[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted issued his call for authentic masculinity, 20-year-old Adrián Inclán knew he needed to answer.

Inclán is one of the leaders of the Cristeros, a Hispanic youth group at St. Anne Parish in Gilbert, and has helped plan the annual diocesan Youth Catholic Congreso. He also has been active as a speaker who advises young people throughout the Valley to practice abstinence until marriage.

Bishop Olmsted, in his exhortation to Catholic men, “Into the Breach,” said, “Men, do not hesitate to engage in the battle that is raging around you, the battle that is wounding our children and families, the battle that is distorting the dignity of both women and men.”

“If you read the exhortation, you can see how the Holy Spirit worked through the bishop to write this. It’s put in perfect terms. It’s all truth,” said Inclán.

As a teenager who was active at St. Anne’s, he received a call from a group in Phoenix that wanted him to talk about abstinence. So, “I went to their parish, their youth group. I gave a testimony, or small talk. That opened doors for me.”

He enjoyed the experience. So did the young people who listened. Soon, he started getting more requests to speak.

“I felt a certain call. Something was pushing me to continue. I kept doing that.”

Inclán pointed to his parents, Julio and Erika, who migrated from Hermosillo, Sonora when he was eight years old, as excellent role models. They had been married in a civil ceremony in Mexico, but — after arriving in Arizona — decided to marry in the Church. In preparation, they learned much more about their faith. Inclán came along for the ride.

“My family was devoted in the Hispanic way: Mass and the Rosary. We went to Mass; it was more just tradition. I wasn’t taught about what masculinity is through Jesus Christ.

“When we got here, we started learning more about our faith as a family. That is when we began going to Mass more devotedly.”

Inclán is now studying psychology at Benedictine University at Mesa. He also works part time, but still makes time for prayer, Mass, and to help lead the Cristeros. He said he is blessed to be bilingual, but he generally speaks English, even when speaking to Hispanic young people, because he feels his impact is greater.

His basic message: “What I like to stress is if we want authentic love…if we need help with it because we can’t do it alone, there’s no one better to go [to] than the author of love, Jesus, who gave His life for us. That’s how we are called to love, especially as men, to do the bigger things, to always look for the better in others.

“If you want to learn how to do carpentry, you don’t go to Starbucks … you go to the carpenter because he’s the expert,” he said. “If you want to learn how to love, you go to Jesus.”

Inclán said he couldn’t have had a better male role model than his father, though Julio attributes his son’s maturity and leadership less to himself and more to “God’s grace.”

Julio and his wife became Natural Family Planning instructors and said that Inclán often joined them at conferences.

“Ever since he was about 10, he heard about Natural Family Planning, and how our bodies work,” Julio said.

Carmen Portela, director of the diocese’s Office of Hispanic Parish Leadership Support, recalls Inclán and Julio speaking on chastity at the Congreso Amor, Vida y Familia in 2013 to a crowd of about 1,000 young people at the Phoenix Convention Center.

“He did a very good job of explaining to the teens … who were very attentive,” she said. “He takes his work very seriously.”

Inclán is the youngest man featured in the diocese’s much-praised “Call to Battle” video that supplemented “Into the Breach.”

“I didn’t know I was the youngest person (involved) until I saw the video. I felt blessed to be part of that project. I also felt a huge responsibility, having seen how big the video is getting, how many people have seen it.”

Regardless of whether he’s called to the priesthood, religious life or family life, Inclán hopes to continue to serve Christ and His Church in whatever capacity he’s called.

“I like leading others to Christ … I definitely want to continue. It’s my motivation. It’s what keeps me flowing through my faith.”

— By Mike Tulumello, The Catholic Sun.

In recognition of the Jubilee Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis, every month The Catholic Sun will feature a “Missionary of Mercy” who ­exemplifies one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy.

Practical ways to counsel the doubtful

• Be a good listener
• Pray with and for the person, that the Holy Spirit would lead, guide and illumine their path
• Remind the person to trust in God who loves us and will never abandon us

Juan Carlos Gonzalez was in a tough spot: his marriage was falling apart and he and his wife were on the brink of divorce. That’s when the mercy of God broke through.

It began with the Eucharist. “When the deacon came out with the Blessed Sacrament exposed, that’s when I asked the Lord, that if He would save my family I would dedicate the rest of my life to Him. And He saved my marriage,” Gonzalez said.

At the time, he and his wife had been living at a breakneck pace, working two or three jobs in order to afford the nicer things in life. What they didn’t know was that their 16-year-old son was struggling with addiction.

“When I found out I really got scared,” Gonzalez said. He heard about a ministry that helps people who suffer from addiction and he and his son attended one of the group’s retreats.

“On that retreat I found the mercy of God. I saw the mistakes that I was doing as a father — giving everything to my son, the best phones, the best everything,” Gonzalez said. “I found out I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing, like teaching the faith, teaching what really matters.”

Vowing that he didn’t want to see other families hurt the same way, he decided to do something about it. Today, he leads the ministry where he found healing. Known as Encuentro Personal con Jesús — Spanish for Personal Encounter with Jesus — it’s a ministry that has grown by leaps and bounds. People come from as far away as Florida to take part in the four-day retreat experience that takes place six times a year at Mount Claret Retreat Center.

That’s because friends, family and neighbors notice the transformation in the lives of the people who attend. “They saw this kid was on drugs a couple months ago and now he’s dedicated his life to God and they ask, ‘How did you do that?’” Gonzalez said. “People don’t know the need that is out there.”

One of the things he’s discovered is that about 70 percent of those who attend have not completed their sacraments. Gonzalez and the team get to work to help with that and so far, about 15 couples have had their marriage blessed by the Church.

Twice a month, Encuentro Personal con Jesús takes its work to the streets, setting up tables at Madison and Third Avenues in downtown Phoenix where many area homeless congregate. The group brings food, rosaries and Bibles to give away, but they share what is needed most, Gonzalez said: hope.

“It’s not about feeding them food — it’s about feeding them the word of hope, the word of God,” Gonzalez said. The army of 150 volunteers continues to grow and share because it’s a way to show God how thankful they are to have broken the chain of addiction in their own lives and in their families.

“Jesus is never going to ask us how many cars we have at home or what the square footage of our house is. Jesus is going to ask us what we did for the person next to us,” Gonzalez said. His phone rings constantly as people reach out to him for help. These days, he’s ditched the fancy house and cars and is in formation for the permanent diaconate. He now owns a cleaning business, something Gonzalez said allows him the flexibility to be there for people when they need prayer and support.

“They just need a hopeful word to trust in the Lord. That’s what our main focus is,” Gonzalez said.