November 2012 - Diocese of Austin
Transcripción
November 2012 - Diocese of Austin
NOVEMBER 2012 T H E V O L U M E 3 0, N U M B E R 10 O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E D I O C E S E O F A U S T I N Marble Falls welcomes home Olympic medalist BY ENEDELIA J. OBREGÓN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT Austin Diocese 6225 Hwy. 290 East Austin, Texas 78723 Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, Texas Faith in God and his Catholic roots carried Leonel Manzano from humble beginnings to the Olympic podium as the 2012 silver medalist in the 1500-meter race in London. Parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Marble Falls, where his family still worships, were among those who proudly watched the young man who made his rst holy Communion and was confirmed alongside their own children. Manzano, 27, returned to Marble Falls at the end of September to a hero’s welcome. The high school held a rally, with former track coaches and elected ofcials in attendance. In nearby Granite Shoals –– where the family lives –– he helped break ground on the Leo Manzano Hike Bike and Run Trails. Since becoming the rst U.S. middle-distance runner to medal since 1968, Manzano has been to the White House and made appearances on television talk shows. But he remains grounded by his Catholic faith and the wise counsel of his parents, María and Jesús Manzano Sr. “Since I was young, my faith was impressed upon us by my grandmother,” María said. “She taught us to pray the rosary and say the Our Father. She had a very strong faith.” The couple continued those traditions, praying the rosary together every night and attending Mass every Sunday at St. John Parish. The children received their sacraments. She arranged rides for religious education classes since she didn’t drive when they were young and it was too far to walk from their home. Jesús Sr. said he and his wife are proud their son has continued that rich heritage. “He can’t deny he’s Catholic,” Jesús Sr. said with a chuckle. “He was born two blocks from the Cathedral.” His parents pray he never strays from the right track on which they have placed him. “We always entrusted ourselves to God and the Virgen (de Guadalupe),” he said. “Whatever step we took we would cross ourselves. We did it upon getting up and at bedtime.” Their eldest son said he prepares for each competition with prayer, and always makes the Sign of the Cross before the start of a race. “I feel God is always with me,” Leonel said. “Some people focus or get in the ‘zone’ through music. I get into the ‘zone’ with prayer. I pray a lot and do a lot of self-talking.” LEONEL MANZANO, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Marble Falls, won a silver medal in the 1500-meter race in the 2012 Olympics. He was born in Mexico, but came with his parents to the U.S. when he was a child. (Photo by Enedelia J. Obregón) Faith has carried them in good times and bad. It gave them strength to leave their native Mexico. Jesús Sr. came rst from Dolores, Guanajuato, searching for work. María followed when Leonel was 4 and his sister Laura was 2. Jesús Sr. gained legal residency under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. But it took 10 years for the rest of the family to gain legal residency. Leonel became a U.S. citizen in 2004 and competed in the Beijing Olympics representing his adopted country. His siblings Lulu and Jesús Jr. were born in the U.S. They moved to Granite Shoals from Flatonia within a few weeks after María arrived with the two oldest children. Jesús Sr. got a job at Capitol Aggregates Inc., which crushes stone for roadways. He still works there, FRONTLINE FAITH NEW SAINTS Pope Benedict XVI canonized seven new saints on Oct. 21. Page 17 Local organization helps soldiers keep the faith while on the front lines. Page 4 BISHOP’S ESPAÑOL INTERVIEW Co-op de Austin ayuda a los trabajadores a iniciar negocios. Página 28 Bishop discusses spiritual drought and longing for the Lord. Page 20 while María cares for elderly residents in their homes. “I do have a strong foundation through my family as well,” Leonel said. “They try to make the best decisions and right decisions about us. With God and faith, we do the right thing.” Fellow parishioners remember Leonel as a smart, quiet and polite student who worked very hard to get ahead. See LEO on Page 4 2 THE MISSION OF THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT As the ofcial newspaper for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin, the CATHOLIC SPIRIT is dedicated to providing information, education and formation for the Catholic community of Central Texas. This mission calls for the newspaper: • to provide readers with an understanding of our Catholic faith and traditions; • to be a primary source of information on Catholic issues relevant to the community; • to be a unifying element for faith communities, both rural and urban, throughout Central Texas; • to show respect for and appreciation of all cultural groups and traditions; • to emphasize topics afrming the Catholic community and life, while acknowledging the humanity of the community and examining, with courage, topics that challenge and encourage growth in the faith; • to carry a commitment to social justice that will support the renewal of the church in Central Texas. HOW TO SUBMIT INFORMATION Deadline for submission of articles or information for the CATHOLIC SPIRIT is the 10th of the month for publication in the following month’s edition. Deadline for the December issue is Nov. 10. You can submit material in any of the following ways: • E-mail to [email protected]. • Mail to CATHOLIC SPIRIT, 6225 Hwy. 290 E., Austin, TX 78723. For additional information, call (512) 949-2443 or e-mail us at [email protected]. CATHOLIC SPIRIT has unrestricted editing rights. HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Readers are encouraged to express their opinions on articles published in CATHOLIC SPIRIT. Letters to the editor provide a forum of discussion for the local Catholic community. The views expressed in the letters do not necessarily represent those of the editor or the publisher of CATHOLIC SPIRIT. Letters to the editor should be limited to 250 words. Name and full address of the writer must be provided, though name will be withheld from publication on request. We reserve the right to edit or withhold all letters. Please e-mail to [email protected] or mail to Editor, Catholic Spirit, 6225 Hwy. 290 E., Austin, TX 78723. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Subscription rates are $12 for one year. To subscribe, send check payable to Catholic Spirit to CATHOLIC SPIRIT, 6225 Hwy. 290 E., Austin, TX 78723. Members of a parish in the Austin Diocese may receive the newspaper for a reduced rate. Contact your parish staff for more information. ADDRESS CHANGES OR DUPLICATE MAILINGS Send all address changes to CATHOLIC SPIRIT, 6225 Hwy. 290 E., Austin, TX 78723. Please include your parish’s name and city. If receiving duplicate copies of the CATHOLIC SPIRIT, call (512) 949-2443 or e-mail [email protected]. STAFF Publisher: Most Rev. Joe S. Vásquez, Bishop of Austin Editor: Shelley Metcalf; (512) 949-2400, [email protected] Assistant Editor: Christian R. González; (512) 949-2400, [email protected] Advertising: Shelley Metcalf; (512) 949-2400, [email protected] Spanish translation: Beatriz Ferrer Welsh Columnists: Barbara Budde, Mary Lou Gibson and Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. Correspondents: Cristina Lopez, Amy Moraczewski, Enedelia Obregón, Michele Chan Santos and Mary P. Walker Catholic Spirit subscribes to Catholic News Service (CNS) and is a member of the Catholic Press Association. Copyright 2012 by the Austin Diocese. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any editorial content, photograph, art or design is prohibited without written permission of the publisher CATHOLIC SPIRIT (ISSN 0896-2715) is published 11 times annually (monthly except one issue in July/August) by the Austin Diocese. Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, publisher, 6225 Hwy. 290 E., Austin, TX 78723. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Catholic Spirit, 6225 Hwy. 290 E., Austin, Texas 78723. VOICES C ATHOLIC S PIRIT And my mouth will proclaim your praise BY SHELLEY METCALF CATHOLIC SPIRIT STAFF Bishop Joe Vásquez welcomed the Year of Faith with a beautiful prayer service on Oct. 10. It was a nice evening and as I drove home these words from the bishop echoed in my head and in my heart. “This is truly a time of grace. In this Year of Faith, the church reminds us that people come to believe in Jesus Christ through credible and joylled witnesses ... The world is yearning to know Christ. There is a deep hunger in all people to know the living God and we who have met and encountered him can make him known to others,” the bishop said. That evening for the first time since Pope Benedict XVI announced the Year of Faith, I realized that the year was not just about re-discovering my own Christian faith, but it’s also about helping other discover Christ. Yes, I have a lot to work on in my own spiritual life. This column is proof that I struggle on a continual basis to be open to Christ and to let him be in charge. But I have even more work to do when it comes to helping others know Christ and open themselves to him. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord while my introvert tendencies keep my lips locked tight. I need to work on letting my lips verbally profess what I feel so keenly in my heart. “Confessing with the lips indicates in turn that faith implies public testimony and commitment. A Christian may never think of belief as a private act. Faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him.,” writes Pope Benedict XVI in “Porta Fidei.” I am looking forward to this next year because I think it’s going to move me out of my comfort zone. The image that comes to mind is that of a re that has dwindled to red hot coals. When more wood is added and the coals are stoked, the coals ignite and catch the new wood on re also, which produces more warmth and light. During this Year of Faith, my goal is to learn more about my faith so that I can help others ignite their own faith. I pray my lips will learn to speak the faith that my soul proclaims. SHELLEY METCALF lives in Cedar Park with her husband and two children. They are parishioners of St. Margaret Mary Parish. Father Bob Herald died Oct. 7 in Hearne Father Robert P. Herald died on Oct. 7 at the age of 64. He was born Nov. 8, 1947, in Fountainhill, Pa. His parents were Alexander Herald and Florence Donnellan Herald. He graduated from Seton Hall University in 1970 and received a master of Divinity degree from St. Meinrad Seminary in 1989. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Austin on May 27, 1989, at St. Louis Parish in Austin by Bishop John E. McCarthy. He served in various parishes in Central Texas, including St. Theresa in Austin, St. Mary in Hearne, St. Mary Cathedral in Austin, St. Louis in Austin, St. Mary in Mexia, St. Joseph in Bryan, St. Ann in Somerville, St. Joseph in Rockdale, Our Lady of Lourdes in Gatesville and St. Joseph in Waco. Father Herald was a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus and a Knight Commander in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He previously assisted in the Tribunal of the Diocese of Austin and served as a prison chaplain. He is survived by his brother, sister, half-brother and numerous nieces and nephews. Bishop Joe Vásquez celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial Oct. 12 at St. Mary Parish in Hearne and burial was at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Hearne. Memorial gifts may be made to the Seminarian Education Endowment at the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Austin, 6225 Hwy. 290 E., Austin 78723. EIM workshops in November, December The Ethics and Integrity in Ministry policies of the Austin Diocese were established in 2002 to educate Catholics on how to help prevent sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. According to the policies, all employees and those volunteers who minister to youth or vulnerable adults in the diocese are required to complete an Application for Ministry, which permits the diocese to run a criminal background check. Additionally, all new applicants are required to attend a three-hour EIM workshop for adults within 60 days of their EIM application submission. Every three years employees and volunteers must attend an EIM refresher course or the three-hour EIM workshop. Upcoming EIM workshops are listed below. Please call the location you would like to attend at the phone number listed so that enough materials are available. For more information regarding the diocesan EIM policies, visit www.austindiocese.org or call (512) 949-2400. Three-hour courses Nov. 3 from 9 a.m. to noon at San Jose Parish, Austin; (512) 444-7587 Nov. 17 from 9 a.m. to noon at St. Mary, Church of the Assumption, West; (254) 826-3705 Nov. 17 from 9 a.m. to noon at St. Margaret Mary Parish, Cedar Park; (512) 259-3126 Dec. 1 from 1 to 4 p.m. at St. Mary Parish, Caldwell; (979) 567-3667 Refresher courses Nov. 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at University Catholic Center, Austin; (512) 476-7351 Nov. 11 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at St. Mary Parish, Lockhart; (512) 398-4649 Nov. 13 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Thomas More Parish, Austin; (512) 258-1161 Nov. 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Christ the King Parish, Belton; (254) 939-0806 Dec. 15 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at St. Louis Parish, Austin; (512) 454-0384 November 2012 CENTRAL TEXAS 3 Jack Buckley: Keeping Christ in the healing process Editor’s Note: The Year of Faith began on Oct. 11 and will run through November of next year. Each month during the Year of Faith, the Catholic Spirit will feature lay men and women who live their faith in a variety of ways. To suggest a lay person to feature, write catholic-spirit@ austindiocese.org. BY MARY P. WALKER SENIOR CORRESPONDENT When those who were sick or in need of care went to Jesus, he listened to them and healed them. Today, Christ’s healing work is often accomplished through a complex system of health care professionals, hospitals, clinics, treatment options, medications and insurance. Honoring Christ’s healing presence in the midst of such complexity has been the focus of Jack Buckley’s career in health care administration. Known for his rock-solid Catholic values and sound business sense, most of Buckley’s career has been within Catholic health care systems. Through the years, he has worked with 10 congregations of religious orders, and received recognition for his professional and civic activities. His opinion has been sought and respected by health care professionals, as well as bishops, who, like Buckley, believe that a Catholic hospital should be a living manifestation of the church’s care. Buckley came to the Austin Diocese in 2003, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan. In 2005, he was named president and CEO of St. Joseph Health System, which is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio and includes hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities. Retiring in 2008, Buckley continues to share his professional expertise. He is a consultant, an executive in residence at Texas A&M Health Science Center’s Department of Health Policy Management, and is part of a team working to improve services and reduce the costs of delivering care to those who rely on Medicaid. When asked what led to him to a career in Catholic healthcare, Buckley credits his mother, a convert to Catholicism, who set an example of faith-filled living and devotion. He also credits the many congregations of sisters who have touched his life along the way. His love and admiration for them began in grade school with the School Sisters of St. Francis. In fact, Buckley has been described as having a true Franciscan spirit. He is faithful, devout and able to get things done. Buckley’s eyes light up and he smiles when he talks about working with different religious orders through the years. “We wouldn’t have the health care system we have today without the sisters,” said Buckley, who expressed wonder JACK BUCKLEY (left) says one of the highlights of his career in Catholic health care was when Pope John Paul II visited Phoenix in 1987. (Photo above by L’Osservatore Romano; photo at left by Mary P. Walker) in how they are able to solve problems and get people to work together. Whenever he attends a conference, he enjoys reconnecting with those who inspired and influenced him. He is also respected as a mentor, taking the time to help and advise others in their careers. Because the spiritual care of Bishop Vásquez welcomes Year of Faith DURING AN EVENING PRAYER SERVICE at St. Mary Cathedral in Austin on Oct. 10, Bishop Joe Vásquez and several hundred people prayed Evening Prayer and ushered in the Year of Faith. “Brothers and sisters, this is truly a time of grace. In this Year of Faith, the church reminds us that people come to believe in Jesus Christ through credible and joylled witnesses. We are witnesses to all that Jesus has done in our lives,” the bishop said. During the prayer service, the bishop blessed the Year of Faith banners that were distributed to the parishes and Catholic schools in the diocese. The Year of Faith runs through Nov. 24, 2013. For more information, visit www.austindiocese.org. (Photo by Shelley Metcalf) the patient, their families and even the employees is part of the mission, Buckley believes that a Catholic setting offers great benets for delivering and receiving health care. He also appreciates having the teachings of the church to guide the ethical decisions that arise when treating the sick and dying. One of the highlights of his career was when he was president and CEO of St. Joseph Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. In 1985, Bishop Thomas O’Brien asked Buckley if Pope John Paul II were to come to Phoenix, would the hospital be prepared for a visit. Buckley committed that his team would do whatever necessary to be ready for the pope. On Sept. 14, 1987, the visit became a reality. Because the pope was scheduled to meet patients and speak outdoors, security was a concern. There were credible threats against the life of the pontiff; and for protection, sharpshooters were stationed on roofs. The pope was to speak from behind a twoinch thick steel podium with Buckley and the bishop nearby. Buckley knew that if shots were red, they would have to bodily shield the pope and get him inside the podium –– a daunting and dangerous responsibility. Fortunately, the pope’s visit was both inspirational and safe. Wherever he has lived, Buckley has participated in parish life, and served as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion. When he became a member of St. Mary Catholic Center in College Station, he approached Father David Konderla, the pastor, and offered to help. For a man of Buckley’s talents, Father Konderla had a particular job in mind. St. Mary is a college Catholic campus ministry and faces different challenges than those of geographic parishes. For the last three years, Buckley has chaired the statewide leadership committee that advises on how to grow and improve campus ministry programs for the students of Texas A&M University and Blinn College. Because students come from all over Texas and the world, the impact of Buckley’s dedication and the unique way that he shares his faith reach far beyond the local community. For his efforts, Buckley received the diocese’s Lumen Gentium Award, which recognizes lay persons who live their baptismal call in an extraordinary way through stewardship and leadership. “Since I rst met him, Jack has been open and generous with his talents and skills. He is a great inspiration to me personally and professionally, and his example of leadership and self-service is one I hope to emulate,” Father Konderla said. 4 CENTRAL TEXAS C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Helping soldiers on front lines keep the faith BY ENEDELIA J. OBREGÓN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT Cheri Lamonte was interviewing the mother of a military member when she asked the woman what she could do to help her son. The response shocked the Austin-based radio host of “Mary’s Touch.” It also led to the launching of a program to serve the spiritual needs of military personnel. “She asked that I pray for her son, who was 19 and in Afghanistan, and had not seen a priest in nine months,” said Lamonte of the encounter in 2009. “I was sitting in my chair and when I heard that I came out of my chair and said, ‘That can’t be!’” Lamonte, whose program is carried nationwide on 100 radio stations –– including Central Texas on Relevant Radio 970 –– mulled over the situation and thought to herself, “Perhaps I can change that.” She credits the Holy Spirit for helping her nd a way. “If this were my work, it never would have gotten off the ground. But it was the Holy Spirit, and if the Holy Spirit is calling you to do it, you know you have to do something,” said Lamonte, a parishioner at Emmaus Parish in Lakeway. Strengthened in her resolve by prayers and contacts she had made through the years, she quickly launched Frontline Faith, which provides MP3 players preloaded with Christian content to members of the armed forces. Since launching the project, the nonprot organization has put more than 30,000 MP3 players in the hands of military personnel. The goal is 6,000 for 2012. One of those recipients is SFC Paul Rodríguez, chaplain’s assistant in the Texas National Guard with the 36th Infantry Division and a deacon at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Cedar Park. He was in Seattle preparing to leave with his division for deployment to Iraq in December 2010 when his chaplain gave him an MP3 player. “I looked for information about it online and saw that it was part of “Mary’s Touch,” a program I had listened to,” Deacon Rodríguez said. “I contacted her and asked her for 50. She sent 150. They went so fast I asked her for another 400.” He said having the MP3 players is a big help to men and women on the front lines because there are not enough chaplains to meet their spiritual needs. “I was a division senior assistant chaplain in charge of South Iraq,” he said. “There are only 20, which is about one per brigade.” He said the MP3 players are small enough to t in pockets and the ear buds allow each individual to use them as needed. They also are very portable and rechargeable. The MP3 players contain music as well as a talk by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, a Mass recorded at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, letters read from students at the Cathedral School of St. Mary in Austin and the Warrior’s Rosary. It also contains an examination of conscience by Chaplain Col. Jim Evans, a retired priest of the Austin Diocese, who is on the board of the Frontline Faith and serves as the organization’s spiritual director. Father Evans, who was in the Air Force for four years and the Texas National Guard for 20 years where he served in the Middle East, said Catholics make up the largest number of Christians in the military. Of the 1.2 million active duty personnel, about 375,000 are Catholic. There are only 300 priests ministering to them and their dependents. “At times, there may be only a handful of priests in Iraq and Afghanistan. Compare that to World War II, where there were 3,200 Catholic chaplains,” he said. Military personnel are served by priests from the Archdiocese from home, she and her husband pray he will continue living the values with which he has been raised. She also is proud that he has not forgotten his roots, spiritual and cultural as noted by his decision to drape himself with the U.S. and Mexican ags at the Olympics, which raised some controversy in this country. “The Olympics celebrate friendly competition,” Leonel said. “Countries stopped wars and came together without armaments or disputes. When I carried both ags, it was more or less symbolic, trying to bring two countries together.” Leonel plans to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. “I love running,” he said. “If it’s God’s will I will continue doing it ... It’s something I was blessed with. But I still have to work out. God gave me the gift but without hard work and time put in, there’s no way I could have done what I did.” To youngsters who look up to him, he advises nding something they like to do and doing it to the best of their abilities. “Everybody has gifts,” Leonel said. “Some people think they don’t. But even time is a gift. Everybody has that.” Mostly, Leonel said he is grateful to God for everything he has received. “I always thank God for everything he’s given me –– for the good and the bad,” he said. “Sometimes a lot of good can come from the bad. You just don’t see the big picture. You’ve got to thank him even in rough times. It’s all part of his plan. We just don’t understand it.” CHERI LAMONTE, founder of Frontline Faith, shows Deacon Paul Rodríguez one of the MP3 players the organization sends to soldiers who are serving in the military. The devices are loaded with music, a talk by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, a Mass recorded at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, letters read from students at the Cathedral School of St. Mary in Austin and the Warrior’s Rosary. (Photo by Enedelia J. Obregón) LEONEL Continued from Page 1 “He’s a nice kid who’s a hard worker,” said Father Jairo López, pastor of St. John Parish. “He is very humble and so are his parents.” Sara Dutch, a first-grade teacher and fellow parishioner, said Leonel was always a high achiever. “He’s a great role model for kids,” she said. Leonel said he just wants to help kids follow through on their dreams, especially Hispanic youngsters. “Maybe they think, ‘he looks like me’ and if they see success in someone who looks like them it plants the idea in their minds that this Hispanic guy who is only 5’5” is doing well maybe there’s no reason they can’t succeed,” he said. María said that as her eldest child spends more time away for the Military Service, USA, which is led by Archbishop Tomothy P. Broglio. “A lot of people think the military or the government is responsible for the spiritual needs of the men and women the armed forces,” Father Evans said. “The military makes available a wide array of religious services.” However it’s up to the church to ensure that there are priests available to preside at Mass and offer the sacraments. Father Evans said it’s not unusual for priests to y by helicopter into a base, celebrate Mass, hear confessions, minister to the wounded and y out elsewhere a few hours later. When priests are not available, chaplain assistants such as Deacon Rodríguez pick up the slack. “It felt good giving the soldiers something with some ‘meat’ on it,” he said of the MP3 players. “I didn’t have to improvise because I knew it came from good Catholic sources. It made my job a lot easier being able to give them that along with pamphlets and rosaries.” Deacon Rodríguez said that a lot of evangelizing occurs in the military, and he teaches the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults and classes on the sacraments at military camps. Lamonte said the idea for the MP3 players came after talking to Alan Graham, founder of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, who previously suggested them for the homeless. “The things on the MP3 players are timeless,” she said. “The presentation that Bishop Fulton Sheen gave to West Point was in the 1950s, but it’s still appropriate. The Mass and rosary are never dated.” She also called on military families, who quickly responded. One of the recordings is by Rosie Babin of Round Rock, whose son, Alan –– a medic –– was severely wounded in Iraq in 2003. “She talks about the ‘new normal’ for the family,” Lamonte said. “They are stories of how anyone can make it, no matter what happens … anything is possible with God.” Linda MacFarland, a military wife for 20 years, got several bishops to each record a decade of the rosary. “I know it was the Holy Spirit because I began making calls and those people put me in touch with others and before I knew it I had seven hours of material,” Lamonte said. She said she’s had military personnel call her show and tell her they fall asleep at night listening to the recordings because it helps calm them down after stressful days. “Listening to Mass or the rosary helps them relax and lifts their spirits,” Lamonte said. “And isn’t that what it’s all about?” At noon on Veterans Day (Nov. 11), Frontline Faith asks everyone pause to remember those who have died in the line of duty and to pray for those who serve in the military. It costs $24 to get an MP3 player into the hands of a man or woman in the military. To make a donation or get more information on the program, go to www.frontlinefaithproject. org. Donations can be mailed to Frontline Faith, P.O. Box 341991, Austin, TX 78734. November 2012 CENTRAL TEXAS 5 Catholic Archives of Texas moves to Pastoral Center BY MICHELE CHAN SANTOS CORRESPONDENT The Catholic Archives of Texas possess fascinating records that span more than four centuries. The Archives are nationally recognized for preserving the history of the Catholic Church in the Southwest. The collection includes priceless pieces of Texas history, including letters to and from Sam Houston during the Republic of Texas period. Holdings of the Catholic Archives of Texas include records of the Texas Catholic Conference and the Texas Knights of Columbus and its Historical Commission, Texas Catholic Historical Society, and religious associations, societies and Catholic clubs in Texas; papers of Paul J. Foik, William H. Oberste, Sam Houston, Charles S. Taylor, Francis Bouchu; personal papers and biographical les of the bishops and clergy in Texas; dioceses and parish collections; documents dealing with various religious orders formed or stationed in the state; and newspapers, photographs, sacramental records on microlm, Texana and Catholic books, and artifacts relating to the history of the Catholic Church in Texas. Formerly housed at a site near Shoal Creek in Austin, the Archives recently moved to the Diocese of Austin Pastoral Center at 6225 Highway 290 East in Austin. The Archives facility occupies approximately 3,000 square feet, and the collections make up about 2,000 linear feet. The Archives has its own heating and air conditioning system to make sure the historic items are kept at appropriate temperatures. Founded in the 1920s, the Catholic Archives of Texas have been part of the Texas Catholic Conference since 1984. The conference is the primary funding source for the Archives. Additional funding comes from private grants, including a large grant from the Knights of Columbus. “Now that we are housed in the Diocese of Austin Pastoral Center, we can really share the collection and expand what we can make public,” said Maria Huemmer, communication director for the Texas Catholic Conference. “We can work with other ministries more easily because of the convenient location.” The Archives are a wonderful resource for “researchers of all stripes,” said Susan Eason, director of The Catholic Archives of Texas. “We have reference collection books on every aspect of Catholicism in Texas and beyond,” Eason said. “We have les on almost all the parishes in Texas. You can research your own parish or your own region.” Genealogists come to the Archives because of the historic sacramental documents, Eason said. Documents from the early to mid-1800s are available for people researching the genealogy of their families. The collection is open during Pastoral Center hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Appointments must be made in advance. Limited records of baptism, marriage, confirmation, first communion and death are available. “Regarding sacramental records for genealogical research, most of our holdings for this type of record are from the areas now comprised of the present-day dioceses of Austin, Brownsville and Victoria,” Eason said. The staff is delighted to help researchers. Eason is the director and the assistant archivist is Eric J. Hartmann. “Our archivists are a great tool, and the knowledge they have is a real asset,” Huemmer said. “They are easily able to pinpoint what someone is looking for to tie it all together.” The Archives’ staff works closely with the Texas Catholic Historical Society. The society draws from the resources of the Archives to create the journal “Catholic Southwest: A Journal of History and Culture.” This journal has won several awards from the Catholic Press Association for its excellence. The journal’s content reflects not only history, but the Catholic experience expressed through art, architecture, literature, music and other subjects. The move to the Pastoral Center “is a blessing,” Huemmer said. “It’s an opportunity for expansion. This is important. This is our faith, and the history of our church.” For more information about the Catholic Archives of Texas or the Texas Catholic Historical Society, visit http://catholicarchivesoftx. org/. To make an appointment to visit the Archives, call (512) 476-6296 or e-mail [email protected]. THE ODIN CHALICE is part of the collection at the Catholic Archives of Texas. It was given to Bishop Jean Marie Odin, the rst Bishop of Galveston, in 1845. (Photo by Shelley Metcalf) Conference promotes life, dignity of all BY MICHELE SANTOS CORRESPONDENT Loving others without exception was a strong underlying theme of the “Living the Good News” conference held in September at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Austin. It was presented by the Charity and Justice Secretariat of the Diocese of Austin. The conference addressed the Gospel call to promote the life and dignity of every person from conception, throughout their lives until natural death. Bishop Joe Vásquez led the opening prayer and addressed the assembly. “This is an opportunity for us to talk about social justice,” he said. “Our faith is never abstract. It’s about the realities taking place here and now. We’re ready to address the issues of the day. Our faith is practical, it’s down to earth. It’s taking care of the poor and the sick and the imprisoned. Jesus said, ‘what you did to the least of my brothers and sisters you did to me.’ It’s about the reality we live in, right now.” Jack Jezreel, the founder and executive director of JustFaith Ministries in Louisville, Ky., was the keynote speaker. Jezreel has a master of Divinity degree from the University of Notre Dame. He spent six years in a Catholic Worker community and 12 years in parish ministry. He is a dynamic, expressive speaker with a passionate delivery and good sense of humor. Jezreel described the overwhelming feeling of love and devotion he felt upon cradling his rst child, a girl, when she had just been born. “The God we believe in loves every one of us a million times this,” he said, saying his affection for his child was only a tiny fraction of what God feels for us. “The best of Christian prayer includes an openness to God’s will,” Jezreel said. “I would invite us to a posture of prayer throughout the day.” Knowing he was addressing many people who have leadership roles at their parishes or in the diocese, he said, “Traditionally there has been a chasm between pray-ers and doers.” The stereotype, he said, is that people who pray don’t do a lot; and that people who do a lot of the every- day work of ministry don’t pray. “If you do good and don’t pray,” he said dryly, ”you become crabby.” The audience responded with laughter. “The saints do both –– they pray and they do,” he said. “They recognize God is in control and not us.” Jezreel spoke intensely of the difference between philia –– loving your own family and friends –– and agape. Agape means love without exceptions, loving everyone including our enemies, criminals, those who are different from us and those who don’t agree with us. “Our Christian journey is moving from philia to agape,” Jezreel said. After his address (which earned him a standing ovation), conference participants attended sessions on topics including “Criminal Justice: Identifying Parish and Community Resources,” “The Right to Life and the Common Good,” “A Firsthand Report from Haiti,” “Dignity of the Dying: A Catholic View of End of Life Issues,” “A Catholic View of Immigration,” “Spirituality of Sidewalk Ministry” and many more. At “How a Catholic Looks at the Death Penalty,” Bob Van Steenburg of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (www.tcadp.org) spoke of the reasons the death penalty should be abolished. “The Catholic Church says we don’t need the death penalty because societies can protect themselves without it,” Van Steenburg said. “Non-lethal punishment is preferable because it is more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.” Van Steenburg clearly demonstrated how the death penalty is unnecessary, arbitrary and part of a system that is broken. He spoke of the many errors that have occurred and led to innocent men being sentenced to death. “There are good reasons for every person of faith to oppose the death penalty,” Van Steenburg said. Attendees were enthusiastic about how much they were learning at the conference. Susana Carrion of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Cedar Park came to the event because of her involvement in the Respect Life group at her parish. She attended Jezreel’s breakout session on “Roots of Good News.” “He showed us this is what we need to do –– we need to pray,” Carrion said. “We are so busy doing everything we don’t start with ourselves by praying. I’ve learned a lot here.” Geneva Abdelioua and Sylvia Frost are part of the prison ministry at Holy Family Parish in Copperas Cove. In the St. Dismas ministry, they share their faith with imprisoned women at the Mountain View Correction Facility in Gatesville. Their ministry group also holds retreats for men in different units. Abdelioua said she was moved during Jezreel’s address. It touched her “when he emphasized we need to focus on seeing everybody,” she said. Frost said, “I feel very good that I came here today because I’ve learned a lot. I learned not to be afraid. Whatever comes, you take into account how to help people.“ For more information about social justice issues in the Austin Diocese, visit www.austindiocese.org or contact Barbara Budde at (512) 949-2471. 6 CENTRAL TEXAS C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Austin’s Cooperation Texas receives CCHD grant BY ENEDELIA J. OBREGÓN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT When María Muñoz was 14, she started working as a domestic servant. She cared for children, ironed clothes, cleaned house –– even washed windows –– and cooked meals. “One felt humiliated,” said Muñoz. “They treated us badly, but we didn’t have a choice. If you complained they would re you and quickly nd someone else who would take the job.” There were not many employment options in the small community in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, and her income was needed to help her parents and nine siblings. Today, however, Muñoz is part owner of the Dahlia Green Cleaning Services in Austin with Lorena Hernandez, Cyndi Jiménez, Brenda Jiménez and Eva Marroquín. The business was launched in June with the help of Cooperation Texas, an Austinbased nonprot organization founded in 2009 to create sustainable jobs through the development, support and promotion of worker-owned cooperatives. For the rst time, Cooperation Texas received money from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), which allowed them to help Dahlia this summer. Barbara Budde, director of the diocesan Ofce of Social Concerns, said that for many years CCHD has funded economic development grants because “work with good pay is the best path out of poverty.” That nancial aid made a big difference. “Without training and money to help us get started we would not have been able to do this,” Muñoz said. As part of the application process for CDHD aid, the diocese met with the executive director and a worker who was about to become a worker-owner of a new business. “The excitement and pride she had was incredible,” Budde said. “She told stories about working for others who asked her to use chemicals for cleaning she knew would be harmful. She was so ready to launch her business, to do great work and do it in a way she knew would be better for her and for her customers.” Budde said the committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of the grant to Bishop Joe Vásquez. The other bishops who review the approved grants agreed with Bishop Vásquez and gave approval for the project. “Through the generous donations of Catholics to the CCHD collection, workers can be trained to own and run their own businesses, giving them a path out of poverty,” Budde said. “It is a real investment in human life and dignity and is a great way we can act on our faith as we support these workers.” On a recent Sunday morning, Muñoz and Carlos Pérez de Alejo were reconciling the books for the new business. Pérez de Alejo is executive director of Cooperation Texas and helped Muñoz go over the business’s bank statement and copies of the cancelled checks. The ve women take turns doing the bookkeeping and all vote on business decisions. Cooperation Texas also provides the legal and educational support to help businesses succeed, which is vital for success, since small businesses have a high failure rate. According to startupbusinesshub.com about 85 percent of small businesses fail within the rst year; the failure rate is reduced to 55 percent by year four and 35 percent after 10 years. The most prevalent reasons are lack of business experience, poor planning and under capitalization. Pérez de Alejo said the coop is a tool to lift people out of poverty and has a proven track record in low-income communities. Cooperation Texas is the only worker cooperative development center in Texas and provides education, training and technical assistance to existing and startup worker cooperatives. “Studies have shown that cooperative businesses have a lower failure rate than conventional businesses,” Pérez de Alejo said. “Multiple people are investing money and it spreads the risk and benets versus having one or two people. It democratizes the wealth and ownership.” So far, Cooperation Texas has launched Dahlia, a worker-owned green cleaning cooperative, and the Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery, a workerowned vegan bakery whose products are available in several retail businesses. Instead of being driven solely by prots, worker cooperatives also measure success by the well-being of workers, CARLOS PÉREZ DE ALEJO, executive director of Cooperation Texas, helps María Muñoz with bookkeeping for Dahlia Green Cleaning Services. Muñoz is one of ve women who co-own the business with help from Cooperation Texas, which received a grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. (Photo by Enedelia J. Obregón) the sustainability of the business and overall contribution to the community and the environment. The co-op method focuses on creating jobs that are dignied for people and the planet, that help lift people out of poverty and generate wealth for future generations. Pérez de Alejo said the beauty of a co-op is that the workers are the owners; therefore, they are empowered to make the best decision not just for the bottom line, but for themselves and their families. Muñoz, 29, likes being her own boss. “We earn better salaries and we control our hours,” she said. “I want to be able to spend time with my family.” In Mexico, she earned very little and lived with the family she worked for, seeing her son only on weekends. The community in which she lived was a two-hour bus ride away from the city in which she worked and she couldn’t afford to go home every night. “He was calling my sister ‘mama,’” she said. “She took care of him while I worked.” She came to the U.S. in 2004 as a young widow with her toddler in tow because she wanted a better life for him. She worked as a live-in servant for ve years, and was grateful she was given a room to live in with him. But there were others who were not so generous, telling her they would be back at a certain time and arriving hours later, not bothering to pay her extra. She has since remarried and now also has two daughters and she dreams of a different future for her three children that includes a college education. She is strict about homework and insists on no television. “I am doing this for their future,” she said. “I want them to have good jobs and not suffer like me. This kind of work is very hard.” She hopes her co-op business will succeed so she can help her family in Mexico. She has not seen them since she left because it is too dangerous due to the increasing drug-related violence. Muñoz knows it will take a lot of work, but she is no stranger to hard labor. “Things here are easy compared to Mexico,” she said. “That’s why when we come here we do so much work other people don’t want to do.” Pérez de Alejo said coopera- tives focus on systemic change, which take time but benet lowincome communities better than simple charity. “The difference between charity and solidarity is that in solidarity the people affected by inequality are in the driver’s seat. They know the needs that need to be addressed,” he said. In the cooperative businesses, the worker/owners make the decisions equally. Cooperation Texas staff is there solely to help. “We need fewer sprinters and more long-distance runners,” Pérez de Alejo said. “Systemic change takes time. Look at Civil Rights; those changes were not provided overnight.” For information on the Dahlia Green Cleaning Services, visit www.dahlia.coop or call (512) 786-4249. For information on Cooperation Texas, visit www.cooperationtexas.coop or call (512) 948-3423. What is the Catholic Campaign for Human Development? The annual special collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development will be taken up in parishes Nov. 17-18. CCHD is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by funding community programs that encourage independence. CCHD is the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic Bishops which works to address the root causes of poverty in the U.S. through promotion and support of community controlled, self-help organizations. CCHD works with Catholic dioceses and their bishops to award grants to local, low-income community groups working to address the causes of poverty. By helping the poor to participate in the decisions and actions that affect their lives, CCHD offers a hand up, not a hand out, helping people and communities overcome injustice, escape poverty, and build bridges of solidarity. For more information, visit www.usccb.org/cchd. CENTRAL TEXAS November 2012 7 Cavins comes to Emmaus in Lakeway Kreeft visits St. John Neumann in Austin Jeff Cavins, a well-known author and Catholic speaker, will visit Emmaus Parish in Lakeway Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. On Friday evening, he will present “Defeating Our Goliaths: Preparing Your Heart for the Season of Advent” from 7 to 9 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. On Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Cavins will present “Psalms: The School of Prayer.” The cost is $40 per person. Seating is limited, so registration and payments must be made in advance. For more information, call Emmaus Parish at (512) 261-8500, ext. 310 or e-mail [email protected]. St. John Neumann Parish in Austin will host several presentations by Dr. Peter Kreeft, a theologian and writer of more than 40 books, on Dec. 1-2. A retreat entitled “Whom Do We Meet in the Eucharist?” will be held Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kreeft will also give a dinner presentation the evening of Dec. 1; he will explore Catholic and Muslim relations. On Dec. 2 at 10:15 a.m., he will discuss “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven.” To register, visit http://peterkreeft.eventbrite.com. Life Center hosts second benet dinner The John Paul II Life Center of Austin will present “Let Freedom Ring” Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at the AT&T Center in Austin. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, will be the keynote speaker and will address the importance of our First Amendment rights and the impending HHS Mandate. Bishop Joe Vásquez will give the invocation. During the evening, the Dignity of Life Award will be presented to Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Hilgers, founder of NaProTechnology –– state-of-the art reproductive and gynecological health care. The John Paul II Life Center opened in 2010 and seeks to build a Culture of Life throughout Central Texas. Individual tickets are $50 and sponsorships at varying levels are available by visiting www.JP2LifeCenter.org or by calling (512) 407-2900. Men’s discernment retreat is Dec. 14-16 “Heart of Jesus,” a discernment retreat for Catholic men ages 18 to 45, will be held Dec. 14-16 at Cedarbrake Catholic Retreat Center in Belton. Men with an openness to a priestly vocation and at varying stages of discernment are invited to the weekend, which will include silence, prayer, meals and discussion. For more information, contact the Vocation Ofce at (512) 949-2430 or [email protected]. MEDICAL SERVICES DIRECTORY To advertise in the Catholic Spirit Medical Services Directory, call (512) 949-2443, or e-mail [email protected]. FAMILY DENTISTRY family dentistry tim tischler, d.d.s. 3821 Juniper Trace, Suite 201 Austin, TX 78738 phone (512) 402-1955 www.drtimtischler.com Prayer service for deceased children is Dec. 9 St. Thomas More Parish in Austin will host an Ecumenical Prayer Service for deceased children on Dec. 9. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with appetizers and fellowship, and the prayer service will begin at 7 p.m. This evening will be lled with prayer, compassion, music, the reading of each child’s name and the lighting of each child’s candle. Candles will be provided. For information, contact Dottie at [email protected] or (512) 992-4921 by Dec. 1. Men invited to learn more about the diaconate Men interested in learning more about the formation process for the permanent diaconate are invited along with their wives to attend one of the upcoming information sessions, which will be offered in both Spanish and English, Nov. 4, Nov. 18, Dec. 9 and Jan. 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Pastoral Center in Austin. Men are encouraged to discuss this with their wives and they should have their pastor’s approval before attending a session. Documents outlining the Qualities and Characteristics of a Deacon and Requirements for Admission into Deacon Formation are available at www.austindiocese.org/resources.php?dept_id=8. For information, contact Deacon Tom Johnson at (512) 949-2410 or [email protected] or Deacon Dan Lupo at (512) 949-2411 or [email protected] or Deacon Jessie Esquivel at [email protected] or 1-806-773-5706. OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY The Vitae Clinic Jeremy Kalamarides, D.O. The Jefferson Building 1600 W. 38th St, Ste 115 Austin, TX 78731 512-458-6060 The Vitae Clinic, Inc., provides wellness, prenatal, delivery and postnatal care for women, expectant mothers and babies in accord with the teachings of the Catholic Church in conformity with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare services. WEIGHT LOSS Ideal Weight Loss Medical Clinics This will be your LAST Diet No drugs 100% natural Medically monitored Lose ONLY fat Preserve lean muscle Anthony Hicks, MD, MPH 4100 Duval Rd., Bldg IV, Ste 202, Austin (512) 577-6187 12912 Hill Country Blvd, Bldg F, Ste 238, Austin (512) 470-9470 www.LastDietATX.com OPTOMETRY ORTHODONTICS Oak Hill Eye Care Braces for Children and Adults Examination & Treatment of Eye Disease Lasik Surgery Contact Lenses & Optical David W. Tybor, O.D. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (512) 288-0444 6000 W. William Cannon Bldg A, Suite 100, Austin www.oakhilleyecare.com Michael Dillingham, D.D.S. 2 convenient locations in Austin Call (512) 836-7924 or (512) 447-5194 to schedule a complimentary consultation FAMILY PRACTICE EAR, NOSE AND THROAT FAMILY & INTERNAL MEDICINE Joseph M. C. Leary, M.D. William Stavinoha, M.D. Diplomate, American Board of Otolaryngology Pediatric and Adult Including Ear Diseases Sinus Surgery Thyroid and Neck Surgery 6811 Austin Center Blvd., Ste. 300 Austin, Texas 78731 (512) 346-8888 Dominion Family Healthcare Family Practice –– Board Certied 11671 Jollyville Road #102 Austin, TX (512) 338-5088 www.stavinohamd.com Board certied in Family Medicine & Internal Medicine (512) 834-9999 6301 Parmer Ln. W. Suite 102 Austin,TX 78729-6802 THYROID & ENDOCRINOLOGY 8 CENTRAL TEXAS C ATHOLIC S PIRIT St. Joseph students promote the culture of life BY MARY P. WALKER SENIOR CORRESPONDENT For the last ve years, St. Joseph School’s Eagles for Life club in Bryan promoted the culture of life primarily by focusing on the rights of the unborn. As visible witnesses, they stood and prayed outside a local abortion facility, led prayers after Mass and marched to the Capitol in the Texas Rally for Life. While continuing these efforts, this student-led high school club is broadening their pro-life outreach to help those whose human dignity is not always honored by society. “I believe that making students aware of the many ways in which society marginalizes the elderly, the poor, those with disabilities, and of course, the unborn, helps them feel an urgent need to reach out to make a difference,” said Patty Blazak, faculty adviser of Eagles for Life. As a result of this renewed focus, the Eagles are volunteering at a local food bank and have made an ongoing commitment to the Down Syndrome Association of the Brazos Valley (DSABV). This organization provides information, assistance and support to families and those with Down syndrome, allowing them to be contributing members of society and lead full lives within the community. Blazak explained that the students’ work with DSABV is a natural extension of their efforts on behalf of the unborn. While statistics vary, the most conservative estimates indicate that well over half of the babies diagnosed with Down syndrome before birth are aborted. Even those children welcomed into loving families face challenges. One challenge is isolation. Sondra White, mother of 14year old Quentin and secretary of the DSABV, said, “Although kids with Down syndrome are included in public schools, they are still, in many respects, excluded in our society –– not intentionally –– but because we’ve not yet evolved to the point where differences are truly recognized and utilized, versus shufed away and sometimes hidden from view.” Forming trusting friendships is the antidote to isolation, and the Eagles are volunteering for projects that allow them to get to know members of the DSABV community. With little or no experience being around those with Down syndrome, the students had to deal with their own apprehension. However, they were quickly inspired by the welcoming, open and positive attitude of the young men and women they met. “Their lives are so much harder than our own. Yet, they are so joyful and happy,” said Joel White (no relation to Sondra), president of the Eagles. The club began by volunteering to help with a cooking class that the DSABV sponsors each month. Learning how to cook is not only an important life skill, it also reinforces many other skills. Cooking requires following directions, measuring, manual dexterity and the use of appliances and utensils. Also, cooking is a way to teach nutritious eating. The DSABV learned that if the young men and women cook their own healthy food, they are more likely to eat a healthy diet. For the September class, the Eagles volunteered to act as mentors to help the participants learn how to make tacos. The mentor’s job was to encourage, ensure safety and help the aspiring cook follow the recipe. In this one-to-one partnership, the learning went both ways. “The value to the Eagles is that they are experiencing rsthand what it’s like to have special needs, such as Down syndrome. They see how difcult it is to do things that come naturally to so many kids of that age. They see our kids work through these challenges until they are successful,” said Sondra White. Not only were delicious tacos prepared, everybody had fun in the process. The Eagles plan to continue volunteering with their new friends. On Oct.7, the Eagles again helped the DSABV during the Buddy Walk in College Station. This annual community event brought together approximately 1,500 to celebrate the abilities and accomplishments EAGLES FOR LIFE, a group at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Bryan, regularly volunteer at the Down Syndrome Association of the Brazos Valley. (Photo courtesy Patty Blazak) of those with Down syndrome. The Eagles hosted a booth and raised funds to walk the one mile course. Once again, the Eagles learned valuable lessons. Society and media often focus on the challenges facing those with special needs and their families, while forgetting about the blessings that come from accepting all people as gifts from God. Those with Down syndrome are not merely people who need help and services. They have much to give to any community willing to be open, patient and accepting of their differences. Bailey DiStefano, club vice president, explained that the joy and happiness of the children and their families demonstrated that having special needs is not the same as having a “bad” life. Rather, the love of caring families and friends, including high school volunteers, not only makes a difference in the lives of those with Down syndrome, but also allows their gifts to enrich the entire community. Fire displaces residents at Annunciation in Georgetown re displaced 14 young women and 12 babies. Christie Aaronson, cofounder of the home that Annunciation Maternity shelters and educates teenHome in Georgetown needs agers and women experiencdonations and volunteers after a ing crisis pregnancies, said a BY ENEDELIA J. OBREGÓN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT CHRISTIE AARONSON inspects the damage caused by a grease re in the kitchen of the Rita House at Annunciation Maternity Home in Georgetown. Fourteen young mothers and 12 babies were displaced by the re. (Photo by Enedlia J. Obregón) grease re on the stove damaged the kitchen and living room at the Rita House. “They were homeless to begin with and now they’re homeless again,” Aaronson said. The Oct. 7 re was quickly contained by the Georgetown Fire Department. “It was mostly smoke damage in the kitchen and nearby living room,” Aaronson said. “But we’re going to have to replace the stove and kitchen cabinets and repaint.” The furniture in the living room next to the kitchen will also need to be replaced, so Aaronson is looking for gently-used living room furniture. The dorm rooms received the least damage since they are away from the kitchen and everything in them can be washed and cleaned. However, the home will have to replace all baby items other than clothing, which can be washed, as well as utensils, plastic ware, pots and pans, and baby bottles, dishes and toys. “Anything that babies might put in their mouths has to be replaced,” she said. Aaronson said the young moms and moms-to-be are now living with family or guardians. Most of them are from Travis and Williamson counties, although a few came from communities more than a two-hour drive away. “Thankfully, we didn’t have anyone from out of state,” she said, noting that they once had a young woman from Pennsylvania. Although the home has insurance, it will have to pay the deductible, which will run into the thousands of dollars, Aaronson said. Volunteers are taking homework to the girls while they are away and they have also washed some clothing to take to the girls. To make a donation, volunteer or provide items for the home visit www.thematernityhome.org. Monetary donations made out to Annunciation Maternity Home and mailed to 3610 Shell Rd., Georgetown, 78628. CENTRAL TEXAS November 2012 9 Diocesan appeal kicks off in parishes Nov. 3-4 BY CATHOLIC SPIRIT STAFF The Catholic Services Appeal for the Austin Diocese kicks off in parishes Nov. 3-4. This year’s theme is “Go and Make Disciples.” Scott Whitaker, diocesan director of Stewardship and Development, said the Catholic Services Appeal supports the diocese in its mission of making, forming and nourishing disciples, and assisting the clergy, religious and lay people who carry out this mission across Central Texas. Through donations to the CSA, parishioners help sup- port men in their education and formation for the priesthood or the diaconate and they help care for retired priests; they provide leadership and liturgical training for youth ministers and those serving our multicultural communities; through Catholic Charities, they extend a helping hand to the poor and to families in need; they help support thousands of students and teachers in Catholic schools and catechists who teach religious education to thousands Through gifts to the Cathoof children and adults; and they enhance the spirituality and wor- lic Services Appeal, donors enable parishes to carry out the ship of parishioners. programs and ministries that they otherwise would not be able to fund themselves, Whitaker said. There are currently 43 seminarians in the diocese. Half of the money raised through CSA goes to support the seminarians as they prepare for their day of ordination. Whitaker said donors who give to the CSA help to eliminate that financial burden on our future priests, thus freeing the seminarians “so they really can focus on their work, their studies, and their formation to become better priests.” He also stressed that every gift to the Catholic Services Appeal is important and appreciated because every dollar goes toward helping the local church. Even if a family is unable to nancially support the appeal this year, a gift of prayers is even more important. “Every gift in support of the CSA counts. You don’t have to make a large gift to be counted. Anything helps,” Whitaker said. Pledge cards have been mailed and will be distributed at all the Masses during the first week of November. To donate, ll out the pledge card and mail it in or donate online at www.austindiocese.org. Aggie Knights named Outstanding College Council THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS named Texas A&M University Council 10624 in College Station the Outstanding College Council of 2011-2012. The award was presented at the annual college conference in New Haven, Conn., Sept. 28-30. This marks the third time in six years the council has received this award. “The Aggie Knights are extremely honored. We thank all who made it possible and look forward to continuing to serve our church and community,” said Grand Knight Will Rooney. Service has been the hallmark of the council throughout the year. Projects included rebuilding the local parish rectory’s garage, transforming a run-down rental property into a home for a single mother and her children, providing hundreds of holy cards, religious medals, rosaries, scapulars and copies of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to military personnel deployed in Afghanistan, hosting a number of social events and a youth retreat, standing vigil during a local “40 Days for Life” campaign, helping to organize the “Run for Their Lives” 5K fundraiser that brought in $2,000 for scholarships to help pregnant and parenting students on campus, and sponsoring a “Go Roman Week” campaign to recruit new members in the fall semester. (Photo courtesy Knights of Columbus) COURAGE OF AUSTIN Homosexuality and Hope Call Fr. Becker: (512) 863-3041 (must dial area code from Austin) [email protected] [email protected] www.couragerc.net Abortion in your past? 1-877-WeCare2 1 - 8 7 7 - 9 3 2-2 7 3 2 [email protected] www.austindiocese.org/projectrachel Trips to Scotland, France, Ireland, Shrines of Europe and much more... ranging from $3,599—$4,699 for 2013. Prices are ALL-INCLUSIVE W/ Airfare from anywhere in the continental USA To advertise, call (512) 949-2443 or e-mail [email protected]. Italy/Switzerland: Apr. 6-18, Apr. 13-25, Apr. 20-May 2, Apr. 27-May 9, May 4-16 … Italy Regular: Apr. 6-14, Apr. 13-21, Apr. 20-28, Apr. 27-May 5, May 4-12, May 11-19... Holy Land: Apr. 1-11, Apr. 8018, Apr. 15-25, Apr. 22-May 2, Apr. 29-May 9, May 6-16... Holy Land/Italy: Apr. 1-14, Apr. 8-21, Apr. 15-28, Apr. 22-May 5, Apr. 29-May 12 … Italy South: Apr. 27-May 9, May 4-16, May 11-23, May 18-30, Jun. 15-27 … Italy/Lourdes/Fatima: Apr. 20-May 2, Apr. 27-May 9, May 4-16, May 11-23 … www.proximotravel.com email: [email protected] 855-842-8001 Carmela A. Dupuis | Executive Director 10 IN OUR WORLD C ATHOLIC S PIRIT ‘Unafliated’ numbers point to evangelization needs The number of self-identified Catholics has remained relatively constant, changing from 23 percent in 2007 to 22 percent in 2012. Mark M. Gray, director of Catholic polls and a research associate at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA, said that while most of Pew’s data ts with what CARA has found, he disagrees with one oft-repeated explanation for the unchanged percentage of Catholics in the country. Pew senior researcher Greg Smith said the percentage of Catholics is likely unchanged because immigrants are balancing out those who leave the church. But Gray said the math for that assumption doesn’t add up. The rate of immigration has leveled off, he said. So as the overall population rises, if the number of Catholics was dependent upon immigration, the percentage of Catholics in the country would be showing more of a decline. Instead, Gray said “reverts,” or Catholics who return to the church after a time away, account for some of the steady numbers. He also thinks that Catholics who don’t tants to identify themselves as unafliated. CARA’s studies show “there Majorities of the 20 percent of Americans who are not are a lot of nonpracticing Cathoreligiously affiliated believe in God and think of A Pew study on the increase lics who still identify as Cathothemselves as religious or spiritual. in the number of religiously lics,” he said. unafliated people and a sharp Gray said Pew’s numbers for LIC decline in the number of those people under 30 who are unafUB LP ED A who consider themselves Protliated with any faith is a sign AT ED R ILI AT NE F E F ILI estant may show no drop in for concern, however. G A F . F N S A U U. How important is numbers of Catholics, but anaThe study said just 18 per% % % religion in your life? lysts say it’s still a cautionary tale cent of Catholics are between very/somewhat 80 33 91 for the church. the ages of 18 and 29, while not too/not at all 18 65 8 The “’Nones’ On The Rise” 35 percent of the country’s restudy released Oct. 9 by the Pew ligiously unafliated are in that Forum on Religion & Public age bracket. Do you believe in God or universal spirit? Life needs to be taken by the Younger Catholics are living church as guidance to focus in a society that’s more inteyes, certain 69 30 77 more on the basic teachings grated across faith lines, Gray yes, less certain 23 38 20 of Jesus, said several people noted, adding social pressures no 7 27 2 who work in shaping leaders in to a natural tendency of young Catholic ministry. adults to distance themselves Frequency of prayer The study found that in four from their parents’ religion. daily 58 21 66 years, the percentage of AmeriTwo professors who work weekly/monthly 21 20 22 cans describing themselves as in the area of Catholic evangeseldom/never 19 58 11 unaffiliated with any religion lization see in the study clear grew from just more than 15 signs for what the church needs Think of self as... percent to just less than 20 perto do. religious 65 18 75 cent. It found that a third of “We have to view this as spiritual, not religious 18 37 15 adults under 30 have no relia call and an opportunity,” not spiritual or religious 15 42 8 gious afliation, compared to said Julie Burkey, coordinator 21 percent of the next older age of the Center for Workplace Source: Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life ©2012 CNS bracket, 30-49, 15 percent of 50Spirituality and adjunct proto 64-year-olds and 9 percent of fessor of pastoral theology at Pope Benedict has been say- encourage “the faithful to be those over age 65. Seton Hall University and Im- ing “let’s put forth who Jesus heralds of good news.” Most of those who said they maculate Conception School Christ is first,” Burkey said. For instance, preaching are “nothing in particular” or should be inviting, engaging otherwise unaffiliated with a people on the “good news” of faith (including atheists and ag- “There’s an opportunity here, when you hear that people faith, he said. “What do young nostics), apparently previously are not afliated but they believe in God ... Deep inside the adults want? Are there parishes identied as white Protestants, where young adults are onwhose numbers were down to human person there is recognition of a God, a creator.” line, with a robust social media –– Julie Burkey, professor who works with Catholic evangelization presence and events that cover 48 percent nationwide from 53 percent in 2007. Black and young adults’ range of interests? “other minority” Protestant Do events take place at times churches showed no decline in practice the faith regularly may of Theology in South Orange, “That relationship, that love, and places that are convenient the same period. be more reluctant than Protes- N.J. that importance in our lives for them? Can young adults see She noted that this month, makes others want to be a part themselves in the church?” THE PERCENTAGE OF RELIGIOUSLY UNAFFILIATED bishops and other leaders from of it: If you want to be a part of Ryan, a church historian by AMERICANS has rapidly increased in the past five years. around the world are attend- it, the rules help you do that. If training, said Catholicism has ing a synod on evangelization, one is going to value a relation- always faced ups and downs in called by Pope Benedict XVI to ship with Jesus Christ, then people feeling like the church 20% address this very issue, among going to Mass, receiving the was relevant to them. others. For example, he said, in Eucharist, are what you want “Pope Benedict says we’ve to do.” 13th-century Europe, urban not done a good job” of makThomas Ryan, professor populations were growing fast ing the Gospel of Jesus the rst at Loyola University, New Or- and the church’s monastic struc15% thing people hear, she said. leans, and director of its Insti- ture was poorly equipped to deal Pew found that more than tute for Ministry, said he thinks with that type of growth. But the two-thirds of the unafliated say the study points to the need mendicant orders such as the they believe in God and more for better Catholic ministry to Dominicans and Franciscans than half say they think of them- young adults. arose, with a focus on preaching 10% selves as spiritual or religious. “The church has put a to this new urban population, o ULAR: one wh “There’s an opportunity lot of effort and money into Ryan said. NOTHING IN PARTIC ent to a faith group. here, when you hear that people youth ministry, which I think At the time, he said, “that professes no attachm are not afliated but they believe is very important,” Ryan said. was a very strange thing to do. in God,” she said. “Deep inside “But I wonder about putting But for the people not being the human person there is rec- the same effort into young ministered to it was what was 5% ognition of a God, a creator.” adult ministry. Without faith- needed.” believes it is impossible The study noted that more ful, young adults we won’t He cited the Jesuits’ founder, AGNOSTIC: one who . God a is re the not than two-thirds of the religiously have any youth for youth min- St. Ignatius of Loyola, saying to know whether or unafliated say faith institutions istry.” “we need to go in their door so . ieves there is no God ATHEIST: one who bel are too concerned with money He said young adults need that we can invite them out our 0% and power, focus too much on to nd more in their parishes to door.” 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 rules and are too involved with keep them involved. “It’s really important to politics. Burkey said that also Like Burkey, Ryan said the listen to young adults, go in Source: Aggregated date from surveys conducted by the presents an opportunity. church should try harder to through their door,” he said. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 2007-2012. ©2012 CNS BY PATRICIA ZAPOR CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE Religious Affiliation November 2012 IN OUR WORLD 11 Vicar general of Tyler Diocese named its bishop BY SUSAN DE MATTEO CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Msgr. Joseph E. Strickland, the 53-year-old vicar general of the Diocese of Tyler, to serve as its bishop. The appointment was announced in Washington Sept. 29 by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the U.S. Bishop-designate Strickland succeeds Bishop Alvaro Corrada del Rio, who was named bishop of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, in 2011 after heading the Tyler Diocese for more than a decade. He will be ordained a bishop and installed Nov. 28 at a special Mass to be celebrated in Caldwell Auditorium in Tyler. At a Sept. 29 news conference in Tyler, Bishop-delegate Strickland called his appointment a “joyful message” and said he was “grateful to God” for the opportunity given him. “It’s a joyful message we share today,” he said to fellow priests, deacons, consecrated religious, lay faithful and local press. “My greatest joy has always been to gather around the altar of Christ with you. “I know this is a tremendous challenge,” the bishopdesignate said. “But I’m here with family.” Bishop-designate Strickland said he will dedicate his ministry as bishop to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and said his episcopal motto will be, “To dwell in the house of the Lord.” Joseph Edward Strickland was born Oct. 31, 1958, in Fredericksburg to Raymond and Monica Strickland, but the family moved to Texarkana in 1959 and then to Atlanta in 1963. He graduated from Atlanta High School in 1977 and entered Holy Trinity Seminary and the University of Dallas in Irving. He received a bachelor’s in philosophy in 1981 and continued his seminary studies. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Dallas on June 1, 1985, by Bishop Thomas Tschoepe and was assigned as parochial vicar at then Immaculate Conception Parish in Tyler. In 1987, when the Diocese of Tyler was created from the Dioceses of Dallas, Beaumont and Galveston-Houston, Father Strickland was incardinated as a priest of the Tyler Diocese. He was named director of vocations by Bishop Charles E. Herzig. In 1992, he entered The Catholic University of America in Washington to study canon law. He received his licentiate in canon law in May 1994, and was named rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler. He was appointed judicial vicar for the Tyler Diocese by Bishop Edmond Carmody in 1995. In 1996, Pope John Paul II named him a monsignor. When Bishop Carmody was transferred to the Diocese of Corpus Christi in 2000, thenMsgr. Strickland was elected administrator of the Tyler Dio- cese by fellow priests serving as consultors. He served in that position until Bishop Corrada was installed as third bishop of the diocese in January 2001. Bishop Corrada named him vicar general of the diocese in 2010, and he served in that post until Bishop Corrada’s transfer to the Diocese of Mayaguez in July 2011. The Diocese of Tyler covers more than 23,000 square miles and encompasses 33 counties in northeast Texas. The total population of the area is about 1.4 million people; about 55,000, or 4 percent, are Catholic. POPE BENEDICT XVI has appointed Msgr. Joseph E. Strickland to serve as bishop of Tyler. (CNS photo by Felipe Natera, courtesy Bishop T.K. Gorman Regional Catholic School) Women urged to take voices to public square BY CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE When the National Council of Catholic Women chose “Be the Voice of Catholic Women” as the theme of its 2012 convention, the organization’s members probably didn’t foresee how relevant those six words would be in today’s political and cultural environment. The annual gathering was held Sept. 19-22 in Myrtle Beach. Among the more than 540 participants who attended were Judy Edwards (current president of the Austin Diocesan Council of Catholic Women), Mary Thompson (presidentelect of the DCCW), Eunice Washa, Father Melvin Dornak (spiritual advisor of the DCCW) and Father Don Loftin (spiritual advisor of the Austin Council of the DCCW). They heard speakers discuss how vital it is to spread the message in the public square, especially when religious liberty is threatened by, among other things, the HHS mandate on contraception. Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone of Charleston was the principal celebrant of the opening Mass Sept. 20. He was joined by more than 30 priests who are spiritual advisers for women’s councils around the U.S. The bishop praised the work that women do in the daily life of the church, and said it is more necessary today than ever before. He urged attendees to not be discouraged by troubles at the national level or in their personal lives, and to turn to God for solutions and encouragement. “If we are willing to confront and not run away from problems, the presence of Christ will sustain us,” Bishop Guglielmone said. “As we try to conquer the evils of our times, we need to remember we don’t want to defeat people, we want to convert them. We want them to see the presence of Christ.” Increased involvement also was encouraged by John Carr, a fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics and former executive director of the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, who gave the keynote address. “This is not a time for discouragement, but a time for increased engagement,” he said. Carr said women play a vital role in spreading the church’s message, educating the culture about the sanctity of all human life, and standing up for the most vulnerable in society, including the unborn, the elderly and disabled, poor people and immigrants. But taking sides will only dilute the message, he said. “We’re not factions or interest groups but one family of faith,” Carr said. “We can divide up the work, but we shouldn’t divide up the church.” William Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte, N.C., noted that the college was one of the rst to le a lawsuit against the HHS mandate requiring employers, including most religious employers, to provide free contraceptive coverage to their workers. He urged attendees to develop their own sense of gratitude and faith as a defense against secular culture. “If God took everything away from me, I could still never be thankful enough for what he’s given me up this point,” Thierfelder said. “If we overlook praise and thanksgiving to God each day, we have lost before we have even begun to ght.” Thierfelder said an overwhelming self-centeredness in American culture has led to everything from the breakdown of the family to today’s debates about contraception, abortion, health care and poverty. Sacrice and service, already familiar to many women, is the true key to a happy life nurtured by God’s grace, he said. Elizabeth Scalia, the final keynote speaker on Sept. 22, encouraged the faithful to embrace the Internet and new technology as a potent tool for evangelism. Scalia is a writer and managing editor of the Catholic portal at www.Patheos.com, where she writes The Anchoress blog. She said too many people regard the Internet as the devil’s tool and don’t engage in the medium with the voice and truths of the faith. Scalia noted that Pope Benedict XVI embraces the Internet’s evangelistic power, and described the diverse Catholic population who use new media, from young couples with podcasts to the woman who started http://Catholicmom.com. “People who never thought they were or could be evangelizers are slowly but surely being formed by the Holy Spirit to share their voices,” she said. “People who thought that all they could ever do for the church was iron altar cloths are on the Internet. The new evangelization is astonishing ... that’s how the Holy Spirit moves. In the end, it’s not about prot, but becoming modernday prophets.” People need to pray to nd the way God wants them to communicate, Scalia said, because their voices are needed more than ever in a world where everything from pop culture to politics seems ever more hostile to Christianity. She said the partisanship and downright meanness that inltrates nearly every discussion of faith and politics, from mainstream media to comment boxes on blogs, shouldn’t drive people away. “Cling to the word and God will take you where he wants you to go,” she said. “I don’t see how Catholics have a choice but to get engaged in the public discussion. If we don’t ght for our faith and identify as Catholics, we’re going to lose our identity and our freedom. ... You can’t be a hammer, but you can share the truth when you know you have the church behind you.” Workshops throughout the four-day event focused on how women could reach out to the poor, young adults and victims of domestic violence, how to nurture vocations and a pro-life message in a secular culture, and how to nurture true Catholic womanhood. Sally Jackson, of the Diocese of Knoxville, Tenn., received NCCW’s highest honor, the 2012 Our Lady of Good Counsel award, for nearly 50 years of service to the organization from the parish to the national level. She has worked with a variety of community outreaches, and is dedicated to promoting Catholic values. Jackson said her involvement with the council helped her grow from a shy young mother from a rural background to someone who was not afraid to speak out in public. “Bringing the voice of Catholic women to the world is truly essential right now ... I really believe that,” Jackson said. 12 IN OUR WORLD C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Defending life, liberty part of the new evangelization BY MARK ZIMMERMANN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE At what is a critical time for American Catholics to stand up in defense of life and religious freedom, they must engage in the church’s new evangelization effort, deepening their faith and sharing it in their everyday lives and in the public square, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori said Oct. 14. He made the comments in the homily at a Mass and Pilgrimage for Life and Liberty at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. “If we want to turn back the powerful incursions of secularism against the dignity of human life and the freedom to practice our faith, then we must heed the call of Pope Benedict XVI to engage in the new evangelization, to stand with Christ, to know our faith, to love our faith, (and) to share our faith,” he said. Archbishop Lori, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, was the main celebrant at the Mass, which drew a standing room crowd of an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 people. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganó, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., was in attendance. The Mass and pilgrimage are part of the U.S. bishops’ annual Respect Life prayer campaign; each year October is designated as Respect Life Month by the U.S. Catholic Church. The liturgy concluded with eucharistic adoration and the launch of an Oct. 14-22 Rosary Novena for Life and Liberty. “This afternoon, we speak with one voice as we raise our voices in supplication to God for the protection of our rst and most cherished freedom, religious liberty and for the protection of all life, from conception to natural death,” Msgr. Walter R. Rossi, shrine rector, told the congregation. The overflow crowd filling the national shrine included families with babies in strollers, and senior citizens and people with disabilities in wheelchairs. People came from not only the Washington area but many other states as well. The opening procession included a Knights of Columbus color guard of 120 men wearing white, gold, green, purple and blue plumed hats. During the eucharistic adoration and rosary novena, the diverse congregation crowding the pews and aisles knelt and prayed together for life and liberty. As Mass opened, Archbishop Lori thanked people for coming from near and far “as a family of faith united in our defense of life and liberty.” In his homily, the archbishop warned that “for some time now, both life and liberty have been under assault ... (by) a secularism that relentlessly seeks to marginalize the place of faith in our society.” He also noted, “When man and woman are no longer perceived to be created in the image of God, then, sooner or later, their lives and their liberties become dispensable.” Archbishop Lori pointed out how, in the nearly 40 years since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand in its Roe v. Wade decision, more than 50 million unborn children have lost their lives through abortion. The secularist assault on life, he said, can also be seen in efforts in the U.S. to legalize assisted suicide and to redene marriage. Archbishop Lori emphasized the key threat to life and liberty posed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate requiring “most religious and private employers to fund and facilitate abortion-inducing drugs, sterilizations and contraception against their convictions if they engage in hiring or offer services deemed by the government to be ‘secular.’” A narrow religious exemption applies only to those reli- gious employers who seek to inculcate their religion and who primarily employ and serve people of their own faith. The mandate is currently being challenged in courts around the country by Catholic dioceses and agencies and other religious individuals and groups. In his homily, Archbishop Lori pointed out the irony in those advocating “freedom of choice” are trying to force people of faith to violate their religions’ teachings. “Our ‘right to choose’ –– our right to choose to practice the faith we profess, a right guaranteed by the First Amendment –– seems to mean little or nothing to many who wield power.” The archbishop noted that many secular threats to religious liberty “seem to hinge on the church’s teaching with regard to the sanctity of life –– whether it’s the church’s teaching on the immorality of abortion, or the obligation of couples to be open to the God-given gift of human life, or marriage as between one man and one woman.” Archbishop Lori said the link between the God-given gifts of life and liberty was noted by Thomas Jefferson, who once said: “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy but cannot disjoin them.” As the Year of Faith opens and as the country approaches a time of decision with its elections, Archbishop Lori called it a critical time for Catholics to engage in Pope Benedict’s call to the new evangelization. “With Mary’s prayers, we seek to have the re of our faith rekindled –– our faith in the person of Christ, our faith in all the church believes and teaches, our condence in the church’s teachings, and our courage in sharing those teachings, not just with family and friends, but in the public square, with our elected leaders, our appointed leaders and with those who inuence public opinion.” He said it is wrong for Catholics to compartmentalize their faith, and as an example, he criticized Catholic elected officials “who say they are personally opposed to intrinsic evils like abortion, while doing everything in their power to promote them.” Archbishop Lori urged Catholics to take their faith to the public square and to the voting booth. “As believers and as citizens, we must robustly engage in the political process by voting with a properly formed conscience and by continually letting our elected ofcials know that we expect them to protect the God-given rights of life and liberty,” he said. Catholic scientist shares Nobel Prize for work in chemistry BY NIKKI RAJALA CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE Who could have predicted that a student from St. Mary’s Grade School in Little Falls would one day win a Nobel Prize? But that’s what Dr. Brian Kobilka accomplished. He’s one of two scientists awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry Oct. 10 for their work on cell receptors. “It’s a great honor for me,” Kobilka told The Visitor, newspaper of the Diocese of St. Cloud. He made the comments in a telephone interview from his lab in the department of molecular and cellular physiology and medicine at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. Kobilka, 57, physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, shares the prize with his onetime mentor Robert Lefkowitz, professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. Since 1984, the pair has worked to identify and isolate a particular family of cell receptors, called G-proteincoupled receptors, or GPCRs, which carry signals from outside stimuli to cells of the human body. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences website includes an essay on the winners’ work, “Cells and sensibility,” as general background for the science. In their introduction: “In our eyes, noses and mouths, we have sensors for light, odors and avors. Within the body, cells have similar sensors for hormones and signaling substances, such as adrenalin, serotonin, histamine and dopamine. As life evolved, cells have repeatedly used the same basic mechanism for reading their environment: G-protein-coupled receptors. But they remained hidden from researchers for a long time.” Their essay further described the two scientists’ persistence in trying to capture an image of the receptor, a goal believed unattainable by most of the scientic community, and their groundbreaking discoveries in mapping how the GPCR family of receptors works. Though often Nobel Prizes are given for work done much earlier, Kobilka said in his case the work that had the greatest impact was published only last year in Nature, an international journal for science and medicine. In 2011, Kobilka’s lab captured through X-ray crystallography the first image of a living G-protein receptor on a cell membrane precisely when it transferred the signal from the hormone adrenalin on the outside of the cell to its interior. The image revealed new details about the GPCRs. Because of the insights of Lefkowitz and Kobilka, pharmaceutical companies are able to develop more effective and safer medicines for a wide range of diseases. “About half the drugs a physician would administer,” Kobilka said, “particularly to patients in an intensive care setting, work on cell receptors.” Those drugs include beta blockers for heart disease, antihistamines for inammatory disease, various psychiatric medications, drugs for ulcers and those which help the immune system combat cancers. “We’re still doing similar research,” he said, “focusing on trying to develop methods of making what we’ve learned more applicable for more effective drugs.” Kobilka talked about growing up in Minnesota, recalling: “The entire time I lived in Little Falls I attended Mass at St. Mary’s. Msgr. (T. Leo) Keaveny was our priest.” Currently, Kobilka and his wife, Tong Sun Kobilka, are members of the Catholic Community at Stanford, which is in the Diocese of San Jose, Calif. “My introduction to science came through a friend several years older who was interested in all things science you can do at a young age,” he told The Visitor. “He did experiments in electronics and had a chemistry set, which he shared with me. I caught my interest from him.” Kobilka further credits excellent math and science teachers at Little Falls High School, where he graduated in 1973, and at University of MinnesotaDuluth, who helped him pursue his zeal. He likewise encouraged young scientists, possible future Nobel laureates, to follow their passions. “Work on what you’re interested in,” he said, “on what you want to understand, like how some aspect of how life works. It could be humans or how the universe was created, physics, planetary science, light, the complex relationships between matter and space, medicine, chemistry. If you try to do something because someone wants you to, you’re less likely to succeed. “What drives people to succeed is doing something that follows their natural instincts and curiosity.” November 2012 IN OUR WORLD 13 Stamp features Holy Family eeing to Egypt BY CAROL ZIMMERMANN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE When the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its new Christmas stamp Oct. 10 featuring an image of the Holy Family eeing to Egypt, there was no uproar about religion in the public square, or in this case, rectangle. “We didn’t get a single phone call or email from anyone who took exception to the stamp,” Roy Betts, a spokesman for the Postal Service, said Oct. 11. “And with the speed with which people can respond today, they would have if they wanted to,” he added. He said he thought people were more concerned with other things such as the presidential election. He also said the post ofce doesn’t “really get comments” about the holiday stamps in general, most likely because of the diversity of stamps –– besides stamps with Christian imagery, there are those that commemorate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Muslim festivals. As an aside, he said one year the Postal Service inadvertently left out the image of its Eid stamp –– commemorating the Muslim festivals of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha –– from a poster about its holiday stamps. The Postal Service heard about it, and then some, and within 24 hours, he said, new posters were displayed that included all the holiday stamps. As he put it: “People are passionate about this (issue).” But right now, he added, “they’re not complaining.” The diversity in stamps, which may have quelled the naysayers, is fairly new. The rst U.S. Christmas stamp debuted in 1962 with a wreath, two candles and the words “Christmas 1962.” Four years later the postal service issued what became more of the traditional Christmas stamp featuring a Renaissance painting of the Madonna and Child. By contrast, the other holiday stamps took longer to get their corner of the market. The Hanukkah stamp marking the eight-day Jewish festival of lights debuted in 1996. The Kwanzaa stamp for the African-American holiday rst appeared in 1997 and the Eid stamp was not issued until 2001. Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, told Catholic News Service in an Oct. 11 email that stamps with religious images aren’t a problem “as long as the government is acknowledging a variety of religious and nonreligious communities at various times of the year.” “The fact that religious –– including explicitly Christian –– symbols are in the mix raises no First Amendment issue –– but simply reects our diversity,” he said. Haynes noted that Christian symbols on stamps should only be allowed if a variety of other faiths are represented. “Government may not privilege one faith over others,” he added. When the traditional Christmas stamp stood alone, it faced at least one sticky situation. In 1995, a Postal Service advisory committee voted to replace the traditional Madonna and Child stamp with a Victorianera angel. This vote stirred such negative reaction that even thenPresident Bill Clinton got into the fray, prompting an immediate reversal. Marvin Runyon, postmaster general at the time, said the Madonna and Child stamp would stay, at least while he was in ofce, because it “occupied an important place” for so many years and was “meaningful to so many Americans.” This year’s Christmas stamp does not feature the traditional Madonna and Child image but instead a silhouette of the Holy Family on their ight into Egypt. At the stamp’s unveiling at Washington National Cathedral, the Rev. Gary Hall, the Episcopal cathedral’s dean, said the stamp’s image has its own universal message. He said the “story of this new family forced to leave their home” can remind people to care for those who are marginalized: “the poor, the elderly, the immigrant, and the refugee.” He also said the image of the Holy Family “embarking for an unknown land” is a reminder that “we are in God’s hands and we trust in God to guide our journey.” If that isn’t to one’s liking, the Postal Service has plenty of other options, from its popular angel stamps to those without any religious undertones: the forever evergreens and pine cones. ONE OF THE OFFICIAL HOLIDAY STAMPS issued by the U.S. Postal Service features a silhouette of the Holy Family eeing to Egypt. (CNS photo from U.S. Postal Service) Ǧ йΎ Ǧ Wz Ƭ Ύ/ŶĐůƵĚĞƐƵƌƌĞŶƚzŝĞůĚн ǫ ϭ͘ϬϬй&ŝƌƐƚzĞĂƌĚĚŝƟŽŶĂů/ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ z z ϯ͘ϰϬ 'ĞƌƌŝW͘DĂƌƟŶĞnj ƵƐƟŶͬĂƐƚƌŽƉͬdĂLJůŽƌ ϱϭϮͲϯϬϯͲϱϵϯϲ WĂƚƐLJ͘tŝůĞLJ ,ŝůůŽƵŶƚƌLJ ϯϮϱͲϯϴϴͲϰϲϵϴ dŚŽŵĂƐ͘&ƌĞŝ >ŽƩ ϮϱϰͲϵϴϱͲϮϮϰϯ >LJŶĚŽŶDŝĚĚůĞƚŽŶ tĞƐƚ ϮϱϰͲϴϮϮͲϭϵϯϯ DŽŶŝĐĂDŝŬĞƐŬĂ dĞŵƉůĞ ϮϱϰͲϳϲϬͲϯϲϱϯ ĂǀŝĚW͘ĐŬĞů ƵƐƟŶ ϱϭϮͲϮϭϯͲϰϵϰϬ ĂƐĞ,ŽůůƵď tĞŝŵĂƌ ϵϳϵͲϳϮϱͲϭϭϭϭ ƌŝĂŶƌŬĮƚnj tĂĐŽ ϮϱϰͲϳϳϮͲϭϯϯϭ ϴϬϬͲϲϵϵͲϮϱϴϰ ĚΘ&ƌĂŶĐŝƐ^ƵůĂ &ĂLJĞƩĞǀŝůůĞ ϵϳϵͲϯϳϴͲϮϯϴϭ ůƵĐŬŚŽůƚ tĞƐƚƉŚĂůŝĂ ϮϱϰͲϴϱϰͲϭϭϰϳ Ύ/ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚƌĂƚĞƐĂƌĞƐƵďũĞĐƚƚŽĐŚĂŶŐĞ͘ DŝŶŝŵƵŵŐƵĂƌĂŶƚĞĞĚƌĂƚĞŝƐϭ͘ϳϱй͘ ,ŽŵĞKĸĐĞ͗^ĂŶŶƚŽŶŝŽ͕dĞdžĂƐ͘η^hϵ͘ϭϮ IN OUR WORLD 14 C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Report issued on papal butler’s trial, sentence BY CINDY WOODEN CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE AND Claudio Sciarpelletti, the Vatican Secretariat of State computer technician accused of aiding and abetting the pope's butler in stealing confidential Vatican correspondence, will go on trial at the Vatican Nov. 5. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters that Sciarpelletti's trial on the “minor charges” of aiding and abetting was expected to be brief. The Vatican has released a 15-page document from the three-judge panel that found the butler, Paolo Gabriele, guilty Oct. 6 and sentenced him to 18 months in jail. After criminal trials in Italy and at the Vatican, the judges publish a detailed explanation of how they arrived at their verdict and how they determined the sentence. Father Lombardi said a Vatican prosecutor will study the document and has 40 days to decide whether he will le an appeal, something usually done to request a harsher sentence. Gabriele, who also had a chance to appeal his conviction, declined to do so; he remains under house arrest until the prosecution decides about its appeal, Father Lombardi said. Pope Benedict XVI also could pardon his former butler. Father Lombardi said that if the pope does not pardon the 46-year-old Gabriele, Vatican judicial ofcials plan to have him serve his sentence in a 12-footby-12-foot cell in the Vatican police barracks and not in an Italian prison. In the judges' report, they said that while Gabriele consistently maintained he acted out of love for the pope and the church, the judges felt an obligation "to observe how the action undertaken by Gabriele in reality was harmful" to "the pontiff, the laws of the Holy See, the whole Catholic Church and Vatican City State." Much of the material simply summarized information collected during the initial investigation of Gabriele and the testimony given during his trial Sept. 29-Oct. 6. But the judges' reactions to several points raised by Cristiana Arru, Gabriele's lawyer, were explained in detail, particularly regarding Arru's contention that since the material found in Ga- briele's apartment consisted of photocopies, not originals, the former butler didn't actually steal anything. First, the judges said testimony from Msgr. Georg Ganswein, the pope's personal secretary, and from Vatican police ofcers who searched Gabriele's Vatican apartment proved to them that a few originals were among the photocopies. Second, they said, Gabriele removed the originals without permission in order to photocopy them, but even more, they said, while he might not have stolen many original documents, by photocopying them he took the information written on them without consent. "The paper document is nothing other than the support material for an immaterial content," the judges said. During the trial, Arru repeatedly raised questions about the Vatican prosecutor's assertion that police found in Gabriele's Vatican apartment three items given to Pope Benedict as gifts: a check for 100,000 euros ($123,000); a gold nugget from the director of a mining company in Peru; and a 16th-century edition of a translation of the "Aeneid." The judges' explanation of their verdict basically said they made their judgment based on the theft of condential papal and Vatican documents, not on the three gifts. A separate area of the report concerned whether or not Gabriele was capable of understanding his actions, which the judges answered afrmatively. The judges cited several statements made by Gabriele, both during the investigation and at the trial, to the effect that he knew what he was doing was wrong, he took extra precautions to avoid being caught and he went to confession when it became clear he was about to be arrested. The judges also discussed the points that, in their view, made Gabriele's actions a case of "aggravated theft" and not simple theft. The main aggravating factor, they said, was the fact that Gabriele abused his position of trust: "In effect, Gabriele was able to commit the crime he's accused of because of his work relationship with the Holy Father, which necessarily was based on a bond of trust." Gabriele's job brought him into the very private life of Pope Benedict, and the butler violated the "absolute reserve" such a position required, the judges said. "He used this unique position to perpetrate his criminal actions," they said. While recognizing that Gabriele was not paid for leaking the documents to an Italian journalist (who, in turn, published them in an instantly bestselling book), the judges said he still committed the crime with the intent to prot from it "intellectually and morally." The judges quoted him as telling investigators, "Even if the possession of those documents was illicit, I felt I had to do it for various reasons, including my own personal interests." Gabriele, they said, felt that having the documents would help him better understand the inner workings of the Vatican, and leaking them to a journalist would help him provide the "shock" that could lead to change in the Vatican, which he felt was becoming lled with corruption and careerism. In the verdict, the judges ordered Gabriele to pay the Vatican's court costs, which Father Lombardi said amounted to the equivalent of about $1,300. Save the date PRO-LIFE BENEFIT GALA supporting the Office of Pro-Life Activities and Chaste Living of the Diocese of Austin RENAISSANCE AUSTIN HOTEL 9721 97 9 721 21 Arboretum Arborettum Boulevard Boullev vard Austin, Austtin,, Texas Te exas x 78759 59 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2013 featuring Most Reverend Joseph A. Fiorenza Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-Houston RESERVATIONS & INFORMATION www.austindiocese.org/prolifegala 5:30 p.m. Registration Begins/Silent Auction Open 6 p.m. VIP Reception 7 p.m. Dinner & Program individual seats $75 tables start at $600 7DNH7KH 1H[W6WHS $UH\RXORRNLQJIRUDVHFRQGFDUHHURUZDQW DQRSSRUWXQLW\WRXQOHDVK\RXUHQWUHSUHQHXULDO VSLULW"$FWQRZ $QH[FLWLQJDQGIXOÀOOLQJVDOHVFDUHHUUHSUHVHQWLQJ&DWKROLF/LIH,QVXUDQFH PD\EHWKHRSSRUWXQLW\IRU\RX*HQHUDO/LQHVOLFHQVHUHTXLUHG )RUPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQFDOO ! "# $$ $ IN OUR WORLD November 2012 15 New York woman is proof miracles do happen BY CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE Though she had always believed in miracles, Sharon Smith never dreamed she would be the recipient of one. Her unexplained recovery from a near fatal infection in 2005 was the second miracle that cleared the way for the Oct. 21 canonization of Blessed Marianne Cope. Smith presented Pope Benedict XVI a relic of Blessed Marianne –– a bone fragment housed in a wooden tau cross, or Tshaped cross that is the symbol of St. Francis, the inspiration of Mother Marianne’s congregation. A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Smith fainted in her home one day in 2005 and woke up two months later in St. Joseph’s Hospital, her body perforated by tubes as doctors fought to keep her hydrated and alive. She had been diagnosed with pancreatitis, but the inammation soon caused an infection so severe, it ate away part of her gastrointestinal tract. Her doctor told her that July, “Sharon, you’re not going to make it,” she told Catholic News Service in Rome Oct.19. She and about 90 others from the Diocese of Syracuse, including Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, came to Rome for the canonization. Smith recalled that a friend visiting her at the hospital was given a prayer card of Mother Marianne and told to pray for her intercession. Mother Marianne had been beatied by Pope Benedict in May 2005. “My friends told me they prayed for me the night before they were going to just disconnect me” from the respirator, “and they prayed to Mother Marianne for me,” she said. The next day, “I woke up in the morning and started talking,” she said. Though she could breathe on her own, the infection was still severe. St. Francis Sister Michaeleen Cabral and other members of the community soon started praying for Blessed Marianne’s intercession. During one visit, Sister Michaeleen gave Smith, to pin to her hospital gown, a bag of soil that came from Blessed Marianne’s grave in Hawaii. Smith said she still has the packet of dirt, which she now keeps in her Bible. After nearly a year in the hospital and rehabilitation, Smith was given a clean bill of health and released. She said her doctor couldn’t believe she had recovered. Doctors said that places where tissue had died had actually healed and regenerated. Smith said she was so grateful for the prayers the sisters had offered her that she decided to “pay them back” by volunteering at a home for the terminally ill, which is run by the Sisters of St. Francis. “I gured I was alive for a reason,” she said. But Smith didn’t link her recovery to the prayers right away. It was only during her volunteer work at the hospice home that she unexpectedly ran into Sister Michaeleen and another woman who had visited her in the hospital. “They said, ‘Oh my God are you that woman that we saw dying?’ And I said, ‘Yes,’ I took it kind of lightly,” she recalled. But they urged her to go visit Sister Mary Laurence Hanley, who championed Mother Marianne’s cause for sainthood for nearly 40 years. The nun died in December 2011. “You’ve got to tell Sister Mary Laurence your story. You’re our second miracle,” the women told Smith. “And I said, ‘I’m your what!?’” “Like, I said, I believe in miracles, I just never thought I’d be one,” she said with a laugh. “I feel that’s a welcoming thought for people to believe that a miracle can truly happen.” SHARON SMITH, left, presented a relic of St. Marianne Cope during the canonization of seven new saints by Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 21. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) Upcoming Events Dec. 6: Advent Dinner, Bishop Mulvey Jan. 19: RCIA Day of Reflection NOV. 30-DEC. 2, SILENT WEEKEND RETREAT Set the tone for the coming of our Lord by taking some quiet time away from distractions, errands, and ‘to do’ lists. Prepare your hearts for the divine love that is about to enter into our world. Spiritual direction will be available if desired. Cost: $150 (all rooms are private) DEC. 6, ADVENT DINNER We are pleased to have Bishop Michael Mulvey, Bishop of Corpus Christi, as our guest speaker for the Advent dinner. The social hour will begin at 6:30pm, followed by dinner and a spiritual presentation by Bishop Mulvey. Cost: $25 JAN. 19, RCIA DAY OF REFLECTION All RCIA Directors, team member, candidates and catechumens are invited to Cedarbrake for a day of reflection. The Cedarbrake Staff will present the day. (Please register through your parish) JAN. 28, SILENT DAY OF REFLECTION A great time for a quiet day; Cedarbrake will host the day and it will include Mass, lunch and time for silence. Spiritual direction will be available. Cost: $25 “Seek first his g p over yyou.” kingship TO REGISTER FOR AN EVENT: (254) 780-2436, [email protected] or www.austindiocese.org/cedarbrake, click on “upcoming retreats” Matthew M atthew 6:33 6:33 5602 N. HWY. 317, BELTON, TX 76513 P.O. BOX 58, BELTON, TX 76513 (mailing address) Visit us online! WEBSITE: austindiocese.org/cedarbrake FACEBOOK: facebook.com/cedarbrake IN OUR WORLD 16 C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Evangelization must be in the context of ‘real life’ BY CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE New evangelization efforts cannot succeed unless they begin with the concrete lives, cultures and languages of the people whom the Catholic Church is trying to reach with the Gospel, said participants at the Synod of Bishops. Indonesian Bishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta said many of the new Catholics in Indonesia were rst attracted “by the way Catholics pray during public events such as wedding feasts or funeral services.” They react to the prayers because they “are delivered in their vernacular mother tongue, so that they readily understand the content, whereas before they usually heard prayers recited in a foreign language as the Muslims pray in Arabic,” the archbishop told members of the synod Oct. 16. The problem, he said, comes with translations of the Mass from the original Latin. While the Vatican has insisted on translations being as literal as possible in order to remain faithful to the full content and rich implications of the Latin terms, the Indonesian bishop said a “literal translation is not always possible, because of the diversity and complexity of languages.” In Indonesia, he said, a problem can arise when translating “et cum spirito tuo” (“and with your spirit”) into a local language. “The word ‘spiritus’ as translated into ‘roh’ in our language could readily evoke the idea of ‘evil spirit,’ thus ‘et cum spirito tuo’ means, for some communities, ‘with your evil spirit,’” the bishop told synod members, who laughed. With liturgical translations, he said, the “principle of subsidiarity” should apply: The local bishops should make the nal decision because they know the local language. Another consideration of the real-life circumstances that keep many baptized members from practicing their faith was raised by Maltese Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo. He said the church must continue to uphold Jesus’ teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, but it also must reach out to those whose marriages have ended badly. Couples who are divorced and civilly remarried, he said, feel the church’s teaching “as a weight on their heads and their hearts, and nd difculties in reconciling themselves with the church and perhaps with God.” Bishops, pastors and other Catholics must take seriously papal teaching that while couples in irregular situations “are not in perfect communion with the church” and may not receive the Eucharist, they do love the Lord and are still members of the church, Bishop Grech said. He quoted Pope Benedict, who at the World Meeting of Families in June, said the church loves such people, and “it is important that they should see and feel this love.” Another way the church must tailor its message to individuals is through the media, and particularly through social networks such as Facebook, said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontical Council for Social Communications. The pervasive presence of the digital media in the lives of modern people, particularly the lives of the young, means the church cannot treat social networks simply as “virtual spaces The John Paul II Life Center’s Second Annual Benefit Dinner Tickets and Sponsorships available at www.jpiilifecenter.org K EYNOTE S PEAKER $%DiNardo, Archbishop of ( (*+-"+ /0%%12'!% D IGNIT Y IN L IFE A WARD !"! # #$%#&'&() I NVOCATION +3*40567"8 B Bishop of Austin 4"99'!%++2! !""""" #$$%%"$%"$ :;<+0++ 0"+ ="+ ><;?@E2F!GHK!+ less important than the ‘real’ world,” he said. “If the Gospel is not also proclaimed digitally, we run the risk of abandoning many people for whom this is the world in which they ‘live.’” The Catholic Church, which is used to preaching to people or reaching them through texts and books, he said, must learn the language of the new media, which value “spontaneous, interactive and participatory” discourse, the archbishop said. Bishop Sarah F. Davis, vice president of the World Methodist Council and an ecumenical delegate invited to the synod by Pope Benedict XVI, told members, “Evangelistic outreach must be informed and shaped by the specic needs and cultural environment of those with whom the Gospel is being shared.” Bishop Davis, who serves as the Jamaica-based bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, told synod members Oct. 16 that “creativity is needed so that in meeting the needs of persons, the Gospel is not compromised.” However, she said, in the end, “it will be the evangelizers who are placed under the microscope, not the processes, not the programs, nor the plans developed out of this synod. People want to know that what the evangelizers are advertising has already worked in their lives.” Irish Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin also urged particular care with the use of language and called for new educational efforts to help young Catholics learn what the church means by the terms and phrases it uses. The church faces a challenge, involving not just the media, but a whole “culture of the manipulation of language and the management of information where the meaning of words is changed and manipulated for commercial, ideological or political motives,” he said. The way language is used publicly, Archbishop Martin said, has created a situation in which “young people live in a culture of relativism and indeed banalization of the truth often without even being aware of it.” The new evangelization must include a “robust confrontation of ideas” that can help young people discern the arguments and ideas presented to them, he said. November 2012 IN OUR WORLD 17 Pope prays new saints will strengthen church BY CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE Proclaiming seven new saints –– including St. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. Marianne Cope from North America –– Pope Benedict XVI said they are examples to the world of total dedication to Christ and tireless service to others. In a revised canonization rite Oct. 21, the pope prayed for guidance that the church would not “err in a matter of such importance” as he used his authority to state that the seven are with God in heaven and can intercede for people on earth. An estimated 80,000 pilgrims from the U.S., Canada, the Philippines, Italy, Spain, Germany and Madagascar filled St. Peter’s Square for the canonization of the holy women and men who ministered among their people. The pilgrims applauded the proclamation of the new saints, who included: Kateri, an American Indian who was born in the U.S. and died in Canada in 1680; Mother Marianne, a Sister of St. Joseph who traveled from Syracuse, N.Y., to Hawaii to care for people with Hansen’s disease and died in Molokai in 1918; and Pedro Calungsod, a teen- A HUGE CROWD packed St. Peter’s Square as Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the canonization Mass for seven new saints on Oct. 21. (CNS photo by Paul Haring) aged Philippine catechist who was martyred in Guam in 1672. The other new saints are: French Jesuit Father Jacques Berthieu, martyred in Madagascar in 1896; Italian Father Giovanni Battista Piamarta, founder of religious orders, who died in 1913; Sister Carmen Salles Barangueras, founder of a Spanish religious order, who died in 1911; and Anna Schaffer, a lay German woman, who died in 1925. In his homily at Mass fol- PILGRIMS hold a statue of St. Pedro Calungsod before the canonization Mass for seven new saints in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 21. The new saint was a lay catechist from the Philippines who was martyred in Guam in 1672. (CNS photo by Paul Haring) lowing the canonization, Pope Benedict prayed that the example of the new saints would “speak today to the whole church” and that their intercession would strengthen the church in its mission to proclaim the Gospel to the world. The pope also spoke about each new saint individually, giving a short biographical outline and highlighting a special characteristic of each for Catholics today. Pope Benedict called St. Kateri the “protectress of Canada and the first Native American saint,” and he entrusted to her “the renewal of the faith in the First Nations and in all of North America.” The daughter of a Mohawk father and Algonquin Christian mother, St. Kateri was “faithful to the traditions of her people,” but also faithful to the Christianity she embraced at age 20. “May her example help us to live where we are, loving Jesus without denying who we are,” the pope said. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, who is of American Indian descent, told Catholic News Service, “I think many young people today are embarrassed about embracing the Catholic faith because they live in a secular culture that’s hostile toward religious experience.” St. Kateri also “grew up in a place where there was great hostility toward Christianity,” Archbishop Chaput said, but she resisted all efforts to turn her away from her faith, “so in some ways she would be a model of delity in the face of persecution on religious freedom grounds.” Archbishop Gerald Cyprien Lacroix of Quebec told CNS that the canonization of the rst native of North America is “huge for us.” St. Kateri, he said, is an excellent model for young people of “living a simple life, faithful to the Lord in the midst of hostility.” St. Kateri’s life and canonization show that “saints don’t have to do extraordinary things, they just have to love,” Archbishop Lacroix said. Francine Merasty, 32, a Cree who lives in Pelican Narrows, Sask., said, “Kateri inspires me because she’s an aboriginal woman. According to sociologists, aboriginal women are at the lowest (social) strata, and for the church to raise up to the communion of saints an aboriginal woman is so awesome and wonderful.” Jake Finkbonner, the 12-year-old boy from Washington state whose healing was accepted as the miracle needed for St. Kateri’s canonization, received Communion from the pope during the Mass. Jake’s parents and two little sisters did as well. Speaking about St. Marianne of Molokai in his homily, Pope Benedict said that a time when very little could be done to treat people with Hansen’s disease, commonly called leprosy, “Marianne Cope showed the highest love, courage and enthusiasm.” “She is a shining example of the tradition of Catholic nursing sisters and of the spirit of her beloved St. Francis,” the pope said. Leading a group of Hawaiian pilgrims, including nine patient-residents from Kalaupapa, where St. Marianne ministered, Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said St. Marianne is “an inspiration for those who care for those most in need, which is what all Christians are called to do. Now, with universal veneration, she can inspire people around the world.” With thousands of Philippine pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict praised St. Pedro, a catechist who accompanied Jesuit priests to the Mariana Islands in 1668. Despite hostility from some of the natives, he “displayed deep faith and charity and continued to catechize his many converts, giving witness to Christ by a life of purity and dedication to the Gospel.” The pope prayed that “the example and courageous witness” of St. Pedro would “inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the kingdom bravely and to win souls for God.” Pope Benedict also cited St. Anna Schaffer as a model for a very modern concern. St. Anna was working as a maid to earn the money for the dowry needed to enter a convent when an accident occurred and she “received incurable burns” which kept her bedridden the rest of her life, the pope said. In time, she came to see her pain and suffering as a way to unite herself with Christ through prayer, he said. “May her apostolate of prayer and suffering, of sacrice and expiation, be a shining example for believers in her homeland, and may her intercession strengthen the Christian hospice movement in its benecial activity,” the pope said. IN OUR WORLD 18 C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Pope recalls Vatican II messages for laypeople BY SARAH DELANEY CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE AND In a gesture recalling how the Second Vatican Council sought to enhance the connection between the church and the world, Pope Benedict XVI handed out copies of the council’s messages for laypeople in various walks of life. At the end of the Mass in St. Peter’s Square marking the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II and the start of the Year of Faith, the pope gave out texts of the special messages that Pope Paul VI had composed for seven categories of the faithful. The symbolic gesture was meant not just to recall and commemorate an event from the past, but to “enter more deeply into the spiritual movement, which characterized Vatican II, to make it ours and to develop it according to its true meaning,” the pope said in his homily. The seven messages, initially presented by Pope Paul on Dec. 8, 1965, address the concerns and responsibilities of: political leaders; scientists and cultural figures; artists; women; workers; the poor, sick and suffering; and young people. Pope Benedict gave the “Message to Politicians” to some members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, including ambassadors to the Vatican from each continent. The message said that the only thing the church asks of politicians is freedom –– “the liberty to believe and to preach her faith, the freedom to love her God and serve him, the freedom to live and to bring to men her message of life. Do not fear her.” It added: “Allow Christ to exercise his purifying action on society. Do not crucify him anew.” Pope Benedict gave an Italian physicist, a German philosopher and a German Biblicist copies of the “Message to the World of Culture and Science.” The message speaks of the clear possibility for “a deep understanding between real science and real faith, mutual servants of one another in the one truth. Do not stand in the way of this important meeting. Have condence in faith, this great friend of intelligence.” James MacMillan, a Scottish composer; Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro; and two members of Italy’s lm industry accepted the “Message to Artists.” The message said the world “needs beauty in order not to sink into despair.” Artists are “the guardians of beauty” and should be free from fads and “strange or unbecoming expressions.” Kathryn Lopez, a U.S. journalist and editor-at-large of the National Review Online; Annalisa Minetti, an Italian 2012 Paralympic medalist in track; a Chinese nun who teaches theology; and others received the “Message to Women.” It said the current age is when “the vocation of woman is being achieved in its fullness, the hour in which woman acquires in the world an inuence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved.” “Our technology runs the risk of becoming inhuman. Reconcile men with life and above all, we beseech you, watch carefully over the future of our race. Hold back the hand of man who, in a moment of folly, might attempt to destroy human civilization,” it says. Those receiving the “Message to Workers” included Luis Urzua Iribarren, one of the 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for two months in 2010. The church appreciates workers’ service and virtues such as “courage, dedication, professional conscience, love of justice,” the message says. A doctor, nurse, and woman who lost her daughter to a car accident received the “Message to all the Poor, Sick and Suffering.” The pope descended the sacristy’s stairs to greet and deliver the message to a woman seated in a wheelchair. The message says Christ “took suffering upon himself and this is enough to make you understand all its value.” “Know that you are not alone, separated, abandoned or useless. You have been called by Christ and are his living and transparent image,” the message says. Pope Paul’s “Message to Young People” was received by young Catholics from Brazil, Congo, the Philippines, France and by Anna Fsadni from Syd- ney and Robert Prybyla from Round Rock. The message called on young people to dedicate their energy to those in need. “Fight against all egoism. Refuse to give free course to the instincts of violence and hatred which beget wars and all their train of miseries. Be generous, pure, respectful and sincere, and build in enthusiasm a better world than your elders had.” Caroline Farey of the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, England, who was attending the Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization, was one of two catechists who received from Pope Benedict a special Year of Faith edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, told journalists Oct. 9 that men and women, some well-known and some not, were chosen from all over the world because “this is the church we are addressing, like at the time of the council.” The complete texts of Pope Paul VI’s messages can be found toward the end of this webpage: www.vatican.va/holy_father/ paul_vi/speeches/1965/index. htm. CSA Commitment Weekend November 3-4, 2012 Your participation in the 2012–2013 Catholic Services Appeal helps keep the Catholic Church in Central Texas a welcoming place for those in material and spiritual need through: Go and Make Disciples In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. – Gal 3:26 Vayan y Hagan Discípulos Support CSA! ¡Apoye CSA! Clergy Formation Education & Formation Spirituality & Worship Justice & Charity Pastoral Ministries 2012–20133 Su participación en el Llamado para los Servicios Católicos de 2012–2013 ayuda a la Iglesia Católica del Centro de Texas a recibir a quienes tienen necesidades materiales y espirituales, por medio de: Por su fe en Cristo Jesús todos ustedes son hijos de Dios. – Gal 3,26 Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to find out more about how you can support the Catholic Services Appeal or visit www.austindiocese.org/csa Lea este código QR con su smart phone (teléfono inteligente) o dispositivo móvil para obtener más información sobre cómo puede apoyar el Llamado para los Servicios Católicos o visite www.austindiocese.org/csa 6225 Highway 290 East Austin, TX 78723-1025 Phone (512) 949-2400 Fax (512) 949-2520 www.austindiocese.org/csa Formación del Clero Educación y Formación Culto Divino y Vida Espiritual Justicia y Caridad Ministerios Pastorales November 2012 IN OUR WORLD 19 Pope encourages in-depth knowledge of creed BY CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE Ignorance of the faith puts Christians at risk of following a “do-it-yourself” religion, Pope Benedict XVI said. People need to become more familiar with the creed because it is there that the “Christian moral life is planted and ... one nds its foundation and justication,” the pope said Oct. 17 at his weekly general audience. Before an estimated 20,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope began a new series of audience talks to accompany the Year of Faith, which marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. He said he hopes the series of instructional talks, which is expected to run until Nov. 24, 2013, will help people “strengthen or rediscover the joy of faith and realize that it isn’t something foreign to or separate from everyday life, but is its soul.” Pope Benedict said the widespread and dominant nature of today’s secularism, individualism and relativism means that even Christians are not completely “immune from these dangers.” Some of the negative effects include faith being lived “passively or in private, a refusal to learn about the faith, and the rift between faith and life,” he said. “Often Christians don’t even know the central core of their own Catholic faith –– the creed –– thereby leaving room for a certain syncretism and religious relativism,” he said. Without a clear idea of the faith’s fundamental truths and the uniquely salvic nature of Christianity, “the risk of constructing a socalled ‘do-it-yourself’ religion is not remote today.” “Where do we nd the essential formula of the faith? Where do we find the truths that have been faithfully handed down and make up the light of our daily life,” he asked. He said the answer is the creed, or profession of faith, which needs to be better understood, reected upon and integrated into one’s life. Christians need to “discover the profound link between the truths we profess in the creed and our daily life” so that these truths are allowed to transform the “deserts of modern-day life.” The Christian faith is not a belief in an idea or just an outlook on life, he said, but a relationship with the living person of Christ who transforms lives. That is why having faith in God isn’t merely an intellectual activity, but something that “truly changes everything in us and for us; it clearly reveals our future destiny, the truth of our vocation within history, the meaning of life and the pleasure of being pilgrims heading toward the heavenly home.” Pope Benedict said faith doesn’t take anything away from one’s life, rather it is what renders life more just and humane. Current cultural changes “often show many forms of barbarity, which hide under the guise of victories won by civilization,” he said. How- The Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. PEOPLE NEED to become more familiar with the creed because it is there that the “Christian moral life is planted and ... one nds its foundation and justication,” Pope Benedict XVI said. (CNS graphic by Emily Lockley) 8 I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. 8 I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. ©2012 CNS ever, “wherever there is domination, possessiveness, exploitation, treating others as a commodity,” and arrogance, humankind is “impoverished, degraded and disgured.” Faith shows that humanity won’t find its full realization unless the human person “is animated by the love that comes from God,” he said. The gift of faith then nds expression in “relationships full of love, compassion, care and seless service toward others.” The pope also marked International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, observed Oct. 17, to promote greater awareness of poverty and destitution worldwide. The pope encouraged those working to end poverty to “preserve the dignity and rights of everyone who is condemned to be subjected to the scourge of poverty.” Year of Faith goes digital with new app BY DIANE FREEBY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE The Year of Faith ofcially kicked off Oct. 11, and now there’s an app for that! The Diocese of Fort WayneSouth Bend is answering Pope Benedict XVI’s call to use new media and technology, providing a blog and mobile app (available for iPhone and Android) as part of a faith-building initiative. The app is titled “My Year of Faith” and costs 99 cents. It can be a daily, customizable resource for users. It includes features that lead to a deeper understanding of faith, an increased prayer life, and reflections and thoughts from nationally known bloggers and writers –– with daily content updates. The list of contributors is a “who’s who in Catholic social media” including blogger Lisa Hendey of CatholicMom.com, popular Catholic authors and speakers, and local voices, too, like Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend. There is also a blog at www.myyearoffaith.com. According to Megan Oberhausen of the diocesan Secretariat for Evangelization and Special Ministries, the new media outreach serves two purposes. “The rst is catechesis,” said Oberhausen, “by offering a short reading every day to help people know and love their faith more deeply.” “The second is evangelization, by helping Catholics share their faith with joy and enthusiasm and providing a place where others can encounter the love of Jesus Christ and the light and hope of the Gospel,” she added in an interview with Today’s Catholic, the diocesan newspaper. “It’s all about leading people to Jesus!” Oberhausen is the point person for the project. She approached Patrick Leinen and Little i Apps (the group that created the confession app) about creating an app for the Year of Faith. Within a few months, they developed technology to provide reections from people in the Catholic community and allow users to interact socially while providing suggestions to foster spiritual growth. “We loved the idea of reaching out to the larger Catholic community from our local diocese,” said Leinen. Others are excited about contributing to the new app. “As we anticipate the potential for personal renewal of faith and the impact this year will have upon our church, I believe that a tool like this app will be the perfect spiritual companion for families like mine,” said Hendey. “The content will be instructive for Catholics, but will also provide us with the tools and motivation to share our faith with our loved ones and friends,” she added. “In short, the Year of Faith will help us better know and more effectively share the riches of the Catholic Church.” While the app is geared toward evangelization for all ages, Cindy Black, diocesan director of youth, young adult and cam- pus ministry, said the project is especially important for reaching youths and young adults and the ripple effect could be farreaching. “Young people have access to people that we do not, and thus are key in evangelizing their friends,” said Black. “When teens and college students witness to the joy of living their Catholic faith, it naturally attracts others who long for joy and peace. “That is the most exciting thing –– to think about the potential when putting out into the digital deep. It’s possible that a college student could post something on Facebook with a link and his or her friends across the country would read it and share and, it could spider around the world,” she said. GOOD NEWS 20 C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Spiritual drought: When our souls thirst for God BISHOP JOE S. VÁSQUEZ is the fth bishop of the Austin Diocese. He shepherds more than 500,000 Catholics in 25 Central Texas counties. Editor: Spiritual drought seems to be discussed a great deal lately. Bishop, how do you dene spiritual drought? Bishop Vásquez: Spiritual drought is a human condition experienced by persons who yearn for God. It involves a deep desire of the person to experience God. In Texas, we have experienced environmental drought for some time. We know that without the precious gift of rain our land, crops, livestock and ourselves begin to languish. Even with a small amount of rain, our whole environment is transformed. The soul experiences something similar with spiritual drought. This is expressed vividly in Scriptures by the psalmists, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see the face of God?” (Ps 42:2-3). Editor: In fact, many saints have talked about experiencing spiritual drought. Bishop Vásquez: The saints and all of us to some degree experience spiritual drought so that we may better appreciate God’s presence in our lives. Indeed, St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross wrote extensively about spiritual drought or the “dark night of the soul.” St. John of the Cross wrote in the 16th century, “This dark night is an inowing of God into the soul –– called infused contemplation or mystical theology. God secretly teaches the soul and instructs it in perfection of love, without its doing anything. It is the loving wisdom of God, and He prepares it for the union of love with God.” Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, whom we know well as Mother Teresa, felt abandoned and detached from the Lord throughout much of the time she spent doing profound works of charity in India and throughout the world. “In my soul I feel just that terrible pain of loss … of God not wanting me — of God not being God — of God not existing,” she wrote early on in her spiritual journey. Yet, she continued to do God’s work helping the poorest of the poor. She was doing great work, doing wonderful things and seemed to be at least communicating the face and the love of God to other people, but she herself couldn’t nd it. Because these great men and women of our Catholic tradition experienced spiritual drought, we should also understand there will be periods of spiritual drought in our own lives. Anyone who desires to live a good and holy life may nd themselves feeling disconnected from God. We can nd hope and encouragement as we study the lives and writings of these holy men and women because they persevered in their delity to God and to their ministries. Editor: Have you ever experienced spiritual drought? Bishop Vásquez: Yes, I have experienced it myself just as many others have. Changing and transitioning from one period of life to another, the loss of a loved one, the loss of one’s parents, illness, separation, divorce, children leaving home and beginning their own lives –– all of these events can bring about this dimension of spiritual drought. It is tangible in that it can affect us physically and emotionally as well. It can also affect the way we deal with other people and how we treat others. Other things that can cause spiritual drought are sin, not being or doing what God is asking of us, relationships that are not healthy and balanced and our own withdrawal from God. If we lack that connection between ourselves and God or if we distance ourselves from God, we may enter a spiritual drought. Editor: How can one get through such a drought? Bishop Vásquez: The rst thing that must happen is that we must become aware of what we are experiencing and discern through the gifts of the Holy Spirit what is taking place. We must recognize it and accept it. We must not be afraid. One of the best things to do is to seek guidance from a spiritual director. We should all have someone who has experience on the journey of faith –– someone we can conde in; someone we can talk with about our spiritual struggles. A good spiritual director listens to all that we are undergoing without judgment. The ministry of the spiritual director is to assess where we are on our spiritual journey. When we are struggling with this spiritual dryness, we should always know that God is with us no matter what. Even when we can’t sense his presence, even if we don’t feel like he is here, God is with us. Therefore, we should never hesitate to cry out to God and verbalize to him what we are feeling. We can turn to the Psalms for beautiful ways of crying out to God in this spiritual thirst. “I stretch out my hands toward you, my soul to you like a parched land. Hasten to answer me, LORD; for my spirit fails me. Do not hide your face from me, lest I become like those descending to the pit,” (Ps 143, 6-7). The psalmist is asking “Where are you, God? My soul is parched like a dry weary land without water.” When we feel this way, we, too, can join ourselves to that prayer and cry out to God and tell him how we feel. When we feel dry, lifeless and parched, and when we are longing for that spiritual rain and yearning for this life that only God can give us, we must turn to the Lord in prayer. This is a time when we can lean on the prayers we memorized as children –– the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be or praying the rosary, can help us open ourselves to listen to God’s voice. Holy men and women have taught us that we should not change our routines because we are undergoing spiritual drought. We need to stay focused on the Mass, the sacraments and prayer. The stability we nd in these practices is benecial. The sacraments are God’s grace poured out, and they help us know him. The sacrament of reconciliation is an excellent way to reconnect with God, especially if sin is what has driven us away from him. Another reason we experience spiritual drought is because of the hyperactivity of our world today. We are so busy that we lack the time to stop and reect on life; therefore, we are unable to feel God’s presence because we have not taken the time to become aware of his presence. How can God possibly penetrate my heart and my ears to listen to him if I am so busy and so involved in other things that I don’t take the time to do so? Pope Benedict XVI speaks about our over activity, especially in the Western world. “In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair. How many of our contemporaries have built broken and empty cisterns in a desperate search for meaning –– the ultimate meaning that only love can give?” the pope has said. Therefore, we all need to take time to be quiet. Retreat time can be very helpful; however, many people nd it very difcult because of children, work and other obligations. Undoubtedly, there are moments in each of our days when we can create a few moments of quiet time –– perhaps early in the morning or during our lunch hour or perhaps by getting to Mass early or staying for a few minutes after Mass. When we become spiritually aware of God, we begin to understand his calling to us. He is always with us, he is always speaking to us; we must make sure we are aware of him and we are listening to what he is saying. Editor: What is your prayer for those who suffer from spiritual drought? Bishop Vásquez: I pray that those who undergo this experience do not lose hope. Jesus cried out in his last moments of suffering, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Those are the words of a man facing horrible suffering and pain, and he calls out to God. So, too, we can join with that prayer to God and not be afraid that God will somehow be offended if we cry out in that way. We must not lose hope because we know that after his suffering, Jesus was resurrected! Even in times of darkness, in suffering and in spiritual drought, Jesus is our hope and our salvation. AS THE PARCHED EARTH longs for rain, our hearts thirst for God when we experience spiritual drought. “When we feel dry, lifeless and parched, and when we are longing for that spiritual rain and yearning for this life that only God can give us, we must turn to the Lord in prayer,” Bishop Vásquez says in this month’s interview. (CNS photo) November 2012 GOOD NEWS 21 Fathers set faithful examples for our children, society BY MATTHEW E. WEILERT GUEST COLUMNIST What does it mean to be a Central Texas Catholic man? Is it picking up chairs after a successful fall festival? Is it singing Gregorian Chant with the schola? Yes to both and so much more! To be a vibrant Central Texas Catholic means to live out our Gospel, the Good News, in our day-to-day lives. Today more than ever, living our vocation as authentically Catholic men means to be actively countercultural. To proclaim the dignity of life, the sanctity of marriage and the abundant richness of the faith of our fathers is difcult even if the Catholic heritage in Central Texas spans hundreds of years. It’s time for a new generation of men to rise up and take their place as leaders witnessing to the “faith of our fathers,” or perhaps become the rst in the family to be Catholic. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2258) teaches that we honor and respect life from natural conception to natural death. This means having the courage to confront, speaking the truth in love. If someone asks me why we oppose abortion as a woman’s right, I ask them if they believe in gravity. When they say yes to gravity, I explain that just like gravity is an objective truth that doesn’t depend on anyone’s opinion, the sanctity of life is an objective truth that means all life is a gift of God never an accident, problem, inconvenience or disruption. Freedom is not “license to do anything I want,” rather freedom is always the opportunity to choose the good. To do otherwise is merely selsh. As fathers, we do more than the stereotypical “bring home the bacon and take out the garbage.” We are sowing good examples into our sons and daughters even when we think no one is looking. By word and deed, in what we say and what we do, we are examples to everyone around us. Would God be praised by the examples I am giving? It’s a question I have learned to ask myself many times each day, not just once a week on Sunday. As young, single men, how do we witness the sanctity of marriage both inside and outside of our own home? Take a few minutes to replay the last ve or 10 conversations you have had with service providers in stores, airlines, busses, taxis, restaurants, etc. Are we respectful of their abilities? Are we chaste with our eyes? Do we see those around us as a gift from God? As married men, are we the “Gospel in real life” to our wife, our children, our parents, (especially our elderly parents). Are we honoring the dignity of each of these people? Do we model the behavior we want our sons to learn and do we witness the grace toward women that we want our daughters to learn is their right as daughters of God? Are we patient and kind as Jesus was with those around him? As we are “made in the image and likeness of God,” we are designed to transmit life: not only through the sacrament of marriage and the gift of children, but the command to take dominion over the earth (Gen 1:28) and be in relationship with those God has placed here. The objective reality, as much a truth as gravity, is that we are born to lead our families, our businesses and our world, to the richness of our faith. The best leaders follow Christ’s example as servants of all (Mt 20:26, 23:11). As Catholic men, may we go forth as servant leaders proclaiming the Good News! MATTHEW WEILERT writes on behalf of the Central Texas Fellowship of Catholic Men (www.ctfcatholicmen. org). He considers Ascension Parish in Bastrop his home parish and currently is a member of St. Louis Parish in Austin. He has one son. Spain Pilgrimage Travel with Chaplain Fr. Wittouck! Plus...Fatima, Portugal & Lourdes, France 14 Days Departing April 9, 2013 from $2398* Fly into Madrid (2 nights) to start your Catholic Pilgrimage. You’ll tour Madrid, the Royal Palace, and the Toledo Cathedral. Visit Segovia and Avila (1 night) with private Mass at St. Theresa Convent. Visit the Old and New Cathedrals in Salamanca with Mass; and Fatima, Portugal (2 nights) with sightseeing, time for personal devotions and Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Basilica. Experience Sunday Mass and tour at Bom Jesus Church and Shrine in Braga and tour Santiago de Compostela (2 nights) and visit sanctuaries, Bernadette’s House and Celebrate Mass at Chapel Lourdes - at the Grotto. Sightsee in Barcelona (2 nights) including the Cathedral, choir and Mass. Fly home Sunday, April 22, 2013. Includes daily breakfast and 11 dinners, English/Spanish speaking tour director throughout! Your YMT chaplain, Fr. Frank Wittouck, SCJ is a former Army chaplain; was pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Houston, TX and currently ministers in prisons and in the Cypress Assistance Ministries. This will be his sixth trip as chaplain with YTM. *Price per person based on double occupancy. Airfare is extra. Group Leaders Travel Free! Organize a group from your church on this or other YMT faith based packages. For reservations & details & letter ffrom YMT’s chaplain with his phone number call 7 days a week: Austin 512-833-3300 Toll-free 1-800-580-3300 1-800-736-7300 Join today – rbfcu.org Austin Catholic Diocese parishioners, employees and volunteers are eligible for membership. Rates and terms are subject to change. Credit cards are subject to credit approval. The 3.9% Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is a promotional rate available on cash advances and balance transfers made between July 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012 to a new or existing RBFCU MasterCard® credit card. Beginning January 2015 any remaining balance at the 3.9% APR will be repriced to a rate of 9.7% – 15.7% APR for Gold CashBack, 9.7% – 15.7% APR for Platinum Rewards and 5.7% – 14.7% APR for Platinum Preferred Rate. The APR on all purchases during the promotional period and thereafter will be at 9.7% – 15.7% APR for Gold CashBack, 9.7% – 15.7% APR for Platinum Rewards and 5.7% – 14.7% APR for Platinum Preferred Rate. Beginning April 1, 2012, purchases made with a Platinum Preferred Credit Card acquired on or after April 1, 2012, will be at 7.7% - 14.7% APR. Contact the Consumer Lending Center for complete details. Federally insured by NCUA. Are you looking for a JOB? Are you interested in working for the Diocese of Austin, Catholic Charities of Central Texas or a local parish or Catholic school? If so, visit www.austindiocese.org and click on “Employment.” Job postings have a link to the application for employment, which can be mailed or submitted electronically. GOOD NEWS 22 C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Leo the Great established the primacy of the papacy BY MARY LOU GIBSON COLUMNIST Imagine being the driving force in two signicant historical events – one secular and one spiritual – that changed the course of history in both areas. Such is the legacy of Pope Leo I, or Leo the Great as he is commonly known. During his papacy from 440 to 461, Leo was an astute diplomat, a strong leader in church affairs, a erce opponent of some bizarre heresies and a pastor to his ock. Little is known of his early life. Historians believe he was born in about 400 in Tuscany or in Rome. He was a deacon under Popes Celestine I and Sixtus III. He was as an emissary to Gaul to settle a dispute between the chief military commander and chief magistrate when Pope Sixtus died. Leo was elected to succeed him. He was consecrated on Sept. 29, 440. When Pope Leo I began his papacy, the Western Empire was breaking up and the church was in upheaval with many different views about the Christian faith being proclaimed. Pope Leo began a series of sermons and writings aimed at settling age-old theological disputes and arguing against the heresies being promulgated. Some of the more bizarre heresies included Priscillianism whose believers regarded the human body as evil; Pelagianism, a belief that original sin did not taint human nature; and Nestorianism, which emphasized the disunion between the human and divine nature of Jesus. Rodney Castleden writes in “The Book of Saints” that Pope Leo held the view that Jesus had been in the fullest sense a human being. The Manichaeans attacked this belief. They stated that matter itself was evil and therefore God could never have come to earth “in the esh.” Leo also argued against the teachings of Monophysitism, a sect declaring “one nature” of Christ. This doctrine held that Jesus was completely absorbed by his divinity, thus had no humanity. Tessa Paul reports in “The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Saints” that Leo maintained that God had made his son a man to preach the truth and to suffer in a sacricial offering. Pope Leo’s “Tomos,” or treatise on the Incarnation, to the Council of Chalcedon in 451 remains the greatest triumph of his life. He spoke of one Person with two natures and wrote: “Invisible in his own nature he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist as a moment in time. Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be a man, capable of suffering. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death.” This concept became orthodox doctrine and the ofcial teaching of the Christian church making it a turning point in Christian history. In addition to his defense of the spiritual, Pope Leo is remembered for his confrontation with Attila the Hun. Attila and his army had plundered Milan and destroyed Pavia in 452. They were now poised to invade Rome. The emperor sent Leo, in the company of two Roman senators who were without any arms or protection, to meet with the warrior. Rosemary Guiley writes in “The Encyclopedia of Saints” that Pope Leo offered Attila an annual tribute if he would withdraw from Italy. The army of Huns turned around and marched back over the Alps to Hungary. Raphael preserved this historic event in his painting of the “Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila” in 1512. It is displayed in the Vatican. Pope Leo was less successful in 455 when the North African Vandals under Genseric sacked Rome, an almost defenseless city at the time. Leo managed to get them to stop before they had burned the city and killed all the people. The vandals took some captives and Leo sent missionary priests after them to minister to the captives and purchase their freedom. A recurring theme in Pope Leo’s writings focused on the inuence of the papacy. John Delaney writes in the “Dictionary of Saints” that Leo believed the Holy See was the supreme authority in human affairs because of divine and scriptural mandates. This thinking was to affect the concept of the papacy for centuries to come. He implemented papal authority in Spain, France and North Africa and was the rst pope to claim to be Peter’s heir. Leo rmly believed that the church brought a benecial authority to affairs of state. Paul Burns writes in “Butler’s Lives of the Saints” that Pope Leo taught that the Bishop of Rome, as Peter’s heir, has universal authority derived directly from Christ. His writing states the conviction that the pope is the “private of all bishops.” This has had lasting consequences of great importance for the role of the papacy throughout history. Pope Leo died in Rome in 461. His relics are preserved in the Vatican basilica. After his death, the church became the most inuential and steadying international institution of medieval times, according to author Bernard Bangley. He is one of three Popes called “great.” The others are Gregory I (604) and Nicholas I (867). His numerous writings and sermons inspired Pope Benedict XIV to pronounce him as a doctor of the church in 1754. His feast day is Nov. 10. MARY LOU GIBSON is a member of St. Austin Parish in Austin. She is a retired state employee. Collection for Peter’s Pence The special collection for Peter’s Pence was taken up June 23-24. If your parish nds an error, call the diocesan Finance Ofce at (512) 949-2400. For more information about this collection, visit www.usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/peters-pence/. Parish Totals Austin Central Deanery Austin, Cristo Rey $2,281.47 Austin, Our Lady of Guadalupe $1,426.85 Austin, St. Austin $3,107.77 Austin, St. Ignatius $1,202.15 Austin, St. Julia $563.17 Austin, St. Mary Cathedral $2,499.55 Austin, San Jose $2,928.00 Austin Central Deanery Totals $14,008.96 Austin North Deanery Austin, Holy Vietnamese Martyrs $3,116.00 Austin, Sacred Heart $2,312.00 Austin, St. Albert the Great $3,193.00 Austin, St. Louis $3,317.00 Austin, St. Theresa $2,910.00 Austin, St. Thomas More $5,076.05 Austin, St. Vincent de Paul $2,050.02 Cedar Park, St. Margaret Mary $4,439.50 Lago Vista, Our Lady of the Lake $932.93 Austin North Deanery Totals $27,346.50 Austin South Deanery Austin, Our Lady of Sorrows (Dolores) $605.28 Austin, St. Andrew Kim $200.00 Austin, St. Catherine of Siena $5,462.25 Austin, St. John Neumann $3,937.76 Austin, St. Paul $2,671.38 Austin, St. Peter the Apostle $1,373.15 Austin, San Francisco Javier $292.00 Austin, Santa Barbara $557.00 Spicewood, Queen of Angels Chapel $123.00 Lakeway, Emmaus $1,412.00 Austin South Deanery Totals $16,633.82 Brenham/La Grange Deanery Brenham, St. Mary $1,188.46 Chappell Hill, St. Stanislaus $590.00 Dime Box, St. Joseph $341.00 Parish Totals Ellinger/Hostyn Hill, St. Mary $1,014.00 Fayetteville, St. John $860.39 Giddings, St. Margaret $656.00 La Grange, Sacred Heart $1,318.00 Lexington, Holy Family $172.00 Old Washington on the Brazos, St. Mary $181.25 Pin Oak, St. Mary $115.00 Rockdale, St. Joseph $540.21 Somerville, St. Ann $308.35 Brenham/La Grange Deanery Totals $7,284.66 Bastrop/Lockhart Deanery Bastrop, Ascension $1,185.00 Elgin, Sacred Heart $787.47 Lockhart, St. Mary of the Visitation $2,078.83 Luling, St. John $700.60 Martindale, Immaculate Heart $636.00 Rockne, Sacred Heart $1,261.58 Smithville, St. Paul $710.00 String Prairie, Assumption $272.00 Uhland, St.Michael $203.57 Bastrop/Lockhart Deanery Totals $7,835.05 Bryan/College Station Deanery Bremond, St. Mary $455.00 Bryan, St. Anthony $1,047.87 Bryan, St. Joseph $1,081.00 Bryan, Santa Teresa $170.00 Caldwell, St. Mary $733.50 College Station, St. Mary $3,312.71 College Station, St. Thomas Aquinas $3,050.00 Franklin, St. Francis of Assisi $814.50 Frenstat, Holy Rosary $591.00 Hearne, St. Mary $534.00 Bryan/College Station Deanery Totals $11,789.58 Georgetown/Round Rock Deanery Andice, Santa Rosa $1,193.00 Corn Hill, Holy Trinity $1,120.00 Parish Totals Georgetown, St. Helen $6,603.00 Granger, Sts. Cyril and Methodius $805.20 Manor, St. Joseph $454.10 Pugerville, St. Elizabeth $3,067.57 Round Rock, St. John Vianney $2,737.71 Round Rock, St. William $10,336.00 Taylor, Our Lady of Guadalupe $550.39 Taylor, St. Mary of the Assumption $1,453.05 Georgetown/Round Rock Totals $28,320.02 Killeen/Temple Deanery Belton, Christ the King $2,165.00 Burlington, St. Michael $92.00 Cameron, St. Monica $337.35 Copperas Cove, Holy Family $3,283.50 Cyclone, St. Joseph $196.00 Harker Heights, St. Paul Chong Has. $5,327.00 Killeen, St. Joseph $2,663.43 Marak, Sts. Cyril and Methodius $176.00 Rogers, St. Matthew $147.21 Rosebud, St. Ann $181.00 Salado, St. Stephen $385.00 Temple, Our Lady of Guadalupe $1,042.00 Temple, St. Luke $2,090.00 Temple, St. Mary $3,119.20 Westphalia, Visitation $533.00 Killeen/Temple Deanery Totals $21,737.69 Lampasas/Marble Falls Deanery Bertram, Holy Cross $152.45 Burnet, Our Mother of Sorrows $575.00 Goldthwaite, St. Peter $123.00 Horseshoe Bay, St. Paul the Apostle $2,005.20 Kingsland, St. Charles Borromeo $616.22 Lampasas, St. Mary $646.22 Llano, Holy Trinity $371.69 Lometa, Good Shepherd $212.00 Marble Falls, St. John $625.33 Parish Totals Mason, St. Joseph $333.80 San Saba, St. Mary $646.72 Sunrise Beach, Our Lady of the Lake $182.00 Lampasas/Marble Falls Deanery Totals $6,489.63 San Marcos Deanery Blanco, St. Ferdinand $401.74 Buda, Santa Cruz $2,199.11 Dripping Springs, St. Martin de Porres $2,121.50 Johnson City, Good Shepherd $248.01 Kyle, St. Anthony Marie de Claret $1,479.56 San Marcos, H. L. Grant Center $295.00 San Marcos, St. John $3,361.21 Wimberley, St. Mary $1,326.12 San Marcos Deanery Totals $11,432.25 Waco Deanery Elk, St. Joseph $224.00 Gatesville, Our Lady of Lourdes $774.50 Hamilton, St. Thomas $258.00 Lott, Sacred Heart $60.00 McGregor, St. Eugene $366.25 Marlin, St. Joseph $454.98 Mexia, St. Mary $557.05 Tours, St. Martin $519.00 Waco, Sacred Heart $400.00 Waco, St. Francis on the Brazos $614.87 Waco (Hewitt), St. Jerome $2,714.39 Waco, St. John the Baptist $141.09 Waco (Bellmead), St. Joseph $747.00 Waco, St. Louis $4,470.37 Waco, St. Mary of the Assumption $940.22 Waco, St. Peter Catholic Center $211.40 West, Church of the Assumption $611.00 Waco Deanery Totals $14,064.12 Grand Total $166,942.28 November 2012 GOOD NEWS 23 Faithful citizenship after the votes are counted BY BARBARA BUDDE COLUMNIST If you are reading this before Nov. 6 and you have not yet voted, please vote. It is a privilege to live in this country and our votes are important so please make your voice heard and cast your vote. As important as it is to vote, it is not sufcient to fulll our responsibilities as faithful citizens. The vision and values articulated by our Texas and national conference of bishops cross every partisan line. We support life and we support the necessary revenues to provide for added public services for families that will help them choose life and feed their children and provide basic necessities for the poor, the elderly and disabled. We support immigration reform and foreign aid for the poorest of the poor across the globe. We support an end to the use of the death penalty and we support efforts for peace. We do not support unjust war. No party embraces our comprehensive vision for a community of life, justice and peace. We need to work for that after our votes are counted. There are very concrete steps that all of us can take to be faithful citizens and to make a concrete difference in our local communities, state and nation. First of all, we can be relational. Whether our preferred candidate won or not, we can write to congratulate him or her and thank the candidate for their commitment to public service. Communicate with them regularly on issues of interest and concern to the Catholic community. We must also stay informed on the issues. The Texas Catholic Voice is a weekly newsletter of the Texas Catholic Conference at www.txcatholic.org. This newsletter keeps us informed on state issues. The website is lled with information on every priority of the Texas bishops and the newsletter will alert us as to key times to communicate with legislators or state ofcials. On the national level, we can sign up for action alerts from the USCCB at www. usccb.org/issues-and-action/take-action-now/capwiz/capwiz-signup.cfm. We must then follow up by communicating regularly with politicians. When we write, we will get form letters back, and that is to be expected, but we can try to establish a relationship with a staff person in the ofce of the elected ofcial so we can e-mail or call them directly. The information we get from the action alerts of the Texas Catholic Conference and the USCCB is in complete conformity with the teachings of the Catholic Church, so we should use that information as we communicate with our legislators. Some groups that support Catholic issues in some areas might oppose the bishops on other issues, so be careful. Not every group that has “Catholic” in their name is run by the bishops. We can also participate in Advocacy Days. On Feb. 12, 2013, advocates from around the country will visit legislative ofces in Washington D.C. Even if we can’t go to Washington to be a part of this effort, we can support it by calling our legislators and telling them that we support the delegates who will visit their ofces. On April 9, 2013, we can join our Texas bishops as they visit the State Capitol for Catholic Advocacy day. Again, if we can’t make the trip to Austin for this event, we can call the ofces of our legislators in support of the agenda that the bishops and other Catholics will bring that day. These calls to national and state ofces will have a huge effect –– especially if the relationship has been nurtured in the weeks and months before. As Catholics we have a comprehensive and consistent moral vision for the good of each and every person. If we work together to make our voices heard, not just by voting, but by advocating for that vision of the common good we can have huge inuence. Isn’t that worth our time and effort? BARBARA BUDDE is the diocesan director of social concerns. She can be reached at (512) 949-2471 or barbara-budde@ austindiocese.org. Assisted suicide is not the answer, no matter the question REV. TADEUSZ PACHOLCZYK, PH.D. COLUMNIST Several states are considering legislative measures to let physicians prescribe (but not administer) a lethal dose of a toxic drug to their patients, thereby assisting their patients to commit suicide. This is known as physician-assisted suicide. Advocates of this practice assure us that this can be a good choice for someone who is dying, or who wants to die. If physician-assisted suicide really represents a “good choice,” we need to ask: why should only physicians be able to participate? Why should only physicians be allowed to undermine public trust of their profession through these kinds of death-dealing activities? Why not include police, for example? If a sick person expresses a wish to die, the police could be notied, and an ofcer would arrive bearing a suitable rearm. He would load it with bullets, cock the gun, and place it on the bedside stand of the sick patient. After giving instruction on the best way to angle the barrel, the ofcer would depart, and the patient could then pick the device up and shoot himself — “police-assisted suicide.” Besides physician-assisted suicide and police-assisted suicide, “militaryassisted suicide” could be offered as well. Members of the armed forces would bring in a standard-issue hand grenade upon request, explaining to the sick patient how to remove the pin properly and how to place the device so as to achieve the most rapid, painless and destructive death. The assisted-suicide paradigm would readily admit of other creative approaches as well — society could sanction “assisted drownings” where lifeguards could be asked to assist those wishing to die by providing them millstones to take them to the bottom of lakes and oceans. But if a life-guard helped people drown, would you want him watching your family at the beach? It is troubling how many individuals fail to grasp the radical absurdity of allowing physician-assisted suicide. Suicide is no joking matter. Regardless of how it transpires, it is a catastrophe for those who end their own lives, for their loved ones left behind, and for society more broadly. Some people may decide that their lives are no longer worth living, but our society has always recognized that decision to be a tragedy and a mistake; that’s why high bridges have signs encouraging suicidal individuals to seek help rather than jump. Suicide hotlines are open 24 hours a day because we seek to prevent as many deaths as we can. We treat as heroes those who walk along bridges or climb tall buildings and try to talk people down. Commentator Greg Pfundstein stresses how this sound and consis- tent cultural message is atly contradicted when we allow physicians to prescribe lethal drugs so people can kill themselves — it is like replacing the suicide intervention signs on bridges with signs that state, “Ask your physician if jumping is right for you.” Simply put, such jumping is never a “good thing,” and it is only our own foolhardiness that lets us feign it could be, whether physicianassisted or otherwise. I remember reading a “Letter to the Editor” in the local paper of a small town many years ago. The woman wrote about the death of her grandparents — well-educated, intelligent and seemingly in control of their faculties — who had tragically committed suicide together by drinking a deadly substance. They were elderly and struggling with various ailments. Her rst-hand perspective was uninching: “It took me years to forgive my grandparents after they committed suicide. I was so angry at what they had done to me and my family. I felt betrayed. I felt nauseated. At some fundamental level I just couldn’t believe it had really happened, and I couldn’t believe that they didn’t reach out to us for help. I thought the pain would never go away. The idea that suicide could ever be a good thing is a total crock and a lie. It leaves behind deep scars and immeasurable pain on the part of family and friends. We don’t have the right to take our own lives because we didn’t give ourselves life.” I’m reminded of the words of the mayor of one of our great cities, who declared: “The crime rate isn’t so bad if you just don’t count the murders.” Assisted suicide, similarly, isn’t so bad if you just don’t count the victims: the many broken individuals, broken families and broken hearts. A friend of mine in Canada has struggled with multiple sclerosis for many years. He often speaks out against assisted suicide. Recently, he sent me a picture of himself taken with his smiling grandchildren, one sitting on each arm of his wheelchair. Below the picture he wrote, “If I had opted for assisted suicide back in the mid1980s when I rst developed MS, and it seemed life as I knew it was over, look what I would have missed. I had no idea that one day I would be head over heels in love with grandchildren! Never give up on life.” FATHER TADEUSZ PACHOLCZYK, PH.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.ncbcenter.org. 24 BULLETIN BOARD NFP classes.................... C ATHOLIC S PIRIT For Your Information The 13th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty will be held Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. on the South Steps of the Texas State Capitol. For more information, visit www.marchforabolition.org. This is not a ministry of the Austin Diocese. PREPARE-ENRICH Facilitators Certification Training will be offered Nov. 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St Paul Chong Hasang Parish in Harker Heights. The cost is $125 for lunch and materials. A ier is available at www.austindiocese.org/resources. php?dept_id=26. For more information, e-mail [email protected]. “Together in God’s Love,” a marriage preparation class, will begin Nov. 6 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the diocesan Pastoral Center in Austin. Subsequent classes will be held Nov. 13, 27 and Dec. 4. The classes include talks on faith, communication, sexuality and stewardship in the context of Catholic marriage. For registration information, contact your parish or the diocesan Catholic Family Life and Family Counseling Ofce at (512) 949-2495. Catholic Scripture Study of Austin meets on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. at St. Louis Parish in Austin. The weekly twohour Bible study consists of prayer and discussion, and is open to everyone. This year’s focus is on the book of Genesis. Register online at www.cssaustin.org or contact Rosemary Howard at (512) 345-3687. Sarah’s Hope is a free spiritual support program for couples struggling to conceive or with pregnancy loss. Monthly women’s support groups are held on the rst Wednesday of the month (rosary at 6:45 p.m., discussion at 7 p.m.) at the Vitae Clinic in Austin. Upcoming meetings are Nov. 7 and Dec. 5. E-mail [email protected] or call (512) 736-7334 for more information. Sarah’s Hope is not a ministry of the Austin Diocese. Theology on Tap, a speaker series for young adults, will meet Nov. 7 at Fado Irish Pub in Austin. James Puglisi, Associate Director of Campus Ministry at St. Edwards University, will discuss the Catholic Church and interfaith dialogue. Live music will begin at 6 p.m. and the presentation starts at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Jennifer Kodysz at (512) 949-2467 or [email protected]. Catholic Scripture Study meets Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Cedar Park. The weekly Bible study consists of prayer and discussion, and is open to everyone. This year’s focus is on the book of Genesis. For more information, contact Bob Gorski at (512) 636-2927 or [email protected]. The Catholic Physician’s Guild will host an evening with Dr. John Haas, PhD from the National Catholic Bioethics Center Nov. 7 in Morris Hall at St. John Neumann Parish in Austin. The reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and the program will follow at 7 p.m. Haas will discuss “Provider Conscience and Patient Autonomy.” One hour of Continuing Medical Education (CME) ethics credit will be available for the event. Health care professionals and patients alike are invited to attend. For more information or to register, e-mail [email protected]. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Austin (CCRA) will host its monthly Mass Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the University Catholic Center in Austin. A healing service will follow the Mass. These charismatic Masses offer the opportunity to experience and rediscover the power Jesus promised us through the Holy Spirit. For more information, contact Sabrina Perez at (512) 466-7669 or visit www.ccraustin.org. The Austin Prayer Vigil for Life is Nov. 17 at St. Paul Parish in Austin. Mass will begin at 7 a.m. Following the Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be in the church and a caravan will travel to Whole Women’s Health on N. IH 35 where the rosary will be prayed at the site from 8:20 to 9:50 a.m. Benediction will follow at St. Paul at 10:30 a.m. Refreshments will be served at 10:40 a.m. All are invited to attend. For more information contact Bob Christiansen at (512) 255-8551. Pax Christi Austin will meet Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Father John Payne House at St. Ignatius, Martyr Parish in Austin. Pax Christi Austin, which meets the third Sunday of every month, is a member of Pax Christi International and Pax Christi USA, the Catholic peace and justice movement that works and prays to create a world that reects the peace of Christ. For more information, contact Bob Rankin at [email protected]. Diocesan offices will be closed Nov. 22-23 in observance of Thanksgiving. The Killeen Prayer Vigil for Life will be held Nov. 24 and will begin with Mass at 8:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Parish in Killeen. After Mass, a caravan and procession to pray the rosary at Killeen Women’s Health Center will be held at 9:45 a.m. All will return to St. Joseph for closing and fellowship at 11:15 a.m. For more information, contact Karen Hinze at (254) 986-1134. Hispanic young adults are invited to Mass (in Spanish) Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Austin. Participants will pray the rosary beginning at 8:30 p.m. For more information, contact Juan Torres at (512) 415-5908 or Lily Morales at (512) 363-3609 or pjhaustin@ gmail.com. An introductory session on the Creighton Model of natural family planning will be held Nov. 3 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Seton Williamson, Room 3 in Round Rock. The cost to attend is $30. Individuals may register by e-mail at [email protected] or calling (512) 474-2757 and leaving a message (provide name, address, phone and the date to attend). A series of classes on the Billings Ovulation Method of natural family planning will begin Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. at St. Luke Parish in Temple. The course consists of three classes over a six-week period. For more information, contact Amanda and Ryan Ransom at [email protected]. A series of classes on the SymptoThermal Method of natural family planning will be held beginning Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Austin. The classes are spaced about one month apart and will help couples learn how to identify the three common signs of fertility and infertility. To register, visit http://register.ccli.org. The Austin Couple to Couple League will offer a natural family planning Introduction Seminar Nov. 11 at 3 p.m. at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Austin. The class will satisfy the Austin Diocese requirement for marriage. To register call Sam and Katrina Hartsock at (512) 899-8294. An introductory session on the Creighton Model of natural family planning will be held Nov. 15 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. John Neumann Parish, St. Timothy Room. The cost to attend is $30. Individuals may register by e-mail at [email protected] or calling (512) 474-2757 and leaving a message (provide name, address, phone and the date to attend). An introductory session on the Creighton Model of natural family planning will be held Dec. 1 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Seton Williamson, Room 3 in Round Rock. The cost to attend is $30. Individuals may register by e-mail at [email protected] or calling (512) 474-2757 and leaving a message (provide name, address, phone and the date to attend). An introductory session on the Creighton Model of natural family planning will be held Dec. 6 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Seton Medical Center, South Conference Room, in Austin. The cost to attend is $30. Individuals may register by e-mail at [email protected] or calling (512) 474-2757 and leaving a message (provide name, address, phone and the date to attend). A series of classes on the SymptoThermal Method of natural family planning will begin Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at St. Mary Cathedral in Austin. The classes are spaced about one month apart and will help couples learn how to identify the three common signs of fertility and infertility. To register, visit http://register.ccli.org. Discernment.................. A Discernment Dinner for high school age Catholic men will be held Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at St. William Parish Rectory in Round Rock. Young men with an openness to encountering Christ, discovering their identity, and their mission are invited to join others for dinner, evening prayer, a presentation, and discussion. For more information, contact Father Jonathan Raia at (512) 600-8154 or frjonathan@ saintwilliams.org. The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity will host a Year of Faith Vocation Discernment Retreat for young, single, Catholic women Nov. 9-11. Register online at www.fscc-calledtobe.org or contact Sister Mary Ann Spanjers at (920) 973-9903. Single, Catholic women ages 18 to 50 who are discerning God’s call are invited to attend a “Come and See” weekend Nov. 10-11 at Incarnate Word Convent in Victoria. Visit www.iwbsvictoria.org, call (361) 575-7111 or e-mail [email protected] for more details or to make a reservation. A Discernment Dinner for single, Catholic men (ages 18 and older) with an openness to a priestly vocation and discernment will be held Nov. 14 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Borromeo House in Austin. The evening includes dinner, prayer, and a presentation. For more information, contact Father Brian McMaster at (512) 949-2430 or [email protected]. “Heart of Jesus,” a discernment retreat for men, will be held Dec. 14-16 at Cedarbrake Catholic Retreat Center in Belton. For more information, contact the Vocation Ofce at (512) 949-2430 or [email protected]. Send in your items! CATHOLIC SPIRIT offers this page, “For Your Information,” as a “community bulletin board.” Items of general interest of upcoming parish and diocesan events, including parish social events, will be printed at no charge at the discretion of the editor. The deadline for material is the 10th of the month, with publication occurring the rst week of the following month. Material may be e-mailed to catholic-spirit@austindiocese. org or faxed to (512) 949-2523. BULLETIN BOARD Community events and retreats................................ November 2012 Alumni and friends of St. Peter Catholic Student Center campus ministry at Baylor in Waco are invited to a Statue Dedication and Homecoming Reception Nov. 3. The class of 2012 raised funds to purchase a statue of St. Peter in memory of former student, Loren “Lo” Oglesby, who died in January 2010. Mass will be celebrated, followed by the dedication and a short reception. Later in the day, the Catholic Student Association at Baylor will host a “Welcome Home” alumni tailgate before Baylor’s game against Kansas. Visit www.baylorcatholic.org for details. Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Austin will host its eighth annual Golf Tournament Nov. 3 with registration beginning at 7 a.m. The registration fee is $85 per player, which includes greens fee, range balls, cart, lunch and more. Download the registration form at www. golf.olgaustin.org or call Mo Renteria at (512) 474-7230. The PTC of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic School in Granger will host its Fall Social Nov. 4 at the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Parish Hall. Turkey and dressing will be served beginning at 11 a.m.; plates are $8.50 (adults) or $4.50 Burse The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women has completed a burse for the Clerical Endowment Fund (CEF) in honor of Father Joe Frazer. The totals for the burse as of Sept. 30, 2012, are listed below by council. Austin Council $556.00 Brazos Valley Council $120.00 Central Council $1,887.00 Eastern Council $911.00 Northern Council $1,511.00 Temple Council $454.00 Previous Balance $4,434.48 Total $9,873.48 The Clerical Endowment Fund provides low-cost loans to parishes. Interest from the loans is used to educate diocesan seminarians. For information, contact either Father Ed Karasek at (254) 826-3705 or Mary Ann Till at (512) 353-4943. 25 (children). Activities include bingo, a live auction at 1 p.m. and games for all ages. St. William Parish in Round Rock continues its Catholic Speaker Series with a two-day presentation by Ralph Martin Nov. 4-5 at 7 p.m. at St. William Parish in Round Rock. The topics for the evenings are “The New Evangelization: What it is and how we can take part in it” and “We’re in a war: How to protect ourselves and our families and how to take the offensive.” The two-day pass is $15 for adults and $7.50 for students. Single day passes are also available. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www. saintwilliams.org or contact Ana-Cristina Gonzalez at (512) 600-8179. The Ladies of Charity of Lake Travis will host an interactive round table discussion entitled “The Good Samaritan: Doing The Right Thing” Nov. 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of Emmaus Parish in Lakeway. Barbara Budde, the diocesan director of Social Concerns, will lead the discussion. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact LOC Secretary, Sheryl Kelly at (512) 261-6067 or e-mail presidentladiesofcharity@gmail. com. The St. William’s 30th Annual Arts & Crafts Show sponsored by Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court 2415 will be held Nov. 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the St. William Parish Pavillion in Round Rock. Admission is free, but non-perishable food items will be collected at the door, which will be donated to St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry at St. William. More than 40 vendors will offer handmade Christmas decorations, religious items, jewelry, woodwork, etc. The women of St Albert the Great will present the 13th annual Holiday Craft Fair Nov. 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Albert the Great Parish Hall in Austin. It will include pictures with Santa, a silent auction, and many handmade crafts (including ceramics, jewelry, painting, embroidery and religious items). Christ the King Parish in Belton will host its annual Fall Bazaar Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Festivities include a full Thanksgiving meal, live auction, an obstacle course for children and a bounce house. Proceeds benet the youth ministry program at Christ the King. Veterans eat free! The Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary and Junior Daughters of Holy Cross Court 284 will host their Annual Mother-Daughter Tea Nov. 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. at The Boys Scouts of America, Frank Fickett Training Center in Austin. Tickets are $15, and will benet Junior conferences and charitable works. Seating is limited, so get tickets now by calling (512) 472-0714. An Evening in Pakistan will be held Nov. 11 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at St. Rita’s Center at St. Helen Parish in Georgetown. The evening is sponsored by the Missionaries of Hope to raise money to build Catholic Schools for the impoverished children of Pakistan. Tickets are $35 each and include a Pakistani buffet, traditional entertainment and a silent auction featuring unusual Pakistani items. For more information, visit www.godsforgottenchildren.org or contact Virginia Lee at (512) 426-9795. St. Elizabeth Parish in Pugerville will host an ACTS retreat for men in English Nov. 15-18. To register, visit www.stelizabethpf.org or call Ray Riley at (281) 359-4699. A Silent Weekend Retreat will be held Nov. 30–Dec. 2 at Cedarbrake Catholic Retreat Center in Belton. Set the tone for the Advent season and the birth of Christ by taking some quiet time away from distractions and errands. The cost is $150 (all rooms are private). For more information and to register, contact Cedarbrake at (254) 780-2436 or [email protected]. St. John Neumann Parish in Austin will host several presentations by Dr. Peter Kreeft, a theologian and writer of more than 40 books, on Dec. 1-2. A retreat entitled “Whom Do We Meet in the Eucharist?” will be held Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kreeft will also give a dinner presentation the evening of Dec. 1; he will explore Catholic and Muslim relations. On Dec. 2 at 10:15 a.m., he will discuss “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven.” To register, visit http://peterkreeft.eventbrite.com. “Mary, Teach Us to Pray,” an Advent retreat for women, will be held Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Paul Chong Hasang Parish Center in Harker Heights. Dominican Sister Helen Marie Raycraft will lead the retreat. Participants are asked to bring their Bibles. The cost is $30, which covers lunch and materials. To register, call (254) 698-4338. St. Elizabeth Parish in Pugerville will host Supper with Santa Dec. 1 beginning at 4:30 p.m. Dinner will be served, Santa will be on hand and there will be a craft store. The Men’s Ministry Group of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Austin will host its Christmas GuadalupeFest Dec. 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast tacos and menudo will be served from 9 to 11 a.m. and barbecue chicken will be served after that. For vendor information, contact Leo De La Garza at (512) 656-3914. Catholic Charities of Central Texas will present Women of the Well, a faith and fellowship breakfast, Dec. 3 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the diocesan Pastoral Center in Austin. Kathryn Whitaker, a mother and wife who is committed to stewardship and discipleship, will be the guest speaker. Register online at www.ccctx.org/wow. An Advent Dinner will be held Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Cedarbrake Catholic Retreat Center in Belton. Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi will be the guest speaker. The cost is $25 per person. For more information and to register, contact Cedarbrake at (254) 780-2436 or [email protected]. St. Thomas More Parish in Austin will host an Ecumenical Prayer Service for deceased children on Dec. 9. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with appetizers and fellowship, and the prayer service will begin at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Dottie at [email protected] or (512) 9924921 by Dec. 1. Pastoral support for victims of sexual abuse The Diocese of Austin is committed to providing condential and compassionate care to victims of sexual abuse, particularly if the abuse was committed by clergy or a church representative. If you have experienced abuse by someone representing the Catholic Church, please contact the diocesan coordinator of pastoral care at (512) 949-2400. Apoyo pastoral a las víctimas de abuso sexual La Diócesis de Austin se compromete a proporcionar ayuda condencial y compasiva a las víctimas de abuso sexual, especialmente si el abuso fue cometido por el clero o un representante de la iglesia. Si usted ha sufrido abusos por parte de alguien que representa la Iglesia Católica, por favor comuníquese con el coordinador diocesano del cuidado pastoral al (512) 949-2400. How to report an incident of concern The Diocese of Austin is committed to preventing harm from happening to any of our children or vulnerable adults. If you are aware of sexual or physical abuse and/or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, state law requires you to report that information to local law enforcement or the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services at (800) 252-5400 or www.dfps.state.tx.us. Additionally, if the suspected abuse is by clergy or an employee or volunteer of any diocesan parish, school or agency, a Notice of Concern should be submitted to the diocesan Ethics and Integrity in Ministry Ofce at (512) 949-2400. The l Notice of Concern can be found at www.austindiocese.org (click on the link HOW TO REPORT ABUSE). Reports may be made anonymously. Cómo reportar un caso de abuso La Diócesis de Austin está comprometida a la prevención del daño que se cause a cualquier niño o adulto vulnerable. Si usted está enterado del abuso sexual o físico y/o abandono de un niño o adulto vulnerable, la ley estatal requiere que se reporte esa información a la policía local o el Departamento de Servicios Familiares y de Protección del Estado de Texas al (800) 252-5400 o al sitio: www.dfps.state.tx.us y además, si la sospecha de abuso es por parte del clero, empleado o voluntario de cualquier parroquia, escuela u organización de la diócesis, se debe enviar un Reporte de Abuso y debe ser presentado a la Ocina de Ética e Integridad en el Ministerio de la diócesis al (512) 949-2400. El Reporte de Abuso se encuentra en nuestra página de Internet diocesana: www.austindiocese.org ( Haga click en la liga COMO REPORTAR UN CASO DE ABUSO). Estos reportes pueden ser hechos de manera anónima. ESPAÑOL 26 C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Cuando nuestra alma tiene sed de Dios E L O BISPO J OE S. VÁSQUEZ es el quinto obispo de la Diócesis de Austin. Es pastor para casi 500,000 católicos en 25 condados en el Centro de Texas. Editora: La sequía espiritual parece ser discutida mucho últimamente. Señor Obispo, ¿cómo dene usted la sequía espiritual? Obispo Vásquez: La sequía espiritual es una condición humana que sufren las personas que anhelan a Dios. Se trata de un profundo deseo de la persona de experimentar a Dios. En Texas, hemos experimentado las sequías ambientales durante algún tiempo. Sabemos que sin el don precioso de la lluvia nuestra tierra, los cultivos, el ganado y nosotros mismos empezamos a languidecer. Incluso con una pequeña cantidad de lluvia, todo nuestro medio se transforma. El alma experimenta algo similar con la sequía espiritual. Esto se expresa vívidamente en las Escrituras por los salmistas: “Como ciervo sediento en busca de un río, así Dios mío, te busco a ti. Tengo sed de Dios, del Dios de la vida. ¿Cuándo volveré a presentarme ante Dios?” Sal 42,2-3. Editora: De hecho, muchos santos han hablado de experimentar la sequía espiritual. Obispo Vásquez: Los santos, y todos nosotros, en algún grado hemos tenido la experiencia de la sequía espiritual para que podamos apreciar mejor la presencia de Dios en nuestras vidas. De hecho, Santa Teresa de Ávila y San Juan de la Cruz escribieron extensamente sobre la sequía espiritual o la “noche oscura del alma”. San Juan de la Cruz escribió en el siglo XVI, “Esta noche oscura es un inujo de Dios en el alma — llamada contemplación infundida o teología mística. Dios secretamente enseña al alma y la instruye a la perfección de amor, sin hacer nada. Es la sabiduría amorosa de Dios, y Él la prepara para la unión de amor con Dios”. Beata Teresa de Calcuta, a quien conocemos bien como la Madre Teresa, se sintió abandonada y separada del Señor en gran parte del tiempo que pasó haciendo trabajos profundos de caridad en la India y en todo el mundo. “En mi alma siento ese dolor terrible de pérdida… de que Dios... no me quiere — de que Dios no es Dios — de que Dios no existe”, escribió a principios de su camino espiritual. Sin embargo, ella continuó haciendo el trabajo de Dios ayudando a los más pobres entre los pobres. Ella estaba haciendo un gran trabajo, haciendo cosas maravillosas y parecía por lo menos poder comunicar el rostro y el amor de Dios a los demás, pero ella misma no podía encontrarlo. Debido a que estos grandes hombres y mujeres de nuestra tradición católica experimentaron sequía espiritual, también debemos entender que habrá periodos de sequía espiritual en nuestras propias vidas. Cualquier persona que desea vivir una vida buena y santa puede encontrarse sintiéndose desconectada de Dios. Podemos encontrar esperanza y aliento a medida que estudiamos las vidas y escritos de estos hombres y mujeres santos, porque perseveraron en su delidad a Dios y a sus ministerios. Editora: ¿Alguna vez ha experimentado sequía espiritual? Obispo Vásquez: Sí, lo he experimentado yo mismo al igual que muchos otros lo han hecho. El cambio y la transición de una etapa de la vida a otra, la pérdida de un ser querido, la pérdida de los padres, la enfermedad, la separación, el divorcio, los niños saliéndo de casa y comenzando su propia vida — todos estos eventos pueden causar esta dimensión de sequía espiritual. Es tangible, ya que puede afectarnos física y emocionalmente también. También puede afectar la forma en que nos relacionamos con otras personas y cómo tratamos a los demás. Otras cosas que pueden causar la sequía espiritual son el pecado, el no ser o hacer lo que Dios quiere de nosotros, las relaciones que no son saludables y equilibradas y nuestra propia separación de Dios. Si nos hace falta esa conexión entre nosotros y Dios, o si nos alejamos de Dios, podemos entrar en una sequía espiritual. Editora: ¿Cómo podemos superar tal sequía? Obispo Vásquez: Lo primero que debe suceder es que debemos tomar conciencia de lo que estamos viviendo y discernir a través de los dones del Espíritu Santo, lo que está pasando. Debemos reconocerlo y aceptarlo. No debemos tener miedo. Una de las mejores cosas que se pueden hacer es buscar la guía de un director espiritual. Todos debemos tener a alguien que tenga experiencia en el camino de la fe —alguien en quien podamos conar, alguien con quien podamos hablar de nuestras luchas espirituales. Un buen director espiritual escucha todo lo que estamos viviendo sin hacer juicios. El ministerio del director espiritual es evaluar en dónde estamos en nuestro camino espiritual. Cuando estamos luchando con esa sequedad espiritual, siempre debemos saber que Dios está con nosotros, no importa lo que pase. Aún cuando no podemos sentir su presencia, aún cuando no nos sentimos como si estuviera aquí, Dios está con nosotros. Por lo tanto, nunca debemos vacilar de clamar a Dios y expresarle verbalmente a Él lo que estamos sintiendo. Podemos volvernos a los Salmos para encontrar formas hermosas de clamar a Dios en esa sed espiritual. “Hacia ti tiendo las manos, sediento de ti, cual tierra seca. Señor, respóndeme pronto, pues ya se me acaba el aliento. No me niegues tu ayuda porque entonces seré como los muertos”, Salmo 143, 6-7. El salmista se pregunta “¿En dónde estás, Dios? Mi alma está sedienta, sin agua, como tierra seca. “Cuando nos sentimos así, nosotros, también, podemos unirnos a la oración y clamar a Dios y decirle cómo nos sentimos. Cuando nos sentimos secos, sin vida y endurecidos, y cuando anhelamos esa lluvia espiritual en esta vida que sólo Dios nos puede dar, tenemos que volvernos al Señor en oración. Este es un momento en el que podemos apoyarnos en las oraciones que memorizan los niños — el Padre Nuestro, el Ave María, la Gloria o el rezo del rosario, pueden ayudarnos a abrirnos a escuchar la voz de Dios. Los santos hombres y mujeres nos han enseñado que no debemos cambiar nuestras rutinas porque estamos sufriendo la sequía espiritual. Tenemos que seguir manteniendo la concentración en la Misa, los sacramentos y la oración. La estabilidad que encontramos en estas prácticas es beneciosa. Los sacramentos son la gracia de Dios que se derrama, y nos ayudan a conocerlo. El sacramento de la reconciliación es una excelente manera de volvernos a conectar con Dios, especialmente si el pecado es lo que nos ha llevado lejos de él. Otra razón por la que experimentamos sequía espiritual es debido a la hiperactividad de nuestro mundo de hoy. Estamos tan ocupados que no tenemos tiempo para detenernos y reexionar sobre la vida, por lo que no somos capaces de sentir la presencia de Dios porque no nos hemos tomado el tiempo para darnos cuenta de su presencia. ¿Cómo puede Dios penetrar en mi corazón y en mis oídos para escucharlo si estoy tan ocupado y tan involucrado en otras cosas que no me tomo el tiempo para hacerlo? El Papa Benedicto XVI habla sobre nuestra hiperactividad, sobre todo en el mundo occidental. “En muchas de nuestras sociedades, junto a la prosperidad material, hay un desierto espiritual que se está extendiendo: un vacío interior, un miedo sin nombre, una tranquila sensación de desesperación. ¿Cuántos de nuestros contemporáneos han construido cisternas rotas y vacías en una búsqueda desesperada de signicado? El último signicado que sólo el amor puede dar” el Papa ha dicho. Por lo tanto, todos tenemos que tomar tiempo para estar tranquilos. El tiempo de retiro puede ser muy útil, sin embargo, a muchas personas les resulta muy difícil a causa de los niños, el trabajo y otras obligaciones. Sin lugar a dudas, hay momentos en cada uno de nuestros días en los que se pueden crear unos momentos de tranquilidad — tal vez temprano en la mañana o durante la hora de almuerzo o tal vez llegando a Misa temprano o permaneciendo durante unos minutos después de la Misa. Cuando llegamos a ser espiritualmente conscientes de Dios, comenzamos a entender su llamado. Él está siempre con nosotros, siempre nos está hablando, debemos asegurarnos de que estamos conscientes de Él y estamos escuchando lo que está diciendo. Editora: ¿Cuál es su oración por los que sufren de sequía espiritual? Obispo Vásquez: Rezo para que aquellos que pasan por esta experiencia, no pierdan la esperanza. Jesús clamó en sus últimos momentos de sufrimiento: “Dios mío, Dios mío, ¿por qué me has abandonado?” Esas son las palabras de un hombre que se enfrenta a horrible sufrimiento y dolor, y él clama a Dios. Así, también, podemos unirnos a la oración a Dios y no tener miedo de que Dios, de alguna manera se ofenda si clamamos en ese sentido. No hay que perder la esperanza, porque sabemos que después de su sufrimiento, ¡Jesús resucitó! Incluso, en tiempos de oscuridad, en el sufrimiento y en la sequía espiritual, Jesús es nuestra esperanza y nuestra salvación. ASÍ COMO LA TIERRA SEDIENTA anhela la lluvia, nuestros corazones anhelan a Dios cuando experimentamos la sequía espiritual, El Obispo Vásquez dice en la entrevista de este mes. (Foto CNS) ESPAÑOL November 2012 27 Celebrando el Día de Acción de Gracias inmigrantes del siglo diecisiete hace eco en la mente y el corazón de muchos de nosotros que, por ser inmigrantes, comprendemos muy bien la experiencia de la carestía, del sufrimiento, de la La cultura latina en los Estados Unidos es muy diversa. Las costumbres muerte, de la dependencia de la bondad de los lugareños para poder sobrevivir. y tradiciones que celebramos varían Al igual que los primeros colonizagrandemente dependiendo de nuestro dores, también nosotros nos sentimos país de origen, región o población. Sin profundamente agradecidos por las embargo, a pesar de la diversidad, los bendiciones recibidas en esta tierra y latinos poseemos tres características comunes: nuestra profunda religiosidad, con aquellos que llegaron antes que nosotros y nos han tendido la mano. nuestro amor por la familia y nuestras Queremos compartir lo poco o mucho estas. Estas tres características se que tenemos con los que apenas llegan ven reejadas en la manera como los latinos celebramos el Día de Acción de y con los que, bondadosa y generosamente, nos han ayudado en el largo Gracias. proceso de inmersión en una nueva El Día de Acción de Gracias no es lengua, cultura y país. una “celebración latina” propiamente Para muchos latinos, la celebración hablando, como lo son la Fiesta de la del Día de Acción de Gracias es un Virgen de Guadalupe o las Posadas. En la mentalidad e historia de nuestras punto de llegada y un punto de partida: hermanas y hermanos estadounidenses, al mismo tiempo que aprendemos de la historia de los Estados Unidos, también a quienes cariñosamente llamamos “americanos”, el Día de Acción de Gra- aprendemos de nuestra propia historia. cias es una celebración que conmemora Con esta celebración asumimos nuestra la llegada de algunos de los primeros in- nueva realidad, comprendiendo que al migrantes británicos que sobrevivieron participar de ella, de algún modo nos sumergimos en esta nueva cultura, nos el crudo invierno de 1620. Su sobrehacemos parte de ella, participamos de vivencia fue posible gracias a la ayuda que les brindó la tribu Wampanoag. En su riqueza y de su profundo signicado. Hoy día, muchos latinos ya celebraseñal de agradecimiento a Dios por los favores recibidos, ellos compartieron el mos el Día de Acción de Gracias: le pan. Esta parte de la historia de algunos damos gracias a Dios por todo lo que POR PADRE JAIRO SANDOVAL-PLIEGO COLUMNISTA nos ha pasado: lo bueno y lo difícil, las alegrías y las penas, la acogida fraterna e incluso la persecución y el rechazo, que nos dan la posibilidad de hacernos más compasivos frente al que sufre. Agradecemos a Dios por la oportunidad de encontrar trabajo, de obtener medios para sostener a nuestra familia, cercana o lejana. Cuando es posible, compartimos esta celebración con nuestras hermanas y hermanos americanos, que no han olvidado que, como nosotros, ellos o sus antepasados también necesitaron de alguien que les abriera los brazos y las puertas de su casa para poder sobrevivir “el crudo invierno”. Sin embargo, algunas hermanas y hermanos latinoamericanos aún no han comprendido la importancia de la celebración del Día de Acción de Gracias. Los invito a que hagan un esfuerzo por detener sus actividades cotidianas y celebrar este gran día en la vida de la sociedad en la que vivimos. Hagámoslo con un profundo deseo y consciencia de querer ser parte de un grupo, de una familia que va más allá de nuestra propia familia, una familia que se ensancha y nos abarca e incluye en un grupo que se compone de nuestras amigas y amigos, paisanos, los que comparten nuestra lengua, nuestras raíces religiosas, los que trabajan con nosotros, aquellos para quienes trabajamos, y nuestras hermanas y hermanos americanos. Ellos, que llegaron antes que nosotros, son quienes nos han abierto las puertas de sus hogares y de sus iglesias, los que nos dan trabajo, y los que en ocasiones nos han ayudado y muchas veces nos acompañan en nuestro caminar. Quizás nuestras mesas del Día de Acción de Gracias se vean “ligeramente alteradas” por la presencia de platillos o condimentos que no forman parte de las mesas americanas. Mi mamá, por ejemplo, suele decir: “¡Si no pica, no sabe a nada!” Así que, en su mesa, ese día no pueden faltar las salsas picantes. Algunas otras mesas tendrán tamales, patacos, frijoles negros, arepas, baleadas, y otros platillos que forman parte de nuestra cultura. Sin embargo, lo que importa no es tanto lo que hay sobre la mesa, sino que hay una mesa, y más aún, los que están alrededor de esa mesa: hombres y mujeres que queremos dar gracias a Dios mientras compartimos. Ojalá en este tiempo encontremos una iglesia a la que, como familia, nos acerquemos a dar gracias a Dios por todas sus bendiciones. ¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias! EL PADRE JAIRO SANDOVAL-PLIEGO es Vicario de la parroquia St. Helen en Georgetown. Masses in Spanish/Misas en Español Austin St. Mary Cathedral – domingo: 1:45 p.m. Cristo Rey – domingo: 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7 p.m.; jueves: 7 p.m. Dolores – domingo: 8 a.m., mediodia; martes-viernes: 8:30 a.m. Our Lady of Guadalupe – sábado: 6 p.m.; domingo: 7:45 a.m. y 6 p.m. Sacred Heart – sábado: 7 p.m.; domingo: 9:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m.; martes, miércoles, jueves: 7 p.m. St. Ignatius – domingo: 1 p.m. St. Julia – domingo: 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. St. Louis – domingo: 6 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m.; martes, jueves: 6 p.m. St. Paul – domingo: 12:30 p.m. St. Peter – domingo: 1 p.m. San Francisco Javier – domingo: 8 a.m., mediodia; miércoles, viernes: 6 p.m. San José – domingo: 7:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m.; jueves: 7 p.m. Bastrop Ascension – domingo: mediodia Belton Christ the King – domingo: 8 a.m. Blanco St. Ferdinand – domingo: 11 a.m.; segundo y cuarto domingos: 1 p.m. Brenham St. Mary – domingo: 12:30 p.m. Caldwell St. Mary – sábado: 7:30 p.m. Cameron St. Monica – domingo: 7 a.m. Cedar Park St. Margaret Mary – domingo: mediodia College Station St. Mary – sábado: 7 p.m. Elgin Sacred Heart – domingo: 7:30, 11:30 a.m. Gatesville Our Lady of Lourdes – domingo: mediodia Georgetown Lockhart St. Mary – domingo: 7:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m.; martes: 6:30 p.m. Luling St. John – domingo: 8 a.m. Manor St. Joseph – domingo: 7 a.m., 11 a.m. Marble Falls St. John – domingo: 12:30 p.m. Marlin St. Joseph – domingo: 11:30 a.m. St. Margaret – domingo: 11 a.m. Hamilton St. Thomas – sábado: 7 p.m. Hearne St. Mary – domingo: 11 a.m. Hornsby Bend Santa Barbara – domingo: 8 a.m. Killeen St. Joseph – domingo: 9 a.m. Kyle St. Anthony – domingo: mediodia, martes & jueves: 6:30 p.m. La Grange Buda Lakeway Santa Teresa – sábado: 7 p.m.; domingo: Sacred Heart – Primer y tercer domingos: mediodia 8 a.m., mediodia, 2 p.m. Emmaus – domingo: 12:15 p.m. Salado San Marcos Guadalupe Chapel - sábado: 5:30 p.m. y miércoles; 7 p.m. St. John - domingo: 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m.; sábado: 8 a.m. San Saba St. Mary – domingo: mediodia Smithville St. Paul – domingo: mediodia (excepto por el último domingo del mes) Stoney Point Martindale San Juan Diego – sábado: 6 p.m.; jueves: 6 p.m. McGregor Our Lady of Guadalupe – domingo: 8 a.m. y 1 p.m.; martes-viernes: 8 a.m. St. Helen – domingo: 7:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m.; Immaculate Heart of Mary – domingo: 8 miércoles: 6:30 p.m. a.m.; sabado: 6 p.m.; jueves: 7 p.m. Giddings Bryan Santa Cruz – domingo: 8:30 a.m. Lampasas St. Mary – domingo: 12:15 p.m.; jueves: 6 p.m. St. Stephen – Domingo: 11:30 a.m. St. Eugene – domingo: 8 a.m. Mexia Taylor Temple St. Mary – domingo: mediodia; jueves: 6 p.m. Our Lady of Guadalupe – domingo: 8 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 6 p.m.; martes-viernes: 6 p.m. Moody Our Lady of San Juan – sabado: 7 p.m. Pugerville St. Elizabeth – domingo: 1:30 p.m. Rockdale St. Joseph – domingo: mediodia Rogers St. Matthew – domingo: 9 a.m. Rosebud St. Ann – domingo: 11:15 a.m. Round Rock St. William – domingo: 7:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m.; martes: 6 p.m.; jueves: 6 p.m. Uhland St. Michael – domingo: 5 p.m. Waco Sacred Heart – domingo 8: a.m.; mediodia St. Francis on the Brazos – sábado: 7 p.m.; domingo: 8 a.m.; mediodia St. Peter Catholic Center – viernes: 7:30 p.m. West Assumption – primer y tercer domingo: mediodia Wimberley St. Mary – domingo: mediodia Send corrections to [email protected]. ESPAÑOL 28 C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Co-op de Austin ayuda a los trabajadores a iniciar negocios POR ENEDELIA J. OBREGÓN CORRESPONSAL PRINCIPAL Cuando María Muñoz tenía 14 años, comenzó a trabajar como empleada doméstica. Se ocupaba de los niños, planchada la ropa, la casa, incluso limpiaba ventanas - y cocinaba. “Se sentía humillada”, dijo Muñoz. “Nos trataban mal, pero no tenía elección. Si se quejaban le despedían y encontraban rápidamente a alguien que tomaría el trabajo”. No había muchas opciones de empleo en la pequeña comunidad en el estado mexicano de Guanajuato, y su ingreso era necesario para ayudar a sus padres y a nueve hermanos. Hoy, sin embargo, Muñoz es co-dueña de parte de los servicios de limpieza Dahlia Green en Austin con Lorena Hernández, Cyndi Jiménez, Brenda Jiménez y Eva Marroquín. El negocio se inició en junio con la ayuda de Cooperation Texas, una organización sin fines de lucro basada en Austin, fundada en 2009 para crear puestos de trabajo sostenibles a través del desarrollo, el apoyo y la promoción de las cooperativas propiedad de los trabajadores. Por primera vez, Cooperation Texas recibió dinero de la Campaña Católica para el Desarrollo Humano (CCHD por sus siglas en inglés), lo que les permitió ayudar a Dahlia este verano. Barbara Budde, director de la Ocina diocesana de Asuntos Sociales, dijo que durante muchos años la CCHD ha nanciado becas de desarrollo económico porque “el trabajo con buena paga es el mejor camino para salir de la pobreza”. Esta ayuda nanciera hizo una gran diferencia. “Sin el entrenamiento y dinero para ayudarnos a empezar, no habríamos sido capaces de hacer esto”, dijo Muñoz. Como parte del proceso de solicitud de ayuda a la CDHD, la diócesis se reunió con el director ejecutivo y la persona que estaba a punto de convertirse en trabajadora-propietaria de un negocio nuevo. “La emoción y el orgullo que tenía era increíble”, dijo Budde. “Ella contaba historias acerca de cómo trabajar para otros que le pidieron utilizar productos químicos para la limpieza que ella sabía iban a ser perjudiciales. Ella estaba lista para lanzar su negocio, y hacer un gran tra- bajo, haciéndolo de una manera que ella sabía iba a ser mejor para ella y para sus clientes”. Budde dijo que el comité votó unánimemente para recomendar al Obispo Joe Vásquez la aprobación de la subvención. Los otros obispos que revisan las subvenciones aprobadas estuvieron de acuerdo con el Obispo Vásquez y dieron su aprobación al proyecto. “A través de las generosas donaciones de los católicos a la colecta de CCHD, los trabajadores pueden ser capacitados para poseer y operar sus propios negocios, dándoles un camino para salir de la pobreza”, dijo Budde. “Es una inversión real en la vida y la dignidad humana y es una gran manera en que podemos actuar sobre nuestra fe al apoyar a estos trabajadores”. En un reciente domingo por la mañana, Muñoz y Carlos Pérez de Alejo fueron a conciliar los libros para el nuevo negocio. Pérez de Alejo es director ejecutivo de Cooperation Texas y ayudó a Muñoz a repasar el estado de cuenta bancaria de la empresa y las copias de los cheques cancelados. Las cinco mujeres se turnan para hacer la contabilidad y todo voto en las decisiones empresariales. Cooperation Texas también proporciona el apoyo legal y educativo para ayudar a las empresas a tener éxito, lo que es vital para el éxito, ya que las empresas pequeñas tienen una alta tasa de fracasos. Según startupbusinesshub. com 85 por ciento de las empresas pequeñas fracasan en el primer año, la tasa de fracaso se reduce a 55 por ciento en el cuarto año y 35 por ciento después de 10 años. Las razones más comunes son la falta de experiencia en los negocios, la mala planicación y la capitalización. Pérez de Alejo, dijo la cooperativa es una herramienta para sacar a la gente de la pobreza y tiene un historial probado en comunidades de bajos ingresos. Cooperation Texas es el único centro de desarrollo cooperativo en Texas y ofrece asistencia en la educación, capacitación y asistencia técnica a las cooperativas de trabajo existentes y a las que empiezan. “Los estudios han demostrado que las empresas cooperativas tienen una tasa de fracaso inferior a los negocios convencionales”, dijo Pérez de Alejo. “Varias personas están invirtiendo dinero y eso distribuye el riesgo y los benecios en lugar de tener una o dos personas. CARLOS PÉREZ DE ALEJO, director ejecutivo de Cooperation Texas, ayuda a María Muñoz con la contabilidad de los Servicios de Limpieza Dahlia Green. Muñoz es una de las cinco mujeres co-propietarias del negocio con ayuda de Cooperation Texas, quien recibió una subvención de la Campaña Católica de Desrrollo Humano. (Foto de Enedelia J. Obregón) Se democratiza la riqueza y la propiedad”. Hasta ahora, Cooperation Texas ha lanzado a Dahlia, una cooperativa de limpieza verde, propiedad de los trabajadores y la Panadería Cooperativa el Conejo Rojo Bakery, una panadería vegetariana propiedad de los trabajadores, cuyos productos están disponibles en varios negocios minoristas. En lugar de ser impulsado únicamente por las ganancias, las cooperativas de trabajo también miden el éxito por el bienestar de los trabajadores, la sostenibilidad de la contribución de las empresas y en general la comunidad y el medio ambiente. El método de cooperativa se centra en la creación de puestos de trabajo que sean dignos a las personas y al planeta, que ayudan a las personas a salir de la pobreza y generan una riqueza para las generaciones futuras. “Sin embargo, rara vez consideran qué tipos de trabajos son”, dijo Pérez de Alejo. “¿Son de desarrollo sostenible? No todos la creación de empleo es inherentemente bueno para nosotros”. Dijo que la belleza de una cooperativa es que los trabajadores son los dueños, por lo tanto, tienen la facultad de tomar la mejor decisión, no sólo para la línea de fondo, sino para ellos y sus familias. A Muñoz, de 29 años, le gusta ser su propio jefe. “Nos ganamos mejores salarios y controlamos nuestras horas”, dijo. “Quiero poder pasar tiempo con mi familia”. En México, ella ganaba muy poco y vivía con la familia que trabajaba, veía a su hijo sólo los nes de semana. La comunidad en la que vivía era un paseo de dos horas en autobús de la ciudad en la que trabajaba y no podía permitirse el lujo de ir a casa todas las noches. “Él estaba llamando a mi hermana ‘mama’”, dijo. “Ella lo cuidaba mientras yo trabajaba”. Ella llegó a los EE.UU. en 2004 como una viuda joven con su niño a cuestas porque quería una mejor vida para él. Trabajó como sirvienta de planta durante cinco años, y fue agradecida que le dieron una habitación para vivir con él. Pero había otros que no eran tan generosos, diciéndole que iban a estar de vuelta en un momento determinado y llegando horas después, sin molestarse en pagarle extra. Desde entonces, se ha vuelto a casar y ahora también tiene dos hijas y ella sueña con un futuro diferente para sus tres hijos, que incluye una educación universitaria. Ella es estricta acerca de la tarea e insiste en que no hay televisión. “Estoy haciendo esto para su futuro”, dijo. “Yo quiero que tengan buenos empleos y no sufran como yo. Este tipo de trabajo es muy duro”. Ella espera que su negocio cooperativo tendrá éxito para que pueda ayudar a su familia en México. Ella no los ha visto desde que se marchó porque es demasiado peligroso debido a la creciente violencia vinculada al narcotráco. Muñoz sabe que va a tener un montón de trabajo, pero no es ajena al trabajo duro. “Las cosas aquí son fáciles en comparación con México”, dijo. “Es por eso que cuando venimos aquí hacemos muchos trabajos que otras personas no quieren hacer”. Pérez de Alejo dijo que las cooperativas se centran en el cambio sistémico, que llevará tiempo, pero benecian a las comunidades de bajos ingresos mejor que la simple caridad. “La diferencia entre la caridad y la solidaridad es que en solidaridad las personas afectadas por la desigualdad están en el asiento del conductor. Ellos conocen las necesidades que deben ser atendidas”, dijo. En las empresas cooperativas, el trabajador/propietarios toma las decisiones por igual. El personal de Cooperation Texas está allí sólo para ayudar. “Necesitamos menos corredores de velocidad y más corredores de larga distancia”, dijo Pérez de Alejo. “El cambio sistémico requiere tiempo. Mira los Derechos Civiles; esos cambios no fueron proporcionados de la noche a la mañana”. Para obtener información sobre los servicios de limpieza Dahlia Green, visite www.dahlia.coop o llame al (512) 786 a 4249. Para obtener información sobre Cooperation Texas, visite www.cooperationtexas.coop o llame al (512) 948-3423. ESPAÑOL November 2012 29 La fe y la familia del olimpista le llevan lejos POR ENEDELIA J. OBREGÓN CORRESPONSAL PRINCIPAL La fe en Dios y sus raíces católicas llevaron a Leonel Manzano desde sus humildes comienzos hasta el podio olímpico como medallista de plata en 2012, en la carrera de 1500 metros en Londres. Los feligreses de la Parroquia St. John the Evangelist en Marble Falls, donde su familia todavía asiste, se encontraban entre los que observaban con orgullo al joven que hizo su primera comunión y se conrmó junto a sus propios hijos. Manzano, de 27 años, regresó a Marble Falls a nales de septiembre, y fue recibido como un héroe. En la escuela secundaria realizaron un rally, con sus antiguos entrenadores de pista y ex funcionarios electos presentes. En el cercano Granite Shoals —donde vive la familia— él ayudó a inaugurar el Leo Manzano Hike Bike and Run Trails. Desde que se convirtió en el primer mediofondista condecorado desde 1968, Manzano ha estado en la Casa Blanca y se ha presentado en programas de televisión. Pero se mantiene con los pies en la tierra gracias a su fe católica y al sabio consejo de sus padres, María y Jesús Manzano. “Desde que era joven, la fe fue impresa en nosotros por mi abuela”, dijo María. “Ella nos enseñó a rezar el Rosario y el Padre Nuestro. Ella tenía una fe muy fuerte”. La pareja siguió las tradiciones, rezando el Rosario juntos cada noche y asistiendo a Misa todos los domingos en la parroquia de San Juan. Los niños recibieron ahí sus sacramentos. Ella tenía que organizar que los llevaran a las clases de educación religiosa ya que no manejaba ni tenía coche cuando era joven y vivían demasiado lejos para ir andando desde su casa. Don Jesús dijo que él y su esposa están orgullosos de que su hijo ha seguido ese rico patrimonio. “No se puede negar que es católico”, dijo la hermana de Jesús con una sonrisa. “Él nació a dos cuadras de la Catedral”. Su familia reza porque él nunca se desvíe de la senda correcta en la que le han colocado. “Nosotros siempre nos hemos encomendado a Dios y a la Virgen (de Guadalupe)”, dijo. “Todo paso que dábamos nos persinábamos. Lo hacíamos al levantarnos y al acostarnos”. Su hijo mayor dijo que se prepara para cada competencia con la oración, y siempre hace la señal de la cruz antes del inicio de la carrera. “Siento que Dios está siempre conmigo”, dijo Leonel. “Algunas personas se centran o se ponen en la “zona” a través de la música. Yo me meto en la “zona” con la oración. Rezo mucho y hago un montón de auto-conversación”. La fe les ha sostenido en los buenos tiempos como en los malos. Les dio fuerza al dejar atrás su país natal, México. Jesús, el papá, se vino primero de Dolores, Guanajuato, en busca de trabajo. María le siguió cuando Leonel tenía cuatro años y su hermana Laura tenía dos años. Don Jesús obtuvo la residencia legal bajo la Ley de 1986 de Reforma y Control de Inmigración, pero tuvieron que pasar 10 años para que el resto de la familia pudiera obtener la residencia legal. Leonel se convirtió en ciudadano de los EE.UU. en 2004 y compitió en los Juegos Olímpicos de Beijing representando a su país de adopción. Sus hermanos, Lulú de 22 años y Jesús Jr. nacieron en los EE.UU. Se mudaron a Granite Shoals de Flatonia pocas semanas después de que María llegó con los dos hijos mayores. Don Jesús consiguió trabajo en Capitol Aggregates Inc. que tritura piedra para las carreteras. Él todavía trabaja allí, mientras que María cuida de ancianos residentes en sus hogares. “Tengo también una base sólida a través de mi familia”, dijo Leonel. “Tratan de tomar las mejores decisiones y las decisiones correctas acerca de nosotros. Con Dios y con la fe, hacemos lo correcto”. Algunos feligreses recuerdan a Leonel como un estudiante inteligente, tranquilo y educado que trabajó muy duro para salir adelante. Él sigue diciendo: “Sí, señora” y “No, señora” en la conversación. “Él es un buen chico que es un gran trabajador”, dijo el padre Jairo López, párroco de la Parroquia St. John. “Trabajó como camarero en un restaurante. Es muy humilde y también lo son sus padres”. Sara Dutch, una maestra de primer grado y compañera feligrés, dijo que Leonel fue siempre un gran triunfador. “Es un gran modelo para los niños”, dijo. “Pensé que la cumbre sería cuando se graduó de la universidad”, dijo. Manzano se graduó de la Universidad de Texas en Austin — el primero de su familia — en 2008 antes de ir a los Juegos Olímpicos por primera vez. Sus hermanos lo han seguido. Laura de 25 años, está impartiendo su enseñanza a los estudiantes después de graduarse de la Universidad de St. Edwards en Austin. Lulú de 22 años, está estudiando en la Universidad Estatal de Texas, y Jesús Jr. de 21 años, tiene previsto pasar de Austin Community College a la Universidad de Texas, obtener su título en gobierno y asistir a la escuela de leyes. “Él es un buen modelo y un ejemplo a seguir por otros”, dijo Dutch. “Le da prioridad a su fe y se nota en su carácter”. Leonel dijo que no diría que es un modelo a seguir. “Quiero seguir siendo la persona que soy”, dijo. “Sé que muchas personas me admiran. Así que también tengo un deber con ellos, para inspirarlos o ayudarles a cumplir con sus sueños”. Esto es especialmente cierto para los jóvenes hispanos. “Quizás ellos piensan, ‘se parecen a mí’ y si ven el éxito en alguien a quien se parecen se planta la idea en su mente de que si este tipo hispano que es sólo 5’5” va bien, tal vez no hay ninguna razón por la que yo no pueda tener éxito”, dijo. Diane Sherman es una feligrés de St. John que recuerda a Manzano del tiempo en que ella enseñó en la escuela primaria Marble Falls. “Siempre fue muy tranquilo”, dijo Sherman. “Se podía decir, por la forma en que se conducía, que era muy inteligente y había trascendido la barrera del idioma, aunque era difícil para él”. Jesús dijo que su hermano es casi una “gura paterna” para sus hermanos menores. “A veces todavía piensa en nosotros como niños”, dijo, “pero él es una persona muy comprensiva. Él fue el primero en pasar por todo. Cuando tenemos un problema y no podemos hablar con nuestros padres, hablamos con él”. Don Jesús dijo que su hijo regaña a sus hermanos menores porque él quiere que ellos tomen buenas decisiones. “Yo les digo que si les regaña es porque él tiene razón”, dijo, y señaló que Leonel espera trabajar duro y tener éxito. Jesús dijo que su hermano es su “héroe”, no por sus logros deportivos, sino porque siempre se puede contar con él. Jesús también compitió en atletismo hasta que una lesión en la pierna lo marginó denitivamente durante su tercer año en la universidad. Su madre dijo que fue la única vez que su hijo menor dudó del amor de Dios. LEONEL MANZANO, un feligrés de la Parroquia St. John the Evangelist en Marble Falls, ganó una medalla de plata en la carrera de 1500 metros en los Juegos Olímpicos de 2012. Nació en México, pero llegó con sus padres a los EE.UU. cuando era un niño. (Foto por Enedelia J. Obregón) “Le dije que Dios nos da fuerza para continuar a través de los tiempos difíciles y tenemos que seguir siendo fuertes”, dijo María. “Entonces le envié a un retiro y le ayudó a mejorar”. Jesús dijo que su fe le ha enseñado que tiene que trabajar para ayudar a los demás y por el bien de la gente. “Quiero ir a la escuela de derecho para ayudar a la gente”, dijo. “Mi fe me enseña que Jesús dijo:”Amaos los unos a los otros como yo os he amado”. María dijo que como su hijo mayor pasa más tiempo fuera de casa, ella y su marido oran por que continue viviendo los valores que le han inculcado. Ella también se siente orgullosa de que no ha olvidado sus raíces espirituales y culturales, como ha señalado su decisión de cubrirse a sí mismo con las banderas de México y Estados Unidos en los Juegos Olímpicos, lo que causó una cierta controversia en este país. “Los Juegos Olímpicos celebran una competencia amistosa”, dijo Leonel. “Los países detienen guerras y se juntan sin armamento o disputas. Cuando llevé ambas banderas, fue simbólicamente, tratando de llevar los dos países juntos”. María también está orgullosa de que él se hace cargo de sus hermanos, consiguiendo un lugar en Austin para que todos vivan. Leonel dijo que si bien puede parecer que está cuidando a sus hermanos, ellos cuidan de él “Eso es lo que la familia es”, dijo. “Es una calle de dos vías”. Ellos lo apoyan con sus oraciones, aunque no siempre pueden asistir a los eventos. Sus padres asistieron a los Juegos Olímpicos en Beijing en 2008, donde él no pudo llegar a las nales de los 1500 metros. No pudieron asistir a los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres por motivos económicos. Leonel planea competir en los Juegos Olímpicos de 2016 en Río de Janeiro. “Me encanta correr”, dijo. “Si es la voluntad de Dios voy a seguir haciéndolo. Me siento muy bendecido. Es algo con lo que fui bendecido. Pero todavía tengo que trabajar. Dios me dio el don, pero sin el trabajo duro y el tiempo que ponga, no hay manera de que podría haber hecho lo que hice”. Su consejo para sus hermanos y para los jóvenes es que “si seguimos a Dios, ustedes encontrarán sus dones”. Para los jóvenes que miran hacia él, él les aconseja encontrar algo que les gusta hacer y hacerlo a la medida de sus capacidades. “Todo el mundo tiene dones”, dijo Leonel. “Algunas personas piensan que no los tienen. Pero aun el tiempo es un don. Todo el mundo lo tiene”. Sobre todo, Leonel dijo que está agradecido a Dios por todo lo que él ha recibido. “Siempre le doy gracias a Dios por todo lo que me ha dado - por lo bueno y lo malo”, dijo. “A veces, muchas cosas buenas pueden venir de algo malo. Usted simplemente no ve el panorama completo. Hay que dar gracias, incluso en tiempos difíciles. Todo esto es parte de su plan. Aunque no lo entendamos”. 30 YEAR OF FAITH C ATHOLIC S PIRIT Saints to get to know in this Year of Faith BY CATHOLIC SPIRIT STAFF The Year of Faith began Oct. 11 and will continue through Nov. 24, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI called the year in order to strengthen the faith of Catholics and draw the world to faith by their example. Pope Benedict encourages Catholics to study the lives of the saints as part of the Year of Faith in order to follow their example. Jeannine Marino, program specialist for the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), offers “10 Saints Who Were Great Evangelizers” in honor of the Year of Faith and All Saints Day, which the church celebrates on Nov. 1. Marino is a canon lawyer who has served as a postulator and adviser to several canonization causes. A postulator conducts research into the life of a proposed saint. Marino offers: 1. Sts. Peter and Paul – Peter and Paul laid the foundations of the early church and are among the most venerated saints. Peter was the first to profess that Jesus is the Son of God, and the papacy is built on his witness. Paul’s mission trips expanded the reach of the young church, and his writings articulate our faith. Both men were willing to bear witness to the point of death, and both were martyred in Rome. 2. St. Jerome – A fourth century doctor of the church, Jerome made the Bible more accessible to everyday people when he translated it into Latin from its original Hebrew and Greek. St. Jerome is famous for saying, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” We can follow in Jerome’s evangelizing footsteps by loving the Word of God. 3. St. Augustine – Bishop of Hippo, a contemporary of Jerome, and another doctor of the church, Augustine was notorious for his life of sinful indulgence prior to his conversion. He continues to inspire people, not only because of his conversion, but also with the brilliance of his writings — most famously his “Confessions,” which have had a profound impact on Christian thought down to the present day. 4. St. Patrick – As the fth century apostle of Ireland, Patrick exemplies how Christian witness can have a pervasive, lasting impact on a culture. Following the example of Jesus, who taught with imagery, St. held interreligious gatherings to Patrick is known for using the pray for peace, they met not in image of the shamrock to illus- Rome, but in Assisi. trate the Holy Trinity, making a 6. St. Ignatius of Loyola – Founder of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola was a former soldier from Spain. He founded the Jesuits in 1540 as an effort to counter the effects of the Protestant Reformation by the promotion and defense of the teachings and authority of the church across Europe. Ignatius also developed his spiritual exercises, a model of prayer still used today. 7. St. Francis Xavier – A close friend of St. Ignatius and one of the rst Jesuits, Francis Xavier was a great missionary to Asia, visiting great mystery of God accessible India, Indonesia, Japan and to all people. other countries. He was named 5. St. Francis of Assisi – the patron of Catholic missions One of the most beloved saints, by Pope Pius XI. Francis of Assisi lived the Gospel 8. San Juan Diego – The by identifying himself with the peasant to whom Our Lady poor, embracing outcasts and of Guadalupe appeared Juan enemies, and celebrating the Diego is essentially the evangoodness of God present in all gelizer of an entire hemisphere. creation. His witness revitalized Blessed Pope John Paul II a church that had “fallen into named Our Lady of Guadalupe ruin,” and his influence today the patroness of the Americas goes beyond the order he found- in 1999 and canonized Juan ed and even beyond the Catholic Diego in 2002. He is the rst Church. When the last two popes indigenous Mexican saint. 9. St. Daniel Comboni – Another great missionary in the history of the church, Daniel Comboni traveled from his native Italy to Central Africa and founded the Comboni Missionaries and the Comboni Missionary Sisters in 1867 and 1872, respectively. He spent nearly all of his priesthood in Africa and was named a bishop and apostolic vicar to Africa in 1877. He died in 1881 and was canonized in 2003. 10. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus – Also known as St. Thérèse of Lisieux and the Little Flower, Thérèse was a French Carmelite in the late 1800s. She is best known for pursuing the “little way” to holiness, serving God in every little action of daily life, before dying of tuberculosis at the age of 24 in 1897. She was named the patroness of Catholic missions by Pope Pius XI because of her devotion of praying for missionaries. She was named a doctor of the church (the third woman and youngest person ever to receive this honor) by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1997. More information on the Year of Faith is available at www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-weteach/new-evangelization/ year-of-faith/ and www. austindiocese.org. Celebrating the Year of Faith at St. Mary Cathedral ONE OF THE WAYS THAT ST. MARY CATHEDRAL IN AUSTIN is celebrating the Year of Faith is by having parishioners commit to praying for each other during the year. Cards were passed out during Mass and parishioners can choose to pray once a week an Our Father, Hail Mary, Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, etc. The children are also asked to commit to pray, even if it is just one Hail Mary, Glory Be, or Grace before Meals. The focus of the prayer is for parishioners to increase their faith. Another way the Cathedral is celebrating the Year of Faith is through works of art drawn by children of the parish. They will draw what prayer means to them. Each month the Cathedral will host a contest for elementary-age children. The children can paint, sketch, water color, or use any form/style of art they wish to illustrate a specic prayer that is set for each month. Each month a group of local artists led by professional artist John Cobb will judge the art work. The winners will be given an award and be displayed at the Bishop’s Hall each month. The art contest is open to all elementary students from the Cathedral School, religious education, parishioners, homeschoolers, friends of the Cathedral, or any students from the surrounding parishes. To encourage young artists, professional local artists will display their best Catholic art work at the Bishop’s Hall once a month. Some of the art work on display has received recognition nationally and some of it will also be for sale. With these art projects, the Cathedral staff hopes to create a “spark” of faith throughout the parish. (Photos courtesy St. Mary Cathedral) SITINGS November 2012 KJZT SOCIETY 93 held an Ice Cream Social and collected donations for the “Feeding Families Across Texas,” which is the fraternal’s cause to extend their charitable work throughout Texas and reach those in need. (Photo courtesy Annette Kohoutek) THE ARCHICOFRADIA SOCIETY of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Martindale traveled to San Juan for a retreat. (Photo courtesy Christina Gomez) THE ST. FRANCIS ROSARY MAKERS CLUB makes and sends rosaries to military personnel serving overseas and to missions in India and Africa. (Photo courtesy Orlando Salas) MEMBERS of Girl Scout Troop 2416, Claire Cohan, Cecily Castillo, Celine Castillo and Solana Olivereach, completed more than 50 hours of work and met several requirements to earn their Girl Scout Silver awards. (Photos courtesy Cristy Oliver) THE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT Center at St. Louis Parish in Austin celebrated its 30th anniversary in September. (Photo courtesy Evelyn McNair) 31 FRIENDS OF SAINT LOUISE HOUSE hosted a “Dessert Before Lunch” fundraiser Sept. 21 in Austin. Saint Louise House helps homeless women and their children establish stability in their lives. org. (Photos courtesy Karen Teneriello) FOR MORE information about the Saint Louise House, call (512) 3020027 or visit www. saintlouisehouse. HOLY FAMILY PARISH in Copperas Cove held a retreat for those youth who will be conrmed later this month. The STRONG Team from the University Catholic Center in Austin presented the retreat. (Photo courtesy Linda McHugh) THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS 13927 from St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Austin cooked and served a lunch to the construction crew that is building the parish’s new church, which will be dedicated by Bishop Joe Vásquez on Dec. 29. (Photo courtesy Bob Crow) ST. HELEN PARISH in Georgetown participated in the Georgetown LIFE CHAIN along with 18 other churches from the area. Parishioners held pro-life signs in a prayer vigil along the city sidewalk on Oct. 7. (Photos courtesy Julie Tefft) Send photos by the 10th of the month to [email protected]. SITINGS 32 THE SIXTH GRADERS from Sacred Heart Catholic School in La Grange celebrated Msgr. Harry Mazurkiewicz’s 86th birthday on Sept. 18 at his home. The students made a birthday card and sang songs to him. (Photo courtesy Wendy Becka) ALEX MILLER, a parishioner of St. Thomas More Parish in Austin, has been selected to be the male Team Texas representative with the Team USA to compete in Figure Skating for the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Knights of Columbus Council 9997 from St. Thomas More contributed $200 toward his expenses. (Photo courtesy Peter Pang) C ATHOLIC S PIRIT SEVERAL YOUNG MEN from the Scout troop at St. Louis Parish in Austin earned their Eagle Scout last summer. Michael Dugan’s (top) Eagle Scout project included planning and installing curbing for a living history village at Jourdan-Bachmann Pioneer Farms in Austin. Martin Prado (middle) enlarged and beautied an existing Schoenstatt shrine at Holy Family Catholic School in Austin. Matthew Leary (bottom) beautied his high school by planting Italian cypress trees. (Photos courtesy Dave Dolezal) ST. PETER’S CATHOLIC STUDENT CENTER AT BAYLOR held its New Student Retreat welcoming freshmen and other new students into its Catholic campus ministry community. (Photo courtesy Alexandria Pane) THE GROWING WITH GOD PRESCHOOLERS at St.Martin de Porres Parish in Dripping Springs sold ags by donation for a Sept. 11 memorial. The ags were placed in the church courtyard the week of Sept. 11 and Father Ed Koharchik celebrated a memorial Mass that evening. (Photo courtesy Lisa Phillips) PARISHIONERS from St. John Neumann Parish in Austin visited churches and holy sites in Italy. They were led by Father Bud Roland, their current pastor, and Msgr. David Jaeger, former pastor of St. John Neumann who now resides in Rome. (Photo courtesy Rick Ebert) BISHOP JOE VÁSQUEZ blessed the new prayer garden of St. Matthew in Rogers on Oct. 7. (Photos courtesy Keith Thompson) ST. THERESA’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL in Austin celebrated the Feast of St. Theresa on Oct. 1. The entire school prayed the St. Theresa novena in front of the church. The school also held its annual Blessing of the Animals on Oct. 2 in celebration of St. Francis of Assisi. (Photos courtesy Suzanne Leggett) Send photos by the 10th of the month to [email protected].