¡PRESENTE!
What is ¡Presente!?
What is the School of Discipleship ¡Presente! Service?
“From the beginning of the School of Discipleship over 15 years ago we have always taken time towards the end of the school to observe the solemn ritual of “Presente”.
¡Presente! Is a litany of remembrance that has a special resonance and place within the churches and human rights struggle among the peoples of Central and Latin America. The ¡Presente! tradition began in 1990 in commemoration of the assassination of six Jesuit Priests and two women in the University of Central America in El Salvador on November 16, 1989.
The word “Presente” means “here” or “present” with us in Spanish. Within the theology of the Communion of the
Saints the ritual is particularly reserved to honour those victims of injustice. It is a calling to mind of all those whose lives have been extinguished by hatred and violence, those who have died in the struggle for justice and peace.
Whilst it is important to remember all those who have died in the Lord, the naming of individuals within the ¡Presente! service is especially used as a spiritual force to invoke the memory of those radical disciples activists and discipleship makers whose lives have been spent for the non-violent Reign of God.
At the School of Discipleship, our ritual of ¡Presente! joins inthe tradition of remembering the myriads of people known and unknown whose lives should be remembered and celebrated.
When we raise our hands and cry ¡Presente! the lives of the Saints, their testimonies are before us. We do not forget them. We afrm their memories and their gifs of dedication. We stand in solidarity with their purpose.
Something else happens as well. Our ritual of ¡Presente! is a spiritual power, an occasion of absence and presence. It is a witness, an afrmation of life, a discovery, a moment of inspiration, a calling out to us to be counted among those whose lives are committed to the ongoing following of Jesus.
So sisters and brothers, when we share in the service of ¡Presente! let us ask of the Holy Spirit that we might once again hear the call, feel the sacred presence, and remember the cost. And as we do, let us pledge ourselves to be part of the ongoing company of the “Cloud of Witnesses” to courage, capacity and conviction!”