Marianela Feliz de Cator can identify with the plight of Abram in the Book of Genesis, whom God called to go forth from the land of his kin to a place the Lord would show him and where he would be blessed.
Feliz de Cator left her native Dominican Republic several years ago, leaving everything behind for a better life in America.
“Being an immigrant and leaving your native country is not an easy thing. When I came here to the United States, it was hard. Everyone has heard about Abram in the Bible, when God told him to leave his family, his country, his household and go to a new country. We can read that in the Bible but not completely have an idea of what that means. But that was my journey,” Feliz de Cator said.
She shared her remarks during Catholic Charities’ annual “Soup, Salad and Sermon” fundraiser on March 26, which highlighted the work of its English as a Second Language program.
Feliz de Cator was the guest speaker at the luncheon. She now serves as a volunteer in the program which welcomed her with open arms and provided life-changing services when she was a client several years ago.
“As immigrants, we don’t know what to do, where to go. Even more challenging is learning a language,” she said. “God called me to go from the Dominican Republic to the United States. When I got here, I said, ‘Jesus, I do not know where to start. If I was a child, it would be easier to learn, but I am an adult and I have three children and a husband. This is very hard.’”
“I was fortunate to find Catholic Charities. The first time I called them, the conversation was so comforting. When I came to their office for the first time, it was already like they were in my heart, because I could feel the respect and the love,” she said. “They made me feel that they understood what I was leaving, they understood the way I felt.”
Tears of gratitude welled up in her eyes as she shared her story from a podium at the Diocesan Center in Harrisburg, captivating an audience of Catholic Charities employees, board members, volunteers and supporters.
“In my country, I am very excited when I talk, and I talk a lot. But when I had to speak English in this country, I felt shy,” Feliz de Cator said. “With Catholic Charities, conversation was easy and happy. They made me feel comfortable and that they understand me…. They don’t just do the work because it is what they’re supposed to do, they do it with their heart, with love and respect.”
Catholic Charities’ English as a Second Language program offers free classes to adults throughout the Diocese who are new to the United States. Serving individuals who speak more than 40 different languages, ESL courses include workplace English skills, language computer labs and low-literacy tutoring programs.
“Our program is one of the premier providers of English as a Second Language here in Pennsylvania,” said Kelly Gollick, Executive Director of Catholic Charities. “Other agencies in the state and in other states come to us and ask for training on how we provide those services.”
In introducing Feliz de Cator as the guest speaker at the luncheon, ESL Program Director Sara Beck said Feliz de Cator began as a student in the program and now volunteers to assist others in learning English. The program continues to seek volunteers to assist as conversation partners and to lead book groups, Beck said.
“Catholic Charities lives the verse from Leviticus, 19:34, ‘You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt,’” Feliz de Cator said.
“Catholic Charities is created by a team, and I know together we can do anything. That is why I am a volunteer with the ESL program,” she said. “I do it with love and respect because I understand what the people are experiencing. You here today are not living the experience of an immigrant, but I know you have the idea of what it means and God put it in your heart to help people and to give by grace from the grace you have received.”
“Knowledge is the biggest gift someone can receive, and I thank Catholic Charities for that,” she said.
Learn more about Catholic Charities’ programs and ways to support and volunteer at www.cchbg.org.
(Photos by Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
