PAQUITO'S COVENANT

PAQUITO’S COVENANT

By Arturo Guerra, LC

aguerra@arcol.org

In the world agreements, or covenants, are made. Quite often, they are made out of interest; or are made between the powerful to increase their power. Or, they are broken if they don’t seem to be useful any more. 

They say that once upon a time, a baby named Paquito made an agreement with his parents. He wanted to make it official, so he wrote down 4 clauses that explained his part:

I promise that, when I am in a good mood, I will smile if any of you comes close to my crib.

I guarantee that I will ask for all kind of objects that get my attention, to play with them in the small amount of free time that I have in my busy life

I guarantee that I will not forget to ask for my food on time and also – Why not? When it is not convenient. And if asking is not enough I will demand it!

I promise that every day like clockwork at 3 am, even on holidays; I will cry my head off, with or without any reason.

In return Paquito was asking for his parents to love him, which they already did indeed.  

Truth is that Paquito can give little to his parents. But, how much good can the love of their child do for a dad or a mom! How can they be transformed! Just one smile from Paquito is enough to make his heroic parents keep tolerating with superhuman patience his whining and crying at three o’clock in the morning…

 A math teacher used to tell his teenage students that at their age they could not, in fact, love their parents. He would then explain that when a kid gets everything from his parents, it’s hard to show his love for them.  With time, they will be able to confirm this. In the mean time, they needed to use the remainder of the class learning math… 

It is also true that a 14 year old does not contribute a lot to the family budget. Actually, they make expenses grow three or four times in food, clothing and music.  But by barely washing and drying a dish, a teenager is capable of winning back his mother’s heart. With just a “B” that breaks the monotony of the countless D’s, can make dad have hope again. Mom would maybe have to re wash that dish and dad will soon be expecting D’s, but those gestures of the teenager can do so much good! 

These examples can help us understand the Covenant that Christ offers us. Yes, it is true that God does not need us to be more God. But he has chosen to freely need us, and for that reason he smiles and cries with us. For that reason our love and our lack of love affects his heart profoundly. And that is our small part in that wonderful Covenant. 

It is a Covenant that Christ seals with his blood. He sheds his blood for us. He does everything. Our part is just to say yes and love and imitate him with all our small strength. Small, but all of it. He’s not asking for more.

A doctor used to tell a story about an old man that showed up in his office with a big wound on his hand. The patient was in a hurry. When the doctor asked why he was in such a hurry, the patient told him he needed to go to a retirement home to have breakfast with his wife who lived there. His wife had been suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s for more than four years. The doctor then asked the man if his wife would be concerned if he was late. The old man responded: “No, she does not remember who I am anymore. It has been five years since she’s recognized me.” The doctor puzzled said: “If she doesn’t know who you are, why do you need to have breakfast with her every morning?” The old man smiled and responded: “She does not know who I am, but I do know very well who she is.” The Covenant   that Christ made with us is as faithful and more.

In the terrible scene of the flagellation in Mel Gibson’s movie, there is one scene where Mary, overwhelmed with pain, steps away and asks herself: “When? How? Where...will you decide to free yourself of all of this my Son?” 

It seems that Mary is trying to look into the depth of the love of a God incarnated that loves without limits. That has not measure. That has no considerations. That loses all proportion. That cannot be explained. That it is a crazy mystery of love. That when it was born, it found the limits on an infinite donation. That what he said about making a New Covenant was real. That what he said about sealing that Covenant with his own blood was real. That what he said about shedding his blood for us, was real. 

This shedding of blood was so real and so abundant, that it has splattered all History. For that reason we can have that Blood and that Body in any tabernacle of any corner of Christianity, to be adored, consoled, redeem ourselves and offer in exchange to fulfil our four little clauses, similar to Paquito’s.

For Christ, that is enough.

(From the original in Spanish:  "La alianza de Paquito";

translated by Marili and Nicholas Crichton).