Rev. Jose Javier Torres’s Memoir ‘This Too Shall Pass’ Shares Inside View of Grief, Love, Faith In Every Season
Photo courtesy of Jose Javier Torres
BY KADAYSHA LITTLE | South Jersey Emerging Journalist Project
ATLANTIC CITY – Rev. Jose Javier Torres, co-pastor of La Iglesia Bajo Su Gloria, or Under His Glory Church, has recently published his memoir “This Too Shall Pass: A Memoir on Faith, Grief, and the God Who Stayed.”
The book reflects on topics such as faith, masculinity, marriage, family and grief.
The memoir came to fruition in a trying time in Torres’s life. He had recently been met with conflicting emotions, the joy of being recently married and the grief of suffering the loss of his mother.
“I was just feeling this depression, and I felt something in me telling me write a book, write a book,” Torres stated.
In his sadness, Torres turned to a medium he has used since five years old, writing. “And since I was 5 years old, I have journals all over my house. I felt God just telling me ‘go back and read those I’m going to tell you what to do’ and as I was reading it, a story just started forming.”
The purpose of publishing his memoir is to connect and give hope to others who are going through a difficult time.
“I wrote this memoir to encourage people who feel forgotten, overwhelmed, or on the verge of giving up,” Torres said. “My hope is that readers will finish the book believing that while pain is real, it is not permanent and that God can bring purpose out of even the hardest seasons.”
Throughout “This Too Shall Pass: A Memoir on Faith, Grief, and the God Who Stayed,” Torres wrote about the importance his mother had on his belief system and how that changed after she passed.
“As a kid looking at her and hearing her pray for me and hearing her intercede for me it helped me look into the relationship that she had with God and me wanting to find out more” Torres said. “Well, who is this guy that she’s talking to? Who is this person?”
Torres’s journey towards a more personal spiritual practice was illuminated through connecting with his now wife, Pastor Laura Terrero. The pair leads Bajo Su Gloria, a Christian church located at 1717 Rev. J.J. Walters Avenue, in Atlantic City.
Recently, the two have been creating an initiative to give their local community a judgement free zone for people to share information confidentiality.
“Me and my wife are working on a program in our church, that’s not a church event, but a place where they can come to refuge.” Torres said.
He went on to mention the intention of a healthy alternative stating, “You don’t have to, you know, do the drugs, you know, you can reach out, you can talk. Somebody’s going to listen and not judge because I think a lot of people are staying shut because of the judgment.”
In his role as pastor serving at Bajo Su Gloria and his newest memoir, Torres has worked towards creating space for others who have endured difficult life circumstances, to know that they are not alone.
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