HIspanic Spirituality by Sr. Rosa Maria Icaza

1. Hispanic Spirituality

2.  “is like living water that
springs up from the very
depths of the experience of
faith.” (Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez)

3.  HISPANICS:
 WHO IS INCLUDED IN THIS GROUP
 In the United States…..
 Those from other Latin American
Countires

4. NATIONAL PLAN FOR HISPANIC MINISTRY
 Spirituality of the Hispanic
people
 “mistica” springs from their faith
and relationship with God

5. Spirituality….
 Personal relationship with:
 God – Triune and One, Provident
 God Father
 God the Son / Incarnate Word, Jesus
 Baby, Child (Niño de Atocha, Niño de Praga)
 Suffering, Agonizing, Crucified
 At the Last Supper – in community
 The Sacred Heart – Alive and Loving

6. Spirituality, cont.
 a basic and constant aspect , and a
sense of the presence of God
 God is found in the arms of the Virgin
Mary. Mary is at the heart of Hispanic
Spirituality.

7. Spirituality, cont.
 Relationship with Mary
 Mother of Jesus and our Mother
 Sorrowful Mother
 Advocations of Mary: de Guadalupe
 Relationship with the Saints
 Brothers/Sisters, Intercessors, Patrons

8. Spirituality, cont.
 Relationship with my neighbor
 relatives, friends, neighbors …
 those I do not know, with enemies …
 those I meet …
 those who live far away …
 Relationship with myself: soul, mind, body
 Relationship with nature
 Relationship with those who have died

9. Spirituality, cont.
 For Hispanics, spirituality is the inner space
that allows people to come in touch with
themselves as believers. It is this area where
“the divine spirit touches the human spirit.”
 For Hispanics, this faith experience is at the
heart of spirituality not only the spiritual …but
also one that affects their total lives..it brings
the Hispanic people in touch with the past
spirituality of their ancestors.
 Bishop Ricardo Ramirez,CSB

10. Domestic Church
 Family Prayer
 Family Altar
 Blessing before leaving …
 Prayer at meals: before and after
 Prayer on getting up and on going to
bed
 Celebrating Anniversaries: “Misa, mesa,
musa”
 Pilgrimages and Special Devotions

11. Popular Religiosity
 Expressions of faith, of thirsting for
God; particular to a certain group of
people.
 These expressions had been held as
secondary…Today we are discovering
them also as means of evangelization.
-Pablo VI. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 48

12. In genuine forms of popular piety, the
Gospel message assimilates expressive
forms particular to a given culture while
also permeating the consciousness of
that culture with the content of the
Gospel. - Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of
the Sacraments, Directory on Popular Piety and the Litur-
gy: Principles and Guidelines (December 2001), no. 63
Popular Piety and the Liturgy

14. Faith and Culture
 [Due to the phenomenon of urbanization, we
must] face the cultural uprooting, the lose of
family customs and the abandonment of
religious traditions, which often leads to a
weakening [a shipwreck] of the faith,
deprived of those expressions that helped to
support it.
-John Paul II. The Church in America. 21

15. Inculturation
 Inculturation is the incarnation
of the Gospel in the cultures of
the peoples and also the
introduction of these cultures in
the life of the Church.
-John Paul II. Slavorum apostolici, 31

16. The Council pointed out that the
spiritual life "is not limited solely to
participation in the liturgy. . . .
according to the teaching of the
apostle, [the Christian] must pray
without ceasing." Popular devotional
practices play a crucial role in helping
to foster this ceaseless prayer.
-USCCB, November 12, 2003 Popular Devotional Practices: Basic
Questions and Answers
Popular Devotions

21. Spiritualty as a journey:
 Reflect on one of these key moments:
 Relationships
 Crises moments
 Feelings of God’s presence
 Memories of cultural root experiences

23. - Our Lady of
Guadalupe,
by your four
apparitions,
take care, loving
Mother,
of all our
afflictions.