Jay W. VanHoosier
My name is Jay W. VanHoosier. I am Director of Faith Formation and Community Outreach at St. John the Baptist Parish in Newburgh.
How was your faith formed? I am a convert to the Catholic faith. Coming to it was a journey that started when I was 16. The Protestant faith in which I was raised and in which I was baptized, although filled with good people who genuinely loved God, was in very many ways unfulfilling for me. I struggled greatly growing up in terms of the relationships I had with my parents – for I did not have the desire to go to church, even though it was expected that I attend. When I turned 18, I stopped going to church altogether. It was during my freshman year in college that taking an elective class would change my life. The course was Christian Thought, and it was the survey of the development of modern Christian thinking. During the early period of this course, I heard the term transubstantiation for the first time. I was so intrigued that I began to do research on my own as to what it meant, how it developed and why it was such an important part of the Catholic faith. My intention to do research on transubstantiation led to a self-led course in the history of Catholicism. I read up on the early Church fathers, I learned how the canon of sacred scriptures came to be, I researched the major councils of the Church, I studied in depth the Protestant Reformation, and I asked a lot of questions of my Catholic friends. I very quickly came to realize that there was something very important happening to me. I was inexorably being drawn to something very important. It was on a winter’s evening during that first semester, while in my dorm room and reading the Gospel of Matthew, that Jesus’ words at the Last Supper spoke to me in a profound way. “Take and eat; this is my body. Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” I came to believe at that moment that Jesus meant what He said. He did not say, “for this is symbolic of my body and blood,” or “this represents my body and blood.” No, He said that this is my body and blood. I came to believe. It was truly an “amen moment.” To use a term that was often used in my Protestant background, it was a “born-again moment.” I started to go to church again. But this time, it was a Catholic church. I had become – at least in heart, if not formally – Catholic.
Who or what has been a big influence in your life? It was very soon after I started going to a Catholic church that I met my future wife. We started dating and, since she was Catholic, I started to go to church with her and her family. It was then I came to understand that there was a formal process for joining the Church so I went through the RCIA process. So in a very real way, my wife, Rose, brought me to the formal process of becoming Catholic. Watching Rose as a wife and a mother has always encouraged me to always try to be at my best – whether it is as a husband or father – and how, as the leader of my family, I should always try to put God at the center of it all.
What do you do in your role as a parish catechetical leader? In my role as Director of Faith Formation and Community Outreach, I and my coworkers are responsible for adult faith formation and catechesis; RCIA; religious catechesis for non-Catholic-school students; youth ministry; and being the parish contact/coordinator for all of the various adult ministries that exist in our parish.
Who do you consider to be positive role models today? I am continually inspired by the actions of Pope Francis. His constant emphasis of the Gospel of Love in a world that so obviously needs this message is truly inspiring. Additionally, his calls for action in regards to our responsibility as Christians and as citizens of a democracy to lift up those who have less are sorely needed in a culture of excess and worldly concerns.
Describe a time when you have experienced God’s presence in your life? I experience God’s presence in a very real way every time I receive the Eucharist. One of the most powerful spiritual moments for me is to see the people in line to receive the body and blood, and know in my heart that God’s desire for community – to be in commune – is manifested in the myriad of faces, cultures and backgrounds in their reception of the Eucharist. I would be remiss if I did not say that God’s presence filled me with awe and wonder on the day of my wedding, during births of my children and when I was fully accepted into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil.
What are your dreams for parish faith formation today? I dream of time when not just the members of my parish, but all Catholics see that faith formation and catechesis are life-long processes – that there are always opportunities for spiritual growth and understanding the divine more fully. This, then, would lead to a willingness to leave one’s “comfort zone” and be true evangelists – not by what one says, necessarily, but by how one acts toward their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
How do you nurture your faith life? Since I have started diaconate formation and have become a deacon candidate, I have integrated prayer more fully into my life. I make time in a busy schedule to pray. I make time for spiritual direction. I read scripture daily. As part of my deacon formation, I am almost always reading about my Catholic faith.
What makes being a Catholic so important to you? Being a convert to the Catholic faith, I feel that it is truly a gift from God. In a very real sense to me, I believe that God personally called me to the Church. From the time I accepted that the bread and wine was the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, I have been led to a deeper and more profound experience into His paschal mystery.
What is your best wisdom on life? In this life are you going to be a sheep or a goat? The message is simple…are you going to be a sheep and minister to Jesus when you minister to those who are hungry and thirsty? Are you going to welcome the stranger and clothe the naked? Are you going to minister to the sick and visit the prisoner? Or are you going to be the goat and not do these things? I think that Jesus was pretty clear on what the proper thing to do was. What better wisdom is that?
What is a scripture quote that you would like to share? “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you…This I command you: love one another.” – John 15:12
The Diocesan Office of Catechesis compiles People of Faith.
