Alumni Spotlight: Julia Guzman

An Unexpected Journey for Jesus
by James R. Koelsch
MOSAIC, Summer 2009

  
When Julia Guzman came to Detroit back in
1970, the then fifteen-year-old thought she
was visiting just for a few months. Her mother had sent her from Puerto Rico on a mission of mercy to look after two little cousins until Julia’s ailing aunt could undergo surgery and get back on her feet. None of them suspected young Julia was actually embarking upon a much longer journey for the Lord—a mission of service to St. Gabriel Parish in Detroit, where she is now the pastoral associate overseeing its daily affairs.

This longer journey wasn’t obvious at first, not only because she was so young but also because she got into some trouble that would cause her to stay in Detroit. But she finally made her way to St. Gabriel in 1981, when her growing family moved from Holy Redeemer Parish
several years after she was married. The family was quick to volunteer at their new parish. “We used to help as a family, planting flowers in the gardens, working in the festival and helping with bingo,” Julia recalls. “My boys were altar servers.”

Her ultimate mission, however, began to unfold in 1990, around the time Msgr. Donald Hanchon arrived as the new pastor. “I had gotten more involved in parish affairs, sitting on the parish council and things like that,” she explains. Then in 1995, Monsignor Hanchon asked
her to take the job of Christian service coordinator, a paid position that entailed supplying food, clothing and other assistance to the poor.

A clue that Guzman was being called by the Lord was that the pay was only half the salary she had been earning as an assistant manager at a nearby credit union—and four of her six children were still living at home. Yet, she accepted the job. “The Lord must have been touching me because nobody makes that kind of decision.”

The Lord also touched her in the courses she has been taking at Sacred Heart since accepting the job. “Anybody can do a job,” she says, “but to do this kind of work, you have to know Christ and to have him in your heart. It’s not enough to give something to somebody because he needs it. You have to go beyond that. The classes opened
my mind and heart to see people in a different light, in the light of Christ.”

The first courses went toward a certificate in pastoral ministry, which Julia finished in 2004. But then, she decided to go the extra mile to earn a bachelor’s degree. Although she began by pursuing a major in world religions and a minor in psychology at Marygrove College, she transferred back to the seminary to finish with a degree in philosophy in 2007. Now, she is testing the waters for a master’s degree.

Her education has borne much fruit, beyond her own spiritual growth. Among them are the spiritual exercises she designed for small children that run as a kind of Lenten retreat. The participating children meet once a week, apart from their regular catechism classes. “Like every exercise, we begin with prayer,” says Julia. Then, the leader talks with the children about Lent and eventually the events of Holy Week.

The grand finale occurs on Holy Wednesday with a live performance of the Stations of the Cross. “The children dress as the characters, one as Jesus carrying the cross,” explains Julia. “They take it so seriously.
It is so cute.”

Another fruit of her work has been an annual community wedding for couples who otherwise could not afford a church wedding. Seven to ten couples get married at the same time at this Mass. “Each couple gives only $50 for the flowers, the church and the music,” says Julia..

These fruits are proof that the teenager from Puerto Rico was on more than a mission of mercy to her aunt. She was embarking upon a mission of service to the Church. She was on a journey for Jesus.