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“All faithful christians [...] are called to the plenitud of christian life and to the
perfection of charity ” Lumen Gentium, 40
The Catholic Church’s Catechism number 2014 talks about the mysticism “The spiritual
progress leads to a more intimate union wit Christ. This union is called mystical,
because it participates of the mystery of Christ by means of the Sacraments, the ‘Holy
Mysteries” and in Him, the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls all of us to this intimate
union with Him, even when special graces or extraordinary symbols of that mythical life
are granted only to some in order to manifest the free gift given to all.”
Pope Francis when he was Bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
pronounced a message at the first Regional Urban pastoral Congress in Buenos Aires the
25 th of August of 2011, which we can say serves as a reference to the initiative of
Mythical Ponce. His message can be summarized in the phrase form Documento
Conclusivo de Aparecida (514) “Gdd lives in the city” and in three ideas:
1. Looking: It is important to look. . . “to look deep into that simple look of Faith
that so much pleased our Lord without taking into account race, culture or religion.
Because the look of Faith discovers and creates city.”
2. Finding: Have that glance take you to the encounter :The images of the Gospel
that I like the most are those that pertain to the reaction that Jesus brings upon the
people he encounters in the street.”
3. Provoke: “The Lord simply “passes by doing good”, One marvels at what lies
inside the heart of so many people who excluded from society and ignored by many,
when they come into contact with the Lord are filled with plentiful life and this life grows
integrally, bettering the life of the city.”
Pope Francisco stresses that in the life of a Christian it is fundamental to always go back
to the central idea behind the kerygma or content of the first announcement “Jesus
loves you, he gave his life so you could be saved, and now he is alive besides you every
day, to bring you light, to make you stronger, to liberate you”. The personal experience
of the reality of these words is the ordinary mystic that we are all called to live in our
everyday existence.
Mythical Ponce, in its path through the city, invites us to look, to find, to elicit and
discover that “God lives in the city”. Jesus resurrected… is present in the everyday
occurrences of our history… he is lives in our city of Ponce. Congratulations!
Jorge
Iván Vélez-Arocho
, Ph.D
PCUPR President
President’s Message