Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Transcripción

Faith
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Volume 4, Issue 12
Serving More Than A Million Catholics in the Diocese of Brownsville
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More than 3,000 will
receive the Sacrament
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adoration
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Catholic charities to feed
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Our Lady of Lourdes in Rio
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Photo by Cesar Riojas/The Valley Catholic
Each year since arriving in the Diocese of Brownsville, Bishop Daniel E. Flores has led a
Eucharistic procession through downtown Brownsville on Corpus Christi Sunday.
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Father Horacio Chavarria
9
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Artículos sobre La
celebración de Corpus
Christi y la canonización de
Madre Lupita de México y
Madre Laura Montoya, la
primera santa de Colombia
11-13
Feast of Corpus Christi
focuses attention
on the Eucharist
The Valley Catholic
“The Feast of Corpus Christi is
one of the most beautiful solemnities on the Church’s calendar, and
it is a feast day to which I am particularly devoted,” Bishop Daniel
E. Flores said in his July 2012 column. “I truly believe that whenever we honor, praise and glorify
the Lord in the most Blessed Sacrament of the altar, He responds
with a generous kindness to us.
His presence is itself the begin-
(“The WORD is sent
breathing love.”)
» Please see Procession, p.15
2013 PROCESSION
The Solemnity of Corpus Christi procession
begins at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 2 at the
Immaculate Conception Cathedral, located on the corner of East Jefferson and East
12th Streets in Brownsville.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
“one of the strongest signs of our faith”
The Valley Catholic
“VERBUM MITTITUR
SPIRANS AMOREM”
ning and end of that kindness.”
This year in the United States,
Corpus Christi Sunday is June 2.
Bishop Flores will lead a Eucharistic procession through downtown
Brownsville beginning at 6 p.m. at
the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.
The primary purpose of the
Feast of Corpus Christi is to focus
our attention on the Eucharist and
the real presence of Christ in it —
The faithful are encouraged to
pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
Every Catholic Church contains a
tabernacle in which the Body of
Christ is reserved between Masses. Other churches have an Adoration chapel, where the Eucharist is
exposed in a monstrance.
“Adoration is one of the strongest signs of our faith,” said Father
Rafael Vega, pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in Brownsville. “It is
acknowledging God’s presence
in the Eucharist. We are in touch
with this reality, even though it is
a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we believe.”
Father Vega noted that there is
no right or wrong way to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Some
will, for example, pray the Rosary,
the Chaplet of Divine Mercy or
read Scriptures. Others just sit in
silence and listen, which Father
Vega believes is most rewarding.
“Just being there, whether you
are there for five minutes, 10 minutes, an hour, it is sacred time,”
he said. “The key is to come into
Adoration with an open heart.
We often come with a busy mind,
asking the Lord for help with our
problems but he knows before we
» Please see Adoration, p.15
JUNE 2013
We are called
to live our
faith in public
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
Public Eucharistic processions
are the hallmark of Corpus Christi
Sunday. These processions, during
which the Body of Christ is carried through the streets in a monstrance, accompanied with prayer
and song, are a tradition that date
back to the 13th century.
But after the Feast of Corpus
Christi is over, we must continue
to walk through the streets and be
public witnesses of our faith, said
Father Carlos Zuniga, pastor of
St. Pius X Church in Weslaco. He
noted that our last three popes have
encouraged us to be strong witnesses of our faith – to proclaim it, live
it, defend it and share it with others.
As disciples of Christ, we are
called to be reflections of the gospel,
the light of the world. We are called
to live our Catholic faith in public,
to serve others, to fight against injustice and share the Good News of
Christ Jesus.
“The age of casual Catholicism
is over, the age of heroic Catholicism has begun. We can no longer
be Catholics by accident, but instead be Catholics by conviction,”
said Father Zuniga, quoting Father
Terrence Henry, president of Franciscan University in Steubenville,
Ohio. “We have seen the great witness of Blessed John Paul II and
Pope Benedict XVI’s teachings
and Pope Francis has blown everybody’s mind of what Catholicism is
all about.
“There is a surge in Latin America and here in the States and somewhat in Europe about us professing
our faith publicly and I think it’s
awesome.”
The processions on the Feast of
Corpus Christi demonstrate what
our Catholic faith is all about, Father Zuniga said.
“We process with the Blessed
Sacrament, which is the most wonderful gift that we have received,”
he said. “We believe that Jesus stays
with us in his body and blood and
so the Eucharist is the central focus
of the Catholic faith and the Catholic faithful. The feast of Corpus
Christi encompasses that, that we
should give witness of that, not just
in a procession on the feast day, but
for us to acknowledge and study
and meditate on the real presence
of Christ in the Eucharist.”
Father Zuniga said that many
people throughout the world are
intrigued by miracles and look for
them in their daily lives. He pointed
out that the greatest miracle can be
found at the Lord’s table.
“People are gung-ho about miracles,” he said. “Our Lady of Guadalupe appears in a tortilla, a garage, a
door. Why do we do that? Why not
worship Christ at the Eucharist? St.
Theresa of Jesus said, ‘I prefer the
God of bread and wine than the
God of visions and that is because
I can taste and see him.’”
2
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic - JUNE 2013
El Espíritu Santo
en nuestra vida
Quisiera compartir con ustedes
tres puntos claves sobre el misterio
del Espíritu Santo, Señor y Dador
de Vida. Tiene sentido prestar
atención al misterio del Espíritu ya
que estamos festejando el día de
Pentecostés. El Espíritu Santo nos
preparara para recibir a Jesucristo
Nuestro Señor, nos atrae a su persona, y perfecciona nuestra unión
con él .
El Espíritu Santo operó de una
manera poderosa en los tiempos
de la antigua alianza. Inspiró a los
profetas, e instruyó a los sabios.
Todo esto abría un camino de
preparación para la encarnación
del Hijo de Dios. Cuando por fin
se acercaba el momento culminante de nuestra redención, el
Espíritu Santo fue enviado para
santificar con plenitud de gracia
a la Santísima Virgen María, conservándola desde el primer momento de su existencia de la culpa
y mancha del pecado original. A
esto se le conoce como la Concepción Inmaculada de María. Tal y
como confesamos en el Credo, por
obra del Espíritu Santo, la Virgen
concibió al Hijo eterno de Dios.
Además, fue el Espíritu quien impulso a Juan el Bautista a anunciar
la próxima llegada del Cordero
de Dios. Así como el Espíritu
anticipó y preparó la llegada del
Señor en la historia del mundo, de
igual manera anticipa y prepara la
llegada del Señor en nuestras vidas.
El Espíritu nos atrae a Jesucristo. Este oficio del Espíritu Santo
se manifiesta de una manera sutil.
Así sucedió en los tiempos de los
Apóstoles cuando ellos mismos
sintieron algún ardor en sus corazones cuando encontraron al Señor
Jesús. Al inicio esta experiencia los
movió a hacerle preguntas al Señor
y a seguirlo. Con tiempo el Espíritu Santo inculcó en ellos un amor
profundo hacia el Señor, radicando
en ellos el deseo de dejar todo para
compartir con él la misión que le
había confiado Dios Padre. La gracia de Dios trasmitida por obra del
Espíritu Santo jamás opera fuera
o en contra de nuestra libertad. Al
contrario, la luz y el amor que nos
ofrece es para iluminar nuestros
pensamientos y para inflamar
nuestro corazón con el deseo de
The Holy Spirit in our lives
I
would like to share three important points
with you about the mystery of the Holy
Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life. It makes
sense to pay attention to the mystery of the
Holy Spirit now that we celebrate the feast
of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit prepares us to
receive our Lord Jesus Christ, draws us to
himself, and perfects our communion with
him..
The Holy Spirit acted in a powerful way
during the times of the Old Covenant. He
inspired the prophets, and instructed the wise.
All of this opened a path to prepare for the incarnation of the Son of God. When the culminating moment of our redemption was finally
close, the Holy Spirit was sent to sanctify the
Blessed Virgin Mary with fullness of grace,
keeping her from the guilt and stain of original sin from the first moment of her existence.
This is known as the Immaculate Conception
of Mary. As we profess in the Creed, by the
Holy Spirit the Virgin conceived the eternal
Son of God. Also, it was the Holy Spirit who
compelled John the Baptist to announce the
imminent arrival of the Lamb of God. As
the Holy Spirit anticipated and prepared the
arrival of the Lord in the history of the world,
likewise he anticipates and prepares the arrival
of the Lord in our lives.
The Spirit attracts us to Jesus Christ.
This function of the Holy Spirit manifests in
a subtle manner. It was the same in the time
of the Apostles; they felt a burning in their
hearts when they found the Lord Jesus. At
first, this experience moved them to ask the
Lord questions and follow him. With time, the
Holy Spirit instilled in them a profound love
towards the Lord, filing them with the desire
to leave everything and share the mission that
God the Father had entrusted to him. The
grace of God transmitted through the work
seguir a Jesús. Lamentablemente,
sucede que a veces rechazamos las
invitaciones suaves del Espíritu
Santo. Así pasó en el caso de joven
rico del evangelio, quien escucho
con interés las palabras de Nuestro
Señor pero se apartó de él con
tristeza en su corazón (vean Lucas
18,18).
El Espíritu Santo llega con
poder y plenitud después de la glorificación del Señor Jesucristo. Las
Escrituras enseñan este vínculo
estrecho entre el Misterio Pascual
del Señor y la venida poderosa del
Espíritu Santo. Cuando los Evan-
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
The Valley Catholic email:
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MOST REVEREND
DANIEL E. FLORES
BISHOP OF BROWNSVILLE
of the Holy Spirit never operates outside or
against our freedom. On the contrary, it offers
us light and love to illuminate our thoughts
and enflame our heart with the desire to follow Jesus. Unfortunately, sometimes we reject
the gentle invitations of the Holy Spirit. That’s
what happened to the rich young man from
the gospel, who listened with interest to the
words of Our Lord but departed from him
with sadness in his heart (see Luke 18, 18).
The Holy Spirit comes with power and
glory after the glorification of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Scriptures show us this close link
between the Paschal Mystery of the Lord and
the powerful coming of the Holy Spirit. When
the Gospel tells us that while dying on the
Cross, the Lord exhaled deeply, it is not solely
referring to a biological event. Certainly, death
entails a last breath, but in the Lord’s case it
means much more. His death is the moment
of reconciliation between the human race
and God. The fact that he offered himself as
a priestly victim on our behalf grants us the
forgiveness of our sins and lifts us to the condition of creatures renewed in God’s love. The
last breath exhaled from the Cross pours this
Spirit of forgiveness and holiness upon all creation. Jesus breathes his Spirit over the world
when he dies on the Cross (see John 19, 30),
when he appears resurrected to the disciples
gelios nos dicen que al morir en
la Cruz, el Señor exhaló profundamente, no nos están comunicando
solamente un acontecimiento
biológico. Cierto, la muerte
implica una última respiración,
pero en el caso del Señor significa
mucho más aún. Su muerte es el
momento de la reconciliación de
los seres humanos con Dios. El
hecho de ofrecerse como víctima
sacerdotal a favor nuestro nos
obtiene el perdón de los pecados y nos eleva a la condición de
creaturas renovadas en el amor de
Dios. El último aliento exhalado
desde la cruz derrama éste Espíritu
de perdón y santidad sobre toda la
creación. Jesús respira su Espíritu
sobre el mundo cuando muere en
la cruz (vean Juan 19,30), cuando
aparece resucitado a los discípulos (vean Juan 20, 22), y cuando
asciende a los cielos a tomar su
asiento a la derecha de Padre (vean
Hechos 1, 4-5).
(see John 20, 22), and when he ascends to the
heavens to take his seat at the right hand of
the Father (see Acts 1, 4-5).
Poured over the assembly of believers
gathered in watchful waiting, the Holy Spirit
shows his face as the gift that clothes us with
power and strength to continue the divine
work of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The missionary period of the Church started immediately.
With the preaching of the Apostles, the Holy
Spirit that had descended with miraculous
signs on them was transmitted generously to
all who rejoiced in the acceptance of the proclamation of faith. The mystery of this transmission remains present. The Spirit continues
to reach our hearts, preparing them, attracting
them, perfecting them in the mystery of Jesus
Christ our Lord.
The Mystery of Pentecost, we could say,
reveals the Holy Spirit as the third person in
the Holy Trinity. As Jesus Christ reveals the
face and heart of the Father, the Holy Spirit
enlightens us to recognize and follow Jesus
Christ as the only redeemer to take us to the
Father. For these reasons, the Fathers of the
Church, St. Augustine and St. Basil for example, said that the New Testament consisted
on the complete revelation of the Holy Trinity.
The last person to be recognized is the one
we need first to walk with Jesus towards the
Father’s home. It has always been this way,
now we know it.
May the Holy Spirit continue to prepare
our hearts for our encounter with Jesus, drawing us to the commitment of the discipleship
and giving us the plenitude of his grace to
perfect our union with him, and to strengthen
our testimony of faith against the powers of
the world.
Amen.
Derramado sobre la asamblea
de los creyentes reunidos en espera
vigilante, el Espíritu Santo muestra
su cara como el don que nos reviste con poder y fuerza para continuar la obra divina de Nuestro
Señor Jesucristo. Inmediatamente
empezó la época misionera de la
Iglesia. Con la predicación de los
apóstoles el Espíritu que había
descendido con signos milagrosos,
se trasmitió generosamente a todos
los que regocijaron al aceptar el
anuncio de la fe. Sigue actual éste
misterio de trasmisión. El Espíritu
no deja de llegar a los corazones,
preparándolos, atrayéndolos,
perfeccionándolos en el misterio
de Jesucristo nuestro Señor.
El misterio de Pentecostés, podríamos decir, pone de manifiesto
al Espíritu Santo como la tercera
persona de la Santísima Trinidad.
Así como Jesucristo revela la cara
y el corazón de Dios Padre, el
Espíritu Santo nos ilumina para
reconocer y seguir a Jesucristo
como el único redentor quien nos
lleva al Padre. Por estas razones,
los santos padres de la Iglesia,
como por ejemplo San Agustín y
San Basilio, decían que el Nuevo
Testamento consiste en la plena
revelación de la Santísima Trinidad. La última persona reconocida
es la que primero necesitamos para
poder caminar con Jesus hacia la
casa del Padre. Siempre ha sido así,
ahora lo sabemos.
Que el Espíritu Santo siga preparando nuestro corazón para el
encuentro con Jesús, atrayéndonos
al compromiso del discipulado y
dándonos la plenitud de su gracia
para perfeccionar nuestra unión
con él , y para fortalecer nuestro
testimonio de fe delante de los
poderes del mundo.
Amen.
Bishop Flores’ Schedule - June 2013
June 1
9 a.m.
San Juan
Morning Prayer for Symposium on Adolescent Catechesis
June 1
11 a.m.
Pharr
Confirmations at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
June 1
4:30 p.m.
Pharr
Confirmations at St. Margaret Mary
June 2
11 a.m.
Brownsville
Mass for Apostolado De La Cruz
June 2
6 p.m.
Cathedral
Procession for Feast of Corpus Christi
June 3
7 p.m.
El Ranchito
Confirmations at St. Ignatius
June 4
6 p.m.
Harlingen
Confirmations at Immaculate Heart of Mary
June 15
6 p.m.
San Isidro
Confirmations at St. Isidore
June 16
noon
Lyford
Confirmations at Prince of Peace
June 16
6 p.m.
Brownsville
Confirmations at Our Lady of Guadalupe
June 23
9:30 a.m.
Brownsville
Confirmations at Christ the King
June 23
7 p.m.
Brownsville
Mass for Retiro Juvenil
June 26
7 p.m.
Edinburg
Confirmations at St. Joseph
June 27
7 p.m.
Edcouch
Confirmations at St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus
June 29
10 a.m.
Mission
Confirmations at San Cristobal Magallanes
June 29
3 p.m.
San Pedro
Confirmations at San Pedro
Two ordained to the priesthood - PHOTOS ONLINE
Father Juan Manuel Salazar, 37, of Edinburg and Father Arturo Castillo Jimenez, 29, a native of Ciudad Madero in the Mexican
state of Tamaulipas were ordained by Bishop Daniel E. Flores on May 25 at St. Anthony Church in Harlingen. For a slide show
of the priest ordination visit the Diocese of Brownsville website – www.cdob.org. Photos are available on facebook.com/
pages/Catholic Diocese of Brownsville. Also, look for photo highlights in the July issue of The Valley Catholic.
JUNE 2013 -
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic
Sacrament of Confirmation
“Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
3
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Para
servirles
The Valley Catholic
Bishop tells teens
they need to have
faith that goodness
triumphs over evil
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
“People ask me sometimes,
‘Bishop have you seen the devil?’”
said Bishop Daniel E. Flores in his
homily on May 14 at Our Lady of
Sorrows Church in McAllen as he
prepared to confer the Sacrament
of Confirmation on 150 candidates.
“No, I haven’t, but I’ve heard
him and so have you,” the bishop
said.
“He is that voice that says that
in the end, nothing matters. Whatever. You have to lie to get whatever you want? It’s ok; everybody
does it. You have to hurt someone
to get what you want? That’s ok; everybody does it. That is the devil,
telling you to give up on believing
in love and truth and life.
“So when I ask you in a few
minutes to reject Satan, that is
what I am asking you to reject, the
voice that says, ‘It doesn’t matter,
do what you have to, step on other
people.’”
The bishop noted that the
world can be an unpleasant place
and pointed out that even Jesus
Christ, the very goodness of God,
who was kind, compassionate and
forgiving, was crucified.
“In a world where sometimes it
is difficult to believe that in the end
the truth wins, in a world where it
is difficult to believe that in the end
love wins and life wins, we need to
be able to be very firm about what
we believe,” the bishop said. “Christ
is risen. Death does not win.”
The bishop said we need to
have, not only faith that goodness
triumphs over evil, but conviction.
“If we don’t believe that in the
end that truth wins, I say, why even
get up the morning?” Bishop Flores
asked. “That is why Jesus speaks
today in the gospel about the gifts
he wants to give us, the freedom to
know that it is ok to believe that life
is meant to have a happy ending.
Life is meant to be a joy. It may be
a struggle but if you have that firm
faith that in the end the truth matters and love matters and life wins,
then you can do what you have to
do, but you have to stand firm.”
In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the bishop anoints the candidate on the forehead with the sacred oil of chrism with the words,
“be sealed with the gift of the Holy
Spirit.”
More than 3,000 will receive
the Sacrament of Confirmation
this spring and summer in the Diocese of Brownsville.
“Why does he breathe the Spirit into you tonight?” Bishop Flores
asked. “Because he wants what he
has inside of himself to be inside
of you, which is his victory over
death, over lies and over hatred.
That is what he wants for you.
“The Spirit is given to you so
you can walk out these doors and
be somebody who actually says to
the world, ‘it’s ok. Christ is risen.
Life wins, love wins, truth wins,
don’t give up.’”
Photos by The Valley Catholic
Bishop Daniel E. Flores celebrated Mass and conferred the SacraPHQW RI &RQÀUPDWLRQ RQ FDQGLGDWHV 0D\ DW 2XU /DG\ RI
Sorrows Church in McAllen.
The purpose of the Communications Ministry is to coordinate
the communication efforts of the
Diocese of Brownsville and to keep
the Catholic community and the
public at large informed about the
programs, activities and services of
the diocese.
Brenda Nettles Riojas, who has
led the communication ministry
for the diocese for 15 years, said
she sees communication as a ministry at the service of all ministries
in the Church.
She added, “We are blessed
with a talented team of professionals committed to providing
accurate information and sharing
stories that give witness to the
Catholic faith in the Rio Grande
Valley.”
The ministry provides communications advice and support to
Bishop Daniel E. Flores, parishes,
priests, schools and other Catholic
institutions in the diocese.
The diocesan Communications
Ministry is also responsible for the
official website of the Diocese of
Brownsville (www.cdob.org), the
diocesan Facebook, YouTube and
Twitter pages, Weekly Update, the
Mobile Journalist Project, Diocese
Insight and for The Valley Catholic, the official newspaper of the
diocese.
The website contains many
useful features such as information on each parish and mission in
the diocese, including Mass times,
addresses and contact information.
The website also includes news,
photos and videos about our faith
and contact information for the offices and ministries of the diocese.
Weekly Update is sent to
parishes, priests and friends of
the diocese with information on
important issues, job listings and
upcoming events. It is also posted
on www.cdob.org
The Mobile Journalist Project,
which was introduced in 2011,
provides training in the basic
journalistic skills of storytelling for
teens and young adults throughout
the diocese. The project engages
the youth in life of the Church
while teaching them valuable
skills.
Diocese Insight, a half-hour
interview program on KMBH-TV,
airs on Sundays at 11 a.m. and on
Fridays at 5:30 p.m.
The award-winning The Valley
Catholic shares the stories of the
faithful in the four counties of the
Rio Grande Valley. It is published
and delivered to the 69 parishes
and 45 missions in the diocese
and 280 other locations by the first
weekend of each month. It is also
mailed to more than 4,000 subscribers at the cost of $15 per year.
Paid advertising in the newspaper helps support this ministry
of sharing the Good News. If you
wish to advertise in The Valley
Catholic, please call Gilbert Saenz
(Upper Valley) at (956) 451-5416
or Gustavo Morales (Lower Valley)
at (956) 266-1527.
To place a calendar item, an
item for Weekly Update or suggest
news ideas for The Valley Catholic,
please call (956) 784-5055.
Office: Communications Ministry
Director: Brenda Nettles Riojas, APR
Phone: (956) 784-5055
Fax: (956) 784-5082
Email: [email protected]
4
DIOCESE
»Family Life
The Valley Catholic -JUNE 2013
Summer feeding
»Making Sense
Out of Bioethics
Father
Tadeusz
Pacholczyk
Lydia Pesina
Director, Family
Life Office
The voice of the
family/ the voice
of the Church
Kaylie Hinojosa of Hargill eats
a meal that was provided by the
Summer Food Service Program
LQWKLVÀOHSKRWR7KHUHZLOO
EHPRUHWKDQIHHGLQJVLWHV
throughout the Rio Grande Valley
beginning on June 3 until school is
back in session.
W
hich voice is the voice
that our children and
young people hear the
loudest: The Voice of the Family
and the Church or the Voice of the
Media? We live in an exciting time
in history where information, recreation, formation, and learning
is at the tip of our fingers through
the use of internet, television,
music, and movies.
These modern avenues of
“communication” have great power to transform our world both
for good and for ill. The voices of
the media are loud and constant.
Perhaps it is an opportunity for us
as family leaders and followers of
Jesus to reflect on how well we are
using our “voices”.
Do our children and young
people hear the messages that we
want for their good clearly and
consistently or do we perhaps at
times abdicate that role and allow
the voice of the media to be stronger, louder, and more formational?
There are so many messages that our children and young
people need from us, so my hope
is that we help one another use our
voices to help transform the world.
When I hear a good message in a
homily or in something I read I
like to share it with others.
Here are a few messages that
I hope that as family leaders and
disciples of Jesus, we can voice
clearly and consistently to our
children and youth.
1) God’s love in constant and
enduring. Romans 5:3-5; …but
we even boast of our afflictions,
knowing that affliction produces
endurance, and endurance, proven
character, and proven character
hope, and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has
been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has
been given to us.” No matter what
trials and disappointments we
encounter, God’s love is constant
and enduring and as a family, we
support one another and do not
break relationship.
2) In a family, the Parents
Rule. Family values and family
rules come before those of society.
There are a few TV commercials
that depict children bossing their
parents and although they are
done facetiously, they can influence how the roles of parents and
children are sometimes blurred.
Ephesians 6:1-4: “Children, obey
your parents [in the Lord], for this
is right. “Honor your father and
mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise, “that
it may go well with you and that
you may have a long life on earth.”
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up
with the training and instruction
of the Lord.” A parenting book
entitled “Family Rules” written by
Dr. Matthew Johnson has a nice
guide for young families.
3) Family Prayer is our link
to God. What would our world be
like if every family ate dinner to» Please see Voice, p.15
Priest of the
Diocese of Fall
River
Amber Donaldson/Mobile Journalist,The
Valley Catholic
The morality
and wisdom
of incremental
legislation
P
Program begins
June 3; meals
provided in
low-income areas
The Valley Catholic
During the school year, many
students depend on school food
programs. Without them, many
children would go hungry.
So what happens to these
children when school is out for
the summer?
Once again, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is
teaming up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to
provide free, healthy meals and
snacks to children in low-income
areas via the Summer Food Service Program.
More than 50 sites will be
available throughout the Rio
Grande Valley beginning on June
3, said Laura Ortiz, Food Program coordinator for Catholic
Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.
“Any child, ages 3 to 18, can
come and get a meal,” Ortiz said.
Some sites are open long term
– throughout the summer break
– while others operate in conjunction with a youth program
such as Vacation Bible School or
summer school.
A kick-off event for the Summer Food Service Program was
held on May 16 at the Adolf Marx
Conference Center at the Diocese of Brownsville Pastoral Center in San Juan. Bishop Daniel E.
Flores, Sister Norma Pimentel of
the Missionaries of Jesus and executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and
a representative from the USDA
Food and Nutrition Service were
among those in attendance.
The Summer Food Service
Program was in jeopardy this
summer due to a lack of funding, but volunteers from Catholic churches and organizations
stepped up to help staff the feeding sites, Ortiz said. Seminarians
from the Brownsville area are
among those who are donating
their time to the Summer Food
Service Program.
Program has been “a blessing” to
churches, schools and other organizations hosting youth activities, said Cindy Vega, director of
religious education at Christ the
92/817((561(('('
The summer food service program is
looking for seven to 10 responsible and
committed volunteers for the months of
June through August to help maintain the
program. Volunteers will work out of the
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King Church in Brownsville.
Breakfast and lunch are provided through the Summer Food
Service Program for Christ the
King Church’s Vacation Bible
School, which is scheduled for
July 8-12 this year.
“We come from a low socioeconomic background,” Vega
said. “We thrive on donations
and the program eliminates the
need to plan and pay for meals.
It’s been a very essential part of
our Vacation Bible School. It’s
been a great help.”
Program even provides dinner as
needed. The middle school and
high school students from Sacred
Heart Church in McAllen are fed
dinner before evening Vacation
» Please see Feeding, p.15
Fortnight for Freedom
Dioceses
nationwide
highlight
religious liberty
U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops
Religious liberty has been a
part of the American experience
since before the United States
even became an independent
country. However, approaches
to religious liberty have developed over time, as Catholics and
people of other faiths have faced
discrimination in various forms.
The Fortnight for Freedom,
which we celebrated for the first
time last year, takes place from
June 21—the vigil of the Feasts
of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas
More—to July 4, Independence
Day.
Last year, we saw a great diversity of events promoting reli-
gious freedom across the country.
The Diocese of Brownsville
will join dioceses nationwide
in highlighting religious liberty
during the Fortnight for Freedom.
In the Diocese of Brownsville, Bishop Daniel E. Flores
will address the topic of religious
freedom at Mass on that day.
In 2013, we face many challenges to religious liberty, including the Aug. 1 deadline for
religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate; potential Supreme Court rulings
that could redefine marriage in
June, causing serious religious
liberty issues for Catholic adoption agencies and many others;
and religious liberty concerns in
other areas, such as immigration
and humanitarian services.
During the Fortnight, our
liturgical calendar celebrates a
series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of
persecution by political power—
St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter
and Paul, the First Martyrs of the
Church of Rome, St. John Fisher,
and St. Thomas More. Through
» Please see Fortnight, p.14
eople with strong pro-life,
pro-family convictions will
sometimes disagree among
themselves about whether they
should support a particular piece
of legislation being debated in the
halls of their state legislature or in
Congress.
Their disagreement will often
center on whether it is morally
permissible and politically prudent
to support a bill that is a step in
the right direction, but that still
permits other objectionable practices. Is it good and wise to take an
“incremental” approach to reversing an unjust law, confronting the
offensive practices “piece by piece,”
rather than all at once?
In general, when it is not
feasible to push back an unjust law
in its entirety (for example, when
insufficient votes exist to overturn
an unjust law), it can be morally
acceptable for a lawmaker to support a piece of legislation that aims
to lessen a portion of the evils or
harmful effects of that standing
unjust law.
The pro-life community in
recent years has seen various
divisions and fractures over this
question.
For example, some have argued
that since abortion is a grave evil, a
Catholic lawmaker can never vote
for a piece of legislation that allows
for any abortions to occur. Thus,
if a vote were being taken on a
proposal that allowed abortions in
cases of rape and incest but enacted
new restrictions against abortion in
many other situations, some take a
hard line and insist the lawmaker
could not morally support the
legislation, but could vote only for
a law that outlawed all abortions, in
every situation.
Blessed John Paul II, however,
in a well-known passage from
his beautiful encyclical “On the
Gospel of Life” (Evangelium Vitae),
reminds us of the wisdom and
morality of supporting incremental legislation in certain circumstances:
“A particular problem of
conscience can arise,” he noted,
“in cases where a legislative vote
would be decisive for the passage
of a more restrictive law, aimed at
limiting the number of authorized
abortions, in place of a more permissive law already passed or ready
to be voted on.
Such cases are not infrequent.
It is a fact that while in some parts
of the world there continue to
be campaigns to introduce laws
favoring abortion, often supported
by powerful international organizations, in other nations - particularly those which have already
experienced the bitter fruits of such
permissive legislation - there are
growing signs of a rethinking in
this matter.
» Please see Incremental, p.14
JUNE 2013-
»Sunday
Readings
The Word of God in the Life
and Mission of the Church
JUNE 2
(The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body
and Blood of Christ)
Reading I
GN 14:18-20
Responsorial Psalm
PS 110:1, 2, 3, 4
Reading II
1 COR 11:23-26
Gospel
LK 9:11B-17
JUNE 9
(Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Reading I 1 KGS 17:17-24
Responsorial Psalm
PS 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
Reading II
Gospel
GAL 1:11-19
LK 7:11-17
JUNE 16
(Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Reading I
2 SM 12:7-10, 13
Responsorial Psalm
PS 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11
Reading II GAL 2:16, 19-21
Gospel
LK 7:36—8:3
JUNE 23
(Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Reading I
ZEC 12:10-11; 13:1
Responsorial Psalm
PS 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
Reading II GAL 3:26-29
Gospel
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The Valley Catholic
LK 9:18-24
The Church, My Wife: Theology of
the Body and Priesthood
E
very time I refer to the
Church I call it my wife.
The first time my parishioners heard me saying
that I had a wife they were scandalized and began speaking among
themselves and some even called
the chancery office to ask if it was
true that I had a wife. The following Sunday I had to tell them that
the Church is my wife and that I
am truly married to her.
The Theology of the Body
(TOB) is the real sex revolution
within the Church. TOB is not
only the series of 133 talks that
Pope John Paul II delivered during his Wednesday audiences in
Rome from 1979 to 1984; to me, it
illustrates how the celibate life is a
sign of the total self-gift we are all
called to make of ourselves to God.
The sacraments of service, marriage and priesthood, are equal in
importance in our Church. In both
vocations, the person is called to
become a self-gift in service to his
or her spouse. This self-gift has to
be free, total, faithful and fruitful.
There are six common points
in both vocations. First it is a
choice: a choice on God’s partand our choice to respond. Jesus,
the embodied Word of God said
“You did not choose me, but I
chose you and appointed you that
you should go and bear fruit” (Jn.
15:16). This reminds us that a
vocation is always an initiative of
God. The common vocation of
all human beings is holiness, and
we find our path to sanctity in the
particular vocation we choose to
follow. The particular vocation is a
choice, because we have to be free
to accept it. If someone is forced
into marriage that matrimony is
rendered invalid. If a man is forced
Father Jorge
Gomez
Chancellor
for the Diocese
of Brownsville
into priesthood he will be unhappy
and will make others unhappy.
Second, both vocations are
based on knowledge. Couples
meet, fall in love and get to know
each other until they decide to
enter into marriage. The man with
a vocation to the priesthood meets
the Church and spends years in
the seminary getting to know his
future wife. The mutual knowledge
of the future spouses deepens their
love to the point that the bride and
groom are willing to sacrifice his
or her own needs and desires in order to serve each other. Then they
go into marriage or priesthood.
Yes, the priest needs to sacrifice his
own needs and desires for his wife,
the Church.
Third, this choice that is based
on knowledge has to be a total selfgift. This self-gift to the Church reflects the spousal love of the priest
for the Church. When priests neglect their spousal understanding
of their vocation and their virginal
relationship to God in prayer, it becomes nearly impossible to remain
faithful to their calling. In the same
way, the husband has to be a total
gift to his wife and, at the same
time, to see his wife as a gift from
God-and vice versa. When we take
our spouse for granted or thinking
that we have the right to her just
because we have done something
good and not as a gift it is when
the priest begins abusing his wife,
JUNE 30
(Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time)
Reading I 1 KGS 19:16B, 19-21
Responsorial Psalm
PS 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Reading II GAL 5:1, 13-18
Gospel
LK 9:51-62
The word of the lord abides for ever.
This word is the Gospel which was
preached to you” (1 Pet 1:25; cf. Is
40:8).
With this assertion from the First
Letter of Saint Peter, which takes up
the words of the Prophet Isaiah, we
find ourselves before the mystery of
God, who has made himself known
through the gift of his word.
This word, which abides for ever,
entered into time. God spoke his
eternal Word humanly; his Word
“became flesh” (Jn 1:14).
This is the good news. This is the
proclamation which has come down
the centuries to us today.
Disciples in Mission: Six Weeks
with the Bible
5
the Church, and becomes a wolf
instead of a shepherd. He lives on
the Church rather than living for
the Church. The husband begins to
see the wife in a reductive manner,
seeing her as an object to satisfy
his own sexual desires. Likewise,
whenever the wife does not see her
husband as gift, she reduces him
to the level of a machine that has
to provide for her. In summary, as
the author of the letter to the Ephesians says, “husbands, love your
wives, as Christ loves the Church
and gave himself up for her” (Eph.
5:25). Give yourself up as a gift and
take your spouse in as a gift.
Fourth, this self-gift is permanent. The husband and wife
promise each other to be faithful in good times and in bad, in
sickness and in health, and to love
and honor each other until death.
The priest promises respect and
obedience to his bishop and his
successors, making it permanent.
It is in this permanent self-gift that
the spouses and priests find their
happiness knowing that their lives
are not about them, but about God
and his kingdom. The promises
of fidelity and obedience are not
only in good times, but also in bad
times, not only in health, but also
in sickness, not only in youth but
also in old age. A husband would
not make his wife happy being
faithful only eighty percent of the
time. A bishop would be unhappy
and disappointed if a priest tells
him that he has kept his promise
of celibacy and obedience ninety
percent of the time. The husband
and the priest are not happy either
knowing that their self-gift has
not been total and permanent.
This permanent self-gift involves
» Please see Priesthood, p.14
Journey with Christ: Faith,
Worship and Witness
T
he United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
(USCCB) during their
annual fall general assembly adopted a four-year (20132016) strategic plan focusing on
the New Evangelization previously
set forth by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
The theme chosen for what
they call a “road map” is “Journey with Christ: Faith, Worship
and Witness,” with the goal to
shape programs and activities to
strengthen the faith of all Catholics and to influence them to be
active witnesses of their faith in all
aspects of life.
Bishop George V. Murry of
Youngstown, Ohio, chairman
of the Committee on Priorities
and Plans for the Conference
explained, “The plan reaffirms
the mission and structure of the
USCCB, which focuses on priority
issues of the bishops and reiterates
the collaborative work necessary
across the conference to build the
community of faith. The strategic
plan includes a series of actions or
“road map” that suggests ways in
which conference projects can be
aligned with a possible approach
that dioceses and/or parishes may
want to adapt” (Catholic News
Service).
The following is an overview
Deacon
Luis Zuniga
Director, Office for
Pastoral Planning
& San Juan Diego
Ministry Institute.
of the strategic plan of the U.S.
Bishops: Journey with Christ:
Faith, Worship, Witness (20132016) USCCB Strategic Plan: The
New Evangelization.
To
make the New Evangelization a
reality is to become pilgrims on a
journey or pilgrimage with Jesus
Christ- much like the journey of
Jesus meeting the disciples along
the road to Emmaus. The journey
or pilgrimage includes moments
for a deepening of our faith,
increasing our participation in the
sacramental life of the Church, and
leads finally to our destination of
being Christian witnesses (usccb.
org/strategic pastoral plan).
The New Evangelization as a
journey of faith, worship and witness, presents three opportunities
or audiences for the transmission
of the Christian faith: 1. To engage
more intently those who are faithful and need to be renewed with
increased catechesis; 2. To reach
out to those who have never heard
the gospel proclaimed; and 3. To
re-engage those who are baptized
but have lost a living sense of the
faith in their daily lives.
The New Evangelization is an
opportunity, a pilgrimage (journey) to rediscover the joy and
confidence of believing in the
Triune God and to enthusiastically profess that faith as “a true
encounter and relationship with
Jesus Christ. Transmitting the faith
means to create in every place and
time the conditions which lead to
his encounter between the person
and Jesus Christ.” (Instrumentum
Laboris, #18)
The New Evangelization/Journey With Christ: Faith-WorshipWitness has a natural progression
that engages the work of the
Church and the USCCB in a threefold movement during 2013-2016
through a focus on faith, worship
and witness.
Faith: Inviting Catholics to a
deeper relationship with Christ,
and a deeper understanding of and
relationship with his Church, and
knowledge of the faith.
Worship: Inspiring confidence
in the gospel and the teachings
of the faith expressed in a vibrant
community and sacramental life,
most intensively in the Eucharist
» Please see Journey, p.14
CNS photo/Octavio Duran
A Peruvian relief sculpture depicts Sts.
Peter and Paul. The Catholic Church
commemorates the martyrdoms of
both apostles with a June 29 feast.
»Feast Day
- June 29
Spotlight on
Saints Peter
and Paul
Catholic News Service
On June 29 the Church celebrates the feast day of Sts. Peter
& Paul. As early as the year 258,
there is evidence of an already
lengthy tradition of celebrating
the solemnities of both Saint Peter and Saint Paul on the same
day. Together, the two saints are
the founders of the See of Rome,
through their preaching, ministry and martyrdom there.
Peter, who was named Simon, was a fisherman of Galilee
and was introduced to the Lord
Jesus by his brother Andrew, also
a fisherman. Jesus gave him the
name Cephas (Petrus in Latin),
which means ‘Rock,’ because he
was to become the rock upon
which Christ would build His
Church.
Peter was a bold follower of
the Lord. He was the first to recognize that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,”
and eagerly pledged his fidelity
until death. In his boldness, he
also made many mistakes, however, such as losing faith when
walking on water with Christ
and betraying the Lord on the
night of His passion.
Yet despite his human weaknesses, Peter was chosen to shepherd God’s flock. The Acts of
the Apostles illustrates his role
as head of the Church after the
Resurrection and Ascension of
Christ. Peter led the Apostles as
the first Pope and ensured that
the disciples kept the true faith.
St. Peter spent his last years
in Rome, leading the Church
through persecution and eventually being martyred in the year
64. He was crucified upsidedown at his own request, because
he claimed he was not worthy to
die as his Lord.
He was buried on Vatican
hill, and St. Peter’s Basilica is
built over his tomb.
St. Paul was the Apostle of
the Gentiles. His letters are included in the writings of the New
Testament, and through them
we learn much about his life and
the faith of the early Church.
Before receiving the name
Paul, he was Saul, a Jewish pharisee who zealously persecuted
Christians in Jerusalem. Scripture records that Saul was present at the martyrdom of St. Stephen.
Saul’s conversion took place
» Please see Saints, p.15
6
DIOCESE
Courtesy
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Class of 2013
Oratory Valedictorian
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Oratory Salutatorian
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St. Joseph Academy Valedictorian
Bonnie Du
St. Joseph Academy Salutatorian
Clara Dawson
Courtesy
7KH&ODVVRIIURPWKH2UDWRU\$WKHQDHXPIRU8QLYHUVLW\3UHSDUDWLRQLQ3KDUU7KHUHZHUHJUDGXDWHVDWWKHFRPPHQFHPHQWFHUHPRQLHVKHOGRQ0D\DWWKH8QLYHUVLW\RI7H[DV3DQ$PHULFDQLQ(GLQEXUJ
JUNE 2013
DIOCESE
- The Valley Catholic
»+RSHLQ$FWLRQ$6SRWOLJKWRQ<RXWK
Altar server committed to parish
The Valley Catholic
It wasn’t enough for Sebastian
Caballero to complete the last of
his sacraments of initiation— the
next step was to serve in the Mass.
That is where one can find him
today, serving as an altar boy together with his father, Alfredo Caballero at the 8:30 a.m. Tridentine
Latin Mass in Saint Jude Parish in
Pharr.
In his spare time, Caballero enjoys drawing, painting and
working with his hands.
He built a mock cathedral out
of recyclable materials for a school
project; stain-glass windows and
all.
The altar server who will soon
graduate from high school empowers youth with a gentle presence and pious heart to serve the
community every Sunday morning.
Name: Sebastian Caballero
School/grade: The Pharr Oratory of St. Philip Neri School System, Pharr, eleventh grade.
What I do in my parish: I’m
an altar server. [When I started] it
took months to learn the responses in Latin. I saw plenty of videos
online of Masses. I would go to
Father (Jose) Losoya and say, ‘ hey
they did this in the video maybe
we should do it?’ He has always
been open for suggestions.
Talents/Gifts: Painting, drawing and journaling.
Music I listen to: Gregorian
chants. That’s all we listen to in the
car.
My plans for the future: God
willing, this December as soon as
I turn 18 I can enter the oratory
to eventually become a priest. I
would also like to be a teacher in
the subject of science— that would
be funny, a priest teaching science.
Books I own: The Hunger
Games Trilogy, Les Misérables.
Influential people in my life/I
admire: My parents, the priest at
the Oratory and St. Philip Neri.
He would pray in the dark on the
Catacombs of San Sebastian.
In the movie about his life he
has a line that stuck with me. “I
prefer paradise.”
The Valley Catholic
$OWDUVHUYHU6HEDVWLDQ&DEDOOHURKRSHVWRHQWHUWKHVHPLQDU\ZKHQKHWXUQV
Registration underway for Father/Son Program
The Valley Catholic
The Family Life Office is sponsoring a Father/ Son Program on
Saturday, June 15, the day before
Father’s Day, from 8:30 a.m. to
noon for fathers and their sons
ages 10, 11, or 12 at the Bishop
Adolph Marx Conference Center
in San Juan.
The program cost is $10 per
family (non-refundable) and reservations are required. The fee
includes morning snack and ma-
terials. Reservations must be received at the Family Life Office no
later than Friday, June 7.
Topics include trust, respect
and communication. For additional information please call
(956) 784-5012.
Meet Your
Diocese Tour
Campus and Young Adult
Ministry is hosting a “Meet
Your Diocese Tour” June 1314. Participants will travel from
Starr County to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in
Brownsville. For more information, please contact Joe Garcia: [email protected]
7
Father
Galindo dies
The Valley Catholic
Father Jose Mario Galindo, a
priest of the Missionaries of the
Holy Family, died on Tuesday, May
14 in San Antonio. He was 67.
He was born July 6, 1945 in
Victoria, Texas to Isidoro Lujan Galindo and Martha Silva
Galindo.
Father Galindo made his first
vows on August 15, 2003 and was
ordained to the priesthood on
April 13, 2007.
He served his
diaconate at St.
Joseph Church
in Donna and
later returned
to serve as
parochial
vicar. His final
position was
Father Jose
as Director of
Mario Galindo
Vocations in
San Antonio.
He was preceded in death by
his parents, his sisters Rosa Guevara, Sylvia Galindo and Graciela
Maldonado.
Father Galindo is survived by
a brother, Leo S. Galindo and his
wife Yolanda; a sister Guadalupe
Sermersheim and her husband Pat
and numerous nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial
was celebrated on May 18 at Holy
Family Catholic Church in New
Braunfels. A graveside service
was held on May 20 at Holy Cross
Cemetery in San Antonio. Father
Galindo’s brother priests and family members served as pallbearers.
8
DIOCESE
»Pilgrimage close to home
Our Lady of Lourdes
given home in
Río Grande City
Grotto built in 1928
honors the Immaculate
Conception of Mary
HOW TO GET THERE
By BRENDA NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
R
Photos by The Valley Catholic
Father Gustave Gollbach, a missionary
Oblate of Mary Immaculate, built a replica of
WKH2XU/DG\RI/RXUGHV*URWWRLQ5LR*UDQGH
&LW\LQ
IO GRANDE CITY – Lourdes
in southwestern France draws
hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year as the site where
the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a
14-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubiroux, in
1858.
The Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette 18 times. During the ninth apparition, Bernadette, as instructed by the Virgin Mary, dug a hole in the ground with
her hands, and a gush of water was released
from an unknown spring. She was instructed to drink the water and wash herself
there. The site is known around the world
for its healing waters. During another apparition, the Virgin Mary identified herself
saying, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Closer to home, Our Blessed Mother
draws people west to Starr County where
pilgrims come, in smaller groups, to Our
Lady of Lourdes Grotto, a replica built in
Rio Grande City 70 years after the apparition in France.
While there are no healing waters in a
county where drought conditions persist,
the man-made setting provides a quiet
prayer space. One can choose
to kneel in the grotto built on
the north side of Immaculate
Conception Church or sit on
a stone bench shaded by the
oak trees nearby.
Our Blessed Mother
always in prayer, a rosary
over her arm, the seven-foot
statue brought from Paris,
France stands in a hollow of
the grotto. She stands above
another statue of the child
Bernadette who kneels before the Immaculate Conception. The agave cactus
which grows on the concrete
formed into the grotto reminds us we’re in south Texas, as does salmon-colored
bougainvillea and the lavender periwinkles that surround the area.
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Avenue, Rio Grande City
'LUHFWLRQV7XUQOHIWRQWRWK6WUHHW
Grotto is north of Immaculate Conception
Church.
+RXUVDPWRSPGDLO\
A German priest, Father Gustave Gollbach, a missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate who moved to Rio Grande City in
1924 as pastor of Immaculate Conception
Church, built the replica in 1927-28.
According to the historical marker,
“Father Gustave had dreamed of building a
grotto to resemble the shrine of Lourdes in
southern France.”
“Father Gustave fashioned the grotto
with his own hands, and received help
from many including a Baptist minister. It
took 14 months of work before the grotto
was dedicated on April 27, 1928,” reads the
marker.
The grotto replica, which measures 33
feet high and 90 feet wide, cost an estimated $5,000 to construct.
“All of the rocks were brought from the
surrounding hills of the petrified forest that
once existed near Escobares.”
My visit to the grotto in Rio Grande
City, reminded me of my first pilgrimage to
Lourdes in 1998. Our group from the Diocese of Brownsville attended Mass at the
grotto early one morning and participated
in an evening procession and Rosary. As a
lapsed Catholic some 15 years ago, my devotion and understanding of Our Blessed
Mother grew during that early pilgrimage
to the Marian shrines.
I remember wanting more time to sit in
silence in Lourdes, but our busy schedule
dictated otherwise. In Rio Grande City, I
felt blessed to have an entire hour to sit in
the grotto to pray and listen to the kiskadees splash in the water while the mocking
birds added their own tune to the church
bells ringing for evening Mass.
» Please see Grotto, p.15
JUNE 2013
DIOCESE
7KRVH:KR6HUYH
)DWKHU+RUDFLR&KDYDUULD
Using technology responsibly
Priest: ‘It is bad
when it becomes
an obsession’
The Valley Catholic
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Assumption Church in Harlingen,
reads the Bible on an iPad.
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
HARLINGEN — Father Horacio Chavarria’s face lit up when he
received an old photo via email
from his days as a seminarian.
Some longtime friends from
Edinburg found the black-andwhite photo in a box, scanned it
and emailed it to Father Chavarria,
who serves as pastor of Our Lady
of the Assumption Parish and San
Felipe Neri Mission Church in
Harlingen.
In the photo, Father Chavarria
is lounging in the driver’s seat of an
old Volkswagen bus during a road
trip in the northern Mexico desert.
“I was in my early 20s,” he
said. “I think I was on my summer
break from school … I am grateful
to new technology, because now I
have this great photo.”
Father Chavarria, 72, said that
he wishes the technology we have
today existed in the time of that
photo.
“It would have been great to
record that trip with picture and
sound,” he said. “I have a lot of
memories that I wish I could have
recorded. Technology can enhance
your life when it is used in a responsible way.”
Too often, however, Father
Chavarria hears of instances where
technology is negatively affecting
our well-being. He has found that
technology, when used improperly,
can ruin lives and destroy marriages and families.
“As a society, we have gotten
to the point of being obsessed,” he
said. “We have accidents because
people are texting and driving.
We are seeing some distancing in
our families because they are busy
with their cell phones or watching
television. We are losing a sense of
connectedness. We have less time
for one another and no time for
God, no time for religion and in the
process, we are losing ourselves.”
The responsible use of technology is a topic Father Chavarria of-
Below, Father Chavarria on holiday
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during his days as a seminarian.
“It would have been great to record
that trip with picture and sound,”
he said.
9
»Birthday
Wishes
The list of birthdays and
ordination anniversaries is
provided so that parishioners
remember the priests, deacons
and religious in their prayers and
send them a note or a card.
June
» Birthdays
2 Rev. Michael Gnanaraj
3 Rev. Issac Erondu
13 Rev. Felix Casarez
22 Rev. Albert Trevino, MSF
27 Rev. Fernando Gonzalez
28 Rev. Msgr. Pedro Briseno
29 Rev. Lee Dacosta
10 Sister Colleen Materese, SSD
25 Sister Fatima Santiago, ICM
25 Sister Carolyn Kosub, ICM
28 Sister Gloria Morales, MJ
ten broaches with his flock.
“Technology is difficult to understand, especially for older people like myself,” said Tina Lopez, a
member of San Felipe Neri Mission
Church in Harlingen. “But technology is the future, so I think it is an
important topic to discuss with the
younger people. I’m glad that Father Horacio does that.”
“With this generation, we need
to know about technology and
we need to know how to help our
young people use technology responsibly,” said Yzenia Huerta, director of religious education at Our
Lady of the Assumption Church.
“Father Horacio reminds us that
technology can be a good thing or
a bad thing, depending on how we
use it.”
Technology has also advanced
us as a society in many ways, said
Father Chavarria, who has also
served as pastor at St. Theresa of the
Infant Jesus Church in Edcouch,
Prince of Peace Church in Lyford
and Good Shepherd Church in
Brownsville.
“Doctors, for example, can do
wonders inside one’s body with just
a small incision, thanks to technology,” he said. “Thanks to technology, we can learn about positive
topics such as music and the arts
without having to leave the house.
11 Deacon Ruben Lopez
23 Deacon Antonio M. Arteaga
27 Deacon Arturo Rodriguez
28 Deacon Ismael Garcia
»
We can learn about our faith on religious web sites.”
New technologies also enable
the faithful to participate in the
Mass by using their phones and
tablets.
“I see people using handheld
instruments in Mass, following
the liturgy,” Father Chavarria said.
“People have prayers, devotions
and even the Mass readings on
these devices.”
Technology has also been a
positive for those who work and
minister at churches.
“I am happy to see, for instance,
that one of the choirs has gone pa-
perless entirely,” he said. “They
have tablets and can serve the parish without having to kill any trees
at all. We have the ability to display
the Mass readings on large screens
so now they can hear the Scriptures
while reading it on the screens.
They are doubly engaged in the
Mass.”
Father Chavarria said it is when
we lose the sense of self that technology takes a negative turn.
“Like everything else, it is bad
when it becomes an obsession,” he
said. “Food is good, but too much
and we know the consequences.
Sports are good, but when we overdo it, it can lead to injury or being
over-competitive. Obsession can
get us off the road and into dark
places. We become prisoners and
once you lose your freedom, your
sense of creativity and sense of self
goes down the drain.”
Parents have many tools they
can utilize when it comes to technology and their children, such as
applications that set time limits and
block inappropriate content. But
who is monitoring us, the adults?
“We have to set self-imposed
limits,” Father Chavarria said. “In
every field, prayer is the most precious element to define one’s life
in a good way. If you want to have
a good marriage, pray over your
spouse, pray over your union.
“Every day, before we start our
day with new technology, we need
to pray and exorcise evil. We need
to purify our cellulars with prayer,
our telephone lines and everything
else, we need to purify it with a
prayer. Prayer helps us evaluate
what we are doing with the graces
God has given to us — because
» Please see Father Horacio, p.16
Anniversaries
3 Rev. Jose Villalon
4 Rev. Joaquin Zermeño
4 Rev. Manuel A. Razo
5 Rev. Leo Francis Daniels, CO
5 Msgr. Patrick J. Doherty
7 Rev. Eusebio Martinez
7 Rev. Felix Casarez
7 Rev. William Penderghest, ss.cc.
8 Rev. Craig Carolan
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
28 Rev. Msgr. Pedro Briseno
29 Rev. Fernando Gonzalez
30 Rev. Rigobert Poulang Mot
6 Deacon Guillermo Castañeda Jr.
18 Deacon Gilberto Perez
27 Deacon Jesus Reyes
July
» Birthdays
2 Rev. Genaro Henriquez
4 Rev. Gabriel Ezeh
8 Rev. Juan Pablo Davalos
9 Rev. Emmanuel Bialonik, OFM
17 Rev. Luis Roberto Tinajero
18 Rev. Ernesto Magallon
18 Rev. Jesus Paredes
19 Rev. Joaquin Zermeno
20 Rev. Amador Garza
21 Rev. Francisco Castillo
22 Rev. Terrence Gorski, OFM
27 Rev. Jose R. Torres, III, OMI
29 Rev. Richard Philion, OMI
2 Deacon Jose Luis Mendoza
3 Deacon Armandin Villarreal
6 Deacon Nicolas E. Trujillo
10 Deacon Augusto Chapa Jr.
10 Deacon Rodolfo C. Salinas
15 Deacon Enrique Saldaña
17 Deacon Gilberto Guardiola Jr .
18 Deacon Francisco D. Pon
19 Deacon Peter Requeñez
23 Deacon Rene Villalon
30 Deacon Felipe F. Treviño
» Please see Birthdays, p.15
10
DIOCESE
Pope warns comfortable living causes ‘gentrification of the heart’
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis warned against “gentrification
of the heart” as a consequence of
comfortable living, and called on
the faithful to “touch the flesh of
Christ” by caring for the needy.
The pope’s words came in a
homily during Mass in St. Peter’s
Square May 12, when he canonized
the first Colombian saint, as well as
a Mexican nun and some 800 Italians martyred by Ottoman Turks in
the 15th century.
Mexico’s St. Maria Guadalupe
Garcia Zavala (1878-1963), the
pope said, gave up a “comfortable
life to follow the call of Jesus, taught
people to love poverty, in order the
more to love the poor and the sick.”
“How much damage does the
comfortable life, well-being, do,”
the pope added, looking up from
his prepared text. “The gentrification of the heart paralyzes us.”
The Mexican saint, known as
Mother Lupita, “knelt on the floor
of the hospital before the sick, before the abandoned, to serve them
with tenderness and compassion,”
and in doing so, “touched the flesh
of Christ,” he said.
Pope Francis kisses the relics of St. Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, also known as
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Pope Francis said the Mexican
founder of the Handmaids of St.
Margaret Mary and of the Poor sets
an example for everyone “not to
retreat into oneself, into one’s own
problems, into one’s own ideas,
into one’s own interests in this little
world that has done us so much
damage,” but to share God’s love
with the needy “through gestures
of delicacy and sincere affection
and love.”
The pope also praised St. Laura
Montoya (1874-1949), the “first
saint born in the beautiful land of
Colombia,” as a “spiritual mother
of the indigenous peoples, in whom
she infused hope” and taught about
God in a way that “respected their
culture and was not opposed to it.”
“Mother
Laura”
founded the
Missionary
Sisters
of Mary Immaculate and
St. Catherine
of Siena, who
today “live
and bring the
St. Maria Guadalupe
Gospel to the
Garcia Zavala
most remote
and needy
places, as a kind of vanguard of the
church,” he said.
“She teaches us to see the face
of Jesus reflected in the other,” the
pope said, “to overcome indifference and individualism, welcoming
everyone without prejudice or constraints, with love, giving the best
of ourselves and above all, sharing
with them the most valuable thing
we have, which is not our works or
our organizations” but “Christ and
his Gospel.”
Pope Francis also paid tribute
to the approximately 800 people
in Otranto, southern Italy, who in
1480 were decapitated by invading
Ottoman forces for refusing to convert to Islam.
“Where did they find the
strength to remain faithful?” the
pope asked. “Precisely in faith,
which allows us to see beyond the
limits of our human eyes, beyond
the boundaries of earthly life, to
contemplate the ‘heavens opened,’
as St. Stephen said.”
The pope then prayed for
“those many Christians who, in
these times and in many parts of
the world, right now, still suffer violence,” and asked God to “give them
the courage and fidelity to respond
to evil with good.”
Before praying the “Regina Coeli” at the end of Mass, Pope Francis called on the Otranto martyrs
to “help the beloved Italian people
look with hope to the future,” and
invoked the intercession of the new
Mexican and Colombian saints in
bringing peace to their troubled
homelands.
All the day’s news saints “pose
questions to our Christian life,” the
pope said at the conclusion of his
homily, which he delivered in a mix
of Spanish and Italian. “How am
I faithful to Christ? Am I able to
show my faith with respect, but also
with courage? Am I attentive to
others? Do I recognize when someone is in need? Do I see in everyone
brothers and sisters to love?”
1PQF/BNFT"VYJMJBSZ#JTIPQ4FJU[UPIFBE%JPDFTFPG&M1BTP
U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops
WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has named Auxiliary Bishop
Mark Seitz of Dallas, 59,
as bishop of El Paso, Texas.
The appointment was publicized in Washington, May 6, by
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò,
apostolic nuncio to the United
States.
He succeeds Bishop Armando
Ochoa, who was named bishop of
Fresno, California, December 1,
2011.
Bishop Seitz was born in Milwaukee, Jan. 10, 1954, and earned a
bachelor of arts degree in philoso-
phy, master of divinity and master
of arts in theology degrees from
the University of Dallas. He was ordained a priest for the Dallas Diocese in 1980.
He earned a master in liturgical
studies degree from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, in
1985. In 2004, Pope John Paul II
named him a prelate of honor, car-
rying the title “monsignor.”
Assignments after ordination
included parochial vicar, Good
Shepherd Parish, 1980-1985; adjunct professor, University of Dallas, 1985-1994; spiritual director,
Hoy Trinity Seminary, 1986-1987;
vice-rector, Holy Trinity Seminary,
1987-1993; pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Waxahachie, Texas, 1993-2003;
and pastor, St. Rita Parish, since
2003.
Bishop Seitz was named auxiliary bishop of Dallas, March 11,
2010.
The El Paso Diocese includes
26,686 square miles. The diocese
has 858,546 people, with 686,037,
or 80 percent of them, Catholic.
JUNE 2013-
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The Valley Catholic
11
Celebración de Corpus Christi
Testimonio
público de fe dura
más que un día
The Valley Catholic
“La celebración de Corpus
Christi es una de las solemnidades
más hermosas en el calendario de
la Iglesia, y es un día de celebración
al que soy particularmente devoto,”
dijo el Obispo Daniel E. Flores
en su columna de julio del 2012.
“Realmente creo que cuando honramos, alabamos y glorificamos al
Señor en el Santísimo Sacramento
del altar, Él nos responde con bondad generosa. Su presencia es en sí
misma el principio y el fin de esa
bondad.”
Este año la Solemnidad de Corpus Christi en EE.UU., el 2 junio,
el Obispo Flores guiará una procesión Eucarística a través del centro
de Brownsville, empezando a las 6
p.m. en la Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción.
El propósito principal de la
Celebración de Corpus Christi es el
enfocar nuestra atención en la Eucaristía y la presencia real de Cristo
en ella — y tomar este mensaje
fuera de las paredes de la iglesia.
“Llevar el Santísimo Sacramento hacia las calles, es la misma
acción que si Jesús caminara sobre
la tierra,” dijo el Padre Rafael Vega,
pastor de la Parroquia el Buen Pastor en Brownsville. “Manda un
recordatorio al mundo, especialmente a los Católicos, de que no
estamos solos, que Jesús sigue con
nosotros, Jesús sigue presente, vivo
y activo en el mundo.”
Para los Católicos, la expresión
Fotos por Cesar Riojas/The Valley Catholic
(OGtDGHO&RUSXVTXHVHFHOHEUDHVWHDxR
el 2 de junio el Obispo Daniel E. Flores
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de fe demostrada en la celebración
de Corpus Christi — Adoración del
Santísimo Sacramento y testimonio
público — dura todo el año.”
Adoración del Santísimo
Sacramento
Los feligreses son animados
a rezar ante el Santísimo Sacramento. Cada Iglesia Católica contiene un tabernáculo que guarda el
Cuerpo de Cristo durante la Misa.
Otras iglesias tienen una capilla de
Adoración, en la cual la Eucaristía
está expuesta en custodia.
“La Adoración es el símbolo
más fuerte de nuestra fe,” dijo el
Padre Vega. “Es reconocer la presencia de Dios en la Eucaristía. Esta-
mos en contacto con esta realidad,
aunque sea un misterio que no
podemos comprender por completo. Pero confiamos.”
El padre Vega señaló que no hay
manera correcta o incorrecta para
rezar ante el Santísimo Sacramento.
Algunos, por ejemplo, rezan el Rosario, la Corona de Divina Misericordia o leen las Sagradas Escrituras. Otros solamente se sientan en
silencio y escuchan, lo que el Padre
Vega cree que es lo más gratificante.
“El sólo estar ahí, ya sea por
cinco, diez minutos, una hora, es
tiempo sagrado,” dijo él. “La clave es
venir a la Adoración con el corazón
abierto. A menudo venimos con
una
mente
ocupada,
pidiéndole a
Dios
ayuda
con nuestros
problemas,
pero él sabe que nos preocupa antes
de que lleguemos ahí. Él sabe lo que
hay en nuestros corazones. Lo más
importante es sentarse ahí y abrir
nuestros corazones para recibir su
misericordia y su amor. Solamente
necesitamos estar ahí, abiertos a él,
permitiéndole sanarnos, iluminarnos.”
Ir a la Adoración es como ir
a visitar a un amigo, dijo el Padre
Vega.
“Es fomentar una amistad,”
dijo él. “Es escuchar y compartir tu
propio ser. Es pasar tiempo con un
amigo que nunca te va a abandonar
o a defraudar, un amigo que siempre te escucha.”
Testimonio Público de fe
Las procesiones Eucarísticas
públicas son punto clave del la
celebración de Corpus Cristi. Estas procesiones, durante las cuales
el Cuerpo de Jesús es cargado por
las calles en custodia acompañado
por rezos y canciones, son una
tradición que data desde el siglo
trece.
Pero después de terminar la
Celebración de Corpus Christi,
debemos continuar caminando
por las calles y ser manifestantes
de nuestra fe, dijo el Padre Carlos
Zúñiga, pastor de la Iglesia San Pius
X en Weslaco. Él señaló que los últimos tres papas nos han animado a
ser manifestantes firmes de nuestra
fe – proclamarla, vivirla, defenderla
y compartirla con otros.
Como discípulos de Cristo,
somos llamados a ser reflejo del
evangelio, la luz del mundo. Somos
llamados a vivir nuestra fe Católica
en público, servir a otros, luchar en
contra de la injusticia y compartir
las Buenas Nuevas de Jesucristo.
» Por favor lea Corpus Christi, p.14
12
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»Peregrinaje cerca de casa
Nuestra Señora de Lourdes
tiene hogar en Río Grande City
The Valley Catholic
Por BRENDA NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
RIO GRANDE CITY —
Lourdes, en el sur oeste de Francia,
atrae a cientos de miles de peregrinos cada año, como el lugar en el
cual se apareció la Santa Virgen
María a una niña de 14 años, Bernadette Soubiroux, en 1858.
La Virgen María se le apareció a
Bernadette 18 veces. Durante la novena aparición, Bernadette, instruida por la Virgen María, excavó un
hoyo en el piso con sus manos, y un
chisguete de agua brotó de un manantial desconocido. Se le pidió que
bebiera del agua y que se bañara
ahí. El lugar es conocido alrededor
del mundo por sus aguas curativas.
Durante otra aparición, la Virgen
María se identificó diciendo, “Yo
soy la Inmaculada Concepción.”
Cerca de casa, nuestra Santa
Madre atrae a personas al oeste del
condado Starr, en donde los peregrinos vienen en grupos pequeños a la Cueva de Nuestra Señora
de Lourdes, una réplica construida
en la ciudad de Río Grande 70 años
después de su aparición en Francia.
Si bien no hay aguas curativas
en un condado donde la sequía persiste, el entorno artificial provee un
espacio silencioso para la oración.
Uno puede elegir arrodillarse en la
cueva construida en la parte sur de
la Iglesia Inmaculada Concepción,
o sentarse en una banca de piedra a
la sombra de los robles.
Nuestra Santa Madre siempre
en oración, un rosario en su brazo;
(QHO
Padre Gustave
Gollbach, un
misionario Oblato de
María Inmaculada,
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réplica de la Gruta
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Grande City.
la estatua de siete pies traída de Paris, Francia colocada en el hueco de
la cueva. Ella se levanta sobre otra
estatua de la niña Bernadette, quien
se arrodilla frente a la Inmaculada
Concepción. La planta de agave, la
cual brilla en el concreto que forma
la cueva, nos recuerda que estamos
en el Sur de Texas, así como las bu-
ganvilias color salmón y los caracoles lavanda que rodean el área.
Un sacerdote alemán, Padre
Gustave Gollbach, misionario Oblato de María Inmaculada, quien se
mudó a la ciudad de Río Grande en
1924 como pastor de la Iglesia Inmaculada Concepción, construyó
la réplica en 1927-28.
De acuerdo con el marcador
histórico, “El Padre Gustave había
soñado la construcción de una cueva que se parecería al santuario de
Lourdes en el sur de Francia.”
“El Padre Gustave formó la
cueva con sus propias manos, y
recibió ayuda de muchos, incluyendo a un ministro Bautista. Tomó
14 meses de trabajo antes de que la
cueva fuera dedicada el 27 de abril
de 1928,” dice el anuncio.
La construcción de la réplica de
la cueva, que mide 33 pies de alto y
90 pies de ancho, costó aproximadamente $5,000. “Todas las piedras
fueron traídas de los cerros cercanos, de los bosques petrificados
que existieron en Escobares.”
Mi visita a la cueva en la ciudad de Río Grande, me recordó a
mi primer peregrinaje a Lourdes en
1998. Nuestro grupo de la Diócesis
de Brownsville asistió a misa en la
cueva temprano en la mañana y
participamos en la procesión de la
noche y el Rosario. Como católica
no practicante hace 15 años, mi
devoción y entendimiento de nuestra Santa Madre creció durante
esa peregrinación a los Santuarios
Marianos.
Recuerdo querer más tiempo para sentarme en silencio en
Lourdes, pero nuestro horario
apretado dictaba lo contrario. En
la ciudad de Río Grande, me sentí
bendecida de poder tener toda una
hora para sentarme en la cueva a
rezar y escuchar a los pecho amarillos chapotear el agua mientras los
cenzontles agregaban sus propias
notas a las campanas de la iglesia
que sonaban llamando a Misa.
En mi mente, entoné la canción
a “María Inmaculada.” Esta canción, en particular el refrán que es
dulce y meditativo, me recuerda a
aquella peregrinación a Lourdes.
Del cielo ha bájado
La Madre de Dios
Cantémos el Ave a su concepción
Ave, ave, ave Maria.
Ave, ave Maria.
El Papa Emérito Benedicto
XVI, quien visito a Lourdes en el
aniversario número 150 en el 2008
dijo, “María nos enseña a rezar, a
hacer de nuestra oración un acto de
amor a Dios y un acto de caridad
fraternal.”
Él dijo, “Un encuentro silencioso con Bernadette y la Virgen
María puede cambiar la vida de
una persona, porque ellas están
aquí, en Massabielle, para guiarnos a Cristo quien es nuestra vida,
nuestra fuerza y nuestra luz.”
Ellas están en la ciudad de Rio
Grande, así como en la réplica hecha hace 85 años por un Padre Oblato que quiso traer el mensaje de la
aparición al Sur de Texas.
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El Papa canoniza a mártires de Otranto, primera
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ACI Prensa
VATICANO — El Papa Francisco presidió la Misa el 12 de Mayo
por la canonización de los 813 mártires de Otranto, de la Madre Laura
Montoya, la primera santa de Colombia, y la Madre María Guadalupe García Zavala, Madre Lupita,
de México.
En su homilía, frente a la multitud de fieles congregados en la
Plaza de San Pedro, el Santo Padre
señaló que hoy “nos reunimos con
alegría para celebrar una fiesta de la
santidad. Damos gracias a Dios que
ha hecho resplandecer su gloria, la
gloria del Amor, en los Mártires de
Otranto, la Madre Laura Montoya y
la Madre María Guadalupe García
Zavala”.
El Papa pidió que “miremos
a los nuevos santos a la luz de la
palabra de Dios que hemos proclamado. Una palabra que nos invita a la fidelidad a Cristo, incluso
hasta el martirio; nos ha llamado a
la urgencia y la hermosura de llevar
a Cristo y su Evangelio a todos; y
nos ha hablado del testimonio de la
caridad, sin el cual, incluso el martirio y la misión, pierden su sabor
cristiano”.
Francisco indicó que “hoy la
Iglesia propone a nuestra veneración una multitud de mártires,
que juntos fueron llamados al supremo testimonio del Evangelio, en
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mayo.
1480”.
“Casi 800 personas, supervivientes del asedio y de la invasión de
Otranto, fueron decapitadas en las
afueras de la ciudad. No quisieron
renegar de la propia fe y murieron
confesando a Cristo resucitado.
¿Dónde encontraron la fuerza para
permanecer fieles? Precisamente en
la fe, que nos hace ver más allá de
los límites de nuestra mirada humana, más allá de la vida terrena,
hace que contemplemos ‘los cielos
abiertos’ – como dice san Esteban
– y a Cristo vivo a la derecha del
Padre”.
El Papa exhortó a que “conservemos la fe que hemos recibido
y que es nuestro verdadero tesoro,
renovemos nuestra fidelidad al Señor, incluso en medio de los obstáculos y las incomprensiones”.
“Dios no dejará que nos falten
las fuerzas ni la serenidad. Mientras
veneramos a los Mártires de Otranto, pidamos a Dios que sostenga a
tantos cristianos que, precisamente
en estos tiempos y en tantas partes
del mundo, ahora, todavía sufren
violencia, y les dé el valor para ser
fieles y para responder al mal con
el bien”.
Al referirse a la primera santa
colombiana, el Papa señaló que
“Santa Laura Montoya fue instrumento de evangelización primero como maestra y después como
madre espiritual de los indígenas, a
los que infundió esperanza, acogiéndolos con ese amor aprendido de
Dios, y llevándolos a Él con una
eficaz pedagogía que respetaba su
cultura y no se contraponía a ella”.
“En su obra de evangelización
Madre Laura se hizo verdaderamente toda a todos, según la expresión de San Pablo. También hoy sus
hijas espirituales viven y llevan el
Evangelio a los lugares más recónditos y necesitados, como una especie de vanguardia de la Iglesia”.
Francisco subrayó que “esta
primera santa nacida en la hermosa
tierra colombiana nos enseña a ser
generosos con Dios, a no vivir la fe
solitariamente - como si fuera posible vivir la fe aisladamente -, sino
a comunicarla, a irradiar la alegría
del Evangelio con la palabra y el
testimonio de vida allá donde nos
encontremos”.
“La fidelidad hasta la muerte
de los mártires, la proclamación
del Evangelio a todos se enraízan,
tienen su raíz, en el amor de Dios,
que ha sido derramado en nuestros
corazones por el Espíritu Santo, y
en el testimonio que hemos de dar
de este amor en nuestra vida. Santa
Guadalupe García Zavala lo sabía
bien”.
La santa mexicana, señaló el
Papa, “renunciando a una vida cómoda – cuánto daño hace una vida
cómoda, el bienestar, el aburguesamiento del corazón nos paraliza – y
ella renunciando a una vida cómoda para seguir la llamada de Jesús,
enseñaba a amar la pobreza, para
poder amar más a los pobres y los
enfermos”.
“Madre Lupita se arrodillaba
en el suelo del hospital ante los enfermos, ante los abandonados para
servirles con ternura y compasión.
Y esto se llama tocarla carne de
Cristo”.
El Santo Padre señaló que “los
pobres, los abandonados, los enfermos, los marginados son la carne
de Cristo. Y Madre Lupita tocaba la
carne de Cristo y nos enseñaba esta
conducta de no avergonzarnos, no
tener miedo, no tener repugnancia
de tocar la carne de Cristo. Madre
Lupita había entendido que significa esto de ‘tocar la carne de Cristo’”.
“También hoy sus hijas espirituales buscan reflejar el amor de
Dios en las obras de caridad, sin
ahorrar sacrificios y afrontando
con mansedumbre, con constancia
apostólica (hypomon?), soportando, y con valentía cualquier obstáculo”.
Your advertisements help support the ministry of The Valley Catholic. Call us at (956) 784-5055 to reserve a space.
JUNE 2013
127,&,$6(1(63$f2/ 13
Comida para las áreas de bajos recursos
Programa de
alimentación en
verano empieza
el 3 de junio
The Valley Catholic
Durante el año escolar, muchos
estudiantes dependen en los programas escolares de alimentación.
Sin ellos, muchos niños se quedarán con hambre.
¿Qué les pasa a estos niños
cuando la escuela se acaba en el
verano?
Una vez más, las Caridades
Católicas del Rio Grande Valley
están trabajando con el Departamento de Agricultura de US para
proveer comida y bocadillos gratis
y saludables a los niños en áreas
de bajos recursos a través de los
Servicios del Programa de Verano
para la Alimentación.
Más de 50 localidades estarán disponibles a través del Rio
Grande Valley, empezando el 3 de
junio, dijo Laura Ortiz, coordinadora del programa de alimentación de las Caridades Católicas
del Río Grande Valley.
“Cualquier niño, de 3 a 18, puede venir y obtener una comida,”
dijo Ortiz.
Algunas localidades están abiertas a largo plazo- durante todo el
verano- mientras que otras trabajarán en conjunto con programas
The Valley Catholic
/DV&DULGDGHV&DWyOLFDVGHO5LR*UDQGH9DOOH\LQLFLDURQHOSURJUDPDGHDOLPHQWDFLyQ
con un evento el 16 de mayo. El Obispo Daniel E. Flores hablo con estudiantes sobre la
importancia de comer saludable.
de jóvenes como la Escuela Bíblica
de Verano o escuelas de verano.
Un evento de lanzamiento para
el Programa de Alimentación para
el Verano tuvo lugar el 16 de mayo
en el Centro de Conferencias Adolf Marx en el Centro Pastoral de
la Diócesis de Brownsville, en San
Juan. El Obispo Daniel E. Flores,
la Hermana Norma Pimentel de
las Misioneras de Jesús y directora
ejecutiva de las Caridades Católicas del Rio Grande Valley y un
representante del USDA Servicios
de Comida y Nutrición estuvieron
entre los invitados.
El Programa de Verano para
la Alimentación estuvo en peligro este verano debido a la falta
de fondos, pero voluntarios de las
Iglesias Católicas y organizaciones
se ofrecieron personal voluntario
en los sitios de alimentación, dijo
Ortiz. Seminaristas del área de
Brownsville se encuentran dentro
de aquellos que están donando
tiempo durante el Programa de
Verano para la Alimentación.
El Servicio del Programa de
Verano para la Alimentación ha
sido “una bendición” para las iglesias, escuelas y otras organizaciones que llevan a cabo actividades
para jóvenes, dijo Cindy Vega, directora de educación religiosa en
la Iglesia Cristo Rey en Brownsville.
El desayuno y el almuerzo son
ofrecidos a través del Servicio del
Programa de Verano para la Alimentación para la Escuela Bíblica
de Vacaciones en la Iglesia Cristo
Rey, que está programada del 8 al
12 de julio de este año.
“Venimos de un nivel socioeconómico bajo,” dijo vega. “Nos
mantenemos con las donaciones
y el programa elimina la necesidad de planear y pagar por los alimentos. Ha sido parte esencial de
nuestra Escuela Bíblica de Verano.
Ha sido una gran ayuda.”
El Servicio de Programas de
Alimentación de Verano provee
incluso cena si es necesario. A
los estudiantes de secundaria y
preparatoria de la Iglesia Sagrado
Corazón en McAllen se les da de
cenar antes de las sesiones nocturnas de la Escuela Bíblica de
Verano.
“Cuando puedes mantenerte
físicamente, estás preparado para
recibir los alimentos espirituales
también,” dijo Sandra Kent, directora de educación religiosa en la
Iglesia Sagrado Corazón. “Es un
extra.” Kent dijo que el programa
es confiable. Los alimentos son entregados calientes y a tiempo, dijo
ella.
Caridades Católicas busca
patrocinar más locaciones este
verano. Iglesias o programas de
jóvenes que estén interesados en
organizar un sitio de alimentación, y aquellos interesados en
ser voluntarios en los lugares de
alimentación pueden contactar a
Laura Ortiz al (956) 702-4088.
¿Busca un lugar de alimentación cerca? Favor de llamar al
1-866-3-HUNGRY (inglés) o al
1-877-8-HAMBRE (español) para
recibir ayuda.
»La Alegría de Vivir
¡Madre solo hay una!
P
LETTE INSURANCE AGENCY
AUTO, HOME, LIFE
COMMERCIAL, HEALTH,
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Two locations to better serve you
145 Boca Chica Blvd
Brownsville, TX
1402 N. 23rd St.
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956-546-7232
956-682-3154
[email protected]
arece una verdad absoluta, y lógicamente lo es,
ciertamente una creación
humana tiene solamente una
madre biológica, sin embargo en
estos tiempos modernos hay 11
estados de los 50 que componen
la república de los Estados Unidos
que reconocen el “matrimonio”
entre personas del mismo sexo,
por lo tanto se dan casos donde
hay criaturas que tienen dos
madres.
En los casos de parejas de
mujeres, hay ocasiones en las que
utilizando las técnicas in-vitro,
una mujer carga al “producto” de
la inseminación por nueve meses
mientras que la otra ha donado
el ovario necesario para dicha
inseminación, por lo tanto ambas
mujeres serán madres, una genéticamente ligada a su hijo y la otra
proveyéndole la vida durante los
meses de gestación.
Una situación tan complicada
que ni el mismo rey Salomón
podría discernir quien es la
madre en estos casos. Por esto, y
muchos otros dilemas éticos, es la
oposición de la iglesia en cuando
a la inseminación artificial, los
bancos de esperma, los vientres
alquilados, y todas las nuevas
modalidades de reproducción. Sin
embargo la iglesia acepta y celebra
la adopción como medio de formar una familia para quienes presentan problemas de infertilidad,
ya que además de ser una opción
para aquellas pobres mujeres que
están pensando en el aborto como
única solución a un embarazo
no deseado, la adopción muestra
claramente el respeto a la vida,
Msgr. Juan
Nicolau
Pastor, La iglesia de
Nuestra
Señora del
Perpetuo Socorro
en McAllen
pues incluye el derecho del nuevo
ser a saber quien lo engendró,
quien lo parió, y quienes le dieron
el amor, cariño y apoyo mientras
crecía.
Las mujeres que toman la
tarea de formar a un ser humano,
dándole valores, educación, pero
sobre todo amor, merecen el respeto y el reconocimiento de todos.
Para quienes quedaron huérfanos
a una tierna edad y contaron con
una abuela, una tía, una hermana
mayor, o una perfecta extraña escogida por el estado como madre
temporal, tendrán a quien celebrar
y rendirle honores este día de las
madres. Los que ya no tenemos
a nuestra madre con nosotros,
y aquellos que nunca pudieron
gozar de su presencia, no tenemos
por qué sentirnos en la orfandad
en este día, pues nuestra Madre
María siempre está y estará con
nosotros, de la misma forma que
acompañó a su hijo Jesús durante
su vida, muerte y resurrección; ella
siempre nos acompaña en el camino de nuestra vida, y si nosotros
la honramos como buenos hijos,
jamás nos faltaran las bendiciones
de nuestra Santa Madre.
Mons. Juan Nicolau, Ph.D. STL
Presidente del equipo de acción sobre inmigración
de Valley Interfaith, Pastor de la iglesia de Nuestra
Señora del Perpetuo Socorro. Es psicoterapeuta
familiar y consejero profesional
Lydia Pesina
Directora, Oficina
de Vida Familiar
La voz de
la familia,
la voz de la
Iglesia
¿Qué voz es la que nuestros niños
y las personas jóvenes escuchan
más fuerte: la voz de la familia
y la voz de la Iglesia o la voz de
los medios? Vivimos un tiempo
emocionante en la historia donde
la información, recreación, formación y aprendizaje está en la
punta de nuestros dedos por medio del uso del internet, televisión,
música y videos.
Estas nuevas rutas de comunicación tienen gran poder para
transformar nuestro mundo hacia
lo bueno y hacia lo bueno o hacia
lo malo. Las voces de los medios
son fuertes y constantes. Quizá
sea una oportunidad para que
nosotros como líderes de familia
y seguidores de Jesús reflejemos
en qué tan bien estamos usando
nuestras “voces”.
¿Los niños y los jóvenes
escuchan clara y consistentemente
el mensaje que les queremos dar,
o acaso a veces renunciamos a
nuestra responsabilidad y permitimos que la voz de los medios
sean más fuertes, más altas, y más
formativas? Hay tantos mensajes
que los niños y jóvenes necesitan
de nosotros, así que mi esperanza
es que nos ayudemos mutuamente
para usar nuestras voces y ayudar
a transformar el mundo. Me gusta
compartir los buenos mensajes de
las homilías o en algo que lea.
Aquí están unos cuantos
mensajes que espero que como
líderes de familia y discípulos de
Jesús podamos vociferar clara y
consistentemente a nuestros niños
y jóvenes.
1) El amor de Dios es constante y duradero. Romanos
5:3-5; pero incluso nos jactamos
de nuestras aflicciones, sabiendo
que la aflicción produce aguante,
el aguante prueba el carácter, el
carácter la esperanza, y la esperanza no decepciona porque el
amor de Dios ha sido derramado
en nuestros corazones a través del
Espíritu Santo. No importa qué
pruebas y decepciones enfrentemos, el amor de Dios es constante
y duradero, y como familia nos
apoyamos mutuamente y no
rompemos las relaciones.
2) En la familia, los padres
mandan. Los valores familiares
y las reglas familiares vienen
antes que los de la sociedad. Hay
algunos comerciales de televisión
que muestran a niños mandando
a sus padres y aunque lo hacen en
broma, estos pueden influenciar
en el papel de los padres y los hijos
haciéndolos difusos. Efesios 6:1-4:
“Hijos, obedezcan a sus padres en
el Señor que es lo justo, ya que el
primer mandamiento que contiene una promesa es este: Honra
a tu padre y a tu madre, para que
seas feliz y tengas una larga vida
en la tierra. Padres, no irriten a
sus hijos; al contrario, edúquenlos,
corrigiéndolos y aconsejándolos,
según el espíritu del Señor.” Un
» Por favor lea Voz, p.14
14
DIOCESE
3KRWRE\-RVK$OWRQML3RQWL¿FDO&ROlege Josephinum
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Josephinum in Columbus,
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seminary outside of Italy,
KHOGLWVWK&RPPHQFHment on May 11. Derlis
Garcia from the Diocese of
Brownsville received a bachelor of philosophy degree.
He was among 36 seminarians from 13 different
dioceses who were granted
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Pre-Theology Program or
School of Theology.
Courtesy Photo
Theology on Tap: June 10
The Meaning of Suffering: Why me if I’m a good person?
Presenter: Father Joaquín Zermeño
Join us at Khan’s Grill/Oxygen Bar located at 610 Maco Dr.
Harlingen, TX 78550. For event info contact Ruby Fuentes:
[email protected]
Voz,
continued from pg.13
libro de crianza de los hijos titulado “Family Rules” escrito por Dr.
Matthew Johnson tiene una buena
guía para familias jóvenes.
3) Las oraciones familiares son
nuestro enlace con Dios. ¿Qué
sería de nuestro mundo si cada familia cenara junta en la mesa todas
las veces que sean posible sin TV o
electrónicos y rezar antes de cada
comida? Mi familia lo ha hecho
por más de veinte años, algunas
veces ha sido maravilloso otras ha
sido desordenado pero ha valido
la pena. La vida familiar puede ser
desordenada, pero la santidad de
la vida y la gracia de Dios existen
aún en lo desordenado. Hay libros
de oración maravillosos que las familias pueden usar para comenzar
la oración por ejemplo, “Prayers
for the Domestic Church” por Fr.
Edward Hays. Un buen ejemplo de
cuando los medios tienen una influencia positiva es la serie de televisión “Blue Bloods”. Esta familia
católica es mostrada teniendo una
cena semanal dominical juntos, y
este es el único programa en donde
he visto a todos los miembros haciendo la señal de la cruz al bendecir
Incremental,
continued from pg.4
In a case like the one just
mentioned, when it is not possible
to overturn or completely abrogate
a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was
well known, could licitly support
proposals aimed at limiting the
harm done by such a law and at
lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion
and public morality. This does not
in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather
a legitimate and proper attempt to
limit its evil aspects.”
Many commentators have
observed how dramatic progress
has occurred in changing public
opinion on abortion in the United
States in recent years because of
this incremental approach: eliminating partial-birth and late-term
abortions, establishing waiting
periods, mandating ultrasounds,
regulating abortion facilities, and
the like.
Incremental legislation may
likewise be needed to respond to
certain unethical practices regard-
7KH'LRFHVHRI%URZQVYLOOHKHOGLWVÀUVW´(QFRXQWHULQJ&KULVWµ<RXQJ$GXOW:RUNVKRSRQ0D\XVLQJVRPHRIWKHEDVLFFRQWHQWDQG
framework developed by the Archdiocese of Chicago. The two-day “retreat-style” format brought together 20 young adult leaders from
DFURVVWKHGLRFHVHZKRZLOOQRZZRUNWRRIIHUWKH´(QFXHQWURµDWWKHLUUHVSHFWLYHSDULVKHV'XULQJWKHZRUNVKRS\RXQJDGXOWVH[SORUHG
connections between the Catholic faith and everyday life. If you would like more information, please contact Miguel Santos: msantos@
cdob.org.
Corpus Christi,
continua de pág.. 11
los alimentos.
4) El sexo es sagrado y tiene
su lugar en el matrimonio, no
antes del matrimonio ni fuera del
matrimonio. Dios creo el sexo
y es sagrado. Él lo creo para dos
propósitos; procreación y placer
entre esposo y esposa. Incluso
cuando nuestros niños no entiendan esto siempre o sigan esto,
debemos continuar enseñándoles
lo que es mejor para ellos a largo
plazo sin importar lo que ellos ven
o escuchan en los medios.
5) El amor verdadero y la paz
verdadera llega al servir a otros.
La voz de los medios a menudo
proclama que el “amor” es hacer lo
que sea que se sienta bien, o que el
amor significa lo que otros pueden
hacer para hacerte “feliz”. Jesús nos
muestra lo opuesto: Nos enseña
sobre el “amor despojado”. El nos
enseña que el amor es una decisión
que significa tomar acciones con
amor así tengamos ganas o no.
Que nuestras familias luchen
para encontrar formas para usar
nuestra “voz” para “formar”
nuestras familias en el camino del
Señor.
(Una última recomendación:
“52 Simple Ways to Talk with Your
Kids about Faith” por Jim Campbell; Loyola Press)
“La era del Catolicismo casual se terminó, la era del Catolicismo heroico ha comenzado. No
podemos seguir siendo Católicos
por accidente, pero sí ser Católicos por convicción,” dijo el Padre
Zúñiga, citando al Padre Terrence
Henri, presidente de la Universidad Franciscana en Steubenville,
Ohio. “Hemos visto el gran testimonio del Beato Juan Pablo II y de
las enseñanzas del Papa Benedicto
ing end of life care. In Texas, for
example, the law allows a physician to unilaterally establish Do
Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders
for a patient, with no process for
review or appeal, when the physician is convinced that resuscitation
attempts for that patient would be
futile. This means that even in the
absence of a patient’s or family’s
consent or even input, a doctor
can decree a DNR order for that
patient.
Because this practice has
become accepted in Texas, and
because stronger corrective legislation was judged unable to garner
sufficient votes, the Texas Catholic Conference crafted a form of
incremental legislation in 2013 to
address this obviously unethical
circumstance that violates a patient’s right to consent.
The proposed legislation seeks
to assure that patients and their
families receive written notice of
their rights regarding DNR orders.
It also requires hospitals to assign a
liaison to work with the patient to
provide clear and compassionate
communication about their rights
once a conflict between the doctor
and the patient/family has been
identified.
It works out important details
regarding ethics committee
reviews to assure that appropriate
medical judgments are applied
to the case, and it establishes an
expanded timeframe for hospital
transfers in more complex situations of disagreement between
the doctor and the patient or the
family.
Passing incremental legislation
often represents the most sensible
approach to dealing with poorly
crafted or morally problematic
pieces of legislation. In the absence
of needed votes to overturn
harmful legislation altogether, it
is still possible to make significant
progress in limiting the damage
that these laws can do through the
patient spadework of incremental
legislative revision. This is done
with an eye towards one day being
able to rescind or abrogate the
unjust law altogether.
—
Fortnight,
continued from pg.4
prayer, study, and peaceful public action during the Fortnight for
Freedom, we hope to remind ourselves and others all throughout the
United States about the importance
of preserving the fundamental right
of religious freedom.
Importantly, the First Amendment has protected the free exercise
of religion since the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789. While
the HHS mandate forcing coverage
of sterilization, contraception, and
abortion-inducing drugs represents
a significant threat to religious liberty, Catholics and others have endured religious crises throughout
our country’s history.
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.
See www.ncbcenter.org
XVI, y el Papa Francisco nos ha
sorprendido con lo pertinente al
Catolicismo.
“Hay un aumento en Latinoamérica, aquí en los Estados Unidos y un poco en Europa acerca de
profesar nuestra fe públicamente y
creo que es algo extraordinario.”
La procesión de la Celebración
de Corpus Christi muestra de qué
se trata nuestra fe Católica, dijo el
Padre Zúñiga.
“Procesamos con el Santísimo
Sacramento, que es el regalo más
maravilloso que hemos recibido,”
dijo él. “Creemos que Jesús se
queda con nosotros en cuerpo y
sangre, así que la Eucaristía es el
enfoque central de la fe Católica
y los creyentes Católicos. La Celebración de Corpus Christi trata eso,
que debemos de dar testimonio de
ello, no solamente en una procesión
el día de la celebración, pero que
reconozcamos, estudiemos y meditemos en la verdadera presencia de
Cristo en la Eucaristía.”
El Padre Zúñiga dijo que muchas personas están intrigadas por
los milagros, y los buscan en sus vidas rutinarias en todo el mundo. El
señaló que el mayor milagro se puede encontrar en la mesa del Señor.
“Las personas se emocionan
con los milagros,” dijo él. “Nuestra
Señora de Guadalupe aparece en
una tortilla, en la puerta del garaje.
¿Por qué hacemos eso? ¿Por qué no
adoramos a Cristo en la Eucaristía?
Santa Teresa de Jesús dijo, ‘Prefiero
al Dios de pan y vino que al Dios de
las visiones, y eso es porque puedo
probarlo y verlo.’”
Priesthood,
helping your spouse become holy
and where the marital act is always
open to life. Just as Christ and his
bride, and the Father and the Son
hold nothing back in their love,
neither couples can hold anything
of themselves back, including their
fertility when they come together
in the marital act, which is the
sacred sacrament of their union.
TOB teaches that the priest is
not only the shepherd who lays
down his life for his sheep, but also
a husband who lays down his life
for his bride and makes her holy.
The priesthood is all about serving the Bride: providing for her
through the sacraments and protecting her from sin. For her sake,
the priest freely denies himself
marriage and embraces continence, giving himself exclusively
to the souls entrusted to him as a
husband does to his wife. The one
thing we can never escape, and
which is embodied in the priesthood and in marriage, is that we
are ultimately made for, belong to,
and will return to God.
Whether you are a priest, a
married man or woman, or single
BE holy by giving yourself totally
in service to others. Become a
saint, because only saints can
change the world.
continued from pg.5
making all your choices with the
spouse in mind. It means waking
each morning and asking yourself
what you could do this day to
please your spouse.
Fifth, this choice that is based
on knowledge and is a permanent
self-gift is life giving. The “yes”
of the spouses to become one
flesh gives glory to God because
it becomes life giving in their offspring. The “yes” of the priest on
the altar becomes life giving when
at the moment of consecration
he becomes another Christ, who
took bread, blessed and gave it to
his disciples saying: “Take this all
of you and eat it, this is my body
which will be given up for you”.
That “yes” to God is also a “yes”
to spiritual fatherhood. The priest
gives life every time he baptizes,
anoints, absolves, blesses, etc; his
whole being becomes life giving.
Finally, in both, marriage
and priesthood, everything the
spouse-priest does has to help the
others follow their way to holiness. Priesthood and marriage
are meant to be an exclusive love
relationship, where the goal is
Journey,
continued from pg.5
and Penance, but also through
Marriage and greater appreciation of the family as the domestic
church.
Witness: Strengthening of our
understanding of the Christian
vocation lived through a public
witness to Jesus Christ and to
the life and dignity of the human
person where believers, living out
their vocation to be witnesses,
affirm the freedom of religion and
work to transform society through
living and sharing their faith in
Jesus Christ and giving recognition
to the life and dignity of the human
person.
The bishops are encouraging a
spirit of collaboration which they
consider vital in implementing
the four-year strategic plan and
increasing participation of the laity
in the life of the Church.
JUNE 2013
DIOCESE 15
»Media Resource Center
» Calendar of Events
Recommended by SISTER MAUREEN CROSBY, SSD
Coordinator of the Media Resource Center - Diocese of Brownsville
Pope John
Paul II:
Statesman of
Faith
Format: DVD
Production: A&E (2005)
Length:46 minutes
Gospel
Champions:
Adventures
from the
Gospel of
Luke Vol. 1
Format:CD/video game
Production: Third Day Games (2007)
Blessed John Paul II is one of the
most popular and powerful pontiffs in
history. This is an accurate retelling
of his remarkable life, his pre-war
childhood in Poland, his rise as a
Cardinal under communism and his
elevation to the Papacy, where he
survived assassination attempts to
play a pivotal role in the fall of the
Soviet Empire.
Feeding,
continued from pg.4
Bible School sessions.
“When you are able to feed
yourself physically, you are more
Grotto
continued from pg.8
In my head I hummed the tune
to “Immaculate Mary.” For me
this song, particularly the refrain,
which is both soothing and medi-
Procession,
continued from pg.1
and to take that message outside
the walls of the church.
“When you take the Blessed
Sacrament out to the streets, it is
the same action as Jesus walking
on earth,” said Father Rafael Vega,
Adoration,
continued from pg. 1
even get there what is troubling us.
He knows what is in our hearts.
The most important thing is just
to sit there and open our hearts to
receive his mercy and his love. We
just need to be there, open to him,
Gospel Champions recreates
stories that reinforce the Gospels
and Catholic teachings. This CD
includes 13 new gospel adventures
including Christmas, Easter and the
Good Samaritan. I like that it gives
children a fresh look at the Bible
and because it is in a video game
format, it keeps their attention.
Three skill settings, ages 6+
Holy
Crocodile!
Stories of
Saints and
the Animals
Who Helped
Them
Imagine riding across a dangerous
river on the back of a friendly
crocodile, making friends with a
whole pile of snakes or going into
hiding with the help of some spiders.
God used both wild and tame
animals to help saints when they
needed it most.
Father Joe Kempf says he has
learned that “God is omni-lingual,”
meaning God speaks your language.
Whoever you are and whenever you
pray, God hears you and speaks
uniquely and distinctly to you.
From his own life, his study of the
disciplines of prayer, and his pastoral
experiences, Father Kempf has
FUHDWHGUHÀHFWLRQVJHDUHGIRUDGXOWV
at any age or stage of life.
feeding sites may contact Laura Ortiz at (956) 702-4088.
Looking for a nearby feeding
site? Please call 1-866-3-HUNGRY
(English) or 1-877-8-HAMBRE
(Spanish) for assistance.
tative, reminds me of that first pilgrimage to Lourdes.
Immaculate Mary, thy praises
we sing;
Who reignest in splendor with
Jesus our King.
Ave, ave, ave Maria.
Ave, ave Maria.
Pope Benedict XVI, who visited Lourdes on the 150th anniversary in 2008 said, “Mary teaches us
to pray, to make our prayer an act
of love for God and an act of fraternal charity.” He said, “A quiet
encounter with Bernadette and the
Virgin Mary can change a person’s
life, for they are here, in Massabielle, to lead us to Christ who is our
life, our strength and our light.”
They are in Rio Grande City as
well, in a replica made 85 years ago
by an Oblate priest who wanted to
bring the message of the apparition
to south Texas.
allowing him to heal us, to enlighten us.”
Going to Adoration is like going to visit a friend, Father Vega
said.
“It’s developing a friendship,”
he said. “It is to listen and to share
your own self. It is spending time
with a friend who will never turn
you down or let you down, a friend
who always listens to you.”
continued from pg.5
as he was on his way to Damascus
to persecute the Christian community there. As he was traveling
along the road, he was suddenly
surrounded by a great light from
heaven. He was blinded and fell off
his horse. He then heard a voice
saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do
you persecute me?” He answered:
“Who are you, Lord?” Christ said:
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
Saul continued to Damascus,
where he was baptized and his sight
was restored. He took the name
Paul and spent the remainder of his
life preaching the Gospel tirelessly
Voice,
SP
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gether at the family table as many
nights as possible (without TV
or electronics) and prayed before
each meal? For more than twenty
years, our small family has done so
and sometimes it is wonderful and
sometimes it’s messy but worth it.
Family life can be messy, but the
sacredness of life and the grace of
God exists even in the messiness.
There are wonderful prayer books
that families can use as “prayer
starters” for example, “Prayers
for the Domestic Church” by Fr.
Edward Hays. A good example
of when the media can have a
positive influence is the TV series
“Blue Bloods”. This Catholic family
is shown having weekly Sunday
dinner together and it is the only
TV program I have seen where
they all make the sign of the cross
at their dinner table prayer!
4) Sex is sacred and it has a
place; in marriage, not before mar-
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Every Sunday UTPA-Edinburg:
6 p.m. Confessions
7 p.m. Mass
Holy Hour will be held Weekly 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
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
8-9
Summer Study Days
2I¿FHRI&DWHFKHVLV
Remarriage Retreat
)DPLO\/LIH2I¿FH
Symposium of
Adolescent Catechesis
Author: Father Joe Kempf
Length: 32 pages, hardcover/CD combo
Publication:Our Sunday Visitor (2013)
Saints,
13
and on time, she said.
Catholic Charities is looking to
sponsor more sites this summer.
Churches or youth programs interested in hosting a feeding site and
those interested in volunteering at
pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in
Brownsville. “It sends a reminder
to the world, especially to Catholics, that we are not alone, that Jesus is still with us. Jesus is still present, alive and acting in the world.”
For Catholics, the expressions
of faith demonstrated on Corpus
Christi Sunday – Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament and public witness – endure year round.
3-5
8
Length:48 pages, paperback
Author/Illustrator: Caroline Cory
Publication: Our Sunday Visitor (2013)
-XQH
Every Tuesday UTPA/Edinburg:
noon – Mass
2 p.m. Counseling
5 p.m. Adoration
Hearing the
Voice of God:
5HÁHFWLRQVIRU
Prayer
zoned into receiving spiritual feeding as well,” said Sandra Kent, director of religious education at Sacred Heart Church. “It’s a plus.”
Kent said the program is reliable. The meals are delivered warm
Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña’s Calendar
Ongoing:
Monday - Saturday 8 a.m. - Mass
Sunday 4 p.m. - Mass
at St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual
Adoration, 727 Bowie St., Alamo
June
»From the Bookshelf
»Worth Watching
to the Gentiles of the Mediterranean world.
Paul was imprisoned and taken
to Rome, where he was beheaded in
the year 67.
He is buried in Rome in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
In a sermon in the year 395, St.
Augustine of Hippo said of Sts. Peter
and Paul: “Both apostles share the
same feast day, for these two were
one; and even though they suffered
on different days, they were as one.
Peter went first, and Paul followed.
And so we celebrate this day made
holy for us by the apostles’ blood.
Let us embrace what they believed,
their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their
confession of faith.”
riage or outside of marriage. God
created sex and it is sacred. He created it for two purposes: procreation and pleasure of husband and
wife. Even when our children don’t
always understand or live by this,
we must continue to teach them
what is best for them in the long
run regardless of what they see,
hear, or watch in the media.
5) True Love and True Peace
comes from serving others. The
voice of the media often proclaims
that “love” is doing whatever feels
good or that love means what
others can do for you to make
you “happy”. Jesus teaches us the
opposite: He teaches us about “selfemptying love”. He teaches us that
love is a decision that means we
do the loving thing in the family
whether we feel like it or not.
May our families all strive to
find ways to use our “voice” to
“form” our families in the ways of
the Lord!
(One last resource: “52 Simple
Ways to Talk with Your Kids about
Faith” by Jim Campbell; Loyola
Press)
14
Advisory Team
2I¿FHRI&DWHFKHVLV
Flag Day
15
Father/Son Seminar
)DPLO\/LIH2I¿FH
16
Father’s Day
16
YM Coordinator
Quarterly Meeting
17-21 Vacation Bible School
(Mary, Mother of the
Church Parish, Brownsville)
22-29 Catholic Youth
Renovation Project
Softball Game #1
23
(Mary, Mother of the
Church Parish, Brownsville)
(Our Lady of Guadalupe
Parish, Brownsville)
Softball Game #2
30
July
1-5
Vacation Bible School
(Our Lady of Guadalupe
Parish, Brownsville)
4
Independence Day
'LRFHVDQ2I¿FHVFORVHG
7
Softball Game #3
9-11
YouthServe
14
Softball Game #4
19-21 Diocsean Catholic
Youth Conference
Softball Game
Tournament
21
23-28 World Youth Day - Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil
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.
Birthdays,
1 Sister Maureen Crosby, SSD
1 Sister Norma Pimentel, MJ
21 Sister Maria Santana, MEF
26 Sister Luz Cardenas, OP
27 Sister Julia B. Onukjaro,
DMMM
31 Sister Ninfa Garza, MJ
»
Anniversaries
5 Rev. Julian Becerril
9 Rev. Horacio Chavarria
16 Rev. Eka Yuantoro, MSF
16 Rev. Hector J. Cruz, SM
17 Rev. Isaac Erondu
21 Rev. Mario Aviles, CO
23 Rev. Gabriel Ezeh
27 Rev. Emmanuel Kwofie
3 Deacon Juan Barbosa
16
DIOCESE
2XU&DWKROLF)DPLO\
Sharing Christ’s joy
Volunteer for the
Lord stops what he
is doing to pray
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
FAYSVILLE – “I was born
Catholic, I was raised Catholic,
I come from a family with deep
Catholic roots,” said Candelario
Hernandez, a member of St.
Theresa of Jesus Mission Church in
Faysville. “I have always had faith,
but one day, that faith turned into
conviction.”
The day after attending a
Charismatic Renewal conference
more than 30 years ago, he felt a call
from God and was inspired to not
only strengthen his own faith but to
promote God to others. Since then,
he has had a strong desire to serve
God and his Church.
“I felt a joy and happiness that
lasted for weeks, followed by a
period of tears,” said Hernandez,
71. “But they were cleansing tears,
happy tears. From that point on,
my life as I knew it was over. I gave
my life completely to Christ and
it was 100 percent voluntary. God
changed me.”
“He never had any bad habits,
like drinking or staying out late
with friends,” said Maria Petra
Hernandez, his wife of 48 years.
“He has always been a good man
but there was definitely a change in
him. Since then, his hobby has been
learning more about God and the
Catholic faith. Our home is filled
with books about the Church.”
“Studying has been a big part of
getting closer to God,” Hernandez
said. “After everything I have read,
I believe, without any doubts, that
the Catholic Church is the one true
church of Jesus Christ.”
After his call from the Lord,
Hernandez, who was living in
Pharr at the time, went to St.
Margaret Mary Church. He placed
himself at the service of the priest.
Hernandez began serving as a
lector and later, as a Eucharistic
minister. He and his wife joined the
choir and began leading Baptism
To subscribe
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The Valley Catholic
&DQGHODULR+HUQDQGH]RI)D\VYLOOHKDVYROXWHHUHGDW6W7KHUHVDRI-HVXV0LVVLRQ&KXUFK
for more than 30 years.
preparation classes.
Hernandez also taught himself
how to play the guitar so he could
be a more effective music minister.
In the early 1980s, the couple
moved to Faysville, a small
community north of Edinburg.
To receive a copy at home each
month mail your payment with
your contact information to:
700 N. Virgen de San
Juan Blvd.
San Juan, TX 78589-3042
$15 per year /
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They began serving at St. Theresa
of Jesus Church, a mission of St.
Joseph the Worker Parish in San
Carlos.
By day, Hernandez is a
mechanic and owns and operates
a business. Many people stop by
his shop to visit with him and talk
about things of the Lord. They also
ask for prayers, said Connie Garza,
secretary of St. Joseph the Worker
Parish in San Carlos.
“People ask him to pray for
them, always,” Garza said. “My
children, my girls, if they have a big
Father Horacio,
exam or something, they ask him
to pray for them. The youth look
for him to pray for them. He will
stop what he is doing to pray, that is
how devoted he is.”
Hernandez “retired” from
music ministry a few years ago but
returned when Father Alejandro
Flores arrived at his church six
months ago. Father Flores is the
administrator of St. Joseph the
Worker Parish in San Carlos and its
two missions, St. Theresa of Jesus
in Faysville and St. Anne in San
Manuel.
“We have a very well put
together youth choir at St. Theresa
but in order not to tax them
too much, we wanted to form
an adult choir as well,” Father
Flores said. “We put out a call for
volunteers to lead an adult choir
and he responded. He had some
experience with choirs and he
wanted to play music to give glory
to God. He has been very faithful in
leading the adult choir.”
Whether it is through
song, prayer or evangelization,
Hernandez shares his faith with
others, hoping they will have an
experience like he did.
“I pray that they have that
moment, that encounter with God,
where they know with certainty
that God exits, that God is with us,
that God moves us, that God sees
us and God hears us,” he said.
For the latest news visit
technology is a grace. We need to
use it as a people who are conscious
of our baptism and conscious of the
presence of God’s precious gifts in
us and among us.”
www.cdob.org

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Transcripción

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