The IX Congreso de Emaus (IX Emmaus Congress) of the Archdiocese of New York was held September 20-21 at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. Cardinal Timothy Dolan was one of the three main speakers.

The other two speakers were Bishop Santiago Rodriguez of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, and Denny Lopez, an Emaus lay speaker, also from the Dominican Republic. More than 800 people attended the predominantly Spanish-language event, which was held Friday evening for 2 1/2 hours and all day Saturday starting at 8 a.m. and ending with a 4:45 p.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop Rodriguez.

Emaus is a Hispanic Catholic lay movement founded in Miami in 1978 based on Church doctrine; its mission is to evangelize through spiritual retreats and social works. The event theme was: “Jesus Christ has Resurrected, Truly He is Resurrected.” The gathering cited Luke 24:33, which says: “So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them.”

“Thank you all. Thank you. Que viva Cristo Rey (Christ the King)!” Cardinal Dolan told the faithful early in his Saturday morning talk. “Que viva!” the people responded. “Thank you for the invitation to be with you today,” the cardinal added, later noting the importance of the Emaus movement and Hispanic ministry to the Archdiocese of New York.

He went on to talk about the significance of the word “change” in the Bible, as in God changing “mud into a man and a woman made in His image and likeness … He changed people who believed in many false gods into people who believed in the one true God. He changed the people of Israel into His chosen people.”

Cardinal Dolan said, “My brothers and sisters, the greatest change of all: He changed God the Son into Jesus Christ, who became our Lord and Savior, and who came to be with us … And then Jesus the Son of God had three years of transforming, transforming us … People filled with doubt into people filled with faith and trust, people who were desperate into people of hope … He changed His death on the cross into His resurrection from the dead.”

The people cheered and applauded loudly. “He changed scared disciples on the road to Emmaus into courageous apostles,” Dolan said, noting the importance of the conversion of heart. “The Church is into change; you do that so very well. Look at the sacraments … In the Eucharist, we are changed from lonely, hungry people to people who belong to a family and community who are filled with the Bread of Life.”

Bishop Rodriguez also spoke on two topics: “Emaus: Communion with the Church Universal, Diocesan, and Parochial” and “Walking Together with Jesus and Our Brothers.”

The talk by Lopez was based on Acts 2:42-47: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.”

Father Ambiorix Rodriguez, spiritual director of the archdiocesan Emaus movement, thanked Dolan for his presence and guiding words. Father Rodriguez, pastor of St. Elizabeth Church in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan, gave a talk on the Emaus mission.

Among the attendees was Annabel Javier, 42, an Emaus member and volunteer.

“It is important to revive (the spirits) of the Emaus brothers and sisters through these retreats. It is like a re-encounter that we do,” Javier told The Good Newsroom during Saturday’s gathering. “We do this in the faith, through sharing, Adoration, and reviving our Emaus retreat each year … It is a community where we can serve, and I’ve been serving the Church since I was a little girl in my native country, the Dominican Republic.”

The IX Congreso de Emaus included Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Confessions, and music by a Hispanic Catholic choir/band, De Cristo, from St. Rose of Lima Church in Manhattan. The choir/band inspired the people with traditional Spanish hymns and Latin-beat sounds with faith-based lyrics.