Father Arnulfo Mendoza (R.I.P)

Hello evil doers, it is I, Jokey Jokemaker.  I have returned because I feel the need to tell you about a good man.  This story is actually about celebrating the life of a good man, and simultaneously celebrating the stories and history of our mothers and fathers.  Yesterday was my mom's birthday. We were over at her house, and we began to tell stories, like we always do.  She began to talk about a priest in her hometown.  Fr. Arnulfo Mendoza.  I have heard tales about this man before, but yesterday for some reason, I felt the need to write these down.  I hope you enjoy.

     Fr. Arnulfo Mendoza was a well-known, and well-loved priest.  He would minister to the small ranches in Villa Juarez, San Luis Potosi in Mexico.  This was a time when there was a small town, and many ranches that had yet to formally join the town.  My grandmother (R.I.P) came from a well to do family.  When my aunt, mom, and uncle were born, they were taken to see the local priest.  So to say that Fr. Mendoza knew my family is an understatement.  He married my grandparents, my parents, give my aunt, uncle mom, their first communion, confirmation, baptisms, etc.  Fr Mendoza was the man in that part of the world.  He was so beloved in that part of town that every Christmas, thousands of U.S. dollars made their way back to this man.  To his credit, he would go out and buy rice, beans and other foodstuffs and deliver them to the ranches he knew were in need.  People knew this, and I think that made them more than willing to help.  My dad, who is far from a hard core religious man, had deep love and admiration for this man.  One time, my dad asked the priest if there was anything he could do, and with my mom being in the room, he pulled my dad aside and with a solemn face, asked for a a major favor, new pair of boxer shorts.  Fr Mendoza was known to have 3 shirts, three pairs of pants, and never be seen without his smock.  This man was given fine suits and designer clothing, but was known to sell those gifts in order to provide the poor of the area with things THEY needed.  "I only need a couple of changes of clothes, and the Lord will provide the rest," he would say.

This man was so loved by men and women alike, that he just inspired people to do/be their best.  A mechanic fixed up a truck and painted "El Milagro (The Miracle)" on it.  It was old, but a good truck.  When it would break down, the mechanic would repair it, and when it was working, it would usually be laded with supplies for the farmers and poor of the area.   The joke was that it was a Milagro that the truck ran at all!  Because he was my uncle (R.I.P)'s godfather, my family had special love for the man.  He would often show up at my grandmothers house, which was tat the edge of the town proper.  "Ave Maria!"  was his call.  "Venga a comer (Come and eat)!"  The house would call back to him.  "Por eso vengo, que vengo del ranch muriendo me de hambre! (Thats why I am here because I was nearby and starving to death)."    Fr Mendoza was a part of my family, and pretty much a part of everyone's family.  He had been sick towards the end of his ministering of Villa Juarez days, and seeing as how he had only his mom and sister, who was a nun, spoke to my grandmother about what to do should he pass on. 

     Fr Mendoza was moved from the small town, to the larger town 8-10 miles nearby, and although he had more work to do, he only used that as a means to help more people.  The beat-up pickup truck was now loaded with more supplies, and his helping hands reached out to more people.  Its said that when the man passed away, he was given a wake for 3 days non-stop.  Traffic on the town was shut down for six blocks around the small church where the people of the state demanded he be waked.  For 3 days and nights the lines never shrank.  My grandmother had been given two bank books by Fr mendoza with instructions that his mom should be taken care of should he pass on.  My grandmother gave them to Fr. Mendoza's mother, and the sum total of 2 bank accounts was about 26 pesos.  The hundreds of thousands of dollars he was given by those who loved him went to help the poor and hungry of his congregation.  he was a professional until the very end.  His mother was cared for by the townspeople that so loved Fr. Mendoza.

     About a year after the good Fr passed away, the area was hit with a major drought.  Corn stalks only reached about 18-24 inches in height.  The intense heat was scorching the earth and drying out the crops.  People did not know what to do.  Well, it seems that Fr. Mendoza had one last miracle up his sleeve.  The town, which could count on Fr. Mendoza while he was alive, flocked to the church to ask his spirit for help.  The prayers were strong and intense.  No crops meant no life, nevermind making any money, there would be nothing to eat!  As the townsfolk left the church after a prayer vigil, small droplets of rain began to fall.  They say that it rained for days.  The cold, fresh rains that it seems makes yellow crops green in an instant.  The town flooded back into the church to pray and thank Fr. Mendoza for his help, and in some parts of Mexico and the U.S, he is looked upon as a saint.  Wherever I live, and wherever I go, thats how I will think about him.  Not having known him personally, the look on my mom and dad's faces is enough to show me how good a man Fr Mendoza was.   With the Catholic church the way it is today, its nice to have a few stories of the goodness that can come from religion and faith. 

Jokey Jokemaker
faithful and devoted.