On Jan. 30 Cardinal Maradiaga, of Honduras, completed his weeklong visit to the diocese with an address on the challenges and opportunities for the Church under the leadership of Pope Francis. He presented first to the men and women religious and priests serving in the diocese in the afternoon and later presented to lay leaders in Hispanic ministry in the evening.
Cardinal Maradiaga shared his experiences serving as a member of the “Council of 8,” Cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to help him reform the Roman Curia, while also presenting the challenges and opportunities before the Church.
“What is the attitude of the disciple? We need to be like Mary, at the feet of Jesus listening to the words of God,” Cardinal Maradiaga said.
He echoed the call of Pope Francis to instill a missionary spirit in lay Catholics, centered on the Gospel. Drawing from Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, and the Aparecida Document written by the General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Cardinal encouraged church and ministry leaders to invest their time and energy in reaching out to the community and engaging them with activities that enrich their Catholic spirituality.
“At least in Latin America, we have lost the faithful because we don’t study the word of God,” Cardinal Maradiaga said. “We need to be in the middle of the flock, so we can dialogue, discuss, …, and give the word of God to the people.”
Earlier in the week, Cardinal Maradiaga directed a retreat for Spanish-speaking priests in the diocese from Jan. 26-30. Of the topics addressed during the retreat, the need for continual conversion impacted the priests.
“How much fruit is harvested from the seed that has been planted in our hearts?” Cardinal Maradiaga said. “We read the Sacred Word of God and celebrate the Eucharist, what fruit do we bear from this in which we participate in every day? We need to have open hearts, good soil, in order to receive all that God wishes to share with you.”
Cardinal Maradiaga encouraged the priests to not let the everyday worries and distractions impede them from encountering Christ and sharing that encounter with their parishioners.
“It is something we take for granted,” said Father Stephen Ayisu, S.V.D., parochial vicar at St. James, Perris. “We think [conversion] is a one-time thing, but it needs to be constant if we want to lead others to Christ. That is something we all really need to work on.”
The Cardinal led the priests in a study of Evangelii Gaudium, using it as a guide to how to live out the priesthood.
For some priests, the retreat was an opportunity to focus on their spiritual growth.
“Sometimes we get caught up with all the challenges of parish life,” said Father Fernando Bonilla, M.S.P., Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph Parish, Fontana. “This was a time to go back to the fountains of wisdom and be encountered once more with God’s call.”
Having the high ranking Cardinal present at the retreat was very welcomed among the participants. Cardinal Maradiaga’s background and his closeness to Pope Francis brought a unique perspective to the participants.
“Being a cardinal, he gives deep insight on the Pope’s pastoral focus for the Church,” Father Ayisu said. “We need to be evangelized in order to evangelize.”
Cardinal Maradiaga, 72, is the current Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras and was President of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) from 1995 to 1999.