God's «chiringuito 

More than two thousand years ago, God made a decision that changed history: to send His Son into the world to save man. And not only that. He also wanted to leave a visible, firm work, destined to cross the centuries without disappearing. A community capable of resisting persecution, criticism, human errors and the passing of time without ceasing to proclaim hope. His first stone was called Peter. On his weakness and his faith he began something that no one has been able to destroy: the Church.

A few days ago, a Spanish actress referred to the Catholic Church, with more mockery than affection, as “that ‘chiringuito’ that some people have set up”. Without knowing it, this actress touched a deep truth. Because if there is a “chiringuito” that has survived empires, wars, ideologies and crises, it is this one. The only one that is still standing after twenty centuries. Not because of the perfection of those who form it, but because of the strength of the One who sustains it.

The Church is not a club of the perfect. It is a hospital for souls. A place where millions of people, every day and in silence, love, educate, heal, accompany and defend the voiceless. It is in the forgotten peripheries, in the distant missions, in the family that prays, in the volunteer who serves, in the one who forgives when it seems impossible. While the world builds up and tears down structures, this community continues to walk, uniting the divided and sowing light in the midst of darkness.

Yes, she is human and fragile. But she is also mother, home and mission. She was born from the heart of a God who became a child in Bethlehem and continues to live because He does not abandon what He loves. Perhaps for this reason, beyond criticism and mockery, she continues to be the strongest sign of hope for those who are searching for meaning. The only “chiringuito” that never closes. God's “chiringuito”.