I’m writing this trapped in Mazamitla. The cartel has taken this municipality hostage. Along with most of Jalisco.
I could drown in despair. Let myself be carried by resentment, by morbid curiosity, by the endless scroll of news that only feeds fear. But I choose something else: to write. To share something hopeful in the middle of so much darkness.
I know there’s nothing I can do on a human level today. Evil has been accumulating for years while we looked the other way. What we’re living through now is the bill for that silence.
But in the middle of the chaos, something unexpected is happening inside me.
For the first time in many years, I feel God seeking me. Not to give me easy answers. But to build something with Him. Something that carries the opposite message of everything we’re living through.
Do not be afraid. Keep going even when it looks like a lost battle outside.
Do not be afraid. Trust that He is still the one in charge, even when it feels like He’s far away.
Real courage doesn’t show up in easy moments. It shows up when your entire life becomes a Goliath that seems impossible to beat, and you still decide to step forward. Without fear. Because you know the best is on your team.
Throwing yourself at something bigger than you seems like madness.
But that’s exactly where you see the greatness of God.
For Him, the most chaotic situation can become a story of hope. The darkest one can become a testimony of light. That’s not naive optimism. It’s tested faith.
I’m writing this surrounded by trees. Nature here is beautiful, calm, almost mocking in its peace.
And as I write, gunshots ring out. Explosions in the distance.
In that contrast I find the Lord’s wisdom: keep inner peace when the outside is burning. Focus the mind on what I can do. Live in His presence, here, now, in the middle of the noise.
It’s not easy. I know.
Mexico doesn’t deserve this.
But even when it seems like we can’t do anything… we can.
I invite you to something simple. Stop for a moment. Turn off the noise. And say this prayer with me.
It doesn’t matter where you are. It doesn’t matter how far you feel from God right now.
A Prayer for Mexico
Father, You who told us to not be afraid, hear our prayer today.
Mexico is suffering. We feel disarmed. Hopeless. It seems like there is nothing we can do in the face of so much violence, so much pain, so much darkness.
We know it’s easy to lose faith in the face of what we’re living through. But even though nothing makes sense, we choose to turn our eyes to You. Even if only for a few minutes, to trust that You can change things. You can bring peace. You can help us live without fear.
Virgin of Guadalupe, You who said to Juan Diego: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” Be today the mother of all Mexicans in this painful moment. Cover us with your mantle. Help us see the light in so much darkness.
Give us the courage of David before Goliath. May fear not paralyze us, but may hope move us. May this pain not be the end, but the beginning of something new. United in prayer, in faith and in your love, may we become instruments of your peace.
Christ, come to the aid of a country that loves You and needs You deeply.
Amen.
If we unite in prayer. If we keep our eyes fixed on the good. If we choose to be optimistic when everything around us says there’s no point in it.
That is in our hands.
And maybe, with that faith, we open the door for God to act. To transform what seems beyond repair. To write a different story for our beloved Mexico.
I prayed this today from Mazamitla, between the beauty of the pines and the sound of bullets. And I chose hope.