BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--Dr. Miguel Jurado has begun practicing both medicine and his Catholic faith in his Gainesville office for the first time, playing eucharistic music when talking with patients, praying for them daily and viewing them as whole persons and not strictly medical cases.

He has cut back his workload from 100 to about 70 hours a week, has taken a pay cut and is moving into a smaller home while giving more money to the church. He spends more quality time with each patient, putting God above his work. He spends more time with his family so they pray together daily. Pictures of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus can be seen in his office examining rooms and in his home.

Jurado, 37, attributes his spiritual transformation to his participation with his wife, Judy, and their children, ages 5, 2 and two months, in the Be Not Afraid Family Hours program. Nearly every Wednesday for the past year and a half the family has loaded into their minivan and headed to their parish, St. Michael’s Church, Gainesville, for the family hour.

“I think it’s a wonderful program and it’s been a big blessing for my family,” he said. “It’s been the prayer life that has really been the wonderful blessing.”

Four archdiocesan parishes offer the educational Be Not Afraid Family Hours tapes which bring the Catholic faith to life for individuals and families. Mark and Nancy Fiorentino, who oversee the lay ecclesial teams of the Apostolate for Family Consecration which sponsors the video hours, initiated the program at St. Michael’s about two years ago. Endorsed by Archbishop John Donoghue, the series is now offered at Christ Our King and Savior Church, Greensboro, St. Catherine of Siena Church, Kennesaw, and St. George Church, Newnan.

There are 100 other lay sponsoring teams in the United States, and the video program was recently adapted in the archdioceses of Mexico City and Manila, two of the three largest dioceses worldwide. Videos may also be purchased for home viewing.

“In our society a vast majority of people watch a lot of television and it’s really something to see the TV used in a powerful way for God’s purpose--especially when children are involved. The media has such a big impact on what you learn,” Mark Fiorentino said, adding that it’s a way to unite families. “It’s a new way of evangelization.”

Jerry Coniker and his wife, Gwen, who were recently assigned to the Pontifical Council for the Family, founded the Apostolate for Family Consecration in 1975 based in Ohio where the programs are produced. The organization has a mission to transform families through faith in the eucharistic and Marian spirit witnessed in Pope John Paul II. The program includes nine video series, each containing a novena of one-hour videos, with more in the works, on topics including the Immaculate Conception, St. Joseph, the Eucharist and other sacraments, mercy, the rosary and healing through consecration. Each tape includes a talk on the video’s theme by a cardinal, bishop or other church leader, and has contemporary Catholic music and prayer time. A 10-15 minute question and answer session is also included on the “The Apostolate’s Family Catechism” by Cardinal Francis Arinze, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. It concludes with a rosary and footage of the pope and Mother Teresa.

Clips from the movie “Life of Christ” and pictures of classical sculpture and paintings flash across the screen throughout the videos to illustrate topics being presented. The programs are shown in churches by the tabernacle, a setting which Fiorentino said reflects Mother Teresa’s statement that the only way to stop abortion is to have families come before the Eucharist for holy hours where grace is poured out. Videos don’t build upon each other and people may join the program at anytime.

The archdiocesan lay ecclesial teams, which meet regularly to watch the videos and to discuss papal encyclicals, strategize on how to attract new video viewers and how to form new teams to host the series at other parishes while also coordinating family hours. Fiorentino also speaks to interested parishes. The St. Michael’s program, which meets on Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30 p.m., currently attracts about 20-30 people. Fiorentino, who has been involved with the program for four years with wife and three children, said that the video is an opportunity for participants to learn church dogma and hear the pope.

“It’s learning what the Holy Father has to say because from my experience a lot of people don’t know and I’m one of them. It’s pretty powerful in that the hierarchy of the church does all the teaching. By way of hearing cardinals and bishops doing the actual teaching of the faith to me it’s like a reassurance that what you’ve been taught is what the church has to offer.”

Jurado said that, while embarrassed and insecure to share his faith before joining the program because of lack of understanding, he is now eager to share his faith with his family and others and has gained a much greater faith and understanding of church teaching. He has a new understanding of the role of Mary, whom he had never invoked in prayer before beginning the program, and of God’s divine mercy. He said he has become more compassionate and thankful for life and, as he often sees patients suffering with diseases or severe disabilities, now he sees the value of suffering in causing them to question what’s important in life and to grow. He can better relate to and support them.

He’s gained “just the whole concept of being thankful for everything we have and being attuned to other people suffering--being aware of other people’s suffering and understanding that suffering isn’t something that should be avoided. There is a role for suffering.”

Fiorentino said the program is beneficial for those of all ages and that parents are encouraged to study catechism questions with their children before watching the video. “It’s a family activity. Your family can actually sit home and study together,” he said. “The idea behind this is to get parents to be the primary teachers of their children in the faith.”

He said that the video helps to keep children’s attention in learning about God through things like the rosary, where each picture relates to a particular mystery. “I feel it’s very helpful for children … It kind of keeps their attention and the picture relates to that particular mystery. The children really learn a lot.”

The program also can spark discussion. “A lot of families don’t pray together too much. It’s good for prayer. A lot of families don’t dialogue about the faith. It’s a good resource to give birth to discussion.”

Family prayer is now a joy rather than a mere duty for the Jurados. “When we’re in the car or going some place we’ll pray an Our Father or part of the rosary … We do it more spontaneously.”

Jurado said his marriage is stronger now that he and his wife have begun praying together. He added that his five-year-old daughter initially went to the nursery during family hours but then asked to come along. She has grown to love the family hours and now recites the Our Father and rosary and understands more about Mary and Jesus.

Jurado has come to see his family as part of the larger parish family. “I had no idea about that whole concept of family of God--that whole concept of us being part of a larger family,” he said. “The church is now a big part of our family life and as our kids get older it’s becoming more and more a part (of it).”

Fiorentino said the program’s mission is to support pastors and to renew entire parishes as it renews families and individuals. He said that the hour is also a time to make reparation for sins, as priests are at times available for confession.

Fiorentino plans to increase advertising in local newspapers and to attract the unchurched and inactive Catholics as well as churchgoers.

“I think the big thing is we’re trying to let people learn what we’re doing here in the diocese--to let the priests and the lay people know what’s available to them,” he said. “The idea is to renew the parish family and to make a vibrant parish.”

For information call Nancy or Mark Fiorentino at (770) 536-8138.