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Volume 5, Issue 11
Serving More Than A Million Catholics in the Diocese of Brownsville
May 2014
SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION
Encounters
with
christ
Mary the
Untier
of Knots
Pope Francis found
his favorite Marian
image in Germany
The Valley Catholic
Special to The Valley Catholic
When Pope Francis was still
Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio
studying in Germany in the
mid-1980s, he became very
fond of a Baroque icon of Maria
Knotenlöserin (Mary, Undoer of
Knots) in the Church of St. Peter
am Perlach in Augsburg, Bavaria.
Dating from around 1700,
the oil-on-poplar wood painting
is attributed to Johann George
Melchior Schmidtner, and was
painted because of a miracle.
In 1612 in the town of
Augsburg, Germany, the nobleman
Wolfgang Langenmantel journeyed
to the University of Ingolstadt to
visit Jesuit Father Jakob Rem four
times over the course of 28 days
in an attempt to save his marriage
through the counsel and prayers of
the holy priest. Together, the two
men would pray and venerate the
Blessed Mother.
Langenmantel brought his
wedding ribbon with him on the
final visit. At that time, it was a
Bavarian tradition for the maid
We are born anew by baptism,
strengthened by the sacrament of
confirmation and receive in the
Eucharist, the food of eternal life.
» Please see Mary p.17
SAN JUAN — During the
Easter season, these 50 days that
began on Easter Sunday, parishes
throughout the Rio Grande
Valley celebrate the reception
of Eucharist and confirmation.
Religious education classes
traditionally end in late April to
early May, and the focus turns to
the reception of the Sacraments.
Luis Espinoza, director of
the Office of Catechesis for the
Diocese of Brownsville, said the
Easter Season is a joyful time
to celebrate all the sacraments
of
initiation
baptism,
confirmation, Eucharist.
At the Easter Mass, the
faithful as the Mystical Body of
Christ, were reminded of the
graces received at baptism as
they renewed their baptismal
promises.
He said, baptism becomes
a way for us to take part in the
death and resurrection of Jesus.
The other sacraments become
ways that “touch all the stages
and all the important moments
of Christ life” (Catechism of the
Catholic Church no. 1210).
The Valley Catholic and courtesy photos
CCHD WINNERS
CHRISM MASS
ALTARS OF REPOSE
Along with the other
sacraments of initiation, a
foundation is laid down for
every Christian life so that all
who partake may “receive in
increasing measure the treasures
of the divine life and advance
toward the perfection of charity”
(Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution
on the Rite of Confirmation,
Divinae consortium naturae).
First
Communions
are
usually
celebrated
during
regularly scheduled Masses at
the parishes. It is a sacrament of
initiation, an initiation into the
worshipping community of faith.
These sacraments he said are “a
reminder that God is moving
the hearts of the children and the
parents to seek communion with
Jesus in the parish.”
“As a parish community we
celebrate another person who
is able to approach the altar and
take part more fully by not only
receiving Christ in the word, but
also in the Sacrament,” he added.
Children wearing white will
fill the pews at some Masses this
Easter season. Espinoza said the
color white, which is typically
» Please see Sacraments p.19
EN ESPAÑOL
Artículos sobre la Virgen
que desata los nudos, los
siete Altares de Reposo y un
mensaje del Papa Francisco.
“VERBUM MITTITUR
SPIRANS AMOREM”
(“The WORD is sent
breathing love.”)
Students learn about poverty
Page 6
Priests renew promise made
at their ordination
Page 9
Ancient tradition of visiting
seven churches
Page 11
Paginas 13-16
2
DIOCESE
»Carta Pascual
La Pascua
del Señor
y la misión
hacia las
periferias
Mis queridos hermanos y
hermanas en el Señor,
Los días de Pascua son días de
luz y esplendor para la Iglesia. Por
cincuenta días, desde el anuncio
de la manifestación del Resucitado,
hasta el gran domingo de Pentecostés, la Iglesia vive su primavera
anual, justamente reflejada en la
renovación de vida que se expresa
en la bella naturaleza renacida.
Reflejada pero no superada,
porque la efusión de vida que
vive la Iglesia en estos días es la
expresión viva de los efectos de la
gracia del Señor triunfante sobre
la muerte, y este misterio de vida
trasciende el orden natural. La resurrección del Señor se muestra en
la Iglesia poderosamente durante
esta temporada de los bautismos,
las confirmaciones, y las primeras
comuniones. El ungido del Padre,
rechazado por los poderes del
mundo, resucitó vindicado como
el Hijo preferido y victorioso; y él
derrama su nueva vida como una
unción sobre su cuerpo, la Iglesia.
Todos los que se acercan al Señor
en estos días reciben la unción de
nueva vida.
Estamos acostumbrados a
pensar que nosotros elegimos al
Señor, o decidimos participar en
la vida de su Iglesia. Es cierto, pero
el lado humano, de donde nacen
nuestras decisiones, no encierra
toda la realidad. De hecho, no
podríamos acercarnos al bautismo,
o a la confirmación o la sagrada
comunión sin primero haber
reconocido la luz brillante del
Cristo atrayéndonos a su encuentro. En las Escrituras, leemos que
el Resucitado no se manifestó a
todos, sino a los escogidos por él
de antemano. Y no se manifestó
al mismo tiempo a todos, sino
en el momento escogido por él.
The Valley Catholic - May 2014
»Easter Letter
Easter grace and our mission to the periphery
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Easter days are days of light and splendor for the Church. For fifty days, from the
announcement of the manifestation of the
Risen One, until the great Sunday of Pentecost, the Church lives her annual springtime, justly reflected in the renewal of life
that shows itself in the beautiful rebirth of
nature. Reflected but not surpassed, because
the outpouring of life that the Church lives
during these days is the living expression of
the effects of the Lord’s grace triumphant over
death, and this mystery of life transcends the
natural order. The resurrection of the Lord
shows itself powerfully during this season of
baptisms, confirmations, and first communions. The Father’s anointed one, rejected by
the powers of the world, rose again, vindicated as the preferred and victorious Son; and
he sheds his new life as an anointing over his
body, the Church. Everyone who approaches
the Lord in these days receives the anointing
of new life.
We are used to thinking that we choose
the Lord, or we decide to participate in the
life of the Church. This is true, but the human
side of things, from where our decisions arise,
does not encompass the whole reality. In fact,
we would not be able to approach Baptism, or
Confirmation or Holy Communion without
first having recognized the brilliant light of
Christ attracting us to encounter him. In the
Scriptures we read that the Risen One did
not manifest himself to everyone, but rather
only to those chosen before-hand. And he did
not manifest himself to everyone at the same
time, but at the moment chosen by him. In a
similar manner, he decides to draw us closer
through his personal manifestation, at a time
chosen by him. When the Lord presents
himself, he invites everyone to join with him
and with his companions. This is why we
say that our decision to follow Christ in the
Church depends completely on the Lord’s
prior decision to show himself to us. Moreover, the Lord chooses us with the particular
purpose of incorporating us into his Church.
Let no one say that Christ did not establish a
Church; such an idea is the invention of our
individualistic age: ““Do not be afraid; go and
tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there
they will see me.” (Mt 28, 10). A Christian
cannot rejoice in the resurrection without
going out to seek the apostolic community
so as to share a new life. There you have the
Church. That is why we are here.
Nor should it be a cause of pride to have
received the anointing of the Lord. If he
MOST REVEREND
DANIEL E. FLORES
BISHOP OF BROWNSVILLE
invites us to receive the favor of his luminous
presence in our lives, it is good to remember
that the Lord chooses those who are nothing in this world so as “to shame the strong”,
as Saint Paul says. “But rather,” the Apostol
continues, “he has chosen what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not,
to bring to nothing things that are” (1 Cor 1:
27 ss). What Saint Paul says is in accord with
what the Gospels teach. The Lord identified
himself with the words of the prophet Isaiah
when he said he had been anointed and sent
to proclaim Good News to the poor, and freedom to the oppressed (Luke 4:16 ss). For this
reason the Lord walked through the villages
of Galilee curing lepers, healing the crippled,
and attending to the cries of the poor. The
Lord prefers those who appear less in the
eyes of the world, and he announces to them
that they are the ones favored in the eyes
of God. We cannot boast: for if belonging
to the group of those that the world thinks
smell bad,… if for that reason, I say, the Lord
has looked for us and anointed us with the
fragrance of baptismal chrism, then a better
condition cannot be imagined.
But, what does it mean to have received
this grace and favor of the Lord as a result of
his great going forth in search for us? Well,
truly, the Anointed One, the well-beloved Son
of the Father, goes out to seek us and he offers
us a share in his anointing so that we may
have a share in his mission to seek out those
who live outside the favor of the world, and at
the periphery of life. He pushes us to go out
and seek those who feel far away from God.
It is of no use to remain sitting down, even
though grateful for what we have received
by knowing Christ. We have to go out to announce the favor of the Lord for those who in
our time live alienated and vilified.
This mission is something more than
merely urgent. We have to open the doors of
our parishes so as to go out to seek those who
today live alone, isolated, and outside of the
community. Those same doors must remain
open so those who seek the Lord are able to
enter and feel the warm welcome of the community of Christ, the Church. There are many
believers in our neighborhoods, but they do
not come to the Church. Why? Well, every
case is different. But maybe it is because they
live in the new colonias here in the Valley,
and the do not know where Catholics gather.
Then, we should go out and invite them.
Maybe they do not have documents and
are afraid of going to the church. Then, we
should assure them that everyone has a right
in the eyes of God to participate in the divine
worship, and that the Church has nothing to
do with the affairs of the government and its
tireless search for documents. Maybe at some
point they felt unappreciated by a parishioner
or by a priest. Then, we should go and ask for
forgiveness and invite them to return. Maybe
they are not able to receive Holy Communion
for one reason or another. Then, we should go
say to them that this is no reason to stop participating in the Holy Mass with their hearts,
and enjoy the life of the community. I could
formulate a more exhausting list, but I think
you know what I am saying.
If we don’t take advantage of the grace of
the anointing that we have received so as to
share it with those who find themselves far
away from the Church that Christ established
with his blood, then the same judgment will
fall upon us which the Lord pronounced on
those who in their time guarded the courts of
the temple to prevent the impure from entering. “For you are like whitewashed tombs,” he
said to them. Let us not think that we are so
chosen that our idleness shall be covered with
the anointing that we have received. On the
contrary, if we think that way, we are doing
the same as those who thought of themselves
as powerful in the time of our Lord, the very
ones whom the Lord left behind while he
went out in search of the lost sheep, announcing the favor of the Lord.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach good
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
release to captives (Luke 4: 18).” Let us place
our hope in that Spirit who anointed the Lord
Jesus Christ, the same Spirit who has come to
us in fullness through the Paschal Mystery of
the Lord, anointing us and making us fit to go
out and share in his mission.
May God continue to bless his work
among us,
+Daniel E. Flores
Bishop of Brownsville
» Por favor lea Carta Pascual p.16
Bishop Flores’ Schedule
700 N. Virgen de San Juan Blvd., San Juan, TX 78589-3042
5FMFQIPOFt'BY
Bishop Daniel E. Flores
Publisher
Brenda Nettles Riojas
Editor
Rose Ybarra
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a publication of the
Diocese of Brownsville,
is published monthly
Member of
the Catholic Press Assocition
May 1
10:30 a.m.
San Juan
World Communications Day
May 1
7 p.m.
Rio Grande City
Confirmations at Immaculate Conception Church
May 2
9:45 p.m. McAllen
Holy Spirit Church, Mass for Shalom Media Night Vigil
May 3
1 p.m.
McAllen
Confirmations at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church
May 3
5 p.m.
McAllen
Confirmations at Sacred Heart Church
May 4
4 p.m.
Olmito
Confirmations at Our Heavenly Father Church
May 6
6:30 p.m. Brownsville
Confirmations at Lord of Divine Mercy Church
May 7
7 p.m.
Mercedes
Confirmations at Our Lady of Mercy Church
May 8
6 p.m.
Pharr
Confirmations for St. Anne, Mother of Mary & St. Margaret Mary
May 10
10 a.m.
Progreso
Confirmations at Holy Spirit Church
May 10
5 p.m.
Mission
Confirmations at St. Paul Church
May 12
6:30 p.m. Brownsville
Confirmations at St. Luke Church
May 13
6:30 p.m. Harlingen
Confirmations at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church
May 15
7 p.m.
Brownsville
Confirmations at St. Joseph Church
May 17
10 a.m.
La Joya
Confirmations at Our Lady, Queen of Angels Church
May 17
5 p.m.
Alton
Confirmations at San Martin de Porres Church
May 2014
May 18
Noon
Port Isabel
Confirmations at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church
May 18
7 p.m.
Brownsville
Confirmations at San Felipe de Jesus Church
May 21
7 p.m.
Edinburg
Confirmations at Holy Family Church
May 22
7 p.m.
Mercedes
May 24
10 a.m.
Donna
Confirmations at St. Joseph Church
May 24
4 p.m.
Harlingen
Confirmations at Queen of Peace Church
May 25
10 a.m.
McAllen
Confirmations at St. Juan Diego Church
May 25
5 p.m.
Brownsville
Confirmations at St. Eugene de Mazenod Church
May 27
6 p.m.
Brownsville
Confirmations at Holy Family Church
May 28
10 a.m.
San Juan
Opening Prayer & Talk at Summer Food Program Kickoff Event
May 28
7 p.m.
Elsa
May 29
6 p.m.
McAllen
Confirmations at St. Joseph the Worker Church
May 30
6 p.m.
Weslaco
Mass to celebrate 85th Anniversary of St. Joan of Arc Church
May 31
10:30 a.m. Lyford
Confirmations at Prince of Peace Church
May 31
5:30 p.m. San Juan
Gathering for Religious
May 2014
DIOCESE
- The Valley Catholic
DIOCESAN MINISTRIES
Para
servirles
Office of Catechesis
Director: Luis Espinoza
Phone: (956) 784-5040
Email: [email protected]
Jail Ministry
Director: Ofelia de los Santos
Phone: (956) 702-4088
Immigration Office Ministry
Director: Santa Acuña
Phone: (956) 784-5057
Call Monday-Wednesday or
Friday from 8 to 11:45 a.m. and
1 to 4:45 p.m.; and Thursdays 8
to 11:45 a.m.
Communications Ministry
Director: Brenda Nettles Riojas
Phone: (956) 784-5055
Media Resource Center
Director: Sister Maureen
Crosby, SSD
Phone: (956) 784-5041
Campus & Young
Adult Ministry
Director: Miguel Santos,
Phone: (956) 784-5093
Email: [email protected],
Catholic Charities of the
Rio Grande Valley
Director: Sister Norma
Pimentel, MJ
Phone: (956) 702-4088
Web site: www.catholiccharitiesrgv.org
Office of Vocations
Director: Father Juan Pablo
Davalos
Phone: (956) 784-5060
Family Life Office
Director: Lydia Pesina
Phone: (956) 784-5012
San Juan Diego Ministry
Institute
Director: Deacon Luis Zuniga
Phone: (956) 784-5059
Building and Property
Director: Javier Solis
Phone: (956) 784-5058
Youth Ministry
Director: Angel Barrera
Phone: (956) 784-5042
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.CDOBYM.org
Health Ministries-Hospital
Chaplains
Director: Father Edouard
Atangana, STL
Phone: (956) 784-5007
Catholic Schools
Superintendent: Lisette Allen
Phone: (956) 787-5051
Development Office
Director: Rosie Rodriguez
Phone: (956) 787-5095
Deacon Formation
Director: Father Francisco Solis
Phone: (956) 784-5060
3
Former mayor talks about
his faith, shares secret to life
New speaker
series launched
for young Catholic
professionals
By EVANA ZAMORA
The Valley Catholic
McALLEN — Mother Teresa
of Calcutta said, “God does not
require that we be successful, only
that we be faithful.” This thought
became the theme of the first Association of Young Catholic Professionals (AYCP) meeting on April 1
hosted by the Campus and Young
Adult Ministry (CYAM) office.
“In the professional world, it
seems like you sometimes have to
choose between the faith that you
have always known and the career
that you have always wanted,” said
Monica Benitez, who works with
the Office of Youth Ministry. On
the contrary, Jesus calls us to live
out our faith in every place.
To start the association, the
CYAM office researched the needs
of young adults in the Diocese of
Brownsville.
Many young adult professionals
are searching for more in their lives
and in their community. “I had a
hard time after college finding that
group that was in between who are
just starting their careers and trying to meet new people who were
Catholic,” said Gabrielle Espinoza
Courtesy photo
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ÀUVW$VVRFLDWLRQRI<RXQJ&DWKROLF3URIHVVLRQDOV$<&3PHHWLQJRQ$SULO
a parishioner from St. Joseph the
Worker Church in McAllen.
The goal of the association is to
attract uncommitted young Catholic professionals between the ages
of 21 to 39 to a relationship with
their Catholic faith.
Miguel Santos, director of the
CYAM for the Diocese of Brownsville said he proposes that an outreach to young professionals address their needs as “professionals.”
He said some of these outreach efforts may address “a deeper
meaning to their work and their
lives; finding balance and self-care;
expanding their network with other principle-centered business con-
tacts; creating a forum to mentor
and be mentored; and enhancing
their professional skills set.”
The AYCP will feature a speaker
series where respected community
members can share testimonials on
how God has been present in their
lives.
Richard Cortez, the former
mayor of McAllen, served as the
first guest speaker. He advised the
young professionals in attendance,
“Never run out of happiness, which
is living your life for the Lord. This
is the secret to life.”
AYCP members said it was a
humbling experience to witness
a politician speak so beautifully
about his faith, the demands of
his career, and his commitment to
family time.
Cortez ended his presentation
by giving his cell phone number
to those in attendance. He said, “If
there is anything I can do, I’ll be
happy to do it.” At the end of the
meeting, Benitez said, “I was really
impressed! He really tied faith with
his work.”
The CYAM office is bridging
the gap between young adults fresh
out of college who are starting their
professions to discern about the
paths in life that they are taking.
The CYAM office invites all
young adult professionals from the
ages of 21-39 to come together in
fellowship, networking, and personal growth based on a common
Catholic identity. They will be hosting monthly meetings every first
Tuesday of the month from 6:30
p.m. to 8 p.m. with speakers at each
meeting.
The next AYCP meeting is
scheduled for Tuesday, May 6 at
Tony Roma’s on S. 10th in McAllen.
For additional information contact
Miguel Santos (956)784-5093.
$<&30((7,1*
Date: Tuesday, May 6
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Tony Roma’s,
S. 10th St., McAllen
For more information:
(956) 784-5093
Bringing “The Passion,” music to prision
Courtesy Photo
Performers believe
in feeding souls
with beauty
From left
Eric Genuis,
a renowned
classical pianist;
Jaime Hinojosa,
jail minister
volunteer from
St Joseph the
Worker McAllen;
and Doug
Barry from the
apostolate
Radix.
By OFELIA DE LOS SANTOS
The Valley Catholic
EDINBURG — “If you immerse
them [prisoners] in God – in
beauty - you feed their souls,” said
Eric Genuis, a renowned classical
pianist who brought his music to
Segovia Prison Unit in Edinburg on
March 26.
Thanks to the generosity
of a group of Catholic lawyers
organized by the “Real Men Pray
the Rosary” apostolate, Genuis
and his close friend Doug Barry,
founder of the apostolate Radix,
shared their love of Christ and their
talents with 87 inmates and several
officers, including Warden Philip
Rodriguez.
Barry performed his one-man
Passion play and was accompanied
by Genuis.
“In removing beauty, you
remove God,” Genuis said as he
talked about their visit to the
Rio Grande Valley where he also
performed at five local parishes
ending with a performance at the
Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan—
National Shrine on March 28.
He described the starkness
and “unbeauty” of prisons and
life inside the walls. He explained
that without beauty, “doing time”
becomes unbearable. But when you
allow God’s beauty to enter into this
environment, even for an hour or
two, miracles can happen and men
and women are open and receptive
to his (God’s) grace.
Genuis is both a composer and
pianist as well as a motivational
speaker who is spirit-filled and has
a real zeal for souls. He met and
became close friends with Barry,
who is also a motivational speaker,
in 1997 at a conference and they
became fast friends and Catholic
evangelists for Christ.
He describes his best friend
in this manner: “Doug is the
most dynamic speaker I have ever
heard. He is so compelling that
the educated, men, women and
children, and evangelists listen to
his program and are truly moved
and many times converted.”
Barry, a cradle Catholic
who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska
underwent a profound conversion
around the age of 20 when he heard
about Our Lady of Fatima and her
visit to three children in Portugal in
1917. He heard the story from his
aunt, a devout Catholic who spent
time weekly in Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament.
His mother, who introduced
him to the Blessed Mother, also
had an impact in his conversion
as a young adult. What impressed
him the most, he related, was
the children’s vision of hell and
the fact that Our Lady of Fatima
foretold that the World War would
end soon, (it ended in 1918) and
that another worse world war was
coming if people did not listen to
her Son.
“The fact that our Blessed
Mother would come to warn us –
well, you don’t have to have a degree
to recognize truth when you hear
it,” he said.
It was at this point in his life,
Barry said, that he began to tell
the story of the Crucifixion to high
school youths in CCD class. He
did his research on crucifixion in
Roman times and impressed upon
the students the harsh reality of this
form of torture and death. Later,
Genuis began to add background
music to Barry’s reenactment of the
crucifixion.
“In a sense,” Barry said, “if man
doesn’t turn to God – his family falls
apart. And if a woman doesn’t turn
to God – she becomes an object to
be disrespected and not loved.”
When Barry met Genuis at a
ministry conference, it was as if
they had always known each other.
Their ministries so complemented
each other’s that they began to work
together, he said.
Barry’s one-man performance
of “the Passion” is truly inspiring and
riveting. For a solid hour, the men
at Segovia prison were mesmerized
by the performance. Although
in broad daylight, in a plain stark
education classroom bereft of props
or costume, Doug made the passion
of Christ come alive and one was
transported in time and place. So
impressed with his performance
was Warden Rodriguez that he
» Please see Passion, p.19
4
DIOCESE
»Family Life
Lydia Pesina
Director, Family
Life Office
Learning to
pace a dating
relationship
I
n a time in history where
as human beings we have
become accustomed to
instant messaging, instant
coffee, fast foods, and instagrams
and perhaps more fundamentally,
“instant gratification”, it is important to recall that everything in
life that is worthwhile is worth
waiting for.
In the Old Testament, we are
reminded that there is a time for
everything. “There is an appointed time for everything, and
a time for every affair under the
heavens. A time to be born and
a time to die……a time to weep
and a time to laugh; a time to
mourn and a time to dance. …a
time to embrace and a time to
be far from embraces...a time to
be silent and a time to speak. A
time to love and a time to hate; a
time of war and a time of peace.”
(Ecclesiastes Chapter 3)
For several years now, I have
periodically taught a course to
singles that goes by two names:
“How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk
or Jerkette” and The P.I.C. K.
Program” (Pre-marital, Interpersonal, Choices and Knowledge).
Although it is a secular program,
it is easy to include some of the
teachings of the Catholic Church.
So what makes a person a
“jerk” or “jerkette”? PERSISTENT RESISTANCE; when we
persistently resist working on
that which we know we need to
work on. This concept goes well
with the teaching of the Church
that we are called to make our
spouse a saint; to bring our
spouse to holiness; to help our
spouse be the best person God
has created them to be. But the
only person that we can change
or improve is ourselves and not
persistently resist doing so.
Quick example: when my
husband Mauri and I married
almost 40 years ago, I was very
stubborn and inflexible and although I still am to some extent,
I have improved with his help;
but ultimately I have to work on
those defects daily and not be a
Jerkette and say “Well, that’s just
the way I am!”
One of the most important
goals in this course is to teach
singles how to Pace a Relationship. Dr. John Van Epp who
authors this research based
course and the book by the same
name developed what he calls
a “Relationship Attachment
Model” which contains 5 bonding elements: Know, Trust, Rely,
Commit, and Touch.
The Model emphasizes the
importance of singles who are
dating KNOW someone really
well before they TRUST them;
trust them extensively before
they RELY heavily on them; and
rely trustingly on them before
they COMMIT to them, and
have a COMMITMENT to them
before TOUCH, before sexual
intimacy. In Catholic Sacramental Marriage, that commitment is
the Sacrament of Matrimony.
I often tell singles that secular
research is showing what the wisdom of the Church has taught for
centuries: that sex is sacred and
belongs in marriage, not before
marriage or outside of marriage.
The Church teaches that God
created sex for two purposes and
they both begin with the letter
P: Procreation and Pleasure of
husband and wife.
And the P that definitely
does not belong in marriage is
Pornography which is a form of
infidelity. Relationship research
and psychologists are finding that
pornography is one of the leading
causes of marital problems, especially because it is so addictive
and so accessible.
The first bonding element
of the RAM is KNOW. Singles
are encouraged to KNOW 5
elements of their dating partner
before they can really trust them.
Using the acronym FACES, they
are encourage to know
F- Family background; AAttitudes, behavior, and the work
of the conscience; C- Compatibility (emotional, intellectual,
and spiritual); E- Experiences
(especially past experiences);
S – Skills (communication and
problem solving skills).
The Concept of PACING is
one that does not apply only to
singles that are dating, but perhaps to all of us who sometimes
need to be reminded that just
like a beautiful flower takes time
to develop and flourish, that all
relationships take time, talk, and
togetherness.
As a Christian community, let
us pray daily for our youth and
young adults; that the Holy Spirit
guide them to learning how to
prepare for lifelong marriage by
learning how to pace a loving
relationship that will assist them
in becoming happy, healthy and
holy.
Chastity Rally set for May 17
The Apostolate for Life in
the Diocese of Brownsville is
hosting a Chastity Conference on
Saturday, May 17 from 6:30 to 9
p.m. at the Basilica of Our Lady
of San Juan del Valle—National
Shrine in San Juan.
Father Carlos Zuniga, pastor
of St. Pius X Parish in Weslaco,
and Father Andy Gutierrez from
St. Joseph the Worker Parish
in McAllen will be the guest
speakers.
The topics will center on
Theology of the Body, Saint John
Paul II’s teaching on love, life and
human sexuality.
Shortly after his elevation
to the papacy, Pope John Paul II
delivered a series of Wednesday
“audiences” over a five-year span
presenting what was to become
known as the “Theology of the
Body.”
Over the course of his talks,
the pope explained what the body
means as a sign of the person and
the person’s call to be a gift, and
how it reveals the nature of God
and his plan for mankind.
The Chastity rally on May
17 will include praise and
worship, talks, testimonies, and
Benediction. For additional
information about call Cecilia
Batungbacal at (956) 566-1999.
»Women speak for themselves en la Frontera
What I swore I would never do
Y
ou can learn a lot about
people by who they hold up
as heroes. My first hero was
Pippi Longstocking. Remember
her? The freckle-faced girl with
two red braids sticking straight
out. She was stronger than Popeye,
wore huge shoes (to give her room
to grow), had a pet monkey and a
treasure chest full of gold. But the
best thing about her was that she
lived alone. What a lucky girl, so
strong and independent. I wanted
to be just like her.
A few years later in high school
I discovered my next hero, artist
Georgia O’Keeffe. I was not a
particular fan of her art. No, what
I loved about Georgia O’Keefe was
that she lived in Santa Fe, New
Mexico, but her husband lived in
New York City. What a perfect
way to live -- I thought -- across
the country from your husband. I
had not gotten ideas like this from
my own parents. They had a very
long and happy marriage. But for
some reason I had this independent streak that made me think I
didn’t need anyone else, especially
not a man. The thought of growing
up, marrying, having children and
a white picket fence never even
entered my mind. And I ridiculed
and humiliated any of my friends
who may have entertained such
dreams.
When I left home for college I
knew very little about the feminist
movement and “women’s rights,”
but I learned quickly. Women
don’t cook, sew or clean. That was
not a problem for me. I had no
desire to do any of those out-dated
jobs. Since the beginning of time
women had been treated as hardly
better than helpful farm animals,
I was taught. No woman was ever
happy slaving for some ungrateful husband and a bunch of kids.
And this whole pregnancy thing
was just a patriarchal conspiracy to
Faith
Ballesteros
Guest Columnist
keep women in servitude so their
husbands could live in comfort
and luxury. But now women could
throw off those oppressive shackles
of hearth and home. That, in a
nutshell, is what I learned in college. No kidding. So I made sure to
do everything I could do to be the
opposite of feminine or womanly.
I didn’t want to be a part of that
conspiracy to hold women back
from their full potential.
After college I went out into
the world and did what lots of college graduates do. I waited tables. I
also worked any other job I could
find that I was qualified for, mostly
answering phones and typing. Is
this how I’m going to spend my
entire life? I wondered. Typing?
Serving up coffee refills? I was
sure that I was going to become
powerful and successful once I
figured out what I was really good
at. I would probably even become
famous. In the meantime, however,
life often felt very empty, and I
sometimes struggled with depression.
I never, ever heard in college or
from society in general that there
was any value in having a family.
Getting married was something
that people used to do. But we
were too advanced for old-fashioned lifestyles like marriage. That
was really, truly what I believed.
I had been raised in a Christian
home by loving parents, but for
some reason these worldly ideas
were very attractive to me, and I
soaked them up like a sponge. I
had rejected God (they taught me
that in college too) and any notion
of marriage as being a holy union
meant to bring forth new life in
His image. After four years of college and a bit of world travel, I had
become completely secularized.
But all along my patient parents were praying for me like crazy.
With every hair-brained idea I had
they just kept smiling and praying.
As a mother, I know now that I
must have caused my own mother
more than a few new gray hairs.
Then one day things changed. I
met Pedro. And from the moment
he introduced himself to me and
took my hand in his, I knew I was
going to marry him. I don’t mean,
I hoped I would marry him. No. I
knew without a doubt that I would
marry him. I wasn’t looking for
love. Well, actually deep down I
was longing for love and peace to
fill my empty soul. But until that
point I couldn’t admit it because
that would mean swallowing my
pride. Feminist pride is a tough
barrier to overcome; but love was
stronger.
We were immature and had no
desire to allow God into our lives
at first, but he blessed us anyway.
Thanks to our mothers’ prayers,
I’m sure. We were crazy about each
other from day one. Seventeen
years and seven kids later, we are
still crazy about each other. Only
now we thank God for being at the
center of our family. After years of
living as far away from God as I
could I finally realized that he had
been taking care of me all along.
And that if I wanted to raise a
happy, healthy family in this crazy
world, I would need his guidance.
Thankfully, Pedro was a cradle
Catholic and insisted that if we
were going to go to church it had
to be the Catholic Church. I embraced my beautiful new Catholic
Faith, and have never looked back.
» Please see What I Swore, p.19
Recognized for helping others
Social Work Student
of the Year Award
presented
SAN BENITO — Alma
Gonzalez, development coordinator
for La Posada Providencia in San
Benito, was honored with the
National Association of Social
Workers (NASW) - Lower Rio
Grande Valley Branch’s Social
Work Student of the Year Award at
a banquet on March 26.
She was nominated for the
award by Estela Sosa Garza, a
professor at the University of TexasPan American in Edinburg, where
Gonzalez is pursuing a master’s
degree in social work. She is on
schedule to graduate in August.
Garza cited her outstanding
contribution to the goals and
mission of the social work
profession as a masters-level
student and by the work she has
accomplished with La Posada
Providencia, an emergency shelter
in San Benito for immigrants,
asylum seekers and asylees recently
processed by U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.
“We are very proud of Alma,”
said Sister Zita Telkamp of the
Sisters of Divine Providence,
program director for La Posada
Providencia. “She has added so
much value to La Posada’s program
since she first started working with
us as an intern in 2013 and now as
development coordinator.”
“This award means so much
to me,” Gonzalez said. “I am very
grateful to Professor Estela Sosa,
the NASW, and my university for
giving me this honor. The social
work profession is concerned with
helping others and promoting
social justice; I am so fortunate to
work with an agency like La Posada
that centers on the values of a
profession I’m passionate about.”
According to the NASW, this
honor is bestowed upon a single
social work student in a graduate
or
undergraduate
program
annually. Nominees and award
recipients
must
demonstrate
leadership; commitment to social
justice; commitment to clients;
commitment to the profession of
social work; and an integration
of social work knowledge, skills,
attitudes and values in the
classroom and in the professional
field.
Gonzalez, 24, is now under
consideration for the state of Texas
Social Work Student of the Year
award.
Gonzalez, who is originally
from Mexico, was raised in La Feria.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in
Courtesy Photo
/D3RVDGD·V'HYHORSPHQW&RRUGLQDWRU
Alma Gonzalez, holds her Social Work
6WXGHQWRIWKH<HDU$ZDUGIURPWKH
Lower Rio Grande Valley Branch of the
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victims studies from Sam Houston
State University in Huntsville.
Her journey at La Posada
Providencia began with an
internship in January 2013. She
joined the staff in October 2013.
“The mission of helping the
stranger is what motivates me every
day,” Gonzalez said. “Hearing our
clients’ stories and everything they
go through to get to the United
States, it’s inspiring. If it weren’t for
La Posada, they would be out on
the street.”
May 2014
»Sunday
Readings
The Word of God in the Life
and Mission of the Church
MAY 4
( Third Sunday of Easter)
Reading 1:
ACTS 2:14, 22-33
Responsorial Psalm:
PS 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Reading 2:
1 PT 1:17-21
Gospel: LK 24:13-35
MAY11
(Fourth Sunday of Easter)
Reading 1:
ACTS 2:14A, 36-41
AT THE MASS Reading 1 IS 50:4-7
Responsorial Psalm:
PS 23:1-2A, 3B-4, 5, 6
Reading 2:
Gospel:
1 PT 2:20B-25
JN 10:1-10
MAY 18
(Fifth Sunday of Easter)
Reading 1:
ACTS 6:1-7
Responsorial Psalm:
PS 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
Reading 2:
1 PT 2:4-9
Gospel:
JN 14:1-12
MAY 25
(Sixth Sunday of Easter)
Reading 1:
DIOCESE
ACTS 8:5-8, 14-17
Responsorial Psalm:
PS 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
Reading 2:
1 PT 3:15-18
Gospel:
JN 14:15-21
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.
Prayer cenacle
planned May 7
During the month of Mary,
May, The Marian Movement
of Priests is holding national
prayer cenacles throughout
the United States. The Rio
Grande Valley prayer cenacle
is scheduled at 6:30 pm on
Wednesday, May 7 at St. Pius
X Church, 600 S. Oklahoma,
in Weslaco with Father Carlos
Zuniga.
After Mass, participants
will gather in the conference
center to pray the Rosary, see
a presentation by Monsignor
Leonard Pivonka from the
Corpus Christi Diocese. Msgr.
Pivonka is the area director for
the Marian Movement of Priests
of South Texas and participates
in the prayer of consecration to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
All are welcome. Admission is
free.
For more information
contact Mary Reyna at (956)
968-2724 or Gloria Garcia (956)
566-7828.
5
»Making Sense of Bioethics
Path of renewal for Catholic sterilized couple
A
mong married men and
women who undergo
surgical sterilization
through a vasectomy
or a tubal ligation, it has been
estimated that anywhere from ten
to twenty percent will come to
regret the choice. Sometimes there
may be an immediate awareness of
wrongdoing following the surgery,
while in other cases, as Patrick
Coffin, radio host and author of
Sex au Naturel notes, sterilized
couples may “…drift for years
before acknowledging that something between them is no longer
in sync. After the initial pregnancy
fear subsides, and the vision of
1001 erotic nights turns out be
something of a scam, spouse may
(subtly) turn against spouse while
doing their best to ignore the
silent, disturbing ‘presence’ of the
choice they made.”
Their decision to seek out a
permanent form of contraception
can also affect their marriage in
other important ways. As Dr. John
Billings has noted: there is “an
effect that is even more tragic than
the clinical, and it is that in many
cases the use of contraceptive
methods in marriage has been followed by an act of infidelity of one
of the members. It would seem
that contraception diminishes the
mutual respect of husband and
wife... Additionally, the abandoning of self-control diminishes the
capacity to exercise this self-dominion outside the marriage.”
The “abandonment of selfcontrol” that can follow permanent sterilization raises ongoing
spiritual and moral challenges for
couples who later repent and confess the sin of having undergone
Tadeusz
Pacholczyk
Priest of the
Diocese of Fall
River
a vasectomy or a tubal ligation. A
unique and vexing problem arises
because sterilized individuals
may find themselves, as Patrick
Coffin observes, “sorely tempted
to delight in the very sex-withoutbabies mentality that led to the
sterilization in the first place.”
Repentant couples, out of an
abundance of spiritual caution,
may thus wonder what they should
do, and whether they are obliged
to get a surgical reversal of the
procedure. The Church has never
declared this to be a required step,
in part because of the risks and
burdens associated with surgical
interventions, in part because of
the high uncertainty of a successful
outcome, and in part because of
the potentially significant expenses
involved.
Even though a reversal may
not be feasible or obligatory, the
repentant couple may nonetheless
become aware of the need to order
their sexual activity and appetites
in the face of their original sterilization decision and its extended
consequences. They may recognize
a pressing interior need to grow in
the virtue of marital chastity and to
engage in a lifestyle that authentically embodies their new, albeit
delayed, rejection of the contraceptive mentality.
In these situations, clergy
and spiritual advisors will often
encourage couples to pattern
their sex life on the same cycle
of periodic abstinence that fertile
couples follow when using Natural
Family Planning (NFP). During
times of abstinence, the couples
actively exercise self-control,
thereby reordering the sensual and
sexual appetites. This strengthens
spouses in their resolve not to
reduce each other to objects for
pursuing sexual self-gratification.
This is important because various
forms of contraception, including permanent sterilization, often
involve the phenomenon of the
woman feeling as if she is being
“used” by her husband.
Abstinence, therefore, assists
couples in learning to express their
mutual love in other ways. St. John
Paul II explains this perspective in
his famous work Love and Responsibility: “Inherent in the essential
character of continence as a virtue
is the conviction that the love of
man and woman loses nothing as
a result of temporary abstention
from erotic experiences, but on
the contrary gains: the personal
union takes deeper root, grounded
as it is above all in the affirmation
of the value of the person and not
just in sexual attachment.” In one
of his weekly general audiences
later as Pope, he further notes that
“…continence itself is a definite
and permanent moral attitude;
it is a virtue, and therefore, the
whole line of conduct guided by it
acquires a virtuous character.”
Fertile couples who incorporate NFP into their marriages
to avoid a conception often end
up acquiring a different attitude
» Please see Bioethics, p.19
“You will be my witnesses”
to the ends of the earth
“‘But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes upon
you, and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, throughout Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth.’ When he had said this,
as they were looking on, he was
lifted up, and a cloud took him
from their sight. While they were
looking intently at the sky as he
was going, suddenly two men
dressed in white garments stood
beside them. They said, ‘Men of
Galilee, why are you standing there
looking at the sky?’” (Acts of the
Apostles 1:8-11).
With these words the Lord
Jesus bids farewell to the Apostles
before the Ascension and it is these
words that express in essence the
vocation of every Christian. However, He does promise before leaving that the Holy Spirit will come
upon them to help in proclaiming
and spreading the good news to all
people, everywhere and at all times
and to all the world.
This is what the New Evangelization is really all about to be
witnesses of Christ to the world.
Incorporated into the Church by
Baptism, we are called to be missionaries and witnesses of Christ
as we cooperate with God in the
salvation of all humanity.
Often in the world we live today it seems like if the Lord Jesus is
asking us “Are you my witnesses?
The invitation is for each one of us
baptized to answer as we commit
Deacon
Luis Zuniga
Director, Office for
Pastoral Planning
& San Juan Diego
Ministry Institute.
ourselves to the work of evangelization. Either that or we just stand
there looking up ‘staring at the sky’
as did the Apostles until they fully
realized the command of Christ to
go to the ends of the earth.
“How often do we fail to realize
that we are called to be Christ’s
witnesses to the world? Do we
realize that our Baptism, Confirmation, and reception of the
Eucharist bestow on us the grace
we need to be disciples? Are we
like the disciples staring at the sky
rather than inviting those around
us to experience Christ’s love
and mercy through the Church?
How often do we reach out to our
missing brothers and sisters by
inviting them to join us at Mass or
by asking why they no longer feel
welcomed at the Lord’s Table? The
answers to these questions underlie the evangelizing mission of the
Church, especially in the call of the
New Evangelization.” (Disciples
Called to Witness, Committee on
Evangelization and Catechesis,
USCCB, 2012).
In 1983, Blessed John Paul II
began calling for a “new evangelization” not in content, but in
ardor, methods and expressions of
evangelization to engage the present day culture during a speech
to the XIX Ordinary Assembly
of CELAM (Catholic Bishops of
Latin America) in Port au Prince
Haiti. His pontificate focused
on the New Evangelization and
emphasized that evangelization
occurs most effectively when the
Church engaged the culture of
those she evangelizes. It was then
that Blessed John Paul II used the
term “New Evangelization” as the
theological concept for proclaiming the Gospel anew to those
already evangelized.
In 1990 his intention became a
lot clearer in the Encyclical Letter:
Redemptoris misssio (Latin for
Mission of the Redeemer, on the
permanent validity of the Church’s
missionary mandate) “The proclamation of the Word of God has
Christian conversion as its aim; a
complete and sincere adherence
to Christ and his Gospel through
faith” (RM, 46).
The Encyclical mentions three
circumstances for evangelization: (1) preaching to those who
have never heard the Gospel (ad
gentes), (2) preaching to those
Christian communities where
the Church is present and who
have fervor in their faith, and (3)
preaching to those Christian com» Please see Witnesses, p.17
CNS photo/courtesy of St. Andrei Rublev Icons
St. Rita of Cascia is depicted in an icon
E\)DWKHU:LOOLDP+DUW0F1LFKROV7KH
image shows the wound she had on her
IRUHKHDGDPRUWLÀFDWLRQVKHVDLGZDV
FDXVHGE\&KULVW·VFURZQRIWKRUQV6KH
is remembered for her deep devotion
and her care of sick nuns.
»Feast Day
- May 22
Spotlight on
St. Rita of
Cascia
On May 22, the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Rita
of Cascia, who St. John Paul II
called “a disciple of the Crucified One” and an “expert in suffering.”
Known in Spain as “la santa
de lo imposible” (the saint of the
impossible), St. Rita has become
immensely popular throughout
the centuries. She is invoked by
people in all situations and stations of life, since she had embraced suffering with charity
and wrongs with forgiveness in
the many trials she experienced
in her life: as a wife, widow, a
mother surviving the death of
her children, and a nun.
Born in 1386 in Roccaparena, Umbria, St. Rita was married at the age of 12 to a violent
and ill-tempered husband. He
was murdered 18 years later and
she forgave his murderers, praying that her twin sons, who had
sworn to avenge their father’s
death may also forgive. She was
granted this grace, and her sons,
who died young, died reconciled
to God.
The saint heard the call to
become a nun in the Augustinian convent at Cascia, but was refused entry at first. She asked the
intercession of Sts. Augustine,
Mary Magadalene and John the
Baptist and was finally allowed
to enter the convent where she
lived the last 40 years of her life
in prayer, mortification and service to the people of Cascia.
For the last 15 years of her
life she received a stigmata-like
thorn wound in answer to her
prayers to be more profoundly
conformed to the passion of the
Lord Jesus. Rita was bedridden
for the last four years of her life,
consuming almost nothing except for the Eucharist. She died
of tuberculosis at the age of 70
on May 22, 1456.
On the 100th anniversary
of her canonization in 2000, St.
John Paul II noted her remarkable qualities as a Christian
woman: “Rita interpreted well
the ‘feminine genius’ by living
it intensely in both physical and
spiritual motherhood.”
St. Rita was canonized in
1900 by Pope Leo XIII. She is
the patron saint of impossible
causes, sterility, abuse victims,
loneliness, marriage difficulties,
parenthood, widows, the sick,
bodily ills and wounds.
6
DIOCESE
Students learn about poverty, faith response
Local winners
announced for
CCHD Multi-Media
Youth Contest
The Valley Catholic
Alicia Rodriguez, Mobile Journalist /The Valley Catholic
Above: Following a Mass in honor of World Day for Consecrated Life at the Basilica
RI2XU/DG\RI6DQ-XDQGHO9DOOH1DWLRQDO6KULQHRQ)HEPRELOHMRXUQDOLVWVIURP
St. Joseph Church in Donna joined Father Simon Brzozowski and Father Francis
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mobile journalists who were on assignment are from left Maria Rodriguez, Gabriela
Hernandez, Andrea Rodriguez, Flor Hernandez and Jimena Rodriguez.
EDINBURG — Shalom Media
USA Inc. launched Shalom World
television network on Divine
Mercy Sunday April 27. The new
24/7 Catholic family channel offers
original programming as well as
programming from ministries and
production houses from around
the world.
The channel has received wellwishes from many in the Catholic
Church. “What a pleasure it is for
me to welcome and thank those
who [will] view Shalom World
TV!” said Archbishop Joseph
E. Kurtz, of the Archdiocese of
Louisville, Kentucky and president
of the United States Council of
Catholic Bishops.
Apostolic Nuncio to the United
States, Archbishop Carlo Maria
Viganò said, “It is a joy [to] see that
your television is dedicated for the
New Evangelization and addresses
to the young people the message
of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who
should reach you through this very
important media.”
Shalom ministries started in
Kerala, South India with a mission
to share the peace of Christ (John
14:27) using all modern means of
mass communication, including
television, publishing, and social
media. His Eminence Cardinal
Baselios Cleemis is the Chief
Patron of Shalom ministries and
Chevalier Benny Punnathara
serves as chairman.
Several phases are planned for
the distribution of Shalom World.
On the launch date, the channel
became available on Amazon Fire
TV, Roku, Google TV, Samsung
TV, Android Tablets/Phones, and
Apple iOS Phones/iPad, and is live
streamed on www.ShalomWorld.
org.
The ministry is working to
bring the channel to Apple TV,
DISH Network, Direct TV, ATT
U-verse, and Verizon FiOS in
subsequent phases. Broadcasts
will be done from Shalom Media
USA’s playout station in Edinburg.
Complementing the main office
are seven production houses in the
United States and three in Canada.
Mobile journalist
Andrea Rodriguez
interviews a
family to learn
about the
colonias in the
Rio Grande
Valley.
THE VALLEY’S
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY
Offering PhD, Master’s and Bachelor’s
APPLY NOW
PhD in Leadership Studies
MBA in Healthcare Management
MBA in Management
MS in Organizational Leadership
BAS in Computer Information
Systems and Security
MH;>
N=
O Shalom Media USA launches
new Catholic channel
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“True Hunger: Hear the Cry of the
Colonias” submitted by the Mobile
Journalists – Gabriela Hernandez,
Flor Hernandez, Alicia Rodriguez,
Andrea Rodriguez, Jimena Rodriguez and Maria Rodriguez from
St. Joseph Church in Donna
The short video provided an
opportunity for the youth from St.
Joseph Church to gather and visit
the colonias in Donna.
The youths interviewed different families to get to know more
about the living conditions and
their struggles. In the course of
IKH
SAN JUAN — The Catholic
Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) Multi-Media Youth
Contest is a tool to engage young
people in grades 7-12 in learning
about poverty in the U.S., its root
causes, and faith-inspired efforts
to address it, especially through
the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
Through the contest, young
people learn about poverty, its
causes, and our faith response
and then become educators themselves as they use their art to creatively communicate what they
have learned.
For this year’s theme “Build
Community! Put Two Feet of Love
in Action” students submitted a
variety of projects. The contest
included two divisions: 7th-9th
grade and 10th-12th grade. Any
form of multi-media work was
welcome for the contest.
The first place winner in each
division will compete in the national contest. Results from the
national contest will be made
available as they develop.
In the 7th to 9th-grade division, first place went to the project
their interviews they learned
that the families in the colonias
“hungered” for more catechesis. Throughout the video a song
played that was written and sung
by the group.
In the 10th to 12th grade division, a Poverty Box constructed
by Juan Diego Academy students
Esteban Cepeda and Finn Burns
garnered first place in the Poverty
Division.
The “Poverty Box” included
four smaller boxes inside to represent four important issues in
poverty – Food, Politics, Education, and the Health System. The
concept is to show how these four
issues trap people in poverty.
The work shows common
causes and solutions to problems
in impoverished areas. The quotes
on the outside of the box are there
to show common statistics about
poverty.
The video “Making a Difference,” produced by Nozomi Garcia, Ben Garcia, Stephan Lin and
Matthew Mercado, earned second
place. The team is from Juan Diego Academy in Mission.
The short video captivates
devastation and hope. The youth
filmed a neighbor in poor living
conditions to show how poverty
can strike anywhere.
The contest receives support
from RCL Benziger, publisher of
Catholic religious education materials for parishes, schools and
families since 1792.
M A >K
Classes offered every other weekend to
accommodate working adults
MH;>
N=
LEARN MORE
www.ollusa.edu/Valley
CALL 956-277-0146
OR EMAIL [email protected]
w w w. o l l u s a . e d u
Catholic higher education and service,
sponsored by the Sisters of Divine Providence, since 1895
May 2014
YOUTH
»Hope in Action: A Spotlight on Youth
7
For the music
High school sacristan
devotes time to parish
Daniel Ortegon from Our
Lady of Sorrows Parish in McAllen
was nominated for this month’s
“Hope in Action: A Spotlight on
Youth.”
“Danny is an amazing young
man. He is kind, caring, and loves
to serve,” said Paco Castellanos,
youth minister at Our Lady of
Sorrows Church.
“I have seen him grow from
a shy person to an outstanding
leader and speaker. His faith and
love for God and the Church is
an inspiration
to all our teens
at Our Lady
of
Sorrows.
It has been
a blessing to
know him and
work with him.
Our parish is
blessed to have
Daniel Ortegón
him.”
Name: Daniel Ortegon
School/Grade:
I
attend
McAllen Memorial High School
and I’m in 12th grade.
What I do at (local Catholic
parish): I am a sacristan and I also
help our youth group with retreats
and service projects. I try to lead
by example.
Talents/Gifts: One of the
things I do outside of Church is
play soccer. I’ve been playing ever
since I could walk and I love it
now more than ever.
Best Movie Ever: I would
have to say that my favorite movie
Courtesy photo
7KH5LR*UDQGH9DOOH\0XVLF)HVWLYDOUHFHQWO\DZDUGHG6W-RVHSK6FKRROLQ(GLQEXUJZLWK
a check for $3,000 toward the music needs of the school. From left Father Gregory Labus,
SDVWRURI6W-RVHSK3DULVK(DUO:LHULQJDQG9HURQLFD6WDUNIHVWLYDOWUXVWHHVDQG6LVWHU
+HOHQ5RWWLHULQWHULPSULQFLSDORI6W-RVHSK6FKRRO7KH5LR*UDQGH9DOOH\0XVLF)HVWLYDO
LVDQRQSURÀWJURXSZKLFKUDLVHVIXQGVWRGLVWULEXWHWRWKHPXVLFGHSDUWPHQWVRIYDOOH\
schools. Visit www.rgvmf.com for more information.
Peformers in musical
“Beauty and the Beast”
Courtesy
Daniel Ortegon, a senior at McAllen Memorial High School, volunteers as a sacristan at
2XU/DG\RI6RUURZV&KXUFK+HVD\VKHLVLQLQVSLUHGE\0RWKHU7HUHVD
is “The Breakfast Club”, because it
makes you realize that we all have
more in common than differences.
Most Listened to Song on
My iPod?: A song that I listen to
a lot is Hillsong United’s “Oceans
(Where Feet May fail)”. A good
friend of mine Saul Balandrano
told me about it and it’s become
one of my favorites.
TV Show I Never Miss: I don’t
keep up with a lot of shows on
TV but I do keep up with soccer
games. I usually can’t see games
live because of school, so I record
them and watch them late at
night when I am finally done with
everything I have to do that day.
Book I’d Read Again (and
Again): My youth minister let
me borrow a book called “A
Simple Path”. This book talks
about Mother Teresa’s life and
way of thinking. She is truly an
inspiration to me because she
dedicated her life to helping
people in need all over the world,
and I hope to one day be like her
and live the way she lived.
» Please see sacristan, p.17
,PPDFXODWH&RQFHSWLRQ&DWKHGUDO
*LIW6KRSDQG0XVHXP
1158 East Jefferson Street
Brownsville, Texas, 78520
Tel: 956-546-9927
Courtesy photo
7KUHH6W$QWKRQ\&DWKROLF6FKRROJUDGXDWHV²(PLO\6ZDUW]&KDUOHV.HOOHUDQG'HQLVFH
3DODFLRVUHFHQWO\SHUIRUPHGLQWKHPXVLFDO´%HDXW\DQGWKH%HDVWµDW6W-RVHSK
$FDGHP\LQ%URZQVYLOOH6ZDUW]DQG3DODFLRVJUDGXDWHGIURPWK*UDGHDW6W$QWKRQ\
&DWKROLF6FKRROLQ+DUOLQJHQLQDQGDUHQRZMXQLRUVDW6W-RVHSK$FDGHP\ZKLOH
.HOOHULVQRZDVRSKRPRUHDW6W-RVHSK
OPEN 10AM-5PM
Monday - Saturday
The source for Catholic Religious Articles
sure to enhance your spiritual journey!
Come see
our large
selection of
statues!
Bibles & Missals
Spiritual Reading
Rosaries
Prayer Cards
& DVD’s
Visit the Diocese of Brownsville’s
website at www.cdob.org
8
DIOCESE
» Mariachi Festival
Bringing families
together through music
The Valley Catholic
0XVLFÀOOHGWKHDLUDVPDULDFKL
bands from around the Rio
Grande Valley gathered at the
Basilica of Our Lady of San
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for their third annual Mariachi
FRQFHUW7KH\IHDWXUHGWKHLU
professional house mariachi
band amongst other local
middle schools, high schools
and professional groups who
shared their gift of music on
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/LIH2IÀFHVHYHUHGDVPDVWHU
of ceremonies for the evening.
3HVLQDLVDIRUPHUWUXPSHW
player for the Mariachi Las
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Mariachi in the United States.
Now Registering
Visit our schools in your area and experience
Communities of Faith..QRZOHGJH.Service
St. Joseph Academy
St. Anthony School
Brownsville
*UDGHVWKWK
www.sja.us
Harlingen
*UDGHV3.WK
www.saintanthonyeagles.com
,QFDUQDWH:RUG$FDGHP\
6DQ0DUWLQGH3RUUHV6FKRRO
Our Lady of Guadalupe School
Mission
*UDGHV3.WK
ww.olgcatholicschool.com
Juan Diego Academy
Brownsville
*UDGHV3.WK
iw-academy.org
Weslaco
*UDGHV3NWK
www.smdpcs.com
Mission
*UDGHVWKWKDGGLQJWKLQWKHIDOO
www.juandiegoacademy.org
Guadalupe Regional Middle School
Oratory Academy
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Brownsville
*UDGHVWKWK
http://guadalupe.schoolfusion.us
3KDUU
*UDGHV3.WK
www.oratoryschools.org
6W0DU\·V6FKRRO
Our Lady of Sorrows School
Brownsville
*UDGHV3.WK
www.stmarys-cs.org
McAllen
*UDGHV3.WK
www.olssnet.org
St. Luke School
St. Joseph School
Brownsville
*UDGHV3.WK
www.stlukecs.org
Edinburg
*UDGHV3.WK
www.stjoseph-edinburg.org
for the 2014-2015
school year
Rio Grande City
*UDGHV3.WK
www.icsrio.org
&DWKROLF6FKRROV2IÀFH
Tuition
Assistance
Available
19LUJHQGH6DQ-XDQ
6DQ-XDQ7H[DV
V. Lisette Allen, Superintendent
“Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.”
May 2014
DIOCESE
9
»Pilgrimage Close to Home
Spending time with our Lord
Visit to seven
Altars of Repose an
ancient tradition
By BRENDA NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
BROWNSVILLE — This past
Triduum my husband and I shared
St. Anthony Church, Harlingen
a new pilgrimage experience, new
to us as it is actually an ancient tradition of visiting seven Altars of Repose on Holy Thursday. The practice is linked to the early Christian
custom of visiting sites which were
significant to Christ’s Passion.
In Rome, pilgrims visit seven
basilicas (St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Wall, St. John Lateran, St.
Mary Major, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, St. Lawrence Outside the
Cesar Riojas/The Valley Catholic
Walls and St. Sebastian). In recent
St. Joseph Church, Brownsville
Bishop Daniel E. Flores kneels in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament following the Mass of the Last Supper on
times, when seven churches are not
possible, making it to at least three $SULOLQ%URZQVYLOOH
sacraments of initiation and St.
suffices.
Luke Church, my parish church
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to
I had heard about the tradition,
until I moved away and where we
but had not paid much attention
his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
were married 26 years ago. The
until an intern last year recounted
pilgrimage filled us with immense
Mt 26:36
how he and his friends delighted in
joy. We also visited Holy Famtheir visit from one church to the
ily Church in Brownsville and St.
next. Bishop Emeritus Raymundo
Benedict Church in San Benito.
J. Peña for years practiced the traAs empty nesters we are still
dition, and Bishop Daniel E. Flores
adjusting to our children, young
shared photos of his own visits on
adults now, living away from
his blog one year.
home. I miss our family tradition
Bishop Flores said it gives him
of walking the Stations of the Cross
great joy to see how the faithful pretogether on Good Friday and prepare a place to receive the Lord after
paring Easter baskets and painting
the Sacrament is taken in procescascarones in the days leading up to
sion at the end the Holy Thursday
Easter.
liturgy, and to see young people and
Our Thursday pilgrimage took
families spending time in adoration
us on a nostalgic “This is your
and prayer. The procession with the
life” tour. Fue un recordido de meSacrament symbolizes the Lord go- Holy Family Church, Brownsville
morias. As we visited the different
ing out to face the Passion.
churches in Brownsville we drove
For my husband and I it was a
St. Benedict Church, San Benito
past places bursting with history
grace-filled experience and a perfrom our youth and growing years.
fect start to the Triduum. God’s
We drove by both our elementary
graces overflowed that evening as
schools and playgrounds that are
we visited the Altars of Repose at
nearly gone now; we passed by my
seven different churches. We starthusband’s middle school and our
ed at the Immaculate Conception
high school – Homer Hanna High;
Cathedral in Brownsville and made
we passed by old neighborhoods,
our way to our home parish St. Anfavorite hamburger joints, streets
thony Church in Harlingen.
where I learned to drive.
My husband and I chose
Each Altar of Repose affordchurches that connected us to our
ed us time with Christ, time for
families and sacraments. Among
prayer, and time to remember the
the churches we visited were Our
blessings in our lives, and always
Lady of Guadalupe Church where
I was baptized; St. Joseph Church St. Luke Church, Brownsville
» Please see Pilgrimage, p.16
where my husband received all his
“
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Brownsville
10
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic -May 2014
Father Jim Pfeifer, OMI
February 16, 1927 - April 23, 2014
The Valley Catholic
Father James E. Pfeifer
of the Missionary Oblates of
Mary Immaculate passed away
peacefully on April 23, surrounded
by family in his residence at Our
Lady of Guadalupe Parish, in
Mission, TX.
Father Pfeifer served as pastor
of Sacred Heart Parish in McAllen
and Parochial Vicar of Our Lady
of Guadalupe Church in Mission.
For the last five years, he had
been assigned to Our Lady of
Guadalupe where he lived with his
Chihuahua, Fritz.
Father James Edward Pfeifer,
OMI, born in Alamo, Texas on
February 16, 1927. He entered
St. Peter’s Novitiate on June 28,
1945, in Mission, Texas and
professed vows as a member of the
Congregation of the Missionary
Oblates of Mary Immaculate on
June 29, 1946.
Having completed his studies
in philosophy at the DeMazenod
Scholasticate, now Oblate School
of Theology, in San Antonio,
Texas, Father Pfeifer traveled
to Rome, Italy to complete his
studies in theology.
He was ordained to the
priesthood on October 28, 1951,
at Santa Maria in Vallicella, known
as Chiesa Nuova, in Rome, Italy,
by Bishop Alloysio Traglia. He
earned a Licentiate in Theology
in 1952 from the Pontifical
Gregorian University, in Rome.
Father Pfeifer taught at St.
Anthony minor seminary in
San Antonio for a year before
he returned to Rome, where he
spent 10 years. He had many
assignments in Houston, San
Antonio and Falfurrias before he
made it back to the Valley in 1975.
He served as a chaplain and
counselor at the Charter Palms
Hospital in McAllen, a center
for people seeking treatment for
alcoholism and drug addiction;
pastor at Sacred Heart Parish
in McAllen and Our Lady of
The Valley Catholic
Guadalupe Church in Mission.
)DWKHU-LP3IHLIHUZDVVHUYLQJDV3DURFKLDO
“He was a great partner and a Vicar under reduced active ministry at Our
great man. A real man’s man and /DG\*XDGDOXSH3DULVKLQ0LVVLRQ7H[DV
priest’s priest... One who always
took care of me... One day when
The Vigil/Rosary was held at
I went to ring the bells, I asked
Jim to go with me. He got all fired Sacred Heart Parish in McAllen
up. He was so weak… but said, on April 24 at 7 p.m., and a Mass
‘darn right I’m going with you. was celebrated on April 25 at Our
We are goin’ wear our cowboy Lady of Guadalupe Parish, in
hats, our Oblate crosses and ring Mission.
The funeral Mass and
the bells we have been ringin’ for
100 years… we aren’t goin’ to stop interment will take place at the
now,’” said Oblate priest, Father Oblate Madonna Residence
Roy Snipes, pastor of Our Lady of Chapel in San Antonio on
Monday, May 5, 2014.
Guadalupe Parish in Mission.
Congratulations! The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary are finalists for the 2014 Lumen Christi Award.
The Lumen Christi Award has a 37 year history of celebrating the most inspiring men and women across
America who are helping to shine the light of Christ in mission dioceses. To find out more information
about the Lumen Christi Award visit www.catholicextension.org.
St. John the Baptist Church
gets historical marker
SAN JUAN — San Juan Mayor
San Juanita “Janie” Sanchez and
Father Gerald Frank, pastor of St.
John The Baptist Catholic Church
in San Juan unveiled a Texas
Historical Commission Marker at
the church on March 23.
During the official unveiling,
athleen Frye, Hidalgo County
Historical Commission (HCHC)
member who wrote the marker
application, read the inscription.
Adela Ortega of Mission,
HCHC Chairman, and Glenn
Housley of Weslaco, Marker
Chairman also participated the in
the ceremony.
The church was established in
1925 when Rev. Alphonse Jalbert,
OMI, built a wooden chapel on
Nebraska and Second Street, the
first Catholic Church in San Juan.
Designated a parish in 1949,
its then Pastor Joe Azpiazu
installed a replica of a statue of the
Virgen de San Juan de los Lagos in
Jalisco, Mexico. This marked the
beginning of the Virgen de San
Juan del Valle. In 1954 a new St.
John the Baptist Church/Shrine
was built.
In 1970 a tragic plane crash
and fire destroyed the church/
shrine, but the statue and bell
tower survived.
In 1972 Bishop John J.
Fitzpatrick of the Brownsville
Diocese separated the Shrine
from the Parish. In 1975 the new
St. John the Baptist Church was
Courtesy Photo
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built beside the bell tower and was
dedicated that year.
In 1980 the Basilica of Our
Lady of San Juan del Valle was
dedicated and became the new
home of the statue.
Meanwhile, the old wooden
chapel was moved to Lopezville on
the north side of San Juan, where
it serves the spiritual needs of that
neighborhood.
St. John the Baptist Parish
Church was recently remodeled.
The dedication on March 23
celebrated the parish church and
its storied history.
May 2014
DIOCESE
Those Who Serve:
11
Priests in the Diocese of Brownsville
cHrism mass
Renewal of vows,
blessing of oils
By VANESSA GONZALEZ
The Valley Catholic
SAN JUAN — The Most
Reverend Daniel E. Flores,
celebrated the chrism Mass on April
15 at the Basilica of Our Lady of San
Juan del Valle-National Shrine. All
priests from around the diocese
gathered to bless the holy oils that
are used throughout the year.
Bishop Flores led the priests in
a renewal of their priestly vows and
a reflection on what it means to be
a priest.
During his homily, Bishop
Flores emphasized the types
of people Jesus associated with
throughout his time on earth. He
highlighted how Jesus approached
those who were rejected. “By doing
this, Christ served as an example
to us, so that we may reach out to
those who are most in need,” he
said.
Along with the rest of the
assembly, Bishop Flores prayed for
a blessed year in the community led
by the priests in the diocese.
As the prayers ended, members
of each parish cheered on the name
of their respected priest, some
holding up signs in support.
During the Mass, the bishop
blessed the oils that will be used
in the sacraments of baptism,
confirmation, ordination and the
anointing of the sick throughout
the year.
Photos by Eduardo Elizondo and Rigoberto Ramirez Jr., Mobile Journalists /The Valley Catholic
Hundreds of faithful from throughout the Rio Grande Valley joined Bishop Daniel E. Flores and their priests
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“The Great Concelebration”
For photos from Holy Week and other events visit the
Catholic Diocese
of Brownsville facebook page
12
IN THE NEWS
Jesus can raise everyone from the
tomb of a dead, tired soul, pope says
By CAROL GLATZ
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — Come out
from the dark cave of pride, sin
and death and into the light of a
new life with Christ, Pope Francis
said.
“Take away the stone of shame”
that is keeping you trapped inside
a life that is dead or painful and be
raised up again by Christ, he said
in a homily April 6.
The pope also gave away
thousands of copies of a pocketsized edition of the Gospels, telling
people to always keep a copy with
them to read snippets every day
while in line or while commuting.
But he said it was probably best
not to read while standing in a
crowded bus because it was better
to keep an eye out for pickpockets.
The pope’s remarks came
during a late afternoon visit to the
Church of St. Gregory the Great
on the outskirts of Rome. Before
he celebrated Mass, he met with
young people, the sick and elderly
and heard the confessions of a
number of parishioners.
In his homily and during his
Angelus address at noon with
pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s
Square, the pope spoke about the
day’s Gospel reading from the
Gospel of John (11:1-45), which
recounts Jesus raising Lazarus
from the dead.
When Jesus went to Lazarus’
tomb, he asked that the stone
sealing the entrance be taken
away. He then “cried out in a loud
voice, ‘Lazarus come out!’ And the
dead man came out,” the Gospel
says.
Jesus is saying the same thing
to people today, the pope said
at the Mass, “because we’re all
marked by death” and sin. “All of
us have some areas, some parts of
our hearts that are not alive, that
are a little dead and other people
have a lot of their heart that’s dead
-- a real spiritual necrosis!”
The parts of a person’s heart
that have died have become
“tombs of sin,” he said, and some
people become trapped inside,
either because they are afraid or
embarrassed to come out or they
have become “attached” to their
sin and corrupted.
The pope asked people to think
about what part of their hearts
have died, that have become a
dark tomb, and then listen to Jesus
calling, like he called Lazarus:
“Come out!”
“Christ doesn’t give up in front
of the tombs we have built by our
choosing evil and death, by our
mistakes, our sins,” the pope said.
Jesus “calls us incessantly to get
out of the darkness of the prison
we’ve locked ourselves into by
making do with a false, egotistical,
mediocre life.”
“’Come out!’ is a beautiful
invitation to true freedom,” he
said.
Our resurrection begins here,
when we decide to obey Jesus’
command, to come out into the
light, to life,” he said.
Just as Jesus asked that the
burial cloths that were wrapped
around Lazarus’ hands, feet and
face be untied, so Christians today
need to uncover their true selves.
“Many times we are masked
by sin; the masks must fall and we
will rediscover the courage of our
original face,” created in the image
of God.
There is no limit to how much
love and mercy God offers to
everyone, he said.
At the parish visit and during
the Angelus address, Pope Francis
told everyone he was giving them
-- as a gift -- a pocket-sized edition
of the Gospels.
He said he knows he tells
people to carry the word of God
with them all the time so they can
read it often and every day. But
he said he got the idea of giving
copies away after “I recalled an
ancient tradition in the church of
giving catechumens the Gospel
during Lent.”
Thanks to digital media, the
pope said people can have the
entire Bible on their cell phone or
tablet. What’s important is even
with “so many technological tools”
available, that people read the
word of God in all its forms.
He told people that when they
to read the Gospels they should
remember that “it’s Jesus that is
speaking to you in there!”
»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.
May
» Birthdays
2
5
7
7
14
23
24
25
27
Rev. Luis Javier Garcia, JCL
Rev. Jose Villalon, Jr.
Rev. Hector Cruz, SM
Rev. Juan Manuel Salazar
Rev. Jorge A. Gomez
Rev. Roy Lee Snipes, OMI
Rev. Gregory Kuczmanski
Rev. Michael Amesse, OMI
Rev. Francisco J. Solis
7
10
14
21
Deacon Antonio Osorio
Deacon Juan Pablo Navarro
Deacon Roberto Cantu
Deacon Juan M. Delgado
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
» Anniversaries
2 Rev. Carlos Zuniga
5 Rev. Msgr. Gustavo Barrera
7 Rev. Francois Tsanga, SCJ
10 Rev. Michael Amesse, OMI
10 Rev. Timothy Paulsen, OMI
11 Rev. Msgr. Louis Brum
11 Rev. Tomas Sepulveda
15 Rev. Paul Roman, FSSP
16 Rev. Thomas Luczak, OFM
17 Rev. Porfirio Garcia, OMI
23 Rev. Alejandro Flores
23 Rev. George Gonzalez
23 Rev. Miguel Angel Ortega
24 Rev. Gregory Kuczmanski
25 Rev. Arturo Castillo
25 Rev. Eduardo Gomez
25 Rev. Juan Manuel Salazar
25 Rev. Juan Pablo Davalos
25 Rev. Juan Rogelio Gutierrez
25 Bishop Emertius Raymundo J.
Peña
26 Rev. Andres Gutierrez
26 Rev. A. Oliver Angel, JCL
26 Rev. Jesus Paredes
26 Rev. Luis Roberto Tinajero
26 Rev. Martin De La Cruz
26 Rev. Ruben Delgado
26 Rev. Tomas Mateos – Retired
27 Rev. Aglayde Rafael Vega
27 Rev. Eduardo Ortega
27 Rev. Francisco J. Solis
27 Rev. Gerald Frank
27 Rev. Gregory Labus
27 Rev. James Erving, OMI
27 Rev. Mario A. Castro
27 Rev. Oscar O. Siordia
28 Rev. Alfonso Guevara
29 Rev. Ignacio Tapia
29 Rev. Jorge A. Gomez
29 Rev. Luis Fernando Sanchez
29 Rev. Salvador Ramirez
31 Rev. Amador Garza
31 Rev. Ernesto Magallon
31 Rev. Mishael Koday
31 Rev. Terrence Gorski, OFM
5 Dcn. Bruno Cedillo
5 Dcn. Juan M. Delgado
5 Dcn. John P. Kinch
5 Dcn. Alvino Olvera
12 Dcn. Roberto Cano
12 Dcn. Agapito Cantu
12 Dcn. Roberto Cantu
12 Dcn. Julio Castilleja
Visit the
Diocese of
Brownsville’s
website at
www.cdob.org
12
12
12
12
12
12
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12
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12
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12
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Dcn. Alberto X. Chapa
Dcn. Augusto Chapa Jr.
Dcn. Hugo De la Cruz
Dcn. Jesus P. Galvan
Dcn. Alejandro Gamboa
Dcn. Jose G. Garza
Dcn. Irineo Gonzalez Jr.
Dcn. Roberto Ledesma
Dcn. Gilberto Lopez
Dcn. Ruben Lopez
Dcn. Juan P. Navarro
Dcn. Hector Perez
Dcn. Peter Requeñez
Dcn. Eduardo Reyna
Dcn. Salvador Rojas
Dcn. Manuel Sanchez
Dcn. Pedro F. Sanchez
Dcn. Carlos Treviño
Dcn. Rene Villalon
Dcn. Daniel Zamora
Dcn. Jesus E. Aguayo
Dcn. Benito Flores
Dcn. Alvin H. Gerbermann
Dcn. Juan Francisco Gonzalez
Dcn. Jose Guerra
Dcn. Benito Saenz Jr.
Dcn. Israel Sagredo
Dcn. Rodolfo C. Salinas
Dcn. Jose A. Solis
Dcn. Eduardo Ovalle
June
» Birthdays
2 Rev. Daniel H. Oyama
2 Rev. Michael Gnanaraj
3 Rev. Issac Erondu
7 Rev. Thomas Sepulveda, C.S.B
8 Rev. Armando Escobedo – retired
13 Rev. Felix Casarez
18 Rev. Paul Wilhelm, OMI
27 Rev. Fernando Gonzalez
28 Rev. Msgr. Pedro Briseno
29 Rev. Lee Dacosta - retired
10 Sister Colleen Maturese, SSD
25 Sister Fatima Santiago
25 Sister Carolyn Kosub, ICM
28 Sister Gloria Morales, MJ
11
23
27
28
Deacon Ruben Lopez
Deacon Antonio M. Arteaga
Deacon Arturo Rodriguez
Deacon Ismael Garcia
» Anniversaries
3 Rev. Jose Villalon
4 Rev. Joaquin Zermeño
4 Rev. Manuel Alfredo Razo
5 Rev. Leo Francis Daniels, CO
5 Msgr. Patrick Doherty - retired
6 Rev. Armando Escobedo - retired
7 Rev. Eusebio Martinez
7 Rev. Felix Casarez
7 Rev. Will Penderghest, SS.CC
8 Rev. Edouard Atangana
8 Rev. Jean Olivier M. Sambu
16 Rev. Lawrence J. Klein
16 Rev. Richard L. Lifrak, SS.CC
21 Rev. Eduardo Villa
26 Rev. Patrick R. Wells – retired
28 Rev. Msgr. Pedro Briseno
29 Rev. Fernando Gonzalez
29 Rev. Joseph Ateba
30 Rev. Rigobert Poulang Mot
6 Deacon Guillermo Castañeda Jr.
18 Deacon Gilberto Perez
27 Deacon Jesus Reyes
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL 13
Mayo 2014 - The Valley Catholic
Papa Francisco y su
devoción por la Virgen
que desata los nudos
RADIO VATICANA
ROMA — La devoción de ‘la
Virgen que desata los nudos’ cada
vez es más extendida por todo
el mundo, pero sobre todo el
Argentina, donde precisamente
llegó de la mano del Papa
Francisco.
Durante su estancia en
Alemania, la conoció y la quiso
llevar a su querido país. En una
entrevista con Radio Vaticano
el padre argentino Juan Ramón
Celeiro quien ha creado una
novena y diferentes escritos en
honor a la Virgen que desata los
nudos comento que “La actual
se devoción se debe al Papa
Francisco, cuando él estuvo en
Alemania entabló un vínculo de
cariño y se llevó unas estampas.
La gente comenzó a sentir que
Dios respondía a sus súplicas
através de esta imagen.”
La imagen de Nuestra Señora
de Knotenloserin, conocida
como la Virgen “Desata los
Nudos”, se venera desde 1706 en
Ausburgo, y según la creencia
efectúa una mediación maternal
para resolver dificultades y
desatar los nudos que impide a
los hombres unirse con Dios.
El ícono, de estilo barroco,
muestra a un ángel que le
alcanza una cinta con nudos,
el pecado original, con todas
sus consecuencias, grandes y
pequeñas.
Oración a la Virgen Desatanudos
Santa María, desatadora de nudos. Santa María, llena de la
presencia de Dios, durante los días de tu vida aceptaste con toda
humildad la voluntad del Padre, y el Maligno nunca fue capaz de
enredarte con sus confusiones. Ya junto a tu Hijo, intercediste por
nuestras dificultades y, con toda sencillez y paciencia, nos diste
ejemplo de cómo desenredar la madeja de nuestras vidas. Y, al
quedarte para siempre como Madre Nuestra, pones en orden y
haces más claros los lazos que nos unen al Señor.
Santa María, Madre de Dios y Madre Nuestra, Tú que con
corazón materno desatas los nudos que entorpecen nuestra vida,
te pedimos que nos recibas en tus manos y que nos libres de las
ataduras y confusiones con que nos hostiga el que es nuestro
enemigo. Por tu gracia, por tu intercesión, con tu
ejemplo, líbranos de todo mal, Señora Nuestra, y desata los
nudos, que impiden nos unamos a Dios, para que libres de toda
confusión y error, lo hallemos en todas las cosas, tengamos en
El puestos nuestros corazones y podamos servirle siempre en
nuestros hermanos.
Amén
LOS SACRAMENTOS DE INICIACIÓN
Encuentros
con
Cristo
The Valley Catholic
SAN JUAN — Durante la
temporada de Pascua, estos
cincuenta días que comenzaron el
Domingo de Pascua, parroquias
a través del Valle del Rio Grande
celebraron el recibimiento de la
Eucaristía y confirmación. Las
clases de educación religiosa
tradicionalmente terminan los
últimos de abril y principios de
mayo, y su enfoque se guía hacia el
recibimiento de los sacramentos.
Luis Espinoza, director de
la Oficina de Catecismo para la
Diócesis de Brownsville, dijo que
la temporada de Pascua es un
tiempo alegre para celebrar todos
los sacramentos de iniciación –
bautizo, confirmación, Eucaristía.
En la Misa de Pascua, los
feligreses como el Cuerpo Místico
de Cristo, fueron recordados sobre
las bendiciones recibidas en el
bautizo al renovar sus promesas
bautismales.
Él dijo, el bautizo se vuelve una
forma para que nosotros tomemos
parte en la muerte y resurrección
de Jesús. Los otros sacramentos
se vuelven formas de “tocar todas
las etapas y todos los momentos
importantes de la vida de Cristo”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church
no. 1210).
Junto con los otros sacramentos
de iniciación, se traza una base
para cada vida Cristiana para que
todos los que toman parte puedan
“recibir en medidas crecientes los
tesoros de la vida divina y avanzar
hacia la perfección de la caridad.”
(Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on
the Rite of Confirmation, Divinae
Para ver fotos de
la Semana Santa
y otros eventos
visite la página
de la diócesis en
Facebook —
Catholic Diocese
of Brownsville
The Valley Catholic y cortesía
Los sacramentos de iniciación incluyen
EDXWL]RFRQÀUPDFLyQ\OD(XFDULVWtD
consortium naurae).
Las primeras Comuniones son
celebradas usualmente durante
Misas programadas regularmente
en las parroquias. Es el sacramento
de iniciación, una iniciación hacia la
comunidad de adoración y fe. Estos
sacramentos son “un recordatorio
que Dios está moviendo los
corazones de los niños y los padres
para buscar comunión con Jesús en
la parroquia.”
“Como comunidad parroquial
nosotros celebramos a otra persona
que pueda acercarse al altar y
tomar parte más plenamente al
no solamente recibir a Cristo
en la palabra, pero también en
Sacramento,” añadió.
Niños vestidos de blanco
llenarán las bancas de algunas
Misas ésta temporada de Pascua.
Espinoza dijo que el color blanco,
que típicamente es usado para niños
que están recibiendo el sacramento
de la Eucaristía por primera vez,
nos recuerda del énfasis puesto
en el bautizo y en convertirnos en
hijos de Dios.
“El blanco nos recuerda de
la dignidad que recibimos en el
bautizo y para la mayoría era una
vestimenta blanca puesta en el
pecho, o una vestimenta blanca
hecha en casa por la familia o
padrinos, y colocada como un
escapulario en el infante.”
“Hay una gran dicha en
la parroquia durante éstas
celebraciones,” dijo él. “Nos
colocamos en ese momento.
Recordamos nuestros propios
recibimientos e incluso recordamos
» Por favor lea Los Sacramentos p.14
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
14
The Valley Catholic - Mayo 2014
» La Alegría de Vivir
»Vida Familiar
¿Cómo superar el duelo de una tragedia masiva?
C
Msgr. Juan
Nicolau
uando el ser humano se
enfrenta a situaciones que
rebasan su capacidad de
comprensión pueden suceder dos
cosas, que se deje arrastrar por la
autocompasión y permita que la
angustia los paralice, o que aprendan a vivir el momento, superando
los problemas uno a uno, con la
certeza de poder salir adelante.
Hace ya más de seis semanas
que el avión que salió de Malasia
rumbo a China desapareció sin
dejar ni un solo rastro, más de
doscientas personas a bordo y la
tripulación han dejado cientos
de dolientes que han vivido una
angustia impensable al vivir día
a día la incertidumbre de cómo y
qué paso con su familiar que iba a
bordo de ese fatídico vuelo.
Cuando de un momento a
otro tantas personas perecen, es
natural que la gente se pregunte
por que pasan esas tragedias, desde
el principio de mi apostolado hasta
el día de hoy me han preguntado
muchísimas veces el porqué a
la gente buena le suceden cosas
malas, mi respuesta es siempre
la misma: “Solo Dios lo sabe”, y
la verdad es que Dios nunca ha
contestado esa pregunta.
Si leemos el antiguo testamento
encontramos pasajes donde los
profetas preguntaban a Dios ¿Por
qué? Y no recibieron respuestas.
Pastor, Nuestra
Señora del
Perpetuo Socorro
Incluso cuando repasamos las siete
palabras de Jesús en la cruz, en el
último momento, El preguntaba
¿Por qué me has abandonado?
Dios, su padre, no le contesto.
Y la verdad es que cuando nos
preguntamos el porqué de las cosas
malas, no esperamos una explicación, lo que de verdad queremos
es discutir y argumentar, pues el
coraje y la rebeldía son parte de las
etapas del duelo.
Los seres humanos sufrimos
por la incapacidad que tenemos
para solucionar situaciones tan
extremas, pero es en esos momentos que regresamos a lo básico,
al momento de enfrentar una
tragedia es cuando nos damos
cuenta que lo material no importa,
que lo verdaderamente importante
es la vida, pues lo material algún
día podrá reponerse. Lo primero
que debemos hacer para superar
esa gran incógnita del porque de
las cosas malas, es el no culpar a
Dios. Dios no tiene la culpa, es
culpa del hombre y sus malas ac-
Los Sacramentos,
continúa de la pág.13
los momentos en que nuestros hijos
también recibieron el sacramento.”
Espinoza dijo, “Parte de esto
tiene que ver con la inocencia.
Regresamos a esa idea de que
dependemos de Dios y no
solamente de nosotros.”
A principios de éste año en la
Fiesta del Bautismo del Señor, el
Papa Francisco empezó a usar el
Miércoles de Audiencia como una
forma para enseñar y recordar a los
fieles sobre lo que la Iglesia enseña
en los sacramentos.
Durante sus catequesis en el
Sacramento del bautizo, el Santo
Padre dijo que el bautizo es el
Sacramento en el cual nuestra
propia fe se encuentra y el cual nos
injerta como un miembro vivo en
Cristo y su Iglesia. Juntos con la
Eucaristía y confirmación forman
lo que se conoce como la “Iniciación
Cristiana”, como un gran evento
sacramental que nos configura al
Señor y nos convierte en símbolos
vivientes de su presencia y su amor.
Él dijo, “Muchos de nosotros no
tenemos memoria de la celebración
de éste sacramento, y es obvio por
qué, si fuimos bautizados justo
después de nacer. He hecho ésta
pregunta dos o tres veces, aquí
en esta plaza: quién entre ustedes
saben la fecha de su bautizo,
levanten las manos. Es importante
saber el día en el que fui sumergido
en la corriente de salvación de
Jesús. “
El Papa Francisco aconsejó a
los fieles. “Hoy, en casa, vayan a
ver, pregunten sobre el día de su
Love,
hope,
success,
family,
security.
Daniel Reza, Agent
1221 S 77 Sunshine Strip
Harlingen, TX 78550
Bus: 956-425-3276
www.danielreza.com
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Some things we all
have in common.
There’s nobody like me to
protect the things we all value.
Like a good neighbor,
State Farm is there.®
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ciones. Hay que reconocer que son
errores humanos los que nos llevan
a padecer, a veces por no saber discernir entre el bien y el mal, otras
por el egoísmo, la indiferencia, la
estupidez, la rebeldía, y todas las
emociones humanas negativas que
a veces nublan nuestro entendimiento, pero Dios nos ha dado el
coraje para superar la tragedia, salir
de nuestros duelos convertidos en
mejores seres humanos, con mayor
sensibilidad para acompañar a
aquellos que sufren y saber impartirles calma y compasión cuando
lo necesiten. En Isaías (43, 1-3)
encontramos la promesa del Señor
en las siguientes palabras: “No
temas que yo te he redimido, te he
llamado por tu nombre porque eres
mío, cuando pases por agua no te
ahogaras… cuando camines entre
el fuego no te quemaras ni las llamas te consumirán. Porque yo soy
el Señor tu Dios”, y Jesús contesto
a los que le preguntaban el porqué
del sufrimiento, “Benditos los que
sufren porque ellos encontraran el
consuelo del amor de Dios”. Con la
firme creencia que en nuestros momentos de dolor es cuando Dios
nos lleva de la mano, pidamos por
todas esas personas que sufren al
otro lado del mundo y confiemos
que Dios les de fortaleza de espíritu
y la esperanza que su ser querido
goza del esplendor de su gloria.
bautizo y de esa forma mantendrán
en mente el más hermoso día
de bautizo. Conocer el día de
su bautizo es saber de un día
bendecido. El peligro de no saber
es que podemos perder conciencia
de lo que el Señor ha hecho en
nosotros, la memoria del regalo
que hemos recibido.”
“Debemos reavivar la memoria
de nuestro bautizo. Somos llamados
a vivir nuestro Bautizo diariamente
como la realidad actual de nuestras
vidas,” dijo él.
Espinoza dijo que el sacramento
de confirmación es el segundo
sacramento de los sacramentos de
iniciación. También es considerado
la perfección del bautizo. Es
administrado por el obispo, quien
cella a los candidatos con el regalo
del Espíritu Santo.
Ahora consideremos en lo que
se convierte la confirmación para la
Iglesia en su trayecto. Muy similar
al día cuando ellos estaban juntos
en la Sala Superior, los jóvenes
recibirán la Promesa del Padre.
Los fieles son recordados que el
llamado bautismal de “Ir afuera y
hagan discípulos de las naciones”.
En la Diócesis de Brownsville,
Espinoza dijo que el sacramento
es administrado una vez que la
persona joven ha llegado a la edad
de 16. También vemos a otros
adultos recibiendo este sacramento
una vez que han terminado su
preparación a través de RICA u otra
forma de preparación sacramental.
“La Santa Eucaristía consuma
la iniciación Cristiana.” (CCC1322)
Espinoza dijo que en preparación
para recibir la Eucaristía, se les
enseña a los niños verdades
esenciales sobre quién es la especie
consagrada y lo que significa
recibirlo en el Sacramento.
En práctica, los niños que estén
por lo menos en tercer grado se
preparan una vez más “se ponen su
vestimenta blanca” y se acercan al
altar y reciben las bendiciones de
Dios.
Aprendiendo a darse tiempo
en una relación de pareja
E
n un tiempo donde como
seres humanos estamos
acostumbrados a los
mensajes instantáneos, café
instantáneo, comida rápida, e
instagram y tal vez de manera
más fundamental, “gratificación
instantánea”, es importante recordar que todo en la vida que vale
la pena vale la espera.
En el Antiguo Testamento¸
se nos recuerda que hay tiempo
para todo. “Hay un momento
para todo y un tiempo para cada
cosa bajo el cielo: un tiempo para
nacer y un tiempo para morir….
un tiempo para llorar y un
tiempo para reír; un tiempo para
lamentarse y un tiempo para
bailar. ...un tiempo para abrazar
y un tiempo para abstenerse de
abrazos…un tiempo para callar
y un tiempo para hablar; un
tiempo para amar y un tiempo
para odiar; un tiempo para la
guerra y un tiempo para la paz.”
(Eclesiastés Capitulo 3)
Por varios años, he enseñado
periódicamente un curso para
solteros que tiene dos nombres:
“¿Cómo evitar casarse con un
cretino o cretina?” y el programa
P.I.C.K.” (Pre-matrimonial, interpersonal, elección y conocimiento). Aunque es un programa
secular, es fácil incluir algunas
enseñanzas de la Iglesia Católica.
¿Qué es lo que hace a una
persona un “cretino” o “cretina”?
RESISTENCIA PERSISTENTE;
cuando nos resistimos persistentemente a trabajar en lo que
sabemos que necesitamos trabajar. Este concepto es consistente
con las enseñanzas de la Iglesia
donde somos llamados a convertir a nuestra pareja en un santo;
llevar a nuestra pareja a la santidad; ayudar a nuestra pareja ser
la mejor persona que Dios quiere
que sea. Pero la única persona
que podemos cambiar y mejorar
es a nosotros mismos en lugar de
resistir persistentemente.
Ejemplo rápido: cuando mi
esposo Mauri y yo nos casamos
hace casi 40 años, yo era muy
terca y no flexible y aunque aún
lo soy hasta cierto punto, he
mejorado con su ayuda; pero definitivamente tengo que trabajar
en esos defectos a diario y no ser
una cretina y decir “¡Bueno, así es
como soy!”
Una de las metas más importantes en este curso es enseñarle
a los solteros como aprender
a darle tiempo a una relación
de pareja. El Dr. John Van Epp
quien es el autor de este curso y el
libro llamado “Modelo de apego
en relaciones” el cual contiene
5 elementos de unión: conocer,
confiar, depender, comprometer,
y tocar.
El modelo enfatiza la importancia que los solteros que están
en un noviazgo deben tener, esto
Lydia Pesina
Directora, Oficina
de Vida Familiar
es conocer bien a la persona antes de CONFIAR; confiar extensivamente antes de DEPENDER
en la persona; depender y tener
confianza antes de COMPROMETERSE, y COMPROMETERSE
antes de TOCAR, antes de la
intimidad sexual. En la Iglesia
Católica, ese compromiso es el
Sacramento del Matrimonio.
Frecuentemente le digo a los
solteros que los estudios seculares
está demostrando lo que la sabiduría de la Iglesia ha enseñado
por siglos: que el sexo es sagrado
y pertenece en el matrimonio, no
antes del matrimonio o fuera del
matrimonio. La Iglesia enseña
que Dios creó el sexo por dos
razones y las dos empiezan con la
letra P: Procreación y Placer del
esposo y esposa.
Y la P que definitivamente no
pertenece en el matrimonio es la
Pornografía la cual es una forma
de infidelidad. Los estudios
sobre relaciones y los psicólogos
se están dando cuenta que la
pornografía es una de las causas
principales de los problemas
matrimoniales, especialmente
porque es tan adictivo y tan accesible.
El primer elemento de la
unión del RAM es CONOCER.
A los solteros se les anima a que
SEPAN los 5 elementos de su
pareja durante el noviazgo antes
de que realmente confíen en ellos, usando el acrónimo FACES,
se les anima que conozcan FFamilia (historial); A-Actitudes,
comportamientos, y trabajo de
conciencia; C-Compatibilidad
(emocional, intelectual, y espiritual); E-Experiencias (especialmente sobre su pasado); S-Sus
habilidades (comunicación y
habilidad para solucionar problemas).
El concepto de darse TIEMPO es algo que no solo aplica a
los solteros en noviazgos, pero tal
vez a todos nosotros que a veces
necesitamos que se nos recuerde que al igual como una flor
hermosa requiere tiempo para
desarrollarse y florecer, todas
la relaciones necesitan tiempo¸
comunicación, y unión.
Como comunidad Cristiana,
oremos a diario por nuestros
jóvenes y jóvenes adultos; que
el Espíritu Santo les guie en su
preparación para un matrimonio
de toda la vida, aprendiendo
como darle tiempo a una relación
amorosa que les asistirá en ser
felices, saludables y santos
Encuentro Católico Carismático
The Valley Catholic
LAROSITA — El XVII
Encuentro Católico Carismático
0rganizado por el Grupo de
Oración de Escobares está
programado para el 31 de Mayo y
el 1 de Junio de las 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
en el Salón Santa Rosa de Lima,
en La Rosita, Texas.
El director del encuentro será
el Padre Francis Frankovich, CC
de Houston. Los predicadores
laicos son Jose Alberto Rodriguez
y Alex Diaz Gauna de Houston.
Freddy Flores con su
Ministerio y Gente Nueva en el
Espíritu de Monterrey Nuevo
León Lugar presentaran la música.
Para más información, llame
al (956) 849-1741, (956) 437-4880
o (956) 500-7273.
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL 15
Mayo 2014 - The Valley Catholic
»Peregrinaje cerca de casa
Pasando tiempo con nuestro Señor
“
Visita a siete Altares
de Reposo es una
tradición antigua
Por BRENDA NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
BROWNSVILLE — Este pasado triduo pascual, mi esposo y
yo compartimos una nueva experiencia de peregrinación, nueva
para nosotros siendo que ya es una
tradición antigua visitar los siete
Altares de Reposo el Jueves Santo.
La práctica está atada a la temprana
costumbre Cristiana de visitar los
lugares que eran significativos a la
Pasión de Cristo.
En Roma, los peregrinos visitan
siete basílicas (San Pedro, San Pablo
Fuera del Muro, San Juan Laterano,
Sta. María Mayor, Santa Croce en
Gerusalemme, San Lorenzo fuera
de los Muros y San Sebastián). En
tiempos recientes, cuando no era
posible siete iglesias, por lo menos
tres eran suficientes.
Había escuchado sobre la
tradición, pero no le había puesto mucha atención hasta que un
pasante el año pasado me contó
como él y sus amigos disfrutaron
de sus visitas de una iglesia a otra.
El Obispo Eméritos Raymundo J.
Peña practicó esta tradición por
años, y el Obispo Daniel E. Flores
compartió fotos de sus visitas en su
blog.
El Obispo Flores dijo que le da
mucha alegría ver cómo los feligreses preparan el lugar para recibir al
Cesar Riojas/The Valley Catholic
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Señor después de que el Sacramento es llevado en procesión al final
de la liturgia del Jueves Santo, y el
ver a los jóvenes y familias pasando
tiempo en adoración y oración. La
procesión con el Sacramento simboliza el Señor saliendo a encontrarse con la Pasión.
Para mi esposo y yo, fue una
experiencia llena de gracia y un
comienzo perfecto para el triduo
pascual. Las bendiciones de Dios
se desbordaron esa noche mientras
visitábamos los Altares de Reposo
en siete iglesias diferentes. Empezamos en la Catedral Inmaculada
Concepción en Brownsville e hicimos nuestro camino hasta nuestra
parroquia la Iglesia San Antonio en
Harlingen.
Mi esposo y yo escogimos
iglesias que nos conectaban con
nuestras familias y sacramentos.
Entre las iglesias que visitamos estaban la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de
Guadalupe en donde fui bautizada;
la Iglesia San José en donde mi esposo recibió todos sus sacramentos
de iniciación y la Iglesia San Lucas,
mi iglesia parroquial hasta que me
mudé y en donde nos casamos hace
26 años. El peregrinaje nos llenó
de una dicha inmensa. También
visitamos la Iglesia Sagrada Familia en Brownsville y la Iglesia San
Benedicto en San Benito.
Como padres con hijos emancipados, todavía estamos ajustándonos a que nuestros hijos, jóvenes
adultos, vivan lejos del hogar. Extraño nuestra tradición familiar de
caminar las Estaciones de la Cruz
juntos el Viernes Santo y preparar
las canastas de Pascua y pintar cas-
Llegó Jesús con ellos a un lugar llamado
Getsemaní, y dijo a sus discípulos: «Siéntense
aquí, mientras yo voy más allá a orar.”
carones en los días hacia la Pascua.
Nuestro peregrinaje del jueves
nos llevó hacia un recorrido de
memorias. Con forme visitamos las
diferentes iglesias en Brownsville
condujimos por lugares rebozados
de historia de nuestra juventud y
años de maduración. Manejamos
por nuestras escuelas primarias
y jardines casi extintos; pasamos
por la secundaria de mi esposo y
por nuestra preparatoria – Homer
Hanna High; pasamos por viejos
vecindarios, nuestros lugares favoritos de hamburguesas, calles en
donde aprendí a conducir.
Cada Altar de Reposo nos
otorgó tiempo con Cristo, tiempo
para orar, y tiempo para recordar
las bendiciones de nuestras vidas,
y el Señor estuvo a nuestro lado
siempre. Durante nuestro viaje de
una iglesia a la otra compartimos
historias sobre cómo han cambiado
algunas cosas y otras se han quedado intactas.
Algunas iglesias se sintieron
como hogar. En la Iglesia Nuestra
Señora de Guadalupe, donde fui
bautizada, pude escuchar la voz de
mi madre. Recuerde la banca en
la que nos sentábamos en la parte
trasera de la iglesia. Recuerdo que
ella apuntó hacia el altar y me dijo
que Cristo estaba detrás de las
puertas cerradas en el tabernáculo
dorado. “Ahí está Cristo,” dijo ella.
Mateo 26:36
Tal vez tenía cuatro o cinco.
Recuerdo confundirme con su
comentario por mucho tiempo,
tratando de darle sentido en mi
mente infantil, a lo que me quiso
decir.
Quería pasar más tiempo en
cada iglesia, pero consiente del
tiempo, tuvimos que continuar
para asegurarnos que recorreríamos las siete antes de la media
noche, cuando la Adoración termino el Jueves Santo.
Cada altar estaba rodeado de
ramos de flores, velas que titilaban para dar luz en la oscuridad.
Cada uno preparado con cuidado y
adornado para que los fieles pudieran pasar tiempo en silencio y
meditación frente al Señor. Nadie
dormía. Todos estaban cuidando el
“Jardín de Getsemaní.”
En el camino vimos personas
que conocíamos que estaban tomando parte en la tradición antigua de visitar diferentes Altares de
Reposo esa noche. Podías sentir
la dicha que nos ungía en nuestro
peregrinaje del Jueves Santo.
En la Iglesia San Lucas, fue reconfortante escuchar la voz familiar de Helen Vargas, quien estaba
guiando la oración de los niños
ante el Altar o Reposo. Me sentí
como en mi hogar. Helen fue mi
maestra de confirmación y direc» Por favor lea Peregrinaje p.16
16
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
The Valley Catholic - Mayo 2014
El Papa: Que la Resurrección
se vea en la vida diaria
ACI/EWTN NOTICIAS
VATICANO — En sus
palabras previas al rezo del Regina
Coeli en el Lunes del Ángel el 21
de abril, el Papa Francisco llamó
a los católicos reunidos en la
Plaza de San Pedro a hacer que la
Resurrección de Cristo se irradie
en la vida diaria, no como “un
maquillaje”, sino partiendo “de un
corazón inmerso en la fuente de
esta alegría”.
A continuación las palabras
del Papa gracias a la traducción de
Radio Vaticana:
Queridos
hermanos
y
hermanas, ¡buenos días! ¡Felices
Pascuas! “Cristòs anèsti! – Alethòs
anèsti!”, “¡Cristo ha resucitado! –
¡Verdaderamente ha resucitado!”
¡Está entre nosotros aquí!, en la
plaza. En esta semana podemos
seguir intercambiándonos la
felicitación pascual, como si fuera
un único día. Es el gran día que
hizo el Señor.
El sentimiento dominante
que transluce de los relatos
evangélicos de la Resurrección es
la alegría llena de estupor; pero
un estupor grande, pero la alegría
que viene desde adentro; y en la
Liturgia nosotros revivimos el
estado de ánimo de los discípulos
por la noticia que las mujeres
habían dado: ¡Jesús ha resucitado!
Nosotros lo hemos visto.
Dejemos que esta experiencia,
impresa en el Evangelio, se
imprima también en nuestros
corazones y se vea en nuestra vida.
Dejemos que el estupor gozoso del
Domingo de Pascua se irradie en
los pensamientos, en las miradas,
en las actitudes, en los gestos y en
las palabras… ojalá seamos así
luminosos. ¡Pero esto no es un
maquillaje! Viene desde dentro,
de un corazón inmerso en la
fuente de esta alegría, como el de
María Magdalena, que lloró por la
pérdida de su Señor y no creía a
sus ojos viéndolo resucitado.
Quien hace esta experiencia
se convierte en testigo de la
Resurrección, porque en cierto
sentido ha resucitado él mismo,
Pilgrimage,
continued from pg. 11
the Lord was at our side. During
our drive time from one church
to the next, we shared stories and
talked about how some things
have changed and how some remain intact.
Some churches felt particularly like home. At Our Lady of
Guadalupe Church, where I was
baptized, I could hear my mother’s
voice. I remember the pews we sat
in at the time toward the back of
the church. I remember she pointed to the altar and told me Christ
was behind the closed doors in the
gold tabernacle. “Ahi esta Cristo,”
she said.
Maybe I was four or five. I remember I puzzled about her comment for a long time, trying in
my child’s mind to make sense of
what she meant.
I wanted to spend more time
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abril.
ha resucitado ella misma.
Entonces es capaz de llevar un
“rayo” de la luz del Resucitado
en las diversas situaciones: en las
felices, haciéndolas más bellas y
preservándolas del egoísmo; y en
las dolorosas, llevando serenidad
y esperanza.
En esta semana, nos hará bien
tomar el libro del Evangelio y leer
aquellos capítulos que hablan de
la resurrección de Jesús; nos hará
tanto bien tomar el libro y buscar
los capítulos y leer aquello.
También nos hará bien, esta
semana, pensar en la alegría de
María, la Madre de Jesús. Así
como su dolor fue tan íntimo,
tanto que le traspasó su alma, del
mismo modo su alegría fue íntima
y profunda, y de ella los discípulos
podían tomar. Habiendo pasado,
a través de la experiencia de la
muerte y de la resurrección de
su Hijo, viste, en la fe, como la
expresión suprema del amor de
Dios, y el corazón de María se ha
convertido en una fuente de paz,
de consuelo, de esperanza y de
misericordia.
Todas las prerrogativas de
nuestra Madre derivan de aquí, de
su participación en la Pascua de
Jesús. Desde la mañana del viernes
hasta la mañana del domingo, Ella
no perdió la esperanza: la hemos
contemplado como Madre de los
dolores, pero, al mismo tiempo,
como Madre llena de esperanza.
Ella, la Madre de todos los
discípulos, la Madre de la Iglesia y
Madre de esperanza.
A Ella, testigo silencioso de
la muerte y de la resurrección
de Jesús, le pedimos que nos
introduzca en la alegría pascual.
Lo haremos con el rezo del Regina
Coeli, que en el tiempo pascual
sustituye la oración del Ángelus.
Después de rezar a la Madre
de Dios, el Papa Francisco saludó
a los presentes diciendo:
Dirijo un saludo cordial a
todos ustedes, querido peregrinos
venidos de Italia y de diversos
países para participar en este
encuentro de oración.
Acuérdense esta semana de
tomar el Evangelio y buscar los
capítulos en donde se habla de
la resurrección de Jesús y de leer
cada día un fragmento de aquellos
capítulos. Nos hará bien en esta
semana de la resurrección de
Jesús.
A cada uno formulo el deseo
de transcurrir en la alegría y en la
serenidad este Lunes del Ángel, en
el que se prolonga la alegría de la
Resurrección de Cristo.
¡Feliz y santa Pascua a todos,
buen almuerzo y hasta pronto!
in each of the churches, but conscious of the time, we had to move
on to make sure we made it to all
seven before midnight when Adoration ends on Holy Thursday.
Each altar was surrounded
with bouquets of flowers and
candles that flickered to give light
in the darkness. Each carefully
prepared and adorned so that the
faithful could spend time in silence and meditation before the
Lord. No one was sleeping. Everyone was keeping watch in the
“Garden of Gethsemane.”
Along the way we saw people
we knew who were taking part
of the ancient tradition of visiting the different Altars of Repose
that evening. You could feel the
joy that lifted each of us on our
Maundy Thursday pilgrimage.
At St. Luke Church, it was
comforting to hear the familiar
voice of Helen Vargas, who was
leading the children in prayer before the Altar or Repose. It felt like
home. Helen was my confirma-
tion teacher and the choir director 32 years ago when I attended
there. How beautiful that she continues to teach new generations
the traditions of our faith.
When we arrived in Harlingen, we ended at St. Anthony
Catholic Church, our home parish where our son and daughter
received their sacraments. The
Altar of Repose was set up in the
original church which is now used
as a parish hall and as a cafeteria
for the Catholic school. The doors
opened out to the street where
passing cars could glimpse the
glimmering candles before the
Blessed Sacrament.
What a blessing to see so many
keeping watch with Christ, and
continuing the ancient tradition.
Our pilgrimage reaffirmed
how God has been constant in our
lives and remains so. I pray for the
grace to honor the days he provides and that I may be constant
in my attempts to listen and follow
his direction in the days to come.
Carta Pascual,
En manera semejante, él toma la
decisión de atraernos por medio
de su manifestación personal, en
los momentos escogidos por él.
Y cuando el Señor se presenta,
invita a que se reúnan todos con
él y con sus compañeros. Por eso
decimos que nuestra decisión
de seguir a Cristo en su Iglesia
depende totalmente de la decisión
previa del Señor de manifestarse
a nosotros. Además, el Señor nos
escoge con el propósito particular
de incorporarnos en su Iglesia. No
me digan que Cristo no estableció
una Iglesia; esa idea es una invención de nuestra época individualista: “no tengan miedo,” dijo, “id
a anunciar a mis hermanos que
vayan a Galilea, allí me verán” (véase Mateo 28, 10). Un cristiano no
puede regocijar en la resurrección
sin salir a buscar la comunidad
apostólica para poder compartir la
nueva vida. Ahí tienen a la Iglesia.
Por eso estamos aquí.
Que tampoco sea causa de
orgullo el haber recibido la unción
del Señor. Si él nos invita a recibir
el favor de su presencia luminosa
en nuestras vidas, es bueno recordar que el Señor escoge a los que
no son nada en el mundo “para
humillar el poder”, como dice San
Pablo. “Aún más”, continúa el Santo
Apóstol, “ha escogido la gente baja
del mundo, los despreciables, los
que no cuentan, para anular a los
que cuentan” (véase 1 Co 1: 27 ss).
Lo que dice San Pablo va de acuerdo con lo que nos enseñan los
Evangelios. El Señor se identificó
con las palabras del profeta Isaías
cuando dijo que había sido ungido
y enviado para anunciar la buena
nueva a los pobres, y libertad a los
oprimidos (véase Lucas 4: 16 ss).
Por esta razón el Señor caminaba
por de las aldeas de Galilea curando a los leprosos, sanando a los
cojos, y prestando atención a los
llantos de los pobres. El Señor prefiere a los que aparecen menos en
los ojos del mundo, y les anuncia
que son los preferidos en los ojos
de Dios. No podemos gloriarnos:
si por pertenecer a ese grupo que
el mundo considera de mal olor,…
si por eso, digo, el Señor nos ha
buscado y ungido con el perfume
del crisma bautismal, pues mejor
condición no se puede imaginar.
¿Qué significa haber recibido
la gracia y favor del Señor por
medio de su gran salida a nuestro
encuentro? Pues bien, el Ungido,
el Hijo amado del Padre, sale a
nuestro encuentro y nos ofrece una
participación en su unción para
compartir su misma misión hacia
los que se viven fuera del favor del
mundo, en las periferias de la vida.
Él nos impulsa a salir y a buscar
a los que se sienten alejados de
Dios. No vale quedarnos sentados,
aunque agradecidos por lo que
hemos recibido al conocer a Cristo.
Peregrinación
continúa de la pág.15
tora del coro hace 32 años cuando
yo asistía ahí. Que hermoso que
ella continúe enseñando a nuevas
generaciones las tradiciones de
nuestra fe.
Cuando llegamos a Harlingen,
terminamos en la iglesia Católica
San Antonio, nuestra parroquia,
donde nuestro hijo e hija recibieron sus sacramentos. El Altar de
Reposo fue puesto en la iglesia
original, que ahora es usada como
Tenemos que salir para anunciar
el favor del Señor a los que en
nuestros tiempos viven aislados y
vilificados.
La tarea es algo más que
urgente. Tenemos que abrir las
puertas de nuestras parroquias
para salir a buscar a los que hoy en
día viven solos, aislados, y fuera
de la comunidad. Y esas mismas
puertas tienen que quedar abiertas
para que los que busquen al Señor
puedan entrar y sentir la acogedora
bienvenida de la comunidad de
Cristo, la Iglesia. Son muchísimos
los creyentes en nuestra vecindad,
pero no entran a la iglesia. ¿Por
qué? Pues cada caso es diferente.
Pero quizás sea porque viven en las
nuevas colonias aquí en el Valle,
y no saben dónde se reúnen los
católicos. Pues, hay que salir a invitarlos. Quizás no tengan documentos y tienen miedo salir al templo.
Pues, hay que asegurarles que todos tienen derecho delante de Dios
a participar en el culto divino, y
que la Iglesia no tiene nada que ver
con los asuntos del gobierno y su
incansable búsqueda de documentos. Quizás en algún momento se
sintieron despreciados por un parroquiano o por un sacerdote. Pues,
hay que pedir disculpas e invitarlos
a regresar. Quizás no pueden
comulgar por una razón u otra.
Pues, hay que decirles que no por
eso debe uno de evadir participar
en la santa Misa con su corazón, y
disfrutar la vida de la comunidad.
Bueno, podría formular una lista
más exhaustiva, pero pienso que
saben lo que quiero decir.
Si no aprovechamos la gracia
de la unción que hemos recibido
para compartirla con los que se
encuentren lejos de la Iglesia que
Cristo estableció con su sangre,
pues, caerá sobre nosotros el mismo juicio que el Señor pronunció
sobre los que en su tiempo guardaban los atrios del templo para prevenir la entrada a los impuros. “Se
parecen a sepulcros blanqueados”,
les decía. No vayamos a pensar que
somos tan escogidos que nuestra
flojera se cubrirá con la unción que
hemos recibido. Al contrario, si
pensamos de esa manera, estamos
en lo mismo que involucró a los
que se pensaban poderosos en los
tiempos del Señor, los que el Señor
dejó atrás mientras salía a buscar a
las ovejas perdidas, anunciándoles
el favor del Señor.
“El Espíritu del Señor está
sobre mí, por lo cual me ha ungido
para evangelizar a los pobres, y
para anunciar redención a los
cautivos (Lucas 4: 18).” Pongamos
nuestra esperanza en ese Espíritu
que ungió a Nuestro Señor Jesucristo hacia los pobres, el mismo
Espíritu que nos ha llegado en
plenitud por medio de la Pascua
del Señor, ungiéndonos y capacitándonos para salir y participar en
su misión.
Que Dios siga bendiciendo su
obra entre nosotros,
+Daniel E. Flores
Obispo de Brownsville
un salón parroquial y como una
cafetería para la escuela Católica.
Las puertas abiertas hacia la calle,
donde los carros podían observar
las relucientes velas ante el Santo
Sacramento.
Que bendición el ver a tantos
al pendiente de Cristo, y continuando una tradición antigua.
Nuestro peregrinaje reafirmo
cómo Dios ha estado y se mantiene
constante en nuestras vidas. Rezo
para que la gracia honre los días
que el provee y que yo pueda ser
constante en mis esfuerzos por escuchar y seguir su dirección en los
días por venir.
May 2014
DIOCESE
Mary,
of honor to bind together the
bride and groom by the arms to
symbolize the newly formed bond
of matrimony. Father Rem took the
ribbon, held it up before an image
of Our Lady, and untied the knots
in the ribbon one by one. By the
time he had finished, the ribbon
was unknotted and dazzlingly
white. The marriage healed.
In the year 1700, Father
Hieronymus
Ambrosius
Langenmantel, the grandson of
Wolfgang Langenmantel and canon
Witness,
munities who have ancient roots
but who “have lost a living sense
of the faith, or even no longer
consider themselves members
of the Church, and live a life
far removed from Christ and
his Gospel. In this case what is
needed is a ‘new evangelization’
or a ‘re-evangelization.’ (RM, 33).
The New Evangelization
places the proclamation of Jesus
Bioethics,
towards life as they chart and
practice periodic abstinence:
they can have a change of heart
and discern a call to have one
or several additional children.
A similar spiritual conversion
to a culture of life might reasonably be expected to occur
among some sterilized couples
or parish priest of the Church of
St. Peter am Perlach, dedicated a
family altar to Our Lady of Good
Counsel. He commissioned a
painting to commemorate Mary’s
powerful intervention to save the
marriage of his grandparents.
The image portrays Mary
dressed as the Lady of Good
Counsel and surrounded by
angels, untying the knots in the
Langenmantel wedding ribbon. At
the bottom of the image, Wolfgang,
accompanied by the Archangel
Raphael, journeys in haste to visit
Father Rem and save his marriage.
But there’s more to the image
than a desperate nobleman’s
attempt to save his marriage.
Mary’s ability to solve the knottiest
problems has been known to the
great minds of the Church from her
earliest days, whether the problem
be the lack of wine at a wedding
(Jn 2:1-12) or the dire need of the
world for the Incarnation of the Son
of God. In the second century, the
Church Father St. Irenaeus wrote
in his Against Heresies (Book III,
Chapter 22):
And thus also it was that the
knot of Eve’s disobedience was
loosed by the obedience of Mary.
For what the virgin Eve had bound
fast through unbelief, this did the
virgin Mary set free through faith.
center stage. Pope Paul VI said
that: “Evangelization will always
contain as the foundation, center
and at the same time the summit
of its dynamism a clear proclamation that, in Jesus Christ…salvation is offered to all people, as a
gift of God’s grace and mercy”
(On Evangelization in the Modern World, Paul VI, no. 27).
“Indeed, preaching the gospel
is no reason for me to boast; it
is an obligation that has been
imposed upon me. And woe to
me if I do not preach the gospel.”
(1 Cor 9:16). Evangelization is
meant to transform the world, it
is theology in action. God has a
saving plan of love for the world
and evangelization let’s humanity
know that the tomb is empty; that
love is more powerful than death.
That’s the power of the Resurrection.
Therefore, the New Evangelization is both an opportunity for
a renewal in the mission of the
Church to evangelize and a pastoral response to bring the faith to a
world so very hungry for God.
who resolve to live out an NFP
lifestyle, perhaps becoming more
open to adopting a child, or more
open to other forms of spiritual
parenthood in their communities such as Big Brother/Big Sister
programs.
By abstaining during fertile
times, then, the sterilized couple
reintegrates the same positive
behaviors that they might have
practiced had they not chosen to
be sterilized. In this way, the sci-
ence of NFP offers the repentant
sterilized couple a school of opportunity to acquire virtue within
their marriage and their conjugal
relations.
—
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.
17
In Mary, the new Eve, God
untangles the knotted mess of fallen
human nature and produces the
Immaculate Conception. She has
been undoing knots all throughout
her life and afterlife, interceding for
us now and forever in all our needs.
She will help us with every
sort of knot — when we are ill or
in danger; when our relationships
are wounded or broken; when
the affairs of our country and the
world seem inextricably caught in
a Gordian knot; when the minds
of our academics and youth are
stuck in a spider web of doubt and
confusion; when our passions are
attached to the wrong object or
hopelessly snarled; whenever we
are in need.
Just as a child will go to their
mother with a knotted shoelace or
a broken zipper, so too do we need
to go to Mary, our Mother, with all
the wounds and brokenness of our
lives in this vale of tears. And this
pope knows well how much our
age has need of a loving mother.
Several centuries after the
image was painted, then-Father
Bergoglio saw it and fell in love. He
became a tireless promoter of the
devotion to Our Lady, Undoer of
Knots, in Argentina, leading to the
spread of the devotion throughout
South America.
Sacristan,
blessed, because they understand
what many of us spend a lifetime
trying to comprehend.
Who has made an influence
in their lives or who they admire
and why?: I’d like to mention many
people that I’ve met in my life, that
I admire and who’ve made me who
I am today — Annie Garza, Mark
Silva, Melissa Gonzalez, and Angie
Martinez for looking past my
youth, and making me feel like my
thoughts and my actions do count
in this world; Joe Martinez, and
Danielle Miramontez, for being
there from the start, and for being
the perfect example of service;
Flor Vela, for giving me another
perspective of life that nobody else
could’ve taught me, and for being
by my side at the lowest points in
my life. Finally, Paco Castellanos,
and my family, Myriam and Jorge
Ortegon, and Mily and Jorgito
Ortegon.
—
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].
Future Plans: Playing college
soccer and hopefully going to a
university where I am happy.
Meaningful Quote: One of
my favorite quotes is from Mother
Teresa. She said, “Poverty is a
gift”. This quote really raised my
eyebrows because it was such a
different way to look at this world.
What she means by this, is
that people who are struggling
physically, people with diseases,
people that may have one meal a
day if they are lucky, already know
how to love.
People in poverty know what’s
important, they know what it
means to be a family, how to
love one another, but sometimes
in our society, we forget what’s
important; we focus so much on
how to become successful citizens,
that we don’t give time to feed the
thoughts that are truly important.
Mother Teresa lets us know in this
quote that the ones in poverty are
18
DIOCESE
May 2014
DIOCESE 19
»Media Resource Center
» Calendar of Events
May
Recommended by SISTER MAUREEN CROSBY, SSD
Coordinator of the Media Resource Center - Diocese of Brownsville
»Worth Watching
» From the Bookshelf
Mary in The
Chruch: A
Selection
of Teaching
Documents
1 Theology Classes
2I¿FHRI&DWHFKHVLV
Mary from
Nazareth
Close
Encounters
with Mary and
The Rosary:
TESTIMONY:
The Untold
Story of Pope
John Paul II
2 Clases de Teologia
2I¿FHRI&DWHFKHVLV
2-4 Catholic Engaged Encounter
)DPLO\/,IH2I¿FH
3 Convalidation Conference
)DPLO\/LIH2I¿FH
11 Mother’s Day
Format: Paperback
Length:180 pages
Author: USCCB
Publication:USCCB Publishing, 2003
The facts:A Selection of Teaching
Documents – USCCB is a unique
source of recent Church teaching
on the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is
perfect for students, theologians,
ecumenists, parishioners, and
all those desiring a deeper
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Christianity – especially in regard to
ongoing ecumenical dialogue-and in
humanity.
Sacraments,
continued from pg.1
used for children who are receiving
the sacrament of the Eucharist for
the first time, reminds us of the
emphasis placed on baptism and
becoming children of God.
“White reminds us of the
dignity we receive at baptism and
for most it was a white garment that
was placed on the chest or a white
garment that was homemade by the
family or padrinos (godparents)
and placed as a scapular on the
infant.”
“There is great joy in the
parish during these celebrations,”
Length:128 pages
Author: Bruna Battistella
Publication: Pauline Books & Media,
1996
Edition: Illustrated
Audience: Children
The facts: Mary is a special person.
She is the woman God chose from
among all other women to be the
mother of his son Jesus. This is the
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came to you and me through Mary.
he said. “We place ourselves in
that moment. We remember our
own reception and even remind
ourselves of the moments that
our children also received the
sacrament.”
Espinoza said, “Part of it has to
do with the innocence. We return
to that idea that we were depending
on God and not on ourselves.”
Early this year on the Feast
of the Baptism of the Lord, Pope
Francis began to use the Wednesday
Audience as a way to teach and
remind the faithful about what the
Church teaches on the sacraments.
During his catechesis focused
on the sacrament of baptism, the
Holy Father said baptism is the
Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña’s Calendar
May 1-4
All Day
Texas Knights of Columbus State Convention
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May 16
7 p.m.
Mass for Elsa Legion of Mary Retreat
Rio Grande City
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May 18
11 a.m.
Mass at Sacred Heart
Mercedes
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San Juan
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11 a.m.
Mass at Sacred Heart
Mercedes
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May 30
6 p.m.
85th Anniversary Mass/Dinner St. Joan of Arc Weslaco
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On going:
Daily Mass at St. Joseph Chapel of
Perpetual Adoration,
727 Bowie St., Alamo
8 a.m. & 4 p.m.
Every Sunday: 6 p.m. & 9 p.m.
Confessions/Mass at UTPAEdinburg
Holy Hour every Thursday at 7 p.m.,
727 Bowie St., Alamo
1st: Vocations to the Consecrated
Life (active and contemplative) and
for the Sisters and Brothers in our
diocese and the success of their
mission
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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: DVD available on VHS also
Publisher:Oblate Media and
Communication 2009
Format: DVD
Lenght: 90 Minutes
Publishers:IGNATIUS PRESS
Audience: Children
Audience: High School - Adults
The facts: During a classroom
exercise wherein Fr. Brendan
guides young students in making
a rosary out of string and beads,
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what the rosary is all about. Luckily
for him, our helpful angel appears to
clear things up. All four mysteries
are presented and explained in ageappropriate language so that young
audiences will understand that the
Rosary is a very special way to get
in touch with Jesus and Mary.
The facts: Did you know that…Pope
sacrament on which our very
faith is founded and which grafts
us as a living member onto Christ
and his Church. Together with
the Eucharist and confirmation
it forms what is known as
“Christian initiation”, like one great
sacramental event that configures
us to the Lord and turns us into a
living sign of his presence and of
his love.
He said, “Many of us have no
memory of the celebration of this
sacrament, and it is obvious why, if
we were baptized soon after birth.
I have asked this question two or
three times already, here, in this
square: who among you knows the
date of your baptism, raise your
hands. It is important to know the
day on which I was immersed in
that current of Jesus’ salvation.”
Pope Francis advised the
faithful, “Today, at home, go look,
ask about the date of your baptism
and that way you will keep in mind
that most beautiful day of baptism.
To know the date of our baptism is
to know a blessed day. The danger
of not knowing is that we can lose
awareness of what the Lord has
done in us, the memory of the gift
we have received.”
“We must reawaken the
memory of our baptism. We are
called to live out our baptism every
day as the present reality of our
lives,” he said.
Espinoza said the sacrament
of confirmation is the second
sacrament of the sacraments of
initiation. It is also considered to
be the perfection of baptism. It is
administered by the bishop, who
seals the candidates with the Gift of
the Holy Spirit.
Now let us consider what
confirmation becomes for the
Church in her journey. Very similar
to the day when they were together
in the Upper Room, the youth will
receive the Promise of the Father.
The faithful are reminded of the
Baptismal call to “Go out and Make
Disciples of the Nations”.
In the Diocese of Brownsville,
Espinoza said the sacrament is
administered once a young person
has reached the age of 16. We
also see other adults receiving
this sacrament once they have
completed
their
preparation
through RCIA or another form of
sacramental preparation.
“The holy Eucharist completes
Christian initiation.” (CCC 1322)
Espinoza said in preparation to
receive the Eucharist, children are
taught essential truths about who
is the consecrated species and
what it means to receive him in the
Sacrament.
In practice, children that are
at least in third grade are prepared
to once again “put on their white
garment” and approach the altar
and receive graces from God. As
in confirmation, adults who were
preparing through the RCIA
process come forward as well to be
one with us at table.
Passion,
Genuis said, “We must immerse
our young people in God – in the
beauty he has created for us – which
will feed our souls. Music plays an
impactful role in people’s lives. I
am ready to return bringing worldclass musicians with me to the Rio
Grande Valley to encourage others
and bring them to God through
the beauty of music. The language
of God is beauty – you must not
remove beauty from people, it
brings them hope and “hope does
not disappoint.”
Chaplain Walterio Rodriguez
said, “the visit of these two men of
God (to the prison) was unexpected
and a most glorious gift to so
many who came and listened and
watched and accepted their gift of
faith, hope and love.”
requested a second performance at
the neighboring Lopez Unit which
was later cancelled after Barry lost
his voice.
The men in prison asked
Genuis for one more song after
Barry’s performance. There were
tears in many of the men’s eyes
as Genuis shared with them a
personal composition dedicated to
his son Joseph, who lived only a few
hours after birth. “It was a special
moment for many of the men
separated from their children and
their families,” said David Calvillo,
founder of the “Real Men Pray the
Rosary” apostolate.
John Paul II was stabbed during
a second failed assassination that
was kept secret by the Vatican…
until now. Pope John Paul II liked
to disguise himself and sneak out
of the Vatican to mix with ordinary
people. The Pontiff began is career
as an actor, and had a great talent
for Karaoke. His Holiness once
performed and exorcism.
15 Advisory Team
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17-18 Retiro Pre-Matrimonial
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24 CoordinatorsTraining )DPLO\/LIH2I¿FH
26 Memorial Day Holiday
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June
1 Ascension
8 Pentecost
3-5 Summer Study Days
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15 Trinty Sunday
16-20- Youth Leader
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22 Corpus Christi Sunday
12-13 For Better and Forever
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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.
What I swore,
Now I spend my days cooking, cleaning, folding laundry,
changing diapers. You know, all
those out-dated, old-fashioned
things that I swore I would
never do. I live in the kitchen.
I probably spend more time
washing dishes than I do sleeping. And the funniest thing is,
I love it. I love to hear the children shout, “Papa!” when Pedro
comes home from work. I love
to greet him with a kiss, drying
my hands on my worn apron.
I love the ordinary beauty I see
every day when I serve meals
to my family and we sit around
the table together. I love when
Pedro kisses me every evening
after dinner and says, “Delicioso, mi amor.” I feel like a
queen, like the luckiest girl in
the world.
So now I have two different
heroes: Our Lord Jesus Christ
and his beautiful mother the
Blessed Virgin Mary. Just as
Christ himself came to serve
us, just as Mary nurtured and
adored her son, so do I have the
privilege of serving, nurturing
and adoring my earthly family.
I thank God every day for blessing me with the sacrament of
marriage and the gift of family.
20
DIOCESE
Our Catholic Family
Alamo native retires as bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
“It is hard to describe what it
is like to grow up in the Valley to
someone who has never experienced it,” said the Most Rev. Michael D. Pfeifer, Bishop Emeritus
of the Diocese of San Angelo, who
was born and raised in Alamo.
“We grew up poor and whatever we had, we used it wisely.
Everyone, young and old, worked
hard. We saw our Catholic faith as
a gift from God and practiced it
very strongly.
“I miss the spirit that’s there,
the great love of life and family,
the two cultures and how we all
blended together.”
Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer, who
recently retired as Bishop of San
Angelo, says he looks forward to
visiting the Rio Grande Valley
more often. He has many relatives
and friends living in the area.
A priest of the Missionary
Oblates of Mary Immaculate, he
served as the shepherd of the Diocese of San Angelo for more than
28 years. The San Angelo diocese
encompasses 37,433 square miles
across 29 counties, including the
cities of Midland, Odessa and
Abilene, and is about the size of
the state of Ohio. It has a population of 859,701 and 77,230 — or
nine percent of them — are Catholic, according to statistics provided by the Diocese of San Angelo.
Courtesy photo
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On his 75th birthday, May
18, 2012, Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer
submitted a letter of resignation to
Pope Benedict XVI in accordance
with canon law. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on Dec. 12,
2013. The Most Rev. Michael Sis
was installed as the Diocese of San
Angelo’s sixth bishop on Jan. 27.
After the installation, Bishop
Emeritus Pfeifer, who turns 77 this
month, moved to San Antonio to
once again live in community with
the Oblates, including his older
brother, Father Ted Pfeifer.
“Living away from the Oblates was a major change in my life
when I became bishop,” said Bish-
op Emeritus Pfeifer, who served
in Zambia and Mexico during his
priestly ministry. “I am a religious
priest and we are called to community and suddenly, in many
ways, I had to adapt my life to live
as a diocesan priest.
“It’s been a real blessing to be
back with the Oblate community.”
Mike Wyse, chancellor of the
Diocese of San Angelo, said that
Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer made
many contributions throughout
his episcopacy.
Two that stand out in Wyse’s
mind are the bishop’s commitment to the pro-life cause and his
creation of a coalition to address
substance abuse problems in the
community.
Wyse said that Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer mobilized the faithful
to pray daily outside Planned Parenthood facilities throughout the
vast diocese. He also motivated his
flock to write letters to lawmakers
in Austin and Washington, D.C. to
promote a culture of life and created a greater awareness about life
issues in the diocese.
The Concho Valley Community Action and Resources for Empowerment and Success Coalition
(CARES Coalition) was formed in
March 2007 by Bishop Emeritus
Pfeifer to address the substance
abuse problems in the Concho
Valley, a region that includes
Coke, Concho, Crockett, Irion,
Kimble, McCulloch, Mason, Menard, Reagan, Schleicher, Sterling,
Sutton and Tom Green counties.
Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer later
founded a similar coalition in the
Midland-Odessa area.
“That’s one of his major accomplishments, founding the
CARES coalition,” said Wyse,
who has been the chancellor since
2006. “It is a collaborative effort
of more than 40 agencies and individuals that work together to
encourage the elimination of substance abuse so that children and
families can thrive.”
Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer’s goals
for his retirement are to rest more,
give more time to prayer — he’s
already spending an extra hour
before the Blessed Sacrament every day — and to serve where he
is needed.
Archbishop Gustavo GarciaSiller has asked him to assist with
Confirmations. Bishop Emeritus
Pfeifer would also like to serve in
prison ministry and in ministry
with troubled youth.
He will also continue to be active with the bishops of U.S. and
Mexican dioceses along the border who meet about twice a year
to discuss issues of mutual concern, particularly immigration
matters.
Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer attended the canonizations of Pope
John XXIII and Pope John Paul II
in Rome on April 27. “Pope John
Paul II made me a bishop and I got
to know him personally,” Bishop
Emeritus Pfeifer said. “I admired
him deeply. I think he was one of
the greatest popes ever.”
Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer and
Pope John Paul II shared a birthday – May 12. In 2004, Bishop
Emeritus Pfeifer had the honor of
celebrating his birthday with Pope
John Paul II. It would be Pope
John Paul II’s last birthday on
earth. “It was the most beautiful
birthday,” Bishop Emeritus Pfeifer
said. “I learned how to say ‘happy
birthday’ (Sto Lat!) to him in Polish and he wished me a happy
birthday in English and Spanish.
We had a wonderful visit.”
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