Jose Funes answers God’s call to be an apostle to young people
Serves as diocesan assistant director of pastoral ministry
When Jose Funes was little, his mother couldn’t pass by a church without taking him in to pray.
Otherwise, he’d cry the whole way home.
“I loved going to church,” Mr. Funes, assistant director of pastoral ministry for the Jefferson City diocese, recalled. “I was 2 or 3 years old. Mom said I would just kneel there and pray.”
Even then, God was preparing him for what he’d be doing here.
“I know God wants to use me as an instrument,” said Mr. Funes. “I believe one of my purposes here is to burn with the fire of faith for the people of this diocese.”
Mr. Funes, who is bilingual, was born in El Salvador and moved to the Washington, D.C., area with his family when he was 10.
He has an extensive background in teaching, evangelization and youth ministry, including experience working with students with disabilities and as coordinator of youth and young adult ministries for various organizations.
He’s also a certified paraprofessional and has studied graphic design.
“Being Catholic for me is being a son of God,” said Mr. Funes. “I just want to be like his Son, Jesus Christ, and follow in his footsteps.
“Holy Mother Church has taught me the correct way and the correct path where Jesus is walking, and I don’t want to lose sight of that,” he said.
“A current of grace”
Mr. Funes is currently working with Deacon Enrique Castro, the diocese’s executive director of evangelization and faith formation, to implement diocesan faith formation and leadership training programs; to give retreats and promote a Catholic understanding of stewardship among Hispanic Catholics; and to assist with the pastoral formation of leaders in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal for Hispanics.
He’s also working with Maureen Quinn, diocesan director of Religious Education and Youth/Young Adult Ministry, to help establish parish youth groups and form their leaders in parishes with a predominantly Hispanic presence.
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR), thoroughly rooted in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and in worshiping Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, has a vigorous presence in parts of Central and Northeastern Missouri, especially in parishes with large Hispanic populations.
The late Pope Francis described the Catholic Charismatic Renewal as a “current of grace in the Church and for the Church,” emphasizing its role as a gift from the Holy Spirit rather than a structured organization.
He has encouraged this movement to share the “baptism in the Holy Spirit” with everyone, fostering unity, service to the poor, and evangelization.
Mr. Funes believes viewing the Catholic faith through a Charismatic lens restores something that’s often missing.
Namely, “preaching the Gospel how it used to be in Jesus’s time,” he said. “Wherever and whenever he spoke and taught, his powerful mercy and glory would manifest around the people.
“I have felt that in modern days, people tend to think that God stopped performing miracles,” said Mr. Funes. “That’s not true. The time of miracles is still happening. Because we have a living God, a living Jesus.”
“Apostle to young people”
Mr. Funes, his sisters and their mother moved to the United States during El Salvador’s devastating civil war of 1978-91.
The family was Catholic, but had a lukewarm faith before arriving in Washington, D.C.
The mother signed her children up for a Catholic young adult group at their new parish.
“It was a real blessing,” said Mr. Funes. “The first time I went to that group, I saw a lot of people working and praying to the Lord — like 100 people. I felt like, ‘I want to be here!’”
At age 14, he gave himself over completely to serving God.
He took up ministering to teens and young adults in the parish and began working with Tira la Red (Cast the Net) through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Washington archdiocese.
Tira la Red’s purpose is to help form strong leaders for youth ministry in parishes.
“We went to parishes to pray with the youth,” said Mr. Funes. “We did a lot of Life in the Spirit Seminars. We held a leadership retreat for formation. We did missions in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama.”
Mr. Funes was praying to know what vocation God had in mind for him when he agreed to join a Franciscan brother in leading a mission.
In the morning, the brother prayed with him, offered guidance and assigned him spiritual reading.
In the evenings, they focused on presenting the mission.
Mr. Funes later asked him, “Do you see me as a priest?”
“Nope,” the brother replied.
“Do you see me as a brother?”
“No, not that either.”
“Then how do you see me?”
“From everything I’ve seen here,” the brother told him, “I see you as an apostle to young people. You can go places where a priest cannot go.”
From that day forward, God has been opening doors for Mr. Funes to work with young people.
Something new
Mr. Funes’s leadership skills continued to develop, and he became a coordinator for young leader formation with Tira la Red.
He also became coordinator for Region 3 of the National Charismatic Renewal, including parts of New Jersey; Baltimore, Maryland; and all of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
In two years of working in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, he helped establish five Charismatic youth groups.
“I kept falling more and more in love with the Church, because I saw how hearts were being touched and people were being healed and set free,” he said.
“I saw the life of Christ and the Spirit,” he stated. “You can feel it. It’s right there.”
He accepted a job as a teacher and continued growing in faith.
“It was wonderful for me,” he said. “But something in my heart was telling me it was time for something new.”
Last October, he went to Costa Rica to attend an international seminar for Catholic evangelizers.
He asked a deeply spiritual friend to pray with him before he departed.
In prayer, the woman became aware of the turmoil in his heart and encouraged him to trust God and make a leap of faith.
“Start applying for new jobs,” she advised him. “Because God has something new in mind for you.”
He came back from Costa Rica and agreed to continue teaching until the end of the semester on Dec. 19.
A close friend named Kevin Morales, lives in Sedalia and is the director of evangelization for St. Vincent de Paul Parish of Pettis County. When they talked, Mr. Morales urged Mr. Funes to apply for an open position with the Jefferson City diocese.
“You have all this experience working with youth,” Mr. Morales told him. “You lose nothing by trying.”
Mr. Funes filled out the application and waited while friends in Sedalia prayed for him.
A preliminary interview online led to an in-person interview.
Mr. Funes came to Jefferson City a few days beforehand to get a feel for the community.
Deacon Castro told him after the interview, “We’ll call you in a few days days to let you know.”
The call came less than two hours later: “Congratulations! You have the job!”
His first day was Jan. 5.
In his new role, Mr. Funes recently traveled to San Antonio to learn more about Hispanic Ministry in the U.S. and our Bishops’ vision for this ministry.
This month, he’ll be helping lead missions in parishes in the diocese and leading a Life in the Spirit Seminar for young people in Kansas City.
“Go deeper”
Mr. Funes’s favorite Bible verse is Hosea 2:16 — “Therefore, I will allure her now; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak persuasively to her.”
“No matter what you’re going through now, the wilderness can be a really scary place for us,” he noted. “But in that place, God wants to speak to us in our hearts, to let us know that he has a vested interest in us and continues to love us and will provide for us, and his glory will be made manifest.”
Mr. Funes’s favorite saint is the beloved 20th-century Italian mystic, St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio).
“Not just because he lived such a life of holiness,” Mr. Funes noted. “But even though people attacked him, he never stopped loving the Church. “He was obedient and continued serving God, serving the people.”
That’s a good message for anyone who has felt marginalized in the Church.
“Never forget that God is always good to you,” Mr. Funes advised. “Our main focus should be on Christ on the cross, not just people.”
He asks for prayers for God to continue to sustain him in his spiritual life, to keep bestowing his grace and give him strength for the work that lies before him.
“Pope Francis told us, ‘Christ lives, and he wants you to be living, as well,’” he said.
Mr. Funes wants people to “go deeper in the Holy Spirit and let the Spirit guide you.”
“Trust every word that God speaks to you,” he said. “Do your best to serve God with the gifts he has given you. Don’t be afraid to use them, and keep going on.”
