Pan de Vida/Bread of Life by Leticia Velasquez
The Importance of Catechesis in the Hispanic Community
The immigration of many Hispanics to this country has created a unique opportunity in the history of the Catholic Church in the USA. The Church in this country is changing profoundly, and in two decades half of the Catholics in this nation will be Hispanic. All immigrant groups have affected the culture of the Church bringing their national customs, but because there are so many Hispanics, the effect will be more profound. I would like to facilitate the process of educating Latin American Catholics in the Faith, while we respect the Catholic traditions of their countries of origin. These customs offer an opportunity to Americans to rediscover their own traditions, such as devotion to the Blessed Mother and the saints, Eucharistic processions, and other celebrations of the Liturgical Year.
I accepted the invitation to write this column because I feel that the Church must work with the Hispanic community in the USA to form distinct catechetical programs for the Hispanic community to preserve the culture of Catholicism with the unique richness which must be included in the teaching.
During two decades of teaching English as a Second Language and ten years as a catechist in the Hispanic community, I have participated in many beautiful celebrations: The Savior of the World (Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ), Our Lady of Guadalupe, Via Crucis (the Stations of the Cross re-enacted in costume), and Las Posadas ( an Advent celebration). All of these feasts have shown me the cultural richness of the Universal Church (catholic means universal). If they don't lose these traditions, the Hispanic community can share a lot with us and maintain the faith of their children. It gives me great pain to see many Hispanics leave the Church for other religions, and I think that the key to keeping Hispanics in the Church is catechesis in Spanish where ever possible, using their customs.
I also have my personal reasons. The Holy Father Benedict XVI said, "To be a teacher of the faith is more than a job, catechesis is inseparable from the testimony of one's life." Being a teacher, a wife and a mother, I understand how teaching catechism to children helps me grown in my Catholic faith. I always try to be conscious of how my faith should be integrated in all aspects of my life; on the other hand, I try to understand how my life is affecting my catechesis. Many times, after a lesson, I feel strengthened in my faith. As St. Francis of Assisi said, "It is in giving that we receive."
For this reason, I begin this page dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the Most Holy Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, to assist with what our beloved Holy Father John Paul II called, "the new springtime of evangelization."
[© Leticia Velasquez 2008]
Bio
Leticia Velasquez was born on Long Island, where she lives with Francisco, her husband of 15 years and their three daughters. She has been a homeschooling mother since her oldest began school nine years ago. She has worked as an educator for the past 20 years, has a BA in Psychology an MA in TESOL, and is an adjunct professor of English as a Second Language for Suffolk Community College. Leticia has been a catechist all her life, and for the last 6 years has been teaching a bilingual Spanish First Holy Communion class. Leticia is a blogger, writing blogs Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, and Cause of Our Joy, and contributing to group blogs Mount Carmel Bloggers, and Adult Stem Cell Awareness. Leticia has published articles in "Faith and Family" and "Celebrate Life" magazines. She writes movie reviews at http://catholicmediareview.blogspot.com/ and the website Mercatornet, where her recent review of the film "Bella" was picked up by Reuter's News Service and USA Today.