ALUMNI UPDATE
The Most Important Work
Fr . Eduardo Montemayor , SOLT , is a priest of The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity religious community . He holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from Sacred Heart ( 2013 ).
INTO THE VINEYARD Alumni Advancing the New Evangelization
I
am truly blessed to have graduated with my Licentiate in Sacred Theology in the New Evangelization from Sacred Heart in April 2013 .
After working “ full-time ” for over two years on my degree and thesis ( a unique grace I am eternally grateful for ), I was anxious to get out into the Lord ’ s vineyard , equipped with a clear understanding and vision for evangelization , as well as a passion to transform our parishes into vibrant centers for evangelization and discipleship formation .
It ’ s been almost four years since I graduated . I wanted to briefly highlight what I ’ ve done with my STL degree , in what I consider the most important work in the universe — evangelization .
Upon graduation , I was offered a position with the Archdiocese of Detroit , as the associate director for evangelization and Hispanic ministry . It was exciting to first build up the existing ministry teams and to hire highly qualified individuals who were spiritually gifted in evangelization . It was hugely important to communicate to the teams , and through the teams , a vision for parish evangelization in stages .
And praise God , we were able to jumpstart evangelization in many parishes and to touch many untouched hearts by implementing a variety of ministries and designing new ones where needed . I was also privileged to serve on the leadership team for the Archdiocesan 2016 Synod on evangelization .
Two and a half years later , I was called to a totally new apostolate by the superior of my community , The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity ( SOLT ). I have been tasked with helping to develop a parish-based evangelization and discipleship ministry process deemed “ The Immaculate Conception Project ” that would impact and transform the culture of individuals , families , and parishes .
The assignment is no small task — yet along with a wonderful team of SOLT priests , sisters , and laity , we have currently developed two courses that complement each other : RE- VIVE and Becoming Missionary Disciples .
REVIVE is a seven-week evangelization course designed to revive a person ’ s faith by proclaiming a Trinitarian kerygma within a context of great hospitality , and providing a two-day retreat in which a unique encounter takes place with God the Father , Son , and Holy Spirit . REVIVE is then followedup by Becoming Missionary Disciples , a tenweek course that forms authentic lay missionary disciples of Jesus through Mary . This ministry is then followed up by more long-term Missionary Discipleship Groups .
I am now living with my community in Phoenix , Arizona , at Most Holy Trinity Parish , and loving the warm weather and beautiful mountains . We are currently piloting these new ministries in English and Spanish , and we are hoping to start professionally filming all these ministries next summer .
My dream is to be able to share these ministries with many parishes throughout the world . To that end , I am working closely with the Diocese of Phoenix and , in fact , will be giving their next Lenten retreat to their chancery staff .
As you can see , the Lord has been putting my STL degree to work in his vineyard . May God , who loves you , bless you .
22 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2017