Pastoral Formation class completes 2-year program

You can see the joy in their faces. In two rows along the central aisle of Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ, those who have completed the Archdiocese of Newark’s Pastoral Formation Program for Hispanics eagerly wait for the Eucharistic celebration to begin. These 95 men and women are happy to have reached this point. After two years of evenings classes following a whole day of work, their dreams have finally been fulfilled.

For years, lay people had asked the archdiocese to help them grow in knowledge and appreciation of their Catholic faith. In response, the Hispanic Ministry began a new initiative, the Archdiocesan Institute for Pastoral Formation, which then designed and implemented the two-year program.

Each Monday, from September through May, around 200 people (divided into two classes of first and second-year participants) gather in the Pastoral Center.

Growing in knowledge and affection for Christ and the Church

On June 4, the formation program’s inaugural group of participants marked their completion of the program by gathering at Newark’s cathedral for a special Mass celebrated by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark. Also present were pastors and priests who had come from their parishes to celebrate with them. Their presence, along with the participation of many family members and friends, reminded participants that they had prepared themselves to better serve the Catholic Church of Newark within their own parish communities.

The celebration — held in the heart of the archdiocese — also made them feel like an integral part of a diocesan Church that extends far beyond the boundaries of their own parishes.

That evening, the minds of some certainly traveled back to the moments that had brought them there… To their first course two years ago on Holy Scripture that brought them closer to the person of Jesus as they learned to love Him more in reflection and prayer… Learning about the journey of the Church over the centuries, as people like themselves were called to preach the Kingdom and be witnesses to the Gospel…Coming to better know and love a Church, the People of God, that walks and learns to be a community in different peoples and cultures… Growing in awareness of the mission of the Church that is called to be salt of the earth and light of the world, driven by the Spirit to go out and meet everyone, especially those most in need…

The participants also remembered those intimate moments with the Lord, joyfully shared with others, that they experienced during the days of retreat that the formation program held at the beginning and end of each year.

Called by name to build the Kingdom of God

At the conclusion of the Eucharist, the first class to complete the formation program was called up by name. Cardinal Tobin congratulated each one of them and presented them with their certificates.

Even as they received their certificates, deep in their hearts, they all understood that this was not the end of their journey. As they had heard so often over these past two years, this celebration was merely a deeper invitation to walk side by side with joy, serving as bridges within a Church of many faces and cultures, each one called to do their part to help make the Kingdom of God present among us.

As they greeted and congratulated each other before departing, they were no longer strangers from other parishes, but friends with whom they had spent the past two years. It was a time to celebrate. What had been merely a dream, had now become a reality.

A new class will come from different parishes across our archdiocese to take their places this coming September. And once again, every Monday, the Newark Pastoral Center will open its doors to offer formation to the men and women who sincerely desire to deepen their faith and better prepare themselves to serve within their parish communities.

Heartfelt congratulations and gratitude

The Institute offers its heartfelt congratulations to this remarkable group of men and women, and we give thanks to God for their extraordinary example of perseverance. We express our gratitude to Cardinal Tobin for his steadfast support of this Program since its inception. Our thanks also go out to all the excellent instructors — Fr. Danny Pabón, Fr. Matthew González, Fr. Robinson González, Fr. Alex Gaitán, Fr. Lucio Nontol T.O.R., Deacon Asterio Velasco, Patricia Rodríguez, María Moncaleano, and Luz Escobar — who have generously given of their time and talent to ensure that the Archdiocesan Institute for Pastoral Formation has enjoyed such a promising start.

For more information about this program and other resources offered by the Hispanic Ministry of the Archdiocese of Newark, click HERE, or email DeaconAsterio.Velasco@rcan.org.

To see more photos of the Formation Program Mass, CLICK HERE.

Deacon Asterio Velasco is the Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Newark.