Texas Catholic Herald - January 12, 2021

JANUARY 12, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH

texas catholic herald

HAND IN HAND

IN SOLIDARTY OF FAITH

Jan. 17 Mass of Rememberance to mark MLK Jr. birthday carries new meaning in 2021 ▪ SEE PAGE 9

Join the efforts during Poverty Awareness Month ▪ SEE PAGE 5

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

JANUARY 12, 2021

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VOL. 57, NO. 14

IN FRATERNITY

STANDING FOR LIFE

Co-Cathedral vigil: A prayerful witness for life HOUSTON — As part of a series of events calling for greater respect for human life, the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is hosting a prayer vigil with Eucharistic Adoration on Jan. 22, the National Day of Prayer for Legal Protection for the Unborn.

This year marks 48 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v.

Wade decision legalized abortion in the U.S. From 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., different groups from parishes in the Archdiocese will lead prayers throughout the day at the Co-Cathedral, which is located at 1111 St. Joseph Pkwy. in Houston, to pray for an end to abortion and for parents and families who may be considering abortion, according to the Office of Pro-Life Activities (PLA). The vigil will

RESPECT LIFE

See PRAYER VIGIL, page 3 CNS PHOTO

IN WORSHIP

Setting parishes afire in faith: SWLC goes virtual in February Upcoming liturgical conference features number of local leaders HOUSTON — The 59th annual Southwest Liturgical Conference (SWLC), which will feature a number of Archdiocesan-based clergy and liturgical leaders, will be held virtually from Feb. 2 to 4.The conference comprises 28 dioceses in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, as well as Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Wyoming.

The 2021 theme for SWLC is “As We Await the Blessed Hope: Liturgy in See SOUTHWEST page 18

Pope Francis leads the recitation of the Angelus from the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Jan. 1, 2021. The pope’s Angelus address for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and World Peace Day focused on God’s call for each person to make a contribution to peace at home, at work and among nations. SEE PAGE 2 FOR RELATED STORY.

Two million pounds and counting

Catholic Charities food distributions quadruple in Fort Bend County alone, underscoring historic need for food assistance amid pandemic Special to the Herald RICHMOND — The Mamie George Community Center (MGCC) recently surpassed the two million-pound mark in food distribution since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

MGCC is the Richmondarea hub for services provided by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Fort Bend County, including food and financial assistance and

THE FIRST WORD † 3

a robust program for seniors.

“During the pandemic, Catholic Charities is distributing four times as much food as usual to families in need,” said Gladys Brumfield-James, MGCC executive director. “The lines are long for help from our food pantry because COVID-19 drained resources for families all across Fort Bend County.”

Brumfield-James said the center is seeing many families who were previously financially stable before the

IN SERVICE TO OTHERS

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EDUCATION † 7

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COLUMNISTS † 8

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pandemic but lost jobs and wages cut into their savings and plunged them into crisis.

“We’ve had people coming in who never thought they would be struggling to feed their families,” said BrumfieldJames.

The MGCC distributed more than 2.1 million pounds of food, provided by the Houston Food Bank, over nine months from the center in Richmond.

Scores of volunteers reported week after week to help load cases of

ESPAÑOL † 17

See MAMIE GEORGE, page 4

2 TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD

“Take care of each other,” pope says at first 2021 Angelus VATICAN CITY (CNS) — By taking on the frail human condition, God showed his love for humanity and his desire to share in people’s joys and sufferings, Pope Francis said.

During his Sunday Angelus address Jan. 3, the pope said that God made the “bold” decision to become human “to tell us, to tell you, that He loves us like that, in our frailty, in your frailty, right there, where we are most ashamed, where you are most ashamed.”

“He enters into our shame, to become our brother, to share the path of life,” he said.

After praying the Angelus prayer and renewing his good wishes for the new year, Pope Francis said that Christians, without resorting to “the mentality of fatalism or magic,” know that “things will improve to the extent that, with God’s help, we work together for the common good, placing the weakest and most disadvantaged at the center.”

“We do not know what 2021 holds for us, but what each one of us, and all of us together, can do is to take care of each other and of creation, our common home,” he said.

Nevertheless, he also warned of the temptation to “take care only of our own interests, to continue to wage war,” or to live “hedonistically, that is, seeking only to satisfy our own pleasure.”

Pope Francis said he had read in a newspaper about a country, “I forget which,” where people were leaving in private planes to “flee lockdown and enjoy the holidays.”

“But those people, good people, did they not think about those who stayed at home, about the economic problems faced by many people who have been laid low by the lockdown or about the sick?” he asked. “They thought only about taking a holiday for their own pleasure. This pained me greatly.”

In his main talk, the pope reflected on the prologue of the Gospel of St. John, in which the evangelist says that “the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

Calling Christ “the Word,” the pope said,

JANUARY 12, 2021

THE WORD MADE FLESH

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A Nativity is seen while Daniel Cardinal DiNardo celebrates Christmas Day Mass at the CoCathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston on Dec. 25, 2020. The Mass was televised live from the downtown Co-Cathedral on KPRC-TV Channel 2 for those who were unable to attend Mass in-person due to the pandemic.

“means that from the beginning, God wants to communicate with us, He wants to talk to us.”

“The only-begotten Son of the Father wants to tell us about the beauty of being children of God,” the pope said. “He is ‘the true light’ and wants to remove the darkness of evil from us.

He is ‘the life,’ who knows our lives and wants to tell us that He has always loved them. He loves us all.”

However, he continued, St. John’s specific use of the word “flesh” instead of a more “elegant” expression to define Christ’s humanity is meant to highlight “our human condition in all its weakness, in all its frailty.”

“He tells us that God became fragile so Ge could touch our fragility up close,” the pope said. “So, from the moment that the Lord

became flesh, nothing about our life is extraneous to Gim. There is nothing that he scorns; we can share everything with him, everything.”

Moreover, the pope said that Christ didn’t “put our humanity on like a garment that can be put on and taken off”; rather Ge “united Gimself forever to our humanity,” suffered, died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, body and soul.

As the Christmas season continued, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to “pause in silence before the creche to savor the tenderness of God who came close (to us), who became flesh. And without fear, let’s invite him among us, into our homes, into our families.”†

FOR HUMAN FRATERNITY: May the Lord give us the grace to live in full fellowship with our brothers and sisters of other religions, praying for one another, open to all.

“Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.” — Pope Francis

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JANUARY 12, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH

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THE FIRST WORD PASTORAL APPOINTMENT

A PRAYER for LIFE and DIGNITY ETERNAL GOD, creator and sustainer of life, bless us with the courage to defend all life from conception to natural death. Bless us with the strength to respect all peoples from east to west, from north to south, so that we may truly follow the call of Jesus to be neighbor. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen (From ‘Being Neighbor: The Catechism and Social Justice’, USCCB, April 1998)

Respect Life Mass set for Jan. 23 PRAYER VIGIL, from page 1 conclude with Benediction at 4:30 p.m.

The prayer vigil at the Co-Cathedral will be livestreamed online at www.archgh.org/live for those who are unable to attend in-person.

Parishes around the Archdiocese were also invited to host their own candle-lit prayer vigils at sunrise from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. To find the nearby parish prayer vigils, or to receive a copy of the prayer service, contact the PLA at 713-741-8728 or email Julie Fritsch, PLA director, at jkfritsch@archgh.org.

On Saturday, Jan. 23, the Office of Pro-Life Activities will host a pro-life expert panel virtual discussion at 9 a.m. The event will explore topics like 2021 legislative advocacy efforts, COVID-19 vaccine ethics, as well as the Archdiocese’s miscarriage and infant loss ministry.

Speakers include Greg Schleppenbach, associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Jennifer Carr-Allmon, executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops; and Dr. Kathryn Karges of Caritas Women’s Care. To register, visit www.archgh.org/prolife.

Then at 11 a.m. on Jan. 23, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo

S

will celebrate the annual Respect Life Mass at CoCathedral of the Sacred Heart. This special Liturgy will pray for the unborn and all those whose lives are most vulnerable. Due to pandemic guidelines, attendance is by pre-registration only. To register, visit www.archgh.cvent. com/RespectLifeMass.

The Mass will also be livestreamed online at www. archgh.org/live.

In May of 2018, Pope Francis echoed the Church’s call for greater protection for the unborn.

“Love is concrete, every day. Love for the other cannot be reserved for exceptional moments, but must be constant in our lives,” he said.“This is why unborn children are always to be welcomed; this is why, ultimately, life is always to be protected and loved, from conception to its natural end. And this is love.”

In a 2019 interview, the pope also said it is not fair to eliminate human life to solve a problem.

“Abortion is not a religious problem in the sense that just because I am Catholic, I must not seek an abortion,” he said. “It is a human problem. It is a problem of eliminating a human life.”

To learn more about the Office of Pro-Life Activities, visit www.archgh.org/prolife or call 713-741-8728. †

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Effective Jan. 15 Father Tom Ponzini Pastor — Prince of Peace, Houston

IN BRIEF Next Café Catholica Lite set for Jan. 14 with popular podcast host

HOUSTON — The next Café Catholica Lite will be held online Jan. 14, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry will host Heather Khym from Life Restoration Ministries and the Abiding Together podcast. Her topic will be “Christ, Our Firm Foundation.” The night will include the talk, Q&A and communal prayer. Open to all young adults.

For more information, contact the Office for Young Adult and Campus Ministry at www.archgh.org/ cafecatholica or yacm@archgh.org or 713-741-8778. To register, visit https://bit.ly/CatholicaLite. †

Archdiocesan Mass celebrates the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

HOUSTON — The Archdiocese will honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and remember his call to achieve peace through service to one another at its 36th annual Mass at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 17, at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 1111 St. Joseph Pkwy., in Houston.

Catholics will celebrate King’s legacy and his birthday at the 34th annual Archdiocesan Mass, which will be celebrated by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo as principal celebrant and Deacon Darryl K. Drenon of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church as homilist. The Mass will be livestreamed online at www.archgh.org/live. †

Mass for World Day for Consecrated Life set for Feb. 7 HOUSTON — The Mass for World Day for Consecrated Life will be celebrated Sunday, Feb. 7, 11 a.m. at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, located at 1111 St. Joseph Pkwy. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo will be the celebrant.

The public is invited to join vowed religious at this Liturgy online at www. sacredhearthouston.org/livestreaming to pray for all those who have made commitments in the consecrated life as they publicly renew their commitment. Seating during Mass times will be limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. †

Food distributions continue to offer help during pandemic, update schedules

HOUSTON — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston continues offer food assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Food pantries are open for drive-through food distribution at three locations: Guadalupe Center in Houston, appointments required; Mamie George Community Center in Richmond; and Beacon of Hope Center in Galveston, a Galveston County super distribution site, where distribution is on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and no appointment is required. Call 409-762-2064 for more information.

In Fort Bend, The Mamie George Community Center is a Houston Food Bank super distribution site and appointments will be necessary starting Jan. 5, 2021.

In 2021, distributions will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. For assistance, call 281-202-7035.

For hours and addresses, visit www.catholiccharities. org/covidfooddistribution or call the Catholic Charities COVID Assistance Line at 713-874-6521. †

Join the effort to restore

ST. MARY CATHEDRAL BASILICA ON GALVESTON ISLAND WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/RESTORYSTMARY

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LOCAL

JANUARY 12, 2021

ST. THOMAS BECKET

White House proclamation honors 850th anniversary of saint’s martyrdom.

▪ SEE PAGE 15

Catholic Charities food distributions quadruple to serve families as pandemic continues MAMIE GEORGE, from page 1 fresh produce, protein items and nonperishables into long lines of vehicles.The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department provided officers to manage traffic, with nearby parking lots acting as staging areas.

In all, the effort fed 154,341 Fort Bend families in need.

For seniors and other clients who are unable to leave their homes during the pandemic, MGCC is working with DoorDash to make deliveries of food to homebound clients through a program funded by the United Way of Greater Houston.

Center staff and volunteers have also been checking in with senior clients on a regular basis since the pandemic began.

Like many seniors, Edna, 72, has the challenge of living on a fixed income.

But she is also battling cancer with limited medical insurance. As she sought treatment, thousands of dollars in medical bills began to pile up. Not knowing where else to go, she found the MGCC. Soon, Edna immediately found relief.

Her case manager delivered boxes of food to her front door since she was unable to drive. She received financial assistance to purchase an expensive nutritional supplement to help her remain strong in her fight against cancer.

Edna also received a Thanksgiving meal box that she would otherwise be unable to afford.

Edna’s case manager also helped her find available options to help pay her medical bills and assisted her with the application process. Recently, Edna received a letter informing her that her medical bills would be paid for the year.

“Catholic Charities has helped me

“Catholic Charities has helped me with so much and I am so grateful. I thank God he gave me people that see my needs and have heard me.”

EDNA

SENIOR CLIENT AT MAMIE GEORGE COMMUNITY CENTER IN FORT BEND

with so much, and I am so grateful,” Edna said.“I thank God that He gave me people that see my needs and have heard me. I am very thankful for it.”

MGCC will continue to distribute food as the pandemic wears on. On Jan. 5, the center transitioned from a first-come, first-served approach to allow families to make appointments to receive nutritious food. Families will still be served in the safety of their vehicles via drive-through distribution, receiving food that will be reserved for each family.

Appointments can be made for Tuesday through Thursday mornings by visiting www.CatholicCharities.org/food.

For more information, call 281-202-6289.

Since March 2020, Catholic Charities has distributed at least 3.6 million pounds of food in Houston, Galveston and Richmond, where distributions continue. For hours and location addresses, visit www.catholiccharities. org/covidfooddistribution or call the Catholic Charities COVID Assistance Line at 713-874-6521. †

BY THE NUMBERS

$61.4 million

Financial assistance for eligible families

51,167

Families supported during

3.6 million

pounds of food shared in Houston, Galveston and Richmond

281,723

Individuals served in food distribution

133,875

Children’s meals served

200

Children served per week

6,506

Home deliveries of supplies

1,506

Volunteers to make it all happen

20,997

Calls to help hotline at Catholic Charities Source: Catholic Charities

Need Help?

If you or a loved one is in need of help, contact these Archdiocesan social services:

Catholic Charities

Food, clothing, emergency financial assistance, counseling, immigration assistance, veterans assistance, disaster recovery, refugees services, senior services and more.

catholiccharities.org/need-help or 713-526-4611

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Home visits, food network, disaster relief, clothing and furniture.

svdphouston.org/get-help or 713-741-8234

San José Clinic

Primary and specialty health care services, counseling and mental health services, dental and vision.

sanjoseclinic.org or 713-228-941

LOCAL

JANUARY 12, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH

texas catholic herald

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January designated to focus on national poverty issues

BY REBECCA TORRELLAS Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) designated January as Poverty Awareness Month to draw attention to the plight of poverty in America.

During the month, the U.S. bishops, along with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the Catholic community, spread awareness to take up Pope Francis’s challenge to live in solidarity with the poor.

“I want a Church which is poor and for the poor,” Pope Francis said in his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (which means The Joy of the Gospel).

Sister Maureen O’Connell, OP, director for the Secretariat of Social Concerns, said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of poverty front and center.

“Lack of access to healthcare, affordable housing and racial inequities are among the leading factors that result in skyrocketing numbers of people infected,” she said. “Essential workers are regularly placed in harm’s way when fellow citizens choose not to follow guidelines to protect themselves and their fellow citizens. Many of our essential workers do not have the luxury of working remotely and just by the nature of their work daily encounter opportunities for infection.”

Symptoms of poverty Sister O’Connell said that the pandemic has caused many people who have lived paycheck to paycheck to find themselves laid off, furloughed or working with reduced hours.

“Food insecurity, housing and potential evictions are but a few of the symptoms of poverty that we see daily,” she said.

According to United We Dream, currently, nearly 12 million people in the U.S. are behind $6,000 in their rent or utilities. As soon as the current eviction moratorium ends, about 30 million people will be in danger of losing their homes.

Poverty is defined as all those who make less than the Federal government’s official poverty threshold, which for a family of four is about $25,700, according to PovertyUSA. In addition, Poverty USA states that more than 1.5 million children

Investing in social ministry leaders

CNS PHOTO

According to United We Dream, currently, nearly 12 million people in the U.S. are behind $6,000 in their rent or utilities. As soon as the current eviction moratorium ends, about 30 million people will be in danger of losing their homes.

experience homelessness in a year, and more than 38 million Americans currently live in poverty.

Sister O’Connell said everyone needs to pay attention and be aware of those who are suffering in their community.

“It may be that we do not have the resources to respond, but something as simple as acknowledging a person, looking them in the eye as they serve us is as important as contributing financial support,” she said. “The Gospel is clear about our call to care for one another and [it is] rich with examples that are as timely today as they were 2000 years ago. Healing the sick, feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the refugee or homeless person is the consistent model we are offered.”

Network of agencies Sister O’Connell said there are many supporting agencies that work directly with those in need, including Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities, San José Clinic, Houston Food Bank and Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston.

“The pandemic has seriously curtailed volunteer opportunities for many, but there is always a need for financial support,” she said.“We cannot turn a blind eye to the vulnerable among us.”

By Jan. 6, Catholic Charities said they distributed $61.4 million in financial assistance to 51,167 families struggling with losses in Harris County.

This year, Catholic Charities will not be hosting any events for Poverty

Awareness due to the pandemic.

“The pandemic is creating unimaginable levels of desperation for families all across our community, and that’s why we’re so grateful to the faithful throughout the Archdiocese who open their hearts in support,” Cynthia Colbert, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, said. “Before the pandemic, 90% of the people we served were already living in poverty. Now, we’re providing food and financial assistance to many families who have never needed help before.”

USCCB hosts online resources to help the faithful join the effort. The site, www. usccb.org/resources/poverty-awarenessmonth-materials, includes a daily calendar of information, longer daily reflections which are available by email and other resources in both English and Spanish. †

A virtual event that will focus on the plight of those in poverty is the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG). For more than 30 years, the CSMG has brought together hundreds of participants whose faith inspires them to address pressing current issues affecting the most vulnerable locally and internationally.

The event, set for Feb. 6 to 9, will include leading voices in Church and society; workshops with policy experts and leaders; practice-sharing; resources from dozens of Catholic social ministry organizations; and virtual advocacy visits with elected officials.

Speakers include USCCB President Archbishop José H. Gomez; Anta GueyeJames, Catholic Relief Services country representative for Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau; and Rachel Lustig, president and CEO of Catholic Social Services of Columbus, and others.

The keynote address will reflect on Pope Francis’s vision of hope in his recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, and its application to the challenges being faced in the U.S. and around the world, including disparities revealed by the global pandemic, racial injustice and more. The opening plenary will feature Luis Cardinal Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and Dr. C. Vanessa White, D. Min., associate professor of Spirituality & Ministry for Catholic Theological Union.

To register, or for more information, visit www.usccb.org/csmg. †

3825 Pinemont Dr., Houston, TX 77018 Phone: 713-680-3530 www.camposrooong.com

MOVIE RATINGS By Catholic News Service A-I – GENERAL PATRONAGE • Gunda (G)

A-II – ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS • Come Away (PG) • Pinocchio (PG-13) • The Croods: A New Age (PG)

A-III – ADULTS • • • • • • •

All My Life (PG-13) Dark Waters (PG-13) Half Brothers (PG-13) Mank (R) Martin Eden (NR) Monster Hunter (PG-13) News of the World (PG-13)

• • • •

Soul (PG) The High Note (PG-13) The Last Vermeer (R) Wonder Woman 1984 (PG-13)

L – LIMITED ADULT AUDIENCE • Fatale (R) • Us (R) •

O – MORALLY OFFENSIVE • • • • • •

Divine Love (NR) Freaky (R) Promising Young Woman (R) The Broken Hearts Gallery (PG-13) The Life Ahead (PG-13) Unhinged (R)

APPLICATIONS DUE JANUARY 15, 2021 www.incarnateword.org/apply

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Guidelines remain as parishes continue at 50% capacity

HOUSTON - After reopening parishes following the state-mandated closure, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo continued the second step in the phased reopening of parishes in the Archdiocese. Parishes were permitted to expand to 50% capacity provided they, and parishioners, observe health guidelines set by the State of Texas when attending Mass.

These include at least the following:

Wash hands often and for 20 seconds

Keep a safe social distance and avoid gathering after Masses

Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve

Cover mouth and nose with a mask or cover when around others Avoid close contact; Share a ‘Sign of Peace’ from a distance Stay at home if feeling sick

For more information, visit www.archgh.org/healthupdates

JANUARY 12, 2021

THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS: A GUIDE TO THE SACRAMENT When was the last time you went to confession? Has it been a while? The Sacrament of Penance, also known as reconciliation or confession, may seem intimidating for many, but with some simple preparation, it can be a peaceful healing encounter with Christ and His Church. Take this guide with you to confession as a way of reflection and rediscover the Sacrament of Penance.

Reconciliation is a Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in His love and mercy to offer sinners forgiveness for offenses committed against God. At the same time, sinners reconcile with the Church because it is also wounded by our sins.

Every time we sin, we hurt ourselves, other people and God. In Reconciliation, we acknowledge our sins before God and His Church. We express our sorrow in a meaningful way, receive the forgiveness of Christ and His Church, make reparation for what we have done, and resolve to do better in the future.

THE FOUR PARTS OF CONFESSION

• CONTRITION: a sincere sorrow for having offended God, and the most

important act of the penitent. There can be no forgiveness of sin if we

do not have sorrow and a firm resolve not to repeat our sin.

• CONFESSION: confronting our sins in a profound way to God by speaking

about them — aloud — to the priest.

• PENANCE: an important part of our healing is the “penance” the priest

imposes in reparation for our sins.

• ABSOLUTION: the priest says the words by which “God, the Father of

Mercies” reconciles a sinner to Himself through the merits of the Cross.

A BRIEF EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

Adapted from Examination of Conscience based on the Ten Commandments

Claims/Risk Manager Houston, Texas

Catholic Mutual Group (CMG) was established in 1889 and is recognized as the leading provider of property and casualty protection and related services for the Catholic Church in the United States and Canada.

Catholic Mutual Group has an excellent opportunity for a Claims/Risk Manager (CRM) for our service office in Houston, Texas. The successful candidate will receive and adjust property/casualty claims by performing investigations/site inspections, evaluating liability, verifying coverages, and negotiating fair and equitable settlements. This person will also provide risk management services such as conducting annual safety inspections, and establishing and monitoring risk management policies. Responsibilities will also include promoting safety awareness through educational seminars and online training, and composing newsletters and other safety literature for distribution. Additional duties include general office administration and customer service. Frequent regional travel by automobile and an occasional overnight stay is required.

The individual in this position must have a good understanding of insurance with at least five years of experience in property and casualty claims adjusting. Prior risk management or safety experience is helpful. A four year college degree and good understanding of Catholic Church procedures and hierarchy is preferred. The candidate must also possess strong written and oral communication skills and be able to make independent, sound judgments and have the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously. Good customer service skills are necessary. Must have an understanding of basic accounting procedures and the ability to run an independent office without direct supervision. Must be willing to work irregular hours and be on call for emergencies and have a valid driver’s license. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and Outlook required.

Benefits include competitive salary, paid holidays with generous vacation and sick accruals, a 403(b) plan with company match, paid life and AD&D insurance at five times the annual salary, long-term disability leave, paid job-related continuing education, and an excellent medical/vision/dental group insurance plan.

Catholic Mutual Group is an equal opportunity employer.

Please submit an application and resume by visiting www.catholicmutual.org and click on About Us > Careers Questions may be directed to Kelley Andersen at kandersen@catholicmutual.org

Take a moment to reflect on how sin has damaged your relationships.

▪ Have I treated people, events, or things as more important than God? ▪ Have my words, actively or passively, put down God, the Church, or people?

▪ Do I ‘keep Holy the Sabbath’? Do I go to Mass every Sunday (or Saturday

Vigil) and on Holy Days of Obligation, as is possible? Do I avoid, when

possible, work that impedes worship to God, joy for the Lord’s Day, and

proper relaxation of mind and body? Do I look for ways to spend time with

family or in service on Sunday?

▪ Do I show my parents due respect? Do I seek to maintain good

communication with my parents where possible? Do I criticize them for

lacking skills I think they should have?

▪ Have I harmed another through physical, verbal, or emotional means,

including gossip or manipulation of any kind?

▪ Have I respected the physical and sexual dignity of others and of myself?

▪ Have I taken or wasted time or resources that belonged to another?

▪ How do I protect and care for God’s creation, including my family, the

environment and those around me?

RITE OF RECONCILIATION STEPS

▪ If it has been a while, let the priest know and he can help guide you through the steps for a good confession.

1. Priest gives a blessing or greeting.

2. Make the Sign of the Cross and say, “Bless me,

Father, for I have sinned. My last confession

was [length of time] ago.”

3. Confess all of your sins to the priest. (If you are

unsure or uneasy, tell him and ask for help.)

4. Say, “I am sorry for these and all of my sins.”

5. The priest gives a penance and offers advice to

help you be a better Catholic.

6. Say an Act of Contrition, expressing your sorrow

for your sins. The priest, acting in the person of

Christ, then absolves you from your sins.

AN ACT OF CONTRITION

God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace to confess my sins, do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

LOCAL

JANUARY 12, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH

texas catholic herald

7

IWA seniors start online clothing company during pandemic

BY ELESKA AUBESPIN Herald Correspondent HOUSTON — While most Americans handled the COVID-19 quarantine with television, eating or other self-indulging devices, two high school seniors took the time to develop a plan.

Six months later, Ana Sofia Aragon, 18, and Lily Collora, 17, seniors at Incarnate Word Academy (IWA), are the owners and operators of LANA Thrift Flips, an online clothing company that allows them to sell upcycled clothing and save the environment at the same time.

“During quarantine, we socially distanced for several months but LILY were able to Facetime COLLORA daily to brainstorm,” said Aragon. “None of the physical work actually started until June.”

A book, “Fashionopolis,” triggered the idea after Aragon received a copy from her father. It discussed fast fashion, a practice by large companies of pumping clothes out at rapid speeds to meet constantly changing fashion demands.

As a result, a large amount of the mass-produced, inexpensive clothing is usually discarded, hardly worn, before consumers are out buying more.

“The trends change every week, and companies are pumping clothes out like crazy and are not aware of the damage it is causing to the environment and lowpaid workers,” Aragon said. “So I got Lily, my entrepreneurial fashion friend, on the phone and wondered how can we do something that will take up our time and work towards another cause?”

The answer, they discovered, was to create new clothing items out of old clothes. So the duo created a business

plan, got small start-up loans from their parents, created an Instagram page, and visited thrift stores to get used clothes.

In order to upcycle, the girls handmake blouses and crop tops from silky scarves and add designs, such as fabric paint and bling, to jeans and pants.

“I learned the whole process of sewing and even got a sewing machine for my birthday in July,” said Collora. “I’ve always had a creative side, and I’ve always easily caught on to things like stitching and hand sewing.”

Once completed, the upcycled items are sold from their Instagram page and on Depop, an online app for clothing resale that has over 10 million users. Their ANA SOFIA “new” clothing items ARAGON sell for $10 to $20.

All profits are immediately pumped back into their home business, which they named LANA, a combination of their names. So far, LANA Thrift Flips is proving to be a success.

“Upcycling is a trend, and the more unique you are, the cooler you are,” Aragon said.“Everyone has an open mind about this because the movement against fast fashion has skyrocketed. A lot of the reason why my generation’s mentality is changing is because they are being more educated about it.”

Both students took several classes at IWA that assisted them in their business journey, including Leading With Service and Leading With Business. Collora also took Textile Design.

The young ladies credit their families, friends and IWA for the support they receive.

“All of us are so proud of the business Ana Sofia and Lily have built,” said Sister Lauren Beck, CVI, president of IWA.

“It is a credit to their character and the education foundation they’ve received.

We look forward to watching their company grow!”

And no one is more proud than the parents.

“Thrilled, I am absolutely thrilled to see Lily and Ana Sophia follow their passion for business and in fast fashion/ fashion period,” said Geralyn Collora, Collora’s mom.

“When young adults can identify early on what they love doing, and they are passionate about it, I feel that is more than half the battle,” Geralyn Collora added. “They set themselves up to go for it. I am very proud and excited to see these two young ladies carve out their future.”

“We are very proud of Ana Sofia and Lily’s entrepreneurial spirit,” said

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Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Government requirements fulfilling Non-Discriminatory Compliance are published annually in January in the TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD. This notice suffices for schools whose student population is at least 75% Catholic during the preceding three years.

Schools that do not meet the three year, 75% test have to advertise in media (print or broadcast) of general circulation.

The Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston admits students of any race to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to the student body. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color and national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs and athletic and other school administered programs. (POLICY: 652.1)

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Monica Aragon, Aragon’s mom. “Ana Sofia’s grit and passion for fashion and the environment will result in great accomplishments.”

Since both ladies are high school seniors, graduation is planned for 2021.

But that won’t end their newly created business endeavor. They’ve talked and written down big plans for when they attend college in the Texas area.

Collora and Aragon expect to major in entrepreneurship or business while in college.

“There is a girl in London who does almost the same thing as us,”Aragon said.

“She is making a lot of money. We want to take LANA and make it bigger and better, but it is definitely not something we are going to just drop.”

To see their clothing, visit instagram. com/lanathriftflips. †

Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston Duchesne Academy Frassati Catholic High School Incarnate Word Academy St. Agnes Academy St. Catherine’s Montessori School

St. John XXIII College Preparatory St. Pius X High School St. Thomas High School Strake Jesuit College Preparatory

GALVESTON COUNTY

O’Connell College Preparatory School, Galveston

8 TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD

JANUARY 12, 2021

YOUTH

Counting blessings of 2020

I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go.

(Joshua 1:9) For I know well the plans I have in mind for you — oracle of the LORD — plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.

(Jeremiah 29:11) These passages from the Hebrew Scriptures provide a window into 2020 here at the Office of Adolescent Catechesis and Evangelization (OACE).

No doubt they reflect the experience of all of us in 2020. Perhaps an equally appropriate analogy would be the oft used phrase “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

Allow me to share with you how the Lord has given us a future of hope and guided us in making some marvelous lemonade!

As with so many things these days, the key to success has been reenvisioning all that we do in a virtual context and gaining the knowledge and

skills to implement a virtual ministry. What a blessing this has been!

Blessing #1 The opportunity to be better connected to the youth and youth ministry by leaders we serve. As everything began to shut TIM COLBERT down, including our parishes, we all wondered, “what do we do now?”

That question led to a weekly virtual gathering of youth ministry leaders for prayer, support and sharing of ideas on how to minister to young people and their families in a virtual world. Prior to the pandemic, we met only four times a year. Now we have settled into a monthly gathering of support, formation and prayer.

The same was true of the Archdiocesan Youth Council. As we reached out to support them and to understand what the adolescent experience of the pandemic was, we

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discovered that the youth valued the experience of meeting more frequently.

We have implemented a monthly virtual gathering of the youth council, which allows us all to build a stronger bond as well as an opportunity for them to have a stronger voice in the Church.

Blessing #2 Amazing people going above and beyond for the young Church of Galveston-Houston. As it became clear that our 64th annual Archdiocesan Youth Conference (AYC), which draws upwards of 2,500 young people annually, would have to be canceled, we fretted about the impact of the loss of this inspirational gathering would mean for our youth.

As we discussed the quandary with our youth ministry leaders, national speakers and the AYC Band, it became clear that we must attempt a virtual conference. The commitment of the band and our speakers in re-envisioning this experience for the young Church of Galveston-Houston in the midst of the pandemic was truly inspiring.

The commitment of our parish leadership to continue to serve their young people in a new way was inspiring as well. We succeeded in gathering more than 700 young people to celebrate their common bond in

Christ. I owe a debt of gratitude to Daniel Cardinal DiNardo for providing the financial support needed to offer this conference free of charge as a sign of his support during a dark time for our youth.

Blessing #3 Technology that challenged our comfort zone. In a world where we could no longer meet in person, like many aspects of our society, we were forced to learn new ways to deliver the resources, training and mentoring that our office provides.

GoToMeeting and Zoom became the delivery systems for all that we do.

Breakout rooms, polls and whiteboards quickly became the new norm. Although we certainly look forward to the day when we can be in person once again, the pandemic has forced us to discover additional effective ways to serve our parishes that will last well past the pandemic.

Has this year presented bountiful challenges? Absolutely! But in this season of hope, let each of us take a moment to acknowledge the many blessings of this year as well. † Timothy E. Colbert is the director of the Office of Adolescent Catechesis and Evangelization.

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JANUARY 12, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH

texas catholic herald

9

COLUMNISTS

The world continues to reach for the ‘Dream’

On Jan. 17, at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, the Church of GalvestonHouston will once again celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. As the Church celebrates the life of Dr. King, we have a mandate to follow through with the legacy which this great man has left us.

It is fitting for this day to remember the famous speech “I Have a Dream.”

However, we are challenged as a Church to make this “Dream” a reality and use these famous words, in light of the events of 2020, as a call to action.

In addressing the United States Congress in September 2015, Pope Francis singled out King’s famous speech.

“That dream continues to inspire us all,” Pope Francis said. “I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of ‘dreams.’ Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment.

Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people.”

In his 2017 address to the Church of

the United States, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, then-president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said of King and the mandate of the American people: “Since the time of the founding fathers, our by country has been blessed FR. REGINALD with citizens who have SAMUELS had the courage to rise above the challenges of their day and call their citizens forward in the unending task of building an ever more just nation.”

Back in 2017, Wilton Cardinal Gregory, then-archbishop of Atlanta, was given the task of leading the USCCB task force on racism. In the committee’s concluding report, he noted: “The efforts to root out racism and create healthy dynamics in our neighborhoods, dynamics based on encounter and deeper understanding, is a

†

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long-term project.”

Out of the work of the USCCB task force on racism was the creation of the bishops’ pastoral letter “Open Wide Our Hearts: The enduring call to love a pastoral letter against racism.” In this pastoral letter, the Catholic bishops state: “The roots of racism have extended deeply into the soul of our society.

Racism can only end if we contend with the policies and institutional barriers that perpetuate and preserve the inequality — economic and social — that we still see all around us.”

In June 2020, during racial unrest and protests that were happening all over the United States and the world, Pope

Francis issued a mandate for the Church and the faithful: “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life,” On this important holiday of our nation, we need to know that as we dream of a brighter future, the Catholic faithful are challenged to take action with the grace of God to make the future as bright as we possibly can for all the people of our Church, nation and world.

The Catholic bishops, in their pastoral letter Open Wide our Hearts, said: “We with renewed vigor, we call on the members of the Body of Christ to join others in advocating and promoting policies at all levels that will combat racism and its effects in our civic and social institutions.”The “Dream” now becomes action. † Father Reginald Samuels is the vicar for Catholics of African Descent.

Family-Based Faith Formation: How’s it going in your home?

After more than a year of COVID-19 unsettling our world and our daily lives, a moment of reflection compels us to pause and examine our faith, especially the lifelong faith formation of each of our family members. Similar to my twin nephews’ households, most families are juggling jobs for both parents, supervising public and Catholic school online learning for their children, and maintaining a new routine for their family unit.

The Church has always considered the family as the “domestic Church” (CCC#1666). “…Each family member… contributes toward making the family a community of grace and of prayer, a school of human and Christian virtue, and the place where the faith is first proclaimed to children.” (Compendium: CCC#350) The catechetical departments of our Archdiocese — OEC and OACE — have spent hours “Zooming” with parish catechetical leaders to problem-solve constructive ways to continue their mission of supporting parishes to

provide faith formation to families. How might families enter the Lord’s vineyard and accept more responsibility for the faith journey of their children?

Are they expected to replicate the use of the new curriculum and by lesson plans correlated to SHARON published resources SKEANS shared in recent years?

While the Catechetical Framework for Lifelong Faith Formation — promulgated by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo on Aug. 6, 2013 — remains our cornerstone resource for learning our faith, family faith sessions in the home cannot mirror on-site religious education.

Upon reflection after many of these “Zoom” conversations with parish catechetical leaders, I was reminded of the “one-room schoolhouse” concept described by my mother when sharing her first year of teaching in the 1930s in

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Dobskyville, Texas, just southwest of Victoria: one room, one teacher… with students of multiple ages, grade-levels and abilities. While I never asked about the details of which subjects or concepts this Houston native discussed with her rural learners, I am certain that she taught more than the three Rs. So, how’s it going in your home today during this challenging year? While public school — and probably Catholic school — teachers have emailed you a myriad of online resources to use, lesson plans to follow and evaluations to provide your children for all subject areas, pause and reflect on a more global view of faith formation. As parents/ guardians, the Church asks you to strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ and then to share that bond, that partnership, that friendship with your

children. In turn, they and all baptized Christians have the obligation and responsibility to go forth and share the Word with others in their lives.

Discipleship is our end goal!

Being a disciple of Christ means making Christ our North Star, our inspiration and hope. Just as the North Star is a sky marker that guides many to a purposeful destination, Jesus directs us to His kingdom.

Our Archdiocesan curriculum contains four overarching questions that we refer to as “big ideas”: Who is Jesus Christ?

How do we get to know and love Jesus Christ?

How does Jesus Christ teach us to live a moral life?

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SUNDAY MASS READINGS JAN. 17

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Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40:2, 4, 7-10

Second Reading: 1 Cor 6:13-15, 17-20

Gospel: Jn 1:35-42

JAN. 24

First Reading: Jnh 3:1-5, 10

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 25:4-9

Second Reading: 1 Cor 7:29-31

Gospel: Mk 1:14-20

10 TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD

JANUARY 12, 2021

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12 TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD COLUMNISTS

JANUARY 12, 2021

Opening doors for the young to relationship, community Remember the movie “Up” from Disney/Pixar? It’s the story of Mr. Frederickson, an elderly man who decides to escape his problems by making his house fly with hundreds of small helium balloons. It’s a story about the movement from isolation and loneliness into community and relationship. It’s a story that is worth revisiting in 2021.

The second character in “Up” is Russell, a young neighbor who is trying to obtain his “assisting the elderly” badge to become a senior wilderness explorer: “The wilderness must be explored! Caw, caw, rawr!”

When we meet Russell, he knocks on Mr. Frederickson’s door only to have the door quickly shut in his face. Fortunately for everyone, Russell keeps knocking and eventually sticks his foot in the door, which is when Mr. Frederickson finally opens the door to him.

I use this scene as an example when giving talks about young adult ministry. Many single young adults feel like Russell when they approach a parish. They come wanting to help and sometimes feel like the response is a door slammed in their faces.

I encourage the young adults to be like Russell and keep knocking until they find an open door. With some persistence, tenacity and a foot in the door, most parishes will eventually open to help them find a place to enter.

Does this sound like a strange analogy? Aren’t most church doors open to all on Sundays for Mass? The doors I’m speaking about are not the literal church doors. Instead, I’m referring to the doors that welcome people into community and relationship. A “door” could be getting your name on the list to by become a lector or usher for Mass.

Another “door” could be starting to ANGIE POMETTO volunteer as a catechist or core team member. Another “door” could be participating in a Bible study or helping at the food pantry. These “doors” are the ways that single young adults can enter into the life of the parish to find community and relationship with others.

One of the reasons why Mr. Frederickson shuts the door on Russell in the beginning is that Russell’s suggestions of how to help are a little ridiculous. Russell asks Mr. Fredrickson if he can help him cross the street, his yard, his porch.

Of course, Mr. Frederickson doesn’t need help crossing those things. His response is very natural, “No, I’m doing fine.” Russell didn’t know what to ask because he was young. If Mr. Frederickson had been a wise and

†

humble leader, he could have guided Russell to a place where he could “assist the elderly” in a meaningful way.

Like Russell, sometimes when single young adults come to a parish, they may not know exactly how to ask to help; how to find the right “door.” And like Mr. Frederickson, sometimes Church leaders do not take the time to help guide these young adults on their path.

When Russell is asking, “Can I help you cross the street?” what he is really asking is, “Can I get to know you and be known by you?” It takes a good long while in the story before Mr. Frederickson finally hears the real request that was being made in this moment. When he hears that request, he very easily opens his heart to Russell. In the end, Russell’s life is made better by being in a relationship with Mr. Frederickson, and the same is true for Mr. Frederickson.

Just like these two characters, the lives of single young adults will be made better by finding relationship and community within our Catholic parishes. Our Catholic parishes will also be blessed and enriched by the presence of the young. Let us strive in 2021 to find more ways to open these “doors” to the young Church. † Angela Pometto serves as an associate director for the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry.

SYS adjusts to reach special youth during the pandemic “None of us can think we are exempt from concerns for the poor and for social justice,” Pope Francis wrote in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.

Special Youth Services (SYS) answers this call by promoting and coordinating pastoral outreach to at-risk youth and their families, providing pastoral care to youth remanded to juvenile detention centers and facilities.

The ministry serves youth ages 10 to 17 years old: 77% boys and 23% girls.

They reside throughout the 10 counties of the Archdiocese and are composed of varying family units, races, ethnicities, economic and religious backgrounds.

The youth attend public schools, charter schools, private/parochial schools and homeschooling. Societal stereotypes of detained youth are of undeserving future criminals. This is not always the case. Teenagers do what teenagers do: make mistakes. No matter the economic access, religion, race, or demographic location, teens express impulsive behavior, primarily described as dramatic, risky and impulsive. Youth can be detained for committing any offense, the same as an adult. Offenses vary from theft, evading arrest, robbery, assault and murder. Due to the county’s population size, most of our youth are detained at the Harris County Juvenile

Probation Department.

Since 1955, parochial ministries have been present in Harris County Juvenile Detention Center. Over the next few decades, SYS evolved with the primary objective of continuing by the provision of pastoral FRANCHELLE services with the LEE additional objective of ministering to individual youth in crisis at the request of detention center staff. Shortly after, SYS developed many new skills programming that incorporated Christian themes. The programs encompassed social and life skills, anger management, parenting classes, cultural enrichment and conflict resolution.

Many continue today.

In recent times, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo’s support for the youth and SYS staff has been a catalyst for increased service.

SYS offers programs for parents and youth designed to assist in communication skills and spiritual formation.

Programs we offer youth are bereavement, Bible study, Catholic

group, community services opportunities, court and legislative advocacy, mentoring programs, pastoral care, pastoral visitation, pastoral counseling, family workshops, sacramental preparation, Holy and holiday celebrations, spiritual direction, Sunday services and ongoing volunteer formation and training.

With a 65-year relationship with juvenile probation and quickly approaching 52 years of service to the community, 2020 was the most challenging for SYS. The COVID-19 pandemic ceased visitation to facilities in Texas, initiating new and creative ways of ministering to youth. In lieu of Bible study, SYS volunteers implemented a weekly newsletter, which included reflections, activities, songs and prayers. SYS also implemented an official Facebook page and a YouTube channel.

The annual events and religious celebrations went virtual. These changes and adaptations will continue long past this challenging year. SYS has future plans to increase parental and familial support, increase and continue collaborations with Archdiocesan ministries, continue collaborations with the local, Texas and national chaplaincies and partners, and establish

more mentoring programs through restorative justice initiatives.

SYS is annually responsible for over 5,000 youth, and nothing would be possible without the help and dedication of SYS volunteers. These services are possible because of volunteer compassion and dedication.

Their talents and gifts are at the forefront of the ministry. SYS provides opportunities for volunteers to fulfill, implement, utilize, and practice their Catholic faith. Our volunteers are a diverse group of amazing people from all over the Archdiocese: laypersons, clergy, religious, seminarians and diaconate candidates. Volunteers from every generation come together to serve the youth. Most are devout Catholics from 72 local parishes. We are an ecumenical ministry serving Catholics and people of all religious faiths.

Not only do our volunteers reflect diversity in faith, but they are also diverse in gender, age, race and ethnicity. If you are 21 or over and would like more information on ways you can help, please give us a call at 713-7418739. †

FORMATION, from page 9

time for each family member to respond, pausing long enough to allow other family members to ask questions based on the answers shared. Be sure that you also answer the question from your heart to your children. Being able to articulate our faith to our family is the first step in becoming disciples for others in the world. Use these “big idea” questions as springboards for deeper discussions.

Each is purposefully broad so that family members of all ages can respond to them again and again throughout their lives; faith formation is lifelong.

The family unit, the “domestic Church,” strengthens as the sessions occur regularly, and the discussion continues. For example, “How do we get

to know and love Jesus Christ?” might elicit individual responses, which in turn lead to more questions.

Responses could range from prayer and talking with God, reading Scripture, going to Mass, or helping people in need.

Any of these responses automatically necessitate a follow-up question.

Sharing answers to that follow-up question by each family member regardless of age becomes the focus for the remainder of this specific homebased faith session, as well as possibly the next session.

Like my mother’s teaching in a “one-room schoolhouse” in the country, sharing ideas with students of all ages, and learning new concepts together,

your family-based faith sessions result in reaffirming and extending faith concepts and introducing new ones. No lesson plans nor textbooks are really needed; utilize those as resources to confirm answers to questions shared and to clarify misconceptions about our Catholic faith.

What a blessing it is for faith-filled parents to pass on the faith to their children by probing and enriching their relationship with Jesus and recognizing God’s purpose in our lives! †

How are we called to become missionary disciples of Jesus Christ?

These questions become the organizing principles for our Archdiocese’s faith formation curriculum sequence from “womb to tomb.” Family faith formation sessions should focus on each question in this order, and parents — with the help of the Holy Spirit — should discern when their home-based conversations proceed to the next question.

Gathered as a family, pose the first question: Who is Jesus Christ? Your task as a disciple for your children is to facilitate an authentic discussion. Allow

†

Franchelle Lee is the director of Special Youth Services.

Sharon Sicinski-Skeans, Ph.D., is a catechetical curriculum consultant for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

JANUARY 12, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH

texas catholic herald

13

WORLD Despite hardships, pope says there is much for which to be thankful VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The notable absence of Pope Francis at the final liturgical celebration of 2020 in St. Peter’s Basilica capped off a difficult year for the Vatican and for the world.

Yet Pope Francis, in remarks read by Giovanni Cardinal Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, urged people to find meaning in the pandemic.

The pope said giving thanks to God after such a year may seem “forced, almost jarring” especially for those who have lost loved ones, have fallen ill or have lost their jobs.

“At times, someone may ask, ‘What is the meaning of such tragedy?’ We must not be in a hurry to answer this question.

To our most anguished ‘whys,’ not even God responds by appealing to higher reasons,” the pope wrote.

God, he continued, is not someone“who would sacrifice human beings for a grand design,” but instead a compassionate and paternal shepherd.

“God is a shepherd, and what shepherd would give up even one sheep, thinking that in the meantime he has many others left? No, this cynical and ruthless god does not exist. This is not the God we ‘praise’ and ‘proclaim Lord,’” Cardinal Re read.

Christians, the pope wrote, can find meaning in the example of the Good Samaritan, who was moved by compassion to care for the stranger.

“Here, perhaps we can find ‘meaning’ to the tragedy of this pandemic, like other scourges that strike humanity: that of awakening in us compassion and provoking attitudes and gestures of closeness, of care, of solidarity,” the cardinal read.

Earlier in the day, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Pope Francis, 84, would not preside over the traditional end-of-the-year prayer service nor the New Year’s Mass the following day due to “painful sciatica.”

However, Bruni confirmed that “Pope Francis will still lead the recitation of the Angelus from the library of the Apostolic Palace, as scheduled” Jan. 1.

An estimated 150 faithful, as well as 25 cardinals, attended the Dec. 31 prayer service at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica. The service began with

the prayer of vespers on the eve of the feast of Mary, Mother of God. The faithful were accompanied by the serene sounds of the Sistine Chapel Choir filling the centuries-old basilica with music in Latin and Italian. The Liturgy included the singing of the “Te Deum” (“We praise you, oh God”) in thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year, as well as Eucharistic Adoration and benediction.

Reading the pope’s prepared homily, Cardinal Re said that, despite the hardships endured throughout the year, Christians should give thanks to God for the good things that have happened and for the many people who, “without making a sound, have tried to make the burden of this trial more bearable.”

Doctors, nurses and volunteer health care workers, as well as priests and religious men and women, should always be “in our prayers and deserve our gratitude,” the pope wrote.

He also expressed gratitude for “all those who strive each day to maintain their families and their service to the common good in the best possible way.”

“We are thinking in particular of school administrators and teachers, who play an essential role in society and who must deal with a very complex situation,” Cardinal Re read. “We also think with gratitude of the public administrators who know how to make the most of all the good resources present in the city and in the territory, who are detached from private interests and even from those of their party, who truly seek the common good, beginning with the most disadvantaged.”

Concluding his reading of the pope’s homily, Cardinal Re said that all those who placed the needs of others before themselves are “driven by God’s strength, which is more powerful than our selfishness.”

“This is why we give praise to (God), because we believe and know that all the good that is accomplished day by day on earth comes, in the end, from Him,” he read. “And looking to the future that awaits us, we again implore: ‘May your mercy be with us always, in you we have hoped.’” †

CNS PHOTO

Giovanni Cardinal Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, leads a New Year’s Eve evening prayer and the singing of the “Te Deum” to thank God for the year that is ending. The Vatican announced earlier in the day that Pope Francis, 84, would not preside over the celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica due to “painful sciatica.”

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Fides says 20 ‘missionaries’ died violently in 2020 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Attacked because of their faith, killed in a robbery, murdered in a general climate of violence or struck down by someone with obvious mental difficulties, the 20 missionaries who died violent deaths in 2020 were witnesses of the Gospel, said Fides, the Vatican’s missionary news agency.

Presenting its annual list of missionaries killed during the year, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples explained, “We use the term ‘missionary’ for all the baptized, aware that ‘in virtue of their Baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples.”

Fides’2020 list includes eight priests, six laypeople — including two girls, 10- and 12-year-old sisters, who were members of the Holy Childhood Association in Nicaragua — three women religious, two seminarians and a religious brother.

From 2000 to 2020, Fides said, 535 pastoral workers, including five bishops, were killed.

When Fides first began publishing the list and still today, it focuses primarily on foreign missionaries or pastoral workers in mission lands, but also “tries to record all the baptized engaged in the life of the Church who died in a violent way, not only ‘in hatred of the faith,’” the agency explained. While the word “martyr” literally means “witness,” the agency does not use the term for the missionaries killed “in order not to enter into the question of the judgment that the Church might eventually deliver upon some of them, after careful consideration, for beatification or canonization.”

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CNS PHOTO

A red cross stands beside the grave of U.S.-born Sister Dorothy Stang in Anapu, Brazil, who was assassinated in 2005. The red cross beside her grave bears the names of 16 local rights activists who have been murdered since her killing. Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, said 20 missionaries died in violent deaths in 2020.

The murdered missionaries, Fides said, shared the life of the people with whom they lived and, in too many cases, shared the same kind of violent death.

They include Michael Nnadi, 18, one of four seminarians kidnapped in Nigeria from a seminary in Kakau. Over a period of two weeks in late January 2020, three of the seminarians were released. Nnadi’s body was found Feb. 1.

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Gonzalez and Blanca Marlene Gonzalez, were murdered with machetes on Sept.

15 in Mulukuku, Nicaragua. Their mother had already told police that Lilliam, the older girl, had been harassed. The bishop, U.S.-born Bishop Pablo Schmitz Simon, said their deaths were part of a widespread pattern of violence against women and girls and urged Catholics in the diocese to report to police “anything that puts their physical, psychological and spiritual integrity at risk.”

While most of the people on the list were killed in places many people would think of as mission lands, Fides included 51-year-old Father Roberto Malgesini, a priest of the Diocese of Como, Italy, who was stabbed to death Sept. 15 by a mentally ill homeless man he was helping.

Eight of the 20 victims on the Fides list were killed in Central or South America, seven were killed in Africa, three in Asia and two in Italy; in addition to Father Malgesini, Fides listed Camillian Brother Leonardo Grasso, 78, who was beaten and then died in a fire set at the community for recovering addicts he ran in Riposto.

Fides also noted that the numbers would be much, much higher if one considered the number of priests, religious and laypeople who died after contracting COVID-19 while serving others as doctors, nurses or chaplains. The Council of European Bishops’ Conferences had reported in late September that at least 400 priests had died in Europe after contracting the virus. †

Police arrested Mustapha Mohammed, alleged leader of a gang that specialized in stopping cars and robbing the drivers, Fides reported. Mohammed confessed to killing Nnadi because “he kept preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ” to members of the gang.

The girls on Fides’ list, LilliamYunielka

IN BRIEF

Christ’s human condition a sign of God’s love, popeissays at Angelus Your help needed TODAY! VATICAN CITY (CNS) — By taking on the frail human condition, God showed His love for humanity and His desire to share in people’s joys and sufferings, Pope Francis said.

During his Sunday Angelus address Jan. 3, the pope said that God made the “bold” decision to become human “to tell us, to tell you, that He loves us like that, in our frailty, in your frailty, right there, where we are most ashamed, where you are most ashamed.”

“He enters into our shame, to become our brother, to share the path of life,” he said.

After praying the Angelus prayer and renewing his good wishes for the new year, Pope Francis said that Christians, without resorting to “the mentality of fatalism or magic,” know that “things will improve to the extent that, with God’s help, we work together for the common good, placing the weakest and most disadvantaged at the center.”

“We do not know what 2021 holds for us, but what each one of us, and all of us together, can do is to take care of each other and of creation, our common home,” he said.

Nevertheless, he also warned of the temptation to “take care only of our own interests, to continue to wage war,” or to live “hedonistically, that is, seeking only to satisfy our own pleasure.”

Pope Francis said he had read in a newspaper about a country, “I forget which,” where people were leaving in private planes to “flee lockdown and enjoy the holidays.”

“But those people, good people, did they not think about those who stayed at home, about the economic problems faced by many people who have been laid low by the lockdown or about the sick?” he asked.

“They thought only about taking a holiday for

their own pleasure. This pained me greatly.”

In his main talk, the pope reflected on the prologue of the Gospel of St. John, in which the evangelist says that “the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

Calling Christ “the Word,” the pope explained, “means that from the beginning, God wants to communicate with us; He wants to talk to us.”

“The only-begotten Son of the Father wants to tell us about the beauty of being children of God,” the pope said. “He is ‘the true light’ and wants to remove the darkness of evil from us. He is ‘the life,’ who knows our lives and wants to tell us that He has always loved them. He loves us all.”

However, he continued, St. John’s specific use of the word “flesh” instead of a more “elegant” expression to define Christ’s humanity is meant to highlight “our human condition in all its weakness, in all its frailty.”

“He tells us that God became fragile so He could touch our fragility up close,” the pope said. “So, from the moment that the Lord became flesh, nothing about our life is extraneous to Him. There is nothing that He scorns; we can share everything with Him, everything.”

Moreover, the pope said that Christ didn’t “put our humanity on like a garment that can be put on and taken off”; rather He “united Himself forever to our humanity,” suffered, died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, body and soul.

Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to “pause in silence before the creche to savor the tenderness of God who came close (to us), who became flesh... let’s invite Him ... into our homes, into our families.” †

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NATION & STATE

White House proclamation honors 850th anniversary of St. Thomas Becket’s martyrdom WASHINGTON (CNS) — The White House issued a proclamation honoring the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket on Dec. 29 and inviting “the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches and customary places of meeting with appropriate ceremonies.”

The proclamation, signed by President Donald Trump Dec. 28, 2020, described Becket as “a statesman, a scholar, a chancellor, a priest, an archbishop and a lion of religious liberty.”

A London-born clerk to Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury, St. Thomas studied canon law abroad and was ordained a deacon. His support of Henry II’s claim to England’s throne led to his appointment as royal chancellor.

But he and the king clashed over many issues, notably the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts. Becket fled to France for six years; soon after his return, Henry’s wish to be rid of this troublesome prelate led to Thomas’ murder by four knights.

The White House proclamation described this martyrdom as “an event that changed the course of history” and which “eventually brought about

numerous constitutional limitations on the power of the state over the Church across the West.”

It also said Becket’s death “serves as a powerful and timeless reminder to every American that our freedom from religious persecution is not a mere luxury or accident of history, but rather an essential element of our liberty.”

It urged Americans to “celebrate and revere” the saint’s courageous stand for religious liberty and to reaffirm efforts to end religious persecution worldwide.

The White House acknowledged religious believers everywhere who suffer persecution for their faith, particularly Joseph Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong and Pastor Wang Yi of Chengdu, China, describing them as “tireless witnesses to hope.”

“To honor Thomas Becket’s memory, the crimes against people of faith must stop, prisoners of conscience must be released, laws restricting freedom of religion and belief must be repealed, and the vulnerable, the defenseless and the oppressed must be protected,” the proclamation said, adding that the “tyranny and murder that shocked the conscience of the Middle Ages must never be allowed to happen again.” †

CNS PHOTO

A stained glass window of St. Thomas Becket is seen at St. Alban’s Cathedral in St. Albans, England.

IN BRIEF Church bells ring Dec. 30 in honor of 336,000 lives lost to COVID-19

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Churches rang bells at noon Dec. 30, during the octave of Christmas, to remember and honor the more than 336,000 people who have died in the United States from COVID-19.

The bells rang in churches in the Boston and New York archdioceses and in the Brooklyn Diocese. It was unknown the day prior to this event if other dioceses would also participate in response to the invitation from Monsignor Joseph P. LaMorte, vicar general of the New York Archdiocese.

“This gesture is as much a statement of faith as it is a show of solidarity with our neighbors and fellow Americans,” Monsignor LaMorte wrote in a Dec. 22 memorandum to pastors. “It is our hope [to acknowledge] the sanctity of the lives lost to COVID-19 in 2020.”

The invitation reached the Boston Archdiocese, where church bells rang at Easter in a similar fashion as a sign of solidarity as Massachusetts struggled to contain the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesman for the Boston archdiocese said to Catholic News Service local Church leaders “see this as an important moment to honor the memory of those we have lost from COVID-19.” †

Catholic Extension receives $1.5 million grant for Puerto Rico recovery work WASHINGTON (CNS) — A $1.5 million grant awarded by the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions will support Catholic Extension’s ongoing disaster recovery work in Puerto Rico three years after two devastating hurricanes.

The money will be used for startup expenses in the six dioceses of island territory as Church officials seek funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to rebuild properties damaged during the 2017 storms, Irma and Maria, that caused widespread damage.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said Dec. 30 the initiative is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid for rebuilding schools and churches as parishes strive to continue pastoral ministry, especially in poor and vulnerable communities.

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Missouri, subcommittee chairman, said in a statement that the USCCB “appreciates the innovative groundwork that Catholic Extension’s

staff has undertaken in the rebuilding efforts.”

“We are pleased to be able to support its work to seek additional funding through FEMA and to continue our shared efforts to rebuild the Church in Puerto Rico,” he said.

The grant was funded by donations to special collections coordinated by the USCCB following widespread devastation in Puerto Rico caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria. The funds are in addition to $3.3 million given directly to five dioceses that requested support from the USCCB collections.

Catholic Extension, since its founding in 1905, has financially supported the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico by rebuilding and repairing churches and supporting ministries in marginalized communities.

The subcommittee oversees the annual Catholic Home Missions Appeal in parishes. It funds various pastoral services, including those that focus on evangelization, religious education, ministry training for priests, deacons, women religious, brothers and laypeople, as well as support of poor U.S. parishes. †

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston 36th Observance of the Annual Celebration

"A Mass of Remembrance" Honoring the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart 1111 St. Joseph Parkway Houston, Texas 77002

SUNDAY AFTERNOON January 17, 2021

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Nine Sisters of St. Joseph die in COVID-19 outbreak in New York ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) — As COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in the United States, the pandemic has taken a terrible toll on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Latham. In December, nine sisters there died of COVID-19 as nearly half of the residents became infected during an outbreak at the provincial house that has affected 47 sisters and 26 employees since October.

“Like all members of our global community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet have been struggling with the tragic consequences of COVID-19. We are mourning the loss of nine beloved sisters to this awful disease,” said St Joseph Sister Joan Mary Hartigan, director of the order’s Albany Province.

In a statement to The Evangelist, diocesan newspaper of Albany, Sister Joan Mary said of the 47 sisters, most have recovered, but three sisters at the provincial house are being treated by their personal physicians for the virus.

The nine sisters who died ranged in age from 84 to 98. Twenty-one employees who tested positive have recovered while five staff members are quarantining at home.

She said the home is following all guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health “to limit the spread of the virus to the greatest extent possible, including using appropriate personal protective equipment, quarantining sisters who are COVID-19 positive and prohibiting all public access.”

She added: “We pray the increasing number of cases across our country is temporary, and we mourn the loss not

CNS PHOTO

The front entrance to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet’s provincial house in Latham, N.Y., is seen Jan. 4. Nine sisters died in a recent COVID-19 outbreak in December.

only of our nine sisters but also the loss of all life during this pandemic. We look forward to the vaccine and the end of this worldwide health crisis.”

The Albany Times Union first reported the sisters’ deaths on Dec. 30.

The order’s provincial house in Latham, seven miles from Albany, is the headquarters of the Albany Province and home to 114 sisters; many are retired and

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in need of long-term care.

Since Thanksgiving, cases have skyrocketed across the country and in upstate New York. And with the recently celebrated Christmas and New Year’s holidays, many fear the worst is yet to come in January.The positivity rate, based on a seven-day average, which has been as high as 12.4 percent in Albany County, currently is 10.5 percent and 10.8 percent

in Schenectady County, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

“All of us at the Diocese of Albany are praying for the sisters during this challenging time,” said Mary DeTurris Poust, director of communications for the Diocese of Albany. “In addition to the loss of so many beloved sisters who served others so selflessly for decades, there is the added difficulty of not being able to celebrate their lives as a community due to COVID restrictions. As for so many people who have lost loved ones in recent months, the already difficult task of grieving is made even more difficult by isolation and lack of closure.”

The recent rise in infections and deaths is all the more unsettling when you take into account the stringent procedures the sisters have had in place since the pandemic started, such as ending public access and visits to the provincial house, including from other sisters, and canceling events, meetings and programs.

The sisters’ deaths follow the COVID-19 deaths of eight sisters in midDecember in Milwaukee who had been living at the facility Notre Dame of Elm Grove.

Much like with the Sisters of St. Joseph, the School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province, who are based in St. Louis and care for the sisters in the Wisconsin health facility, learned of a positive case within the community around Thanksgiving. The first death reportedly happened on Dec. 9, but the deadliest day came Dec. 14, when four sisters died. Many of these sisters had been teachers. †

IN BRIEF Gloria Purvis, fired EWTN host: ‘I will never, ever, ever have regrets’ talking about race

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Gloria Purvis, who was told after the Dec. 30 broadcast of the EWTN radio show “Morning Glory” that the show was canceled effective immediately, said she has no regrets using the show to discuss racial matters following the police killing of George Floyd last May. “I will never, ever, ever have regrets for shining the light of the Gospel on a situation that was surrounded by darkness,” Purvis told Catholic News Service in a Dec. 31 phone interview.

Purvis, along with her co-host, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, are Black. In late June, EWTN’s largest affiliate, the Guadalupe Radio Network, pulled “Morning Glory” from its stations, and the show never returned.

“If I say that I believe in the Gospel, I just don’t feel I can regret being faithful to Him by spreading His truth in something that’s a national conversation that seems to be rooted in the Gospel,” Purvis said, “and they always are made as mere political issues when we as believers should be turning to the dignity of the human person and teach what the Church says about racism.” †

Baton Rouge Catholic university graduates nurses early to meet COVID-19 needs

But it’s an virtual trip. While we can’t go right now, The Texas Catholic Herald presents ‘Diversions,’ a website with links to FREE digital offerings, including digital pilgrimages, online video tours, puzzles and links to religious exhibits. Sites include St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel in Houston, the Vatican, the Holy Land and other religious places. Puzzles feature beautiful images of St. Peter's Basilica, the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Galveston, and religious art from around the Archdiocese. The content can be played on computer and mobile devices.

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BATON ROUGE (CNS) — Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and a shortage of nurses and other health care workers to treat patients with COVID-19, a Catholic university in Baton Rouge has been graduating nursing students early and accelerating its respiratory therapy program for seniors.

Madison Hurst, a Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University nursing student who graduated early, said what she looked forward to most is being able to make a difference and serve her community.

“I am excited for the chance to make a difference in people’s lives, but I know many of my patients will make a difference in my own life,” said Hurst, who graduated Nov. 14 and now has a job at Baton Rouge General.

“I am thankful to have chosen a career that will provide me with opportunities of lifelong learning and growth. Becoming a nurse is tough, but I know it will be so rewarding and all of our hard work will be worth it,” added Hurst, who is from Louisiana.

Amy Hall, dean of the School of Nursing, said that when the fall semester was being planned, school officials anticipated there would be another spike in COVID-19 cases, so the students started taking their clinical course early and completed all their clinical hours

by Labor Day. The program is the only one in Louisiana to graduate students early to help with the pandemic, according to a news release from the university. †

JANUARY 12, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH

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17

MUNDO CATÓLICO

SYS se ajusta durante la pandemia para continuar el ministerio a los jóvenes especiales

“Nadie puede sentirse exceptuado de la preocupación por los pobres y por la justicia social”, dijo el papa Francisco a través de su exhortación apostólica La Alegría del Evangelio en 2014. Special Youth Services (SYS) responde a este llamado promoviendo y coordinando el alcance pastoral a los jóvenes en riesgo y sus familias, brindando atención pastoral a los jóvenes enviados a centros e instalaciones de detención de menores.

El ministerio atiende a jóvenes de 10 a 17 años, compuestos en su mayoría por niños (alrededor del 77%) y un pequeño porcentaje de niñas (23%). Residen en los 10 condados de la Arquidiócesis, y se componen de diferentes unidades familiares, razas, etnias, antecedentes económicos y religiosos. Los jóvenes asisten a escuelas públicas, escuelas autónomas, escuelas privadas/ parroquiales y educación en el hogar.

Los estereotipos sociales de los jóvenes detenidos son los de futuros delincuentes inmerecidos. Este no es siempre el caso. Los adolescentes hacen lo que hacen los adolescentes, cometen errores. Los adolescentes, sin importar el acceso económico, religión, raza o ubicación demográfica, expresan un comportamiento impulsivo; descrito principalmente como dramático, arriesgado e impulsivo. Los jóvenes pueden ser detenidos por cometer cualquier delito, al igual que un adulto.

Los delitos varían desde evadir el arresto, robo, asalto y homicidio. Debido al tamaño de la población del condado, la mayoría de nuestros jóvenes están

detenidos en el Departamento de Libertad Condicional Juvenil del Condado de Harris (HCJPD, por sus siglas en inglés).

Desde aproximadamente 1955, por los ministerios FRANCHELLE parroquiales han estado presentes en el Centro de LEE Detención Juvenil del Condado de Harris.

Durante las próximas décadas, SYS evolucionó con el objetivo principal de continuar la provisión de servicios pastorales con el objetivo adicional de ministrar a jóvenes individuales en crisis a pedido del personal del centro de detención. Poco después, SYS desarrolló muchas nuevas habilidades de programación que incorporaron temas cristianos. Los programas abarcan habilidades sociales, habilidades para la vida, manejo de la ira, clases para padres, enriquecimiento cultural y resolución de conflictos. Muchos continúan hoy.

Recientemente, el apoyo del cardenal Daniel DiNardo a los jóvenes y al personal de SYS ha sido un catalizador para el servicio a más jóvenes. SYS ofrece programas para padres y jóvenes diseñados para ayudar en las habilidades de comunicación y formación espiritual. Los programas que ofrecemos a los jóvenes son el duelo, el estudio bíblico, el grupo católico, las oportunidades de servicios comunitarios,

†

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



FOTO CORTESÍA DE SPECIAL YOUTH SERVICES

Un voluntario de Special Youth Services prepara a un joven para la Comunión en Saintly Saturday.

la defensa judicial y legislativa, los programas de mentores, el cuidado pastoral, las visitas pastorales, el asesoramiento pastoral, los talleres familiares, la preparación sacramental, las celebraciones santas y festivas, la dirección espiritual, los servicios dominicales y la formación y capacitación continua de voluntarios.

Con una relación de 65 años con HCJPD y acercándose rápidamente a 52 años de servicio a la comunidad, el año 2020 fue el año más desafiante de SYS hasta ahora. La pandemia de COVID-19 cesó las visitas a las instalaciones en Texas, iniciando formas nuevas y creativas de ministrar a los jóvenes. En lugar del estudio bíblico, los voluntarios de SYS implementaron un boletín semanal que incluye reflexiones, actividades, canciones y oraciones. SYS también implementó una página oficial de Facebook y un canal de YouTube. Los eventos anuales y las celebraciones religiosas se volvieron virtuales. Estos cambios y adaptaciones continuarán mucho después de este año desafiante.

SYS tiene planes futuros para aumentar el apoyo a los padres y las familias; aumentar y continuar las colaboraciones con los ministerios Arquidiocesanos; continuar las colaboraciones con las capellanías y socios locales, de Texas y nacionales, y establecer más programas

de mentores a través de iniciativas de justicia restaurativa.

SYS es responsable anualmente por más de 5,000 jóvenes y nada sería posible sin la ayuda y la dedicación de los voluntarios de SYS. Estos servicios son posibles gracias a la compasión y la dedicación de los voluntarios. Sus talentos y dones están a la vanguardia del ministerio. SYS brinda oportunidades para que los voluntarios cumplan, implementen, utilicen y practiquen su fe católica. Nuestros voluntarios son un grupo diverso de personas increíbles de toda la Arquidiócesis: laicos, clérigos, religiosos, seminaristas y candidatos al diaconado.

Voluntarios de la Generación más grande (Greatest Generation), Baby Boomers, Generación X, Generación Y y millennials se unen para servir a los jóvenes. La mayoría son devotos feligreses católicos de 72 parroquias locales. Somos un ministerio ecuménico al servicio de católicos y personas de todas las religiones. Nuestros voluntarios no solo reflejan la diversidad en la fe, son diversos en género, edad, raza y etnia. Si tiene 21 años o más y desea obtener más información sobre las formas en que puede ayudar, llámenos. † Franchelle Lee es directora de la oficina de Special Youth Services.

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JANUARY 12, 2021

WITHIN THE ARTS Looking past the pandemic with a ‘vision of hope’ SOUTHWEST, from page 1

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Challenging Times.�

TO SEE THE FULL SPEAKER LINE UP AND TO The theme quotes the embolism, REGISTER FOR SWLC, VISIT a prayer that a priest says after the WWW.SWLC.ORG Lord’s Prayer while celebrating Mass: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, conference offers a view into “broader that, by the help of Your mercy, we may topics which deepen understanding and be always free from sin and safe from all foster the Liturgy of the Church.� The distress, as we await the blessed hope and virtual gathering will also “address this the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.� past year with honesty and with a vision Father James Burkart, who is the of hope.� pastor at Christ the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Spring, is the chair of SWLC’s legacy the conference. “We have been living through “Our mission is to provide liturgical challenging days during COVID,� she formation workshops and networking said. “Some ministers have not been directed toward the parish and diocesan able to exercise their ministry. This is an levels,� Father Burkart said in a important time to seek out this renewal promotional video. since hopefully we will be able to He said conference leaders had to gather later in 2021 without the current “rethink� the way the study week was restrictions.� offered due to the pandemic. The new The annual event “provides a unique virtual format, Father Burkart said,“offers experience for ministers to pray, learn, a number of diverse and fun virtual grow and be renewed.� opportunities for dialogue, presentations The SWLC is the longest-running and networking that we think will meet liturgical conference in the country, our needs perfectly.� according to Higgins. “That fact alone Sandy Higgins, director of Galveston- speaks volumes about the quality of the Catholic Herald Falf-Page-10.375x7-Mechanical.pdf 1 12/29/20 1:25 PM Houston’s Office of Worship, said the conference and its ability to respond to

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Ready For Valentine Date Night?

Don’t miss this exclusive, online-only event featuring a heart-warming Pastoral message from Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, immediately followed by a special presentation from world-renowned inspirational speaker Jason Evert, author of the book “The Dating Blueprint.�

the topics of the day,� she said. to have a Church that is growing and This year’s keynote speakers include vibrant and that celebrates the Liturgy Massimo Faggioli, a theology and with reverence and care,� she said. “Our religion studies professor at Villanova liturgical ministers and leadership have University; C.Vanessa White, an associate risen to the challenges of this past year, professor of spirituality and ministry at but we have a lot to address in days the Catholic Theological Union and an ahead. I hope our ministers will seize this associate director at Xavier University of growth opportunity and set their parishes Louisiana’s Institute for Black Catholic afire with the love of the Liturgy.�

Studies; Diana Macalintal, co-founder Full conference registration is $150, and co-director of TeamRCIA; and El while a day pass costs $50. For more Paso’s Bishop Mark J. Seitz. and to register, visit www.swlc.org/ Workshop leaders also include virtual-2021. †several Houston-based speakers: Father Burkart, who is also a past president of the SWLC; Julie Blevins and Juan Carlos Moreno, both of the Office of

Evangelization and Catechesis of the

Archdiocese; Father Philip Lloyd, pastor of St. Theresa Catholic Church

in Memorial Park; and Father Leon Strieder, associate professor of

Liturgy and Sacraments at St. Mary Seminary School of Theology in Houston.

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A vibrant, growing Church Higgins said attendees will have access to events without the expense of travel and will have access to workshop recordings for six weeks after the event. “We are blessed in our Archdiocese

Archdiocesan Office

713-741-8732 archgh.org/correctionalministries

Save the Date!

Online event

Valentine Date Night Friday, Feb 12th 4:45 PM

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Married couples will be inspired to “Date & Rekindle,�

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Early bird fee 30 USD | Regular admission 45 USD Your fee includes full access to the online interactive event, and a complimentary copy of the book The Dating Blueprint.

Register now, before the event is sold out!

JANUARY 12, 2021 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH

texas catholic herald

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MILESTONES

Emmaus Spirituality Center dedicates new location HOUSTON — Launching a new retreat center during a pandemic is not an ideal situation by any means. But, it has not stopped Emmaus Spirituality Center from emerging into the greater Houston area’s landscape. The new retreat center opened “virtually” on June 1, 2020, and established its physical location on Sept.

1, 2020, at 12211 Memorial Dr., though the doors have been closed to the public due to the pandemic… until now.

On Nov. 21, 2020, Emmaus Spirituality Center held its first Open House. Social distancing and COVID-19 precautions were in place as Father Francis Macatangay of St. Cecilia Catholic Church blessed the main building as well as The Stations of the Light, an area of prayer and reflection.

Pastor Beth Halvorsen of the Memorial Drive Lutheran Church was asked to read the post-resurrection account in Scripture, which was the inspiration for the name “Emmaus” that the visioning team chose back in 2019.

Sister Mary Ann Peters of The Cenacle Sisters — Houston and Heather Reichert, board chair of Emmaus Spirituality Center, combined a Camellia bush with soil from the grounds of The Cenacle and Emmaus Spirituality Center and planted it as a reminder of the seeds sown by The Cenacle Sisters that will take root and continue to grow and blossom with Emmaus Spirituality Center.

“We realize that the community needs us now more than ever. People are suffering from isolation, seeking mindfulness and purpose, and we need to be here for them,” said Mary Pierson, executive director of Emmaus Spirituality Center. “While we are grateful for the technology that allows us to provide programming to those near and far, we are delighted to be able to open our doors for spiritual direction, personal retreats and small groups.”

The center emerged after the Cenacle Sisters closed the doors to the Cenacle Retreat House. A group of laity, with the blessing of the sisters, began the process of visioning possibilities that would allow a continued presence of a spirituality center to serve the spiritual needs of the greater Houston area.

Emmaus Spirituality Center offers days of prayer, retreats, programs, spiritual direction, and continues the operation of the Spiritual Direction Institute, which has been training Spiritual Directors for over 35 years.

Small group gatherings, reserving an individual retreat or any other inquiries can be directed to 281-241-9678 or info@ emmausspiritualitycenter.com.

The center is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Individuals can get more information about setting up a session for spiritual direction by visiting www.emmausspiritualitycenter.com. †

AROUND THE ARCHDIOCESE Editor’s Note: Contact event organizers for the latest updates and information. View additional listings or updates online at www. archgh.org/ata.

FEB. 3

MEMORIAL MASS, Annual St. Gianna’s Hope Memorial Mass for Infant Loss, 7 p.m. at Prince of Peace Catholic Church (19222 Tomball Pkwy., Houston). All are welcome to join in prayer with families who have lost infant children or miscarried. Bring diapers, pullups, diaper wipes or formula to benefit Mercy Ministry. Face masks must be worn and social distancing will be observed. Sponsored by Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court of the Holy Family #2597. Mary J. Albert: 281-

381-0309 maryjalbert@sbcglobal.net.

FEB. 7

DRIVE-THRU SPAGHETTI FUNDRAISER, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Columbus Club Hall (703 Columbus Rd., Wallis). Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court Queen of Angels #1538 host $10 spaghetti plate funderaiser. Plates include spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, green beans and garlic bread from Ben’s Chuck Wagon. CDA bake sale at drive-thru, raffle drawing at 1 p.m. Proceeds benefit college scholarships, high school Project Graduation, local fire departments, EMS, etc., and National and State CDA endorsed Charities and projects. Dorothy Bodle 281246-1243.

AROUND THE ARCHDIOCESE Email event details to TCH@ARCHGH.ORG for possible inclusion in the Around the Archdiocese section.

There is no charge for listings but space is limited.

Visit WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/ATA for more information on how to submit events.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMAUS SPIRITUALITY CENTER

Father Francis Macatangay of St. Cecilia Catholic Church prepares to bless the building and the Stations of the Light at the Emmaus Spirituality Center on Nov. 21, 2020.

20 TEXAS CATHOLIC HERALD

JANUARY 12, 2021

Thank you for continuing to

SUPPORT YOUR PARISH

As Catholics, we believe that all we have is a gift from God. Our response in faith is to offer these gifts back to God in gratitude. With gifts of prayer, we pray for our nation, Church and our parishes. With gifts of treasure, we support our parishes even when we cannot be there in person.

Make a gift to your parish online at WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/PARISHOFFERTORY

www.archgh.org/parishoffertory