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Volume 8, Issue 3
‘God is always
victorious’
Pro-life efforts
continue in earnest
regardless of
Supreme Court
ruling
Serving More Than A Million Catholics in the Diocese of Brownsville
EL PAPA
EN PEÑITAS
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
McALLEN — On June 27, the
Supreme Court struck down regulations at Texas abortion clinics
that required them to comply
with standards of ambulatory surgical centers and required their
doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals.
The case challenged a 2013
Texas law, H.B. 2, placing the requirements on the state’s abortion clinics. Opponents of the law
claimed the requirements were
aimed at closing abortion clinics.
But the state and many pro-life
advocates maintained that the law
protected women’s health.
The ruling was met with sadness and disappointment at the
McAllen Pregnancy Center, a
Catholic, pro-life facility committed to saving babies from abortion. The staff and volunteers
of the center spend hours every
week on the public sidewalk
outside the local abortion facility praying as well as counseling
the women. They also attempt to
hand them literature about the
realities of abortion and information about the pregnancy center,
which provides free, confidential
services for women facing crisis
pregnancies.
The day the Supreme Court
ruling was handed down, the staff
and volunteers quickly received
affirmation that their ministry,
presence and prayers really do
matter.
Melinda Aleman, a young
mother who the staff had met on
the sidewalk and rescued from
having an abortion, visited the
McAllen Pregnancy Center for
the first time since having her
baby.
Aleman is well known by the
center staff and volunteers. An
image of Jesus on the Cross is visible in the sonogram she had at
the McAllen Pregnancy Center
after leaving the abortion clinic,
just moments before she was set
to have an abortion.
“This was truly something
incredible,” said Yolanda Chapa,
august 2016
Pope delivers
personal message
to Valley youth
The Valley Catholic
Photos by Amber Donaldson/The Valley Catholic
Top photo: Bishop Daniel E. Flores sits amongst the youth to watch a personal video message from Pope Francis at the first
World Youth Encounter/Encuentro Mundial de los Jóvenes on July 26 at St. Anne Parish in Peñitas. Bottom photo: The youth
celebrate the opening of the all-day event. See Page 14 for more photos and for the full text of the Pope’s message.
» Please see Pro-Life p.3
PEÑITAS — “God calls you
to create hope. God calls you to
receive mercy and to give mercy.
God calls you to be happy. Do not
be afraid. Do not be afraid. Risk
it all. Life is like that,” said Pope
Francis via a personal video message to the youth of the Diocese of
Brownsville.
On July 26, as millions of
youth from around the globe were
gathering for World Youth Day in
Krakow, Poland, the pope’s message was viewed at St. Anne Parish in Peñitas where a local World
Youth Day celebration was held.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores sat
» Please see Papa en Peñitas p.9
WORKS OF MERCY
THOSE WHO SERVE
‘DO NOT BE AFRAID’
EN
ÑOL
ENESPA
ESPAÑOL
Articulos sobre la lucha
provida y las obras físicas de
misericordia
“VERBUM MITTITUR
SPIRANS AMOREM”
(“The WORD is sent
breathing love.”)
Clothing the naked
Sister Maria T. Sanchez, MCDP
Full text of the Pope’s message
Page 3
Page 9
Page 14
Páginas 11-13
2
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic -
Catholics
urged to
fast, pray
for peace
Catholic News Service
MANCHESTER, N.H.
— Bishop Peter A. Libasci of
Manchester is urging Catholics
to pray and fast for peace in
response to the ongoing violence
in the U.S. and around the world.
“The current civil unrest in
our country, the acts of unspeakable violence in Orlando, Dallas,
Baton Rouge, and in Nice,
France, the violence and political
instability in Turkey, and the
ongoing suffering in the Middle
East — all are clear expressions
of a rampant evil in our time,”
Bishop Libasci wrote in a July 17
statement, saying: “Individual
Catholics as well as the church as
a whole must do more.”
The letter, addressed to New
Hampshire Catholics, asked
them to commit to a day of
fasting and partial abstinence
Aug. 12. He also directed that
special prayers for peace be said
at Masses Sunday, Aug. 14, and
urged Catholics to also go to
Mass Aug. 15 to say additional
prayers for peace.
Meanwhile, the Holy League
based in La Crosse, Wisconsin,
and the Men of Christ are organizing a novena for the nation to
take place Aug. 15-Oct. 7.
In his letter, Bishop Libasci
also asked “religious leaders of
all persuasions, and all people
of good will” to join Catholics
in solidarity “as a visible sign of
hope in our world.”
“I am calling on all people to
pray for an end to violence,” he
wrote.
“Regardless of our differing
religious beliefs, or differences
in culture and background,
the ongoing bloodshed in our
country and abroad unites us in
shock, horror and outrage. Let us
turn to Almighty God with acts
of atonement and reparation and
ask him to grant to our world his
healing peace.”
Bishop Libasci, writing nine
days before a priest was killed
while celebrating Mass near
Rouen, France, said: “Calamity
in our streets and the rampant
seething of perverse evil in our
world, always seeking more to
devour, causes me to wonder
» Please see Novena for Nation p. 15
Election year requires careful discernment
Bishop Daniel E. Flores shared his
thoughts about this election year
in a recent interview for Crux,
an online news site. The following is his response to some of the
questions.
We are in the middle of an absolutely insane election cycle.
I’m assuming many of the
assumptions and lenses offered
by the talking heads on CNN,
Fox News, and MSNBC are not
shared by the people to whom
you minister. What might be
learn from their approach?
Media outlets tend to frame
the discussions around winners
and losers, conservative and
liberal, who has power and who
wants it. The people in my diocese, as in most places around
the country, are first concerned
about being able to raise a family
and provide for their children.
I learn a lot from parents doing
their best to provide a safe and
happy home. There are many
struggles; I see a lot of heroism.
Parents worry that their kids
might become disconnected,
or choose a wrong path due
to cynicism. Young people are
worried about being trapped in
an economic system over which
they have no control, or about
not being able to pursue an
education because of economic
or immigration law restraints.
There is concern about violence,
not just here, but in Mexico. And
not just because it affects our
society in some abstract way, or
because it threatens them, but
because it affects our neighbors.
In my diocese there is a
strong neighborly concern for
the good of the community. Republicans and Democrats often
work together on the local level
for improving education, trying
to keep kids in school and connected, and for attending to the
needs of the poor. As I already
mentioned there is great generosity here. There is also a sense
that the social fabric is tearing.
People know instinctively that
the best way to address that is to
help each other by acts of kindness and practical assistance.
The thing I most commonly
hear from folks I talk to here in
the Rio Grande Valley runs like
this: “Why is it that one party is
blind to the dignity of the unborn
child, and one party is blind to
the dignity of the immigrant?
Why does one party exalt choice
above even life, and the other
exalts economic power above
even the good of family life?” Such
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Bishop Daniel E. Flores
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Gustavo Morales
(956) 266-1527
august 2016
Gilbert Saenz
(956) 451-5416
MOST REVEREND
DANIEL E. FLORES
BISHOP OF BROWNSVILLE
questions indicate that many see
through the rhetoric of both parties, and are aware that in diverse
ways each promotes a power
structure that leaves the vulnerable and defenseless aside.
I tell local Catholics who
have influence in the Democratic Party to be a strong voice
on behalf of the dignity and
right to life of the unborn child
within the party. Defending
the unborn child is the single
most decisive social justice issue
of our time. The “higher-ups”
in the party need to hear their
voice. I tell local Catholics who
have influence in the Republican
Party to be a voice of a comprehensive immigration reform
that is family-friendly and that
establishes a rule of law that
can tell the difference between
a criminal immigrant and an
immigrant fleeing criminals. The
“higher-ups” in the party need
to hear their voice. I could testify
to the power structures of both
major parties that there is more
diversity within their party ranks
than they are willing to acknowledge. A lot of pro-life Democrats
here. A lot of pro-immigration
reform Republicans here.
The media may frame things
in terms of right and left, or
winners and losers, but they
could learn something from
the regular folks who see things
in terms of hopes for children,
helping people in trouble, trying
not to forget the little ones, the
elderly, the sick and the dying,
the unemployed and the poor.
I’ve heard some Catholics say
that, yes, Donald Trump has a
position on immigration that is
at odds with the teaching of the
Church, but that is based on a
prudential judgement and not
one of the “Five Non-Negotiables.” What is your response to
this kind of argument?
Prudence judges circumstances in light of principles that
are rightly ranked in terms of
gravity. Keeping that in mind,
circumstances are different this
year. It is not possible now to
take the issue of Immigration
policy only as a matter of having
diverse positions on a badly
needed reform of the system.
One could argue that in prior
elections there was a dispute between the parties about whether
a reform was needed, and about
what principles would guide
a possible reform. This year,
there is a proposal on the table
to proceed with mass deportations of undocumented men,
women and children. One cannot in conscience countenance a
program of mass deportation. It
is a brutal proposal. In some instances, particularly dealing with
the Central American mothers
and children, and deportations
into some parts of Mexico, we
are dealing with placing them
in proximate danger of death. I
consider supporting the sending of an adult or child back to a
place where he or she is marked
for death, where there is lawlessness and societal collapse, to
be formal cooperation with an
intrinsic evil. Not unlike driving
someone to an abortion clinic.
So, even as a Catholic finds the
radical pro-abortion platform of
the other party beyond reprehensible, there is no comfort for
the conscience of a Catholic on
the side of a radical program of
mass deportation. Both positions are assaults on the dignity
of life, and in the case of mass
deportations, can be linked to
no. 24 of Faithful Citizenship
(FC): “treating the poor as disposable.” Overall, I think we have
to look at no. 35-38 of FC very
carefully. We should all read it
and think about its implications
between now and Election-Day.
I think it is worth citing number
36 in particular:
FC no. 36: When all candidates hold a position that
promotes an intrinsically evil act,
the conscientious voter faces a
dilemma. The voter may decide to
take the extraordinary step of not
voting for any candidate or, after
careful deliberation, may decide
to vote for the candidate deemed
less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more
likely to pursue other authentic
human goods.
It seems that if a Catholic
votes for either major candidate, he or she must do so with
a conviction that the evil the
candidate supports can be successfully opposed, and that other
aspects of their policy proposals
are sufficiently good to warrant voting for them. Thus if a
Catholic votes for a pro-abortion
candidate or for a pro-mass
deportation candidate, for what
FC calls “morally grave reasons,”
because the candidate is deemed
less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more
likely to pursue other authentic
human goods there should be
conscientious commitment by
the voter to oppose strenuously
the pro-abortion agenda or the
pro mass-deportation agenda
respectively And there are other
factors that FC rightly asks us to
think about, including a candidate’s commitments, character,
integrity, and ability to influence
a given issue.
And note, that I have not
even addressed the issues of
targeting innocents (who may
be relatives of evil-doers) in
military actions, or indiscriminate use of drones in warfare.
Nor have I mentioned a great
many important issues raised in
FC and which we must take into
account.
Another kind of response
from Catholics is to refuse to
participate. I’ve heard calls to
“fast from voting.” The philosopher MacIntyre insisted back
in 2004 from that when we are
given two bad options we must
choose neither. What do you
think of this approach?
Yes, well, FC no. 36 does
recognize that possibility.
MacIntyre had in mind a broad
awareness that the two political parties are in different ways
locked into positions that contravene the common good.
It may be that a Catholic
in conscience judges that both
major candidates are likely to be
successful in enacting intrinsically evil policies. Here, the voter
makes a judgment that the effect
of voting for such a candidate
offends the divine justice-- even
if one commits to opposing the
evils a candidate supports-- to
such an extent that it stains their
conscience before God. I know
a number of ordinary folks who
are actively contemplating the
option of not voting in the presidential race. Others are thinking
about supporting a third-party
or write-in candidate. I could
understand such a position, but
hasten to add that we are still
bound in some way to participate in the political process, in
this case by voting in Congressional races, and state and local
races for candidates who do in
fact support the protection of
unborn life, who will work for
economic and racial justice,
justice for immigrants, and care
for the poor and marginalized.
Hence, the decision not to support one of the main presidential
candidates is not a decision
to abstain from the political
process altogether, but rather a
decision to register a voice that
says the two major presidential
options are unacceptable, while
at the same time voting with a
well-formed conscience in other
races.
No doubt many Catholics
will in fact vote in the presidential election. I pray they do so
with great seriousness, and with
a clear mind about what in the
candidate’s positions is worthy of
support, and what in his or her
positions must be actively opposed should they be elected.
When MacIntyre says “Why
should we reject both? Not primarily because they give us wrong
answers, but because they answer
the wrong questions,” I have great
sympathy for his perspective.
The fact is that for a Catholic
the current positioning dynamic
that governs the party system is
precisely not adequate because it
does not flow from a considered
reflection on what is indeed
good about, in and for human
life. In that sense, both political
parties too often give answers to
the wrong questions. A Catholic
feels this keenly when faced with
a shrill rhetoric that emanates
from both corners of the ring.
Still, Catholicism is ever realist about the political dynamic
in history. We neither expect
it to usher in the eschaton, nor
do we consider it useless. We
try to work with it, participate
» Please see Election p. 8
Bishop Flores’ Schedule - AUGUST 2016
Michael Kent
(956) 566-7075
Aug. 2
5 p.m.
La Joya
Mass - Community Wedding Vows & 50th Parish Anniversary
Our Lady, Queen of Angels
Aug. 6
7 p.m.
Brownsville
Closing Mass - Ministerio de Sanacion Interior at Jacob Brown
Aug. 22
7 p.m.
La Feria
Mass - Annual Queen Ship of Mary Celebration at St. Francis
Xavier
Aug. 27
10 a.m.
Brownsville
Mass - 50th Parish Anniversary at Holy Family
august 2016
DIOCESE
- The Valley Catholic
3
Valley residents, volunteers clothe thousands
More than 40,000
immigrants have
received assistance
Editor’s note: Join us as we
witness mercy in action each
month during the Year of Mercy
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
McALLEN — Miguel Angel
Maldonado and his eight-yearold son, Alex left Honduras with
a few documents and the clothes
on their backs. They traveled
through three countries and two
international border rivers en
route to the United States. They
were held in detention by Border
Patrol for three days before being released with a future court
date to appear for an immigration
hearing.
They were taken to the respite
center at Sacred Heart Parish in
McAllen where they showered
and changed their clothes for the
first time in 15 days.
“Fifteen days,” Miguel Angel
Maldonado repeated in Spanish,
his hair still wet from his shower.
“I never thought I would appreciate clean clothes as much as I do
right now. We feel like new.”
Freshly showered, father and
son Tomas and Jose Luis Gomez
of Guatemala smiled as they sat
down to eat lunch.
When asked how they felt after taking a shower and changing
their clothes, Tomas Gomez responded, “Suave!” (great).
They had not bathed or
changed their clothes in six days.
The vast majority of the
clothes given out since the respite
center opened in June 2014 has
been donated by local residents.
Tables, plastic bins, shelves and
clothing racks are stocked with
clothing and shoes, separated by
size, item and gender. This makes
it easier for the volunteers who
are assisting the families to find
what they need quickly.
More than 40,000 immigrants
have received assistance at the respite center.
Volunteers spend hours sorting and organizing the clothing
each week. They also assess what
items are lacking. Oftentimes, the
needs of the center come to light
via media reports and posts on
social media and the public responds with donations.
“There is always work to do as
far as the clothing goes – and it’s
a blessing,” said Francisca Mondragon of Mission, a regular volunteer at the center. “Thanks be
God we have plenty of donations.”
McAllen resident Nancy Ruiz
brought in a large donation of
clothing, shoes, backpacks and
toys on July 18, items she and several friends collected.
“We are blessed and fortunate
that we want for nothing,” said
Ruiz, a parishioner of San Cristobal Magallanes & Companions
Church in Mission. “The least we
can do is bring what they need.”
Ruiz has donated clothing and
food to the center several times.
She says she prays for the immigrants and is happy to assist them
as they get on their feet.
“I pray that someday they do
well enough to pay it forward,”
she said.
Fany Cruz of La Ceiba, Honduras, arrived at the center with
her three children, ages five,
The corporal
works of mercy:
Feed the hungry;
Give drink to the thirsty;
Clothe the naked;
Shelter the homeless;
Visit the sick;
Visit the prisoners
Bury the dead.
Photos by The Valley Catholic
Top: Freshly showered mother-of-three
Fany Cruz of La Ceiba, Honduras was all
smiles on July 18 at the respite center at
Sacred Heart Parish in McAllen. “We’re
super happy because we’re clean!
We hadn’t bathed in five days.” Right:
Respite center volunteers spend hours
sorting and organizing clothing each
week.
seven and 10. She was preparing
to travel New Orleans to reunite
with her husband. Volunteers
gave her and her children clothing and even light sweaters for the
trip.
“I am grateful for the clothing
and everything else we have received,” Cruz said. “This journey,
traveling alone with my children,
has been very scary at times, but
the kindness we have encountered here has made it bearable.
Tenemos esperanza de salir adelante.” (We have faith we can succeed.)
Pro-Life
continued from pg. 1
founder of the McAllen Pregnancy Center. “On the day the
Supreme Court ruled against us,
she and her baby, Ricardito, came
to visit us.
“To us, it was like God saying,
‘yes, the Supreme Court has ruled
against you, but I am all the way
in favor of what you do here and
this is my proof.’”
Images of the “miracle sonogram” had been shared amongst
the staff and volunteers, but not
with the media, Chapa said.
“It’s time to let everyone in
the diocese know – and hopefully they can pass the word on
– about how God is so present in
this ministry and how much he is
against abortion and in favor of
life,” she added.
The next day, another young
woman and her baby who were
saved from abortion also visited
the center and thanked them.
“We believe it was yet another
message from the Lord saying,
‘Look, you all are doing the right
thing. I know you are really discouraged, you are thinking that
this is all going to come to an end,
but no, God is always victorious.
You have to persevere. You have
to remain grounded spiritually
and just have faith and trust and
The Valley Catholic
A sonogram of Melinda Aleman’s baby boy Ricardo, who is now five-months-old,
appears to show an image of Jesus on the cross.
the Lord will do the rest.’”
Melinda shares her story
Aleman, a resident of La Joya,
was 19-years-old and already had
a toddler at home when she found
out she was pregnant again.
“I didn’t want it,” she said. “I
wasn’t working or anything so I
thought the baby was going to
come here to suffer.”
She discussed the pregnancy
with her grandmother, who offered her the money for an abor-
tion. The two of them made several trips to the abortion clinic in
McAllen over a few days to make
payments.
“Every day, when I got home,
I was talking to God and asking
him to give me a signal on what
to do,” Aleman said.
On the day she was scheduled to have the abortion, she
and her grandmother parked in
the wrong parking lot – and away
from the “pro-choice escorts”
from the abortion clinic who attempt to shield the women from
the pro-life sidewalk counselors.
There were several prayer
warriors present on the sidewalk,
including one who was carrying a
cross and another holding an image of Our Blessed Mother.
“Everything was by the hand
of God,” said Sister Julia Onunkwo of the Daughters of Mary
Mother of Mercy, who was recently named the executive director of the McAllen Pregnancy
Center. “Her parking in the wrong
lot gave us an opportunity to talk
to her. Had the escorts had been
there, it would have been difficult.
“We gave her our literature
and promised to help her. We
even offered to have a baby shower for her. I could tell Melinda
was sad and confused. She looked
at her grandmother for guidance,
but her grandmother didn’t say
anything and they walked into
the clinic.”
Aleman was in the room
where she was to have scheduled
to have the abortion when she
excused herself to go to the restroom.
“I started crying uncontrollably,” she said. “When I saw the
people holding the big cross and
the picture of the Virgin Mary, I
felt bad. I thought maybe this is
the signal from God to keep my
baby. I took the pamphlet that
Sister Julia gave me out of my
pocket and read it. I went and
got my grandmother and we left
the abortion clinic. I couldn’t go
through with it.”
“God didn’t want this baby
to die,” Sister Onunkwo added as
five-month-old Ricardo sat in her
lap.
As promised, the staff and
volunteers hosted a baby shower
for Aleman and have stayed in
contact with her, offering her support, prayers and encouragement.
Aleman said she is grateful
the prayer warriors and sidewalk
counselors were there.
“They made the difference,”
she said. “When you see them, it
makes you think twice. I thank
God they were there. I think if
they hadn’t been there, something
else would have happened.”
—
With information from Catholic
News Service
DIOCESE
»Women en la Frontera
The Valley Catholic - august 2016
4
»Back to school
Because the mercy of God knows no limits
W
hy Peñitas, in a
colonia known as
Pueblo de Palmas?
Why such a remote area along
the U.S.-Mexico border where
many in our own Rio Grande
Valley here in South Texas have
never visited? And why would
the Holy Father send a message
to the people of a rural area
that some say is “insignificant”?
These are questions Father
Michael Montoya, a Missionary
of Jesus priest, who is pastor of
St. Anne Quasi-Parish in Peñitas, Texas and its three missionary churches, continues to hear
as he was finalizing plans for
a World Youth Encounter/Encuentro Mundial de los Jovenes
on July 26. This local celebration, which coincided with
World Youth Day in Krakow,
Poland started off as an idea to
help the young people in one of
the poorest areas in the country
see how they are connected
with the Church and young
people from around the world.
Given the extreme poverty
levels in the community and
their immigration status, it is
impossible for most to travel.
In Peñitas, explains Father
Montoya, traveling even from
their homes to church comes
with risk. Some fear the real
danger that if they are pulled
over for even a minor driving infraction, they could be
deported. Father Montoya
points to what he refers to as a
“military presence” in the area.
There is a no shortage of local
police, sheriff ’s deputies, state
Brenda
Nettles Riojas
Editor of The
Valley Catholic
troopers, U.S. border patrol
agents and National Guard
patrolling the area located just
miles from the U.S.-Mexico
border.
“It’s a constant reminder
to the people that something
is not right. We live so close to
the wall that divides families,
it affects self-identity. All the
images we receive from the
outside are negative. It’s always
connected to the border, always
connected to the things we cannot do,” said Father Montoya.
Add to this the poverty
and lack of basic infustructure
in some neighborhoods that
do not even have sewage and
water lines. “There are many
circumstances,” Father Montoya said, “that make it difficult
for the people. They think they
are forgotten.”
But they are not forgotten.
Today they are celebrating after
learning that the Holy Father
prepared a personal message
for the youth of the diocese,
specifically for the youth attending the Encuentro Mundial de los Jovenes at St. Anne
Church in Peñitas.
“The parish of St. Anne is
beyond happy. Things like this
don’t happen to a place like
Peñitas,” said Father Montoya.
“The pope is sending a message to us! I think that is proof
enough, that the love of the
Church for our poor people is
really palpable, it’s real.”
So even before they heard
the message, the community
celebrated the fact that a message was on its way, that the
Holy Father took the time to
think of them.
As Father Montoya stressed,
the idea of hosting the encuentro in Peñitas was to help the
people witness that “the mercy
of God knows no limits within
a Church that knows no borders,” “that it reaches even the
remotest part of the world. We
don’t have to be in the center of
power to be recognized by the
Church.”
Forgetting perhaps, that the
infant Jesus chose to be born in
the small town of Bethlehem
and not a city center, many
doubted that such an event like
the encuentro could happen in
such an “out of the way” place.
The people of Peñitas and surrounding communities proved
otherwise. “Not everyone can
travel to Poland for World
Youth Day,” explained Father
Montoya, “but we believe that
even in our area, a profound
and meaningful encounter
with the world’s youth can be
organized.”
“It’s a re-imagining,” Father
Montoya said, “of who we
are. We are not defined by the
border, we are defined by our
culture and by our faith.”
This is truly a testament
that the mercy of God knows
no limits. It should also serve
as a reminder to each of us that
no matter where God places us,
no matter where we stand in
the world, we each matter and
must do what we can to reach
out to those in need and foster
a “culture of encounter.”
Some people may still be
asking, “Why Peñitas?” Three
Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who
have been living and helping
in the area for 12 years will
tell you, because the people
of God here have a deep faith
that is not daunted by poverty
or other hardships they may
endure.
The rich faith of the people
moved the ICM sisters – Sister
Carolyn Kosub, Sister Emily
Jocson and Sister Fatima Santiago to remain in the area after
they arrived in 2004 to help
rebuild the community after it
was devastated by a tornado.
Through an outreach center
they started, Proyecto Desarollo Humano, this underserved
area started to blossom. They
also built St. Anne Church in
2009. They never dreamed it
would become a mother church
of a parish four years later, or
that one day, on the feast of St.
Anne, the Holy Father would
send a personal message to
the youth of that parish. In the
words of ICM Sister Kosub,
“God has certainly worked
wonders.”
»Family Life
The ABCs of building a lifelong marriage
I
t takes a lifetime to build
a Marriage! For those of
us who are married, it is
always important to remember
that it takes many elements
to continue to build a lifelong
marriage regardless of how
many years we have been wed.
My husband Mauri and I met
when I was 14 years old and
he was 16; dated for five years
and married at 20 and 22 years
of age. After almost 42 years of
marriage, we still need guidance and sometimes a little
tweaking to keep the marriage
growing as we continue to
change physically, emotionally
and spiritually.
The following are a few of
many elements I believe are
needed along the path to a “till
death do us part” marriage.
A: Affection and Affirmation. The authors of the
Marriage Enrichment Program
titled “Ten Great Dates” David
and Claudia Arp suggest that
couples give one another a
10-second kiss when they leave
for work in the morning and
upon their return. Participants
to some of the Marriage Building Programs our Family Life
office offers find this recommendation a fun reminder of
the importance of affection and
bonding.
Along with affection, affirmation is key to a loving
marital relationship and one
of the most affirming gestures
couples can give one another
Lydia Pesina
Director, Family
Life Office
is to express gratefulness for
all the small and big ways we
share life whether it is making
coffee or making love.
B: Blessing. Giving
one another a blessing daily
whether it is making the sign
of the cross on one another’s
forehead or praying together
morning or night reminds us
that our spouse, like everything
and everyone else in our life
belongs to God and we entrust
them to him for his blessing,
protection, and guidance.
At the end of Family Life
Office Marriage retreats and
programs, we ask couples to
face one another (eye to eye,
nose to nose) and holding
hands tell one another: “I love
you. I accept you. If I have hurt
you in any way, please forgive
me. Lord Jesus, guide us with
your Spirit and bless our marriage now and always. Amen.”
(And they seal it with a kiss
and a blessing.)
C. Communication. Clear
communication is essential in
marital relationships. Women,
men are not mind readers!
Years ago, when our daughter was a child, Mauri asked
me: “What would you like for
Christmas? And I told him, Oh
nothing. Whatever we can buy
for Liana is great. Christmas
eve, after midnight Mass, we
were opening Christmas gifts
and I asked Mauri: Where’s my
present? He said, I asked you
what you wanted and you said
nothing. To which I responded:
I didn’t mean nothing nothing!” He asked me a very clear
question and I gave him a very
clear answer: nothing! Wives,
we can’t expect our husband to
be mind readers!
D. Dialogue. Like the
word implies by it’s prefix- di,
dialogue takes two: talking and
listening and probably most
important, listening. Some
of us who are “talkers” can
sometimes assume that we are
communicating when we say
what is on our mind; however, the art of listening to the
other’s words, body language,
and heart is an art that needs
lifelong honing. Just like in
praying “to” God we need to
“listen to” His messages to us;
so to in marriage.
E. Enrichment. Finding
opportunities for enrichment
in good times and in difficult
times is essential. In times
when health issues or finances,
or job issues have caused stress
or anxiety in our marriage
and I have felt disconnected
from Mauri, I ask him to read
and dialogue from a marriage
book or program as part of
our night-time prayer and it
is helpful. Recently we were
reading from a book by Mary
Jo Pederson titled “For Better For Worse For God” and
questions such as: “What are
the best things about your marriage?” help keep us “tasting”
the wisdom that is within our
spouse.
On Aug. 27, 2016 Raul and
Dora Gonzalez from Austin
will be presenting a one-day
Marriage Enrichment Program
“Languages of Love “here in
our diocese. Call our Family
Life Office for info.
F. Fun and Forgiveness.
Mauri and I strive to have a
weekly date if at all possible.
The simple, inexpensive ones
seem to be the most fun such
as having a picnic with HEB
items for under $5 (Hint;
bolillos, deli meats, fruit, and
chocolate).
An anniversary gift once
was a six-pack of Shiner Bock:
Family Reunion with a date
(day) and a date (place or event
such as stargazing) stapled on
the carton for each of the six
beers. And of course, asking
for forgiveness often which we
always need, especially those of
us to whom it does not come
as easy.
G. God’s Work. Last but
not least, our marriage is our
vocation, it is God’s work in the
world. I pray that we marrieds
may remember to humbly
entrust it to Him.
A letter
from the
superintendent
Welcome Back! With the
summer months quickly coming to an end, it is my privilege
to welcome you back to the 20162017 school year. Whether in parochial, private or public schools,
may all students return from
their summer vacations with
open hearts and minds eager to
learn.
Specifically, I welcome back
students,
families,
teachers and
staff members to our
Catholic
schools. We
are reminded
daily
Sister Mello
of the many
blessings and
resources available to our Catholic schools: talented students,
supportive families, high-quality
teachers, excellent administrators, support staff members,
strong faith communities and
dedicated clergy, religious men
and women. Most importantly,
we are grateful for the support of
our Bishop Daniel E. Flores and
the financial support and sacrifices of the parishioners in our
diocese who generously contribute to make Catholic education
possible for our students.
The mission of our Catholic
schools in our diocese remains
to serve a vital role in the educational ministry of the Church.
Our schools are committed to
providing quality education in an
environment of spiritual, intellectual, and moral formation in
accordance with the teachings of
the Roman Catholic Church.
Our Catholic schools reflect
on-going continuous improvement efforts in all areas of curriculum. We commit ourselves
to teaching all subjects well, especially through the teaching of
the Good News of Jesus Christ;
to forming community through
which the presence of our God
is experienced among faith-filled
people; and to serving others following the example of our Lord.
At the same time, we are
aware of our duties to be good
stewards of the resources with
which we have been graced. With
the assistance of our parents, pastors, and school advisory councils, our schools remain, for the
most part, financially viable. We
continue to seek ways to benefit
from strategic purchasing efforts
and to access federal programs
for our students and teachers.
We have two main goals in
the Office of Catholic Schools
– our Catholic schools must be
Mission-driven, focusing on our
Catholic Faith and that our Catholic schools promote academic
excellence within a safe environment.
With these two goals in all
our Catholic schools, we pray
that this journey of a new school
year will welcome many new opportunities for joy, celebration
and continued successes.
Blessings,
Sister Cynthia A. Mello, SSD,
Superintendent
august 2016
FAITH
- The Valley Catholic
»Sunday
Readings
The Word of God in the Life
and Mission of the Church
AUGUST 7
(Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time)
Reading 1
WIS 18:6-9
Responsorial Psalm
PS 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
Reading 2
HEB 11:1-2, 8-19
Or
HEB 11:1-2, 8-12
Alleluia
MT 24:42A, 44
Gospel
LK 12:32-48
AUGUST 14
(Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary
Time)
Reading 1
JER 38:4-6, 8-10
Responsorial Psalm
PS 40:2, 3, 4, 18
Reading 2
HEB 12:1-4
Alleluia
JN 10:27
Gospel
LK 12:49-53
AUGUST 21
(Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary
Time)
Reading 1
IS 66:18-21
Responsorial Psalm
PS 117:1, 2
Reading 2
HEB 12:5-7, 11-13
Alleluia
JN 14:6
Gospel
LK 13:22-30
AUGUST 28
(Twenty-second Sunday in
Ordinary Time)
Reading 1
SIR 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Responsorial Psalm
PS 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
Reading 2
HEB 12:18-19, 22-24A
Alleluia
MT 11:29AB
Gospel
LK 14:1, 7-14
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 day.
Foster parents
needed
If interested
please call
(956)233-1811
5
»Making Sense of Bioethics
Cremains, respect for the human body
I
n the famous story of David
and Goliath, Goliath boasts
to the young David that after
he kills him, he will give his
flesh “to the birds of the sky and
beasts of the field.” He conveys
his profound disdain for David
by speaking this way, deprecating even his corpse. This offends
our sensibility that dead bodies should not be desecrated,
but should instead be respectfully buried. Proper disposition
and care of another’s body also
manifests our Christian faith in
the resurrection of that body on
the Last Day. Over time, this has
evolved into a deeper understanding about the handling of
corpses, including regulations
surrounding cremation.
For Catholics, cremation is
considered an acceptable form of
handling the human body after
death, although as noted in the
Order of Christian Funerals, cremation “does not enjoy the same
value as burial of the body.… The
Church clearly prefers and urges
that the body of the deceased be
present for the funeral rites, since
the presence of the human body
better expresses the values which
the Church affirms in its rites.”
Moreover, cremation can
lead to problematic practices,
which Cardinal Raymond Burke
references in a Pastoral letter to
the faithful in the Diocese of La
Crosse in the year 2000:
“With the growing practice of
cremation, there has also developed a certain lack of care for the
cremated remains of the dead.
Funeral directors who have been
asked to store the cremated remains report that those remains
often are left unclaimed by family
or friends. Those charged with
the arrangements for the funeral
rites of the deceased should see
that the cremated remains are
Tadeusz
Pacholczyk
Priest of the
Diocese of Fall
River, Mass.
interred or entombed at the
earliest possible time.…. It is not
permitted to scatter cremated
remains over a favorite place,
and it is not permitted to keep
cremated remains in one’s home
or place other than a cemetery.….
The cremated remains of one deceased person may not be mixed
with the cremated remains of another person. It is not permitted
to divide the cremated remains
and inter or entomb them in
more than one place.”
These clearly articulated concerns remind us of our obligation
to respect the remains of the
dead, even in their ashen state. By
becoming lax in our approach to
handling cremains, we can easily
betray the respect that is owed.
A story comes to mind
involving a friend of mine who
works as a pilot. He was asked
to take up a passenger in a small
plane for the “final repose of
ashes” into the ocean. As they
were taking off, he told the passenger, “Just be sure that you
don’t ever open that urn! It needs
to be thrown overboard when I
open the hatch window and give
you the signal.” The passenger,
however, was determined to do
it his way, and when the pilot
opened the window, he popped
off the top of the urn and tried to
scatter the ashes at sea. Instead,
the ashes were seized by the
violent air currents and scattered
throughout the internals of the
airplane, among all the instru-
mentation and dials, and in the
hair and clothing of both the
pilot and the passenger.
Another reason to bury cremains in the earth or inter them
in a mausoleum, rather than
scattering them abroad, is to
establish a particular place to be
able to visit and pray for the soul
of that person, in the physical
presence of their mortal remains.
The burial site serves as a point of
reference and connection to the
embodiment of that individual,
rather than reducing them to a
kind of vague and wispy nothingness.
Keeping Grandma’s ashes
on the fireplace mantle or up in
the attic alongside the antique
paintings is another problematic
practice that can easily end up
downplaying or denying her
human dignity, tempting us to
treat her mortal remains as just
another item to be moved around
among our various trinkets.
It can be helpful to encourage the family, and all who are
involved with cremains, to think
about ashes in a manner similar
to how we’d think about a full
body. Would we keep a casket
and corpse at home for a few
weeks? If not, then we shouldn’t
do the same with someone’s ashes. Regrettably, many people are
not thinking about cremains as
the revered remnants of a fellow
human being, but more as something to be disposed of whenever
it’s convenient for our schedule
and budget. We don’t approach
full-body caskets that way because we recognize more clearly
the duty to bury our beloved
dead. The sacred memory of our
departed family and friends, in
sum, calls us to carefully attend to
their remains with authentic and
objective gestures of respect.
Hispanic presence in the U.S. Church
H
ispanics/Latinos are the
fastest growing community in the United States.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau (census brief issued
May 2011), the total population
of U.S. Hispanics is 50.5 million with 60% being native born
and 40% being foreign born. In
the 2008 Presidential Election
9.7 million Hispanic Citizens
reported voting.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates a projected Hispanic population of 132.8 million by the year
2050, estimating a 30% of the
total U.S. population. According
the U.S. Catholic Conference of
Bishops (Secretariat for Cultural
Diversity), the percentage of Hispanics who are Catholic (2010)
is 68%, there are approximately
4,800 parishes in the U.S. with
Hispanic ministry, the number
of priests in the United States is
40,271 with approximately 3,000
of them being Hispanic, and 43%
of lay people in formation programs throughout the dioceses
are Hispanic.
These numbers give us a good
idea of the growth and the Hispanic/Latino presence both in the
United States and the Catholic
Church. The U.S. bishops have
always recognized the growing
presence of Hispanic/Latino
Catholics in the United States. In
1945 the Office for the Spanish
speaking was established under
Deacon
Luis Zuniga
Director, Office for
Pastoral Planning
& San Juan Diego
Ministry Institute.
the auspices of the National
Catholic Welfare Council and
promoted by Bishop Robert E.
Lucey, then Archbishop of San
Antonio.
In 1972, the First National
Encuentro called for a greater
participation of Spanish-speaking
in leadership and decisionmaking roles at all levels within
the Catholic Church and for the
establishment of structures for
ministry to be implemented.
Since the First Encuentro for
Hispanic/Latino ministry there
have been others; the Second
Encuentro (1977), the goal was to
be identified as a Pueblo Hispano:
Pueblo de Dios en marcha; a
community of Hispanic Catholics
that is diversed yet united by a
common faith, history and culture. The Third Encuentro (1985)
focused on Pueblo Hispano:
Voz Profetica, which allowed to
articulate a clear direction of the
Church’s response to the Hispanic presence as an integral part
of the Church.
In 1987, the Catholic bishops
unanimously approved the
first National Pastoral Plan for
Hispanic Ministry due to the
tremendous growth of Hispanics
in the Church. The plan provided
pastoral priorities and action for
Hispanic ministry at different
levels: regional, diocesan and
parish.
The national plan provided
a vision that calls for living and
promoting by means of a “pastoral de conjunto” (communion in
mission) a model of church that
is evangelizing, communal and
missionary.
The Fourth Encentro (2000)
held in Los Angeles, California
was an opportunity to experience and gather Catholics of all
cultures and races that make up
the Church in the United States.
The theme was “Many Faces in
God’s House, Unity in Diversity.”
The vision of the Church where
all are welcome from a profound
identity as a mestizo people that
recognizes itself as a pilgrim
people called to solidarity, and
to unity in diversity. Our diocese
participated in this great and
unforgettable event with a delegation of 24 participants which
included clergy and laity.
“Hispanic” was the term
used during in the 1970 Census
and was adopted by the church
leadership to define a people
» Please see Encuentro p.15
Courtesy photo
St. Bartholomew, one of the 12 Apostles,
is depicted in a prayer card. Many ancient
writers, and Catholic tradition, have
identified Bartholomew as Nathaniel in
the Gospel of John.
»Feast Day
Aug. 24
Spotlight
on St.
Bartholomew
Catholic News Agency/
EWTN News
St. Bartholomew is one of the
12 Apostles, mentioned sixth in
the three Gospel lists (Matthew
10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and
seventh in the list of Acts (1:13).
The name (Bartholomaios)
means “son of Talmai” which
was an ancient Hebrew name.
Besides being listed as an
Apostle, he is not otherwise
mentioned in the New Testament, at least not under the name
Bartholomew: many ancient
writers, and Catholic tradition
have identified Bartholomew as
Nathaniel in the Gospel of John
(John 1:45-51, and 21:2).
The Gospel passage read
at Mass on the feast of St. Bartholomew is precisely this passage from John (1:45-51) where
Nathaniel is introduced to Jesus
by his friend Phillip, and Jesus
says of him “Here is a true child
of Israel. There is no duplicity in
him (1:47).”
We are presented with the
Apostle’s character in this brief
and beautiful dialogue with the
Lord Jesus. He is a good Jew,
honest and innocent, a just man,
who devotes much time to quiet
reflection and prayer - “under
the fig tree (1:48)” - and has
been awaiting the Messiah, the
Holy One of God.
In encountering Jesus and
hearing his words, he found
himself face to face with the
Truth Himself, and, like John
the Baptist’s leap in his mother’s
womb at the Lord’s presence,
Nathaniel’s words lept out of his
own heart in a clear and simple
confession of faith, “Rabbi, you
are the Son of God! You are the
King of Israel!”
Nothing is known for sure
about the life of Nathaniel/Bartholomew after the Ascension
of Jesus, but tradition holds that
he preached the Gospel in India
and Armenia where he met his
death.
He was flayed and martyred
for the faith, which is why pictures often depict him with a
knife holding his skin.
6
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic - august 2016
Are you being called to lay leadership?
Become a commissioned Lay Ecclesial Minister in your parish
“The ordained ministry
of the priest of course, is
essential and irreplaceable.
Lay Ecclesial Ministers do not
replace priests or diminish
them in any way, but rather
assist them in building up
the Body of Christ by serving
the people of the parish, in
collaboration with deacons,
religious, lay employees and
volunteers. Indeed, our clergy and religious cannot and
should not carry out all the
work of the Church alone.”
The Lay Ecclesial Ministry Formation Program is designed to provide formation for the Laity in the
diocese by focusing on the human,
spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral
elements of the call to holiness. It is
an academic and pastoral formation
program for Catholic laity interested in service to the Church and
personal enrichment.
The program will assist laity
in any leadership position in the
Church for their life-long journey
of faith formation by deepening
their understanding and appreciation of the teachings of the Roman
Catholic Church: scripture, theology and authentic spirituality. The
three year process of formation
seeks to develop their skills and
abilities in order to become more
efficacious signs of Christ’s presence
among all of God’s people.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores
Letter to the Presbyterate on
Diocesan Formation Program
for Laity, June 2013
“Lay persons who devote themselves permanently or temporarily to some
special service in the Church are obligated to acquire the appropriate formation
required to fulfill their function properly.” (CIC. canon 231 and 235)
New Lay Ministry Formation Program begins September 2016
Sessions in English and Spanish to be held on Saturdays and/or Weekdays
Four different locations in the Rio Grande Valley
First Year
Theology of Ministry
Introduction to Theology
Christology
Introduction to Philosophy
Biblical Studies I (0T)
Ecclesiology
Sacramental Theology
Liturgy & Worship
Pastoral Theology
Second Year
Catholic Social Teaching
Biblical Studies II (NT)
Christian Prayer
Church History
Catholic Spirituality
Christian Morality
Pastoral Skills
Catholicism & World Religions
Theological Reflection
Third Year
 Certificate in Specialized Area of Ministry (SERVANT LEADERSHIP)
For more information on the Lay Ecclesial Ministry Formation Program please contact:
Deacon Luis Zuniga or Claudia Zapata at the DIOCESE OF BROWNSVILLE,
San Juan Diego Ministry Institute at (956) 784-5059 (Cindy Castillo, Secretary)
august 2016
DIOCESE
- The Valley Catholic
7
LIVING the Joy of the Gospel: News in photos
Hidalgo parish breaks ground
on new sanctuary
Courtesy photos
Bishop Daniel E. Flores and the
Oratory Fathers, Father Leo-Francis
Daniels, Father Mario Avilés and
Father Jose Encarnación Loya,
broke ground on a new sanctuary
for Sacred Heart Parish in Hidalgo
on July 2. The new 9,568-squarefoot church will seat 580.
Youth restore
homes in colonias
Praying for police safety
Photos by Derek Janik/The Valley Catholic
St. Joseph Parish in Edinburg held a
prayer vigil and peaceful rally for the
safety of police officers on July 16. The
event, led by Father Mishael J. Koday,
parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish,
showed solidarity and support for the
law enforcement agents who serve and
protect the community.
Courtesy photos
Adult mentors and more than 50 youth made improvements to 10 homes in the
Pueblo de Palmas colonia in Peñitas, in Citrus City and in north Alton from June
27-July 1 through the Catholic Youth Renovation Project.
The project, which is sponsored by St. Paul Church in Mission, started in 2010 and
promotes the corporal works of mercy and other Catholic teachings.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores stopped by several of the worksites on June 27 to visit with
the homeowners and bless their homes. He also provided words of encouragement
and support to the volunteers. The homes that were repaired are located in some
of the poorest areas of the county.
For video and more
photos visit our
Facebook page..
Summer Day Camp with Bishop Flores
Courtesy Photo
“The kingdom is not far when children are near,” posted Bishop Daniel E. Flores on his Twitter account on July 26 during a
Summer Day Camp held at Our Lady of Assumption Parish in Harlingen. The event was hosted by the parish and its mission
San Felipe Neri Church and the Diocese of Brownsville Development Office.
8
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic - august 2016
School healing through prayer, fellowship, service
Academy recovering
from major storm,
ready for first day
continued from pg. 2
in it, promote its progress, and
oppose proposals that harm the
human good. At its best, politics
is an imperfect expression of
imperfect human beings trying
to organize a society more justly.
The historical danger has ever
been that the political dynamic
becomes primarily a cynical
battle about power and control.
This is poison in a democratic
republic.
The Valley Catholic
MISSION — On the night
of May 31 and into the early
morning hours of June 1, Juan
Diego Academy sustained hundreds of thousands of dollars of
damage from a severe storm.
When school president and
principal Bob Schmidt arrived
on the campus on the morning
of June 1, he found that there
was no electricity, the gymnasium and chapel had sustained
heavy water damage, all the
roofs were in disrepair, windows were broken, several trees
were uprooted and there was
debris everywhere.
“It looked like someone
dropped a bomb on the place,”
Schmidt said. “It was gutwrenching.”
For Ben Garcia, who had
graduated from the school just
three days before the storm, the
scene was surreal.
“The school didn’t look itself,” he said. “It was as if it was
some other place. It didn’t replicate what I had known about
the school.”
The damage was so severe
classes were canceled for the
last few days of the school year.
St. Paul Parish in Mission immediately opened its doors to
the Juan Diego Academy staff
and a makeshift office was
opened there for several weeks
while repairs were made to the
school.
Election,
The school community also
jumped into action. On the evening of June 1, parents, students
and alumni gathered to pray the
Rosary. The next day, students
made more than 300 sandwiches for the families affected by
the storm.
“As Christians, we are called
to fulfill the needs of others
first,” said Sarah Ruiz, a senior
at Juan Diego Academy.
“The thing that was truly
remarkable to me, and it’s a testimony to our school, the first
thing our students asked was,
‘what can we do to help the
community, our neighbors?’”
Schmidt recalled. “It’s an affirmation that we are doing what
we are supposed to be doing as
a school.”
On the first Saturday after the storm, about 60 volunteers showed up to clear the
debris from the campus which
Schmidt says saved the school
thousands of dollars.
“People who we had never
met showed up to help, people
Courtesy photos
Top: Students, parents, alumni and staff of Juan Diego Academy prayed the Rosary on
June 1 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen after a storm caused major damage
to the school. Bottom: The storm caused damaged roofs, flooding, broken windows,
downed trees and more. Damages were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
who were just willing to help
because they are Catholic and
because we are all part of the
same diocese,” Garcia said.
The administrative offices at
Juan Diego Academy re-opened
on July 5 and Schmidt said the
school is expected to be fully
operational on the first day of
classes.
Finally, as we try to make our
way through this quagmire of
an election, do you have any
spiritual practices or prayers to
recommend?
In addition to reviewing the
major principles of Catholic Social Teaching, and Faithful Citizenship, I would recommend
meditating the Sermon on the
Mount slowly and frequently,
between here and Election-Day.
And I would recommend praying the Rosary for the well-being
of the nation, that the vulnerable
be protected, and that good may
come from the overall judgment
of the electorate. And I would
recommend meditating on the
Passion of the Lord, recognizing that he became flesh and
endured the Cross to remind
us that whatsoever we do to the
least of our brothers and sisters,
we do to him. That teaching follows us into the election booth
whether we realize it or not; it
is better that we realize it, and
vote a conscience that sees his
face in the consequences of our
decisions.
»Birthday & Anniversary Wishes
The list of birthdays and ordination anniversaries is provided so that parishioners may
remember the priests, deacons and religious in their prayers and send them a note or a card.
August
» Birthdays
2 Rev. Alfonso M. Guevara
13 Rev. George Kerketta
16 Rev. Joshua Carlos
19 Rev. Artemio Jacob
19 Rev. Patrick K. Seitz
21 Rev. Miguel Angel Ortega
28 Bishop Daniel Flores
28 Rev. Aglayde Rafael Vega
6 Sister Armida Rangel, MJ
11 Sister Monica Garza, OP
14 Sister Jeannine Spain, OSB
» Anniversaries
1 Rev. Raymond Nwachukwu
12 Rev. Jose Gualberto Cruz
24 Rev. Jose Juan Ortiz, CO
26 Msgr. Heberto M. Diaz, Jr.
28 Msgr. Luis Javier Garcia, JCL
10 Deacon Jesse E. Aguayo
18 Deacon Raymond Thomas Jr.
21 Deacon Gerardo Aguilar
26 Deacon Silvestre J. Garcia
26 Deacon Carlos Treviño
29 Deacon Reynaldo Q. Merino
September
» Birthdays
3 Msgr. Juan Nicolau, Ph.D., S.T.L.
4 Rev. Raymond Nwachukwu
7 Rev. Leonel Rodriguez Bazan
9 Rev. Jesus G.Garza
10 Rev. Jose E. Losoya, CO
13 Rev. Richard Lifrak, ss.cc.
16 Rev. Mario A. Aviles, CO
17 Rev. Rafael Jaime Cabañas
19 Rev. Thomas Luczak, OFM
22 Rev. George A. Gonzalez
23 Rev. Jose Rene Angel, JCL
26 Rev. Martin De La Cruz
30 Rev. Juan Rogelio Gutierrez
19 Deacon Ramiro Davila, Jr.
20 Deacon Agapito Cantu
22 Deacon Michael Myers
29 Deacon Roberto Ledesma
6 Sister Colette Kraus, SSND
21 Sister Nancy Boushey, OSB
27 Sister Mmachimerem
Onyemelikwe, DDL
» Anniversaries
1 Rev. Ignacio Luna
7 Rev. Paul Wilhelm, OMI
8 Rev. Rafael Jaime Cabañas
8 Rev. Richard Philion, OMI
9 Rev. Vicente Azcoiti
19 Rev. Esteban Hernandez
30 Deacon Martin Jaques, Jr.
HIGH MASS
FOR THE
SOLEMNITY OF THE
ASSUMPTION OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
At
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHEDRAL
1218 E. Jefferson St.
Brownsville, Texas
AUGUST 15, 2016
At
7:00 P.M.
Will be sung publicly in the
EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE ROMAN RITE
(COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS)
august 2016
DIOCESE
- The Valley Catholic
Those Who Serve: Sister Maria T. Sanchez, MCDP
9
»News briefs
Education catapults religious sister,
her nine siblings out of poverty
Sanchez family
traveled ‘up north’
to work in the fields
“Maria is the one who led
the way for all of us,” said San
Juanita Sanchez, Sister Sanchez’s
youngest sister, who is an attorney and the mayor of San Juan.
“I was three-years-old when she
graduated from high school and
so I watched her go to college
and graduate from college. For
me, the question was not ‘are
you going to college?’ but ‘where
are you going to college?’ It was
already ingrained in me by example.”
After graduating from college, Sister Sanchez was a classroom teacher in the Pharr-San
Juan-Alamo school district for
14 years, but the thought of be-
coming a religious sister was always there.
“I always wanted to be a nun,”
she said.
After years of discernment,
Sister Sanchez entered the community of the San Antoniobased Missionary Catechists of
Divine Providence in 1985.
The religious order is dedicated to serving the Hispanic
community.
“Why did I become a religious sister?” she said. “It’s a
whole sense of serving God and
his people, of knowing you will
be there to help others, to enter
into the struggles of the people
and to let them know they are
not alone.”
After her formation, Sister
Sanchez was in parish ministry, first at St. John the Baptist
Church in San Juan for two years
and then at St. Joseph the Worker
Church in McAllen for 11 years.
For her, the most rewarding
aspect was helping parishioners
find their own gifts and talents.
“You find ways to advocate
for them and also teach them to
advocate for themselves so they
can be leaders in their own parish,” Sister Sanchez said.
She also fought for the poor in
the community at large through
Valley Interfaith, advocating for
better health care, infrastructure
and educational opportunities.
She was a strong supporter of
South Texas College in its earliest days. Like her father, she also
believes in the value of education
and felt a community college was
needed in the Valley to make a
post-secondary education more
accessible.
Today, Sister Sanchez is back
in the classroom, serving as a
special education teacher in the
Progreso school district, continuing her ministry of service,
care-giving and advocacy with
special needs children.
and giving, regardless of any
challenges they may face.
“Make the most out of life!
Today take on life as it is and do
good for others,” Pope Francis
said.
The all-day event, the first
World Youth Encounter/Encuentro Mundial de los Jóvenes,
was organized by Father Michael
Montoya of the Missionaries of
Jesus, pastor of St. Anne Parish
in Peñitas and Giovanni Ada, director of youth ministry for the
diocese. Youth from as far away
as Corpus Christi participated in
the event.
When Father Montoya was
asked about life in Peñitas, he
noted that there is a lot of poverty in the area. Parts of the rural
community, a colonia known as
Pueblo de Palmas, lack basic infrastructure such as running water and sewage.
“They think that they are forgotten,” Father Montoya said.
Father Montoya also pointed
out that in his community, “the
faith life is vibrant, the people
are generous and the people are
hardworking.”
In planning the local celebration, Father Montoya and Ada
were asked why they weren’t
holding the event in a larger
town or in a convention center.
“The idea of doing this in
Peñitas is precisely to strengthen that message of the Church,
that the mercy of God knows no
borders, knows no limits, that it
reaches even the most remote
parts of the earth,” Father Montoya said. “We don’t have to be at
the center of power to be recog-
nized by the Church. I mean the
pope is sending a message to us.
I think that is proof enough that
the love of the Church for our
poor people is really palpable
and it’s real.”
The youth who attended
the event were blessed with the
presence of more than 40 firstclass relics of different saints
and blesseds, including a relic
of Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio,
who will be canonized Oct. 16.
The relic was provided by the
Diocese of Zamora in Michoacán, Mexico, the home diocese
of Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio.
Del Rio was martyred in
1928 during the Cristero wars for
refusing to renounce his faith.
The future saint was introduced
as a model for the young people
of the Rio Grande Valley at the
event.
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
SAN JUAN — Like many
Rio Grande Valley natives, Sister Maria Treviño Sanchez of the
Missionary Catechists of Divine
Providence, was a migrant farmworker in her youth.
She, her parents and her
brothers and sisters spent several months a year working “up
north,” usually in Moorehead,
Minn. where they would harvest sugar beets seven days a
week, from sun up to sundown
— except on Sundays when they
would work half a day to attend
Mass and “go into town.”
It was a paradoxical existence
for the family. They enjoyed being together and banding together for the common goal of supporting the family – but it was
hard work.
The Sanchez children were
encouraged to excel in their studies so the next generation would
not have to work in the fields.
Today, all 10 of them have good
jobs. Seven of them are schoolteachers and one is an attorney.
“My father – I think he was
ahead of his time – strongly believed in education, especially
for women,” Sister Sanchez said.
“He felt women needed to be
able to get a good job and take
care of themselves. For women,
it is harder to find work so he believed education was the key.”
Sister Sanchez, who is the
oldest of her siblings, earned a
bachelor of science in education
from what is now the University
of Texas Rio Grande Valley, setting the trend of higher education for her family.
Papa en Peñitas,
continued from pg. 1
amongst the more than 450 ecstatic youth outdoors under a
large white tent as the video message was played.
“He (the pope) is always
mindful of those who can’t make
the trip,” Bishop Flores said.
“He has taken the time to really
prepare a local message for the
youth of this diocese.
“It’s also a sign of his awareness and his love for the people
of the Rio Grande Valley because
he makes the effort to offer a
word of encouragement and a
word of consolation.”
The Holy Father also told the
youth to be happy, courageous
Courtesy photo
The Valley Catholic
Top photo: Sister Sanchez is pictured with her twin sister Rosa Solis on their fifth
birthday outside their humble San Juan home as their mother, Maria Luisa Treviño
Sanchez, looks on.
Bottom photo: Sister Rose Carmel Garay and Sister Maria Treviño Sanchez, right,
both Rio Grande Valley natives, belong to the Missionary Catechists of Divine
Providence, the first group of native born Mexican American women religious.
Queenship of Mary Celebration
Please join Bishop Daniel E. Flores
& the Schoenstatt Movement of the Brownsville Diocese
Monday, August 22, 2016, 7:00 P.M.
St. Francis Xavier Church
500 South Canal Street
La Feria, Texas
Courtesy photo
Sister Julia Onunkwo has helped save
countless babies from abortion through her
ministry at the McAllen Pregnancy Center.
McAllen Pregnancy
Center names new
executive director
The Valley Catholic
McALLEN — Sister Julia Onunkwo of the Daughters
of Mary Mother of Mercy was
named executive director of the
McAllen Pregnancy Center, effective July 15.
Sister Onunkwo has served
as an ultrasound technician and
counselor at the Catholic, pro-life
facility since 2010.
“Her experience, abilities
and passion for life will enhance
our organization’s ability to promote its mission and vision,” said
Yolanda Chapa, founder of the
McAllen Pregnancy Center.
A native of Nigeria, Sister
Onunkwo studied medicine in
the Dominican Reppublic with
a specialization in obstetrics and
gynecology.
Help us spread
the Good News
The communications team
for the Diocese of Brownsville
is exploring ways to expand The
Valley Catholic newspaper’s reach
and include more parish stories.
To do this, the team is looking
for volunteers from each parish
or deanery to serve as a Communications Ambassador for their
parish.
The Valley Catholic, the diocese’s newspaper, is an awardwinning publication that provides stories each month, many
of which are not covered by the
secular media. Here is a volunteer
opportunity to help spread the
Good News.
Please call (956) 784-5009 if
you are interested in joining this
ministry.
Become a Young
Adult Ambassador
Are you passionate about
young adult ministry?
The office of Campus &
Young Adult Ministry encourages you to apply for Bishop’s Young
Adult Ambassadors.
Applicants must either live,
work, study, and/or worship in
the boundaries of the Diocese of
Brownsville and be between the
ages of 18 and 39.
They must also demonstrate
an ability to speak and advocate
on behalf of their peers, work
collaboratively with other young
adults, and be open to using their
spiritual gifts, talents, and leadership abilities in the service of the
Catholic Church.
The deadline to apply is Aug.
12. All applicants will be contacted with the final decision the
third week of August. Download
the application at www.cyam.
net. Email [email protected] for
more information.
10
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic - august 2016
Marian Apparitions: Determining what is ‘worthy of belief’
Over the past 500 years, the
number of reported Marian
apparitions is somewhere in the
thousands, although the Vatican
has authenticated fewer than 20.
Such a wide gap indicates how
the official church exercises not
just caution but vigorous detective
work in its investigations.
Mary’s apparitions call us to
believe in Christ.
By MIKE NELSON
Catholic News Service
A recent case involving alleged Marian apparitions in the
Philippines — which the Vatican
effectively denied as “supernatural,” after a local archbishop had
declared them “worthy of belief ” — reflects the centuries-old
caution with which the church
regards reported appearances,
real or imagined, by Mary, the
mother of Jesus.
Over the past 500 years, the
number of reported Marian apparitions is somewhere in the
thousands, although the Vatican
has authenticated fewer than 20.
Such a wide gap indicates how
the official church exercises not
just caution but vigorous detective work in its investigations.
And that’s understandable,
since church leadership is acutely
aware of its own people’s desire
to find tangible signs of faith,
but also mindful of the skepticism, cynicism and even scorn
that many inside and outside the
church hold for “supernatural”
phenomena, including that connected to religious belief.
So it can take decades, even
centuries, to reach a decision
Catholic News Service
A woman prays at the site where Mary reportedly appeared on Apparition Hill in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The site is
where six village children first claimed to see Mary in June 1981
— some 300 years, for example,
for the church to approve the apparitions of Our Lady of Laus in
France that took place between
1664 and 1718. By comparison,
the approval by Bishop David L.
Ricken of Green Bay in 2010 of a
series of Marian apparitions that
occurred during 1859 in Champion, Wisconsin — the first time
apparitions in the U.S. received
official approval — happened in
the blink of an eye.
Four years ago, the Vatican
translated and published procedural rules approved by Pope
Paul VI in 1978 that had previously been available only in
Latin. “Norms Regarding the
Manner of Proceeding in the
Discernment of Presumed Apparitions or Revelations” was pub-
lished to help bishops determine
the credibility of alleged Marian
apparitions.
The process of verifying apparitions — like that of beatifying and canonizing saints — is
generally long, meticulous and
sometimes contentious, beginning with the local bishop.
In 1555, Archbishop Alonso
de Montufar of Mexico approved
the vision of Mary as reported by
St. Juan Diego in 1531, on Tepeyac hill in Mexico.
And on Sept. 12, 2015, Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles of
Lipa, Philippines, stated that the
alleged 1948 appearance of Mary
19 times to a novice in the Carmelite order in Lipa City had,
in fact, exhibited “supernatural
character and is worthy of belief.”
A few months later, however,
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith nullified the
declaration of Archbishop Arguelles.
And 35 years after six young
people first reported seeing Mary
appear in Medjugorje, BosniaHerzegovina, the Holy See has
not reached a final decision on
their authenticity, even as droves
of pilgrims journey to the site annually, and several of the young
“visionaries” give presentations
around the world.
The church’s official position
on Medjugorje, stated in 1990 by
the Yugoslavian bishops’ conference at Zagreb, and reiterated
most recently in 2013, is: “On
the basis of studies made to this
moment, it cannot be confirmed
that supernatural apparitions and
revelations are occurring here.”
Yet, the bishops added, “the
gathering of the faithful from
various parts of the world to
Medjugorje, inspired by reasons
of faith, requires the pastoral attention and care of the bishops
… so that a proper liturgical and
sacramental life may be promoted, and so manifestations and
contents which are not in accord
with the spirit of the church may
be prevented and hindered.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, while not using the
term “Marian apparitions” explicitly, nonetheless points out
that, “even if revelation is already
complete, it has not been made
completely explicit; it remains
for Christian faith gradually to
grasp its full significance over the
course of the centuries” (No. 66).
Acknowledging that some
“so-called ‘private’ revelations,
some of which have been recognized by the authority of the
church,” the catechism adds
quickly, “They do not belong ...
to the deposit of faith. It is not
their role to improve or complete
Christ’s definitive revelation, but
to help live more fully by it in a
certain period of history. Guided
by the magisterium of the church,
the “sensus fidelium” knows how
to discern and welcome in these
revelations whatever constitutes
an authentic call of Christ or his
saints to the church” (No. 67).
Which is why there is a process for investigating, reviewing
and approving or disapproving
Marian apparitions — a process
ultimately aimed at nurturing
a healthy spirituality and belief
among all of God’s people.
Faith, Family, Financial Well-Being
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Gift Shop
1158 East Jefferson Street OPEN 10AMBrownsville, Texas, 78520
5PM
Tel: 956-546-9927
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Bibles & Missals
Spiritual Reading
5/16
august 2016
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
- The Valley Catholic
11
‘Dios siempre es victorioso’
Prosiguen seriamente los esfuerzos provida
a pesar de la decisión de la Corte Suprema
Por ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
McALLEN — El 27 de junio, la Corte Suprema derogó
los reglamentos que obligaban
a las clínicas de aborto en Texas
cumplir con los estándares de
centros quirúrgicos ambulatorios y exigía a sus médicos tener
especiales privilegios de admisión en hospitales locales.
El caso impugnaba una ley
de Texas del 2013, H.B. 2, colocando los requisitos sobre las
clínicas de aborto del estado.
Los opositores de la ley argumentaban que los requisitos
estaban destinados a cerrar las
clínicas de aborto. Pero, el estado y muchos partidarios a favor
de la vida mantuvieron que la
ley protegía la salud de la mujer.
La decisión fue recibida con
mucha tristeza y decepción en
el McAllen Pregnancy Center,
un centro pro-vida y católico
comprometido a salvar bebes
del aborto. El personal y los voluntarios del centro pasan horas
cada semana en las banquetas
públicas afuera de la clínica local de abortos rezando y también aconsejando a las mujeres.
También tartán de entregarles
material para leer sobre las realidades del aborto e información
sobre el centro de embarazo,
que ofrece servicio gratuito y
confidencial para mujeres en
crisis, debido al embarazo.
El día que la decisión fue
dictada por la Corte Suprema,
el personal y los voluntarios
rápidamente recibieron afirmación de que su ministerio,
presencia y oraciones realmente importan.
Melinda Alemán, una
madre joven que el personal
había conocido mientras oraban en la banqueta y la rescataron de tener un aborto, visitó
el McAllen Pregnancy Center
por primera vez desde que tuvo
a su bebe.
Alemán es muy bien conocida por el personal y los voluntarios del centro. Una imagen
de Jesús crucificado es visible
en la ecografía que ella tuvo en
el McAllen Pregnancy Center
después de haberse salido de
la clínica de abortos, solo momentos antes de su cita para
tener un aborto.
“Esto fue algo realmente
increíble,” dijo Yolanda Chapa,
fundadora del McAllen Pregnancy Center. “El día que la
Corte Suprema falló en contra
de nosotros, ella y su bebe Ricardito, vinieron a visitarnos.
“Para nosotros, era como
Dios diciendo, ‘si, la Corte Suprema ha fallado contra ustedes, pero yo estoy completamente a favor de lo que ustedes
hacen aquí y esta es mi prueba.’”
Las imágenes de la “milagrosa ecografía” habían sido
compartidas entre el personal y
los voluntarios, pero no con los
medios de comunicación, dice
Chapa.
“Es tiempo de compartirlo
con la diócesis entera – esperamos que ellos puedan pasar la
voz – sobre como Dios está presente en este ministerio y cuanto está en contra del aborto y en
favor de la vida,” añadió.
El día siguiente, otra joven
The Valley Catholic
Cuando se les preguntó cómo se sentían después de haberse tomado un baño y
cambiado su ropa en el centro de acopio en la Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón en
McAllen, Tomas Gómez (lado derecho) respondió, “¡Suave!”
Los generosos residentes
del valle, voluntarios visten
a miles de inmigrantes
La gran mayoría
de la ropa ha sido
donada por locales
The Valley Catholic
Un crucifijo apareció en la ecografía de Melinda Alemán cuando estaba
embarazada de su hijo, Ricardito, que ahora tiente cinco meses de edad.
y su bebe que fueron salvados
del aborto también visitaron el
centro y les agradecieron.
“Creemos que fue otro
mensaje de nuestro Señor diciendo, “Miren, están haciendo
lo correcto. Yo sé que se sienten
desanimados, están pensando
que todo esto está llegando a
su fin, pero no, Dios siempre es
victorioso. Tienen que perseverar. Tienen que permanecer
espiritualmente fuerte y tener
fe y confiar y el Señor hará lo
demás.
Melinda comparte su historia
Alemán, una residente de
La Joya, tenía 19 años y ya tenía
un niño pequeño en casa cuando descubrió que estaba de
nuevo embarazada.
“No lo quería,” ella dijo. “No
estaba trabajando ni nada así
que pensé que él bebe solo iba
a venir aquí para sufrir.”
Discutió el asunto con su
abuela, quien le ofreció el dinero para tener el aborto. Las dos
hicieron varios viajes a la clínica de abortos en McAllen a lo
largo de unos días para entregar
los pagos.
“Cada día, cuando llegaba
a casa, hablaba con Dios y le
pedía que me diera alguna señal de lo que debo hacer,” dijo
Alemán.
El día que estaba programada para tener el aborto, ella y
su abuela se estacionaron en el
estacionamiento equivocado
– y lejos de los “acompañantes
proelección” de la clínica de
abortos que tratan de proteger
a las mujeres de los consejeros
en favor de la vida.
Había varios guerreros de
oración presentes en la banqueta, incluyendo a uno que cargaba una cruz y otro sosteniendo
una imagen de Nuestra Madre
Bendita.
“Todo fue por la mano de
Dios,” dijo la Hermana Julia
Onunkwo de la congregación
Daughters of Mary Mother of
Mercy, quien recientemente fue
nombrada directora ejecutiva
del McAllen Pregnancy Center. “Que se halla estacionado
en el estacionamiento equivocado nos dio la oportunidad
de hablar con ella. Si los acompañantes hubieran estado allí,
habría sido difícil.
“Le dimos nuestro material para leer y le prometimos
ayudarla. Hasta ofrecimos tener
una fiesta de bienvenida al bebe
para ella. Yo podía ver que Melinda estaba triste y confundida.
Ella miró a su abuela buscando
consejo, pero su abuela no dijo
nada y se metieron a la clínica.”
Alemán estaba en el cuarto
donde estaba programada para
tener el aborto cuando se disculpó para pasar al baño.
“Empecé a llorar incontrolablemente,” dijo ella. “Cuando
vi a las personas sosteniendo
la cruz grande y la imagen de
la Virgen María, me sentí mal.
Pensé que tal vez esta era la señal de Dios para quedarme con
mi bebe. Tomé de me bolsillo
el folleto que la Hermana Julia
me había entregado y comencé
a leerlo. Salí por mi abuela y nos
fuimos de la clínica de abortos.
No pude hacerlo.”
“Dios no quería que este
bebe se muriera,” la Hermana
Onunkwo añadió mientras Ricardo de cinco meses sentaba
en su regazo.
Como se había prometido,
el personal y los voluntarios
organizaron la fiesta de bienvenida al bebe para Alemán y se
han permanecido conectados
con ella, ofreciéndole su apoyo,
oraciones y aliento.
Alemán dice que está muy
agradecida que los guerreros de
oración y las consejeras estaban
allí.
“Ellos hicieron la diferencia,” dijo ella. “Cuando los ves,
te hacen pensarlo dos veces. Le
doy gracias a Dios que estaban
allí. Creo que si no hubieran estado allí, algo más hubiera sucedido.”
—
Con información de Catholic News Service
Las obras
corporales
de misericordia:
Por ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
Dar de comer al hambriento;
Dar de beber al sediento;
McALLEN — Miguel Ángel
Maldonado y su hijo Alex de
ocho años, salieron de Honduras sin nada más que unos pocos
documentos y la ropa que llevaban puesta. Viajaron a través de
tres países y dos ríos fronterizos
internacionales en ruta a los Estados Unidos. Permanecieron
tres días recluidos en un centro de detención por la Patrulla
Fronteriza antes de ser liberados
con una futura fecha de corte
para asistir más adelante a una
audiencia inmigratoria.
Fueron llevados al centro de
acopio en la Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón en McAllen donde
tuvieron la oportunidad de tomarse un baño y cambiarse su
ropa por primera vez en 15 días.
“Quince días,” Miguel Ángel
Maldonado repite, su cabello
aun húmedo después de tomarse un baño. “Nunca pensé
que apreciaría ropa limpia tanto
como lo hago ahorita. Nos sentimos como nuevos.”
Recién bañados, padre e hijo
Tomas y José Luis Gómez de
Guatemala sonreían mientras se
sentaban a comer.
Cuando se les preguntó cómo
se sentían después de haberse
tomado un baño y cambiado su
ropa, Tomas Gómez respondió,
“¡Suave!”
No se habían bañado o cambiado la ropa en seis días.
La gran mayoría de la ropa
que ha sido regalada desde que
el centro de acopio fue abierto
en junio de 2014 ha sido donada
por residentes locales. Mesas,
recipientes de plástico, y todos
los estantes están llenos de ropa
y zapatos separados por talla,
artículo y género. Esto facilita el
proceso para los voluntarios que
están ayudando a las familias a
encontrar rápidamente lo que
necesitan.
Más de 40,000 inmigrantes
han recibido ayuda en el centro
de acopio.
Los voluntarios pasan horas
organizando y clasificando la
ropa cada semana. También,
evalúan cuales artículos son
necesarios. A menudo, las necesidades del centro salen a la luz a
Vestir al desnudo;
Dar posada al necesitado;
Visitar al enfermo;
Socorrer a los presos;
Enterrar a los muertos.
través de reportes hechos por los
medios de comunicación y por
publicaciones en las redes sociales y el público responde con
donaciones.
“En cuanto a la ropa, siempre hay trabajo por hacer – y es
una bendición,” dijo Francisca
Mondragón de Mission, una voluntaria frecuente en el centro.
“Gracias a Dios tenemos suficientes donaciones.”
Nancy Ruiz, una residente
de McAllen trajo una donación
generosa de ropa, zapatos, mochilas y juguetes el 18 de julio,
artículos que ella y varias amigas
habían recolectado.
“Somos bendecidas y afortunadas que nunca nos ha faltado
nada,” dijo Ruiz, feligrés de la
Parroquia de San Cristóbal Magallanes y Compañeros en Mission. “Lo mínimo que podemos
hacer es traer lo que necesitan.”
Ruiz ha donado al centro
ropa y comida varias veces. Ella
dice que ora por los inmigrantes
y está feliz de ayudarlos a ponerse nuevamente en pie.
“Pido a Dios que algún día
estén lo suficiente bien para que
ellos también puedan ayudar a
alguien más,” dijo.
Fany Cruz de La Ceiba, Honduras, llegó al centro con sus tres
hijos, cinco, siete y diez años de
edad. Ella planeaba viajar a Nueva Orleans para reunirse con su
esposo. Los voluntarios le dieron
a ella y a sus hijos ropa y hasta
varios suéteres ligeros para el
viaje.
“Estoy agradecida por la
ropa y todo lo demás que hemos
recibido,” dice Cruz. “Este recorrido, viajando sola con mis hijos,
en varias ocasiones ha sido muy
espantoso, pero la bondad que
hemos encontrado aquí lo ha
hecho soportable. Tenemos esperanza de salir adelante.”
Últimas Noticias del Vaticano
www.aciprensa.com
12
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
The Valley Catholic - august 2016
»Mujeres en la frontera
»Vida Familiar
Porque la misericordia de
Dios no conoce limites
¿Porque Peñitas, en una colonia conocida como Pueblo de
Palmas? ¿Por qué una zona tan
remota a lo largo de la frontera
entre Estados Unidos y México
donde muchos en nuestro propio
Valle del Rio Grande aquí en el
sur de Texas nunca han visitado?
¿Y por qué el Santo Padre enviaría un mensaje a un pueblo de
una zona rural que algunos dicen
es “insignificante”?
Estas son preguntas que el
Padre Michael Montoya, un
padre de la congregación Missionaries of Jesus, que es párroco
en la Parroquia de Santa Ana
Quasi en Peñitas, Texas y sus tres
misiones, sigue oyendo mientras
finalizaba los planes para el Encuentro Mundial de los Jóvenes
el 26 de julio. Esta celebración
local, que coincide con la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud
en Cracovia, Polonia empezó
como una idea para ayudar a los
jóvenes en una de las áreas más
pobres del país poder ver cómo
están conectados con la Iglesia y
otros jóvenes en todo el mundo.
Dado a los niveles extremos
de pobreza en la comunidad y
sus condiciones inmigratorias,
es imposible para la mayor parte
de ellos viajar. En Peñitas, explica
el Padre Montoya, hasta viajar
de sus hogares a la parroquia
implica riesgos. Algunos temen
el peligro real de que si los paran
por una infracción menor de
tránsito, serán deportados. Padre
Montoya apunta hacia lo que él
denomina como la “presencia
militar” en el área. No son pocos
los policías, ayudantes del sheriff,
policías estatales, agentes de la
Patrulla Fronteriza y la Guardia
Nacional vigilando el área situada a pocas millas de la frontera
entre México y EE.UU.
“Es un recordatorio constante al pueblo de que algo no
está bien. Vivimos tan cerca del
muro que divide familias, eso
afecta la identidad propia. Todas
las imágenes que nos dan del
exterior son negativas. Siempre
está conectado con la frontera,
siempre conectado a las cosas
que no podemos hacer,” dice
Padre Montoya. Añadir a esto la
pobreza y la falta de infraestructuras básicas en algunas colonias
que ni siquiera tienen agua y
alcantarillado. “Existen muchas
circunstancias,” dice Padre Montoya, “que lo hace difícil para el
pueblo. Ellos piensan que son
olvidados.”
Pero no son olvidados. Hoy
celebran después de enterarse
que el Santo Padre ha preparado
un mensaje personal para los
jóvenes de la diócesis, en especial
para los jóvenes que asistirán
al Encuentro Mundial de los
Jóvenes en la Parroquia de Santa
Ana en Peñitas.
“La Parroquia de Santa
Ana está más que feliz. Este
tipo de cosas no suceden para
un lugar como Peñitas,” dice el
Padre Montoya. “¡El papa nos
está mandando un mensaje a
nosotros! Pienso que es prueba
suficiente, que el amor de la
Iglesia para nuestra gente pobre
es palpable, es real.”
Aun antes de haber escuchado el mensaje, la comunidad
celebró el hecho de que había un
mensaje en camino, que el Santo
Padre tomó de su tiempo para
Brenda
Nettles Riojas
Editora, The Valley
Catholic
pensar en ellos.
Como recalcó el Padre Montoya, la idea de acoger el encuentro en Peñitas fue para ayudar
al pueblo a presenciar que “la
misericordia de Dios no conoce
límites dentro de una Iglesia
que no conoce fronteras,” “que alcanza hasta la parte más remota
del mundo. No tenemos que
estar en el centro del poder para
ser reconocidos por la Iglesia.”
Quizás olvidando que el niño
Jesús eligió nacer en el pequeño
pueblo de Belén y no en el centro
de la ciudad, muchos dudaron
que un evento como el encuentro
podría llevar acabo en un lugar
tan “fuera del camino”. El pueblo
de Peñitas y las comunidades
que lo rodean han demostrado
lo contario. “No todos pueden
viajar a Polonia para la Jornada
Mundial de la Juventud,” explica
el Padre Montoya, “pero creemos
que hasta en nuestra área se
puede organizar un encuentro
profundo y significativo con los
jóvenes de este mundo.”
“Es una reconstrucción de
imagen,” dice el Padre Montoya,
“de quien somos. La frontera no
nos define, somos definidos por
nuestra cultura y por nuestra fe.”
Esto es realmente un testimonio de que la misericordia de
Dios no conoce límites. También
debe servir como recordatorio para cada uno de nosotros
que no importa donde Dios
nos ponga, no importa dónde
nos encontremos en el mundo,
cada uno de nosotros importa y
debemos hacer todo lo posible
por extender la mano a quien lo
necesite y fomentar una “cultura
de encuentro”.
Algunas personas seguirán
preguntando, “¿Por qué Peñitas?” Tres hermanas de la
congregación Missionary Sisters
of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary que han estado viviendo y
sirviendo en el área por 12 años
te dirán, porque aquí el pueblo
de Dios tiene un fe tan profunda que no se desalienta por la
pobreza u otras dificultades que
tengan que padecer.
La fe abundante del pueblo
inspiró a las hermanas ICM –
Hermana Carolyn Kosub, Hermana Emily Jocson y la Hermana
Fátima Santiago a permanecer
en el área tras su llegada en el
2004 para ayudar a reconstruir
la comunidad después de ser
destrozada por un tornado. A
través de un centro de apoyo que
ellas fundaron, Proyecto Desarrollo Humano, esta área de bajos
recursos comenzó a florecer.
También construyeron la parroquia de Santa Ana en el 2009.
Nunca se imaginaron que se convertiría en iglesia madre de una
parroquia cuatro años después,
o que algún día, en la fiesta de
Santa Ana, el Santo Padre les
mandaría un mensaje personal a
los jóvenes de esa parroquia. En
palabras de la Hermana Kosub,
“Ciertamente, Dios ha hecho
maravillas.”
El ABC para construir un
matrimonio para toda la vida
¡Construir un matrimonio
toma toda una vida! Es importante que nosotros los casados
recordemos siempre que son
muchos los elementos a considerar para continuar construyendo un matrimonio para toda
la vida, independientemente de
los años que llevemos casados.
Mi esposo Mauri y yo nos conocimos cuando yo tenía 14 años
y el tenia16; fuimos novios por
5 años y nos casamos cuando
teníamos 20 y 22 años de edad.
Después de casi 42 años de matrimonio, todavía necesitamos
orientación y a veces algunos
pellizcos, para lograr mantener creciendo el matrimonio
mientras nosotros seguimos
cambiando física, emocional y
espiritualmente.
A continuación les presento
algunos elementos que creo son
necesarios para el camino hacia
un matrimonio “hasta que la
muerte nos separe”.
A: Afecto y Afirmación.
David y Claudia Arp, autores
del Programa de Enriquecimiento Matrimonial titulado
“Diez citas extraordinarias”,
sugieren que las parejas se den
un beso de 10 segundos al
despedirse cada mañana y al
regresar del trabajo. Algunos
participantes de los Programas
de Enriquecimiento Matrimonial que ofrece nuestra oficina
de Vida Familiar piensan que
esta recomendación es un
divertido recordatorio sobre
la importancia que tienen el
afecto y la unión. Al igual que
el afecto, la afirmación es clave
para una relación matrimonial
amorosa y uno de los gestos
más afirmativos que las parejas
se pueden dar el uno al otro es
expresar gratitud por todas las
formas pequeñas y grandes en
que compartimos la vida, sea
haciendo café o haciendo el
amor.
B: Bendición. El darnos
una bendición cada día así sea
hacernos la señal de la cruz
en la frente de cada uno o
el orar juntos en la mañana o
en la noche nos recuerda que
nuestro esposo(a), como todo
en nuestra vida, le pertenece
a Dios y se lo Confiamos a EL
para que le bendiga, proteja y
guie. Al finalizar cada Retiro
Lydia Pesina
Directora, Oficina
de Vida Familiar
y/o Programa Matrimonial de
la Oficina de Vida Familiar, les
pedimos a las parejas que se
coloquen cara a cara (ojo a ojo,
nariz a nariz) y tomados de las
manos se digan el uno al otro:
“Te amo. Te acepto. Si te he
ofendido, por favor perdóname.
Señor Jesús, guíanos con tu
Espíritu y bendice nuestro matrimonio hoy y siempre. Amen.”
(Y lo sellan con un beso y una
bendición)
C. Comunicación. Una
clara comunicación es esencial
en las relaciones matrimoniales. Las mujeres y los hombres
no leen las mentes! Hace años,
cuando nuestra hija era una
niña, Mauri me pregunto: “¿Qué
quieres de regalo de Navidad?
Y le dije, nada. Lo que podamos comprarle a Liana está
estupendo. En la Nochebuena,
después de la Misa de Gallo,
estábamos abriendo los regalos
de Navidad y le pregunte a
Mauri: ¿Dónde está mi regalo?
Y el contesto, “Te pregunte que
querías y dijiste que nada. A lo
que yo respondí: ¡No quise decir
nada de nada!” El me hizo una
pregunta muy clara y yo le di
una respuesta muy clara: nada.
¡Esposas, no podemos esperar que nuestros esposos lean
nuestras mentes!
D. Diálogo. Como la
misma palabra lo implica con el
prefijo di, el dialogo se trata de
dos: hablando y escuchando y
probablemente lo más importante sea el escuchar. Algunos
de nosotros que somos “conversadores” muchas veces
asumimos que nos estamos
comunicando cuando decimos
lo que está en nuestra mente;
sin embargo, el arte de escuchar
las palabras del otro, su lenguaje
corporal, y su corazón es un arte
que necesita ser perfeccionado
toda la vida. Así como cuando
“oramos” a Dios necesitamos
“escuchar” Sus Mensajes; así
mismo es entre los esposos en el
matrimonio.
E. Enriquecimiento. Es esencial encontrar oportunidades
de enriquecimiento tanto en los
Buenos tiempos como en los
difíciles. En tiempos cuando la
salud, las finanzas, o situaciones
de trabajo han causado estrés
o ansiedad en nuestro matrimonio y me he sentido desconectada de Mauri, le he pedido
que leamos y dialoguemos
de algún libro o programa de
enriquecimiento matrimonial
como parte de nuestra oración
de la noche y nos ha ayudado.
Recientemente leíamos de un
libro de Mary Jo Pederson
titulado en inglés “For Better
For Worse For God” en el que
preguntas como: “¿Cuáles son
las cosas que más te gustan de
tu matrimonio?” nos ayudan a
seguir “saboreando” la Sabiduría
presente en nuestro esposo(a).
El sábado 27 de Agosto del
2016 los señores Raúl y Dora
González, residentes de Austin,
estarán presentando, aquí en
nuestra diócesis, un programa
de un día de Enriquecimiento
Matrimonial llamado “Los 5
lenguajes del Amor”. Por favor
llame a la Oficina de Vida Familiar para más información.
F. Diversión y Perdón.
Mauri y yo nos esforzamos en
tener una cita amorosa una vez
a la semana si es posible. Las
más sencillas y menos costosas
han resultado ser las más divertidas, como hacer un picnic
con menos de $5 con artículos
del HEB. (Pista: bolillos, quesos,
fruta, y chocolate). Una vez le
regale de aniversario un paquete
de seis cervezas Shiner Bock:
Reunión Familiar con una fecha
(día) y una ocasión (lugar o
evento como observar las estrellas) grapada sobre el cartón para
cada una de las seis cervezas.
Y por supuesto, pedir perdón
a menudo como siempre lo
necesitamos, especialmente a
los que más nos cuesta.
G. Trabajo de Dios. Finalmente, siendo lo más importante, nuestro matrimonio es
una vocación, es el trabajo de
Dios en el mundo. Oro para que
los casados siempre recordemos
confiar humildemente nuestros
matrimonios a EL.
Obispos de California apoyan iniciativa
para la abolición de la pena de muerte
Catholic News Service
SAN FRANCISCO — La
conferencia de obispos católicos de California anunció su
apoyo, el 14 de julio, a favor de
la Proposición 62, una medida
que estará en la boleta electoral
de noviembre con la intención
de que se establezca la abolición
de la pena de muerte.
Los obispos hicieron que la
declaración coincidiera con el
lanzamiento de la campaña “Sí a
la 62, que se llevó a cabo en un
rueda de prensa en Los Ángeles.
Entre los oradores aparecieron
antiguos simpatizadores de la
pena de muerte, familiares de
víctimas, oficiales de ley, líderes
religiosos y personas que habían
sido condenadas erróneamente
a la pena de muerte.
“En este año jubilar de la misericordia, nosotros, los obispos
católicos de California apoyamos la Proposición 62, la cual
aboliría el uso de la pena de
muerte en California”, decían los
obispos en su declaración.
La Proposición 62, llamada
“iniciativa a favor de la justicia que funciona” por sus autores, reemplazaría la pena de
muerte con cadena perpetua, sin
derecho a libertad y requeriría
que convictos paguen restitución a la familia de su víctima.
Los obispos también anunciaron
su oposición en contra de la
Proposición 66, que también
aparecerá en la boleta electoral
de noviembre, y aceleraría las
ejecuciones en California.
“Toda vida es sagrada —
inocente o con defectos — así
como Jesucristo nos enseñó
y demostró repetidamente a
través de su ministerio … cada
uno de nosotros lleva un valor
intrínseco por haber sido creado
a la imagen de Dios. Cada uno
de nosotros lleva el deber de
amar esta imagen divina grabada en cada persona.”, decían los
obispos en la declaración.
Los obispos dijeron que su
oposición a la pena de muerte
también está enraizada en su
“firme propósito de acompañar
y apoyar a todas las víctimas
del crimen “ para quienes el
sufrimiento causado por la pérdida de un sér querido, a manos
criminales, raramente se termina con la ejecución del convicto.
august 2016
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
- The Valley Catholic
13
» La Alegría de Vivir
Volvemos al principio: ¡Reforma
Comprensiva de Inmigración ya!
D
espués del empate 4-4
en la suprema corte
de justicia acerca de la
legalidad de la acción ejecutiva
del presidente Obama para
beneficiar aproximadamente a
4 millones de padres indocumentados que tuvieran hijos
ciudadanos, o residentes legales,
que no tuvieran antecedentes
criminales y hubieran entrado al
país antes del 2010, algunos cantan victoria y otros ven alejarse
la tranquilidad y estabilidad que
un permiso de trabajo traería a
sus vidas.
El empate simplemente regresa el caso a las cortes federales de Brownsville, donde el Juez
Hanen bloqueo con su fallo la
acción ejecutiva propuesta por el
presidente Obama en noviembre
del 2014. Recordemos que dicha
acción ejecutiva fue propuesta
después de que los republicanos
en el congreso rechazaran una
propuesta bipartidista de reforma al sistema de inmigración
que el senado había aprobado en
el 2013.
Los beneficios que dicha
acción ejecutiva presentarían a
este grupo vulnerable de padres
de familia nunca llegaron a
concretarse por la demanda
que interpuso el gobernador de
nuestro estado, al que luego se
unieron 23 estados más, y que
cuestionaba la constitucionali-
Msgr. Juan
Nicolau
Sacerdote jubilado
de la Diócesis de
Brownsville
dad de dicha acción ejecutiva.
Las palabras del presidente
Obama acerca del fallo de la
corte expresan la frustración
de verse inhabilitado por un
congreso que se niega a resolver
un sistema de inmigración que
ha sido ineficiente por más
de dos décadas: “pienso que
deben estar descorazonados las
millones de personas que han
criado sus familias y buscan
una oportunidad para trabajar,
pagar sus impuestos, servir en
nuestras fuerzas armadas, y
contribuir abiertamente para
beneficio de este país que todos
amamos”. La cruda realidad
es que ya hemos estado en esta
situación antes, muy esperanzados en que habrá un cambio que
beneficie a los trabajadores que
carecen de papeles, y al final las
propuestas pasan en el senado y
son rechazadas en la cámara de
representantes, o viceversa. Y la
realidad de acuerdo a un reporte
de la cámara de comercio donde
se tratan 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, es que los inmigrantes
no reemplazan a los trabajadores
americanos, sino que complementan la fuerza laboral de
quienes son nacidos aquí, que
pagan impuestos cada vez que
compran víveres, ropa, enseres
domésticos, herramientas de trabajo, y al pagar impuestos sobre
la propiedad de terrenos o casas
donde viven, que además han
dejado billones de dólares sin
reclamar en rembolsos del IRS
por utilizar números ficticios de
seguro social.
Ahora solo queda que la
fuerza de los votantes en las elecciones de noviembre determine
qué clase de liderazgo tengamos,
y hoy más que nunca debemos
estar atentos a las propuestas
concretas que presenten los
candidatos a presidente, hay que
redoblar esfuerzos para que el
congreso implemente leyes que
permitan una reforma comprensiva de inmigración de una
vez por todas, pidamos con fe
que ahora si cristalice el sueño
de millones de personas, que
desean seguir contribuyendo a la
sociedad pero ya sin el miedo de
ser deportados y separados de
sus familias.
Las cifras de la grave crisis que vive
la Iglesia Católica en Alemania
ACI Prensa
BERLIN — La Conferencia
Episcopal Alemana (CEA) dio a
conocer un importante informe
sobre la realidad actual de la
Iglesia Católica en ese país que
atraviesa una grave crisis con
cada vez menos católicos, sacerdotes que no se confiesan y un
descenso general del número de
bautizos y matrimonios.
Sin embargo, el mismo viernes 15 de julio cuando dieron
a conocer el informe, el Presidente de la CEA, Cardenal Reinhard Marx, afirmó que la Iglesia
“sigue siendo una gran fuerza,
cuyo mensaje es escuchado y
aceptado”.
En Alemania existen unos
23,7 millones de católicos, lo
que significa el 29% de la población. En 2015 dejaron la Iglesia 181.925 personas.
Las estadísticas del año pasado sobre matrimonios y bautizos permiten verificar un ligero
aumento, pero comparadas a las
cifras de hace veinte años, se ve
una tendencia general decreciente.
En 1995 el número de bebés
bautizados fue de 260 mil y en
2015 fueron 167 mil. En el caso
de los matrimonios, en 1995
fueron 85.456 las parejas casadas
por la Iglesia y en 2015 fueron
casi la mitad: solo 44.928.
La asistencia a Misa en 1995
era del 18,6% y en 2015 solo del
10,4%.
Entre los sacerdotes de Alemania, el 54% dijo confesarse
solo una vez al año o ya haber
ACI Prensa
“Se puede hablar verdaderamente de una erosión de la fe católica en Alemania”,
dijo el Papa Francisco.
abandonado este importante
sacramento.
Entre los agentes o asistentes
pastorales la cifra es bastante
más alarmante: 91% indica que
se confiesa una sola vez al año o
simplemente ya no lo hace.
Pese a toda esta alarmante
evidencia, el Cardenal Reinhard
Marx afirmó que “las estadísticas muestran que la Iglesia en
Alemania sigue siendo una gran
fuerza, cuyo mensaje es oído y
aceptado. No solo hay un interés
sino un activo deseo por los sacramentos de la Iglesia, como lo
prueba la ligera subida de bautizos y matrimonios”.
En una declaración dada a
conocer por la CEA, el Purpurado destacó que ante las oleadas
de fieles que dejan la Iglesia
anualmente “necesitamos una
‘práctica pastoral sofisticada’ que
le haga justicia a las personas de
distintos tipos de vida y que pase
convincentemente de la esperanza a la fe”.
“La conclusión del Sínodo
de los Obispos y la exhortación
apostólica Amoris Laetitia del
Papa Francisco son importantes
signos”, subrayó.
En noviembre de 2015 el
Santo Padre recibió a los obispos alemanes en visita ad limina.
En esa ocasión el Papa delineó
un programa de acción para
los obispos de Alemania ante la
“erosión de la fe católica” en el
país.
El Pontífice afirmó que “se
nota particularmente en las regiones de tradición católica una
caída muy fuerte de la participación en la Misa dominical y
también de la vida sacramental.
Donde en los años 60’s casi todos
los fieles participaban todos los
domingos en la Santa Misa, hoy
son menos del diez por ciento”.
ACI Prensa/EWTN Noticias
Su nombre era María, que significa “preferida por Dios”, y era natural de Magdala en
Galilea; de ahí su sobrenombre de Magdalena. Magdala, ciudad a la orilla del Mar de
Galilea, o Lago de Tiberiades.
María Magdalena
tendrá su fiesta en el
calendario romano
Por JUNNO AROCHO
ESTEVES
Catholic News Service
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
— Los cristianos están llamados
a ser como Santa María Magdalena, quien, al encontrar a
Cristo, lo adoró. Acción ésta que,
de cierta manera, ha perdido
significado en la iglesia de hoy,
dijo el cardenal Robert Sarah,
prefecto de la Congregación del
Culto Divino y Sacramentos del
Vaticano.
Y dijo también, el 22 de julio, festividad de Santa María
Magdalena, que la celebración
nos recuerda de la necesidad de
recuperar “la primacía de Dios
y la primacía de adoración en la
vida de la iglesia de hoy y en las
celebraciones litúrgicas”.
“Tengo la impresión, y lo digo
humildemente, que quizá los
cristianos han perdido un tanto
el significado de adoración. Pero
pensamos: vamos al templo, nos
reunimos como hermanos y es
bueno y bello. Pero el centro está
en donde esté Dios. Y nosotros
adoramos a Dios”, escribió en un
artículo que fue publicado el 21
de julio en el periódico del Vaticano “L’Osservatore Romano”.
El papa Francisco elevó la
festividad de Santa María Magdalena para que se colocara en el
calendario litúrgico de la iglesia
el 10 de junio. El decreto se llamó
en latín “Apostolorum Apostola”
(“Apóstol de Apóstoles”) mediante el cual se formalizó la decisión, que fue publicada por la
Congregación de Culto Divino.
Habrá que tomar en cuenta
que la mayoría de las celebraciones litúrgicas en honor de
santos, que se celebran durante
el año en forma individual, se
conocen como memoriales, las
festividades están reservadas
para eventos importantes de la
historia cristiana y para santos
que tienen especial significado,
como los doce apóstoles.
Santa María Magdalena fue
la primera persona que les anunció a los apóstoles la resurrección de Jesús, escribió el cardenal
Sarah, y “como tal fue testiga de
la divina misericordia”. Por tanto,
su festividad es una ocasión para
que hombres y mujeres profundicen en su respectivo papel que
tienen como seguidores de Cris-
JUNTO A LA CRUZ

LLa tercera vez que el
E
Evangelio
nombra a
Magdalena es para decir que
M
estuvo junto a la cruz, cuando
murió Jesús. La ausencia
de hombres amigos junto
a la cruz del Redentor fue
escandalosa. Sencillamente
no se atrevieron a aparecer
por ahí. No era nada fácil
declararse amigo de un
condenado a muerte. El único
que estuvo junto a Él fue
Juan. En cambio las mujeres
se mostraron mucho más
valerosas en esa hora trágica
y fatal. Y una de ellas fue
Magdalena.
to, por medio de la adoración y
del ejercicio de la misión.
La adoración, continuó,
cuenta como lo más importante
y “no los cánticos ni los ritos, por
bellos que sean”.
Entonces, “¿Qué significa
adorar a Dios? Significa que
debemos aprender a estar con
Él; que debemos detenernos en
la carrera diaria y darnos tiempo
de hablar con Él; que debemos
sentir su presencia como lo que
es más verdadero, el mayor bien
y lo más importante de todo”, escribió.
El cardenal Sarah subrayó
la necesidad de que “le demos a
Dios el primer lugar” para poder
encontrarnos con Cristo, con
su misericordia y su amor. Y lo
hizo citando los escritos de San
Juan Pablo II, con motivo del 25
aniversario de la Constitución
del Segundo Concilio Vaticano
sobre Sagrada Liturgia, que lleva
el nombre en latín de “Sacrosanctum Concilium” (“Concilio
Sagrado”).
“María Magdalena es la primera testiga de este deber doble
que tenemos: el deber de adorar
a Cristo y el deber de hacer que
se conozca por todos”, escribió.
Y el cardenal Sarah dijo también
que los cristianos pueden seguir
el modelo que instauró “la apóstol de apóstoles” quien “sale de
sí misma para dirigirse a Cristo
por medio de la adoración y de
la práctica de la misión”. Y esto
lo podemos lograr centrando
“nuestra vida en Cristo y en su
Evangelio”.
14
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic - august 2016
Encuentro mundial de los jóvenes
For video and more
photos visit our
Facebook page..
Photos by Amber Donaldson, Derek Janik, Matthew Mercado/The Valley Catholic
They couldn’t go to Poland, so hundreds of teens celebrated
close to home at St. Anne Parish in Peñitas at a local World
Youth Day event -- the first World Youth Encounter/ Encuentro
Mundial de los Jóvenes. During the event, they were blessed
with the presence of 41 first-class relics. Listening to a
personal message from Pope Francis was one of the day’s
highlights.
Pope’s message to the youth of the Diocese of Brownsville
Dear young people of the
Diocese of Brownsville, gathered
on the feast day of Saint Anne,
the grandmother of Jesus. I know
that you are gathered in Texas,
very close to Mexico, very close
to Latin America. And I know
that you are gathered to come
together spiritually with World
Youth Day in Krakow. I want to
be close to you. I want to tell you
to always look forward, always
look towards the horizon, don’t
let life put walls in front of you, always look at the horizon. Always
have courage to want more, more,
more … with courage, but, at the
same time, do not forget to look
back to the heritage you have received from your ancestors, from
your grandparents, from your
parents; to the legacy of faith that
you now have in your hands, as
you look forward.
I know that some of you will
ask me: “Father, yes, you tell us
to look at the horizon and to remember things, but today, what
do I do?” Play life to the full!
Today, take life as it comes and
do good to others. In the world
today, a game is being played out
in which there is no room for substitutes: either you’re in the team
or you’re out. Take the memories
you’ve inherited, look towards the
horizon and today, grasp life and
carry it forward, use it productively, make it fruitful. God calls
you to be fruitful! God calls you
to transmit this life to others. God
calls you to create hope. God calls
you to receive mercy and show
mercy to others. God calls you to
be happy. Do not be afraid! Do
not be afraid. Play life to the full!
That is life.
I wish you a good meeting of
young people, united to World
Youth Day, united with young
people who are in Krakow. Live
enthusiastically and go forward!
May the Virgin Mary take great
care of you and may Jesus bless
you. And please do not forget to
pray for me.
Thank you.
august 2016
DIOCESE 15
- The Valley Catholic
»Media
Resource
Center
McAllen teen elected State Chief Squire
Courtesy photo
Recommended by SISTER
MAUREEN CROSBY, SSD
Coordinator of the Media Resource
Center - Diocese of Brownsville
»From the
Bookshelf
Counting on
Faith
Fantastic
Voyage
Format: Audio Length: 33 mins
Audience: 3-8 yrs Inanimate objects
Publisher Holy Heroes Co., 2012.)
What’s better than being an explorer,
or being a captain of your very own
spaceship? Not much, according
to AJ! AJ, an aspergillum bored by
everything but his own daydreams,
is taken on an unexpected journey
by his friend, Skiff, a vibrant incense
boat who loves to live. Skiff decides
to turn AJ’s love for adventure into a
quest that will take them into the great
unknown of a woman’s womb – and
into the presence of God’s greatest
gift: life! Will AJ learn to appreciate
the adventure of really living? Will
the dynamic duo ever muster enough
power to break out of the womb and
return home to their garage?
»Worth Watching
Saint
Margaret
Mary and the
Sacred Heart
Format: DVD Length:60 mins
Audience: Adults
Production Year: Paraclete Video
Productions 2012
EWTN Original Documentary.
Filmed on location in Paray-le-Monial,
France, of the Saint whose visions of
Our Lord brought about the Church’s
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
and the practice of reception of Holy
Communion on the First Fridays of
each month. Told in her own words, St.
Margaret Mary’s story is a love story
between the little 17th century nun
and Jesus Christ summed up in the
message she popularized, of the ardent
desire God has for every soul…
.
Truth and Life
Jesse Torres, left, from the Holy
Spirit Church Squire Circle 3521
in McAllen was elected State
Chief Squire at the Squire State
Convention held on June 24-26 in
Wiley, Texas.
7
Torres was preceded as State Chief
Squire by Zach Zamora, pictured
right, of St. Paul Church Circle 1492
in Mission.
18 Vocation Hour for Family
Life
The Squires are the official youth
organization of the Knights of
Columbus. The Squires are
an international fraternity of
approximately 25,000 Catholic
young men, ages 10 to 18, in over
1,500 circles worldwide.
Format: paperbacl Length: 26 pgs
Audience: 2-6, yrs
Publisher Divine Providence Press
Counting on Faith is a scriptural
counting book for children. Children
will learn to count while learning their
Catholic Faith because each number
represents an important tenet found
in Scripture. Counting on Faith is
edifying for and written to be enjoyed
by the entire family.
Encuentro,
continued from pg. 5
with a common identity, vision and mission. It has since
been integral to the historical
memory of Hispanic ministry
and continues to be integral to
the pastoral efforts of the entire
Church today. “Latino” is widely
used, self-identifying term that
has emerged more recently from
the community and is embraced
by the Church. (Encuentro and
Mission: A Renewed Pastoral
Framework for Hispanic Ministry, Statement from the U.S.
Catholic Bishops, 2002).
Hence what exactly is a
National Encuentro? It is “a
two-year process of missionary
activity, consultation, leadership development and pastoral discernment in parishes,
dioceses and episcopal regions
that culminates with a national
event. A primary outcome of the
Encuentro process is to discern
pastoral practices and priorities
to impact the quality of ministry
among Hispanic/Latino Catholics, under the leadership of the
U.S. bishops”. (USCCB, Office of
Public Affairs).
Efforts to organize the
National Encuentros are done
by the fourteen regions in the
United States of the Episcopal
Conference of the Catholic Bishops. The Diocese of Brownsville
belongs to Region X which also
includes Arkansas and Oklahoma.
In 2018, the Fifth National
Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino
Ministry (V Encuentro) will
take place in Dallas, Texas. Our
diocese is forming a diocesan
team and preparing to train
parish coordinators to promote,
facilitate and implement the V
Encuentro process in our parishes in 2017, which will include
a diocesan Encuentro and a
regional Encuentro culminating
in the national gathering.
The theme for the Fifth
Encuentro is “Missionary
Disciples, witnesses of God’s
love.” Consequently the goal is
to engage as many Catholics to
become missionary disciples
and to witness God’s love to
the world, particularly young
people and families living in the
peripheries of our society.
The main goal of the Fifth
Encuentro is to discern ways
in which the Catholic Church
in the United States can better
respond to the Hispanic/Latino
presence, and to strengthen the
ways in which Hispanics/Latinos respond to the call of the
New Evangelization as missionary disciples serving the entire
church.
The Encuentro process
will be one of consultation and
evangelization based on the
five sessions inspired by Pope
Francis’ apostolic exhortation
Evangelii Gaudium “The Joy of
the Gospel.” The Encuentro will
impact over 175 dioceses and
5,000 parishes with over one
million Catholics participating,
20,000 emerging lay leaders and
over 100 Catholic organizations.
“Hispanic Catholics are a
blessing of God and a prophetic
presence that has turned many
dioceses and parishes into communities of faith that are more
welcoming, vibrant, and evangelizing. We, the bishops, consider
Hispanic ministry as an integral
part of the life and mission
of the church.” (Encuentro &
Mission: A Renewed Pastoral
Framework for Hispanic Ministry).
May everything we say and
do always give honor and glory
to the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and may everything
we say and do bring others to
Christ.
Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña’s Calendar
August 6
August 27
August 31
4:30 p.m.
5 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
Mass at St. Paul Church
50th Anniversary at Holy Family Church
Evins Ministry
Mission
Brownsville
Edinburg
Ongoing:
Monday - Saturday
Every Thursday
8 a.m.
3 p.m.
7- 8 p.m.
Mass at St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, 727 Bowie St., Alamo
Mass at St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, 727 Bowie St., Alamo
Holy Hour at St. Joseph Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, 727 Bowie St., Alamo
NO EVENTS AT UTRGV DURING THE SUMMER
1st: Intention to the Consecrated Life (active and contemplative) and for the Sisters and Brothers in our diocese and
the success of their mission
2nd: Intention to the Permanent Diaconate the deacons (permanent and transitional) of the diocese and their
families
3rd : Intention 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: Intention to the priesthood and the priests of the diocese for the success of their ministry
5th: Intention to Pope Francis
Format: CD Length: 22 hours
Audience: Children 3-10
Publisher: Zondervan (Nov. 21, 2010)
Author: Falcon Picture Group
DRAMATIZED AUDIO BIBLE – NEW
TESTAMENT. Foreword by Pope
Benedict XVI A full cast performance of
the RSV-CE. Good for your long drives
throughout the Valley and beyond.
The TRUTH & LIFE DRAMATIZED
AUDIO BIBLE ™ NEW TESTAMENT
elegantly blends voices, sound effects
and an original music score to create
an aural environment that will totally
immerse you in the Scriptures.
» Calendar
of Events
Tune into
KSGS- LP
99.9 FM
Catholic Radio
August
Mass for children with
special needs and
their families,
Holy Family Church –
Brownsville
27-28 Annual Diocesan
Appeal begins
(Office of Stewardship &
Development)
September
4
Mass for children with
special needs and
their families,
Holy Family Church –
Brownsville
5
Labor Day
(Diocesan Offices Closed)
21 Vocation Hour for Family
Life at St Joseph
Chapel, Alamo
9-11 Catholic Engaged
Encounter
(Family Life Office)
10 Sponsor Couple Training
I - English
(Family Life Office)
10 Sponsor Couple Training
I - Spanish
(Family Life Office)
15 Vocation Hour for Family
Life
17 Convaldation Conference Spanish
( Family Life Office)
24 Catechetical Convocation
(Office of Catechesis)
24-25 For Better & For Ever
(Family Life Office)
Please submit your schedule to be
published in The Valley Catholic by
the first Friday of each month by email
to [email protected] or fax: (956)
784-5082.
Novena
for Nation,
continued from pg. 2
how each of these horrors can be
met with the same tired phrases
of shock and outrage and nowroutine expressions of sympathy.”
The bishop said the day of
fasting for adults should be one
full meal and two smaller meals
and should be considered as a
time to make communal penance for the current civil unrest
and to pray for the conversion of
hearts.
For the Aug. 14 Mass, he
suggested that prayers be taken
from the Roman Missal’s Masses
for various needs and occasions
— “In Time of War or Civil Disturbance.” He also suggested that
Catholics make every effort to
attend Mass Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary,
which is not considered obligatory since it falls on a Monday.
U.S. Cardinal Raymond L.
Burke, patron of the Knights of
Malta, has endorsed the “Novena
for Our Nation” and a national
rosary rally planned for the feast
of Our Lady of the Rosary, Oct.
7, in Washington sponsored by
a group of Catholic laity and
priests supported by the Holy
League and Men of Christ.
16
DIOCESE
The Valley Catholic - august 2016
Our Catholic Family
‘I see some of them crying as they pray’
Parish welcomes
immigrant children
to their community
By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
BROWNSVILLE — Almost
every Sunday, more than 100 immigrant children under 18 years
of age attend Mass at San Felipe de Jesus Church in Cameron
Park.
The children, who are mostly
from El Salvador, Honduras and
Guatemala, entered the United
States unaccompanied and are
housed in shelters or centros de
refugio for several weeks while arrangements are made to reunite
them with relatives living in the
United States or back in their
country of origin.
So far, in 2016, more than
26,000 unaccompanied minors
from Central America have been
apprehended according to figures
released by U.S. Customs and
Border Protection. Hundreds of
thousands of unaccompanied minors have crossed into the United
States in the last five years.
Marist
Father
Anthony
O’Connor, pastor of San Felipe de
Jesus Church, said most of these
children are fleeing from poverty
and violence in their home countries. They come to the United
States in search of a better life, but
the journey from here to there is
fraught with its own dangers.
“Most of them face some sort
of difficulty on the way,” said Father O’Connor, who visits four
different centros de refugio to
hear confessions and visit with
the children. “They often pass
through moral and physical danger to get here.
“These kids have had to grow
up fast.”
“What they have been
through, we can’t even imagine,”
said Barbara Martinez, a parishioner of San Felipe de Jesus
Church.
Father O’Connor and his parishioners have responded to the
call to make the children feel welcome. A section of the church is
reserved for them as they have to
be seated together. The children
have been attending Mass here
for about a year.
“Everybody respects that
space,” said parishioner Miguel
Lopez, who serves as an usher.
“People will stand in the back of
the church rather than sit there.
“We are not afraid to admit
we give them special treatment
because we want them to feel special. … I see some of them crying
as they pray. We know they are
going through a lot. We feel their
pain.”
“They are received with a lot
of love and you can feel the presence of God’s love when they are
here,” said parishioner Yolanda
Castillo. “We feel blessed to have
them be a part of our community.”
The immigrant children attending Mass at San Felipe de Jesus Church for the first time also
receive a small gift of welcome,
said parishioner Sergio Martinez.
“They are provided with a
cross to hang around their necks
and they wear them every week
when they come to Mass,” he said.
“I think it is remarkable how they
come here with an open spirit.”
At Christmastime, the parishioners hosted a posada for the
children and in July, they invited
them over for a special meal featuring dishes from their home
countries. Bishop Daniel E. Flores
was present for the meal and celebrated Mass.
Carmen Alvear, one of the
cooks, researched the cuisine
from Central America, hoping
to, “get it right.” She said some of
the children cried tears of joy and
sadness when they saw the food.
“They told us they were happy
and moved that we took the time
to prepare the foods they like but
it also made them miss home and
their families,” she said. “I’ll admit, we cried with them.”
Guadalupe Gonzalez, another
cook, said the children really enjoyed the food and many of them
had “seconds and thirds.”
“The food is made with a lot
of love,” said Claudia Gutierrez, a
volunteer cook. “We wanted them
to eat as much as they wanted.”
“I feel very happy and honored to be part of this community
of faith,” said parishioner Francisca Rodriguez. “We’ve always
been a very united community
and having the children here has
brought us even closer together
because we all want the children
to feel at home and we are doing
everything we can for them.
“We know they are suffering
and we hope hearing the Word
of God carries them through the
week ahead.”
“We put ourselves in their
shoes,” said parishioner Guillermo Castillo. “All their worries, all
the obstacles they have overcome,
their fears about living in a new
country, missing their family …
it is a sad reality, but we support
them as best as we can by giving
them love and understanding.”
Parishioner Marcos Garcia
is relatively new to San Felipe de
Jesus Church, having only joined
the parish about four years ago.
“I am in awe of this community, of how generous and welcoming everyone is and I believe
it comes from Our Lord, first of
all and also from Father Tony,”
he said. “He inspires us to serve
and we pray for him constantly,
Photos by The Valley Catholic
Above, left: On July 10,
Carmen Alvear and other
parishioners from San Felipe
de Jesus Parish in Brownsville
prepared special meals for
the immigrant children who
attend Mass at their church.
Above, right: Bishop Daniel
E. Flores with the youth
volunteers who also helped
serve and prepare the meals.
Left: Marist Father Anthony
O’Connor and his parishioners
strive to make the immigrant
children feel welcome.
that he will continue to have the
strength to minister to these children.”
When asked if they had any
reservations about the children
joining them for Mass, the parishioners all replied no in unison.
“This is the house of God,” parishioner David Gomez said. “Everyone is welcome. On the rare
occasion the children don’t come
to Mass, we really miss them. We
feel like a part of us is missing.”