Pentecost Project retreat attendees are told to be ‘agents of evangelization’

PATERSON  On June 4, a former Vatican official for the New Evan­geli­zation helped inspire participants of the Pentecost Project faith-formation series at the Cathe­dral of St. John the Baptist here to live as “missionary disciples.” He issued this challenge to them: “Today, more than ever, it is our duty to be agents of evangelization for others.”

That morning, Archbishop Octavio Ruiz Arenas, former Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization in Rome, spoke in the cathedral to the Spanish-speaking participants, as part of a June 3–4 retreat to wind down the popular Pentecost Project for the 300 Catholics in attendance. Held on Pentecost Sunday weekend, it also featured Msgr. Joseph Reilly, dean of the School of Theology and rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange, who gave two talks in English: “Finding a Home in the Church and Making it Your Own” and “Mary at Pentecost: Mother and Model.”

Both speakers energized Pentecost Project participants either to start spreading the Gospel to people in their own lives as “missionary disciples” or to renew their commitment as his evangelists. The faith-formation series ended as St. John’s started to explore ways that its parishioners can preach the Gospel, primarily by reaching to the unchurched in the cathedral community and out in the surrounding neighborhoods in Paterson, according to Father Cesar Jaramillo, a parochial vicar at St. John’s and Defender of the Bond in the diocesan Tribunal, who coordinated the Pentecost Project.

In his talk at the cathedral, Arch­bishop Ruiz told Spanish speakers, “Today more than ever it is our duty to be agents of evangelization for others: for our own families, our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues and, above all, for those who are weak in their faith or are afraid of placing their lives in the hands of the Lord.

“In this present age the Church needs Christians who are convinced of their own baptism, who are aware of their mission in the Church, and who are true witnesses of Christ, fully inserted and active within their communities,” said Archbishop Ruiz, who is now retired and living in Colom­bia. He repeated the invitation of a noted Latin-American theologian “to ‘come down from Noah’s ark and to get onto Peter’s boat in order to row out into the sea in the midst of the storm’ to announce and bear witness to the person of Jesus.”

The Pentecost Project gave participants the opportunity to be formed and catechized in the basics of the faith and in the leadership skills needed to evangelize. Presenters included priests, deacons, and laypeople, including staff members of the Diocese and St. John’s, among them Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects and the cathedral. Topics included the Person of Jesus Christ, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Father Jaramillo said.

A participant from St. Agnes Parish in Paterson, Martha Ospina, called the Pentecost Project her spiritual “booster shot.”

“It helped send us out and go to the people, who are in need of the Word of God: our families and people at work. We communicate the Gospel through our actions,” said Ospina, a catechist at St. Agnes, who also is part of St. John’s New Evangelization ministry. She said she plans to assist with St. John’s religious-education program for children this summer. “The Holy Spirit is our strength to keep moving. The community needs me. I live for others, not myself,” she said.

Through seasons of Lent and Easter the St. John’s community has “gathered each Saturday morning recognizing that the Lord’s missionary mandate includes a call to grow in our knowledge of the faith,” Msgr. Sylva told The Beacon, after the retreat.

“It has been truly inspiring to be together with those from the cathedral, as well as those from so many other parishes, all of whom have responded so enthusiastically to this call! I am so grateful to all those who participated and to all of our many presenters, each of whom helped us to better understand and articulate the reasons for our belief,” Msgr. Sylva said.

As for the retreat speakers, Msgr. Sylva said, “Msgr. Reilly challenged us to be a Church that ‘does not simmer on low’ but one that burns passionately with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

“Archbishop Ruiz challenged us to carry out a true pastoral renewal, more so than just a mere pastoral conversion — one which would allow us to evaluate with audacity and sincerity the mode and the ways that we are evangelizing,” said Msgr. Sylva, who worked for the Holy See as the English Language Official of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization for six years under Archbishop Ruiz. “People are so moved that we are already planning next year’s Pentecost Project,” he said.

After the retreat, Father Jaramillo said, “The Pentecost Project demonstrated that our Latino community is also capable of engaging the truths of our faith at an intellectual level without negating the rich cultural expressions that give life and meaning to our encounter with Jesus Christ.”

In his first talk in the cathedral’s chapel, Msgr. Reilly told English speakers that the beauty of the Church reminds us of the beauty, power, and love of God.

“God calls us to draw together as one through the Holy Spirit. He invites us into a life with him in the Church,” said Msgr. Reilly, using as a framework of his talk a passage from Henri de Lubac from his book, The Splendor of the Church. The speaker urged the audience to learn to “live for others and be willing to die to self. St. Maximillian Kolbe said, ‘Love demands sacrifice.’ Jesus is the perfect example of love,” he said.

As part of his second talk that morning, Msgr. Reilly encouraged the faithful to follow the example of the Blessed Mother who “trusted God’s plan, not always understanding it but believing that God will give her good things in her own life, even from suffering.”

Another Pentecost Project participant was Michael Ambrose of St. John’s, who attended the English-language sessions with his wife, Leonor.

“It was inspiring to hear from priests and laity, who shared their knowledge of the Gospels — how to read them and reflect on what we should be doing to do good works for others, not just preach the Gospels, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,” Ambrose said.