{"id":4274,"date":"2020-03-03T12:43:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T17:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/?p=4274"},"modified":"2020-03-03T12:43:07","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T17:43:07","slug":"el-cireneo-hogar-de-esperanza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/?p=4274","title":{"rendered":"El Cireneo, Hogar de Esperanza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Ana Lopez with some of El Cireneo’s Patients and staff<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ana, tell us a little bit about yourself. You just graduated from IPS and I hear you are planning on continuing your studies. What is next? How has your time at IPS helped you in your ministry? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am from Tuxtla Guti\u00e9rrez, the capital\ncity of Chiapas, Mexico, and I am 30 years old. I have a Bachelor\u2019s in\nFinancial Management with a concentration in Financial Analysis and Investment\nManagement from a prestigious university in Mexico, the Monterrey Institute of\nTechnology and Higher Education (ITESM), where I graduated with honors. I have\nexperience as a Portfolio Manager with the Mexican Stock Exchange. I have also\nworked as a Purchasing Manager in Libertad Creativa S.A. de C.V., and as the\nGeneral Manager of Win Land. Hence, my focus was on business and money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in 2012, everything began to\nchange when I initiated my catechesis for the sacrament of Confirmation in the\nCatholic Church. Without any doubt, this sacrament was the one that changed my\nlife and personal goals. Soon after, I started to participate in the Catholic Charismatic\nRenewal Movement, where I began to know God. With the desire to know Him more,\nI enrolled myself in the Bachelor\u2019s in Theology with Pastoral emphasis at one\nof the Catholic universities in my hometown. I studied this degree for three\nyears, but I could not finish it for several reasons, one of them was my\nmother\u2019s death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mother passed away in May 2015 due to\nsuicide. It was the most challenging experience I have had. Nevertheless, it\nled me to the best of my life, my ministry, and my renewed relationship with\nGod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After my mother died, I had tremendous painful experiences, one after another. I felt like Job in the Bible, losing everything I owned and believed. As a result, I was suffering from depression. I did not think I could make it, but God never left me. He was with me during the darkest period of my life. Deep inside, I had one tiny sparkle, a light of hope, the desire to continue studying. I wanted a master\u2019s degree in something related to God. Thus, by searching for it on the Internet, I found (curiously the first link) Loyola University Chicago. By reading the academic offer, I decided to apply to the Master\u2019s in Christian Spirituality, Spiritual Direction concentration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day after I applied, I received an email from the Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) welcoming me to the program! You cannot imagine the joy and hope I felt! This news changed my darkness into light. It was not only the news but the entire experience of moving to Chicago and studying for my master’s program in the United States. The IPS faculty, my classmates, the Contextual Education program, the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, my spiritual director\u2026 everything and everyone contributed to the healing of my heart and soul. It was a process of purification. It was not easy, but it was worth the effort. On the day of my graduation, I recapitulated my time at IPS with verse 6 of Psalm 126: “Those who go forth weeping, carrying sacks of seed, will return with cries of joy, carrying their bundled sheaves” (NABRE). When I arrived at IPS, I was heartbroken. When I left, I cried with joy! Furthermore, I proclaimed with Job: “By hearsay, I had heard of you, but now my eye has seen you” (Job 42:5, NABRE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By becoming a spiritual director, I\nencountered myself and God. Before my master\u2019s degree, I had lost sight of who\nI was and most importantly, who I was in God\u2019s sight and love. However, through\nthe program and the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises, I gained a new\nsight of myself and God. This experience of God\u2019s love is the one that I try to\nhand down to my directees now that I am back in my hometown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Integration Project of my master\u2019s\ndegree became real when I opened the retreat house called El Cireneo, Hogar de\nEsperanza (The Cyrenian, House of Hope) in my hometown. Thanks to the personal\nand academic growth from my mother\u2019s death, my own recovery process from\ndepression, and my education, I was able to intertwine them, and the result was\nthe healing program of the retreat house for patients suffering from\ndepression. With the valuable help of my then Academic Advisor and Faculty\nReader Jean-Pierre Fortin, Ph.D., I discerned that the goal of the retreat\nhouse and its holistic program (physical health, emotional well-being, and\nspiritual renewal) is to lower the rate of suicide, by enabling individuals\nsuffering from depression to process their suffering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I finished my Integration Project on June\n23rd and one month later, I was opening the retreat house in the same place where\nmy mother committed suicide. This house is now a place where people find\nhealing, peace, hope, and life! I know this is only the beginning. There are\nmore things I need to learn and do. For these reasons, I want to continue my\nstudies. I have been in touch with the dean of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin)\nprogram at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. I hope to apply\nfor the doctorate program this year. As an online program, I will only have to\ntravel there twice a year. Hence, it will not overlap with my time at the\nretreat house. I hope this degree helps me to gain a deeper understanding of\nministry to enhance my role at the retreat house and develop more programs to\nstand in solidarity with those vulnerable in my state and country. And why not?\nMaybe worldwide. So, please, pray for me! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Any word of advice for\ncurrent and future IPS students on surviving grad school and\/or finding their\npath after grad school?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I\nremember during our welcoming session, the dean told us: \u201cBe aware that all the\nstructures you bring to IPS are going to be changed. You are not going to leave\nIPS being the same person.\u201d This statement was completely true for my\nclassmates and I. Thus, be open to allow the fresh air to blow in your life and\nministry. Let yourself be surprised by God’s love and wisdom that you will gain\nthrough the courses and IPS faculty. If you do not know the path, He will guide\nyou through every reading and experience within the classrooms. He is with you\nand will never abandon you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
El Cireneo, Hogar de Esperanza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\nis the story behind El Cireneo? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When my mother passed away, I inherited\nthe house where she committed suicide. It was hard for me to be around the\nhouse in the beginning. I thought I would never be able to emotionally heal and\nreturn. Thus, almost one and a half years later, I decided to lease the house,\neven though the process of emptying it and removing her belongings was\nextremely painful. The house had been occupied for almost two years when I had\nrealized what God wanted for my life. No longer leasing it out, I remodeled it\nto what it is now, the retreat house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was last Holy Thursday when God told me\nto renew the house into a place where people could find Him. I went to the Last\nSupper celebration at the Madonna della Strada Chapel, at the Lake Shore\nCampus, where I then participated in the tradition of Seven Churches Visit,\norganized by Loyola University Campus Ministry. We were at the second church\npraying before the Blessed Sacrament when I listened to God\u2019s voice telling me\nto transform my mother\u2019s home into a retreat house. Soon after, I heard God\nrevealing the name for it: \u201cEl Cireneo, Hogar de Esperanza\u201d (The Cyrenian,\nHouse of Hope). I was amazed and said to Him: \u201cWhat? Wait a minute! I just came\nhere to pray, not to talk about the retreat house.\u201d I have to admit I did not have\nany intentions to talk about the house. Nonetheless, for God, it was the proper\ntime. He knew I was ready to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, I asked Him: \u201c\u00bfpor qu\u00e9 El Cireneo?\u201d\n(why The Cyrenian?). Then, I remembered the Scripture passage about Simon of\nCyrene (cf. Matthew 27:32). God allowed me to discern that I was going to\nbecome Simon of Cyrene, helping the suffering Christ (manifested in my\ndirectees) to carry the cross. In other words, God allowed me to understand\nthat I was going to help my directees to carry their cross, depression. But\nthis cross has a promise: a resurrected life. I learned from my mother\u2019s death\nand my own experience of recovering from depression that there is no cross\nwithout resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was during that same evening, on Holy\nThursday, when God reminded me: \u201cI came so that they might have life and have\nit more abundantly\u201d (John 10:10, NABRE). For this reason, when patients arrive\nat the retreat house, the first sight they can appreciate is the name of the\nhouse and this Biblical passage, John 10:10. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus came so each of my\ndirectees\/patients can have life and have it more abundantly. The staff and I\ntry to bring them relief, reassurance, and consolation by being their Simon of\nCyrene in their journey to a resurrected life in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a little about treatment\nat El Cireneo, Hogar de Esperanza<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned before, thanks to the\npersonal and academic growth from my mother\u2019s death, my own recovery process\nfrom depression, and my education, I was able to intertwine them, and the\nresult was the healing program of the retreat house for patients suffering from\ndepression. In fact, the healing program reflects my own recovery process from\ndepression in a holistic manner: physical health, emotional well-being, and\nspiritual renewal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a)\nPhysical health: when a patient arrives asking for help, he\/she is interviewed\nby the psychologist. He is the one who gives the preliminary diagnosis. If the\npatient is diagnosed with depression, we ask them to undergo testing at a\nlaboratory by the request of the neurologist to rule out physical diseases\ncausing depression (e.g. hypothyroidism). The neurologist determines if the\npatient needs to be medicated and\/or referred to psychiatry. Additionally,\nthere is a nutritionist helping patients improve their diet with the purpose to\nincrease their physical energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

b)\nEmotional well-being: the patient meets with the psychologist every week to\nprocess his\/ her suffering and acquire tools to manage his\/her emotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

c)\nSpiritual renewal: through the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of\nSaint Ignatius of Loyola. The directee meets with me (the spiritual director)\nweekly to talk about his\/her process throughout the retreat. We listen and\ndiscern God\u2019s voice in his\/her life. I help him\/her to contemplate his\/her life\nthrough God\u2019s love, mercy, beauty, and wisdom. It is important to mention that\nwe have monthly therapeutic and spiritual direction meetings with all the\npatients, so they can create a sense of community. They realize that they are\nnot walking alone trying to overcome depression. They help each other by\nsharing their stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because poverty is the main cause of\ndepression in Chiapas, the program is free of charge. We only require patients\nto commit themselves to their recovery process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

——————————————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would like to know more about Ana\u2019s ministry check out the Facebook page: www.facebook.com\/elcireneo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also contact Ana via email suenos.milagrosos2@gmail.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to help El Cireneo, Hogar de Esperanza you can make a donation via PayPal – PayPal.Me\/analopu14<\/a> or email <\/a>Ana for her bank information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana, tell us a little bit about yourself. You just graduated from IPS and I hear you are planning on continuing your studies. What is next? How has your time at IPS helped you in your ministry? I am from Tuxtla Guti\u00e9rrez, the capital city of Chiapas, Mexico, and I am 30 years old. I read more <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,27,1],"tags":[35,121,162],"class_list":["post-4274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ips-alumni","category-service","category-uncategorized","tag-alumni","tag-ips","tag-ministry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}