Disclaimer: I do not own Encanto. This story is not for profit.


Content Disclaimer: This chapter will talk about a Catholic Mass to the best of the author's ability. It is established in the film that the Encanto is Catholic, which is a reflection of the primary religion of Colombia. Catholicism, therefore, cannot be taken out of the story. For those uncomfortable with religion, you have been informed and can make a choice about whether to read on.


Chapter 16

October 28th

Morning

When Mirabel woke up in the morning, she didn't feel like attending Mass, but she knew she didn't have a choice unless she was willing to start a fight with her parents and Abuela. Not to mention, everyone in the village would notice she wasn't there and would wonder why.

While the rest of the family got ready for Mass, Bruno attempted to sneak away.

Abuela stepped in front of her son. "I didn't see you at Mass last week."

"That's because Padre Agudelo hates me." Bruno inched around her to the left.

She stepped into his path. "That is ridiculous."

Bruno changed course and inched to the right. "He told me never to set foot in his church again."

Abuela stepped into his path again. "Whatever you did, I am certain that the Padre has calmed down by now."

Bruno gestured with both hands. "All I did was be myself!" Three rats perched on his shoulders and stared at Abuela as if curious about why Bruno raised his voice.

"Refusing to show up for Mass is a sign that you're not ready to rejoin the village," Abuela said.

Bruno let out a laugh. "Rejoin the village? I would have to be a part of it to 'rejoin'. All I could do – if they would let me – is join for the first time!"

"I need solidarity from you, Brunito." Abuela took his hands. "Please."

Bruno blinked, and his shoulders sagged. "Please?"

"Please. For me. As a favor." Abuela looked into his eyes.

"M-Mamá…you know they hate me." Bruno seemed confused and lost. "They really hate me. They really do. Why would I show up at Mass and ruin it?"

Abuela cupped his face. "You will not ruin it. You are my son. I want you here, and that should be good enough for them. And, well, if it is not…they need to take it up with me. I am the head of our family. It is my decision to ask you to be at Mass. I will tell them this if anyone raises an objection. Even Padre Agudelo."

Bruno groaned. "What will I wear?"

Agustín popped up at Bruno's side. "I can handle that. Come on, cuñado. I've been given three suits for Sundays. You can wear the one that's too short for me. A quick pinning by Mirabel, and it will look like it fits you perfectly." He gestured frantically to Mirabel without taking his eyes off Bruno.

Together, Mirabel and her father herded Bruno to the changing room. They came out with Bruno dressed in a gray pinstripe suit. Mirabel had made sure no one would be able to see the pins. Bruno did not look as if he'd spent the last ten years hiding in the walls.

Julieta pulled Bruno into a careful hug. "You look wonderful."

Bruno grumbled.

Julieta released him and gave Mirabel a hug. "You did such a good job. I'm proud of you."

Mirabel hugged her mother in return. Now do you see? I do have skills that can contribute to my family, Gift or no Gift.

Fifteen minutes later, Mirabel sat on the front row of the pews with her family. This had been their spot since before Mirabel had been born. The girls and women wore borrowed Sunday dresses in gray or blue, except for Luisa, who was wearing a new Sunday dress made for her by Señorita Torres. As the tallest and most broad-shouldered woman in the Encanto, Luisa had been put under the strain of wearing men's shirts with women's skirts because no borrowed tops could possibly fit. Señorita Torres was making new clothes for Luisa as quickly as she could, and clothes for Mass were of the utmost importance. Their heads were covered with spare mantillas borrowed from other women in the village. Being the 'back up' mantillas, they weren't as fancy as what Abuela had gotten them accustomed to wearing, having less intricate lace.

Padre Agudelo and his attendants processed to the altar. Mirabel always found this part agonizingly slow, although she knew the older folks in the village, including Abuela, found a lot of reverence in this. The boys' choir was already assembled, including Mirabel's cousins. Antonio looked adorable, and Camilo looked deceptively angelic. Everyone stood as the boys' choir sang the first song.

Afterwards, everyone made the sign of the cross, and Padre Agudelo greeted them. "En el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo."

"Amén," Mirabel said obediently, her voice lost in the rest of the voices of the church, a single, powerful sound that echoed off the vaulted ceiling.

Padre Agudelo then recited the Penitential Rite:

I confess to almighty God,

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have sinned through my own fault,

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done and in what I have failed to do;

and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,

all the angels and saints,

and you, my brothers and sisters,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

As was his personal custom, Padre Agudelo repeated the same thing in Latin. Mirabel hadn't gotten anyone to answer her about whether this was necessary, but she did notice it seemed to make the Padre feel better.

Everyone replied, "May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to life everlasting."

Mirabel glanced at Abuela's solemn face.

They then asked in answer and call form for God's mercy three times.

The Kyrie eleison was then sung.

As usual, Mirabel's mind criminally wandered at this point. She half-heard the Gloria and came back into full awareness of Padre Agudelo's sing-song droning at the prayer addressing the persons of the Holy Trinity, because it was time to all sit down. This was the first part that was different from week to week. Mirabel wished they could just skip to this part instead of waiting through so much repetitive ceremony. Abuela had told her once that the unique prayers used to be handed down from Church authorities, but in the Encanto, there was only one church, so it would all have to be made up by themselves, and God would excuse them for not knowing which prayers they ought to be saying instead. Padre Agudelo asked for protection and mercy for the Encanto, guidance on how to restore their miracle, and for God to show each and every villager how to respect the miracle if it returned.

Then, shocking Mirabel, Padre Agudelo prayed for God to forgive the village's treatment of Bruno. Her gaze snapped to her uncle. Bruno stared at the Padre with an expression of incomprehension.

Antonio's shocked face as he stood with the other choir boys made Mirabel's chest clench. The last time she had seen that expression, he had just found out she didn't have a Gift like the rest of the family. Your Gift is hugs, he'd said. And then he'd drawn her a door on a piece of his craft paper. He'd been so anxious to help her and so crushed that he couldn't.

Everyone stood so that Padre Agudelo could read from the Bible. The verses for the day were about the awe-inspiring majesty of miracles, God's ability to protect, love, and forgive, and Jesus Christ's perceived lowliness in life. Padre Agudelo finished with the tale of Elijah and the bears.

Thankfully, they were allowed to sit as Padre Agudelo transitioned to the homily. "El Jesús Cristo seemed strange to his people. He had many unusual ways. For unpredictable periods of time, he would remove himself and sit on the top of a remote mountain to rest. He could command spirits, give prophecies, such as his own crucifixion, and from an unusually young age was able to speak in advanced spiritual terms with the religious leaders of his day. His dress was sometimes spoken of as humble, his appearance that of an itinerant. When he spoke, those gathered could not always understand him. Yes, he was considered lowly, and the rich did not wish to associate with him. The religious leaders decried him. Yet, he is our Lord and Savior, the Holy Son. In some small way, does this not remind us all of Bruno Madrigal Santos?"

Bruno froze.

Antonio's gaze snapped to Bruno. Mirabel hid a cringe behind her hand. She knew Padre Agudelo probably meant well, and that made it even worse. How many insults can you pack in there? Bruno is strange, he looks homeless, he's lowly, rich people like the Guzmáns don't want to associate with him. Yeah, great, thanks, Padre.

"We have been blessed with a miracle that we saw and experienced firsthand, yet we did not understand the miracle or its bearers. We were blessed with a prophet, a true holy man who gave us verified visions of the future, who always spoke the Word of God, who always delivered the truth to us. Yet, in our sinfulness, we rejected him and drove him into hiding. We have been reminded today of how God protects his prophets. Why did wild animals not tear us to shreds for our treatment of Bruno? The answer can only be an appeal from Bruno himself. In his mercy, in his love for us, he did not wish us to be punished for our arrogance, for our ignorance, for our fear. Instead, our punishment was to lose our prophet. And yet, though we knew our prophet had left us, instead of repenting, we, in our arrogance, our ignorance, and our fear, were glad that he had left. This, this ultimate affront to God, is what resulted in God taking his gift to us, the beautiful miracle, for we no longer deserved it. God appointed to us ten years to search for Bruno, to beg Bruno's forgiveness, to beg God's forgiveness for having driven his prophet from us, and then he acted, with full justice and mercy, in rescinding his miracle from our community."

Mirabel imagined Bruno's rats attacking everyone and tearing them to shreds and pressed her lips tightly together to avoid laughing.

Bruno stared, his expression unreadable.

Antonio now looked confused. Camilo's expression was briefly sarcastic.

Padre Agudelo continued. "I, in my vanity, rejected our prophet, and lo, behold God's answer." He took off his toupee. Several villagers gasped. The Padre never willingly took off his toupee in front of them. "Bruno said unto me that I would lose all my hair, and instead of asking God for forgiveness, instead of accepting that this is God's will, I decried Bruno and defied God. Look, look upon my head and see. What good does it do to defy God? His plan for all of us is sacred and immutable. I encourage all of you to do the same: to find in your hearts how you have attempted to obstruct God's will and God's plan for you, resolve to never do so again, and beg forgiveness."

By this point, Antonio had retreated into himself, his expression going blank and thoughtful. Camilo, however, looked angry. Mirabel didn't dare to look at the rest of her family.

Next, the Padre gave the Profession of Faith, stating the beliefs of the Church as he did every Sunday, and followed that with the weekly Prayers of the Faithful. As he had last week, he prayed for the new Madrigal home to be speedily, skillfully, and successfully completed, for the Encanto to remain protected, and for no one to fall seriously sick or become seriously injured. He prayed for Abuela's wisdom and for the wisdom of the other village elders, and prayed that the weather would not be too severe. Lastly, he prayed that if it were God's will for them to learn about what was happening outside of their Encanto, for the villagers to accept whatever truths they found.

Finally, the Padre performed the Eucharist. Mirabel had already gone up, so she had returned to her seat. Her eyes widened as she saw Bruno in line. When he reached the front, the church went somehow even quieter. There wasn't even the sound of fabric rustling. This brief interaction between Bruno and Padre Agudelo was the most tense, most uncomfortable Eucharist Mirabel had ever seen.

The Mass ended, as always, with Padre Agudelo blessing the congregation and releasing them to put into practice the Word of God.

As everyone filtered out of the church, Señora Guzmán and Mariano approached the Madrigals. She invited them to come have Sunday lunch with her and Mariano in their home. Abuela, speaking on behalf of everyone, accepted. They all walked to the Guzmán home together. Mirabel glanced back and forth between Mariano and Isabela, but neither of them made any sign that they acknowledged the other person was present.

Inside, the table was spread with colorful dishes bearing delicious food: Arroz Atollado with chorizo, tomato and avocado salad, fried plantains, and pandebono. For dessert a tres leches cake was on display. There were two pitchers of fresh lulo juice and two pitchers of water.

The Madrigals sat at the sides of the table and Mariano and his mother sat at the foot of the table and the head of the table.

"This is a beautiful feast," Abuela said. "We are honored."

Señora Guzmán waved the compliment away with a small laugh. "Julieta could outdo me if she had her kitchen back. No, but thank you. It's the least I can do, after all you've done for the village, to have you over once and a while on Sundays. It's my pleasure."

Everyone passed dishes and assembled their desired lunch plates.

Antonio's expression had been withdrawn this whole time. Suddenly, he fidgeted, and his brow furrowed. "Mamá."

"Yes? What is it?" Pepa asked.

"What did the villagers do to Tio Bruno that Dios el padre needs to forgive them for?"

Everyone around the table froze.

Antonio looked at their faces with wide eyes. When no one talked, he tugged on Camilo's sleeve. "I know you said Tio Bruno was scary." He looked across the table at Mirabel. "And you said he could see the future." Next he addressed Pepa. "And you said no one talks about him." Then he looked to Abuela. "And you said it was true, what Camilo said about people being mean to Tio Bruno and beating him up sometimes. But is that enough to go to Hell?"

"It should be," Pepa muttered.

Antonio visibly wrestled with this. "Then the people who picked on Dolores…they will go to Hell too unless Dios el padre forgives them?"

"Yep," Camilo said with an angry grin.

"Enough," Abuela said, seeming distressed. "We are trying to eat lunch, Tonito. Please save the questions for later."

Antonio sank down in his chair. "Yes, Abuela."

"I'm sure the boy meant no harm," Señora Guzmán said, looking at Antonio with an expression of gentle concern.

Antonio pushed his food around with his fork and didn't look at her. He acted as though he felt worse because their hostess defended him.

"That's right," Bruno said, speaking up. Everyone looked at him with surprise. "And he didn't do any harm, either. Asking questions is healthy. And it's confusing. It's confusing to be that age with everything going on. And the answer, as far as I'm concerned, is this, Tonito: Dios el padre condemns people who pick on the weak and the suffering. Bullies have no place with him. It doesn't matter what rights people have on Earth, when they have to face their judgment they'll find that the power that they held in life doesn't mean anything. We're on Earth for a very short time, but we live forever with the Lord."

Antonio looked at Bruno. "What if Dios el padre forgives like Padre Agudelo asked? Why did the Padre ask for them to be forgiven if they're bad?"

"It's the Padre's job not to take sides, I guess," Bruno said.

"What if there's a right side and a wrong side?" Antonio asked.

"I don't know. I'm not a padre."

"But…if Dios el padre forgives them, and they end up in Heaven like us…" Antonio's eyes filled with tears. "Then what if they bully you again? Or bully Dolores again?"

Abuela looked at Antonio with sudden compassion. "Dios el padre can see into our hearts, mi vida. If anyone truly stands before him with the desire to harm someone else, even after death, even after being bathed in the light of his divine presence and standing beside el Jesús Cristo, then Dios el padre will not let them come in to harm Brunito or Dolita, or anyone else. You don't need to worry. All things are made right in Heaven."

Antonio wiped his eyes quickly on his sleeve. "All right." He dug into his food, avoiding the gazes of his parents and siblings.

Mirabel wished she could pull Antonio into her arms and hug him until he felt better. At the same time, she was impressed that Abuela at least tried to comfort him. Yes, please don't act like our feelings don't matter.