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Do you think God only calls extraordinary people to do something special? Here you will find regular people, like you and me, who heard the invitation from God. They responded, and today walk with our people, faithful to God’s wishes. How will you respond?
By Byron Macías, C.M.F.Like many immigrants, the Ecuadorian Maria Maldonado had to adapt to a new culture, learn English, and get a job. As time passed, she struggled with the question many young people face: Should she seek a higher education or stay where she was.She chose to fight for her ideals. After working for several years at an immigration law firm in Chicago, Maldonado realized that she wanted to help her people as an attorney. She found her vocation.Maldonado knocked on many doors; several opened and some did not. She had to think about her finances and beginning a new life in a...
By ¡OYE! StaffEvery year over 23,000 young Hispanics gather at the Los Angeles Sports Arena for a weekend of music, prayer, and worship at the Catholic Youth Congress. This massive gathering, which is held in Spanish, attracts young people from the United States and Mexico, and is just one of several major events held each year for Catholics of all ages by El Sembrador Ministries.El Sembrador Ministries was founded by Noel Díaz, who began his journey of faith and ministry by attending classes in Scriptures and the Doctrine of the Church, at Our Lady of Loretto in Los Angeles, with Father...
By Kevin AhernThis past year I had the privilege of teaching Exploring Catholicism, one of the courses offered to undergraduate students at Boston College to meet their core requirements in theology. As part of the course, I asked the students to go to Mass at a local Catholic parish and write a short reflection paper on their experience. For a number of the students, this was the first time they had ever been to Catholic Mass. For others, it was their first visit since their confirmation. In reading their thoughtful reflections, I was struck by two themes that inform the Church’s...
By Carmen F. AguinacoWhen the papacy of Pope Francis began, a kind of Popemania was unleashed. His gestures were surprising and loving; his simplicity, closeness, and smile instantly captivated. Some asked if this was a marketing strategy. Others immediately embraced the message of tenderness, compassion, and forgiveness conveyed by the new Bishop of Rome, as he constantly called himself, as if fleeing from the title of Supreme Pontiff. Going a little deeper, however, we discover the most profound aspects of the Pope’s message and actions that go far beyond the superficial and easy. Those who...
By Carmen F. AguinacoThis was said of the old mail service, which today we call “snail mail,” because it is slow compared to the accelerated pace of messages via e-mail, Twitter, or any social network; but the words: signed, sealed, delivered used in the upcoming National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis refer to a very different reality than that of a correspondence. They are rather a Christian sign: signed by the Baptism and entered into the family of God, sealed with the Spirit in Confirmation, and delivered in the Eucharistic sign for the life of the world. This is the call for...
By Elisabeth RománMany 16-year-old girls in the United States are planning their Sweet 16 party, talking about high school, music, fashion, make-up, hair, and boys. Not Malala Yousafzai, who on the day of her 16th birthday stood before global leaders at the United Nations, wearing the shawl of the late Benazir Bhutto, to speak about education and women’s rights. The former prime minister of Pakistan, Bhutto was the first woman in the country to head a political party and elected to lead a Muslim state; and was assassinated in 2007. At the age of 12, Malala, whose name means “grief stricken,”...
By Elisabeth RománFor the past two years, every Wednesday night young people have gathered at the theater of Universidad Central de Bayamón, in Puerto Rico, for the kind of new evangelization activity rarely seen on college campuses. The Workshop, as these weekly assemblies are called, are led by the Catholic musical band AvivA, which consists of nine young professionals who evangelize and worship through music, prayer, and preaching the Word.“The idea for The Workshop came from AvivA and our search for better ways to serve in our music ministry. We were inspired to work with young adults...
By Olivia SchillerAida grew up in New Jersey in the Puerto Rican Neighborhood speaking only Spanish. She currently lives in Lansing, Michigan and is an organizer of ACTION of Greater Lansing. Aida works with four different task forces: Children’s Health Equality and Access, Civil Rights for Immigrants, Restraint and Bullying, Housing Code Enforcement and the Disability Caucus. She is also a member of the Cristo Rey Parish Latino Church, which is very diverse. What is your relationship with Gamaliel and how did it begin?I heard about a job opening at Gamaliel through a friend that...
Jesus Guzman is a Catholic community organizer in Santa Rosa, CA. He is the lead organizer for the Graton Day Laborer Center, an affiliate of the North Bay Organizing Project. Jesus works with day laborers and domestic workers, making sure they are paid a living wage, as well as coordinates with various programs and institutions, such as OSHA, to ensure safety and leadership opportunities in workforce development. Originally from Mexico, Jesus moved to California when he was one. The son of a dairy farmer and domestic worker, he grew up in Sonoma, CA and will be...
For Hallie Gordon reports about youth violence in Chicago was nothing new; however, it wasn’t until a young man was murdered just outside his high school, that this mother of two received a wake-up call and began working on projects to help at-risk youth. “I started about three years ago. I had been reading in the news about youth violence being on the rise and after the student’s murder I was just horrified. I had to do something. I felt that because of the work I do with young people—because I create theater plays and select plays that speak to the challenges in our lives—I had to...
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