I was one of three people from our diocese to be a cultural mentor, someone who ministers in multicultural settings and helps prepare others for liturgy. The theme of the conference was “Strangers No Longer, Partners in the Promise.”
The cultural mentors were there simply to share who they are and how they worship with those who have less of a multicultural experience. We sat in on round table discussions with a hundred or so people from across the country and discussed multicultural and inter-cultural liturgies, masses and prayer services.
We take being multicultural for granted here in Southern California but in many places in our nation all of the Catholics who are in Mass together on any Sunday are all the same color, all speak the same language and all celebrate the Eucharist in the exact same way. There are people across this nation, good and holy people, who are leaders in their own dioceses, who have never experienced two or more different cultures worshiping together.
So, I shared who I am, where I’ve come from and what we do in our diocese and my parish. I shared who we are as a multicultural and multilingual community. I shared the struggles we’ve had when it comes to bilingual or tri-lingual liturgies. I also shared our successes, like Masses that we’ve celebrated in the city park, or on college campuses. I shared our parochial school liturgies and retreats and our diocesan programs.
In his rermarks Bishop Barnes talked about where he was raised and correlated that to the vision of the dioceses as related to cultural diversity. He explained what the Diocese of San Bernardino looks like.
Father Brett Hoover from Loyola Marymount University gave a presentation on the demographics of our country and what the face of the Catholic Church will look like in 5-10 years.
It was interesting to know that in the future we will have a mixture of colors, ages and cultures in our parishes. The people in the communities will be bringing in their own flavors of worship and celebration. Bishop Barnes shared that this is already a lived reality in our diocese.
Coming away from that conference I have a greater appreciation and respect for all those who serve during the liturgy. As mentors we shared many similar experiences, and all had a common purpose—to share our church and its beauty and richness with each other. This experience was a blessing to witness and opened my eyes to what the Lord has in store for us as the people of God—not just from one region or state or even country but of the entire world.
Rosalie Vilchis is the Confirmation Coordinator and Youth Minster at St. Catherine of Siena parish.