SUMMARY
What happens when you realize that the path you’re taking seems to be a dead and lonely end? Will you stand up and make a change? Or, do you keep wallowing in your own misery?
The suicide of his twin brother Francis has left Paul in a state of mental limbo. He must find a new meaning to his life and develop a better understanding of himself to cope. After several months of spiritual retreat in a monastery, inspired by the liberation theology, he decides to volunteer as an aid worker among the Mayas of Guatemala. Soon after, he is sent to a small parish to help Father John Callaghan accomplish his last mission.
Fascinated by the pre-Columbian spiritual and cultural traditions that still survive among them, Paul studies their language and, with the teaching of José Mejia Alquilar, grandson of a sacred calendar priest, gains valuable insights into their unique way of knowing the world and the human experience.
The suicide of his twin brother Francis has left Paul in a state of mental limbo. He must find a new meaning to his life and develop a better understanding of himself to cope. After several months of spiritual retreat in a monastery, inspired by the liberation theology, he decides to volunteer as an aid worker among the Mayas of Guatemala. Soon after, he is sent to a small parish to help Father John Callaghan accomplish his last mission.
Fascinated by the pre-Columbian spiritual and cultural traditions that still survive among them, Paul studies their language and, with the teaching of José Mejia Alquilar, grandson of a sacred calendar priest, gains valuable insights into their unique way of knowing the world and the human experience.
But after nearly two years of working with the Mayas, he finds himself caught in the middle of rising political tensions when the fragile bridge between the indigenous population and the Ladino rulers threatens to collapse. He realizes that it’s no longer enough to simply live with the oppressed, that you may also have to be willing to sacrifice your life for them.
