![Venezuela: Talks with opposition, oil deal, Delcy Rodríguez in New York, and the Church’s stance #Catholic Sept. 15 marked the start of the second round of negotiations between a Venezuelan opposition delegation and the country’s ruling socialist regime, a process promoted and driven by the U.S. government with an eye toward potential presidential elections in the South American nation.Dinorah Figuera, who leads the opposition delegation, arrived in Venezuela on Sept. 13 and before national and international media explained that once this weekʼs discussions conclude, the country could expect an announcement regarding the agreements reached.Meanwhile, Jorge Millán, who is also part of the opposition delegation, stated that they would continue “pursuing a Supreme Court of Justice with honorable, independent, and impartial judges capable of providing Venezuela with an upstanding judicial system after so many years. At the end of the cycle [of talks], we will present clear and verifiable objectives.”He also stated that this round of negotiations would also address the status of political parties, political guarantees, and “the dismantling of the repressive apparatus” established by Chavismo (the socialist government established by President Hugo Chávez and continued by President Nicolás Maduro) for over two decades. The state of freedom of expression in Venezuela will also be one of the items on the agenda.“The foundation for achieving a full democracy requires creating the conditions for elections to be held in Venezuela as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. We are laying the groundwork to reach those important areas that will enable all Venezuelans to elect our leaders very soon, with the speed we desire but also allowing for the time this will take,” Millán added.Concerns and proposals from the Catholic ChurchLast week, Cardinals Baltazar Porras and Diego Padrón, together with Bishop Emeritus Ramón Ovidio Pérez Morales, once again spoke out regarding the political and social situation in Venezuela. The prelates had previously raised their voices at the start of negotiations, offering to serve as guarantors of the process.On this occasion, they addressed the state of “indeterminacy, confusion, and uncertainty” prevailing in the country, offering “certain opinions, judgments, and proposals” that seek to “open the way” to help overcome the current crisis and achieve solid institutional stability and the national common good.Following the capture and extradition of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces on Jan. 3, the prelates noted that “changes have occurred, yet neither the desired and expected change nor a shift toward the structuring and functioning of the country in line with the preamble and fundamental principles of the 1999 Constitution is perceptible.”The cardinals and the bishop cite as examples of this lack of change that there are still political prisoners and a climate of repression as well as a state monopoly on the media and the continued centralization of power. Although these issues have been placed on the negotiating tableʼs agenda, the prelates maintain that these talks “operate within a framework of limited scope and authority.”In this regard, they pointed out that the state is operating on “shaky and legally undefined ground,” while the executive branch is “illegitimate regarding both its origins and its exercise of power.” Consequently, they emphasized the urgent need to call for elections soon.Oil deals with few detailsA few weeks ago, the Trump administration and the Chavista regime signed a massive energy deal granting the United States effective control over approximately one-third of Venezuelan oil, some 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.Beyond the economic aspects, the agreement has sparked particular controversy by including Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López as an intermediary. He has been the subject of several investigations regarding alleged corruption, inflated prices in electricity contracts, and money laundering linked to the oil sector.Within Venezuela, Betancourt is singled out as one of the key figures responsible for the serious deterioration of the electrical grid, which has led to daily, hourslong blackouts across the country for years, severely impacting the populationʼs daily lives and even resulting in loss of life due to various causes.While acknowledging they are not experts in the field, Porras, Padrón, and Pérez Morales call for greater transparency in the negotiations and recommend “prudence and a gradual approach regarding commitments.” This, they state, reflects the prevailing sentiment among the Venezuelan people, who are concerned about the fate and use of the “vast sums of money” the state is set to receive.Greater emphasis on the need to call electionsIn light of the foregoing, the cardinals and the bishop underscored the priority of allowing the sovereign people of Venezuela to have a “a defined and clear mandate” regarding the nation’s future, a step that would also offer a sure path toward “encounter, social reconciliation, and peace.”“God has given us this country as a setting in which to build a ‘new society,’ the ideal of the civilization of love. We Venezuelans, through our own efforts and by invoking divine assistance, must keep hope alive and continue working on this compelling task, striving to reap its fruits of peace, freedom, justice, and fraternity,” the prelates stated.Delcy Rodríguez in New York?According to a Sept. 14 Bloomberg report, Venezuelaʼs interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is considering a trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which takes place next week.If the trip goes ahead, Rodríguez would be in the same city where Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are in U.S. custody. When asked about a possible meeting with the Chavista leader, President Donald Trump simply replied: “Maybe, maybe.”Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that an in-person meeting “probably will happen” if the presence of the interim regimeʼs president is confirmed.Rodríguezʼs presence on U.S. soil would mark a milestone in relations between Washington and Caracas, following more than two decades of tension and discord. Within Venezuela, the growing rapprochement between the U.S. government and the remnants of Chavismo is fueling concern and uncertainty regarding the possibility of real political change.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/venezuela-talks-with-opposition-oil-deal-delcy-rodriguez-in-new-york-and-the-churchs-stance-catholic-sept-15-marked-the-start-of-the-second-round-of-negotiations-between-a-venezuelan-op.jpg "Venezuela: Talks with opposition, oil deal, Delcy Rodríguez in New York, and the Church’s stance #Catholic Sept. 15 marked the start of the second round of negotiations between a Venezuelan opposition delegation and the country’s ruling socialist regime, a process promoted and driven by the U.S. government with an eye toward potential presidential elections in the South American nation.Dinorah Figuera, who leads the opposition delegation, arrived in Venezuela on Sept. 13 and before national and international media explained that once this weekʼs discussions conclude, the country could expect an announcement regarding the agreements reached.Meanwhile, Jorge Millán, who is also part of the opposition delegation, stated that they would continue “pursuing a Supreme Court of Justice with honorable, independent, and impartial judges capable of providing Venezuela with an upstanding judicial system after so many years. At the end of the cycle [of talks], we will present clear and verifiable objectives.”He also stated that this round of negotiations would also address the status of political parties, political guarantees, and “the dismantling of the repressive apparatus” established by Chavismo (the socialist government established by President Hugo Chávez and continued by President Nicolás Maduro) for over two decades. The state of freedom of expression in Venezuela will also be one of the items on the agenda.“The foundation for achieving a full democracy requires creating the conditions for elections to be held in Venezuela as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. We are laying the groundwork to reach those important areas that will enable all Venezuelans to elect our leaders very soon, with the speed we desire but also allowing for the time this will take,” Millán added.Concerns and proposals from the Catholic ChurchLast week, Cardinals Baltazar Porras and Diego Padrón, together with Bishop Emeritus Ramón Ovidio Pérez Morales, once again spoke out regarding the political and social situation in Venezuela. The prelates had previously raised their voices at the start of negotiations, offering to serve as guarantors of the process.On this occasion, they addressed the state of “indeterminacy, confusion, and uncertainty” prevailing in the country, offering “certain opinions, judgments, and proposals” that seek to “open the way” to help overcome the current crisis and achieve solid institutional stability and the national common good.Following the capture and extradition of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces on Jan. 3, the prelates noted that “changes have occurred, yet neither the desired and expected change nor a shift toward the structuring and functioning of the country in line with the preamble and fundamental principles of the 1999 Constitution is perceptible.”The cardinals and the bishop cite as examples of this lack of change that there are still political prisoners and a climate of repression as well as a state monopoly on the media and the continued centralization of power. Although these issues have been placed on the negotiating tableʼs agenda, the prelates maintain that these talks “operate within a framework of limited scope and authority.”In this regard, they pointed out that the state is operating on “shaky and legally undefined ground,” while the executive branch is “illegitimate regarding both its origins and its exercise of power.” Consequently, they emphasized the urgent need to call for elections soon.Oil deals with few detailsA few weeks ago, the Trump administration and the Chavista regime signed a massive energy deal granting the United States effective control over approximately one-third of Venezuelan oil, some 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.Beyond the economic aspects, the agreement has sparked particular controversy by including Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López as an intermediary. He has been the subject of several investigations regarding alleged corruption, inflated prices in electricity contracts, and money laundering linked to the oil sector.Within Venezuela, Betancourt is singled out as one of the key figures responsible for the serious deterioration of the electrical grid, which has led to daily, hourslong blackouts across the country for years, severely impacting the populationʼs daily lives and even resulting in loss of life due to various causes.While acknowledging they are not experts in the field, Porras, Padrón, and Pérez Morales call for greater transparency in the negotiations and recommend “prudence and a gradual approach regarding commitments.” This, they state, reflects the prevailing sentiment among the Venezuelan people, who are concerned about the fate and use of the “vast sums of money” the state is set to receive.Greater emphasis on the need to call electionsIn light of the foregoing, the cardinals and the bishop underscored the priority of allowing the sovereign people of Venezuela to have a “a defined and clear mandate” regarding the nation’s future, a step that would also offer a sure path toward “encounter, social reconciliation, and peace.”“God has given us this country as a setting in which to build a ‘new society,’ the ideal of the civilization of love. We Venezuelans, through our own efforts and by invoking divine assistance, must keep hope alive and continue working on this compelling task, striving to reap its fruits of peace, freedom, justice, and fraternity,” the prelates stated.Delcy Rodríguez in New York?According to a Sept. 14 Bloomberg report, Venezuelaʼs interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is considering a trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which takes place next week.If the trip goes ahead, Rodríguez would be in the same city where Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are in U.S. custody. When asked about a possible meeting with the Chavista leader, President Donald Trump simply replied: “Maybe, maybe.”Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that an in-person meeting “probably will happen” if the presence of the interim regimeʼs president is confirmed.Rodríguezʼs presence on U.S. soil would mark a milestone in relations between Washington and Caracas, following more than two decades of tension and discord. Within Venezuela, the growing rapprochement between the U.S. government and the remnants of Chavismo is fueling concern and uncertainty regarding the possibility of real political change.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.")
Ongoing talks between the socialist regime and the opposition in Venezuela are making some progress while the Church is trying to contribute to the transition to democracy and freedom.
![Hope for broken marriages: One couple’s story #Catholic On April 7, 2009, Mariela Villanueva landed in Venezuela convinced that she was going to end her marriage. Five years had passed since her husband, Harold Figueras, had left his family in Peru and rebuilt his life in another country. She carried with her the pain of a long separation and the resolve to sign the divorce papers. He had with him a written list of all the grievances he intended to unleash the moment he saw her.Nothing happened the way either of them had imagined.They arranged to meet on a Wednesday at 3 p.m., the Hour of Mercy, at the very spot where they had courted years before. When Mariela appeared, Harold frantically searched for the sheet of paper containing his complaints. It had vanished.“I was expecting a war. She opened her arms to embrace me, and I realized that I was the only one who wanted to fight,” Harold recalled in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. Mariela said she made that gesture because she had already begun a process of conversion and was holding onto one last hope.That embrace did not immediately restore the marriage, however. It would still be nearly a month before he ended the other relationship he was in and decided to return to his family. But on that day, they both attest, Jesus won the first great battle.
Harold and Mariela in front of Lima Cathedral. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
A marriage marked by woundednessHarold and Mariela met in 1998 at the Venezuelan College of Engineers. He worked in systems; she was a young lawyer running a legal consultation firm with dozens of professionals under her supervision.While Mariela had grown up in a Catholic family and frequently prayed the rosary, Harold was completely indifferent to the faith.“I used to make fun of priests. For me, getting married in the Church was simply a matter of fulfilling a social formality,” he admitted.They were married in a civil ceremony and on Sept. 2, 2000, received the sacrament at marriage at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Barranco, Peru. However, they acknowledged that they came to the altar without truly understanding the meaning of the vocation of marriage.“We began our life together without God at the center. That was the first major mistake,” Harold explained.Over the years, deep-seated wounds began to surface: abandonment, loneliness, pride, an inability to communicate, and unrealistic expectations about love. Venezuela’s economic crisis further aggravated the situation. Harold traveled constantly between the two countries until, one day, he simply stopped coming back.Mariela was left alone in Lima with her young daughter.
Recent photo of Harold and Mariela with their three daughters in Lima, Peru. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
‘Mom, teach me to pray’Paradoxically, the restoration did not begin when Harold changed. It began when Mariela got down on her knees.Estranged from the Church and filled with resentment, the young mother had abandoned the practice of her faith after being hurt by a bad experience at a parish. Everything changed thanks to an unexpected request from her 7-year-old daughter: “Mom, grandma says you know how to pray. Teach me the rosary.”Mariela agreed, more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. Shortly after that, her daughter insisted on making her first Communion and said something that pierced her mother’s heart: “You know what it’s like to have Jesus in your heart… so why don’t you [go to Communion]?”Those words led Mariela back to the confessional.From then on, she began a routine that would change her life: daily Mass before work, Eucharistic adoration at midday, and the rosary every night with her daughter.“I was looking for God to change my husband. The Lord ended up changing me,” she related.
Harold and Mariela with members of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
‘Look at me’During Eucharistic adoration, an experience occurred that would, years later, give its name to the retreat the couple now leads as part of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.”Mariela was praying, seeing herself as the victim in her story: “Lord, look at me. Look at how good I am. Look at what he did to me.”Then, she raised her eyes toward the monstrance.“I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw Jesus, wounded and bloodied. And he said to me only: ‘Look at me.’”In that moment, she experienced a personal encounter with Jesus. She began to recall her own sins from childhood and realized that, for years, she had been unable to recognize her own wounds.“I realized that God wasn’t going to ask me about Harold’s sins. He was going to ask me how much I loved my husband within the sacrament.”Her prayer changed completely, and she no longer asked for Harold to return. She only prayed: “Lord, bring him back to you.”
Mariela Villanueva. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mariela Villanueva
The hell of the occultWhile Mariela was deepening her prayer life, Harold was heading down a completely opposite path.Seeking better financial prospects, he began consulting tarot cards. Next came syncretist Santería practices, and finally Palería, a witchcraft practice involving human remains and animal sacrifices.“I entered a dark room containing skeletal remains. I felt an indescribable fear, yet I kept looking for answers where they weren’t to be found,” Harold recalled.Amid that emptiness, he began to notice something strange. Mariela kept calling him, but no longer to get him back. One afternoon, in a mocking tone, he asked her: “What’s wrong? Don’t you need me anymore?”Her answer baffled him.“No. Whatʼs going on is that I have someone here who loves me.”Harold thought she had another romantic partner, but today he knows his wife was speaking of Christ himself.
Harold Figueras. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras
Welcomed back with loveAfter that encounter with his wife in Venezuela, Harold eventually returned to Peru.He admitted he was terrified of facing Mariela’s family and above all, their daughter. He imagined reproaches, humiliation, and rejection. Yet, he found exactly the opposite.“They all hugged me as if I had just stepped out to buy bread,” he recounted.A few days later, he accompanied Mariela to the Oblate Fathers’ church in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima. He had no thought of even going inside. He was standing near the doorway when, as he tells it, he felt an inner impulse that led him straight to the confessional.“I told the priest: ‘Father, I’ve been separated from my wife for five years, and I don’t know why I’ve come back.’”The priest invited him to attend a spiritual retreat. It was there that Harold experienced his own conversion.Before the Blessed Sacrament, after resisting for hours, Harold looked up: “I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw two honey-colored eyes that pierced my heart. I began to weep as I never had in my life.”From that moment on, he abandoned the occult and began a journey of faith that continues to this day.An ongoing miracleMore than 15 years have passed since that reconciliation.Harold and Mariela maintain that the true miracle was not simply living together again but discovering that marriage is a daily path to holiness.“Restoring the marriage takes your whole life. It doesn’t stop when the husband returns. It begins there,” Mariela said.
Harold and Mariela today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
That experience gave rise to the “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family” movement, an initiative that supports spouses who are separated or on the verge of divorce. The path they propose begins with oneʼs own conversion rather than an attempt to change oneʼs spouse.Those who come to the mission begin with what’s called “Mary’s Workshop,” a preparation for consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that focuses on the sacrament of marriage. There, the aim is for each person to acknowledge his or her own wounds and receive the tools to discern how to handle their issues as a family.However, Harold and Mariela noted that not all journeys end the same way. Some married couples manage to reunite, while others go their separate ways, including through the process of a declaration of nullity. What remains, they maintain, is the call to conversion and to seek God’s will.“The Lord wants us to be holy,” Mariela explained. She said that even when a person goes through a process different from what she or he hoped for, suffering can become an opportunity to draw closer to Christ and offer that pain for the holiness of the Church.Today, when they look back, the couple no longer see themselves as the same people who had separated. Mariela describes Harold as a man more committed to knowing Godʼs love and capable of giving of himself to his family.For his part, he acknowledged that the woman he reunited with after five years was no longer the same one he had left behind.
The Figueras Villanueva family today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
For this reason, their testimony does not aim to offer a formula for restoring a lost marriage. It is, above all, the story of two people who discovered that, before asking God to change the other person, they had to allow themselves to be transformed by him.“Many people come saying, ‘I want my husband to come back.’ We tell them: First, let Jesus return to the center of your heart,” Harold explained.Their message to couples in crisis stems from that experience: Don’t hide your wounds, don’t let shame defeat you, and don’t confuse restoration with a simple return to the life you had before.For as they discovered that Wednesday afternoon in 2009, some marital battles are not won by defeating the other person but by allowing oneself to be conquered by God’s merciful love.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/hope-for-broken-marriages-one-couples-story-catholic-on-april-7-2009-mariela-villanueva-landed-in-venezuela-convinced-that-she-was-going-to-end-her-marriage-five-years-had-passed-since-h.jpg "Hope for broken marriages: One couple’s story #Catholic On April 7, 2009, Mariela Villanueva landed in Venezuela convinced that she was going to end her marriage. Five years had passed since her husband, Harold Figueras, had left his family in Peru and rebuilt his life in another country. She carried with her the pain of a long separation and the resolve to sign the divorce papers. He had with him a written list of all the grievances he intended to unleash the moment he saw her.Nothing happened the way either of them had imagined.They arranged to meet on a Wednesday at 3 p.m., the Hour of Mercy, at the very spot where they had courted years before. When Mariela appeared, Harold frantically searched for the sheet of paper containing his complaints. It had vanished.“I was expecting a war. She opened her arms to embrace me, and I realized that I was the only one who wanted to fight,” Harold recalled in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. Mariela said she made that gesture because she had already begun a process of conversion and was holding onto one last hope.That embrace did not immediately restore the marriage, however. It would still be nearly a month before he ended the other relationship he was in and decided to return to his family. But on that day, they both attest, Jesus won the first great battle.
Harold and Mariela in front of Lima Cathedral. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
A marriage marked by woundednessHarold and Mariela met in 1998 at the Venezuelan College of Engineers. He worked in systems; she was a young lawyer running a legal consultation firm with dozens of professionals under her supervision.While Mariela had grown up in a Catholic family and frequently prayed the rosary, Harold was completely indifferent to the faith.“I used to make fun of priests. For me, getting married in the Church was simply a matter of fulfilling a social formality,” he admitted.They were married in a civil ceremony and on Sept. 2, 2000, received the sacrament at marriage at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Barranco, Peru. However, they acknowledged that they came to the altar without truly understanding the meaning of the vocation of marriage.“We began our life together without God at the center. That was the first major mistake,” Harold explained.Over the years, deep-seated wounds began to surface: abandonment, loneliness, pride, an inability to communicate, and unrealistic expectations about love. Venezuela’s economic crisis further aggravated the situation. Harold traveled constantly between the two countries until, one day, he simply stopped coming back.Mariela was left alone in Lima with her young daughter.
Recent photo of Harold and Mariela with their three daughters in Lima, Peru. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
‘Mom, teach me to pray’Paradoxically, the restoration did not begin when Harold changed. It began when Mariela got down on her knees.Estranged from the Church and filled with resentment, the young mother had abandoned the practice of her faith after being hurt by a bad experience at a parish. Everything changed thanks to an unexpected request from her 7-year-old daughter: “Mom, grandma says you know how to pray. Teach me the rosary.”Mariela agreed, more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. Shortly after that, her daughter insisted on making her first Communion and said something that pierced her mother’s heart: “You know what it’s like to have Jesus in your heart… so why don’t you [go to Communion]?”Those words led Mariela back to the confessional.From then on, she began a routine that would change her life: daily Mass before work, Eucharistic adoration at midday, and the rosary every night with her daughter.“I was looking for God to change my husband. The Lord ended up changing me,” she related.
Harold and Mariela with members of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
‘Look at me’During Eucharistic adoration, an experience occurred that would, years later, give its name to the retreat the couple now leads as part of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.”Mariela was praying, seeing herself as the victim in her story: “Lord, look at me. Look at how good I am. Look at what he did to me.”Then, she raised her eyes toward the monstrance.“I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw Jesus, wounded and bloodied. And he said to me only: ‘Look at me.’”In that moment, she experienced a personal encounter with Jesus. She began to recall her own sins from childhood and realized that, for years, she had been unable to recognize her own wounds.“I realized that God wasn’t going to ask me about Harold’s sins. He was going to ask me how much I loved my husband within the sacrament.”Her prayer changed completely, and she no longer asked for Harold to return. She only prayed: “Lord, bring him back to you.”
Mariela Villanueva. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mariela Villanueva
The hell of the occultWhile Mariela was deepening her prayer life, Harold was heading down a completely opposite path.Seeking better financial prospects, he began consulting tarot cards. Next came syncretist Santería practices, and finally Palería, a witchcraft practice involving human remains and animal sacrifices.“I entered a dark room containing skeletal remains. I felt an indescribable fear, yet I kept looking for answers where they weren’t to be found,” Harold recalled.Amid that emptiness, he began to notice something strange. Mariela kept calling him, but no longer to get him back. One afternoon, in a mocking tone, he asked her: “What’s wrong? Don’t you need me anymore?”Her answer baffled him.“No. Whatʼs going on is that I have someone here who loves me.”Harold thought she had another romantic partner, but today he knows his wife was speaking of Christ himself.
Harold Figueras. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras
Welcomed back with loveAfter that encounter with his wife in Venezuela, Harold eventually returned to Peru.He admitted he was terrified of facing Mariela’s family and above all, their daughter. He imagined reproaches, humiliation, and rejection. Yet, he found exactly the opposite.“They all hugged me as if I had just stepped out to buy bread,” he recounted.A few days later, he accompanied Mariela to the Oblate Fathers’ church in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima. He had no thought of even going inside. He was standing near the doorway when, as he tells it, he felt an inner impulse that led him straight to the confessional.“I told the priest: ‘Father, I’ve been separated from my wife for five years, and I don’t know why I’ve come back.’”The priest invited him to attend a spiritual retreat. It was there that Harold experienced his own conversion.Before the Blessed Sacrament, after resisting for hours, Harold looked up: “I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw two honey-colored eyes that pierced my heart. I began to weep as I never had in my life.”From that moment on, he abandoned the occult and began a journey of faith that continues to this day.An ongoing miracleMore than 15 years have passed since that reconciliation.Harold and Mariela maintain that the true miracle was not simply living together again but discovering that marriage is a daily path to holiness.“Restoring the marriage takes your whole life. It doesn’t stop when the husband returns. It begins there,” Mariela said.
Harold and Mariela today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
That experience gave rise to the “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family” movement, an initiative that supports spouses who are separated or on the verge of divorce. The path they propose begins with oneʼs own conversion rather than an attempt to change oneʼs spouse.Those who come to the mission begin with what’s called “Mary’s Workshop,” a preparation for consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that focuses on the sacrament of marriage. There, the aim is for each person to acknowledge his or her own wounds and receive the tools to discern how to handle their issues as a family.However, Harold and Mariela noted that not all journeys end the same way. Some married couples manage to reunite, while others go their separate ways, including through the process of a declaration of nullity. What remains, they maintain, is the call to conversion and to seek God’s will.“The Lord wants us to be holy,” Mariela explained. She said that even when a person goes through a process different from what she or he hoped for, suffering can become an opportunity to draw closer to Christ and offer that pain for the holiness of the Church.Today, when they look back, the couple no longer see themselves as the same people who had separated. Mariela describes Harold as a man more committed to knowing Godʼs love and capable of giving of himself to his family.For his part, he acknowledged that the woman he reunited with after five years was no longer the same one he had left behind.
The Figueras Villanueva family today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva
For this reason, their testimony does not aim to offer a formula for restoring a lost marriage. It is, above all, the story of two people who discovered that, before asking God to change the other person, they had to allow themselves to be transformed by him.“Many people come saying, ‘I want my husband to come back.’ We tell them: First, let Jesus return to the center of your heart,” Harold explained.Their message to couples in crisis stems from that experience: Don’t hide your wounds, don’t let shame defeat you, and don’t confuse restoration with a simple return to the life you had before.For as they discovered that Wednesday afternoon in 2009, some marital battles are not won by defeating the other person but by allowing oneself to be conquered by God’s merciful love.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.")
Starting out their marriage without God at the center, the couple became estranged and the husband left, but things began to change when their daughter asked her mom, “Teach me to pray.”
