Many participants traveled long roads for Emaus program

Friday, Jul. 18, 2014

SALT LAKE  CITY — As the date of certification as lay ecclesial ministers approaches, the 63 participants in the Spanish-language formation program are filled with joy and gratitude for their  four-year journey of intense studies and practice.

“The participation of each one of them has been very important for our diocese and for our office,” said Maria Cruz Gray, director of the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s Office of the Hispanic Ministry. “Their efforts mean a lot for the future of our local Church and for the Hispanic people here in Utah. It has been a long journey, but a very worthy one.”

This is the first group of Spanish-speaking lay ecclesial ministers to be certified in Utah. An English-speaking group also will be certified on Aug. 9; the diocese certified its first LEMs in 2010.

Once certified, the LEMs will participate in various ministries such as religious education and leading retreats.

The participants in the Spanish-speaking LEM formation program, called Emaus, come from all over the state, not only from parishes but from missions such as Fillmore, Huntington and Heber. Most of them are originally from Mexico but there are also some from Colombia, Peru, Panama and Guatemala.

“This is a mission diocese and when we are in the missions it is really important to have people that are prepared and have had an encounter with Christ. They work there not because someone tells them to; instead, they want to do it. They know it is their mission,” said Gray.

Lucero Muñoz is one of these people. “I have always liked to study about my religion and I have always participated as much as I can in the parish activities,” said Muñoz, who was attending one of the Catechism classes at the Pastoral Center when she began the Emaus program.

At that time she, her husband, Filo, and two children lived in Salt Lake City, but a year later the family moved to Vernal. Continuing the program required her to drive more than four hours each way to attend the weekend classes twice a month.

“Traveling from Vernal has been a sacrifice because you have to have time and money,” said Muñoz.

Although her husband is not an Emaus participant, he accompanied her every time she traveled to Salt Lake City. He also supported the program in other ways.

“I have learned a lot through her,” said Filo Muñoz as he prepared the meal for one of the Emaus retreats. “I didn’t even believe in God before I met her. Thanks to her and to the program, everything is better in our lives.” 

“My dream was to be able to work in the missions and now that is becoming true, thanks to Emaus,” said Lucero Muñoz. “When you live in a big city you have like a buffet of parishes and priests available, but in a mission you just have one and there is a lot of need. In Vernal there are around 300 Catholics who go to Mass and now with the formation of the Emaus I can help more there. Emaus is like a big gold brooch that words cannot describe all the good, blessings and joy that have brought to our lives.”

Having people who now are prepared through the Emaus program to serve others is wonderful for the diocese, Gray said.

“When a person has had a real encounter with Christ, it is much easier for them to offer their work for the Church; it’s more like a mission, not like an imposition,” she said.

Another couple who traveled far for the Emaus classes is Mariana and Noe Cerón, who live in Logan. For them, the biggest sacrifice over the past four years has been time away from their children; their youngest was a year old when they started the program. They also have an 8- and 15-year-old.

 When the couple was accepted in the Emaus, they gathered around their table to tell their oldest children.

“They told us to go for it. ... It was really Jesus Christ talking to us through them,” said Noe Cerón. “Listening and responding this call is like when God told his disciples, ‘You are my hands and my voice.’”

“When you feel that special call in your life you can’t deny it. God is always with us and to feel his love in our skins has been great,” said Mariana Cerón. “Since we lived the encounter with Our Lord Jesus, he touched our hearts and we said ’yes.’ … A lot of blessings have been in this journey of four years, but there also have been many tears.”

While the four-year program taught general knowledge of the Catholic Church, the participants will continue their faith formation. 

“Now is the time that many of them will keep on specializing in different ministries,” Gray said. “This is just part of the New Evangelization. We need to work harder in the outside, we need to show people that the kingdom of God is here and we are part of it.”

The commissioning Mass for all of the lay ecclesial ministers, both English- and Spanish-speaking, will be Aug. 9 in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Bishop John C. Wester will preside.