Jornadistas Relive Christ's

Final Steps

By Marie Elena Giossi

Marie Elena Giossi Photos

One Body of believers in Christ: Jornadistas marched through the streets of Brooklyn and Queens on Holy Saturday,

singing, chanting and praying the Rosary, above.

Jornadistas came from many parts of the diocese to show they form one body in Christ as they conducted the 26th Annual Caminata (walk) on Holy Saturday, April 7, through the streets of Brooklyn and Queens.
Several hundred teenagers, young adults and young-at-heart chaperones from parishes in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan participated in this six-and-a-half-hour pilgrimage with stops at six area churches.

On this day, youths sacrifice their own personal wants and needs so they may truly observe, relive and honor Christ’s final steps before His death on Mt. Calvary. Their shared sacrifices and enthusiasm serve as a testimony of love, faith and hope and have a contagious effect on the communities through which they process.

Carlos Bustamante, president of Equipo Base, left, and Father Jesus Guadarrama, CM, diocesan spiritual director of the movement, are pleased with the turnout for this

profession of faith.

As they processed, youth sang songs of faith, prayed the Rosary and carried banners with various illustrations of this year’s theme, “Un Pan, Un Cuerpo” (One Bread, One Body) from 1 Corinthians 12:12.

This annual walk is a proclamation of faith for members of the Movimiento de Jornadas de Vida Cristiana (Days of Christian Life Movement), known as the Jornada Movement.

An offshoot of the Cursillo, the Jornada Movement is for Catholic youth, particularly Spanish-speaking teens of Hispanic and Latino descent, who have lived their Jornada, a three-day retreat.

This Caminata was particularly significant because the Jornada Movement is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens this year. More than 10,500 young men and women have lived their Jornada since the movement began in the diocese.

“Let’s live this Caminata today. Let’s show we mean business,” Jaime Morales, Zone 4 delegate from St. Elizabeth, South Ozone Park, challenged young people gathered outside St. Teresa of Avila, South Ozone Park, the starting point for the walk.

Standing beside Father Jesus Guadarrama, CM, diocesan spiritual director of the movement, and Carlos Bustamante, president of Equipo Base, the leadership team that organizes the movement in the diocese, Morales told youth that they are not only the future of the Church, they must step up and be leaders in the Church today. He praised both the Jornadistas and the Pre-Jornadistas (who are preparing to live their Jornada) for their commitment to Christ and to leading others to Christ by being there. And he reminded them that although their bodies may feel weak during the walk, “our spirits must be strong.”

Father Kevin Sweeney, diocesan vocation director, also welcomed teens on behalf of Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who, he said, would be walking with Jornadistas in spirit.
Wearing a hat and overcoat, he noted how unseasonably chilly it was for an April morning and then wondered how cold it must have been for Jesus in the tomb.

He experienced the Jornada a few years ago and noted that after the weekend, his J brothers, as he called them, said the retreat was “mad hot.”

“Hermanos, He died on the cross out of love for us and was laid in the tomb until His Father breathed life in him again. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was the hottest moment in history,” he said, receiving cheers from the crowd.

Father Sweeney blessed the young men and women and Father Richard Hoare, pastor, offered words of encouragement before the walk commenced around 9:30 a.m.

Police escorts joined youth on their journey, which included stops at St. Anthony of Padua, S. Ozone Park; St. Mary Gate of Heaven and St. Elizabeth, Ozone Park; Blessed Sacrament, Cypress Hills, and their final destination was St. Michael’s, East New York.

At each stop, pilgrims were greeted by a parish priest, said a decade of the Rosary and watched a skit, performed by Jornadistas. Skits revolved around the owner and workers at a fictitious Bread of Life Bakery, which baked and distributed bread to the poor.

“Luz, Vida, Salvacion” (Light, Life, Salvation) was one of the chants the crowd raised along Rockaway Blvd., where men at Spotless Car Wash inclined their heads toward the faith-filled teens. A driver for Ozone Park Lumber honked his horn as he drove by the group.

Women getting out of a car with a Jesus bumper sticker shouted “Praise Him.” Several construction workers also put down their hammers and took off their hats as youth processed down one residential street.

Children of all ethnicities smiled and waved from doorways and apartment windows. Some of the teens stepped out of the line to hand out miniature wooden crosses to the young onlookers.

“This is a sign to the community that Christ walks among us today. It’s a sign of hope of the resurrection. As we rise up and walk with banners, we know Christ will soon rise up from the grave,” said Manny Rodriguez, who lived his Jornada 18 years ago.

A customs officer for the Department of Homeland Security by day, Rodriguez has been devoting much of his spare time over the past five years to leading youth in St. Teresa of Avila’s Jornada group, which is going strong with around 25 active members.

Faith, he noted, is an intrinsic part of Latino heritage and culture, and he hoped that seeing the young people marching through the neighborhood might bring both the young and older adults back to their Catholic roots.

Jornadistas closed their walk in East New York inside the former St. Michael’s Commercial H.S. auditorium, where each parish group presented their banner. A final skit connected the five previous skits and reminded teens that everyone is called to help each other along life’s journey because in the end, everyone, rich or poor, is welcome and worthy to feast at His heavenly banquet.

Hunks of fresh bread were then distributed as Father Alexis Moronta, IVE, pastor, thanked teens for their “testimony to the world.” He asked youth to “pray for each other” that they may all continue to be faithful to Christ “so that one day we can all be in heaven with our Lord.”

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