Seeds in the hands of the farmers!

This past Thursday and Friday, July 24th and 25th, 2008, I was in Aristobolo del Valle, Misiones, Argentina with 600 farmers from all over the province of Misiones, and some from other provinces and other countries for the Seed Fair. The Seed Fair and the Seed Movement celebrated its tenth anniversary of seed exchange in Misiones. This exchange is extremely important for the entire province and country. Here’s some background….

Under the motto “seeds in the hands of the farmers”, the Seed Fair, as part of the Seed Movement, started to take form in the year 1997, in the city San Vincente, of the province Misiones. The objective of the fair, since it’s beginning, has been the exchange of genuine seeds of Misiones, without the exchange of money. Around this time, the pharmaceutical companies began the sale of transgenetic seeds, turning themselves into seed companies. These companies who create genetically modified seeds, have manipulated organisms in a laboratory in order to modify some characteristics, for example, creating resistance in their seeds to their own herbicides. These transgenetic seeds only grow with the use of the herbicides and the entire technological package that is created by the company. The companies sell their seeds at a higher price, and also require the purchase of the entire technological package. Also, when the farmers buy the seeds from these companies, they sign a contract, which prohibits the farmer to replant the seed year after year, requiring the farmer to buy new seeds year after year.

Many farmers in Misiones still purchase these seeds when they can cultivate, save, plant and exchange their own, genuine seeds for free year after year, and decide their own destiny. These transgenetic crops create political, economic, social and cultural dependency. They also create dependency on agro-chemicals, promoting monocultures in agriculture, which threatens the environment and puts food security at danger. Agricultural biodiversity is necessary for security and knowledge of food and the independence of the people!

Oración Interreligiosa Por la Nación Argentina

On June 18th, 2008, I had the opportunity, with my peers in the ELCA YAGM program, to join others in an inter-religious vigilance, in Resistencia, Argentina, in response to the current state of Argentina. Please join us in prayer….

Oración Interreligiosa Por la Nación Argentina
18 de Junio, 2008

*Padre Bueno y Misericordioso, da a nuestra pobre y limitada naturaleza tu Espíritu de Sabiduría y Amor para que sepamos construir una Nación de hermanos.

*Danos Señor, conciencia, de la responsabilidad que tenemos ante los excluidos, los marginados, los necesitados de ayuda, en el alma y en el cuerpo, las familias, los ancianos, los jóvenes, los niños y los enfermos.

*Ayúdanos Señor, para que todos los hombres y mujeres de buena voluntad nos unamos en un trabajo constante para liberar a los que viven esclavizados por la ignorancia, la justicia y la miseria.

*Ilumina Dios Todopoderosos, a todos los dirigentes, a los medios de comunicación social, a los gremios, y a todas las entidades intermedias para que trabajen con un corazón limpio y libre de otros intereses que no sean los de promover el bien común.

*Bendice Altísimo Dios, nuestro campo, las industrias, el comercio, y todas las actividades productivas y sociales, has que no falte trabajo y pan en cada hogar y los jóvenes tengan futuro en nuestra tierra Argentina.

*Concédenos conocer los caminos más propicios para lograr el crecimiento y el progreso, que todo tu pueblo necesita en esta bendita tierra crisol de razas.

*Danos Señor, un corazón agradecido y humilde para que te alabamos y te rindamos culto permanente, con Fe y Esperanza en tu Divina Providencia que todo lo puede.

*Líbranos Dios omnipotente de todo mal, bendice nuestra Nación, conviértelo en un lugar lleno de vida y progreso, para que todas las generaciones te alaben y agradezcan por tu infinita misericordia.



Inter-religious Prayer for the Country of Argentina
June 18, 2008

*Good and Merciful Father, give our poor and limited nature your Spirit of Knowledge and Love so that we may know how to build a Nation of brothers.

* Give us, Lord, conscience, of the responsibility that we have before the excluded, the marginalized, those that need help in body and soul, families, the elderly, youth, children and the sick.

* Help us, Lord, so that we, all men and women of good will, can unite ourselves in the constant work to free those who live enslaved by ignorance, injustice and misery.

*Illumine, Omnipotent God, all of the leaders, the means of social communication, the unions, and all of the intermediary entities so that they work with a heart that is clean and free of other interests, that they not be those that promote the common good.

*Bless, Most High God, our countryside, the industries, the businesses, and all of the productive and social activities that you make so that every home is not without work or bread and that that youth have a future on our Argentine land.

*Grant us to know the more suitable ways to achieve the growth and progress, that all of the village needs, in this blessed land of the melting pot of races.

*Give us, Lord, a grateful and humble heart so that we praise you and we permanently worship you, with Faith and Hope in your Divine Providence that all is possible.

*Free us, Omnipotent God, of all bad. Bless our nation. Convert it into a place full of life and progress, so that all generations praise you and thank you for your infinite compassion.

Profetas...

“Profetas de un Futuro que No es Nuestro”

De vez en cuando, nos ayuda dar un paso atrás y contemplar el vasto panorama.
El Reino no solamente está más allá de nuestros esfuerzos, sino que trasciende nuestra visión.
Cumplimos en nuestra vida solamente una ínfima fracción
de la magnífica empresa que es la obra de Dios.
Nada de lo que hacemos es completo, lo cual es otra forma de decir
que el Reino siempre nos trasciende.
Ninguna declaración expresa todo lo que puede ser dicho.
Ninguna oración expresa totalmente nuestra Fe.
Ninguna confesión deviene en perfección.
Ningún programa lleva a cabo la misión de Cristo.
Ninguna meta o serie de objetivos incluye la totalidad.
Eso es lo que proponemos.
Plantamos las semillas que algún día brotarán.
Regamos las semillas que ya han sido plantadas,
sabiendo que contienen una promesa futura.
Echamos los cimientos que necesitarán posterior desarrollo.
Proveemos la levadura que produce efectos más allá de nuestras aptitudes.
No podemos hacer todo,
y al darnos cuenta de ello nos sentimos liberados.
Eso nos permite hacer algo y hacerlo muy bien.
Será incompleto pero es un comienzo,
un paso a lo largo del camino,
y una oportunidad para que la gracia del Señor aparezca y haga el resto.
Quizá nunca veremos los resultados finales.
Pero ahí está la diferencia entre el maestro de obras y el albañil.
Somos albañiles, no maestros de obra, ministros, pero no Mesías.
Somos los profetas de un futuro que no es el nuestro.

Por Oscar Romero


“Prophets of a Future Not Our Own”

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.


We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are the workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

By Oscar Romero