MIAMI GARDENS | Miguel
Ruiz did not bask long in the limelight.
Shortly after
being honored with the Esperanza Ginoris Award, the director of religious
education at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Doral changed out of his coat and
tie and into his work clothes: a polo shirt and a walkie-talkie.
He became one of
dozens of volunteers directing foot traffic at Msgr. Edward Pace High School, where about 1,000 catechists gathered Oct. 22 for the archdiocese’s 38th annual
Catechetical Conference.
He also was the
one responsible for getting a phalanx of Guadalupe’s Emmaus Bikers to guide
cars to their parking spots.
But he refused to
take credit for the work he has been doing at the parish since 2004, work that
the Ginoris award recognized as a “model for catechesis” in the archdiocese.
The parish has about 950 students in religious education, taught by 60 senior
catechists and about 80 student volunteers.
“I don’t deserve
it,” said the Argentina-born Ruiz. “The ones who deserve it are all the
catechists of the parish. We (catechetical leaders) direct the orchestra but
they play the music.”
Young
catechist
One of those “musicians”
is Tiffany Soto, a 16-year-old junior at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort
Lauderdale. Barely old enough to drive — she does not have a car so her parents
taxi her around — Tiffany has been a catechist at her parish, All Saints in
Sunrise, since her freshman year.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Accompanied by Superintendent of Schools Kim Pryzbylski, Archbishop Thomas Wenski gives the Esperanza Ginoris Award to Miguel Ruiz, director of religious education at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Doral.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Accompanied by Superintendent of Schools Kim Pryzbylski, left, and Office of Catechesis Director Peter Ductram, Archbishop Thomas Wenski gives a 2016 Catechetical Leadership Award to Therese Walters, director of religious education at San Pablo Church in Marathon.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Accompanied by Superintendent of Schools Kim Pryzbylski, left, and Office of Catechesis Director Peter Ductram, Archbishop Thomas Wenski gives a 2016 Catechetical Leadership Award to Maria de la Fe, director of religious education at St. Benedict Parish in Hialeah.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Accompanied by Superintendent of Schools Kim Pryzbylski, left, and Office of Catechesis Director Peter Ductram, Archbishop Thomas Wenski gives a 2016 Catechetical Leadership Award to Maryann Hotchkiss, director of religious education at St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Pembroke Pines.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Accompanied by Superintendent of Schools Kim Pryzbylski, left, and Office of Catechesis Director Peter Ductram, Archbishop Thomas Wenski gives a 2016 Catechetical Leadership Award to Leyla Mazpule, director of religious education at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Miami.
She helps prepare
children for first Communion and teens for confirmation, juggling high school
homework with the weekly evening classes. In the summer, she completed two
years of coursework offered by the Office of Catechesis.
That makes her a
certified catechist — among the youngest in the archdiocese — and one of more
than 300 from dozens of parishes and schools who received their certification
papers at this year’s conference.
“Sometimes it’s
hard to get home and start studying so late,” Tiffany said, referring to the
weekly classes she teaches from 5:45 to 8:30 p.m. “But once I’m with the kids,
it makes me so happy. They’re so adorable and so innocent.”
As to why she
decided to pursue certification, she replied: “You could never know enough
about your faith. You’re always learning.”
And that’s just
what the catechists continued to do at the annual conference, whose theme this
year was “Transformed by God’s Mercy.”
Reconciliation
talks
They heard keynote
talks on reconciliation — in English by Precious Blood Father Joseph Nassal and
in Spanish by Rogelio Zelada of the archdiocese’s Office of Lay Ministry.
They got tips on
reaching young people from famed musician Steve Angrisano, who paired with the
local Cefas Ministry to lead the music at the opening Mass.
They heard about
ways to incorporate families in religious education and teach children with
autism and other developmental disabilities.
They inspected the
newest books and materials offered by publishers such as Sadlier and Our Sunday
Visitor.
They found out,
from nationally known speaker Jo Ann Paradise, “why God doesn’t send emails.”
They even received
a compliment from some of the out-of-town guests regarding the ease with which
Miamians celebrate Mass in three languages, switching effortlessly — in song
and prayer — between English, Spanish and Creole.
“We have seen a
spirit in here that we haven’t seen in many places,” said Peter Ductram, relaying
what a couple of the speakers told him. “I think it’s a beautiful compliment to
the whole archdiocese.”
As director of the Office of Catechesis, Ductram is the orchestra leader for the annual event, which
summons parish catechists and school religion teachers from all the ends of the
archdiocese: as far north as Deerfield Beach and as far south as the Keys.
“You feel that
people know each other. That people believe, and it’s their event,” Ductram
said.
‘Most
wonderful thing’
The catechists took
up a special collection at the Mass, raising $1,800 for the victims of
Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.
“I am humbled,
definitely humbled,” said Walters, calling catechesis “the most wonderful thing
you can do.”
But she admitted
it’s gotten harder over the past 20 years.
“When I began so
long ago, it was a manner of understanding that everyone brought their children
to learn about God. Now we have to go out and beat the bushes to bring them in.
It’s not part of the culture anymore,” she said.
So much so that
the parish now pushes for the parents to stay while their children are in
class. “We really want them there so that they learn even more than the
children do,” Walters said.
Fulfilling
work
But the work is
definitely fulfilling said Hotchkiss, a fellow honoree.
“I just kept
thinking about the journey and all the people that have crossed my paths,” said
the 22-year veteran, noting that Deacon Pierre Douyon, who served at the Mass, had
been one of her catechists.
“When I said yes,
I never thought I’d say yes. My husband, the non-Catholic, pushed me to say
yes. Now it all makes sense,” Hotchkiss said.
As for what it
takes to be a catechist, she cited, “Love of Christ. Love of people. And hope
that you’re able to accept people where they are and draw them closer to the
Lord.”
In a world where
“we don’t trust anybody,” he said, “kids don’t trust teachers because they’re
teachers. They trust teachers because they’re witnesses.”
Or as Father
Nassal put it in his keynote talk: “How can we be revolutionaries of God’s
tender mercy? … The revolution begins on our knees, when we wash the feet of
one another.”
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Musician/evangelist Steve Angrisano leads a workshop on teaching youth "the way" of discipleship at the 2016 Catechetical Conference, "Transformed by God's Love." More than 1,000 catechists from parishes throughout the archdiocese attended the all-day event, held Oct. 22 at Msgr. Edward Pace High School in Miami.