“Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful song!”

El que canta, ora dos veces! He who sings, prays twice! Our Mission Teams from Pittsburgh discovered that the people of Peru sing joyfully to the Lord. Whether at Saint Louis parish church where Father Al McGinnis once served, or at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Miraflores, a suburb of the nation’s capital, Lima, an eight-hour bus ride down the Pan American Highway. Music and songs of praise are gifts Peruvians enthusiastically return to the Lord.

Fishers of Men

At Saint Rose of Lima Church in Chimbote the tabernacle is in the shape of a fishing boat reminding all that Jesus recruited Peter, James and John to be “fishers of men.” It also reflects the livelihood of Chimbote as a fishing industry in this coastal town along the Pacific Ocean. Our experience as mission partners brought us to a fuller understanding of the universality of the Catholic Church. Jesus prayed at the Last Supper, “that all may be one!”

Heavenly Father, at the close of Mass when the priest says, “Let us go forth to love and serve the Lord,” may our heartfelt response always be, “Thanks be to God!”