Local parish priest offers pray, faith and hope to community
While most people were at home warm in their beds, Rudy Ruiz was
up at 2:30 a.m. Dec. 12. During the dark and stormy night, the
small, thin, middle-aged man with deep-set eyes and a constant
smile went out into the night so he could open Saint Benedicts’
Catholic Church for the Feast of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
People were already lined up outside waiting to get into the church
for services that wouldn’t begin until 5 a.m.
Local parish priest offers pray, faith and hope to community
While most people were at home warm in their beds, Rudy Ruiz was up at 2:30 a.m. Dec. 12. During the dark and stormy night, the small, thin, middle-aged man with deep-set eyes and a constant smile went out into the night so he could open Saint Benedicts’ Catholic Church for the Feast of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. People were already lined up outside waiting to get into the church for services that wouldn’t begin until 5 a.m.
A short while later, more than 2,000 parishioners filled the church. This wasn’t a typical Sunday. Then the Rev. Ruiz worships with 2,000 to 3,000 people across all the Masses.
Sacred Heart/Saint Benedict’s is the largest parish in the Diocese of Monterey, which includes the counties of Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo and San Benito. The local church has a budget of $1 million per year and the congregation has to bring in $19,000 per week just to cover that.
To say that Ruiz has his work cut out for him is an understatement. Operating a parish of this size is like running a business, he said. His is a demanding job that can require much work.
“The business side of things is difficult, but the Diocese helps direct us on any and every issue we bring to them,” Ruiz said. “There are people there to assist us.”
Every day is filled with challenges that could make a sane person crazy, but Ruiz rolls with the punches. He has a gregarious nature, though he is soft-spoken, and a sense of humor that he takes with him into every situation. With dark hair and dark eyes, he has the face of a much younger person though he will be 57 next week. His energy is abundant and he bounces from task to task effortlessly.
Ruiz was born and raised in Parlier, one of the poorest communities in the Central Valley. Fifty years ago, his parents picked apricots seasonally in Hollister. He never thought he’d be back here so many years later as a community leader. His roots in a family of farm workers have helped him relate to many of the people he works with now.
Cultural enrichment
There are three main communities within Ruiz’ congregation: Anglos, Mexicans-Americans and more recently immigrated Mexicans. Other ethnic groups in the church include Portuguese, Filipino and Italians. Ruiz has different obligations to each of these groups as they all have their own needs and wants. He is sensitive to the way different cultures embrace the traditions of the church.
After the Guadalupe Mass, Mexicans approached Ruiz and asked for blessings over their statues, necklaces and pictures of the Virgin Mary. Often with the Filipino congregants Ruiz is called to do a blessing over a house. Ruiz finds it enriching learning all of their different traditions.
Every day is a challenge. Ruiz wakes up and never knows what his day will bring outside of his regular obligations – visiting the school, doing paperwork and celebrating Mass.
One minute he might be celebrating a wedding and the next moment he might get a call to give last rites for a patient mangled in a car accident, he said.
Even when he’s not dressed in his collar, people in Hollister recognize him at restaurants or grocery stores. People stop him to chat or ask for a blessing. A doctor is only a doctor when he is at work. The same is true of a dentist, but a priest is always a priest. There is a spiritual pulse and sometimes Ruiz has to check his attitude to make sure he maintains his positive demeanor, he said.
“Often people don’t realize that priests are people outside of the church,” Ruiz jokes. “They think we perform Mass and live in our vestments.”
Yet Ruiz is beyond humble and always is open to helping others.
“Sometimes people put up boundaries to distance themselves, but I never wanted to be like that, not even professionally,” Ruiz said. “People have complete access to me.”
The biggest challenge is coming to know and love the people he sees every week and seeing them suffer because he suffers, too, Ruiz said.
“But you need to be God’s presence for them,” Ruiz said. “Death and dying is a regular occurrence, so you make the decision to be strong for other people and that requires really loving people – to do this on a constant basis. This is my calling, my life – it’s my vocation.”
A greater calling>
But ministry wasn’t always Ruiz’ vocation. Back when he was 18, he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He received a bachelors’ degree in ornamental horticulture and started down a career path in landscaping.
“I asked God for help and I had a dream about flowers, so I thought God wanted me to work with flowers,” Ruiz said. “But I think I interpreted the dream too literally. I was slow in understanding what it truly meant. I was 25 when I entered seminary.”
Now his vocation is a part of his everyday life. Part of his day is spent visiting the most vulnerable people in his parish.
“It’s hard seeing some of the patients at the nursing homes because many of them have already started to suffer from dementia and it’s sad to see people suffer,” Ruiz said.
On the other end of the spectrum, Ruiz also deals with people who are still very full of life. He regularly helps with religious education at Sacred Heart School. He spends at least 15 minutes in every classroom per week bonding with the students.
This week the students in Mrs. Zanger’s third grade class sang “Happy Birthday” to Ruiz in honor of his upcoming birthday.
“I love working with the children because of all the joy they bring,” Ruiz said.
He talked with third graders about how God called him to be a priest and asked them about stories as well.
Between visiting with the third and fifth graders, he headed back to the parish office. On his way a parishioner driving a sick wife to the hospital stopped him. The couple wanted to talk with Ruiz before they went to the hospital. Though he was scheduled to be in another classroom, he took a few minutes with the couple to bless them through a rolled-down car window.
Taking time to rest
By mid-day Ruiz needed a nap. He’d been up half the night preparing for the early-morning mass and was exhausted. His day was not over though; he had an appointment at the Emmaus House later in the day.
But Ruiz feels that sleep is the best thing you can do for yourself. Sleep is something vital in his line of work.
He knows that he has the potential to work too much and too hard. Those are paths that lead to burn out, he said.
“It’s important to take time out for yourself. That’s why I always make time to work out at the gym, use the spa and eat sensibly,” Ruiz said.
He also takes one day off a week when he can and gets an annual vacation. But his church is always on his mind.
“I always have mixed feelings when I take a vacation, like parents who go away to Hawaii and leave their kids at home,” Ruiz said. “You have a good time, but at the same time you’re still thinking about the kids.”
Patrick O’Donnell can be reached at po*******@pi**********.com.
