Reflections-Summer 2015

...recognizing our gifts of time, talent and treasure

Summer 2015

reflections... a newsletter from the Stewardship and Development Office

We, the Diocese of Austin, through the Word and Eucharist, prayer, formation and education, social ministries and advocacy, embrace diverse cultures throughout the diocese so that together, as the Catholic Church, we may continue the mission of Christ in the world today.

Stewardship and Development Office Diocese of Austin 6225 Highway 290 E. Austin, TX 78723 (512) 949-2400

Most Rev. Joe S. Vásquez Bishop of Austin

Most Rev. Daniel E. Garcia Auxiliary Bishop of Austin

Scott Whitaker Director of Stewardship and Development

Danielle Madrid Associate Director of Stewardship and Annual Appeal

Jean Bondy Associate Director of Catholic School Development

The Catholic Diocese of Austin

THE PASTORAL PLAN

By Bishop Joe Vásquez

The development of the Pastoral Plan began more than a year ago with the formation of a steering committee that included clergy, laity, religious and diocesan staff from across the diocese. Listening sessions were held and surveys were distributed to give people an opportunity to identify priorities. I believe this Plan has truly been inspired by the Holy Spirit, who always guides the Church. From the very beginning we prayed to the Holy Spirit to inspire us. Because of the growth of this diocese and the completion of the previous plan, we need to be prepared to serve this vibrant and thriving Church with a new Pastoral Plan.

The Plan has three strategic priorities, which are focused on Encounter, Transformation, and Witness. Within the priorities, goals and objectives, I have particular passion about encounter, Hispanic Ministry and outreach to the poor.

ENCOUNTER

The fundamental priority is encounter with Christ. This language of “encounter” is frequently used by our Holy Father, Pope Francis; was present in Saint John Paul II’s writings; and, most certainly, with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. When Christ becomes the center of one’s life, a person’s outlook on life changes. For us as Catholics, this encounter with Jesus Christ takes place primarily in an ecclesial setting. It is within the church that we meet Jesus Christ. These encounters are primarily {continued on page 2}

{continued from page 1} sacramental in nature, that is, within the celebration of the sacraments Christ continues to meet us. We are also entrusted with the mission to proclaim Christ to the world, to help others encounter Christ. As Pope Paul VI wrote in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, “[The Church] exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection.” Because this encounter with Christ is necessarily ecclesial and sacramental, it means we must have good, holy and healthy priests to serve the people. This plan must promote and foster vocations to the priesthood.

Hispanic Catholics

The demographic data makes it clear that Hispanic Catholics are the fastest growing population in our diocese. I see these changes each year as I return to parishes to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. Many parishes have already begun Hispanic ministry programs. For example, two years ago St. Albert the Great in North Austin celebrated a Sunday Spanish Mass, which began with 120 people. Recently, I celebrated this Spanish Mass at St. Albert’s with about 400 in attendance.

Outreach to the Poor

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis challenges us to be in solidarity with the poor, the sick, and the immigrant to experience the presence of Jesus Christ among them. Like Pope Francis, I desire a church that is “. . . bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” As a church we must give priority to the care of the poor. This particular encounter with Christ leads to a transformation of persons and parishes, which leads to collaborative ministry and discipleship, expressed in strong witness and outreach to those in need. Catholic Charities, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and other parish ministries help meet the needs of the poor and provide ongoing assistance to both young and old. I believe this Plan takes a serious look at how to strengthen and grow these ministries.

In five years when we look back at how we implemented this Plan, I hope that more persons have met Jesus Christ, grown in a deeper relationship with Him and are actively involved in the Church. I hope that we have created more disciples who are energized and committed to becoming evangelizers.

I am inspired by these words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, “And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ.

There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.” diocese of austin

2

Maria Goretti (1890-1902), Virgin and Martyr Optional Memorial – July 6 St. Maria Goretti’s story is, sadly, as contemporary as today’s headlines—an innocent young girl, violently attacked and mortally wounded by a “friend of the family.” Her father died when she was only ten, and Maria helped support the family by caring for her brothers and sisters and for neighbors’ children while the adults worked in the fields. She could neither read nor write but was pious and devout, and when she was attacked by a neighbor, she fought him off, saying, “No, God doesn’t wish it. It is a sin.” She forgave her attacker from her deathbed, and years later, she appeared to him in a vision which completely changed his life. Though very young, St. Maria Goretti used the gifts she had—holiness, decency, respect for her body, total trust in God, and obedience to his will—to serve the Lord. “Not all of us are expected to die a martyr’s death, but we are all called to the pursuit of Christian virtue,” said Pope Pius XII at her canonization. St. Maria Goretti, pray for our children.

Help us to value and guard the gift of their innocence.

Adapted from Sharon Hueckel, Steward Saints for Every Day, Copyright © 1999, the National Catholic Stewardship Council, Inc., Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.

SUMMER 2015

Stewardship Spotlight Holy Cross Catholic Church, Austin parish also contributes to the St. Vincent DePaul Ministry.

The parish shows it relevancy and stewardship in other ways: by annually conducting a fan drive for the sick, elderly and shut-ins and providing scholarships for high school graduates going on to higher education.

Holy Cross has helped Blackshear Elementary School teachers with supplies and other items they requested at the beginning of the school year. Holy Cross volunteers have helped Blackshear students, mostly Hispanic and AfricanAmerican from low-income families, with their reading skills. Annually, the parish sponsors a Family Appreciation Day on the grounds of Blackshear Elementary school.

This event is open to all parishioners and everyone in the community as a way of creating an avenue for community outreach and fellowship.

Under the leadership of Father Basil Aguzie, who is leading a three-year capital fundraising campaign to build a Family Life Center, Holy Cross parishioners have answered the call by showing solid stewardship in that they are paying their pledges in advance of due dates.

Father Basil and the Holy Cross parishioners invite all to visit and worship at a very welcoming parish.

Holy Cross Catholic Church understands the signiďŹ cance of welcoming all who come to worship in the East Austin parish. Prior to its founding in 1936, black Catholics in Austin and across Texas were relegated to the back seats of Catholic Churches—when they were allowed inside those churches. That history has driven Holy Cross to welcome all who come to its pews with open arms on Sundays or other days. Every visitor is personally greeted and invited to have coffee and conversation following Mass.

Last year, the parish held an evangelization revival conducted by Deacon Alex Jones, a charismatic speaker with a powerful message about the Catholic faith and his faith journey into the Catholic Church. The revival was open to all.

While Holy Cross does provide many services to its own parishioners in need, the parish also looks outward in the greater Austin community to help many others in need. There are many other activities in which Holy Cross participates that help others, including Meals on Wheels; Catholic Advocacy Day at the Capital; Feast of Sharing to feed the homeless and poor; and the annual blood drive on the MLK holiday. Each year, Holy Cross provides Christmas gifts for needy children and Thanksgiving meals for families. The

diocese of austin

3

SUMMER 2015

See What Your

Donation Can Do

Thank you for supporting the Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). Your generous donations to the CSA have a significant positive impact on our diocese. In everything we do, whether it is caring for the poor and troubled, assisting the sick and alienated, supporting our needy parishes, educating our young

people or providing for our retired and future members of the clergy, our task is to act in a way that makes visible the Lord’s saving, merciful love. Your contribution assists in meeting the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of the people of the Diocese of Austin.

Hola Adiós

$150

Covers the cost for one speaker for Theology on Tap

$300

Buys books for one seminarian for one semester

$400

Funds in-service presentations for the campus ministers of our diocese at biannual campus ministry meetings

$450

$5,000

Provides pizza for the annual Middle School Youth Rally

Hires the house band for the Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference

$5,000

Supports a seminarian during a summer-long Spanish immersion program

$10,000

$15,200

Sends a seminarian to the Institute for Priestly Formation, a summer program of spirituality that all of our seminarians attend

Covers the healthcare cost of one retired priest for one year

In addition to these and other annual program needs, our offices are constantly working on new and innovative programs. However, new programs often include a start-up cost. We asked the Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Family Life what they would do if they had the funding. Below are their answers: $2,500 (per deanery) – Invest in video conferencing equipment—TVs, digital projectors, cameras, speakers, small desktop computers and wireless accessories—to enhance communication and teach courses in our more remote deaneries

$8,000 – Invest in additional training for Catholic leaders throughout the diocese, especially among our Spanish-speaking population $8,000 – Underwrite the major costs of a diocesan-wide women’s evangelization conference in Fall 2016

$2,500 – Purchase advertising space (print and Internet) and airtime to educate the general public about the great things Catholics are doing in the Diocese of Austin

$10,000 – Offset rising printing costs so we can offer Catholic prayer books to parishes at affordable pricing. One print run is equivalent to 15,000 books, which normally lasts 14-16 months.

$5,000 – Purchase adult formation and evangelization resources, including DVD-based series, for our diocesan demo library and to loan to parishes who can’t afford them

UPCOMING DIOCESAN EVENTS June 16 Lumen Gentium, Temple (Mayborn Center)

IS ONLINE!

July 11 Transitional Diaconate Ordination St. Vincent de Paul Parish

Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device, or visit www.austindiocese.org/reflections to read the latest issue.

diocese of austin

July 18 7th annual Men’s Mass, St. Mary Cathedral August 15 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary September 16 Assembly of Catholic Professionals Luncheon Hyatt Regency, Town Lake For event information, visit www.austindiocese.org

4

SUMMER 2015

Renewing Lately I’ve been thinking about writing a book entitled The New Evangelization for Old(er) Catholics. It would be written as much for myself as for the almost 80 million self-identified Catholics in the U.S., especially for those in my generation (the “Vatican II generation” born 1943-1960), of whom 38 percent say they almost never attend Mass—a higher proportion than both older and younger Catholics. As a generational group we probably understand the “New Evangelization” the least and need it the most.

I lived the experience of the “New Evangelization” before I even knew what it was. As a “cradle Catholic” I was raised to do all the things that Catholics do.

We never missed Sunday Mass, I sang in the choir, went faithfully to CCD, and did service projects. We had a thick red Bible on our coffee table, ate lots of tuna fish patties on Fridays and marked Lent with Stations of the Cross. I was baptized and celebrated First Communion and Confirmation at the appropriate times. So what was missing?

I was 16 before I learned that religious practices—as valuable as they are—don’t necessarily translate into a living relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church. I could recite the Ten Commandments and all 15 mysteries of the rosary, but if someone had asked me to explain the “Gospel message” I probably couldn’t have done it. I was well-catechized and wellsacramentalized—but not evangelized. “Evangelize” was a Protestant word that meant preaching on street corners or going door-to-door with invitations to a revival. Ironically, it was at one of those revivals with a group of high school friends, that I experienced an encounter with the Person I had been hearing and reading about through my childhood years.

Although my first impulse as a young adult was to leave what I thought was a sterile, old-fashioned, rule-bound Catholic institution for a more “dynamic” evangelical Protestant denomination, God’s providence led me to stay and to integrate this newfound relational aspect of my faith with the wonderful richness of my Catholic sacramental upbringing. I jumped back into “full, conscious, and active participation”—but sadly, many of my Catholic contemporaries walked away and never looked back, or if they stayed, they settled for the occasional external observance without experiencing what Pope Francis calls “the joy of the Gospel.” diocese of austin

Fast forward about 30 years . . . I never imagined I’d be directing the Office of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Family Life for the Diocese of Austin, assisting parishes and individuals in this rapidly growing, 25-county heart of Texas. There is so much to do. Our office has been asked to help implement the Diocesan Pastoral Plan, providing “spiritual formation that leads to encounter” with Christ— “awakening faith, engaging the heart, and transforming believers.” That begins with diocesan staff, so Job One is to ensure that we pray together, study together, and listen to the Holy Spirit to guide us in the many tasks of supporting the parishes in their catechetical and evangelical efforts. We’re constantly evaluating our policies and programs, trying to remain open to creative approaches and fresh yet faithful ways of communicating the Gospel message. And we’re seeing a steadily growing groundswell of interest in this movement of the Holy Spirit.

My story is not exactly unique. It took an adolescent crisis to draw me into a renewal and deepening of my baptismal relationship with Jesus. For others, it might take a major illness, the loss of livelihood or a loved one, the challenges that come with parenting children, or the reflective wisdom that comes with age. I was blessed to have people in my life who encouraged me in the right direction, and I now try to be that person for others who are spiritually searching. As “older” Catholics, we don’t stop growing in faith, and we don’t shirk the call of inviting others into a deeper relationship with Christ. It’s our principal mission, and there is no better time than the present to fulfill it.

– Sharon Perkins, a native Texan from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, received her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Theology from the University of Dallas and is completing her doctorate in Theology from the University of Dayton in Ohio. Since returning to Texas in 2009, she has served as Director of Adult Faith Formation at Emmaus Catholic Parish in Lakeway. She is a freelance writer for the Catholic News Service, a freelance blogger for Women in the New Evangelization (W.I.N.E.) and has served at five parishes in three dioceses throughout her career. Sharon and her husband, Mike, will celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary in July. They have two grown daughters and one son.

Adult Faith Formation is supported in part by the Catholic Services Appeal.

5

SUMMER 2015

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID AUSTIN, TEXAS PERMIT NO. 1504

Stewardship and Development Office Diocese of Austin 6225 Highway 290 E. Austin, TX 78723

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Because of the rapid growth of the Church in Central Texas, the Diocese of Austin has spent the last year developing a new Pastoral Plan. This plan is necessary, because the growth and vitality of this diocese is such that we need to be prepared to serve this vibrant and thriving Church.

Below are some highlights of the growth that our diocese is expected. You can learn more about the Pastoral Plan inside.

t The Diocese of Austin is growing rapidly. By 2017, it is projected that the population will grow at least 10 percent, and the Hispanic population is projected to double the number identified in the 2000 Census. t The fastest growth will occur along the I-35 corridor, particularly in the counties surrounding Travis County, where an estimated 76 percent of the population of the Diocese of Austin resides.

t We have more university students in our diocese than any other diocese in the country. We have one of the highest number of Catholic students in the country participating in our campus ministries. t The number of “active” priests is expected to decline due to retirements, deaths and health issues. While we have six men that will be ordained to the priesthood in June, six men to be ordained to the transitional diaconate in July and more than 40 seminarians, we will need more. t Each weekend, Masses are celebrated in English, Latin, Vietnamese and Korean. We must continue to serve the sacramental and catechetical needs of our diverse populations. t Recognizing the needs of the people of Central Texas, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Daniel Garcia as the first auxiliary bishop in response to the significant growth in our diocese.