Denver Catholic

49 DENVER CATHOLIC | SEPTEMBER 2022 "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) DISCIPLE OF THE MONTH We all need an Oscar in our community Con g r atulations Not even a pandemic could stop this empty nester from being a dedicated volunteer and disciple for Christ. Oscar Contreras grew up Catholic, but admittedly, only attended church during Easter and Christmas. In 2019, with his daughters grown, he found he needed to get closer to God. "He was talking to me, God was calling me through these suggestions two and three times," Contreras said. He began to attend church regularly at St. Mary of the Crown in Carbondale and, during a coffee and donut social, he was asked to participate in adoration for an hour each Wednesday. While praying in adoration for the first time in his life, he met a group who regularly prayed the rosary. Contreras, who had never learned how to pray the rosary, began to see the beauty in the experience and soon began praying the rosary with the group and even at home alone. This series of events kept confirming for Contreras a greater conversation with the Lord. Contreras' daughters were raised Catholic, but his wife was raised in an evangelical religion and the couple was never married in a Catholic Church. Three years ago, the couple got married at St. Mary of the Crown and Contreras felt the pair was finally fully in communion with God. Right after he got married, Contreras began his mission as an avid and dependable volunteer who rarely says no to the parish. He has been religious ed teacher, lector, sacristan, extraordinary minister of the holy Communion, usher, financial council member and parish council member. Instead of letting Covid quarantines get in the way of teaching faith formation, Contreras taught religious education online. "Oscar does a lot for our church, and we are tremendously blessed to have him in our community because we know everything he does is because he loves God," said Kary Lara, religious education director and administrative assistant for St. Vincent and St. Mary of the Crown Catholic Churches. Contreras consistently volunteers for the parish while working full time for the city of Aspen, she said. "He is an example of how a disciple should be. I think we all need an Oscar in our community," Lara said. OSCAR CONTRERAS, for being the Archbishop's Catholic Appeal, "Disciple of the Month." If you know someone else who is courageously spreading the Gospel, please share his or her story with us at give.archden.org/nominate and they may become the next "Disciple of the Month." D I SCI P LE O F TH E M O NTH

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