Austin`s Schoenstatt Shrine is now open

OCTOBER 2014
T H E
V O L U M E 3 2, N U M B E R 9
O F F I C I A L
P U B L I C A T I O N
O F
T H E
D I O C E S E
O F
A U S T I N
Austin’s Schoenstatt Shrine is now open
replica of the original shrine,
located in the valley of Schoenstatt near the city of Koblenz,
Germany. The original shrine
After years of prayer, hard
in Germany is the movement’s
work and sacriÀce, Austin’s
spiritual home and center.
Àrst Schoenstatt Shrine –– the
The Schoenstatt Movement
third one in Texas and one
was founded by Father Joseph
of more than 200 around the
Kentenich (1885-1968), a
world –– has been dedicated
German-born priest who spent
and is now open for visitors.
three years in a concentration
It is located on a quiet
camp at Dachau, Germany,
hilltop in West Austin with a
for defying the Nazis. Father
beautiful view at 225 Addie
Kentenich is being considered
Roy Rd., near the intersection
for sainthood.
of Loop 360 and Bee Cave
It was at the original shrine
Road. The shrine is open seven that Father Kentenich and his
days a week from 9 a.m. to 8
students entered into a covp.m. It is a place of pilgrimage enant of love with Mary and
and prayer.
learned to see her as a bridge
The Schoenstatt Shrine is
leading to a deep and fervent
a small white chapel dedicated love of God. The worldwide
to the Virgin Mary. Inside is a
movement emphasizes spiritual
hand-carved altar surrounding renewal through Mary’s exa serene painting of the Blessed ample and intercession.
Mother with the baby Jesus.
Schoenstatt Father Jesus
Every Schoenstatt Shrine is a
Ferras said everyone is invited
BISHOP JOE
VÁSQUEZ
blessed the
new Schoenstatt Shrine in
Austin on Sept.
13. The shrine
is a replica of
the original
Schoenstatt
near the city
of Koblenz,
Germany.
(Photo courtesy
Schoenstatt
Movement)
BY MICHELE CHAN SANTOS
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
Visiting the Schoenstatt Shrine
Periodical
Postage Paid
at Austin, Texas
Where it is: The Schoenstatt Shrine is located at 225 Addie
Roy Rd., Austin, 78746 (off of Bee Caves Road near the One
World Theatre). There is parking at the shrine.
Hours: Open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
Masses: Masses are held on Sundays at 11 a.m. and on
Wednesdays at 7 a.m.
What to expect: It’s a small chapel with a lovely, handmade
altar inside surrounding a painting of the Blessed Mother and
the baby Jesus. Volunteers will be available at the site each
day to answer questions.
To learn more: Visit www.schoenstatt.us or on Facebook,
look for Schoenstatt Movement of Austin.
Austin Diocese
6225 Hwy. 290 East
Austin, Texas 78723
BISHOP’S
INTERVIEW
Sharing joy through
the Catholic
Services Appeal.
Page 15
to visit the shrine. He is the
director of the Schoenstatt
Movement in Texas and works
with the youth, young adult
and university branches of the
movement here.
“In every place where the
Schoenstatt Movement develops, the shrine is a place of
grace where the Blessed Mother
forms and educates her children,” Father Ferras said. “The
shrine is for the whole diocese.
It is a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the Blessed Mother.”
Bishop Joe Vásquez
dedicated the shrine at a Mass
on Sept. 13. The dedication
Mass was a joyful and beautiful outdoor celebration with
temperatures in the 60s and
continuous rain.
“God and Our Lady are
blessing us with rain,” Bishop
Vásquez said to appreciative laughter from the crowd
of hundreds gathered under
umbrellas and tents, wearing
ponchos and rain jackets. “She
is sending us wonderful blessings from Heaven.”
Builder Rodney Winter,
engineer Javier Barajas, building designer Cammi Klier and
Greg Ruhl, chairman of the
building committee, presented
the bishop with the ceremonial
keys to the shrine.
More than 25 priests
(Schoenstatt priests and diocesan priests) concelebrated the
Mass.
Bishop Vásquez alternated
speaking Spanish and English
during his homily. There were
many visitors from Mexico and
from South America, where
the Schoenstatt Movement has
an especially strong following
in Argentina, Chile, Brazil and
Paraguay. The movement has
followers in 110 countries.
“Shrines are places where
pilgrims come to Ànd healing
and strength,” Bishop Vásquez
said. “The Christian is a pilgrim
and ours is a pilgrim church.
Shrines are places where we
can more clearly see the presence of Jesus.”
“We are united with the
Schoenstatt family today,” he
continued. “This is a day of joy
and celebration.”
See SHRINE on Page 4
FAMILY FOCUS
IN ALBANIA
Pilot Scouting program
becomes an experience
for families, not just
kids.
Page 3
Pope Francis focuses on
peace and non-violence
during trip to Albania.
Page 13
ESPAÑOL
Las Alcancías del Bebé
ayudan a ministerios
pro-vida.
Página 26
2
THE MISSION OF THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
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of Austin, the CATHOLIC SPIRIT is dedicated to providing information, education and formation for the Catholic community
of Central Texas. This mission calls for the newspaper:
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Catholic faith and traditions;
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relevant to the community;
• to be a unifying element for faith communities, both
rural and urban, throughout Central Texas;
• to show respect for and appreciation of all cultural
groups and traditions;
• to emphasize topics af¿rming the Catholic community
and life, while acknowledging the humanity of the community
and examining, with courage, topics that challenge and
encourage growth in the faith;
• to carry a commitment to social justice that will support
the renewal of the church in Central Texas.
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STAFF
Publisher: Most Rev. Joe S. Vásquez, Bishop of Austin
Editor: Shelley Metcalf; (512) 949-2400,
[email protected]
Assistant Editor: Christian R. González; (512) 949-2400,
[email protected]
Advertising: Shelley Metcalf;
(512) 949-2400, [email protected]
Spanish translation: Gina Dominguez
Columnists: Barbara Budde, Mary Lou Gibson and
Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D.
Correspondents: Burnie Cook, Amy Moraczewski, Peggy
Moraczewski, Enedelia Obregón, Michele Chan Santos
and Mary P. Walker
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VOICES
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
Seeking support in stillbirth, infant death
Editor’s note: October is Respect Life
Month, and with that in mind, I share with our
readers this heart-wrenching piece from my coworker and friend. Stillbirth is a difÀcult subject
to talk about, but just because it’s hard does not
mean it should be minimalized or left alone.
These parents need our prayers and our loving
companionship during these difÀcult times.
BY GINA M. DOMINGUEZ
GUEST COLUMNIST
I was in my third trimester of pregnancy
when, as part of my work as a translator and
Spanish-language editor for the Austin Diocese, I corrected a text from the USCCB about
the compassion and charity expected from
the members of the church toward parents
who have lost a child through miscarriage. As
I worked on that article I felt great compassion for those parents, and I never suspected I
might need the same compassion later myself.
Just a few weeks later, I woke to my normal
routine. A couple of hours into my daily tasks,
I realized I had not felt movement from the
baby I was carrying. Worried, I told my husband and, after a few minutes of anxiety, we
decided to call the doctor who suggested that I
eat something sugary and lay down on my left
side. I did this, but still no movement, so the
nurse told me to come to the doctor’s ofÀce
right away.
After a thorough inspection, the doctor
told me the saddest words I have ever heard:
my baby’s heart had stopped. There was no
warning. All the ultrasounds had looked good;
all our tests had been normal, but after eight
months, my pregnancy and my son’s life came
to a sudden end.
In those moments, my husband and my
Àrst-born son, who were with me at the doctor’s ofÀce, hugged me tightly. I sat up very
slowly and, at that moment, resolved to surrender my life and the life of my baby to God’s
will. It was the toughest moment of my life, the
moment a mother fears the most.
After this painful moment, things started
happening quickly. During the ride to the
hospital, I couldn’t believe the day we had been
dreaming about for eight months was here,
but deÀnitely not in the way we dreamed it.
That same night I checked into the maternity
wing of the hospital. There I spent the saddest,
most surreal night of my life. Having given
birth once already, I knew what to expect and
I feared it because I knew this time the baby
would not cry, I would not take him home,
take care of and nourish him. How could I go
through all the physical pain of birth when my
grief was so great? Only with the help of God
and of our family.
Our beautiful son Jorge Cristobal was born
asleep at 7:41 a.m. on Dec. 28, the Feast of the
Holy Innocents.
I have a couple of reasons to share this.
First I want to give witness to my faith in God.
He never abandons us through the battles of
life, even during acute moments of physical and
emotional pain. My husband and I felt his grace
during the time we spent at the hospital. God
manifested his love for us not only through the
people who took care of us there, but also by
pouring strength and hope into our hearts.
He sent us comforting messages through
many friends, church and family members from
whom we received the biggest tokens of love.
And most importantly, it was God who allowed
me to pay the last homage I could give my son
through my physical body: to give birth to him
with courage, with deep love and great dignity.
Second I want to reach out to hearts. In my
time of need, I didn’t know, off the top of my
head, of any ministry where to Ànd Catholic
people ready to deal with such a painful and
difÀcult subject, to support me through such a
test to my faith.
I tried to look for help in different people
of our Catholic community, including my own
pastor, and I realized that there was much
confusion on this subject and therefore, many
of the people I turned to for help were not able
to offer me, my husband and my son the support we needed. It was not because of a lack of
charity on their part; it was because of a lack of
knowledge about the subject.
I am convinced that we as Catholics have,
as one of our most important missions, to help
those who are grieving. But in order to do
that, having good intentions is not enough. We
should be informed and should not be afraid
of discussing the most painful subjects, such
as stillbirth. We need a community of parishioners, deacons and priests educated about the
inability to conceive, miscarriage, stillbirth, and
infant death; about how each of these losses,
though in many ways similar, also differs and
merits a unique response.
A Catholic woman going through what I
did should know whom to call, without having
to do a lot of research and without having to
knock on so many doors. And we the church
must come to meet her, ready to learn, ready to
understand.
Stillbirth is a subject that almost no one
talks about because it is very sad and for some
uncomfortable. Therefore few people understand
the subject and are willing to talk openly about it.
This too often translates into isolation and loneliness for the bereaved parents in the subsequent
months when their hearts need so much help to
heal.
We have the tendency to believe that because
we never saw the lost baby, his parents haven’t
bonded with him during the pregnancy, or that
the baby didn’t really exist or have his dignity.
However, my son did exist in the physical world
and he still exists in the spiritual one. He is as real
and as loved as my living son. It is a mistake to
minimize or ignore this fact and the magnitude of
this type of loss.
I pray God will allow us to be faithful apostles with courage and open hearts at the service
of others through every suffering and stage of
life. All the Holy Innocents pray for us!
GINA DOMÍNGUEZ is a communications professional, translator and interpreter for the Diocese
of Austin. Anyone interested in the subjects of
miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death is welcome
to contact her at [email protected] as
she is interested in starting a prayer-support
and awareness group for these topics for the
Austin area.
Correction
There was an error in the front page article
on Catholic schools in the September issue of the
Catholic Spirit. The Sisters of Divine Providence
founded the Cathedral School of St. Mary, not
the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
October 2014
CENTRAL TEXAS
3
Parish Scouting program focuses on families
BY ENEDELIA J. OBREGÓN
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
A pilot program for Girl
Scouts and Boy Scouts at
Sacred Heart Parish in Austin
has grown to 130 Scouts, and
its success is leading to the
development of other such
programs.
Alison Tate, diocesan
director of the Youth, Young
Adults and Campus Ministry,
said Bishop Joe Vásquez last
summer asked the Diocesan Committee on Catholic
Scouting and her ofÀce to pilot an initiative to increase the
number of children –– especially Hispanic children –– in
Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.
“Bishop is a true supporter of Scouting,” Tate said.
“Scouting provides a unique
opportunity for growth and
provides a built-in role for
families to be involved.”
Tate said Scouting is not
just a ministry for youth but
also for parents because they
serve as leaders and work
closely with their children.
“The diocese sees Scouting as an ally in our efforts in
ministering to youth based on
values, cultivating leadership
and opportunities to learn
about faith,” she said.
She added that having
parishes sponsor the troops
also allows the youngsters
to celebrate their Catholic
identity.
Parish support
Father Matthew Kinney,
associate pastor of St. Joseph
Parish in Killeen and an Eagle
Scout, serves as chaplain for
the Diocesan Committee on
Catholic Scouting. He said
having support from the pastor “is the single most important factor” in the success of
parish Scouting programs and
it doesn’t just involve allowing troops to meet in parish
buildings.
“Scouting is youth ministry,” Father Kinney said. “It
doesn’t do everything that
catechesis does. But it has
many of the elements of a
virtue-based system that help
youth become better persons.”
Father Mark Hamlet, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish,
agreed. He fully supports the
programs for one reason,
“We are changing lives at the
family level with parents who
care.”
Father Hamlet said his
parish is 90 percent Hispanic and more than half are
immigrants. Therefore the
Scouting program had to be
designed to take cultural differences into consideration.
What worked for Sacred
Heart Parish was reaching out
to mothers.
“It’s all about Mama,” Father Hamlet said. The women, who tend to be young and
have large families, told him
they had difÀculty coming to
the many separate meetings.
“They needed something
for both boys and girls and
for parents to give them the
knowledge and courage to get
involved,” he said.
Father Hamlet also meets
with the parish-level Scouting
committee, which is comprised of Boy Scout and Girl
Scout leaders, on a monthly
basis.
DANTE
IBARRA
shows the
Boy Scouts
at Sacred
Heart Parish
in Austin how
a car engine
works. In the
last year, Sacred Heart’s
Scouting
program has
grown tremendously.
(Photo by
Enedelia J.
Obregón)
Getting involved
Gisela González, a 31-yearold mother of three, said it
Carrie Manongdo Yager
was “for the love of God” and
is Girl Scout Service Unit
Father Hamlet’s request for
Director for the Walnut and
parent volunteers that encourDelco-Simond service units
aged her to get involved.
that oversee troops in North“When he talked about
east Austin, including Sacred
children being successful and
Heart. She said there are polearning to be leaders, I immetentially 13,000 Girl Scouts in diately thought of my daughthat area, mainly Hispanics.
ter,” González said. She began
Yager faced several chalwith a troop of 12 girls and
lenges in helping the parish
now oversees the Girl Scout
and the parents launch the
program.
Girl Scout program: she is not
“Girl Scouts will help her
Áuent in Spanish, materials
future,” she said. “Girl Scouts
were not available in Spanteaches girls to be independent
ish and she was having to
and to have their own goals
deal with a multi-level troop.
and have the desire to reach
Troop 276 has Kindergarten- them.”
age Daisies to high school
One of the aspects of Girl
Ambassador level girls meetScouts she likes best is that
ing on the same night.
girls take leadership roles in
“It’s not just about trainplanning their activities.
ing but starting with ‘what is
“As they get older the
Girl Scouts?’” she said. “But I moms who are leaders are
was not willing to fail.”
there to make sure everyone
She quickly learned that
is safe, but the girls make their
the online training was not
own decisions,” she said.
going to work because many
Erika García, 31, is a single
families do not have comput- mother of three, and she has
ers. So they translated the
little time to dedicate to ac“Jump Start” training materi- tivities outside school, so she
als, calling it “Arranque” ––
chose to get into Scouting.
or “Start” –– and got to work.
“Convivir” is the word she
Yager said that Girl Scouts and other parents use to deof Central Texas now has a
scribe what they do with their
Latino Initiative and is spend- children in Scouting. Literally
ing more resources –– includ- translated in English, “coning staff –– to reach out to
vivir” means to live together,
Hispanic girls and their fami- but it carries a deeper meaning
lies. She meets regularly with
more akin to sharing life.
the leaders and Father Hamlet
“I want them to learn
to determine what is working independence and to value
and what needs to change.
themselves,” she said as her
She said Father Hamlet’s
daughter played with her baby
support for Scouting has
brother’s feet. “I want them to
been contagious and families
be able to do what they want
responded to that.
in life and to learn about good
“The vision of Scouting
and bad consequences.”
is something that this community and Sacred Heart
While parents focus on
really responded to,” she said.
their children’s futures, the
“They got it right from the
youngsters focus on the fun
beginning.”
Adaptations
Families
they have in Scouting. Camping is popular.
Christy Alba, who is in
Troop 276, said she enjoys
making s’mores at campouts.
She also is learning about being
a better citizen.
“We learn about helping
the world –– like did you help
someone or did you pick up
trash,” she said.
Jhovany Alba, Christy’s
brother, is 11 and in Troop
408. He wants to become an
Eagle Scout. He enjoys camping with his parents and earning merit badges at campouts.
“We learn a lot,” Jhovany
said. “You can’t learn anything
watching TV.”
Their father, Cubmaster Juan Alba, has seen a
change in his children thanks
to Scouting. He also has a
son, 6, just starting out in
Scouting. His wife, Carolina
Resendez, is involved with
Girl Scouts.
“You can see how children change,” Alba said. “I
know this will help them succeed. It opens a door to help
them go to college.”
What surprised him also
was the growth in himself.
Over the last year, he has
taken on more responsibilities, learned to set agendas,
received training, trained
others and planned excursions
to the Cameron Park Zoo
in Waco and to the Univision studios in Austin. In 12
months they have been on
eight campouts.
“I have not been bored,”
he said with a laugh.
Giving back
Erick Olvera, 13, said he
wants to become an Eagle
Scout because it will help him
get into college. The troop
has had three Hispanic Eagle
Scouts so far.
Cub Scout den leader
Albert López said that one
of the goals of the unit ––
the combined group of Cub
Scout dens and Boy Scout
troops –– is to have more
Eagle Scouts come back and
help.
“We’d like for them to
give back to Scouting by coming back and serving,” he said.
Jorge Rodríguez, assistant
Scoutmaster in Troop 489,
also used the word “convivir”
to describe what is happening
with his 13-year-old son, a
Boy Scout who has achieved
the rank of Star Scout, is
eager to earn his Eagle rank.
The elder Rodríguez left
home at 17 and did not have
a close relationship with his
father.
“I have the satisfaction of
sharing this with him,” Rodríguez said. “There’s no bigger
paycheck than that.”
Scoutmaster Chris Krumrey has been active in Boy
Scouts for 35 years –– 10
years at Sacred Heart. He said
the support from the diocese
and the pastor has made a
huge difference in parental
involvement.
After the parish school
closed in 2002, the Cub Scout
program folded although Boy
Scout Troop 249 remained
active and had three boys before the new recruiting efforts
began.
“Parents recognize the
value in Scouting,” he said.
The established leadership had to work through
cultural barriers with the
families of new recruits
whose families did not speak
much English and worried it
would cost them too much
money.
“Father Mark makes sure
we have what we need,”
Krumrey said. “No one is
turned away because they
can’t afford to pay. We have
alumni who help with fundraisers.”
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
CENTRAL TEXAS
4
Holy Cross KPC named Council of the Year
National Junior Daughter
Counselor and his sister-in-law,
Marlexa A. Phillips, participates in the Ladies Auxiliary.
The Knights of Peter
Following First Communion
Claver (KPC) Council #284
next spring, Derek’s 8-year-old
at Holy Cross Parish in Austin nephew will likely follow in
was recently honored as the
the footsteps of his family and
National Council of the Year at become a junior member of
the National Knights of Peter
the KPC.
Claver, Inc., 99th annual conSaint Peter Claver (1580vention. The July convention
1654) was a Spanish Jesuit
was held in Mobile, Ala., where priest who worked in Cartethe organization was founded
gena, Colombia, for 33 years
more than a century ago.
to help abolish slave trading.
Derek J. Phillips, Grand
While providing spiritual nourKnight, of Council #284, exishment to African slaves and
plained, “KPC is an organizaserving the sick and dying, he
tion the whole family can join. converted hundreds of thouThere is a Ladies Auxiliary and sands to Christianity. He is the
a Juniors group for ages 7-18.
patron saint of slaves.
Children may join after they
The Knights of Peter
have received their First Com- Claver was founded in 1909 by
munion.” KPC is a Phillips
priests from the St. Joseph’s
family tradition, which began
Society of the Sacred Heart,
with Derek’s father while rais- along with interested laymen.
ing his family in Houston.
Originally located in Alabama,
Gene A. Phillips Sr. served the National Headquarters is
as the 15th Supreme Knight of now in New Orleans, La., and
the KPC and Derek’s brother, represents nearly 20,000 memGene A. Phillips Jr. is the
bers whose primary goal is to
current President of the Texas serve God and his church.
State Conference. His mother,
KPC Council #284 at Holy
Elsa R. Phillips, served as past Cross Parish in Austin was
BY PEGGY MORACZEWSKI
CORRESPONDENT
chartered in 1986, and this active council has grown to “over
40 Knights, 60 plus Ladies, and
30 plus Juniors in the Unit,”
Derek Phillips said. He serves
as the Grand Knight and is
responsible for the entire unit.
Each group may have independent activities, but they strive
to work as a unit.
“The main focus of our
council is to serve our pastor, church and community,”
he said. This year Council
#284 accomplished this goal
through activities such as a
fan drive; donations beneÀted
the Conley-Guerrero Senior
Citizen Center and Blackland
Neighborhood Center. They
also made a Ànancial donation and assisted with Camp
Cell-A-Bration, a week-long
camp for children ages 6 to
14 affected with sickle cell
disease.
Derek Phillips attended
St. Thomas High School in
Houston, graduated from the
University of Texas and is a
CPA currently employed as a
Financial Controller at Dell,
Inc. He has been a member
of the KPC for more than 25
THE KNIGHTS OF PETER CLAVER COUNCIL from
Holy Cross Parish in Austin was honored as the National
Council of the Year at the Knights of Peter Claver, Inc.,
99th annual convention. Derek J. Phillips (center) was
also named National Grand Knight of the Year. (Photo
courtesy Derek J. Phillips)
years. Surrounded by family and fellow Knights, he
received his third consecutive
award as the National Grand
Knight of the Year at the National Knights of Peter Claver,
Inc., 99th annual convention
this past summer.
“I try to live the life that
would make St. Peter Claver
proud. This would be through
supporting our local priest,
community involvement, and
promoting civic improvements and social justice. This
was instilled early in my life
along with the motto from
St. Thomas High of teaching
me goodness, discipline and
knowledge,” he said.
For more information
about the Knights of Peter
Claver organization, visit www.
kofpc.org.
India Catholic Association hosts ‘Taste of India’
THE INDIA CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION (ICA) of Central Texas will host its annual “Taste of India” fundraiser Oct. 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Thomas More Parish Hall in Austin. Taste of India features
the cuisines, costumes and dances of all regions of India.
Tickets are $25 each, which includes dinner.
In year’s past many different charities have been supported
by this fundraiser, including places in India that care for
orphans and the elderly and local organizations such Mobile Loaves and Fishes and the Gabriel Project. This year
Ishaprema Niketan (Home of God’s love) has been chosen
as the bene¿ciary. This charity, based in the state of Goa,
India, cares for abandoned and destitute elderly men and
women, female children with disabilities, and children of
working mothers from local slum communities.
For information about Taste of India, visit www.austinica.
org. For more information regarding the charity, visit www.
ishaprema-niketan.org.
Photos from Ishaprema Niketan
(Home of God’s love) in India.
of this shrine by the centennial. We have been striving for
many years.”
Continued from Page 1
The shrine is small (it seats
The fact that the Austin
about 30 people.) For large
shrine was Ànished in 2014 –
events like the dedication
the 100th anniversary year of
Mass, people gather on the
the founding of the Schoenspacious, tree-shaded patio in
statt Movement – is a tremen- front of the chapel.
dous blessing, Father Ferras
More than 500 people
said.
belong to the Schoenstatt
“Divine Providence made
Movement in the Diocese of
the opening of our shrine to
Austin. They belong to diffall on the 100th anniversary
ferent parishes, but gather in
year,” Father Ferras said. “It’s
groups (family branch, univera huge, huge gift. Three shrines sity student branch, etc.) for
are being dedicated this year
prayer and fellowship.
– ours, another in Bangalore,
Many of the members
India, and the third in Santiago, of the movement, who have
Chile. I never imagined such a spent years working toward
tremendous blessing as being
the goal of this shrine, were
able to accomplish the building tremendously moved by its
SHRINE
completion. They named the
Austin shrine the “Bethlehem
Cradle of Sanctity.”
For Lizette Anglin, a member of Schoenstatt’s family
branch, the shrine’s dedication
“is the biggest dream and hope
ever realized. It’s a beautiful
gift to the Blessed Mother.”
Marcela Pinto is the chair
of the dedication event. “For
me, this day represents a day
to share with the Diocese
of Austin all the beauty of
Schoenstatt spirituality,” Pinto
said. “It’s the beginning of a
new stage. Now more people
can grow to love the Blessed
Mother as we do.”
Carlos Licona is a board
member with the movement.
“For me, this day is proof that
we can change the world. This
is a gift that has to be shared
with the world,” he said.
Father Ferras explained,
“Visiting the Shrine should feel
like when you go home and
see your mom. She welcomes
you here. This is a place where
Mary acts, and where she
dwells.”
THE RECENTLY
BLESSED and
opened Schoenstatt Shrine can
hold about 30
people and sits on
a hill in West Austin. The address is
225 Addie Roy Rd.
(Photo courtesy
Alex Quintana)
October 2014
5
CENTRAL TEXAS
Workshop helps Catholics discover their gifts
Church, ordered as they are to
her building up, to the good of
men, and to the needs of the
world” (799).
Approximately 300 CathoAlthough we do not know
lics attended the “Called and
how many charisms there are,
Gifted” introductory workthere are three lists in the New
shop held in late August at St.
Testament (Rom 12, 1 Cor 12,
Thomas Aquinas Parish in Col- and Eph 4). Charisms are more
lege Station. Conducted by the
than talents, which may be
Catherine of Siena Institute, the inherited from parents or imworkshop helped participants
proved through education, traindiscern their particular spiritual
ing and practice. While we can
gifts, or charisms, and energized develop our charisms, God uses
them to continue discovering
them through us to bear results
and doing God’s work in the
beyond our natural abilities. In
world. The attendees ranged
addition, as the catechism states,
from young adults to the elderly. charisms are directed outward,
Presenters Mary Sharon
beyond the person with the gift.
Moore and Catherine Liberatore
For example, a person with
explained that each person, as a a talent for music may enjoy
unique creation of a loving God, singing and entertaining others,
is entrusted with advancing his
and this talent can be used for
kingdom in a special way. To
good or evil purposes. However,
live what Moore characterized
a person gifted with the charism
as “a unique life and work of
of music cooperates with God
love that will transform you and to use this gift in prayer, a revethe world around you,” the Holy lation of the beauty of a creative
Spirit equips us with charisms,
God, and to help others foster a
received at baptism and
relationship with God.
strengthened by conÀrmation.
Because charisms are acThe Catechism of the
tive, Liberatore said we should
Catholic Church states that
expect to discover and see them
“Whether extraordinary or
in ourselves and others. During
simple and humble, charisms are the workshop, she reminded
graces of the Holy Spirit which
attendees that the Holy Spirit
directly or indirectly beneÀt the
is always active in our lives and
BY MARY P. WALKER
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
to “expect the gifts.” Generally, exercising our charisms is a
natural process. We do not have
to struggle to express them.
“How do you help others encounter Jesus? Show up!
Listen to the promptings of the
Holy Spirit,” Moore said.
The workshop went far beyond the theology of charisms.
After the Friday evening session,
attendees had the “homework”
of taking “The Catholic Spiritual
Gifts Inventory.” It is designed
to help participants discern
which of the 24 most common
charisms they may have and
how God is calling them to use
these gifts.
The inventory yielded both
surprises and clarity. Filo Maldonado of St. Thomas Aquinas
Parish experiences a sense of
peace as he serves as sacristan
for Mass. He was not surprised
that the inventory suggested that
he had the charism of service,
that is to identify and do what
is necessary to meet needs that
further God’s purpose.
Barry Veazey of St. Joseph
Parish in Bryan explained that
as a recent “empty nester,” he
wanted to re-evaluate what God
was asking of him.
“I learned that what you Ànd
almost effortless is a big clue
about where your charisms may
be,” Veazey said.
Anna Kjolen, like many
participants, left the workshop
with as sense of joy, discovery
and mission, saying, “I was
really excited to learn about my
charisms. Every Catholic should
do this.”
The presenters emphasized
that while it is important to
discern what our charisms are,
it is also important to understand which charisms we do
not have. For example, those
who do not have the charism
of administration, which is the
gift of planning and coordinating, may actually impede God’s
work if they have administrative responsibilities. In addition, they could feel frustrated
by the effort.
Often we may be tempted
to think that a good Catholic
“should” participate in a certain
ministry, but in reality, that may
not be what God is asking us to
do. The attendees were given
the suggestion that when their
pastor asks them to do something and they know they do not
have the charism needed, they
can conÀdently say, “Father, do
you want God’s results or my
results?”
“You don’t have to do
everything. You can just be who
you are,” said Ben Starnes, 24,
who attended with his parents.
Father Edwin Kagoo, pastor
of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish,
said he was glad that so many
were able to attend the workshop.
“If you feel joyful living out
your charisms, the church grows
and we grow as disciples of
Christ,” he said.
Laura Snyder, director of
religious education at St. Stephen Parish in Salado, wanted
to understand how her growing parish could maximize the
charisms of all the members.
“We are a small parish. I
wanted to learn more about
discerning gifts,” Snyder said.
Attendees were also offered the opportunity for
one-on-one follow up with
a trained interviewer to help
them further discern their gifts
and God’s will for the use of
these gifts.
The Catherine of Siena Institute is a program of the Western
Dominican Province dedicated
to equipping parishes for the
evangelization and formation
of lay Catholics for the sake of
their mission to the world. For
more information, visit www.
siena.org.
The John Paul II Life Center’s
T
Th
Today
4th Annual Benefit Dinner
IS THE
DAY!
Friday, November 7, 2014
Hyatt Downtown R5 7 pm Dinner
KEYNOTE
Teresa Tomeo
Acclaimed author, speaker
and co-host of EWTN’s The
Catholic View for Women.
EMCEE
The John
Joh
o n Paul II
LIFE Center
Jennifer Fulwiler
Our three-fold mission:
Popular blogger and
author of Something
Other than God.
· Offer state-of-the-art women’s
healthcare at The Vitae Clinic
Dignity in Life Award
· Provide sonograms and
assistance to women facing
unexpected pregnancies
· Provide education about
NaPro Technology, chaste
living and more
Msgr. Louis
Pavlicek
Dr. Tom and Mrs.
Ann Bierschenk
1600 W. 38th Street, Ste. 115
Austin, Texas 78731
512.407.2900
Tickets and sponsorships available
at www.jpiilifecenter.org
www.jpiilifecenter.org
[email protected]
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
CENTRAL TEXAS
6
Jesse Manibusan concert and workshop
The diocesan OfÀce of Worship will present singer-songwriter and speaker
Jesse Manibusan for a concert Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas More Parish in
Austin. The concert is open to youth, young adults, families, etc. Manibusan will
offer a contemporary music workshop for those serving in music ministry Oct. 11
from 9 a.m. to noon at St. Thomas More Parish. Everyone is welcome to attend
this fun weekend of music, prayer and renewal. To register, go to www.austindiocese.org/manibusan (group and discounted rated available). For more information, call the Worship OfÀce at (512) 949-2429.
Tribunal offers advocacy training on Oct. 18
The OfÀce of Canonical and Tribunal Services will present a workshop on
Advocacy Training for Nullity Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the diocesan
Pastoral Center in Austin. This workshop will include a review of the process of
petitioning for an annulment, applicable Canon Law, processes and procedures,
petitions and grounds, resources, questions and answers. Laity desiring to become
an advocate must be delegated by their pastor. The registration deadline is Oct. 13.
A Áier and registration form is available at www.austindiocese.org under Canonical
& Tribunal Services, Training and Workshops. For more information, contact the
Tribunal OfÀce at (512) 949-2478.
Classes for engaged couples begin Nov. 4
“Together in God’s Love,” a marriage preparation class, will begin Nov. 4
from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the diocesan Pastoral Center in Austin. Subsequent classes
will be held Nov. 11, 18 and Dec. 2. Couples preparing for marriage are encouraged to register as soon as possible, as these classes Àll quickly. The classes include
talks on faith, communication, sexuality and stewardship in the context of Catholic marriage. To register or for more information, contact the diocesan Family Life
and Counseling OfÀce at (512) 651-6150 or [email protected].
Marriage Encounter celebrates clergy
World Priest Day is a celebration and afÀrmation of the men who commit their
lives to the Lord and the church through the sacrament of Holy Orders. It is an
opportunity for Catholic parishioners to thank, afÀrm and share their love and support for our priests. This year the Austin-Central Texas Area Worldwide Marriage
Encounter Community will honor priests, along with deacons and seminarians, with
a dinner on Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Thomas More Parish in Austin. Every priest,
deacon and seminarian within the diocese is invited. Priests, deacons and their wives,
and seminarians, should RSVP at no cost to Jose and Rachel Guzman at
[email protected] or (512) 291-6338. All others may purchase
tickets online for $25 per person at www.austinme.org/Community_Events.
Healthcare guild welcomes Bishop Vásquez
The Catholic Healthcare Guild will host an evening with Bishop Joe Vásquez
Oct. 16 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Dell Children’s Medical Center Auditorium in
Austin. The bishop will present “Nurturing a Compassionate Heart.” He will
discuss the importance of the church community in times of struggle and stress,
and how the sacraments offer grace and healing during the most difÀcult times
of our lives. A reception will follow the presentation. To register to attend, visit
www.2014-chcg-bishop-event.eventbrite.com.
Retreat for couples struggling with infertility
Sarah’s Hope & Abraham’s Promise is hosting a Healing and Educational Retreat for couples struggling with infertility Oct. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at St.
Martin de Porres Parish in Dripping Springs. An optional Adoption Information
Dinner Program will be featured from 5 to 7 p.m. Come for the whole retreat or
just the adoption portion. Register by Oct. 20 at www.Oct2014SHAP.eventbrite.
com. For more info, contact [email protected] or call (512) 7367334.
MEDICAL SERVICES
DIRECTORY
WEIGHT LOSS
Ideal Weight Loss
Medical Clinics
This will be your LAST Diet
ΠNo drugs Π100% natural ΠMedically monitored
ΠLose ONLY fat ΠPreserve lean muscle
Anthony Hicks, MD, MPH
4100 Duval Rd., Bldg IV, Ste 202, Austin
(512) 577-6181
12912 Hill Country Blvd, Bldg F, Ste 238, Austin
(512) 470-9470
To advertise in the Catholic Spirit Medical Services Directory, call (512) 949-2443,
or e-mail [email protected].
www.LastDietATX.com
OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY
OPTOMETRY
ORTHODONTICS
The Vitae Clinic
Oak Hill
Eye Care
Braces for Children and Adults
Jeremy Kalamarides, D.O.
The Jefferson Building
1600 W. 38th St, Ste 115
Austin, TX 78731
512-458-6060
The Vitae Clinic, Inc., provides wellness, prenatal, delivery and
postnatal care for women, expectant mothers and babies in accord
with the teachings of the Catholic Church in conformity with the
Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare services.
Examination & Treatment
of Eye Disease
Lasik Surgery
Contact Lenses & Optical
David W. Tybor, O.D.
Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(512) 288-0444
6000 W. William Cannon
Bldg A, Suite 100, Austin
www.oakhilleyecare.com
Michael Dillingham, D.D.S.
2 convenient locations in Austin
Call (512) 836-7924 or (512) 447-5194 to
schedule a complimentary consultation
FAMILY PRACTICE
EAR, NOSE AND THROAT
FAMILY & INTERNAL MEDICINE
Joseph M. C. Leary, M.D.
William Stavinoha, M.D.
Diplomate, American Board of Otolaryngology
Pediatric and Adult
Including Ear Diseases Sinus Surgery
Thyroid and Neck Surgery
6811 Austin Center Blvd., Ste. 300
Austin, Texas 78731
(512) 346-8888
Dominion Family
Healthcare
Family Practice –– Board CertiÀed
11671 Jollyville Road #102
Austin, TX
(512) 338-5088
www.stavinohamd.com
Board certiÀed in Family
Medicine & Internal Medicine
(512) 834-9999
6301 Parmer Ln. W. Suite 102
Austin,TX 78729-6802
THYROID & ENDOCRINOLOGY
October 2014
7
CENTRAL TEXAS
Baby Banks help support pro-life ministries
By now most Catholics
have probably already seen
Baby Banks, the 3-by-3-inch
cardboard boxes that were
distributed after Masses in late
September.
For more than 10 years,
parishes in the Diocese of
Austin have distributed the
Baby Banks, which help raise
funds for pro-life activities during October, which is Respect
Life month. The boxes are
collected the last weekend in
October.
Every year, the Baby Bank
campaign generates about
$40,000, said Marie Cehovin,
director of the OfÀce of ProLife Activities and Chaste Living for the Diocese of Austin.
Half of the funds collected
via the Baby Banks goes to
pro-life activities at the parish
level, and the other half goes to
the Beginning of Life Apostolates at the diocesan level –
speciÀcally, the Gabriel Project
Ministry, Project Rachel, the
Pro-life Help Line and Sidewalk Ministry.
The Baby Banks are returned both light (with a check
inside) and heavy (stuffed with
change often collected by children). Many religious education
classes often have competitions to see how much money
they can obtain for the banks.
Some parishes give lapel pins
(featuring tiny baby feet) to
those turning in their donation
boxes at the end of October.
Gabriel Project
Cehovin said one of the
main focuses in the diocesan
Pro-Life OfÀce right now is
getting more Gabriel Project
ministries in the parishes. The
mission of the Gabriel Project
is to provide emotional, material and spiritual support for
pregnant women and families
in need.
Mary Helen Russell is the
new pastoral care coordinator
at the OfÀce of Pro-Life Activities and Chaste Living. She
oversees the Gabriel Project
Ministry, Project Rachel, the
Pro-life Help Line and Sidewalk Ministry.
While there are more than
125 parishes in the Diocese
of Austin, only about 40 have
their own Gabriel Project,
Russell said. Having a Gabriel
Project at a parish involves
the display of a sign saying
SIGNS such as this one at St. Martin de Porres Parish in Dripping Springs indicate that
a parish has a Gabriel Project Ministry, which provides emotional, marterial and spiritual
support for pregnant women and families in need. The Baby Banks, which have been
circulated through all parishes, help raise funds for pro-life ministries, such as the Gabriel
Project. (Photo courtesy Marie Cehovin)
“Pregnant? Need Help? The
Gabriel Project is here for
you” in English and Spanish.
The sign gives the number
for a helpline: Call 1-877-WECARE2. Volunteers answering the helpline match each
woman who calls with a
volunteer “angel” in her area.
The angels provide emotional,
material and
spiritual support for each
woman.
If she needs
Ànancial help,
the Gabriel
Project works
with St. Vincent
de Paul Society
to help women
pay their bills.
If she needs a
place to stay,
the project
works closely
with Annunciation Maternity Home in
Georgetown
and Our Lady of the Angel
Maternity Shelter in Temple.
Annunciation, which has a
charter school, offers longterm housing to pregnant minors with or without children.
Our Lady of the Angel offers
housing to pregnant women
with or without children on a
short-term basis.
The more Gabriel Projects
there are spread across the
diocese, the more likely it is
that the helpline volunteer will
have a volunteer “angel” to
match with each person who
calls, Russell said. The need
for more Gabriel Projects is
signiÀcant, particularly in rural
areas.
Because of House Bill 2,
the number of abortion clinics
in Texas has dropped. The
OfÀce of Pro-life Activities anticipates an increase in demand
for Gabriel Project services,
thus the need for volunteers is
greater than ever.
Russell is happy to travel
to any parish to help train
PLAY GOLF, HELP BABIES!
ome
H
Matern
tion
ity
cia
Ann
un
BY MICHELE CHAN SANTOS
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
volunteers. The training
sessions can take place on a
Saturday or Sunday or during
the week.
“I can go anywhere in the
diocese,” Russell said.
Many times, the 50 percent share of the money from
the Baby Bank campaign is
enough to cover the expenses
of a parish Gabriel Project for
a whole year, Cehovin said.
“I want to encourage parishes to have their own Gabriel Projects,” Cehovin said.
“These projects make a difference –– a profound difference
–– to women in these communities. Sometimes parishes
think it will cost too much,
or be too difÀcult. The Baby
Bank campaign can fund you
throughout the year, and we
can train your volunteers.”
To learn more about the
Baby Bank campaign or
starting a parish Gabriel Project,
contact Mary Helen Russell at
(512) 949-2488 or [email protected].
BERRY CREEK COUNTRY CLUB
1:30 PM SHOTGUN START
$100 PER PLAYER
INFORMATION,
REGISTRATION, & SPONSORSHIPS AT:
CHARITY GOLF
TOURNAMENT
Monday, October 27, 2014
REGISTER
TODAY!
www.thematernityhome.org
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
CENTRAL TEXAS
8
Reicher vs. Savio: An example of sportsmanship
BY BURNIE COOK
CORRESPONDENT
It was a traditional Texas
high school football Friday
night. The weather was windy
and overcast. The stands
at McNeil High School’s
football Àeld in Austin Àlled
quickly for the game between
Reicher Catholic High School
in Waco and St. Dominic
Savio Catholic High School in
Austin.
Reicher Catholic High
School is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary of
opening their doors, while St.
Dominic Savio Catholic High
School in Austin opened Àve
years ago. All the fans sat on
one side of the Àeld, so at
times it was harder for some
to decide which team they
were pulling for, and perhaps
no one was more torn than
Orlando Florez.
He is the athletic director
at St. Dominic Savio High
School, and a Reicher alumni
who once played for current
Reicher Athletic Director
and Head Coach Mark Waggoner. Waggoner has coached
at Reicher since 1989 and
has been the school’s head
football coach and athletic
director since 1996.
“I had the privilege of
coaching Lando in 1989.
From that experience I
formed the opinion that Lando would be a great leader,”
Waggoner said.
Sportsmanship is something both men wish to instill
in all their athletes – no matter what sport they play.
“Sportmanship is deÀned
in your attitude towards how
you compete. Playing with
your heart, mind and body,
while being able to perform
with a sense of respect for
yourself, your teammates and
those you compete against,”
Florez said.
Savio coaches Leonard
Estrada and Yogi Beitia also
graduated from Reicher. Estrada was impressed with the
competition between the two
schools.
“For me having been on
both sides of the sidelines …
brings a tremendous pride for
each school. We need more
rivalries like Reicher vs. Savio
as people can see the Catholic
spirit and how two schools
can compete and respect each
other and Àll our hearts with
great sportsmanship,” he said.
Beitia said it was great
to be a part of the “friendly
competition.”
“Then being able to have
both teams come together
afterwards and give thanks to
God for the opportunity” was
a great aspect of the game, he
said.
Morgan Daniels, the principal of St. Dominic Savio,
said he hopes to establish a
great new Savio tradition with
a school, such as Reicher,
that shares Savio’s faith and
values.
“Reicher has established a
great sports and football tradition and we can learn a lot
from their positive example.
My hope is that this grows
into a friendly rivalry,” he
said.
The atmosphere for the
game was that of friendly
rivalry and sportsmanship.
During half-time, the Savio
cheerleaders invited middle
schoolers onto the Àeld to do
the “Chicken Dance,” which
the fans enjoyed especially
when one Reicher Cougar
mascot joined them. Many
parents commented how
wonderful and fun the game
was and enjoyed the fellowship.
Following the game,
handshakes were exchanged
at midÀeld, and both teams
huddled together with words
of encouragement and thanks
given by Joe Gutilla, Savio’s
head coach. The evening
concluded with both teams
praying the Our Father while
players placing a hand on
an opposing team member’s
shoulder.
It was a close game
throughout but Reicher came
away with the 13-6 victory.
REICHER
Catholic High
School in
Waco beat
St. Dominic
Savio Catholic
High School
in Austin in a
friendly game
of football on
Sept. 5. (Photo
courtesy St.
Dominic Savio
High School)
Please Come Join Us for the Special
Solemn Vespers
on All Souls Day
“Eternal rest grant unto
them, O Lord, and let
perpetual light shine
upon them.”
Sunday, November 2nd
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery
OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY CEMETERY & PRAYER GARDENS
330 Berry Lane • Georgetown, Texas 78626 • www.olotr.com
512-863-8411
Celebrated by Fr. Brian McMaster
Pastor, St. Helen Catholic Church,
together with the Dominican Sisters
Following Solemn Vespers,
there will be blessings for
the families with loved ones
interred at Our Lady, along
with our annual scattering
of wildflower seeds, and
refreshments of soul cakes.
October 2014
9
CENTRAL TEXAS
No Other School Teaches Them To
SHINE
Like This.
Open Houses
Cathedral School of St. Mary
910 San Jacinto, Austin
512.476.1480
smcschoolaustin.org
Open House: Nov. 17, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Holy Family Catholic School
9400 Neenah Ave., Austin
512.246.4455
holyfamilycs.org
Info Sessions: Oct. 17, Nov. 14, Dec. 5,
8:30-10 a.m., RSVP required via website
Holy Trinity Catholic High School
6608 West Adams Ave., Temple
254.771.0787
holytrinitychs.org
Open House: Nov. 9, 1-3 p.m.
Reicher Catholic High School
2102 N. 23rd, Waco
254.752.8349
reicher.org
Open House: Oct. 21, 5-8 p.m.
Sacred Heart Catholic School
545 E. Pearl, LaGrange
979.968.3223
sacredheartschoollg.com
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
St. Austin Catholic School
1911 San Antonio, Austin
512.477.3751
staustinschool.org
Open House: Nov. 23, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
St. Dominic Savio Catholic High
School
9300 Neenah Ave., Austin
512.388.8846
saviochs.org
Information Sessions: Oct. 17, 8:30-10 a.m.;
Nov. 19, 6:30-8 p.m.; Dec. 10, 8:30-10 a.m.,
Open House: Nov. 9, 1-3 p.m.
RSVP required
and Information Sessions
St. Gabriel’s Catholic School
2500 Wimberly Ln., Austin
512.327.7755
sgs-austin.org
Open House: Nov. 4, 8:30-10:30 a.m.,
RSVP appreciated
St. Mary’s Catholic School
520 Washburn St., Taylor
512.352.2313
stmarystaylor.org
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
St. Helen Catholic School
2700 E. University Ave., Georgetown
512.868.0744
shcslions.org
Coffee with the Principal: Nov. 12, Dec. 10,
8:30 a.m.
St. Mary’s Catholic School
1019 S. 7th, Temple
254.778.8141
stmarys-temple.org
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School
120 W. Oltorf, Austin
512.442.8547
st-ignatius.org
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
St. Mary’s Catholic School
507 W. Spruce, West
254.826.5991
stmaryswest.com
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
St. Joseph Catholic School
600 S. Coulter, Bryan
979.822.6641
stjosephbcs.org
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
St. Michael’s Catholic Academy
3000 Barton Creek Blvd., Austin
512.328.2323
smca.com
Open House: Nov. 5, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Tell me About SMCA Lunch, Oct. 22,
Noon
St. Joseph Catholic School
2901 E. Rancier, Killeen
254.634.7272
stjosephschoolkilleen.org
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
St.Theresa’s Catholic School
4311 Small Dr., Austin
512.451.7105
st-theresa.org
Visitation Day: Oct. 16, call for appointment
St. Louis Catholic School
2114 St. Joseph Blvd., Austin
512.614.6622
slcsaustin.org
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
San Juan Diego Catholic High
School
800 Herndon Ln., Austin
512.804.1935
sjdchs.org
Open House: Oct. 25, Noon-2 p.m.
St. Louis Catholic School
2208 N. 23rd, Waco
254.754.2041
stlouiswaco.org
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
Santa Cruz Catholic School
1100 Main St., Buda
512.312.2137
sccstx.org
Visits welcome anytime; contact school
office to make an appointment.
10
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
IN OUR WORLD
Pope: Carry Gospel with you into the world
BY CAROL GLATZ
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
Tuck the Gospel in your
pocket and put on your walking shoes to share Christ’s
love, peace and joy with the
world, Pope Francis said.
It is the Holy Spirit who inspires Christians to “overcome
every obstacle, to conquer the
temptation of being closed up
in oneself –– among a chosen
few” and to prevent people
from believing they are “the
only one destined for God’s
blessing,” he said at his weekly
general audience in St. Peter’s
Square Sept 17.
The pope continued a
series of talks on the nature of
the Catholic Church, focusing
on what it means to say the
church is catholic and apostolic.
The word catholic means
the church is universal, he said.
The church is found everywhere “and teaches the whole
truth that mankind must learn
regarding the heavens and the
earth,” he said.
One sign of the church’s
universality is that it speaks
every language of the world.
The Gospel was translated into the world’s different languages, the pope said,
so people could read it and
encounter the living Word.
“It’s always a good idea to
carry with us a small book of
the Gospels to have in your
pocket or bag, and, during the
day, to read a verse. It’s good
for you,” he said.
The reason the church is
universal, in fact, is because it
is missionary, he said.
The Holy Spirit enabled the
apostles and the whole church
to “go out” and proclaim to
the ends of the earth the good
news of salvation and God’s
love, he said.
Without the presence of
the Holy Spirit, a group of
Christians could end up believing, “We are the chosen ones,
just us,” he said.
But such a group “eventually dies; Àrst their spirit dies,
and then they will die as a body
because they have no life, they
are not able to generate life in
others, in other peoples, they
are not apostolic,” the pope
said.
“If the apostles had stayed
put, there in the Cenacle,”
where they shared the Last
Supper with Jesus and where
Jesus appeared to them after
his resurrection, “without going forth to preach the Gospel,
then the church would only
be a church for that people, in
that city, in that room. But they
all headed out for the world,”
he said.
The church was born
“heading out, meaning it is
missionary,” he said. The
church is apostolic because
it is founded on the apostles
and remains in continuity with
them, he said.
The pope asked people to
give thanks to the Lord for inspiring so many “heroic” missionaries, who “left everything
behind in order to proclaim
Jesus Christ” to the world.
The church has had many
missionaries and “still needs
many more,” he said, urging young people to follow
God’s call and be courageous
in bringing the Gospel to the
ends of the earth.
Being part of a church that
is catholic and apostolic means
the faithful must “take to heart
the salvation of all of humanity, to not be indifferent to or
removed from the fate of our
brothers and sisters, but rather
to be open and in solidarity
with them.”
It also means people
should always feel “sent off”
on a mission that is “in communion with the successors of
the Apostles and to proclaim
–– with their heart full of joy
–– Christ and his love for all of
humanity.”
Praying for and supporting the missions
Each year Catholic dioceses celebrate Mission Month during October, and this year World
Mission Sunday is Oct. 19. A special collection will be taken up in all parishes Oct. 18-19 to bene¿t
the Propagation of the Faith, which a Ponti¿cal Mission Society. This year’s theme for World Mission Sunday is “I Will Build My Church,” based on Matthew 16:18. During the month of October,
parishes and families are invited to pray for the missions and to support them as they seek to
bring the faith throughout the world.
In this year’s message for World Mission Day, Pope Francis encourages everyone to help the
missionary work of the church. “Today vast numbers of people still do not know Jesus Christ. For
this reason, the mission ad gentes continues to be most urgent. All the members of the Church
are called to participate in this mission, for the Church is missionary by her nature …”. Please
learn more about the poor world missions. Through prayer and ¿nancial support, the Diocese of
Austin joins in solidarity with the missionaries who help the faith to grow and allow the established
missions to continue to provide pastoral care, the sacraments and the basic needs such as food,
water, medical care and education to the poorest of the poor in foreign lands.
To read the Message of Pope Francis for World Mission Day 2014, visit w2.vatican.va/content/
francesco/en/messages/missions/documents/papa-francesco_20140608_giornata-missionaria2014.html.
Upcoming Events
Dec. 5-7: Silent Advent Retreat
Nov. 22: Evangelizing in the Spirit of
Pope Francis with Fr. Bruce Nieli
OCT. 11, OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE WITH REV. PEDRO GARCIA
Join us as Father Pedro Garcia, pastor at St. Elizabeth in Pflugerville, presents on Our Lady of
Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. The story of Juan Diego and his encounter with Our
Lady is a beautiful example of his yes to God. The reflection will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude
at noon. Cost: $15
OCT. 18, SINGLE PARENT SPIRITUALITY RETREAT WITH REV. BARRY CUBA
Come join us as Father Barry Cuba, of St. Mary’s Catholic Center in College Station, will discuss
ways of keeping your spirituality alive as a busy, single parent. Reflect on the struggles and triumphs of living your faith as a single parent. Cost: $35 (incl. lunch)
NOV. 19, THE GRACE OF TURNING IT OVER AND LETTING GO
The eleventh step of Alcoholics Anonymous states: “Sought through prayer and meditation to
improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the
power to carry that out.” This will be a faith sharing retreat with communal prayer, individual
prayer and small group sharing. Cheryl “Max” Maxwell, Director for the Office of Worship, will
present this day. Cost: $35 (incl. lunch)
“Seek first his
g p over yyou.”
kingship
Matthew
M
atthew 66:33
:33
5602 STATE HWY. 317N, TEMPLE, TX 76502
P.O. BOX 58 BELTON, TX 76513 (mailing address)
TO REGISTER FOR AN EVENT: (254) 780-2436, [email protected] or
www.austindiocese.org/cedarbrake, click on “upcoming retreats”
Visit us online!
WEBSITE: austindiocese.org/cedarbrake
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/cedarbrake
October 2014
11
IN OUR WORLD
Despite ‘War on Poverty,’ prosperity seems elusive
Poverty.”
While some skirmishes
were won in that war –– senior
citizens, for instance, are far
from the brink of economic
disaster as they had been two
generations ago –– poverty
persists across all demographic
groups.
Even among non-Hispanic
whites, the most afÁuent of demographic groups, the poverty
rate is 9.6 percent, or close to
10 percent.
Pope Francis, talking in
June to participants at an
investment conference in
Rome, said it was “increasingly
intolerable” that the world’s
Ànancial markets have the
power to determine people’s
fate instead of being at the
service of people’s needs. He
also criticized the way “the few
derive immense wealth from
Ànancial speculation while the
many are deeply burdened by
the consequences.”
Here’s a snapshot of some
states and their struggles with
poverty:
• In Texas, 4.5 million
still live below the poverty
line, although the poverty rate
dropped to 17.5 percent,
although in the Rio Grande
Valley, the rate is double that.
In the valley, median family
income is $33,219, or 64 percent that of the state median of
According to the Census
$51,563. Hidalgo County set a
Bureau’s new statistics, released
new minimum wage for county
Sept. 16, poverty in the U.S. is
workers of $10.10 an hour,
down, but only slightly.
but Hidalgo is just one of 254
The actual number of peocounties in Texas.
ple living in poverty in 2013
• Tennessee’s poverty rate
is unchanged at 4.53 million,
dipped from 17.9 percent to
but because of continued
17.8 percent, but that’s of little
population growth in the U.S.,
comfort to 1.1 million Tennesthe percentage of Americans
seans living below the poverty
living in poverty is down 0.5
line. “No matter how you meapercentage points, from 15.0
sure it, Tennessee remains in
percent to 14.5 percent.
the bottom 10 percent of peoSo if you think prosperity’s
ple making ends meet,” Linda
just around the corner, it’s an
O’Neal, executive director of
awfully long block the nation
the Tennessee Commission on
must walk to get to that corner.
Children and Youth, told Pub“We’d expect poverty to
lic News Service. “More than
drop now that we’re in the
one in four Tennessee children
Àfth year of an economic relives in a family experiencing
covery, right?” asked Gregory
economic stress.”
Acs, director of the Income
• In neighboring Kenand BeneÀts Policy Center at
tucky, the poverty rate took a
the Urban Institute, a Washpronounced slide, from 19.4
ington think tank.
percent to 18.8 percent. But
Acs’ comment alludes to
while child poverty nationwide
the intractability of poverty and
slid from 22 percent in 2012
the long, tough slog it is trying
to 20 percent last year, Kento get tens of millions out of
tucky’s child poverty rate is
poverty, given that 50 years
25.3 percent. Some in Kenago, then-President Lyndon
tucky are pressing the state to
Johnson declared a “War on
OK a statewide earned income
tax credit for its poor; the U.S.
bishops have
Pastoral Associate -- Christ the King Parish in Dallas backed the
Christ the King Parish in Dallas seeks a Pastoral Associate who EITC at the
will be responsible for coordination of all parish marriage prepa- national level.
The Urban
ration, RCIA program, sacramental preparation and other duties Institute’s Acs
as assigned by the pastor. Extensive pastoral experience at the said the new
parish level is required; must have master’s degree in Theology; poverty Àgures
working knowledge of Canon Law is preferred. This is a full-time don’t take into
position with complete diocesan bene¿t package. If quali¿ed, account pre-tax
send resumé with brief narrative to [email protected]. cash income,
food assistance
BY MARK PATTISON
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
and rental subsidies as well
as tax-based assistance like
EITC. An alternative Census
Bureau poverty measure, called
the Supplemental Poverty
Measure, includes these types
of assistance, but Acs said it
doesn’t substantively change
the poverty rate.
On the other hand, the
federal poverty line remains
unchanged –– and probably
unrealistic –– at $23,550 for
a family of four. That would
mean living on $452.88 a week.
“While we can debate what
kind of success the war on
poverty has been, we haven’t
eliminated poverty. We haven’t
eliminated racial discrimination. We haven’t –– we still
have issues, I guess, to drop
any pretense of eloquence,”
Acs told Catholic News Service. “It’s useful to see where
we are, where we’ve come
from, and how we’ve changed.
But if you looked through
a more pessimistic lens, we
haven’t made a lot of progress,” he added.
“One of the things that
has probably worked against
progress is the way the criminal
justice system has differently
impacted African-American
families –– the high levels of incarceration among less-educated
African-American men,” Acs
said.
“You can’t blithely say that
‘if we just don’t put people
in jail things would be much
better,’ because crime-ridden
neighborhoods are a problem,”
he continued, adding the question has to be asked whether
“the types of crimes people
were arrested for and jailed for
long periods of time warrants
the disruption the removal
of large number of people
from the economy, from their
families.
“With a prison record,
it’s much harder Ànding a job
–– not nearly as economically
viable as it was before. ... and
probably contributes the seeming lack of progress.”
What would happen to
poverty if the nation didn’t
do anything to Àght it? “The
overall trend in the labor market, the effects of technology
and globalization, an increase
in inequality, stagnation of
wages, more beneÀts accruing to capital than to labor,
without active anti-poverty
programs one could reasonably expect that poverty
would have grown worse, Acs
said. “The counter-argument
is that people would have
worked harder if they didn’t
have the safety net.”
Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation “The Joy
of the Gospel,” wrote of an
“exponentially” growing gap
between rich and poor, which
he blamed for, among other
things, environmental degradation and rising violence. He
attributed the gap to the inÁuence of bad economic ideas.
And what if government
did, at least Àguratively, throw
money at the problem? Acs
said there are a limited number
of experiments underway in
which poor people are given
sufÀcient funds for themselves
and their families, but the efforts are at too early of a stage
to draw conclusions about the
effectiveness.
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Parents from across the country are invited to join together, both
onsite and online, to revive their own faith, become more motivated,
and feel supported in the daily effort of growing faith as a family.
During the Catholic Parent Revival, parents will be be treated to a day
of inspiring speakers, moving music, and meaningful prayer as they
breathe new life into the role that faith takes within their home, the
domestic church. (CPR is a service of the National Federation for Catholic
Youth Ministry, Inc., www.nfcym.org)
www.nccym.info/program/cpr.htm
www.strongcatholicfamilies.org
Departs April 23, 2015. Fly into the vibrant city of Barcelona (two-nights).
Enjoy a guided sightseeing tour highlighting Antoni Guadi’s most prominent
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embark on Holland America Line’s ms
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the Spanish ports of Valencia, Cartagena,
Cadiz and Vigo, full of historic sites;
Gibraltar, British Territory and Lisbon,
Portugal. Relax for a day at sea and
continue to: Portland, United Kingdom;
Cherbourg, France, within reach of the D-Day landing beaches; Zeebrugge,
Belgium and Copenhagen, Denmark. Disembark and enjoy a city tour where
you’ll see the majestic City Hall and the cherished Little
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12
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
IN OUR WORLD
New Jersey sister is on the path to sainthood
BY AL FRANK
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
Although Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich was personally unassuming, the spiritual
impact she had on other Sisters
of Charity of St. Elizabeth
was so unmistakable that they
began the effort to have her
canonized soon after her May
8, 1927, death in Paterson, N.J.
Her cause will advance
Oct. 4, when she will be
declared Blessed Miriam
Teresa at a beatiÀcation Mass
at the Cathedral Basilica of the
Sacred Heart in Newark. She
will be the Àrst American to be
beatiÀed in the U.S.
Cardinal Angelo Amato,
prefect of the Congregation for
Saints’ Causes, will celebrate
the Mass, joined by Newark
Archbishop John J. Myers,
Paterson Bishop Arthur J.
Serratelli and Bishop Kurt Burnette, head of the Byzantine
Catholic Eparchy of Passaic.
The church leaders represent local churches that all
claim the daughter of Slovakian immigrants –– she was
born in Bayonne, baptized in
the Eastern Catholic Church
and educated at St. Elizabeth
College in Morris Township,
SISTER MIRIAM TERESA
DEMJANOVICH, a Sister
of Charity, will
be the ¿rst
American to
be beati¿ed in
the U.S. (CNS
photo/courtesy
of Sisters of
Charity of St.
Elizabeth)
God is calling.
Are you listening?
The Congregation of Holy Cross has
retreat programs for high school, college,
and post graduate men designed to guide
you along the way as you seek to hear
and answer God’s call. Learn more,
retreats.holycrossvocations.org
where her remains are entombed in the chapel of her
congregation’s motherhouse.
Cardinal Amato will read
the declaration of beatiÀcation near the beginning of
Mass after a short biography
is read and a portrait of her is
unveiled.
Many Sisters of Charity plan to attend the liturgy,
which will include a procession
with a reliquary containing
locks of Sister Miriam’s reddish
brown hair, cut after her death
of appendicitis at age 26.
Sister Miriam was known
for her bad eyesight, and her
intercession was invoked for
Michael Mencer, a New Jersey
boy who was going blind. His
complete cure in 1964 was
authenticated by the Vatican
as having no medical explanation and was endorsed by Pope
Francis in December.
In general, one conÀrmed
miracle is needed for beatiÀcation and a second such miracle
for canonization.
The youngest of seven
children, Sister Miriam delayed college to care for her
invalid mother, who died when
“Treat”–– as Sister Miriam
was called –– was 18. Because
of her poor eyesight, she was
rejected by the
convent of
contemplatives
she wanted to
enter before she
joined a teaching
community.
“Miriam’s
life of aligning
her life to the
will of God is a model for all
of us,” said Sister Mary Canavan, a former general superior
of the Sisters of Charity of St.
Elizabeth who is the fourth
sister to serve as vice postulator of Sister Miriam’s cause.
“I don’t know if we need
another saint in the church per
se, except that her message
that we all are called to holiness is signiÀcant to everyone
in this troubled world, because
it will take all of us to help
bring about the reign of God,”
Sister Mary told the New Jersey Catholic, Newark’s archdiocesan magazine.
Sister Mary also noted
that Sister Miriam embraced
selÁessness and had an acute
awareness of God’s presence
in her life.
Because she was baptized in the Eastern Catholic
Church, her cause also is
championed by the Eparchy
of Passaic, which has jurisdiction over the Eastern churches
from Maine to Florida. Also
endorsing the cause is the
Archdiocese of Newark, where
Bayonne is located, and the
Diocese of Paterson, whose
territory includes the Chapel
of the Holy Family in the
Convent Station section of
Morris Township, where Sister
Miriam’s body is entombed.
Sister Miriam was said to
be aware of a special call at age
3. “Even before she entered
the Sisters of Charity, she was
living a saintly life,” Sister Mary
said.
After graduating second in
her class from Bayonne High
School
in 1917,
she cared
for her
mother
and her
Familiar with curriculum at
family
St. Michael’s Catholic Academy
for two
Experienced with learning
years
disabilities
before
[email protected] enrolling
at the
College
or 512.448.1235
Tutoring
Bunny Joubert, MSW
of St. Elizabeth in Convent
Station.
She majored in literature
and graduated in 1923 with
highest honors “but was in a
state of perplexity as to the
future,” according to a biography by Sister Mary Zita Geis, a
Sister of Charity.
Sister Miriam was drawn
to a contemplative Carmelite
community in New York but
was rejected because her poor
eyesight would have prevented
her from helping with the sewing of the liturgical vestments
the nuns made to support
themselves.
The Sisters of Charity
hired her to teach Latin and
English at the Academy of St.
Aloysius in Jersey City, which
closed in 2006. She left teaching to care for her ill father,
who operated a shoe repair
business and after he died,
she entered the Sisters of
Charity novitiate in 1925.
In the winter of 1927, she
was hospitalized several times
and so, when she complained
of pain just a few months
later, her superiors suspected
hypochondria. When she was
again hospitalized, it was for
acute appendicitis. She died
just after taking her vows as a
fully professed sister.
Only after her death did
conÀdantes reveal she had
described having a vision Mary
in her sophomore year and
of walking with St. Therese,
which occurred during her
novitiate.
On her body’s return to
Convent Station from the
hospital, one of the sisters cut
locks of her hair. After her
burial, visitors began chipping
pieces from the granite cross at
her grave.
Sister Mary said her work
on Sister Miriam’s cause has
helped her to better understand the Gospel message
“Many are called, but few are
chosen,” which she said is
embodied in Sister Miriam, an
example of living a holy life.
St. Mary Parish in Brenham
invites you to join us as we celebrate our
24th Annual
POLISH HERITAGE FESTIVAL
Sunday, Oct. 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Serving traditional home-made Polish foods –– Sausage (Kielbasa), Rosol Z
Kury, Czarnina -- from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Adult plates: $8; children: $5
Music provided by Daniel and the Country Boys
Activities: live auction, cake booth, country store, games for all ages.
For information, call St. Mary·s Catholic Church at (979) 836-4441.
October 2014
13
IN OUR WORLD
In Albania, pope stresses peace, non-violence
he said, and the “more men
and women are at the service
of others, the greater their
freedom.”
Killing in the name of
The pope said Albania was
God is sacrilege, and religious
a “land of heroes” and a “land
leaders must denounce the
of martyrs,” whose people
use of faith to justify violence
stood Àrm in the face of opand oppression, Pope Francis
pression and persecution.
said during a one-day visit to
It withstood centuries of
Albania.
Ottoman rule, followed by an
In a world “where an auindependence that degenerthentic religious spirit is being
ated into decades of oppresperverted and where religious
sive communist control. The
differences are being distorted totalitarian regime founded by
and exploited,” Albania is an
Enver Hoxha claimed to liber“aspiring example” to everyone ate the people from the conthat peaceful coexistence is
straints of all religions, turning
possible, Pope Francis told Al- the country into the only athebania President Bujar Nishani
ist nation in the world.
and other dignitaries upon his
“It promised a paradise
arrival in the country Sept. 21.
without God, but it left instead
No one should “consider
a hell with no consolation,”
themselves to be the ‘armor’ of Archbishop Rrok Mirdita of
God while planning and carTirana told the pope during
rying out acts of violence and
a morning Mass in Mother
oppression,” the pope said.
Teresa Square.
The pope told reporters
Despite the risks of torture,
on the papal plane he chose to imprisonment and execution,
visit the Balkan nation because people held onto their faith,
the peaceful collaboration bepraying and passing on their
tween its Muslim-majority pop- traditions underground.
ulation and minority Catholic
Hearing of such atrocities
and Orthodox communities “is brought the pope to tears in
a beautiful sign for the world.” one of the most moving mo“It’s a signal I want to
ments of the one-day trip.
send,” he said, that religion, far
Tirana’s cathedral was otherfrom causing division, is the
wise silent as 84-year-old Father
very foundation of freedom
Ernest Simoni recounted his
and brotherhood.
story during a vespers service.
In a meeting with Muslim,
Father Simoni spent nearly
Christian and Catholic lead30 years in prison work camps,
ers and representatives, Pope
where he suffered continual
Francis said “authentic reliphysical and psychological
gion is a source of peace, not
torture because he refused to
violence” and any “distorted
denounce the church.
use of religion must be Àrmly
When the atheist regime
refuted as false.”
fell in 1991, the priest immedi“To kill in the name of
ately went back to his ministry,
God is sacrilege. To discrimiurging feuding Christians in
nate in the name of God is
mountain villages to embrace
inhuman,” he said.
God’s love and let go of hatred
The pope encouraged Aland revenge.
bania’s religious communities
When the priest Ànished,
to continue working toward
he approached the pope, who
the common good.
extended his arms to embrace
“We need each other,”
him. But the priest dropped
BY CAROL GLATZ
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
to his knees to kiss the pope’s
ring. Moved to tears as they
embraced, the pope removed
his glasses and paused a moment more as the two men
rested their foreheads against
each other.
The pope later put aside
his prepared text, saying the
intense courage and humility
shown by the priest and other
victims of the dictatorship
showed that the only way to
Ànd the strength to survive
such brutality was in God.
During a meeting with
volunteers and children at the
Bethany Center, a residence for
disabled and poor children, the
pope said faith through charity “dislodges the mountains
of indifference, of disbelief, of
apathy.”
Helping others is what
“opens hands and hearts to
what is good,” he said.
“The secret to a good life
is found in loving and giving
oneself for love’s sake,” he
said. “Goodness offers inÀnitely more than money, which
only disappoints, because we
have been created to receive
the love of God and to offer
it, not measuring everything in
terms of money or power.”
Before praying the Angelus
in Mother Teresa Square, the
pope told young people to
build their future on Christ,
saying “‘No’ to the idolatry of
money, ‘No’ to the false freedom of individualism, ‘No’ to
addiction and to violence.”
He urged them instead to
say, “‘Yes’ to a culture of encounter and of solidarity, ‘Yes’
to beauty,” the good and the
true, and to a
life lived with
enthusiasm
and “faithful in little
things.”
Jurgen
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POPE FRANCIS greets a Muslim representative during
a meeting with leaders of other religions at the Catholic
University of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Tirana, Albania, Sept. 21. (CNS photo by Paul Haring)
from the diocese of Rreshen,
in northern Albania, told
Catholic News Service that his
faith gives him the courage to
face an uncertain life because,
“without God, there is nothing.”
“Our parents had to pray
in secret, and we learned from
them there is no life without
Jesus,” said Lemida Zogu, a
young woman with the Rreshen diocesan youth group.
Young people made up
a large part of the jubilant
crowds of some 300,000 who
turned out to welcome the
pope.
Many Muslims, who make
up more than half the country’s population, were in attendance as well as large groups of
Catholics, who make up about
15 percent of all inhabitants.
Many took buses from other
parts of Albania or walked
from their homes in Tirana.
Security was typical for a
foreign papal journey, with
streets and rooftops dotted
with police and the roads lined
with metal barricades partitioning out the popemobile route.
All cellular service, however, was jammed by authorities for several hours as an
extra precaution. The Vatican
repeated earlier assurances
that there were no “speciÀc
threats” against the pope, who
rode around the main square
twice before Mass in the same
open-air jeep he uses at general
audiences in Rome.
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14
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
IN OUR WORLD
Prayers welcome as Synod on Family begins
BY FRANCIS X. ROCCA
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
Two weeks before the start
of an extraordinary Synod of
Bishops on the family, the
Vatican announced the formation of a special commission to
reform the process of granting
marriage annulments.
“The work of the commission will start as soon as possible and will have as its goal to
prepare a proposal of reform
of the matrimonial process,
with the objective of simplifying its procedure, making it
more streamlined, and safeguarding the principle of the
indissolubility of matrimony,”
said a Vatican statement Sept.
20.
The new body’s work will
address what Pope Francis has
identiÀed as a key challenge in
the “pastoral care of marriage.”
“There is the legal problem
of marriage nullity, this has to
be reviewed, because ecclesiastical tribunals are not sufÀcient
for this,” the pope told reporters in July 2013.
Pope Francis related the
problem of annulments to the
situation of divorced and civilly
remarried Catholics, whose
predicament he said exempliÀes a general need for mercy in
the church today.
According to church teaching, such Catholics may not receive Communion unless they
obtain an annulment of their
Àrst, sacramental, marriage or
abstain from sexual relations,
living with their new partners
as “brother and sister.”
A proposal to allow some
divorced and civilly remarried
Catholics to receive Communion without meeting either of
those conditions, introduced
by German Cardinal Walter
JOE WOLF
JODY SUPAK
245-519-1492
[email protected]
Killeen, Harker
Heights, Copperas
Cove, Granger
979-968-5332
[email protected]
LaGrange, Giddings,
Somerville, Texas
A&M
EDDIE MAZUREK
DOUG SUPAK
512-301-1218
edwin.mazurek@
kofc.org
Austin, Smithville,
Blanco, Bastrop,
Wimberley
979-968-5332
douglas.supak@
kofc.org
Bryan-College Station,
Brenham, Caldwell
TED PATAKI
DWAIN DUNGEN
512-983-6303
theodore.pataki@
kofc.org
Cedar Park, Taylor,
West Austin
979-732-1557
dwain.dungen@
kofc.org
Fayetteville, Columbus
LOUIS BARRON
CLINT HAJOVSKY
512-750-7491
louis.barron@
kofc.org
Pflugerville, Hutto,
Elgin
254-295-0430
clinton.hajovsky@
kofc.org
Temple, Rockdale,
Hearne, Mexia
DOUG DEGROOT
WILLIAM JENSEN
512-294-2406
douglas.degroot@
kofc.org
Georgetown, Marble
Falls, Burnet
512-282-2656
william.jensen@
kofc.org
Dripping Springs,
South Austin
PAUL LALLY
JOHN SUMNER
512-541-7695
paul.lally@
kofc.org
Round Rock, North
Austin
(254) 652-5967
john.sumner@
kofc.org
Waco, West
Kasper at a meeting of the
world’s cardinals in February,
is expected to be one of the
most discussed issues at the
two-week synod on the family,
which opens Oct. 5.
The new commission on
the annulment process, which
Pope Francis established Aug.
27, has 10 members, including
Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the PontiÀcal Council for Legislative
Texts, and Archbishop Luis
Ladaria Ferrer, secretary of the
Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith.
Archbishop Joseph E.
Kurtz, president of the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops, has joined Pope Francis
and the ofÀce for the Synod
of Bishops in encouraging
Catholics to pray for the work
of the extraordinary Synod of
Bishops on the family will take
place at the Vatican Oct. 5-19.
Catholics can say this
prayer at www.usccb.org/
issues-and-action/marriageand-family/upload/September-28-2014-Day-of-Prayerfor-Synod.pdf and they are
encouraged to pray the rosary
daily during the synod.
Archbishop Kurtz will be
attending the synod as part of
a U.S. delegation of bishops
including Cardinals Timothy
M. Dolan of New York and
Donald W. Wuerl of Washington and Archbishop William C. Skurla of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of
Pittsburgh.
More than 250 participants, including 14 married
couples from around the
world, are expected to attend October’s extraordinary
Synod of Bishops on the
family. In addition to the 114
presidents of national bishops’ conferences, 13 heads
of Eastern Catholic churches
and 25 heads of Vatican
congregations and councils,
the pope appointed 26 synod
fathers to take part as well.
Almost all of the 26 papally
appointed voting members are
from Europe. Of these, none
of the 14 cardinals, eight bishops and four priests appointed
by the pope is from North
America or other Englishspeaking countries.
Voting synod members include ofÀcials from the Roman
Curia, heads of the Eastern
churches, and archbishops of
churches “sui iuris,” including
Byzantine Archbishop William
C. Skurla of Pittsburgh.
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GOOD NEWS
October 2014
15
Catholic Services Appeal: A Joy Which is Shared
BISHOP JOE S.
VÁSQUEZ is the ¿fth
bishop of the Austin
Diocese. He shepherds more than
530,000 Catholics in 25 Central
Texas counties.
Editor: The Diocese of Austin
will kick off the annual Catholic
Services Appeal at the beginning
of November. Please tell us about
the Catholic Services Appeal. How
is it different from the other special
collections that are taken up in
parishes?
Bishop Vásquez: Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) is our diocesanwide appeal to fund the ministries
and services that we provide within
the Diocese of Austin. We are blessed
to have many ministries that provide
for the religious needs, the spiritual
needs and the human needs of people
throughout our diocese. Through the
CSA, we sustain religious education,
Catholic schools, ministerial formation, seminarian formation and initiatives for life, peace and justice.
One example of the impact of
the CSA is found in the formation of
our seminarians. We currently have
47 men in formation, and every year,
through generous donations of our
people to the CSA, the diocese is
able to completely fund the education of our future priests. The CSA
also helps us take care of our retired
priests, ensuring that they have a
place to call home and that their
medical needs are met upon retirement. Many other ministries are
assisted by the CSA, such as Catholic
Charities of Central Texas, which
every day reaches out to people in
need through the Project Gabriel Life
Centers, Immigration Legal Services,
and disaster relief.
Our diocese is one of the fastest growing dioceses in the country,
with more than 70 people moving to
the Austin area every day. In order
for us to serve so many people we
must ask all Catholics to contribute
to this appeal. We need all of us to
contribute so that we can take care
of the growing needs throughout our
diocese, which covers 25 counties in
Central Texas from north of Waco to
San Marcos and from College Station
to Mason.
Editor: The theme for this year’s
CSA is “A Joy Which is Shared.”
What is the inspiration behind this
theme?
Bishop Vásquez: The theme is
based on Mark 16:15, “Go into the
whole world and proclaim the Gospel
to every creature.” As Catholics we
are called to go out to the ends of the
world and proclaim the Good News
of Jesus Christ. By our baptism, we
are invited to share in the same mission that Jesus himself did which is
to go into the world and proclaim the
love of God with joy and compassion. Through the Catholic Services
Appeal, we can help form children,
adults, ministers, priests, deacons,
etc. in sharing the Good News with
others.
“A Joy Which is Shared” also
springs from our Holy Father Pope
Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, “The
Joy of the Gospel.”
“The Church which ‘goes forth’
is a community of missionary disciples who take the Àrst step, who are
involved and supportive, who bear
fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing
community knows that the Lord has
taken the initiative, he has loved us
Àrst … therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out
to others, seek those who have fallen
away, stand at the crossroads and
welcome the outcast. Such a community has an endless desire to show
mercy, the fruit of its own experience
of the power of the Father’s inÀnite
mercy,” the pope writes in “The Joy
of the Gospel.”
The Holy Father has reiterated many times that as Christians
we should be people Àlled with joy
because we have encountered the
living Christ. And our encounter with
Christ, drives us to share his love
with others. The joy that is shared
comes from the very heart and essence of who we are and the mission
of the church.
“Christians have the duty to pro-
claim the Gospel without excluding
anyone. Instead of seeming to impose
new obligations, they should appear
as people who wish to share their joy,
who point to a horizon of beauty and
who invite others to a delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that
the Church grows, but by attraction,”
Pope Francis writes in “The Joy of
the Gospel.”
Editor: How does the Catholic
Services Appeal provide us with an
opportunity to share the joy of the
Gospel?
Bishop Vásquez: First of all, it
provides all Catholics with a way to
contribute Ànancially. As Catholic
Christians, we believe that everything
we have, everything we are, and everything we will become is a gift from
God. As stewards of those gifts, we
are called to return a portion of our
time, talent and treasure in gratitude
for God’s great bounty. Giving to the
CSA is one small way to realize how
we have been blessed and thus take a
portion of our blessings and share it
with others.
The Catholic Services Appeal is
an expression of our solidarity with
others. Through our donations and
prayerful support of the CSA, we are
united with our brothers and sisters
in a bond of service and love. The
Catholic Services Appeal gives us the
opportunity to look beyond the immediate needs of our home parishes,
to see the needs present in the larger
community.
It is also important to remember
that if we are unable to donate Ànancially right now, we can commit to
praying for the needs of our church on
a regular basis. As we hear in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always. Pray
without ceasing. In all circumstances
give thanks, for this is the will of God
for you in Christ Jesus.”
Editor: You have mentioned
how important the Catholic Services Appeal is at the diocesan level.
Can you explain how it affects the
local parishes?
Bishop Vásquez: What we do
here at the Diocese of Austin is seek
to serve the needs of all people in the
diocese. Our staff’s Àrst priority is to
serve the parishes and schools. We
have on staff personnel who work with
and train youth ministers, catechists,
campus ministers, prison ministers,
parish social ministers, worship leaders
and clergy members who work in our
parishes. We seek to help our parish
leaders be more effective in all that
they do. We work with priests, deacons
and lay ministers to help them share
the joy of Christ with others.
Editor: What is your prayer for
the CSA?
Bishop Vásquez: My prayer is
that we the Catholic faithful of the
Diocese of Austin will experience the
joy of sharing through our participation in the Catholic Services of Appeal.
May we see that we are indeed building
the Kingdom of God as we share our
joy with others.
GOOD NEWS
16
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
Sharing God’s love halfway around the world
BY ALISON TATE
GUEST COLUMNIST
Sitting in the front pew of a large,
crowded church the day after we arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, we felt very
much like outsiders. As part of the
2014 Catholic Relief Services Called to
Witness delegation, myself and eight
other American youth and young adult
ministry leaders were participating
in a Sunday Mass that was different
from what we experience at our home
parishes. The priest welcomed our
group during announcements at the
end of Mass (those are universal, it
seems), saying, “Your presence shows
all of us the unity of our church. This
is your home because we are all God’s
children.”
My Àrst thought was, “What could
they learn from our presence? We are
here to learn from them!” I quickly realized, however, that the priest’s warm
hospitality and emphasis on unity was
the norm rather than the exception, as
we saw it time and time again in practice during our time in Rwanda.
In “Guests of God: Stewards of
Divine Creation,” Monica Hellwig
writes, “We are God’s guests, invited to make the most of the divine
hospitality and to mediate it to one
another and to the rest of creation.” As
Catholics, hospitality Áows out of our
love of Christ.
We experienced overwhelming
hospitality everywhere we went in
Rwanda, whether we were in a city
visiting with church ofÀcials or traveling on bumpy roads to rural villages
for demonstrations of Catholic Relief
Services (CRS) projects. We were met
with smiles, music, dancing and the
common greeting, “You are welcome,”
as in, I am happy you are here.
CRS has been working in Rwanda
since 1960. Their mission is to increase the quality of life with projects
in areas such as agriculture, nutrition,
entrepreneurship, Ànancial education
and peace building. CRS is unique in
that they focus on the most vulnerable population, many times the rural
poor who live in remote areas. The
staff of CRS Rwanda, almost all of
them Rwandans themselves, shared
with us that this is challenging, but
that service to the most vulnerable
yields a greater positive impact on the
life of Rwandans.
CRS, as an organization, is able to
be very effective in their programs and
demonstrate good stewardship of their
resources at the same time. They are
able to positively impact the lives of
hundreds of thousands of Rwandans
with a staff of 30 and only six to eight
percent of their budget being used for
overhead expenses. The rest directly
funds programming. After three to Àve
years, each project is turned over to
be managed by the local beneÀciaries
themselves. Those who participate in
CRS programs are provided with the
knowledge and skills for self-reliance
so that they may make their lives better
for themselves, their families and their
communities.
The fruits of these programs are
sometimes surprising, however. In
one village, we met with the leaders
of a Savings and Internal Lending
Community (SILC). These savings-led
en economic activity in their village
microÀnance organizations support the and overcome poverty.
creation and growth of small businessThere is a Rwandan expression,
es in developing communities.
“A single leaf offers no shade.” Our
This group, called “Hope,” was
human nature insists that we must
quite successful. With the SILC progather together to do the work we are
called to do, whether that is organizgram, they are able to support each
ing small farms into cooperatives so
other and themselves in cultivating
business activities such as growing pro- that they may receive better prices for
duce, raising livestock, building houses, their crops at market, or the gathering
of neighbors at a Catholic parish to
or selling items like personal goods
and building supplies. In one year, they facilitate continued reconciliation and
healing of communities torn apart by
were able to save 200,000 Rwandan
the genocide.
francs, in two years, 800,000; and in
What I learned on the trip is that no
three years, they had saved 2 million
matter what we do, we must respond
Rwandan francs as a group. These
together to God’s love for us. Gracious
savings serve as capital that can then
hospitality and welcoming environments
be accessed by the 30 members of the
are how we share God’s love with others
group or lent to others. CRS provides
and how we build bridges.
training in areas such as money management and conÁict resolution so
that they are able to
manage themselves
effectively.
When asked
about their favorite aspects of the
program, they told
us that the friendships that have
grown between
the members are
the best thing that
has come out of
their SILC experience. They shared
that in working as
ALISON TATE, the diocesan director of Youth, Young
a group, they are
Adults and Campus Ministry, traveled with Catholic
able to support
Relief Services and other youth and young adult
one another in
ministers to Rwanda in August. (Photo by Eric Groth)
business, strength-
Special collection for the Holy Land totals
The Holy Land Special Collection was taken up April 18 in parishes throughout the diocese. If your parish Ànds an error, call (512) 949-2423.
Parish
Totals
Austin Central Deanery
Austin, Cristo Rey
$827.62
Austin, Holy Cross
$620.00
Austin, Our Lady of Guadalupe
$742.92
Austin, St. Austin
$1,468.82
Austin, St. Ignatius
$3,074.98
Austin, St. Julia
$278.61
Austin, St. Mary Cathedral
$778.22
Austin, San Jose
$1,505.00
Austin, University Catholic Center
$451.50
Austin Central Totals
$9,747.67
Austin North Deanery
Austin, Holy Vietnamese Martyrs
$2,700.00
Austin, Sacred Heart
$2,559.00
Austin, St. Albert the Great
$2,421.00
Austin, St. Louis
$7,963.28
Austin, St. Theresa
$2,884.00
Austin, St. Thomas More
$5,549.80
Austin, St. Vincent de Paul
$4,073.00
Cedar Park, St. Margaret Mary
$2,507.33
Lago Vista, Our Lady of the Lake
$774.00
Austin North Totals
$31,431.41
Austin South Deanery
Austin, Our Lady of Sorrows (Dolores) $651.00
Austin, St. Andrew Kim
$200.00
Austin, St. Catherine of Siena
$2,844.21
Austin, St. John Neumann
$1,248.65
Austin, St. Paul
$1,898.00
Austin, St. Peter the Apostle
$1,045.00
Austin, San Francisco Javier
$395.00
Lakeway, Emmaus
$2,339.10
Austin South Totals
$10,620.96
Bastrop/Lockhart Deanery
Bastrop, Ascension
$1,987.52
Parish
Totals
Elgin, Sacred Heart
$418.00
Luling, St. John
$344.00
Martindale, Immaculate Heart
$232.00
Rockne, Sacred Heart
$726.25
Smithville, St. Paul
$1,017.00
String Prairie, Assumption
$549.00
Uhland, St.Michael
$434.24
Bastrop/Lockhart Totals
$5,708.01
Brenham/La Grange Deanery
Brenham, St. Mary
$1,699.00
Chappell Hill, St. Stanislaus
$536.50
Dime Box, St. Joseph
$348.00
Ellinger/Hostyn Hill, St. Mary
$494.00
Burton, Sacred Heart
$114.00
Fayetteville, St. John
$1,259.50
Giddings, St. Margaret
$1,396.67
La Grange, Sacred Heart
$1,169.00
Lexington, Holy Family
$155.00
Old Washington on the Brazos, St. Mary $33.00
Pin Oak, St. Mary
$200.00
Somerville, St. Ann
$351.75
Brenham/La Grange Totals
$7,756.42
Bryan/College Station Deanery
Bremond, St. Mary
$550.00
Bryan, St. Anthony
$695.16
Bryan, Santa Teresa
$669.00
Caldwell, St. Mary
$664.00
College Station, St. Thomas Aquinas $1,861.88
Franklin, St. Francis of Assisi
$678.00
Frenstat, Holy Rosary
$135.00
Hearne, St. Mary
$837.20
Bryan/College Station Totals
$6,090.24
Georgetown/Round Rock Deanery
Andice, Santa Rosa
$1,251.00
Parish
Totals
Corn Hill, Holy Trinity
$1,085.00
Georgetown, St. Helen
$3,408.85
Granger, Sts. Cyril and Methodius
$816.00
Manor, St. Joseph
$356.00
PÀugerville, St. Elizabeth
$897.00
Round Rock, St. John Vianney
$3,334.12
Round Rock, St. William
$12,142.00
Taylor, Our Lady of Guadalupe
$338.15
Taylor, St. Mary of the Assumption
$1,015.75
Georgetown/Round Rock Totals
$24,643.87
Killeen/Temple Deanery
Belton, Christ the King
$2,003.00
Burlington, St. Michael
$178.00
Cameron, St. Monica
$166.00
Copperas Cove, Holy Family
$3,082.00
Harker Heights, St. Paul Chong Hasang $4,018.50
Killeen, St. Joseph
$1,754.15
Rogers, St. Matthew
$230.00
Rosebud, St. Ann
$245.51
Salado, St. Stephen
$479.00
Temple, Our Lady of Guadalupe
$515.00
Temple, St. Luke
$2,221.00
Temple, St. Mary
$2,152.91
Westphalia, Visitation
$600.00
Killeen/Temple Totals
$17,645.07
Lampasas/Marble Falls Deanery
Bertram, Holy Cross
$86.00
Burnet, Our Mother of Sorrows
$357.00
Goldthwaite, St. Peter
$26.00
Horseshoe Bay, St. Paul the Apostle $1,166.50
Kingsland, St. Charles Borromeo
$570.00
Lampasas, St. Mary
$427.93
Llano, Holy Trinity
$553.00
Lometa, Good Shepherd
$140.00
Parish
Totals
Marble Falls, St. John
$939.84
Mason, St. Joseph
$483.00
San Saba, St. Mary
$174.00
Lampasas/Marble Falls Totals
$4,923.27
San Marcos Deanery
Blanco, St. Ferdinand
$642.00
Buda, Santa Cruz
$1,983.53
Dripping Springs, St. Martin de Porres $1,598.61
Johnson City, Good Shepherd
$435.00
Kyle, St. Anthony Marie de Claret
$3,179.18
San Marcos, Our Lady of Wisdom
$331.75
San Marcos, St. John
$1,572.09
Wimberley, St. Mary
$559.00
San Marcos Totals
$10,301.16
Waco Deanery
Elk, St. Joseph
$321.00
Gatesville, Our Lady of Lourdes
$293.00
Hamilton, St. Thomas
$276.00
Lott, Sacred Heart
$115.00
McGregor, St. Eugene
$354.00
Tours, St. Martin
$346.00
Waco, Sacred Heart
$400.00
Waco, St. Francis on the Brazos
$453.45
Waco (Hewitt), St. Jerome
$1,826.27
Waco, St. John the Baptist
$107.50
Waco (Bellmead), St. Joseph
$700.00
Waco, St. Louis
$4,625.37
Waco, St. Mary of the Assumption
$1,109.40
Waco, St. Peter Catholic Center
$212.26
West, Church of the Assumption
$1,202.00
Waco Totals
$12,341.25
Grand Totals
$141,209.33
GOOD NEWS
October 2014
17
Building a church that is inclusive and welcoming
BY BARBARA BUDDE
COLUMNIST
During this liturgical year, we are
reading from the Gospel of Matthew,
which Scripture scholars tell us was
written to a Jewish Christian community struggling with the reality of
new members coming to the faith as
Gentiles. This summer we heard the
story of Jesus who cured the daughter
of a Canaanite woman because of her
faith.
In that story, Jesus moved beyond
his own understanding that his mission was to his Jewish brothers and
sisters. We also heard the story of
the landowner who paid all workers the same wages no matter when
they started working –– a story about
God’s gracious salvation offered to all
no matter when they come to belief.
Matthew’s Gospel is an invitation to
all of us to see how inclusive God’s
house is.
Right now our bishops are inviting us to a new inclusivity through
their Cultural Diversity OfÀce. Like
the community the Matthew addressed, we are a church that is facing
cultural changes. In many areas,
including the Diocese of Austin, the
majority of Catholics will be Hispanic
and Spanish speaking. We are also
blessed in our diocese with AfricanAmerican and African Catholics as
well as Asian and Asian-American
Catholics. This reality invites us, as
Matthew invited his community, to
expand the horizons of what our faith
looks like and feels like. Now and in
the future, our church communities
will not be as white and European
American as they were in the past.
This presents both opportunities and
challenges.
We have the opportunity to model peaceful inclusivity to our world
which is torn by religious, national
and tribal conÁicts. We can demonstrate that persons can live in peace
and be in communion with one another even when there are differences
of language and culture among us.
As thousands of women and children
cross our border seeking respite from
violence and crushing poverty in
their home countries, our nation has
shown both hatred and kindness. As
a church we modeled a commitment
to human life and dignity by providing assistance through parishes and
Catholic Charities agencies. We can
continue to show our commitment to
a diverse and inclusive community by
working for comprehensive immigration reform.
We also face challenges. Our parishes are becoming and will become
more diverse. Are we really willing to
welcome others? How can we move
from being communities that “have
a Spanish Mass” to communities that
are multi-lingual and multi-cultural?
Are we committed to the Gospel
and Church of Jesus which is really
catholic –– universal and reÁects that
in language, music and environment
or do we want a church that makes
us comfortable?
Another great challenge we face
is racism. Our country has changed
laws, but as a people we have never
confronted the deep underlying reality
of racism, which is a vestige of slavery.
The demonstrations and tensions in
Ferguson, Mo., this summer reveal this
deep wound. In their 1979 pastoral
letter, “Brothers and Sisters to Us,” the
bishops of the U.S. declare that racism
is a sin and acknowledge that racism
exists both in the church and in society. Therefore, it can touch and affect
all of us. This is not to say that any of
us in particular are racists. Rather, by
naming the reality of racism as a social
sin we can all examine within ourselves
the underlying cultural values we have
absorbed about color and race.
We continue to proclaim the
Gospel of Jesus to the ends of the
earth, but like Matthew’s community,
this offers us the opportunities to
become more inclusive in our thinking and living. It also challenges us to
confront any attitudes and beliefs we
have absorbed from our culture that
are still in need of conversion - such
as racism.
As we conclude this liturgical year
of reading from Matthew’s Gospel,
perhaps we can also read teachings
from our bishops that invite us to become a truly inclusive communion and
community. “Welcoming the Stranger
Among Us” and “Brothers and Sisters
to Us” are both available on the USCCB website at www.usccb.org. Christ
has made us one through Baptism, but
we still need to make that a reality in
our parishes. God will give us the grace
and courage we need if we ask!
BARBARA BUDDE
is the diocesan
director of social
concerns. She
can be reached at
(512) 949-2471 or
barbara-budde@
austindiocese.org.
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GOOD NEWS
18
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
A reÁection on the Stigmatization of St. Francis
BY NORMAN FARMER
COLUMNIST
The Stigmatization of St. Francis
of Assisi (whose feast day we celebrate Oct. 4) with the wounds of
Christ, which took place in the dark
morning hours of Holy Cross Day
(Sept. 14) in 1224, ranks high among
the most beloved saints’ stories. In
1263 Bonaventure of Bagnoreggio
(then minister general of the Order
of Preachers) included the episode in
his life of St. Francis known as the
“Legenda major” (with “legenda,” in
Latin, meaning a text intended for
reading aloud in ecclesiastical settings). Subsequently, he wrote his
meditative masterpiece, “The Soul’s
Journey into God,” under the inspiration of Francis’ vision of the sixwinged seraph.
The stigmatization appeared with
growing frequency in Franciscan art,
including this imposing 10 foot by 5
foot altarpiece painted by Giotto di
Bondone in 1300 for San Francesco
Church in Pisa, Italy. The masterpiece
is now at the Louvre where it was
taken as war booty by Napoleon’s
soldiers in 1813, the greatest artist
of early modern times joins with the
“second founder” of the Order of
Preachers, the leading mystical contemplative and theologian of his time
(and subsequently a saint himself) to
contemplate the mysteries of this supremely transformational event in the
life of the “little poor man” of Assisi.
Together, the philosopher/theologian and the discerning artist who
took him for his guide to all of the
details of Francis’ stigmatization, take
us back and forth across the border
between sensible and spiritual realities
as we shift between concrete signs
pointing to things and the fullness
of prophetic wisdom that embraces
all things (1Cor 1:22-3). As Ignatius
of Loyola would teach centuries later
in his Exercises, Bonaventure and
Giotto invite us to “use our senses,”
especially “the vision of the imagination,” and to attune ourselves to the
affective atmosphere surrounding the
stigmatization: looking, being present
on that hillside, and entering knowingly into the fullness and bodily pain
of that transformational encounter.
The rocky precipices of Mt. LaVerna
from which Francis’ own desire to be
one with Christ soared heavenward
are signs of the rocky terrain of our
own self-willed hearts as we too yearn
for ways to identify with Francis’
vision of the seraph that “leads our
mind’s eye to amazement and admiration,” Bonaventure writes in “Soul’s
Journey.”
“One morning about the feast of
the Exaltation of the Holy Cross while
he was praying on the mountainside,
Francis saw a seraph with six Àery
wings coming down from the highest point in the heavens. The vision
descended swiftly and came to rest
in the air near him. Then he saw the
image of a Man cruciÀed in the midst
of the wings, with his hands and feet
stretched out and nailed to a cross.
Two of the wings were raised above
his head and two were stretched out in
Áight, while the remaining two shielded
his body. Francis was dumbfounded
at the sight and his heart was Áooded
with a mixture of joy and sorrow.
He was overjoyed at the way Christ
regarded him so graciously under the
appearance of a Seraph, but the fact
that he was nailed to a cross pierced
his soul with a sword of compassionate
sorrow.
“As the vision disappeared, it left
his heart ablaze with eagerness and
impressed upon his body a miracu-
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lous likeness ...
[T]he marks
of nails began
to appear in
his hands and
feet, just as he
had seen them
in his vision
of the Man
nailed to the
Cross … True
love of Christ
had now
transformed
his lover into
his image, and
when the 40
days which he
had intended
spending in
solitude were
over ... St.
Francis came
down from
the mountain.
With him he
bore a representation of
Christ cruciÀed which
was not the
work of an
artist in wood
or stone, but
had been
reproduced in
the members
of his body
by the hand
ST. FRANICS OF ASSISI receiving the stigmata by
of the living
Giotto de Bondone hangs in the Louvre. Catholics celGod,” Bonaventure wrote ebrate the Feast of St. Francis on Oct. 4. (Photo used
as translated by
with permission from Art Resource, NY)
Ewert Cousins
soaring mystical drama of the stigmain “The Soul’s
ta within our own realm of space and
Journey into God, The Tree of Life,
time, while Francis’ vision of Christ
The Life of St. Francis” by Paulist
in the form of a seraph remains a
Press.
once-and-forever event in the boundThe saint and the artist thus draw
less, timeless realm of the divine.
us into that drama on Mt. LaVerna
Thus does the painter stamp upon
through our feelings, our senses,
our memory an “image of eternity,”
and our minds –– through words
as Bonaventure writes in “Soul’s
and sensible images. We join FranJourney.”
cis in a direct experience with the
literal in breaking of God into human
NORMAN FARMER, PH.D, is Professor
experience and its physical effects.
Emeritus of English and Humanities
Meanwhile, the three events depicted
at the University of Texas. He writes
below –– Pope Innocent III’s dream
about the relation of sacred art to
of Francis holding up the dilapidated
Catholic prayer-life. Norman and his
church, the pope’s approval of the
wife, Cora Jane, are parishioners of
Franciscan Rule, and Francis’ Sermon
St. Austin Parish in Austin.
preached to the birds –– ground the
Pilgrimage to France, Spain & Portugal
12 days: April 13-24, 2015
Under spiritual direction of Father Justin Nguyen
Hosted by Deacon Jerry Klement
Cost: $3,899 per person, from Austin. Stops include Paris,
Lourdes, Fatima and Santiago de Compostela. Trip includes
roundtrip airfare, English speaking escort, and most meals.
For more information, please contact Deacon Jerry Klement at
[email protected] or (254) 718-0454.
October 2014
GOOD NEWS
19
Reviewing, renewing the call to Catholic Action
BY FATHER BRUCE NIELI, CSP
GUEST COLUMNIST
I pray for a return to Catholic Action.
I was introduced to the term when
I met Eduardo Bonnín, founder of the
Cursillo Movement and a believer in
Catholic Action. As a young man in
1940s Spain, Bonnín and a group of
other young men, disturbed by the absence of young adults in church participation, made a pilgrimage to the shrine
of St. James of Compostela, and after a
profound conversion experience developed the Cursillo method of transforming society through small communities
of committed Christians.
As a movement, Catholic Action
had its beginnings in the latter part of the
19th century, when laity proactively took
measures to counteract the anticlericalism in countries like France, Italy, Spain
and Belgium. As the church entered the
20th century, Catholic Action became
a more organized movement in which
laity, collaborating with the hierarchy,
worked to bring Christ and Catholic
social teachings into the greater society.
The godfather of the movement, honored by both Pope Pius XI and Pope
Paul VI, was Father Joseph Leo Cardijn
of Belgium, founder of the Young Trade
Unionists, which became the Young
Christian Workers, the quintessential
model for Catholic Action.
Father Cardijn also designed what
would become the predominant methodology of Catholic Action, summarized
by three actions see (observe), judge
and act. To put it simply, we see the
reality around us with its problems and
challenges, with the eyes of Christ. We
discern a response to these problems
and challenges with the mind of Christ,
using Scripture and the teachings of
the church. And we implement action
responses as the body of Christ.
Peter Maurin, co-founder (with
Dorothy Day) of the Catholic Worker
movement, articulated the philosophy
of Catholic Action in an essay entitled
“Blowing the Dynamite of the Church”
where he wrote “Rome will have to do
more than to play a waiting game; she
will have to use some of the dynamite inherent in her message … If the Catholic
Church is not today the dominant social
dynamic force, it is because Catholic
scholars have failed to blow the dynamite of the Church.”
Father Cardijn referred to Maurin’s thought as “the purist spirit of the
Gospel.”
It would be this “blowing the dynamite” approach to proactive Catholicism
that would characterize the highly diverse groups coming under the umbrella
of Catholic Action. These included the
Young Christian Workers, the Young
Christian Students; the Cursillo Movement; the Legion of Mary; Sodalities;
the Christian Family Movement and the
various community organizing groups as
well as the magazine “Commonweal.”
The move to bring Catholic social
teaching into the public square motivated Catholics like Msgr. John A. Ryan of
Catholic University, whom many have
called the prophet of the New Deal, and
Paulist John J. Burke, founder of the
National Catholic Welfare Conference,
precursor to the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops. The current Catholic
Campaign for Human Development
also began with the guiding principles of
Catholic Action.
A contemporary example of such a
priest directly formed by Catholic Action whose inÁuence permeates current
Catholicism is the Spirit-Àlled Msgr.
Thomas Kleissler of Newark. In his recent autobiography “Beyond My Wildest
Dreams,” Kleissler describes a boyhood
experience of picking up on a rainy day
in the school library a pamphlet about
Father Cardijn and the Young Christian
Workers. The pastoral approach of “observe, judge, act” that the future priest
learned from that pamphlet, along with
a life-long passion for justice and service
to the poor, dominated his subsequent
pastoral activities, from leadership in the
Christian Family Movement, to active
participation in the civil rights movement, to the co-founding of RENEW,
a process has helped us connect faith to
everyday life.
Catholic Action helped lay the foundations for the emphasis on lay involvement in church life so prominent in the
Second Vatican Council, but there has
been a subsequent lull. It is once again
“time to blow the lid off so the Catholic
Church may again become the dominant
social dynamic force,” as Maurin once
wrote. Now is the time for a revival and
renewal.
The New Evangelization promulgated by St. John Paul II, Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI, and now Pope Francis,
can spark such a revival and renewal.
Certainly the caring witness of Pope
Francis, and his magniÀcent apostolic
exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel,”
provide reasons for hope.
Catholic Action, both as a movement and a mentality, offers opportunities to unite pro-life and pro-poor in our
polarized nation. Recently I participated
in a uniÀed effort to serve the immigrant
children and families coming across
the U.S.-Mexico border from Central
America in a desperate Áight from poverty and threats from ruthless gangs and
drug trafÀckers.
There near the Rio Grande, at
Sacred Heart Parish in McAllen, we
were volunteers from all walks of life
and ideologies, from faith communities, medical professions, various levels
of government, the legal profession,
the local food bank, and even the bus
station, all working together to meet
the basic humanitarian needs of God’s
precious children and all coordinated
by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of
Brownsville.
There, in a border town Àlled with
a cross section of the human race, I
rejoiced to see a return to Catholic
Action.
PAULIST FATHER BRUCE NIELI is
currently in residence at St. Austin
Parish in Austin.
St. Paul of the Cross: A contemplative, celebrated preacher
BY MARY LOU GIBSON
COLUMNIST
For more than 50 years, St. Paul of
the Cross had one message to deliver:
he would promote the love of God
revealed in the Passion of Jesus. He was
born Paolo Francesco Danei in 1694 in
Ovada, near Genoa, Italy, the second of
16 children in a noble but impoverished
family. In his early years, Paul led a very
normal and pious life, but lacked much
formal education because of his father’s
Ànancial difÀculties. In 1714, he joined
the Venetian army to Àght the Turks.
When he left the army a few years
later, he experienced a conversion to a
life of prayer. He received some direction from priests of the Capuchin Order
and was also inÁuenced by a reading of
the “Treatise on the Love of God” by St.
Francis de Sales.
He experienced a series of visions
in 1720 in which he saw Our Lady in a
black habit. John Delaney writes in the
“Dictionary of Saints” that Paul later
said she told him to found a religious
order devoted to preaching the Passion
of Christ. As he wrote a rule for his religious community, he aimed to combine
meditation with practical work, such as
preaching and ministering to the poor
and to the sick.
His younger brother, John, became
his Àrst companion. They were granted
permission to accept novices from Pope
Benedict XIII in 1725. Both brothers
were ordained to the priesthood in 1727.
They established their Àrst house in the
mountains above Genoa. Author David
Farmer writes in the “Oxford Dictionary
of Saints” that Paul wanted to communicate the devotion of the Passion through
mission work in parishes.
Paul called his monasteries “retreats”
and members were expected to celebrate
the Divine OfÀce and to devote at least
three hours to contemplative prayer each
day. He also insisted on poverty.
His main goal was to form “a man
totally God-centered, totally apostolic,
a man of prayer...” It became St. Paul’s
lifelong conviction that God is most easily found in the Passion of Jesus Christ.
“I am Paul of the Cross in whom Jesus
has been cruciÀed.”
Paul Burns writes in “Butler’s Lives
of the Saints” that the pope persuaded
Paul to modify the rule and the community received papal approval in 1741. In
1769 the title of Discalced Clerks of the
Most Holy Cross and Passion of Our
Lord Jesus Christ was granted.
The community grew and their
members were soon in demand in many
parts of Italy because of their ministry to
the sick and dying and in reconciling sinners. Paul was an effective preacher and
also had the gifts of prophecy, healing
and reading secrets of the heart, according to many biographers.
Richard McBrien writes in “Lives of
the Saints” that the Passionists (as they
began to be known) were successful
because their method involved active
participation by the laity. This included
processions, vigils, penitential works,
hymns, prayers and other forms of
devotion.
Delaney writes that Paul was one
of the most celebrated preachers of his
time. People fought to touch him and
get a piece of his tunic as a relic. Paul
was also a contemplative and spent long
hours in prayer each day. His writings
focused on matters of spirituality and
produced more than 2,000 letters. A diary he wrote during a retreat in 1720 was
published in 1964, according to Burns,
and a work on “Mystical Death” was
published in 1976.
In 1765, Pope Clement XIV gave
Paul (his brother, John, had died), the
basilica of Sts. John and Paul. For many
years Paul had been especially interested
in the reconciliation of England to the
Holy See. Near the end of his life, Paul
founded a convent of enclosed Passionist nuns at Corneto in 1771.
Paul died in Rome in 1775 at the Retreat of Sts. John and Paul. By the time
of his death, the congregation had 180
fathers and brothers living in 12 retreats.
Burns writes that the Passionists did not
spread outside of Italy until the mid 19th
century. They went Àrst to Belgium and
then to England where they ministered
to Irish immigrant workers. The Congregation spread to the U.S. in 1852.
Paul was beatiÀed in 1852 and
canonized in 1867 by Pope Pius IX. His
feast on the General Roman Calendar
is Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 on the Proper
Calendar for Dioceses of the U.S.
MARY LOU GIBis a member
of St. Austin Parish in Austin. She
welcomes ideas
for future columns. Contact her
at [email protected].
SON
BULLETIN BOARD
Retreats, reÁections.....
Your
20
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
For
Information
Please send entries for this section to [email protected].
Catholic Scripture Study of Austin meets on Wednesdays from 9:30 to
11:30 a.m. at St. Louis Parish in Austin.
The weekly Bible studies consist of
prayer, small group discussion and
guest lecturers. Register online at www.
cssaustin.org. For more information,
contact Rosemary Howard at (512)
345-3687.
Catholic Scripture Study of Cedar
Park meets on Wednesdays from 6:30
to 8 p.m. and Thursdays from 9:30 to 11
a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Cedar
Park. The weekly Bible study consists
of prayer, small group discussion and
guest lecturers. For more information,
contact Bob Gorski at (512) 636-2927 or
[email protected].
The diocesan OfÀce of Worship will present singer-songwriter and
speaker Jesse Manibusan for a concert
Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas
More Parish in Austin. The concert is
open to youth, young adults, families,
etc. Manibusan will offer a contemporary music workshop for those serving
in music ministry Oct. 11 from 9 a.m.
to noon at St. Thomas More Parish.
Everyone is welcome to attend this fun
weekend of music, prayer and renewal.
To register, go to www.austindiocese.
org/manibusan (group and discounted
rated available). For more information, call the Worship OfÀce at (512)
949-2429.
Anna Chávez will discuss unity
and diversity at Theology on Tap
on Oct. 7 at Fadó Irish Pub (214 W
4th St, Austin). Fellowship begins at 6
p.m. and her presentation begins at 7
p.m. Theology on Tap is a ministry for
young adults between the ages of 18
and 35. For more information, contact
Jennifer Kodysz at (512) 949-2467 or
[email protected].
A Prepare/Enrich facilitator
training will be held Oct. 11 from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. at the diocesan Pastoral Center. This training will prepare
participants to give the PREPARE
premarital inventory to couples
preparing for marriage and to discuss
the results in a manner that has been
shown to effectively reduce later marital conÁict. To register or for more
information, contact the diocesan
Family Life and Counseling OfÀce
at (512) 651-6150 or sara-lockey@
austindiocese.org.
An introductory seminar on
natural family planning will be held
Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. at St. Austin Parish’s
Paulist Hall in Austin. Introductory
seminars are structured to satisfy the
Austin diocese requirement for marriage preparation for all parishes. Call
(512) 474-2757 or e-mail austinfcc@
gmail.com to register.
The OfÀce of Canonical and
Tribunal Services will present a workshop on Advocacy Training for Nullity
Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the
diocesan Pastoral Center in Austin.
This workshop will include a review of
the process of petitioning for an annulment, applicable Canon Law, processes
and procedures, petitions and grounds,
resources, questions and answers. Laity
desiring to become an advocate must
be delegated by their pastor. For more
information, contact the Tribunal OfÀce at (512) 949-2478.
Middle School teens are invited
to participate in the 2014 Middle
School Youth Rally on Oct. 18 at St.
Michael’s Catholic Academy in Austin.
This year’s theme is “Love Everlasting.” For additional information, e-mail
[email protected] or
call (512) 949-2467 with questions.
The India Catholic Association
(ICA) of Central Texas will host its
annual “Taste of India” fundraiser
Oct. 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at St.
Thomas More Parish Hall in Austin.
Taste of India features the cuisines,
costumes and dances of all regions
of India. Tickets are $25 each, which
includes dinner. For information about
Taste of India, visit www.austinica.org.
World Priest Day is a celebration and afÀrmation of the men who
commit their lives to the Lord and the
church through the sacrament of Holy
Orders. This year the Austin-Central
Texas Area Worldwide Marriage Encounter Community will honor priests,
along with deacons and seminarians,
with a dinner on Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m.
at St. Thomas More Parish in Austin.
Every priest, deacon and seminarian within the diocese is invited, and
invitations will be mailed to every
priest. Priests, deacons and their wives,
and seminarians, should RSVP at no
cost to Jose and Rachel Guzman at
[email protected]
or (512) 291-6338. All others may
purchase tickets online for $25 per
person at http://austinme.org/Community_Events.
The OfÀce of Canonical and
Tribunal Services will present a workshop on the process of completing the
church required Marriage Packets Nov.
15 from 9 a.m. to noon at the diocesan Pastoral Center in Austin. This
workshop will include the required
documentation, Canon Law requirements and diocesan policies affecting
the marriage preparation process. For
more information, contact the Tribunal
OfÀce at (512) 949-2478.
An introductory seminar on
natural family planning will be held
Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at San José Parish
in Austin. Introductory seminars are
structured to satisfy the Austin diocese
requirement for marriage preparation
for all parishes. Call (512) 474-2757
or e-mail [email protected] to
register.
Allow Scripture, song and story to
inform and form our lives at the Scripture and Music retreat Oct. 4 from 9 a.m.
to 2 p.m. at Cedabrake Catholic Retreat
Center in Belton. Listening with the ears
of the heart, we will read Scripture, listen,
and participate with music and allow
the Holy Spirit to be our guide. Presenters Sue Fowler and Cindy Isaacson are
both retired teachers and are very active
in music. The cost is $35 and includes
lunch. To register, call (254) 780-2436 or
e-mail [email protected].
A day of reÁection on Our Lady
of Guadalupe will be held Oct. 11
from 9 a.m. to noon at Cedarbrake
Catholic Retreat Center in Belton.
Father Pedro Garcia, pastor of St.
Elizabeth Parish in PÁugerville, will
be the presenter. The cost is $15. To
register, call (254) 780-2436 or e-mail
[email protected].
An English Cursillo Weekend
for women will be held Oct. 16-19.
This is a three-day course in Christianity and is designed to offer people time
to walk with the Lord and deepen their
relationship with him. For more information or to register, contact Robin
Spencer at (254) 220-3883 or robins@
hot.rr.com or Greg Ganslen at (254)
698-2594 or [email protected].
A Single Parent Spirituality Retreat will be held Oct. 18 at Cedarbrake
Catholic Retreat Center in Belton. Father
Barry Cuba, associate pastor of St. Mary
Catholic Center in College Station, will
lead participants in reÁecting on the
struggles and triumphs of living the
faith as a single parent. The cost is $35,
which includes lunch. To register, call
(254) 780-2436 or e-mail cedarbrake@
austindiocese.org.
“The Eucharist From Adoration
to Action,” a reÁection for Catholic
young adults, will be presented by the
Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity on two occasions. The Àrst is at St.
Albert the Great Parish in Austin on
Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at Spirit and Truth
(www.spiritandtruthaustin.com) and
the second is at the University of Texas
Catholic Center in Austin on Oct. 22
at 7 p.m. Visit http://fscc-calledtobe.
org/ for more information.
Sarah’s Hope & Abraham’s
Promise is hosting a Healing and Educational Retreat for couples struggling
with infertility Oct. 25 from 8:30 a.m.
to 7 p.m. at St. Martin de Porres Parish in Dripping Springs. An optional
Adoption Information Dinner Program will be featured from 5 to 7 p.m.
Come for the whole retreat or just the
adoption portion. Register by Oct. 20
at www.Oct2014SHAP.eventbrite.com.
For more info, contact SarahsHope@
RabboniInstitute.org or call (512) 7367334.
The Spirituality of Simplicity,
a day of retreat, will be held Nov. 4
from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Eagle’s
Wings Retreat Center in Burnet. Cheryl
Maxwell, diocesan director of worship,
will lead participants in discovering
new ways to balance life’s various responsibilities and slow down to a more
meaningful pace. The cost is $35 per
person. To register visit www.ewrc.org
or call (512) 715-0017.
An English Cursillo Weekend
for men will be held Nov. 6-9. This
is a three-day course in Christianity
and is designed to offer people time to
walk with the Lord and deepen their
relationship with him. For more information or to register, contact Robin
Spencer at (254) 220-3883 or robins@
hot.rr.com or Greg Ganslen at (245)
698-2594 or [email protected].
Married couples who are looking for a getaway and time to reconnect with one another are invited to
a Worldwide Marriage Encounter in
Spanish Nov. 7-9. This is an opportunity for husbands and wives to escape
the daily distractions of life and focus
on each other. To register, contact
Rubén and Elvira Galván at (512) 2477604.
“Together in God’s Love,” a
marriage preparation course, will
begin Nov. 4 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the
diocesan Pastoral Center in Austin. Subsequent classes will be held Nov. 11, 18
and Dec. 2. Couples preparing for marriage are encouraged to register as soon
as possible, as these classes Àll quickly.
The classes include talks on faith, communication, sexuality and stewardship
in the context of Catholic marriage. To
register or for more information, contact
the diocesan Family Life and Counselling OfÀce at (512) 651-6150 or [email protected].
Married couples who are looking for a getaway and time to reconnect with one another are invited to a
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend Nov. 14-16 at the Wingate Hotel
in Round Rock. The weekend begins
Friday at 7:30 p.m. and ends Sunday
around 4 p.m. This is an opportunity
for husbands and wives to escape the
daily distractions of life and focus on
each other. For more information or
to apply to attend, visit www.austinme.
org; or contact Steve and Linda Jaramillo at (512) 677-WWME (9963) or
[email protected].
Burse............
The Diocesan Council of Catholic
Women has completed a burse for the
Clerical Endowment Fund (CEF) in
memory of Msgr. Harry Mazurkiewicz.
The totals for the burse as of Aug.
31, 2014, are listed below by council.
Austin Council
$885.00
Brazos Valley Council
$1,297.00
Central Council
$1,157.00
Eastern Council
$1,013.00
Northern Council
$1,074.00
Southern Council
$482.00
Temple Council
$312.00
Previous Balance
$4,627.85
Total
$10,847.85
The Clerical Endowment Fund
provides low-cost loans to parishes.
Interest from the loans is used to
educate diocesan seminarians. For
information, contact Mary Ann Till at
(512) 353-4943.
BULLETIN BOARD
Parish and community events.................................
October 2014
The Knights of Columbus
Council from St. Catherine of Siena
Parish in Austin will host a Country
Hoe-Down and Gala on Oct. 3 at 6
p.m. at Pecan Springs Ranch in Austin.
For more information, contact Eddie
at (512) 301-1218 or any member of
KC Council #8156.
The Transitus of St. Francis of
Assisi will be held Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m.
at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in
Austin. This solemn celebration of St.
Francis’ passing from this world to
the kingdom of God is re-enacted by
remembering Francis’ Ànal hours thus
remembering the deep spirituality of
this popular saint as it has been done
for decades. For more information, call
(512) 478-7955.
St. Mary Parish in Hearne will
host its annual Fall Festival Oct. 5 from
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the parish grounds.
Spaghetti and meatballs will be served
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Activities include
games for all ages, horseshoes, bingo and
a washer tournament. A live auction will
begin at 1 p.m.
St. Mary Parish in Mexia will
host its annual Barbecue Lunch Oct. 5
at 11 a.m. at the parish hall. For details,
call (254) 562-3619.
St. Matthew Parish in Rogers
will hold its annual Fall Festival Oct.
5 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the parish
grounds. A home-cooked meal will be
served. Activities include food booths,
games for children, train rides, ring
toss, bingo and much more.
St. Helen Parish in Georgetown
will host the annual Life Chain Oct.
5 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Songs and
prayer will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the
Crestview Baptist Church parking lot
at 2300 Williams Dr. in Georgetown.
Life Chain is a peaceful and prayerful
public witness of pro-life individuals
standing for 90 minutes praying for
our nation and for an end to abortion. For more information, contact
George Lourigan at (512) 635-3329
or Julie Tefft at (512) 863-0039.
St. Joseph Parish in Killeen will
host its annual Fest of All Oct. 12
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the parish grounds. There will be a variety
21
of food booths, DJ music, games for
all ages, a book store, cake walk, face
painting and much more.
The 108th annual Westphalia
Picnic and Homecoming will be
held Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
at the Church of the Visitation Parish Hall in Westphalia. Fried chicken,
sausage and all of the trimmings will
be served for $8 per plate. Live Czech
music by the Praha Brothers will begin
at noon. There will be games for all
ages and a live auction at 3 p.m.
San Francisco Javier Parish in
Austin will host its annual Jamaica
Oct. 12 from noon to 10 p.m. on
the parish grounds. Activities include
games for all ages, bingo, cake walk,
entertainment, food, live music and
fun for the whole family. For more
information, visit www.sfjcc.org or the
parish ofÀce at (512) 243-1404.
The ninth annual St. Margaret
Mary Golf Tournament will be held
Oct. 13 at 1:30 p.m. at the Lago Vista
Golf Course. This event will beneÀt
the Mobile Loaves & Fishes Ministry.
After the golf tournament there will
be a steak dinner and live auction at
Benish Hall on the grounds of St.
Margaret Mary Parish. Tickets for the
dinner are $10 each. To be a sponsor,
to volunteer for the event or to donate
any items for the auction, contact
Jason Ferguson at (512) 843-4473 or
[email protected].
Vendors and social networking
groups are invited to display, inform
and sell their products at the Fiesta at
St. Joseph Parish in Manor on Oct.
17-18. For more information, contact
the parish ofÀce at (512) 272-4004.
Registration deadline is Oct.10. Join
us for a weekend of carnival rides,
great food, bingo, games and much
more.
The fourth annual St. I SMASH
Street Dance will be held Oct. 18
beginning at 6:30 p.m. on the campus
of St. Ignatius Martyr Parish in Austin.
Featured musicians are Vallejo with
Monte Warden of the Wagoneers and
The Bravados. Tickets are $20 at the
gate or $15 in advance. No one under
the age of 12 will be admitted. For
more information or to purchase tickets go to www.stismash.com.
St. Helen Parish in Georgetown
will host its Fall Festival Oct. 18 and
19 on the parish grounds. Festivities
begin with bingo, burgers and sodas on
Saturday at 5 p.m. On Sunday, activities begin at 10 a.m. and will include a
meal of brisket and rotisserie chicken, a
silent auction and a live auction, crafts,
games for all ages, a petting zoo, a car
show and more.
St. Stephen Parish in Salado will
host its annual Fall Festival Oct. 19 on
the parish grounds. A barbecue dinner
will be served from 11 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. Activities include carnival games,
a cake walk, silent auction, climbing
wall, face painting and more. The live
auction will begin at 1 p.m.
St. Mary Parish in Bremond
will host its annual Homecoming Fall
Festival Oct. 19 on the parish grounds.
Barbecue, sausage and beef with all the
trimmings will be served from 11:30
a.m. to 3 p.m. for $9 per plate. Activities include bingo from 4 to 8 p.m.,
games for all ages, and much more.
Youth in grades sixth through
12th are invited to “Enlisted: Called
and Equipped” Oct. 22 from 6 to 9
p.m. at St. Anthony Parish in Bryan.
Chris Bartlett, the youth minister at
St. William Parish in Round Rock, will
lead the night of talks, small groups
and games designed to help youth engage in their Catholic faith. For more
information, e-mail [email protected].
St. Mary of the Visitation Parish
in Lockhart will host its Àrst 5K run
walk –– “Running for the Heavens”
–– Oct. 25 at 8 a.m. For more information, visit www.smvl.org or register
online at www.runsignup.com/Race/
TX/Lockhart/StMarysinaugural5KRace. The race will begin and end
at the parish. Everyone is welcome!
Santa Cruz Catholic School in
Buda will host a Roaring ‘20s Casino
Night Oct. 25 from 6 to 10 p.m. in
Deane Hall. There will be a costume
contest, refreshments and a variety of
games to play. For more information
including sponsorship and ticket prices,
Masses and prayer..............................
Bishop Joe Vásquez will celebrate
the 23rd annual Red Mass Oct. 2 at
6 p.m. at St. Mary Cathedral in Austin. The Mass marks the beginning
of the judicial year and invites all law
makers and legal professionals. The
homilist will be Father David Link,
Dean Emeritus of Notre Dame Law
School. For more information, contact
Margaret Kappel at (512) 949-2444 or
[email protected].
Bishop Joe Vásquez will preside
at the Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic Holy Hour Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at St.
Mary Cathedral in Austin. The Holy
Hour, which will be celebrated around
the world in more than 140 countries,
will kick off World Mission Month
in the Diocese of Austin. For more
information, contact Colleen Schiller
at (512) 949-2446 or colleen-schiller@
austindiocese.org.
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Austin will host its monthly
healing Mass Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at Our
Lady of Wisdom University Parish
in San Marcos. Everyone is invited
to come and experience the healing power of Our Risen Lord Jesus
through the Holy Spirit.
St. Edward’s University in
Austin will celebrate a major renovation for Our Lady Queen of Peace
Chapel Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. on the St.
Edward’s campus. Bishop Joe Vásquez
will celebrate Mass, bless the new walls
of the sanctuary and consecrate a new
altar. Everyone is invited to join the St.
Edward’s community for a reception
following Mass.
Solemn Vespers will be held on
All Souls Day, Nov. 2, from 4 to 5 p.m.
at Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery in
Georgetown. Father Brian McMaster,
pastor of St. Helen Parish in Georgetown, and the Dominican Sisters of
Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, will lead
the prayer. Afterwards, a blessing of all
those interred at the cemetery will be offered. For more information, visit www.
olotr.com or call (512) 863-8411.
Hispanic young adults are invited to Mass (in Spanish) on the last
Friday of each month at 9 p.m. at Our
Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Austin.
Participants will pray the rosary beginning at 8:30 p.m. For more information contact Darlyn Montenegro at
(512) 369-9813 or Victor Estrada at
(512) 949-8227.
contact Michelle Quintanilla at [email protected].
Cathedral School of St. Mary in
Austin will host its annual Fall Festival
Oct. 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There
will be food, games, a silent auction,
music, arts and crafts vendors and
much more.
St. Mary Parish in Brenham will
host its 24th annual Polish Heritage
Festival Oct. 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on the parish grounds. Traditional Polish
foods will be served from 11 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. for $8 per plate. Other activities
include live music, a country store, live
auction and games for all ages.
St. Margaret Parish in Giddings
will host its annual Fall Festival Oct. 26
at the Sons of Hermann Hall on Hwy.
77 South in Giddings. Dinner will be
served at 11 a.m. and the auction will
begin at 12:30 p.m.
The fourth annual Annunciation Maternity Home Charity Golf
Tournament will be held Oct. 27 at
Berry Creek Country Club in Georgetown. Registration will begin at 11
a.m. and shotgun start is at 1:30 p.m.
The cost is $100 per player, which
includes golf, a fajita dinner and
player’s bag. Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are also available.
For more information, visit www.
thematernityhome.org or call Alyssia
at (512) 864-7755.
Catholic Daughters Court 2415
in Round Rock will host its annual
Art & Crafts Show Nov. 1 at St. William Pavilion in Round Rock. Vendors
will have home-made items for sale.
For more information, e-mail Mary
Rutherford at [email protected].
St. Mary Parish in Lampasas
will host its annual Fall Festival Nov.
1 on the parish grounds. Festivities
will begin at 8 a.m.
St. Mary Parish Altar Society in
Temple will hold its annual Turkey
Dinner and Bazaar Nov. 2 at the
Knights of Columbus Hall in Temple.
Dinner will be served at 11 a.m. and
will include turkey, dressing and all of
the trimmings. Plates will be $9 each.
There will also be booths featuring
plants, crafts and more. An auction
will begin at 12:30 p.m.
The Franciscan Young Adult
Festival with musician Father Stan
Fortuna of Franciscan Friars of the
Renewal on Nov. 8 from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe
Parish in Austin. Everyone is invited
to share in the joy of St. Francis. For
more information, call the Sacred
Heart Fraternity at (512) 478-7955.
The University Catholic Center at the University of Texas
in Austin will celebrate the 25th
anniversary of the Longhorn Awakening in conjunction with the UCC
Alumni Tailgate on Nov. 8. A Mass
of thanksgiving will be celebrated at
the UCC’s 9 a.m. Mass on Nov. 9,
with a reception to follow at Zilker
Park from noon to 4 p.m. All are welcome! For more information, contact
Elizabeth Bertrand at (512) 476-7351
or [email protected].
ESPAÑOL
22
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
Llamado Para Los Servicios Católicos:
Un Gozo Compartido
basado en Marcos 16:15, “Vayan por
todo el mundo y proclamen el Evangelio a toda criatura”. Como Católicos
obispo de la Diócesis
estamos llamados a salir a los conÀnes
de Austin. Es pastor
del mundo y proclamar la Buena
para casi 500,000
Nueva de Jesucristo. Por nuestro
Católicos en 25
bautismo, estamos invitados a comcondados en el
Centro de Texas.
partir en la misión que Jesús mismo
llevó a cabo la cual es ir al mundo y
Editora: La Diócesis de Austin
proclamar el amor de Dios con gozo
lanzará el Llamado Para Los Sery compasión. A través del Llamado
vicios Católicos Anual a principios Para Los Servicios Católicos, podemos
de noviembre. Por favor, díganos
ayudar a niños, adultos, ministros,
sobre el Llamado Para Los Servidiáconos, etc. a compartir la Buena
cios Católicos ¿Cómo es diferente
Nueva con otros.
de otras colectas especiales recogi“Un Gozo Compartido” también
das en las parroquias?
nace de la exhortación apostólica de
Obispo Vásquez: El Llamado
nuestro Santo Padre, el Papa FranPara Los Servicios Católicos (CSA
cisco, “El Gozo del Evangelio”.
por sus siglas en inglés) es un llamado
“La Iglesia en salida es la comua lo largo de la diócesis para recabar
nidad de discípulos misioneros que
fondos para los ministerios y servicios primerean, que se involucran, que
que otorgamos dentro de la Diócesis
acompañan, que fructiÀcan y festede Austin. Somos bendecidos al tener jan. «Primerear»: sepan disculpar este
muchos ministerios que proveen para
neologismo. La comunidad evangelilas necesidades religiosas, espirituzadora experimenta que el Señor tomó
ales y humanas de las personas a lo
la iniciativa, la ha primereado en el
largo de la diócesis. A través del CSA, amor (cf. 1 Jn 4,10); y, por eso, ella
sustentamos la educación religiosa, las sabe adelantarse, tomar la iniciativa
Escuelas Católicas, la formación minis- sin miedo, salir al encuentro, buscar a
terial, la formación de seminaristas y
los lejanos y llegar a los cruces de los
las iniciativas por la vida, la paz y la
caminos para invitar a los excluidos.
justicia.
Vive un deseo inagotable de brindar
Un ejemplo del impacto del CSA
misericordia, fruto de haber experise encuentra en la formación de
mentado la inÀnita misericordia del
nuestros seminaristas. Actualmente
Padre,” escribe el Papa en “El Gozo
tenemos 47 hombres en formación
del Evangelio”.
y cada año, a través de generosas
El Santo Padre ha reiterado mudonaciones de nuestra gente al CSA, la chas veces que como Cristianos debediócesis es capaz de solventar comple- mos ser gente llena de gozo porque
tamente la educación de nuestros
hemos encontrado al Cristo viviente.
futuros sacerdotes. El CSA también
Y nuestro encuentro con Cristo, nos
nos ayuda a cuidar de nuestros sacerlleva a compartir su amor con otros.
dotes retirados, asegurando que tengan El gozo que es compartido viene del
un lugar al que pueden llamar hogar
mismo corazón y esencia de quienes
y que sus necesidades médicas sean
satisfechas después del retiro. Muchos
otros ministerios son asistidos por el
CSA, tales como Caridades Católicas
del Centro de Texas, que cada día alcanza a la gente necesitada a través de
los Centros de Vida del Proyecto Gabriel, Servicios Legales de Inmigración
y el alivio durante desastres.
Nuestra diócesis es una de las
diócesis que crecen con más velocidad
en nuestro país, con más de 70 personas mudándose a Austin cada día.
Para que podamos servir a tanta gente,
tenemos que pedir a todos los Católicos que contribuyan a este llamado.
Necesitamos que todos nosotros contribuyamos de manera que podamos
cuidar las crecientes necesidades a lo
largo de nuestra diócesis, la cual cubre
25 condados en el Centro de Texas,
desde el norte de Waco hasta San Marcos y de College Station a Mason.
Editora: El tema del CSA de
este año es “Un Gozo Compartido”. ¿Cuál fue la inspiración para
este tema?
Obispo Vásquez: El tema está
EL OBISPO JOSE S.
VASQUEZ es el quinto
somos y de la misión de la iglesia.
“Los Cristianos deben proclamar el
Evangelio sin excluir a nadie. En lugar
de parecer imponer nuevas obligaciones, deben aparecer como gente
que desea compartir su gozo, quienes
señalan hacia un horizonte de belleza y
quienes invitan a otros a un banquete
delicioso. No es por proselitismo que
la Iglesia crece, sino por atracción,”
escribe el Papa Francisco en “El Gozo
del Evangelio”.
Editora: ¿Cómo nos da el Llamado Para Los Servicios Católicos
una oportunidad para compartir el
gozo del Evangelio?
Obispo Vásquez: Antes que nada,
provee a todos los Católicos de una
manera de contribuir Ànancieramente.
Como Cristianos Católicos, creemos
que todo lo que tenemos, todo lo que
somos y todo en lo que nos convertiremos es un regalo de Dios. Como
administradores de esos regalos, estamos llamados a regresar una porción
de nuestro tiempo, talento y valores
en agradecimiento por la gran bondad
de Dios. Dar al CSA es una pequeña
manera de darnos cuenta de cómo
hemos sido bendecidos y entonces,
tomar una porción de nuestras bendiciones y compartirla con otros.
El Llamado Para Los Servicios
Católicos es una expresión de solidaridad con otros. A través de nuestras
donaciones y apoyo en oración al
CSA, nos unimos con nuestros hermanos y hermanas con un lazo de
servicio y amor. El Llamado Para Los
Servicios Católicos nos da la oportunidad de ver más allá de las necesidades
inmediatas de nuestras parroquias hogares, para ver las necesidades presentes en la comunidad más allá.
También es importante recordar
que si no podemos donar Ànancieramente ahora, podemos comprometernos a orar por las necesidades de
nuestra iglesia de una manera regular.
Tal como escuchamos en 1 Tesalonicenses 5:16-18, “Regocíjense siempre.
Oren sin cesar. En toda circunstancia
den gracias, por que esta es la voluntad
de Dios para ustedes en Cristo Jesús”.
Editora: Usted ha mencionado
lo importante que es el Llamado
Para Los Servicios Católicos en
el nivel diocesano ¿Puede explicar cómo afecta a las parroquias
locales?
Obispo Vásquez: Lo que hacemos aquí en la Diócesis de Austin
es intentar servir a las necesidades de
toda la gente en la diócesis. La prioridad de nuestro personal es servir a
las parroquias y escuelas. Tenemos en
nuestro equipo de trabajo, personal
que trabaja con, y entrena a ministros
juveniles, catequistas, ministerios universitarios, ministerios para encarcelados, ministerios sociales parroquiales,
líderes de culto divino y miembros del
clero que trabajan en nuestras parroquias. Buscamos ayudar a los líderes de
nuestras parroquias a ser más efectivos
en todo lo que hacen. Trabajamos con
sacerdotes, diáconos y ministerios laicos para ayudarlos a compartir el gozo
de Cristo con otros.
Editora: ¿Cuál es su oración
para el CSA?
Obispo Vásquez: Mi oración es
que nosotros los Àeles Católicos de la
Diócesis de Austin experimentaremos
el gozo de compartir a través de nuestra participación en el Llamado Para
Los Servicios Católicos. Que veamos
que realmente estamos construyendo
el Reino de Dios mientras compartimos nuestro gozo con otros.
Fin de Semana de Compromiso Noviembre 8-9, 2014
October 2014
ESPAÑOL
23
Ninguna Otra Escuela Les Enseña a
BRILLAR
Así.
y
Casa Abierta Sesiones Informativas
Cathedral School of St. Mary
910 San Jacinto, Austin
512.476.1480
smcschoolaustin.org
Casa Abierta: Nov. 17, 5:30 a 7:30 p.m.
Holy Family Catholic School
9400 Neenah Ave., Austin
512.246.4455
holyfamilycs.org
Sesiones Informativas: Oct. 17, Nov. 14, Dec.
5, 8:30 a 10 a.m., Se requiere que confirme
su asistencia a través del sitio de internet
Holy Trinity Catholic High School
6608 West Adams Ave., Temple
254.771.0787
holytrinitychs.org
Casa Abierta: Nov. 9, 1 a 3 p.m.
Reicher Catholic High School
2102 N. 23rd, Waco
254.752.8349
reicher.org
Casa Abierta: Oct. 21, 5 a 8 p.m.
Sacred Heart Catholic School
545 E. Pearl, LaGrange
979.968.3223
sacredheartschoollg.com
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
St. Austin Catholic School
1911 San Antonio, Austin
512.477.3751
staustinschool.org
Casa Abierta: Nov. 23, 10 a.m. a 1 p.m.
St. Dominic Savio Catholic High
School
9300 Neenah Ave., Austin
512.388.8846
saviochs.org
Sesiones informativas: Oct. 17, 8:30 a 10
a.m.; Nov. 19, 6:30 a 8 p.m.; Dec. 10, 8:30 a
10 a.m.; Casa Abierta: Nov. 9, 1 a 3 p.m.
Se requiere confirmar asistencia
St. Gabriel’s Catholic School
2500 Wimberly Ln., Austin
512.327.7755
sgs-austin.org
Casa Abierta: Nov. 4, 8:30 a 10:30 a.m.,
Se apreciará que confirme su asistencia
St. Mary’s Catholic School
520 Washburn St., Taylor
512.352.2313
stmarystaylor.org
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
St. Mary’s Catholic School
1019 S. 7th, Temple
254.778.8141
stmarys-temple.org
St. Helen Catholic School
2700 E. University Ave., Georgetown
512.868.0744
shcslions.org
Café con el Director: Nov. 12, Dec. 10,
8:30 a.m.
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School
120 W. Oltorf, Austin
512.442.8547
st-ignatius.org
St. Mary’s Catholic School
507 W. Spruce, West
254.826.5991
stmaryswest.com
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
St. Joseph Catholic School
600 S. Coulter, Bryan
979.822.6641
stjosephbcs.org
St. Michael’s Catholic Academy
3000 Barton Creek Blvd., Austin
512.328.2323
smca.com
Casa Abierta: Nov. 5, 8:30 a 10:30 a.m.
Almuerzo “Cuéntame sobre el SMCA”
Oct. 22 a las 12 del día
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
St. Joseph Catholic School
2901 E. Rancier, Killeen
254.634.7272
stjosephschoolkilleen.org
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
St.Theresa’s Catholic School
4311 Small Dr., Austin
512.451.7105
st-theresa.org
Día de la Visita: Oct. 16, llame para hacer
una cita
St. Louis Catholic School
2114 St. Joseph Blvd., Austin
512.614.6622
slcsaustin.org
San Juan Diego Catholic High School
800 Herndon Ln., Austin
512.804.1935
sjdchs.org
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
Casa Abierta: Oct. 25, 12 a 2 p.m.
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
St. Louis Catholic School
2208 N. 23rd, Waco
254.754.2041
stlouiswaco.org
Santa Cruz Catholic School
1100 Main St., Buda
512.312.2137
sccstx.org
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
Visitantes bienvenidos en cualquier momento;
contacte a la oficina escolar para hacer una cita.
24
ESPAÑOL
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
El Santuario de Schoenstatt de Austin se
encuentra abierto ya
santuario original en Alemania
es la casa espiritual y el centro
del movimiento.
El Movimiento SchoenDespués de años de
statt fue fundado por el Padre
oración, trabajo duro y sacriJoseph Kentenich (1885Àcio, el primer santuario de
1958) un sacerdote alemán de
Schoenstatt de Austin –– el
origen quien pasó tres años en
tercero en Texas y uno de
un campo de concentración
más de 200 alrededor del
en Dachau, Alemania por
mundo –– ha sido dedicado y desaÀar a los Nazis. El Padre
se encuentra ahora abierto a
Kentenich está siendo consilos visitantes.
derado para la santidad.
Está localizado en una
Fue en el santuario origicolina callada al Oeste de
nal que el Padre Kentenich y
Austin con una hermosa vista sus estudiantes entraron en un
en 225 Addie Roy Rd., cerca
convenio de amor con María
de la intersección del Loop
y aprendieron a verla como el
360 y Bee Cave Road. El San- puente que lleva a un profuntuario está abierto siete días a do y ferviente amor a Dios.
la semana de 9 a.m. a 8 p.m.
El movimiento a nivel munEs un lugar de peregrinaje y
dial, enfatiza la renovación
oración.
espiritual a través del ejemplo
El santuario Schoenstatt es de María y de su intercesión.
una capilla blanca y pequeña
El Padre Schoenstatt Jesús
dedicada a la Virgen María.
Ferras dijo que todos están
Adentro hay un altar tallado
invitados a visitar el santuario.
a mano alrededor de una
Él es el director del Movipintura serena de la Santísima miento Schoenstatt en Texas
Madre con el niño Jesús. Cada y trabaja con la juventud, los
santuario Schoenstatt es una
jóvenes adultos y las ramas
réplica del santuario origiuniversitarias del movimiento
nal, localizado en el valle de
aquí.
Schoenstatt cerca de la ciudad
“En cada lugar donde el
de Koblenz en Alemania. El
Movimiento Schoenstatt se
EL OBISPO JOSÉ
VÁSQUEZ bendijo
el nuevo Santuario
Schoenstatt en
Austin el 13 de septiembre. El santuario
es una réplica del
original Schoenstatt
junto a la ciudad de
Koblenz, Alemania.
(Foto cortesía del
Movimiento Schoenstatt).
POR MICHELE CHAN SANTOS
CORRESPONSAL
desarrolla, el santuario es un
lugar de gracias en donde la
Santísima Madre forma y educa a sus hijos,” dijo el Padre
Ferras. “El Santuario es para
toda la diócesis. Es un lugar
de peregrinación dedicado a la
Santísima Madre”.
El Obispo José Vásquez
dedicó el santuario en una
Misa el día 13 de septiembre.
La Misa de dedicación fue
una celebración gozosa y bella
al aire libre con temperaturas en los 60 grados y lluvia
continua.
“Dios y
Nuestra Señora
nos bendicen
con lluvia,”
dijo el Obispo
Vásquez desatando una
risa apreciativa
por parte de
la multitud de
cientos reunida
bajo sombrillas y tiendas,
usando ponchos
e impermeables.
“Ella nos está
enviando maravillosas bendiciones desde el
cielo”.
El constructor Rodney Winter,
el ingeniero
Javier Barajas,
el diseñador del
ediÀcio Cammi
Kiler y Greg
Ruhl, president
del comité
cons-tructor,
presentaron al
obispo las llaves
ceremoniales del
santuario.
Más de
25 sacerdotes
(Schoenstatt
y diocesanos)
concelebraron
la Misa.
El Obispo Vásquez
alternó hablando español e inglés durante su homilía. Hubo
muchos visitantes de México
y de Sudamérica, en donde el
movimiento Schoenstatt tiene
un especial empuje en Argentina, Chile, Brasil y Paraguay.
El movimiento tiene seguidores en 110 países.
“Los santuarios son
lugares donde los peregrinos
vienen a encontrar sanación
y fuerza,” dijo el Obispo
Vásquez. “El Cristiano es
un peregrino y la nuestra es
una iglesia peregrina. Los
santuarios son lugares donde
podemos ver más claramente
la presencia de Jesús”.
“Estamos unidos con la
familia Schoenstatt hoy,” continuó. “Este es un día de gozo
y celebración”.
El hecho de que el santuario de Austin fuera terminado en 2014 –– el centésimo
aniversario de la fundación
del Movimiento Schoenstatt
–– es una bendición tremenda, dijo el Padre Ferras.
“La Divina Providencia hizo que la apertura de
nuestro santuario cayera en
el año del centésimo aniversario”. Dijo el Padre Ferras.
“Es un gran, gran don. Tres
santuarios están siendo dedicados este año—el nuestro,
otro en Bangalore, India, y el
tercero en Santiago de Chile.
Nunca imaginé una bendición
tan tremenda como el poder
lograr la construcción de este
santuario para los cien años.
Nos hemos estado esforzando
por muchos años”.
El santuario es pequeño
(tiene capacidad para sentar
a 30 personas). Para eventos grandes como la Misa
de dedicación, la gente se
juntó en el espacioso patio a
la sombra de los árboles, en
frente de la capilla.
Más de 500 personas
pertenecen al Movimiento
Schoenstatt en la Diócesis
de Austin. Ellas pertenecen
a diversas parroquias, pero
se reúnen en grupos (rama
familiar, rama de estudiantes
universitarios, etc.) para orar y
convivir en compañerismo.
Muchos de los miembros
del movimiento, que han
pasado años trabajando para
obtener este santuario estaban
tremendamente conmovidos por verlo completado.
Nombraron al santuario de
Austin “La Cuna de Belén de
la Santidad”.
Para Lizette Anglin,
miembro de la rama familiar
de Schoenstatt, la dedicación
del santuario “es el sueño y la
esperanza más grande jamás
realizada. Es un hermoso
regalo a la Santísima Madre”.
Marcela Pinto es la presidenta de la dedicación del
evento. “Para mí este día
representa un día para
compartir con la diócesis de
Austin toda la belleza de la espiritualidad Schoenstatt,” dijo
Pinto. “Es el comienzo de
una nueva etapa. Ahora más
gente puede crecer en el amor
a la Santísima Madre como
nosotros la amamos”.
Carlos Licona es un
miembro de la mesa directive del movimiento. “Para
mí, este día es prueba de que
podemos cambiar el mundo.
Es un regalo que tiene
que ser compartido con el
mundo,” dijo.
El Padre Ferras explicó,
“Visitar el Santuario debe
sentirse como cuando uno va
a casa y ve a su mama. Ella te
da la bienvenida aquí. Este es
un lugar donde María actúa, y
donde vive”.
Para saber más, visite
www.schoenstatt.us o en
Facebook, busque Schoenstatt
Movement of Austin.
October 2014
ESPAÑOL
25
Programa Scout se enfoca en familias
POR ENEDELIA J. OBREGÓN
CORRESPONSAL
Un programa piloto para
las Niñas y Niños Scouts (Boy
y Girl Scouts en inglés) en la
Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón
en Austin ha crecido a 130
Scouts y su éxito está llevando
al desarrollo de otros programas similares.
Alison Tate, directora diocesana de la OÀcina de Juventud, Jóvenes Adultos y Ministerio Universitario, dijo que el
Obispo José Vásquez pidió, el
pasado verano al Comité Diocesano Scout y a su oÀcina que
pusiera a prueba una iniciativa
para incrementar el número
de niños –– especialmente hispanos- en los grupos de niños
y niñas Scouts.
“El obispo apoya verdaderamente el Scouting,” dijo
Tate. “El hacer Scouting provee de una oportunidad única
para el crecimiento y de un rol
creado para que las familias se
involucren”.
Tate dijo que el Scouting
no es solo un ministerio para
jóvenes sino también para padres por que ellos sirven como
líderes y trabajan de cerca con
sus hijos.
“La diócesis ve al Scouting
como un aliado en los esfuerzos de realizar un ministerio
con los jóvenes basado en
valores, cultivando el liderazgo
y las oportunidades para aprender sobre la fe,” dijo.
Ella agregó que el tener a
parroquias patrocinando a las
tropas permite a los jóvenes
celebrar su identidad Católica.
“El Scouting es ministerio
juvenil,” dijo el Padre
Kinney. “No hace todo lo que
la catequesis hace, pero tiene
muchos de los elementos de
un sistema basado en valores
que ayuda a los jóvenes a convertirse en mejores personas”.
El Padre Mark Hamlet,
pastor de la Parroquia del
Sagrado Corazón estuvo de
acuerdo. Él apoya totalmente
dichos programas por una
razón, “Estamos cambiando
vidas a nivel familiar con padres a quienes les importa”.
El Padre Hamlet dijo que
su parroquia es 90 por ciento
hispana y más de la mitad
–– de los miembros –– son
inmigrantes. Por lo tanto,
el programa de Scouting
tuvo que ser diseñado para
tomar en consideración las
diferencias culturales. Lo que
funcionó para la Parroquia del
Sagrado Corazón fue contactar a las madres.
“Se trata de la Mamá,”
dijo el Padre Hamlet. Las
mujeres, quienes tienden a
ser jóvenes y a tener familias
grandes, le dijeron que tenían
diÀcultad en venir a las
múltiples reuniones. “Necesitaban algo para ambos, niños
y niñas y para padres que les
diera el conocimiento y el
valor de involucrarse,” dijo.
El Padre Hamlet también
se reúne con el comité de
Scouting a nivel parroquial
mensualmente, el cual está
formado por líderes Scout
masculinos y femeninos.
Adaptaciones
Carrie Manongdo Yager es
Directora de Unidad de ServiApoyo Parroquial cio de las Girl Scouts para las
El padre Matthew Kinney,
unidades de servicio de Walnut
pastor asociado de la Parroquia
y DelcoSimond que superde St. Joseph en Killeen y un
visa tropas en el Noreste de
Eagle Scout (Águila), sirve como Austin, incluyendo el Sagrado
capellán para el Comité DioCorazón.
cesano para el Scouting CatóliElla dijo que existen potenco. Él dijo que el tener apoyo del cialmente 13,000 Chicas Scout
pastor es “el factor más imporen esa área, mayoritariamente
tante” del éxito de los program- hispanas.
as de Scouting parroquiales y no
Yager enfrentó muchos resólo involucra el permitir que
tos al ayudar a la parroquia y a
las tropas se reúnan en ediÀcios los padres a lanzar el programa
parroquiales.
de chicas Scout (Girl Scout en
Próximos eventos
Parejas casadas que están buscando un escape y tiempo
para reconectar mutuamente están invitados al Encuentro Mundial Matrimonial en español los días 7 a 9 de noviembre. Esta
es una oportunidad para los esposos y esposas de escapar de las
distracciones diarias de la vida y enfocarse uno en el otro. Para
registrarse, contacte a Rubén y Elvira Galván al (512) 247-7604.
Jóvenes Adultos Hispanos están invitados a Misa (en español) el último viernes de cada mes a las 9 p.m. en la Parroquia
de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Austin. Los participantes
rezarán el rosario a partir de las 8:30 p.m. Para mayor información contacte a Darlyn Montenegro en el (512) 369-9813 o a
Víctor Estrada en el (512) 949-8227.
inglés): ella no habla español
con Áuidez, los materiales no
estaban disponibles en español
y estaba teniendo que lidiar
con una tropa de múltiples
niveles. La tropa 276 tiene
desde Daisies, niñas en edad
de Kindergarten hasta niñas de
nivel preparatoriano Ambassador que se reunen durante la
misma noche.
“No se trata únicamente
de entrenar, sino de comenzar
con ¿qué son las Girl Scouts?”
dijo. “Pero no estaba dispuesta
a fallar”.
Ella aprendió con velocidad que el entrenamiento en
línea no iba a funcionar por
que muchas familias no tienen
computadoras. Así que tradujeron los materiales de entrenamiento del “Jump Start”
al que llamaron “Arranque”
en español y se pusieron a
trabajar.
Yager dijo que Girl Scouts
del Centro de Texas ahora
tiene una iniciativa Latina y
está empleando más recursos
–incluyendo personal- para
alcanzar a las chicas hispanas
y a sus familias. Ella se reúne
regularmente con los líderes y
el Padre Hamlet para determinar qué está funcionando y qué
necesita cambiar.
Ella dijo que el apoyo del
Padre Hamlet por el programa
Scout ha sido contagioso y las
familias han respondido.
“La visión del Scouting es
algo a lo que esta comunidad
y el Sagrado Corazón realmente respondieron,” dijo.
“La entendieron bien desde el
principio”.
Involucrarse
Gisela González de 31
años, madre de tres niños dijo
que fue “por el amor de Dios”
y por la petición del Padre
Hamlet de padres voluntarios
que se animó a involucrarse.
“Cuando hablábamos sobre
niños siendo exitosos y aprendiendo a ser líderes, yo
inmediatamente pensaba en
mi hija,” dijo González. Ella
comenzó con una tropa de
12 niñas y ahora supervisa el
programa Girl Scout.
“El programa- Girl Scout
les ayudará en su futuro, ” dijo.
“Girl Scout les enseña a las
niñas a ser independientes y
a tener sus propias metas y el
deseo de alcanzarlas”.
Uno de los aspectos del
programa Girl Scout que a ella
le gusta más es que las chicas
toman roles de liderazgo al
planear actividades.
“Mientras crecen, las
mamás que son líderes están
ahí para asegurarse de que
todo mundo esté a salvo, pero
las chicas toman sus propias
decisiones,” dijo.
Erika García, 31, es una
madre soltera de tres, y tiene
poco tiempo para dedicarse a
actividades extra escolares, así
que escogió involucrarse con el
Scouting.
“Convivir” es la palabra que ella y otros padres
usaron para describir qué es
lo que hacen con sus hijos
en el Scouting. Si se traduce
literalmente al inglés, “convivir” signiÀca vivir juntos
pero tiene un signiÀcado más
profundo, más parecido a
compartir la vida.
“Quiero que aprendan a ser
independientes y a valorarse
a si mismos,” dijo mientras
su hija jugaba con los pies de
su hermanito. “Quiero que
puedan hacer lo que deseen en
la vida y que aprendan sobre
buenas y malas consecuencias”.
Familias
Mientras que los padres
se enfocan en el futuro de sus
hijos, los jóvenes se enfocan en
la diversión que tienen cuando
hacen Scouting. El acampar es
algo popular.
Christy Alba, quien está en
la Tropa 276, dijo que disfruta
hacer s’mores (sándwiches de
galleta rellenos de bombón o
malvavisco) durante los campamentos. Ella también está
aprendiendo a ser una mejor
ciudadana.
“Aprendemos sobre ayudar
al mundo –– por ejemplo,
¿ayudaste a alguien o levantaste
tu basura?” dijo.
Jhovany Alba, hermano de
Christy, tiene 11 años y está
en la Tropa 408. Él quiere
convertirse en un Eagle Scout.
Él disfruta acampar con sus
padres y ganarse insignias de
mérito en los campamentos.
“Aprendemos mucho,”
dijo Jhovany. “No puedes
aprender nada viendo la TV.”
Su padre, quien es Cubmaster, Juan Alba, ha visto un
cambio en sus niños gracias
al Scouting. El también tiene
un hijo de 6 años que está
comenzando a hacer Scouting.
Su esposa, Carolina Resendez,
está involucrada con las Girl
Scouts.
“Puedes ver cómo cambian
los niños,” dijo Alba. “Sé que
esto les ayudará a tener éxito.
Esto abre una puerta para
ayudarles a ir a la universidad”.
Lo que lo sorprendió también fue su propio crecimiento.
A lo largo de este año, él ha
tomado más responsabilidades,
ha aprendido a organizar agendas, ha recibido entrenamiento,
a entrenado a otros y ha planeado excursiones al Cameron
Park Zoo en Waco y a los
estudios Univisión en Austin.
En 12 meses él ha participado
en ocho campamentos.
“No me he aburrido,” dijo
riéndose.
Devolviendo de lo
recibido
Erick Olvera, de 13 años,
dijo quererse convertir en
un Scout Águila por que eso
le ayudará a entrar a la universidad. La manada (den)
ha tenido tres Eagle Scout
hispanos hasta ahora.
El líder Cub Scout de
manada, Albert López dijo
que uno de los objetivos de
la unidad –– el grupo combinado de Cub Scouts dens y
tropas Boy Scouts –– es que
regresen más Scouts Águila
para que ayuden.
“No gustaría que ayudaran
para devolver algo al Scouting regresando y sirviendo,”
dijo. Jorge Rodríguez, Scoutmaster asistente en la Tropa
489, también usó la palabra
“convivir” para describir lo
que está pasando a su hijo de
13 años, un chico Scout que
ha ganado el rango de Star
Scout (o Estrella Scout) y está
ansioso por ganarse el rango
de Eagle. El señor Rodríguez
salió de su casa a los 17 años
y no ha tenido una relación
cercana con su padre.
“Tengo la satisfacción de
compartir esto con él,” dijo
Rodríguez. “No hay un pago
mayor que eso”.
El Scoutmaster Chris
Krumrey ha estado activo en
los Boy Scouts por 35 años –
10 años en la Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón. Él dice que el
apoyo de la diócesis y su pastor
han hecho una gran diferencia
en el involucramiento de los
padres.
Después de que la escuela
parroquial cerró en 2002,
el programa de Cub Scout
se cerró a pesar de que la
Tropa de Boy Scouts 249 permaneció activa y tenía ya tres
niños antes de que los nuevos
esfuerzos de reclutamiento
comenzaran.
“Los padres reconocen el
valor del Scouting,” dijo.
El liderazgo establecido
tuvo que funcionar a través de
barreras culturales con las familias de nuevos reclutas que
no hablaban mucho inglés y
se preocupaban de que les iba
a costar mucho dinero.
“El Padre Mark se asegura de que tengamos lo que
necesitamos,” dijo Krumrey.
“A nadie se le rechaza porque
no pueda pagar. Tenemos exalumnos que ayudan a recabar
fondos”.
ESPAÑOL
26
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
Las Alcancías del Bebé ayudan a ministerios pro-vida
POR MICHELE CHAN SANTOS
CORRESPONSAL
Proyecto Gabriel
Cehovin dijo que una de
las muchas preocupaciones
de la OÀcina Pro-Vida en este
Para este momento, la
momento es la creación de
mayoría de los Católicos han
más ministerios del Proyecto
probablemente visto las AlGabriel en las parroquias. La
cancías del Bebé, las cajitas de
cartón de 3 pulgadas por 3 pul- misión del Proyecto Gabriel es
proveer de apoyo emocional,
gadas que fueron distribuidas
después de las Misas al Ànal de material y espiritual a mujeres embarazadas y familias
septiembre.
necesitadas.
Por más de 10 años, las
Mary Helen Russell es la
parroquias de la Diócesis de
nueva coordinadora de cuidado
Austin han distribuido las
pastoral en la OÀcina de AcAlcancías del Bebé, las cuales
ayudan a recaudar fondos para tividades Pro-Vida Y Castidad.
SEÑALES como ésta en la Parroquia de Emmaus (Emaús) en Lakeway indican que
las actividades pro-vida durante Ella supervisa el Ministerio del
una parroquia tiene un Ministerio del Proyecto Gabriel, el cual provee de ayuda emocioel mes de octubre, el cual es el Proyecto Gabriel, el Proyecto
nal, material y espiritual a mujeres embarazadas y a familias necesitadas. Las Alcancías
Gabriel, la Línea de Ayuda
Mes de Respeto a la Vida. Las
del Bebé, las cuales han estado circulando por todas las parroquias, ayudan a recabar
Pro-Vida
y
el
Ministerio
de
cajas son recogidas el último
fondos para los ministerios pro-vida, tales como el Proyecto Gabriel. (Foto cortesía de
Banqueta.
Àn de semana de octubre.
Lee Malkowski)
Mientras que hay más de
Cada año, la campaña de
125 parroquias en la Diócesis
con La Sociedad de St. Vincent
poner en contacto con cada
la semana.
las Alcancías del Bebé gende Austin, solo alrededor de
de Paul para ayudar a la mujer
persona que llama, dijo Russell.
“Puedo ir a cualquier parte
era alrededor de $40,000 dijo
a pagar sus cuentas. Si necesita
La necesidad de más Proyectos de la diócesis,” dijo Russell.
Marie Cehovin, directora de la 40 tienen su propio Proyecto
Gabriel, dijo Russel. Tener un
un lugar donde quedarse, el
Gabriel es signiÀcativa, particuMuchas veces, el 50% del
OÀcina de Actividades Proproyecto trabaja de cerca con la larmente en áreas rurales.
dinero de la campaña de las AlVida y Castidad de la Diócesis Proyecto Gabriel en una
parroquia involucra el mostrar Casa de Maternidad AnnunciaPor la House Bill 2 (procancías del Bebé es suÀciente
de Austin.
una señal que dice ¿Embaraztion en Georgetown y con Our
puesta de ley), el número de
para cubrir los gastos de todo
La mitad de los fondos
ada? ¿Necesitas Ayuda? El
Lady of the Angel, un albergue
clínicas de abortos en Texas ha
un año de un Proyecto Gabriel
recabados a través de las
Proyecto Gabriel está aquí para de maternidad en Temple. Ancaído. La OÀcina de Actividades parroquial, dijo Cehovin.
Alcancías del Bebé son destití” en inglés y en español. La
nunciation, que tiene una escuela Pro-Vida y Castidad anticipa
“Quiero animar a las panados a actividades pro-vida
rroquias a que tengan sus proen un nivel parroquial, y la otra
mitad va a los Apostolados del
“Quiero animar a las parroquias a que tengan sus propios pios Proyectos Gabriel,” dijo
“Estos proyectos haComienzo de la Vida en un nivel
Proyectos Gabriel ... Estos proyectos hacen la diferencia Cehovin.
cen la diferencia – una profunda
diocesano – especíÀcamente, el
Ministerio del Proyecto Gabriel, – una profunda diferencia – para las mujeres en esas diferencia – para las mujeres
en esas comunidades. A veces
el Proyecto Raquel, la Línea de
comunidades”.
las parroquias piensan que será
Ayuda Pro-Vida y el Ministerio
–– Marie Cehovin, directora de la O¿cina de Actividades Pro-Vida y Castidad muy costoso, o muy difícil. La
de Banqueta.
de
la
Diócesis
de
Austin
campaña de las Alcancías del
Las Alcancías del Bebé son
Bebé pueden proporcionarles el
regresadas de ambas maneras,
tipo chárter, ofrece hogar de
un incremento en la demanda
dinero que necesitan para todo
ligeras (con un cheque adentro) señal proporciona el número
tiempo prolongado a menores
de los servicios del Proyecto
el año, y nosotros podemos
y pesadas (rellenas de monedas de una línea de ayuda: Llame
embarazadas con o sin niños.
Gabriel en los primeros tiempos entrenar a los voluntarios”.
con frecuencia recolectadas por al 1-877-WE-CARE2. Voluntarios que contestan la línea
Our Lady of the Angel ofrece
de la legislación; por lo que la
Para aprender más
niños). Muchas clases de eduun hogar a mujeres embarazadas necesidad de voluntarios es más sobre la campaña de las
cación religiosa tienen con fre- de ayuda ayudan a contactar a
con o sin niños por un tiempo
grande que nunca.
Alcancías del Bebé o sobre
cuencia competencias para ver cada mujer que llama con un
corto.
Russell está dispuesta a
cómo comenzar un Proyecto
cuánto dinero pueden obtener “ángel” voluntario en su área.
Los ángeles proveen de apoyo
Mientras más Proyectos
viajar a cualquier parroquia para Gabriel parroquial, contacte
para las alcancías. Algunas
emocional, material y espiritual Gabriel haya a lo largo de la
ayudar a entrenar voluntarios.
a Mary Helen Russell en el
parroquias dan prendedores
para cada mujer.
diócesis, es más probable que
Las sesiones de entrenamiento
(512) 949-2488 o escríbale a
(con pies de bebés) a aquellos
Si ella necesita ayuda Ànanel voluntario de la línea de
pueden llevarse a cabo en
maryhelen-russell@
que regresan sus alcancías con
sábados o domingos o durante
austindiocese.org.
donaciones al Ànal de octubre. ciera, el Proyecto Gabriel trabaja ayuda tendrá un “ángel” para
Pastoral support for victims of sexual abuse
The Diocese of Austin is committed to providing con¿dential and compassionate care to victims of sexual abuse, particularly if the abuse was committed by
clergy or a church representative. If you have experienced abuse by someone representing the Catholic Church, please contact the diocesan coordinator
of pastoral care at (512) 949-2400.
Apoyo pastoral a las víctimas de abuso sexual
La Diócesis de Austin se compromete a proporcionar ayuda con¿dencial y compasiva a las víctimas de abuso sexual, especialmente si el abuso fue cometido
por el clero o un representante de la iglesia. Si usted ha sufrido abusos por parte de alguien que representa la Iglesia Católica, por favor comuníquese con el
coordinador diocesano del cuidado pastoral al (512) 949-2400.
How to report an incident of concern
The Diocese of Austin is committed to preventing harm from happening to any of our children or vulnerable adults. If you are aware of sexual or physical abuse and/or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, state law requires you to report that information to local law enforcement or the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services at (800) 252-5400 or www.dfps.state.tx.us. Additionally, if the suspected abuse is by clergy or an employee or
volunteer of any diocesan parish, school or agency, a Notice of Concern should be submitted to the diocesan Ethics and Integrity in Ministry Of¿ce at
(512) 949-2400. The l Notice of Concern can be found at www.austindiocese.org (click on the link HOW TO REPORT ABUSE). Reports may be made
anonymously.
Cómo reportar un caso de abuso
La Diócesis de Austin está comprometida a la prevención del daño que se cause a cualquier niño o adulto vulnerable. Si usted está enterado del abuso
sexual o físico y/o abandono de un niño o adulto vulnerable, la ley estatal requiere que se reporte esa información a la policía local o el Departamento
de Servicios Familiares y de Protección del Estado de Texas al (800) 252-5400 o al sitio: www.dfps.state.tx.us y además, si la sospecha de abuso es
por parte del clero, empleado o voluntario de cualquier parroquia, escuela u organización de la diócesis, se debe enviar un Reporte de Abuso y debe
ser presentado a la O¿cina de Ética e Integridad en el Ministerio de la diócesis al (512) 949-2400. El Reporte de Abuso se encuentra en nuestra página
de Internet diocesana: www.austindiocese.org ( Haga click en la liga COMO REPORTAR UN CASO DE ABUSO). Estos reportes pueden ser hechos de
manera anónima.
SITINGS
October 2014
THE FOURTH
ANNUAL
Priests’ Appreciation Dinner
was recently
held in Austin.
The dinner was
co-sponsored by
the St. John Paul
II Life Center and
Cook-Walden
Funeral Homes. (Photo courtesy Alexis Schlatre)
27
BISHOP JOE VÁSQUEZ blessed
and dedicated the new Religious
Education Building at Good Shepherd Parish in Johnson City on Aug.
19. (Photo courtesy Margie Vasquez)
THE EUCHARISTIC APOSTLES of
The Divine Mercy at
St. Margaret Mary
Parish in Cedar
Park inducted
Cenacles 6 and
7 on Aug. 12 and
honored their Suffering Soul Member.
(Photo courtesy
Barbara Bartley)
THE GUADALUPANAS from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in
Taylor traveled to the Basilica De Nuestra Senora De San Juan
Del Valle to attend a Mass of healing and to hear a speaker on
humility. (Photo courtesy Emily Salazar)
THE LEGION OF
MARY praesidium presented a
new banner to St.
Martin de Porres
Parish at the Mass
celebrating the Assumption of Mary
on Aug. 15. (Photo
courtesy Rachel
Palacios)
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS PARISH in
College Station held its third women’s
ACTS retreat July 31-Aug. 3 with
64 women and Father Edwin Kagoo
participating in the retreat. (Photo
courtesy of Kathy Smith)
FATHER CRAIG DE YOUNG blessed
a chalice and paten presented to Tillie
Canga and her son in memory of Sir
Knight Peter Canga who passed away
last December. (Photo courtesy Joseph
Panketh)
BISHOP JOE VÁSQUEZ
celebrated the sacrament
of Con¿rmation June 20
at Sacred Heart Parish
in Elgin. (Photo courtesy
Shirley Martinez)
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
of the Austin Area Chapter
presented Bishop Joe Vásquez
with a check for $5,000 for
the Retired Priests Fund.
The money was raised at the
Clergy and Religious Appreciation dinner. (Photo courtesy
Albert Villegas)
THE STUDENTS of St. Theresa Catholic
School in Austin welcomed Father Larry Covington to the parish during the ¿rst few days
of school. (Photo courtesy Suzanne Leggett)
Send photos by the 10th of the month to [email protected].
28
C ATHOLIC S PIRIT
SITINGS
HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC
HIGH SCHOOL in Temple
unveiled their new sign at
the main entrance of campus
on Aug. 13. (Photo courtesy
Lindsay A. Fredenburg)
KEN AND LINDA OTTE spent several months helping 11
Boy Scouts complete the Ad Altare Dei Religious Emblem
program at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Austin. (Photo
courtesy Ken Otte)
THE RELIGIOUS priests, sisters and brothers serving in the Austin
Diocese spent time with Bishop Joe Vásquez Aug. 23 at St. Mary
Cathedral in Austin. (Photo courtesy Sister Mary Lou Barba)
BISHOP JOE
VÁSQUEZ celebrated a Mass
honoring the
25th anniversary
of St. Stephen
Parish in Salado
on Aug. 24.
After the Mass,
parishioners
gathered for dinner and to plant
a tree in honor
of the parish’s
newly baptized. (Photo courtesy Joann LaCanne)
A NEW CHILLER
was installed and
blessed at the University Catholic Center in Austin during
the summer. (Photo
courtesy UCC)
HOLY FAMILY PARISH in Lexington
hosted its ¿rst Vacation Bible School;
49 children participated. (Photo courtesy Joan Sanders)
CATHOLIC NIGHT AT THE
ROUND ROCK EXPRESS
was held Aug. 18 at the Dell
Diamond in Round Rock.
(Photo courtesy RR Express)
MSGR. JOHN MCCAFFREY blessed
a new cruci¿x that hangs in the foyer
of St. Joseph Catholic School in Bryan. It was imported from Italy and is
a gift to the school from a generous,
anonymous donor. (Photos courtesy
Patty Blaszak)
THE CATHEDRAL SCHOOL OF ST.
MARY has been working with parishes in
East Austin to promote Catholic education.
Principal Robert LeGros rides the Capital
Metro Bus with some students to make
sure they get to school safely. (Photos by
Esmeralda Lozano Hoang)
Send photos by the 10th of the month to [email protected].