Longfellow (1807-1882), Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), Herman Melville (1819-1891), Walt Whitman (1819-1892), Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).

Dear readers, the title of this anthology is quite a program. In its first part, it is about love for grandparents. The second, on the other hand, addresses the question of peace. The two parts form a logical and coherent unit.

Today more than ever, we speak of the elderly as people who are no longer useful to society and that their place is only in the garage. The youth of Saints Peter and Paul, however, affirm and sing about the value and importance of having grandparents. They are important and necessary for our society in crisis. Pope Francis, during the Angelus of January 17, 2021, announced the institution of the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly which will be celebrated on the 4th Sunday of July. This year it will be on Sunday July 24th. That's why these young people don't want to lock their grandparents in the garage. They are and will always remain with them. Those who have died from Covid-19 have left something special in their hearts. Marisol Silva Arévalo expresses well what I have just written above: “El mundo, sin los abuelos, sería muy diferente y sin alegría. Porque sin amor y sin abuelos, este mundo no existiría”. Aria Victoria Ortega Ramírez, speaking of grandparents, she remembers their advice on family: “Los dos me enseñaron que la familia es para siempre”. Santiago Agustin Ortega Ramirez's grandmother is his inspiration to love school: "She inspires me to focus on school". Many other authors in this anthology highlight more positive values ​​of love for grandparents.

The young writers of Saints Peter and Paul dream of a world of peace. Thus, they took their pens to write these verses singing love for peace. Through these writings, they want to build a world of peace, joy, harmony, tranquility in West Valley City, Utah, the USA and around the world. Without ecology, they argue, there is no peace. Inner peace is important to them. We as parents, parishioners, public administrators, cultural associations, foundations, have the responsibility to help our young people in their construction of a world where peace reigns: “Tú que ya eres mayor, ayúdame a triunfar, a llegar a ser grande , sin tener que llorar, por muertes sin motivo, por guerras sin final” (Naty Arroyo) - “…Así poder tener paz en el mundo, para tener un mundo better…” (Kenia Guadalupe Victoria Silverio) - “Another way to bring peace in the kid's lives is to be pollution free” (Guadalupe Zavala).There are many other texts from our young writers about the love of our grandparents and for peace that you can read and enjoy. I invite you to buy this book to support and encourage the authors of this anthology to move forward. Together we can build a world of peace, joy, fraternity, and justice. Without justice, there is no peace, said Saint John Paul II. How interesting and desirable it would be to see the JEL in our parish write about this topic of justice!

It only remains for me to say to the JEL of Saints Peter and Paul: “Duc in altum”, this is only the beginning. Go ahead without being afraid of anything and anyone. I say that together we can do many other things. Take advantage of this opportunity that Miriam Burbano offers us through JEL Editions to publish other books in the future.

Father Sebastien SASA, PhD, MPA

Administrator of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

West Valley City, UT