An interview with Joan Mitchell, CSJ
To get to Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Victor Mendoza drives down the Interstate in Minneapolis past the Twins’ Target Field and past the Basilica of St. Mary. Victor got his license the day school started this year. His high school has a special Hire4work program that introduces students to jobs in the community. Four days a week Victor studies in school; one day a week Victor works for the Minnesota Twins (and if the team is in town, watches the game from the diversity marketing office window where he works).
After school and evenings Victor might be boxing or playing soccer, his two favorite sports. He likes the boxing workouts, the intensity and the fellowship of boxers sitting around and talking about the “randomest things.” “Boxers are humble because they know their strength,” Victor observes. His girlfriend boxes and has gone to national competitions.
Victor loves soccer. His dad played professionally in Mexico. Victor is 5’8”, a perfect height for soccer. He hopes to make a video to interest St. Louis University or Notre Dame in giving him an athletic scholarship.
Tuesday evenings Victor is at the Basilica, where he is preparing for baptism with other young adults. At 17, he is the youngest person participating in the RCIA program. RCIA stands for Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
“My first reason for getting baptized is my father,” says Victor. “He is Catholic, he is older, 68. It’s a way to remember him. My dad is the one who usually helps me. I live with both my parents, but my dad drives me to soccer. He’s always been there for me and taken care of me.
“My dad grew up in Mexico going to church with his family. But my mom isn’t Catholic so there was conflict when I was born. I finally made the decision to step up to the plate and get baptized myself,” Victor explains. He has a sister studying at Georgetown, two step brothers, and two step sisters in Mexico.
Getting baptized is something Victor has wanted to do for a long time. “It’s a big thing for someone my age to be willing to put in the time and effort,” he says. “Anyone can do it. It takes faith and the right reasons.
“It started for me during eighth grade when my grandparents passed. I had a lot of questions. Why do things happen? Then Masses in high school brought me into a bigger picture. I have more faith now than I did.
We have prayer every day in every class. I don’t say what I pray for out loud. I keep the prayers in my head and then I say amen and they all go up with everybody else’s.”
On the school’s Hire4work program Victor worked for a month at the Basilica. When he told his religion teacher he wanted to get baptized, his teacher researched what parishes had RCIA programs. Basilica was one. “It is beautiful over there,” says Victor. “I told my teacher Basilica is where I want to go.”
Victor chose a friend at Cristo Rey, another junior, as his sponsor. Victor became a catechumen, a person preparing for baptism. Together they go to the weekly RCIA sessions.
Each Tuesday the catechumens listen to the gospel and reflect on what it means with their sponsors one on one. Then they have a speaker and again break up to talk about reflection questions with their sponsors. “We pray the Our Father as a way to end,” says Victor. “It’s powerful stuff. I enjoy it a lot. People are nice. A couple of days my sponsor was not there, so I partnered with someone else, and they helped me out just as well as my sponsor did. They are welcoming people.
“It’s great to learn about the past and what people have sacrificed to have the world the way it is today. It’s great to learn from other people and to be part of the RCIA group.”
Jesus’ faithfulness to his Father impresses Victor. “Overall what Jesus does throughout his entire life, not sinning and trying to be the best person that his Father wants him to be for the benefit of all — that’s what gets me the most, to say not even one mean thing but to follow what someone wants you to do the entire time,” says Victor. “A lot of people are rebellious and don’t want to listen, but Jesus listens and does what is right the way God wants him to be.”
Baptism means being accepted into the world wide Catholic Church community. “To me it is opening a new door and being accepted into a bigger community than those around me and being more accepted in the eyes of God and Jesus.”
At the Easter Vigil last year Victor received the sacraments of initiation—baptism, confirmation, and eucharist. His family, the president of his school, teachers, and friends celebrated with Victor. People filled the huge church, the choir sang, bells rang, the priest lit the new fire outside, and brought the Easter candle inside the darkened church. People lit their own small candles from the Easter candle, spreading the light of the risen Christ.
Victor knew the Easter Vigil is a long service. “I thought that it might be boring, but was I wrong! It was the most elegant and most fulfilling night that I’ve ever had. I was amazed at how beautiful the church was.”
Victor remembers feeling nervous and shaking when the pastor called the catechumens to come to the altar and lay face down on the floor. “I told my sponsor I wasn’t nervous,” says Victor. “When we lay on the floor to get the blessings of all the saints, I felt protected though it was a long time lying there.”
Each catechumen climbed into the baptismal pool of water. When Victor’s turn came, Father Bauer poured water on his head, saying, “Victor, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Then Father anointed Victor on the forehead with oil, saying, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit,” the sacrament of confirmation.
The newly baptized surrounded the pastor at the altar for the eucharist, where Victor received the Body and Blood of Christ for the first time. Victor explains, “I thought that communion was receiving a part of Christ. But when I took it, I felt different, like it wasn’t just Christ but myself as well being taken into me. I thought that nothing could feel better.”
“Afterwards my father was very emotional. I never knew how much my decision meant to him. Everyone who was there for me was ecstatic, giving me hugs and wanting to take pictures of me. The president of my school couldn’t stop smiling the entire night.”
Victor plans to go to college, study international business, and open up his own daycare centers for middle class and lower income families in parts of the world that need them. “I think little kids are fun people,” says Victor. “I used to work at a preschool nearby and I like being around the kids. I’ve wanted to open a daycare since freshman year.”