“Loving our neighbor as ourselves means being firmly committed to building a more just world, in which everyone has access to the goods of the earth, in which all can develop as individuals and as families, and in which fundamental rights and dignity are guaranteed to all.” - Pope Francis, 2019
"Welcome to Canada!", a greeting that brings mixed feelings. It signals joy, excitement, hope and, at the same time, fears and insecurities, because leaving one's homeland is not just a matter of changing one's physical environment, but of immersing in a whole new culture. It is about using a different language, being exposed to different ways of doing things, creating a new personal and social history and hearing one's name being addressed by a whole new set of people. Indeed, migration is life-changing! And if it is difficult for an individual, how much more for family who moved to another country in one fell swoop.
We had this experience when we migrated to Canada. Our first few months/years was indeed a no walk in the park. We felt like we were put in a trance or under a spell; we did not know exactly what was going on. All the orientation seminars we had gone through in the Philippines were not enough to prepare us for our new life. We seemed powerless. Yet, we had no choice but to survive. Start anywhere, anyhow we did. We asked ourselves many questions:
Is this a good neighborhood to live in and settle our family? Is this place accessible by public transportation? Are we willing to live in a basement or garage? Will I be able to afford this apartment? Where's the grocery store? Can I buy this and that? Where are the nearest schools for my children? Do I send my children to a TDSB- or TCDSB-run school? Is it safe to play in public parks? Are we going to be welcome in this neighborhood?
When we started looking for employment, my wife and I heard the untiring question: "Do you have any Canadian experience?" What?!! Of course we did not have. We landed just a month ago, and were still waiting for our SIN card, OHIP Health card and PR card. The first three to five months was truly an ordeal. We did not know where to go. We started to question ourselves if Canada was a place for us.
"Is there a place where we will be accepted?", we asked ourselves. Yes, there was a place, a safe space, where migrants felt welcomed. The atmosphere was in solidarity with the people who struggle; it is a place where justice and hospitality grounded in Christian faith is evident. The place is literally a house. It is called Rutilio Grande House.
Tucked in the west end of Toronto is Rutilio Grande House. Named after the Jesuit priest Rutilio Grande, promoter of Liberation Theology, who was martyred in El Salvador in 1977. Rutilio Grande House is an embodiment of Fr. Grande's vision, "The material world is for everyone, without borders. A common table with a tablecloth big enough for everyone, like this Eucharist. Each one with a seat so that each one comes to the table to eat." - Staff, Catholic Register. catholicregister.org. June 8, 2007. https://www.catholicregister.org/item/9202-house-of-faith-sharing-refugee-support (accessed July 24, 2022).
15 years ago, Lori bought the house to be a home for the Rutilio Grande Community, "an intentional community where people choose to come together and live as they wish for the world to live, allowing people to live the life they are created for, rather than one thrust upon them by poverty or circumstance." (https://almas-soulfood.blogspot.com/2007/06/rutilio-grande-house.html)
Since we met Lori in our parish, she has never failed to invite my whole family to celebrate special occasions with them. The first time we joined them was for Christmas Tree Trimming. Right away, my family and I felt at home. To begin with, the name of the house was like "home" for Dolly, because when Dolly was a teacher in the Philippines, she would always show the film "Romero" to her students for their Catholic Social Teaching class. Year in and year out, for 21 years, she exposed her students to Bishop Oscar Romero and his Jesuit priest friends--primarily Fr. Rutilio Grande -- who were martyred because of their love for Christ and for the poor. But more than this visit in the past, we felt at home because of the people we met there. Lori and Martin and, their daughter, Angela (who was just a baby then) were so welcoming. Martin's parents were also very hospitable. There were also newly arrived migrants there who also lived in the Rutilio Grande House. We did not feel that we were strangers. We ate the same food. We spoke the same faith. We shared our common experience. Laughter came out naturally.
This year, 2022, is a very special year for Rutilio Grande Community. First, because Rutilo Grande was beatified last 22 January at Plaza Divino del Mundo in San Salvador, El Salvador by Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez. Second, because Rutilio Grande House celebrated its 15th year! And yes, the Rutilio Grande's spirit lives on. The house and community named after him remains a place where "a common table with a tablecloth big enough for everyone...". We commemorated this in our Summer get-together barbecue!
Again, in this BBQ party, people who are/were connected to Rutilio Grande House had a wonderful time. Food, of course, was shared as well as stories of pains and joys. People of different cultures, languages, colors, and social status, bearing different fears and dreams, came together with one purpose in mind, that is, to celebrate the same memories of kindness experienced in that place.
To encounter other families is a gift. Like the family of Alejandro. They arrived in Canada a couple of years later than us. He and his family lived in Rutilio Grande house for seven years. And until recently they moved to Brampton, a city north west of Toronto, when he found a new job and a new home. It had been a long time since we saw them; their children were still small. Now the children had grown up. In our brief conversation we discovered that he and I had something in common aside from Rutilio Grande House, and that is we worked for the same company in the early years of our stay in Toronto. We never had a chance to see each other but we talked about the people we knew when we worked at that company. This brings to mind what Grande once said, "the first contact with the people was to be characterized by a human encounter; to try to enter into their reality in order to leave with a common reality." - Thomas Kelly, When the Gospel Grows Feet, (Liturgical Press, 2013) Chapter 5.
While enjoying the party, my family and could not help but think of Rutilio Grande's Jesuit spirituality of cura personalis (personal care). Thanks to Lori, we see in the concrete how that spirituality is lived. We are also reminded of the meaning of the Holy Eucharist -- it is a celebration of thanksgiving where everyone is welcomed at the table of Christ who offered his life for us.
To Lori, thank you for inviting us to be part of Rutilio Grande Community. And to the Rutilio Grande Community, may our gatherings continue to be a true and authentic human encounter!