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Volume 4, Issue 7
Serving over 900,000 Catholics In The Diocese of Brownsville
January 2013
»Feast of the Epiphany
“Light of the world”
The Eucharist
Conference advocates
reverence
4
CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI and two Italian school
children release doves as a symbol of
peace in this Jan. 2012 file photo. Jan. 1
is the World Day of Peace. The theme is,
“Blessed are the Peacemakers.”
Spirit Awards
Honorees recognized for
commitment
6
Family treasure
Church a testament to the
faith of early settlers
»World Day
of Peace 2013
Catholic News Service
On the feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, the Church celebrates the manifestation of our Lord to the whole world. After being made
known to the shepherds of Bethlehem, he is revealed to the Magi who have come from the East to adore Him.
8
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
T
Those Who Serve
Sister Leticia Ugboaja
9
En Español
Artículos sobre una iglesia
histórica, el aborto y una
marcha pro-vida, y el día de
la paz
he feast of the Epiphany,
marking when the Wise
Men visited the infant
Jesus, is celebrated each
year on Jan. 6.
In 2013, the feast of the Epiphany falls on a Sunday. When it falls
on another day of the week, the
celebration is transferred to the
Sunday between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8.
Epiphany comes from a Greek
verb meaning “to reveal.”
“The Epiphany marks the
manifestation of Jesus as the savior of the world,” said Father Leo-
(“The WORD is sent
breathing love.”)
Francis Daniels of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip
Neri in Pharr. “He is the light of
the world, he is goodness itself.
Everything is found in him.”
The Wise Men were important figures as the Church began
its mission of bringing Christ to
the world. The Wise Men were the
first Gentiles to, “see the light,” the
first to come and adore Jesus.
Tradition tells us that the Wise
Bishop Flores to join
Jan. 19 procession
The Valley Catholic
Courtesy
A little girl joins the prayer warriors outside
of a McAllen abortion clinic, where they
pray for the women, babies and abortion
clinic staff.
While serving in Eagle Pass,
Texas, Father James Erving
participated in a pro-life march
that processed down the city’s
main street. The procession
slowed traffic, grabbing the
attention of passersby.
Father Erving later learned
that a woman who saw the
procession was planning to have
an abortion that week. The display
inspired the woman to choose life
for her baby.
“You never know what kind
By U.S. CONFERENCE
OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
of fruits come from the witness
we give,” said Father Erving,
who serves as the director of the
Respect Life Apostolate for the
Diocese of Brownsville and pastor
of Our Lady of Refuge Church in
Roma.
The Respect Life Apostolate is
organizing a march in McAllen on
Saturday, Jan. 19. Bishop Daniel E.
Flores will join the procession that
will begin with an opening prayer
at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker
Parish, continue into downtown
where it will pass by the local
abortion clinic and end at Sacred
Heart Parish with closing prayers
at about 1 p.m.
Jan. 22, 2013 marks the 40th
anniversary of the Roe v. Wade
Where do you experience
a lack of love, faith, and peace
in your family, relationships,
neighborhood, and in the global
human family?
In his 2013 Message for the
World Day of Peace (Jan. 1), Pope
Benedict XVI reminds us at that we
all have a role to play in building
peace in our communities and
world.
The Holy Father’s message
is entitled, “Blessed are the
Peacemakers” (Mt 5:9 ) and is the
latest in a long tradition of papal
messages to celebrate this Jan. 1
observance, beginning with Pope
Paul VI in 1968.
This year’s message reminds
us that our commitment to
pursue peace flows from the inner
peace we experience through
our relationship with Christ and
our belief in the dignity of every
person, created in God’s image and
endowed with fundamental rights
and responsibilities. This belief
compels us to take action, especially
in relationship to freedom of
conscience and religion, our
response to the economic crisis,
and other situations affecting the
global human family.
Pope Benedict also reflects back
on Pope John XXIII’s encyclical
letter, Pacem in Terris (Peace on
Earth), which marks its fiftieth
anniversary in 2013. Pacem in
» Please see Procession, p.14
» Please see Peace, p.15
Men probably came from Persia,
which is modern day Iran. They
were likely Zoroastrians, who
were known for their devotion to
truth and wisdom.
“They were searching for what
is true and good and honest and
something that would make life
meaningful – and they found it,”
Father Daniels said. “Jesus makes
» Please see Light p.15
A public witness for life
11-13
“VERBUM MITTITUR
SPIRANS AMOREM”
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising and have come
to do him homage.” Mt 2:2
How are
you called
to promote
peace?
2
DIOCESE
Listening
Sessions
continue
The Valley Catholic
Three more listening sessions,
or town hall-style meetings with
Bishop Daniel E. Flores, are scheduled for 2013.
Deacon Luis Zuniga, director of
the Office for Pastoral Planning and
the San Juan Diego Ministry Institute for the Diocese of Brownsville,
said the purpose of the listening
sessions is to provide the faithful
with a direct means of communication with the bishop and to encourage greater participation in the life
of the Church. The feedback will
also be used for planning purposes.
“The participants are invited to
ask questions and share their hopes
and dreams for the future of the
Church in the Rio Grande Valley,”
Deacon Zuniga said.
The diocese is divided into eight
geographical areas called deaneries
(a group of parishes).
The Brownsville Deanery is
hosting its listening session on
Monday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. in the
gymnasium of the Immaculate
Conception Cathedral. The Mission Deanery’s listening session is
set for Thursday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.
at a site to be determined. The Rio
Grande City Deanery is scheduled to meet with the bishop on
Wednesday, March 6 at 6 p.m. at
Immaculate Conception Church in
Rio Grande City.
In past listening sessions, Bishop Flores has spoken about the
growth of the Church in the diocese. He has expressed the need for
more vocations to the priesthood so
that more churches may be opened.
With more than a million Catholics
in our diocese, the bishop pointed
out that our region has more Catholics than some archdioceses.
The bishop added that he has
enjoyed hearing from the faithful of
the diocese.
“We’ve had some great questions, questions about some of the
priorities in the diocese and some
of the needs we have,” Bishop Flores
said. “The questions have been very
timely and very well thought out.
Good things are on people’s minds.”
The Valley Catholic - January 2013
The victory of life over death
T
his month, as we continue to
defend and work for the protection
of the unborn against the forces of
the culture of death, I am reminded
of an important scripture passage in the
Gospel of John, Chapter 16, “These things
I have spoken to you, that indeed, you have
peace. In the world you shall have distress.
Have confidence, I have overcome the world.”
The Lord Jesus desires for us peace, and in
the passage he speaks to us of the source of
that peace, that is to say his victory. “I have
overcome the world,” he says.
This Year of Faith is a call from the Holy
Father to reinvigorate what it means to be
a believer, what it means to be a man or
woman of faith, a young person of faith, to
recognize how it sets us apart from the world,
to recognize it as a gift. Faith is a gift that
comes from God and we are blessed to have
received it.
In the context of our renewal of the sense
of faith as a gift, it is good to look upon the
words of Jesus when he says, “I have overcome the world.” To believe this, is a gift of
faith. It is not always what we see with our
eyes or what we perceive by virtue of news
reports or other sources of information, but
rather a certain confidence. The bedrock of
our activities as a people of love, a people of
hope, is ultimately our faith in this victory
that Christ Jesus has already won. It is a victory which manifests itself first of all in his
victory on the cross over death.
In Christ Jesus risen from the dead, we
have definitively revealed before our eyes
the victory of life over death. This is the
sum of everything we believe as Catholics,
as Christians. It is not up to us, because it is
ultimately not in our power to secure the victory of life over death: He has overcome the
world. What we must do is refortify our faith
to act, and to live in accord with his victory.
That, in a certain way, is a special call to each
one of us to live with a daily conviction of the
victory of life over death. The world needs to
know that it is always better to appreciate the
gift of life than it is to be mesmerized by the
power of death.
The world to which we are called to witness, to evangelize, is a world that is in some
way mesmerized, almost hypnotized, by the
power of death. Death has a way of covering the eyes. It is a power that stubbornly
continues to express itself in this world. But
Jesus says, “I have overcome the world.” His
light has broken through, and the lightning
strike that comes from heaven, which is
MOST REVEREND
DANIEL E. FLORES
BISHOP OF BROWNSVILLE
the Incarnation, the passion, the death and
the resurrection of the Son of God, breaks
through and breaks open the mesmerizing
effects of sin and death.
The victory that God wins is the breaking
through of the power of life. It’s at the very
root of the Gospel we preach, it’s at the very
root of what we believe as a people of faith,
that the victory is the Lord Jesus having triumphed over death and broken through with
a lightning strike from heaven. The gift of life
is not just a biological reality, it is a joy. Life
is something to be embraced, to be extraordinarily grateful for, as something that is all
encompassing and comes from God.
In this Year of Faith, we must strengthen
our own sense of the victory of life and
the power of Christ to break through the
mesmerizing effect, the fascination the world
has with the morose. We must reconfirm
ourselves in our faith because we sometimes
get discouraged. That too is the power of
death, to discourage. It is important to dedicate ourselves to believing in the victory of
Christ and to invite the light of the Lord’s life
and his victory of life to take greater possession of each one of us. To be someone who is
pro-life, in the larger sense, is to be someone
who is “pro” the goodness of life, and to give
witness to that in a world that is grossly fascinated with the power of death.
In the trilogy the Hunger Games, the
author Suzanne Collins presents a stark
world where death is the game that entertains
everybody and controls everyone. There are
characters in the story who are the victims
of the power that makes death into a game,
yet they are courageous in the defense of
life. I recommend reading the book, because
bizarre as the set up is, it is not unthinkable
that the world could reach a stage where
death is a spectacle and a game for power,
control and entertainment. Read it to see
little glimmers of light. I am convinced the
author is looking to tell the reader that it
doesn’t have to be this way.
There is a lesson here for us. We are here
to say, “It doesn’t have to be this way.” We
don’t have to sacrifice an unborn child for
somebody else to be happy. We don’t have
to make economic criterion everything
that governs the decisions we make in our
families and in our homes. It takes a heroic,
courageous breaking through and waking up from a world that so easily falls into
“well, this is how the game works; death is in
charge.”
When Blessed Pope John Paul II called
us to build a culture of life, he was calling us
to give witness to the fact that life triumphs
over death and that it is possible to build a
civilization where everybody acts in favor of
the goodness of life, from the unborn child to
the aging person who is dying of a terminal
illness. The respect that is due to the gift
of life is something over which we are not
sovereign.
Our faith is something that must be
shared. It is something that breaks through
one person at a time. This gift of faith we
have received is the only hope of the world,
and it breaks through the culture of death.
Our culture desperately needs an infusion of
faith in the goodness of life. “I have overcome
the world,” Jesus says in the Gospel, addressing his disciples. In this context, we can hear
him speak these words, “Take care, little
flock, for I have overcome the world,” for we
are often afraid. Sometimes we think we are
outnumbered, but numbers never matter
with God. What matters is the conviction
of his grace working through those who do
believe.
That’s exactly why the witness of the prolife procession scheduled this January and
so much that happens throughout the year
to promote life is an expression that comes
out of our faith. What we are really doing
is planting the victory. The victory is there.
“Take care, little flock. Do not be afraid.” Our
witness must be sincere and based on our
faith in the victory of life.
Never underestimate the power of your
prayers. Some things can only be dealt with,
Jesus said, with much prayer and fasting.
Continue your witness of prayer and be
public about it. It is possible for us to push
back the tide that seems to think, “Oh well,
they cannot win over the forces of death.” But
we know better, because the force of life has
already won. “Take care, little flock. I have
overcome the world.”
Amen.
Bishop Flores’ Schedule
January 2013
Jan. 4
9 a.m.
San Juan
Talk for Diocesan Stewardship Conference
700 N. Virgen de San Juan Blvd., San Juan, TX 78589-3042
Telephone: 956/781-5323 • Fax: 956/784-5082
Bishop Daniel E. Flores
Publisher
Brenda Nettles Riojas
Editor
Rose Ybarra
Assistant Editor
The Valley Catholic email:
[email protected]
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Jan. 5
11:30 a.m.
Basilica
Mass for Diocesan Stewardship Conference
Jan. 5
3 p.m.
Donna
Mass for Movimiento Familiar Cristiano,
St. Joseph Church
Jan. 6
8 a.m.
Mass, St. Mary’s Church
Santa Rosa
Jan. 6
10 a.m.
Mass, St. Mary’s Church
Santa Rosa
Jan. 19 8:15 a.m.
Weslaco
3rd Annual Divine Mercy Conference
Jan. 19 10 a.m.
Pro-life Procession
McAllen
Jan. 26 5:30 p.m.
San Juan
Mass, Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle
Jan. 27
Mass
8 a.m.
Port Isabel
Jan. 28 6 p.m.
Brownsville
Brownsville Deanery Listening Session
January 2013
- The Valley Catholic
Mission parish
to create largest
rosca in Texas
The Valley Catholic
MISSION — Our Lady of
the Holy Rosary Parish in Mission is preparing to make the
largest rosca de reyes in Texas
on Sunday, Jan. 6 the Feast of
the Epiphany of Our Lord.
The rosca de reyes is a traditional bread made in the shape
of a circle. It is popular in
Mexico and many other Latin
American countries. A small
baby Jesus is baked into the
bread and whoever finds him
in their slice traditionally hosts
a party with tamales on Feb. 2,
the feast of Candlemas.
All are invited to Our Lady
of the Holy Rosary Parish to
enjoy a piece of the bread from
2 to 5 p.m. The rosca is expected to measure 470 meters
(1,542 feet).
Father Oliver Ángel, pastor of the Our Lady of the Holy
Rosary Church, said the idea
to create the large rosca came
from the youth in his parish.
“It’s about much more than
making bread,” Father Ángel
said. “It’s a way to show the
world that Jesus Christ is alive.
We are promoting the presence
of Jesus in the world.”
Jan. 6 is a special day in
Mexico. Children especially
look forward to the holiday as
gifts are normally exchanged
on this date, not on Christmas
Eve or Christmas Day. The
holiday commemorates the
Wise Men, who traveled from
afar, bearing gifts for the infant
baby Jesus.
“This is also a way that the
youth are embracing the Mexican culture here in the Valley,”
Father Ángel said. “It’s great
to see them embrace both the
American and Mexican cultures.”
Celebrating the divine
motherhood of Mary
Feast day focuses
on role of the
Holy Mother
The Valley Catholic
T
uesday, Jan. 1 is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother
of God and a holy day of
obligation. On this day,
we are reminded of the role that
our Blessed Mother played in the
plan of our salvation, said Father
Carlos Zuniga, pastor of St. Pius X
Church in Weslaco.
“A lot of people believe we
have Mass that day because it’s the
beginning of the year, but we are
celebrating Mary, Mother of the
Church, Mary, Mother of God,”
he said. “The birth of Jesus eight
days earlier was possible because
of Mary’s ‘yes.’ She was the first to
say ‘yes’ to God, ‘may it be done to
me according to your word.’” (Lk
1:38)
On that day, Father Zuniga
said he will ask his flock to reflect
on that Mary was the “Theotokos.”
“She is the God-bearer, she is
the tabernacle,” he said.
Father Zuniga said that on
each of the feasts of the Blessed
Mother, the Church is asking us
to reflect and to look at the figure
of Mary, that Mary is the disciple
par excellence who introduces us
to the goodness and humanity of
God.
“In my homily that day, I will
remind them that she is the one
who said, ‘yes’ to God so in response, we ought to say, ‘yes’ to
the Lord,” Father Zuniga said.
“We ought to be open to God’s
will in our lives. The Solemnity of
Mary helps keep us in perspective
of who Mary is in our lives.”
A blessing
for the whole
Church
The Valley Catholic
The Valley Catholic
A statue of Our Blessed Mother is seen at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in
McAllen. The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God is celebrated on Jan. 1, the Octave
Day of Christmas.
Proceeds to
benefit La Posada
Providencia
The Valley Catholic
Courtesy
Since 1989, La Posada Providencia
has assisted about 6,000 people from
more than 70 countries. The people they
serve are in the legal process of seeking
asylum, residency or some other legal
alternative.
for up to a year.
Most clients arrive at the shelter with very few belongings, limited or no English language skills
and no family or friends to help
them.
While at the shelter, the clients
3
Bishop Flores to
celebrate Mass for
religious Feb. 3
Hands & Hearts Fundraiser set for Jan. 26
HARLINGEN — La Posada
Providencia, a San Benito shelter
for indigent immigrants, asylees
and asylum seekers, is hosting its
annual Hands & Hearts brunch
and auction on Saturday, Jan. 26
from 9 a.m. to noon at the Cultural Arts Center of Texas State
Technical College in Harlingen.
Tickets are $35 and all proceeds will benefit the homeless
men, women and children served
by La Posada Providencia.
The majority of those staying
at La Posada arrive as referrals
from immigration attorneys and
U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) officials, according to Sister Zita Telkamp of
the Sisters of Divine Providence,
the religious community that
sponsors the shelter. They stay
at the shelter as their cases work
their way through the court system. Some stay at the shelter for
a few days while others may stay
DIOCESE
are welcomed into a family-like
atmosphere. Meals are prepared
and eaten together and everyone
is assigned chores. La Posada additionally works with the clients
to help them integrate into U.S.
culture with English classes and
other lessons.
The last year has been an especially busy time for the shelter
staff and volunteers, said Sister
Telkamp, program director at La
Posada. In addition to serving the
clients who have extended stays at
the shelter, there has been an increase in requests for short term
assistance.
In November 2012, for example, the shelter cared for 39 shortterm stay arrivals in addition to
the 12 men who were living in the
shelter.
“We receive frequent calls
from Immigration officials requesting showers, clean clothes,
overnight accommodations and
transportation to either the airport or the bus station for documented immigrants released
from detention,” Sister Telkamp
said. “Many times, I receive these
calls at 2 a.m. or 4 a.m.”
For more information on the
shelter or the Hands & Hearts
brunch and auction, call (956)
399-3826 or visit the shelter’s
website www.lppshelter.org. Sister Telkamp said event organizers are seeking additional auction items. All donations are tax
deductible.
“Why do you have, ‘sister’ in
front of your name? Whose ‘sister’
are you?”
Those are just two of the questions about religious life that Sister
Helen Rottier of the Sisters of St.
Joseph of Carondelet has fielded
from children recently.
“When you hear these kinds
of questions, you know that young
children don’t have a visible connection to religious sisters or
brothers, which is so different from
when I grew up,” said Sister Rottier,
who serves the diocese in the field
of Catholic education. “They were
all around. They were very visible.”
On Sunday, Feb. 3, Bishop
Daniel E. Flores will celebrate a
Mass in honor of World Day for
Consecrated Life at 3:30 p.m. at the
Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan
del Valle-National Shrine. All religious priests, brothers and sisters
serving in the Diocese of Brownsville are invited to attend the Mass.
There are more than 200 in religious life serving in our diocese.
In 1997, John Paul II called for
the men and women in religious
life — those serving in Institutes
of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life — to be recognized throughout the Church.
He declared Feb. 2, the Feast of
the Presentation of the Lord, to be
observed as World Day for Consecrated Life.
The Feast of the Presentation of
the Lord is also known as Candlemas Day; the day on which candles
are blessed symbolizing Christ
who is the light of the world. So
too, those in consecrated life are
called to reflect the light of Jesus
Christ to all peoples, according to
the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB).
In the U.S., World Day for
Consecrated Life is celebrated the
Sunday after the feast in order to
highlight the gift of consecrated
persons for the whole Church, the
USCCB notes.
The Mass at the basilica is open
to the public so that the faithful
may recognize and pray for the religious serving in the diocese.
“We need public celebrations
like these because the youth are
not aware of consecrated life,” Sister Rottier said. “I think it is good
to have a day where religious life
is recognized so that people don’t
forget the whole tradition in our
Church.”
All Institutes of Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
are alike in that they are called
to bring the Good News to the
Church and to the world; however,
the Holy Spirit guides each one
» Please see Blessing, p.15
DIOCESE
4
»Family Life
»Making Sense
Out of Bioethics
Father
Tadeusz
Pacholczyk
Lydia Pesina
Director, Family
Life Office
Jesus had a
grandmother!
S
t. Ann the mother of Mary
was born in Bethlehem and
was married to Joachim
from Nazareth in Galilee.
After twenty years of marriage,
an angel appeared to Joachim to
assure him that he and Ann would
have a child they were to name
Mary and dedicate to God.
On Feb. 2 we will be celebrating
the Feast of the Presentation which
according to the Gospel of Luke
2:22-24, Mary and Joseph took the
baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to
complete Mary’s ritual purification
after childbirth, and to perform
the redemption of the firstborn,
in obedience to the Law of Moses
(Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12-15). I
would imagine that Jesus’ grandparents Joachim and Ann were
present at the temple with Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph rejoicing in this
special moment.
It is special to remember that
grandparents play such an important role throughout our lives. In
our present times, the role may be
one of grandparent, step-grandparent, or a grandparent raising a
grandchild.
One of the joys is that it is
an opportunity for parents and
grandparents to jointly care for
and teach. The teaching role of
grandparents has been one of
utmost respect and reverence since
time immemorial. In our present
age, it is more important than ever
for grandparents to relish that very
unique relationship and develop
that guiding and teaching role
because it truly takes a village to
raise a child.
I am not yet a grandparent, but
I hope and pray that when I am I
will follow some of the footsteps
that my grandparents walked
with me. Our family had the great
blessing of living next door to my
paternal grandparents.
My love of reading and writing
came from mi abuelo Dionicio
Reyna who was self taught but
loved to read and share what he
read about the atomic bomb or
whatever was happening in the
world as we sat on homemade
benches under the mora tree. He
taught us cultural and religious
values through stories, legends,
and through dichos (sayings).
From him I acquired my devotion to the rosary which he prayed
daily. Recently I had the privilege
of reading some of his journals
and now I know whom I acquired
the journaling bug from. From mi
abuela Clara Sepulveda Reyna I
learned to love cooking, sewing,
and singing Marion hymns. They
taught us respect, manners, and to
always greet the elderly.
The Parent Education Program
“A Better Child” describes three
different styles of grandparenting:
(1) The Family Historian/Living
Ancestor shares the stories of the
past ( I have two audio tapes of interviews with my grandmother and
it is such a joy to hear her voice
» Please see Grandmother, p.15
Priest of the
Diocese of Fall
River
Brother Chris M. Alar
Bishop Daniel E. Flores
Stephen Ray
The Eucharist...
Come to the Table of the Lord
Divine Mercy
Conference
set for Jan. 19
The Valley Catholic
Fountain of Mercy Ministries, a local
apostolate, is hosting
its third annual Divine
Mercy Conference on
Saturday, Jan. 19 at 8
a.m. at the Weslaco ISD
Performing Arts Center, 506 E. 6th St. The
mission of the apostolate is to spread the
message and devotion
of Divine Mercy.
What is it?
The conference will
advocate reverence for
the Eucharist and the
Holy Mass. The goal is
to spread the message
that the Eucharist is Jesus.
Who is it for?
It is for everybody,
middle school age and
older. Organizers said
they want everyone,
young and old and everyone in between, to
live and treasure the
Sacraments.
Keynote speakers:
Bishop Daniel E.
Flores — The shepherd of the Diocese of
Brownsville will make
a presentation entitled, “The Eucharist …
Come to the Table of
the Lord.”
Stephen Ray — an
internationally-known
Catholic blogger, author, speaker and documentary film producer.
Ray and his wife, Janet,
both Catholic converts,
produced and wrote the
film series, Footprints of
God, which was filmed
on location in the Middle East and Europe.
The documentaries air
on the Eternal Word
Television
Network
(EWTN). Ray will discuss his conversion to
the Catholic faith and
the Eucharist.
Brother Chris M.
Alar — A religious
brother of the Marians
of the Immaculate Conception, he serves at the
National Shrine of the
Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass. and often
shares his personal tes-
timony. Before entering
religious life, he worked
for a Fortune 500 Company and says that he,
“was a man much in the
world.” He will discuss
how Confession brings
joy to Jesus and the role
of the Eucharist in St.
Faustina Kowalska’s life.
How much is it?
Early registration is
$25. Coffee and lunch
are included. Organizers said that cost
should not deter those
interested in attending from registering as
scholarships are available. Admission is free
for priests, deacons and
religious brothers and
sisters.
How do I register?
Organizers ask that
everyone complete the
registration
process,
even those attending
at no cost, for planning purposes. Preregistration is available
online at www.fomm.us
or contact Triny (956)
472-0119 or Yolanda
(956) 454-2103.
Precious and unique
Mother-Daughter
Program affirms
the beauty of
womanhood
The Valley Catholic
The Family Life Office is
hosting its annual MotherDaughter Program on Sunday,
Jan. 27 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at
the Bishop Adolph Marx Auditorium in San Juan, located behind the Upper Valley Catholic
Pastoral Center on the grounds
of the Basilica of Our Lady of
San Juan del Valle - National
Shrine.
Designed for mothers and
their daughters, ages 10-12,
the program provides an atmosphere of love and learning in
which to discuss the wonder
of growing up and becoming a
woman.
The presentations emphasize respect and appreciation
for God’s gifts. The program will
also encourage the girls to appreciate their femininity, as well
as their changing bodies and
personalities.
The topics to be discussed
include the physical and emo-
The Valley Catholic
Abby Torre and her daughter, Iliana of Donna enjoy some bonding time at the
Mother-Daughter Program in this file photo. Sponsored by the Family Life Office,
the program discusses the splendor of growing up while reinforcing the motherdaughter relationship.
tional changes that take place in
a young woman’s body in preparation for motherhood, the
functions of the female reproductive system and the virtue of
chastity.
“One of the many blessings
of the Mother Daughter Program is seeing the mothers and
daughters relish their time together, increase their mother/
daughter bond, and share new
learnings as well as pray, laugh
and spend time together,” said
Lydia Pesina, Director of the
Family Life Office.
The presenters will also emphasize that each girl is precious
and unique, and that every girl
changes and develops at different times and in different ways.
While the program is very
informative, Pesina noted that
it should serve as a touchstone
for continued dialogue between
mother and daughter.
The cost of the program is
$10 per family and reservations
are required. The deadline for
registration is Jan. 21. For more
information, call the Family Life
Office at (956) 784-5012.
Taboos
and Tattoos
O
n TV these days, we’re
seeing more and more
programs about “body
art” and tattoo design.
Despite the apparent widespread
acceptance of the practice, there
are several problems with tattooing that go beyond the sanitary
issues, disease transmission and
unclean inking needles that can
be found in second-rate tattoo
parlors.
Tattoos, as some who have
gotten them have recognized, have
negative associations. An article
in the Dallas Morning News a few
years ago chronicled the story of a
young man named Jesus Mendoza,
who was “going to great lengths to
remove the six tattoos that hint at
his erstwhile gang involvement....
He feels branded. ‘It’s the stereotyping,’ he said. ‘The question is: What
do you think when you see a young
Hispanic male with tattoos? You’re
going to think gangs. And I think
that, too, now.’”
Similar branding concerns
were raised in a recent column by
David Whitley about San Francisco
49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose arms and back are full
of tattoos. “NFL quarterback is the
ultimate position of influence and
responsibility,” he wrote. “He is the
CEO of a high-profile organization, and you don’t want your CEO
to look like he just got paroled.”
That branding communicates
a message that can make life more
difficult for those who have tattoos.
It should come as no surprise that
employers often associate tattooed
workers with “reduced productivity” and may show a preference for
untattooed employees in hiring or
promotions.
Even for the vast majority of
tattoo recipients who have no connection with gangs or an indolent
lifestyle, a psychological issue is
raised by the way they seem to
serve as marks of vanity. Placing
tattoos in positions where they can
hardly be missed — on the neck,
the forearms, or even the face —
can play into a disordered desire
to be flamboyant, disruptive and
self-seeking with our bodily image.
One young woman, tattooed with
the image of a fairy having “stylized butterfly wings, in a spray of
pussy willow” expressed her sentiments this way: “I am a shameless
exhibitionist and truly love having
unique marks on my body.”
These questions about vanity lead to similar concerns about
modesty. Modesty in its essential
meaning involves the decision to
not draw undue attention to ourselves. Tattoos and body piercings
most definitely draw attention, and
often may be desired for precisely
these immodest reasons. We ought
to dress modestly, in part, to prevent others from being attracted
to us out of a mere “focus on body
parts.” One aspect of dressing
modestly is to make sure everything needing to be covered is, in
» Please see Tattoos, p.15
January 2013
DIOCESE
»Sunday
Readings
The Word of God in the Life
and Mission of the Church
JANUARY 6
(Solemnity of the Epiphany
of the Lord)
Reading I IS 60:1-6
Responsorial Psalm
PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Reading II EPH 3:2-3A, 5-6
Gospel MT 2:1-12
JANUARY 13
(Feast of the Baptism of the Lord)
Reading I IS 42:1-4, 6-7 OR
IS 40:1-5, 9-11
Responsorial Psalm
PS 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 OR
PS 104:1B-2, 3-4, 24-25,
27-28, 29-30
Reading II ACTS 10:34-38 OR
TI 2:11-14; 3:4-7
Gospel Lk 3:15-16, 21-22
JANUARY 20
(Second Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Reading I IS 62:1-5
Responsorial Psalm
PS 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10
Reading II 1 COR 12:4-11
Gospel JN 2:1-11
JANUARY 27
( Third Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Reading I NEH 8:2-4A, 5-6, 8-10
Responsorial Psalm
PS 19:8, 9, 10, 150
Reading II 1 COR 12:12-30 OR
1 COR 12:12-14, 27
Gospel LK 1:1-4; 4:14-21
The word of the lord abides for ever.
This word is the Gospel which was
preached to you”
(1 Pet 1:25; cf. Is 40:8).
With this assertion from the First
Letter of Saint Peter, which takes up
the words of the Prophet Isaiah, we
find ourselves before the mystery of
God, who has made himself known
through the gift of his word.
This word, which abides for ever,
entered into time. God spoke his
eternal Word humanly; his Word
“became flesh” (Jn 1:14).
This is the good news. This is the
proclamation which has come down
the centuries to us today.
5
Brownsville Parish takes
40-hour journey of adoration
E
stamos haciendo historia.
Those were my opening
words to a full church after
the 40 hours of adoration
that we had on the first weekend
of December. It is not coincidence
that we finished the 40 hours of
continued adoration on the feast of
the Immaculate Conception.
It was a wonderful experience
for our community to have the
Blessed Sacrament exposed for
40 hours for the first time in the
history of our Holy Family parish
in Brownsville. Parishioners were
coming at different times during
the day and during the two nights
to adore the Lord in the Eucharist.
Not a single second was the chapel
without people and at times the
chapel was too small to fit so many.
Young people, children, married couples, entire families, came
to spend some time with Jesus. I
went to the chapel during different times of the day and night and
there was always people looking at
Jesus and He was looking at them.
These moments of prayer transform
a community and help the people
to prepare the way of the Lord.
A couple that has been married
Father Jorge A.
Gómez
Chancellor,
Diocese of
Brownsville
for over 40 years spent the whole
night in adoration, from the moment I exposed the Blessed Sacrament at 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. they
were in that spiritual communion
with Jesus, with the one who loved
them even before they were able to
love. The people who came to adore
Jesus during these 40 hours are the
ones that keep our community going because they see the Eucharist
not as a luxury but as a necessity,
for without it, they would, in the
spiritual sense, starve to death.
The Blessed Sacrament is the
point of contact between human
beings. As a pastor I can see the
tensions and disagreements that exist between parishioners, between
the parochial groups or organizations but we all have something in
common, our devotion and love
for the real presence of Jesus in the
Eucharist. In the words of saint
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) He is
the unmoved mover. Like a magnet,
He moves people towards him. We
read in the gospel of Mark 10:49
that “Jesus stood still and said, call
him.” Jesus was still and the people
were calling other parishioners and
they kept on coming, like a flowing
river, to worship him, to thank
him and to pray for their different
needs.
We concluded the 40 hours
journey with the Mass for the Immaculate Conception. During the
Mass we asked Mary, mother of the
Eucharist to intercede for us and
to bless our community with holy
vocations to marriage, priesthood
and religious life. Estamos haciendo
historia. During the year of faith
we will have 40 hours of adoration
every first weekend of the month.
Hopefully every parish in the diocese would join us making history.
¡Animo valientes, hagamos historia
juntos!
—
Father Jorge A. Gómez is the chancellor of the diocese and pastor of Holy
Family Church in Brownsville.
Consultative councils invite laity participation
B
ishop Daniel E. Flores
signed a decree on Dec.
13 promulgating the
establishment of a parish
pastoral and finance council in
every parish by Pentecost 2013.
The Diocesan Guidelines for Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils
recently published were distributed to all the presbyterate during
their last Assembly.
The First Synod of the
Diocese of Brownsville in 2004
recommended that every parish
establish a parish pastoral council
in order to promote a greater
participation of the laity in the
Church. Both of these councils
are “consultative in nature” as
they give “counsel” (collective
wisdom) to the pastor and the
main goal is pastoral planning:
creating, implementing and
evaluating a pastoral plan in every
parish.
In November of 2010, Bishop
Daniel Flores established the
Diocesan Pastoral Council with
representatives from the clergy,
religious and laity representing
the eight deaneries of the diocese.
The establishment of the Diocesan Pastoral Council was also a
top recommendation of the First
Diocesan Synod.
As a consultative body to the
bishop, the council, which meets
three to four times a year, is assisting in developing a pastoral
plan for the next ten years. This
pastoral plan will help determine
the priorities for the diocese and
the needs of the faithful living in
the Rio Grande Valley.
The 1983 Code of Canon Law
(Canons 511-514) defines the pastoral council, the responsibility
and the membership. In regard to
the establishment of parish pastoral councils, the 1983 Code of
Canon Law states the following:
“Can. 536. §1. After the diocesan
bishop has listened to the presbyteral council and if he judges
it opportune a pastoral council is
Deacon
Luis Zuniga
Director, Office for
Pastoral Planning
& San Juan Diego
Ministry Institute.
communities that without it the
apostolate of the pastors is often
unable to achieve its full effectiveness (10). In dioceses, insofar as
possible, there should be councils
which assist the apostolic work
of the Church either in the field
of evangelization and sanctification or in the charitable, social,
or other spheres, and here it is
fitting that the clergy and Religious should cooperate with the
laity. While preserving the proper
character and autonomy of each
organization, these councils will
be able to promote the mutual
coordination of various lay associations and enterprises (26)”.
to be established in each parish;
the pastor presides over it, and
through it the Christian faithful
along with those who share in the
pastoral care of the parish in virtue of their office give their help
in fostering pastoral activity.§2.
This pastoral council possesses a
consultative vote only and is governed by norms
determined by
the diocesan
bishop. Can. 537.
Each parish is to
have a finance
council which
is regulated by
universal law as
well as by norms
issued by the
diocesan bishop;
in this council
the Christian
faithful, selected
according to the
The Valley Catholic
same norms, aid
Bishop Daniel E. Flores signed a decree on Dec. 13 during
the pastor in the
the Priest Assembly promulgating the establishment of
administration of
a parish pastoral and finance council in every parish by
parish goods with
Pentecost 2013.
due regard for the
prescription of
can. 532.”
This indicates that the faithful, by
The Second Vatican Council
virtue of their Baptism and full
calls for the effective collaboration initiation into the Church, also
of clergy and laity to promote the
share in the responsibility for the
quality of the pastoral life of parpastoral mission of the Church.
ishes. According to Apostolicam
In the spring of 2013 those
Actuositatem the Decree on the
elected, nominated or appointed
Apostolate of the Laity (NOVEM- to these “consultative councils”
BER 18, 1965) “As sharers in the
will be invited to attend several
role of Christ as priest, prophet,
workshops that will help them
and king, the laity have their work understand their role and the role
cut out for them in the life and ac- of the councils to better serve
tivity of the Church. Their activity their own parishes and the local
is so necessary within the Church Church which is the diocese.
The Valley Catholic
A prayer card of St. Francis de Sales,
a Doctor of the Church and patron of
authors and journalists.
»Feast Day
- January 24
Spotlight
on
St. Francis
de Sales
Catholic News Agency/EWTN
Francis was born of noble
and pious parents, near Annecy,
France in 1566, and studied with
brilliant success at Paris and
Padua. He knew for 13 years that
he had a vocation to the priesthood before he mentioned it to
his family. On his return from
Italy he gave up the grand career
which his father had marked out
for him in the service of the state,
and became a priest.
When the Duke of Savoy had
resolved to restore the Church
in the Chablais, Francis offered
himself for the work, and set out
on foot with his Bible and breviary and one companion, his cousin Louis of Sales. It was a work of
toil, privation, and danger. Every
door and every heart was closed
against him. He was rejected with
insult and threatened with death.
But nothing could daunt or resist
him, and before long, the Church
burst forth into a second spring.
It is stated that he converted
72,000 Calvinists.
He was then compelled by
the Pope to become Coadjutor
Bishop of Geneva, and succeeded to the See in 1602. At times,
the exceeding gentleness with
which he received heretics and
sinners almost scandalized his
friends, and one of them said to
him, “Francis of Sales will go to
Paradise, of course; but I am not
so sure of the Bishop of Geneva:
I am almost afraid his gentleness
will play him a shrewd turn.”
“Ah,” said the Saint, “I would
rather account to God for too
great gentleness than for too
great severity. Is not God all love?
God the Father is the Father of
mercy; God the Son is a Lamb;
God the Holy Ghost is a Dove —
that is, gentleness itself. And are
you wiser than God?”
In union with St. Jane Frances of Chantal he founded at Annecy the Order of the Visitation,
which soon spread over Europe.
Though poor, he refused provisions and dignities, and even the
great see of Paris.
He died at Avignon on December 28, 1622, after giving a
nun his last word of advice: “Humility.”
St. Francis de Sales, a Doctor
of the Church, is the patron of
journalists and authors.
6
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Spirit Awards
Diocesan honoree embodies faith, humility and service
2012-2013 Honorees
San Martin School, Weslaco
Maria Romero
Guadalupe Regional Middle School,
Brownsville
Teens Helping Kids, Inc.
Our Lady of Sorrows School, McAllen
Marin Espinosa
St. Joseph School, Edinburg
Terri Garcia
Juan Diego Academy, Mission
Paul R. Rodriguez
Incarnate Word Academy, Brownsville
Antonio Davila
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
St. Joseph Academy, Brownsville
A
s a child growing up in
Progreso, Mary Latigo
always wanted to attend
Catholic school. She attended St. Joan of Arc School in
Weslaco for a time but transportation problems cut the experience
short.
Her interest in Catholic education has remained ever since.
“Catholic schools are great because God is there,” said Latigo,
who has served as secretary of the
diocesan Catholic Schools Office
for 10 years. “You are able to practice your faith and participate in
Mass. Attending Catholic school is
something very blessed.”
Latigo is the diocesan honoree
for the 16th annual Spirit Awards,
which recognizes individuals for
their service and dedication to
Catholic education in the Diocese
of Brownsville.
“When we consider candidates
for the diocesan Spirit Award, we
always try to find somebody who
really does exhibit the meaning of
what it is to serve and Mary is definitely that person,” said Lisette Allen, superintendent of schools for
the Diocese of Brownsville. “She
is always willing to serve and she
serves with such a beautiful heart.
She does so much and never expects anything in return.”
The Spirit Awards banquet will
be held on Friday, Jan. 25 at Msgr.
Ralph Hall at Our Lady of Sorrows
Parish and School in McAllen. The
event raises funds for the diocesan
tuition assistance program.
An honoree or honorees from
each of the 13 Catholic schools in
the diocese will also be recognized
at the banquet.
The event kicks off the annual
observance of Catholic Schools
Week, which runs from Jan. 27 to
Feb. 2. The 2013 theme selected by
the National Catholic Educational
Association is, “Catholic Schools
Raise the Standards.”
The third of eight children,
Latigo was born in Progreso “right
near the Rio Grande,” to Juan and
Benita Latigo. She attended Progreso schools until the eighth grade
and graduated from Weslaco High
School in 1972. Latigo worked for
the Progreso school district for
28 years before moving on to the
Catholic Schools office.
From a very young age, Latigo
helped support her family, picking
cotton, tomatoes, green peppers
and onions and also fishing in the
river and canals. Her family also
migrated to other states for work.
“As far as I can remember, I’ve
always worked,” Latigo said. “At
that time, there was no extra help
for families. My brothers and sisters and I, we all had to work. We
would get home from school, do
our homework and then go to the
fields.”
For most of her childhood,
Progreso did not have a church of
its own, but the community found
ways to teach and practice their
faith.
“The Oblate priests from St.
Joan of Arc Church in Weslaco
Graciela Touchy
Immaculate Conception School, Rio
Grande City
Cresencio Rivas
St. Anthony School, Harlingen
Father Lawrence Klein
“You can see that she enjoys what she does,” said superintendent of schools, Lisette
Allen of Mary Latigo the diocesan honoree for the 16th Annual Spirit Awards.
Latigo, pictured, has served as the secretary of the diocesan Catholic Schools Office
for 10 years.
traveled to Progreso and celebrated
Mass in a grocery store, which is
now the Progreso police station,”
Latigo said.
Religious sisters prepared the
children in the community for their
Sacraments at different sites, sometimes at people’s homes or even
outdoors. Latigo recalls that religious education classes were even
taught under a large tree.
Latigo’s family and others from
the community worked hard to establish a church in Progreso. The
dream became a reality in 1969
when Holy Spirit Church was
founded.
Those experiences have led to
a deeper appreciation of her faith,
said Latigo, who is now in her 40th
year as a catechist.
In 1972, she began assisting
Sister Wilfred “Willie” Ontiveros
of the Missionary Catechists of the
Divine Providence, teaching religious education in the rural communities of Relampago, Zacatal
and Santa Maria.
Latigo continues to serve the
outlying areas of her community.
She is currently preparing students
from Holy Spirit Parish’s missions
in Bluetown and Santa Maria for
Confirmation.
“Sometimes, people forget that
the poor are out there in the colonias,” she said. “Many of them don’t
have the means to attend Mass and
religious education classes at the
parish in Progreso so we come to
them.”
Latigo additionally teaches religious education to middle school
students at Holy Spirit Parish, is
involved in the music ministry and
serves as a Extraordinary Minis-
ter of Holy Communion. She also
prays the rosary for the dead at local funeral homes.
Latigo is also well known for her
artistic talents, said Sister Maureen
Crosby of the Sisters of St. Dorothy, who is a fellow parishioner at
Holy Spirit Church, a co-worker at
the San Juan Pastoral Center and a
close friend.
“She is very talented in her decorations,” Sister Crosby said. “She
decorates our church absolutely
beautifully. She definitely shares
her gifts, she doesn’t hide them.”
Latigo also decorates the San
Juan Pastoral Center according to
the seasons and the Church’s liturgical calendar. And even though
she works in the Catholic Schools
Office, she also shares her artistic
expertise with other departments
in the Diocese of Brownsville.
Latigo developed her talent
while working as the secretary at
Progreso High School.
“There was nobody in town
selling homecoming mums for
the kids and the flower shops out
of town were very expensive, so
I learned how to make them,” she
said. “I would sell them to the kids
for the cost of the supplies.”
Allen described Latigo as, “very
caring, very humble and very creative.” And even though Latigo will
be the guest of honor at the Spirit
Awards, Allen suspects she won’t sit
back and relax.
“She is somebody that, even
though we are honoring her at the
Spirit Awards, she is not going to
sit down that night and I know it,”
Allen said. “She will be behind the
scenes, making sure the event runs
smoothly.”
Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 27 - Feb. 2, 2013
“Catholic Schools Raise the Standards”
St. Luke School, Brownsville
Irma Martinez
Our Lady of Guadalupe School,
Mission
Michael Gomez
St. Mary School, Brownsville
Father Alejandro Flores
Oratory Schools of St. Philip Neri,
Pharr
Mr. and Mrs. Vera
January 2013
DIOCESE
Diocese to have national
representation with Young Adults
7
Oratory Schools unveil ActivTable
The Valley Catholic
Miguel Santos, Director of
Young Adult and Campus Ministry for the Diocese of Brownsville, has been named the new vice
chair of marketing for the National
Catholic Youth Adult Ministry Association (NCYAMA). His oneyear term begins Jan. 1.
NCYAMA is the national voice
for Catholic young adult ministry
in the United States and is a trusted
resource for the U.S. bishops regarding young adults and young
adult ministry.
As vice chair of marketing,
Santos will sit on the NCYAMA
executive board. He will be responsible for designing and implementing a fresh marketing strategy
for the organization.
“Miguel Santos was selected
for several reasons: experience,
dedication, and faithfulness, all
qualities our organization needs
in its leaders,” said Paul Jarzembowski, executive director of NCYAMA. “But what most intrigued
NCYAMA about Miguel was his
rich, boundless, and hope-filled
enthusiasm for the work of ministry. Outreach to young adults
can be quite challenging, and too
often, dioceses, parishes, and the
ministers themselves give in to
frustration and give up the work of
evangelization.”
Jarzembowski
continued,
“NCYAMA is about supporting
and encouraging the Church in its
outreach to young adults, building
up our passion for the Gospel for
those active or inactive in the faith
— and a person like Miguel Santos
can help our national network in
doing just that by his own passion
and enthusiasm.”
A “young adult” is defined as
an individual age 18-39, married
or single.
Demographically, the Diocese
of Brownsville is a young diocese.
The median age is 27, according to
the most recent quinquennial report — or a report on the state of
the diocese.
Courtesy
Courtesy
Miguel Santos, director of Campus and Young Adult Ministry for the diocese, was
named vice chair for marketing for the National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association (NCYAMA). Santos, right, is pictured with Paul Jarzembowski, executive director of
NCYAMA.
“Our pews are filled with
young adults, which is very different from other places in the country,” Santos said. “Our churches
have a lot of young adults present yet they don’t even know they
are ‘young adults’ because a lot of
them have never heard of the term,
so it is a new era, a new awareness
that we are working to create.”
Young adult ministry, Santos
said, calls for a two-pronged approach.
“We want to see that more
young adults are coming together
for peer ministry and for an opportunity to grow in their faith
with other young adults, but it’s
beyond just a young adult group,”
he said. “That is an initial goal,
but the ultimate goal is that young
adults integrate more fully into the
fabric of parish life; that they are
really an active part of the their
parish communities and that their
gifts are recognized and their talents are appreciated, that they feel
welcome.”
Under Santos’ guidance, campus ministry programs have been
established at two additional colleges in the Rio Grande Valley. He
has also introduced several new
initiatives to the diocese, including Awakening, a weekend retreat
program and Theology on Tap, a
speaker series for young adults to
meet in the relaxed setting of a local pub for fellowship and reflection on their faith.
Originally from Cuernavaca
Mexico, Santos has long resided
in McAllen where he lives with his
wife Myra and their children, Antonio, Alessandra and Andrés.
We are called to do God’s work
after we leave Mass
By LUIS ESPINOZA
The Valley Catholic
Most of us go to Mass every
Sunday because mom or dad, or
even grandma, makes us go. We
are at church and join in with others at Mass by singing the hymns
and saying the prayers out loud.
We even get to see what heaven is
going to be like. But then, we come
to the end of Mass. What are we
supposed to do?
Usually the priest or deacon
says something like, “The Mass
is ended. Go in peace.” We say,
“Thanks be to God.” The Mass
seems to come to an end. It feels
like that is it. We are done with
our part by coming to Mass. We
go back to our lives at home with
our families or at school with our
friends like if nothing happened,
like if we did not receive Jesus.
When we respond with the
words, “Thanks be to God,” we are
actually saying that now I am going to do my part. We, as a member or part of the Mystical Body of
Christ, are going to go back into
our daily life at home and at school
WORKS OF CHARITY
The seven corporal works of
The seven spiritual works of
mercy:
mercy:
1. Feed the hungry.
1. Counsel the doubtful.
2. Give drink to the thirsty.
2. Instruct the ignorant.
3. Clothe the naked.
3. Admonish sinners.
4. Shelter the homeless.
4. Comfort the afflicted.
5. Visit the sick.
5. Forgive offenses.
6. Visit the imprisoned.
6. Bear wrongs patiently.
7. Bury the dead.
7. Pray for the living and the dead.
and put into practice what we have
learned and received. We hear Jesus talking to us through the readings. The priest in his homily tells
us more about Jesus, what he did,
and what we should do. Then, Jesus gives himself to us through his
Body and Blood. If we do not pay
attention, we miss Jesus talking to
us.
So now what do we do? We
need to remember that it is very
important to Jesus and to the
Church how we live our lives outside of church. We are asked to
go out and do the works of charity. The works of charity are ways
that we can be like Jesus and help
others. These works of charity are
separated into two groups: The
corporal works of mercy and the
spiritual works of mercy.
The seven corporal works are
done by all of us and sometimes
these are done by our priests. The
seven spiritual works are done by
the priests and sometimes these
are done by all of us.
What we do does matter. Do
not let others tell you that is does
not. Remember, that Jesus tells us
that it is not easy to follow him,
but he did promise that he will
never leave us alone. God loves us
and wants us to be his arms, legs,
hand, and feet. Let us do his work
here and now. Let us share his
love with those we meet.
The Oratory Academy celebrates the arrival of their first ActivTable.The global
education technology company known as Promethean shakes up the classroom
environment by providing a dynamic interactive learning experience. This interactive
table utilizing touch sensitive technology, inspires users to take an active role in their
own learning and that of their friends by driving student engagement in participation
and creativity.
The ActivTable is aimed towards primary school learners. At 46 inches, the screen
provides one of the largest interactive surface areas on the market and allows up to
six students to use it at any one time, with ample room for them to work together. The
interactive nature of the ActivTable encourages inclusion and collaborative skills such
as problem solving, group work, critical thinking and consensus decision making.
With web browser capabilities, individual tool libraries and support for numerous
applications and activities, teachers can also create tailor made activities in order to
meet core curriculum learning objectives.
May peace prevail on earth
Courtesy
Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School in Mission has been working on many
projects to promote the Year of Faith. Sister Colette Kraus of the School Sisters
of Notre Dame, who teaches third grade, began a peace and justice group, which
meets after school to help promote peace in our world. Sister Kraus and the group
were instrumental in obtaining a peace pole for Our Lady of Guadalupe School.
Constructed of western red cedar wood, the eight-foot peace pole was planted on
Sept. 21, which is the International Day of Peace. The pole was blessed by Father
Roy Snipes of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, pastor of Our Lady of
Guadalupe Church and School. The pole contains messages of peace in English,
Spanish, Tagalog and Spanish.
La Madre de los Niños
Courtesy
The students, families, and faculty of San Martin de Porres Catholic School in
Weslaco participated in the 2012 Romería on Dec. 9, sponsored by San Martin de
Porres Parish and its missions. The children dressed as flowers and appeared on a
float created especially for the occasion. The theme of the float was, “La Madre de
los Niños.”
“In this Year of Faith, as we continue to build our Catholic identity, we came together
to publicly manifest our faith and demonstrate our love and devotion for Our Lady of
Guadalupe,” said Father Mario A. Castro, pastor of San Martin de Porres Parish and
School. In the photo, Father Castro and Reyna Ortega, school principal, pose with
the students.
8
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic -January 2013
»Pilgrimages close to home: St. Joseph Church, Toluca Ranch
Built in thanksgiving for fresh water
Historical church
remains a family
treasure, testament
to early faith in RGV
By BRENDA NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
P
ROGRESO – In the infancy of the Rio Grande
Valley, long before established churches and regular Mass schedules, landowners
constructed small chapels on their
properties for use by neighbors,
employees and families.
One of these private churches,
recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1965, remains as a testament to the faith of the early settlers.
Dedicated in 1899, Don
Florencio Saenz built St. Joseph
Church on Toluca Ranch, just a
half mile from the present Progreso International Bridge, in
thanksgiving for the fresh water
found on his land. He named the
church after San Jose, patron of
laborers.
Patti Fernandez Mayers of
Port Isabel, Saenz great granddaughter, said she is proud of her
family’s legacy. She and her sister
Birdie Fernandez Welker of McAllen shared stories as we toured
the church grounds about family
baptisms, weddings and funerals.
Both their parents are buried next
to the church.
Saenz descendents have maintained the church over the years.
Restoration efforts in 2007 readied the church for Welker’s daughter’s wedding and Mayers’ granddaughter was baptized in the
church in 2004.
Up until a few months ago,
visitors could make arrangements
to go to the church. Unfortunately on the day I visited, the doors
and windows remained boarded.
Mayers said the family had no option but to board up the church
after vandals caused an estimated
$30,000 worth of damages on Sept.
11, 2012, the day of her birthday.
Vandals broke every window
pane and damaged the shutters,.
Mayers said, “It has been an
extreme challenge to keep up with
The Valley Catholic & Courtesy
St. Joseph Church was built in 1899 on
Toluca Ranch, which was part of the Llano
Grande Spanish Land Grant. The private
church was designated a Texas Historical
Landmark in 1965.
BELOW: The vaulted ceilings of the chapel
were “originally made of canvas from the
sails of ships that landed at Port Isabel.”
the repairs, and now with the vandalism I don’t know when we will
be able to fix it.”
Her cousin Michael Fernandez
of Weslaco, grew up next door to
the chapel. “It was so devastating,”
he said, “to see the destruction.”
In addition to the damages, the
vandals stole a statue of the Sacred
Heart. Each of the statues in the
church had been restored in 2007.
Mayers said most of the statues
are now under family care, including the statue of the Sorrowful
Mother, which was donated by her
grandmother Manuela Fernandez
in 1945, after five of her sons returned safely from World War II.
Looking beyond the boarded
doors and windows, the church
gives witness to the devotion of
the early settlers, and the family
members who continue promoting the faith.
The bricks made and fired on
the property for the church remain firm. Mayers said her ancestors took great care in each detail,
and today descendents read the
history at family celebrations.
Built after a design by Father
Peter Keralum, the Oblate of Mary
Immaculate priest who also de-
signed the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville, the
church was dedicated by Father
L. Maurel, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, on July 30, 1899. The
Oblate priests, known as the “Cavalry of Christ,” for traveling by
horseback along the Rio Grande
River to celebrate Mass and offer
the sacraments, serviced the small
church.
While St. Joseph Church may
be small with seating for about 80
people, several features set it apart
from other chapels. According to
family history, the vaulted ceilings
were “originally made of canvas
from the sails of ships that landed
at Port Isabel.”
Also, the silver-lined bell
which hangs in church’s belfry was
purchased by Saenz in Paris at the
World Exposition.
The features, however, do not
compare to the history contained
in the Gothic revival church built
in thanksgiving for finding water
back in 1899.
Ernesto M. Fernandez, who
died in 1993, provided part of the
history in “The Untold Story,” he
shared with his family.
According to Fernandez, during the Cristero War, 16 sisters
from Matamoros, Mexico were
temporarily relocated to the Toluca Ranch where they remained
for 18 months. During their time
in the Valley, the sisters took care
of the church and provided fresh
roses for the altar.
Today, the altar stands behind blocked doors. While family
members continue to care for the
church and the small cemetery on
the grounds, Mayers said she and
her family are open to ideas for
preserving the historic church.
Father Greg Labus, pastor of
St. Joseph Church in Edinburg,
celebrated one of the last Masses at
the chapel two years ago. He said
it is important to preserve chapels
like St. Joseph Church.
“We need to preserve these
places. We have to appreciate our
history and the foundation it set
for where we are now,” he said.
He said the chapel served an
important purpose in gathering
the ranching families and providing a place for priests to bring the
sacraments in the wilderness. “Remember, there was nothing out
here 100 years ago.”
January 2013
DIOCESE
Those Who Serve:
Sister Leticia Ugboaja, DMMM
Providing physical and spiritual care
Habit opens up
communication,
sister says
S
The Valley Catholic
Sister Leticia Ugboaja of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy serves as a nurse at
the Women’s Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg. “My patients often tell me that
being cared for by a nun in a habit brings them comfort and gives them a spiritual lift,”
she said.
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
ister Leticia Ugboaja of the
Daughters of Mary Mother
of Mercy works as a licensed
vocational nurse in triage/
labor and delivery from 7 p.m. to 7
a.m. at Women’s Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg. Her unit primarily identifies the level of urgency for
pregnant women seeking emergency care.
Sister Ugboaja, however, also
acts as a spiritual guide, counselor
and friend to many patients and
their family members. In her bright
blue habit, she stands out from all
the other nurses and staff at the hospital.
“I just love their openness to me
because of what I am wearing,” she
said. “The first thing they ask is, ‘eres
hermana católica? (are you a Catholic sister?) When I say, ‘yes,’ they let
out a sigh of relief and relax.”
Sister Ugboaja, 42, believes the
habit opens up communication with
the patients, their friends and family
members.
“Sometimes, there are issues
they don’t want to discuss with anyone but when they see that I am a
nun, they feel more comfortable,”
she said. “I’m not the chaplain, but
people often ask me to pray with
them.”
And because Sister Ugboaja
works the night shift, when there
are rarely chaplains on duty, she
finds herself comforting patients
regularly.
“We often have young girls and
women in crisis pregnancy, who are
having a hard time accepting what is
going on, so I pray with them,” she
said. “Unfortunately, we also have
situations of fetal demise and I have
to counsel the family and pray for
the baby who passed away.”
A native of Aba, Nigeria, Sister
Ugboaja has ministered in the Rio
Grande Valley for five years. She is
one of five religious sisters from her
community serving in the diocese.
From the time she was sevenyears-old, Sister Ugboaja knew she
wanted to enter religious life.
“I would tell my mom that I
wanted to be a nun,” she said. “I used
to fix my head scarf like the nuns.”
The Daughters of Mary Mother
of Mercy operated the school she attended from kindergarten through
high school. It was their witness that
made her want to enter their community, Sister Ugboaja said.
“I loved the way they sang and
said their prayers,” said Sister Ugboaja, who planned to join the community after high school. “They also
had an orphanage and I wanted to
take care of those babies who had no
one in the world to care for them.”
Sister Ugboaja’s father, however,
was hesitant about her entering the
convent because he thought she
would probably change her mind.
At her parents’ insistence, Sister
Ugboaja packed her belongings and
prepared to go off to college.
“On my way to the university,
I made a U-turn and I went to the
convent,” she said. “Three times, I
heard a voice tell me, ‘if you proceed to the university, you will lose
your vocation,’ and I knew deep
down that religious life was what I
wanted.”
Sister Ugboaja hid the fact that
she had entered the convent from
her parents for an entire semester.
Her parents were upset at first but
quickly accepted her decision to become a religious sister.
At the age of 23, she took her
first vows and was sent to Rome,
where she completed bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and in nursing.
She served in Italy for 14 years before being sent to the Valley.
In addition to her work at the
hospital, Sister Ugboaja is also very
involved at Our Lady of Sorrows
Parish in McAllen where she helps
with the religious education program and is a member of the choir.
She is also a “faithful adorer” and attends morning Mass daily, said Cindy Jaime, a secretary at Our Lady of
Sorrows Church.
“She’s a dynamic, dynamic
woman,” Jaime said. “She’s an inspiration to all of us because she lives a
beautiful, religious life.”
9
»Birthday
Wishes
The list of birthdays and
ordination anniversaries is
provided so that parishioners
may remember the priests,
deacons and religious in their
prayers and send them a note or
a card.
JANUARY
» Birthdays
1 Rev. Leo Francis Daniels
4 Rev.Rigobert Poulang Mot
6 Rev. Msgr. Louis Brum
9 Rev. Julian Becerril
10 Rev. Eusebio Martinez
13 Rev. Alejandro Flores
22 Rev. Roberto Charlton
22 Rev. Horacio Chavarria
22 Rev. Oscar Siordia
24 Rev. Ignacio Tapia
28 Rev. Msgr. Robert Davola
28 Rev. William Penderghest
2 Deacon John P. Kinch
4 Deacon Al Crixell
14 Deacon Paulo Escobar
18 Deacon Ramon G. Leal
19 Deacon Salvador Saldivar
23 Deacon Reynaldo I. Flores
23 Deacon Rodolfo Sepulveda
Jr.
24 Deacon Juan Valenzuela
28 Deacon Alejandro Flores
Anniversaries
»
4 Rev. Thomas Kulleck
16 Rev. Robert Charlton
28 Rev. Cesar Partida
30 Rev. Bishop Daniel Flores
as priest
25 Deacon Francisco D. Pon
February
» Birthdays
2 Rev. Mishael Koday
3 Rev. Thomas Pincelli
11 Rev. Gustavo Obando
16 Rev. James Pfeifer
19 Bishop Emeritus
Raymundo J. Pena
26 Rev. Juan Victor Heredia
26 Rev. Thomas G. Kulleck
2 Sister Mary N. Vincelli
14 Brother David Concannon
23 Sister Frances Salinas
8 Deacon Amando Peña Jr.
11 Deacon Gilberto Perez
13 Deacon Hugo De la Cruz
15 Deacon Jose R. Castro
15 Deacon George M. Terrazas
17 Deacon Hector Perez
18 Deacon Pedro Sanchez
22 Deacon Alvino Olvera
» Anniversaries
2 Rev. Juan Victor Heredia
8 Rev. Gnanaraj Michael
11 Msgr. Robert Davola - Retired
15 Rev. Patrick Seitz
23 Rev. Gerard Barrett - Retired
25 Rev. Marco A. Reynoso
10
IN THE NEWS
FTC’s new rules better protect
children’s privacy online
By MARK PATTISON
WASHINGTON — A generation or two ago, parents scolded
their children for spending too
much time in front of the TV.
These days, it’s just as likely to be
true about the computer or video
game.
Since parental complaints
were first lodged about television,
the industry, along with government, has taken concrete steps to
clean up its act.
Now it’s the online industry’s
turn when it comes to children’s
use of the Internet. And the federal government is showing just
how, especially in this time of
more insidious Web tracking
through “cookies” and other devices.
The Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act, known by its acronym COPPA, was passed more
than a decade ago because of such
concerns. Since then, the specter of online data gathering has
exploded without any regard to
the age of the user. And, since the
children’s privacy law was passed,
people’s computer use has similarly exploded, giving marketers
the potential to glean even more
information.
Under the law the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) was
charged with making the rules to
protect children. After those initial rules were installed, the FTC
decided to look at them again in
The U.S. bishops rallied for more stringent safeguards to protect children’s online
privacy rights.
2010 to gauge their application in
the real world.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is one of more than
50 organizations that asked the
FTC for more stringent safeguards to protect children’s online
privacy rights.
Some marketers had found
loopholes in the rules, the FTC
found in its review. And the FTC
acted to close loopholes and, as
of Dec. 19, set new rules not even
considered during the first goround of rulemaking.
The law extends coverage in
some cases to third parties that do
the additional collection of information so that they, too, will have
to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. .
The new rules, which will take
effect on July 1, now call for “veri-
fiable parental consent,” via electronic scans of signed parental
consent forms, videoconferencing, use of government-issued ID,
and the use of payment systems
such as debit cards and electronic
payment systems — a welcome
relief to the parents of a child doing something innocuous online,
like sharpening math skills, only
to get an offer for a membership
that costs $100.
“The (FTC) is to be especially
commended for setting guidelines for website operators regarding the release of children’s personal information to companies
and for reasonable procedures
for data retention and deletion,”
said a Dec. 20 statement by Helen
Osman, secretary of communications for the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
LMMM Valley No. 1
LMMM Valley No. 2
2200 N. 10th St. Suite C
(956) 630 2330
Mc Allen, Tx. 78505
806 S. Cage Blvd
(956) 283 0995
Pharr, Tx. 78577
LMMM Valley No. 3
LMMM Valley No. 4
902 West Harrison Av.
(956) 425 7018
Harlingen, Tx. 78550
3001 E. Expressway 83
(956) 968 8685
Weslaco, Tx. 78596
LMMM Valley No. 5
LMMM Valley No. 7
1627 Price Road
(956) 546 7255
Brownsville, Tx. 78521
305 E. University Dr.
(956) 386 1383
Edinburg, Tx. 78539
LMMM Valley No. 8
770 W. Elizabeth St.
(956) 544 4806
Brownsville, Tx. 78520
“ La original y auténtica de las carnes marinadas”
Vatican II is misread when Holy
Spirit ignored, papal preacher says
By CAROL GLATZ
VATICAN CITY — Incorrect
interpretations of the Second Vatican Council are rooted in a denial
or a misunderstanding of the role
of the Holy Spirit in the life of the
church, said the preacher of the
papal household.
The Holy Spirit “gives us the
strength” to put Gospel principles
and church teachings into practice, otherwise “even the Gospel
precepts, without the grace of the
Holy Spirit, would be ‘a letter that
kills,’” said Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa.
As preacher of the papal
household, Father Cantalamessa
was leading a series of weekly Advent reflections for Pope Benedict
XVI and top Vatican officials in
the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of
the Apostolic Palace. His Dec. 14
reflection offered a look at how to
interpret the council, which began
50 years ago.
“The insufficient attention
paid to the role of the Holy Spirit
explains many of the difficulties
that arose in the reception of the
Second Vatican Council,” Father
Cantalamessa said.
There have been two opposing
interpretations, he said, while the
position of Pope Benedict —that
of “renewal in continuity” — has
stood between the two extremes.
Traditionalist groups that reject the council represent “a tradition wherein the Holy Spirit
played no role at all. It was a collection of beliefs and practices
fixed once and for all,” he said.
“To freeze the tradition by
making it begin, or end, at a certain fixed moment means making
it a dead tradition,” he added.
The other extreme willingly
speaks of “the ‘spirit of the council’, but unfortunately it was not
the Holy Spirit,” he said.
He said this vague sense of
spirit “is open to every whim”
and is coupled with the belief that
“greater innovative courage” didn’t
make it into conciliar texts due to
“the resistance of some and to the
compromises” that would have
been necessary.
“The ‘implementation’ or carrying out of the council is not a
simple straightforward matter of
applying its decrees in a literal and
almost mechanical way. Rather,
we must seek to apply them ‘in
the Spirit,’” that is, the Holy Spirit,
that offers the “healing grace of
faith” and brings to life the word
of Christ, he said.
The paradox of “renewal in
continuity” or “permanence in
change” is resolved by the Holy
Spirit’s action within the church,
Father Cantalamessa told the pope
and Vatican officials.
The Holy Spirit “doesn’t create new sacraments and new institutions. Rather he renews and
perennially enlivens” everything
Jesus has already created.
The papal preacher said, “The
council represents a discontinuity
with the church’s recent past and
instead represents a continuity
with respect to the remote past,”
specifically a return to the origins
of the church, “to the biblical and
patristic sources of the faith.”
Enero 2013
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL 11
»Peregrinaje cerca de casa
Dando gracias por el agua potable
Iglesia histórica
sigue siendo
tesoro familiar,
testimonio de
fe en el Valle
Por BRENDA
NETTLES RIOJAS
The Valley Catholic
P
ROGRESO – En
los primeros años
del Valle del Río
Grande, mucho antes de que se establecieran
iglesias y Misas regulares,
los terratenientes construían
pequeñas capillas en sus
propiedades para que los
vecinos, empleados y familias las usaran.
Una de estas iglesias
privadas, registrada como
Monumento Histórico de
Texas en 1965, se mantiene
como testimonio de la fe de
los primeros colonos.
Dedicada en 1899, Don
Florencio Saenz construyó
la Iglesia San José en el Rancho Toluca, a media milla
del puente internacional de
Progreso, en agradecimiento
por el agua potable que encontró en su tierra. Nombró
a la iglesia San José, patrón
de los obreros.
Patti Fernández Mayer
de Puerto Isabel, la bisnieta
The Valley Catholic y fotos de cortesía
ARRIBA. La Iglesia de San José, construida en 1899 en el Rancho Toluca, cerca del puente internacional de
Progreso, Tx., fue eregida en agradecimiento por el descubrimiento de agua potable en los terrenos del lugar. En
la imagen se muestra el interior de la iglesia la cual actualmente permanece cerrada.
DERECHA. Patti Fernández Mayer, Michael Fernández y Birdie Fernández Welker, descendientes de Don Florencio Saenz, han ayudado mantener la Iglesia San José a través de los años.
de Saenz, dijo que está orgullosa del legado familiar.
Ella y su hermana Birdie
Fernández Welker de McAllen compartieron historias
sobre los bautizos familiares,
bodas y funerales mientras
explorábamos los terrenos de la iglesia. Sus padres
fueron enterrados a lado de
la iglesia.
Los descendientes de
Saenz han mantenido la
iglesia a través de los años.
Los esfuerzos de restauración en el 2007 prepararon
la iglesia para la boda de la
hija de Welkers. En el 2004
celebraron el bautismo de la
nieta de Mayer.
Hasta hace unos meses,
los visitantes podían hacer
arreglos para ir a la iglesia.
Desafortunadamente, el día
que yo visité, las puertas y
ventanas permanecían tapadas. Mayers dijo que la
familia no tuvo más opción
que cerrar la iglesia después
de que unos vándalos causaron
aproximadamente
$30,000 en daños el 11 de
septiembre del 2012, el día
de su cumpleaños.
Los vándalos rompieron
todos los cristales de las ventanas y las persianas.
Mayers dijo, “Ha sido
un gran reto mantenerse al
día con las reparaciones, y
ahora con el vandalismo, no
sé cuándo la vamos a poder
arreglar.”
Su
primo
Michael
Fernández de Weslaco, creció a lado de la capilla. “Fue
devastador,“ dijo, “ver toda
la destrucción.”
Además de los daños, los
vándalos se robaron una estatua del Sagrado Corazón.
Cada una de las estatuas
habían sido restauradas en
el 2007.
Mayers dijo que la familia está cuidando la mayoría
de las estatuas, incluyendo
la estatua de nuestra Señora de los Dolores, la cual
fue donada por su abuela
Manuela Fernández en 1945,
después de que cinco de sus
hijos regresaron a salvo de la
Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Viendo más allá de las
puertas tapadas y las ventanas, la iglesia da testimonio
de la devoción de los primeros colonos, y de los miembros de la familia que continúan promoviendo la fe.
Los ladrillos hechos y
templados en la propiedad se
mantienen firmes.
“
Ha sido un
gran reto mantenerse al día
con las reparaciones, y ahora
con el vandalismo, no
sé cuándo la vamos a
poder arreglar.”
Patti Fernández Mayer
Mayers dijo que sus ancestros tuvieron mucho cuidado en el detalle, y hoy en
día los descendientes leen la
historia en las celebraciones
familiares.
Construida a base de
un diseño del Padre Peter
Keralum, el padre Oblato
de María Inmaculada quien
también diseñó la Catedral,
la iglesia fue dedicada al
Padre L. Maurel, un Oblato
de María Inmaculada, el 30
de julio de 1899. Los Padres
Oblatos, conocidos como
“La Caballería de Cristo”
por viajar a caballo por el rio
para dar Misa y ofrecer los
sacramentos, dieron servicios en la pequeña iglesia.
Aunque la Iglesia San
José puede ser pequeña, con
capacidad para 80 personas,
muchas cualidades la separan de otras iglesias. De acuerdo con la historia familiar,
los techos abovedados “fueron hechos originalmente del
lienzo de los barcos que llegaron en Puerto Isabel.”
Además, la campana forrada de plata, que cuelga en
el campanario fue comprada
por Saenz en Paris en la Exposición Mundial.
Las características, sin
embargo, no se coparan
con la historia contenida en
la iglesia gótico construida
para dar gracias por el agua
encontrada en 1899.
Ernesto M. Fernández,
quien murió en 1993, dio
parte de la historia en “La
historia nunca dicha,” que
compartió con su familia.
De acuerdo con Fernández, durante la guerra de los
Cristeros, 16 hermanas de
Matamoros, México fueron
realojadas temporalmente en
el Rancho Toluca en donde
se mantuvieron por 18 meses. Durante ese tiempo en el
Valle, las hermanas cuidaron
de la iglesia y pusieron rosas
frescas en el altar.
Hoy, el altar se encuentra
tras puertas cerradas. Mientras los miembros familiares
continúan cuidando la iglesia y el pequeño cementerio
en el terreno, Mayers dijo
que ella y su familia están
aceptando sugerencias para
preservar la histórica iglesia.
El Padre Greg Labus,
pastor de la iglesia San José
en Edinburg, celebró una de
las últimas Misas en la capilla hace dos años. Él dijo que
es importante mantener capillas como la Iglesia San José.
“Necesitamos mantener
estos lugares. Tenemos que
apreciar nuestra historia y la
fundación que dio a donde
nos encontramos ahora,” él
dijo.
Él dijo que la capilla tuvo
el importante propósito de
reunir a las familias rancheras y proveer un lugar en
donde los padres pudieran
dar los sacramentos en tierra
desierta. “Recuerden que no
había nada en este lugar hace
cien años.”
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
12
The Valley Catholic - Enero 2013
»La Alegría de Vivir
¡Necesitamos reformas, no migajas!
L
os Estados Unidos deben de tomar la decisión
de pasar la reforma comprensiva de inmigración,
reconociendo lo que muchos
estudios han demostrado: los
inmigrantes tienen un efecto
positivo en la economía nacional,
ya sean inmigrantes legales o indocumentados, pues todos pagan
impuestos, desde el impuesto por
ventas hasta los impuestos de sus
propiedades.
Recientemente el Banco de la
Reserva de Dallas y el Instituto
George W. Bush presentaron
una conferencia titulada “Inmigración y el 4% de crecimiento
de la economía estadounidense”
refiriéndose a la contribución que
la comunidad inmigrante hizo a
la economía en el pasado año.
El Instituto Bush concluye en
sus estudios que los inmigrantes
no solo suplen la necesidad de
mano de obra en ciertos sectores de la economía, sino que los
inmigrantes tienden a desarrollar sus propios negocios desde
la primera generación en este
país, que la necesidad de trabajar
los hace desarrollar sus ideas y
ponerlas en práctica, y esto se
demuestra al revisar los archivos
de patentes, donde la proporción
de nuevas patentes registradas
por profesionales extranjeros es
mucho mayor a la que registran
los americanos, sobre todo en
áreas de ingeniería y tecnología.
Ya el alcalde de la ciudad de
Msgr. Juan
Nicolau
Párroco, Iglesia de
Nuestra Señora del
Perpetuo Socorro
en McAllen
Nueva York, Michael Bloomberg
ha declarado que el deportar a los
inmigrantes que no han cometido
un crimen es un suicido nacional
durante tiempos de una economía
frágil.
La cámara nacional de comercio tiene un reporte de los mitos
y hechos acerca de la inmigración
que aborda las creencias erróneas
que usualmente siguen quienes se
oponen a una reforma migratoria
y expone los hechos acerca de las
aportaciones de los inmigrantes.
En el reporte se incluye lo
siguiente: deja claro que los
inmigrantes no reemplazan a los
trabajadores americanos, sino que
complementan la fuerza laboral
de quienes son nacidos aquí.
Además recalca que el trabajo
y las contribuciones de los inmigrantes serán necesarios cuando
se retiren los 33.4 millones de
“baby boomers” en el año 2016,
sobre todo si consideramos el
descenso de nacimientos en los
estados unidos.
El seguro social cuenta con
un fondo de contribuciones no
reclamadas que asciende a 500
billones de dólares, en parte
gracias a los inmigrantes que han
pagado sus impuestos estatales
y federales pero que no hacen
reclamos. Los inmigrantes no
hacen que se rebajen los sueldos
de los trabajadores americanos,
al contrario hay estudios que
demuestran un incremento en los
sueldos por año de los trabajadores americanos.
Otro hecho importante que
reporta es que el promedio de
encarcelamiento por crímenes
es menor en la comunidad de
inmigrantes que en la de nacidos aquí. Los Estados Unidos
necesitan pasar una reforma
comprensiva de inmigración que
reconozca la realidad y que tenga
como prioridad el defender la
unidad familiar, que facilite la
integración de los inmigrantes
en la comunidad, que brinde una
oportunidad de regularización
para quienes trabajan sin papeles.
Pidamos a Dios por que en esta
nueva sesión del congreso se considere seriamente una Reforma
de Inmigración comprensiva, que
tome en cuenta los valores que los
inmigrantes traen a la sociedad
y la economía de los Estados
Unidos y no se ofrezcan migajas a
quienes tienen hambre de crecer y
vitalizar el desarrollo del país que
han escogido para vivir.
—
Mons. Juan Nicolau, Ph.D. STL
Párroco de la iglesia de Nuestra
Señora del Perpetuo Socorro.
Es psicoterapeuta familiar y consejero profesional.
»Vida Familiar
El papel de los abuelos
¡Jesús tenia una abuela! Santa
Ana, la madre de María, nació
en Belén y estuvo casada con
Joachim de Nazaret en Galilea.
Después de veinte años de matrimonio, un ángel se le apareció
a Joachim para asegurarle que él
y Ana iban a tener una hija que
llamarían María y consagrarían
a Dios.
El 2 de febrero estaremos
celebrando la Fiesta de la Presentación, la cual según el evangelio
de Lucas 2:22-24, Asimismo, cuando llegó el día en que, de acuerdo a la Ley de Moisés, debían
cumplir el rito de la purificación
de la madre, llevaron al niño a
Jerusalén. Allí lo consagraron al
Señor, tal como está escrito en
la Ley: Todo varón primogénito
será consagrado al Señor. Me
puedo imaginar que los abuelos
de Jesús, Joachim y Ana estaban
presentes en el templo con Jesús,
María y José ¡regocijándose en
este momento especial!
Es extraordinario recordar
que los abuelos tienen un papel
muy importante a lo largo de
nuestras vidas. En estos tiempos,
este papel puede ser de abuelo,
de abuelo adoptivo o abuelo que
cría a su nieto. Una de las alegrías
es la oportunidad que tienen los
padres y los abuelos para cuidar
y enseñar en conjunto. Las enseñanzas de los abuelos han sido las
más reverenciadas desde tiempos
inmemorables. En esta época,
es más importante que nunca
que los abuelos disfruten de esa
relación única y desarrollen ese
papel de guía y enseñanza porque
en realidad se necesitan muchas
personas para criar un niño.
Lydia Pesina
Directora, Oficina
de Vida Familiar
Aún no soy abuela, pero
espero y rezo para que cuando lo
sea, siga los pasos que mis abuelos caminaron conmigo. Mi amor
por la lectura y la escritura viene
de mi abuelo Dionicio Reyna,
quien era autodidacta pero
amaba leer y compartir lo que
leía sobre la bomba atómica o lo
que estaba pasando en el mundo,
mientras nos sentábamos en las
bancas hechas a mano bajo el
árbol de mora. Él nos enseño
valores culturales y religiosos a
través de las historias, leyendas y
dichos. De él adquirí mi devoción al rosario, el cual rezaba
a diario. Recientemente tuve
el privilegio de leer algunos de
sus diarios ¡y ahora se de donde
obtuve el gusto por los diarios!
De mi abuela, Clara Sepúlveda
Reyna, aprendí a amar cocinar,
cocer y cantar himnos Marianos.
Ellos nos enseñaron respeto,
modales y a siempre saludar a los
ancianos.
El programa educacional de
padres “Un niño mejor” describe
tres tipos de abuelos: (1) El
historiador familiar/Antepasado
viviente comparte las historias
del pasado (Tengo dos grabaciones de entrevistas con mi abuela
y es una alegría el escuchar su
» Please see Abuelos p.14
El aborto, gran problema en el Valle del Río Grande
Procesión Pro-vida
programada para
el 19 de enero
The Valley Catholic
Mientras servía en Eagle Pass,
Texas, el Padre James Erving participó en una marcha pro-vida que
caminó en el centro de la ciudad
en la calle principal. La procesión
detuvo el tráfico, acaparando la
atención de los que pasaban.
El Padre Erving después supo
que una mujer que vio la procesión planeaba tener un aborto esa
semana. La marcha inspiró a la
mujer a escoger la vida de su bebe.
“Nunca puedes saber qué clase
de frutos dan los testimonios que
ofrecemos,” dijo el Padre Erving,
quien sirve como director del
Apostolado Respeto a la Vida de
la Diócesis de Brownsville y pastor de la Iglesia Nuestra Señora del
Refugio en Roma.
El Apostolado Respeto a la
Vida está organizando una marcha en McAllen el sábado 19 de
enero. El Obispo Daniel E. Flores
va a guiar la procesión que empezará con una oración de apertura
en la capilla San José Obrero, continuando hacia el centro donde
pasaran por la clínica local de
abortos y terminará en la capilla
Sagrado Corazón con oraciones
de clausura.
The Valley Catholic
En esta imágen de archivo, sosteniendo pósters relacionados a Jesucristo y recién nacidos, un grupo de manifestantes apoya la marcha pro-vida afuera en Mcallen.
Enero 22, 2013 marca el 40ª
aniversario del dictamen de la
Corte Suprema Roe vs. Wade, que
legalizó el aborto y los pro-vida en
la nación están aprovechando la
ocasión con eventos de oración y
acción.
“La Iglesia continua dando testimonio a los valores culturales de
la vida,” dijo el Padre Erving, un
padre de los Misionarios Oblatos
de María Inmaculada. “El gobierno puede pasar la ley que quieran
pero las enseñanzas de la Iglesia se
mantienen fieles.”
En años pasados, el Apostolado Respeto a la Vida tuvo procesiones en la Basílica de Nuestra
Señora de San Juan del Valle Capilla Nacional, en o alrededor del
aniversario de Roe vs. Wade, pero
este año, los organizadores optaron por llevar su mensaje provida a las calles.
El área del centro de McAllen
atrae a cientos de compradores
todos los días, especialmente en
sábado.
“Estamos tomando este lugar
porque queremos más testigos
públicos,” dijo el Padre Erving.
“Muchas personas nos van a ver
marchando por las calles.”
Catherine Hake, directora del
Centro de Embarazos en McAllen, dijo que el aborto en el Valle
del Río Grande “es un problema
mucho mayor de lo que tendemos
a admitir.”
Se hacen más de 2, 700 abortos
cada año en el Valle, de acuerdo
con las estadísticas del departamento del Estado de Texas para
los Servicios de Salud.
Además de dar asistencia
gratis y práctica así como pruebas de embarazo, ultrasonidos y
artículos de bebé para mujeres en
embarazos críticos, el Centro de
Embarazos de McAllen ofrece un
ministerio de consejería afuera de
la clínica de abortos en McAllen.
Hake dijo que la clínica de
abortos recibe un flujo continuo
de visitantes.
“Estamos afuera de la banqueta, todos los días vemos a bastantes mujeres entrando y saliendo,”
dijo Hake.
Muchas de las mujeres tratan
de ignorar a los consejeros en las
banquetas; otras son receptivas a
sus mensaje y al final escogen la
vida de sus bebes.
A través de los esfuerzos del
Centro de Embarazo de McAllen,
cientos de bebés han sido salvados.
Phyllis Young tuvo un aborto a
la edad de 18, tres meses después
del dictamen de Roe vs. Wade. Fue
una experiencia “horrenda” que le
cambió la vida por completo. Ella
espera que a otras mujeres se les
evite el dolor y la angustia que ella
sintió después de abortar.
Young es la líder del Rachel’s
Vineyard en el Valle del Río
Grande. Rachel’s Vineyard es un
retiro Católico de sanación para
aquellas mujeres que han participado o han tenido un aborto. El
retiro ocurre dos veces por año.
“Realmente no me di cuenta
en aquel entonces de cuanto me
afectaba hasta que tuve mi sanación, entonces me di cuenta de
cuanto había impactado mi vida,”
dijo Young. “No puedes quitarle
la vida a tu propio hijo y no ser
afectada en una infinidad de formas.”
Young dijo que mujeres –y
hombres- afectados por el aborto
a menudo se involucran en comportamientos destructivos incluyendo el uso de drogas y alcohol,
promiscuidad, desordenes alimentación y relaciones abusivas.
Muchos incluso tratan de suicidarse y apartan a Dios de sus vidas
por la culpabilidad que sienten.
También hay efectos menos
obvios del aborto, señaló Young,
algunos que vivió de primera
mano.
“Tuve tanto miedo de perder
otro hijo, que cuando tuve hijos,
fui obsesivamente maternal con
ellos, fuera de lo que es normal,”
dijo. “He visto todas estas repercusiones post-aborto y otras. Las
personas no se dan cuenta que el
aborto te afecta en muchos niveles.
En realidad deja su marca.”
Enero 2013
Las familias fuertes propician una sociedad
saludable, dice vocero del Vaticano
Por CINDY WOODEN
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO — Al promover y
defender a la familia tradicional como un bien para
la sociedad y el mundo,
la Iglesia Católica la considera como “la primera
barricada” en contra de “la
dictadura del individualismo”, dijo el presidente del
Consejo Pontificio para la
Familia.
El arzobispo Vincenzo
Paglia, presidente del consejo, dijo: “en una civilización individualista cada
persona se antepone a todos los demás. La familia
es la primera barricada
en contra de esa postura
porque representa el primer
‘nosotros’”.
Las enseñanzas católicas sobre el matrimonio y
la vida de familia se fundamentan en la interpretación
bíblica de toda la creación y
en el lugar que los seres humanos ocupan en ella, dijo
en una entrevista del 21
de diciembre con Catholic
News Service.
“Cuando en el libro del
Génesis se dice: ‘No es bueno que el hombre esté solo’,
no es una afirmación superficial o simplemente cultural. Es la afirmación de la
verdadera esencia de la persona humana y la necesidad
de tener una familia que
está escrita en el corazón de
cada persona”, dijo.
La verdad de tal afirmación estriba en el hecho
de que cada persona de todas las culturas, dijo, “tiene
temor de estar sola”.
Las enseñanzas religiosas de la iglesia con respecto
al matrimonio como sacramento (celebrado) entre un
hombre y una mujer, comprometidos mutuamente
de por vida y dispuestos a
procrear hijos coincide con
la verdad que nos enseña la
misma naturaleza, dijo el
arzobispo.
La Iglesia Católica, dijo,
siente la obligación de promover a la familia tradicional y defenderla de los
intentos que algunas personas hacen de “minarla; a
veces, incluso, utilizando,
metafóricamente, un martillo hidráulico, debido tanto a su significado religioso
como a su importancia para
los individuos y la sociedad.
En cada cultura, dijo el
arzobispo Paglia, la familia
es el primer lugar y el más
importante para la educación de buenos ciudadanos pues es el lugar en donde
la gente aprende “a vivir
colectivamente, a brindarse
cuidado mutuo, a amarse, a
generar y reproducir vida,
a crear relaciones entre los
que son diferentes, a perdonar a los semejantes, a
ayudar a otros y a soñar
acerca del futuro”.
“Desafortunadamente,
hoy en día, esto se ha ido suprimiendo”, dijo. Una aplastante mayoría de jóvenes
todavía sueñan con tener
respectivamente esposo o
esposa y vivir enamorados
por siempre, “pero dentro
de la cultura moderna se les
dice que no hay tal”.
Cuando alguien le pre-
gunta que si no es posible
que dos hombres o dos mujeres se amen, que quieran
ser fieles mutuamente de
por vida y formar una familia juntos o juntas, dijo
el arzobispo: “la familia es
una cosa; otra clase de relaciones es cosa aparte”.
En la definición de “familia” se debe de incluir la
posibilidad de genera hijos
juntos y edificar una pequeña comunidad unida tanto
por el amor como por lazos
de sangre, dijo.
“No niego que pueda
haber afecto” entre personas del mismo sexo, dijo
el arzobispo Paglia, “como
tampoco niego que pueda
haber afecto entre padre e
hija; pero ciertamente rechazo la idea de que un padre se case con su hija”.
Cuando se le pone la
etiqueta de “amor” a los
sentimientos de atracción
y afecto por otra persona
y después se les confunde
o se les equipara con “el
amor conyugal” que existe
entre un hombre casado y
su respectiva esposa, dijo,
se coloca demasiado énfasis
en los sentimientos de cada
individuo por separado, en
lugar de poner el énfasis en
el compromiso de la verdadera pareja y su proyecto
de vida.
“En la cultura de hoy
día se enfatiza en forma
exagerada el valor del individuo en sí mismo (egoístamente); y eso se usa como la
vara de medir todo, con el
riesgo de querer colocarse
uno mismo incluso en el
lugar de Dios”, dijo.
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL 13
Día de la Paz
Peregrinos se dan el saludo de la paz durante la ceremonia de clausura del encuentro mundial del Día de la
Juventud en el aeródromo Cuatro Vientos en Madrid, España en agosto 2011.
Los hacedores de paz aman,
defienden y promueven la vida,
dice el papa Benedicto XVI
Por CINDY WOODEN
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO — Los verdaderos
hacedores de paz defienden
la vida humana en cada etapa
de su existencia y promueven
el bien común por medio de
su política de acción aplicada
a la economía y a sus propios
actos, dijo el papa Benedicto
XVI.
En su mensaje anual en
celebración del Día de la
Paz, para el 1o de enero, el
papa Benedicto dijo que los
ataques contra la vida humana y contra los derechos humanos debilitan los esfuerzos
para lograr la paz en el mundo, comprendiendo desde un
aborto a una eutanasia que
limitan la libertad religiosa, y
desde un fanatismo religioso
hasta “un capitalismo financiero” que rebase las normas.
El mensaje del papa
fue dado a conocer el 14 de
diciembre en una rueda de
prensa dada en el Vaticano,
dirigida por el cardenal Peter
Turkson, presidente del Consejo Pontificio de Justicia y
de Paz.
Y al tiempo que el papa
reiteraba las enseñanzas
católicas acerca de la santidad de cada vida humana y
acerca de los riesgos de una
economía de libre mercado
que rebase las normas, el
papa Benedicto explicó en su
mensaje que esas enseñanzas
son lógicas, fundamentadas
en principios naturales necesarios para una vida que se
distinga por su dignidad y
coexistencia pacífica.
De hecho, dijo, quizá algunas personas no se den
cuenta de que promueven
“una paz falsa” cuando exigen adopciones legislativas
de “valores falsos o libertades
falsas” empleando “el ingenioso uso de expresiones ambiguas dirigidas a la promoción de supuestos derechos
de aborto y eutanasia”.
Los verdaderos hace-
dores de paz, dijo el papa,
“son aquellas personas que
aman, defienden y promueven la vida humana en su
dimensión total”.
“Cualquier persona que
ame la paz no puede tolerar
ningún ataque ni acción
criminal en contra de la vida”,
dijo.
El papa Benedicto también dijo que los hacedores
de paz necesitan poner atención en forma distinta en
la importancia de la familia
tradicional que transmite
los valores que promueven
la paz y resuelven los problemas y tensiones que debilitan la paz.
“El tema de la familia es
un material social indispensable para lograr una cultura
de paz”, dijo.
El cardenal Turkson, al
presentar el mensaje, dijo
que el papa Benedicto había
sido muy concreto al ayudar
a que las personas entiendan
lo que se necesita para promover una paz verdadera.
“El papa quiere que la atención se dirija hacia los problemas más urgentes, como
una perspectiva correcta del
matrimonio, el derecho a la
objeción de conciencia, la
libertad religiosa como ‘una
libertad para’ (contribuír a la
sociedad), la cuestión de trabajo y desempleo, la crisis de
alimentos, la crisis financiera
y el papel de la familia en relación a la educación”.
Como parte de la alocución del papa Benedicto
acerca de la libertad religiosa,
insistió en que los gobiernos
reconozcan y mantengan “el
derecho de invocar los principios de objeción de conciencia ante leyes o medidas
del gobierno que ofendan la
dignidad humana, como lo
hace el aborto y la eutanasia”.
“Tristemente”, dijo, “incluso en países que han gozado de larga tradición cristiana, se han dado casos de
intolerancia religiosa que se
hacen más numerosos, es-
Un globo con la imagen de una
paloma flotando se aprecia mientras el Papa Benedicto XVI saluda
tras haber pronunciado el Angelus
desde la ventana de su departamento en la Plaza de San Pedro.
pecialmente en relación a la
cristiandad y a aquellos que
simplemente portan símbolos de su religión respectiva”.
Para todas las personas
de buena voluntad, dijo el
papa, el Año Nuevo les trae
esperanza de un mundo mejor y más pacífico.
A pesar de esto, dijo, “es
alarmante ver focos de tensión y conflicto causados por
casos que van en aumento
de desigualdad entre ricos
y pobres, por la prevalencia
de una mente egoísta e individualista, que también se
manifiesta en un capitalismo
financiero que rebasa las
normas”.
El papa Benedicto dijo
que los verdaderos hacedores
de paz deben de trabajar para
que desaparezca la noción
popular que va en aumento
de que “se debe de buscar
el crecimiento económico
aún en detrimento de las responsabilidades sociales del
estado”.
El derecho a tener un
trabajo seguro “es uno de
los derechos sociales que se
encuentra bajo serias amenazas”, dijo. Con énfasis en
la promoción de mercados
libres, el derecho y la necesidad de tener trabajo con
frecuencia se trata simplemente como una variable de
mercado.
14
DIOCESE
Abuelos,
continuación de pág. 12
voz y escuchar sus historias años
después de su partida); (2) El
educador, mentor y modelo a
seguir son los educadores que
dan estimulo y apoyo, especialmente en tiempos críticos; y
luchan por encontrar el balance
entre el estímulo y el control;
(3) El compañero de juegos y
héroe pasa tiempo con los nietos
leyendo libros, llevándolos al
parque o de día de campo. Al
mismo tiempo tratan de tener el
oído atento y estar disponibles
consistentemente sin importar
las diversas situaciones que los
padres puedan experimentar por
la muerte, lo económico o problemas con los padrastros.
Procession,
continued from pg. 1
Supreme Court ruling that legalized
abortion and pro-lifers across the
nation are observing the occasion
with events of prayer and action.
“The Church continues to
witness to the values of the culture
of life,” said Father Erving, a priest
of the Missionary Oblates of Mary
Immaculate. “The government can
pass whatever laws they want but
the Church’s teachings remain the
same.”
In past years, the Respect Life
Apostolate held a procession at the
Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del
Valle-National Shrine on or around
the Roe v. Wade anniversary, but
this year, organizers opted to take
Los nietos traen alegría,
amor, risas, energía, optimismo,
actividad, juventud y propósito
a la vida de los abuelos, como
también nuevas oportunidades
de aprender y crecer. Al mismo
tiempo, los abuelos proveen de
madures, conocimiento, estabilidad y amor incondicional. Tal vez
uno de los papeles en la “descripción de trabajo” de los abuelos
es cerrar la brecha al vivir para
Guiar, Afirmar y Rezar con y por
ellos. Confío y le rezo al Señor
para que le de a todos los abuelos
la sabiduría y la gracia para
aceptar su papel de enseñanza y
guía, y que los nietos de todas las
edades busquen el Espíritu Santo
al aceptarlos mientras todos nos
aventuramos en este camino de
plenitud y santidad.
their pro-life message to the streets.
The downtown McAllen area
attracts thousands of shoppers
every day, especially on Saturdays.
“We’re changing the venue
because we are desiring a more
public witness,” Father Erving said.
“A lot of people will see us walking
through the streets.”
Catherine Hake, director of the
McAllen Pregnancy Center, said
abortion in the Rio Grande Valley
“is so much more of a pervasive
problem than we tend to talk
about.”
More than 2,700 abortions are
performed in the Valley each year,
according to statistics from the
Texas Department of State Health
Services.
In addition to providing
free, practical assistance such as
Celebrating history
Cathedral to
close for repairs
The Valley Catholic
BROWNSVILLE — The
Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville will be
closed from Jan. 9 to June 30
for repairs, according to Oblate
Father Michael Amesse, rector
of the cathedral.
Masses will be held in the
gymnasium across the street.
The cathedral, which is the
see of the Diocese of Brownsville, was built in 1859 by the
Missionary Oblates of Mary
Immaculate. The Gothic Revival style cathedral is listed in
the National Register of Historic Places and bears a Texas
Historical Marker.
Courtesy
Bishop Daniel E. Flores and Father Juan Pablo Davalos celebrated an outdoor Mass
and led a procession at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Santa Rosa on Dec. 8, 2012. The
parish hosted a three-day celebration to mark the 75th Anniversary of the church’s
start as a mission. It was later established as a parish in 1967.
pregnancy tests, sonograms and
baby items for women in crisis
pregnancy, the McAllen Pregnancy
Center operates a sidewalk
counseling ministry outside the
abortion clinic in McAllen.
Hake said the abortion clinic
receives a steady stream of visitors.
“We’re out on the sidewalk
every day and we see quite a few
women going in and out,” Hake
said.
Many of the women the
sidewalk counselors serve try to
ignore them; others are receptive
to their message and ultimately
choose life for their babies.
Through the efforts of the
McAllen
Pregnancy
Center,
hundreds of babies have been
saved.
Phyllis Young had an abortion
at the age of 18, three months after
the Roe v. Wade ruling. It was a
“horrific” experience that changed
her life completely. She hopes that
other women will be spared the
pain and grief that she felt after her
abortion.
Young is the site leader for
Rachel’s Vineyard in the Rio
Grande Valley. Rachel’s Vineyard is
a Catholic healing retreat for those
who have participated in or had
an abortion. The retreats are held
twice a year.
“I really didn’t realize at the
time how much it affected me until
after I received my healing then
I realized just how much it had
impacted my life,” Young said. “You
can’t take your own child’s life and
it not affect you in a multitude of
ways.”
Young said that women –
and men – affected by abortion
often engage in self-destructive
behaviors, including drug and
alcohol use, promiscuity, eating
disorders and abusive relationships.
Many also attempt or commit
suicide and push God out of their
lives because of the guilt they feel.
There are also less obvious
effects of abortion, Young pointed
out, some of which she experienced
firsthand.
“I had such a fear of losing
another child, that when I did have
children, I was obsessively ‘overmothering’ them outside of what
was normal,” she said. “I have seen
all of these post abortion stresses
and more. People don’t realize that
abortion affects you in so many
ways. It really takes a toll.”
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January 2013
DIOCESE 15
»Media Resource Center
» Calendar of Events
Recommended by SISTER MAUREEN CROSBY, SSD
Coordinator of the Media Resource Center - Diocese of Brownsville
Our Friend,
Martin
Martin Luther
King, Jr. The
Man and the
Dream
Format:VHS
Production: A&E (1998)
Length: 50 minutes
The facts: He was a powerful voice
for peace, justice and change. Like so
many who dare to confront society’s
evils, he died a martyr. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. changed race relations
in America forever. This provides a
glance at his tireless efforts to end
racial injustice through the Civil Rights
movement.
Tattoos,
fact, adequately covered. Placing
tattoos in unusual positions on
the body may tempt us to dress
immodestly so as to assure that the
tattoo is visible and exposed for
general viewing, in the same way
that elective breast augmentation
may tempt some women to lower
their necklines.
Tattoos, chosen as a permanent change to one’s own body,
may also suggest issues with
psychological self-acceptance.
One young woman wanting to get
a tattoo expressed her desire to
look “edgier,” after concluding that
she was just too “squeaky-clean”
looking.
The simple beauty of the human body constitutes a real good
and that basic goodness ought
to be reasonably safeguarded.
Permanent, radical changes to the
human body can indeed signal an
unwillingness to accept its fundamental goodness, and in certain
cases of very radical tattooing and
body piercing, one can even discern a subtle form of self-rejection
and self-mutilation.
There is a spiritual dimension
involved as well. Russell Grigaitis,
who now regrets getting several
tattoos in his 20’s, argues in a National Catholic Register interview,
“God created the body. A tattoo is
like putting graffiti on a work of
art.” He compares it with trying to
improve a painting by Michelan-
Length:224 pages, paperback
Author: Julie Dortch Cragon
Publication: Our Sunday Visitor
(2012)
The facts:This animated time-travel
adventure features an all-star cast and
is a delight for kids and adults alike.
When Matt, a black teenager, has to
go on a class field trip to the museum
of Martin Luther King Jr., he thinks that
he’d rather play baseball. But the trip
turns into an exciting adventure when
he and his best friend, Randy, who’s
white, are sent back in time to meet Dr.
King.
to read a little bit of Scripture every day
plus an inspiring reflection. This is a
great resource for daily prayer.
gelo.
Some argue that there can be
good spiritual reasons for getting
tattoos. For example, people have
gotten Crosses or an image of Jesus
tattooed as a sign of permanent
commitment to Christ, or a ring
or a spouse’s name tattooed as a
sign of their marital commitment.
Yet isn’t a personal commitment
to Christ or to one’s spouse more
effectively manifested through the
realities of inner virtue and a life
of outward generosity than by a
tattoo?
It’s unsurprising that many
who got tattoos in their younger
days have grown to regret it later.
Pop musician Robbie Williams
remarked: “I wish it was like an
Etch-a-Sketch where I can wipe
them all out: it would be nice to
have a pure, clean body again.” The
American Academy of Dermatology reported in 2007 that “tattoo
regret” is now quite common in
the United States. Tattoo removal
is a costly and difficult procedure,
and can leave translucent areas on
the skin that never go away. The
most effective remedy, of course,
is to not seek tattoos in the first
place.
—
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.
Bishops’ Retreat
January 19
5 p.m.
Columbian Squire State Convention
January 31
6 p.m.
Fr. Jerome Jayasuriya 50th Anniversary
On going:
Mass at St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, 727 Bowie St., Alamo
8 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph Chapel of
Perpetual Adoration, 727 Bowie St.,
Alamo
Every Tuesday: noon – 6 p.m. at
UTPA/Edinburg
Holy Hour will be held Weekly every
Thursday at 7 p.m., 727 Bowie St.,
Alamo
Every Sunday: 6 p.m. & 9 p.m.
Confessions/Mass at UTPA-Edinburg
Jesus at My
Side 365
Reflections
on his Words
Format: VHS
Production: 20th Century Fox (1998)
Actors: Ed Asner, Angela Bassett,
Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah
Winfrey
Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña’s
January 7-11
January
»From the Bookshelf
»Worth Watching
SAT
Mission
Seguin
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
The facts: A fulfilling, yet simple way
Peace,
Terris emphasized our duty to help
build a world that services human
dignity and is directed toward the
common good, justice and peace.
The Holy Father said that
while the world has changed
significantly in the past 50 years,
“Pope John’s encyclical was and is
a powerful summons to engage in
that creative dialogue between the
Light,
life meaningful.
“The stars guided them, the
light guided them. So began the
concept that the truth is Jesus, the
light is Jesus.”
Father Daniels noted that the
feast of the Epiphany, which dates
back to the second century, is actu-
Blessing,
differently. Each one has a distinct
mission, spirituality and charism.
The religious priests, brothers
and sisters in our diocese serve in
a variety of ministries, in schools,
churches, hospitals, jails, the colonias and more.
Sister Leticia Benavides of the
Missionaries of Jesus, who serves
as a counselor at Catholic Chari-
Grandmother,
and listen to her stories years after
her passing); (2) The Nurturer,
Mentor, and Role Model serve as
nurturers who provide encouragement and support, especially in
times of crisis; and strive to find a
balance between encouragement
and control; (3) The Playmate
and Hero spend time with grandchildren reading books, taking
to the park, or having picnics. At
the same time they strive to be a
listening ear and be consistently
available regardless of the diverse
situations their parents may be experiencing due to health, finances
or stepfamily situations.
Miraculous
Medal
The Story of
Our Lady’s
Appearances
to Catherine
Labouré
Length: 107 pages, paperback
Author: Mary Fabyan Windeatt
Illustrator: Gedge Harmon Windeatt
Publication:TAN Books and
Publishers (1994)
The facts: Many are familiar with the
Marian apparitions in Mexico, Fatima and
Lourdes, but many do not know the story
of St. Catherine Labouré, the Daughter
of Charity to whom Mary appeared,
requesting that the Miraculous Medal be
stamped so that all who wear it would
receive great graces.
church and the world, between
believers and nonbelievers, which
the Second Vatican Council set
out to promote.”
The late pope’s plea for peace,
for respect for human dignity and
freedom and, more basically, for
respect for what is right and good,
holds out “a message of hope to
a world that is hungry for it, a
message that can resonate with
people of all beliefs and none,
because its truth is accessible to
all,” Pope Benedict said.
ally older than the feast of Christmas.
“We didn’t celebrate Christmas
in the early Church,” he said. “After
four centuries, at a time when Jesus’ identity was under attack, the
Church decided to establish a day
celebrating God becoming man.
And so, they established the feast
of Christmas. Really, the culmination of it is, the highest point, is the
Epiphany.”
ties of the Rio Grande Valley, said
that she also enjoys, “catching up,”
with the other religious in the diocese at this annual event.
“It’s a good time to get together and meet with the other sisters
and brothers and priests,” she said.
“It’s not just about celebrating
consecrated life but also about celebrating each other.”
Religious needing more information about the Mass and private
dinner may call (956) 702-4088 or
email [email protected].
Grandchildren bring joy, love,
laughter, energy, optimism, activity, youthfulness, and purpose
to the lives of grandparents as
well as new opportunities for
learning and new growth. At the
same time, grandparents provide
maturity, knowledge, stability, and
unconditional love. Perhaps one
of the roles in the “job description” of grandparent is to close the
GAP by living the G.A.P. (Guiding, Affirming, and Praying with
and for them).
My hope and prayer is that the
Lord will grant all grandparents
the wisdom and grace to embrace
their teaching and guiding role
and that grandchildren of all ages
seek the Holy Spirit in accepting
them as we all journey in this path
to wholeness and holiness.
1
Mary, Mother of God
(DiocesanOffices Closed)
1
New Year’s Day
4-6 Catholic Engaged Encounter
(Family Life Office)
6
Epiphany
8
Professional Day
(Office of Catechesis)
12 Sponsor Couple Training - I
English (FLO)
12-19 National Vocations
Awareness Week
19 Convalidation Conference
19 March for Life (Respect Life
Apostolate)
25 Spirit Awards Banquet
27 Mother Daughter Program
28 Brownsville Deanery
Listening Session at
Immaculate Conception
Cathedral, Brownsville
27- Feb 2 Catholic Schools
Week (CSO)
Febuary
2
Sponsor Couple Training II –
English (Family Life)
2
Knights of Columbus Youth
Conference: Enduring Faith
3
Sponsor Couple Training II –
Spanish (Family Life)
5
Professional Day
9
World Marriage Day
9
Teen Sexuality and
Relationship Retreat
(St Paul, Mission)
13 Ash Wednesday
14 Valentine’s Day
14 Advisory Team
16-17 Remarriage Retreat
16 Vital 3.0
18 President’s Day
19 Rite of Election
21 Rite of Election
22 Principals Retreat
(Catholic Schools Office)
22-23 CRS Food Fast
Weekend
23-24 Retiro Pre-Matrimonal
(Family Life)
Please submit your schedule to be
published in The Valley Catholic by the
first Friday of each month by email at
[email protected] or fax: (956) 784-5082.
16
DIOCESE
Our Catholic Family
Sharing memories, stories
The Valley Catholic
StoryCorps, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of
people from all backgrounds and beliefs, recorded interviews in McAllen and San Juan from Nov. 28 to Dec.
20 as part of its cross-country MobileBooth tour. StoryCorps’ MobileBooth—an Airstream trailer outfitted
with a recording studio—was parked at Diocese of Brownsville Pastoral Center in San Juan near the Basilica
of Our Lady San Juan del Valle from Dec.12 to Dec. 20. Stories will be archived at the American Folklife
Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear. KMBH-88FM, the Valley’s NPR station, will
air a selection of the local interviews recorded in the StoryCorps MobileBooth and create special programs
around the project. Segments of select interviews may also air nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The Valley Catholic
ABOVE: Bishop Daniel E. Flores shared his vocation story and stories about his grandmother and his
family in Zapata, Texas during a StoryCorps interview in December.
RIGHT: Deacon Francisco Flores, left, a deacon at St. Paul Catholic Church in La Puerta, and his son,
Father Alex Flores, a priest at St. Joseph the Worker in San Carlos, took some time to sit together for a
StoryCorps recording. Others who also shared their stories with StoryCorps include Bishop Emeritus
Raymundo J. Peña, Msgr. Patrick Doherty, and Fathers Rene and Oliver Angel.
To subscribe
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Catholic’s inaugural Wedding
Magazine
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For more information call (956) 781-5323
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View - Catholic Diocese of Brownsville

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