Ventura softball star: Encountering Christ through service

Los Angeles, Calif., May 23, 2017 / 04:46 am

To a pitcher, a little situation like bases loaded, full count and trying to protect a one-run lead in the late innings is no big deal - not if you've been doing this since you were 8 years old.

And not if, like St. Bonaventure High School pitching star Jessica Gomez, you're aiming for a career in pediatric nursing, where matters of life and death will mean something a lot different than they did on a softball field.

And certainly not if, like this senior scholar-athlete, you are a lifelong Catholic who believes Christ is present in every part of your life, which is why she chooses to serve others, willingly and joyfully.

"As someone who's been raised Catholic, I've always been involved in service activities," said Gomez, who tutors kids with learning disabilities and helps serve the hungry through the Many Meals feeding program at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Ventura. "It just really touches me when I encounter the love of Christ through service."

That's one reason Gomez was named an archdiocesan Christian Service Award recipient for 2017, and why she's headed for the nursing program at Villanova University.

"Nursing is a healing occupation, and it's the kind of ministry I really feel drawn to," said Gomez. "I've always felt a call to help and serve wherever I can, plus I'm interested in science, and the nursing program at Villanova seems like a wonderful opportunity."

Pressure performer

This week, Gomez - who has posted a 27-14 won-lost mark, 2.27 earned run average, and .302 batting average - will lead her St. Bonaventure team into the CIF-Southern Section softball playoffs. The Seraphs finished 16-8 and shared the Tri-Valley League title with Fillmore, made possible when Gomez tossed a three-hit, 11-strikeout, 5-0 win over Fillmore in the regular season finale.

"I respond well under pressure," she said with a smile. "I have a very competitive nature, and my drive to win influences me when I get into tough situations. I enjoy the challenge of coming through in tight spots - which I'm hoping will serve me well in nursing."

Those "tight spots," she adds, are eased through prayer. In fact, the Seraphs as a team take a quiet moment before each game "to ask God for freedom from injury, the strength to play well and, if it's in God's will, for victory. And we really try to play the game the right way, to practice good sportsmanship and to be charitable and respectful, on and off the field."

That attitude carries into off-the-field service projects. Gomez, her coaches and her teammates have visited a nearby youth correctional facility, meeting and talking with the female inmates "on how we have tried to deal with and adapt to challenges and struggles in our lives. Mainly, we want them to know that someone cares about them."

As student body vice president, Gomez takes seriously her role as a leader, in class and on the softball diamond, and tries to impart "positive messages" to younger students and teammates, just as others did for her.

At Our Lady of the Assumption - which she, parents Bill and Candace and older brother Joseph (a sophomore at Georgetown) have attended since she was in sixth grade - Gomez enjoys another form of service, through singing in the Life Teen band that leads music at Sunday evening liturgies, "which is really fun and a wonderful way to connect with God and the community."

Soon, Gomez will head back east to begin her next adventure at Villanova, a journey she anticipates with typical open-mindedness and determination.

"It's a little scary," she admitted, "but I'm excited by the opportunities in front of me. And I know that God is going to be with me every step of the way."

This article originally appeared at AngelusNews.com, the news website for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.