BIBLICAL CIRCLES “WALKING IN COMMUNITY” (CBS)
Hno. Cristian Fabián Bacar, Piarist – GUATEMALA.
A little history: It was 1977 and the ways of God led Fr. Pepe (José Segalés), a Piarist, to the Sierra Gorda in Querétaro, where Francisco Botey, Piarist, had started the mission of Maconí with Piarist priests, a diocesan deacon and neighbors of the place. In that evangelical environment of poverty, without roads, electricity, water, schools, health centers or chapels, Fr. Pepe discovered the power of the Word of God when it was read, reflected upon and shared with the members of the mission community and among neighbors. It was there that he came to know the CBS.
Pepe left the Mission in 1978 and returned in 1985. He found the CBS already functioning in those isolated rancherías. It was at that time that the hymn to the Holy Spirit, which the Church recites every year at Pentecost, written more than a thousand years ago, and now with music composed by Fr. Botey, was heard to illuminate the Word in each session. From there the CBS spread to Puebla (1983), Veracruz (1993) where the current Manual to lead a CB was presented; Mexicali (2001), Valle de Mexicali (2009), Los Angeles (2010), Ensenada (2011), Fuerte Sinaloa (2013), Tijuana (2016), Jalisco (2021), Sonora (2022), Guatemala (2023), Apizaco (2023) and Puerto Rico (2024). Then there were two general meetings of all the CBS. The 1st Encounter of CBS in Mexicali (2018) and the 2nd Encounter in Veracruz (2024). Today there are more than 160 CBS in more than 40 parishes in 4 countries.
What are the CBS? They are a space of encounter, participation and communion in which a group of neighbors gather to reflect on a text of the Gospel in order to discover, in the light of the Word and the Holy Spirit, who inspires their own hearts and the hearts of others, the will of God and the presence of Christ in the person and the community.
Why is CBS so attractive? It is because of the methodology employed. There is no fixed place, the houses or in the parish hall, the Bible always presides in a visible place, also an image of Mary. There is a coordinator who animates the meeting or by turns, better yet. The reading, always from the Gospel of the following Sunday, is read three times by different people, standing or seated. Comments are made in strict order, and no one is allowed to interrupt or clarify. At the end of each intervention, everyone gives thanks. The most beautiful thing is that everyone is in a circle, which shows the fraternity among its members. Then the commentary of the Gospel given in the Manual is read to enrich the reflection. Afterwards, standing up, they give thanks and ask for their needs and then crown it with the Our Father (holding hands) and the Hail Mary. No CB ends without a warm embrace among all the participants. In addition, the Word of God leads the group to make an evangelical commitment called the Good Deed of the Month to the neediest of the place.
What educational and transformative impact do the CBS offer? First of all, they are open to all people (over 14 years of age) who wish to know the Word, even if they lack the sacraments. It is profoundly lay because they are “first” in the way they organize themselves. Each CB is the small church that discovers the fraternity of Jesus in communion with the parish, the witness of God by listening to him. It accepts everyone without distinction and, above all, trusts in its brothers and sisters. All carry the missionary spirit so that no one is left without the consolation of God through his Word.
The CBS for children, the favorite of Calasanz. The “San José de Calasanz” CB of Apizaco was opened in February 2022 by the layman Julio Carrión, director of the Calasanz School of Puebla. The children use the material patiently prepared by Javier Jimenez from Veracruz. When he became director of the Fray Pedro de Gante Institute in Apizaco, Tlaxcala, the “SERVIDORES DE JESÚS” CB was opened. From the two children’s CBS in Piarist schools, there are currently eight others scattered in parishes. The most significant detail is that they are not catechesis; they are the clearest expression of evangelization in the face of children. They are starting a modality of children’s CBS so that mothers and grandmothers can offer them to their children, grandchildren and neighbors. THE CBS A TREASURE FOR THE POPE SCHOOL!
