Veronica Torres Alvarez

I have been a member St. Catherine of Siena Parish for quite some time now. I am happily married to Jose Luis and we have three awesome boys: Victor, our eldest is a senior at Alhambra High School, Andres, in tenth grade at AHS is currently in his second year in the St. Catherine Youth Group; and, Adrian our youngest who is in fifth grade is active with the Faith Formation Group.
 
My love of being involved with this parish is being part of the group of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and most of all being a first grade religious education Catechist. It has been for about four years now. I have also recently joined the Stewardship Committee.
 
I got involved as a Faith Formation Catechist when I received a phone call. It was over four years ago in the month of July on a summer Saturday. My family and I were at the lake. I heard my phone ringing in my bag. When I answered, it was another Catechist and the Director of Religious Education and they had me on speaker phone. I was surprised to get a call on a weekend and especially during the summer from these lovely ladies. They asked me if I would come and help with the first graders in their Catholic formation. They made me laugh and smile because I can hear them saying PLEASE help us and we would LOVE to have you come and be part of our group. Now, how could I have said “no” to these wonderful ladies over the phone. Now, each summer when I go to the lake with my family, I look at my phone and wonder if someone else may call for another favor or ask for help.
 
I accepted their invitation and now have the joy of being part of the religious education of the students in the first grade. This has made my relationship with God stronger. My faith has increased dramatically. I tell my students that they cannot see faith, but they surely can feel it. This also has helped me to understand the cycle of life. I accept stress, love, death and sacrifices more easily.
 
There are many challenges in my life as I try keeping focus on my family, work, and church; but, it seems to always work out because of my relationship with God. I can be very busy at times but my volunteering fulfills my heart. I highly recommend that people try to challenge themselves by signing up for a parish organization and/or ministry that interests them. Try it out and see which will be the best fit. Like I said before, I just recently joined the Stewardship Committee and am looking forward to seeing how I can contribute and what could happen. Being part of this church community is family. We all have talents to share with each other, so let’s.