by Fr. Ryan Kaup,
Pastor, St. Benedict Church, Nebraska City
Hispanic Ministry
In February 2008, as a scraggly 20-year-old, I anxiously boarded a plane to Valparaiso, Chile. I had just finished the first semester of my sophomore year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and was heading to study abroad for the second semester.
At UNL, I was studying advertising and Spanish, and I signed up for the abroad program to satiate my thirst for adventure and improve my language skills. At the time, I had no idea how pivotal those six months would prove to be in my life.
During my time in Valparaiso, I dove in, as much as possible, to Chilean culture – the food, the history, the art, and most importantly, the people. I quickly realized how rudimentary my Spanish skills were, despite receiving a solid language education in high school and college.
Despite the initial challenges, things eventually started to click. In classes, I improved my grammar and became immersed in Chile’s fascinating history. Over coffee and cigarettes with my host mom, I learned about Chilean food and family life. Participating in retreats at the local parish, I picked up slang and turns of phrase from my peers. As I became more comfortable in Spanish, I began to hear the previously inaccessible stories of so many people and a whole new world opened up for me.
When I was ordained a priest in 2015, Bishop James Conley sent me to Cristo Rey Parish in Lincoln – a place where it was all Spanish, all the time. Every Mass, every marriage prep, every office conversation was in Spanish. God began to use those language skills I obtained seven years before for His glory, and that new world continued to expand.
I began to hear parishioners’ heroic stories of fleeing violence in their home countries, risking life and limb to protect their families and find asylum in the United States, only to have their textbook asylum cases overturned on account of a strict judge. I heard tragic stories of people losing their homes without any legal recourse through fraudulent loans masked in charity. These stories made me wrestle in my own heart with some of the harsh realities confronting immigrant communities – things I’d never had to face before.
These encounters touched my heart with the Lord’s compassion, served as fuel for my ministry and unleashed a deeper love in me, as I lived out my priesthood. I heard confessions and proclaimed the mercy of the Lord over people in their native language – words that brought freedom and peace.
I preached to the best of my ability, to break open the Scriptures and communicate the infinite love of God for His children. In turn, I was received and welcomed into the fabric of that beautiful community.
Working in Hispanic ministry, I’ve learned in a unique way the power of story. Every person has a story, and when someone shares his or her story, it is hallowed ground – something holy to be cherished and reverenced. In a society where people are often hidden behind soundbites and polarized vitriol, stories are easily lost. Names and faces are distorted behind Twitter debates. Individuals are grouped into categories and slowly, the dignity of the individual human person is forgotten.
As Catholics, we encounter others and receive them as Jesus. As St. Mother Teresa said, “I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time – just one, one, one. So you begin. I began – I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person, I wouldn’t have picked up forty-two thousand… The same thing goes for you… Just begin – one, one, one.”
Fifteen years ago, I had no idea how God would use my overseas adventures for His greater glory, but I am so thankful I boarded that plane. He channeled my wanderlust into a conduit of His grace and I’m forever grateful for this vocation and a life that is fuller than I could have ever imagined.
How can you encounter a new person’s story? Maybe it’s by learning a new language or simply having the courage to stumble through a conversation in broken English. Maybe it’s by striking up a conversation with the neighbor who you’ve never met or stepping out of your comfort zone. God can use anything if we give Him the space. Step out in faith. There is a whole new world waiting to be opened.
