By Armando Machado | Correspondent

In using their gifts as orators, Andres and Kathia Arango urged Latino parish leaders to step-up Hispanic ministry recruitment efforts by focusing on being true disciples of the Lord, witnesses of the Catholic faith and advocates of unity among Spanish-speaking cultures.

The married couple spoke Nov. 22 in St. Paul Parish, Princeton. They are leaders in the Catholic Charismatic movement – Andres at the national level, including Canada, and Kathia within the Diocese of Camden.

“The Holy Spirit has been inside of us since the day we were baptized, and he will never leave,” Kathia Arango said during her presentation at an annual Hispanic Ministry leadership workshop, sponsored by the Diocese of Trenton’s Pastoral Planning- Hispanic Ministry Initiatives.

She said participants can draw from the strength of the Holy Spirit to be more effective in their works as catechists, prayer group coordinators, Rosary group leaders and all aspects of their ministries.

She also noted that effective evangelists and recruiters of Hispanic Ministry groups must be able to come out of their comfort zone – no matter what they believe their personal failings or weaknesses are. They should focus, she urged, on their God-given gifts and use those gifts as best they can in creative ways, with compassion and love. Whether someone prefers to worship with the expressive gestures of a Catholic Charismatic supplicant, or in the quietude of silent prayer, she said, using their gifts will be good for them and for those they serve in ministry.

“Everyday, just 15 minutes, spend it face to face with Jesus like talking to a friend,” Andres Arango told the workshop participants, asserting that this can be done no matter how busy they are – or think they are. He encouraged them to dedicate more time to matters of discipleship, including reading holy Scripture.

“Your life can change – your life can be transformed,” Andres Arango added, noting that “El amor de Dios es eterno (The love of God is eternal).”

The workshop, conducted entirely in Spanish, was attended by about 260 people, including Raul Calvimontes, a parishioner in St. Paul Parish. “We participate in the prayer group; we participate in the Guadalupe group – we serve according to the will of God,” he said of his family, adding that the workshop speakers conveyed a very important spiritual message: the importance of serving the community, and doing so with true enthusiasm.

Patricia Sanabria, St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Hightstown, said the workshop “helps us with our spiritual growth … I am a coordinator with the Charismatic prayer group in my parish. But it should not matter what culture we come from or how we worship; unity is very important. We are one Church.”

Elvin Carvajal, also of St. Paul Parish, noted that the event helps people seek to be closer to God – it encourages “us to help others walk in the path of the Lord,” especially in these difficult times when so many people are living lives without faith.

Nery Figueroa, St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, said she attended the gathering “to grow in my faith and to know the Lord more.” She said the concepts conveyed in the workshop will help her in her family life and in her parish volunteer work.

Reflecting on the well-attended event, Sandra Lopez, coordinator of diocesan Hispanic Ministry Initiatives, said, “It is a joy. This is important so that we can better serve our fellow brothers and sisters, and better serve God – and do so with joy.”