By Petra Alexander
The Feast of Pentecost offered an inspiring time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ESNE Radio. It was a celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the birth of the Church, and witnessing how the action of the Spirit gives life to the new forms of evangelization. Many friends of ESNE Radio, known as El Sembrador, gathered at St. Christopher Church in Moreno Valley for a Mass presided by Bishop Alberto Rojas and concelebrated by Bishop Emeritus Gerald Barnes and Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Rutilio de Riego, Monsignor Gerard Lopez, Vicar General, and Father Romy Seleccion, Parish Pastor and Episcopal Vicar of the San Bernardino Pastoral Region. Several priests, deacons and many other friends of Catholic radio were also present.
Bishop Rojas guided a catechetical reflection about the Holy Spirit and His action in the Church. The Bishop said that with our baptism, the Spirit lives in the heart of every believer, and from within, invites us to open our door so that Jesus can be shared. The response that we give to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit is personal and free according to the generosity of each person. Bishop Rojas continued, saying that in the history of the Church, there have many believers who have let themselves be filled with this Spirt and that is why the gospel has stayed alive, because it is contagious when it is communicated, and a clear example of this is the ministry that Noel Diaz began when he founded El Sembrador, with the vision of evangelizing through the media.
ESNE’s ministry, is one more proof that Jesus is still sending his breath of life to the Church, Bishop Rojas concluded.
Diaz thanked the Diocese for taking the initiative to celebrate this 40th Anniversary, he recalled that the beginnings of this ministry were modest, as was the birth of the Church. Diaz recalled with gratitude +Bishop Dennis O’Neil because it was under his guidance, as he was the pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Los Angeles, where the ministry was discerned. Later, as Auxiliary Bishop of San Bernardino, he supported the ministry’s expansion, and he gave them the courage to buy the first Catholic radio station 1670 AM.
Currently, ESNE Radio website has 16 stations in the United States, Tijuana, Mexico City and Guadalajara. Diaz expressed that this growth stemmed from the confidence that the Diocese of San Bernardino gave him. He said that it has also been confirmed by the blessings given to him by the popes, from Pope John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. ESNE considers the Diocese of San Bernardino a sister diocese and every day Catholics call ESNE to ask for prayers for some need, or to give thanks for some light received through a preaching, or to sign up to participate in events and to support with their small seeds of contributions.
The recent campaign by ESNE: “I am the 73,” was born out of reflecting about how Jesus sent his 72 disciples out on mission, and the petition of Pope Francis that we be a missionary Church, out on mission, that needs the 73rd disciple to commit to evangelizing his surroundings, in his family, in crossing over to the periphery. We are confident that the same Fire from on High that filled with courage and conviction the fearful disciples, will pour out over the sowers that ask for it with insistence and humility, to animate the evangelizing mission until the end of the ages.
Petra Alexander is the Director of Hispanic Affairs for the Diocese of San Bernardino.