September 2012 - Catholic Diocese of Brownsville

Transcripción

Volume 4, Issue 3
Serving over 900,000 Catholics In The Diocese of Brownsville
September 2012
Deacons Day
celebration
The Valley Catholic
Summer Meals
Catholic Charities of the RGV
feeds thousands
3
Studying in the
New Church
Construction underway in
Edcouch
4
Close to Home
Adoration chapel — a space
for silence and prayer
8
Shadows
Students face
challenges,
fears living
without
a Social
Security
number
Those Who Serve
Father Raymond Nwachukwu
celebrates anniversary
9
En Español
Artículos sobre estudiantes
indocumentados y una
capilla de Adoración
11-13
“VERBUM MITTITUR
SPIRANS AMOREM”
(“The WORD is sent
breathing love.”)
Religious sister
takes next step
in her journey
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
P
EÑITAS — On class days,
Grecia’s mother drives
Aranet* and Grecia* 23
miles from their homes in
Peñitas to South Texas College in
McAllen, dropping them off on her
way to work in Hidalgo.
Grecia’s mom is always very vigilant of the speed limit, knowing that
a routine traffic stop could spell big
trouble for the three of them. They
are all undocumented immigrants.
“When you don’t have papers,
you live scared,” Aranet said. “You
worry that if the police stop you,
they’ll send you back. … My greatest
fear is that they will stop us on the
way to or from school.”
Aranet and Grecia, both 19, began attending South Texas College in
August 2011, but the journey hasn’t
been without its setbacks.
For undocumented students,
going to college takes more than
» Please see Shadows, p.7
She said “Yes”
By BRENDA NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
CORPUS CHRISTI – After
working for a biotech company
in Ithaca, New York for more
than 12 years, Agueda A. Oviedo
knew it was time for a change in
her life and time to return to the
Rio Grande Valley. The Donna
native had no idea that what
waited would lead to a “radical”
commitment and a surrender of
her whole being.
Just two weeks before turning
42, the scientist who once played
rugby and ran in the New York
Marathon entered into initial
formation to become a religious
sister with the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament Congregation in Corpus
Christi on Nov. 7, 2008. She was
accepted as a postulant the fol-
Cesar Riojas/The Valley Catholic
Sister Agueda A. Oviedo is welcomed into the religious community as a Sister of the
Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament following her profession of vows during a Mass
on July 28 at Incarnate Word Convent in Corpus Christi.
lowing year.
Sister Oviedo, now 45, took
the next step after completing her
novitiate and made her first profession of vows at a Mass on July
28 at Incarnate Word Convent in
Corpus Christi.
“I feel great joy,” she said
about making her public vows
before her family, friends and
the community of the Sisters of
the Incarnate Word and Blessed
Sacrament. “To me it means responding to God’s love and the
willingness to accept the demands of loving, in surrender to
his will through living the vows
» Please see Sister, p.14
“He lives in the secular world,”
said Father Edouard Atangana,
describing the life of a permanent deacon. “He’s a father; he’s a
husband, a grandfather, a greatgrandfather. He has a daily job. He’s
a peer, a friend and a co-worker —
but he’s also an ordained minister.
He belongs to both worlds.”
A Deacons Day celebration has
been planned for Sept. 1 to honor
the 91 permanent deacons, 74 active and 17 retired, in the Diocese
of Brownsville. Bishop Daniel E.
Flores will celebrate the special
liturgy at 9 a.m. at Resurrection
Church in Alamo. All deacons and
their families are
MORE
invited to attend.
“We want to INFORMATION
recognize these Time: 9 a.m.
great men, who Date: Saturday,
have served the Sept. 1
Church with ded- Place:
ication and hu- Resurrection
mility for years, Church, 312 N.
some for many, 9th St., Alamo
many years,” said RSVP: Gloria
Father Atangana, Morales
director of per- (956) 784-5007
manent deacons
for the diocese. “Deacons Day is a
day when the Church of Brownsville acknowledges them, gives
thanks for them and give thanks to
them for their dedicated service.”
A deacon’s most visible role is
serving alongside the priest during Sunday Mass. The deacon has
key roles in the liturgy. He proclaims the Gospel and/or delivers
the homily. He is the minister of
the chalice and elevates the Blood
of Christ alongside the celebrant at
the end of the Eucharistic Prayer.
He reads the General Intercessions
(Prayer of the Faithful) and invites
the exchange of the sign of peace,
among other functions.
A permanent deacon’s sacramental ministry includes baptizing,
conducting prayer services, serving
as an official Church witness to the
Sacrament of Marriage and conducting funerals and quinceañeras.
The deacons in the Diocese of
Brownsville, whose years of service range from 21 months to 35
years, come from all corners of the
Rio Grande Valley and are from all
walks of life. Among them are musicians, business owners, a truck
driver, an attorney, educators, a pediatrician, a radio personality, retirees, military veterans and more.
Most are married, some are widowers, some have never been married.
A newspaper in Scotland recently attempted to publish an article about a typical day in the life
of a permanent deacon but found
it was an impossible task. “You see,
there is no such thing as a typical
deacon and no such thing as a typical day,” the newspaper concluded.
“That is the thing about the diaconate. It is so diverse, and that is its
strength, not its weakness.”
Nationwide, there has been a
huge spike in the number of men
who are interested in the perma-
» Please see Deacons, p.15
DIOCESE
2
Creación y
matrimonio
E
n el ámbito de la poesía y de la literatura,
donde la vida y los
sueños se plasman en
frases intensas, Dante Alighieri
dice en su Divina Comedia que
el amor hace girar al mundo.
Pero el mundo de hoy parece
que cada vez tiene menos
confianza en esta perspectiva. El
Génesis nos habla del gran poema de la creación, el más bello,
el más intenso. En este gran
poema el hombre y la mujer son
creados a imagen y semejanza
de Dios. Al leerlo podríamos
preguntarnos: ¿Por qué o para
qué quiso Dios crea al mundo?
De manera similar, cuando una
pareja se presenta en la iglesia
para casarse también podríamos
preguntar: ¿Por qué o para qué
quieren casarse si hoy en día
son pocos los que creen en la
posibilidad de un compromiso
perdurable? La respuesta a estas
dos preguntas es la misma: Dios
creó porque quiso y la pareja se
casa porque quieren.
Te quiero, puede confundirse con “te quiero poseer”
pero ni Dios en la creación
y tampoco los enamorados
hincados ante el altar de Dios
quieren poseer sino que quieren
algo más intenso. Yo te quiero
implica: te quiero ver feliz, quiero regocijarme en tu presencia,
quiero contemplar la belleza de
tu ser. La voluntad creadora de
Dios y la voluntad de los matrimonios no se pueden reducir a
un simple elemento causal o de
propiedad. Va mucho más allá
del simple querer o pretender.
Dios quiso y quiere regocijarse
en la presencia de su creación,
resplandeciente, bella, digna,
feliz. Así como el hombre y la
mujer deben regocijarse en la
presencia de su pareja, manteniendo su relación resplandeciente, bella, digna, feliz.
El amor de este tipo,
maduro, verdadero, firme, lleno
The Valley Catholic - September 2012
I
Creation and marriage
n the realm of poetry and literature,
where life and dreams are embodied
in strong phrases, Dante Alighieri says
in his Divine Comedy that love makes
the world revolve. But today’s world seems
to have less and less trust in this perspective.
Genesis tells us about the great poem
of creation, the most beautiful, the most
intense. In this great poem man and woman
are created in the image and likeness of
God. By reading it we could ask ourselves:
Why or for what reason did God want to
create the world? Similarly, when a couple
presents itself at church to get married we
could ask: Why or for what reason do they
want to marry, if these days very few believe
in the possibility of a lasting commitment?
The answer to both questions is the same:
God created because he wanted to, and
the couple marries because they want to.
In Spanish we say “porque quiso,... Porque
quieren.”
“I want to,” as an equivalent to “I love
you,” could be confused with, “I want
to possess you,” but neither God in creation nor the couple in love kneeling at
God’s altar want to possess the other; they
want something more intense. “I love
you” implies I want to see you happy; I
want to rejoice in your presence; I want
to contemplate the beauty of your being.
God’s creative will and a married couples’
will cannot be reduced to a simple causal
element or to possession. It goes beyond
de esperanza, implica un compromiso fuerte y perdurable.
Por eso la decisión de crear
al mundo y a los seres humanos contiene el compromiso
perdurable de Dios hacia lo que
ha creado. Esta es la razón por
la cual el compromiso de Dios
en la creación llegó al punto
culminante de la Cruz. No
nos abandonó a las fuerzas del
pecado y de la muerte sino que
Él mismo viene a rescatarnos.
La cruz muestra la belleza incomparable del amor verdadero
que es cumplido y entendido
como compromiso hacia la
creación amada. Dios tomó este
MOST REVEREND
DANIEL E. FLORES
BISHOP OF BROWNSVILLE
simply wanting, or making a claim on
someone. God wanted and wants to rejoice
in His creation’s presence, radiant, beautiful, dignified, happy. In a similar way a man
and woman rightly rejoice in the presence
of their spouse, cultivating their relationship
as something radiant, beautiful, dignified,
happy.
This type of creative love – mature,
true, strong, and full of hope, implies a solid
and lasting commitment. God’s decision to
create the world and human beings already
contains within itself his lasting commitment towards what he has created. God’s
commitment in creation reaches its culminating point at the Cross. He didn’t abandon us to the forces of sin and death, but He
himself came to rescue us. The Cross shows
the unparallel beauty of true love that is
fulfilled and understood as a commitment
towards the beloved creation. God took this
commitment when creating us.
The love of marriage also implies
commitment. It is a participation in God’s
compromiso al crearnos.
El amor del matrimonio
también implica compromiso. Es participar en el amor
comprometido de Dios. Es un
compromiso tomado entre dos
personas libres. El matrimonio
es una de las formas en la cuales
el ser humano participa de las
intenciones, de la voluntad, y
del amor de Dios. De tal manera
es como en el matrimonio la
pareja se regocija en la presencia
del uno para el otro, se dedican
a lograr la mutua felicidad y al
crecimiento del amor en toda
su belleza entre nosotros. Esto
implica el compromiso de la
committed love. It is a commitment taken
by two free people. Marriage is one of the
forms in which a human being participates
in the intentions, will, and love of God. It
is the way that a married couple rejoices
in one another’s presence; among us, they
pursue mutual happiness and the growth of
love in all its beauty. This implies the commitment of life, and for that they express the
mutual desire to be together until the last
moment of their lives. God has loved the
world, his creation, so deeply that He gave
his only son, so that we could have eternal
life. Christ became flesh to manifest the full
extent that love reaches.
The beauty of love comes to the point
of surrendering life. This is why marriages
find the nourishment that cultivates their
love in the sacrament of the altar: I give you
my life because I want to, or better yet, I
give you my life because I love you. Christ
says it, shows it, and thus elevates us to participate in the dignity of a love purified of all
selfishness. This is the love we believe in, the
one which makes the world revolve. Even
if it seems that the world is at a standstill or
frozen, that it is dying from indifference and
from coldness, we know that God created
man and woman to clothe creation with life,
to paint it with joy and kindness, so that we
can search for happiness in love. God created man and woman to love one another
and to help make the world go-round.
Amen.
vida y por eso se expresan el
muto deseo de querer acompañarse hasta el último instante
de su vida. Dios ha amado tanto
al mundo, a su creación, que
le entregó a su único hijo para
que tenga vida. Cristo se hizo
hombre para manifestar hasta
qué extremo llega el amor.
La belleza del amor llega
hasta el punto de entregar la
vida. Por eso los matrimonios
encuentran el alimento que
nutre su amor en el sacramento
del altar: te doy mi vida, porque
quiero, o mejor dicho, te doy
mi vida porque te quiero. Cristo
lo dice, lo muestra, y nos eleva
a participar en la dignidad de
un amor purificado de todo
egoísmo. Este es el amor en que
creemos nosotros, el que hace
girar al mundo. Aunque pareciera que el mundo se estanca
y se congela, que se muere de
indiferencia y de frialdad, Dios
creó al hombre y a la mujer para
que lo revistan de vida, para
que lo pinten de alegría y de
bondad, para que busquen en el
amor la felicidad. Dios creó al
hombre y a la mujer para que se
amen y hagan girar al mundo.
Amén.
Bishop Flores’ Schedule September
700 N. Virgen de San Juan Blvd., San Juan, TX 78589-3042
Telephone: 956/781-5323 • Fax: 956/784-5082
Bishop Daniel E. Flores
Publisher
Brenda Nettles Riojas
Editor
Rose Ybarra
Assistant Editor
The Valley Catholic email:
[email protected]
Follow us on facebook
Catholic Diocese of Brownsville
www.cdob.org
Subscription rate
ZBG Studio/Graphic Design
$15 per year • $17 outside of Texas
$25 out of U.S.
Terry De Leon
South Texas Circulation
The Valley Catholic,
Circulation
Advertising
(956) 784-5055
Gustavo Morales
Lower Valley
(956) 266-1527
Gilbert Saenz
Upper Valley
(956) 451-5416
a publication of the
Diocese of Brownsville,
is published monthly
Sept. 1
9 a.m.
Alamo
Anniversary Mass for All Deacons
Sept. 2
5 p.m.
Brownsville
Mass for Conferencia Manda el Fuego
Sept. 4
7 p.m.
Brownsville
Confirmations at Good Shepherd
Sept. 5
9 a.m.
San Juan
Priests’ Assignment Board Meeting
Sept. 5
7 p.m.
Weslaco
Adult Confirmations at San Martin de Porres
Sept. 6
9:30 a.m.
San Juan
Basilica Board Meeting
Sept. 7-9 All Day
Diocese of Brownsville
Tex-Mex Border Bishops’ Meeting
Sept. 11
2 p.m.
Brownsville
Administrative Council Meeting
Sept. 12
9:30 a.m.
San Juan
Presbyteral Council
Sept. 12
6:30 p.m.
San Juan
Finance Council
Sept. 15
9 a.m.
McAllen
Catechetical Convocation
Sept. 16
10 a.m.
Edinburg
Confirmations at Evins Juvenile Center
Sept. 17
2 p.m.
Brownsville
Administrative Council Meeting
Sept. 18-19
All Day
Austin
Texas Catholic Conference
Sept. 20
9:30 a.m.
San Juan
Priests’ Assembly
Sept. 20
7 p.m.
Rio Grande City
Confirmations at St. Paul the Apostle
Sept. 22
9:30 a.m.
Basilica
Mass for Lay Movements
Sept. 23
8:30 a.m.
Brownsville
Misa de Apertura for Apostolado de la Cruz
Sept. 23
noon
Lyford
Mass for 100th Parish Anniversary
Sept. 24-26
All Day
Chicago
Catholic Extension
Sept. 27
6:30 p.m.
Brownsville
Red Mass
Sept. 29
9 a.m
Pharr
Confirmation at St. Jude Thaddeus
Subscribe today to recieve your copy at home
Name ______________________________________
Address _____________________________________
Member of
the Catholic Press Assocition
To receive a copy at home each month
mail your payment to:
City _________________ State ________Zip ________
700 N. Virgen de San Juan Blvd.
San Juan, TX 78589-3042
Email address ________________________________
$15 per year / $17 outside of Texas
DIOCESE
September 2012 - The Valley Catholic
Feeding the Children
Summer feeding
sites provide more
than 54,000 meals
ABOVE LEFT:
Two-and-a-halfyear-old Kaylie
Hinojosa squeezes
taco sauce onto her
burrito on Aug. 8 in
Hargill.
Photos by
Amber Donaldson/
The Valley Catholic,
Mobile Journalist
LEFT: Maura Guerra,
far left, sits with two
of her four teenage
children in Hargill as
they eat their lunch.
ABOVE RIGHT:
Two-and-a-halfyear-old Rey
Cardona nibbles
on rice.
the Valley because we don’t see it.”
Monica Cardona of Hargill
said the Summer Food Service
Program also encouraged more
play time for her two small children because the program in her
community is held at a park.
“They eat and then they run
around,” Cardona said. “It’s good
food and good exercise.”
This was the second year that
Catholic Charities of the Rio
Grande Valley sponsored the
Summer Food Service Program
said Karen Lozano, coordinator
for food programs.
Lozano said 14 new feeding
sites were added this summer
and the goal is to add even more
by next summer. She would also
like to see sites in Starr County in
2013.
“Several Catholic churches
were able to offer meals and
snacks through the Summer Food
Service Program during Vacation Bible School and other youth
events,” Lozano said.
The following types of organizations can be Summer Food Service Program sponsors, according
to the USDA website:
• Public or private nonprofit
schools
• Units of local, municipal,
county, tribal, or State govern-
ment
• Private nonprofit organizations
camps
universities or colleges
Lozano recommends that
organizations interested in becoming sponsors contact Catholic
Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
four to six weeks before their 2013
summer event.
For information on the
Summer Food Service Program
and other food programs in the
Diocese of Brownsville, contact
Lozano at (956) 702-4088.
Voting: A Matter of Conscience
U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops
Serious people feel overwhelmed going into the 2012 election. Seeing many choices or none,
some seek a rationale to stay home
on Election Day, but to give in to
such discouragement is political
despair.
Fortunately, conscience can
guide us, even when we don’t
know it. The voice of conscience
can include a feeling of disconnect
– a this-doesn’t-feel-right sensation, and a sense of puzzlement
– and the sense that this-doesn’tgel-with-what-I’ve-been-taught.
People of conscience weigh key
moral issues. They study and
struggle with the questions at
hand. They engage in a lifetime
effort to develop the fine-tuned
moral sensitivity needed to understand deeply Church teaching on
critical issues.
Issues that directly affect innocent human lives, such as abortion
and euthanasia, are primary and
demand serious consideration.
Since 1973, there have been an
estimated 53 million abortions
in the U.S. Two states, Washington and Oregon, have legalized
physician-assisted suicide for persons with terminal illnesses, called
“death with dignity.” Concern for
other life issues, such as the death
penalty, is vital. Today the Church
New Campus
Minister
named for
Brownsville
By MIGUEL SANTOS
The Valley Catholic
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
“I have four growing teenagers
and they are always hungry,” said
Maura Guerra of Hargill, a rural
community located in northeastern Hidalgo County. “For now,
I have two less meals to worry
about. When you have four teenagers and limited income, you do
worry about putting food on the
table.”
More than 54,000 meals were
distributed to children in Hidalgo,
Willacy and Cameron counties
through the Summer Food Service Program, sponsored by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), Food and Nutrition Service, the Texas Department of Agriculture and Catholic Charities of
the Rio Grande Valley.
The program, which ran from
June 4 to Aug. 24, provided free
nutritious meals and snacks to
children in low-income areas.
There were 66 different feeding sites in Hidalgo, Willacy and
Cameron counties.
“We heard it again and again
at the feeding sites – the program is a great help to the parents,” said David Gutierrez, 18,
who was assigned to the Summer
Food Service Program through
AmeriCorps VISTA, an organization dedicated to creating and expanding public agency programs.
“There are times when parents
cannot provide a meal for their
children. Many of us don’t realize
how many children go hungry in
3
questions if execution can even
be used in modern society since
we now have secure ways to keep
people from harming others. Since
1973, there have been 138 documented cases of innocent people
eventually freed from death row.
After a ten-year hiatus the death
penalty was reinstituted in our
country in 1976. Has this contributed to the responsibility, restoration and rehabilitation needed in
our criminal justice system?
Millions of undocumented
persons demand our compassion. An estimated 11.1 million
have made the U.S. their home,
raising families and contributing
to the economy. Some came here
as children; this is the only land
they know. There is an immigration problem and justice demands
a humane solution to it, one that
respects the responsibilities and
rights of all.
There is a move to redefine
marriage. The marriage of a man
and a woman is the foundation of
the family and the basic cell of society, yet various proposals seek to
erode and ultimately redefine the
perennial meaning of marriage in
the law. The contribution marriage
makes to the common good is essential, and protection of marriage
is another matter of justice.
The growing disparity between rich and poor means most
of the world’s resources are in the
hands of a small percentage of its
people. More than 50 percent of
the world’s assets are owned by the
richest two percent of adults … the
bottom half of the world population own only one percent of the
wealth. In our nation 46 million
people live below the poverty line,
established at $23,113 for a family
of four. Approximately 25 million
people are unemployed or underemployed – a real unemployment
rate of 15.6 percent.
The Constitution heralds religious liberty in the First Amendment, yet in recent years religious
groups have had to fight for this
right. Some opponents dismiss
religious freedom as inconsequential. We’ve seen legal efforts to deny
the church the right to participate
in government programs unless it
cedes its religious principles. We’ve
seen government officials dismiss
those who defend marriage as between one man and one woman as
“bigots.” We’ve seen the state try
to define who can be a minister in
a church. We see that people are
persecuted for their faith around
the world, losing their homes,
even their lives, for lack of religious freedom.
State-sponsored
violence
through war and other aggression
results in thousands of deaths and
millions of disrupted lives. The
Church’s long-held just war teaching suggests war is permissible
only if the damage inflicted by the
aggressor is lasting, grave, and certain; all other means of putting an
end to the aggression have been
shown to be impractical or ineffective; there are serious prospects
of the war’s success; and the use of
arms does not produce evils and
disorders graver than the evil to be
eliminated.
Other issues are at stake in the
coming election but the above issues deserve particular concern.
Can they be discussed civilly? Can
individuals look at them from several sides and consider what resonates with their conscience? These
are matters for study and prayer
before anyone enters the voting
booth.
BROWNSVILLE — Students at
the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College
have a new Campus Minister.
Lisa Lysaght comes to Brownsville with an extensive background
in
parish
youth work
in the Diocese of Fort
Way n e /
South Bend
in Indiana.
She has more
than 20 years
of
youth
LYSAGHT
and young
adult ministry experience. Lysaght completed
an Executive Journey Fellowship,
a year-long program for youthserving professionals to invest in
their own personal growth and
professional development and is a
trained presenter of S. H. A. R. E
(Sexuality, Health and Relationship
Education), a program that aims to
increase positive attitudes, knowledge, skills and behavior associated
with sexuality, sexual decision making, sexual health and relationships.
Lysaght was a part of the Young
Catholic Leadership Institute, and
also served as a Diocesan Youth
Council Mentor and Faithfest Coordinator (diocesan youth rally).
Lysaght has coordinated and facilitated multiple retreats and mission
trips at the diocesan, parish, and
Catholic high school level.
Though she hopes to meet students while out and about on campus, Lysaght is excited to have a ministry home at the Newman Catholic
Student Center just off campus at
1910 E. University Blvd. in Brownsville, adjacent to the Chancery of
the Diocese of Brownsville. She is
looking forward to working with
students through Catholic Campus
Ministry by offering weekly Masses,
student luncheons, movie nights,
social activities, service and justice
projects, and more.
Lysaght would like to invite all
young adults in the Brownsville
area to the Newman Center to gather with friends, study, take a break,
visit the beautiful adoration chapel,
play Wii and many other activities.
One-year study
of the Catechism
begins in October
Special to The Valley Catholic
BROWNSVILLE — A oneyear study of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church will begin on
Thursday, Oct.18 from 7 to 8 p.m. at
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
in Brownsville, and will continue
through November of 2013.
The classes are being offered in
response to Pope Benedict XVI’s
declaration of a Year of Faith and
a call to all Catholics to renew and
intensify their knowledge of the
Catholic faith. The Year of Faith begins Oct. 11.
Grace MacKinnon, former director of adult education for the
Diocese of Brownsville, will lead
the classes. For further information,
please call (956) 546-3178.
4
DIOCESE
»Making Sense
Out of Bioethics
A New Church
Tadeusz
Pacholczyk
Priest of the
Diocese of Fall
River
M
M
» Please see Disabilities, p.10
Director, Family
Life Office
Building a
Marriage
Loving those
with disabilities
any of us have
hidden fears
and hesitations
when it comes to
dealing with persons with severe
disabilities. Their unfamiliar
gestures, behaviors, and limitations
can challenge us and infringe
on our comfort zones. We may
be tempted to apply a different
standard when we deal with
them. Even very young children
with disabilities may suffer
discrimination through denial
of care as newborns, or through
abortion in utero.
During his presidential
campaign, former Pennsylvania
Senator Rick Santorum and his
wife Karen were often asked by
people on the campaign trail about
their daughter Bella, who was
born with Trisomy 18, a severe
genetic defect caused by an extra
chromosome. Such children tend
to have shorter lifespans, with 90%
dying during the first year of life.
Nevertheless, with proper care,
some can live well into their teens,
and even into their 20’s or 30’s.
Bella became known to the public
during her father’s candidacy in
part because of several memorable
moments during the TV debates
where Rick powerfully described
how Bella’s birth and struggles had
impacted their family.
Early on, Rick and Karen
struggled with the Trisomy 18
diagnosis, and with the way
physicians labeled it a “lethal
diagnosis” and “incompatible with
life.” Because they had already
lost another child at birth, Rick,
almost unconsciously, remained
emotionally distant from Bella
during the first few months of her
life. He focused on being the pillar
of strength for the family through
the storm. He later described
it during one of the public
presidential debates this way: “I
decided that the best thing I could
do was to treat her differently and
not love her… because it wouldn’t
hurt as much if I lost her.”
Several years prior to Bella’s
birth, Rick had sponsored the
partial-birth abortion ban in
Congress. He had spent long
hours on the Senate floor lobbying
to protect children who were
discovered to have “problems”
before birth, rather than allowing
them to be targeted for late-term
abortions.
When Bella was 5 months old,
she became critically ill and was
rushed to the emergency room.
Rick grasped her little finger on
the gurney where she was lying.
“I remember holding that finger,”
he said, “and looking at her, and
realizing what I had done. I had
been exactly what I had said that I
Lydia Pesina
Courtesy photos
Computer generated artist renderings of the interior (above) and exterior (below) of the new St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus
Church in Edcouch, provided by Milnet Architectural Services in McAllen.
The Valley Catholic
EDCOUCH
—
The
foundation will be poured
by early September and then
construction will continue on the
new St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus
Church in Edcouch, said Rey
Rivera of the diocesan Building
& Properties Department.
Designed by Rodolfo Molina
of Milnet Architectural Services
in McAllen, the new Spanishstyle church will seat 410.
Renovations were being
completed on the old church
when a fire destroyed it on Oct.
18, 2009. Masses are currently
celebrated in the parish hall
Rivera said the estimated
completion date for the new
sanctuary is March 2013.
Inmate Converts to Catholicism
at Lopez State Jail
By OFELIA DE LOS SANTOS
The Valley Catholic
EDINBURG – Last fall it
could have been just another
Tuesday night for us at Lopez State
Jail. But that evening was different. Not only were four Catholic
volunteers, including Diocesan
Prison Chaplain Father George
Gonzalez, attending together, but
they were there for a special reason.
Together we represented three
different programs offered at Lopez State Jail through the office of
Jail Ministry. This night one of the
inmates would be receiving three
sacraments – Penance, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation. Clayton*, the candidate petitioning for
conversion, was unusually solemn
but his fellow inmates exhibited a
quiet excitement.
A year prior to this evening,
Jaime Gomez, the former jail ministry coordinator for the diocese
recalls that after taking some new
volunteers to observe his class, he
asked them, “Did you notice anything different among the men?”
The volunteers were at a loss
to respond. Gomez pointed out
that one could tell the Protestants
from the Catholics because the
Protestants always brought their
Bibles. He also related this story
to them. One day, Clayton, approached him and said “This is a
Catholic class isn’t it, how about
having Mass once in a while? Can
you arrange it?” So Gomez talked
to Father Gonzalez and asked him
if he could fit another Mass into
his schedule on Saturday afternoons at the Lopez facility — and
so he did.
Clayton continued attending a Basic Catechism Class on
Saturdays with Juan Gonzalez, a
volunteer from Sacred Heart Parish in Mercedes and then added
Intermediate Catholic Theology
taught by Albert Holder, a volunteer from St. Jude’s Parish in Pharr
on Tuesday nights.
Lastly Clayton began attending my Rosary class on Monday
nights. A few months later, as
Gomez asked the men what sacraments they still lacked, Clayton
responded by raising his hand and
stating “I want be a Catholic.”
Gomez was stunned. “But
I thought you were Catholic!
Weren’t you the one asking for
Mass to be celebrated here? Have
you ever been baptized in another
church?”
“Oh yes,” Clayton replied.
“I was baptized in the Baptist
Church but fell away several years
ago. But now I want to know how
I can become a Catholic.”
Upon further investigation we
were happy to learn that not only
was Clayton’s baptism sufficient
for his conversion to Catholicism,
but, that he was well versed in the
tenants of the Catholic faith, its
sacraments and most importantly,
fervently desired to experience
the Real Presence of Jesus Christ
in the Eucharist.
When asked his opinion about
Clayton, Chaplain George Gon-
zalez said, “Clayton is the most
persistent and dedicated student
I have ever met – asking many
questions and not being satisfied
with just what he learned in class.
He reads on his own, checks out
books that enhance his knowledge of Catholicism.”
And so it was that night, when
Clayton came forward towards
that makeshift altar in that prison
classroom to receive Jesus for the
first time, every eye was on him.
And every person, ”who had eyes
to see,” sensed Heaven and Earth
meet that night as we experienced
the joy that radiated from Clayton’s face!
As his “madrina,” I could not
resist asking him later, “How did
you feel Clayton when you received Jesus for the first time in
the Eucharist?” Clayton smiled
humbly and replied, “Forgiven.”
He then added that ever since
that fateful night many years ago
when he had been driving drunk
and had cost someone their life,
he had not been unable to forgive
himself. But that night he truly
understood that Jesus had forgiven him long before. And as he
received Jesus into his heart with
his teachers and friends joining in
his celebration that night, Clayton
finally forgave himself.” God’s
grace — it comes when you least
expect it and surprises you every
time!
* Name altered for privacy
_
Ofelia de los Santos is jail ministry coordinator for the Diocese of Brownsville
arriage is a very
unique relationship
in which “a man
shall leave his father
and his mother and be joined to
his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh.” (Ephesians 5:31) It is
wonderful to remember that this
teaching is ancient and yet so
true and so sacred. Although this
reading from Ephesians is from the
early Christian Church, it predates
Christianity.
In Genesis 2:24 in the Hebrew
Scriptures which have been around
since about 1,000 B.C.E. , we hear
almost the same exact words “That
is why a man leaves his father and
mother and clings to his wife, and
the two of them become one body.”
(Genesis 2:24)
The Catholic Church has beautiful teachings about the Sacrament
of Matrimony. We are reminded
through the teachings of the essential elements of a sacramental marriage that a marriage must be Free,
Faithful, Fruitful, and Forever!
One of the reasons that the
Church “requires” Marriage Preparation for engaged couples is that it
is very important that each person
be as “free” as possible to make
that promise to be true in good
times and in bad, in sickness and
in health; to love and honor all the
days of their lives.
The sessions with their Sponsor
Couple and what they experience
at their Marriage Preparation
Retreat helps them to “see” each
other a little clearer, the pluses and
the minuses, and be freer to make
their decision.
Fidelity is key to a loving
sacramental marriage. Spouses
constantly strive to remain sexually and emotionally faithful to one
another publicly and privately. The
Church teaches that “sex is sacred”,
created by God for two purposes
that both begin with the same
letter Procreation and Pleasure of
husband and wife; the unitive and
procreative aspects of sex.
It is important to remember
that the “P’ that has no place in
marriage is pornography which
is a form of infidelity. Also, a
person can be unfaithful emotionally when they allow something
or someone to come before their
spouse; be it their job, their family
of origin, a sport, or even their
children.
Fruitful: when a couple marries in the Catholic Church, they
recognize that they must be open
to the possibility of bringing new
life into the world. They are called
to be fruitful by being co-creators
with God in bringing forth
children. Married couples such
as Mauri and I who are adoptive
parents and did not physically have
children are called to be fruitful
in how we share life and love with
our daughter.
Married couples who do not
have children are called to be fruitful in how they give of themselves
in service to others through their
own families, the poor and needy
in our midst, and the community.
» Please see Marriage, p.15
DIOCESE
»Sunday
Readings
The Word of God in the Life
and Mission of the Church
SEPTEMBER 2
(Twenty-second Sunday in
Ordinary Time)
Reading I DT 4:1-2, 6-8
Responsorial Psalm
PS 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5
Reading II
JAS 1:17-18, 21B-22, 27
Gospel MK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
SEPTEMBER 9
(Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time)
Reading I IS 35:4-7A
Responsorial Psalm
PS 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
Reading II JAS 2:1-5
Gospel
MK 7:31-37
SEPTEMBER 16
(Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary
Time)
Reading I
IS 50:5-9A
Responsorial Psalm
PS 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
Reading II
Gospel
JAS 2:14-18
MK 8:27-35
SEPTEMBER 23
Go and spread the Good News
A
few weeks ago I was
reading the newspaper
and came across an article on the “Millennial
Generation” - young people from
the ages of 18 to 29. Of course I
was intrigued because I immediately thought of my own nephews
and nieces. The article proffered
the attitude that most Millennials
are not affiliated with any religious
denomination and that most do
not even attend church services.
At first sight I thought of
the negative impact on religious
values in our country. But as a
Catholic priest I always try and
look at the glass half full instead. I
do not know of most Millennials
but my nephews and nieces are
pretty independent, unabashedly
outspoken and very open minded.
Those are traits worth tapping into
in developing a strategy of evangelization with this very important
group of our society.
I remember once asking one of
my nephews if he believed in God;
deep inside I was afraid of what
the response may be. As he took
his eyes off the computer game he
was playing he looked at me and
just smiled and said, “of course
uncle Bert, I do believe in God…
don’t worry.” Then he said to
me, “Do you think God loves me
even though I don’t go to church
that often?” I looked at him and
smiled and said, “of course, don’t
worry”. Then he grinned again
and responded, “Cool” ... and with
that, went back to his cyber world.
From that moment on I realized
that I should not shy away from
speaking to him and my other
Millennial family about faith and
(Memorial of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina,
priest)
Reading I
WIS 2:12, 17-20
Responsorial Psalm
PS 54:3-4, 5, 6 AND 8
Reading II
Gospel
JAS 3:16-4:3
MK 9:30-37
SEPTEMBER 30
(Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary
Time)
Reading I
NM 11:25-29
Responsorial Psalm
PS 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
Reading II
Gospel
JAS 5:1-6
MK 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
The word of the lord abides for ever.
This word is the Gospel which was
preached to you” (1 Pet 1:25; cf. Is
40:8).
With this assertion from the First
Letter of Saint Peter, which takes up
the words of the Prophet Isaiah, we
find ourselves before the mystery of
God, who has made himself known
through the gift of his word.
This word, which abides for ever,
entered into time. God spoke his
eternal Word humanly; his Word
“became flesh” (Jn 1:14).
This is the good news. This is the
proclamation which has come down
the centuries to us today.
Disciples in Mission: Six Weeks
with the Bible
5
O
Msgr. Heberto
M. Diaz, Jr.
Vicar General
for the Diocese
of Brownsville
God. It is just a matter of finding
the right approach.
I believe that the importance
of this extends far beyond familial
relationships. Given the median
age of Valley residents – a youthful 27 – it is incumbent upon us to
find the right approach or methods
if we hope to effectively evangelize
this large cohort. A basic tenet of
catechesis is to meet people where
they are, gently and persistently
moving them forward in their
education and development. To
understand where Millennials are,
I have explored research findings
about today’s young adults. The
Pew Research Center’s Forum on
Religion and Public Life conducted
a series of reports on “Religion in
the Millennial Generation” and recently released their findings. The
results are, as I suggested above,
both alarming and fascinating.
I think they affirm the sense of
opportunity I see in terms of ministry with and to young people.
As I looked deeper into the research I found it reassuring to see
that the seeds of faith and religion
are there. Millennials have similar
beliefs and values as older generations, but they express them in a
different manner. Most believe in
God at rates comparable to previ-
ous generations. And while their
interest in faith is genuine, developing it in these uncertain times is
not as high on their list of priorities as is the search for job security.
They are less likely to be formally
affiliated with any organized religion, and yet at the same time, the
intensity of those who are affiliated
with a religion is as strong today as
among previous generations when
they were young.
Millennials are more accepting
of others who are different from
them, including me; “the priest”.
Maybe the mystique of the priest
of the 50’s is not there, but they see
deeper into the human person/
priest. It is a refreshing outlook.
This compassion extends to other
different groups of marginalized
people in our society. This is a
strength I believe can help move
all of us forward in our mission of
evangelization.
Evangelization begins in the
home. Looking back at my own
family I must admit that at times
I felt like my energy was ineffective in sharing my faith with my
Millennial family members. Yet in
listening to them what I have discovered is that they have been paying attention all along. In the blink
of an eye – it seems like it was just
yesterday that they were “rugrats”
– they have become handsome/
beautiful young adults whose vision is giving me new insights into
spreading the Good News.
_
Msgr. Heberto M. Diaz is Vicar General
of the Diocese of Brownsville and pastor
of Mary, Mother of the Church Parish in
Brownsville.
Preparing for the Year of Faith
n Oct. 16, 2011, the
Holy Father Pope
Benedict XVI announced a special
“Year of Faith” to help Catholics
appreciate the gift of faith, deepen
their relationship with God and
strengthen their commitment to
sharing faith with others.
“It will be a moment of grace
and commitment to an ever fuller
conversion to God, to reinforce
our faith in him and to proclaim
him with joy to the people of our
time,” the pope said in a homily
delivered to a gathering of leaders
on the “new evangelization.”
The Year of Faith begins Oct.
11, 2012, the 50th anniversary of
the opening of the Second Vatican
Council, and will end Nov. 24,
2013, the feast of Christ the King.
The Holy Father has chosen Oct.
11, 2012 as the opening date
because on this day two important
anniversaries occur: the 50th anniversary of the opening of The Second Vatican Council and the 20th
anniversary of the promulgation
and publication of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church.
During the same month a
three-week gathering of the World
Synod of Bishops (the 13th Ordinary General Assembly) will be
held in the Vatican from Oct. 7-28
in Rome. It will bring bishops from
all over the world to discuss “The
New Evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith.”
Archbishop Eterovic (Secretary
General of the Synod of Bishops)
said he hopes the synod will be “an
opportunity to discuss and compare points of view and practical
experiences” of evangelization.
The Pope has outlined the
meaning and purpose of the Year
of Faith in his Apostolic Letter
“Motu Proprio Data” Porta Fidei
Deacon
Luis Zuniga
Director, Office for
Pastoral Planning
& San Juan Diego
Ministry Institute.
(available on the Vatican Website:
Vatican.va). In it, he said the aim of
the year is “to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the
faith in fullness and with renewed
conviction, with confidence and
hope.”
The introduction of the Apostolic Letter speaks of the need
to open our hearts to conversion,
“The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27)
is always open for us, ushering us
into the life of communion with
God and offering entry into his
Church. It is possible to cross that
threshold when the word of God
is proclaimed and the heart allows
itself to be shaped by transforming
grace. To enter through that door
is to set out on a journey that lasts
a lifetime.” (Apostolic Letter, Porta
Fidei, 1).
The Holy Father has established a Pontifical Council for
Promoting the New Evangelization. Such council is to pursue
different ways to both encourage
reflection on topics of the new
evangelization, and by identifying
and promoting suitable ways and
means to accomplish it.
In establishing the council the
Pope writes: “It is the duty of the
Church to proclaim always and
everywhere the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. He, the first and supreme
evangelizer, commanded the
Apostles on the day of his Ascension to the Father: “Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded
you” (Mt 28:19-20).
Faithful to this mandate, the
Church—a people chosen by God
to declare his wonderful deeds (cf.
1 Peter 2:9)—ever since she received the gift of the Holy Spirit on
the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:14),
has never tired of making known
to the whole world the beauty of
the Gospel as she preaches Jesus
Christ, true God and true man,
the same “yesterday and today and
forever” (Heb 13:8), who, by his
death and Resurrection, brought
us salvation and fulfilled the promise made of old. Hence the mission
of evangelization, a continuation
of the work desired by the Lord
Jesus, is necessary for the Church:
it cannot be overlooked; it is an
expression of her very nature.”
(Apostolic Letter “Motu Proprio
Data” Ubicumque Et Semper”).
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has published
Pastoral Recommendations for the
Year of Faith to assist the universal Church as well as individual
dioceses and parishes throughout
the world. The Vatican has also
announced a website dedicated to
the year of faith (www.annusfidei.
va) which includes resources and
ideas.
One of the most anticipated
publications is The Enchiridion
(manual or handbook) of the New
Evangelization. The Enchiridion
contains excerpts from speeches,
messages, homilies, apostolic letters and other documents of the
popes since 1939, from Pius XII to
Benedict XVI, and from the official
documents of the Council Vatican
II, all chosen for their relevance to
the New Evangelization.
Catholic News Service
St. Matthew is depicted in a stainedglass window in Crosier House in
Phoenix. As author of the first Gospel,
Matthew is often depicted with a
tablet. His feast day is Sept. 21.
»Feast Day
- September 21
Spotlight on
St. Matthew
Catholic News Agency/EWTN
St. Matthew, the first-century tax collector turned apostle
who chronicled the life and
ministry of Christ in his Gospel, is celebrated by the Church
on Sept. 21. Although relatively
little is known about the life of
St. Matthew, the account he
wrote of Christ’s ministry – traditionally considered to be the
first of the four Gospels - is of
inestimable value to the Church,
particularly in its verification of
Jesus as the Messiah.
Eastern Catholics and the
Orthodox churches celebrate St.
Matthew on November 16, along
with St. Fulvianus, a prince who
is recorded in some traditions as
converting from paganism after
Matthew’s martyrdom.
The Gospel accounts of
Mark and Luke, like Matthew’s
own, describe the encounter between Jesus and Matthew under
the surprising circumstances of
Matthew’s tax-collecting duties.
Jewish publicans, who collected
taxes on behalf of the Roman
rulers of first-century Judea,
were objects of scorn and even
hatred among their own communities, since they worked on
behalf of the occupying power
and often earned their living by
collecting more than the state’s
due.
Jesus most likely first encountered Matthew near the
house of Peter, in Capernaum
near the Sea of Galilee. The
meeting of the two was dramatic, as Matthew’s third-person
account in his Gospel captured:
“As Jesus passed on,” the ninth
chapter recounts, “he saw a man
named Matthew sitting at the
customs post. He said to him,
‘Follow me’. And he got up and
followed him.”
Matthew’s calling into Jesus’
inner circle was a dramatic gesture of the Messiah’s universal
message and mission, causing
some religious authorities of
the Jewish community to wonder: “Why does your teacher eat
with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus’ significant response indicated a central purpose of his
ministry: “I did not come to call
the righteous but sinners.”
6
DIOCESE
Summer Softball 2012
Final preparations
underway for
convocation
The Valley Catholic
McALLEN — Registration is
underway for the annual Catechetical Convocation, set for Saturday,
Sept. 15 at the McAllen Convention Center, 700 Convention Center Blvd, McAllen. All catechists
are invited to attend.
Dulce Jiménez-Abreu of New
York City, director of Spanish programs for Sadlier, an educational
publisher of religious and secular
course books, will serve as the keynote speaker at the convocation.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores will celebrate Mass. Exhibit booths featuring religious resources and goods
will also be set up around the convention center.
During the Mass, the catechists
will be honored with a commissioning ceremony and special
blessing. Catechists who have
completed 10, 20, 25, and 30 years
of faith formation ministry, will
also be awarded special pins by the
bishop.
Thousands of catechists from
the 69 parishes and 45 mission
churches in the Rio Grande Valley are expected to be a part of this
special day of prayer, fellowship
and reflection.
Each year, the Church dedicates
a day, officially called Catechetical
Sunday, to honor catechists and
recognize the important work that
they do. This year’s theme is, “Catechists and Teachers as Agents of
the New Evangelization.”
The cost is $15 per person before August 31 and $20 late registration.
For more information, call
(956) 781-5323.
By ANGEL BARRERA
The Valley Catholic
Some 200 youth and adults
participated in this year’s summer softball program. Angel
Barrera, director of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Brownsville
said, “Everyone greatly contributed to promoting and fostering
a prayerful and exciting atmosphere.”
Teams were recognized for
their work on and off the field.
Softball Tournament Results:
• Middle School: St Magdalena (Abram), 1st Place; Our Lady
Queen of Angels (Sullivan City),
2nd Place
• High School: Our Lady of
Mercy (Mercedes), 1st Place; Our
Lady Queen of Angels (Sullivan
City), 2nd Place
• Adult: St. Joseph the Worker
- Team 3 (McAllen), 1st Place;
San Martin de Porres - Team 1
(Alton), 2nd Place
Achievements
• ‘Keepers of the Faith’ was
awarded to Our Lady of St. John
of the Fields (Mission) for preserving and promoting Catholic
identity in the sport. Both high
school teams tied rosaries each
week to give to their other team.
Each rosary was prayed and
blessed.
• ‘Furthest Traveled’ was
awarded to St. Mary (Brownsville) and St. Cecilia (Los Fresnos) for overcoming the distance
each week to play at the Mission
Sports Complex.
• Most Teams’ was awarded to
San Martin de Porres (Alton) and
Courtesy photos
San Juan Diego Parish in McAllen was recognized for good sportsmanship throughout the summer softball program.
St Joseph the Worker (McAllen)
for having the greatest number of
total teams this year.
• ‘Spirit Award’ was awarded
to San Martin de Porres (Alton)
Youth Ministry Rafﬂe
Prizes: iPad 3; Netbook; PS3;
Xbox Kinect; Wii; $100 Gift Cards
to Barnes and Noble, Best Buy,
Cinemark, iTunes, Pizza Hut, and
Starbucks
Office of Youth
Ministry
Fostering
Empowerment,
Participation,
Growth in our Youth
Donation: $2
For tickets, please contact the Ofﬁce
of Youth Ministry at 956.781.5323
or check with your parish youth
ministry. $1 of each ticket sold will
stay with your parish youth ministry
and the other $1 will be used to
support diocesan youth ministry.
and Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
(Mission) for having the liveliest turnout from their respective
communities.
• ‘Good Sportsmanship’ was
Teaching the faith:
103 catechists honored
30 YEARS (5 honorees)
St. Joseph – Donna
Liza Anna Tobias
San Martin de Porres – Weslaco
Agustina H. Saenz
St. Joseph - Edinburg
Ofelia Diaz
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary –
Mission
Olga E. Gomez
St. Paul – Mission
Rosa Farias
Time: 5 p.m.
Date: Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012
Location: 700 N. Virgen de San Juan
Blvd, San Juan, Texas 78589
Holy Family – Brownsville
Esiquia De Anda
Teresa M. Zepeda
St. Francis Xavier – La Feria
For more information, please visit
www.CDOBYM.org
Imelda Gonzalez
Thank you for supporting your
parish and diocesan youth ministry.
St. Joseph - Edinburg
Text CDOBYM to 84576 to subscribe to updates!
facebook.com/CDOBYM
twitter.com/CDOBYM
awarded to the Newman Catholic
Student Center (Edinburg) and
San Juan Diego (McAllen) for
consistently demonstrating virtue in the sport.
Sacred Heart, Edinburg
Enedelia R. Flores
Norma Guzman
Our Lady of Perpetual Help McAllen
Barbara Barrera
Susana Martinez
Felicitas Vela
Holy Family – Brownsville
Mary Lou Escobedo
Cindy Gonzalez
Mary, Mother of the Church Brownsville
Diana Lerma
Norma Jean Vasquez
Lupita Castillo
Eva Delgado
Dolores A. Simmons
Hector Torre
Juanita Torre
Beatriz Trejo
San Martin de Porres - Weslaco
Esperanza Caballero
St. John the Baptist – San Juan
Mona Renteria
Our Lady of Perpetual Help –
McAllen
Olivia Benford
Our Lady of Sorrows – McAllen
Deanna L. Ramirez
Olga Ramirez
Mary, Mother of the Church –
Brownsville
St. Mary – Santa Rosa
Gloria Castillo
Chris Prado
Nancy Castillo
Juan Manuel Garza, Jr.
Arturo Ortiz
Aida Zamora-Ramirez
San Martin de Porres – Weslaco
Cecilia Carrillo
Gregorio Carrillo
Lupita Carrillo
Andres Guerrero
Lisa Matamoros
Anadelia Nañez
Jose Luis Ortega
Maria Luisa Salinas
Resurrection – Alamo
Norma Perales
Rosemary Rodriguez
St. Jude Thaddeus – Pharr
David J. Bonnet
Juanita Collazo
Patricia Garcia
Br. Francis S. Garza
Maria Lydia Gaspar
Margarita Gonzalez
Sr. Margarita Ortiz, OP
Josie Perez
Maria Luisa Balandrano
Alicia Cantu
Antonio Guzman
Alejandro R. Guajardo
Robert Obregon
San Felipe de Jesus –
Brownsville
John Bernard
Lauro Luera Jr.
Dominga Torres
St. Ignatius – El Ranchito
Eva Lambert
Prince of Peace – Lyford
Nelda Lozano
Marina Quilantan-Rivera
Sacred Heart, Edinburg
Luz Leal-Esqueda
St. Joseph – Edinburg
Holy Spirit – McAllen
Elizabet Escaname
Leti Garcia
Deacon Crawford Higgins
Adriana Moreno
» Please see Recognition, p.9
DIOCESE
Mass set for lay
apostolic movements
7
Centennial Celebration
The Valley Catholic
SAN JUAN — Bishop Daniel
E. Flores will celebrate a special
Mass for members of lay ecclesial movements and apostolates
at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22
at the Basilica of Our Lady of San
Juan del Valle-National Shrine.
Deacon Luis Zuniga, who
with the Diocesan Pastoral Council and the formation diocesan
directors is facilitating the evangelization initiative in the diocese,
said lay apostolic movements are
important to the evangelization
efforts of the diocese.
“Members of the different
movements and apostolates seek
to bring Christ to others and they
do it very effectively for they are
deeply rooted in the places where
Christ most needs to be known
in this diverse and unique border
diocese of the Rio Grande Valley,”
he said.
Deacon Zuniga added, “This
will be an opportunity for us to
hear from Bishop Flores on the
New Evangelization as we prepare
for the Year of Faith. The purpose
of the Year of Faith is to promote
among Catholics a “renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus” and to
“rediscover the faith”.
The New Evangelization is also
an opportunity for the Church to
Shadows,
continued from pg. 1
discipline and an impressive academic record. It requires money –
big money – since undocumented
students in most states pay outof-state tuition rates and without
a social security number, there
are few scholarship opportunities.
Undocumented students are not
eligible for federal financial aid.
Going to college also carries a
certain level of risk. As Aranet described, by simply driving to and
from school, there is an increased
risk of being questioned about
one’s immigration status versus
staying close to home.
“College is an option for very
few undocumented students,” said
Sister Carolyn Kosub of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. The Sisters operate
Proyecto Desarrollo Humano, a
community center located in the
Pueblo de Palmas neighborhood
where Aranet and Grecia live.
“Money is a problem and then
there is the daily struggle of transportation. We are way out here in
the colonia.”
Private benefactors help
Aranet and Grecia pay for school
and the young women are blessed
with family members who are
willing to drive them to and
from school however; they are
at the mercy of their schedules.
Most days, Aranet and Grecia are
picked up about four hours after their last class and sometimes
don’t get home until after dark.
The young women are regularly tutored by Sister Pat McGraw
at Proyecto Desarrollo Humano.
All the Sisters there provide a large
helping of moral support for the
young women.
“We feel pressure from the
Sisters, but it’s a good pressure,”
Grecia said. “Without them push-
The Valley Catholic
A special Mass on
Saturday, Sept. 22
at the Basilica of Our
Lady of San Juan del
Valle-National Shrine
will prepare apostolic
movements for the
Year of Faith which
begins Oct. 11.
reach out to those who have fallen
away from the Church as well as
those who have lost a living sense
of the faith or perhaps no longer
consider themselves members of
the Church or are no longer practicing the faith.
The goal of Evangelization is
to bring “all to Christ and his Gospel.”
Some of the movements and
apostolates in the diocese include
Knights of Columbus, Serra Club,
Catholic Daughters, Cursillos de
Cristiandad, ACTS, Movimiento
Familiar Cristiano, Couples for
Christ, Renovación Carismática,
Encuentro Matrimonial, Marriage Encounter, Catholic Engaged Encounter, Divine Mercy,
Altar & Rosary Society, Catholics
United for the Faith, Oblates of St.
Benedict Monastery of the Good
Shepherd, Third Order Franciscans, Encuentro Católico Musical,
Apostolado de la Cruz, Comunidad AMA, Real Men Pray the Rosary, RGV Catholic Men’s Fellowship, Legion of Mary, Schoenstatt
Movement, Pro-Life Apostolate,
Grupos de Oracion and Disciples
in Mission.
ing us, we wouldn’t be doing that
well.”
“We kind of feel as if the whole
neighborhood is watching us,”
Aranet added. “We can’t let them
down.”
The Pew Hispanic Center,
a project of the Pew Research
Center, estimates that 1.5 million
undocumented students currently reside in the United States.
Roughly half of these students,
approximately 765,000, arrived
before their 16th birthday.
Only about five to 10 percent
of undocumented high school
graduates attend college, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
Aranet was born in Michoacan, Mexico and came to the U.S.
at age 7. She earned good grades
and graduated from a local high
school in 2011 with the goal of going to college.
“I want to show my little
brothers that if I can do it, they
can do it,” said Aranet, who is one
of seven children and the only girl.
Grecia was born in Reynosa,
Mexico and was seven-years-old
when her parents split up. Her
mother immigrated to the U.S.
with her and her little brother to
start a new life.
Like Aranet, she also earned
good grades, graduated from high
school and dreamed of going to
college.
Before they could enroll in any
post-secondary institution, the
young women needed an acceptable form of identification so they
went to the Mexican Consulate to
obtain identification cards.
“They said they felt out of
place,” Sister Kosub said. “The
United States is the only country
they’ve ever known.”
Kosub noted that there are
many psychological aspects of being undocumented.
“They study hard and want
to get a degree but the doors are
closed to them,” she said. “They
wonder what kind of job they can
get without a social security number. Many wonder if they should
even make the effort.”
Aranet and Grecia said they
planned to apply for the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) program, a policy change
announced in June that would offer the chance for those who are
under the age of 31 and came to
the U.S. before the age of 16, to
request the government use its
prosecutorial discretion to defer
deportation proceedings and give
them work permits.
Other eligibility requirements
include currently being in school
or having earned a high school
diploma and not being convicted
of a felony or significant misdemeanor. The first day to submit
applications was Aug. 15. Application fees apply.
Aranet and Grecia expressed
that although they are happy
about the policy change, it is only
a temporary solution. They pray a
more permanent solution will be
passed into law.
They dream of the day that
they will have legal status in this
country and have the freedom to
work — and travel.
“We are always saying, ‘when
we get papers, we are going to go
here, when we get papers, we are
going to go there,’” Grecia said.
Aranet regrets missing her beloved grandfather’s funeral due to
her immigration status and would
like to visit his grave and her remaining family members in Michoacan. Grecia’s father remarried
and has three other children. One
of them recently sent her a friend
request on Facebook. She looks
forward to meeting them in person someday.
*The Valley Catholic has omitted
their last names for their safety.
Archive photo
LYFORD — Prince of Peace Parish in Lyford is marking 100 years as a faith
community with a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Daniel E. Flores at
noon on Sept. 23. The church was founded in 1912 as a mission chapel and
named Our Lady of Guadalupe. The church was elevated to parish status on
July 29, 1967 and renamed Prince of Peace Parish. The above photo of the
old church was taken in 1967.
Total Consecration
Courtesy photo
A 33-day preparation process for the Total Consecration to Jesus through
Mary culminated on Wednesday, Aug. 15, the Feast of the Assumption with a
communal Mass of Consecration at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del
Valle-National Shrine. Montfort Priest, Father Hugh Gillespie from New York,
celebrated the Mass.
Some 900 faithful completed the 33-day consecration. Real Men Pray the
Rosary, a local apostolate, teamed up with experienced consecration leaders who coordinated classes throughout the Rio Grande Valley to the Marian
devotion known as “Total Consecration” according to the writings of St. Louis
de Montfort.
To Advertise in The Valley Catholic
Call (956) 784-5055
Gustavo Morales
Gilbert Saenz
Lower Valley
(956) 266-1527
Upper Valley
(956) 451-5416
8
DIOCESE
»Pilgrimages
Close to Home
Perpetual Adoration
chapel provides quiet
space for prayer
By BRENDA NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
A
LAMO – Tucked away
in a quiet residential
neighborhood stands
a historic church in
Alamo where people
come to pray before the Lord
present in the Blessed Sacrament
at the St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration.
“I feel strengthened after
spending time talking to God, the
Father,” said Yolanda G. Sanchez,
a parishioner and volunteer at
Resurrection Church in Alamo,
who has been coming to the chapel each Saturday for the past five
years.
“You leave with a new energy,”
she said. “I come to talk to God,
to pray for family and friends and
those who have passed away,” she
added.
The Diocese of Brownsville’s St.
Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, located
HOW TO GET
at 725 Bowie
THERE
Street, opened
Address:
725
in December
Bowie
Street,
2005 in the historic St. Joseph Alamo
Church, built
in 1924. It was Directions: From
designated
a Expressway 83
historical site in take the Alamo
Road Exit and
1985.
The chapel head south past
is run by the Business 83.
Capuchin Poor Turn left on to
Clares, clois- Bowie Street.
tered nuns who
live in a monas- Hours: Every day
tery behind the from 8 a.m. to
chapel. The sis- 8 p.m.
ters are devoted
to contemplative life, praying for
the people in whose midst they
are, as well as for the needs of the
church and society. They spend
hours in adoration before the
Blessed Sacrament, and strive to
be models of a simple and peaceful way of life.
I visited on a midmorning one
Tuesday. I have been to the chapel
before to attend the blessing when
the renovation was completed in
2006 and again for special Masses.
This time I wanted to come and
experience it from a pilgrimage
perspective.
I realized that if I am going to
» Please see Chapel, p.15
An open invitation
Come
Visit
Christ
St. Joseph Chapel
of Perpetual Adoration
The St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, located south of
Business 83 on 725 Bowie Street in Alamo, is open daily from 8
a.m. to 8 p.m.
The original St. Joseph Church was renovated and opened as a
chapel of Perpetual Adoration in 2005.
The Capuchin
Poor Clare Nuns,
who take care of
the St. Joseph
Chapel of
Perpetual
Adoration,
came from Zamora,
Michoacan, Mexico.
The church was
built in 1924 and
designated a
historical site
in 1985.
The nuns established the Saint Joseph
and Saint Rita Monastery in the
Diocese of Brownsville in 2003. This is
the first cloistered order of nuns in the
diocese.
DIOCESE
Those Who Serve:
»Birthday
Wishes
Father Raymond Nwachukwu
El Valle - a ‘perfect fit’
He came for a
sabbatical, decided
to stay for good
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
PROGRESO — Father Raymond Nwachukwu arrived in the
Rio Grande Valley in 2002 for what
was supposed to be a short stay. A
native of Nigeria, he was on sabbatical and looking for pastoral
work that would provide spiritual,
emotional and intellectual growth
and renewal.
He wanted to spend some time
in the U.S. but didn’t like big cities.
At the time, he was priest of the
Missionary Sons of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, known as “the Claretians,” whose mission is to serve
where there is urgent need.
The Valley was a perfect fit.
“My thought was that I was going to come here to try, to see,” Father Nwachukwu said. “There was
an immediate need for a hospital
chaplain in McAllen. I had been
in parishes all my priestly life and
I wanted a new experience, so I
thought, ‘why not try this particular apostolate?’ It also captivated
me to hear Spanish everywhere. I
fell in love with the area.”
After spending a year serving
as a hospital chaplain at McAllen
Medical Center and providing pastoral assistance at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in McAllen,
Father Nwachukwu was incardinated into the Diocese of Browns-
Courtesy Photo
Father Raymond Nwachukwu, who excelled in art and architecture studies in prep
school, used his talents to make improvements to the altar and the façade at Holy
Spirit Parish in Progreso.
ville in November 2003 from the
Claretians.
He served primarily as a hospital chaplain in McAllen and later in
Brownsville before returning to his
roots as a full-time parish priest at
Holy Spirit Church in Progreso in
December 2009. He is also the pastor of Cristo Rey Mission in Blue-
town and St. Margaret Ann Mission in Santa Maria.
“One thing I discovered here is
that the people are very generous,”
Father Nwachukwu said. “They are
very poor, they are few members
and then with the economy and
everything, people are moving out
instead of coming in, and that af-
fects the Church.
“That coupled with the problems of the border, the young ones
don’t want to come here to build
houses and the ones that are already here don’t want to build new
houses here either. They are moving into Weslaco and Mercedes, but
the few people that we have around
are very good. That is why we are
so vibrant.”
Father Nwachukwu, marked 25
years as a priest on Aug. 1. A special Mass was celebrated by Bishop
Daniel E. Flores to mark the occasion on Aug. 18.
Minerva Galvan, president of
the Holy Spirit Parish Council, said
that Father Nwachukwu has made
many improvements to the church,
including extensive work on the altar and the façade of the building.
“Before he arrived here, the altar was very simple,” she said. “He
wanted to make it more of a sanctuary and he has. The front of the
church also looks completely different. It’s very beautiful.”
Father Nwachukwu commissioned two murals, one of the Sacred Heart and one of Our Lady
of Perpetual Help, from an artist in McAllen. The altar was also
adorned with gold leaf and Father
Nwachukwu completed most of
the work himself.
“I wanted to create a beautiful space for the Lord,” he said. “I
wanted to make the altar a welcoming place where people could kneel
down and pray, meditate and a
place where they could take beautiful photographs on their special
» Please see Silver Jubilee, p.14
White Mass
set for Oct. 25
The Valley Catholic
Courtesy Photo
Fifty-one youth from over 12 parishes in the Diocese of Brownsville participated in YouthLeader this year. The week-long
camp was filled with awesome experiences in developing Christian leadership abilities and skills. The youth from each parish
planned changes in their parishes that could positively impact youth ministry and create a more vibrant parish life.
St. Joseph the Worker – McAllen
Albert Moreno
Cecilia Batungbacal
Irma Cirlos
Sandra Cortinas
Belinda F. Guzman
Margot Krauss
Our Lady of Perpetual Help – McAllen
Sacred Heart – McAllen
St. Paul – Mission
Recognition,
Lorena Guerrero
Laura Vela
Our Lady of Sorrows – McAllen
Amy Albrecht
Brother John Allen
Juan Carlos Aguirre
Maria Elida Aguirre
Fidel Lara
Mireya Martinez
Maria Raquel Oliva
Maria Cano-Cole
Irma L. Peña
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary - Mission
JoAnn Maxine Olvera
Maria Luke
Ginger Padilla
Dinora Rodriguez
Carol Santiago
McALLEN — Health care professionals, save the date for the 9th
Annual White Mass set for Thursday, Oct. 25 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 2209 Kendlewood Ave., in McAllen.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores will
celebrate Mass at 6:30 p.m. during
which he will offer a special blessing for health care professionals.
All those who work in the health
care field are invited to attend.
After the Mass, a dinner and
conference will be held at the parish hall. Rev. Msgr. Michael Olson, rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, will serve
as the keynote speaker. The main
topic will be conscience rights in
health care.
Sponsors are still needed for
this event, which is free for all
health care professionals.
Named for the white coats
and uniforms traditionally worn
by health care professionals, the
White Mass is a special celebration to honor the contributions
of those who serve the infirmed
with Christ-like compassion and
concern. It is generally held on or
around the feast of St. Luke, the
patron of physicians. His feast day
is Oct. 18.
For sponsorship information
and to RSVP, please call Gloria
Morales in the Office of Health
Ministry (956) 784-5007.
9
The list of birthdays and
ordination anniversaries is
provided so that parishioners
may remember the priests,
deacons and religious in their
prayers and send them a note or
a card.
September
» Birthdays
3 Rev. Msgr. Juan Nicolau
4 Rev. Raymond Nwachukwu
6 Rev. Pasquale Lanese- Retired
8 Rev. R. Jaime Cabañas- Retired
8 Rev. Richard Philion- Retired
9 Rev. Vicente Azcoiti – Retired
10 Rev. Jose E. Losoya
13 Rev. Richard L. Lifrak
16 Rev. Mario Aviles
19 Rev. Thomas Luczak
22 Rev. George Gonzalez
23 Rev. Jose Rene Angel
26 Rev. Martin De La Cruz
30 Rev. Juan R. Gutierrez
19 Deacon Ramiro Davila Jr.
20 Deacon Agapito Cantu
29 Deacon Roberto Ledesma
29 Deacon John F. Schwarz
30 Deacon Graciano A.
Rodriguez
11 Sister Teresita Rodriguez
16 Sister Leticia Benavides
21 Sister Nancy Boushey
21 Sister Mary Florence
Ehileme
» Anniversaries
1 Rev. Ignacio Luna
19 Rev. Esteban Hernandez
21 Deacon Larry Hildebrand
October
» Birthdays
2 Rev. Marco A. Reynoso
4 Rev. Francisco Acosta
10 Rev. Cesar U. Partida
11 Rev. Paul Roman
13 Rev. Joel Grissom
13 Rev. Eddie Villa
14 Rev. Eka Yuantoro
16 Rev. Edouard Atangana
16 Rev. Msgr. Heberto Diaz
18 Rev. Jean Olivier Sambu
28 Rev. Frank Gomez
31 Rev. Tomas Mateos
5 Deacon Jesus P. Galvan
6 Deacon Bruno Cedillo
6 Deacon Francisco R. Flores
13 Deacon Eduardo Ovalle
15 Deacon Eduardo Reyna
17 Deacon Guillermo G.
Castañeda Jr.
20 Deacon David Espinoza
22 Deacon Oscar Garcia
23 Deacon Alvin H.
Gerbermann
» Anniversaries
17 Rev. Roy Lee Snipes
28 Rev. James Pfeifer – Retired
10
IN THE NEWS
Sacred duty
Saints show that church is
holy despite failings
By CINDY WOODEN
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is depicted in this detail view
of the oldest known portrait of her painted about 16
years after her death in 1680. It was painted by Jesuit
Father Claude Chauchetiere, who personally knew
Blessed Kateri.
A statue of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is seen outside
Sacred Heart Retreat Center in Gallup, N.M.
Disabilities,
had fought against at the partial
birth abortion [hearings]: I had
seen her as less of a person because
of her disability.”
His candor is a reminder of the
challenges we all face in caring for
and loving those with disabilities
and physical limitations. Having
learned many valuable lessons
from their daughter, Rick and
Karen now serve as even more
vigorous advocates for children
with disabilities. They realized they
had to immerse themselves in the
VATICAN CITY – Catholic devotion
to the saints appears to be alive and well,
and Pope Benedict XVI continues to proclaim new saints at a regular pace.
The official calendar of saints’ feast days
will grow in October when the pope canonizes seven men and women, including
Mother Marianne Cope of Molokai and
three laypeople: the Native American Kateri
Tekakwitha, the Filipino Peter Calungsod
and the German Anna Schaffer.
The canonization Mass Oct. 21 will be
one of the first big events of Pope Benedict’s Year of Faith, which is designed to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
opening of the Second Vatican Council and
to launch a strengthened commitment to
the new evangelization.
According to Cardinal Angelo Amato,
prefect of the Congregation for Saints’
Causes, the appeal of the saints and their
concrete examples of holiness give them “an
undeniably positive role to play in this time
of new evangelization,” since they are living
proof that the church is holy.
In a new book, currently available only
in Italian, Cardinal Amato writes that it’s
easy to understand how people can question the church’s holiness when they see the
sinful behavior of some of its members. But
the good, loving and charitable activities of
other members are the best evidence that
the church truly is the holy body of Christ,
he says.
“The holiness of the church is not the
sum of the holiness of its children, but is a
spiritual gift received from the spirit of the
Risen Christ,” he writes. “Throughout history, the church carries the treasure of its
holiness in earthen vessels. Being aware of
world of special needs, which Rick
described as “a different world,”
and one where children like Bella
“do not get the care they need
unless the parents fight for it.”
I recently had the opportunity
to meet Rick and Karen. Karen
described how Bella’s situation
was exacerbated by health care
professionals who would not
treat her with the same dignity
and respect as normal children.
Surprisingly, some doctors did not
even address Bella by her name.
Rick and Karen soon found an
exceptional team of physicians
who not only called Bella by
her name, but were hopeful
 Immunizations
 Name Brand
& Generic Prescriptions
 Durable Medical Equipment
& Supplies
 Free Delivery Service
 Over-the-Counter Medications
 Medicaid, Medicare
& Most Third-Party
Prescription Plans
Catholic News Services
A statue of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha stands amid trees on the grounds of the shrine dedicated to her in
Fonda, N.Y., July 14, her U.S. feast day. The 17th-century Mohawk-Algonquin woman will become the first
member of a North American tribe to be declared a saint when she is canonized Oct. 21.
that, the historic church can do nothing
other than continually convert to the cross
of Christ.”
The saints and martyrs officially recognized by the church are the “demonstration
that the church, even if it is not already perfect, given the misery of many of its sons
and daughters, is not less holy, but continues to produce the fruits of holiness and
always will.”
Individual Christians and Christian
communities thus have an obligation to
pursue holiness “to counterbalance the humiliations” Christ’s body suffers because of
the sins of its members, he writes.
For Jesuit Father Paolo Molinari, who
served as an expert at Vatican II and shepherded Blessed Kateri’s sainthood cause for
55 years, saints are not mythic heroes but
real men and women who show all Christians that it’s possible to live holy lives no
and positive about her life and
possibilities.
Karen also mentioned another
couple with a child affected by
Trisomy 18. They had been told
after delivery that little could
be done for their newborn, and
the child was placed off to the
side, until one of the parents
noticed her struggling and sought
assistance for her. Other parents
spoke to Karen about the subtle
but noticeable resistance among
medical staff whenever they
brought their child with Trisomy
18 to the hospital for medical
attention. The Santorums had
experienced similar challenges
matter where they were born or what their
state of life.
It’s not a matter of demonstrating extraordinary courage in a dangerous situation, but “living an ordinary life in an extraordinary way,” a way that “comes from
the spirit of Jesus poured into our hearts,”
Father Molinari said in an interview with
Catholic News Service.
Another great thing about the saints,
Father Molinari said, is that they are ready,
willing and able today to help the church’s
members along the path of holiness.
The Second Vatican Council “purified”
exaggerated practices related to the veneration of the saints, for example, where the
faithful would “enter into a church and go
to the statue of St. Anthony or St. Rita and
touch it, but not even think that the Lord is
present in the tabernacle,” he said.
with caregivers and medical
staff. They had to fight to get
the prescription for oxygen, and
basic medical supplies, that Bella
needed after she left the hospital;
in addition, a hospice physician
prescribed what would have likely
been, if administered, a lethal dose
of morphine.
Discrimination against those
with disabilities should never
be allowed to gain a foothold in
the medical profession, nor be
allowed to guide public policy.
The true measure of the greatness
of a society will always be in
terms of how it treats its weakest
members, and the authenticity of
our own love will be measured by
our compassion and acceptance
of the disabled and the powerless.
God seems to send us children
with disabilities to help us grow,
to remind us that every soul is of
greater importance than its frail
body, and to teach us how man’s
highest calling is found in his
God-like possibility of sharing
unconditional love.
—
Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his
doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did
post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of
the diocese of Fall River, MA, and serves as the
Director of Education at The National Catholic
Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. er.org
Your Family Pharmacies
San Juan Pharmacy
& Pharr Family Pharmacy
Visit us at
1205 N. Raul Longoria, Suite F
San Juan, Tx. 78589
710 S. Cage Blvd, Suite D
Pharr, Tx. 78577
(956) 782-6337
(956) 782-8494
Fax: (956) 702-0697
Fax: (956) 782-9449
Call in, drop off, or use online services - www.sanjuanrx.com
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL 11
Estudiando en las sombras
Jóvenes enfrentan
retos, miedos al vivir
sin número de
seguro social
Por ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
P
EÑITAS— En días de
clase, la madre de Grecia* maneja con ella
y Aranet* 23 millas
desde su casa en Peñitas a South
Texas College en McAllen, dejándolas ahí de camino a su trabajo en
Hidalgo.
La madre de Grecia siempre ha
sido muy cuidadosa con el límite
de velocidad, sabiendo que una infracción de transito puede acarrear
muchos problemas para las tres.
Ellas son inmigrantes indocumentadas.
“Cuando no tienes papeles
vives con miedo,” dijo Aranet. “Te
preocupas de que si te para un
policía te mandarán de regreso….
Mi mayor miedo es que nos paren
de camino a la escuela.”
Aranet and Grecia, ambas 19,
empezaron a asistir a South Texas
College en agosto del 2011, pero el
camino no ha sido tan fácil.
Para los estudiantes indocumentados, ir a la universidad toma
más que disciplina y un record
académico sobresaliente. Requiere
dinero –mucho dinero- ya que los
estudiantes indocumentados en la
mayoría de los estados pagan matriculas como si vivieran fuera del
estado y hay muy pocas oportunidades de becas sin seguro social.
Los estudiantes indocumentados
no son elegibles para ayuda financiera.
Ir a la universidad también lleva cierto grado de peligro. Como
lo describe Aranet, el manejar de
y hacia la escuela conlleva un alto
riesgo de que se les pregunte sobre
su estatus migratorio a diferencia
de estar cerca de casa.
“La universidad es una opción
para muy pocos estudiantes indocumentados,” dijo la Hermana Carolyn Kosub de las Hermanas Misioneras del Inmaculado Corazón
de María. Las hermanas manejan
el Proyecto Desarrollo Humano,
un centro comunitario localizado
The Valley Catholic
Grecia y Aranet, 19 años de edad, salen de las sombras para asistir al la universidad,
arriesgando todo por sus futuros, el de sus familias y vecinos.
en Pueblo de Palmas en donde vi- mente 1.5 millones de estudiantes
ven Aranet y Grecia. “El dinero es indocumentados viven en Estados
un problema, además de la lucha Unidos. Apenas la mitad de estos
diaria con el transporte. Estamos estudiantes,
aproximadamente
acá retiradas en la colonia.”
765, 000 llegaron antes de cumplir
Una organización privada sin 16 años.
fines de lucro ayuda a pagar la
Solamente de cinco a diez por
escuela de Aranet y Grecia y las ciento de los estudiantes graduajóvenes tienen la bendición de ten- dos de preparatoria van a la unier una familia dispuesta a llevarlas versidad, de acuerdo con el Pew
a la escuela, sin embargo tienen Hispanic Center.
que atenerse al horario de ellos.
Aranet nació en Michoacán,
La mayoría del tiempo recogen México y vino a U.S.A a los 7 años.
a Aranet y a Grecia alrededor de Obtuvo buenas calificaciones y se
cuatro horas después de su última graduó de preparatoria local en
clase,
algunas
el 2011 con la
veces no llegan
meta de ir a la
Cuando no tienes universidad.
a casa hasta la
noche.
“Les quería
papeles vives con
Las jóvenes
miedo. Te preocupas enseñar a mis
reciben tutoría
hermanitos
de que si te para un que si yo lo pure g u l a r m e nt e
policía te mandarán edo hacer, ellos
de la Hermana
Pat McGraw en
de regreso... Mi mayor miedo también,” dijo
Proyecto Desares que nos paren de camino a Aranet, uno de
rollo Humano.
la escuela los siete hijos y
Ahí todas las
la única mujer.
Aranet
hermanas ofreGrecia nació
cen gran ayuda
en
Reynosa,
con apoyo moral
México y tenía
a las jóvenes.
siete años cu“Sentimos presión de las her- ando sus padres se divorciaron. Su
manas, pero es presión positiva,” madre inmigró a U.S.A con ella y
dijo Grecia. “Si ellas no nos empu- su hermano menor a empezar una
jaran, no estaríamos haciendo tan nueva vida. Como Aranet, tambien.”
bién obtuvo buenas calificaciones,
“Nos sentimos casi como si se graduó de la preparatoria y sotodo el vecindario nos estuviera ñaba con ir a la universidad.
viento,” añadió Aranet. “No los
Antes de que se pudieran inpodemos decepcionar.”
scribir en cualquier institución
El Pew Hispanic Center, un post-preparatoria, las jóvenes
proyecto del Pew Centro de Inves- necesitaban una identificación
tigación, calcula que aproximada- aceptable, así que fueron al Con-
“
sulado Mexicano para adquirir sus
cédulas.
“Dicen sentirse fuera de lugar,”
dijo la Hermana Kosub. “Los Estados Unidos es el único país que
han conocido.”
Kosub señalo que hay varios
aspectos sicológicos por ser indocumentado.
“Estudian arduamente y quieren tener una carrera, pero las
puertas están cerradas para ellas,”
dijo ella. “Se preguntan qué tipo de
trabajo pueden tener sin un seguro
social. Muchos se preguntas si deberían de hacer el esfuerzo.”
Aranet y Gracia dijeron que
planean aplicar para el programa
Acción Deferida para Arribos
de Infancia (Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA), un
cambio en la póliza anunciado en
junio que ofrecería la oportunidad a aquellos que tienen menos
de 31 años y que llegaron a U.S.A
antes de los 16 años, de pedir que
el gobierno use su discreción fiscal
y deferir los procesos de deportación y darles permisos de trabajo.
Otros requisitos de elegibilidad
incluyen estar asistiendo a la escuela o tener un diploma de la preparatoria y no haber cometido una
felonía o un delito grave. El primer
día para enviar aplicaciones fue el
15 de agosto. Se aplican cuotas de
solicitud.
Aranet y Grecia expresaron
que aunque están felices por el
cambio en la póliza, ésta es sólo
una solución temporal. Ellas rezan
para que una solución permanente
se convierta en ley.
Ellas sueñan con el día en que
tengan un estatus legan en este país
y tengan la libertad para trabajar—
y viajar.
“Siempre decimos, ‘cuando
tengamos papeles vamos a ir a
aquí, cuando tengamos papeles vamos a ir allá.’” dijo Grecia.
Aranet lamenta no haber asistido al funeral de su amado abuelo
debido a su estatus migratorio y le
gustaría visitar su tumba y el resto
de su familia en Michoacán. El padre de Grecia se caso de nuevo y
tiene otros tres hijos. Uno de ellos
recientemente le mando una solicitud de amistad en facebook. Ella
espera poder verlos en persona algún día.
*The Valley Catholic omitió sus
apellidos para su seguridad.
Inicia
programa de
deportación
diferida
Por PATRICIA ZAPOR
WASHINGTON – Solicitantes
idóneos para el programa conocido en inglés como Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals estan
ansiosos por entregar su solicitud
respectiva. Las casillas que operan
el sistema están abiertas desde el
15 de agosto.
El presidente Barack Obama
anunció el 15 de junio que a partir
de 60 días el departamento conocido en inglés como Department
of Homeland Security (departamento de seguridad nacional) les
ofrecería a personas indocumentadas que no fueran mayores de
31 años de edad la oportunidad
de solicitarle al gobierno que haga
uso de su discreción judicial a fin
de que los procedimientos de deportación se difieran y se les dé
permiso respectivo de trabajo.
El programa conocido como
DACA se aplica para personas
jóvenes que fueron traídas a los Estados Unidos antes de cumplir los
16 años de edad y que se ajustan a
otros requisitos como el pasar con
éxito investigación de antecedentes, prueba de permanencia en el
país y comprobante que están en
la escuela o la han completado o
han prestado servicio militar.
El programa proporcionará,
mediante acción administrativa,
la posibilidad de una estadía temporal para jóvenes que se beneficiarían de la pieza legislativa
conocida por sus siglas en inglés
como DREAM Act, proyecto de
ley infranqueable de reforma de
inmigración por el que se le daría
a este grupo de personas la posibilidad de legalizar su estado y teóricamente trabajar para conseguir
ciudadanía. Las personas de ese
grupo se llaman a sí mismas con
el vocablo nuevo, compuesto en
inglés como DREAMers y están
entre los primeros más activos,
preparados o preparándose para
beneficiarse del programa de acción diferida.
Un número aproximado de
hasta 1,76 millones de personas podrían ser elegibles para el
programa, cifra que computó el
organismo llamado Migration
Policy Institute en un documento
dado a conocer en un boletín el
7 de agosto. Eso haría que esta
iniciativa de la agencia de inmigración de los Estados Unidos
fuera la más numerosa desde que
más de 2,6 millones de personas
pudieron legalizar su estado conforme a la ley llamada en inglés
1986 Immigration Reform and
Control Act.
A principios de agosto, la oficina de Seguridad Nacional dio
a conocer la clase de documentación que sería aceptada y respuestas a algunas preguntas, incluyendo el costo del programa de un
total de $465 para la solicitud ante
DACA, toma de huellas digitales
y solicitud de permiso de trabajo.
MAS INFORMACION
On the web
www.cdob.org
Email:
[email protected]
CENTRO NACIONAL DE
SERVICIO AL CLIENTE
(NCSC): 1-800-375-5283
1-800-767-1833 (TDD para personas
con incapacidad auditiva)
El Centro ha extendido su horario
incluyendo los sábados de 9 a.m. a
5 p.m. Agentes estarán disponibles
de lunes a viernes, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. y
sábados 9 a.m. a 5 p.m en todos los
horarios por zonas.
12
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
Construyendo
un matrimonio
E
l matrimonio
es una relación
única en la cual “El
hombre dejará a su
padre y a su madre para unirse
con su mujer, y los dos serán
una sola carne” (Efesios 5:31)
Es hermoso recordar que esta
es una enseñanza antigua sin
embargo tan cierta y sagrada.
Aunque esta lectura de Efesios
pertenece a la temprana Iglesia
Cristiana, antecede a la Cristiandad.
En Génesis 2:24 en las
Escrituras Hebreas que han existido desde hace aproximadamente 1, 000 B.C.E, escuchamos casi las mismas palabras “Por
eso el hombre deja a su padre
y a su madre para unirse a su
mujer, y pasan a ser una sola
carne.” (Génesis 2:24).
La Iglesia Católica tiene
hermosas enseñanzas sobre el
Sacramento del Matrimonio.
Somos recordados a través
de las enseñanzas sobre los
elementos esenciales del sacramento del matrimonio que
el matrimonio debe ser Libre,
Fiel, Fructífero y para Siempre.
Una de las razones por
las que la Iglesia “requiere”
preparación matrimonial para
parejas comprometidas es que
resulta muy importante que
cada persona esté lo mas “libre”
posible para hacer la promesa
de estar en los momentos buenos y malos, en la salud y la enfermedad; para amar y respetar
en todos los días de sus vidas.
Estas sesiones con su pareja de
padrinos y lo que experimenten
en su Retiro de Preparación
Matrimonial les ayuda a “verse”
con más claridad, en lo más y
lo menos, y ser más libres para
tomar su decisión.
La fidelidad es la llave para
un sacramento matrimonial
amoroso. Los esposos constantemente se esfuerzan en
mantenerse sexual y emocionalmente fieles hacia el otro,
en privado y en público. La
Iglesia enseña que el “sexo es
sagrado”, creado por Dios para
dos propósitos que comienzan
con la misma letra Procreación
y Placer del esposo y la esposa;
los aspectos unificadores y
procreadores del sexo.
Es importante recordar que
la “P” que no tiene lugar en el
matrimonio es la pornografía
ya que es una forma de infidelidad. Una persona también
puede ser infiel emocionalmente cuando permiten que
algo o alguien se interpongan
Negarse a la alegría sólo hace al
mundo más oscuro: Benedicto XVI
ACI/EWTN Noticias
Lydia Pesina
Directora, Oficina
de Vida Familiar
entre ellos y su conyugue; ya
sea un mejor trabajo, su familia
de origen, un deporte, o incluso
sus hijos.
Fructíferos: cuando una
pareja se casa en la Iglesia
Católica, reconocen que deben
de estar abiertos a la posibilidad
de traer nueva vida al mundo.
Ellos son llamados a ser fructíferos al ser co-creadores con
Dios y tener hijos.
Parejas casadas como
Mauri y yo que son padres
adoptivos y no tuvimos hijos
físicamente somos llamados a
ser fructíferos en la manera en
la que compartimos la vida y
amor con nuestra hija. Parejas
casadas que no tienen hijos son
llamados a ser fructíferos en la
manera en la que se entregan
al servicio de otros a través de
sus propias familias, los pobre
y necesitados alrededor, y la
comunidad.
Y se nos recuerda sobre la
naturaleza “para siempre” del
matrimonio cuando recordamos los votos matrimoniales:
“Yo prometo serte fiel en lo
prospero y en lo adverso, en
la salud y en la enfermedad.
Amarte y respetarte todos los
días de mi vida.” Sin embargo,
obtener el “para siempre” requiere trabajo. Es muy importante
“construir” un matrimonio a
través de cada edad y etapa del
Ciclo de la Vida Familiar.
Este año pasado vimos a
cuatro parejas celebrando más
de 70 años de matrimonio en
la Misa del Día Mundial del
Matrimonio en la Basílica. Que
emocionante ver 300 parejas
casadas por 25, 30, 40, 50, 60,
y más años, todas en un lugar.
Pero nuestra meta como parejas
casadas no es solamente tener
un matrimonio largo si no un
matrimonio vivo y próspero.
Nuestra oficina de Family Life
de la Diócesis de Brownsville
ofrece programas de enriquecimiento matrimonial como el
“Programa de Edificación Matrimonial” para asistir a parejas
casadas de todas las edades a
continuar “Construyendo” una
unión saludable y feliz, bendecida y guiada por el Señor.
VATICANO - El Papa Benedicto XVI, al recibir la celebración de
una “hora bávara”, en su residencia de verano en Castel Gandolfo,
gracias a más de 1,000 peregrinos
alemanes que llegaron hasta ahí,
remarcó la importancia de vivir la
alegría, a pesar del sufrimiento en
el mundo.
El Santo Padre indicó que si
bien algunas personas se podrían
cuestionar su está bien ser tan feliz
mientras el mundo está tan lleno
de sufrimiento, oscuridad y dolor,
“la respuesta sólo puede ser un
¡sí! Porque decir ‘no’ a esta dicha
no beneficia a nadie, sólo hace el
mundo más oscuro”.
“Y aquellos que no se aman a sí
mismos no pueden dar amor a sus
compañeros, no pueden ayudarles, no pueden ser mensajeros de
paz”, señaló.
Benedicto XVI señaló que “sabemos por nuestra fe, y lo vemos
cada día: el mundo es bello y Dios
es bueno, y se volvió hombre y entró entre nosotros, sufre y vive con
nosotros. Sabemos esto definitiva
y concretamente: Sí, Dios es bueno y es bueno ser un hombre”.
L
El Papa Benedicto XVI ve a los danzantes bávaros de la diócesis de Munich-Freising Alemania, danzar durante un festival folclórico en la residencia de verano del papa en
Gandolfo, Italia.
“Vivimos en esta alegría, y tratamos de llevar esta alegría a otros,
para rechazar el mal y ser servidores de la paz y la reconciliación”
La alegría de vivir
a separación de un famoso
actor de su tercera esposa
parece que ocupa los titulares
de todas las revistas que uno ve
casualmente en los pasillos del
supermercado, no se diga en los
programas de entretenimiento, y
aunque da pena como esto trivializa el concepto de matrimonio,
a la vez ha sacado a la luz todo el
sistema de creencias de la Scientologia, y como se utiliza todo un
equipo de relaciones públicas y un
ejército de abogados para acallar lo
más pronto posible cualquier escándalo que involucre su “religión”,
sin embargo lo que ellos pregonan
con sus actos no corresponde a
ninguna religión, sino más bien a
una secta.
Etimológicamente hablando,
la palabra secta se deriva de la
raíz latina “secare”, que significa
cortar, y también de “sequor” que
significa seguir; entonces una secta
es un grupo que se separa y aísla
del mundo siguiendo las directivas de un líder. En sociología
se determina como secta a un
grupo constituido por personas
que se someten voluntariamente
a un sistema común de creencias.
Esta definición va mas allá de los
conceptos religiosos, pues este
fenómeno sectario puede darse en
términos ideológicos, políticos, o
hasta de estratos sociales.
Por ejemplo los grupos neonazis de los cabezas rapadas (skinheads) que se han desarrollado en
Msgr. Juan
Nicolau
Pastor, Our Lady
of Perpetual Help
Church in McAllen
Europa y que desgraciadamente
tienen seguidores en nuestro
país, tratan de revivir los ideales
racistas de Hitler, su máximo líder;
o los Talibanes que escudándose
en principios fundamentalistas y
extremos, despojan completamente
a la mujer de cualquier derecho,
relegándola a ser una propiedad
exclusiva de los varones de su
familia.
La diferencia entre las sectas
y la religión, específicamente en
nuestro contexto cultural de sociedad mayormente judeo-cristiana,
es que el cristiano busca estar en
comunión con Dios y con sus
semejantes, no se aísla del mundo,
el cristiano trata de llevar la buena
nueva del evangelio a través de sus
actos a todo el que quiera escucharlo sin forzar a nadie a compartir
sus creencias, disfruta de su libre
albedrio, aun y cuando a veces se
equivoca, el cristiano se sabe libre
para amar a Dios y sus semejantes.
En cambio el miembro de una
secta vive en una prisión, sujeto a
la voluntad del “líder”, quien poco
a poco le va nublando la razón,
convenciéndolo que cualquier acto
inmoral o torcido tiene justificación ante Dios, aun y cuando
atente contra la moralidad y la
salud física y mental de sus propios
miembros.
No debería sorprendernos
que hoy en día existan este tipo de
grupos, si nuestras familias están
rotas, desintegradas, si los padres
no predican con el ejemplo, si los
jóvenes no escuchan otra cosa que
canciones que hablan de odio, y
están tan acostumbrados a la violencia que hasta tienen juegos de
video en donde gana quien mata
más gente.
Cuando el ser humano se encuentra tan desmoralizado es fácil
que caiga en las manos de falsos
profetas, impostores de la verdadera fe que les prometen una vida
diferente, ordenada, sin la “contaminación” del mundo, claro que
olvidan decirles que deberán seguir
sus ordenes y beneficiarlo a él.
Pensemos que el ser humano
ha nacido con el deseo de vivir, de
amar, de ser amado, deseo de variedad, y sobre todo con el deseo de
pertenecer, por eso si no siente que
pertenece a una familia buscara
a otra clase de grupos que suplan
esta necesidad. Como familia y
comunidad debemos estar listos
a dar la bienvenida a cualquiera
de nuestros hijos que andaba
como oveja extraviada y que desea
regresar al hogar.
Wedding Issue
Reserve your space in The Valley Catholic’s inaugural Wedding Magazine
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND ADVERTISING , PLEASE CALL (956) 784-5055
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL 13
»Peregrinaje cerca de casa
Una invitación abierta: Ven y Visita a Cristo
Capilla de Adoración
Perpetua ofrece un
espacio tranquilo
para la oración
Por BRENDA NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
ALAMO — Escondida en un
vecindario residencial en Álamo
se encuentra una histórica iglesia,
donde la gente viene a rezar frente
al Señor presente en el Sagrado
Sacramento en la Capilla San José
de Adoración Perpetua.
“Me siento fortalecida después
de pasar tiempo hablando con
Dios, Padre,” dijo Yolanda G. Sánchez, una feligresa voluntaria en
la Iglesia Resurrección en Álamo,
quien ha venido a la capilla cada
sábado por los últimos cinco años.
“Te vas con nueva energía,”
dijo ella. “Vengo a hablar con Dios,
a rezar por mi familia y amigos y
aquellos que han muerto,” añadió.
La Capilla San José de
Adoración Perpetua perteneciente a la Diócesis de Brownsville;
ubicada en el 725 Bowie Street,
abrió sus puertas en Diciembre del
2005 en la histórica Iglesia San José,
construida en 1924. Fue designada
como lugar histórico en 1985.
La capilla es dirigida por las
Hermanas Clarisas Capuchinas,
monjas enclaustradas detrás de la
capilla. Las hermanas son devotas
de la vida en contemplación, rezando por las personas en cuyo seno
se encuentran, al igual que por las
necesidades de la iglesia. Pasan
horas en oración frente al Sagrado
Sacramento, y se esfuerzan por ser
modelos de una vida simple y tranquila.
Las visite a media mañana un
martes. Ya había ido antes a la capilla para asistir a la bendición cuando la renovación fue terminada
en el 2006, y también para Misas
especiales. Esta vez quería venir y
apreciarla desde la perspectiva peregrina.
Me di cuenta de que si quería
destacar los lugares cerca de nuestra diócesis que puedan servir
como peregrinaciones personales
necesitaba ir como una peregrina y
no solamente como una periodista.
En lugar de apurarme para
tener la historia antes de la fecha
límite, el ritmo peregrino me daba
tiempo para notar los detalles
que no hubiera visto antes, como
el jardín en transformación y las
plantas que rodean el edificio.
Los arbusto de salvia con sus
flores lavanda estaban en línea con
el pasillo que dirige hacia las escaleras de la entrada principal de la
capilla y la buganvilia fucsia en la
parte este sobre los bloques terracota rebosaba de vida en el calor
del sur de Texas.
Cuando entras al recibidor
azul, la tranquilidad te da la bienvenida así como la estatua del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, con brazos abiertos, y otra imagen de Sta.
Verónica.
Mientras que las hermanas enclaustradas no están a la vista, hay
velitas disponibles a la venta por $1
en una canasta de honestidad en
donde se pueden dejar peticiones.
De costumbre, cuando se preparan
para una peregrinación, los peregrinos comúnmente traen peticiones, propias y de otros, para dejar
en basílicas o iglesias especificas.
Aquí, las Hermanas Clarisas
Capuchinas rezan diariamente por
las peticiones de los visitantes.
Compré algunas velas para que
oraran por mi hijo y mi hija que están en la universidad.
Puertas dobles se abren hacia la
capilla donde se encuentra el Sagrado Sacramento expuesto sobre
un mostrador color oro en medio
de un altar blanco decorado con
pintura dorada. Dios está presente.
“El tesoro escondido… es Jesús
mismo, el Reino hecho persona. En
la Hostia Santa, el está presente, el
verdadero tesoro, siempre esperándonos,” dijo el Papa Benedicto XVI,
en su discurso a Religiosos y seminaristas en Altotting, Alemania en
el 2006.
Un año antes, el Beato Juan
Pablo II escribió en Dominicae
Cenae, una carta a los sacerdotes
en 1980, “Jesús nos espera en este
sacramento de amor. Seamos generosos con nuestro tiempo al ir a
reunirnos con El en adoración y
contemplación plena de nuestra fe.”
¿Cómo rezar frente al Sagrado
Sacramento? Hay oraciones especiales y otras sugerencias o podemos
simplemente sentarnos en meditación silenciosa.
El Papa Benedicto XVI en
Sacramentum Caritatis, la Exhortación Apostólica Post Sinodal, nos
recuerda, “En un mundo donde
hay tanto ruido, tanto desconcierto,
hay una necesidad por la adoración
silenciosa de Jesús oculto en la ostia.”
“Es fuente de bienestar y luz,
particularmente para aquellos que
sufren,” dijo él.
Después de prender mis velas y
dejarlas ante el altar, me arrodille y
rece el Rosario. Disfrute del silencio
acompañada por el murmullo del
aire acondicionado, muy apreciado
en la mañana de agosto. Los tonos
azules, amarillo, anaranjado y rojo
de los vitrales complementaban las
paredes azules y contribuían a la
paz de la capilla.
Traté de echarle un vistazo a las
hermanas enclaustradas que rezan
en turnos detrás de una sección cubierta a la derecha del altar. Mien-
tras tanto otras personas entraron y
rezaron ante el Señor, y conforme
las campanas sonaron al medio día,
marcaron el tiempo de regresar a la
oficina.
Dejé una petición en la canasta
antes de salir.
Si bien fue una peregrinación
corta, el tiempo que estuve en
oración silenciosa me nutrió. Regresé renovada y con planes de regresar.
Conocí a la Hermana Marta A.
García, la madre superiora, afuera.
Me dijo, “Es importante hacer
tiempo, hacer espacio en nuestras
vidas para Dios.”
“La gente viene,” dijo, “para estar en un lugar callado y comunicarse con Dios.” “Es un lugar tranquilo.”
Compartió que muchas personas no saben que la capilla existe.
La capilla está abierta a la comunidad todos los días de 8 a.m.
a 8 p.m. La Misa Diaria está programada a las 8 a.m. de lunes a
sábado y a las 4 p.m. el domingo.
Las hermanas dirigen un Rosario diario así como la hora de la
Divina Misericordia a las 3 p.m. y
las Vísperas a las 6 p.m. Los jueves,
el Obispo Emérito Raymundo J.
Peña, dirige la Hora Santa para las
Vocaciones después de la Misa de
las 6 p.m.
COMO LLEGAR
Dirección: 725 Bowie Street, Alamo
Indicación: Del Expressway 83 tomar
la salida Alamo Road y dirigirse al sur
hasta pasar Business 83. Vuelta a la
derecha en Bowie Street.
Horario: Todos los días 8 a.m. a 8 p.m.
South Texas Payment Systems
We are proud to represent one of the largest companies in the Nation.
Credit Card Machines & Services
#1 in Performance & Customer Services
LMMM Valley No. 1
806 S. Cage Blvd
(956) 283 0995
Pharr, Tx. 78577
LMMM Valley No. 3
LMMM Valley No. 4
902 West Harrison Av.
(956) 425 7018
Harlingen, Tx. 78550
3001 E. Expressway 83
(956) 968 8685
Weslaco, Tx. 78596
No Montly Minimum
No Annual Fee
No Settlement Fee
No Training Fee
LMMM Valley No. 5
LMMM Valley No. 7
Most of all:
305 E. University Dr.
(956) 386 1383
Edinburg, Tx. 78539
$200
if we can’t beat your current
credit card processing rate.
LMMM Valley No. 2
2200 N. 10th St. Suite C
(956) 630 2330
Mc Allen, Tx. 78505
1627 Price Road
(956) 546 7255
Brownsville, Tx. 78521
We will give you
FREE EQUIPMENT * NO CONTRACTS * LOWEST RATES
Visa/MasterCard Debit Rates
as low as .49%
We will save you MONEY!
CASH ADVANCE PROGRAM * ELECTRONIC CHECK SERVICES
CREDIT CARD MACHINES * GIFT CARDS
LMMM Valley No. 8
770 W. Elizabeth St.
(956) 544 4806
Brownsville, Tx. 78520
Edward Dimas
Regional Manager
Office/Fax: (956) 287-2657
“ La original y auténtica de las carnes marinadas”
Mobile: (956) 279-2498
14
DIOCESE
Silver Jubilee,
days. As I worked, I prayed and
meditated on creating a space that
would bring people joy. Working
on the altar was spiritually invoking.”
The youngest of six children,
Father Nwachukwu was born in
Lagos, Nigeria and was raised in a
village near the city of Owerri. As a
high school student, he excelled in
track events and in art.
Father Nwachukwu, who turns
55 on Sept. 4, said that he can’t pinpoint one particular moment when
he was called to the priesthood.
“I can’t say I heard any voice, I
can’t say I had any dream, I can’t say
that I had anyone even talk to me
about vocations,” he said.
He realized that he was heading
down the road to the priesthood
when he chose to attend a vocational conference instead of an important national track meet, where
he was set to represent his state.
“If you had told me when I was
a boy, that one day I would miss a
major sports festival for a vocational conference, I would not believe
it,” he said. “But there was nothing
else that I was thinking about. It
took all of my being.”
Photos by Cesar Riojas/The Valley Catholic
Left: Sister Agueda A. Oviedo signs her
vows of celibate chastity, poverty, and
obedience at the altar before Sister Michelle Marie Kuntscher, Superior General
of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and
Blessed Sacrament of Corpus Christi.
Right: Superior General Michelle
Marie Kuntscher and Sister Rosemary
Lichnovsky replace the white veil Sister
Agueda A. Oviedo wore as a novitiate with
a black veil.
Sister,
of celibate chastity, poverty and
obedience.”
“In my heart I feel at peace and
there’s a sense of joy and happiness
that I’m where he wants me to be,”
she added.
While professing her vows
publicly, in her heart, Sister Oviedo shared that during the Mass
her thoughts centered on the following words - “My Beloved I am
all yours.”
Sister Oviedo presented the
signed vows to Sister Michelle Marie Kuntscher, the Congregation’s
Superior General.
“By her profession,” Sister
Kuntscher said, “Sister Agueda
will be incorporated into the religious community and will radically commit herself to work for the
growth of the Reign of God within
this religious community and
among the whole people of God.”
Sister Oviedo explained, “Radical for me means living a life as a
disciple of Christ that is contrary
to the secular world. It means living out the beatitudes.”
After the profession of vows,
the Superior General vested Sister
Oviedo with a black veil, replacing
the white one she wore as a novice. Sisters of the Incarnate Word
and Blessed Sacrament are given a
choice on whether or not to wear
a veil.
“I wear the veil as a public expression of my faith,” Sister Oviedo said.
Nelia Carmen Oviedo, Sis-
ter Oviedo’s mother, said she was
happy that her daughter answered
the call to religious life. “God gave
her to me and I am happy to give
her back to God,” she said.
For years the newly professed
Sister said she did not want to
respond to God’s call to religious
life. “Out of fear I would run away
from it. I just didn’t want to hear
about it,” she said.
Sister Oviedo recalled her earliest memory of hearing God’s call
to religious life. “I was very young.
I was preparing for my First communion and I received a clear
thought that I would be a religious.
I didn’t know at the time what a
sister was, but it was something I
didn’t forget.”
Even while living in New York,
Sister Oviedo said, “God was preparing me in many ways, that at
the time I did not know or understand.”
She made a number of pilgrimages during her discernment,
including to Poland for Divine
Mercy Sunday and to the Holy
Land, and participated in retreats
which all helped her to see more
clearly that “God is in control.”
Sister Oviedo said she began
discerning her vocation in earnest
while working with the Diocese of
Brownsville as director of young
adult ministry for three and a half
years and later as youth director at her home parish, St. Joseph
Church in Donna.
While working for the Diocese
of Brownsville she said the contact
with sisters and priests helped her
reach a turning point. “After surrendering myself to the Lord he
put people in my path who both
inspired me and supported me.”
“I was no longer afraid and no
longer turning away,” she said. “I
also had a prayer group of close
friends who were very supportive.”
Sister Emma Marie Stillman,
a sister of the Incarnate Word
and Blessed Sacrament, served as
a spiritual companion to Oviedo
during the initial part of her discernment journey.
“
To those discerning or
thinking about religious
life, God resides within
you; don’t ignore Him.
Be filled with the joy of the
presence within you, listening
to the voice of your vocation.
Don’t allow fear to paralyze
and block you from greater
spiritual freedom and from
responding to the Incarnate
Word. ...Be courageous!
Sister Agueda Oviedo
Sister Stillman led intercessory
prayer classes which Sister Oviedo
attended for three years and she
taught Oviedo to utilize journaling as a way to listen the God’s
word.
“When I first met her (Oviedo) something stirred in my
heart,” Sister Stillman said, which
prompted her to ask Oviedo if she
felt God was calling her to religious life. Oviedo answered ‘yes.’
“What most strikes me about
Agueda is that she always wants to
do what God is moving her to do.
She is faithful to that,” Sister Stillman said.
It was at a retreat at the Incarnate Word Convent in Corpus
Christi that Sister Oviedo discovered the religious order where she
wanted to continue to discern her
vocation.
“Right after that (the retreat), I
felt this immense joy in my heart,
a joy I had never felt before in my
life. I knew that was a sign, that
this is where he was calling me to
be,” she said.
As a temporary professed sister, Sister Oviedo will renew her
vows each year until she submits
a request for final vows. This final
step of formation can take from
three to seven years.
She currently teaches at the
Middle Level at Incarnate Word
Academy in Corpus Christi.
Sister Oviedo earned her
bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s
University in San Antonio and she
completed her graduate work at
Cornell University in Ithaca, New
York. While she said she misses
the science and the research work
she did while working in New
York, she loves her new ministry
in education.
“I love it! I love Jesus, I love my
faith, I love the Church and I love
teaching students about the faith,
helping them to integrate and implement the gospel values central
to the living out of our Christian
faith, which all students are called
to participate, celebrate and grow
in their Christian faith as well as
sharing their gifts.”
DIOCESE 15
»Media Resource Center
» Calendar of Events
Recommended by SISTER MAUREEN CROSBY, SSD
Coordinator of the Media Resource Center - Diocese of Brownsville
»Worth Watching
Stories of
Faith for
Children:
Blessed
Kateri
Tekakwitha
Format:VHS
Production: Don Bosco Media (2004)
Length:15 minutes
The facts: It is a good time to learn
more about Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha,
an indigenous woman, who will be
canonized on October 21. She faced
many challenges in her young life
(She died at age 24). She had small
pox, which damaged her eyesight and
scarredherface.Shedefiedherculture
by not marrying and was shunned for
becoming Catholic.
Marriage,
And we are reminded of the
forever nature of marriage when
we recall the wedding vows: “I
promise to be true to you in good
times and in bad, in sickness
and in health. I will love you
and honor you all the days of
my life.”However, getting to the
Chapel,
highlight places in and near our
diocese that can serve as personal
pilgrimages I needed to go as a
pilgrim myself and not just a journalist.
Instead of rushing to get a story
in on time for deadline, the pilgrim pace gave me time to notice
details I may have missed before,
like the garden undergoing a
transformation and the plants that
surround the building.
Texas Sage shrubs with their
lavender blossoms line the walkway leading up the stairs to the
chapel’s main entrance and the
fuchsia bougainvillea on the east
side against the tan bricks brim
with life in the South Texas heat.
When you step inside the blue
foyer, quiet welcomes you as does
a statue of the Sacred Heart of Je-
The Vatican
Revealed
Aarvy
Aardvark
Finds Hope
Length: 2 tapes, 50 minutes each
Narrated by: Mike Farrell
The facts: Basically, this provides
a private tour of the Vatican with
unprecedented access. Mike Farrell
serves as the tour guide, describing
each work of art and providing a little
history along the way. He also provides
statistics and facts about each location.
The facts: This is a good book for
thosewhowatchfilmswithacritical
eye or anyone who appreciates
deepermeaninginfilms.Foreach
commandment, three popular movies
are presented. Examples of the
commandment at work are given.
The facts: Aarvy the Aardvark is full
of despair and hopelessness when his
family is taken away to a place called
Zoo. The author wrote this story after
losing her 21-year-old son to cystic
fibrosisasawaytousecreativityto
overcome grief. It is a good story for
people of all ages about love and loss,
friendship and hope.
“forever” takes work. It is very
important to “build” a marriage
throughout every age and stage
of the Family Life Cycle. This past
year we witnessed four couples
celebrating more than 70 years of
marriage at the World Marriage
Day Mass at the Basilica. How exciting to see 300 couples married
25, 30, 40, 50, 60, and more years
all in one place! But our goal as
married couples is not only to
sus with open arms and another of
St. Veronica.
While the cloistered sisters
are not in sight, they have velitas
(small candles) available for sale
for $1 on the honor system and a
basket where petitions may be left.
When preparing for a pilgrimage, pilgrims often carry prayer
requests, their own and others, to
leave at a specific shrine or church.
Here, the Capuchin Poor Clare
Sisters pray daily for the prayer requests left by visitors.
I purchased some candles to
pray for my son and my daughter
who are away at college. I wasn’t
prepared with cash, but I did write
a check and slipped it into the slot.
Double doors open into the
chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in a gold monstrance centered on the white altar
trimmed with gold paint. God is
present.
“The hidden treasure… is Jesus
himself, the Kingdom in person.
10 a.m.
Border Bishop’s Meeting
San Juan
September 18
4 p.m.
Texas Bishops’ Meeting
Austin
September 19
10 a.m.
Texas Catholic Conference
Austin
Holy Hour will be held Weekly every
Thursday at 7 p.m., 727 Bowie St.,
Alamo
Lights, Camera
… Faith!
The Ten
Commandments
Length:80 pages, paperback
Author: Donna O’Toole
Illustrator: Kore Loy Mcwhirter
Publication: Compassion Books (1988)
September 6-7
UTPA Masses cancelled for the
summer
»From the Bookshelf
Length: 325 pages, paperback
Authors: Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP
and Father Peter Malone, MSC
Publication: Pauline Books (2006)
Format:VHS
Production: A&E (1999)
Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña’s
On going:
Mass at St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, 727 Bowie St., Alamo
8 a.m. & 4 p.m. Mass at St. Joseph
Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, 727
Bowie St., Alamo
September
1st: Vocations to the Consecrated
Life (active and contemplative) and
for the Sisters and Brothers in our
diocese and the success of their
mission
2nd: Vocations to the Permanent
Diaconate the deacons (permanent
and transitional) of the diocese and
their families
3rd : Vocation to Married Life: for
the welfare and sanctification of all
the families in the diocese and for
building up the Kingdom in our
domestic churches
4th: Vocations to the priesthood
and the priests of the diocese for the
success of their ministry
5th: Vocations to the Pro-Life
Intentions
have a long marriage but a marriage that is alive and thriving.
Our Diocese of Brownsville Family Life Office periodically offers
marriage enrichment programs
such as “The Marriage Building Program” to assist married
couples of all ages to continue
to “Build” a healthy, happy, holy
union graced and guided by the
Lord.
In the Sacred Host, he is present,
the true treasure, always waiting
for us,” said Pope Benedict XVI, in
his address to Religious and seminarians, in Altotting, Germany, in
2006.
Year before, Blessed John Paul II
wrote in Dominicae Cenae, a letter to priests in 1980, “Jesus waits
for us in this sacrament of love.
Let us be generous with our time
in going to meet Him in adoration
and contemplation full of faith.”
How to pray before the Blessed
Sacrament? There are special
prayers and other suggestions or
one can simply sit in silent meditation.
Pope Benedict XVI in Sacamentum Caritatis, a Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, reminds us,
“In a world where there is so much
noise, so much bewilderment,
there is a need for silent adoration
of Jesus concealed in the host.”
“It is a source of comfort and
light, particularly to those who are
suffering,” he said.
After lighting my candles and
placing them before the altar, I
kneeled and prayed the Rosary. I
relished the quiet accompanied
by the hum of the air conditioner,
much appreciated on an August
morning. The blue, yellow, orange
and red hues of the stained glass
complimented the blue walls and
contributed to the peace in the
chapel.
I did try to catch a glimpse of
the cloistered sisters who pray in
shifts behind a walled section to
the right of the altar. Meanwhile
Deacons,
nent diaconate and the Valley is on
trend, Father Atangana said.
“There is a large group of men
who are waiting for the program to
be re-opened,” he said. “I suspect
we will be flooded with applications
based on the level of interest, especially from men in their late 30s and
early 40s. Many men feel they have
been called to serve to serve the
Church in this way.”
a few others entered and prayed
before the Lord, and as the bells
tolled at noon, they signaled my
time to return to the office.
I left a petition in the basket before my exit.
While it was short pilgrimage,
I did find the quiet time in prayer
nourishing. I left refreshed and
with plans to return again.
I met Sister Marta A. Garcia,
the mother superior, in the parking lot. She said, “It’s important to
make time, to make space in our
lives for God.”
“People come,” she said, “to be
in a quiet space and communicate
with God.” “It’s a tranquil space.”
She shared that many people
don’t know that the chapel exists.
The chapel is open to the community every day from 8 a.m. to
8 p.m. Daily Mass is scheduled at
8 a.m. Monday through Saturday
and at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The sisters lead a daily Rosary as
well as the Divine Mercy hour at
3 p.m. and Vespers at 6 p.m. On
Thursdays, Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña, leads a Holy Hour
for Vocations following a 6 p.m.
Mass.
A small gift shop offers a variety
of prayer cards and books, rosaries
and statues.
St. Joseph Church, which served
as a parish in Alamo until 1990,
closed after Resurrection Church
was built on 312 N. 9th St. For a
time it was used as a Ministry Resource Center for the diocese until
the year 2000 when the center was
relocated to San Juan.
3
Labor Day
Diocesan Offices
Closed
4
Convocation Registration
Deadline (Catechesis)
6
Advisory Team
(OfficeofCatechesis)
8
Birth of the Blessed
Virgin Mary
8
CMD Course #2
8
Vital 3.0 – The role of YM
Team
7-9 Catholic Engaged Encounter
(FamilyLifeOffice)
9
Grandparents’ Day
11 Patriot Day
13-16 SJTW ACTS Retreat
(Rio Grande City)
15 Catechetical Convocation
15-16 For Better and Forever
Retreat (FLO)
16 Catechetical Sunday
“Do This is Memory of Me”
20 Advisory Team Meeting
21-23 Rachel’s Vineyard
(RGC)
22-23 CMD YD Course #7
(Youth Ministry)
27-30 RGC Womens ACTS
Retreat (RGC)
29 Catholic Scouting Diocesan
Conference
29 Convalidation Conference
(FamilyLifeOffice)
October
8
Columbus Day Observed
9
Professional Day
12 Catholic Formation &
Leadership Conference
19 Benedictine Oblate Retreat
(RGC)
20-21 New Life/Remarriage
Retreat (Family Life)
25-28 San Martin de Porres
ACTS Retreat (RGC)
27 Youth Blast
28 National WYD Celebration
Please submit your schedule to be
published in The Valley Catholic by the
first Friday of each month by email at
[email protected] or fax: (956) 784-5082.
16
DIOCESE
Our Catholic Family
‘El Mas Viejo’
Oldest deacon
at 85 continues
ministry at parish
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
DONNA — “Yo soy el más
viejo de todos,” (I am the oldest of
them all) said Deacon Juan Barbosa, with a chuckle, regarding his
status among his brother deacons
in the Diocese of Brownsville.
The diocese is celebrating Deacons Day with a Mass and luncheon
for all the permanent deacons and
their families at 9 a.m. on Sept. 1 at
Resurrection Church in Alamo.
Deacon Barbosa, 85, of St. Joseph Parish in Donna, is the longest-serving permanent deacon in
the diocese. He was ordained on
July 3, 1977 for the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Mich., where he lived for
46 years.
When he was ordained, there
were less than 1,000 permanent
deacons in the entire country. Today, there are 17,047 permanent
deacons in the United States, according to 2011 figures from the
Center for Applied Research in the
Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown
University in Washington, D.C.
Deacon Barbosa and his wife,
Maria Antonia, who died in June,
moved to the Donna area nine
years ago after the chilly Michigan
winters began to wear on them.
Upon arriving in the Rio Grande
Valley, Deacon Barbosa began
serving St. Joseph Church almost
Terry De Leon/The Valley Catholic
Deacon Juan Barbosa has served as a permanent deacon for 35 years, longer than any other deacon in the diocese.
immediately.
“He really enjoys visiting the
sick and taking them Communion,
especially in the colonias,” said Father Eka Yuantoro of the Missionaries of the Holy Family and parochial vicar of St. Joseph Church
in Donna. “He drives himself, he’s
still very active. I worry about him
being out in the heat because of his
age but he tells me he’s fine.”
“When Deacon Barbosa proclaims the Gospel, his words re-
verberate throughout the church,”
said Hector Torre, who has gotten
to know the deacon both as a friend
and a co-worker in the vineyard of
the Lord. “His voice and his belief
in the words he proclaims remain
very strong. … He is a great man
and a great friend.”
Deacon Barbosa joined the
diocese with years of experience of
ministering to migrant farm workers, who traveled to Michigan from
South Texas and Mexico every
summer.
“I spent most of my days evangelizing to those working in the
fields,” said Deacon Barbosa, who
was born in a small town near
León, Guanajuato, Mexico. “Many
of them did not speak English and
felt lost in Michigan. I found the
ministry very fulfilling.”
Deacon Barbosa felt called to
service from a very young age.
His family, especially his mother
was, “very religious” and two of
his sisters are religious sisters. He
ultimately pursued the permanent
diaconate at the recommendation
of a priest friend.
“He told me, ‘I envision you
as a deacon, you’d be a good one,’”
Deacon Barbosa said. “I was concerned because I wasn’t as educated
as some of the other men in the
program and because English is
my second language, but with hard
work and by the grace of God, I
made it though the three-year program.”
Additionally, Deacon Barbosa
studied at a seminary in Queretaro,
Mexico for his own personal spiritual enrichment. He has also taken
many other religious education
courses while visiting his sisters in
Mexico, experiences that he said
better prepared him for his ministry as a deacon.
Deacon Barbosa had little formal schooling as a child. His father
died when he was three-years-old
and his mother re-married four
years later.
“My stepfather refused to pay
for us to go to school,” he said. “In
my town in Mexico, if you didn’t
pay, you couldn’t go to school at all.”
Deacon Barbosa is still mourning the recent loss of his wife, but
for him, the silver lining is that he
can dedicate himself to the Lord’s
work 100 percent.
“This (St. Joseph Church) is a
big parish,” he said. “We have six
Masses every weekend here and at
our mission, plus quinceañeras, funerals … There is a lot of work to
be done. As long as God gives me
strength and health, I will continue
to serve Him.”
NoÊsoulÊthatÊhasÊ
approachedÊMeÊhasÊeverÊ
goneÊawayÊunconsoled.Ê
-Jesus to St. Faustina KowalskaÊ
(Diary of St. Faustina #1777) Ê
The Message - Eucharistic Adoration - Confessions
Prayer Intentions - Veneration - Laying of Hands
Blessing with St. Faustina’s Holy OilÊ
7:00 PM
7:15 Door Registration
8:00 First Sat. Holy Mass
Homily by Fr. Gramlich
Church doors open
at 6:00 p.m.
9:00 Holy Rosary
9:30 Late Registration
10:00 Day of Reflection -
Love-offering for Healing Service
Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC
Asst. Dir. of Evangelization & the
coordinator of the lay apostolates from
the National Shrine of Divine Mercy
Event Prayer Warriors
POOR CLARE NUNS
Alamo, TX
Joan & Dave Maroney
Co-directors & founders of Mother of
Mercy Messengers from the National
Shrine of Divine Mercy
For Saturday
includes
Lite Breakf ast
& Lunch.
Register Online
Annie Karto
Catholic Singer, Songwriter
& Inspirational Speaker.
“ Yo u ’ r e a P r i e s t F o r e ve r ”
Contacts
Divine Mercy Cenacle
Divine Mercy
Jose Gamez
451-3965
Jaime Sanchez
776-3309
Holy Spirit Parish, McAllen
devotional
materials
will be
available.
N 23 & Martin Ave. 956-631-5295
$ 20 Donation
Save the Date
Feb. 23, 2013
Divine Mercy Conference
McAllen Convention Center

September 2012 - Catholic Diocese of Brownsville

Transcripción

Documentos relacionados

May 22, 2016

- St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church

October/November 2015 WHAT`S NEW…

A place so near... can take you so far

PDF - Columbia Valley Pioneer