Mary is Our Mother Too (Part 2)

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 26 February 2011)

In last week’s sharing, you heard the first installment of a true story of survival where a group of young boys experienced that Mary is not only the Mother of God, but also their mother.

At the ending of last week’s story, the remaining 16 boys who survived the airplane crash held nightly Rosary prayer sessions in the shell of the plane, which became a tremendous source of strength for the boys. 

Now there was a boy named Arturo. He was a rather sullen person. Even his own family found him withdrawn and hard to communicate with. One night Arturo surprised everyone by asking to lead the prayers. As he prayed, he spoke with such deep feeling that the others were struck with a new affection for him. After the prayer ended, everyone was silent.  Only Arturo could be heard weeping softly. “Why are you crying?” someone asked. “Because I feel so close to God,” Arturo replied.

Days inched into weeks. Finally, in the eighth week, signs of life began to show: a bee, a butterfly. The season had changed. It was now warm during the day. At night, however, the temperatures still dropped to well below freezing.

Two of the strongest boys, Nando and Canessa agreed to try to descend the mountain for help.  They made their final preparations for the long walk; clothes, food, maps, medications and toiletries recovered from the luggage for skin protection, a walking stick, a compass. The going was extremely difficult.  They were tied together by a nylon cord. One bad slip and both would go tumbling down the mountain. One boy began a continuous dialogue with God.  He had seen the movie Fiddler on the Roof, and remembered that one of the characters prayed this way.  “God”, he said, “You can make it tough; but please don’t make it impossible.”

Nine days later the two boys made it down. Within hours, army helicopters flew to the top of the mountain, guided by Nando, to rescue the remaining 14 boys. Everyone then gathered for a reunion and celebration in the Sheraton San Cristobel Hotel. Sorrow for those who had not returned and joy for those who had. One of the boys, Delgado, explained to his parents and newspaper writers who had gathered to hear their story:

‘When one awakes in the morning amid the silence of the snowcapped peaks – it is majestic, sensational, something frightening – and one feels alone in the world but for the presence of God. For I can assure you that God is there. We all felt it, inside ourselves, and not because we were the kind of pious youths who are always praying. Not at all. But there one feels the presence of God. One feels, above all, what is called the hand of God, and allows oneself to be guided by it.’ 

‘We had an enormous desire to live’, said Mangino, ‘and faith in God. Our group was always united. We prayed the Rosary. We kept our faith. I’ve changed. That’s the best thing about it.’

The boys gave much credit to Mary for helping them survive those 72 days. By actual count, they had repeated the phrase “Holy Mary, Mother of God” over 50,000 times in their prayers. During those 72 days on the mountain, the 16 boys experienced that Mary was not only the Mother of God, but also their mother.

In his homily on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Fr Mark Link said this:

“If we are looking for a new year’s resolution, we might do no better than follow the example of the 16 boys on the mountain.  We, too, might make the decision they made, that is, starting today, we will make prayer an important part of our life in the days ahead.

If for you, prayer is already a part of your life, why don’t we try an ever richer experience, that is doing what the boys did, to seek Mary’s help in our prayers. If we do this, we can be sure that we will experience her help, just as they did.”

Let’s end today’s sharing by praying the Salve Regina. I invite you to pray it along with me, in silence:

Hail Holy Queen, mother of mercy.  Hail our life, our sweetness, our hope. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve.  To you we direct our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.  Be merciful to us loving advocate, and after this our exile, show us your son, Jesus. Amen.

Mary is Our Mother Too (Part 1)

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 19 February 2011)

In last week’s sharing, you heard about Mary being the Mother of Jesus and spiritual mother of the whole human race.  Today, I would like to share with you a true story of survival in the most difficult conditions where a group of young boys experienced that Mary is not only the Mother of God, but also their mother.

On October 13, 1972, a small airplane carrying a rugby team, their friends and families

crashed high in the Andes Mountains. For 72 days and nights, the survivors huddled together, prayed for rescue and kept their faith. This is their story…

The boys, aged 18 – 26, who attended Stella Maris College in Montevideo, Uruguay, loved to play rugby and shared their deep religious faith. Now the team was to play against the national team of Chile, a country 900 miles to the west.

The flight path from Uruguay to Chile includes a dangerous stretch through the Andes Mountains.  (If you can imagine by looking at the map here, the Andes Mountains are here.) Weather conditions are changeable. Wind and blowing snow can make visibility poor.  The pilot would need all of his skill to navigate safely through the mountains.  The Andes Mountains are steep and very high. The sharp peaks pierce the sky like jagged teeth. Nothing grows at this height and in the winter, the temperature plunges to -40 degrees.

As the pilot began his path through the mountains, the airplane developed trouble and as it hit an air pocket, it dropped through the clouds. The right wing hit the mountain and broke off, taking the tail of the plane with it. Then the left wing broke away. This left the body of the plane hurtling down the mountain at top speed and crashed in the deep snow.  Incredibly, 32 of them survived but some were badly injured. 

The weather was below zero degrees, but none of them were dressed for the cold weather and few suitcases with extra clothing could be found.  As night closed in, the 32 survivors huddled together in the broken section of the plane and comforted each other. Many were in severe pain and shock.

The next day, three more people had died during the night.  The team captain, Marcelo, made an inventory of all the food on the plane. It would have to be rationed carefully, in case they were on the mountain for a longer time. The food was not enough for so many people.

Some of the boys took for granted that they would be surely rescued that they helped themselves to the food that Marcelo had been guarding. Upon discovering the missing food, Marcelo was furious. ‘Don’t you realise you’re playing with our lives?’ he pleaded.

Meanwhile, family and friends began to arrive from Uruguay to keep a vigil for their lost loved ones.  They waited, prayed and kept their faith.   A search and rescue mission was set out to search for the airplane day after day. They faced heavy snowfall, howling winds but the force of the Andes was overwhelming, and all search efforts came up empty.

On the eighth day, search parties from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay abandoned their efforts.  This news reached the survivors over the plane’s radio which one of the boys had restored to operation.  The crash victims then realised that if they were to survive, it would have to be on their own.

On the 17^th day, all of a sudden, the crashed plane had been struck by an avalanche. Frantically, those who could breathe and could move began digging for their friends who were buried in the snow.  But, when it was over, eight more lay dead.

At this point, the remaining 16 boys made an important decision.  They decided to hold nightly prayer services in the shell of the plane. Around nine o’clock, when the moon dropped below the mountain, they would stop all talking and one of the boys would begin the Rosary. The nightly prayer sessions became a tremendous source of strength for the boys.  Some boys who were not particularly religious began to experience a remarkable awareness of God’s presence during the prayer sessions.

End of the first installment, next week, you will hear how the boys managed to find their way out and how their testimony gave much credit to God and Mother Mary for helping them survive those 72 days.