December 2018 - Vol. 53 No.11

South Texas

Catholic

SERVING THE CHURCH IN THE DIOCESE OF CORPUS CHRISTI

PREPARING FOR THE COMING OF

W W W. S O U T H T E X A S C A T H O L I C . C O M • D E C E M B E R 2 018

OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS DEVELOP MIND, BODY AND SOUL FAITH… KNOWLEDGE… SERVICE… THE PILLARS OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION as Beacons of Hope, Radiants of Knowledge, and as Missionary Disciples

P.O. Box 2620 • CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS 78403• 361.882.6191

ON THE

VOL. 53 NO. 11 Publisher Bishop Michael Mulvey, STL DD Director of Communications Margie Rivera mrivera@diocesecc.org Communications Board Father Jose A. Salazar, Sister Rosa Maria Ortiz, IWBS, David Campa, Madelyn Calvert, Zach Everett and Shannette Hoelscher, Elizabeth Nguyen and Benjamin Nye Managing Editor Mary Cottingham MCottingham@diocesecc.org Theological Consultant Ben Nguyen, JD/JCL. BNguyen@diocesecc.org Office manager Adel Rivera ARivera@diocesecc.org Correspondents Jennifer Branson, Luisa Buttler, Rebecca Esparza and Corinna Longoria Translator Gloria Romero

Manage Subscriptions If you or someone you know would like to receive the South Texas Catholic Contact us at (361) 882-6191 555 N Carancahua St, Ste 750 Corpus Christi TX 78401-0824 stc@diocesecc.org or to subscribe, unsubscribe or submit a change of address go online at: southtexascatholic.com/subscribe

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Keep up with the faith at www.SouthTexasCatholic.com

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Raul Trevino lights a candle in expectation of the first week of Advent.

Raul and his wife, Daniela Trevino, believe in building family traditions that will last a life-time.

Their three boys: Raul, 12, Cristian, 9 and Aaron, 1 are learning from their parents that the Christmas season is more than just a time of gifts and parties, but more of a time centered on reflection and reverence.

Advent is about receiving Jesus Christ.

COVER

Rebecca Esparza for South Texas Catholic

INSIDE FROM THE BISHOP 4 MESSAGE Love is an essential part of the preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ

7 11 13

VIEWPOINTS Roe v. Wade at its roots

VOCATIONS Sisters Rock at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Alice

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE CHRISTUS Spohn Introduces Select Wellness Program: Offering Customized Care for Community’s Most Vulnerable

NEWS BRIEFS 17 Official Assignment

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CATHOLIC EDUCATION Bishop consecrates and dedicates new chapel at Newman Center

LIFE 27 APARISH celebration of ceaseless blessings

31

NATIONAL U.S. bishops approved a pastoral letter against racism

VATICAN 32 Pope Francis, Benedict XVI voice support for conference on 'new' human rights

OUR FAITH 35 What are you giving for Christmas?

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 3

MESSAGE FROM THE BISHOP

I

would like to wish a very blessed and holy Advent and Christmas season to all of you reading this and to your families. I am particularly struck this year by the words from I Thessalonians in the second reading from the first Sunday of Advent: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.” For many, Christmas is traditionally a time spent with family and friends, and these words might pass our ears without really penetrating our hearts. The truth is that many don’t experience good family relationships, and even more have experienced broken relationships and hurt during the past year.

Love is an essential part of the preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, but our culture has distorted the meaning and practice of love. The reading from Philippians on the Second Sunday of Advent clarifies this love that strengthens our hearts: “And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value…”

As Advent continues, God reveals to us the depth yet simplicity of this love. It isn’t a feeling, which passes, but rather a lens through which we can look to gain a new knowledge and strength of heart.

We are called to look at one another with new eyes – the eyes of Christ.

Perhaps you aren’t looking forward to this Christmas season because of strained relations or the loss of a loved one. Maybe the season has you strained with all the extra preparations, purchases and expectations you are expected to fulfill. But when we see these things through the eyes of Christ, the eyes of love, then obligations don’t seem like burdens anymore. We are happy to make the sacrifices necessary for the good of our neighbor simply because they are children of God, and love for them is love for Christ.

Even the everyday living that we do can be something offered to God. Routine can be something extraordinary if done with great love. Every load of laundry, bag of groceries, or hour of work can bring us closer to Jesus Christ if we remember our ultimate goal of unity with Him. This Christmas gives us that perfect opportunity to gaze at the most lovable face of the infant Jesus and to promise Him hearts strengthened by the great love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This Christmas season it is my prayer that each of you experience the joy and renewed hope of the celebration of the Word made flesh who dwells among us. I hope that you experience the love of Christ in a new and powerful way, and that your hearts be strengthened in this love. May God bless you and your families.

4 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

MENSAJE DEL OBISPO

Q

uisiera desearles una muy bendecida y Santa estación de Adviento y Navidad a todos los lectores y a sus familias. Estoy particularmente impresionado por las palabras de San Pablo a los Tesalonicenses I, en la segunda lectura del primer Domingo de Adviento; “Que el Señor incremente en abundancia, el amor del uno por el otro y para todos sus semejantes, de la misma manera en que nosotros lo hemos hecho por cada uno de ustedes, así como que fortalezca sus corazones, para que estén sin mancha y en santidad ante Dios Padre en la venida de Nuestro Señor Jesús con todos sus santos.” Para muchos, la Navidad, ha sido tradicionalmente un tiempo para pasarla en familia y con amigos, y estas palabras quizás pasen por nuestros oídos sin penetrar verdaderamente en nuestros corazones. La verdad es que muchas personas no experimentan buenas relaciones en la familia, mas aún han experimentado rupturas familiares y heridas emocionales durante el año pasado.

El amor es una parte esencial de la preparación para la venida de Jesucristo, pero nuestra cultura ha distorcionado el significado y la practica del amor. La lectura de los Filipences, en el Segundo Domingo de Adviento, clarifica este amor que fortalece nuestros corazones. “Y ésta es mi oración: que su amor aumente cada ves mas y más, en conocimiento y en toda clase de percepción, para discernir lo que es de valor…” Mientras el Adviento continúa, Dios se nos revela en su profundidad, al mismo tiempo que en la simplicidad de su amor. No es un sentimiento que pasa, sino mas bien un lente a través del cual podemos mirar y obtener un nuevo conocimiento y fortaleza de corazón.

Hemos sido llamados a mirarnos el uno al otro con nuevos ojos, los ojos de Cristo.

Quizás no ha deseado mucho que se llegue esta temporada de la Navidad, a causa de esas dificultades familiares, o quizás la pérdida de un ser querido. Quizás la temporada te ha tensionado por tantas preparaciones extras que tienes que hacer, compras y expectaciones que tu mismo te has propuesto cumplir. Cuando vemos todo esto a través de los ojos de Cristo, los ojos del amor, las obligaciones no se ven mas como molestias, por el contrario, estamos felices de hacer los sacrificios necesarios por el bien de nuestros vecinos, simplemente porque ellos son hijos de Dios y amarlos a ellos es amar a Cristo.

Simplemente la acción diaria de cuanto hacemos, puede ser algo que le ofrecemos a Dios. La rutina puede ser algo extraordinario si está hecha con gran amor. Cada carga de lavandería, las bolsas de comida, o la hora de trabajo nos puede acercar a Jesucristo, si recordamos nuestra última meta de unidad con Él.

Esta Navidad nos da la oportunidad perfecta de contemplar el rostro mas adorable el del Niño Jesús, para prometerle fortaleza de corazón, por el gran amor del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo.

Es mi oración para cada uno de ustedes, que esta temporada de Navidad, la alegría y la esperanza renovada de la celebración del Verbo hecho carne habite entre nosotros. Espero que experimenten el amor de Cristo de una manera nueva y poderosa y que su corazón se fortalezca en ese amor.

Que Dios les bendiga a todas ustedes y a sus familias. +Most Rev. Michael Mulvey, STL, DD Bishop of Corpus Christi

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 5

Collection Roundup December 11 The 8th Annual Counting on Santa is calling on all of Santa’s helpers to make the season merry and bright!

Donate online: Donate online:

http://www.catholiccharities-cc.org/donate-to-catholic-charities www.catholiccharites-cc.org/donate-to-catholic-charities Be to suredesignate to designate“2018 “2018 Counting on Santa” Be sure Counting on Santa”

Every little bit helps our elves ensure that we reach more children of various ages served by Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi. The cash donations are especially helpful to purchase items for the older children who are often overlooked. We’re also collecting new, unwrapped toys! Your contribution may be tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Please join us at the Counting On Santa Collection Roundup on Tuesday, December 11 from 5:00-9:00 pm at Brewster Street Ice House, 1724 N Tancahua Street, Corpus Christi, Texas 78401. Come and go as you please or stay a while!

We’ll have live music by Borderline band and plenty of holiday cheer as we give the loot to Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi for distribution and celebrate another incredible year of giving back through Counting on Santa!

www.tscpa.org/corpuschristi

The television, internet and radio broadcasts of The Service of Lessons and Carols and the Midnight Mass at Corpus Christi Cathedral on Dec. 24 at 11:30 p.m. are presented live thanks to a generous gift from

H-E-B and its partners desire that everyone remembers the true meaning of Christmas.

KDF-TV (Check cable guide for ch. #) Audio: KLUX-HD 89.5 & klux.org Live video stream: goccn.org

S UN DA Y, FE B RUA RY 10, 2019

The Office of Family Life would like to invite all couples who are celebrating their Silver (25 yrs.) or Golden (50 yrs.)

Wedding Anniversary to an Anniversary Mass with Bishop Michael Mulvey at Corpus Christi Cathedral.

Anniversary Mass celebration will begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019 at Corpus Christi Cathedral.

Due to limited space, regretfully the couple is limited to two guests to join them for the reception.

Registration deadline is Jan. 31, 2019 You may register online at Diocesecc.org/anniversarymass 6 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

Elizabeth Nguyen,

A Contributor

Elizabeth Nguyen is the Diocesan Director of the Office of Laity, Family and Life.

s we approach the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it is important to consider some of the inroads that have been made in pro-life efforts in our own community. At one time there were five abortion clinics in the city of Corpus Christi.

Now there are none. There are also numerous pregnancy resources centers throughout our diocese that offer resources and care for pregnant moms and their babies. Good news abounds in our South Texas region.

There is a side of pro-life activity that has been neglected, however, and it’s not very popular to mention. Young people, by and large, have disconnected sexuality from the gift of procreation.

It’s as if we have forgotten the principles of basic biology and have passed on this horrible ignorance to our youth. At the root of this ignorance is the unquestioned reliance upon abortifacient contraceptive hormones to treat everything from irregular menstruation to cramping and acne.

When doctors and other healthcare professionals have whole communities convinced about the health benefits of hormonal contraceptives, the results are devastating.

In only a year, I have fielded countless questions from bright young women who have been offered and many times pressured to ingest these chemical hormones for “health” reasons. What’s not often mentioned is the “added benefit” of being a backup for sexual activity outside of marriage that many consider to be an inevitability. Doctors and parents who encourage girls to begin taking birth control in their early reproductive years interrupt a natural cycle. This practice is a lost opportunity for education and self-awareness that could even one day save their lives.

What happens in this contraceptive culture is that a young woman is devalued. She is not trusted to have knowledge about her body.

Instead, she is offered a course of treatment that shuts down a natural cycle that should be honored and celebrated. When the possibility of procreation is purposefully taken away, it is much easier for her to be viewed as an object to be used, both by herself and by the young men she encounters. And when the contraceptive fails, she is already of a mentality that the baby is an unwanted product of a casual encounter. It becomes very easy to rationalize abortion when all the protective walls have already broken down.

This is the sad chain of events that continues

to perpetuate the acceptance of abortion in our culture. Many contraceptive methods are abortifacient, and those who make and distribute contraceptives know this fact. Therefore, in any effort to define conception as the moment that life begins, we’re already in a position that many have conceded. Contraception continues to be the stumbling block that many who oppose abortion can’t maneuver. It is because our culture has been so corrupted by its practice that we can’t conceive of a lifestyle without it.

There is, however, another way. It’s not the easy road of instant gratification or quick fixes.

It’s the road of temperance and fortitude. When Jesus spoke of a “narrow road” and an “easy yoke” he was referring to virtues such as these that can be difficult to live because of our tendency to want to please ourselves first. We know what a world with unbridled self-indulgence looks like. It is a world in which people are used and abused, in which precious lives are seen as burdens, and in which we become unrecognizable to ourselves.

Some might have gotten the opportunity to see the movie Gosnell this past October. Kermit Gosnell was an abortion doctor in Philadelphia who was convicted of murder because it was discovered that he was killing infants who were born alive. In a matter of seconds, he would have been able to escape conviction had he completed the procedure inside the womb. But he made that easy leap that is currently prohibited by law. He was viewed as a monster by some, but it occurred to me while I was watching the film that we all make choices that make it easier to rationalize some horrible things. It’s a big, slippery slope when we choose to reject some biological realities, such as the whole purpose of the gift of fertility and sexuality, and instead embrace a culture that has gone off the rails.

This coming January, our diocese is sponsoring volunteers to become instructors of Natural Family Planning. It is a small way that we can begin to honor the beauty of creation by teaching others how to appreciate and respect their own bodies as God’s precious gifts. If you are interested in learning more about Natural Family Planning and how its benefits far surpass merely “following the rules”, please visit diocesecc.org/natural-family-planning. And if you are interested in becoming a Natural Family Planning teacher for our diocese, please email me enguyen@diocesecc.org.

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 7

†† VIEWPOINTS

Roe v. Wade at its roots

†† VOCATIONS

Retirement Fund for Religious Dec. 8-9

Please give to those who have given a lifetime. www.retiredreligious.org Throughout her life Sister Celia Hernandez, MJMJ has worked 12-hour days nourishing the bodies and souls of children, youth and adults. She was cook and clean up crew for The Ark and the 150 youth who attended the Corpus Chirsti Minor Seminary and the priests and nuns who staffed the facility. She fondly remembers several of the boys who later became priests, monsignors and bishops.She and some 33,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests benefit from the Retirement Fund for Religious. Your gift helps provide prescription medications, nursing care, and more. Please be generous.

More than 93 percent of donations aid senior religious.

To donate: National Religious Retirement Office 3211 Fourth Street NE Washington DC 20017-1194 Make your check payable to Retirement Fund for Religious.

Or give at your local parish.

8 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

Congregación de las Dominicas de Sto. Tomás de Aquino Congregación de las Dominicas de Sto. Tomás de Aquino

S

contribuyente

or Ma. Rosa De La Torre Guerrero, fundó la Congregación de Dominicas de Santo Tomás de Aquino, en la Ciudad de México, el 24 de febrero del año 1913, dando inicio a una escuelita, con 2 niños hijos de una viuda, donde cada alumno llevaba su sillita.

Con esa sencillez y determinación, comienza a ver con alegría, que ha sembrado un sentimiento de ayuda, teniendo por lema: "Todo Por Dios".

La Congregación nace, cuando México está sufriendo las consecuencias del golpe de Estado para derrocar al entonces presidente de México, Francisco I Madero, provocando un levantamiento militar llamado "La Decena trágica".

Más tarde, "con la entrada de los carrancistas en 1914, se llevaron un gran susto en el convento, cuando al pasar por su calle, las tropas y la caballería vociferaban queriendo entrar a la casa, hasta que una fuerte tormenta, hizo que se retiraran y las madres, volvieron a la paz, ya que corrían el peligro de ser ultrajadas".

Poco después, en 1915, los zapatistas entraron a la ciudad, matando y persiguiendo al clero y a los religiosos y religiosas; un individuo, dijo a las madres que quemaran a Jesús Sacramentado y la Madre Rosa contestó: "La suerte que corra el Santísimo Sacramento, esa misma, correremos mis compañeras y yo". Eran, para entonces, 4 hermanas.

"Sor Ma. Rosa De La Torre Guerrero, tenía solo 3 años de edad, cuando quedó huérfana de madre y sufrió mucho con la madrastra que escogió su padre, quien decidió inscribirla en el colegio de las Madres Josefinas. Eso fue para la niña, algo que nunca olvidaría, pues los consejos, la instrucción religiosa y la delicadeza con que las madres la trataron, fueron consuelo para su dolor, Más tarde, pensó fundar un orfanatorio, donde las niñas recibieran el mismo bien

que ella sentía haber recibido de las Madres Josefinas".

Tuvo la dicha de pertenecer a la Parroquia de los Santos Apóstoles Felipe y Santiago, atendida por padres dominicos en la Ciudad de México precisamente, en la zona de Azcapotzalco.

Pidió ser guiada espiritualmente por Fray Constantino Álvarez, O.P., quien la impulsó en la obra. Ya era, pues, dominica de corazón, cuando sintió que Dios la llamaba a cumplir una misión de fidelidad al sentimiento de compasión y misericordia, de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

Sor Ma. Rosa se formó con las Madres Dominicas en Misión de San José, California.

“Desde joven, la madre Rosa, amó el Carisma Dominicano: ‘Búsqueda de la Verdad’, concentrada en la oración y el estudio de la Palabra de Dios, aprendió lo que había que compartir con los demás; la luz y el amor de Dios".

“A las primeras hermanas, también les tocó vivir la persecución religiosa de 1926, tiempos de angustia y pobreza; sus bienes fueron confiscados durante 11 años. Las hermanas trabajaban dando clases, vendiendo repostería, pues aparte de pagar impuestos, había que sostener a 30 niñas huérfanas" Los sacerdotes eran perseguidos y no podían ejercer en las Iglesias; también tenían prohibido, toda actividad educativa de ayuda por parte de la Iglesia Católica.

“Las hermanas, ocultaron en su convento a un grupo de frailes Dominicos para protegerlos de la persecución y gracias a Dios, pudieron gozar de la celebración de la Santa Misa.”

“La Congregación, sufre en esos momentos de revuelta revolucionaria, pero a pesar de ello, da a luz un proyecto de Iglesia, que tiene como fin: “Dar gloria a Dios”, así como la santificación de las hermanas y del prójimo. ¿Cómo? siguiendo a Jesucristo en consagración total a Dios bajo la Regla de San Agustín, que habla de vivir unidos al

Fundadora Sor Rosa María de la Torre Guerrero O.P.

Señor, teniendo una sola alma y un solo corazón en Dios; de esta manera se forma una congregación sencilla, humilde, que permite llenar del Evangelio a este mundo tan necesitado de la Palabra y el Consuelo de Dios.”

"Este apostolado encuentra su fuerza en una vida comunitaria, que hace votos de consagración a Dios. Practica el canto festivo de la liturgia de las horas, que se centra en la Eucaristía, y viven una vida de oración, asidua al estudio de la Palabra de Dios. Esta comunidad persevera en el silencio y la clausura, como signo de que Dios es el más importante en sus vidas y se acompañan entonando -La Salve- bajo la mirada de Nuestra Señora del Rosario.

Con estos elementos sólidamente armonizados" la congregación participa de la misión evangelizadora de la Iglesia y de la Orden de Predicadores. Las religiosas son enviadas a servir a toda la gente, especialmente a los más pobres y desamparados, para predicar el evangelio propagando el December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 9

†† VOCATIONS

Sisters Corner

†† VOCATIONS

Nombre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, anhelando la salvación para todos siguiendo el ejemplo de Santo Domingo".

“Tenemos como patrono a Santo Tomás de Aquino, que es nuestro modelo, por su profundo amor a la Eucaristía.

Sor Ma. Rosa De La Torre Guerrero, murió en 1958, a los 77 años de edad, después de una vida consumida en el servicio a los demás.

A través de los años pasó por momentos difíciles, como el cansancio extremo y la enfermedad, sin embargo, todo lo soportó por amor, hasta que pudo ver cristalizados sus sueños de “Alabar, bendecir a Dios y dar a conocer a Jesucristo.”

Todo ello se concreto a través de una documentación de: Permisos recibidos: Decreto de Pía Unión, 19 de Marzo de 1951; Agregadas a la Orden, 14 de Mayo de 1953; Aprobación como Ayudenos a Prevenir el Abuso Financiero La Diócesis de Corpus Christi por medio de la recomendación del Concilio Diocesano de Finanzas y el Concilio Presbiteral han llevado su dedicación mas allá para la buena administración y responsabilidad nanciera en nombre de donantes generosos al instituir un “hotline” para reportar el abuso nanciero.

La Diócesis de Corpus Christi ha seleccionado un tercer partido independiente, La Red, para proporcionarle a usted con una manera para reportar anónima y condencialmente el abuso nanciero e fraude. Los empleados, los parroquianos, los voluntarios, los vendedores, y otros partidos interesados estan impulsados para reportar las preocupaciones que tengan respeto a la conducta de påca ética nanciera dentro de la Diócese de Corpus Christi.

Todas las investigaciones serán tradas inmediatamente y discretamente.

Personas que llamen tienen el derecho de mantenerse anónimas.

Llamada 1-877-571-9748

Congregación de Derecho Diocesano, 4 de Agosto de 1962 y Aprobación Pontificia, el 28 de Marzo de 1973.

Hoy en día la Congregación continúa siendo fiel al carisma recibido por Sor María Rosa de la Torre Guerrero, orando y dando gracias a Dios por los beneficios recibidos; pero también le piden a Dios que continúe mostrándoles el camino y su voluntad en cada momento de sus vidas.

A cerca de la revisión actual de sus estatutos dicen que lo ven como un signo de esperanza para que su vida florezca y se renueve; para que el esplendor de la fuerza del evangelio les ¡sorprenda! les dé un nuevo impulso para servir mejor a la Iglesia y para iluminar la vida humana, anunciando el nombre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo a quien han entregado la vida con su humilde servicio.

Obispo Michael Mulvey y el personal de la Oficina de un Ambiente Seguro y de Servicios para Niños y Familia se comprometen a ayudar en el proceso de curación de las víctimas y sobrevivientes de abuso.

Si usted o alguien que usted conoce está en necesidad de estos servicios, llame a Stephanie Bonilla, Director de la Oficina de un Ambiente Seguro y de Servicios para Niños y Familia: (361) 882-6191 para asistencia inmediata.

Oficina de un Ambiente Seguro y de Servicios para Niños y Familia

Semillas de Esperanza

Programa de Radio en Español en KLUX 89.5 HD-1 y “Listen Live” en KLUX.org Domingos a las 7 a.m. con los Padres Juan Fernando Gámez y José Naúl Ordóñez 10 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

†† VOCATIONS

Father Julian Cabrera, pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Alice asks youth to think about how to use their "Godgiven" gifts for the good of others and the good of God’s kingdom at a catechism class on discernment, featuring "Sisters Rock." See more photos of this event at SouthTexasCatholic.com/news/olgrocks.

Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic

Sisters Rock at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Alice Mary Cottingham

O South Texas Catholic

ver 150 high school students attended “Sisters Rock” at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Alice on Nov. 7. Sisters Rock is the brainchild of the Vocation team spearheaded by Sister Gloria Rodriguez, MJMJ Director of Consecrated Life and Women's Vocations for the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

Catechists were in attendance as well as pastor, Father Julian Cabrera and Elda Olvera, Director of Religious Education and ministerial assistant at Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Father Cabrera said, “this event is an invitation for you all to ask God what your vocation is? Is it to use your God-given

gifts for the good of others and the good of God’s kingdom?” he asked them.

“Father [Cabrera] is very pro youth. He has many activities going on all the time for youth,” Olvera said. “We have a community group and a social justice group. On Thanksgiving and Christmas our youth will be giving away turkeys to those in need.”

Olvera said the students meet weekly in classrooms and that some 400 students are in catechism at their parish. Earlier that day, catechists talked about vocations to second through sixth-graders and on Sunday, other catechists teach kinder through third-graders.

According to Sister Gloria, many students who live in the rural areas rarely see a sister. This event gives students an opportunity December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 11

†† VOCATIONS

to meet us and ask questions about our lives.”

Students were separated into six groups and each of the sisters joined a group: Sister Gloria and members of her vocation team, Incarnate Word Sisters Jo Ann Saenz, Rose Miriam Gansle and Lou Ella Hickman; Sister Lucia, D’Cunha from Sisters of St. Ann; and a special guest, Sister Consuelo Navarro, MJMJ who had just come from Reynosa, Mexico.

After a short icebreaker game, each sister gave a narrative of their vocation story. The youth asked such questions as: "How old were you when you knew? Do you miss not having a family, children?

What is the hardest thing about living a life as a religious?"

The highlight of the evening occurred when Sister Consuelo, age 82, joined her group of teenagers and described to them the state of her hometown in Reynosa.

“People have a code when there is fighting anywhere around them. They say ‘Hay fiesta’ meaning – ‘there is a party’ in

English. It’s used as code words for ‘there is shooting going on,’” Sister Gloria said.

Sister Consuelo told her group that her house in Reynosa separated two rival cartel groups and sometimes shots were fired through and around their home.

Everyone in the house would hit the floor, but due to health reasons, Sister Consuelo could only sit in the corner of the house and watch as bullets flew around her.

Her sisters in Mexico, fearing her safety, assigned her to live at Mount Tabor Convent with other MJMJ sisters in Corpus Christi. Sister Gloria said life is very hard for all the people living in Reynosa.

“Young men are being kidnapped and forced to join a cartel. The people are in fear for their lives, but our sisters won’t leave them,” Sister Gloria said.

After listening to the sisters and questions of the youth in each of the groups, Father Cabrera said, “you get one shot in life, so when you go home tonight, ask God in your prayers, “‘what do you want me to do with my life?’”

Sister Consuelo Navarro, MJMJ spoke of the hardships, living in her hometown – Reynosa, Mexico. She has joined her congregation at Mount Tabor Convent in Corpus Christi.

Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic

Celebration of Charity Angels Among Us

Thank You To Our Wonderful Sponsors!

GOLD SPONSORS Friends of Catholic Charities and Mother Teresa Shelter

SILVER SPONSORS St. Gertrude Church & Friends Cindy & Mike Boudloche, Rhonda & Sam Ganz, Edna & Phil Monroe, Lisa & Richard Schmidt, and Terria & Mike Schmidt

BRONZE SPONSORS and Tom Carlisle

and the Dobson Family

and Susan & Donald Taft

Dr. Charles Allen and Dr. William Tinnell; Anonymous Donor; Sue & Bob Becquet; CHRISTUS Spohn Health System and Incarnate Word Academy; CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery; Frost; Fulton/Coastcon General Contractors; IBC Bank; Kingsville – Kleberg County Friends; L & F Distributors, LLC; Methodist Healthcare Ministries; The Hilliard Family Foundation of South Texas; San Jacinto Title Services; Welder Leshin Lorenz McNiff Buchanan Hawn, LLP Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi and Mother Teresa Shelter 2018 Benefit Fundraiser

www.catholiccharities-cc.org

12 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

www.motherteresashelter.org

†† NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

CHRISTUS Spohn Care Coordination Team from the Select Wellness Program bring Matthew Schmidt and his wife Patricia Goodman extra supplies to for their new home.

Steven Alford for South Texas Catholic

CHRISTUS Spohn Introduces Select Wellness Program

Offering Customized Care for Community’s Most Vulnerable

By Steven Alford

W

Regional Public Relations CHRISTUS Health

hen Matthew Schmidt was brought to the CHRISTUS Spohn Trauma Center, he was in bad shape after suffering a seizure, having broken most of his teeth on the sidewalk at a bus stop.

Doctors were able to patch him back together and help him heal, but serious life changes would need to be made. Matthew has visited the Emergency Department dozens of times for common ailments, and it was time to acquire a Primary Care Physician and follow a regular health plan.

Many in the Coastal Bend are just like Matthew – people who face the toughest health challenges with the least means to access the health care they need.

Select Wellness Program (SWP) from CHRISTUS Spohn aims to help those with severe chronic illnesses who require extra care and vigilance but are particularly challenged with medical access and transportation.

Today, Matthew and wife Patricia Goodman are clean and sober, getting their life back together, and living in a new trailer with furnishings provided by their weekly caregivers. It is a far cry from where he was just a few months ago on the streets of Corpus Christi.

“These nurses and doctors are truly angels. They are a blessing,” Schmidt said holding back tears during a visit from his medical team. “This isn’t just about health care…this is human care.”

The Select Wellness program identified nearly 200 of the most at “risk” clinic patients, based on individual health and wellness December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 13

✝ NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

assessments. Focus is placed on the development of an effective care plan for each individual and outlining the right level of care, in the most appropriate setting, with a focus on wellness.

This new patient-centered initiative provides for preferred sameday access to the patient’s medical home and is the basis for proper management of their chronic illnesses, officials said.

The CHRISTUS Care Coordination Team is comprised of Registered Nurses and Community Health Care Workers who enrolled and care for approximately 35 patients in this new health wellness program.

The Select Wellness Program team work closely with these key patients to identify their care plan, their access to transportation, and ways that CHRISTUS Spohn can assist to make their access to health care easier and more successful.

“This new program looks to help those who need care coordination of ongoing care needs but don’t quite have the resources they need,” said Sharon Elwin, RN, Clinical Director for Care Coordination of the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Family Health Center.

“Our focus is to get them healthier, while providing care at the

most appropriate care setting which will address their need for access and also free up much-needed space in ERs,” she said.

As part of enrollment in the wellness program, patients get a 30-day RTA bus pass and a photo ID that allows them to have walk-in access to their Primary Care Physicians (no appointment or calling) with a waiver of some co-pays.

The Select Wellness Program Team looks forward to expanding the initiative in the future to accommodate more patients who need access to health care and transportation.

“We are about providing the right care, at the right time at the appropriate location, and hopefully this new program can make that possible for some of those who are in most need in our community,” said Liza Esparza, RN, BSN, Director of Transitional Clinical Delivery at Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Family Health Center.

To learn more about services at the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Family Health Center, please visit: www.christushealth.org/spohn/about/our-path-forward/ dr-hector-p-garcia-memorial-family-health-center.

CHRISTUS Spohn Care Coordination Team care for approximately 35 patients in the Select Wellness program. The care team does regular checks on Schmidt and Goodman to make sure they have what they need for their care and daily living. On this day the team brought them extra supplies for their bathroom, some bathmats, towels, and more. In the back row, from left are Linda Garcia, CHW, Tiffany Mendietta, RN, and Marta Satsky, CHW. In the front row, from left, are Alma Sanchez, RN , Matthew Schmidt, Pamela Ashley Rodriguez, RN, Patricia Goodman, Sharon Elwin, RN. Steven Alford for South Texas Catholic

14 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

†† NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 15

†† NEWS BRIEFS

In Memoriam: Sister Kathleen McDonagh, IWBS

by Sister Rose Miriam Gansle, IWBS, Contributor Sister Kathleen McDonagh (Cath- to English and spent several summers in France and Rome working erine Ann) died Nov. 13, 2018. She on the Cause of Beatification of Mother de Matel. was born in Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 12, Her writings on the spirituality and history of the order are 1930, to Francis McDonagh and May invaluable. Some include: Like a Crystal Vase, These Went Before Us, Duignan. She entered the Incarnate God’s Border Rose, A Love that Never Says ‘Enough', Treasured Heritage: Word and Blessed Sacrament Congre- Ever Ancient, Ever New. gation on Aug. 26, 1947, at age 17.

Other ministries of Sister Kathleen include the congregational During her 30 years of teaching in offices of General Councilor, Secretary General, Vocation DirecCatholic schools in Laredo, Browns- tor, and Formation Director. She taught classes in the Diocesan ville, and Corpus Christi, she taught Pastoral Institute for many years. She served in several diocesan on all levels from primary through offices: member of the Permanent Diaconate Board and founding Sister Kathleen college and adult theology classes. teacher in designing the program for deacon candidates, a columMcDonagh, IWBS Creative in music, writing and teach- nist for the South Texas Catholic, Secretary and then Director for ing, Sister Kathleen shared her talents through many years of writing the Office of Consecrated Life. She offered spiritual direction for for Catholic periodicals, giving retreats, offering spiritual direction many individuals. to many individuals, and giving presentations—particularly on the In her retirement, Sister Kathleen wrote: "God has indeed blessed spirituality, history and works of our Foundress, Jeanne Chézard de me over a long life with many steps which bring me closer and closer Matel. She translated some of our Foundress’ writings from French to Him. Praised be the Incarnate Word!"

Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe All parishes are invited to the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas on Dec. 12. Traditional mañanitas will be sung and matachines will dance as Father Christopher Bacerra will lead the procession at 5 p.m. from Sacred Heart Parish located at 1322 Comanche. The procession continues on Lipan into Corpus Christi Cathedral located on 505 N. Upper Broadway where attendees will present roses to an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Bishop Michael Mulvey will celebrate Mass. All are encouraged go to the reception following the Mass

in St. Joseph Hall (the basement of Corpus Christi Cathedral.) The event is hosted by the Federation of Our Lady of Guadalupe Societies. For more information call Nilda Reyes at (918) 798-2498 or email reyesnr@yahoo.com.

Texas Rally for Life The 2019 Texas Rally for Life will be held on Saturday, January 26, 2019. The Texas Rally for Life will commemorate the 46th anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973, which made abortion legal throughout all nine months of pregnancy. In

the wake of Roe, legal abortion in our nation has claimed the lives of more than 60 million unborn children and has hurt countless women and men. The Rally will feature pro-life speakers and leaders from across the state.

Six buses have been reserved to depart from the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Please contact Nellie Serna nserna@diocesecc.org to reserve buses for your school or parish group and for group registration. Individual registration is available online diocesecc.org/texasrallyforlife.

Texas Catholic Advocacy Day: Save the Date Join the Texas bishops and thousands of Catholics in a day at our State Capitol, visiting legislators, and promoting faithful citizenship. This bi-annual rally is hosted by the Texas bishops to promote the Church’s values of Life, Justice, Charity, and Religious Freedom to members of the Texas Legislature. Texas Catholic Advocacy Day is set for Tuesday, March 26, 2019. We 16 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

have reserved three coach buses for the "One Day Trip" to the State Capitol. Please encourage your parishioners to sign up. Register online by March 18, 2019 at diocesecc.org/advocacyday.

†† NEWS BRIEFS

Bishop Michael Mulvey has made the following assignments: Father Rene Meier has been appointed as Parochial Vicar of Holy Family Parish effective Oct. 17.

Father Roy Jacob Kalayil has been appointed as Chaplain to the Apostleship of the Sea, effective June 27.

Father Roy Jacob Kalayil

Father Rene Meier

Sister Rose Paul Madassery to leave Mother Teresa Shelter by Shannette Hoelscher, Catholic Charities Sister Rose Paul Madassery, SABS, Operations Supervisor for Mother Teresa Shelter, has been reassigned by her religious superior to do pastoral work within the Diocese of St. Augustine in Jacksonville, Florida. Sister Rose will leave the shelter in mid-December and Sister Rency Moonjely, SABS will take over as Operations Supervisor.

Originally from Kerala, India, Sister Rose made her first Religious Profession and Vestition on FebruSister Rose Paul ary 20, 1993. In India, she worked Madassery, SABS as a teacher and as a social worker before coming to Corpus Christi.

In 2002, Bishop Edmond Carmody brought Sister Rose to work at the homeless shelter in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. She worked as a staff member for five (5) years and has served as Operations Supervisor of Mother Teresa Shelter for almost 12 years.

“Sister Rose’s religious superiors have reassigned her to a new ministry in Florida,” Bishop Mulvey said. “As a bishop of the

Church, I want to express my gratitude to Sister Rose for courageously responding to this call with obedience to God’s will as difficult as it may be. She will be greatly missed at Mother Teresa Shelter to which she has dedicated her loving service for 17 years. The Diocese of Corpus Christi has become her home in America and we her family will miss her deeply.

"Sister Rose has worked tirelessly for the women and men who call the streets of our city ‘home’. To them she has been more than a friend, she has become their sister and companion. She will leave a lasting legacy in the diocese and city of how to care for the least among us," Bishop Mulvey said. "Thank you, Sister Rose!”

In 2017, Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi awarded Sister Rose with the Humanitarian Award for her support, dedication, and commitment to the homeless.

“On behalf of Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi and Mother Teresa Shelter, we thank Sister Rose for her many years of service to our community. We ask God to richly bless her in her new assignment in Florida,” Kevin Branson said, Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi and Mother Teresa Shelter Executive Director. “Sister Rose has been a vital part of the homeless community in Corpus Christi and she will be greatly missed.”

Christmas Mass Schedule 505 N. Upper Broadway Corpus Christi, TX 78401

www.cccathedral.com

Monday, Dec. 24 5:30 p.m. Christmas Vigil 11 p.m.

Festival of Lessons & Carols Cathedral Choir & Orchestra Tuesday, Dec. 25 12 a.m.

Midnight Mass 10 a.m.

Christmas Mass December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 17

†† CATHOLIC EDUCATION

S.T.E.M. at IWA

EXCELLING IN ACADEMICS • REINFORCING RELIGIOUS VALUES • ENCOURAGING DISTINCTION • FOSTERING COMMUNIT Y SERVICE

Ashley’s Story At the beginning of Ashley Salinas’ senior year, she had her sights on one day becoming a forensics scientist. Not long after taking her “Intro to Engineering” course at IWA, she realized her passion lay elsewhere.

Ashley credited the course with creating a curiosity for her surroundings, making her realize that everything we use in our lives usually starts off with an idea brought forth by a thinker — from the water we drink to the cars we drive.

Her enthusiasm to create something impactful was enhanced when she began teaching beginner coding to Elementary Level students during the school’s S.T.E.M. Olympics. Seeing the passion grow in the eyes of the school’s littlest Angels gave Ashley a joy she had never felt before.

Looking back at her time at IWA, Ashley is proud to see students beginning in the first grade cultivate the same love for science and technology as she did in High School. With clubs and electives such as Robotics, Girls in S.T.E.M., and LEGO Robotics, Ashley hopes future engineers walk away with the same passion that she did coming out of IWA.

Thanks to the preparatory resources offered to her at Incarnate Word Academy, Ashley has been able to easily assimilate to college life and the many relenting demands that come with it. Her goal of providing a more eco-friendly environment through engineering is currently being pursued at Texas A&M University - College Station.

Ashley received six college scholarship offers and was accepted to the Colorado School of Mines, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, Texas Tech, and University of Texas at San Antonio before ultimately deciding to attend Texas A&M University - College Station. She and the other 66 students in the graduating Class of 2018 amassed an astounding $10.9 million in college scholarship offers.

If you are interested in learning about IWA’s campus-wide S.T.E.M program, along with many other scholastic opportunities available, schedule your tour or visit the school website to RSVP for the upcoming WORD 101 Open House events.

WORD 101 is one of several events created especially for prospective families eager to learn more about IWA. New students and families who attend a WORD 101 event will be entered to win a $1,000 tuition voucher!

New students and returning students advancing to the next school level are eligible to win.

For more information, visit www.iwacc.org/word101 18 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

By Mary Cottingham

O South Texas Catholic

n the Solemnity of All Saints, Nov. 1, Bishop Michael Mulvey celebrated Mass and performed the Rite of Dedication in the newly constructed chapel and altar in the Blessed John Henry Newman Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Investing in young adults in the Diocese of Corpus Christi has been one of the goals of the capital and endowment campaign, “Legacy of Faith – Future of Hope.” Since the campaign began in 2012, two other Newman Centers and chapels have been built on college campuses, Texas A&M University-Kingsville and Coastal Bend College in Beeville.

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student and altar server Tino Quiocho assists Bishop Mulvey in anointing the walls with Chrism during the Consecration and Dedication of the new chapel at the Newman Center on campus.

Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 19

†† CATHOLIC EDUCATION

Bishop consecrates and dedicates new chapel at Newman Center

“Thank you to all who have contributed to the Legacy of Faith, Future of Hope,” Bishop Mulvey said. “The majority of the work here has been done through your generous contributions over the last five years. I deeply want to thank you for all you have done to make this possible,” he said. “Thank you so much for reaching out to so many young people in the diocese.

In just the five years since the centers have been in operation, we have already had five seminarians who have come from these centers.”

He also thanked contributors Ed Rachal Foundation and The John G. and Stella Marie Kenedy Foundation, builders, staff

and special guests in attendance, Mayor Joe McComb, Rabbi Kenneth D. Roseman, Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation of Beth Israel Corpus Christi and Bob Montez from Del Mar College.

Students were also grateful. According to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student, Matthew Kyle, when he was invited out to the Newman Center before they added a room and chapel, he found the atmosphere was light and said he found love and compassion from the people in the center. "I started reevaluating my relationship with God. The Newman Center has been one of my pride and joys – it has been my heartbeat. It provides a place where you

20 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

can pray constantly. The chapel is always open you are never denied the chance to pray, a chance to have quietness," he said.

"You are never denied to actually be loved or to love somebody else."

Another student Cynthia Ledzema said, "I just feel super grateful, because before we just had a small room and it would get really packed and now we all have room to sit in and pews to pray. It’s just an amazing feeling to walk in and say we have a chapel here and whenever we need to come and pray on our own – we can." On most Sundays, during school, the pews are filled with between 60 and 70 students at the 1:30 p.m. Mass. It’s mostly students because

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students gather around Bishop Mulvey and Father Chapa at the reception following the dedication of their new chapel. In the back row, from left, are Matthew Anderson, Michael Dueñes, Chad Nguyen, Jessie Baza, Jacob Hale, Tino Quiocho, James Trotter, Alexandria Garcia and Garrett Arnett. In the middle row, from left, are Adrianna Garza, Alyssa Vela, Father Chapa, Bishop Mulvey, Austin Perez, Karina Mozingo, Avery Rodriguez,Yasmin Sanchez and Amy Barragree. In the front row, from left, are Destiny Garcia, Jessica Reyes, Katelyn Hanks, Tiahna Lowe, Cynthia Ledzema, Regan Rodriguez, Alyssa Silva and Matthew Kyle is in the foreground (left). See more photos of this event at SouthTexasCatholic.com/news/newmancc.

Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic

it’s right next to the dorms," Ledzema said.

Before turning the chapel and center over to the students, Bishop Mulvey performed the Solemn Rite of dedication.

At the beginning of the liturgy, Bishop Mulvey blessed the holy water and sprinkled it on the people, altar and walls, as a sign of repentance; a reminder of their baptism

and to purify the walls of the new chapel.

After the homily, Bishop Mulvey invited the faithful to pray, asking the saints to support their prayers to God. Led by the students, a litany of the saints was sung. The bishop offered a prayer of dedication, a sign of intention to dedicate the church to the Lord for all times and

petition for his blessing.

By pouring Sacred Chrism on the middle of the altar and on each of its four corners, Bishop Mulvey made the altar a symbol of Christ, “The Anointed One.” After the rite of anointing, bishop incensed the altar, which signified Christ’s sacrifice, he was incensed before incensing December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 21

The Newman Center is still in need of items to finish furnishing their chapel and Newman Center. See items listed below.

Bishop Mulvey prepares the incense on the altar in the new chapel at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's Newman Center.

Newman Center Wish List

Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic

the people and the entire chapel. The students dressed the altar with a cloth, candles were lit by Father Eric Chapa, chaplain for the center, and students placed flowers on the altar and next to the tabernacle.

Concelebrating the Mass with bishop were Father James Stembler, Vicar General of the diocese, Father Chapa, Father René Meier, Parochial Vicar of Holy Family Parish and Master of Ceremonies was Father Pedro Elizardo, Director of Divine Worship for the Diocese of Corpus Christi and Marc Joseph Zamora who assisted.

Bishop Mulvey acknowledged others who have worked tirelessly on the campaign and construction for the extension of the center and chapel. His thanks included Director of Stewardship and Development Deacon Mark Arnold; Orlando Zepada from the diocesan construction office; Architects David Brown, Tom Mustard and Les Glaze from Ferrell/Brown and Associates, Inc.; Contractors Jeremy Baugh, Lacey Baugh and Jesse Zarate from Victory Building

Team; Vito Cangelosi and Michael Whitt from the Cangelosi Company for the Altar, Ambo, and tabernacle support.

He thanked the numerous priests, deacons and lay chaplain who have served at the center for the past few years; Amy Barragree, who serves as campus minister for Texas A&M in Corpus Christi and Del Mar College; Birgit Oberhofer and Bea Romo, who serve as spiritual advisors and companions to the students; and Father Chapa, who is presently, chaplain of the center as well as Parochial Vicar at St. Pius X and most importantly, he thanked the students, “Thank you, students. You are the reason we are here. Bring your friends and build up faith, vitality, vision and hope.

For the Lounge/Center Barstools (20)...................$90/each Tables (15)........................$180/each Chairs (100)......................$50/each Couch (4).........................$600/each Wall art............................$1,000 Area Rugs........................$500 Oven................................$600 For the Chapel Lavabo.............................$150 Communion Cups (2).......$300 Decanter..........................$100 Processional Candles.......$1000/pair Hymnals...........................$5,000 Main Crucifix....................$5,000 Stained Glass Windows...$15,000/each Other: Repave parking lot..........$50,000 Landscaping....................$25,000 Meals for Retreat (3)........$300/each Thank you so much for your support!

Students from the Newman Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, from left, Jessie Baza, Avery Rodriguez, Matthew Kyle and Jessica Reyes lead the music to the Consecration and Dedication of the new chapel.

22 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

†† NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

Father Stembler installs new CCDCCW officers, from left, Rose Hickey from St. Gertrude in Kingsville, proxy Irene Jones who is standing in for Molly Guevara from St. Joseph in Beeville, Erma Gonzales from Our Lady of Assumption in Ingleside and Diana Zavala from St. Gertrude in Kingsville. See more photos of this event at SouthTexasCatholic.com/news/ccdccw Jennifer Branson for South Texas Catholic

Convention prepares women for battle Jennifer Branson

W

Correspondent

omen across the Diocese of Corpus Christi are picking up their weapons and preparing for battle.

The Corpus Christi Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (CCDCCW) held their 2018 Biennial Convention on Nov. 10 at the Newman Center at Texas A&M-Kingsville. The theme for the gathering was “CCDCCW: Missionary Disciples, Mission Possible.”

This year the keynote address entitled,

“Theotokos: The Bearer of CHRIST,” was given by Ofelia de los Santos. She encouraged attendees that Mary is the most important intercessor and guide, as women and mothers. She herself encountered this in a real way for the first time when her own son was in college, denying the faith, turning to drugs for escape and becoming so disillusioned and depressed that he was contemplating suicide.

De los Santos, at that time a criminal defense attorney who had dedicated her practice to clients no one else wanted to represent, knew that she was about to lose

her son. She came to Mary in prayer and begged that her son be saved. She said, “If you help me with my son, I promise I will help you with your sons wherever they are.”

The Blessed Mother granted her prayer and soon she felt called to prison ministry, to further help incarcerated men and women beyond just legal representation.

She brought with her an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and experienced powerful conversions from those she visited. She was inspired to learn more about Our Lady and her powerful role as intercessor.

De los Santos emphatically taught that December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 23

✝ NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

catechesis for adults is of the utmost importance because Satan is attacking the family. The most important weapon in this battle, the weapon recommended by the Blessed Mother in multiple apparitions, is the Holy Rosary. She said there is a special enmity between Satan and Mary, one that goes all the way back to Genesis.

Mary leads souls to her Son, and Satan’s one goal is to lead them away from him. Many of the great saints, including St. Dominic, St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximillian Kolbe and others have written that demons hate Mary more than any other saint – even more than God himself. She is in the unique position of being a creature of God, but also of having fulfilled God’s will perfectly.

Someday Satan will face his ultimate humiliation in having to bow to her, De Los Santos explained.

“It is easy to think of the Blessed Mother in her humility, meekly accepting God’s will, but don’t be deceived,” De Los Santos said.

“She is a powerful ally against Satan. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because of her role in bearing Christ.” The Ark of the Covenant, described in the Old Testament, was an object of utmost holiness, but also of the utmost deadliness to those who

disobeyed God. Those who approached it outside of the will of God were killed instantly. De Los Santos reiterated the role of Mary as the deadly defeater of Satan by pointing out Revelation chapter 12, which describes Mary being attacked by Satan who appeared as a dragon with seven heads. She asked the women to imagine being in labor and fighting such a dragon.

She finished with an example of the importance of Mary’s intercession in the life of Blessed Bartolo Longo. Longo was raised in a pious Catholic family but turned from his faith during his college years through the influence of a professor, a jaded fallen-away priest. He soon fell into the occult, becoming a Satanist and finally a Satanist priest. In a deep depression, he turned to a childhood friend for help who convinced him to turn back to God. He was encouraged to pray the rosary but had doubts about the evil life he had lived and if he could be redeemed. He recalled the promise made to Saint Dominic, “he who propagates my Rosary will be saved,” and he dedicated his life to the prayer and promotion of the Rosary. “This is a powerful example of the grace that comes from praying the Rosary,” De Los Santos said.

The convention also included a Mass celebrated by Father James Stembler, spiritual advisor to the CCDCCW and Vicar General for the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Inspired by their mission and the life of Pope Saint Leo the Great, saint of the day, he encouraged the women present to embrace the cross fully. Only in this way can God use them to fulfill His will. With these words fresh in their mind, the new officers were installed to their posts: Diana Zavala as president; Erma Gonzales as vice president; Molly Guevara as secretary; and Rose Hickey as treasurer.

One of the council’s main projects is the Annual Burse Club Drive. The CCDCCW also gets involved with major concerns, such as “Respect Life,” “Human Dignity,” the homeless, domestic violence, human trafficking and other concerns of human life.

Later that day the CCDCCW presented a check for $11,000 to Father Stembler. The proceeds go directly to the bishop to be used for educating our seminarians and assisting with their needs. CCDCCW established the burse in 1949, and it has continued to support 13 seminarians this year.

This year’s convention was dedicated to Delpha Moran Barrera, a long-time National Council of Catholic Women Member and one-time president of the DCCW. Her impressive resume of charitable works does little to capture the warm and dedicated woman who was so enthusiastically honored by her sisters.

After this year’s Convention, the women of the Diocese of Corpus Christi are armed and ready for battle.

For more information on the CCDCCW call council president Diana Zavala at (361) 455-6024.

Father Stembler, from left, accepts a check from Diana Gomez and Barbara McGuill.

Martha Orem for South Texas Catholic

24 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

†† NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

Advent, a time for families to bond and form lifelong traditions

By Rebecca Esparza

R Correspondent

aul and Daniela Trevino believe in building family traditions that will last a lifetime. And for this young family, the Advent season is one of the most meaningful times of the year that help them create these Christ-centered memories.

Their three boys: Raul, 12, Cristian, 9 and Aaron, 1, are learning from their parents the Christmas season is more than just a time of gifts and parties, but more of a time centered on reflection and reverence.

“Advent is such a beautiful season. I feel like it just makes people come together,” noted Daniela Trevino. “Advent symbolizes

something meaningful. Lighting the candle every week is a constant reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ.”

The Trevino family makes their Advent wreath the first Sunday of December, using three purple candles and one pink candle.

“Our two older boys are altar servers and now take turns lighting the candles and leading our family in prayer,” added Daniela. “For us, Advent is about receiving Jesus Christ. Focusing on Advent helps us have a stronger faith, especially since this time of year can be particularly stressful.”

Father Rodolfo D. Vasquez, pastor at St. John the Baptist, said the Advent season is a penitential season: often overlooked and December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 25

✝ NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

almost never preached. It is not only a period of prayer and penance, but also a time of preparation and vigil.

“This is why the vestments are violet. Flowers and Christmas decorations are not allowed yet. We should make it a point to make a good confession (especially if it has been a while) or make an act of penance, like we would during Lent, by giving up something,” he said.

Father Vasquez reminds Catholics to avoid as much commercialization and materialism of the secular Christmas season.

“Limit, if not even avoid parties before Christmas and delay the decoration of your homes until at least a few days before Christmas,” he suggested, “and leave your decorations until at least the Feast of the Lord’s Epiphany.”

Rosie Vela, 71, the youngest of 10 children and a parishioner at St. Philip the Apostle in Corpus Christi, recalls with great fondness traditions of Advent growing up in Corpus Christi.

“When I was little my parents would celebrate the arrival of the Three Kings on January 6. That’s a tradition my late husband Dagoberto and I passed on to our two children. One year, we gave the kids presents on January 6 from the Three Kings,” she recalled. “The kids got confused because their friends didn’t get gifts, so we dropped that tradition, but we still put carrots for the Kings’ camels.”

Father Vasquez suggests parents do what they can to focus

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attention to the birth of Jesus Christ. Besides placing an Advent wreath at the dinner table (three violet candles and one rose/ pink), families can create a number of new family traditions centered on Christ’s birth.

“Don’t make Advent a “Christmas Shopping Season,” but instead spend extra time praying. Ask children to give up one of their presents for less fortunate children or make an act of charity for the hungry. Get the kids involved in an activity around the story of the Annunciation and the Nativity.”

He also suggests baking goods and treats for neighbors, wishing them a Merry Christmas along the way.

“It’s a sign of loving thy neighbor,” Father Vasquez explained.

“You can also keep the infant child Jesus out of the Nativity until Christmas Eve. The family can have a special ceremony featuring prayer and music to place him in the manger, announcing the Lord’s birth.”

Daniela Trevino added the bottom line for her family is remembering Advent is about the birth of Jesus Christ.

“We should always remember Him and give thanks, all the time. But we are human and sometimes we forget the true meaning of Christmas with all the chaos of our daily lives.

Advent gives us the chance to step back and reflect on our faith,” she said. “It is truly the most spiritually rejuvenating time of year for us.”

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Internet Podcasts & video at GoCCN.org:

Cathedral Sunday Mass, La Santa Misa, Our Shepherd’s View, Simmillas De Experanza and Con Permiso

For H-D Radio Information: KLUX.org

†† PARISH LIFE

A celebration of ceaseless blessings Father George Johnson Vallamattam Contributor

Looking back with gratitude

As our parish looks back on the one hundred years of its existence, our hearts rise in gratitude to Almighty God for the countless blessings He sends our way. St. George Church in George West was blessed

and consecrated for worship in 1918. It was a rather tiny church in the newly created township of George West. The church, however, has a rather long story to tell, about its coming into existence, which began way before the first brick was laid.

Irish immigrants were the first Catholics to settle in the area in the 1830’s, followed

by Polish immigrants in the 1850’s. St. Joseph church was built in Gussettville for the worship of Irish Catholics and still exists today. Priests would travel to Gussettville to St. George Church in 2017.

Contributed photo

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 27

†† PARISH LIFE

St. George Church in the 1920's.

Archived photo

minister to the religious needs of the faithful and prominent among them was Father Harold Purcell.

A blessing in disguise

In 1914, a great visionary George Washington West succeeded in establishing a new town which included various facilities: a courthouse, a school, newly built bridges and roads. The newly established George West soon became a much sought-after place.

For many, the new settlement created a problem for those who moved there. It was difficult for the families to travel to Gussettville to attend Mass, so Father Purcell started organizing Mass in one of the two storied buildings in town. West took note of the problem and donated a plot of land to the Bishop of Corpus Christi and construction began immediately for a new church building, built by the efforts of the faithful and aided by a substantial donation from West himself.

In 1916, a hurricane destroyed the church which was still under construction, and a new church was built and consecrated in 1918. In order to honor West, the newly constructed church was named St. George. The Catholic community continued to grow and priests, who till then had been traveling from Sinton to offer Mass and help with other sacramental needs, began residing in George West in 1924.

A change of venue

By 1948, the congregation had grown further, especially with the addition of many Spanish speaking Americans and the need for a new and larger church became a necessity. The building of a new church and rectory was undertaken in 1949 and the newly completed church was consecrated during Christmas Mass in 1950.

This is the church which is currently in use today, with only slight improvements inside.

Father Joseph Olikkara, MST pastor from 2002-2008 was presented with a St. George Centennial plate.

Contributed photo 28 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

Celebrating the many blessings

As our faith journey as a parish community goes beyond a century of blessings, we decided to celebrate this occasion with various programs. Celebrations were grouped into three categories, focusing on spiritual renewal, recalling of history and inspiring community building. The celebrations were kicked off with an inaugural Mass celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Edmond Carmody on Dec. 3, 2017.

During Mass, the Centennial Candle was lit, which has continued to be lit during Sunday Masses until the end of the celebrations on Nov. 17. On the same day, the newly constructed St. George Charities building was dedicated and blessed by Bishop Emeritus Carmody.

Various spiritual renewal programs were organized during the year including: Renewal of Marriage Vows; a Pilgrimage to the Basilica of San Juan; a special Lenten Mission by Father Sam Medley, SOLT; A Holy Land Pilgrimage; another mission entitled, “Growing in love for the Eucharist,” by Will Merkel; a drama by Frank Runyeon, which focused on the Beatitudes; and a special

†† PARISH LIFE

Pictured from left, Lamar James, Bishop Mulvey and Father Vallamattam after unveiling the new historical marker near St. George Church, acknowledging the many contributions Catholics made to the Live Oak communities. See more photos of this event at SouthTexasCatholic.com/news/stgeorge.

John Walker for South Texas Catholic

children’s Mass was organized every second Sunday of the month, where children led every aspect of the Holy Mass.

Every month, special posters were created and displayed, depicting important events during the history of the church and the role various priests played in them. Special bulletin inserts told the untold stories of the past, from the perspective of various individuals. Two former pastors of St. George, Msgr. Michael Howell (1990-1994) and Father Joseph Olikkara, MST (2002-2008) were

invited to the parish and honored. A special centennial book will be brought out at the end of the celebrations.

Two banners with the centennial logo and motto were displayed in the church all through the Centennial year. As part of centennial memorabilia, special plates and t-shirts were sold. A special altar cloth was created as a combined effort by the families of the parish and will be blessed and wrapped around the altar as a mark of gratitude to God. A journey that continues to unfold

The closing of the Centennial Celebrations took place on Nov. 17. The day was marked by the unveiling of a historical marker near the church and Bishop Michael Mulvey celebrated Mass.

As we look back at one hundred years of blessings, we recall with gratitude all the men and women who toiled hard to make our parish community a reality; pastors who will always be remembered with deep gratitude; the blessings and guidance of past and present bishops can never be forgotten; and above all we stand humbly before God Almighty, for letting us journey with Jesus to that place of eternal joy and life, where we shall all gather together one day.

Let celebrations continue, for blessings never cease!

Msgr. Michael Howell, pastor from 1990-1994 was presented with a St. George Centennial plate.

Contributed photo December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 29

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†† NATIONAL NEWS

"But racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart. This evil causes great harm to its victims, and it corrupts the souls of those who harbor racist or prejudicial thoughts. The persistence of the evil of racism is why we are writing this letter now."

- Open Wide our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love

U.S. bishops approved a pastoral letter against racism Judy Keane

T

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

he U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved today, during its November General Assembly, the formal statement, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love,” A Pastoral Letter Against Racism.

The full body of bishops approved it by a two-thirds majority vote of 241 to 3 with 1 abstention.

The USCCB Cultural Diversity in the Church Committee, chaired by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, MSpS, of San Antonio, Texas, spearheaded the letter’s drafting and guided it through the voting process. Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, of Houma-Thibodaux, Chairman of U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism and Chair of the Sub-committee on African American Affairs within the Cultural Diversity Committee, issued the following statement: “The entire body of bishops felt the need to address the topic of racism, once again, after witnessing the deterioration of the public discourse, and episodes of violence and animosity with racial and xenophobic overtones, that have re-emerged in American society in the last few years.

Pastoral letters from the full body of bishops are rare, few and far between. But at

key moments in history the bishops have come together for important pronouncements, paying attention to a particular issue and with the intention of offering a Christian response, full of hope, to the problems of our time. This is such a time.”

Initiated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in August 2017, the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism was created to address the sin of racism in our society and Church, to address the urgent need to come together as a society to find solutions, and to support the implementation of the bishops’ pastoral letter on racism.

“Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love,” is a Pastoral Letter from the full body of bishops to the lay faithful and all people of goodwill addressing the sin of racism.

The pastoral letter asks us to recall that we are all brothers and sisters, all equally made in the image of God. Because we all bear the image of God, racism is above all a moral and theological problem that manifests institutionally and systematically. Only a deep individual conversion of heart, which then multiplies, will compel change and reform in our institutions and society. It is imperative to confront racism’s root causes and the injustice it produces. The love of God binds us

together. This same love should overflow into our relationships with all people. The conversions needed to overcome racism require a deep encounter with the living God in the person of Christ who can heal all division.

"Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love," is not the first time the U.S. Bishops have spoken as a collectively on race issues in the United States, but it is the first time in almost 40 years.

In 1979, they approved "Brothers and Sisters to Us: A Pastoral Letter on Racism in Our Day." Among the many things, they discussed was the fact that "Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father." The newly approved “Open Wide Our Hearts” continues the message that “Brothers and Sisters to Us” sought to convey.

The full text, as well as many accompanying pastoral resources, will be posted at http://www.usccb.org/racism. Resources will include a bulletin insert, homily help, prayer materials, background information on systemic racism, and activities for primary, secondary, and higher education classroom settings.

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 31

†† VATICAN

Pope Francis in St. Peters Square on Nov. 14.

Marina Testino, Catholic News Agency

Pope Francis, Benedict XVI voice support for conference on 'new' human rights

By Hannah Brockhaus

P

Catholic News Agency

ope Francis and Pope Emerites Benedict XVI have written letters lending their support to a Vatican-sponsored conference on the risks posed to fundamental human

rights.

In a letter on a Nov. 15-16 international symposium in Rome, Benedict wrote that he believes it “extraordinarily useful” to make a close examination of the issue of the “multiplication of rights” and the risk this poses.

Pope Francis, in his own letter on the conference, pointed to Benedict XVI as having “lucidly warned of the urgency of these issues for our time,” and having “intervened authoritatively on them as a thinker and as a pastor.”

The symposium, which is on the theme of “fundamental rights and conflicts between rights,” is being organized by the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI

32 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

foundation headed by Fr. Federico Lombardi. It is being held at LUMSA, a Catholic university in Rome.

Addressing Lombardi, the former director of the Holy See press office, Benedict wrote that the issue of increasing “rights” is a “current and fundamental question to protect the foundations of the coexistence of the human family,” and is a topic deserving of “an in-depth and systematic reflection.”

The pope emeritus concluded the brief letter with a promise of his esteem and prayers for the event’s speakers and participants, asking the Lord’s blessing on their work “as a precious service for the Church and for the good of the human family.”

In his own letter to Lombardi, Pope Francis pointed to the upcoming 70th anniversary of the United Nations’ adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, noting the appropriateness of having “an in-depth reflection on

its implementation and on developing the vision of human rights in today’s world.”

The pope said about the symposium that the changing interpretation of certain rights and the appearance of “new rights,” especially in recent years, “opens up a series of problems that tend to involve, at bottom, the very idea of law and its foundations.”

He praised the pope emeritus’ interventions on the issue of human rights and noted that it was for that reason LUMSA bestowed on Benedict XVI an honorary degree in jurisprudence 20 years ago.

“I therefore hope,” Francis continued, “that the Symposium of high academic level that is about to be celebrated, drawing inspiration from the thought and the magisterium of our beloved Pope Emeritus, can contribute with courage and depth to illuminate an essential problem for the protection of the dignity of the human person and his integral development.”

P

Catholic News Agency

ope Francis encouraged the community of the Pontifical Latin American College Thursday to avoid cultural fragmentation and to be close to their people.

“One of the phenomena currently afflicting the continent is cultural fragmentation, the polarization of the social fabric and the loss of roots,” the pope said Nov. 15 in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

“This is exacerbated when arguments are fomented that divide and propagate different types of confrontations and hatred towards those who 'are not one of us', even importing cultural models that have little or nothing to do with our history and identity and that, far from combining in new syntheses as in the past, end up uprooting our cultures from their richest autochthonous traditions.

He spoke to the community to mark the 160th anniversary of the college's founding.

He noted that it “is one of the few Roman Colleges whose identity does not refer to a nation or a charism, but which seeks rather to be the meeting place, in Rome, of our Latin American land … offering you, young priests, the opportunity to create a vision, a reflection and an experience of communion that is expressly 'Latin Americanized'.”

Francis lamented that new generations are “uprooted and fragmented”, and said that “the Church is not external to this situation and is exposed to this temptation; since she is subject to the same environment, she runs the risk of becoming disoriented by falling prey to one form of polarization or another, or becoming uprooted if one forgets that the vocation is a meeting ground.”

He added that “the invasion of ideological colonization is also suffered in the Church.”

Because of this, he said it is important at the college “to create bonds and alliances of friendship and fraternity. And not because of a declaration of principles or gestures of

goodwill, but because during these years you can learn to know better and make your own the joys and hopes, sorrows and anguish of your brothers; you can name and face specific situations that our people live, and face and feel your neighbour’s problems as if they were your own.”

The Pontifical Latin American College should help create a good priestly community “if one knows how to help oneself, if one is able to lay down roots in the lives of others, brothers and sons with a common history and heritage, part of a same presbytery and the same Latin American people. A priestly community that discovers that the greatest strength it has to build history is born of the concrete solidarity among you today, and will continue tomorrow between your churches and peoples to be able to transcend the merely 'parochial' and to lead communities that know how to open up to others to interact and to promote hope.”

Latin America needs, he said, “artisans

Pope Francis addresses the Pontifical Latin American College in the Vaticans Clementine Hall on Nov. 15.

Vatican Media, Catholic News Agency December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 33

†† VATICAN

Be close to your people, Francis tells Latin American priests

†† VATICAN

of relationship and communion, open and trusting in the novelty that the Kingdom of God can inspire today … A priest in his parish, in his diocese, can do a lot - and this is fine - but he also runs the risk of burning himself out, of isolating himself or harvesting for himself. Feeling part of a priestly community, in which everyone is important – not because it is the sum of people living together, but because of the relationships they create, this feeling part of the community – can awaken and encourage processes and dynamics capable of transcending time.”

“This sense of belonging and recognition will help to creatively unleash and stimulate renewed missionary energies that promote an evangelical humanism capable of becoming intelligence and a driving force in our continent,” Pope Francis said.

“Without this sense of belonging and work hand in hand, on the contrary, we will disperse, we will weaken and, worse still, we will deprive so many of our brothers of the strength, the light and the consolation of friendship with Jesus Christ and of a community of faith that gives a horizon of meaning and life. And so, little by little, and almost without realizing it, we will end up offering Latin America … a God

without Christ, a Christ without a Church, a Church without a people... pure re-elaborated Gnosticism.”

He said Latin America knows that “the love for Christ and of Christ cannot manifest itself except in passion for life and for the destiny of our peoples, and especially solidarity with the poorest, the suffering and those in need.”

The pope said this “reminds us of the importance… of developing the pleasure of always being close to the life of our people; never isolating ourselves from them. The life of the diocesan presbyter is lived – the repetition is valid – in this identification and belonging. The mission is passion for Jesus, but at the same time, it is passion for His people. It is learning to look where He looks and to let ourselves be moved by the same things He is moved by: feelings for the life of His brothers, especially sinners and of all those who are despondent and fatigued, like sheep without a shepherd. Please, do not huddle in personal or community enclosures that keep us away from the hubs where history is written. Captivated by Jesus and members of His Body, we integrate fully into society, share life with everyone, listen to their concerns ... rejoice with those who

are happy, mourn with those who mourn and offer every Eucharist for all those faces that were entrusted to us.”

Francis said the linking of the college's anniversary with the canonization of St. Oscar Romero, a sometime student, is providential, calling him a “living sign of the fruitfulness and sanctity of the Latin American Church. A man rooted in the Word of God and in the hearts of his people.”

“This reality allows us to make contact with that long chain of witnesses in which we are invited to place our roots and take inspiration from every day … Do not fear holiness, and do not fear spending your life for your people.”

“On the path of cultural and pastoral miscegenation we are not orphans; Our Mother accompanies us,” Pope Francis stated. “She wanted to be like that, mestizo and fertile, and that is how she is with us, our Mother of tenderness and strength who rescues us from the paralysis or confusion of fear, just because she is simply there, as our Mother.”

“Brother priests, let us not forget, and confidently ask her to show us the way, to free us from the perversion of clericalism, increasingly to make us 'village pastors' and not to let us become 'clerics of the state'.”

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By Sister Constance Veit, LSP

A Contributor

Sister Constance Veit is director of communications for the Little Sisters of the Poor.

s they celebrated their first Christmas in America 150 years ago, our Little Sisters in Baltimore noted that the donations received included “twelve turkeys, four ducks, sixteen chickens and so many other good things that we didn’t know what to do with it all!”

They concluded, “In this country Christmas is like the feast of the poor!”

I decided to take a look at Christmas giving in 19th century America to see if this was true.

In 1843 Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol, telling the story of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and his Christmas Eve conversion. As the story opens, Scrooge is approached by two men asking for a cash donation to help the poor.

He refuses, answering that there are prisons and workhouses for the destitute and he pays taxes to support them.

Scrooge’s attitude was quite prevalent in America as well as England. Our young nation was being built up through hard work and self-reliance. Commerce and industry were taking off, and with them a new spirit of competition, along with the uncompromising pursuit of profit. There was also a growing social divide between the rich and the poor.

Like Scrooge, many Americans believed that the “unworthy” poor – those who were judged to have caused their own misery – belonged in prison or the workhouse, where the conditions were anything but humane. The one group of destitute individuals that elicited universal sympathy was impoverished children.

People concerned about poverty were encouraged to donate to churches or charitable institutions rather than giving directly to the poor.

A January 1844 article in the New York Tribune advised that if all the money wasted on unnecessary Christmas trifles was “rightly appropriated … Pauperism and its attendant miseries could be eliminated.” An 1853 editorial in the same newspaper ran with the headline, “DO NOT GIVE TO STREET BEGGARS.” Giving directly to the poor was believed to encourage beggary.

The New York Times expressed similar sentiments. An 1854 editorial asserted that money contributed to worthy organizations “will find where the misery is.” The paper encouraged its readers to give to “those excellent institutions, in whose

hands, if you place a dollar, you do what, individually, you could not make five dollars do.”

Charitable giving was on its way to becoming a well-oiled yet impersonal machine. Large Christmas dinners for the poor at New York’s Madison Square Garden served up to 20,000 people at a time as the wealthy looked on as spectators. Is this how charity should be administered?

Worthy institutions of all types will always play an important role in relieving the distress of the poor, but contrary to what the New York Tribune asserted, poverty will never be completely eliminated. Christ himself foretold, “The poor you will always have with you;” and “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do to me.”

In the 1860s and ’70s, the Little Sisters were a fledgling community in a foreign land, so the people who supported us were definitely taking a risk!

I am especially grateful for those who gave the gift of their presence, and those who knew how to go beyond what might be considered life’s necessities in order to make the elderly feel loved.

Our archives are full of stories of such thoughtful charity. The Galt House Hotel, a Louisville institution, donated leftovers on a daily basis. On Christmas day in 1869 the hotel management requested that the Sisters send their begging wagon over to the hotel at noon. The Little Sisters assumed they would receive leftovers as they usually did, but the hotel employees filled the wagon with freshly made treats of all kinds, which made the residents quite happy!

Thanks to the generosity of such wonderful people I can see how the Sisters could say that in this country, Christmas is the feast of the poor.

As we reflect on how best to respond to the cry of the poor in our own time, I’d like to suggest that even the most destitute individual deserves a look of love and the gift of humanity.

In his encyclical on charity Pope Benedict XVI wrote that although charitable organizations might be “a political necessity,” if we look upon others from the perspective of Jesus Christ we can perceive in them an interior desire for a sign of love and concern. “Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave.”

Let’s try to be generous in giving this look of love this Christmas!

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 35

†† OUR FAITH

What are you giving for Christmas?

December Liturgical Calendar

1 | Sat | Weekday | green/white [BVM] Rv 22:1-7/Lk 21:34-36 (508) YEAR C – WEEKDAYS

2 | SUN | FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT | violet Jer 33:14-16/1 Thes 3:12—4:2/ Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 (3) Pss I

11-12/Lk 1:26-38 (689) Pss Prop

Phil 4:4-7/Lk 3:10-18 (9) Pss III

9 | SUN | SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT | violet Bar 5:1-9/Phil 1:4-6, 8-11/Lk 3:1-6 (6) Pss II

17 | Mon | Advent Weekday | violet | Gn 49:2, 8-10/Mt 1:1-17 (193)

10 | Mon | Advent Weekday | violet | Is 35:1-10/Lk 5:17-26 (181)

3 | Mon | Saint Francis Xavier, Priest | white | Memorial | Is 2:1-5/Mt 8:5-11 (175)

11 | Tue | Advent Weekday | violet/ white | [Saint Damasus I, Pope] Is 40:111/Mt 18:12-14 (182)

4 | Tue | Advent Weekday | violet/ white [Saint John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church] Is 11:1-10/Lk 10:21-24 (176)

12 | Wed | USA: Our Lady of Guadalupe | white | Feast | Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab/Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47 (690A), or any readings from the Lectionary for Mass (vol. IV), the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, nos. 707-712 Pss Prop

5 | Wed | Advent Weekday | violet | Is 25:6-10a/Mt 15:29-37 (177) 6 | Thu | Advent Weekday | violet white [Saint Nicholas, Bishop] Is 26:1-6/Mt 7:21, 24-27 (178) 7 | Fri | Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church | white | Memorial | Is 29:17-24/Mt 9:27-31 (179)

13 | Thu | Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr | red | Memorial Is 41:13-20/Mt 11:11-15 (184) 14 | Fri | Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church | white | Memorial | Is 48:17-19/Mt 11:1619 (185)

8 | Sat | THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY | white (Patronal Feastday of the United States of America | Solemnity | [Holyday of Obligation] Gn 3:9-15, 20/Eph 1:3-6,

15 | Sat | Advent Weekday | violet | Sir 48:1-4, 9-11/Mt 17:9a, 10-13 (186) 16 | SUN | THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT | violet or rose Zep 3:14-18a/

Quality

SIGNS

READY MIX

18 | Tue | Advent Weekday | violet | Jer 23:5-8/Mt 1:18-25 (194) 19 | Wed | Advent Weekday | violet | Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a/Lk 1:5-25 (195) 20 | Thu | Advent Weekday | violet | Is 7:10-14/Lk 1:26-38 (196) 21 | Fri | Advent Weekday | violet [Saint Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church] Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:1418a/Lk 1:39-45 (197) 22 | Sat | Advent Weekday | violet | 1 Sm 1:24-28/Lk 1:46-56 (198) 23 | SUN | FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT | violet Mi 5:1-4a/Heb 10:5-10/ Lk 1:39-45 (12) Pss IV 24 | Mon | Advent Weekday | violet | Morning: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16/Lk 1:67-79 (200) 25 | Tue | THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (Christmas) | white | Solemnity | [Holyday of Obligation] Vigil: Is 62:1-5/ Acts 13:16-17, 22-25/Mt 1:1-25 or 1:1825 (13) | Night: Is 9:1-6/Ti 2:11-14/Lk

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ourladyofcorpuschristi.org 36 South Texas Catholic | December 2018

27 | Thu | Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist | white | Feast | 1 Jn 1:1-4/ Jn 20:1a, 2-8 (697) Pss Prop 28 | Fri | The Holy Innocents, Martyrs | red | Feast | 1 Jn 1:5—2:2/Mt 2:13-18 (698) Pss Prop 29 | Sat | Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord | white [Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr] 1 Jn 2:3-11/Lk 2:22-35 (202) Pss Prop 30 | SUN | THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH | white | Feast | Sir 3:2-6, 12-14/Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17/Lk 2:41-52 or, for Year C, 1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28/1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24/Lk 2:41-52 (17) Pss Prop 31 | Mon | Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord | white [Saint Sylvester I, Pope] 1 Jn 2:18-21/Jn 1:1-18 (204) Pss Prop

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26 | Wed | Saint Stephen, The First Martyr | red | Feast | Acts 6:8-10; 7:5459/Mt 10:17-22 (696) Pss Prop

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2:1-14 (14) | Dawn: Is 62:11-12/Ti 3:4-7/ Lk 2:15-20 (15) | Day: Is 52:7-10/Heb 1:16/Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14 (16) Pss Prop

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Dec. 6-9 begins Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and ends Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Corpus Christi Retreat Center (1200 Lantana). A weekend to go deeper in our relationship with Our Lord through the power of prayer and silence. Register deepprayer.org or call (361) 2899095, ext. 321

Rustic Knights Winterfest BBQ Cookoff

Dec. 7-8 check-in at 10 a.m. at Knights of Columbus Hall (320 General Cavazos Blvd.) in Kingsville. Cookoff competition includes brisket, pork spare ribs, chicken and jackpot competitions. All proceeds benefiting St. Gertrude the Great Church building fund.

Healing Mass and Prayer Service

Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary Church (1123 Main Drive) in Corpus Christi. Call Parish office with questions (361) 241-2004

Rustic Knights Winterfest Dinner-Dance

Dec. 8 from 6 p.m.-12 a.m. at Knights of Columbus Hall (320 General Cavazos Blvd.) in Kingsville.

Proceeds benefit St. Gertrude the Great Church Building Fund. Music by the Dave Rukkus Band daverukkusmusic.com. $30 Adult Admission; $15 for less than $12.

Sacred Heart in Odem

invites you to a 6 mile procession to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Edroy in celebration of our

Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018 The celebration will begin at 9 a.m. with a 6 mile walk from Sacred Heart (401 W. Willis St.) in Odem to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Edroy (18012 CR 1598) where we will serenade our Blessed Mother before 12 p.m. Mass.

FMI call Servando Gomez at (361) 688-0842

Dec. 8-9 begins at Pax Christi Retreat Center (4601 Calallen Dr.) in Corpus Christi.

8th Annual Feast Day Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe

An Advent Day of Recollection for all Mothers

Dec. 2 from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Schoenstatt Movement Center (4343 Gaines) in Corpus Christi. Meeting Jesus, Through the Heart of Mary An Advent Day of Recollection for all Mothers. Registration begins at 9 a.m.; Holy Mass at 2:30 p.m. Donation is $5; Lunch is $7. For more information call Ana De La Rosa (361) 688-2829.

Marriage Prep Retreat

12

12

Dec. 9 begins at 9 a.m. Sacred Heart in Odem invites you to a 6-mile procession to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Edroy in celebration of our 8th Annual Feast Day Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We will begin wi6-mile mile walk from Sacred Heart (401 W. Willis St) in Odem to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Edroy (18012 CR 1598) where we will serenade our Blessed Mother before 12 p.m. Mass. For more information call Servando Gomez at (361) 688-0842.

Celebración a la Virgen de Guadalupe

Celebración a la Virgen de Guadalupe el 12 de diciembre en Our Lady of Perpetual Help (5830 Williams Dr. C. C. TX 78412) 5:45 am Mañanitas y Alabanzas 6:00 am Santo Rosario 6:40 am Danzas 8:00 am Santa Misa con Padre Frank X. Martinez y presentación de rosas a la Virgen 8:40 am Desayuno tradicional mexicano en el salón parroquial Para más información llame a la oficina parroquial (361) 991-7891.

Feast Day Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dec. 12 begins at 5 p.m. at Sacred Heart Parish, located on 1322 Comanche. The procession will continue onto Lipan and Corpus Christi Cathedral, located on 505 N. Upper Broadway, where the faithful will present roses to an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Bishop Michael Mulvey will celebrate Mass. All are encouraged to come and stay for the reception following Mass in St. Joseph Hall (the basement of Corpus Christi Cathedral.) For more information call Nilda Reyes at (918) 798-2498 or email reyesnr@yahoo.com.

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December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 37

†† DECEMBER CALENDAR

3

Ongoing Calendar Events

Secular Franciscan Gathering

Dec. 1 and every first Saturday of each month from 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. at Corpus Christi Cathedral Room 4. For more information contact Liz at (936) 344-1353 or email: ofscctx@gmail.com.

Blue Army Mass

Dec. 1 and every first Saturday of the month in the Jesus Nazareno Chapel at Sacred Heart in Corpus Christi. For more information call the church at (361) 883-6082 or email sacredheartchurch001@stx.rr.com.

St. Peregrine Healing Mass

Dec. 2 and every first Sunday of each month from 5-6 p.m. at Our Lady of Corpus Christi (1200 Lantana St.) in Corpus Christi.

Tea Time and Book Study: Father Joseph Kentenich's Life

Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 and every Monday from 12:30-2 p.m. at Schoenstatt Movement Center in Corpus Christi.

Alzheimer's & General Support Group

• Dec. 4 and every first Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. St. Paul United Church of Christ (5525 Lipes) in Corpus Christi. For more information call (361) 883-3935.

• Dec. 5 and every first Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. at SCC River Ridge Nursing Rehab Center located at 3922 West River Dr. (off FM 624) in Corpus Christi. For more information call (361) 767-2000.

• Dec. 11 and every second Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Woodridge Nursing & Rehab Center located at 600 So. Hillside Dr. in Beeville. For more information call (361) 358-8880.

• Dec. 12 and every second Wednesday of the month at 12 p.m. at Lindale Center/Caregiver SOS located on 3133 Swantner St. in Corpus Christi. For more in Corpus Christi. For more information call (361) 826-2343.

• Dec. 13 and every second Thursday of the month at 3 p.m. at Mirador Plaza (back side of facility) located at 5857 Timbergate Drive in Corpus Christi. For more information call (361) 883-3935.

OLPH Bereavement & Grief Support Ministry

Dec. 4, 11, 18 and every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the St. John Paul II Conference Room at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Rectory (5830 Williams Drive). These sessions are intended for adults who have experienced the death of a loved one. For more information call Chaplain Ray Claveria at (361) 215-4395.

Bible Study at St. Patrick Church

Dec. 4, 11, 18 and every Tuesday from 7-9 p.m. at St. Patrick Church, Our Lady of Knock Hall (the corner of S. Alameda and Rossiter Street.)

For more information call the parish office at (361) 855-7391.

Catholic Charities is offering Immigration Services

Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27 and Thursdays at 7:30 a.m. at Catholic Charities (615 Oliver Court) to discuss client eligibility according to USCIS qualifications. The first 15 people who sign in will be seen in order of arrival; there is a $25 consultation fee.

Holy Hour followed by a healing Mass

Dec. 6 and every first Thursday of the month from 5-6:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Chapel Jesus Nazareno in Corpus Christi. Father Angel Montana invites everyone to Holy Hour followed by a Healing Mass.

Family Rosary

Dec. 8 and every second Saturday of the month in the Emmanuel Chapel (505 N Upper Broadway) after 12:05 Mass. Cathedral Knights of Columbus Council #11107, is inviting all Parish Families and community to participate in the Family Rosary. All participants are encouraged to bring their own rosaries. For those who do not have one, the Knights will provide finger rosaries, along with instructions on how to properly pray the rosary. For more information call faith director Awin Bau at (530) 518-7615 or email matmet32@gmail.com.

Grounded in Truth at OLCC

Dec. 15 and every third Saturday of the month. An hour of Adoration with Praise and Worship in the OLCC Perpetual Adoration Chapel 7-8 p.m., followed by music and fellowship in Cafe Veritas (attached to • Dec. 18 and every third Tuesday of the month at 9:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Corpus Christi's Bookstore) from 8-9:30 p.m. All music led Brookdale (formerly Homewood Residence) located at 6410 Meadow by talented local musicians. Call (361) 289-0807 for more information.

Vista in Corpus Christi. For more information call (361) 980-0208.

Grandparents and Other Relatives Facilitator is Anita Valle.

• Dec. 20 and every third Thursday of the month at 10:30 a.m. at Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library Central Library, located on 110 N. Lamont Street in Aransas Pass. For more information call (361) 883-3935.

All Services FREE: • Pregnancy Test • Limited Ultrasound • Baby Supplies • Parenting Classes • Adoption Information • Abortion Recovery Classes

Raising Children Support Group

• Dec. 11 from 10-12 p.m. at Greenwood Senior Center (4040 Greenwood Drive). For more information call (361) 826-1368.

Corpus Christi

Pregnancy

Resource Center

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Bishop’s

2018

Say

STEWARDSHIP APPEAL ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF CORPUS CHRISTI

yes

to

Catholic Charities outreach to those whose lives have been impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

The Diocese of Corpus Christi serves the spiritual and physical needs of our parishes and community through more than 30 ministries. We appreciate your generosity in sharing your blessings, so we are committed to you to be a good steward of the gifts you entrust to us.

By participating in the Bishop’s Stewardship Appeal, you are saying – to helping to those impacted by natural disasters in our diocese.

Diocese of Corpus Christi

yes

Office of Parish Stewardship & Development P.O. Box 2620, Corpus Christi, TX 78403 • (361) 882-6191 www.diocesecc.org or email emartinez@diocesecc.org

December 2018 | South Texas Catholic 39

December 2018 Issue SOUTH TEXAS CATHOLIC 555 N Carancahua St, Ste 750 Corpus Christi, TX 78401-0824 (361) 882-6191