by Katie Vasquez
When Johnny Chavez walks around South Williamsburg, he’s reminded of another life.
He grew up here, in a small apartment with his parents and two sisters, but that all changed when Johnny’s parents divorced when he was a teenager.
“I had to find some sense of gratification, some sense of belonging, and my friends were my, my refuge.”
Johnny got involved with a gang and started selling drugs.
“We were selling heroin, a lot of heroin.”
At 17 he was arrested for armed robbery; it was the final straw.
Johnny wanted to change his life, but he didn’t know how.
“There was nothing that was making me stop. I was making a lot of money. I was doing whatever I wanted.”
Until Johnny’s godfather invited him back to church and God opened the door for Johnny to find a new life.
“I went to the Eucharist, and some of them were talking about drugs, about alcohol, and nobody was standing up to accuse them. Nobody was judging them, so I felt like I belonged there.”
Now Johnny is paying it forward, as a member of the Neocatechumenal Way, a spiritual movement that aims to deepen the faith of its members through ongoing formation.
He devotes his time to showing others the right path, through catechesis.
“We help them so that this calling, which is very fragile, can maintain a sense of spark,” said Chavez.
He now has a devotion to his faith he is passing on to his eight children.
“The biggest gift today that I am receiving from the Lord, that he is helping my children to stay in the Church. They are staying in the Church. It is a blessing because today is hard to stay in the Church.”
Despite his past, Johnny says he has no regrets.
“So if you ask me, what would you want to change of your life? I would say nothing, because if I was to tell you that if my parents could be together, that means that I wouldn’t. I would have missed the encounter of Christ.”
He knows it was all part of his journey and God is with him every step of the way.