The Catholic church here in Costa Rica is so close to getting it, it hurts. Instead they miss the most important point of what the whole Christian religion is based around. That is Jesus coming to earth and dying for our sins so that we can go to heaven and have eternal life with the Father. The catholic church here has put the focus on Mary which I believe is due to the cultural standards here in Costa Rica. In the “teco” (what Costa Ricans call them self’s) cultural they put a lot of weight in honoring the older women here. Women who are older or grandmothers are treated with high respect. Tecos believe if you have a problem, you go to your mom or grandmother first. They go to the mother to handle everything and she fixes all their problems. Due to this way of thinking in this culture its transferred over to their Catholic church. They don’t go straight to the big guys: our heavenly Father, or Jesus. In their minds, you pray to Mary who will bring it to God/Jesus. What they missed was that everyone who has proclaimed that Jesus is Lord and invites him into your heart has received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the direction line to the Father/Jesus, which mean we no longer must live like old testament. Such as going through the priests to talk with God, or making sure you are “staying clean” (not touching dead bodies, etc.), or sacrificing your animals as an offering try to please the Lord. Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sins and the veil was torn in two, it covered us forever. That way He was sent because he was the perfect “Lamb” he lived a life without sin so that in doing so he could atone and cover all the sin of every person and we could to choose to pick up our crosses and follow him. We no longer must go through any person or saint to get to OUR Father. God is a relational God, yes, He is to be feared, heck he’s the creator of everything but He’s also personal. The creator sent his only son to die for you, for all of us, so that we could have a relationship with Him! God is a God who loves and who is full of mercy. When we choose to follow him, we are adopted into his family and are now sons and daughters of the most high God. God isn’t as distant as some people choose to believe. If you have the Holy Spirit he is always with you, you are never alone, that in itself is a gift and the bible tells us so in (John 14:15-21). There is no amount of acts that we could do to be worthy enough to get into heaven. You could try and follow all the rules and be a “good person” and still it wouldn’t be enough. It is only through grace that we are saved which is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). By putting Mary on the top, you put God/Jesus lower every time. Without even realizing what they are doing they are taking away from God’s glory and honor because the tecos believe God is too busy and they need Mary to help make things go smoother up there.
This is where grace comes into play, I want to ask you a question. Does God still love them even if they missed it? The answer is, of course. I believe if he didn’t I wouldn’t be here in Costa Rica today. Jesus died for all because of God’s love for us. So, missing it isn’t going to stop His love for us that if they or even we mess up or miss it. The same goes for literally anyone, if you’re a tax collector or you steal, does God stop loving you? No, we are his creation and He knows we are born into sin, it is only by our choice to turn away or repent from sin and follow. As human he already knows we are going to mess up and make mistakes. Example, I have been super busy with our schedule this month and heck I’ve been snappy at times, but it’s by grace I’m covered by Jesus blood. It still means I need to repent though and try to do better the next time.
The Catholic church is not bad, nor are the people who attend. This is coming from a person who was born and raised Roman Catholic and being confirmed in that church. I still have a handful full of friends who are still in the Catholic church and they have a deep relationship with Jesus. Not everyone who attends is misled and I want to stress that. I’m not here to condemn anyone or make them feel shame nor will I generalize a group as a whole. Only God knows your heart and it is not my place to try to make assumption’s. Though here in Costa Rica one of the biggest churches here was built in honor and is centered around a “Black Madona” (Mary statue). I’ll briefly tell you the story. There was a little Indian girl who was in the woods one day in Costa Rica. Now one day she came to a river, and on the river, was a huge rock. On the rock was a statue of a “Black Madona” (Mary). The little Indiana girl took the statue back to her house and put it in a box. The next day the little girl was walking through the wood and to her surprise she found another Black Madona. Picking that one up she took it home to put with the other. But when she opened the box there was nothing inside. It had been the same Madona. This happened several more time and because of this the Catholic leaders of Costa Rica decided to build a whole church to honor the black Madona they found.
Now each year the country has an annual trek where people will take the long journey of a certain route and walk endless miles to get to this church they built with the actual Madona inside. They walk and it takes about two days and once the church is in site everyone gets on their knees and shuffles there way about a mile or so to the church. By the time they make it all the way to the church the streets are covered in the blood of these people. In pain, the try to be atoned for their sin by bringing pain upon them self’s. Forgetting what Jesus did on the cross. They enter the church and buy fake madona statues and fill then with holy water and then pray to Mary for whatever they need, most of the time healing. No thing about this annual event has anything to do with God or Jesus, but solely focuses on the “Black Madona” statue and for healing and miracles through pleasing Mary enough to get it.
Here is what I really admire about all of this, the passion and dedication these people have even if its directed in the wrong direction. To think of the commitment they have, now aim that to Jesus and give him all that honor and glory. What would that look like in our lives? How do I personally apply what I’ve seen to my life to glorify God? I am a firm believer you can learn something good from any situation even if it’s what not to do. If we as the church of America were as committed to Christ as the Catholic people in Costa Rica to Mary, the church in America would look totally different. Do you think we should physically harm ourselves to try to take care of our sins or please God? NO! That’s an awful idea plus we are saved by grace. I do think if we let go of the control that we think we should figure everything out lean on God for our understanding, God would have an opportunity to surprise us. I know from my personal walk He has every time. If we had as much faith that the people in Costa Rica have that they will be healed and pray so passionately to Mary and have faith she can heal them. Just think if we had that faith, without a doubt believe God could and would heal us, I believe more miracles would happen. God still is preforming miracles all over the world. Honestly God’s already doing that every day, it’s your call who yours going to give the credit too.
This is the main reasons my hosts are here today living among the tecos. They want to see people’s eyes opened to truth and to show love the way God loves them. In the end, God just wants to have a relationship with these people and He’s dedicated to bringing people here to make that a reality. That’s just a snippet of what I’m learning about during my time here. God has really blessed this month for my team and I with a great ministry here as well as hosts that have made it an easier transition to slowly ending the race stronger.
UPDATE: Just like the title of this blog I’m “so close but no cigar”. I’m so close to being fully funded I only have $1,700 to go. I want to ask you to prayerfully consider donating. I want to be able to stay the rest of my time here and finish strong. Thank you for all the prayers and support!
