Pure Hearts

PATERSON  No matter where you live, whether it is right in the Paterson Diocese, a big city like New York or a small village in the Philippines, hearing the message about the dignity of life is one everyone needs to embrace.

Corazon Puro (CP), which translates to English as “pure heart,” is an international chastity and pro-life ministry that brings the message of human dignity to the world. One of CP’s apostolates is the formation of youth and young adults in the truth and meaning of human sexuality in the light of Christ through the Theology of the Body teachings of St. John Paul II. CP has chapters around the world with its main offices in Paterson and the Bronx, N.Y.

The ministry has changed lives not only here in the Metropolitan area but also with missions to young people in Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and just recently, another trip to the Philippines. A group of eight missionaries from the Diocese, led by Franciscan Friar of the Renewal Father Agustino Torres, co-founder of CP, who serves at St. Michael Friary here, traveled to Cebu, a large province of the Philippines, to train 30 young adults to be leaders for Corazon Puro and to spread its message.

“The Church exists to evangelize. I find that when we ‘put out into the deep’ we understand our place in the Church better,” Father Agustino said. “We return to our homes transformed. I’m so proud of the young adults from the Paterson Diocese who took a bold step and sacrificed their vacation in the middle of March to follow Christ’s call. We went to give and we ended up being given so much more. It is so simple to be an instrument of God’s love.”

Kristina Garza, a development assistant for CP, and a resident of Casa Guadalupe, a house of discernment for women in Clifton, traveled to the Philippines with the Corazon Puro group. “It was a beautiful experience” she said. “The people were so open to the message we had. You can see they have strong faith.”

While in the Philippines, the missionaries also visited a local gym, where families with small children are living following a devastating fire. They also spoke in a haven for women who are victims of domestic abuse and human trafficking. They also visited young people in a juvenile prison. Another group spent time praying with prostitutes outside a strip club where many of the prostitutes asked for prayers and rosaries.

“A lot of our message is about human dignity and St. Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. When we spoke to the women who have experienced domestic violence or human trafficking, which are horrendous assaults on dignity, they were still very open to our message. We reminded them they were daughters of Christ and gave them little crowns,” said Garza.

Following the visit to the juvenile prison, Holly Lawmaster, house director of Casa Guadalupe, spoke on video posted on CP’s Facebook about the group’s experience. “During Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with all these kids singing, they sang with their hearts and I was impressed” she said. “All the songs were about the Prodigal Son, God saying ‘I love you’ and all the kids were singing about God’s mercy. I’ve experienced God’s mercy myself just listening as the kids were singing. They just made me want to cry and they were all sincere.”

Garza, who is in the discernment process for religious life, is seeking her vocation one day at a time. During college, she was involved in the pro-life ministry traveling around the country to speak about it. In 2015, she co-founded the VIDA Initiative, which encourages the Latino community to get involved in the pro-life movement.

In the past, these trips with Corazon Puro have helped other young women living in Casa Guadalupe find their callings. Bulay Minano, who lived at Casa Guadalupe in 2011, now lives in the Philippines working for the CP chapter there. Juliana Staab, who also lived at Casa Guadalupe and traveled to Honduras last year, is currently doing a two-year mission there with the Missioners of Christ.

All the missionaries who just returned home from the Philippines said their lives were truly touched and all wanted to stay to continue the mission there. On Corazon Puro’s Facebook page, one post read:, “The joy of the Filipino people is contagious.”

CP changed many lives during its short time in the Philippines and just as the missionaries changed lives, they too also had their lives changed, “Any experience where you’re asked to give of yourself and go out your comfort zone helps your spiritual life,” said Garza.