Ten years ago

Nancy and Luis began their marital journey, and subsequently their ministerial path, while attending parent formation classes at Cristo Rey, when Joselyne began her first communion classes. Learning about their Faith as parents was a new experience Luis admits, “Even though we had been married in the Church from the beginning, we did not fully live our faith in our marriage.” Everything changed when they discovered a community made up of other couples — other parents of first communion students— with whom they shared formation classes for the duration of their daughter’s two year First Holy Communion program.

Luis vividly recalled a conversation he and Nancy shared. “She said to me, ‘We are taking our daughter to prepare to receive something that we are not living. I want us to prepare so that the day she makes her first communion, we will receive the Body of Christ as a family.”  In preparation, Luis and Nancy began attending Mass every Sunday, going to confession, and in Luis’s words, living the sacraments. He remembered, “Without realizing it at first, we both felt strongly that God was leading us both down the path of ministry.”

Nancy described how their ministry started. “When our daughter finished her first communion, we were invited to give the talks to the adults.” They agreed and, in Nancy’s words, “We got hooked!” Couples began confiding in them about their struggles with their children and their faith. Nancy and Luis stated they often prayed, “Lord, how can we help them?”  Nancy shared that the answer to their prayers was simple. “Many couples told us it was nice just to see us working together. We did not realize it at the time, but seeing us, they felt the desire to put God at the center of their marriages too.”

Growing in Faith Together

In addition to talking with couples, they began attending Bible classes every Friday, which expanded their faith community at the Cathedral. "We also fell in love with the people there," Nancy said.  They started attending retreats with Father Gerardo Menchaca, as Nancy recalled, “From there came a hunger to soak in more of what the Church taught, and we really wanted to know God."  For her especially, these retreats altered her spirituality forever. "Before that, my view of God was that of a punishing God. The retreats totally changed that to having confidence that He is a God of love." In addition, the Bible class read the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and she felt the Lord asking, "What did you do with what I gave you?" Nancy and Luis discerned that her talent was, to their great surprise, marriage ministry.

At first it was difficult to recognize his talent. Luis shared their mutual resistance. "We said, 'How can this be true? No, no, no, no, we don't feel worthy!' I kept saying over and over again, 'I don't have any talent. I don't have any talent!'" But then came an invitation to lead the St. Joseph Catholic Christian Family Movement (CCFM). It didn't take long for them to accept that this was where they could share their gifts. Nancy recalled, "I don't know exactly how long it took, but I said to Luis, why don't we go help? I knew we needed a community and that we could help Spanish speakers, because we are immigrants." Since then, they have never looked back.

Unexpected Miracle

In the process of serving others, Luis and Nancy believe they have gained more of what it means to be sacramentally married. Luis puts it this way: “After we discovered the gift we had received in the sacrament of marriage, we began to try to be the best we could for ourselves, for our daughter, and other families.”  Both have now been giving premarital talks in Spanish throughout the diocese for a decade and they remain involved in the MFCC where, Nancy explains, they perceive a definite need for couples to support one another. “There are things, intimate things, that cannot just be talked about with anyone. Many times, couples do not feel understood.” This is where they see the importance of their role.

One issue they personally dealt with was secondary or post birth infertility, which lasted for almost twenty years. Luis recalled tearfully that their eldest daughter, Jocelyne, desired a sibling while she was growing up. “I remember when my daughter was 10 years old, she wrote a letter to Jesus that said, ‘This year do not bring me toys. I would like a little sister.’ I still have the letter.” Even charting their cycle, which is taught in Natural Family Planning courses, did not help. They could only trust and pray. He recalls telling his wife, “I do not know why this is happening, my love. We must ask God. He knows why.” This, they both confirmed, was a constant prayer.

Fast forward to two years ago, when Nancy could not believe her eyes as multiple pregnancy tests came back positive. Luis said that he was so excited he had to avoid zigzagging on the freeway as he rushed home after hearing the news. The best part was telling Jocelyne about their unexpected miracle. Luis shared that moment, “When we told our daughter, she cried and cried and said, and I remember that she said, ‘What took you so long?!’”MN