F - Catholic Diocese of Brownsville
Transcripción
F - Catholic Diocese of Brownsville
Volume 5, Issue 8 Serving More Than A Million Catholics in the Diocese of Brownsville Poll finds strong U.S. support for abortion restrictions Febuary 2014 MARCHING IN THE STREETS Catholic News Agency/EWTN NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A new survey from the Knights of Columbus reports that most Americans support abortion restrictions, prompting calls for more legislative and judicial action against abortion. “The American people understand that abortion is bad for everyone, and even those who strongly support abortion want it reduced significantly, so it is time that our lawmakers and our courts reflected this reality,” Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, said Jan. 21. “Four decades after Roe v. Wade, abortion remains at odds with the conscience and common sense of the American people.” The results of the survey were released ahead of the 41st anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandated permissive abortion laws nationwide. The survey, conducted by The Marist Poll, reports that almost 75 percent of Americans favor a ban on abortions after 20 weeks except to save the life of the mother. Eighty-four percent would limit abortion to the first three months of pregnancy, including 58 percent of respondents who self-describe as “strongly pro-choice.” » Please see Survey p.6 Courtesy Retired Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul A. Gonzalez and his wife, Dora, celebrated 50 years of marriage on Dec. 22, 2013. The Valley Catholic Hundreds marched in the streets through Downtown McAllen on Jan. 11 to promote a culture of life and pray for an end to abortion. Another group marched in Harlingen on Jan. 18 IT’S ABOUT World Marriage Day Mass set for Feb. 8 SAVING LIVES The Valley Catholic McALLEN — The Respect Life Apostolate of the Diocese of Brownsville organized two marches in the Rio Grande Valley in commemoration of the 41st anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. More than 300 pro-life advocates participated in a march through downtown McAllen on Jan. 11. They prayed and sang religious hymns while » Please see Saving Lives p.6 Photo spread p.6 Singing for Our Lady of San Juan del Valle Basilica hosts Mariachi Concerts Feb. 21, March 7 Courtesy Edinburg North Mariachi Oro performs at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine at the basilica’s annual mariachi concert in 2013. The Valley Catholic SAN JUAN — The Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del ValleNational Shrine is hosting its third annual Mariachi Concerts, featuring their professional house mariachi, mariachi bands from local middle school and high schools along with local THE CATHEDRAL professional groups. TEACHING TEENS Weslaco natives a testament to lasting love The first concert is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21 and will include performances from Mariachi Nuevas Raices from Hidalgo High School, Mariachi Los Lobos from Palmview High School, an allfemale group Mariachi Femenil By ROSE YBARRA The Valley Catholic Couples who are celebrating a wedding anniversary of 25, 30, 40, 50, 60 or more years in 2014 will be honored during a Mass for World Marriage Day at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine. Bishop Daniel E. Flores will celebrate the Mass and offer a special blessing for the couples. More than 200 couples are expected at the Mass, “to give thanks to God for granting them a spouse who can accompany them in life through the good times and the difficult times,” said Lydia Pesina, director of the Family Life Office for the diocese. “In the many years that our Family Life Office has had the privilege to help coordinate the World Marriage Day Celebration, I have felt blessed to witness the love, devotion, and most of all the commitment of so many married couples,” Pesina added. “It is a true joy that our bishop celebrates this Holy Mass in thanksgiving to God for these marriages. “These couples remind us all, especially the young, that lifelong love and commitment in marriage is possible,” Pesina said. “We pray that these celebrating couples and all married couples live not only long standing marriages, but also » Please see Marriage p.14 » Please see Mariachi p.6 THOSE WHO SERVE EN ESPAÑOL Artículos sobre la adopción de niños, la Catedral Inmaculada Concepción en Brownsville y la investigación sobre Medjugorje. “VERBUM MITTITUR SPIRANS AMOREM” (“The WORD is sent breathing love.”) Funds needed for new altar Page 3 Sessions scheduled for Feb. 21-22 in Alamo Page 4 Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña Page 8 Paginas 11-13 DIOCESE 2 Meditaciones en camino Q uisiera ofrecer algunos pensamientos variados, inspirados por las meditaciones que he compartido en varias predicaciones durante estas semanas. Los ofrezco como puntos que surgen de la misma Escritura Sagrada, y que puedan inspirar en ustedes un aprecio de la riqueza contenida en la palabra de Dios. La Palabra de Dios es la fuente de nuestra vida en comunión con el Señor. Por medio de ella, el Señor nos guía e ilumina, dándonos luz y fortaleza. Quisiera que todos los católicos se dedicaran a leer parte de las Escrituras todos los días, invitando al Espíritu Santo a profundizar su presencia en nuestras mentes y nuestros corazones. Para lo que sigue, les recomiendo que lean primero el pasaje indicado al inicio, y después lean lo que el Señor me dio para compartir con ustedes. Lucas 1: 26-38: Entró el ángel a donde ella estaba y le dijo: “Alégrate, llena de gracia, el Señor está contigo”. ... ¿Cómo se expresaba la plenitud de gracia presente en el alma de María? Como un deseo constante de agradarle al Señor. María siempre disfrutaba la gracia de un deseo ardiente dirigido a cumplir con lo que Dios le indicaba. Para nosotros, pobres pecadores, la gracia llega como fuego para encender este mismo deseo. Cuando María ruega por nosotros, está pidiendo que tengamos un deseo perseverante. Una cosa es conocer la voluntad de Dios, y otra querer cumplirla. ¡Que nunca nos falte el deseo! Mateo 1: 1-25: “José, hijo de David, no dudes en recibir en tu casa a María tu esposa, porque ella ha concebido por obra del Espíritu Santo”. ... María recibió el misterio de la Encarnación con fe humilde, esperanza inquebrantable, amor intenso. Todo empezó con el dialogo entre ella y el ángel. Con la ayuda del ángel visitando los sueños de San José, María le pudo comunicar el misterio al que iba dedicar su vida: la protección de la Virgen y su Hijo. José recibió el anuncio con fe firme en Dios, y con confianza en María. Como The Valley Catholic - February 2014 Meditations along the way I would like to offer a variety of reflections inspired by mediations that I have offered in some of my homilies during these weeks. I offer them as points that originate from the Holy Scriptures themselves, and that may inspire in each of you an appreciation for the richness contained in the word of God. The word of God is the source of our life in communion with the Lord. Through it, the Lord guides and illuminates us, giving us light and strength. I would like all Catholics to dedicate themselves to reading part of the Scriptures every day, inviting the Holy Spirit to deepen his presence in our minds and in our hearts. For what follows, I recommend that you first read the passage indicated at the beginning, and then read what the Lord gave me to share with you. Luke 1: 26-38: “And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” … How is the fullness of grace expressed in Mary’s soul? As a constant desire to please the Lord. Mary always enjoyed the grace of a burning desire to fulfill what God commanded. To us, poor sinners, grace arrives as a fire to ignite this same desire. When Mary prays for us, she is asking that we have a persisting desire. It is one thing to know the will of God and another to want to fulfill it. May we never lack the desire! Mathew 1: 1-25: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.” ... Mary received the Mystery of Incarnation with humble faith, unbreakable hope, and intense love. Everything started with the dialog between her and the angel. With the help of the angel visiting the dreams of St. Joseph, Mary was able to communicate to Joseph the mystery to which he would devote his life, the protection of the Virgin and her son. Joseph received the message with firm faith in God, and with trust in Mary. As a just man, he fulfilled his mission with courage and without complaints. From heaven the remarkable mystery of the Incarnation arrived to Mary’s heart and body, and it arrived through Mary hombre justo, cumplió su misión con valor y sin quejas. Desde el cielo llegó el misterio admirable de la Encarnación al corazón y cuerpo de María, y llegó por medio de María y el ángel a la vida de San José. ¡Que recibamos nosotros el anuncio con la fe firme de José, y con la alegría de María! Lucas 2:1-14: En aquella región había unos pastores que pasaban la noche en el campo, vigilando por 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 Member of the Catholic Press Assocition MOST REVEREND DANIEL E. FLORES BISHOP OF BROWNSVILLE and the angel to the life of St. Joseph. May we receive the annunciation with Joseph’s firm faith and with Mary’s joy! Luke 2:1-14: “There were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.” … Shepherds took care of the sheep, and witnessed the angel’s presence. All creation is present in this scene. The Child Jesus brings peace precisely because in his person God has come close to the world of the human beings. The closeness of God is the salvation of man because it opens a way of communion between heaven and earth. But we must take the offered path! The shepherds took the road to Jesus to receive the salvation that had come close through Mary’s son. We must give this testimony of the closeness of God and the path that leads to life. This testimony is the cause of joy for the angels. Luke 4: 14-22 “And was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.’” … The anointing of the Holy Spirit spilled over Jesus in plenitude and overabundance. But as the Fathers of the Church point out, the anointing was not only destined for Christ, but he received it as the head of the Church, so that the grace of the Holy Spirit could touch, heal and elevate the life of the entire body. The Body of Christ is the Church, as St. Paul teaches us. We are the parts of his body and he is our head. What exists in fullness of power in Jesus Christ, our head, reaches every part of the body as he offers the grace that each one needs. For some it comes as an turno sus rebaños. ... Los pastores cuidaban a las ovejas, y fueron testigos de la presencia de los ángeles. Toda la creación está representada en esta escena. El Niño Jesús trae la paz precisamente porque en su persona Dios se ha acercado al mundo de los seres humanos. La cercanía de Dios es la salvación del hombre porque nos abre paso de comunión entre el cielo y la tierra. ¡Pero hay que tomar el camino ofrecido! Los pastores tomaron el camino hacia Jesús para saludar la salvación que se había acercado en el Hijo de María. Debemos nosotros de dar este testimonio de la cercanía de Dios y del camino que conduce a la vida. Este testimonio es causa de alegría para los ángeles. Lucas 4:14-22: Se le dio el volumen del profeta Isaías, lo desenrolló y encontró el pasaje en que estaba escrito: “El espíritu del Señor está sobre mí.” ... La unción del Espíritu Santo se derramó sobre Jesús en plenitud y sobreabundancia. Pero como nos enseñan los Santos Padres de la Iglesia, esa unción no fue destinada solamente para el uso del Cristo, sino que Él la recibió como cabeza de la Iglesia, para que la gracia del Espíritu Santo pudiera llegar a tocar, sanar y elevar la vida de todo anointing that heals the wounds of sin; for others as an anointing that elevates the soul of the disheartened; for others it comes as an anointing that heals the darkness of the mind or weakness of the physical body. For others it comes as an anointing encouraging us to serve with greater dedication those who are most afflicted and in need. Luke 5:12-16: “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” … Stretching his hand to touch the leper, the Lord shows that he does want to cure him. Truly, the event demonstrates how the anointing of the Holy Spirit that overflows in Jesus Christ touches and cures the afflictions of the faithful. The leper had hope in Jesus, and moved by this hope, he yelled out his misery. Sometimes we have to cry out to Jesus the magnitude of our need, not so that he might know (he already knows), but so that we can abandon ourselves to the greatness of his mercy. This abandonment is the grace we need most. John 3:22-30: “People came to be baptized, for John had not yet been imprisoned.” … John the Baptist preached repentance and justice. He prepared the Lord’s path. Every Gospel talks about John and the importance of his message, as the last preparation of the people for the arrival of the Son of God. John announced that God is just and holy, and that God’s justice would fall with force over those who only look out for their own interest, crushing the poor and ignoring the cries of the marginalized. John was the last prophetic voice in the long and noble line of the prophets of Israel. Jesus arrives to offer mercy to those who really want a change in life, dedicating their efforts for the interest of others, seeking God’s justice and the humility of service. St. Paul said that the law of Moses served to manifest sin, but the law of the Spirit comes to make us capable of living in God’s justice. Taking this into account, John the Baptist is the voice of the law, Jesus is the giver of the Spirit, full of grace and truth. This is why the prophet crying in the wilderness said: He must increase, I must decrease. el cuerpo. El Cuerpo de Cristo es la Iglesia, como nos enseña San Pablo. Somos los miembros de su cuerpo, y Él es nuestra cabeza. Lo que existe en plenitud de poder en Jesucristo, nuestra cabeza, llega a cada miembro del cuerpo ofreciendo la gracia que cada uno necesita. Para algunos llega como unción que sana heridas de pecado; para otros como unción que eleva el alma desanimada; para otros llega como unción que cura la oscuridad en el entendimiento o debilidad del cuerpo físico. Para otros llega como unción animándonos a servir con mayor entrega a los más afligidos y necesitados. Lucas 5: 12-16: Señor, si quieres, puedes curarme. ... Extendiendo la mano para tocar el leproso, el Señor muestra que sí quiere curarlo. Verdaderamente, el hecho muestra como la unción del Espíritu Santo que sobreabunda en Jesucristo llega a tocar y aliviar las aflicciones del creyente. El leproso tenía esperanzas en Jesús, y movido por esta esperanza, le gritó su pena. A veces le tenemos que gritar a Jesús la grandeza de nuestra necesidad, no para que sepa (Él ya lo sabe), sino para que podamos nosotros abandonarnos a la grandeza de su misericordia. Este abandono es la gracia que más Bishop Flores’ Schedule Feb. 1 11 a.m. McAllen Mass for 11th Annual Knights of Columbus Youth Retreat Feb. 1 1 p.m. McAllen Talk for 11th Annual KC Youth Retreat at OLSorrows School Feb. 1 6:30 p.m. Edinburg Basilica Gala Feb. 2 3 p.m. Basilica Mass for World Day for Consecrated Life necesitamos. Juan 3: 22-30: La gente acudía se bautizaba, pues Juan no había sido encarcelado todavía. ... Juan el Bautista predicaba arrepentimiento, y justicia. Preparaba el camino del Señor. Todos los Evangelios hablan de Juan, y la importancia de su mensaje, como ultima preparación del pueblo para la llegada de Hijo de Dios. Juan anunciaba que Dios es justo y santo, y que el juico de Dios iba caer con fuerza sobre los que solo buscan sus propios intereses, aplastando a los pobres, e ignorando el grito de los marginalizados. Juan era el último grito profético en la fila larga y noble de los profetas de Israel. Jesús llega para ofrecer la misericordia a los que realmente desean cambiar de vida, dedicando sus esfuerzos a los intereses de los demás, buscando la justicia de Dios y la humildad del servicio. San Pablo decía que la ley de Moisés servía para manifestar el pecado, pero la ley del Espíritu llega para capacitarnos a vivir la justicia de Dios. Tomando esto en cuenta, Juan el Bautista es la voz de la ley, Jesucristo es el dador del Espíritu, lleno de gracia y verdad. Por eso dice el profeta que gritaba en el desierto: Es necesario que él crezca y que yo venga a menos. February 2014 Feb. 5 7 p.m. San Juan Mass for Marriage Preparation Appreciation Feb. 8 2 p.m. Basilica Mass for World Marriage Day Feb. 9 5 p.m. Weslaco Mass for Catholic Scouting Ceremony at St. Joan of Arc Parish Feb. 27 6 p.m. La Grulla Confirmations at Holy Family Parish February 2014 - The Valley Catholic OFFICE OF YOUTH MINISTRY Para servirles Cathedral under repair DIOCESE 3 The Valley Catholic The Office of Youth Ministry serves as a resource for the parishes, missions and Catholic schools of the Diocese of Brownsville. The office provides spiritual and professional formation for those who are in ministry with youth in grades 6-12 as well as consultation, resources and programs. “Who are youth ministers?” said Monica Benitez, associate director for the Office of Youth Ministry. “There is some confusion about this, but a youth minister is anyone in our churches and schools who works with the youth. Youth ministers are not only the people who lead youth groups, but also catechists, Catholic school educators, directors and coordinators of religious education and even high school juniors and seniors who serve in leadership roles.” The ultimate goal of the Office of Youth Ministry is to empower youth ministry leaders to draw young people closer to the Lord and to participation in the life, mission and work of the Church. Some churches and schools have well established youth programs and turn to the Office of Youth Ministry for continuing education while others are starting from scratch. The Office of Youth Ministry is equipped to assist all programs. Angel Barrera serves as the director of the Office of Youth Ministry. He recently earned a Masters of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and has worked as a peer minister, volunteer parish youth minister, campus minister and musician. The Office of Youth Ministry is an affiliated member of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting and other national organizations. These partnerships and relationships provide tools to better serve the youth and youth leaders in our diocese. The Office offers several programs ranging from youth conferences to youth ministry coordinators training. A few noteworthy youth events: • YouthBLAST, a daylong retreat for high school students, is held each year in the Fall. In 2013, more than 850 youths participated in the event. YouthBLAST, which was well known and well attended in 1980s and 90s, was revived after a long absence. • YouthJAM, the middle school counterpart of YouthBLAST, is held each Spring for middle school students. • Youth Leader, a weeklong youth leadership program for high school sophomores and juniors aimed at equipping them for peer ministry in their parishes. Office: Youth Ministry Director: Angel Barrera Phone: (956) 781-5323 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.CDOBYM.org The Valley Catholic “Ricardo” a client of La Posada Providencia knits hats and sells them to raise money for the shelter. Ricardo’s story The Valley Catholic The Valley Catholic The Immaculate Conception Cathedral, the mother church of the diocese, is expected to re-open in July after undergoing repairs. Below, right: Father Michael Amesse, OMI, rector of the cathedral. Faithful asked to donate funds for new altar, visit historic church By ROSE YBARRA The Valley Catholic BROWNSVILLE — It was hailed as the finest church in Texas and the ornament of the Rio Grande Valley when it was blessed on June 12, 1859. More than 150 years later, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral remains one of the most beautiful churches in the state and a must-see for all Valley Catholics, said Father Michael Amesse of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, rector of the cathedral. But for the last year, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, the mother church of the Diocese of Brownsville, has been empty and undergoing repairs. The trusses that support the roof of the 155-year-old sanctuary were in need of reinforcement. “If we were to go over to the church right now, you’d see nothing new, but under the blue canvas, the trusses were starting to break,” Father Amesse said. “We worried that with a strong wind, the roof could collapse.” The repairs on the roof are almost complete and the next phase is to construct a new altar for the cathedral, which serves as the bishop’s home church and central place of worship. The cathedral’s weekly collections, however, are not enough to support the church’s day-to-day operations and the new construction. The downtown parish is one of the smallest in Brownsville in terms of both population and territory and most of the cathedral’s parishioners are from the working class, Father Amesse said. The faithful of the Diocese of Brownsville are asked to consider offering a donation to this project, which is expected to cost about $55,000. “It (the funding) is going to have to come from the people,” Father Amesse said. » Please see Cathedral p.14 Record numbers at La Posada Emergency shelter serving hundreds of clients a month The Valley Catholic SAN BENITO — La Posada Providencia, an emergency shelter in San Benito for immigrants, asylum seekers and asylees recently processed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is celebrating a major milestone in 2014 – 25 years of providing its clients with food, a safe, clean shelter and many other services. Since 1989, La Posada Providencia has assisted more than 7,000 clients from more than 70 countries who are seeking legal refuge in the United States. Most of the clients are referred to the shelter by attorneys and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some clients stay at the shelter for a night or two until they can arrange for transportation outside of the Rio Grande Valley. Others are there for months. The Valley Catholic Sister Zita Telkamp of the Sisters of Divine Providence and director of La Posada Providencia listens as a client from Somalia talks about the wife and family he left behind. In its first 24 years of existence, the shelter served an average of 200-250 clients a year. The number of clients, however, has increased exponentially in recent months, according Alma Gonzalez, development coordinator at La Posada Providencia. “There’s been a dramatic increase,” she said. “From July 2013 to December 2013, we more than tripled our yearly average. In less than six months, we almost had 1,000 clients.” The shelter’s budget is stretched and the staff is swamped due to the sharp increase in clients. “Our food bills are especially high,” said Sister Zita Telkamp of the Sisters of Divine Providence, » Please see La Posada p.15 SAN BENITO — While many other boys his age are preoccupied with video games and chasing girls, “Ricardo” has more pressing issues to address. Due to extreme poverty and dangerous living conditions, “Ricardo” — his name has been changed for his safety — left Guatemala at age 17 to pursue a better life in the United States and with hopes of sending money back to his family. He has three brothers and six sisters. His father is legally blind and can’t work much, leaving his mother with the responsibility of supporting the entire family. With just a little money in his pocket, “Ricardo” set off on his journey. It took 20 days to get here. “I was stuck in Mexico for 10 days,” said Ricardo, 18. “It was very difficult.” He crossed into the U.S. with the “help” of a coyote, but was ultimately detained by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) and sent to a youth facility in Brownsville. When he “aged out” of the facility, he was referred to La Posada Providencia, where he has been living for several months. “He is a hard-working young man,” said Sister Zita Telkamp of the Sister of Divine Providence, director of La Posada Providencia. “Whether it’s cooking, cleaning or gardening, he is ready to help. He is also a great student. “He is thriving,” she added. “We are very proud of him.” Sister Telkamp said his English and Spanish have improved tremendously since arriving at La Posada Providencia. “Ricardo’s” primary language is an indigenous language. Though “Ricardo” is in the U.S. to improve his own quality of life, he wants to give to others. While he was in the youth facility in Brownsville, he learned how to knit. In his spare time, between classes and chores, he knits hats. It takes him about two hours to make each one. The hats are sold and all the proceeds are given to the shelter – at his insistence. “For you, for the shelter,” he said to Sister Telkamp, handing her the money from a sale. “Ricardo’s” goal is to attend school to learn about heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. He plans to join his cousins in Miami who are already working in that field. “I want to have a wife and a family someday,” he said. “But first, I want to make enough money to help my parents take care of the family.” DIOCESE 4 »Family Life Lydia Pesina Director, Family Life Office The Valley Catholic - February 2014 Theology of the Body for Teens Conveys Blessed John Paul II’s vision for love, life Brenda Nettles Riojas Special to The Valley Catholic Parenting is love in action P arenting has been one of my greatest joys in life. My husband Mauri and I were marred 11 years before we adopted our daughter and we were anxious to share the love we had for one another with one or more children. Mauri often says that we were perfect parents until we actually became parents! I often thought parenting was about “teaching” children and soon found out it was much more about “learning” and “loving”: learning “self-emptying love” as Jesus modeled for us. I learned that parenting is love in action. One of the lessons I have learned from my daughter is that important human relationships have “job descriptions” so to speak. When she was about five or six years old, she once asked me: “Mom, why do you always have to tell me what to do?” And I responded to her “Because it is in my job description. I’m a mother.” She responded by asking “But who made the job description, you or God?” To which I replied, “actually both of us.” A few days went by and she did something mischievous and then she told me “Mom, that’s in my job description, I’m a kid!”. Several years ago I wrote a “Parent Role Description” that in my book is simply a reminder of some of the many, many wonderful responsibilities we have as parents. TITLE: Catholic Christian Parent SUPERVISOR: God PURPOSE OF ROLE: … to create a community of love, to help each other to grow, and to serve those in need … not only for the family’s sanctification, but for the strength of society and the Church. It is a participation in the work of the Lord, a sharing in the mission of the Church. It is holy. Follow the Way of Love: A Pastoral Message of the US Catholic Bishops to Families, Nov. 1993 RESPONSIBILITIES: GENERAL: To develop the FOUR SPECIFIC TASKS OF THE FAMILY as outlined in the apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio by Pope John Paul II. To form an intimate community of persons… To serve life both physically and spiritually… To participate in the development of society…To share in the life and mission of the Church… SPECIFIC: A:Accept each other; Affirm one another B:Believe in each other; Expect the best C:Teach consequences and alternative thinking; Be consistent; Celebrate special days and ordinary days D: Discipline as disciples; Defend one another; Provide list of duties E:Teach empathy; Enjoy one another F: Share forgiveness often; Help be frugal G: Don’t “give guilt trips”; Be generous H: Teach respect for hierarchy of authority; Engender honesty I: Live with integrity J:Be just and teach justice K: Be kind; Know their friends L: Be loyal M: Live » Please see Parenting, p.7 ALAMO — A Theology of the Body for Teens workshop will be held in our diocese on Feb. 21 and 22 at Resurrection Church Parish Hall, 834 Citrus Ave. in Alamo. Bill Donaghy of Philadelphia will lead both workshops, which are sponsored by the Office of Youth Ministry, Office of Catechesis and the San Juan Diego Ministry Institute . Donaghy has worked in the fields of mission and evangelization in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia since 1999. Through his work with the Pontifical Mission Societies, Donaghy gave hundreds of talks on the spirituality of mission to young people throughout the greater Philadelphia area and beyond, creating a teaching and speaking ministry known as MissionMoment.org. In October of 2000, Donaghy was chosen to represent his country in a special tribute for the Jubilee of Missionaries in Rome. He was given a simple cross by Pope John Paul II and called by the Holy Father to “bring Jesus back to your country.” The Theology of the Body refers to the series of 129 lectures given by Blessed John Paul II during his weekly audiences in Rome between September 1979 and November 1984. These addresses were later compiled and published as a single work entitled The Theology of the Body According to John Paul II. Theology of the Body for Teens is a dynamic faith formation program for teens and pre- Editor of The Valley Catholic Catholic News Service Pope John Paul II meets with youth at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in September 1987. The Theology of the Body is based on a series of lectures given by Blessed John Paul II. THEOLOGY OF THE BODY Middle School Training Friday, February 21 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. High School Training Saturday, February 22 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Info/Registration: www.CDOBYM.org/tobteens or call (956) 784-5013 teens in Catholic schools, parish youth ministries, religious education, Confirmation, and homeschool settings. Using a great mix of stories, real-life examples, activities, prayers, and relevant references to the culture, it goes beyond traditional chastity programs by connecting the two hottest topics on the planet — God and sex. With Blessed Pope John Paul II’s compelling vision for love and life, and a language they under- stand, Theology of the Body for Teens answers the questions teens and pre-teens have about their own bodies, issues on sexual morality, and how they are uniquely created for greatness. The Theology of the Body for Teens program brings this exciting teaching into a practical, age-appropriate format that high school and middle school students will understand. Theology of the Body for Teens answers questions such as: • Who am I? • Are there consequences to my actions? • What is the difference between love and lust? • What does our sexuality teach us about God? • How can I discern my vocation to marriage, priesthood, or religious life? • How do I deal with bullying, gossip, peer pressure, pornography, divorce, etc.? • What if I’ve already messed up? ...and many more. » Please see TOB Teens, p.7 Where lives are changed Annual men’s conference set for March 8 The Valley Catholic McALLEN — The Rio Grande Valley Catholic Men’s Fellowship, in association with Real Men Pray the Rosary, is sponsoring its annual men’s conference on Saturday, March 8 at Our Lady of Pe r p e t u a l Help Parish, 2209 Kendlewood Ave. in McAllen. T h e conference Father Young is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and will conclude with Mass at 5:30 p.m. Speakers for the conference are: Franciscan Father Robert Young – A native of Orange, Texas, Father Young is the founder of Divine Will Ministries and a Radio Maria host. Divine Will Ministries promotes the message of Divine Will, which aims to fulfill the desire of Jesus when He prayed the “Our Father” – Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Father Young is no stranger to the Valley. He has led »Women speak for themselves en la Frotnera Divine Will Retreats at the Benedictine Monastery of the Good Shepherd in Rio Grande City. Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio A husband and father of five and a business owner, he often appears on the international Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and is regularly heard on nationally syndicated radio shows such as “Catholic Answers Live.” Dr. D’Ambrosio is the founder of the Crossroad Initiative, which promotes the Catholic faith Dr. D’Ambrosio through various mediums, such as music, radio, books, seminars and more. Dr. D’Ambrosio, who lives outside of Dallas, is a New York Times best-selling author with his book Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions about the Passion of the Christ, which ranks among the fastest-selling Catholic books of all time with more than a million copies sold in less than three months. Father Raphael Ambadan – A Catholic priest of the Eastern Rite, Father Ambadan is the pastor of Divine Mercy Syro-Malabar Church in Edinburg, where he tends to the spiritual needs of about 55 families in their native Indian language. He holds a doctorate in the History of the Gregorian Church and is a professor at the St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Kerala, India. Father Ambadan came to the Valley in June 2013 to enhance his knowledge of clinical pastoral education. He will be returning to India in July. T h e conference is free to attend however attendees are asked to Father Ambadan pre-register so that organizers may get a head count for meals and materials. Last year, more than 350 men attended the conference. “The conference has changed the lives of many men,” said Tito Salinas, one of the event’s organizers. “It has changed their way of living for the better. It has started them on the path to make them better men, better husbands and better fathers. We want to encourage men to be the priest of the home as we’re supposed to be.” To register for the conference or for more information, please visit www.rgvcmf.org or call (956) 789-8947, (956) 605-2077 or (956) 605-7276. Learning to speak up “I open my mouth, and my words hesitate.” This line from my poem “Corazón Bilingüe” offers a hint of the struggle to speak in just one language. However, the “tangled tongue I negotiate,” runs deeper and goes beyond language. It edges the border of a hesitation to speak at all. Sometimes it’s easier to stay silent. How many times have we avoided asking a question because we feared it would serve as a confession to our ignorance? Or how many times have we stayed silent knowing our opinion went counter to those before us and we did not want to spark a debate, or worse because we did not think that what we had to say mattered? How many times have we walked away from a conversation wishing we could have said more? Condoleezza Rice, who served as the 66th U.S. Secretary of State, acknowledged in an essay that learning to speak up took practice and became an important source of growth in her career. If we are going to speak for ourselves, first we must learn to speak up, to give voice to our thoughts, to share our stories, nuestros testimonios. For me as a writer, I found safety in focusing on my role as a journalist, easier to write as a reporter presenting only the facts devoid of my personal opinion. To reveal oneself on the page takes risk. For years, prior to ever reading my poetry in public, I confined my work to the pages of notebooks. And only recently did I begin writing a column for The Valley Catholic newspaper that we launched in June 2009. Most editors run an editor’s note or column. I avoided writing one myself until now. Over the years I have started to unravel the strands linked to my own propensity for staying silent on and off the page. They stem from language and culture and an imprint of a timid disposition, a fear of other’s opinions, and a tendency toward caution and secondguessing myself. My mother taught me to be respectful of elders and those in charge. My father and his expectations for perfection taught me to question my competence, to be overly cautious about my work. Some reasons for my cautious tongue, I have come to understand, are linked to my own efforts for acculturation, a subject that requires more space than this column provides and more exploration. But I understand now how an occurrence in elementary school, maybe in the third or fourth grade, left an impression that influenced my direction and caused me to second guess myself and in turn silence my words. A classmate wanted to help me sound “less Mexican.” She pointed out my Spanish accent, particularly » Please see Learning, p.7 FAITH February 2014 - The Valley Catholic »Sunday Readings The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church FEBRUARY 2 (Feast of the Presentation of the Lord) Reading 1: Mal 3:1-4 Responsorial Psalm: PS 24:7, 8, 9, 10 Reading 2: Heb 2:14-18 Gospel: Lk 2:22-40 FEBRUARY 9 ( Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time) Reading 1: Is 58:7-10 Responsorial Psalm: PS 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Reading 2: 1 Cor 2:1-5 Gospel: Mt 5:13-16 FEBRUARY 16 (Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time) Reading 1: Sir 15:15-20 Responsorial Psalm: PS 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34 Reading 2: 1 Cor 2:6-10 Gospel: Mt 5:17-37 FEBRUARY 23 (Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time) Reading 1: Lv 19:1-2, 17-18 Responsorial Psalm: PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13 Reading 2: 1 Cor 3:16-23 Gospel: Mt 5:38-48 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 Help Us Grow Let’s Work together to share the Good News. Now in our fifth year of publishing The Valley Catholic, we want to expand our circulation and reach out to more readers. To do this, we need your help. As the official newspaper of the Diocese of Brownsville, we are the only Catholic news source providing comprehensive coverage in the Rio Grande Valley. To donate or reserve an ad, call (956) 784-5055 or email us at [email protected] 5 »Making Sense of Bioethics I Violinist violence n her still-widely-read 1971 article, A Defense of Abortion, Judith Jarvis Thomson sets up a thought experiment known as “The Famous Violinist Problem” to argue that abortion ought to be morally justified when a pregnancy arises out of sexual assault: “You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with a …famous unconscious violinist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help. They have therefore kidnapped you, and last night the violinist’s circulatory system was plugged into yours, so that your kidneys can be used to extract poisons from his blood as well as your own.... To unplug you would be to kill him. But never mind, it’s only for nine months. By then he will have recovered from his ailment, and can safely be unplugged from you.” Most people would share the intuition that they should be able to unplug themselves from the violinist, since they didn’t consent to being hooked up in the first place. Others would suggest an analogy with becoming pregnant from rape, so the mother could “unplug” herself from the child by abortion. At least two serious problems, however, exist with this analogy. First, the famous violinist is not a good parallel for the child conceived by sexual assault. The violinist in Thomson’s thought experiment is basically a stranger to us. But the child conceived in rape is not, properly speaking, a stranger Tadeusz Pacholczyk Priest of the Diocese of Fall River at all, and the analogy should probably be corrected to indicate this: “When the woman wakes up, she finds herself connected to a prodigy violinist who also happens to be her 12 year old son.” In such a scenario, she would far more easily admit an obligation to remain attached to him, even for an extended period of time. Following a rape that results in pregnancy, a woman likewise finds herself connected to her own progeny, her own child in utero, with similar natural moral obligations to nurture and care for her own flesh and blood. The second problem with Thomson’s analogy is that abortion is not like “unplugging” a tube connecting one person to another, and allowing the dependent individual to expire from a condition like kidney failure. Instead, abortion invokes various surgical and obstetrical procedures that directly end the life of, and even dismember, the in utero child. Norma McCorvey, the former “Jane Roe” of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, herself once worked in an abortion clinic and later described what happened there: “When a later abortion was performed, workers had to piece the baby back together, and every major part – head, torso, two legs, and two arms – had to be accounted for. One of our little jokes at the clinic was, “If you ever want to humble a doctor, hide a leg so he thinks he has to go back in.” Please understand, these were not abnormal, uncaring women working with me at the clinic. We were just involved in a bloody, dehumanizing business, all of us for our own reasons. Whether we were justifying our past advocacy (as I was), justifying a previous abortion (as many were) or whatever, we were just trying to cope – and if we couldn’t laugh at what was going on, I think our minds would have snapped.” McCorvey’s comments remind us that abortion is essentially a violent and deadly act, not a euphemistic “unhooking” or “separating” of mother and child. Thus we might wish to modify Thomson’s analogy once again in order to maintain parallelism: “A woman wakes up in the morning and finds herself attached to a violinist. To free herself from any further involvement with him, she asks a doctor to come in with a knife and to dismember the renowned musician.” The absolute wrongness of such direct killing would remain beyond dispute, as would the wrongness of any direct killing actions by a raped woman directed against her unborn son because of the sins of his father. In reflecting on the specifics of “The Famous Violinist Problem,” we begin to appreciate the importance of never subjecting an innocent third party, whether a musician or an in utero child, to direct lethal harm simply because » Please see Violinist, p.7 Synod of bishops to address the family P ope Francis called for a third “Extraordinary Synod of Bishops” that will be held from Oct. 5-18, 2014 at the Vatican to discuss “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of the Evangelization.” It is estimated that 150 to 200 Synod fathers (mainly cardinals and bishops) will take part in the discussions next fall. Bishops in every diocese of the world have been given the opportunity to give input in preparation for the extraordinary synod. There are an estimated 2,846 dioceses in the world including metropolitan and archdioceses. Created as a result of the outcomes of the Second Vatican Council, The Synod of Bishops is directly subject to the authority of the Roman Pontiff, and convoked as often as it seems opportune to the Holy Father. There are three types of synods: ordinary general assemblies, extraordinary general assemblies and special assemblies. The synod gathering next October is an extraordinary general session given the issues to be discussed and the time response the Holy Father wants in addressing the pastoral challenges affecting the family, marriage and the Church. There have only been two extraordinary synods held since Vatican II – one in 1969 on the theme of cooperation between the Holy See and episcopal conferences, and the second in 1985 Deacon Luis Zuniga Director, Office for Pastoral Planning & San Juan Diego Ministry Institute. to discuss the 20th anniversary of the conclusion of the second Vatican Council. Pope Paul VI described the role of the Synod of Bishops as an opportunity “to examine the signs of the times” and “to provide a deeper interpretation of divine designs and the constitution of the Catholic Church” in order to “foster the unity and cooperation of bishops around the world with the Holy See.” In preparation for the synod gathering next fall, the Holy See sent a preparatory document on Oct. 30, 2013 to all the bishops with a questionnaire for consultation containing 38 questions in order for the whole Church to actively participate in this historic extraordinary Synod. The preparatory document in the introduction describes the situation the world finds itself in and the challenges the Catholic Church needs to respond. “The social and spiritual crisis, so evident in today’s world, is becoming a pastoral challenge in the Church’s evangelizing mission concerning the family, the vital building-block of society and the ecclesial community. Never before has proclaiming the Gospel on the Family in this context been more urgent and necessary.” (Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization, Preparatory Document, I). “Concerns which were unheard of until a few years ago have arisen today as a result of different situations, from the widespread practice of cohabitation, which does not lead to marriage, and sometimes even excludes the idea of it, to same-sex unions between persons, who are, not infrequently, permitted to adopt children.” “The many new situations requiring the Church’s attention and pastoral care include: mixed or inter-religious marriages; the single-parent family; polygamy; marriages with the consequent problem of a dowry, sometimes understood as the purchase price of the woman; the caste system; a culture of non-commitment and a presumption that the marriage bond can be temporary; forms of feminism hostile to the Church; migration and the reformulation of the very concept of the family; relativist pluralism in the conception of marriage; the influence of the media on popular culture in its understanding of marriage and family life; underlying trends of thought in legislative proposals which devalue the idea of permanence and faithfulness in the marriage covenant; an increase in the practice of surrogate motherhood (wombs for hire); and new interpretations of what is considered a human right. Within the » Please see Family, p.15 Courtesy photo An image of St. Catherine de Ricci from a prayer card. »Feast Day - February 13 Spotlight on St. Catherine de Ricci Catholic News Agency St. Catherine de Ricci was a Dominican sister, a mystic and a reformer who bore the marks of the stigmata. She was well known in her own lifetime and beyond for her meditations on the Passion of Christ and her letters, which were written to famous men and women of her time as well as saints, including St. Philip Neri, St. Charles Borromeo, and St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. In one of her letters she wrote, “My dearest son, let us so strive that we may run and obtain that desired reward...We live in a time in which running and taking a stand is more than we are used to doing. Considering the height of the mystery of our redemption which is presented to us in these days, how much more should we stand firm and persevere!” Catherine was born at Florence in 1522. Having lost her mother in her infancy, her father placed her in the Convent of Monticelli, near the gates of Florence, where her aunt, Louisa de Ricci, was a nun when she was between the age of six and seven. Attracted to the religious life, and with the consent of her father, she received the religious veil in the convent of Dominicanesses at Prat, in Tuscany in the year 1535 at fourteen years of age. The saint was chosen, when very young, first as mistress of the novices, then sub-prioress, and, in the twenty-fifth year of her age, was appointed as perpetual prioress. The reputation of her extraordinary sanctity and prudence drew her many visits from a great number of bishops, princes, and cardinalsamong them, the Cardinals Cervini, Alexander of Medicis, and Aldobrandini, who all three were afterwards raised to St. Peter’s chair, under the names of Marcellus II, Clement VIII, and Leo XI. After a long illness she passed from this mortal life to everlasting bliss and possession of the object of all her desires on the feast of the Purification of our Lady, on the 2nd of February, in 1589, the sixty-seventh year of her age. The ceremony of her beatification was performed by Clement XII in 1732, and that of her canonization by Benedict XIV in 1746. 6 DIOCESE The Valley Catholic - February 2014 Mariachi continued from pg. 1 Las Mariposas and the Basilica Mariachi. The second concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, March 7 and will feature Mariachi Nuevo Santander from Roma High School, Mariachi Juvenil de America from Veterans Middle School in Rio Grande City, mariachi professional Rey Azteca from Pharr and the Basilica Mariachi. Sister Rose Carmel Garay of the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence, pilgrim outreach director for the basilica, said the concerts are among the most highly anticipated events at the basilica, drawing crowds by the busload. “These young performers are fantastic,” she said, “It’s amazing to see these tiny young girls with great, big, melodious voices and these young musicians with such immense talent. “While school districts in other parts of the country are downsizing or eliminating their fine arts programs, ours our thriving – they have great talent, great instructors and great training and they are keeping our traditional music alive. What a gift from God.” Eloy Garza, mariachi program director for the Roma Independent School District, said the concerts are a wonderful experience for the students. “It is an honor to be the opening act for the professional mariachi from the basilica,” Garza said. “The students also enjoy the positive reaction from the crowd. We have a lot of fun.” Garza said most of his students are Catholic and have expressed what a great blessing it will be to perform in the basilica. “In the public schools, we can’t promote religion, but the students have shared with me that they have a lot faith,” said Garza, who attends Mass at Holy Family Mission Church in Los Saenz. “They know that the only way they will succeed in life is with God.” Sister Garay said the concerts draw lots of Winter Texans and families. “The Winter Texans really enjoy the music but I think what really touches their hearts is to see that the basilica is packed with families and that’s a great witness to family togetherness,” she said. “I think that as long as we keep our families together, the Church is together and our young people have a better chance to make it in life if they have God in their life.” Tickets for each concert are available at a cost of $5. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Basilica at (956) 787-0033. Saving Lives continued from pg. 1 some carried pro-life signs as they processed down the streets. The march began at St. Joseph the Worker Church, filed into downtown McAllen and stopped at a facility that had been performing abortions until new legislation took effect at the end of October 2013. The march ended at Sacred Heart WE CHOOSE LIFE The Valley Catholic photos The Respect Life Apostolate of the Diocese of Brownsville organized two prolife marches in commemoration of the 41st anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand in the U.S. At the start of a march in McAllen on Jan. 11, Father Alfonso Guevara, vicar general of the diocese and pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in McAllen, said, “It’s against nature to kill your own baby. In nature, in all religious denominations, in all cultures, murder, especially the murder of a child, is considered a grave sin.” Bishop Daniel E. Flores thanked everyone for their public witness. He prayed, “May our hearts never grow weary of witnessing the truth of the love you have shown to us through your son.” During a march in Harlingen on Jan. 18, he reminded everyone, “We walk together.” He said with our confidence in the Lord, “we know we will see the day when life is respected, honored, protected and most of all received and loved.” Prayer for LIFE Father and maker of all, you adorn all creation with splendor and beauty, and fashion human lives in your image and likeness. Awaken in every heart reverence for the work of your hands, and renew among your people a readiness to nurture and sustain your precious gift of life. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen Source: Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Parish in McAllen. A second march was held in Harlingen on Jan. 18 where more than 100 pro-life advocates marched around Sesame Square, which neighbors a facility that had been performing abortions until the end of October 2013. Inspired by the Battle of Jericho in the Book of Joshua, prolife advocates marched around the square seven times. On the seventh lap around the square, two marchers blasted shofars, an ancient musical instrument made of ram’s horn. Pro-life advocates across the nation organize marches throughout the month of January in reparation for the more than 55 million babies who have been killed in the U.S. since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling on Jan. 22, 1973. Survey continued from pg. 1 About 80 percent of survey respondents support parental notification for a minor seeking an abortion. Almost 80 percent support a 24-hour waiting period. Another 62 percent favored changing laws to allow for some restrictions on abortion. About 58 percent support showing a woman an ultrasound image of her unborn child at least a day before a scheduled abortion. Most respondents said that abortion causes more harm than good to a woman. More than half of respondents, 53 percent, said that life begins at conception. Another 62 percent said that abortion is morally wrong. The survey was conducted Dec. 10-15. It interviewed 2,001 adults in the continental U.S. DIOCESE February 2014 - The Valley Catholic »Hope in Action: A Spotlight on Youth 7 Oratory accreditation A willingness to serve Special to The Valley Catholic When you first meet Severo “Zevy” Salas his friendliness, kindness, and above all his faith are evident. Salas does not hesitate to share his faith and give testimonies to show others his love for God. Salas is a sophomore at Robert Vela High School in Edinburg and has been involved in multiple church and community activities and groups including altar server, youth group member, and lector at Sacred Heart Parish in Edinburg. His welcoming personality and willingness to serve has inspired those around him. Salas fully understands we are called to serve and not be served and this is one of many reasons he has been chosen to be spotlighted this month. Name: Severo “Zevy” Salas Grade: 10th What I do at (local Catholic parish): Altar Boy, Youth group member, and assist Father Bob with his chores. Talents/Gifts: I am talented at basketball and outgoing. Best movie ever: I am Legend Most listened to song on my Ipod: If my heart was a house TV show I never miss: Duck Dynasty, and Dance Moms. Book I’d read again and again: Summer Ball Future Plans: I’m not really set on anything yet I live day by day. Parenting continued from pg. 4 and teach morality ; Help develop strong healthy mental habits N: No negative comments; Have natural / logical consequences O: Provide order and structure; Live obedience P: “Pray without ceasing” I Thessalonians 5:17; Explore proper use of power in conflict Q: Enjoy quality time R: Develop rituals; Set clear and consistent rules S: Provide spiritual depth and moral principles; Teach about the sacredness of sexuality T: Don’t talk too much; “Train children in the right way Learning continued from pg. 4 with certain words. I don’t remember the words, but I remember she wanted me to practice my pronunciation with her so that I wouldn’t sound Mexican. So I began at an early age to censor my Spanish tongue as I assimilated to my father’s English. It took my mother’s passing for me to recognize the loss, the loss of her voice and along with it my own. I had no idea at the time how that incident started to chip away at my self-confidence. But God intervened along the way and helps me learn each day how to speak up when needed. The Gospel tells us, “…do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking Courtesy Courtesy photo Severo “Zevy” Salas, right, an active parishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Edinburg, with his younger brother, Manny. Who has made a difference in my life and had an impact: All of my coaches have played a huge role in the boy I am today. They have taught me about fortitude and honor for something that is bigger than myself. Also Father Bob (Charlton) has made me realize the important things in life. Whether it would be in my spiritual life or my dating life. Since I do not really have a father figure in my life, he is more than just my priest. I consider him my dad. Last but not least Miss Laura. I can call her my friend even though she is in charge of the youth group. She has been there not only for me but my brothers when we needed food or a ride. I love these people and both respect and appreciate all they have done for me. — If you would like to nominate a student to be featured in “Hope in Action: A Spotlight on Youth,” please email Angel Barrera, director of Youth Ministry, at [email protected]. and when old, they will not stray” “Proverbs 22:6” U: Be “lovingly” unselfish; Provide unconditional love V: Nurture vigilance; Act consistently with values W: Teach willpower; provide written rules X: X-Ray their souls Y: Say yes more than no Z:Be zealous about parenting: It is the most important thing we will ever do. TRAINING AND PREPARATION NEEDED: Read as much as possible on parenting; Pray daily; Follow scriptural guides: (ex. I Corinthians 13:4-8a) Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interest, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” EVALUATION: Pray daily for God to help us discern how we are making decisions in our parenting. A philosopher once stated “A prophet is not called to success, but to fidelity.” As a parent we are called to be faithful to our role as parent, whether or not we are successful (in the way that we believe we should be); and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. TIME COMMITMENT: 24/7 For ever and ever, Amen. through you (Matthew 10:19-20).” Father Jacques Philippe, in his book Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart, reminds us, “We cannot experience this support from God unless we leave him the necessary space in which he can express himself.” He writes, “Let us therefore learn to abandon ourselves, to have total confidence in God, in the big things as in the small.” As I continue to overcome the restraints I imposed on myself over the years, I find inspiration from the saints and blesseds of the Church – St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Gertrude the Great, St. Hidegard of Bingen, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and so many others. St. Catherine of Siena, one of the Doctors of the Church, in one of her letters advises, “Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues.” With the current attacks on religious freedom, we must all find the courage to speak up and “make noise,” as Pope Francis encouraged young adults during World Youth Day 2013. Each of these women centered their life on Christ and the Church. Models of faith, prayer and action, these saints teach us by their example there is no room for timidity. We can draw examples from modern day women in our own communities who speak out, not only with their words, but with their actions. The late Catholic philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand talked about the apostolate of “being.” We speak through our actions and not just our words. We need to trust that the Lord will guide on when to speak and when to stay silent, and that he will give us the grace and courage to proceed according to his will. As St. Paul heard in a dream, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you (Acts 18:9-10). The Pharr Oratory of St. Philip Neri School System received its accreditation from the Texas Catholic Conference Accreditation Commission. Each Catholic School in the diocese undergoes an intensive accreditation process every seven years. Standing , from left, Father Mario Avilés, C.O., rector; Oralia Cantú, board president; seven members of the Accreditation Team; Father José E. Losoya, C.O., assistant director and Father Juan Ortíz, librarian. Seated, from left, Lisette Allen, Superintendent of Diocesan Schools; Father Leo-Francis Daniels, C.O., headmaster; G. Yvonne Pérez, President of Schools; Izkra Díaz, director and Pam Jupe, Accreditation Team Chairperson. »News Briefs Third public dialogue set for bishop, rabbi Bishop Daniel E. Flores and McAllen Rabbi Claudio J. Kogan will once again model the art of conversation during a public dialogue on Monday, Feb. 3 at the University of Texas-Pan American Student Union Building in Edinburg. The event is free and open to the public. McAllen Mayor’s Prayer Luncheon The McAllen Mayor’s Prayer Luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at the McAllen Convention Center. Bob Goff, a New York Times best-selling author, will deliver the keynote address. Goff penned TOB Teens continued from pg. 4 Who should attend: Principals, teachers, priests, directors/coordinators of religious education, catechists, deacons, youth ministers, Violinist continued from pg. 5 they find themselves in a state of radical dependence upon another human being. Although we aren’t obligated to use extreme or extraordinary measures to try to save the violinist in Thomson’s thought experiment, we shouldn’t make the error of supposing that the state the book Love Does and founded Restore International, a nonprofit human rights organization that operates in Uganda and India. Tickets start at $20 and table sponsorships are available. For more information, contact Richard Moore at (956) 630-3053. A Trinitarian Night planned Holy Spirit Church in McAllen and Shalom Media USA present a Trinitarian Night of Miracles, set for 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, Feb.7 at Holy Spirit Church, 2201 Martin Ave. in McAllen. The event will feature the praying of the Rosary, praise and worship led by recording artist Dave Moore, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, preaching by international speaker Mark Nimo and Holy Mass celebrated by Msgr. Louis Brum. For more information, visit www.ShalomWorld.org college campus ministers, parents and anyone who works with preteens (6th-8th grade) and teens (9th-12th). Cost/registration for each session: $50 for training materials, lunch, and snack. If sharing materials, please provide additional $10 per person for food. of pregnancy itself is somehow extraordinary or extreme, even in the tragic case of sexual assault, given that it objectively embodies the natural and familial line of duty to care for our own offspring. — 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. Advertise in The Valley Catholic We invite you to advertise your business or organization. Our monthly circulation of 26,500 includes direct mailings to more than 3,500 homes and is distributed to 71 parishes, 45 mission churches and 280 other locations in the Rio Grande Valley. Call (956) 785-5055 or email us at [email protected] 8 DIOCESE The Valley Catholic - February 2014 Those Who Serve: The Most Rev. Raymundo J. Peña At home in the Rio Grande Valley Bishop emeritus turns 80, reflects on his years in ministry The Valley Catholic ALAMO – Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña, who led the Diocese of Brownsville for 14 years before retiring in December 2009, will celebrate his 80th birthday on Feb. 19. Born in 1934 to Cosme and Elisa Ramon Peña, Bishop Peña grew up in Robstown, Texas and knew from an early age he wanted to be a priest. “It’s been a very rewarding life. I think I always wanted to be a priest.” He said he can’t remember ever wanting to be anything else. His motto as bishop, “Haz todo con amor” – “To do all things in love of Christ,” taken from 1 C orinthians 16:14, has guided his ministry from the start. “It has served me well. It keeps you focused even when there are difficulties and it reminds me everything we do is for the love of Christ who gave his life for us.” Bishop has 56 years to draw from in recalling special moments in his ministry since he was ordained as a young priest on May 25, 1957. Among those are his ordination to the priesthood in the Corpus Christi Cathedral by the Most Reverend Mariano S. Garriaga with two classmates who had studied with him in San Antonio at Assumption Seminary. He also looks to his appointment as a pastor of a new parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Corpus Christi, as a highlight during his priesthood. “I have had some rewarding experiences, but my greatest joy and experience has been in the pastoral ministry in the parish.” “Guiding the growth and development of a community that had been served as a mission and The Valley Catholic Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña serves as the chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Texas – Pan American (UTPA) in Edinburg. He celebrates Mass for the students every Tuesday at noon at the ecumenical chapel on the UTPA campus and at 7 p.m. on Sundays at the Newman Center, located at 1615 W. Kuhn St. in Edinburg. forming it into an active and very involved community, while developing the construction of the parish plant (Church, rectory, parish hall) were exciting moments. This was in the early ‘70’s when the liturgical renewal after the Second Vatican Council was taking place. That presented special challenges: adapting the plans of the church under construction, and guiding the community in the new forms of celebrating the sacraments.” One of his early assignments as a priest in the Rio Grande Valley was in Alamo, when the area was still a part of the Diocese of Corpus Christi. “It’s interesting now that I am living here in the same house where I lived as a priest.” Bishop Peña, who celebrates Mass everyday with the Capuchin Poor Clare Nuns at the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel, said he often runs into people at Mass who tell him they served as his altar servers in Alamo. “To see how they developed and became important members of the Church is very rewarding to me.” On a few occasions Bishop Peña has also had couples he married ask him to celebrate a Mass for their 50th wedding anniversary. Bishop remembers his 19 years of service as a priest in the Diocese of Corpus Christi where he served in various parishes with fondness. At various times during Bishop Thomas J. Drury’s administration, he served as Diocesan Youth Director, associate editor, then editor of the Texas Gulf Coast Catholic, and as founding pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in City of Corpus Christi. He also served as a diocesan consulter. “I have particularly fond memories of our ministry among the young people and the then very popular Summer School of Catholic Action (SSCA), a week-long summer course for young people with guest speakers and youth activities,” he said. He added, “This gave me a sense of the importance of the young people in the diocese and enabled me to communicate well with the confirmation students in » Please see Bishop Peña p.9 »Birthday & Anniversary Wishes 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. February » Birthdays Rev. Mishael Koday Rev. Thomas Pincelli Rev. Alejandro Fajardo, SS.CC Rev. Gustavo Obando Msgr. Robert Davola - retired Rev. James Pfeifer, OMI Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Pena - retired 26 Rev. Juan Victor Heredia 26 Rev. Thomas G. Kulleck 2 3 3 11 11 16 19 March » Birthdays Rev. Eduardo Ortega Rev. Timothy Paulsen,OMI Rev. Salvador Ramirez Rev. Manuel Alfredo Razo Rev. Rodolfo Franco Rev. Vicente Azcoiti- retired Msgr. Patrick Doherty- retired Rev. Richard MacDonald, SCJ - retired 29 Rev. Gerald Frank 2 6 7 9 10 25 25 28 2 2 3 14 20 20 20 Sister Mary N. Vincelli, CSJ Sister Esther Rodriguez, O.P. Sister Anita Jennissen, OSF Brother David Concannon Sister Rosalia Fink, OSB Sister Frances Salinas, OSB Sister Denise Sausville, RSM 2 9 9 16 17 21 27 Deacon Gerardo J. Rosa Deacon Jose G. Garza Deacon Manuel Sanchez Deacon Salvador Rojas Deacon Martin Jaques Deacon Daniel Zamora Deacon Hector Garcia 8 11 13 15 15 17 18 22 Deacon Amando Peña Jr. Deacon Gilberto Perez Deacon Hugo De la Cruz Deacon Jose R. Castro Deacon George M. Terrazas Deacon Hector Perez Deacon Pedro Sanchez Deacon Alvino Olvera 6 17 21 23 30 Sister Dorothy Carey, SHSp Sister Patricia DeBlieck, CSJ Sister Mary Sardinha, SSD Sister Zita Telkamp, CDP Sister Therese Corkery, PBVM 2 8 11 15 25 Rev. Juan Victor Heredia Rev. Gnanaraj Michael Msgr. Robert Davola – Retired Rev. Patrick Seitz Rev. Marco Antonio Reynoso » Anniversaries » Anniversaries 5 Rev.Francisco Castillo 14 Rev. Simon Brzozowski, OMI 19 Rev. Jose E. Losoya, CO DIOCESE February 2014 - The Valley Catholic Bishop Peña continued from pg. 8 San Antonio, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley. In retirement, I now offer pastoral service to students at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg.” Bishop Peña said, “It was exciting to serve as editor of the diocesan newspaper in Corpus Christi. My service there helped me realize the importance of using the media as a tool for evangelization, and this experience motivated my establishment of the Rio Grande Catholic in the Diocese of El Paso and The Valley Catholic in the Diocese of Brownsville.” On Oct. 16, 1976, Father Peña was named titular Bishop of Trisipa and Auxiliary to the Archbishop of San Antonio and consecrated on Dec. 13, 1976. At the age of 42, Bishop Peña was one of the youngest bishops in the country and the fourth Hispanic in the United States to become a bishop. Four years later, Bishop Peña was appointed as the fourth Bishop of El Paso in 1980, serving for 15 years until his installation as the fifth bishop of Brownsville in August 1995. Among some of the highlights during his years in El Paso, Bishop Peña founded the Tepeyac Institute in 1988. The institute prepares members of the laity through a variety of formation and certification programs to serve as ministers at all levels of church life within the Diocese of El Paso. Today, the Tepeyac Institute is one of the largest such centers in the United States. Bishop Peña also worked to increase the number of vocations to the priesthood, a challenge he also addressed in the Rio Grande Valley when he returned in 1995 to serve as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville. Reflecting on his return to South Texas in 1995, he said, “I was coming home in a sense because I had served as a priest in the Valley and I knew people here and had friends here.” After his retirement, Bishop Peña continues to live in the Rio Grande Valley where he maintains a full schedule. He celebrates daily Mass at the St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration in Alamo and organizes a Holy Hour for vocations each week on Thursdays at 7 p.m. He invites priests to take turns presiding at the Holy Hour and bring their parishioners. “I am grateful to priests of the diocese who have always been willing to say yes when asked to preside at a holy hour.” On Sundays at the University of Texas-Pan American, he listens to confessions at 6 p.m. and celebrates Mass at 7 p.m. He also visits the Evins Juvenile Detention 9 GRACIAS “ “I thank God for the gift of life and for the gift of priesthood as well as for the many blessings I have received during my life and in my ministry. I thank God for my family and for the many priests beside whom I have served and the many friends who have been at my side in the four dioceses where the Lord called me to exercise my ministry. Finally, I am especially grateful to Bishop Daniel Flores for his solicitous concern for my welfare as a retired bishop. May the Lord bless, strengthen and protect us all.” Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña Center in Edinburg once a month, and celebrates Mass on the Sundays that UTPA students have academic breaks. Bishop’s Peña’s legacy remains evident throughout the diocese. When he retired, almost 50 percent of the diocesan priests had been ordained by him. There were eight seminarians when he came, and when he left there were 22 or 23. Some of the other milestones registered include the establishment of the San Juan Diego Ministry Institute for training future permanent deacons and lay ecclesial ministers; the success of Disciples in Mission sending over 500 persons door-to-door to proclaim the Gospel message; the establishment of an Immigration Office; the inclusion of women in leadership positions in the diocese and diocese related entities; and the designation of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle Shrine as a national shrine in 1998 and as a minor basilica in 1999. Bishop Daniel E. Flores along with the clergy, consecrated women and men, and the faithful of the Diocese of Brownsville pray that God bless you on your birthday. The Valley Catholic Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña blesses backpacks following a Mass at the Newman Center at the University of Texas – Pan American (UTPA) in Edinburg. Below: The Most Rev. Raymundo J. Peña and His Eminence Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston walk in procession on June 8, 2009 to celebrate a Mass for the 150th anniversary of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville IN THE NEWS The Valley Catholic -February 2014 Cardinal announces plan to contain fees Pope: ‘Our faith can do anything’ 10 The cost of sainthood By CINDY WOODEN Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Having a holy son or daughter formally recognized as a saint by the universal church could easily cost a quarter of a million dollars. But experts say the church isn’t selling halos; it’s compensating professionals doing serious research, so that a pope can solemnly declare his certainty a person is in heaven. The costs involved in moving a cause from local fame to universal veneration as a saint depend on a variety of factors, such as whether the postulator — the official promoter — is volunteering his or her time, and how many potential miracles must be investigated before the pope formally recognizes those required for canonization. Expenses typically include: collection and translation of eyewitness statements and documents; exhumation and reburial of the candidate’s body, if necessary to verify the location of the grave; preparation and publication of the “positio,” a biography and official position paper documenting the candidate’s holiness; fees for theological, historical and medical consultants; and the beatification and canonization ceremonies themselves. By CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Catholic Press Photo Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, addresses Pope Francis during a canonization Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in this May 12, 2013, file photo. The head of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes announced Jan. 13 that his office had established a reference list of standard charges for the process. Reporting the next day on Cardinal Angelo Amato’s announcement, the Vatican newspaper said it was a move “inspired by a sense of sobriety and equity, so there would no longer be a lack of uniformity” in the costs borne by different causes. Jesuit Father Marc Lindeijer, vice postulator of sainthood causes for his order, told Catholic News Service Jan. 15 that if a cause “is not too complicated” — for instance, if the candidate died hun- dreds of years ago, making it impossible to interview eyewitnesses — the normal cost of bringing the candidate to beatification is about 50,000 euros — or just more than $68,000 at current exchange rates — including the cost of the ceremony. U.S. Catholic officials traditionally have used $250,000 as a benchmark for the cost of a cause from the initial investigation on a diocesan level to a canonization Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Msgr. Greg Mustaciuolo, chancellor of the Archdiocese of New York and postulator of the cause of Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, said the cause has “spent almost as much as we’ve taken in sending out information and prayer cards.” He and the others working on the cause, mainly employees of the archdiocesan Catholic Charities, are not asking for a stipend, which is just as well since the two largest groups of Catholics supporting the cause tend not to have money to donate. “While they are totally supportive of the cause, they don’t have any money,” Msgr. Mustaciuolo said. Catholic Relief Service Last year, $7 million was raised through Operation Rice Bowl to support Catholic Relief Service’s mission to fight global hunger and poverty. Fighting hunger one rice bowl at a time By KIM POZNIAK Catholic Relief Services Every Lent, millions of Catholics participate in CRS Rice Bowl, Catholic Relief Services’ annual Lenten program, which begins on Ash Wednesday. Catholic families, parishes and schools from more than 13,000 communities use symbolic cardboard “rice bowls” as the focal point of their prayer, fasting and learning—and to help people in poverty around the world. Participants in CRS Rice Bowl make a small sacrifice every week, putting the change they would have spent on food into symbolic rice bowls. That money goes to support CRS’ mission to fight global hunger and poverty. Helping people in need through fasting and almsgiving is a big component of CRS Rice Bowl, but the program also encourages Catholics to help others through prayer and by learning about the factors that cause hunger. Last year, participants raised more than $7 million for CRS Rice Bowl, 75 percent of which is used to fund projects in 40 countries. The remaining 25 percent stays in U.S. dioceses to support food pantries and soup kitchens. Operation Rice Bowl materials are free of charge. To order or for more information, please visit www. crsricebowl.org. VATICAN CITY — There are too many “defeated Christians” in the church who do not fully believe in the faith handed down to them by way of tradition and who do not completely trust in God, Pope Francis said. If Christians don’t believe and live the faith as a victorious mover of mountains, then “there is only defeat, and the prince of the world conquers the world,” the pope said in his homily Jan. 10. The pope focused his homily on a reading from the First Letter of John (5:5-13), in which the apostle reminds Christians that there will be eternal life for those who believe in the name of the Son of God. “Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” the apostle asks. Whoever remains in God and in his love is victorious over the world, the pope said, according to a report by Vatican Radio. “Our faith can do anything,” he said. Christians should remind themselves that faith in God is powerful and that faith is what “conquers the world,” because “many times we are defeated Christians,” he said. “The church is full of defeated Christians who don’t believe in this, that the faith is victorious,” he said. A strong, victorious faith requires professing the faith with all of one’s heart and trusting completely in God, the pope said. “Faith is to profess God,” as is done with the daily recitation of the Nicene Creed, he said. “I believe in one God, I believe in Jesus, I believe ... But do I believe in what I’m saying,” the pope asked or are people just reciting from memory, repeating what’s being said “like parrots,” or saying it only because it has to be recited? “Or do I believe just some of it?” he continued. “Profess the faith! All of it!” he said, and protect the faith in its entirety as it has been passed down by way of tradition. “We know how to ask things of God, how to thank God, but to worship God, praise God, that’s something more,” he said. “Only those who have this strong faith are capable of adoration,” of worship, he said. Comparing the intensity of people’s ardor in worshipping God to taking someone’s temperature, the pope said, “I dare say that the thermometer of the life of the church is a bit low here.” There are few people who have the capacity to really worship “because, in professing the faith, we aren’t convinced or we are only partially convinced,” he said. Just as professing the faith allows people to worship and praise God, putting themselves completely in God’s hands brings people real hope, Pope Francis said. “There are many Christians with watered-down hope, not strong, but weak” because “they don’t have the courage to entrust themselves to the Lord.” But by professing the faith, protecting it, entrusting oneself to God, “we will be victorious Christians and this is the victory that won over the world — our faith.” NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL 11 Febrero 2014 - The Valley Catholic Nuestra Catedral necesita de su ayuda Fieles de la diócesis llamados a visitar Iglesia histórica Por ROSE YBARRA The Valley Catholic BROWNSVILLE — Fue apreciada como la mejor iglesia en Texas y el adorno del Valle del Río Grande cuando fue bendecida el 12 de junio de 1859. Más de 150 años después, la Catedral Inmaculada Concepción permanece como una de las iglesias más hermosas del estado y una visita obligada para todos los Católicos del Valle, dijo el Padre Michael Amesse de los Misioneros Oblatos de María Inmaculada, rector de la Catedral. Pero este último año, la Catedral Inmaculada Concepción, la iglesia madre de la Diócesis de Brownsville, ha estado vacía, teniendo arreglos. Las vigas que sostienen el techo del santuario de 155 años necesitaban ser reforzados. “Si fuéramos a la iglesia ahorita, no verías nada nuevo, pero bajo el óleo azul, las vigas estaban empezando a romperse,” dijo el Padre Amesse. “Nos preocupaba que con un fuerte viento, el techo se pudiera colapsar.” Las reparaciones del techo casi están terminadas y la próxima fase es construir un nuevo altar para la catedral, la cual sirve como la iglesia hogar del obispo y un lugar central de adoración. Las colectas semanales de la catedral no son suficientes para mantener las operaciones diarias de la iglesia y la nueva construcción. La parroquia del centro es una de las más pequeñas de Brownsville tanto en población y territorio y la mayoría de los feligreses de la catedral son de clase trabajadora, dijo el padre Amesse. The Valley Catholic Izquierda: La facada de la Catedral Inmaculada Concepción. Arriba: Padre Miguel Amesse de los misioneros Oblatos de María Inmaculada señala en dónde será colocado el nuevo altar. Se les pide a los fieles de la Diócesis de Brownsville que consideren ofrecer una donación a este proyecto que se espera costará alrededor de $55, 000. “(Los fondos) tendrán que venir de las personas,” dijo el Padre Amesse Han sido más de 30 años desde la última modificación al altar. Los planes incluirán una nueva catedra (silla) para el obispo y un altar arreglado. El tabernáculo que actualmente está al lado de la Iglesia, será movido directamente atrás del altar. En 1849, el Obispo J.M Odin de Galveston, cuya diócesis incluía todo el estado de Texas, fue a Canadá buscando sacerdotes para su vasto territorio, particularmente para Brownsville, cuyos residen- tes le habían pedido sacerdotes, de acuerdo con información del programa sesquicentenario de la catedral en el 2009. En Canadá, el Obispo Odin se reunió con varios sacerdotes de los Misioneros Oblatos de María Inmaculada, una orden religiosa que fue fundada en Francia en 1826. Después de escuchar al Obispo Odin leer algunas cartas de súplicas de los ciudadanos de Brownsville, el primer grupo de Oblatos accedió a venir al Valle del Río Grande. El 2 de diciembre de 1846 cuatro sacerdotes Oblatos llegaron a Puerto Isabel, el cual fue la base de la Cuarta Artillería de Estados Unidos. Los soldados acomodaron a los sacerdotes y prepararon una capilla temporal para su primer Misa, la cual fue celebrada el 3 de diciembre de 1849. Fue la primer Misa santa celebrada por los sacerdotes Oblatos en Texas. La primer Misa en Brownsville fue celebrada cinco días después, en la fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción. Teniendo a Brownsville como su hogar base, los Oblatos evangelizaron el Valle, montando a caballo de pueblo en pueblo. En el transcurso de los años, las conversiones a la fe Católica fueron tan numerosas que surgió la necesidad de una iglesia más grande. El Padre Pierre Y Keralum, quien había sido entrenado como arquitecto en Francia antes de volverse sacerdote, termino el diseño y la construcción de la catedral. Fue bendecida y dedicada el Domingo Pentecostal de 1859. Se espera que la catedral sea reabierta en julio, después de que el nuevo altar sea consagrado por el obispo. Jóvenes adultos de la parroquia están siendo entrenados para dar tours en la catedral para que los visitantes puedan aprender más sobre la historia de la Diócesis y la histórica iglesia estilo gótico. La catedral es incluida en el Registro Nacional de Lugares Históricos y también es un Marcador Histórico de Texas. Los adultos jóvenes también están diseñando un panfleto para pasar durante los tours y están trabajando en adaptar los tours a las audiencias, por ejemplo, ofreciendo tours en español y para niños, para poder hacer los tours informativos y educacionales para todos. “La catedral tiene una historia hermosa y rica, una historia que empieza en Francia de hecho,” dijo Perla Hickson, una feligrés de la Catedral Inmaculada Concepción quien ayuda al Padre Amesse con el grupo de jóvenes adultos. “Esperamos que los tours sean experiencias de aprendizaje e inspiración. El Padre Amesse señaló que muchos Católicos en el Valle, incluso muchos Católicos de Brownsville, no han estado dentro de la catedral, incluso cuando es la iglesia madre de la diócesis. “Con algo de promoción, y pronto, con los tours, esperamos que muchos más tengan la oportunidad de apreciar su catedral,” dijo él. Para hacer una donación para el nuevo altar, mande los cheques a: Immaculate Conception Catheral, 1218 E. Jefferson St., Brownsville TX 78520. Papa Francisco: La confianza en el Señor es la clave del éxito en la vida El papa reflexionó sobre el Evangelio de Juan 1:29 ACI Prensa “Él nos da la paz, perdona todo,” dijo el Papa Francisco en su homilía el 19 de enero en una parroquia romana, donde confesó a cinco fieles y celebró una Misa. ACI Prensa/EWTN Noticias EL VATICANO — El Papa Francisco visitó el 19 de enero la parroquia romana del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús en la zona central de Castro Pretorio. El Santo Padre saludó a los fieles de la parroquia, a niños bautizados en los últimos meses junto a sus padres, parejas de recién casados y jóvenes familias. El Papa pudo conocer la realidad de la zona al encontrar a algunos vagabundos y personas sin domicilio fijo que viven en las proximidades de la Estación Términi, la principal de Roma, y a un grupo de refugiados a los que dijo sentirse como en casa. El Santo Padre confesó a cinco fieles y luego celebró una Misa. En su homilía, reflexionó sobre el pasaje del Evangelio en el que Juan bautiza a Jesús diciendo: “He aquí el Cordero de Dios, que quita el pecado del mundo”. “Jesús es llamado el Cordero: es el Cordero que quita el pecado del mundo. Uno puede pensar: ¿Cómo puede un cordero débil quitar todos los pecados, tantos males? Con amor. Con suavidad. Jesús nunca ha dejado de ser un cordero: suave, amable, lleno de amor, cerca de los pequeños, cerca de los pobres… Ha tenido la fuerza necesaria para tomar sobre sí todos nuestros pecados”. Alguno podría decir: Pero, Padre, usted no conoce mi vida: tengo uno que..., ni siquiera con un camión se puede levantar. Muchas veces, cuando miramos nuestra conciencia, encontramos algunos que son grandes. Pero Él los carga. Él ha venido para esto: para perdonar, para dar paz al mundo, pero en primer lugar al corazón. Tal vez alguno de nosotros tiene un dolor en su corazón, tal vez tiene un corazón oscuro, tal vez se sienta un poco triste por una falla... Él ha venido a quitar todo esto, Él nos da la paz, perdona todo”. “Muchas veces confiamos en un médico: está bien hacerlo, porque el médico está allí para curar; tenemos confianza en una persona: hermanos, hermanas, que nos pueden ayudar. Está bien tener esta confianza humana entre nosotros. Pero nos olvidamos de la confianza en el Señor: ésta es la clave del éxito en la vida. ¡La confianza en el Señor, encomendémonos al Señor!” Y esta, concluyó, “es una apuesta que tenemos que hacer: confiar en Él, porque nunca decepciona. ¡Nunca, nunca! Escuchad bien, chicos y chicas, que iniciáis la vida: Jesús nunca decepciona”. Al finalizar, el Papa encontró a la comunidad salesiana, que se encarga de la parroquia, al párroco Valerio Baresi, S.D.B., y a las hermanas Misioneras de Cristo Resucitado. Por último, y antes de volver al Vaticano, el Papa se detuvo para hablar con los jóvenes de la parroquia. 12 NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL » La Alegría de Vivir Msgr. Juan Nicolau Pastor, Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro ¿Supervisión o espionaje? L os padres de hoy en día tienen en sus manos el poder monitorear lo que sus hijos ven en su computadora, en los sitios de las diferentes redes sociales, lo que envían por su celular, imágenes y textos, y hasta los pueden localizar geográficamente a través de la señal de su celular, además de controlar los canales de paga y los de contenido adulto en su televisión. La tecnología moderna permite que se puedan hacer todas esas cosas, sobre todo cuando son los padres los que pagan por el uso y acceso que tienen sus vástagos a esa misma tecnología. Sin embargo esto no quiere decir que se deban convertir automáticamente en espías de tiempo completo, pues no les alcanzaría el tiempo para vivir su vida si están siguiendo continuamente todas las actividades de sus hijos, pero los padres deben estar vigilantes, sobre todo si a cada día se dan noticias relativas al arresto de depredadores “en línea”, esto es, personas adultas que se relacionan a través del internet con pequeños o jovencitos, generalmente haciéndose pasar como un amigo de su edad, para luego comenzar a subir de tono las conversaciones hasta llegar a proponerles o insinuarles temas de contenido sexual, el objetivo final de estos pervertidos no es solo abusar de su confianza, la intención de estos personajes es tener acceso físico a su siguiente víctima. Es este último paso lo que ha llevado a estos individuos a las manos de las autoridades, pues así como ellos mienten para atraer victimas a sus redes de pornografía infantil, también hay policías haciéndose pasar por jovencitos en los sitios de la internet están muy atentos y vigilantes de dichos depredadores sexuales, para cuando ellos van al encuentro de sus “victimas” poder arrestarlos ahí mismo, es increíble que dichos individuos no puedan controlar sus impulsos aun cuando saben muy bien todo el daño que van a causar a sus víctimas y el riesgo al que se exponen ante la policía cibernética que los está cazando. Últimamente salió en las noticias el caso de cinco adultos arrestados aquí en nuestro Valle, y entre los arrestados hay de todo: adultos jóvenes, viejos, individuos ya registrados como depredadores y que gozaban de probatoria por ofensas anteriores, y hasta un maestro de escuela. Es de esperarse entonces que los padres, con toda razón, quieran saber de las actividades de sus hijos en el internet, pero se enfrentan con el mismo conflicto que se encontraban los padres de antaño al preguntarse si debían leer lo que sus hijas escribían en sus diarios, pues los padres desean demostrar la confianza que le tienen a sus hijos y dejarles claro que las cosas privadas deben ser exactamente eso: !privadas!, para que ellos aprendan a respetar esos límites que » Por favor lea Alegría, p.15 The Valley Catholic - Febrero 2014 ‘La adopción es un llamado’ Familia adopta un huérfano de Ucrania Brenda Nettles Riojas Editora, The Valley Catholic Por ROSE YBARRA The Valley Catholic McALLEN – “Mi hijo, Juan Pablo, siempre ha dicho, ‘Quiero un hermano pero no quiero que lo tengas. Quiero que adoptes a un hermano para nosotros. Necesitamos darle a un huérfano la oportunidad de tener una familia,’” dijo Marisela Hernández, una residente de McAllen. Además de Juan Pablo, 8, ella y su esposo Luis tienen dos hijas, Ariana, 6 y Anais, 4. Lo que Juan Pablo no sabía es que sus padres habían discutido adoptar a un niño “algún día” por años. “La adopción es un llamado que mi esposo y yo habíamos escuchado,” dijo la Sra. Hernández. La pareja vio la petición sin provocación sobre adoptar un hermano como confirmación de que Dios los llamaba a adoptar. Después de poner el asunto en oración, los Hernández empezaron el proceso de adopción. Un niño de siete años de Ucrania llamado Samuel está programado para reunirse con la familia Hernández en febrero. Samuel vive en un orfanato con más de 60 niños. El alimento y el cuidado básico son provistos para los niños pero el presupuesto del orfanato es muy limitado y no permite ni un mínimo lujo. Juan Pablo, un estudiante de la escuela Our Lady of Sorrows en McAllen, decidió Aprendiendo a alzar la voz Cortesía Marisela Hernández con su hijo adoptado de Ucrania llamado Samuel. El niño, de 7 años, está programado para reunirse con la familia Hernández en febrero. hacer pulseras tejidas con hule y venderlas para recolectar dinero para el orfanato. Él y su madre reclutaron la ayuda de otros cinco estudiantes y sus madres para hacer pulseras extras después de que el primer bonche se vendió con rapidez Juan Pablo recaudó más de $2,600 en menos de dos semanas. “Samuel viene a vivir con nosotros pero quería que los niños que se van a quedar también estuvieran contentos,” dijo Juan Pablo. La familia Hernández viajó a Ucrania durante los días de navidad y entregaron la donación en persona. También pasaron tiempo conociendo a Samuel. “Él se está acercando a nosotros poco a poco,” dijo Luis Hernández. “Él ha sido criado en un medio institucional así que no sabe lo que es interactuar con nadie excepto por sus cuidadoras – todas mujeres – y otros niños. Le tomará tiempo adaptarse, pero a largo plazo será algo bueno para él.” La familia Hernández espera que al compartir su historia, más familias, especialmente familias Católicas, considerarán adoptar. “Como Católicos, somos pro-familia y pro-vida, sin embargo la mayoría de las otras parejas que hemos conocido que están adoptando son Cristianos sin denominación,” dijo Marisela Hernández. La familia Hernández también está promoviendo un programa de alojamiento a huérfanos, llamado Proyecto 143, el cual contacta huérfanos con familias estadounidenses. Los huérfanos viven con las familias de cuatro a ocho semanas durante el verano. El número 143 representa a los 143 millones de huérfanos alrededor del mundo. “Cerca del 70 porciento de los niños que participan en el programa son adoptados,” dijo Maricela Hernández, quien espera que las familias del Valle del Río Grande abran sus casas a un huérfano este verano. Para contactar a la familia Hernández sobre alojar a un huérfano, por favor envíe un correo a changelifergv@hotmail. com. Se presentan los mariachis Basílica organiza concierto anual The Valley Catholic SAN JUAN – La Basílica de Nuestra Señora de San Juan del Valle Santuario-Nacional está organizando su tercer concierto anual de Mariachi, presentando su propio mariachi profesional, bandas de mariachis de las secundarias y preparatorias locales además de grupos locales profesionales. El primer concierto está programado para las 7 p.m el viernes 21 de febrero, e incluirá actuaciones del Mariachi Nuevas Raíces de la preparatoria Hidalgo, Mariachi Los Lobos de la preparatoria Palmview y un grupo de mujeres Mariachi Femenil Las Mariposas y el Mariachi de la Basílica. El segundo concierto está programado para las 7 p.m. el viernes 7 de marzo y presentará al Mariachi Nuevo Santander de la preparatoria de Roma, Mariachi Juvenil de América de la secundaria Veterans en Rio Grande City, el mariachi »Mujeres en la frontera profesional Rey Azteca de Pharr y el Mariachi de la Basílica. La Hermana Rose Carmel Garay de las Misioneras Catequistas de la Divina Providencia, directora de promoción de peregrinajes de la basílica, dijo que los conciertos son unos de los eventos más anticipados en la basílica, atrayendo a multitudes en autobuses. “Estos jóvenes son fantásticos,” dijo ella, “Es impresionante ver a estas pequeñas niñas con fuertes, grandes, y melódicas voces y a estos jóvenes músicos con un talento tan inmenso.” Eloy Garza, director del programa de mariachi del distrito independiente de Roma, dijo que los conciertos son experiencias extraordinarias para los estudiantes. “Es un honor abrir seguido por el mariachi profesional de la basílica,” dijo Garza. “Los estudiantes también disfrutan de la reacción positiva del público. Nos divertimos mucho.” Garza dijo que la mayoría de sus estudiantes son Católicos y han expresado que es una bendición el poder presentarse en la basílica. “En las escuelas públicas, no podemos promover la religión, pero los estudiantes han compartido con migo que tienen mucha fe,” dijo Garza, quien asiste a Misa en la Iglesia Holy Family Mission en Los Saenz. “Ellos saben que la única forma de triunfar en la vida es con Dios.” La Hermana Garay dijo que los conciertos atraen a muchos Winter Texans y a familias. “Los Winter Texans disfrutan mucho de la música pero yo creo que lo que en realidad conmueve sus corazones es ver que la basílica está llena de familias y ese es un testimonio de unión familiar,” dijo ella. “Pienso que mientras mantengamos a las familias unidas, la Iglesia está unida y nuestros jóvenes tienen mayor oportunidad de triunfar en la vida si tienen a Dios en sus vidas.” Los boletos para cada concierto tendran un costo de $5. Para mayor información y compra de boletos, comunicarse a la Basílica al (956) 787-0033. “Abro mi boca, y mis palabras tiemblan.” Esta línea de mi poema “Corazón Bilingüe” ofrece un vistazo hacia el esfuerzo por hablar solamente en un idioma. Sin embargo, la “negociación de esta lengua enredada,” corre más profundo y va más allá del lenguaje. Está al margen de la frontera de una indecisión por hablar en absoluto. Algunas veces es más fácil guardar silencio. ¿Cuántas veces hemos evitado hacer una pregunta por temor a que sea una confesión de nuestra ignorancia? ¿O cuantas veces nos hemos quedado callados sabiendo que nuestra opinión iba en contra de aquellas antes de nosotros y no quisimos empezar un debate, o peor, porque pensamos que lo que teníamos que decir no era importante? ¿Cuántas veces hemos dejado una conversación deseando haber dicho más? Condoleezza Rice, quien sirvió como la Secretaria de Estado número 66 de Estados Unidos, reconoció en un ensayo que aprender a alzar la voz le tomó práctica y se convirtió en una fuente importante de crecimiento en su carrera. Si vamos a hablar por nosotros mismos, primero debemos de aprender a levantar la voz, a dar voz a nuestros pensamientos, compartir nuestras historias, nuestros testimonios. Yo como escritora, encontré seguridad enfocándome en mi papel como periodista, es más fácil escribir como reportera, presentando solamente los hechos desprovistos de mi opinión personal. Revelarse a sí mismo en una página toma riesgo. Por años, antes de haber leído mi poesía en público, guardé mi trabajo en las páginas de libretas. Recientemente fue que empecé a escribir una columna para el periódico The Valley Catholic que iniciamos en Junio del 2009. La mayoría de los editores escriben una columna de editor. Yo evité escribir una hasta hoy. A través de los años he empezado a descifrar las ataduras relacionadas con mi propia inclinación hacia mantenerme callada y al margen. Esto se deslinda del lenguaje, la cultura y la huella de una disposición tímida, un miedo a la opinión de otros, y una tendencia hacia la precaución y duda hacia mi persona. Mi madre me enseñó a ser respetuosa hacia los mayores y las personas a cargo. Mi padre y sus expectativas de perfección me enseñaron a cuestionar mi aptitud, a ser extremadamente cuidadosa en mi trabajo. Algunas razones de mi lengua cuidadosa, he venido a comprender, están relacionadas con mis propios esfuerzos de aculturación, un tema que requiere más espacio del que ésta columna permite y más exploración. Pero ahora entiendo cómo un acontecimiento en la primaria, quizá el tercer o cuarto grado, dejó una impresión que influyó mi dirección y ocasionó » Por favor lea La voz, p.13 NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL 13 Febrero 2014 - The Valley Catholic ¿Apariciones auténticas? Comisión de estudio entrega informe final sobre Medjugorje ACI Prensa/EWTN Noticias EL VATICANO – El director de la Oficina de Prensa de la Santa Sede, Padre Federico Lombardi informó que este 17 de enero, se llevó a cabo la última reunión de la Comisión Internacional de investigación sobre Medjugorje, establecida por la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe en marzo de 2010, bajo la presidencia del Cardenal Camillo Ruini. Según informó la agencia AICA, la Comisión concluyó su labor y el resultado del estudio se someterá a las instancias competentes de la misma Congregación en el Vaticano. En su momento, la Santa Sede dio a conocer en un comunicado el inicio de la actividad de esta comisión, que se constituyó el 17 de marzo de 2010. “La Comisión Internacional de investigación sobre Medjugorje se reunió por primera vez el 26 de marzo de 2010 y como ya ha sido anunciado, el trabajo de la Comisión se desarrollará en rigurosa reserva. Las conclusiones serán presentadas a las instancias de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe”, explicó la comunicación. El informe final es el resultado de casi cuatro años de trabajo por un equipo formado por teólogos, médicos, psicólogos, mariólogos y líderes de la Iglesia bosnia y croata, encabezados por el Cardenal Camillo Ruini, quien en marzo de 2010 recibió el encargo de Benedicto XVI de crear un equipo de trabajo para aclarar los sucesos del pequeño pueblo de BosniaHerzegovina, en el que según seis de sus habitantes, la Virgen María se aparece desde 1981, dando una La voz, continúa de la pág.12 que dudará de mí y convirtió en silencio mis palabras. Una compañera quiso ayudarme a sonar “menos mexicana.” Ella me señaló mi acento mexicano, particularmente con ciertas palabras. No recuerdo las palabras, pero recuerdo que quería que practicara mi pronunciación con ella para que no sonara mexicana. Así que a esa temprana edad empecé a censurar mi lengua mexicana mientras me asimilaba al inglés de mi padre. Se necesitó la muerte de mi madre para que me diera cuenta de la pérdida, la pérdida de su voz de la mano con la mía. En ese entonces, no tenía idea cómo ese incidente había empezado a cuartear mi seguridad. Pero Dios intervino a lo largo del camino y me sigue ayudando aprender cada día a alzar la voz cuando se necesita. El Evangelio nos dice, “… no se preocupen por lo que van a decir, ni cómo han de hablar. Llegado el momento, se Ante Perkovic/ACI Prensa Estatua de la Reina de la Paz y la Iglesia de Medjugorje. serie de mensajes con diferentes destinatarios: los propios videntes, la parroquia de Medjugorje, la Iglesia y la Humanidad. El trabajo de la Comisión incluyó entrevistas personales y exámenes médicos con los seis supuestos videntes de Medjugorje, quienes se presentaron por separado a Roma durante el estudio, así como con otras personas cercanas a la historia, como el P. Jozo Zovko. Según diferentes fuentes, el estudio de la Comisión terminó hace más de un año. Sin embargo, una serie de acontecimientos no previstos, como la renuncia del Papa Benedicto XVI y el cónclave consiguiente del que salió elegido el Papa Francisco, vieron como este y tantos otros asuntos en la Santa Sede quedaron parados hasta que la nueva Curia de la Iglesia fue retomando sus tareas. Medjugorje es una pequeña aldea de Bosnia-Herzegovina que se ha convertido en un lugar al que millones de personas peregrinan atraídos por las apariciones de la Virgen María que dicen tener seis videntes. A finales del mes de junio de 1981, un grupo de chicos y chicas (Mirjana Dragicevic Soldo, Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez, Marija Pavlovic Lunetti, Vicka Ivankovic, Ivan Dragicevic y Jakov Colo) afirmaron que habían visto a una hermosa joven y que ésta les confiaba mensajes. Desde entonces, según los protagonistas, las apariciones se han ido repitiendo hasta el día de hoy. Mientras se conoce la decisión que el Papa Francisco pueda tomar sobre este asunto, para la cual tiene total autonomía y ningún límite de tiempo determinado, se sigue aplicando el pronunciamiento oficial de los Obispos de la antigua Yugoslavia, en 1991. De esta manera lo recordó en noviembre de 2013 el recién elegido Cardenal Gerhard Müller, Prefecto de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, a los obispos de los Estados Unidos, en una comunicación efectuada al Nuncio Apostólico en ese país, Mons. Carlo María Viganó. Según la carta enviada a las diócesis norteamericanas por Mons. Viganò, “los clérigos y los fieles no están autorizados a participar en reuniones, conferencias o celebraciones públicas durante las cuales se den por supuestas las apariciones de Medjugorje”. les comunicará lo que tengan que decir. Pues no serán ustedes los que hablarán, sino el Espíritu de su Padre el que hablará en ustedes (Mateo 10:19-20).” El Padre Jacques Philippe, en su libro Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart, nos recuerda, “No podemos experimentar este apoyo de Dios a menos que le demos el espacio necesario en el cual él se pueda expresar.” El escribe, “Permitámonos, entonces, aprender a abandonarnos, tener total confianza en Dios, en las cosas grandes y las pequeñas.” Mientras continuo sobrepasando las ataduras impuestas en mí misma por años, encuentro inspiración en los Santos y beatos de la Iglesia – Santa Teresa de Ávila, Santa Catalina de Siena, Santa Gertrudis la Grande, Santa Hidelgarda de Bingen, la Beata Madre Teresa de Calcuta y tantas más. Santa Catalina de Siena, una de los Doctores de la Iglesia, en una de sus cartas aconseja, “Exclama con cien mil lenguas.” Con las agresiones actuales a la liber- tad religiosa, debemos encontrar el valor para alzar la voz y “hacer ruido”, como el Papa Francisco incitó a hacer a los jóvenes adultos durante el Día Mundial de la Juventud 2013. Cada una de estas mujeres centraron su vida en Cristo y la Iglesia. Modelos de fe, oración y acción, estas santas nos enseñan con su ejemplo que no hay espacio para la timidez. Podemos escoger ejemplos de mujeres modernas en nuestras comunidades que alzan la voz, no solamente con sus palabras pero con sus acciones. El fallecido filosofo Católico Dietrich von Hildebrand habló sobre el apostolado del “ser.” Hablamos a través de nuestras acciones no solamente nuestras palabras. Necesitamos confiar en que el Señor nos guiará sobre cuándo hablar y cuándo guardar silencio, y que él nos dará la gracia y el valor de seguir de acuerdo a su voluntad. Como San Pablo escuchó en una visión, “No temas. Sigue predicando y no te calles. Yo estoy contigo. (Hechos 18:9-10).” »Vida Familiar La crianza es amor en acción L a crianza ha sido una de mis dichas más grandes en la vida. Mi esposo Mauri y yo estuvimos casados por 11 años antes de adoptar a nuestra hija y estábamos ansiosos por compartir el amor que nos teníamos con uno o más hijos. ¡Mauri dice a menudo que fuimos los padres perfectos hasta que nos convertimos en padres! Yo pensaba frecuentemente que la crianza se trataba de “enseñar” a los niños y en seguida me di cuenta que se trataba más de “aprender” y “amar”: aprender el “amor entregado” como Jesús nos mostró. Aprendí que la crianza es amor en acción. Una de las lecciones que he aprendido de mi hija es que las relaciones humanas importantes tienen “descripción laboral” de cierto modo. Cuando ella tenía cinco o seis años me preguntó en una ocasión: “Mamá, ¿Por qué siempre me tienes que decir qué debo hacer?” Y yo le respondí, “porque está en mi descripción laboral. Soy una madre.” Ella respondió preguntando “¿Pero quien hizo la descripción laboral, tu o Dios?” a lo cual respondí, “de hecho, los dos.” Pasaron unos días y ella hizo una travesura, y después me dijo, “¡Mami, está en mi descripción laboral, soy una niña!” Hace varios años escribí una “Descripción Laboral de Padres” que en mi libro es simplemente un recordatorio de algunas de las muchas, muchas maravillosas responsabilidades que tenemos como padres. TÍTULO: Padre Cristiano Católico SUPERVISOR: Dios PROPÓSITO : … para crear una comunidad de amor, para ayudarse mutuamente a crecer, y a servir a los necesitados… no sólo para la santificación personal, sino también para fortalecer a la sociedad y a nuestra iglesia. Es participar en la labor de Dios y compartir la misión de la iglesia. Es algo sagrado. Sigan el camino del amor: Un Mensaje pastoral de los obispos católicos de los E.E.U.U. a las familias, noviembre. 1993 RESPONSABILIDADES GENERALES: Desarrollar las CUATRO TAREAS ESPECÍFICAS DE LA FAMILIA conforme a la exhortación apostólica Familiaris Consortio por Papa Juan Pablo II. Para formar a una comunidad íntima de personas. Servir físicamente y espiritualmente… Participar en el desarrollo de la sociedad… Compartir la vida y la misión de la iglesia… ESPECÍFICAS: A: Acéptense uno al otro, Afirmen a los demás, Alaben a Dios. B: Sean bondadosos. C: Crean el uno en el otro, enseñen Consecuencias y alternativas, sean Constantes, Celebren días especiales y días ordinarios, no engendren Culpabilidad, Conozcan a sus amigos, Tomen tiempo de Calidad. D. Disciplinen como Discípulos, Defiéndanse mutuamente, proporcionen una lista de Deberes, sean “Detectives”: alaben y den recompensa por el buen comportamiento. E: enseñen Empatía, ayuden a desarrollar hábitos Emocionales que sean saludables, Esperen lo mejor, enseñen a Economizar el dinero, no sean Espías, tengan Expectativas realistas, afirmen Lydia Pesina Directora, Oficina de Vida Familiar la Esperanza en el futuro. F: Ayuden a desarrollar buena salud Física. G: Esperen Grandeza, sean Generosos, den Gracias a Dios diariamente. H: No Hablen demasiado, inculquen Honradez. I: Vivan con Integridad, Ámense Incondicionalmente. J: Enseñen el respeto por la Jerarquía de la autoridad, sean Justos y enseñen Justicia. L: Sean Leales. M: Vivan y enseñen Moralidad, ayuden a desarrollar hábitos Mentales que sean sanos. Sean buenos Modelos de buenos Modales. N: No hagan comentarios Negativos, den consecuencias lógicas y Naturales. O: Proporcionen Orden y estructura, vivan con Obediencia, den Oportunidades para tener opciones y encontrar alternativas. P: Exploren el uso apropiado del Poder en el conflicto, proporcionen una base segura de Protección, ayuden a los hijos a Prepararse para el “mundo verdadero”, sean pacientes, ayuden a apreciar Privilegios, castigo: Pérdida de Privilegios, Perdone frecuentemente. R: “Rueguen sin cesar” I Tesalonicenses 5:17, demuestren Responsabilidad, ayuden a determinar Riesgos, desarrollen una buena Relación con sus hijos, enseñen Respeto hacia aquellos en autoridad, para sí mismos, y para la propiedad de otros, desarrollen Rituales, determinen Reglas claras y constantes, den Recompensa apropiadas, Radiografíe sus almas. S: Sirvan a Dios, a la familia, y a los necesitados, enseñen sobre lo Sagrado de la sexualidad. T: Compartan Tiempo, Talento y Tesoro. V: Sean Vigilantes, demuestren constancia en los Valores, no amenacen con Violencia. Y: Yo soy la única persona que puede cambiar: mi rol es el de educar a mis hijos y seguir creciendo personalmente con la ayuda de Dios. ENTRENAMIENTO Y LA PREPARACIÓN NECESARIA: Lean todo lo posible sobre ser padres de familia. Recen diariamente. Sigan las guías bíblicas: (ex. I Corintios 13:4 - 8a) “El amor es paciente, y muestra comprensión. El amor no tiene celos, no aparenta ni se infla. No actúa con bajeza ni busca su propio interés, no se deja llevar por la ira y olvida lo malo. No se alegra de lo injusto, sino que se goza con la verdad. Perdura a pesar de todo, lo cree todo, lo espera todo y lo soporta todo. El amor nunca pasará.” EVALUACIÓN: Recen diariamente para que Dios los ayude a discernir cómo estamos educando a nuestros hijos. Un filósofo dictó que “un profeta no es llamado al éxito, sino a la fidelidad.” Como padres de familia somos llamados a ser fieles a nuestro papel como padres, sin esperar el éxito: y lo demás lo dejamos al Espíritu Santo. DURACIÓN DEL COMPROMISO: 24/7 por siempre y para siempre amen. 14 DIOCESE Marriage continued from pg. 1 continue to build their marriages throughout their lifetime.” A testament to lasting love is retired Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul A. Gonzalez and his wife, Dora, who celebrated 50 years of marriage on Dec. 22, 2013. The Weslaco natives, who now live in Austin, were present at the 20th Annual Red Mass and Banquet in October 2013 at St. Joseph Parish in Edinburg, where Justice Gonzalez served as the keynote speaker. He spoke about his humble upbringing in the Rio Grande Valley and about the Sacrament of Marriage. Justice Gonzalez, who served 14 years as a Texas Supreme Court Justice, was the first Latino to win a statewide race in Texas and the first to serve on the high court. “Raul and his wonderful wife, Dora, however, would probably prefer to be known less for his place in government’s history books and Cathedral continued from pg. 3 It has been more than 30 years since any modifications have been made to the altar. The plans will include a new cathedra (chair) for the bishop and a fixed altar. The tabernacle, which is currently on the side of the church, will be moved directly behind the altar. In 1849, Bishop J.M. Odin of Galveston, whose diocese included the entire State of Texas, went to Canada in search of priests for his vast territory, particularly for Brownsville, whose residents had petitioned him for priests, ac- The Valley Catholic - February 2014 more for their combined love of the Church,” said Judge Rose Guerra Reyna, who served as master of ceremonies at the banquet. “We know that the Gonzalezes have served the Catholic Church very faithfully for decades as ambassadors for Christian marriage through their role with the international Marriage Encounter ministry,” Judge Reyna added. “Their lives bear witness to the centrality of marriage of God’s plan for man. They serve as excellent role models for all of us during these very turbulent times.” The son of immigrant parents from Mexico, Justice Gonzalez spent his childhood as a migrant farmworker, harvesting crops from the time he was about five or sixyears old. As a child, he was a very devout Catholic. He attended Catholic school and was an altar server. Justice and Mrs. Gonzalez met in the fourth grade at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Weslaco. “We were just friends and did not start dating until about three years after graduating from high school,” Justice Gonzalez said. “It was not love at first sight; our friendship evolved into a loving relationship when we were in college. I was at the University of Texas in Austin and she was at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.” While attending college, however, Justice Gonzalez met people of different faiths and beliefs and strayed from his Catholic roots. “The atheists and agnostics had the better of the argument, or so I thought at the time,” he said. “I was lost.” The couple married in Catholic ceremony and Justice Gonzalez earned a law degree from the University of Houston. Justice Gonzalez joined a prestigious law firm and was on top of the world. He was a very successful lawyer and was “making more money than I had ever made.” “I had a nice house, nice furniture, a condo at South Padre Island, two luxury cars and money in my pocket,” he said. “And I resented the fact that Dora would say, ‘we don’t talk to each other like we used to, we don’t spend time together like we used to.’” The couple attended a Marriage Encounter weekend in June 1973 at the retreat house in San Juan. Justice Gonzalez admits he went reluctantly. “Dora had heard that they taught a technique of communication and wanted for us to attend right away,” he said. “She wanted us to learn how to communicate better. I did not think we needed it and I judged that we were a ‘normal’ couple and that we had a better relationship than any of our friends. I canceled twice and attended the weekend on our third try. “As we’ve said, the weekend was a life-changing experience for us. I found out that I was married to my career and that I was neglecting our marriage. I learned that our marriage was like a garden, which needed tender loving care and for the first time in my life, I experienced the love of God through Dora’s love for me. I was an agnostic when we attended our weekend. I was a successful lawyer and judged that I did not need God.” “The weekend had a profound impact on our marriage,” Mrs. Gonzalez added. “I discovered that the stagnation in our marriage was not all Raul’s fault and that I too was responsible for the health and vitality of our marriage. It became clear to us that we were called to love each other, warts and all, to love each other when we do not think that the other person is so loveable, to love when we don’t feel like it – when we are angry.” After the retreat, the couple joined a Bible study group and became active in their parish and in marriage ministry. Justice and Mrs. Gonzalez have four children, Celeste, 46; Brother Ignacio, 45, who is Benedictine monk at St. Anselm’s Abbey in Washington, D.C.; Marco Antonio, 44 and Sonia, 41. They have six granddaughters and a grandson on the way. “No marriage is perfect and good marriage takes effort,” Justice and Mrs. Gonzalez said in a joint statement to The Valley Catholic. “Forgiveness and a sense of humor are also important elements for a good marriage.” cording to information from the cathedral’s sesquicentennial program from 2009. While in Canada, Bishop Odin met several priests of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a religious order that was founded in France in 1826. After hearing Bishop Odin read some pleading letters from Brownsville citizens, the first group of Oblates agreed to come to the Rio Grande Valley. On Dec. 2, 1849 four Oblate priests arrived in Port Isabel, which was the base of the Fourth United States Artillery. The soldiers accommodated the priests and prepared a temporary chapel for their first Mass, which was celebrated on Dec. 3, 1849. It was the first holy Mass celebrated by the Oblate priests in Texas. The first Mass in Brownsville was celebrated five days later, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. With Brownsville as their home base, the Oblates evangelized the Valley, riding from town to town on horseback. In the course of a few years, conversions to the Catholic faith were so numerous that the need for a large church arose. Father Pierre Y. Keralum, who had been trained as an architect in France before becoming a priest, completed the design and construction of the cathedral. It was blessed and dedicated on Pentecost Sunday of 1859. The cathedral is expected to re- open in July after the new altar is consecrated by the bishop. Young adults from the parish are being trained to give tours of the cathedral so that visitors may learn more about history of the diocese and the historical Gothic Revival church. The cathedral is included in the National Register of Historic Places and also bears a Texas Historical Marker. The young adults are also developing a pamphlet to hand out during the tours and are working to tailor the tours to the audience, for example, by offering the tours in Spanish and for children, in order to make the tours informative and educational for all. “The cathedral has a beautiful, rich history, a story that begins in France really,” said Perla Hickson, a parishioner of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral who assists Father Amesse with the young adult group. Father Amesse noted that many Catholics in the Valley, even many Catholics from Brownsville, haven’t been inside the cathedral, even though it is the mother church of the diocese. “With some promotion and soon, with the tours, we hope many more will have the opportunity to experience their cathedral,” he said. To make a donation for the new altar, send checks to: Immaculate Conception Cathedral,1218 E. Jefferson St., Brownsville TX 78520 DIOCESE 15 February 2014 - The Valley Catholic »Media Resource Center » Calendar of Events Recommended by SISTER MAUREEN CROSBY, SSD Coordinator of the Media Resource Center - Diocese of Brownsville Knowing Mary through The Bible A Catholic Action Adventure PC Video Game February »From the Bookshelf »Worth Watching Saints and Other Friends Of God The Spirituality of The Twelve Steps For Everyone 1 Believe and Be Free (OLS KC Youth Conference) 1 Continuing Ed Session - Eng (Family Life Office) 2 Continuing Ed Session - Sp (Family Life Office) 2 Scout Sunday (Youth Ministry) Format:Computer or video games/ software Production: Third Day Games Recommended: Ages 6 & Up The facts: It’s fast and furious action for Zack and Mary Martha. Help them as they travel through adventurous Gospel stories using power-ups and ancient tools to perform works of mercy, solve problems, and outwit menacing adversaries. Adventures from the Gospel of Luke. Family continued from pg. 5 Church, faith in the sacramentality of marriage and the healing power of the Sacrament of Penance show signs of weakness or total abandonment.” (Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization, Preparatory Document, I). The preparatory document for the Third Extraordinary General Assembly on “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization” is available online at the Vatican website; www.vatican.va (under Roman Curia, Synod Bishops). Format:4 Disc Set Production:EWTN 2007 Original Story by: Ted Sri Length:30 minutes The facts:Saint Cyril of Alexandria called * Mary, the most precious creature in the whole world*, an *inextinguishable lamp* because from her came forth *the Son of Justice.* Among the many topics covered are Mary’s Queenship, her vocation as Mother of God, her relationship to the Ark of the Covenant, and much more. Bishop Daniel E. Flores in consultation with the Diocesan Pastoral Council, which is made up of laity, religious and clergy, along with the Office of Family Life, which surveyed the laity, deacons and priests through its various programs, submitted input from our diocese and forwarded to the Holy See in early January. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may guide the work of the Extraordinary Synod in order that the Catholic Church whose purpose is to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth, may do so in the context of the pastoral challenges facing the family and marriage today. Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña’s Feb. 8 11 a.m. Youth Retreat Confessions at St. Paul’s Mission Feb. 12 6 p.m. Ministry @ Evins Juvenile Center Edinburg Feb. 22 5 p.m. Comunidad AMA Anniversary Celebration Brownsville On going: Monday - Friday 8 a.m. & 4 p.m. Mass at St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration 727 Bowie St., Alamo Every Tuesday at UTPA 12 p.m. – Mass 2 p.m. – Counseling 5 p.m. – Adoration Every Sunday atUTPA 6 p.m. – Confessions 7 p.m. – Mass 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 Format: Audio Cassette Length:6 Cassettes 24 - 15 minute segments Publication: Pauline Books and Media 1987 The facts: Meet 24 Christian heroes! Some who lived as early as the first years of Christianity and others who lived in the Twentieth Century. What was it in the lives of these ordinary people that made them heroic followers of Christ_ St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Rita, St. Thomas More, St. Helen, St. Juan Diego, Fr. Flanagan and many others. La Posada continued from pg. 3 director of La Posada Providencia. “Feeding dozens of people breakfast, lunch and dinner day in and day out doesn’t come cheap.” On the day of The Valley Catholic’s visit to the shelter, there were 17 clients from nine different countries staying there, a small number these days, according to Sister Telkamp. “We can actually breathe,” she said. Sister Telkamp said the shelter, which is sponsored by the Sisters of Divine Providence and subsidized with grants and donations, served 272 clients in December alone. Sister Telkamp receives calls about immigrants needing a place to stay at all hours of the day and night. “We recently picked up 19 women from the bus station who were going on the next day to their relatives and so we cleared out the dining room, rolled away the tables and stacked the chairs,” she said. That call came in late at night. La Posada Providencia’s story begins in 1985, when one of the Sisters of Divine Providence was in ministry at Proyecto Libertad in Harlingen, an organization that assisted refugees, asylees and immigrants with their paperwork to obtain legal status in the U.S. “They had people asking if they could sleep outside on the porch because they had no money and nowhere else to go,” Sister Telkamp said. “We knew we really needed a house of hospitality.” In November of 1989, the Sisters of Divine Providence rented a large house in San Benito and La Posada Providencia was born. Alegría, continúa de la pág.12 debe haber entre sus cosas y las de los demás miembros de la familia, pero los padres de hoy en día saben del peligro del uso de drogas y alcohol a unas edades tan tempranas como los diez u once años, y las noticias les dejan claro la magnitud de las redes de pornografía, y de las técnicas utilizadas por los depre- Length:12 Lectures on 5 CDs Author: Fr. Anthony Ciorra, Ph.D . Publication:Now You Know Media 2013 The facts: You are invited on a powerful journey that will lead you to freedom and new life. The spirituality of the twelve steps transcends multiple religious and secular traditions, and gets to the heart of the most basic o human desires: happiness, peace, and inner freedom. You will understand addictions not simply as reliance on substances, but for everything that stands in the way of the fulfillment of these desires. Sister Telkamp, who was living in St. Louis, visited La Posada Providence for the first time in the summer of 1990. She volunteered to spend two weeks at the shelter to relieve the Sister who was the director at the time. She talked about how much the shelter has evolved since its inception. “We had about five or six clients and we all lived in the same house,” Sister Telkamp said. “The men were in one bedroom and the women were in another and we shared the same bathroom. “This is the Hilton, compared to what we had back then,” she joked. Today, La Posada Providencia sits on 10 acres and consists of four buildings: a house for women and children; a men’s dorm; a building that serves as a common area for meals and activities; and a portable building that serves as a classroom. The shelter provides life skills classes and English classes. Sister Margaret Mertens of the Sisters of Divine Providence, who served as director of La Posada Providencia for 13 years, volunteers at the shelter. She said one of the most rewarding parts of the ministry is receiving happy correspondence from former clients. Some even send donations. “Just this past week, we received a call from an African who was here in 1997,” she said. “He sent a $200 donation. He is living in New Jersey and doing well. “The shelter serves as their first home in America — a safe, secure and loving home. Through the calls, cards and letters, we know we are appreciated.” To volunteer or make a tax deductible donation to La Posada Providencia, call (956) 399-3826 or visit the shelter’s website www. lppshelter.org. dadores del internet, asi que deben estar atentos y vigilantes de todas las actividades de sus hijos, ahora más que nunca deben de saber quienes se encuentran dentro de su círculo de amistades, que clase de relación tienen sus hijos con ellos, y en qué actividades participan. Como lo hagan es decisión de cada padre de familia, sus hijos pueden estar de acuerdo o no, incluso no tienen ni qué enterarse de las técnicas usadas por mamá y 7-9 Teen Sexuality and Relationship Retreat (Youth Ministry) 9 Catholic Committee on Scouting Dinner (Youth Ministry) 11 Professional Day (Office of Catechesis) 15-16 New Life Retreat (Family Life Office) 17 Theology Class (Office of Catechesis) 18 Clases de Teologia (Office of Catechesis) 21 TOB for Teens Training (Youth Ministry) 22-23 Retiro Pre-Matrimonial (Family Life Office) March 1 Convalidation Conference (Family Life Office) 5 Ash Wednesday 7-9 Catholic Engaged Encounter (FLO) 8 Rite of Election (Office of Catechesis) 9 Rite of Election (Office of Catechesis) 9 Daylight Saving Time 17 St. Patrick’s Day 22 Sponsor Couple Training - II (Family Life Office) 23 Sponsor Couple Training - II (Family Life Office) 18 Convalidation Conference (Family Life Office) 20 Advisory Team (Office of Catechesis) 25 Diocesan Deadline for CCHD Submission 28-29 Hike for Life - Youth Lock-in (Youth Ministry) 31 CCHD Multimedia Youth Contest Deadine (Youth Ministry) 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. papá para mantenerlos a raya, pero es un deber de los padres el saber todo lo que los rodea, si quieren librar a sus hijos de los peligros que los acechan. …..Y recuerda que Dios te ama y yo también. — Mons. Juan Nicolau, Ph.D. STL, es el pastor de la iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro en McAllen. Es psicoterapeuta familiar y consejero profesional con licencias. 16 DIOCESE McAllen family welcomes orphan from the Ukraine Our Catholic Family The Valley Catholic - February 2014 Shining a light on adoption By ROSE YBARRA The Valley Catholic McALLEN — “My son, Juan Pablo, has always said, ‘I want a brother but I don’t want you to have it. I want you to adopt a brother for us. We need to give an orphan a chance to have a family,’” said Marisela Hernandez, a McAllen resident. In addition to Juan Pablo, 8, she and her husband, Luis, have two daughters, Ariana, 6, and Anais, 4. What little Juan Pablo didn’t know is that his parents had discussed adopting a child “someday” for years. “Adoption is a calling and my husband and I were both called to it,” Mrs. Hernandez said. The couple saw their son’s unprovoked statements about adopting a brother as confirmation that God was calling them to adopt. After putting the matter before prayer, the Hernandezes started the adoption process. A seven-year-old boy from the The Valley Catholic Left: Juan Pablo Hernandez. 8, models one of the bracelets he made to raise money for an orphanage in the Ukraine. Right: The Hernandez children, from left, Ariana, Samuel, 7, Juan Pablo and Anais. An orphan from the Ukraine, Samuel is coming to live with his new family in McAllen this month. Ukraine named Samuel is set to join the Hernandez family in February. Samuel lives in an orphanage with more than 60 other children. Meals and basic care are provided for the children but the orphanage’s budget is very tight and does not allow for even small luxuries. Juan Pablo, a student at Our Lady of Sorrows School in McAllen, decided to make fishtail rubber band bracelets and sell them to raise money for the orphanage. He and his mother enlisted the help of five other students and their moms to make extra bracelets after the To subscribe Name __________________________________ Address _________________________________ City _____________ State ________Zip ________ E-mail address ____________________________ For more information call (956) 781-5323 first batch sold out quickly. Juan Pablo raised more than $2,600 in less than two weeks. “Samuel is coming to live with us but I want the kids that stay behind to be happy, too,” Juan Pablo said. The Hernandez family traveled to the Ukraine for the Christmas holidays and delivered the donation in person. They also spent time getting to know Samuel. “He is slowly opening up to us,” said Luis Hernandez. “He has been raised in an institutional setting so he does not know what it is like to interact with anyone besides his To receive a copy at home each month mail your payment with your contact information to: 700 N. Virgen de San Juan Blvd. San Juan, TX 78589-3042 $15 per year / $17 outside of Texas caretakers — who are all women — and the other children. It will take time for him to adjust, but it will be good for him in the long term to have a family.” The Hernandez family hopes that by sharing their story, more families, especially Catholic families, will consider adoption. “As Catholics, we are pro-family and pro-life yet most of the other couples that we have met who are adopting are non-denominational Christians,” Marisela Hernandez said. The Hernandez family is also promoting an orphan hosting pro- gram, called Project 143, which connects orphans with U.S. families. The orphans live with the families for four-to-eight weeks in the summer. The number 143 represents the 143 million orphans worldwide. “About 70 percent of the children who participate in the program are adopted,” said Marisela Hernandez, who is hoping families in the Rio Grande Valley will open their homes to an orphan this summer. To contact the Hernandez family about hosting an orphan, please e-mail [email protected]