APRIL 12, 2022 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
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REFLECTING ON HOLY WEEK
How a stray dog became the new mascot of St. Pius X’s rugby team
Exploring the meaning of Holy Week and Easter ▪ SEE PAGES 4, 12 - 14
▪ SEE PAGE 11
Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
APRIL 12, 2022
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‘DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME’
VOL. 58, NO. 21
MINISTRIES
Rising food, gas prices spark families’ need for grocery donations BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — A father on limited income raising three children — two under five years old — recently drove from their Pearland apartment to a Catholic Charities food pantry 25 miles away near downtown Houston for groceries for his family. “He came in with all his paperwork showing a fixed income. We were able to provide him with food, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels and a gift card for gas,” said Monica Perez, Catholic Charities associate vice president of programs. Even as the pandemic ebbs, rising food and gas prices are sparking an increasing number of families in need seeking grocery donations from parishes, ministries and other charities. Food pantries across the region, See ASSISTANCE, page 6
PHOTO BY PHILIPPE LISSAC / GODONG
A colored porcelain tiled mosaic depicts the Last Supper in a Catholic chapel in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On April 10, Palm Sunday’s arrival signalled the coming of Holy Week celebrations at parishes around the Archdiocese.
Embracing Christ in Holy Week BY DANIEL CARDINAL DINARDO Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
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his year will find us fully back at the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter. What a journey the last few years have been, and I hope your journeys have merged with this year’s Lenten journey, especially the one for our almost 1,000 Catechumens to be baptized on Holy Saturday Night. For those of you who are seeking God’s mercy, Holy Week is an invitation to come to Jesus, who is the Father’s mercy turned towards the world. Even for isolating human beings or those at the margins, it is a week when the Christian community speaks of welcome, return and embrace, like the embrace of the Prodigal Son in St. Luke’s beautiful
parable. We are loved and A “loved to the SHEPHERD’S end” by our humble Lord MESSAGE and Savior, Jesus. On Palm Sunday this year, we read the Passion narrative in St. Luke’s Gospel, the Gospel of mercy and of Christ’s loving-kindness. With the palm branches in our hands, we listen to many familiar details of Christ’s saving passion and death; but we should also note in Luke’s account the following specifics: the patience of Jesus at the Last Supper urging His Apostles to understand that the first among them must be servant, His words of
PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD
See MESSAGE, page 2
A tile mosaic at St. Anne Catholic Church in Houston depicts the sixth station: A Woman Wipes the Face of Jesus.
THE FIRST WORD † 3
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RODEOHOUSTON
Here a cow, there a chicken, R-O-D-E-O Rodeo’s 90th anniversary celebration was a banner year, and then some BY JAMES RAMOS Texas Catholic Herald
COLUMNISTS † 12 - 14
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ESPAÑOL † 17 |
HOUSTON — Backed by the prayers of his parents, cheers from his friends and teachers, and a healthy dose of grit, 16-year-old Lucas Noonan entered NRG Stadium at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with one goal in mind: to catch and rope a calf. Noonan, a junior at Ridge Point High School and parishioner at St. Angela Merici Catholic Church in Missouri City, was one of nearly 480 participants in the Rodeo’s ever-famous calf scramble. It’s a chaotic cardio workout mixed with determination, dexterity and derring-do, all on a football field-sized arena floor. That night, before a growing crowd of 70,129, all there to see Los
MILESTONES † 20
See RODEO, page 5
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ARCHGH.ORG/TCH • APRIL 12, 2022
El Cardenal Daniel DiNardo comparte su columna en línea en español. Visite www.archgh.org para leer su artículo en línea.
A Shepherd’s Message
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON-HOUSTON
Publishing since 1964 (USPS 936-480)
By Daniel Cardinal DiNardo
“May we be re-energized as we encounter God’s mercy in His Risen Son, and may the Holy Spirit send us forth as living and joyful witnesses of God’s love.” MESSAGE, from page 1 comfort to the women of Jerusalem as He goes to His Cross, and the poignant response to the Good Thief who asks to be remembered in his Kingdom. (“Today you will be with me in Paradise.”) These are important pointers to take with us during the week. On Holy Thursday evening, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper with the beautiful Gospel reading from St. John, the Washing of the Feet of the disciples. This service of love by our Lord Jesus helps to underscore the duty to serve one another and the significance of the institution of the Eucharist and the ministerial priesthood given to the Church and to us on this sorrowful but eventful night. We celebrate the Eucharist, which is the representation of his sacrificial death and resurrection until He comes again in glory. Christ’s sacrifice, His Body and Blood, is poured out for us; it becomes our food and thus the basis for our outreach in service. The procession with the Blessed Sacrament at the end of the Mass reminds us of Christ as our ongoing presence in the journey of faith. Many remain in prayer afterward and read the significant and sorrowful account of Jesus’s prayer in Gethsemane in St. Luke’s Gospel again. There are many beautiful devotions
that are celebrated on Good Friday usually surrounding the “Way of the Cross.” The central Liturgy that day is not Mass but an extended Liturgy of the Word culminating in the Passion narrative according to St. John. Jesus is there portrayed as the One sent who does the Father’s will in everything, who speaks the truth to all, especially to the chameleon Pontius Pilate, who entrusts His Mother to the Beloved Disciple (and to us) and the Beloved Disciple to her, and who dies pronouncing His final words: “It is finished.” Indeed, it is finished, for Christ has done everything for us and our salvation. After his death, it is St. John’s Passion that remembers a soldier piercing Christ’s side with a lance, an event that already was being interpreted in the 2nd Century A.D. as an event indicating basic sacramental life, the water as Baptism and the Blood as the Eucharist; they come from Christ’s side as the birth of His Church! On this day, the lengthy solemn prayers of the faithful include EVERYONE, from the pope to the believer, from the catechumen to the unbelieving, from the rulers of nations to the poorest and oppressed. Christ’s death is a victory over death for all. Good Friday is also the day we venerate the wood of the cross, an action
each of us can give as worship and thanksgiving to such a generous, suffering Lord. The distribution of Holy Communion consecrated the night before concludes this Liturgy. Holy Week comes to its zenith on Holy Saturday. In the darkness, a new fire is kindled, and the Great Paschal Candle is lit. It leads the procession into Church, a procession that grows in light as each of us has his or her candle lit from the Paschal Candle. The Exultet or Easter Proclamation sings out God’s eternal mercy: “O happy fault that merited such a Redeemer.”The extended Liturgy of the Word traces our Creation and Salvation in Christ. The Books of Genesis and Exodus and the writings of prophets are proclaimed for our instruction and the final catechesis of the catechumens, along with the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans and the Gospel of the Empty Tomb. The first alleluias of Easter are sung, and the catechumens are baptized and confirmed. Christ is Risen, and all is made new! I hope and pray that all of us in the Archdiocese will be gathered together in Church for Holy Week this year. May we be re-energized as we encounter God’s mercy in His Risen Son, and may the Holy Spirit send us forth as living and joyful witnesses of God’s love. A Blessed Easter. “Peace be with You.” †
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APRIL 12, 2022 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
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THE FIRST WORD Our Lenten flavor journey ends in Rwanda As Lent ends this Holy Week, we share one last easy-to-make meatless recipes from around the world. This week, Catholic Relief Service’s (CRS) Rice Bowl program highlights agatogo, a collard greens-based dish from Rwanda. Rwanda is Africa’s most densely populated country. Approximately 80% of the labor force works in agriculture. Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to levels seen before the 1994 genocide. Nonetheless, about 44% of the country lives below the
poverty line. CRS works to strengthen vulnerable households with programming that includes agriculture and food security, health and nutrition, economic strengthening and peacebuilding. The Catholic Church is one of the longest standing institutions in Rwanda’s modern history. The reach of the Church and its involvement in socio-economic and peacebuilding activities is substantial. This recipe is a great way to continue for meat-free Fridays after Lent. We hope you enjoyed this journey with new
ingredients and flavors. If you participated in CRS Rice Bowl this year, don’t forget to share your offerings and give the money you saved each week by not eating meat — about $3 per person per meal — to your CRS Rice Bowl to feed those in need around the world. While these donations make a difference around the world, they also help in the United States, as 25% of all donations stay in the diocese from which they came. For more recipes and to donate, visit www.crsricebowl.org/recipe. †
Agatogo | Rwanda 30 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS • • • • • • • • •
1 large onion, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 5 cloves garlic, sliced 6 ounces tomato paste 4 plantains, mostly green, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks 3 cups thinly sliced collard greens 1 quart vegetable broth or water Salt to taste 1/2 cup peanuts, measured then crushed
SERVES 4
In a large pot over medium-high heat, fry the onion in the olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook until the onions begin to turn brown on the edges. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the plantains, collard greens and vegetable broth. Salt to taste. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the plantains are tender and no longer white. Sprinkle on the crushed peanuts and serve immediately. Serve with rice.
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Four parishes host pilgrimage sites for Filipino jubilee celebration
HOUSTON — Catholics around the Archdiocese have a unique opportunity to join the local Filipino Catholic community in celebrating the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines. Since Jan. 26, four parishes in the greater Houston area have been local pilgrimage sites for a special jubilee celebration. These parishes, the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in downtown Houston, Prince of Peace Catholic Church in northwest Houston, St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Katy and Notre Dame Catholic Church in Alief, continue to welcome pilgrims with a series of special Masses and events to commemorate five centuries of Christianity in the Philippines. After a request from Cardinal DiNardo, the Holy See issued a decree that the four parishes can be designated as pilgrim churches. The faithful can visit any of these four parishes and obtain a plenary indulgence. A plenary indulgence grants the remission of all temporal punishment due to sin and must be coupled with a sacramental confession, reception of Holy Communion, praying for the Holy Father’s intentions and complete detachment from all sin including venial. For more information, visit the Filipino Ministry Council website at www.fmc-hou.blogspot.com. †
Café Catholica Lite heads to Galveston Island for a May 12 gathering
GALVESTON — 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 12 from 7 to 8:45 p.m. The speaker for the in-person event is Mary Caprio, director of Family Life at St. Michael the Archangel Church. Her topic will be “The Case Against Contraception: A Path toward Lifelong Love.” 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 information, contact the Office for Young Adult and Campus Ministry at yacm@archgh.org or 713-741-8778. †
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A PATTERN OF HOPE The inaugural luncheon benefiting Catholic schools will become an annual event. ▪ SEE PAGE 10
“BEAR ONE ANOTHER’S BURDENS, AND SO FULFILL THE LAW OF CHRIST...” - Galatians 6:2 -
A Meditation on the Fifth Station: Simon the Cyrenean helps Jesus to Carry the Cross BY SISTER EUGENIA BONETTI Special to the Herald Meditation: Lord Jesus, on the way to Calvary You were crushed by the weight of
carrying that rough wooden cross. In vain, You hoped for a sign of help from a friend, from one of Your disciples, from one of the many persons whose sufferings You relieved. Sadly, only a stranger, Simon of
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Cyrene, out of obligation, came to Your aid. Where are the new Cyreneans of the third millennium? Where do we find them today? I think of the experience of a group of religious women of different nationalities, places of origin and communities with whom, for more than 17 years, every Saturday, they visit a center for undocumented immigrant women. Women, often young, anxiously waiting to know their fate, whether it be expulsion or the chance to remain. How much suffering we see, yet at the same time how much joy when these women find Sisters from their own country, who speak their language, dry their tears, share moments of prayer and celebration, and make easier the long months spent behind iron bars and on cement pavements. Prayer: For all the Cyreneans of our
history, that they may never falter in their desire to welcome you in the least of our brothers and sisters, in the knowledge that in welcoming the poorest members of our society, we welcome You. May these Samaritans speak out on behalf of those who have no voice. Let us pray together and say: “Lord, help us to carry our cross”: when we are tired and disheartened; when we feel the burden of our weaknesses; when you ask us to share the sufferings of others. † Sister Eugenia Bonetti, M.C., is a Consolata Missionary Sister in Italy where she leads an anti-trafficking organization. Sister Bonetti was chosen by Pope Francis to write the texts for the Good Friday Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in 2019, which is re-published here.
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A carving depicts the fifth Station of the Cross, Simon the Cyrenean helps Jesus to Carry the Cross, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in west Houston.
APRIL 12, 2022 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
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A livestock lesson: ‘We’re not in control of everything’ RODEO, from page 1 Tucanes de Tijuana for Go Tejano Day, Noonan stepped into the bright lights for the Rodeo’s seventh calf scramble of the year. ‘AND THEN I HAD IT’ “I don’t remember all of it, but all the calves come running,” he said, back on the Noonan family farm in Rosharon a few weeks later. “I know they usually just follow the fence, so I just ran out and grabbed them, and then I had it.” He had done it. Not even two and half minutes into the bovine fracas, Lucas had crossed the white line. “He didn’t even get dirty,” his mom, Danielle Noonan, said, laughing. For the uninitiated, the calf scramble is a crowd favorite at the Rodeo. Fifteen calves are sent to the arena floor with 30 teens waiting to chase and rope, and then tug them into a designated rectangle. It’s never easy, and the tug-of-war can begin at the far end of the stadium and it’s surely not an event for the faint of heart. Sometimes it’s downright brutal. A rope around a calf’s neck doesn’t mean it’s over: a quick throw of the weighty calf’s head can send a youngster flying faster than an impatient Sign of the Cross. “Other people were really struggling [that night],” Lucas said. “They all got dragged and kicked. One girl got tossed under one, and she got stepped on the eye. Another day, my friend saw this guy coming out, and some calf stepped out on his head: he had a hole in his head.” But 2022 wasn’t his first rodeo. Lucas had scrambled last year but wasn’t as lucky. At the modified show — the bigger Rodeo and concert series was canceled last year because of the pandemic — he came up empty-handed and void of a calf. Each year a win earns a teen a $1,750 check to purchase a heifer or steer to show next year at the Houston Livestock Show. It also grants students access to special competitions and additional scholarships. Still, even with the win, Lucas and his 14-year-old brother James both already had two heifers to care for at home. Yearold Rosie became Lucas’s darling baby, with brother James caring for Venus. A COOP OF GOOD THINGS Lucas also competed in the Junior Market Broiler Show with his cockerel chickens, another labor-intensive process that lasts just six to eight weeks. It begins with 50 chicken eggs, six of which eventually grow to be Lucas’s best of his brood. Between feeding, stirring (the process of moving the baby chickens around so they grow in size) and cleaning the coop, it’s a full-time gig for the teenager. “It was ridiculous,” Lucas said, laughing. “They eat so much.” While many other teens might head to Six Flags for Spring Break, Lucas and his father, Chris, trekked in the early dawn mornings to the Rodeo at NRG Park with his half-dozen chickens in tow to show against hundreds of other teens from all across Texas. “It’s a lot of chickens,” Danielle said. Almost five hours later, Lucas’s chickens earned him a 74th place finish among 100 that placed out of a field of some 150-plus competitors. His high finish also got him a spot in the auction phase, the last chance to see his feathered friends before they’re taken off to the
PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD
Lucas Noonan, a 16-year-old junior at Ridge Point High School in Missouri City, walks with his heifer Rosie. Noonan placed sixth in his class at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last month.
slaughterhouse, a reality for many young competitors at the livestock show. It’s not uncommon for a teen to be overcome with emotion during that parting glance. But with Rosie, his Simbrah heifer, she sauntered her way to a sixth-place finish in his class of Junior Breeding Beef Heifers. Standing tall to Lucas’s shoulder, she likes to lick his hand with her rough tongue, gently mooing occasionally. A larger white spot marks her head, one that she often uses to head-butt her caretaker. James led Venus to a fourthplace spot in his class. As parents, Chris and Danielle often have the wider perspective on the livestock raising experience. They saw it as an opportunity for growth and learning for their three sons, including 11-year-old Henry. The life skills that livestock raising teaches are handy inside and outside of the barn, they said. “You can take those skills and apply it to any environment,” Chris said. “It’s a really good program.” A strong support team from his school’s Future Farmers of America group helped him smoothen the ruffled feathers along the way to the largest livestock show in the world. Lucas’ successful calf scramble didn’t end that night: since it netted him another opportunity to get another heifer or even a steer, the process grows to include new donors who stay in touch with Lucas. When he starts raising that animal, he’ll stay in connection with them, offering a daily record of expenses, a business plan, reports and pictures, as well as two essays and a stall display at the show in 2023. It’s easy for teens to just look down at their phones and never look up, but for Lucas, he’s already game-planning for next year. “Maybe ducks? I might try the ducks out,” Lucas said to his mom. “I’d be OK with ducks,” she replied. “Then we’ll process them.” “But I’m going to have to name the ducks. That’s the thing,” Lucas said, eyes trailing off. ‘THERE’S SO MANY THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG’ Now with Houston’s rodeo behind him, Lucas has a bit of breathing room between shows. Lucas’s March was also marred by heartbreak when his beloved Rosie lost her calf. One morning, before
heading to school, Lucas was checking her and noticed something was awry. “There are so many things that can go wrong,” Lucas said. His dad Chris agreed: “We’re not in control of everything. And it’s sad when that happens, but there’s a reason for everything.”
Danielle said the family just realized they had to put trust in God, that the Lord was going to work it out. She also saw a Lenten parallel between the livestock life they had chosen. There was much to give up in order to lead the life they had. “There are a lot of things that you give up,” Lucas said. Both Chris and Danielle also have full-time jobs. Lucas had to pull out of his school for the duration of his show season that bounced the family all around the Lone Star State, missing 30 days of in-person school work. Lucas even showed Rosie on Ash Wednesday, noting that he saw several people walking around the green-laden ring with ashened crosses on their forehead. The days might be long, with back-to-back competitions during 13 or 14 hour-long days. His junior show was at the same time as his chicken show. “It’s a controlled chaos,” Chris said. Lucas also understood another truth when it comes to life and especially livestock. “You can’t keep everything as a thing. You have to be willing to let things go,” he said. But when things go right? Lucas beamed when talking about roping that calf during the scramble, his chickens and anytime he talked about Rosie his cow. “She’s my best friend,” he said. †
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Inflation sticker shock also pinching food pantry budgets leading to scarcity of milk, meat ASSISTANCE, from page 1 including Catholic Charities and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, are serving a rising spike of people in need spreading to suburban areas. But their donations are falling from grocery stores and private individuals, who are also hit by higher prices and less surplus. Shayne Baker, food market coordinator for Mamie George Community Center (MGCC) in Fort Bend County, said,“We’re considered a supersite by the Houston Food Bank, and we’ve seen the number of those in need in our area grow to about 1,000 families per week.” The Catholic Charities’ center at 1111 Collins Road in Richmond is located where one in four people in that Richmond-Rosenberg area lives in poverty, including elderly and children. Those families, who average about four people each, are either “working poor” or already on monthly assistance with limited dollars that no longer stretch as much. Before the pandemic and inflation hit, those numbers had been about 400 to 500 families a week before doubling, Baker said. “We have not seen a decline this spring like we usually see after the busy winter holidays,” she said. “But the trickle-down inflation has us receiving less food donations from grocery stores that used to give us their surplus and fewer private individuals donating money or food.” The higher demand and less supply are especially difficult in expensive commodities of meat and milk. Even some canned foods have become sparse with sporadic transportation deliveries, she said. One method of food distribution that started during the pandemic — food drive-throughs where clients remain in their cars while volunteers place bags and boxes of groceries in the trunk — will continue as an option, Baker said. On a recent Tuesday, over a two-hour period between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., about 450 people drove through the food
IN BRIEF Catholic Charities’ food distributions continues in three locations
PHOTO BY CATHOLIC CHARITIES
Volunteers at Catholic Charities’ Mamie George Community Center in Fort Bend County help bag groceries for families in need to pick up during several drive-through lines. Clients can remain in their cars while volunteers place bags and boxes in the trunks. Rising food and gas prices are sparking need for donations throughout the Houston area, but stores are slowing their surplus giving, officials say.
distribution line at MGCC. “We do one evening distribution for those working families, and then we do mornings on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.,” she said. Walk-ins now are also welcomed back inside the Mamie George center’s Trini’s Market to shop for what they need. A busy spring also portends a very busy summer as children stay home for the break. “We can only make it through volunteers and donations,” Baker said. MGCC Executive Director Gladys Brumfield-James agreed: “The need for food is off the charts.” She estimated, “In just the last five months, we distributed nearly twice as much food as we did during all of the last
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fiscal year.” Perez, who helped serve the father from Pearland after he drove to the Catholic Charities’ Guadalupe Center at 326 S. Jensen near downtown Houston, said the inner city is also experiencing continuous growth in clients seeking food assistance. From documentation, Perez said, “Our pre-COVID quarterly report of October, November and December 2019 showed 8,824 individuals seeking food assistance at the Guadalupe Center.” Then it jumped to 9,850 individuals in the first three months of 2020 when the pandemic started locally. “But now the norm is running 28,000 to 30,000 individuals quarterly,” Perez said. With the Food Bank of Houston as the main supplier of groceries to most pantries, it has requested that pantries no longer give food only to those residing in the pantries’ zip codes. Even on the island, Catholic Charities Beacon of Hope in Galveston has seen a jump to almost 14,000 individuals quarterly, she said. Food assistance also comes through the Society of St.Vincent de Paul, which in 2020 and 2021 distributed more than 5.4 million pounds of food each year through its church pantries and main office, said Marie Schwartz, program director for the society. It also helped 12,700 families with rent and utilities totaling $3.4 million in financial assistance. Depending on volunteers, the society centers on its John L. Food Depot at 6654 Gulf Freeway. St. Vincent hosts drive-through food fairs there on the first, third and fourth Saturdays, she said. In November of 2020, the University of St. Thomas opened a pantry to serve its student population of at least 2,500plus through its Veteran Success Center at 4219 Yoakum Blvd. in Houston. In March, officials renewed their effort to offer fresh produce, meat and other food staples to its students for free.
HOUSTON — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston offers food assistance at three food pantries that are open for drive-thru food distribution: Guadalupe Center in Houston; the Mamie George Community Center in Richmond; and the Beacon of Hope Center in Galveston. In Houston, drive-thru distributions at the Guadalupe Center, at 326 S. Jensen St. in Houston, are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. No appointment needed. The Beacon of Hope Center, located at 4700 Broadway, Suite F-103 in Galveston, is a Galveston County super distribution site. Distributions are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, starting at 9 a.m. No appointment is required. Call 409-762-2064 for more information. In Fort Bend, The Mamie George Community Center, at 1111 Collins Rd. in Richmond, is a Houston Food Bank super distribution site. Register by texting HFBPS to 855-788-3663, then select Catholic Charities — Richmond. Drive-thru distributions are on Tuesdays, from 5 to 7 p.m., and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The next food fair is April 30. For help, call 281-202-6200. For hours and addresses, visit www. catholiccharities.org/food or call the Catholic Charities COVID Assistance Line at 713-874-6521. † Houston Food Bank director of marketing and communications, Adele Brady, said the bank has 1,500 partner pantries throughout the region. Most are church- or faith-based pantries as well as school districts and community centers. “The Food Bank is distributing an average of about 600,000 pounds of food a day. That’s up from the average of 450,000 to 500,000 pounds daily,” Brady said. “People are still responding with donations, but dollars are just not stretching as far,” she said. Donations from grocery stores giving their surplus are also down. The bank is receiving about seven million pounds a month from stores versus the previous average of about 8.8 million, Brady said. Houston Food Bank pantry partners are also seeing an increase in people needing assistance at its churches and centers, said Amy Ragan, its chief development officer. “It will get a lot higher once school is out for the summer. Families will be without the help of schools providing breakfasts and lunches for students,” she said. While not the high numbers caused by COVID-19 with its ensuing unemployment, the numbers have not dropped to pre-COVID-19 numbers. Continuing inflation will spur even more need, Ragan estimated. “Donations are not going as far, and we need more volunteers,” she said. “Whatever people can give will be greatly appreciated. We’re trying to stretch the dollars as much as we can.” †
LOCAL
APRIL 12, 2022 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
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Journeying Together: Cardinal DiNardo invites faithful to join in Synod process with new online survey available BY JONAH DYCUS Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — Last month, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo shared a video message to the faithful encouraging participation in the local Synod process. To this date, more than 700 facilitators have been trained to host listening sessions at parishes and other venues around Galveston-Houston. “We want to learn about your experiences in your family, in your parish and in your community,” Cardinal DiNardo said in the video message. “We want to know more about what matters most to you, about your joys and about the difficulties you may be encountering. Finally, we want to share and reflect on the many ways the Holy Spirit has been present to us — guiding us and our Church.” For the Synod on Synodality (20212023), Pope Francis is inviting the faithful and those in the peripheries to engage with the process in following the theme: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.” In the video message, Cardinal DiNardo said a synod session is “an opportunity to reflect and recollect with others in small groups … to be renewed in your participation in the life of the Church.”
Although the deadline for completing listening sessions was March 31, some additional listening sessions have been allowed to continue in April. In addition, an online survey is now available for those interested in sharing their experiences through that medium. Both Cardinal’s video invitation and the online survey can be found at www.archgh.org/ synod. Margarito Cruz Jr., Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) chairperson, has been impressed with the positive feedback received from session and facilitator workshop attendees. “Many volunteered to also help out with the synodal response synthesis work that will eventually take place for the Archdiocese in the coming months,” he said. Another APC member, Deacon Dennis Henderson of St. Laurence in Sugar Land, said the key element to effective listening sessions is in the name — simply listening to others. “We are affirmed by these sharing experiences — there is nothing like having others hear you and actually listening to what you have to say,” he said. “Just giving people an opportunity to say what they think means so much. The sessions have provided a chance for so many to have a dialogue. You want the Holy Spirit to bring out what is in people’s hearts, and these listening
TAKE THE SYNOD SURVEY Join the Synod and share your thoughts in the survey at www.archgh.org/synod. sessions do just that.” Outside of parish-hosted listening sessions, the Archdiocese hosted seven listening sessions for deacons and their wives at multiple parish locations; 10 listening sessions for Parish Catechetical Leaders (in three languages); and two listening sessions for Persons with Disabilities and families in English and Spanish. Sister Francesca Kearns, CCVI, vicar for religious, has been active in facilitating and participating in listening sessions across all cultures and ages — from young adults to seniors — since last fall. “The Synodal pathway calls us to new ways of being Church together,” Sister Kearns said. “The listening sessions for the Synod give us the opportunity to express our hopes and fears about how we might be part of making this dream a reality.” Reflecting on her experiences with the listening sessions, Sister Kearns
said there was both enthusiasm and anxiety expressed by participants, but as the sharing deepened, “there was the recognition that the Spirit was calling us to a different way of thinking and of being more trusting and working together for a better future. Many times, there was the recognition that none of us had the vision for the ideal way forward. Thus, there was a gradual development of our need to be open to how the Spirit might be leading us forward.” Sister Kearns said session participants would often be enlightened on how to make their unique contribution and be willing to assume greater responsibility in working together with others. “As the reflection on the sharing developed (during these sessions), there was a growing awareness that we experienced Synodality by doing it,” Sister Kearns said. “There was also a sense that as the people of God, we are called to assume more responsibility for what happens because we are the Church. The groups (ultimately realized) that listening together helped us to see things in a different way. There was a feeling of enthusiasm and an expressed desire that we have other listening sessions.” For more information about the local Synod process and to take the survey, visit www.archgh.org/synod. †
In 1866, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word arrived in Galveston with a mission to heal “the sick and infirm of every kind.” In 1887, they expanded their reach with St. Joseph’s Infirmary, Houston’s first general hospital.
It started with a call to care for the underserved, and over 150 years later the mission continues.
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CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare is a 501(c)3 non-profit, relying on the generous support of individuals like you.
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ARCHGH.ORG/TCH • APRIL 12, 2022
Young adults act globally, locally to help the hungry on Lenten day of service PHOTO BY THALIA ROMERO
About 150 young adults helped both the global Rise Against Hunger project while also packaging food and toiletry bags to give to local homeless people during Young Adult Day of Service on March 26.
BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — Elizabeth Campo combined joy with service joined by 150 young adults helping both the global Rise Against Hunger project while also packaging food and toiletry bags to give to local homeless people. Young adults in their 20s and 30s were invited to take part in a day of service on March 26 during the Lenten season on the theme “Come to Know Love” organized by the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry. Campo, parishioner at St. Helen Catholic Church in Pearland, said the event to package rice and soy meals at St. Thomas More Church brought young adults from the Archdiocese’s English and Spanish programs to do service together in one place. Describing the energy and excitement, Campo said, “There was music, laughing, singing and dancing while we worked together as a team of a hundred-plus to package 25,000 meals for those in underprivileged countries around the world.” Then in the afternoon, the group had a session to fill bags with granola bars, bottled water and toiletries for local homeless people, she said. “As I have passed the bags out over the past few days, the individuals have been extremely grateful for them,”Campo said. “The whole day of service was a beautiful witness to the impact that Christ’s love can have on a community.” Angela Pometto, director for the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry, said, “When we’ve done Young Adult Days of Service in the past, we all came together for a Mass to start the day, and then the whole group would split up and go to 20 different locations in the surrounding area to serve. This year, I wanted to host a service event where we could all stay together in one place and serve as one young adult community.” “I believe there is real beauty in that unity,” she said. Pometto said the office worked with Rise Against Hunger because it helps worldwide and knows how to host a service event that effectively incorporates numerous volunteers. “This new format provided some extra time for connection, community and prayer. We were very excited to have all young adults, both English- and Spanishspeakers, working together on one
“I felt the camaraderie and joy of all working together towards a common goal: to help those less fortunate and serve Christ our King.” EMILY SICKING Young Adult Day of Service Participant and St. Laurence Catholic Church Parishioner project,” Pometto said. Francisco Bernal, program coordinator for the Archdiocese’s Vocations office, agreed with combining the English and Spanish programs. “I’ve been volunteering with the Young Adult ministry, primarily with Hispanics in what is known as Pastoral Juvenil, since 2016,” Bernal said. “I had been looking forward to this event since it was first planned because we were doing the service as one Church rather than separately as we had in the past.” Bernal said, “I was overjoyed to see all of us together, smiling and getting to know each other while packaging the meals.” With his home parish being Queen of Peace Catholic Church, he said, “Connecting with not only your culture but also your language, is critical in most Hispanic communities. Many Hispanic young adults, like myself, can find it difficult to leave their comfort zone to attend events that are in English or bilingual. But seeing everyone working together, on the other hand, gave me hope that we will continue to come together as one Church.” For Emily Sicking of St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land, this was her first young adult service day. “I felt the camaraderie and joy of all working together towards a common goal: to help those less fortunate and serve Christ our King.” She added, “It was eye-opening to see how many young adults are actually active and willing to serve around the Archdiocese. Sometimes it can feel lonely trying to live seemingly alone in your desire to serve Christ, and I love that I was able to see the power that comes from giving Him your time and energy to do His work!” †
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Prison doors reopen for the faithful to become conduits of God’s grace and mercy to inmates BY KERRY MCGUIRE Herald Correspondent HOUSTON — With COVID-19 lockdowns now over in state and county prisons, the faithful once again can become conduits of God’s mercy and grace to minister to the 17,000 incarcerated Catholic inmates within the boundaries of the Archdiocese, officials said. The clergy, staff and lay ministers serving in Correctional Ministries were either shut out completely or had very limited access to the prisons until six months ago. Now, the ministry is revamping its efforts to ensure that the light and love of Christ truly knows no boundaries and reaches the 28% of these incarcerated men and women who are Roman Catholic. Deacon Alvin Lovelady, director of the Office of Correctional Ministries, said serving in prison ministry may not be considered by many people, but those who commit to making just one visit typically make it a commitment for life. He believes it is the most rewarding ministry he has ever been involved with, even beyond hospital or youth ministries that people typically gravitate toward. Deacon Lovelady said ministering to the incarcerated is simply just showing up and being present in one’s faith. He has personally witnessed many inmates gain a new awareness or understanding of their faith, and other times, a miracle, he said. “Being in the jails and prisons since 2009, I have experienced many changes in peoples’ lives, some I would consider a miracle, others just an enlightenment and better understanding of their faith journey,” said Deacon Lovelady. One encounter with an inmate made a deep impression on Deacon Lovelady before he became an ordained deacon and was volunteering as an RCIA instructor. He learned of an inmate who was receiving the Eucharist at Mass but was not in full Communion with the Catholic Church. Deacon Lovelady discreetly pulled the man aside and explained the need for him to wait until he was baptized and confirmed. The man replied that he would stop, that it wasn’t a big deal anyway, or so he thought. The day of the man’s confirmation, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo presided and emphasized the importance of having a deep respect and love for Christ when receiving the Eucharist. “When this young man came up to the altar during Communion to receive Jesus for the first time as a Catholic, he began to cry,” said Deacon Lovelady. “He tried to walk back to his seat but fell to his knees in front of me asking God to forgive him for receiving Him before without honor and respect.” In Cardinal DiNardo’s closing comment, he acknowledged the young man as a true example of what it means to be pro-life and how important it is for each person to die to self and respect Christ every time they receive him in the Eucharist. “He said that none of us are worthy to receive Christ, but He allows it because of His love for us, not necessarily our love for Him,” said Deacon Lovelady. “That day, we were allowed to see the
The 2021 Diocesan Services Fund theme draws from 1 Corinthians: “All For the Glory of God.” 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 60-plus ministries.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CORRECTIONAL MINISTRIES
Daniel Cardinal DiNardo talks to incarcerated men just before their Confirmation in the John M. Wynne Unit in Huntsville in 2018.
transformation of that love through this new member of our Church.” Deacon Lovelady said he believed that every volunteer with the prison ministry eventually experiences something like this that makes a profound statement on their own hearts. In the process of helping to transform the inmates’ faith, their own is strengthened and deepened. He said many times they find themselves asking why it took so long to say “yes” to God’s call to serve the imprisoned. He tells them the answer — it’s always in God’s perfect timing. Deacon Lovelady said that now may be the ideal time for new and former Catholic volunteers to consider joining the ministry’s renewed efforts as the ministry goes into full swing. This includes Mass and Communion services offered in all of the prison units within the Archdiocese, RCIA classes in most of them, and Bible studies and other classes ramping up as well. He said what the ministry is able to offer depends on the amount of volunteer support they receive. He said the ministry also could use additional support from the Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) to fill the associate director position that has been open for two years, as well as pay for priests’ salaries and purchase materials, such as Bibles, catechisms, “The Word Among Us,” and other spiritual-reading material for the inmates. He said the associate director would also help him revisit every service and class being offered to make
sure they are under control and aligned with Catholic Church teaching. “We are one people united together to bring Christ to everyone regardless of their present situation. This means we are supposed to invite every person to view our side of the equation, which every person has the right to accept or reject,” said Deacon Lovelady. “We do not force anyone, but we need to make sure the opportunity to see how we cherish our Lord and the Eucharist is, in fact, presented properly and without any flaws; hence it is important that Church doctrine is taught properly without prejudice.” To apply for a volunteer position, candidates are invited to visit the Office of Correctional Ministries located at St. Dominic Chancery, 2403 Holcombe Blvd. in the Texas Medical Center, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to selecting an area of interest (e.g., RCIA, Bible studies, etc.) and taking various Archdiocesan trainings, the office will guide them through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice training and background checks and assignment and gate clearance at a prison facility. To contribute to the 2022 Annual DSF Appeal that supports the Correctional Ministries and over 60 other ministries, whether direct service or education that require this critical funding to remain in operation, visit www.archgh.org/dsf. Out of each gift given to DSF, 100% of every dollar goes directly to supporting these ministries. †
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ARCHGH.ORG/TCH • APRIL 12, 2022
EDUCATION ‘A Pattern of Hope’ luncheon celebrates Catholic education BY LESLIE BARRERA Special to the Herald
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE
Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, with Event MC Melanie Lawson, Keynote Speaker Kathryn Whitaker, and Superintendent of Catholic Schools Debra Haney.
You can put your faith into action this Lent.
HOUSTON — The network of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese celebrated the inaugural, in-person “A Pattern of Hope Luncheon” March 22 at the Junior League of Houston, benefiting Catholic schools. What began as a stormy and blustery morning turned into a glorious day for the event and the legacy of Catholic education in the Archdiocese. The event, attended by educators, friends of Catholic schools, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza, Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, and community members, provided a glimpse into the lives of the many Catholic school communities via a video showcasing innovative programs and curriculum pieces present in Catholic grade schools. Proceeds raised from the event support tuition assistance and technology resources for students in Catholic grade schools. Keynote speaker, Kathryn Whitaker, author of “Live Big, Love Bigger: Getting Real with BBQ, Sweet Tea and a Whole
Lotta Jesus,” shared her family’s journey through Catholic schools and the relevance of the education and sense of connection they offer families in a world that can challenge values and character. Assistant Superintendent Cathy Stephen said, “The gratitude that Kathryn Whitaker shared with us at ‘Pattern of Hope’ was certainly a touching tribute to the trust that can be built between teacher and student so that shouldering both personal issues and the world’s problems can be practiced by children in the safe and loving environment of a Catholic school.” When asked why “A Pattern of Hope” was important to her, Whitaker said, “Anytime I am asked to help promote Catholic education, it is always a resounding ‘Yes!’ I have seen, first-hand, the fruits of a Catholic education in laying the groundwork for a faith you return to when life gets hard. What a joy it is to see our six children continue to lay such a solid foundation.” Whitaker’s book is available for purchase at most major book retailers. To learn more about “A Pattern of Hope” and view the event video, visit: www. ChooseCatholicSchools.org/Hope. †
IN ACADEMICS
PHOTO COURTESY OF OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE IN RICHWOOD
Richwood students’ names are moon-bound
Help a family in need by becoming a Hero of Hope! This Lenten season provides you with a timely opportunity to help a family who is at serious risk of hunger, poverty, and homelessness. For just $10 a month you can provide a needy family with food for an entire month and make a life-saving difference for a family each and every day of the year.
Sixth graders from Our Lady Queen of Peace in Richwood are showing their boarding passes as their names were submitted to NASA to be sent around the moon on the first Artemis mission later this year. All eyes will be on the historic Launch Complex 39B when Orion and the Space Launch System lift off for the first time from NASA’s modernized Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. Artemis I will be the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to build a long-term human presence on the moon for decades to come.
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EDUCATION
APRIL 12, 2022 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
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From Stray to Star: SPX rugby team saves lost dog, then makes Buster the official team mascot HOUSTON — A month ago, during a routine practice, the St. Pius X High School rugby team encountered a stray dog in a park. “You could tell he was a stray. He was looking around for food. He was dirty when we saw him, but he was friendly with us right away,” said senior student Grant Stringfellow. After playing with the dog for a short while, the rugby team watched as it wandered into a nearby yard, where two other dogs chained in the yard began to get aggressive. Team member Burke Battenfield said, “There was no fence around the house. He went over there to make friends with them. He thought they were friendly too, but they started attacking him.” While they were shocked, the boys stepped in and got the dog to safety when the owner of this house did little to pacify the situation. Burke contacted his sister
PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. PIUS X HIGH SCHOOL
The rugby team at St. Pius X High School saved and adopted “Buster” as their new mascot.
with the Animal Justice League. The boys fell in love with the dog almost instantly and named him “Buster.” “This is a volunteer-driven organization that helps address fostering
for dogs and cats,” said Maggie Munyon, director of communications for St. Pius X High School. “They got hold of them, and they helped provide guidance and support as the boys wanted to get Buster
medical attention,” she added. “They took him to a 24-hour hospital, got his wounds taken care of, and then worked with the Animal Justice League for guidance on fostering. Now, (team member) Grant Stringfellow, his mother and his family have taken in Buster and are currently fostering him.” Barbara Ballance, vice president of Animal Justice League, said, “We immediately started fundraising. Then we immediately started looking for a foster because when you pick that animal up, when they say come and get him, where is he going to go?” At games, the rugby team has united around the chant“For Buster!”before their games and declared him their official team mascot. He has won the hearts of many in the Houston community and has become a local celebrity in the St. Pius X High School community. “It’s really special,” senior rugby player Hayden Llorens reflects. “He’s a fighter. We’re fighters, so we are all just trying to stay in the fight and win.” For more information about the St. Pius X High School rugby program, visit www.stpiusx.org. †
LEADERSHIP
Drew Hudson tapped as Cristo Rey Jesuit’s new principal HOUSTON — Drew Hudson has been selected as Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston’s principal after nine months as the school’s interim principal. Before becoming interim principal at Cristo Rey Jesuit, a school that exclusively educates students from economically challenged families, Hudson was an accomplished classroom history teacher — tripling the school’s AP U.S. History passing rates — instructional coach and chair of the history department at Cristo Rey Jesuit. An Army veteran, Hudson’s leadership experience in education and youth development extends back 10 years to his work for Ohio University’s Leadership and Development Center, the Boy and Girls Clubs in Austin, KIPP Texas Public Schools and the Digital Media Academy, where he oversaw a Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics summer institute for secondary students at the University of Houston. Hudson has experience with middle school, high school and collegiate-level students. Hudson will support faculty goals as well as student goals as they embark on rigorous course loads and participate in the school’s corporate work-study program in which students work one day a week at major Houston-area corporations to earn workplace experience. A graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in history and cultural anthropology, Hudson is currently attending Lamar University in Houston to obtain his master’s degree in education. “Anyone who has spent any time with Principal Hudson knows that he loves our students, and he will do all it takes to help them be successful at
St. Peter Catholic: A Career and Technical High School Drew Hudson Cristo Rey Jesuit,” said Cristo Rey Jesuit President Paul Beck. “During his time as interim principal, he demonstrated his commitment to the students we serve and sees himself as being ‘cut from the same cloth.’ His life has paralleled the lives of many of our students, so we know he has the right aptitude and expertise to successfully lead in the role as principal.” “I’m very grateful for the support,” Hudson said. “We’ve been able to accomplish so much this year because everyone is working for the common good of our students. We all have the same goal, to do what’s best for our students, whatever is necessary to help our students to be successful men and women for others. I’m excited about the future.” †
St. Peter will offer career programs in information technology; business, marketing, and finance; education and training; architecture and construction. Planning and fundraising are underway for construction to begin in the coming months, with a scheduled school opening in August 2023.
To partner or learn more call:
713-741-8704
12 TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD
ARCHGH.ORG/TCH • APRIL 12, 2022
YOUTH Youth hunger for the Eucharist “If we get in front of the sun, we get a defined as boring. I’m suntan, but when we get in front of Jesus convinced that if we do in the Eucharist, we become saints.” three things that we can These words from Blessed Carlo Acutis turn that attitude around. are quite applicable to youth ministry First, ongoing today. Over the last decade or so, there catechesis on the has been a renewed interest in prayer meaning of full, conscious before the Blessed Sacrament in many and active participation by youth ministry programs. It is now in the Liturgy. Second, commonplace at most retreats and make a concerted effort TIM conferences for young people today. to connect the experience COLBERT Exciting games and inflatables We live in a very busy and very noisy of the real presence at to Awesome music world. Helping the young Church Eucharistic Exposition to encounter the Risen Lord in the the altar at Mass. When Engaging talks, workshops Eucharist provides them with the young people are more and Service Projects nourishment they need to live as excited about adoring the Risen Lord in Powerful prayer and worship disciples in the world. In the Vatican II the monstrance than receiving Him, Lots of with hundredsbody, of yourblood, peers! soul and divinity, in Holy document, Lumen Gentium, wefun are instructed that “Taking part in the Communion, we have missed the boat. Eucharistic sacrifice, which is the fount Third, it is importantFeaturing to ensure that motivator and community builder and apex of the whole Christian life, Sunday National MassPresenter, is youth-friendly. What Ricky HernandezMass? they offer the Divine Victim to God, and constitutes a youth-friendly offer themselves along with it. Thus, both Nothing more than what should occur at by reason of the offering and through Saturday, every Mass. Be welcoming. 2. April 30, 1. 2022 Holy Communion, all take part in this Exceptional music that is appropriate to Simon the & Jude Catholic Church in the Mass. 3. A liturgical service… Strengthened inSts. Holy various movements Communion by the Body of Christ, they10:30 a.m. homily them. 4. Reverent untilthat 9:00includes p.m. then manifest in a concrete way that but not “stuffy.” 5. Including properly For alltrained youth inyoung grades 6-8 unity of the people of God.”Therefore, people in the regular primacy is given to the celebration of the schedules of lectors and extraordinary of Adolescent Catechesis & MassOffice and the reception of Holy ministers of Holy Communion (following $40.00 per person Registration ends April 22, 2022 See your Youth minister/Parish Evangelization Communion. For too many young Archdiocesan guidelines). Catechetical Leader or school leaderthe for details. people, their experience of Mass is often Prayer before Blessed Sacrament,
†
then, is an extension of the Sacred Liturgy. This happens in two ways: Eucharistic Adoration is silent private prayer before the Blessed Sacrament housed within the tabernacle… Eucharistic Exposition is the public liturgical ritual whereby the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the monstrance or ciborium for the veneration of the faithful. By its nature as a liturgical ritual, Eucharistic Exposition consists of the liturgical rites of Exposition, Adoration, Benediction and Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The period of Adoration includes songs, prayers and readings to mark the time and to help direct the attention of the faithful. Suitable periods of silence are also required. A homily or reflection is also appropriate. (Office of Worship, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston) In my experience, Eucharistic Adoration is rarely included in the faith
formation of adolescents. I believe this is a missed opportunity. Developing this practice in young people will serve them well as they leave our programs and enter adulthood. It is important that our young people leave us knowing how to pray on their own. Eucharistic Adoration will be readily available to them, whereas, for most, Eucharistic Exposition, will not. Learning to be with the Lord in silence is a great gift to our youth. Our young people are hungry for the Eucharist. We are called to provide both excellence in their encounters with the Eucharistic Lord as well as fidelity to the rubrics. In that way, like Blessed Carlo Acutis, they can proclaim, “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” † Timothy Colbert is the director of the Office of Adolescent Catechesis and Evangelization.
TEENTALK
Teens in the Archdiocesan Youth Council share their own faith life experiences.
Why is the Eucharist important to you? “The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. The Eucharist is so instrumental in our lives. Without the graces we get from Him weekly, we would be lost. Sometimes the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is overlooked.”
– Andrew, Mary Queen (Friendswood)
“The Eucharist is our Savior, Jesus Christ. I used to take the Sacrament for granted, but after going to AYC, I realized His importance. I realized that I used to see the Eucharist and just say: ‘Yeah, that’s Jesus.’ without even thinking. But that’s literally Jesus! That’s our Savior who was crucified for us! I have a whole different perspective on it now. I thank God for opening my eyes and helping me to see Him in everything…”
– Michael, Sts. Simon & Jude (The Woodlands)
Exciting games and inflatables Awesome music Engaging talks, workshops and Service Projects Powerful prayer and worship Lots of fun with hundreds of your peers!
Featuring National Presenter, motivator and community builder Ricky Hernandez
Saturday, April 30, 2022 Sts. Simon & Jude Catholic Church 10:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. For all youth in grades 6-8 Office of Adolescent Catechesis & Evangelization
$40.00 per person Registration ends April 22, 2022 See your Youth minister/Parish Catechetical Leader or school leader for details.
APRIL 12, 2022 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
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COLUMNISTS Alleluia! Jesus lives: Embracing the heart of the Easter season About 15 years ago, an American Trappist monk, Father Chrysogonus Waddell, took the text of a 19th-century German hymn and composed a piece of liturgical music called Jesus Lives. It became a staple for my college choir included every year at Mass on Easter Sunday or during the ensuing season. Father Chrysogonus’s haunting melody and soaring descants seemed to draw us deeper into the mystery of the words: “Jesus lives! thy terrors now / Can, O Death, no more appall us; / Jesus lives! by this we know / Thou, O Grave, cannot enthrall us. / Alleluia!” It calls back to the great Easter proclamation, the Exsultet: “This is the night when Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld.” For the past 40 days, we have immersed ourselves in the season of Lent. We have intensified our prayer lives, perhaps attending Stations of the Cross or praying a daily Rosary. We have fasted, either from food or
social media, or whatever was holding us back from a full relationship with the Lord. And we have practiced almsgiving, caring for those in our community and in the world who are most in by need. We do these activities CHRIS not simply because the LABADIE Church asks us to, but so that we might empty ourselves of anything that might keep us from Jesus. Again, from Father Chrysogonus: “Jesus lives! our hearts know well / Naught from us His love shall sever; / Life, nor death, nor powers of hell / Tear us from His keeping ever. / Alleluia!” For some in our communities, these 40 days have been a time of intense preparation for a radical change. Our Elect, who receive Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist at the
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“Our Easter celebrations ring hollow if they do not come from a true understanding of the Lord’s desire for our continued turning back to Him.” Easter Vigil, have been called by Christ to follow him on the way. They have responded generously, and we now welcome them as fellow members of the Body of Christ. In walking forward together on this journey, we remember that our common Baptism unites us to the death of Christ, but also to His Resurrection. “Jesus lives! henceforth is death / But the gate to Life immortal; / This shall
calm our trembling breath, / When we pass its gloomy portal. / Alleluia!” As we pass from the desert of the 40 days of Lent into the glory of the Easter season, may we be renewed with zeal for the mission entrusted to us by the Lord. In order to do so well, we cannot forget the lessons that we learned through our prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Our Easter celebrations ring hollow if they do not come from a true understanding of the Lord’s desire for our continued turning back to Him. In doing so, we can truly join in this wonderful prayer: “Jesus lives! To Him the Throne / Over all the world is given; / May we go where He is gone, / Rest and reign with Him in heaven. / Alleluia! † Chris Labadie is the director of the Office of Worship.
Where do we see the ‘Face of Grace’? During Easter, we celebrate Jesus’s resurrection and victory over death. In doing so, we open our hearts to renew our Baptismal promises, recalling our death to sin and our resurrected life in Christ. Easter is the most important season of our faith as we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promise of our salvation made through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Fulfilled despite our failings so that we could be joined to God once again, we receive the unmerited and undeserved gift of love of God — which we call grace — made available through Jesus so that we too may experience the joy of our own resurrected life. Celebrating the joy of the resurrection in Easter, we can too reflect on our own personal resurrection moments — moments where we encountered Christ and, through the grace of God, redirected our lives, whether it was through a family member, friend, neighbor or even a stranger. Moments in which someone gave a face to Jesus and exemplified God’s grace, leading us away from a life of sin. Moments in which we give thanks but also seek to imitate as disciples of Christ, seeking to be the face of Jesus — the face of grace — to those we encounter as well. As a pastoral minister of Special
Youth Services, a ministry of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and funded by the Diocesan Services Fund (DSF), we serve youth ages 10 to 17 within juvenile detention centers in five counties. by These are youth dealing DEACON FERNANDO with their own challenges from chaos GARCIA within their household, poverty or traumas, just to name a few, living with the weight of their own sins and the weight of the judgment cast on them by society. Cast on them from people like you and me who may overlook their own sinfulness but may be quick to condemn them as “bad kids.” But like many of us, these youth, in their moment of despair, turn to prayer for the hope of a new life. A life outside those walls and within an environment where they can be successful despite their past life. A life of grace found only in Christ. Special Youth Services, through its mentors and Bible studies, serves as a ministry of encounters. Throughout five counties within the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, including Harris County, our volunteers provide a face for Jesus — a face of grace. Seeing the
smiles on the youth when volunteers arrive or walking up in excitement to ask for prayer is the experience of the weight of their sins and judgment being lifted, if at least for a moment, as they experience God’s unmerited, undeserved and unconditional love from the volunteers called to this ministry. It is their resurrection moment. This Easter, may we look with great faith toward God and the power of the
resurrection of Jesus to encourage us to value each encounter with these youth or any other brothers or sisters in need as the opportunity to be the face of grace and bring forth more resurrection moments. † Deacon Fernando Garcia is a pastoral minister with the office of Special Youth Services.
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For information and resources, visit
archgh.org/synod
SUNDAY MASS READINGS APRIL 17 APRIL 24
First Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 First Reading: Acts 5:12-16
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23 Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
Second Reading: Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6-8 Second Reading: Rev 1:9-13, 17-19
Gospel: Jn 20:1-9 Gospel: Jn 20:19-31
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New life for the Sacrament of Reconciliation: Let students, young people show the way forward My God-son was excited as he wore recognize the need for the new T-shirt his father had given it. Yes, our own sins are him. The message on it read, “Got part of the equation, but mercy?” there is much more at “Cool T-shirt!” I exclaimed to him. work. “Do you know how to get mercy?” Let’s start with the With a confident smile, he replied, formal designation of “Oh yes, father, we receive mercy from the Sacrament: Jesus in the Sacraments, and now I can Reconciliation. More by receive His mercy in the Eucharist and than a title, we are FATHER Reconciliation!” talking about the state CHARLES His enthusiastic faith was like a JOHNSON, OP and quality of a balm to my spirit since the Sacrament relationship, to be of Reconciliation has experienced a reconciled with God and drop-off in recent decades, and even the people around us. some Catholics would readily admit It’s about being in a state their lack of practice and of forgiveness: to be understanding of it. forgiven and to forgive. Reconciliation is Instead of echoing the laments we the fruit of God’s love; it is always his might often hear concerning confession, initiative and always a primary concern let us ask ourselves some questions: for him, especially in relation to us and Where are we spiritually when it comes all humanity. to mercy? Do we know who desires to Mercy, forgiveness and being give us such a blessing? Are we aware reconciled are how God makes His love of how the Sacraments bridge heaven visible, and Christ is the expression and and earth and that one of them is the visibility. Pope Francis reiterated dedicated to making it possible for us to such a foundational truth in his receive God’s grace of forgiveness message, Misericordia et misera, at the whenever the need arises? conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy Some might say that without a sense in 2016: “Forgiveness is the most visible of personal individual notMinistry be sign of.pdf the Father’s love, which 2022sin, DSFan Young Adult andwill Campus final 1 1/10/22 1:45 PM Jesus inclined to go to confession or even sought to reveal by His entire life.”
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Diocesan Services Fund MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT
We are talking about a major concern that continually gets God’s attention and one that brought about the Incarnation and kept on going all the way to the Cross and Resurrection: our salvation in Christ. The Sacrament of Reconciliation places that same concern in the heart of our Church as another simple “bridge” so that humanity and divinity might never be far apart. Thanks be to God, the Catholic campus ministry on the main campus of the University of Houston gives the Church signs of hope. Many students not only recognize their own need for forgiveness, but in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, they recognize an accessible and grace-filled way to experience the Lord’s mercy. In short, they get it. Before we answer “yes” to the question of knowing how to get mercy, we must wholeheartedly agree on our personal need for such a gracious and divine gift, including our need to forgive and be forgiven. The salvation of our souls is not only a matter of our eternal destiny but also about our willingness to truly love as Christ teaches us and our openness to his mercy. Again, it’s all about relationship: the one that God longs for
Father Charles Johnson, O.P., serves as chaplain and director at the Catholic Newman Center at the University of Houston.
Jesus was concerned with young people, with all of you, with your expectations and your hopes, and it shows how much he wants to meet you personally. – Pope Benedict XVI
The Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry creates communities on campus where faith flourishes and Disciples of Christ are formed. To support the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry, and over 60 ministries like it, make a gift to the DSF at www.archgh.org/dsf
with us in Christ. God has no doubts, especially when it comes to the purpose and power of his love and goodness. Instead of being obstacles to Him, our sins become the means and opportunity for Him to continually reveal His tender mercy. Again, Pope Francis provides a simple and helpful reminder: “God makes us understand His great love for us precisely when we recognize that we are sinners.” God “gets” us and all humanity. Christ — from His humble human beginnings to His passion, death and resurrection — is God’s way of making sure all aspects of humanity are included, even our faults and need for mercy. The question is, “do we get Him?” May our answer to this question lead us more deeply into Holy Week and the joy of Easter. May our response resound with confidence and help us appreciate the simple Sacrament which has always been there and Christ, “the face of the Father’s mercy,” who is always with us. †
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APRIL 12, 2022 • ARCHGH.ORG/DIGITALEDITIONS
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WORLD
Ukrainian refugees find a welcome in Polish convents LUBLIN, Poland (CNS) — Olga and her youngest children are safe in Poland, but she is consumed with worry for her husband and oldest son, who are still in Ukraine. And her heart breaks when the little ones ask questions, including about why Russia invaded Ukraine when so many Russians live in Ukraine and when so many of their families are intermarried. Everything is difficult to explain to the children, Olga said. “The youngest (two) don’t notice so much, but the oldest asks when he will see his father. I tell him the truth. He asks why uncles shoot at his father. And ‘When daddy dies, will he come to us?’” “I don’t know how to answer these questions and I want to cry,” she said. Olga and her three children — Dima, 2, Natasha, 4, and Nazar, 6 — and her friend Alina and Alina’s 4-year-old son, Alexander, and 19-year-old daughter, Anna, found a safe haven with the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Family in Lublin. The Ukrainian women asked that their real names not be used. The Polish Conference of Major Superiors of Women said on March 15 that an estimated 18,000 refugees from Ukraine were receiving spiritual, psychological, medical and material help at 924 convents in Poland and that close to 500 of those communities are sheltering almost 3,000 adults — mostly women — and more than 3,000 children. Olga and Alina met at a prayer group near their homes in the Dnepropetrovsk Oblast (district) in southeastern Ukraine. Like many Ukrainians, Olga said that they had been warned of Russia’s plan to invade, but “I tried not to accept it.” On the third day of the war, Olga said, she knew they had to leave. In a hurry.
CNS PHOTO
Sister Zuzanna plays with the children of Olga, a Ukrainian refugee, at a kindergarten run by the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Family in Lublin, Poland, March 17, 2022. Thousands of refugees from Ukraine have been assisted by and are living with communities of religious sisters in Poland.
“The way was tough. We didn’t drive at night. I was so absorbed that I didn’t eat or drink.” Olga took a light jacket for the trip because, she said, she did not want to carry anything heavy. Crossing the border into Poland, they walked the last mile. She carried Dima and held the two older children by the hand. She said she had lost all sense of time and did not realize what day it was until she looked at the stamp on her passport. Volunteers were waiting on the other side of the border and took her and the children to a Polish family in Korczowa for the night.
IN BRIEF Pope: Inclusion puts normally marginalized people front and center
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Meeting members of a foundation supporting individuals with autism and their families, Pope Francis happily put on a gift of a red chef’s apron over his white cassock and gave his guests an enthusiastic “thumbs-up.” The apron was emblazoned with the name and slogan of a pizzeria near Milan run by young adults on the spectrum: “PizzAut: Let’s Feed Inclusion. Don’t Trample on Dreams.” The pizzeria, which opened in May 2021, also brought along its food truck to Rome and parked alongside St. Peter’s Square to offer free lunch to people in need after the papal audience on April 1. “With these three traits, one can see the face of God, the heart of God, the way of God,” he said. The papal audience in the apostolic palace brought together members of the Italian Autism Foundation on the eve of World Autism Awareness Day. The U.N.-sponsored day was dedicated this year to the importance of access to education, which was drastically disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. †
Losing sense of spirit means becoming blind to God, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis asked people to pray for his upcoming trip to Malta and to pray for an end to the “savage cruelty” of war. After delivering his general audience talk in the Paul VI hall on March 30, he warmly greeted a group of children from Ukraine who are receiving assistance in Italy, and members of the audience gave the children a long applause. But, the pope said, “with this greeting to the children, let us also think again about this monstrosity of the war. Let us renew our prayers that this savage cruelty that is war may end,” he said. He also greeted the people of Malta — the Mediterranean island where St. Paul was shipwrecked and found “great humanity” and hospitality, and where, still today, the people are dedicated to welcoming so many people in search of refuge, he said. The pope’s trip to Malta on April 2 to 3 will be a chance to “go to the source of the proclamation of the Gospel, to get to know firsthand a Christian community” that has such a long history and is so active and alive, he said. †
“After I laid my children down to sleep, I cried the whole night, giving thanks to God that we are safe. I was so exhausted that I had no strength to let my mother know that we were safe,” she said. “The next day, a volunteer took us to Lublin.” Alina said she had seen a message from Olga that they had to leave. “At the church, I learned that there was a train from Zaporizhzhia,” she said, but it turned out to be full. “The duty officer told us not to come and not to ask for any train; there will be no train. Finally, one to Uzhhorod arrived. Everybody swarmed to enter the train; one person fell,” she said. “A conductor
came and said there is no room,” but “he let me in with the children. They stood the whole trip in the corridor.” “The lights were off. The windows were closed. The route changed many times” due to Russian airstrikes. Every stop “lengthened by hours,” she said. When they finally reached Lviv, she looked for a train to Poland. “I found one to Przemysl,” she said, but “when they opened the train doors, everybody ran and there was a crush. Alexander was blocked, so I shouted, and they let him come to me. I was afraid I would lose him.” It took five hours for processing at the border, she said, then they went to Olkusz, to Krakow and finally to the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Family in Lublin. “They brought us warm hamburgers and hot tea,” she said. In Lublin, the sisters run an integrated kindergarten where children with autism or partial deafness play and learn with other 4- to 6-year-olds. “Kids here learn to be open and to accept everybody,” Sister Zuzanna said. “Now they have an opportunity to open up to another culture and language.” Olga’s and Alina’s youngest children were going to school there by mid-March. And Olga started a job at a care center near the convent on March 22. When the war started, the sisters immediately decided to take in refugees. “We saw that so many people are arriving, and they are in need,” Sister Zuzanna said. “We reorganized rooms. We bought a new washing machine, kettle, clothes and toys.” “We pray in our chapel every day for the end of the war,” she said, and “we already had the holy Mass for their husbands.” †
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STATE & NATION
How a saint became part of the tax code, forever changing U.S. philanthropy BENSALEM, Pa. (CNS) — This tax season, Americans have an unexpected figure to thank for one of their most-used deductions. She wasn’t an accountant, a lawyer or even a politician, but an actual saint. St. Katharine Drexel is well known for being a trailblazing figure in the early 20th century, championing the needs of Native Americans and Black Americans, but few know she may have the most lasting impact on philanthropy of any American in U.S. history. Her unexpected role in the U.S. tax code began at the outbreak of World War I in 1913, which spurred the creation of the federal income tax. But by 1917, the tax became a graduated one, sending Mother Katharine’s tax bills skyrocketing and potentially endangering the charitable work of her religious order, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The sisters are based in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. By 1924, Mother Katharine and her influential family successfully lobbied Congress for what later became known as the “Philadelphia nun provision.” Under the provision, anyone who had given 90% of their income to the charity for the previous 10 years was exempt from income taxes. It was a distinction that described only one U.S. citizen at the time — Mother Katharine, said Seth Smith, an assistant clinical professor of history at The Catholic University of America in Washington. Phil Brach, vice president of college relations at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, said the“Philadelphia nun provision” goes to the heart of what set Mother Katharine apart from her betterknown philanthropic contemporaries such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew
Carnegie. “What made her unique is the order of magnitude,” said Brach, who has taught courses on philanthropy for Catholic University in Washington. “There were years where the amount she gave was almost equal to the combined amount of all the collections and all the parishes in the entire country.” Mother Drexel’s giving mostly benefited Black Catholics and Native American Catholics at a time when racial prejudice ran high, and those communities struggled with crippling poverty and lack of access to quality education. Her order built schools and churches across the American South and established what is now Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation’s only historically Black Catholic college. Mother Drexel also was a staunch supporter of the Josephites throughout her life, purchasing land for the religious order to build many of their parishes and schools. St. Katharine’s family, the Drexels of Philadelphia, was one of the wealthiest families in America. An heiress to a banking fortune who chose religious life, she devoted her wealth to Blacks and Native Americans served by her religious order and to other people in need. She gave approximately $20 million dollars over her lifetime. Brach said few have been able to match the sheer scope of Mother Drexel’s giving then or now. For example, he cited the Giving Pledge — a well-received philanthropic campaign spearheaded by billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. The Giving Pledge encourages wealthy people to donate at least 50% of their wealth to charitable causes, but that’s a far cry from Mother Drexel’s 90% of her wealth.
CNS PHOTO
This likeness of St. Katharine Drexel is seen at the Katharine Drexel Shrine in Bensalem, Pa. The saint, who founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, helped lobby Congress in 1924 to make an federal income tax deduction for charitable giving part of the U.S. tax code.
“There is a reason she’s the patron saint of philanthropy,” Brach told The Josephite Harvest, the magazine of the Josephites, known formally as St. Joseph’s Society of the Sacred Heart. According to “Sharing the Bread in Service: Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament 1891-1991 — Volume 1,” the “Philadelphia nun provision” was essential to the
operation of the order in the years after it became part of the law. “The exemption was really important because the sisters were responsible for basically taking care of 15,000 dependents annually. They had over 300 employees or teachers,” Smith said. “They also contributed annually over $50,000 to support Black and Native American children in schools outside of their own.” “Frankly, the Church historically has fallen short, with Black Americans to the South, but the greatest legacy of Catholic support is in those schools,” Smith said. According to “Sharing the Bread,” allies of Mother Katharine urged her to seek a refund for almost $800,000 — the equivalent of about $13 million in today’s money — that she had paid the government before the provision took effect, but Mother Katharine declined, worried that it would exacerbate antiCatholic prejudices at the time. While the provision was enacted without controversy in 1924, Smith said opposition to the exemption grew in 1933 during the height of the Great Depression. Only after lobbying from influential U.S. bishops did the provision survive the challenge. The charitable exemption continued to support the work of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament until Mother Drexel’s death in 1955. The “Philadelphia nun provision” was eventually written out of the tax code in 1969, but Mother Katharine’s influence on U.S. philanthropy can’t be overstated, Brach said. “The official language may be out of the code, but in general, it is the genesis of the charitable deduction that still exists,” he said. †
IN BRIEF
Brownsville Catholic Charities leader Sister Pimentel to receive peace award from Iowa interfaith group
EASTER 2022
Easter Sunday is April 17 Divine Mercy Sunday is April 24 Pentecost is June 5
www.archgh.org
DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNS) — Sister Norma Pimentel, whose work with asylum-seekers has been recognized by Pope Francis, Time magazine and others, will receive the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award April 21 in Davenport, Iowa. Bishop Thomas R. Zinkula of Davenport will present the award to Sister Pimentel in Christ the King Chapel at St. Ambrose University. Sister Pimentel, 68, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, has ministered to migrant people crossing into the United States for years. The Quad City Pacem in Terris Coalition, an interfaith group, nominated Sister Pimentel as the award’s 50th recipient for her dedication in serving migrant people and asylumseekers as executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in the Diocese of Brownsville. Bishop Zinkula endorsed the nomination, which the Diocese of Davenport administers. The award honors St. John XXIII and commemorates his 1963 encyclical, “Pacem in Terris” (“Peace on Earth”), which called on humanity to secure peace among all nations. Previous recipients include the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, St. Teresa of Kolkata, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Zen Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama. Sister Pimentel said, “It is an honor for someone who is, like me, a child of God, a servant of God to be recognized for the work I’m doing, which is actually for the people I’m reaching out to and helping. “It gives me a sense of affirmation that we’re in this together. The true focus is the actual humanity of the people who are suffering at the border.” She oversees the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville, providing oversight of ministries and services in the Rio Grande Valley. The services include emergency assistance, homelessness prevention, clinical counseling, food programs and the Humanitarian Respite Center. †
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MUNDO CATÓLICO Testigos de su resurrección
No nos gusta pensar en la destrucción y mucho menos en la muerte. Y estos últimos años es precisamente lo que hemos estado experimentando a nivel global. Por un lado, la pandemia originada por el virus SARS-COV2 donde se estima 6.11 Millones de muertes alrededor del mundo, y hace casi dos meses atrás, la invasión y destrucción de Rusia hacia Ucrania. Todos estos datos pueden ser desgarradores, de desesperanza y fácilmente uno desanimarse. Todos estamos profundamente afligidos por el nivel de violencia y sufrimiento que se sigue perpetrando en distintos lugares del mundo. 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 pecado, nos ha hecho partícipes de su victoria para ser personas de una gran esperanza. 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 by Evangelii Gaudium “Hay cristianos cuya opción ADRIAN HERRERA 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
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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.
¿Dónde vemos el ‘Rostro de la Gracia’? Durante la Pascua, celebramos la resurrección de Jesús y la victoria sobre la muerte. Al hacerlo, abrimos nuestro corazón para renovar nuestras promesas bautismales, recordando nuestra muerte al pecado y nuestra vida resucitada en Cristo. La Pascua es el tiempo más importante de nuestra fe, ya que celebramos el cumplimiento de la promesa de Dios de nuestra salvación hecha a través del sufrimiento, la muerte y la resurrección de Jesús. Cumplida, a pesar de nuestras faltas, para que podamos unirnos de nuevo a Dios, recibimos el don inmerecido del amor de Dios que llamamos gracia, puesto a disposición a través de Jesús, para que también nosotros experimentemos el gozo de nuestra propia vida resucitada. Celebrando la alegría de la resurrección, en la Pascua, nosotros también podemos reflexionar sobre nuestros propios momentos personales de resurrección, momentos en los que nos encontramos con Cristo y, por la gracia de Dios, reorientamos nuestras vidas. Ya sea a través de un familiar, amigo, vecino o incluso un extraño, momentos en los que alguien le dio un rostro a Jesús y ejemplificó la gracia de Dios, alejándonos de una vida de pecado. Momentos por los que damos gracias pero también buscamos imitar como discípulos de Cristo, buscando ser
el rostro de Jesús, el rostro de la gracia, también para aquellos que encontramos. Como ministro pastoral de Special Youth Services, un ministerio de la Arquidiócesis y financiado por el Fondo por DIÁCONO de Servicios Diocesanos (DSF, por sus siglas en FERNANDO inglés), servimos a GARCIA jóvenes de 10 a 17 años en centros de detención juvenil en cinco condados. Estos son jóvenes que se enfrentan a sus propios desafíos del caos dentro de su hogar, la pobreza o los traumas, solo por nombrar algunos, que viven no solo con el peso de sus propios pecados, sino también con el peso del juicio que la sociedad les impone. Juzgados por personas como ustedes y yo que pueden pasar por alto su propia pecaminosidad, pero pueden condenarlos rápidamente como “chicos malos”. Sin embargo, como muchos de nosotros, estos jóvenes, en su momento de desesperación, recurren a la oración por la esperanza de una nueva vida. Una vida fuera de los muros de los centros de detención juvenil y dentro de un entorno donde puedan tener éxito a pesar de su vida pasada. Una vida de gracia que se
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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.
encuentra sólo en Cristo. Special Youth Services, a través de sus mentores y estudios bíblicos, sirve como un ministerio de encuentros. A lo largo de cinco condados dentro de la Arquidiócesis de Galveston-Houston, incluido el condado de Harris, nuestros voluntarios dan un rostro a Jesús, un rostro de gracia. Ver las sonrisas de los jóvenes cuando llegan los voluntarios o caminar emocionados para pedir oración, es la experiencia de que se levanta el peso de sus pecados y del juicio, aunque sea por un momento, mientras experimentan el amor inmerecido e incondicional de
Dios de parte de los voluntarios llamados a este ministerio. Es su momento de resurrección. Que en esta Pascua miremos con mucha fe a Dios y al poder de la resurrección de Jesús para que nos anime a valorar cada encuentro con estos jóvenes, o con cualquier otro hermano o hermana necesitado, como la oportunidad de ser el rostro de la gracia y crear más momentos de resurrección. † Diácono Fernando Garcia ministro pastoral em la oficina de Special Youth Services.
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.
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.
18 TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD
ARCHGH.ORG/TCH • APRIL 12, 2022
WITHIN THE ARTS UST to launch digital evangelization video series Houston’s Catholic university partners with Word on Fire Institute, for a new series with Catholic influencers to inspire evangelization Special to the Herald HOUSTON — Life is lived out on social media, and Catholics are very much a part of the movement. Harnessing the expertise of major Catholic influencers who evangelize effectively on social media platforms, the University of St. Thomas-Houston (UST) MAX Studios, in partnership with the Word on Fire Institute, launched an innovative video series to show how to bring the Gospel to the digital world. Each episode of the series, “The New Evangelization and New Media,” spotlights one of today’s most interesting and compelling Catholic influencers to share their experiences experimenting with technology and media to get to the heart of Catholic culture and reach their specific audience.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS MAX STUDIOS
Bridget Richardson and Darnell Miller are co-hosts and producers of “The New Evangelization and New Media.” Episodes are expected to be available for free streaming on April 18 online at www.ustmaxstudios.com and from www.wordonfire.institute.
They will share their successes and failures, the challenges they face on a particular platform, and explain why it’s important for Catholics to see the value of engaging authentically in a digital space. The lineup of personalities slated
MOVIE RATINGS By Catholic News Service A-I – GENERAL PATRONAGE • Ron’s Gone Wrong (PG)
A-II – ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS • Home Team (PG)
L – LIMITED ADULT AUDIENCE • Deep Water (R)
A-III – ADULTS • • • • • •
• The Lost City (PG-13) • Turning Red (PG) • Uncharted (PG-13)
Dog (PG-13) Father Stu (R) Morbius (PG-13) Spider-Man: No Way Home (PG-13) The Adam Project (PG-13) The Batman (PG-13)
for the first round includes Australian singer-songwriter and YouTuber Father Rob Galea, Jonathan “Bearded Blevins,” who launched a ministry for gamers on Twitch, Waco’s mom-blogger and Word on Fire Fellow Haley Stewart, better known as @haleycarrots on Instagram, and America’s Next Top Model contestant Leah Darrow to demonstrate the need for evangelization on Facebook. The second round of production, featuring Catholic influencers from TikTok, Twitter and in the podcast space,
will be announced in the future. “One of the institute’s eight principles is a special commitment to new media. I am very excited to act in an advisory role with UST’s MAX Studios on this project,” said Jared Zimmerer, the senior director of the Word on Fire Institute. “An aspect of the Second Vatican Council’s call to evangelization is thinking through new methods and approaches in how we bring people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. This production will be of great service to that mission.” UST President Richard Ludwick said he understood both the tremendous power of social media channels to reach people worldwide and the responsibility to use those channels effectively to share the joy of the Gospel in a broken world. “At UST, we are constantly seeking innovative ways to experiment with technology and media as tools to form our students and evangelize the culture,” Ludwick said. “The Church is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago, and the compelling experiences of this team of influencers are proof of that. The ministry of Word on Fire is proof of that, and we are so excited to team up to equip many more people with the right tools to seek the greater good in this dynamic digital environment.” Filming for this project took place starting in March on UST’s campus at its state-of-the-art MAX Studios. Episodes are expected to be available for free streaming on April 18 online at www.ustmaxstudios.com and from www. wordonfire.institute. †
ST. JOSEPH ALTAR AT HOME
O – MORALLY OFFENSIVE • Studio 666 (R) • X (R) For additional Catholic movie reviews and more, visit www.catholicnews.com.
Bible Conference Book of Revelation July 15-17
Featuring Dr. John Bergsma from Franciscan University as featured on EWTN. Bible Conference includes and in-depth bible study with one of the leading Catholic bible scholars living today.
Information and registration at https://retreatcentercrc.org/tob
PHOTO BY THE HOLDEN FAMILY
ST. JOSEPH, PRAY FOR US — Father Nicolas Ramirez, pastor of St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church, was invited March 19 on the Feast of St. Joseph to bless a St. Joseph Altar at the home of parishioners Elvin and Josie Holden. Their family, as part of their Sicilian heritage and the Domestic Church, helped build the altar by baking Italian cookies, breads and cakes including one in the shape of a white lamb, and adding flower arrangements. They are giving thanks for the intercession of St. Joseph for their brother-inlaw Denis Ermis, who will be receiving a bone marrow transplant early April after his battle with leukemia the past year and a half. Pictured are Denis and wife Kathy Ermis at the Holdens’ home.
APRIL 12, 2022 • ARCHGH.ORG/DIGITALEDITIONS
AROUND Editor’s Note: Contact event organizers for the latest updates and information. For deadline/submission details and other listings, visit WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/ATA.
APRIL 15-24
DIVINE MERCY NOVENA AND CHAPLET, 3 p.m., Mary Queen (606 Cedarwood Dr., Friendswood). Novena and Chaplet begins on Good Friday, April 15, following the 3 p.m. Stations of the Cross in the church, then continues in St. Joseph Chapel at 3 p.m. each remaining day of the Novena, April 16 to 23, including Easter Sunday. On April 24, Divine Mercy Sunday, prayers include Divine Mercy Chaplet, Adoration and Benediction in St. Joseph Chapel. More info: 713-898-1029 or 281-996-8585; Carolwillenborg@outlook.com.
APRIL 20
SERVICE PROJECT, 9:30 a.m., St. Hyacinth (2921 Center St., Deer Park). T-Shirt Apron Service Project for local care facilities sponsored by Bay Area Deanery Council of Catholic Women at Guyot Hall. Bring gently used adult-sized T-shirts and scissors for the project. More info: Jan Hughes at 903-780-5090 or hughesjanice55@yahoo.com.
APRIL 23
DIVINE MERCY CONFERENCE, 8 a.m., St. Faustina (28102 FM 1093, Fulshear). All-day conference includes opening and closing Mass, with talks by Sister Inga Kvassayova, OLM, from the St. John Paul II National Shrine, and Gary Zimak, a popular Catholic evangelist on overcoming fear. Also includes praise and worship, 3 p.m. prayer, and Adoration. Theme is “Do not fear anything. I am always with you” (Diary 629). Cost: $6, includes lunch. Sponsored by Spirit of Divine Mercy Ministries and St. Faustina Parish. Register: www.saintfaustinachurch.org/divinemercy-week; More info: 281-728-8671. PANEL DISCUSSION, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Emmaus Spirituality Center (12211 Memorial Dr., Houston). “Exploring Implications of Near Death Experiences” discussion with speakers Elizabeth Greenfield Krohn, Deacon Robert J. Hesse, Ph.D., and more. Tickets are $45. Tickets: www. emmausspiritualitycenter.com/programs.
APRIL 29
ICE CREAM SOCIAL, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Holy Rosary Parish Hall (3617 Milam St., Houston). Join lay Dominicans, Dominican religious sisters
texas catholic herald
THE ARCHDIOCESE
Around the rchdiocese A and priests for the “Dominicans & Dessert”
Ice Cream Social to learn more about the Dominican vocational pathways available to all (married, single, priest, religious sister and nun). Event includes a brief presentation and socializing over free ice cream sponsored by the Holy Rosary Vocation Ministry.
APRIL 30
FUNDRAISER, 8:30 a.m. to midnight, American Legion Mattson-Ringgold Post 503 Hall (219 North 14th, West Columbia). Habitat for Humanity and Catholic Daughters of the Americas are partnering to raise funds to build a home for a single mother and her family. Free vendor and crafter show during the day, all-day concession sales and family friendly music from 2:30 p.m. to midnight with performances by Shiner HOBO Band, Nora Toledo, Jackson Avenue Band, Kristyn Harris and Cole Degges. Presale music tickets prices until 4/28. Cost: 12 and under are free; 13 to 19 are $15; 19 and older are $35; (Pay $5 more at the door). BYOB; outside dancing in the covered pavilion; BYO lawn chairs. Ticket sales: https://texascda. org/2022-habitat. More info: Mary Montague 979-418-1222, jrmontague@comcast.net.
much more. More info: Imelda Jez at st1523@ sbcglobal.net or (979)922-1240.
MAY 6-8
RETREAT, Young adults ages 18 to 39 are invited to join us for the What Next? Charis Retreat. The three-day, two-night retreat is based on Ignatian Spirituality and will be held at Circle Lake Retreat Center (19000 Circle Lake Dr., Pinehurst. The cost is $180 per person (includes
APRIL 30-MAY 1
CRAWFISH BOIL AND BAZAAR, St. Francis de Sales Church (8200 Roos, Houston). All you can eat crawfish boil and pie, Saturday, April 30, from 6 to 9 p.m. Live Music and silent auction. Bazaar Sunday, May 1, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Ethnic foods, kids games, train and inflatables, bingo, raffle and live auction. More info and crawfish tickets: sfds-houston.org.
APRIL 30-MAY 1
BAZAAR, St. Ambrose Catholic Church (4213 Mangum Rd., Houston). Cornhole tournament on Saturday (Apr 30) 2 to 8 p.m. Bazaar on Sunday (May 1) 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Features silent and live auctions, food, drinks, variety of music, games and more. Raffle grand prize is $10,000. More info: stambrosehouston.org/parish-bazaar or call 713-686-3467.
MAY 1
BAZAAR, 11:30 a.m., St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church (1523 Main St., Danbury). Bazaar at Skrabanek Park in Danbury. Barbecue brisket and sausage with homemade trimmings. Cost is $15 per plate. Music by Duke Gamino. Auction beginning at 12:30 p.m. Desserts, kolaches, tea rings, games, country store and
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19
Around the Archdiocese
• Include the name of your event along with date, time, location (with full address) and a brief description of your event • If the event is for charity, include the benefiting group or organization; Include the cost for tickets or note that it’s free • Name, phone and/or e-mail address of the contact person that you want readers to call/e-mail with questions • Website address for your organization (if you have one) • Name, phone and e-mail address of the media contact person for verification • Please write “Around the Archdiocese” in the subject line of the email to tch@archgh.org Please note that due to space and other factors, we cannot guarantee placement or frequency in Around the Archdiocese, but we will do our best to get your event into the section.
832-927-8787
food and lodging). Limited scholarships are available by request. Register online by Sunday, April 24. More info: www.archgh.org/charis or contact the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry at yacm@archgh.org or 713-741-8778. ••• To find additional listings online, visit the website at WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/ATA.
20 TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD
MILESTONES
ARCHGH.ORG/TCH • APRIL 12, 2022
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Game 5 of Priests vs. Seminarians basketball contest sets stage for epic rematch Special to the Herald HOUSTON — Would anyone ever come to see a basketball game where priests play against seminarians? Five years ago an astonishing 2,600 spectators filled the stands at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School’s gymnasium for the inaugural event in 2017. And an epic Game 5 is coming up. On April 29 at 7 p.m., excited spectators will see the two sides face off at Rice University’s Tudor Fieldhouse, where
seating can accommodate 5,900. The game is organized by the Office of Vocations of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, led by its director, Father Richard McNeillie. The priests and the seminarians are equally tied for wins, with the clergy having won the first two games and the seminarians claimed the last two. A win by the seminarians could send a message that the priests are starting to get a little long in the dribble, which is to say they are getting older. What inspired the yearly game was
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Full job descriptions for each position are available online: www.archgh.org/employment
two-fold. First, priests who are athletes still enjoy physical sports and want to keep it in their lives. The 11 members of the Martyrs team represent multiple religious orders, and each publicizes the games through their parishes as exciting fun for the entire family. Attendance is often multigenerational, and the language is fit for even the most tender young ears. Honoring Father Ryan Stawaisz The April 29 game will also honor a cherished priest and player: Father Ryan Stawaisz. Father Stawaisz, 31, died in June of 2021 from cancer just two years
after his ordination in 2019. Tickets on sale now Ticket sales began on March 19. They range from $4 to $90 and can be purchased here. So, how close to the action do you want to be? Proceeds will be used to pay for the venue. Any remaining funds will go to the Office of Vocations. For tickets and more information, visit www.houstonvocations.com/events. Since 1968, the Theology Department of St. Mary’s Seminary has served as the Graduate School of Theology at the University of St. Thomas. †
We’re hiring!
Downtown Chancery | 1700 San Jacinto | Houston, TX 77002
Internal Audit Department: Senior Internal Auditor Internal Auditor I Parish Accounting Services: Staff Accountant I Staff Accountant II St. Dominic Chancery | 2403 Holcombe Blvd. | Houston, TX 77021
Catholic Schools Office Assistant Superintendent of Leadership and Governance Office of Hispanic Ministry: Associate Director Administrative Assistant Office of Evangelization and Catechesis: Director Chancery Facilities: Lead Maintenance Technician Hospital Catholic Chaplain Corps: Administrative Assistant Plantersville
Instructor/Summer Programming Team Member Camp Kappe School of Environmental Education (S.E.E.) Campus Ministry
Campus Minister: University of Houston Part-Time Campus Minster: Rice University Director of Campus Ministry: Sam Houston State University 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.
PHOTO BY CATHERINE VIOLA/HERALD
The fifth annual Priests. Vs. Seminarians Basketball Game will honor Father Ryan Stawaisz, a priest and former player who died in 2021. The game is set for April 29 at Rice University’s Tudor Fieldhouse. For tickets, visit www.houstonvocations.com/events.