Finding Easter in Cuba’s Shadows: A Reflection from the Heart of Hope
Sharing from Sr. Sylvia Jopillo, r.a., "As uncertainty called me to Cuba, I discovered grace in the hands of the poor — and the enduring light of Jonah’s sign".
When the call came to leave my beloved community in Malibay for Cuba in 2024, my heart was torn. How could I say goodbye to those I served? Yet in prayer, a quiet “yes” emerged — a “yes” whispered “not knowing what I was getting into,” yet trusting the One who called. Cuba greeted me with aching queues for food and medicine, and the heartbreak of youth leaving home. It felt like Jonah in the whale’s belly: dark, confining, overwhelming.
With no resources, I became creative: English lessons on medicine cartons, catechism illustrated from dried leaves and flour-paste. I bumped down broken roads in our old car — sometimes riding “motocicletas” to reach remote villages. And slowly, something beautiful grew. From a handful of children, our little group blossomed. Roni, Fernanda, and Jean Pablo learned not just prayers, but to “love, share, and respect” amid scarcity. Teens like Daniela and Brayan, tempted to leave, found a fiercer hope: “There’s joy in knowing Jesus here.” I won’t pretend it’s easy. I’ve wept with mothers who can’t feed their babies. I’ve ached watching youth flee. Like Jonah, I’ve wrestled with doubt. But then — God startles me.
But here’s the miracle I witnessed…. in the very darkness, GRACE MULTIPLIES!
In Taimara, who forgives though she has nothing.
In Aneysie, who tends the sick with inexplicable joy.
In Barbarita, who whispers, “You sisters are my rock,” when her world feels fragile.
In little Sofi, who found her voice as we sang and danced together.
This is the Sign of Jonah lived: In dying to my fears, I’m being remade. In Cuba’s “belly,” I’m not abandoned. I’m held — by the resilient poor, by the children’s laughter, by a God who turns scraps into feasts. We’re weaving a tapestry of hope here, thread by thread. These are my Hope moments. In Cumanayagua’s dusty streets, resurrection pulses quietly. Pope John Paul II’s words to Cuba echo in my bones: “Do not lose hope over lack of material means… Work for the Kingdom.”
