José Batres

In August 2022, parishioner José Batres found himself in a crisis. A cradle Catholic, he’d grown up in Honduras with loving and supportive parents, two sisters, and a huge extended family. For José, family was everything, and as a dad he’d always tried to put his kids—Marco, now 9, and Santiago, now 6—at the center of his life. But now he faced an unthinkable situation. “I was blindsided by divorce papers,” he says.

“The biggest concern was that my boys would not be with me half of the time. That was what was killing me.”

Daily Mass had never been a part of Jose’s routine, but one morning he dropped his boys off at Sacred Heart School and headed across the parking lot for Mass. He went again the next day, and the next, and the next. “I think I felt that need of help,” he explains. But after several weeks of daily Mass, he still had no solution to the problem that was causing him so much anguish. He couldn’t bear the thought of a single day without his boys. He’d asked others for advice, but their answers made no sense. He’d reached an impasse. 

“I remember one day specifically, when I was at Mass. I just felt this load of not knowing what to do.” José had no idea where to turn, but throughout his life, he’d heard that we should give our problems to God and let Him take care of everything. So that’s what he did. “Ya no puedo,” he prayed. “I can’t anymore.”

Soon after, José was adding funds to the boys’ lunch account. He started clicking around the Sacred Heart website until something caught his eye—a job listing. Bilingual, it said. He could do that. But wait, this was for a church. After twenty-plus years in the business and finance industries, what did he know about working in a church? Nevertheless, he submitted an application. Then he got a phone call, and two interviews later, he was offered the position. In November 2022, José started a new job as Family Formation Coordinator for Sacred Heart Parish.

But what had made him apply in the first place? Why would anyone leave the business sector for a job in a Catholic parish? For José, the answer was clear. “It just occurred to me, this is how I’m going to see my kids every single day.”
José had given his problems to God, and God’s answer had sent him in a surprising new direction. Now he could be near his boys and spend time with them, plus he could help other families grow in their faith. He could both live out and share with others his conviction that family is everything. José says working in Family Formation has challenged him and deepened his knowledge of the Catholic faith. It has also brought him even closer to his kids. “It doesn’t feel like work. It’s a mission.”