CALEXICO –– Almost 325 people encountered Jesus on the streets of Calexico on a recent Saturday.
The Imperial Valley Catholic Conference on Nov. 16 concluded with participants walking about one-third of a mile in a Eucharistic procession from Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy to the parish hall, where there was Eucharistic exposition and benediction.
Father Agustino Torres, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, carried a monstrance with the consecrated host. He was preceded by an honor guard of Knights of Columbus and followed by the youth and adults who had attended the daylong conference, which included Mass, a keynote presentation, breakout sessions, lunch, entertainment, and exhibitor booths.
This year’s theme was “Encounter: The Greatest Love Story.”
Maria Olivia “Marioly” Galván, diocesan chancellor and director of pastoral ministries, noted that youth, who had their own conference track, outnumbered adult participants.
She said, “It was a sight to see our young Church praying and praising in such a public setting” — a reference to the Eucharistic procession, which she said was a historic first in Calexico.
The conference, a biennial diocesan event, began with a Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
“I think more than ever, we need to hear the voice of God,” Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido, the principal celebrant, said in his homily. “We need to hear His voice because His voice is the one that will give us peace and consolation. And, at the end of the day, that’s what we want, that is what our hearts long for.”
“God always is trying to reach out to us … He wants to have an encounter with us,” he said.
Bishop Pulido encouraged those in the pews to ignore competing voices that “leave us tired, confused, with no energy, angry, misinformed.”
“Once we … stay away from those voices and pay attention more to the voice of God,” he said, “we realize that God … loves each one of us.”
Father Torres, founder of Corazón Puro and Latinos Por la Vida, delivered two keynote presentations –– one for adults and another for youth.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever felt … unworthy, incapable, not equipped, not trained, not certified to do what the Lord was asking,” Father Torres told his adult audience.
“It’s through that need, it’s through that hunger that the Lord will introduce incredible, incredible blessings,” he said.
Biblically, an encounter is “not just a chance meeting,” he said, but rather something to “taste” and to ponder.
He said that encounter might involve struggle and “wrestling with something.” Though the encounters that God sends are “always good,” he said, that “doesn’t mean it’s always easy.”
“What is the area in your heart that God wants to heal today?” he asked. “What is that place, what is that wound, what is that area that needs that healing touch, that encounter with the Lord?”
Father Torres shared examples of encounters in his own life, including a dramatic one in which he was able to dissuade a man who planned to murder his wife and some of her relatives, and then commit suicide.
“My brothers and sisters, I will pray for you,” he said. “I pray that, in your encounters with the people that the Lord is putting in your life, you too can bring healing, blessing, life, goodness.”
Deacon Alberto Moya, who ministers at Sacred Heart Parish in Brawley and St. Joseph Parish in Westmorland, assisted at the altar during the opening Mass at the Imperial Valley Catholic Conference.
Reflecting on the event, he said, “For the Imperial Valley, it was just the perfect time.”
The deacon acknowledged that the event, which brought many speakers east from San Diego County, is meaningful for the Imperial Valley Catholic community.
He was buoyed by the presence of so many youthful participants, whom he hailed as “the future of the Church.” He remarked upon their attentiveness at Mass, as well as their engagement with Father Torres.
“Overall, it was just a success, especially for the youth,” he said.
For Deacon Moya, the takeaway from the conference was “not to lose hope” amidst the struggles that the Church is experiencing.
“In reality, God is working in all of us and is keeping us together in one body and in one heart,” he said.
The conference included breakout sessions, in English and Spanish, that focused on such themes as marriage and family life, care for creation, faith and the digital culture, mental health and young adult ministry. They were led by diocesan pastoral directors and lay leaders.
John Prust, director of the Office for Family Life and Spirituality, spoke about “Encountering Jesus Through the Sacrament of Marriage.” He noted that the Church’s ongoing “vocations crisis” is not limited to priestly and religious vocations.
“It’s a vocations crisis to marriage, too,” he said.
Prust acknowledged the challenges associated with convincing today’s young people of the importance of getting married in the Church.
“We really have to promote the sacrament of marriage in a way that we’ve never had to before,” said Prust, who shared that “this generation” isn’t convinced by simply being told that “this is what the Church teaches,” but rather they respond to “stories and witness.”
“I think we have to be able to share our own stories in the same way that priests might share their vocation story,” he said.
Prust recounted how the diocese’s marriage preparation retreats were improved thanks to putting this into practice. The retreats now begin with two couples sharing the stories of how they were called to marriage.
Noreen McInnes, director of the Office for Liturgy and Spirituality, delivered a Eucharist-themed presentation that suggested that, like the bread at Mass, all Catholics are called to be taken, blessed, broken and given.
She shared how each of these four elements could be seen in the lives of Jesus, Mary and St. Peter, and she invited workshop attendees to give examples from their own lives.
“I want you to see yourself as being taken, blessed, broken, and given at every Mass,” she said.
“We are to give not just the bread; we are offering our very lives,” she said. “We are on the altar as a sacrifice to the Lord. We are taken. We are blessed. … We’re broken open so that we can be shared and given.”
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