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Saint Paul
Friday, March 29, 2024

An immigrant’s journey to healing and health

Christina Capecchi
Maria Martinez
Maria Martinez

Maria Martinez has served Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul for nearly five years, most recently as its director of faith formation. Now she’s preparing to step down to focus on her two daughters and her natural family planning (NFP) training, a ministry that has brought great joy. “It’s been wonderful,” said Martinez, 53, who belongs to Holy Family in St. Louis Park.

Q) Back when you were 30, your husband got a new job and you moved from Mexico City, the most populated city in the world, to Pembina, North Dakota, population 500. What a culture shock!

A) It was a peaceful place. We got to know strong Catholics. Our journey in growing in our faith started there. When we had our first baby, people were so giving: food, a baby shower through the parish, gifts from my husband’s coworkers.

Q) What had you been doing in Mexico, before the move?

A) I’m a chemical engineer, and I was working really hard for a company that sells different products for the automotive industry.

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Q) Then you became a stay-at-home mom, which must’ve provided new opportunities to use your engineering training.

A) Many of our friends are engineers, and our brains work differently. You see the big picture and then you always see the practical. You’re focused on problem solving.

Q) Did you apply that at Our Lady of Guadalupe?

A) I see the process and then I say, “This is not working! We need to fix this!” I was able to organize things better. For example, with faith formation, we need a process to register people, and we need certain documents to register the sacraments to make the process smoother — and then organizing the lessons.

Q) Besides your day job, you also teach NFP there to Spanish-speaking couples through the Couple to Couple League, a three-class program that meets once a week.  

A) I learned natural family planning because I wanted to follow the Church’s teaching. When I learned about all the health benefits, I couldn’t have that for (just) myself. I wanted others to learn it. It follows God’s plan for marriage, and it’s good for us. Every time we have a class, we hear, “Why didn’t anybody tell me about this?” It’s like the best secret in the Church.

Q) They’re surprised and relieved?

A) The majority of the couples who come are using contraceptives, and the ladies say, “Well, I have headaches, I don’t have periods, I’m in a bad mood, I gain weight, I don’t have the desire to be with my husband.” Then we play a video of a doctor explaining the side effects of contraceptives like the pill and they right away relate to it. They want to feel better. And the men want to protect their wives. They always agree that they aren’t told of the side effects, that contraceptives are pushed in their doctor appointments and they aren’t given any alternatives. And if they say they’re using NFP, they’re mocked. We are swimming against the current.

Q) You’re giving them the courage to do that.

A) We accompany these ladies when they leave their contraceptives. It is very scary for them, so they want somebody with them. “Will you be with me?” “Yes, we’ll help you. It’s going to be a little time of adjustment, but you’ll see it’s good.” And they do.

Q) You’ll be teaching at Our Lady of Guadalupe this summer, most likely, and again this fall. In March you had your first in-person class since COVID, this with 10 couples. How did it feel to be teaching in person again?

A) I experienced such peace and joy. I had forgotten how beautiful and rewarding it is to teach. It’s a gift to know that the Lord has put me on this path of learning and teaching something that is so good for them. In our last class, a couple asked: When do we teach this to our kids? So there’s an interest in that, and CCL has a mother-daughter program. We’re also helping to develop a new app. It’s very exciting!

Q) Besides NFP, what else do you do to improve your health?

A) I’ve found that fasting is a great way to regulate your cravings, but it’s also great for your spiritual life. Now it’s in fashion — this is the wisdom of our faith, showing up right now. Fasting is good for the body, absolutely, but also for the soul. I’ve also developed a love for sacred Scripture. I attended an Ignatian silent retreat as a way of learning myself better. It came to life for me, how sacred Scripture really talks to you.

Q) Can you give me an example of how you’ve experienced this?

A) When Jesus is sleeping in the boat and the storm is coming and the apostles are scared — whenever I have a situation in which I feel the storm coming, I keep thinking: “He is with me in the boat, he is with me in the boat. I can endure this storm because he is there with me.”

Q) There have been plenty of storms the last couple of years.

A) Yes! Scripture is alive. The Lord will talk to you through Scripture and address whatever you are experiencing — either encouragement, support, even when we have to be called out.

Q) You’ve made it a priority to attend daily Mass. Do you feel the impact?

A) Absolutely! When the restriction for no-Mass came due to the pandemic, it was so painful. It really is the food for my soul. It requires that I go to confession more if I want to receive the Lord, which has brought more things — like recognizing I’m a sinner. There’s been lots of healing from Mass and confession. I recognize my goodness too. It’s hard — there are some things I can’t overcome, and I need to keep going to confession, but that’s the life of a Christian.

Q) Eucharistic adoration plays a special role in your prayer life too.

A) I try for an hour weekly, but I go as much as I can. I used to do 3 to 5 a.m., and that’s the best time. It’s quiet — me and the Lord. I just love the silence.

Q) What are your plans for the summer, now that you’ll be working fewer hours?

A) I love reading. I hope that I can do the Well-Read Mom Pilgrimage. I need to prepare because it’s a lot of walking!

Q) Good for the body and the soul — like NFP. It all ties together.

A) Yes!

Q) What do you know for sure?

A) That I want to go to heaven.

 


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