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FOG, VALLADOLID, December 1871

December 1, 2017

… fog in Valladolid; late autumn and the Pisuerga [river] that does not cease to diffuse that thick fog, at this time of the year, mainly.

… fog, uncertainty, and nerves, why not? in those first days of December of 1871, when Juana Josefa, Petra, Cipriana and Gertudis are engaged in preparations for the trip towards Salamanca. The distances, then, are enormous, long and far-flung; you have to spend the night in Zamora. And there is no other means than the stagecoach. 

It is true that Fr. Miguel has experience: 52 years. And he already took charge of speaking with those of the stagecoach that will take them to Salamanca on the 7th. But they have to spend the night in Zamora … in a boarding house. Juana Josefa already knows more about travel: she is from Guipuzcoa, she has lived in Burgos … but the others?

Where are they going? What suitcases do they have to prepare? … What adventure are they embarking on?
It is true that they have their religious concerns, that Fr. Miguel gives them confidence, that Juana Josefa, that little basque stranger, even with her 26 years, surprises them with her maturity, warm relationship, Ah! … and very devout. According to the saying then.

They empathize with the projects of Fr. Miguel and Juana Josefa: a freer, more just society, closer to God through the promotion of women, through Christian education.
They understand that education is the best investment. The best armor in the honest path of life. And Petra, the only teacher, could corroborate it.

… fog, uncertainty, and nerves, why not? Of course. And more.

But the strength of the SPIRIT has the power to dissipate that existential fog and transform it into hope and solid certainty that faces chimerical utopias. They feel that their God is with them.
As it was said to Mary, there in Nazareth: the Lord is with you.

They do not know yet how … but they will be “DAUGHTERS OF JESUS”.
Nothing is impossible for God, and like Mary, how is this to be? In spite of the fog, they, too, rest in their God Jesus.

And there we see them: GOING FORTH … IN SEARCH, towards Salamanca; for the moment.
Afterwards: God knows.

 

Teresa Zugazabeitia, FI

Bilbao

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