The spirit of the V National Encuentro perseveres
The pandemic has made us more creative in the midst of limitations. This is because life and dreams do not stop, and neither does our mission.
The consultation process of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry that started four years ago also persists. This process was meant to end this year with large meetings at every level, but the coronavirus pulled a fast one on us. As with everything else in these uncertain times, we’ve had to keep our distance while still keeping in touch with each other.
On the weekend of October 9-10, a large group of people from our Archdiocese of Newark connected with others from more than a hundred other dioceses across the United States to pray together, listen to each other, and examine what we have achieved regarding the proposals we made two years ago. We spent Saturday afternoon together, united through our ‘magical’ devices, as we have now become so used to. Some of us connected in small groups from our parishes, while others joined from their homes.
This was the culmination of a process that began four years ago, when the bishops of the United States reminded us that they wanted to hear our voices—the voices of the Hispanic people from across our country. They wanted us to reflect on how the Church can better serve our particular needs, and how we can respond—as missionary disciples—to the common mission we all have as baptized people. This was the call for the V National Hispanic Encuentro.
We started off by spreading the word around our Archdiocese. A significant group of tireless parish leaders signed up to work towards that goal. We invited all our parishes with a Hispanic ministry—eighty in total. We informed both the clergy and laypeople. The arrival of Cardinal Joseph Tobin, our Archbishop, on January 2017, filled us with enthusiasm. He was well informed about events at the national level, and was thrilled that our archdiocese was participating in full.
Many parishes responded to the invitation. More than twenty-five hundred people took part in the small parish groups. Ultimately, about three hundred delegates from these groups brought their voices and their experiences to the Diocesan Encuentro at the St. John Paul II Youth Retreat Center in Kearny, NJ. What a day to remember! To cap it all off, we felt and lived the Eucharist as missionary disciples, alongside the Archbishop, Bishop Cruz and Bishop Arias, as well as a sizeable gathering of over thirty priests and a good number of deacons, who serve our communities so well. As one priest enthusiastically stated at the end of the Diocesan Encuentro, “The Church in Newark is truly alive, and we have experienced it on this day!”
Many voices were lifted, expressing pastoral priorities that we put together for the consideration of the whole Archdiocese. The primary and most urgent two are: the formation of laypeople, and working to make our parishes more welcoming and missionary.
A few months after, we went to Freehold, New Jersey, for the Regional Encuentro. Our 85 delegates were among the 350 members from ten dioceses across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This was another day filled with praying and sharing with Hispanic people from both near and far, offering experiences and identifying priorities, while looking towards the future, and being fully aware of the responsibility weighing on our shoulders.
As the backdrop, we had Pope Francis’ invitation to be missionary disciples among our brothers and sisters, to meet with them and walk alongside them, giving testimony of their faith. “We are called to bring the Church to places where the toothbrush can’t reach,” said Damian de Armas. In other words, everywhere.
For all of us who attended, it will be hard to forget the great Eucharistic celebration held on March 2 of 2018 at the Newark Cathedral. The big storm raging throughout the day made us consider cancelling the event. But the high winds did not stop over seven hundred people, along with many priests and deacons, from coming through the cathedral’s doors and gathering at eight o’clock that night. “You are so brave!”, started off Cardinal Tobin, who reminded us that the V Encuentro had made a lasting impression on the Archdiocese. This was incontrovertible proof.
An important dimension of the V Encuentro has been the consultation with our people. Both in our parishes and at the Diocesan Encuentro, the analysis of our social and domestic realities has been important, as have the recommendations of how to better serve our parishioners and those who have grown apart from the Church. “The spirit of fraternity of those attending the Encuentro, and their unconditional dedication to our Church, was tangible, in the midst of countless daily occupations,” remarked Bishop Manuel Cruz.
Then followed the National Encuentro in Grapevine, Texas. The numbers speak volumes about the significance of the four-day event: 160 dioceses, over 120 bishops—including cardinals and the Apostolic Nuncio—and more than 1800 delegates. Among these were 35 members of our Archdiocese, together with Cardinal Tobin, Bishop Manuel Cruz and Bishop David Arias, the latter being a historical witness of the last five national encounters. “Everything has exceeded my expectations. This is wonderful!”, Bishop Arias extolled.
Even Pope Francis conveyed a warm message for us. The standing ovation the Pope’s words received was long-lasting and felt across that huge venue. “The Pope is Peter to us, and we love him,” asserted Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, Archbishop of San Antonio.
The Pope’s presence was felt the whole time. His questions were recapped and his utterances spoken, as we reflected on how to put into practice his invitation to be “a Church which goes forth,” to “take the first step,” to go out to the “peripheries,” to be “a Church whose doors are open,” not only for those who “come looking for God,” but also to seek out our brothers and sisters “in order to reach the fringes of humanity”. In summary, we should strive to be “Missionary Disciples: Witnesses of God’s love,” as the motto of the Encuentro says—and to do all this without fear. “We come from different cultures, each with its own sense of religiousness, but in the Church we need to come together and become one,” said Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez and current President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Those days of September 2018 were turbulent and difficult times for the Church. But as one bishop reminded us, the Encuentro was like a balm, “a caress from God” for all of us. “There is a new birth happening in the life of the Church because of the qualities you are bringing” said Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich during the morning prayer on September 22nd.
The process of the V Encuentro continues. “What is most important is the mission. Today, the Lord sends us forth to pursue the mission. He does not promise that everything will be a bed full of roses. But we shouldn’t let anything take away our hope, our joy, our apostolic enthusiasm, everything that has sprung from our hearts these days,” expounded Archbishop García-Siller as he was bidding us farewell in Texas.
Those of us who took part in this historic process will forever keep the invitation to grow our personal encounter with the Lord engraved on our hearts. We will continue to be missionary disciples within communities that will stand out, over all, for being welcoming places for the newly arrived and for those most in need.
Hand in hand with Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of all, “Let’s Go Forth and Bring the Gospel!” (Salgamos a llevar el Evangelio). We have sung these words many times throughout the years, and we will keep on singing them.
Deacon Asterio Velasco is the Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Newark.
