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'Reverse Mission' from "Gracias: A Latin American Journal" by Henri Nouwen

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" As I was trying to find an answer to the  question: "Does God call me to live and work in Latin America?   I gradually realized that the word " gracias " that came from the lips of the people contained the answer.  After many centuries of missionary work during which we, the people of the north, tried to give them , the people of the south, what we felt they needed, we have now come to realize that our very first vocation is to receive their gifts for us that live in the illusion of power and self-control.  It is the treasure of gratitude that can help us break through the walls of our individual and collective self-righteousness and prevent us from destroying ourselves  and our planet in the futile attempt to hold onto what we consider our own.   If I have any vocation in Latin America, it is the vocation to receive from the people the gifts they have to offer us and to bring these gifts back up north for our own conversion and healing.   The Maryknoll commun