By Catholic Stewardship Consultants
www.CatholicSteward.com
Evelyn Balatico is a familiar face around her parish, St. John the Baptist in Honolulu. In over 50 years as a parishioner, she has lovingly shared her time wherever it was needed.
From Sunday school and the food bank to the homebound ministry, Balatico recognizes that we can’t just wait for God to send someone to help — maybe we are the one God is sending.
“I’ve been blessed,” Balatico said. “I walk a lot, and I’m so lucky I’m healthy. I can walk to church, and I don’t have to drive. I really enjoy doing this because I feel like I’m needed somehow.”
Balatico found a home at St. John the Baptist after a childhood filled with moves and separation from her family. As the eighth of 10 children, Balatico lived with several different families after her mother passed away when she was 14 years old.
After graduating from high school, Balatico got married at St. John the Baptist in 1960. She had children and moved some more, then came back to St. John and truly made it her home.
“I was in church when the priest was asking for catechists,” she said. “I was just sitting in the pews, listening for three weeks before I answered the call.”
Teaching the faith was new to Balatico, but she received lots of help and training along the way. She took Bible classes and learned from the sisters who were there at the time.
“I thought it would be so easy, but it wasn’t so easy,” she said. “I had to catch on really fast. We had a lot of training, but you never can learn everything — there is so much more to learn. I’m still learning.”
Balatico moved from catechist to coordinator and continues to serve today. She eagerly anticipates each new year of Sunday school.
Saying “yes” when help is needed has been Balatico’s approach ever since. When the parish opened a food bank, Balatico joined the group of 15 or so parishioners who coordinated the food distribution.
“We were elderly and not too strong, but we managed and served about 300 people every week, then twice a month,” Balatico said.
Balatico is also an extraordinary minister of holy Communion and visits the homebound. In addition, she manages the paper goods in the parish hall and enjoys being part of community gatherings, like Lenten soup and sandwich suppers. She also assists at funeral Masses when needed.
In her time at St. John the Baptist, she has served under many different priests.
“I got along with every priest — they didn’t want to get rid of me,” she joked. “I’ll keep sticking around. If Father needs me, I’m there. He can just give me a call.”
As the years progress and she sees many of her peers getting too old to serve as actively as they used to, Balatico said she hopes to see young people stepping in to help.
“Please come and donate your time to your parish,” Balatico said. “Your priest needs some help too sometimes.”