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Feature News | Friday, June 22, 2018

More than 100 commissioned to serve

School of Ministry grads commit to serve AIDS patients, young people and many more

Juan Carlos Londono, of St. Bartholomew Parish in Miramar, receives his certificate during the commissioning Mass, June 9 at St. Mary Cathedral.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Juan Carlos Londono, of St. Bartholomew Parish in Miramar, receives his certificate during the commissioning Mass, June 9 at St. Mary Cathedral.

MIAMI | Armando Larrea knows how parents feel when their child is diagnosed with AIDS. Larrea and his wife, Enriqueta, lost two sons to the disease.

“Because of our experience we are helping parents of adult children living with AIDS,” he said following the Mass June 9 where Archbishop Thomas Wenski presented certificates to Larrea and 120 other lay ministers at St. Mary Cathedral. Sixty-seven graduates of the archdiocesan School of Ministry were commissioned at large and 54 were newly commissioned or re-commissioned in a specific area of ministry. Larrea is a minister to the sick.

Armando Larrea of St. Timothy Parish in Miami, who serves in ministry to the sick, specifically people with AIDS, receives his certificate during the commissioning Mass, June 9 at St. Mary Cathedral.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Armando Larrea of St. Timothy Parish in Miami, who serves in ministry to the sick, specifically people with AIDS, receives his certificate during the commissioning Mass, June 9 at St. Mary Cathedral.

Viviana Mabel Felicito receives her certificate during the commissioning Mass, June 9 at St. Mary Cathedral.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Viviana Mabel Felicito receives her certificate during the commissioning Mass, June 9 at St. Mary Cathedral.

It’s been 21 years since the Larreas lost their 35-year-old son and 25 years since they lost their 32-year-old son to AIDS. The Larreas are passionate about helping the parents of those afflicted with the disease.   

“We didn’t have to read a book about coping with AIDS, we wrote the book,” he said. “Unlike other serious illnesses, AIDS carries a stigma because it’s usually associated with promiscuous sex. The disease has bad vibes. I have to swallow hard and go out and help these families.”

Larrea is a parishioner at St. Timothy Church in southwest Miami-Dade County. However, he said he will travel to any South Florida location to give emotional support to a family dealing with AIDS. He has helped to educate young people on the dangers of pre-marital sex.

He said today’s generations think they’re invincible. They think AIDS is no longer a death sentence but a chronic disease because of the new medications. Because of that, AIDS is on the rise again. He has addressed students at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy and St. Brendan High School.

“After speaking at St. Brendan, a teenage girl thanked me for discussing the subject of AIDS,” he said. “She said I will change my lifestyle. I told them about the dangers and that they must take care of themselves. Once they leave the house their parents aren’t with them. It only takes one time to contract the disease. You can’t have a little HIV, just like you can’t be a little pregnant.”

Larrea wears an AIDS lapel ribbon to make people aware of the disease. He’s been wearing it for 25 years.

“I never leave my house without the ribbon,” he said. “If I don’t have another lapel ribbon when someone asks where they can get one, I will give them the one I’m wearing. I have several lapel ribbons at home.”

Larrea has worked with patients and families at Mercy Hospital, with help from the late Sister Edith Gonzalez, a Sister of St. Joseph, and Sister Edita Rojas, of the Sisters of St. Philip Neri. “Once a month, we would have a restaurant deliver patients a special meal, instead of hospital food,” he said.

He recalled another method to bring awareness about AIDS. A group of Miami ladies made a 12x12 quilt with the names and photos of 69 people who died from AIDS, including his sons.

“There were notes on the back of the quilt,” he said. “They were extremely emotional. One was written by a woman who contracted AIDS from her hemophiliac husband, who had received AIDS-infected blood. A priest got AIDS also from a transfusion containing tainted blood.”

Larrea said that anyone who needs help dealing with AIDS can call him at 305-595-2771.

Lay ministers work in diverse areas such as prison ministry, evangelization and prayer ministry.

Annette Decius, a teacher at Paul Laurence Dunbar K-8 Center, works with Haitian-American youths at Notre Dame d’Haiti Mission in Miami. She said the main problem is the communication between the parents and the kids.

“I am the liaison between the parents and children,” she said. “The parents are dealing with a whole new culture and language. Many lack money for fun activities. The kids are very respectful, intelligent and work hard. They help each other and believe in God. They teach their parents about American culture.”

In his homily, Archbishop Wenski called the commissioning of the lay ministers a cause for great thanksgiving.

“A number of our faithful, in response to their call to holiness and in their efforts to be better formed in faith, have completed coursework in the archdiocesan School of Ministry,” he said. “Grace is multiplied among the people as you are commissioned in lay ministry. Your participation is more than an opportunity for personal enrichment, it’s an opportunity to equip you with all your energy and vitality and joy for greater service in the Church and for sharing your witness of holiness as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Fior Ramirez, administrative assistant in the Lay Ministry Office, called the ceremony a joyous occasion.

“It was a celebration of the lay ministry program,” she said. “We invite all others who wish to serve to contact the Office of Lay Ministry” to sign up for the next two-year class. Classes are offered in English, Spanish and Creole in local parishes.

Go to: miamiarch.org/layministry or call the office at 305-762-1184, 305-762-1086 or 305-762-1298. The deadline for registration is August 1.

“Space is limited,” Ramirez said. “The classes fill up quickly.”

Lay ministers pray during the commissioning Mass, June 9 at St. Mary Cathedral.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Lay ministers pray during the commissioning Mass, June 9 at St. Mary Cathedral.


Comments from readers

Cheryl E. Hodowud - 06/22/2018 08:07 PM
I am a graduate of the Class of 2012, and have served as Coordinator of the English online classes of 2014, 2016 and 2018. I cannot begin to tell you how greatly I have benefitted spiritually and intellectually from these classes, and how much they have helped me in the volunteer work that I do in my Parish of St. Joseph. The experience is unlike any other. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone who desires to grow in their faith and ultimately form a closer union with Jesus to prayerfully consider enrolling in the Lay Ministry Program. And, should you choose the English online format, it will be my great privilege to share your journey! Non nisi Te, Domine!

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