Texas Catholic Herald - April 11, 2023

PRAY FOR PEACE

Join in praying for the pope’s worldwide prayer intention for April

▪ SEE PAGE 2

EASTER REFLECTIONS

Let the words of St. John Paul II and Pope Francis inspire your Easter prayers

▪ SEE PAGES 3 & 4

EASTER 2023

We are made luminous

BY DANIEL CARDINAL DINARDO Archbishop of Galveston-Houston

This Lent, we have been celebrating the life-giving words of Jesus Christ as he offers the Samaritan woman at the well and us His life-giving water, which genuinely quenches our thirst for meaning.

This Lent, we have been celebrating the light-giving words of the Son of God as He cures the blindness of the man born blind and us of spiritual darkness and makes us luminous.

This Lent, we have been celebrating the miracle-giving words of the Lamb of God as He raises Lazarus and us from the sleep of sin and death

See SHEPHERD, page 2

MINISTRIES

Healing Texas and beyond: New Baylor St. Luke’s hospital tower blessed

BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Texas Catholic Herald

HOUSTON — Blessing a new 12-story medical tower on March 28 at the Baylor St. Luke’s McNair Campus in the Texas Medical Center touched a personal heartstring with Galveston-Houston Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS.

Before sprinkling the new O’Quinn Medical Tower with holy water with an attending crowd of about 150 doctors, nurses, chaplains, and other supporters present, Bishop Dell’Oro shared a letter written by heart surgeon pioneer Dr. Denton Cooley. The famous physician was writing about the bishop’s cousin from his hometown in Italy who had undergone cardiac surgery in 1982 at St. Luke’s, Houston’s Catholic hospital.

“Cardiac catheterization performed

See HOSPITAL, page 6

A LONG ROAD

Uvalde’s recovery may offer insight to reeling Nashville school

▪ SEE PAGE 16

Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964

‘THE NIGHT SHALL BE AS BRIGHT AS DAY’

Faith, action shine at Advocacy Day in Austin

BY JAMES RAMOS Texas Catholic Herald

AUSTIN — An estimated 2,500 Catholics, including Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, brought prayer and faithful citizenship to the Texas State Capitol in Austin on March 28 for the biannual Texas Catholic Advocacy Day.

Ahead of the crowded rally on the southern steps of the State Capitol, Cardinal DiNardo led the invocation for the Texas State Senate, with several other Texas bishops attending.

In his prayer, Cardinal DiNardo thanked the God of “justice and mercy” for the “gift of life,” and asked for God’s blessing upon all the members of the legislature, including judges, elected officials and others who “guard our political welfare.”

With Catholic school students, clergy, consecrated men and women religious, parishioners and lay faithful joining him in prayer above in the

Senate gallery, Cardinal DiNardo also prayed for the “humility to better listen to You and to one another, seeking to hear and not just be heard” and “to act boldly in the pursuit of justice and integrity, and to promote them and

protect the fullness of human dignity.”

He closed his invocation with a reminder of being “generous and dedicated” in service towards the

PHOTO BY PASCAL DELOCHE/GODONG

An Orthodox icon of the Anastasis, or the Resurrection of Christ, is seen in a monastery in Saint-Laurent-en-Royans, France. Jesus is shown wrapped in white cloth, descending into hell to raise up Adam, at left, and Eve, at right. from their graves. Jesus is also shown gazing out towards viewers while trampling over locks, keys and other metalworks that chain souls to hell.

PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, at left at lectern, leads the invocation prayer for the Texas State Senate session on March 28 during Texas Catholic Advocacy Day at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. See

A SHEPHERD’S MESSAGE

A Shepherd’s Message

By Daniel Cardinal DiNardo

SHEPHERD, from page 1

and reawakens a genuine sense of joy for us. That was just Lent, the prelude!

In Holy Week and Easter, all the activity, preaching, healing, Good News, and miracles of Jesus are synthesized and intensified in Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus was and is always for His Father and for us — this service, this servitude, has reached its climax. The hour comes, and He enters it with complete freedom. He beckons us to follow.

Holy Week and Easter are not a static tableau of pictures, scenes and stage props meant for our spiritual entertainment. They are a dynamic invitation and intervention by the Lord to us; we are to be grasped by Jesus Christ and made His disciples anew. This is serious and joyful work on our part. Let us enter.

Let us pray for Pope Francis and his perseverance in the Lord’s work for him.

A Blessed Easter to all — especially to our catechumens and candidates! †

El Cardenal Daniel DiNardo comparte su columna en línea en español. Visite www.archgh.org para leer su artículo en línea.

THE HOLY FATHER’S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL

PRAYER INTENTION: FOR A NON-VIOLENT CULTURE

2023 year marks the 60th anniversary of St. John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem in Terris, and Francis brings the message of peace in April’s intention by reminding us that “Any war, any armed confrontation, always ends in defeat for all.” In his intention, he makes a request at the end: “Let us make non-violence a guide for our actions, both in daily life and in international relations.”

“Living, speaking, and acting without violence is not surrendering, losing or giving up anything, but aspiring to everything,” the pope said.

“Let us develop a culture of peace. Let us remember that, even in cases of self-defense, peace is the ultimate goal, and that a lasting peace can exist only without weapons. And let us pray for a more widespread culture of non-violence, that will progress when countries and citizens alike resort less and less to the use of arms.” †

Nearly 50 men are currently in formation to become the next generations of priests at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston. These men spend anywhere from 5 to 7 years preparing for their Ordination to the Priesthood.

To read more about our seminarians and how you can support them, scan the QR code, at left, with your phone’s camera or visit www.archgh.org/smseminary.

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“Holy Week and Easter are not a static tableau of pictures, scenes and stage props meant for our spiritual entertainment. They are a dynamic invitation and intervention by the Lord to us.”

You make the ministry of our future Priests possible.

PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD

Serena Subania hugs Pope Francis after she and her husband Matteo Rugghia lost their five-year-old child Angelica yesterday at the Gemelli Hospital, when the Pope left the hospital April 1.

DANIEL CARDINAL DINARDO

OSV NEWS PHOTO

THE FIRST WORD

‘HELP US TO SING WITH OUR LIVES’

An Easter Reflection from St. John Paul II

“Surrexit Dominus de sepulcro qui pro nobis pependit in ligno” (from the Liturgy). “The Lord is risen from the tomb; for our sake He hung on the Cross.” Alleluia!

The Easter proclamation joyfully resounds: Christ is risen! He is truly risen! He who “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried,” Jesus, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, “rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Let there be an end to the chain of hatred and terrorism, which threatens the orderly development of the human family. May God grant that we be free from the peril of a tragic clash between cultures and religions.

May faith and love of God make the followers of every religion courageous builders of understanding and forgiveness, patient weavers of a fruitful interreligious dialogue, capable of inaugurating a new era of justice and peace. As He said to the terrified Apostles on the wind-swept sea, Christ says once more to the men and women of our time: “Take heart, it is I; have no fear!” (Mark 6:50).

If He is with us, why should we fear? However dark the horizon of humanity may seem, today we celebrate the radiant triumph of Easter joy. If a contrary wind slows the march of peoples, if the sea of history is tossed by storms, let no one yield to dismay and lack of trust! Christ is risen; Christ is alive in our midst; truly present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, He offers Himself as the Bread of salvation, Bread for the poor, the Food of wayfarers.

O divine presence of love, O living memorial of Christ our Pasch, for the suffering and the dying you are food for their journey, for everyone you are the sure pledge of eternal life!

O Mary, the first tabernacle of history, silent witness of the wonders of Easter, help us to sing with our lives your own Magnificat of praise and thanksgiving, for today “The Lord is risen from the tomb; for our sake He hung on the Cross.” Christ is risen, our peace and our hope. He is risen. Alleluia! †

— An excerpt from the ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message given by St. John Paul II on April 20, 2003, almost 20 years ago. April 2 marked the 18th anniversary of the Polish pontiff’s death in 2005.

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BRIEFS

Tickets

now

on sale for annual priests vs. seminarians basketball game

HOUSTON — The annual Priests vs. Seminarians Basketball Game returns to the Strake Jesuit Competition Gym, located at 8900 Bellaire Blvd., at 7 p.m. on April 21.

The seminarians’ Saints will face off against the priests’ Martyrs. Tickets are $20 for adults and $7 for children ages 8 and under, with all proceeds benefiting the seminarians at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston. Tickets are limited, and the event is expected to sell out. No checks will be accepted, and tickets will not be sold at the door. To purchase, visit www.archgh. cventevents.com/PvS2023. †

Young Adult Seekers’ Charis Retreat set for April 28 to 30

HOUSTON — The Office for Young Adult and Campus Ministry will host the Seekers’ Charis Retreat, an event designed for young adults who are seeking a deeper integration of spirituality in their lives.

This is a three-day, two-night retreat based on Ignatian Spirituality and will be held at Circle Lake Retreat Center, located at 19000 Circle Lake Dr. in Pinehurst from April 28 to 30. The cost is $180 per person, which includes food and lodging.

Register online by Sunday, April 16. For more information and to register, visit the website at www. archgh.org/charis. †

Café Catholica Lite set for May 11

HOUSTON — The Office for Young Adult and Campus Ministry will host the next Café Catholica Lite at St. Patrick Church, located at 1010 35th St. in Galveston, on May 11 from 7 to 8:45 p.m.

The speaker is Father Robert Murphy, SJ, vocations promoter with the Jesuits, and his talk will be “How to Make a Decision: Discerning the Ignatian Way.” The night will include light snacks, the talk, a Q&A and communal prayer. The talk will be available to view online as well at www. archgh.org/cafecatholica.

The Café Catholica program seeks to help young adults ages 18 to 39 encounter Christ and His Church. All young adults are invited to Café Catholica Lite throughout the year. For more, contact the Office for Young Adult and Campus Ministry at yacm@archgh.org or 713-741-8778. †

DSF annual appeal to support Archdiocesan ministries continues

HOUSTON — This year, the theme of the annual Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) appeal is “God is the Strength of My Heart.” The annual campaign to support 64 Archdiocese-wide ministries is under way and the local Church is asking parishioners to continue their generous giving to DSF.

The fund supports a variety of ministries, such as those forming youth in Catholic faith; providing support and preparation for clergy; teaching, evangelizing, worshipping and outreach to the incarcerated, aging, poor and sick; and programming to strengthen Christian families, among many others.

A full list of the ministries supported can be found at www.archgh.org/dsf. The Archdiocese counts on DSF funds to help meet the needs of people in the region. To pledge online, visit www.archgh.org/dsf. †

CNS PHOTO

LOCAL

A new Order of Penance to debut April 16

The new Order of Penance will replace the version that has been in use since 1973. ▪ SEE PAGE 13

An Easter meditation on Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the Risen Christ

BY POPE FRANCIS Special to the Herald

According to the Gospels, Mary Magdalene was the first to see the Risen Christ. She was one of the disciples who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee, putting herself at the service of the burgeoning Church.

Her walk to the sepulcher mirrors the fidelity of many women who spend years in the small alleyways of cemeteries remembering someone who is no longer there. The most authentic bonds are not broken even in death: there are those who continue loving even if their loved one is gone forever.

The Gospel describes Magdalene by immediately highlighting that she was not a woman easily given to enthusiasm (Jn 20:1-2, 11-18). In fact, after her visit to the sepulcher, she returns disappointed to the Apostles’ hiding place. She tells them that the stone has been removed from the entrance to the sepulcher, and her first hypothesis is the simplest that one could formulate: someone must have stolen Jesus’ body. Thus, the first announcement that Mary makes is not the one of the Resurrection, but of a theft perpetrated by persons unknown while all Jerusalem slept.

The Gospels then tell of Magdalene’s

EMBRACING THE EASTER SEASON

second visit to Jesus’ sepulcher. She was stubborn! She went, she returned ... because she was not convinced! This time her step is slow and very heavy. Mary suffers twice as much: first for the death of Jesus, and then for the inexplicable disappearance of his body. It is as she is stooping near the tomb, her eyes filled with tears, that God surprises her in the most unexpected way. John the Evangelist stresses how persistent her blindness is. She does not notice the presence of the two angels who question her, and she does not become suspicious even when she sees the man behind her, whom she believes is the custodian of the garden. Instead, she discovers the most overwhelming event in the history of mankind when she is finally called by her name: “Mary!” (v. 16).

How nice it is to think that the first apparition of the Risen One — according to the Gospels — took place in such a personal way!

To think that there is someone who knows us, who sees our suffering and disappointment,

who is moved with us and calls us by name. It is a law which we find engraved on many pages of the Gospel.

There are many people around Jesus who search for God, but the most prodigious reality is that, long before that, in the first place there is God, who is concerned about our life, who wants to raise it, and to do this, he calls us by name, recognizing the individual face of each person. Each person is a love story that God writes on this earth. Each one of us is God’s love story. He calls each of us by our name: he knows us by name; he looks at us; he waits for us; he forgives us; he is patient with us. Is this true or not true? Each of us experiences this.

And Jesus calls her: “Mary!”: the revolution of her life, the revolution destined to transform the life of every man and every woman begins with a name which echoes in the garden of the empty sepulcher. The Gospels describe Mary’s happiness. Jesus’ Resurrection is not a joy which is measured with a dropper, but a waterfall that cascades over life. Christian life is not woven of soft joys, but of waves which engulf everything.

Try to imagine, right now, with the baggage of disappointments and failures that each of us carries in our heart, that there is a God close to us who calls us by name and says to

us: ‘Rise, stop weeping, for I have come to free you!” This is beautiful.

Jesus is not one who adapts to the world, tolerating in it the persistence of death, sadness, hatred, the moral destruction of people... Our God is not inert, but our God is a dreamer: He dreams of the transformation of the world and accomplished it in the mystery of the Resurrection.

Mary would like to embrace her Lord, but He is already oriented towards the heavenly Father, whereas she is sent to carry the news to the brethren. And so that woman, who, before encountering Jesus, had been at the mercy of evil (Lk 8:2) now becomes the Apostle of the new and greatest hope.

May her intercession also help us live this experience: in times of woe and in times of abandonment, to listen to the Risen Jesus who calls us by name and, with a heart full of joy, to go forth and proclaim: “I have seen the Lord!” (v. 18). I have changed my life because I have seen the Lord! I am now different than before. I am another person. I have changed because I have seen the Lord. This is our strength and this is our hope. †

This meditation comes from Pope Francis’ general audience address given May 17, 2017.

CHRIST’S APPEARANCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AFTER THE RESURRECTION Alexander Ivanov - 1835, oil on canvas

Advocacy Day highlights the common good of all

ADVOCACY, from page 1

common good.”

Quickly after greeting members of the Texas Senate, Cardinal DiNardo joined the other bishops from the 14 other dioceses of Texas on the southern steps of the Capitol for a rally gathering with thousands, the first Catholic gathering with all the bishops from Texas for the 2023 biannual Texas legislative season.

At the rally, the bishops welcomed their dioceses, with signs advocating for Catholic policies and values on healthcare, education, immigration and death penalty issues waving high above and around the crowd.

The Archdiocesan delegation led by Sister Maureen O’Connell, OP, director of the Archdiocesan Secretariat for Social Concerns, met with elected state representatives and their staff to highlight these issues.

Jennifer Carr Allmon, executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, said many attendees visited with legislators to advocate for parental choice, child protection, expanded postpartum Medicaid coverage and abolishing the death penalty for the severely mentally ill.

Ahead of Advocacy Day, Galveston-Houston

Cathedral just blocks away from the Capitol.

FAITHFUL CITIZENSHIP

Advocacy Day also brings hundreds of Catholic school students from around the state to the Capitol for an in-person experience of the Texas legislature, both in visiting the Capitol, the House and Senate chambers, and a special mock hearing experience, where junior and high school students witness or lead the entire session on payday lending.

Students from Duchesne Academy, Frassati High School, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima in Galena Park, St. Ambrose, St. Francis de Sales, Resurrection, Sacred Heart in Crosby, St. Anne in Houston, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Augustine, St. Laurence and St. Mary in League City schools attended sessions, as well as the rally. Some also shared prepared testimonies or served on the mock hearing’s panel.

superintendent of governance and leadership with the Archdiocesan Catholic schools office, not only attended Advocacy Day, but she testified at a March 21 Texas Senate committee hearing on education to advocate for parental choice in education.

Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, joined Cardinal DiNardo in concelebrating a special Mass with other Texas bishops on March 27 at St. Mary’s

Dressed in school uniforms or wearing blue Advocacy Day shirts, they streamed through the halls of the State Capitol before filling the Capitol extension’s auditorium.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to come to Austin, learn about Texas legislation and see how their voice can make a difference in the future of our state,” said Dr. Debra Haney, superintendent of Catholic schools. “Their voice matters, and the voices of their parents matter.”

Dr. Mazie McCoy, assistant

As a former Catholic school principal and parent of Catholic school students, McCoy said it was important that senators hear from people like them and understand that Catholic schools provide a good education.

“It was important to come here and just speak my voice on behalf of the Archdiocese as a parent,” she said. “And that’s why I’m here [at Advocacy Day] to support our students and again, to make my voice be heard among the thousands of Catholics here today.” †

PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD

At left: Alexander, a junior high student from St. Laurence Catholic School in Sugar Land gives a prepared testimony during a mock hearing session during Catholic Advocacy Day March 28 at the State Capitol in Austin. At right: The U.S. and Texas flag fly at half-mast in honor of the victims of the Nashville school shooting as Catholics and bishops from the 15 dioceses gather Texas Catholic Advocacy Day rally at the Texas State Capitol in Austin.

in Italy demonstrated severe coronary disease… Operation was recommended, and we were asked to see the patient in consultation,” Bishop Dell’Oro read from Dr. Cooley’s letter.

Bishop Dell’Oro added that his cousin, Celestino Tentori, who came to Houston with his wife Silvana and to St. Luke’s specifically for the bypass and other surgical procedures as a last chance of survival, went on to live another 24 years in Italy.

“I share this letter because you help treat the local community and people from all over the world. Your medical professionals, who are also from around the world, bring physical healing” while the Catholic Chaplaincy Corps helps to bring spiritual nourishment to hospital staff and patients, he said.

St. Luke’s Health, part of the national Catholic CommonSpirit Health system, is home to 16 general hospitals covering Houston, Brazos Valley, Brazosport and Lufkin. It also includes Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, the research and teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The O’Quinn Medical Tower at McNair, set to open in April, is the latest addition off Old Spanish Trail that adjoins the existing McNair Hospital Tower, which opened in 2019.

The new tower features more than 360,000 square feet of medical buildout, including suites for diagnostics, radiation therapy, ambulatory surgery,

endoscopy, cancer clinic and infusion services.

The ambulatory outpatient surgery center includes 12 operating rooms and 10 new endoscopy suites. Another 40,000 square feet of conference and executive office space are available, along with a connecting parking garage.

“The O’Quinn Medical Tower at McNair

Employment Opportunity: Medical Director

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Qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to inquire about this position by contacting our Chief Human Resources Officer Enjoli Marchand at enjoli.marchand@sanjoseclinic.org or 713-286-6412

strengthens our ability to allow our best and brightest clinicians to excel at providing world-class care to our patients and community,” said Doug Lawson, Ph.D., CEO of St. Luke’s Health, in a statement. “We are positioning our ministry of healing to continue as the high-value provider of choice for generations to come.”

St. Luke’s Health board chair Jay Glick agreed, “This whole development in the area is of tremendous importance for at least the next 50 years” as medical care expands outside the landlocked Texas Medical Center along Fannin and Main Street.

The O’Quinn Medical Tower enhances the nationally ranked Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, by tripling it in size with an additional 80-

bay infusion center, more than 70 exam rooms, and new imaging and radiation treatment equipment.

The O’Quinn Medical Tower represents a $426-million investment by CommonSpirit Health, St. Luke’s parent ministry that was an alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health, making it one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the U.S. Overall, the McNair Campus comprises a 1.2 million square foot, $1.3 billion project.

St. Luke’s is also investing in significant upgrades to the existing Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center campus, located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center.

St. Luke’s Health is also home to the Texas Heart Institute, and the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Its integrated network includes more than 380 employed and 1,600 clinically aligned network providers, and more than 21,000 employees, providers, interns and volunteers, delivering quality care within a Christian ministry of healing.

With CommonSpirit Health, St. Luke’s Health is partnered with more than 140 hospitals in 21 states and delivering care to more than 12.3 million patient visits annually. For more information, visit stlukeshealth.org. †

PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. LUKE’S HEALTH

Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, blesses the new outpatient and cancer care center opening in the O’Quinn Medical Tower at McNair, the newest 12-story addition to the Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center McNair Campus off Old Spanish Trail at the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

Three local Catholic women’s groups follow pope’s call for annual Marian consecration

BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Texas Catholic Herald

HOUSTON — Following Pope Francis’ urging to renew the consecration to Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation, three different local Catholic women’s groups met on March 25 on how to minister to the community.

The pope invited “every believer and community, especially prayer groups, to renew every March 25 the Act of Consecration to Our Lady, so that she, who is mother, may preserve us all in unity and peace.”

About 40 women attended the Deacons’ Wives and Widows Day of Lenten Reflection held at St. Dominic Chancery to meditate on how Mary said yes to becoming Jesus’ mother like they said yes to the sacrifice of their husbands becoming deacons.

Dr. Sandra Derby, who teaches at the Emmaus Spirituality Center and is also a theology instructor at St. Agnes Academy, led the group of women to focus not only on sinfulness but “reclaim your goodness,

director of the Christian Renewal Center. At right: More than 40 deacons’ wives and widows gathered for a day of Lenten reflection March 25 at St. Dominic Chancery on the Feast of the Annunciation when Mary said a resounding “Yes!” to become Christ’s mother as these women did in the sacrifice of their husbands becoming deacons.

your belovedness with God. That is what Lent and Easter are for.”

Beth Turner, whose husband Chuck was ordained a deacon in 2015 and serves at Mary Queen Catholic Church in Friendswood, helped organize the women’s gathering.

“It was a great mixture of our new deacons’ wives and our more experienced wives and widows,” she said.

One of the attending members, Mary Ann Martin, described part of the role of deacons’ wives and widows as being “ministers to the ministers.” Her husband, Deacon Ken Martin, ordained in 1994 after serving at St. Edward parish in Spring, passed away three years ago. Mary Ann remains an active parishioner at St. Edward.

Cyndi Llorens, whose husband, Deacon Corney Llorens serves at St. Justin Martyr parish, also organized the event and was extremely pleased and thankful for the turnout.

“It was a beautiful gathering of faith-filled women sharing a common ministry and vocation. This was our first day of reflection since 2019” because of COVID-19, Llorens said.

And with your support, Catholic Charities provides help and hope to people in need, especially the poor and vulnerable. Our network of life-changing programs work together to alleviate poverty.

Catholic Faith, we serve people of all beliefs.

The Galveston-Houston Archdiocese Council of Catholic Women (GHACCW) also hosted its annual conference on March 25, at St. Mary Seminary.

The keynote speakers were Sister Thomas Aquinas, OP, of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist; Lisa May, director of archives for the

Archdiocese; and Kim Brown, director of the Christian Renewal Center.

L. Faye Marshall, GHACCW president, said, “We were blessed by a great day of faith and fellowship... We had a chance to focus on how Mary leads us to Jesus in our opening keynote by Sister Thomas Aquinas, followed by the afternoon keynote of Lisa May sharing our history of the past 175 years as we celebrate the Archdiocese’s anniversary.”

She added that May also brought some of the treasures of the Church to display, including a crozier — the staff symbolic of a shepherd’s crook — belonging to Bishop Christopher Byrne, who headed the Diocese of Galveston from 1918 to his death in 1950.

Then a closing keynote by Kim Brown focused on letting prayer and the Eucharist transform us deeper into our faith, she said.

A third Catholic Women’s Conference that same day, “The Kingdom of Heaven is Within You,” was held at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Houston. Sister Elizabeth Marie Kalscheur, O.P., of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia spoke of how to do a good examination of conscience and discussed Eucharistic miracles.

Father David Michael Moses, parochial vicar at Christ the Good

Shepherd in Spring, had a presentation on supernatural gifts from heaven, the Sacraments. †

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE DIACONATE AND THE GHACCW

At

left: The annual Galveston-Houston Archdiocese Council of Catholic Women’s conference shared faith and fellowship at St. Mary’s Seminary March 25, focusing on how Mary leads all to Jesus. Speakers included Sister Thomas Aquinas, OP, of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist, Archdiocesan archive director Lisa May, and Kim Brown,

LOCAL

Charity in Action Awards recognize faithful support for Catholic Charities’ mission

PHOTO COURTESY CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON-HOUSTON

HOUSTON — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston presented its annual Charity in Action Awards to a parish, an individual and an organization for outstanding support through gifts of time, talent and treasure. Awards were presented at the agency’s annual meeting.

Outstanding parish partner is St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, historically connected to Catholic Charities through Monsignor James Jamail, former pastor of the parish and past executive director of Catholic Charities.

“St. Vincent de Paul has a strong Vietnamese parish presence,” said Gretchen Martinez Penny, current chair of the Catholic Charities board of directors. “The parish was an active partner with us when we first began our Refugee Resettlement work.” The parish maintains support by donating to Catholic Charities’ Christmas gift campaign for clients.

The Charity in Action award for an individual volunteer recognized Ellen Ginty, past chair of the Catholic Charities board of directors.

“Ellen is servant leadership incarnate,” said Penny. “She brought her genuine love

of people and Christ to her leadership of the board during an incredibly difficult time — the COVID-19 pandemic.” Ginty volunteers with several Catholic Charities efforts, ranging from the Blessed Beginnings Life Center to food pantry distribution.

The award for outstanding organization was presented to Children at Risk, which supports, advocates and educates community organizations.

“Children at Risk and Catholic Charities are a natural blend for a healthy and long-term collaboration,” said Penny. “For example, they collected a think tank to ensure that trauma-informed care was accessible for children and families postHurricane Harvey and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The board also thanked and congratulated Cynthia Colbert for serving 10 years in her leadership role at Catholic Charities.

“God has truly blessed us with Cynthia’s sharp mind, determined spirit and love for the most vulnerable in the community,” said Penny. Among Colbert’s achievements, Penny included leading the agency through the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and geo-political crises. †

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On April 1, around 200 young adults participated in Magnify at St. Mary’s Seminary. Formerly known as the Archdiocesan Young Adult Day, the day included a keynote speaker, workshops, Mass and time for social activities. The annual, one-day event seeks to gather young adults in their 20s and 30s from all corners of the Archdiocese to provide further catechesis and inspiration to Catholic young adults who are seeking to follow Christ in their lives. The event also included an encounter with Christ, Himself, through His Sacraments of Confession and Eucharist. Magnify had talks and events in both English and Spanish. The English keynote speaker, John Bergsma, a theology professor from Franciscan University of Steubenville, presented his address virtually. Spanish keynote speaker, Adriana Visoso, president of La Red, was in attendance.

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CREATING AN END-OF-LIFE CARE PLAN

PHOTO BY ST. DOMINIC VILLAGE

The Archdiocesan Office of Aging co-hosted a veterans benefit seminar with St. Dominic Village at St. Dominic Chancery's Auditorium on March 28. The event featured presentations and sponsorships by the Area Agency on Aging, Dignity Memorial and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office. For more information on future seminars hosted by St. Dominic Village, call 713-741-8701.

From left to right, Catholic Charities board chair Gretchen Martinez Penny presented Charity in Action Awards for a parish to Allyson and Deacon Burt Martin, and Mary Gosline from St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church; Catholic Charities president and CEO Cynthia N. Colbert, MSW; volunteer and board member Ellen Ginty, with Daniel Cardinal DiNardo standing next to Dr. Robert Sanborn with Children at Risk.

Digital age continues to provide ways to share

God’s boundless love with others

BY KERRY MCGUIRE Herald Correspondent

HOUSTON — As the digital communications age continues to bring forth both challenges and opportunities to connect with others and minister to their needs as a local and global Church, inspiring words from the Holy Father close to a decade ago still ring true.

“The revolution taking place in communications media and in information technologies represents a great and thrilling challenge; may we respond to that challenge with fresh energy and imagination as we seek to share with others the beauty of God.”

(Pope Francis, Message for World Communications Day, 2014)

About the same time the internet became mainstream in the 1990s, the Office of the Secretariat for Communications of the Archdiocese was created to share the Gospel message of God’s boundless love with Catholics and non-Catholics alike through words of hope, images of Christ’s work and modern communication tools.

“While the forms and frequency of communications have certainly evolved in subsequent years, our mission has remained the same: Using these channels to inform and evangelize,”said Jonah Dycus, director of the Archdiocesan Office of Communications.

Chancery communication with Archdiocesan parishes, schools, offices and departments.

DIOCESAN SERVICES

“With the ever-evolving digital landscape, there are more opportunities and challenges in disseminating our messages and updates, but we continue to strive to connect with people ‘where they are.’”

FUND

Dycus said since the ministry’s creation in 1997, it has served as the official “voice” of the Archdiocese on issues related to the Catholic Church and on Archdiocesan events, programs and services. It also facilitates official

To effectively connect with the 1.7 million Catholics in the Archdiocese, which is one of the largest and most diverse dioceses in the U.S., the Office of Communications is responsible for developing and maintaining the official website, www.archgh.org, and all social networking efforts. In addition, the office is responsible for media relations, internal communications, the radio ministry, and Texas Catholic Herald newspaper that, in its 58th year, currently reaches approximately 70,000 subscribers living in 10 counties in the Archdiocese.

“A few years ago, through the Texas Catholic Herald, we launched ‘The Digest,’

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an e-blast that features local content from each edition of the newspaper and distributes news alerts to subscribers,” said Dycus. “A goal this year is to create more video and audio/podcast content, as well as continue the facilitation of streams of Archdiocesan Masses at the Co-Cathedral, including ordinations and other events where family and friends may be unable to attend in person.”

Dycus said through these digital and print communications, the Office of Communications is blessed with unique access and opportunities to share stories of the people of the Archdiocese who joyfully fulfill the call to show a true love of neighbor through service and prayer.

“We are grateful to be able to share such testimonies and chronicle the faithful lives of local Catholics,” said Dycus. “Our hope is that these stories will inspire others to become active in their parish not only through Mass but also through volunteer service and outreach opportunities.”

Dycus said another goal this year is to explore and implement new ways to improve internal communications with other chancery departments, as well as parishes and Catholic schools, through software platforms.

“Essentially, we want to streamline the process for submitting updates, news and photos for those entities, as well as make it easier for our team to ultimately share those submissions with our target audiences,” said Dycus.

Dycus said he is grateful for the support of the faithful in the Archdiocese who support the annual Diocesan Services Fund appeal, which ensures that the Office of Communications and 60-plus ministries are able to remain

operational and fulfill their mission.

“The needs of the parishes and the people in the pews are our priority,” said Dycus. “We strive to be a resource to pastors and church staffs, as well as a source of information for the faithful and those seeking to learn more about the Archdiocese and the Church.”

In a recent letter to the faithful in the Archdiocese, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo said the DSF exists “because we are Catholic and we are called to serve one another.”

“God, who is truly the strength of our hearts, calls us through His son Jesus to love and serve joyfully,” said Cardinal DiNardo. “The Diocesan Services Fund allows us, as Catholic Christians, to joyfully fulfill that call and to show a true love of neighbor through service and prayer.”

Cardinal DiNardo said through the DSF, the local Church can more fully live out the Gospel message of Jesus Christ by serving the poor, the sick, the homeless and the forgotten; educating future generations of faithful and flourishing Catholics through schools; preparing seminarians for the priesthood and supporting the clergy; and nurturing holy families that bring the love of God into each of their homes and communities.

To learn more about the Office of Communications and 60-plus ministries supported by the DSF, go to archgh. org/dsf. The DSF supports each of these ministries, whether direct service or education, which require this critical funding to remain in operation. Out of each gift given to DSF, 100% of every dollar goes directly to supporting these ministries. †

MANAGING YOUR SUBSCRIPTION

Questions about subscription, circulation or need to change an address? Call 713-652-3444 or email TCH@ARCHGH.ORG for assistance. Visit ARCHGH.ORG/TCH for more information.

The 2023 Diocesan Services Fund theme is “God is the Strength of My Heart.” DSF operates in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston each year to help the Church carry out the ministries of teaching and sanctifying. DSF brings the needed financial resources to carry out 64 ministries.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UP IN THE AIR

Marcus Norwood, media technician coordinator for the Office of Communications, uses a drone to take video of the 2023 Steps for Students 5K race and walk in February

For IWA students on Spring Break, the mission is ‘service’

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Over Spring Break, 10 students at Incarnate Word Academy (IWA) who are members of Teens 4 Unity, a global organization rooted in the act of serving others and making the world a more beautiful place, went on a mission trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The trip, called “People, Planet and Our Ecological Conversion,” was chaperoned by science teacher Cristina Dimatulac, campus ministry director Brianna Amaya, and former faculty member Ana Paula Pauzarini. As part of the service mission, the students taught at a local school called Cafe Con Leche.

“IWA has participated in this program since 2010,” Dimatulac said. “This was our fourth trip to Santo Domingo, and it’s great to see the volunteers’ impact grow with every visit.”

During the March 11 to 18 mission trip, they kept one phrase in mind: #daretocare.

“That meant we had to be the first to love and give back rather than wait for someone else to do it,” said Angela Benny, sophomore at IWA. “The experience was an eye-opener for me and impacted me in such a positive way! It made me realize that not everyone is as fortunate as I am.”

Benny said working with the kids during classes, workshops and activities moved her because she saw how happy they were to learn and have fun with the workshops they came up with.

“It also impacted the kids because they took the initiative to try and understand a different language while getting to know people they had never met,” she said.

Tania Rodriguez, sophomore at IWA, said the purpose of this mission trip was to give of themselves to teach

kids in Santo Domingo English, have dance classes, arts and crafts, and have recreational time to play with the kids.

“I realized how happy they got when we would do the simplest acts of service for them,” she said. “You don’t see the same amount of gratitude coming from the majority of the young kids we encounter nowadays. We all learned that simple acts of kindness can have a lasting impact on everyone involved.”

Maria Conde, sophomore at IWA, said the children were a joy to be around, and together the IWA students were able to help them on their educational journey in a way that made learning fun and exciting for them.

“It helped me recognize my gratitude and humility for what I have because many kids and families were less fortunate and did not have nearly my group’s opportunities back home,” she said.

Conde said she noticed their presence affected the kids at Cafe Con Leche because it is rare that they see people

outside their country visiting and serving them. Despite the language barrier, the students at the school took the initiative to get to know the IWA girls and even formed friendships with them.

“My mission group and I achieved our goal of using #daretocare and exemplifying the expectation of that idea to the children in Cafe Con Leche during our short period,” she said. “I am grateful to have shared this experience with the girls who also participated in the mission group, and I know that the memories we made there will last us a lifetime.”

Teens 4 Unity is comprised of individuals varying in religion, denomination and color. It started in 1984 with the Gen 3 (a branch of the Focolare Movement); they share the ideal of fraternity and try to make it happen by following all the possible “pathways,” aiming to knock down all barriers of hate and indifference. †

PHOTOS COURTESY OF INCARNATE WORD ACADEMY

Ten high school students at Incarnate Word Academy (IWA) in Houston used their spring break week and visited the Dominican Republic for a mission trip with Teens 4 Unity, alongside several chaperones. IWA has participated in the program since 2010.

The Earth He has given to the sons of mankind

On Jan. 28, 1969, a Union Oil well 6 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, blew out, spilling over three million gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean. The ecological disaster that followed was catastrophic in scale, killing over 10,000 dolphins, seabirds, seals and sea lions. It was this disaster that led activist John McConnell to propose a global holiday to both celebrate and protect Earth’s life and beauty. The son of a Pentecostal preacher, McConnell was a lifetime believer in care for the environment, founded in his Christian beliefs and backed up by such passages as Psalms 115:16, “the earth He has given to the sons of mankind.”

To care for the Earth is deeply rooted in our Catholic beliefs; Nowhere is this made more explicitly clear than in Pope Francis’s second encyclical, Laudato Si’ (Praise Be to You), in which he laments environmental degradation, climate change and calls on the world to take

by PRESTON NORTON

swift and unified global action. “Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years. Yet we are called to be instruments of God our Father so that our planet might be what he desired when he created it.”

In the letter, Pope Francis speaks of the role of environmental education, with a goal to restore “ecological equilibrium, establishing harmony within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God.” He describes “nobility” in “little daily actions” and the wonderful way in which “education can bring about real changes in lifestyle” and goes so far as to list classic examples, such as “avoiding the use of plastic and

paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices.”

An incredible amount of humility is required in taking these little daily actions into practice, but the importance is grave, and the effects accumulate with a unified effort. It is why “ecological education” plays such an important part in Pope Francis’s letter. This education “can take place in a variety of settings: at school, in families, in the media, in catechesis and elsewhere.”

Founded in 1981, the School of Environment Education at Camp Kappe, located in Plantersville, has been teaching these very principles to fifth graders from Catholic schools across the Archdiocese for over 40 years. With approximately 1,200 students who pass through Camp Kappe per year, that adds up to roughly 50,000 students who have shared in this eco-conscious spiritual experience.

In addition to outdoor activities such as archery, canoeing and orienteering, Camp Kappe teaches that the Earth is a gift from God and should be treated as a precious gift. Students learn that we are all stewards of the Earth and that each of us has the power to make a change on this planet for the better. Maybe that change is ecological, finding simple and easy ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. Maybe that change is social, finding ways to serve and lift up children of God in need. Whatever it may be, these children — and our faith’s future — will indeed walk from Camp Kappe with a glowing appreciation for God and all His glorious, beautiful creation. †

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Preston Norton is an instructor at the School of Environment Education at Camp Kappe.

“Camp Kappe teaches that the Earth is a gift from God and should be treated as a precious gift.”

COLUMNISTS

What if Mary Magdalene did not turn around?

My friend and I were walking around the lake. We walked slowly and very carefully because of the uneven ground. I was focusing on my steps and engaging in conversation with my friend. Suddenly, she exclaimed, “Look!” “Uh-uh!” I responded. “Look! Turn around, pleeease!” she insisted.

I reluctantly turned my head around and was in awe of the gorgeous sunset sky. This breathtaking moment could never have happened had I kept my eyes down, worried I might stumble and fall.

On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene discovered that Jesus’s body had disappeared.

Words could not express her complex feelings then. Maybe a sense of helplessness: “They took my Lord away.” Maybe a sense of frustration: “Just tell me where you put my Lord’s body.” Maybe a sense of guilt: “I should have stayed by the tomb last night.” The tormented experience on Good Friday had worn her out completely, then the

by SISTER SYMPHONIE NGO,

disappearance of Jesus’s body completely overthrew her very last hope and belief. Mary Magdalene was crying her eyes out in front of the empty tomb and did not realize that Jesus was standing behind her, waiting.

He first called her “Woman,” and she turned around. Because she was still in excruciating pain, she did not recognize Jesus. He called her again: “Mary!”

Like a wake-up call, she turned to Him and promptly responded, “Rabbouni!” After consoling her, Jesus commissioned her to announce His Resurrection to the disciples.

What if Mary Magdalene did not turn around? What if she was submerged deeply in her loss and pain and did not recognize Jesus’s voice calling her?

What if she kept looking at the empty tomb and missed the resurrecting Christ was right behind her?

God’s presence in our lives is often hidden. Amid the trials, misunderstandings and ambiguities of daily living, God is there. Are we willing to let go of the past to live fully in the present? Are we learning how to love fully and freely without clinging or demanding certain results? Are we courageous enough to leave behind something that is known and familiar? Do we strive to develop our capacity to live in the present moment and not hang on to the painful past? Do we overcome our daily sadness and busyness to take time to look up and turn around to recognize Christ in those we encounter? †

Sister Symphonie Giao-Huong Ngo, CCVI, pastoral minister with Special Youth Services.

A fresh batch of dough

Around this time each year in campus ministry, there is much to celebrate and praise God for his blessings. Easter has come (Alleluia!), graduation season approaches, and we begin to wrap up the academic year full of God’s abundant graces.

Campus ministers often pay extra special attention during this time to our soon-to-be graduates, remembering our journeys with them as they prepare to enter the workforce, continue their education at another school, consider entering religious life, or go wherever the Lord is leading them.

With each group of graduating students, I continually find myself being inspired and enkindled by their earnest aspirations to do good and make positive changes in a broken and hurting world.

Despite the inherent turnover of students, complete with sweet sorrow at each graduation, I have seen our campus ministry be renewed for the better by the spiritual gifts that each class brings. It gives me tremendous hope and joy for the upcoming group of freshmen students who will arrive en masse in the fall whom I will also have the privilege to get to know and accompany during their four years journey on campus.

The young Church today desires to see more faith in action. They are more likely to walk the talk of what they

by MIMI TRAN

believe and put their values into practice.

They hunger for justice and take advantage of each possible opportunity and avenue for advocacy. They are more connected and fluent on social issues.

They are also not afraid to listen to diverse opinions and address hard topics because they deeply aspire to uphold truth and sincerity while mindfully keeping respect for others. They also desire to live more simply in a burgeoningly complex time.

On Easter Sunday, we read Paul’s words to the Corinthians about unleavened dough. “Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened” (1 Cor 5:6-7).

Unleavened bread was what was instructed to the ancient Jews to use for the feast of the Passover as it serves to recall what had happened to the forefathers when they were exiled in haste and had no time to leaven the bread. In preparation for this feast, all traces of old bread were removed from

the house, and during the festival, only unleavened bread was eaten. Yeast, or leaven, which induces fermentation, came to be understood as a symbol of sin and corruption.

Similarly for Holy Communion, we use unleavened bread just as Jesus would have done at the Last Supper. However, in the message to the Corinthians, St. Paul expresses that through Jesus’s paschal sacrifice, this ancient tradition of unleavened bread acquires a new meaning. Since Jesus Christ, the New Passover, sacrificed

… “So let each of us, like Mary, Sincerely seek the Lord And if and when we find Him

Let’s be open to His word.

And just as He sent Mary He will send each of us too To be His Gospels of Love

So go, won’t you?

For God renews His favors

At the dawn of each new day

We can always count on Him

He is faithful in every way.

So let us go with courage, To be His healing love today To the people with whom we live And work and meet along life’s way.”

— Excerpt from poem “Easter Sunday” by Sister Sheila Marie O’Sullivan, CCVI

himself for all, we too, thanks to him and through him, can become “new dough,” the “unleavened bread.”

I believe the young Church, through its special gifts and charisms, are pioneering ways in our mission of transforming the world into a “fresh batch of dough.” Ministering with and alongside students has continually taught me to be mindful of clearing my own leaven. Where am I not cohesively practicing what I believe are moral and spiritual truths? Where am I seeing injustice? How am I being called to address it?

Let us continue to walk together, accompany, and pray with the young Church as they share and teach us in how to do this work of “clearing out the old yeast” and continually becoming “new dough.”This Easter, may the proclamation and rejoicing of our universal Church continue to spread throughout the world as we joyfully sing Alleluia. May we sing not only with our voices but let us sing it above all with our hearts and with our lives, in a manner of life that is “unleavened” — simple, humble, and fruitful in good works. †

Mimi Tran serves as campus minister at the Rice Catholic Student Center.

CCVI

PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD

New Order of Penance shows God’s divine mercy

As we approach Divine Mercy Sunday on April 16, the new Order of Penance will go into effect, replacing the version that has been in use since 1973. The promulgation of the new ritual text on Divine Mercy Sunday is fitting, as it emphasizes the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and God’s Mercy in the life of every Catholic.

The new Order of Penance aims to help us rediscover the beauty and transformative power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is hoped that this new order will have a significant impact on our lives by encouraging priests and

WHAT’S NEW?

The prayer of absolution now has three modifications; the revised version given by the priest now reads as follows:

“God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out [formerly “sent”] the Holy Spirit for [previously “Holy Spirit among us for”] the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God grant [instead of “give”] you pardon and peace.

And I absolve you from your sins in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Beginning on the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, the revised formula for absolution is mandatory.

by ADAM BRILL

all of us to renew our approach to the Sacrament. As people come to confess their sins and seek God’s forgiveness, the Church hopes for everyone to truly experience the tender mercy of God.

It is fitting that the new Order of Penance will be promulgated on Divine Mercy Sunday, as it reflects the emphasis of Pope Francis on the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the life of every Catholic. In his apostolic letter Misericordiae Vultus, Pope Francis wrote, “The Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person” (MV, 12).

Divine Mercy Sunday, which was established by Pope John Paul II in 2000, is a day of great significance for Catholics. It is a day when we are reminded of God’s infinite mercy and love for us. It is a day when we are called to reflect on our own lives and to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy.

Having just celebrated the Resurrection of Our Lord at Easter, God’s mercy is poured out to us by the saving action of Christ. Thus, the new Order of Penance is a beautiful and timely reminder of God’s mercy and love

–

for us. It reminds us that we are all sinners in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. It reminds us that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a powerful and transformative experience that can bring us closer to God and to one another.

The changes to our individual experience of the Sacrament will vary depending on how the priest decides to utilize the resources provided to him. The most noticeable impact for everyone will be the changed words of absolution.

As we prepare to celebrate Divine

Mercy Sunday and the promulgation of the new Order of Penance, let us remember the words of Pope Francis: “May the message of mercy reach everyone and may no one be indifferent to the call to experience mercy” (MV, 12). May we all experience the transformative power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and may it lead us closer to God and to one another. †

Adam Brill is the director of the Office of Worship.

GOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART

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What we cannot do as individuals, we can do through the big heart of the Archdiocese in our DSF-supported ministries.

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston

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As pope leaves hospital, he comforts couple, jokes with reporters

ROME (CNS) — “I’m still alive,” Pope Francis joked to reporters who asked how he was doing as he left Rome’s Gemelli hospital April 1.

The 86-year-old pope, who had been hospitalized since March 29 for treatment of bronchitis, stopped his car and got out to greet well-wishers and reporters waiting outside the hospital.

He embraced a sobbing mother whose daughter had died the night before. He reached out to the father, too, and holding their hands. He prayed with them. The pope then traced a cross on the forehead of each of them and gave them both a kiss on the cheek.

Reporters present said he also signed the cast of a boy who said he broke his arm playing soccer.

Before returning to the Vatican, he stopped to pray at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a stop he makes before and after every trip abroad and a stop he also made in July 2021 after undergoing colon surgery at the Gemelli.

“Pausing before the icon of Mary,‘Salus Populi Romani,’ he prayerfully entrusted to her the children he met yesterday in the hospital’s pediatric oncology and children’s neurosurgery wards, all the sick and those suffering from illness and the loss of their loved ones,” the Vatican press office said.

When greeting the reporters outside the hospital, Pope Francis told them, “I

IN BRIEF

know some of you spent the night here — that’s too much. But thank you, thank you for your work of keeping people informed.”

A reporter for CNN asked the pope if he was frightened on March 29 when he experienced difficulty breathing, which was the explanation the Vatican gave for why he went to the hospital.

The pope shook his head and said the question reminded him of something “an old man, older than me, told me in a similar situation: ‘Father, I have not seen death, but I’ve seen it coming, and it’s ugly.’”

The CNN correspondent also noted that the pope did not spend his whole time in the hospital resting but visited children in the cancer ward and even baptized an infant who was at the hospital for tests.

“But that’s the most beautiful thing, you know,” he responded. “I’m a priest. The most beautiful thing is being a priest.”

While in the hospital, the pope was treated with intravenous antibiotics for his bronchitis; the Vatican said he tested negative for COVID-19.

Confirming what Matteo Bruni, head of the Vatican press office, had said, Pope Francis told reporters he would be at Palm Sunday Mass on April 2 in St. Peter’s Square.

He also told the reporters to get some sleep before the Holy Week liturgies began. †

Pope Francis says be close to those ‘abandoned’ like Christ: unborn, migrants

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The unborn, migrants, the elderly and the disabled are “living icons” of Jesus that call Christians to draw close to those who feel abandoned just as Christ did on the cross, Pope Francis said.

In his homily for Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square April 2, the pope reflected on the phrase Jesus uttered on the cross in St. Matthew’s Gospel, and which echoed through the square when sung in the Responsorial Psalm: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The pope said, “Christ, in His abandonment, stirs us to seek Him and to love Him and those who are themselves abandoned, for in them we see not only people in need, but Jesus Himself.”

According to the Vatican gendarmes, some 60,000 people were present in St. Peter’s Square for the Mass. Fighting off coughs as he began his homily but otherwise speaking without difficulty, Pope Francis said that in His Passion, Jesus experienced the distance of God so He could be “completely and definitively one” with humanity.

The pope was released from the hospital April 1 after a four-day stay for treatment of bronchitis. He processed into St. Peter’s Square on the popemobile wearing his winter coat on an early spring day in Rome. †

PASTORAL SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE

In a continuing effort to provide pastoral care to victims of sexual abuse by clergy or Church personnel, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo would like to remind the faithful of the Archdiocese of the availability of the Victims Assistance Coordinator. Anyone who has been the victim of sexual abuse by clergy or Church personnel is encouraged to call Diane Vines at 713-654-5799. Please keep in daily prayers the healing of victims of abuse and all who suffer in any way.

CNS PHOTO

Pope Francis prays before the icon of Mary, “Salus Populi Romani,” in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome after being released April 1 from Rome’s Gemelli hospital for treatment of bronchitis. The Vatican said he entrusted to Mary the children he met in the hospital, all the sick and those mourning the loss of loved ones.

STATE & NATION

Uvalde’s long road to recovery from mass shooting may offer some insights for Nashville community

UVALDE (OSV News) — It has been 10 months since a lone gunman with a high-powered weapon entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and took the lives of 19 children and two teachers, and things are far from normal.

What the community has been going through “can give some insight into the long road ahead”for Nashville, Tennessee, or “any community ... witnessing such senseless violence and disregard for human life,” said Catholic Extension in a March 28 post on its website about an update the Chicago-based agency had received from the Texas community.

On March 27, Nashville became the site of the country’s latest deadly shooting at a school. That morning a shooter, later identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, left three adults and three children dead at The Covenant School in the city’s Green Hills neighborhood. The private Presbyterian school educates students in preschool through sixth grade.

Hale, who was armed with two assaulttype rifles, was fatally shot dead in interactions with officers who responded to the scene.

The violence of school shootings “is perhaps one of the greatest forms of injustice that we routinely witness in our country. Lives are taken, hearts are broken and innocence is shattered all for nothing,” Catholic Extension said. “But, it is after these shootings fall from the headlines when the true extent of the damage is realized.”

People do not simply bounce back from something this traumatic, and even the simple pleasures of life can seem daunting, according to Teresian Sister Mary Lou Aldape, who is in Uvalde working with students who had attended Robb Elementary and transferred to Sacred Heart Catholic School with the help of scholarships from Catholic Extension.

The children “are worrying about being safe and being able to be outdoors, playing

IN BRIEF

baseball, visiting friends ... all things that they miss or are somehow different than they used to be,” Sister Aldape said.

She said students seek counseling on a daily basis. “Sometimes they want to talk about their pets, or their brothers and sisters, or family matters, or schoolwork, or needing help with an issue with a friend.”

The trauma is as deep for the parents as it is for the children, she added. Despite the “world-class” security and safety systems that have been implemented at Sacred Heart School, families are anxious about their children’s safety while at school, she said.

“Last month, we had a lockdown created when a person was in the church, and a parishioner became alarmed,”Sister Aldape recalled. “The police were called, and it soon became evident that no one was in danger of getting hurt. However, families were alarmed and rushed to the school to gather their children. While this did not last long and all was attended to, we could see and feel the terror in the parents and children.”

Catholic Extension said it has made a long-term commitment to fund mental health services, Catholic school scholarships and extracurricular activities for the children and families of the Uvalde community. It also supports religious sisters, like Sister Aldape, who provide onsite emotional assistance to students and teachers of Sacred Heart School and serve the wider community in various capacities.

Catholic Extension and Uvalde share a long history. Uvalde was one of the first communities the nonprofit agency supported, helping build Sacred Heart Church in 1906 and Sacred Heart Catholic School in 1912.

Besides Uvalde, Catholic Extension has supported 1,400 other church communities in rural Texas and along the U.S.-Mexico border. †

Late New Orleans Auxiliary Bishop Cheri remembered ‘for his life, ministry,’ NEW ORLEANS (OSV News) — Bishop Fernand (Ferd) Joseph Cheri III, a New Orleans native who had served since 2015 as auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, died March 21 in New Orleans following a lengthy illness. He was 71.

Ordained to the episcopacy March 23, 2015, at St. Louis Cathedral, the late prelate was one of seven active African American bishops in the U.S. A visitation and funeral Mass were held on April 1 at St. Louis Cathedral.

Bishop Cheri served most recently as administrator of St. Peter Claver Parish in New Orleans until kidney and heart problems forced him to step away from active ministry. He was born with one kidney and had been on dialysis three days a week for several months. Hospitalized after attending the national Lyke Conference for Black Catholics last June, he began dialysis several months later and dealt with a serious heart condition.

“He has been called home to the Lord,” New Orleans Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond said in a message to priests, religious and laity of the archdiocese. “We mourn his death and thank God for his life and ministry.” Archbishop Aymond said Bishop Cheri started his vocational journey in the Archdiocese of New Orleans “as a seminarian, as a priest and as a pastor” and had directed a “very dedicated ministry.”

Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, offered prayer during a March 23 virtual Rosary memorial hosted by several ministries, including the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary, and said: “May we see beauty, value and life in everyone... as prayer gives us hope in our times of doubt or fear.” †

OSV NEWS PHOTO

A memorial is displayed outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Oct. 19, 2022, for the 19 children and two teachers who lost their lives in a mass shooting May 24, 2022.

MUNDO CATÓLICO

Cristo ha resucitado

Si Cristo no hubiese resucitado, el cristianismo no tendría sentido. En el Credo repetimos estas palabras “y resucito al tercer día, según las escrituras”, y es precisamente lo que estamos celebrando, la Resurrección de Jesus. La Pasión, Muerte y Resurrección de Cristo son el corazón de nuestra fe. La Resurrección de Cristo es dogma fundamental del Cristianismo como fue definido por el IV Concilio de Letrán en el año 1215: “Creemos y confesamos que Jesucristo resucito de entre los muertos y subió al cielo en cuerpo y alma”.

Nuestra fe, nuestra creencia en Jesús de Nazaret nace en la mañana de Pascua. Los evangelios nos narran que las mujeres pensaron que iban a encontrar el cuerpo para ungirlo, pero más bien, encontraron una tumba vacía. Su llanto se convirtió en un anuncio de vida ¡No se asusten! Aquel al que buscan, Jesús, el de Nazaret, el crucificado, resucitó” (v.6)

No nos gusta pensar en la destrucción y mucho menos en la muerte. Todos estamos profundamente afligidos por el

nivel de violencia y sufrimiento que se sigue perpetrando en distintos lugares del mundo.

pecado, nos ha hecho partícipes de su victoria para ser personas de una gran esperanza.

por ADRIAN HERRERA

Pero nuestra fe católica apunta más allá de la muerte, apunta hacia una persona concreta, Jesús de Nazaret, quien ha resucitado “Yo soy la resurrección y la vida” (Jn 11, 25). Por ende, nuestra fe es una fe pascual que significa ‘paso de la muerte a la vida’, ‘paso de la tristeza a la alegría’.

En Cristo resucitado se cumplen todas las promesas de Dios, y es por ello por lo que es constituido Señor de la vida y de la historia humana. Es el mismo Jesús el que resucitará en el último día a quienes hayan creído en Él y hayan comido su cuerpo y bebido su sangre (cf. Jn 6, 54). En pocas palabras, nuestra fe nos dice que la muerte no tiene la última palabra, porque Cristo ha vencido a la muerte y ha aniquilado el

De hecho, el Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica, párrafo 1002 nos enseña lo siguiente: “Si es verdad que Cristo nos resucitará en “el último día”, también lo es, en cierto modo, que nosotros ya hemos resucitado con Cristo. En efecto, gracias al Espíritu Santo, la vida cristiana en la tierra es, desde ahora, una participación en la muerte y en la resurrección de Cristo”.

Consiguientemente, no puede haber cristianos tristes, deprimidos, cabizbajos y pesimistas.

El Santo Padre nos recordaba en su exhortación apostólica Evangelii Gaudium “Hay cristianos cuya opción parece ser la de una Cuaresma sin Pascua”. Por lo tanto, es tiempo de dejar el pasado lleno de penumbras y tinieblas y dar paso al alba de la Pascua de Cristo Resucitado y permitir que renazca la Alegría del Señor en tu corazón, para ser testigos de su Resurrección y junto con la comunidad de Pedro podamos decir:

“Bendito sea Dios, Padre de Cristo Jesús, nuestro Señor, por su gran misericordia. Al resucitar a Cristo Jesús de entre los muertos, nos dio una vida nueva y una esperanza viva”. (1 Pe 1,3) Nuestras vidas no pueden ser las mismas y mucho menos quedar atrapados en el miedo, ya Jesús nos ha asegurado “Yo he vencido al mundo” (Jn 16, 33) y “Yo estaré con ustedes todos los días hasta el fino del mundo” (Mt 28, 20). Tenemos que comunicar esta verdad, esta esperanza de gracia y amor de Cristo al mundo, tenemos que esforzarnos por hacer participes de la vida de Cristo a los demás con caridad. Tenemos que compartir a los demás con nuestras acciones que el Dios de Jesucristo es un Dios de vivos y no de muertos. ¡No perdamos la esperanza en Cristo Resucitado! †

Adrian Alberto Herrera es actualmente director asociado para la Oficina de Evangelización y Catequesis.

El Papa fue dado de alta del hospital, consuela a una pareja y bromea con periodistas

ROMA (CNS) — “Todavía estoy vivo”, bromeó el Papa Francisco a los periodistas que le preguntaron cómo se encontraba al salir del hospital Gemelli de Roma el 1 de abril.

El Papa, de 86 años, quien estuvo hospitalizado desde el 29 de marzo por una bronquitis, detuvo su coche y salió a saludar a simpatizantes y periodistas que le esperaban fuera del hospital.

Abrazó a una madre sollozante, cuya hija había muerto la noche anterior. También se acercó al padre y, cogiéndoles de la mano, rezó con ellos. El Papa trazó una cruz en la frente de cada uno de ellos y les dio un beso en la mejilla.

Los periodistas presentes dijeron que también firmó el yeso de un niño que dijo haberse roto el brazo jugando al fútbol.

Antes de regresar al Vaticano, se detuvo a rezar en la Basílica de Santa María la Mayor, una parada que hace antes y después de cada viaje al extranjero y que también hizo en julio de 2021 tras someterse a una operación de

colon en el Gemelli.

“Deteniéndose ante el icono de María, ‘Salus Populi Romani’, le encomendó en oración a los niños que conoció ayer en las salas de oncología pediátrica y neurocirugía infantil del hospital, a todos los enfermos y a los que sufren por la enfermedad y la pérdida de sus seres queridos”, informó la oficina de prensa

APOYO PASTORAL A VÍCTIMAS DE ABUSO SEXUAL DEL CLERO

En un continuo esfuerzo por facilitar atención pastoral a las victimas de abuso sexual del clero o del personal de la Iglesia, el Cardenal DiNardo gustaría recordar a los fieles de la Arquidiócesis la disponibilidad del Coordinador de Ayuda a Víctimas. Si alguien ha sido victim de abuso sexual del clero o del personal de la Iglesia, se les anima llamar a la Diane Vines al 713-654-5799. Por favor rece por la sanación de las víctimas del abuso y por todos los que sufren de alguna manera.

FOTO DE OSV NEWS

El Papa Francisco escribe sobre el yeso del niño cuando sale del hospital Gemelli de Roma el 1 de abril. El papa de 86 años, que había estado hospitalizado desde el 29 de marzo para el tratamiento de la bronquitis.

del Vaticano.

Al saludar a los periodistas a la salida del hospital, el Papa Francisco les dijo: “Sé que algunos de vosotros han pasado aquí la noche, es demasiado. Pero gracias, gracias por su trabajo de mantener informada a la gente”.

Un reportero de CNN preguntó al papa si se asustó el 29 de marzo cuando experimentó dificultad para respirar, que fue la explicación que dio el Vaticano de por qué fue al hospital.

El Papa negó con la cabeza y dijo que la pregunta le recordaba algo que “un

anciano, mayor que yo, me dijo en una situación similar: ‘Padre, no he visto la muerte, pero la he visto venir y es fea’”.

El corresponsal de la CNN también señaló que el Papa no pasó todo el tiempo en el hospital descansando, sino que visitó a niños en la sala de oncología e incluso bautizó a un bebé que estaba en el hospital para hacerse pruebas.

“Pero eso es lo más hermoso”, respondió el Papa Francisco. “Soy sacerdote. Lo más hermoso es ser sacerdote”.

Durante su estancia en el hospital, el Papa fue tratado con antibióticos intravenosos para su bronquitis; el Vaticano dijo que dio negativo en la prueba de COVID-19.

Confirmando lo que había dicho Matteo Bruni, jefe de la oficina de prensa del Vaticano, el Papa Francisco dijo a los periodistas que estaría en la Misa del Domingo de Ramos el 2 de abril en la Plaza de San Pedro.

También dijo a los periodistas que durmieran un poco antes de que comenzaran las liturgias de Semana Santa. †

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Hispanic Radio Programs

KYST Radio Station 920 AM

Sunday broadcasts: 6:00 – 7:00 a.m. & 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.

WITHIN THE ARTS

2023 Christopher Awards showcase transcendent stories of hope, humanity and healing

NEW YORK (OSV News) — The Christophers, a Catholic organization dedicated to bringing examples of transcendent light borne against darkness, has bestowed their prestigious awards for 2023 on 21 media releases whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.”

This year’s 74th annual celebration features books, films and television programs that showcase themes of hope, generosity and the quiet, often unseen heroism born of selfless acts.

“The stories we’re honoring acknowledge that the struggles we endure in life coexist with beauty and hope when we work together, despite our differences, to add love and healing to our world,” said Tony Rossi, the Christophers’ director of communications.

First presented in 1949, the Christopher Awards seek to encourage the production of excellence “in creative arenas that have the potential to influence a mass audience positively” while reflecting the Christopher motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

In all, 21 writers, producers, directors, authors and illustrators whose work was released in 2022 were honored March 22.

In the film category, awards went to two documentaries, “The Best We’ve

Full descriptions for each open position are available online: www.archgh.org/ employment

Catholic Cemeteries: Family Services Associate

Special Youth Services: Administrative Assistant

Development Department: Development Coordinator

Internal Audit: Senior Internal Auditor

Office of Aging: Associate Director

Legal Department: Legal Counsel

Hospital Catholic Chaplain Corps: Office Assistant

Office of the Permanent Diaconate: Director of Admissions and Scrutiny Director of Field Education

St. Dominic Center: Part-Time Weekend Receptionist

St. Dominic Village Retirement Home: Support Specialist to Retired Priests

Interested candidates may send a cover letter, with salary requirement, and resume to resume@archgh.org with the job title on the subject line.

*Submissions that do not include the salary requirement will not be moved forward for consideration.

Got: The Carl Erskine Story” (Ted Green Films) and “Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” (Castletown Media).

Carl Erskine (1926-present), a standout baseball player for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, and whose son was born with Down syndrome, has lived a life deeply committed to promoting racial equality and advocating for those with intellectual and developmental challenges.

“Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” profiles St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), her legacy of service to the poor, and her Missionaries of Charity’s work bringing comfort to the dying, the hungry and the incarcerated.

The comedy-drama “A Man Called Otto” (Columbia Pictures/A Sony Company) tells the story of a grieving and cantankerous widower who finds new reasons to live as he reluctantly opens up his life to others.

In television, awards went to “Amber Brown” (Apple TV+), a comedy series written, directed and executive produced by Bonnie Hunt and featuring an 11-year-old title character who, in two episodes, befriends an elderly resident of a nursing home. Also honored was the Depression-era family story “A Walton’s Thanksgiving” (The CW) and “The Gift of Peace” (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries),

MOVIE RATINGS By OSV News

A-I – SUITABLE FOR ALL

• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (PG)

A-II – SUITABLE FOR OLDER CHILDREN

• Jesus Revolution (PG-13)

• In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis (NR)

A-III – ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS

• 65 (PG-13)

• Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (PG-13)

in which an artist, widowed and angry at God, finds healing while making the journey of grief with others.

The PBS series “American Masters” received a Christopher for “Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands” for its biographical look at Marian Anderson (1897-1993), the groundbreaking African American contralto whose artistic renown helped to feed her own civil rights work and paved the way for other Black Americans to enter the classical music profession.

Likewise, “11 Minutes,” the Paramount Plus docu-series focused on the 2017 massacre of a Las Vegas concert, tells the story of heroic first responders and audience members who risked their lives and helped each other to heal in its aftermath.

Adult and children’s books also were recognized by the Christophers, among them “Father Ed” (Orbis Books), in which Dawn Eden Goldstein chronicles the life of Jesuit Father Ed Dowling, who fostered Alcoholics Anonymous groups among Catholics and ministered to those in troubled circumstances while championing civil and human rights issues.

“Sisters of Mokoma” (Viking/Penguin Random House) tells the stories of six Kentucky nuns who traveled to the poorest state in India to build a hospital that served everyone, regardless of caste or religion, offering new opportunities there for women seeking careers in medicine.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham was honored for his Abraham Lincoln-themed book “And There Was Light” (Random House/Penguin Random House) as was Kevin Hazzard’s“American Sirens” (Hachette Books), which shares the story of African American men in 1960s and 1970s Pittsburgh, who became the nation’s first paramedics.

Also honored were two memoirs, “The Other Side of Yet” (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster) and “Wild Ride” (Convergent Books/Penguin Random House) in which authors Michelle D. Hord and Hayley Arceneaux, respectively, share stories of immense personal heartbreak and challenges that drove them to help others find light in the midst of darkness. †

• Champions (PG-13)

• Creed III (PG-13)

• Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (R)

• Shazam! Fury of the Gods (PG-13)

• The Pale Blue Eye (R)

L – LIMITED MATURE AUDIENCE

• Knock at the Cabin (R)

O – MORALLY OFFENSIVE

• Cocaine Bear (R)

• John Wick: Chapter 4 (R)

• Scream VI (R)

For more reviews, visit osvnews.com/category/reviews

COURTESY PHOTO

A 2022 documentary, “Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” that profiles St. Teresa of Calcutta’s legacy of service to the poor, received an award in the 2023 Christophers film category.

AROUND THE ARCHDIOCESE

Editor’s Note: Contact event organizers for the latest updates. For deadline details and more listings, visit WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/ATA

APRIL 14

ANNIVERSARY GALA, The Post Oak Hotel (1600 W Loop South, Houston). Benefiting Incarnate Word Academy, the event includes cocktail reception, seated dinner, special tribute, with silent and live auctions. Tables from $5,000 to $150,000; Individual tickets: $500. krizzo@ incarnateword.org; 713-227-3637 ext. 105.

APRIL 15

GALA AND AUCTION, 7 p.m., St. John XXIII College Preparatory (1800 W. Grand Parkway N., Katy). Buy tickets for “Off to the Races,” online at sj23lions.org/giving/advancement-programs/ gala--auction.

WORKSHOP, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Dominican Center for Spirituality (6501 Almeda Rd., Houston).

Brandon Mack hosts a discussion on “The Racist History of the Death Penalty,” starting a series that explores the criminalization of behaviors of African Americans and school to prison pipe line. croeger@domhou.org, 713-440-3714.

APRIL 19

BUNCO, 9:30 a.m. to noon, St. Mary (816 Park Dr., La Porte). Bay Area Council of Catholic Women sponsor a morning of Bunco, with prizes, raffles and snacks. No experience required, game will be explained. Cost: $5 a person. RSVP by April 17 to 281-827-4232, terrykelley91@hotmail.com.

WORKSHOP, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Emmaus Spirituality Center (12211 Memorial Dr., Houston). “Road to Emmaus” with Joan McGovern explores accessing the “road” to God and how the walk might be different from what we expect. $30. info@ emmausspiritualitycenter.com; 281-241-9678; www.emmausspiritualitycenter.com.

APRIL 20

175TH ANNIVERSARY GALA, 7 p.m., Hilton Americas-Houston (1600 Lamar St., Houston). Landmark gala celebrates the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of GalvestonHouston and with special honorees. www.

bidpal.net/agh175.

APRIL 26

WORKSHOP, 9:30 to 4:30 p.m., Emmaus Spirituality Center (12211 Memorial Dr., Houston). A day of retreat in prayer, worship, and painting. Cost: $40. info@ emmausspiritualitycenter.com; 281-241-9678; www.emmausspiritualitycenter.com.

APRIL 29

DAY OF PRAYER, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., St. Thomas Aquinas Center (12627 W. Bellfort Ave., Sugar Land). Family Life Ministry leaders host a day for married couples and individuals to rekindle love at a day of praise, reflection and conversation: “See How They Love One Another.” Registration: $35-$60. drtruc@yahoo. com, hiepster88@gmail.com.

MUSIC WORKSHOP, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Emmaus Spirituality Center (12211 Memorial Dr., Houston). Music workshop explores healing songs, peaceful instrumental sounds, and songs about life, love and observations of the human experience with God. Cost: $30. info@ emmausspiritualitycenter.com; 281-241-9678; www.emmausspiritualitycenter.com.

APRIL 29-30

FESTIVAL, Christ the Redeemer (11507 Huffmeister Rd., Houston). 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Event features food, music, children’s games, auctions, Bingo and more. ctrcc.com/festival.

MAY 1

GOLF TOURNAMENT, 10 a.m., Willow Fork Country Club ( 21055 Westheimer Pkwy., Katy). Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church ACTS Ministry sponsors third annual golf tournament fundraiser with prizes and meals. $150 per golfer, $550 per foursome. Register: epiphanycatholic. org/epiphany-golf-tournament. Sponsorships available. 713 502-1564.

MAY 4

LUNCHEON, 12 to 2 p.m., Houston Country Club (1 Potomac Dr., Houston). 2023 Catholic Charities Spirit of Charity Luncheon honors The Anna Marie and Harold Hidalgo Family for

their longstanding and generous support of Catholic Charities and their passion for helping the less fortunate in the community. nrivera@ CatholicCharities.org; 713-874-6629.

SESQUICENTENNIAL MASS, 6:30 p.m., Annunciation (1618 Texas St., Houston). Incarnate Word Academy celebrates its 150th anniversary with Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS. Reception to follow at Incarnate Word Academy.

MAY 5-6

BAZAAR, St. Matthias (302 FM 1774, Magnolia). Saturday at noon, crawfish and shrimp boil (recommend pre-order) and Gumbo Cook-off (must pre-register to compete), ending the day with a barn dance with live music provided by Lonely Road Band at 6:30 p.m. Starting at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday are games, inflatables, a live and silent auction, a variety of food options including a barbecue dinner, live music and plenty more. 281-356-2000; www.st-matthias. net/bazaar.

MAY 7

BAZAAR, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., St. Bartholomew (5356 11th St., Katy). Food, games and vendors for all ages.

FESTIVAL, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., St. Rose of Lima (3600 Brinkman, Houston). The Telstars are back for live music at parish spring festival. stroseoflima.org.

BAZAAR, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Our Lady of Lourdes

(10114 Hwy 6, Hitchcock). Live music, fried chicken dinners, Mexican dinners, live auction, silent auction, bingo, kids and adult booths and a Houston Texans cheerleaders appearance. Free admission and parking. ololchurch.org/bazaar; 713-202-9495.

BAZAAR, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., St. Francis de Sales (8200 Roos, Houston). Ethnic food and drinks, children’s rides and games, live music, live auction, Bingo and raffle. Free. sfds-houston.org; 713-774-7475.

PICNIC-BAZAAR, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., St. Anthony de Padua Picnic at Skrabanek Park (1800 Main St., Danbury). Barbecue brisket and sausage with homemade trimmings, desserts (kolaches, tea rings and more). Live auction at 12:30 p.m., silent auction, raffle, country store, kids games and more. 979-922-1240; st1523@sbcglobal.net.

MAY 10

WORKSHOP, 9:30 to 12 p.m., Emmaus Spirituality Center (12211 Memorial Dr., Houston).

Maureen Bacchi hosts a spiritual directors’ development day on the insights and gifts of Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin for a better understanding of growing and becoming love through God’s grace. Cost: $40. info@ emmausspiritualitycenter.com; 281-241-9678; www.emmausspiritualitycenter.com.

•••

To find additional listings online, visit the website at WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/ATA.

MILESTONES

MINISTRIES

Do

Restoring the dignity with a shower: Mobile shower ministry offers 5,000th shower

HOUSTON — On March 29, Moving Waters, a Houston-area-based ministry focused on “restoring dignity one shower at a time,” provided its 5,000th shower to an unhoused person wanting to relieve immediate suffering through better hygiene.

The shower happened at St. Joseph Catholic Church, located at 1505 Kane St. in Houston, which has hosted the ministry every Wednesday since September 2021.

On March 29, Moving Waters provided its 5,000th shower through

The landmark number comes less than two years after Moving Waters provided its first shower — May 10, 2021 — at Northwest Assistance Ministries in Spring, one of five locations that offer two shower trailers and seven shower stalls. Near downtown Houston, St. Joseph is a prime location to serve the homeless. Father Victor Perez already saw a need for such services, having considered building showers on church property.

“It costs us nothing. What a gift of God,” Father Perez told the Herald in 2021. “The trailer is beautiful, and they really want to restore the dignity of the homeless. Inside there are messages on the wall like ‘You are loved.’ We have volunteers who spray and sanitize between showers.”

“It is an honor for us to serve Christ in the poor and homeless,” he said.

In Houston specifically, a 2022 count and survey by the Houston Coalition for the Homeless found that one in eight people experiencing unsheltered homelessness cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for their homelessness. Many cited job loss or reduction in hours as the triggering event.

175th Anniversary Gala

The 2022 count saw that roughly 3,223 people had experienced homelessness on a single day in January in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. The total was a nearly 200-person increase from 2021, while area housing programs

Raye G. White

Hilton Americas-Houston 1600 Lamar St. Houston, TX 77010

For more details, please visit www.bidpal.net/agh175

WISH TO ADVERTISE IN the Texas Catholic Herald? visit us online to download a media kit www.archgh.org/TCH

placed more than 3,870 people into permanent housing.

“We started with three showers provided on that first day,” said Jennifer Park, founder and executive director of the organization. “We provided 400 showers in our first year of service and 4,000 in 2022, our second year. We have gone from one trailer, one pickup and one location to two trailers, two tow vehicles, five service locations a week, two employees and a team of loving and compassionate volunteers committed to making life a little more bearable for those who are enduring life’s darkest moments.”

Moving Waters is currently the only organization in the greater Houston area that provides mobile showers on a regular basis to people where they live — under bridges, either in their cars or using curbs for pillows wherever they stay during the day and lay at night.

“In addition to our shower service, we provide simple items that meet our guests’ basic hygiene needs. Our guests often come for a shower and leave with a sense of loving community and support,” Park said. “We’re there with listening ears, authentic smiles and encouraging words, and hugs for those who want them — and there are plenty who yearn for those brief human touches and opportunities for personal conversation and sharing.

Park said that after their guests use their services once, they usually return, often bringing friends.

“The stories we’ve heard, and friendships we’ve made, have been a true gift for not only our guests but for our volunteers and workers.”

To learn more or to volunteer, visit movingwaters-houston.org. †

— James Ramos contributed to this story.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MOVING WATERS

its ministries at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Houston. Left to right are Jerry Neri, volunteer; Father Victor Perez, pastor of St. Joseph Church; Jennifer Park, founder and executive director of Moving Waters; Carlos C., 5,000th shower recipient, and Keri Case, shower operator, Moving Waters.