exas 2015 ‘God gives us the grace to accomplish everything’ · ‘God gives us the grace to...

DIOCESE OF SAN ANGELO

PO BOX 1829

SAN ANGELO TX 76902-1829

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SAN ANGELO, TX

PERMIT NO. 44

Serving the Diocese of San Angelo, TexasVolume XXXV, No. 2 FEBRUARY 2015

‘God gives us the grace to accomplish everything’By Jimmy PattersonEditor / The Angelus

MIDLAND — May 2012. Fourth quarter,Game 4, NBA Eastern Conference Finals.Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics.

Isaac Sokolowski, a huge fan of the Heat,was chill, on the couch, cheering on histeam when his father walked up to him andhanded him a book. In the middle of thegame.

“You might like this,” Mr. Sokolowskisaid.

Isaac’s response was not untypical. “Dad,I’m watching the game right now.”

A couple of commercial breaks, clockstoppages and free throws later, Isaac’sattention had turned. He was no longerwatching the game. He was reading thebook.

(Please See ELIAS/20)

Story, photos, from Masses, events in San

Angelo and Austin marking the anniversary

of the Roe v. Wade decision, Pgs. 6-7

4 From the Bishop’s Desk: PopeFrancis has written a message to allCatholics, giving his advice for how toapproach the season of Lent in 2015.As you enter into the season, decidingwhat will be your particular Lenten prac-tices this year, it would make sense toconsider the advice of the Pope. / Pg. 2

4Meet Josh Gray, the FebruarySeminarian of the Month / Pg. 3

4“How to Catch a Monkey.” Letting goof old hurts and letting God take con-trol, a homily by Bishop Sis / Pg. 3

4 Parents have obligation to providechildren an education / Pg. 9

INSIDE

Go in Peace ...Mary Sue Brewer, secretary to six

bishops, retired from the Diocese

of San Angelo in January.

Employed by the diocese since

February 1962, Mary Sue, pictured

at her retirement party with

Bishop Michael J. Sis, left, and

Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, OMI, is

the only secretary to the bishop

the diocese has ever had. Story,

photos, Pgs. 12-13.

Learning from Dr. King’s heroic exampleBy Denise Morris

SAN ANGELO — The church organ hummed in thebackground and shouts of “Amen!” and “Yeah!” usheredfrom the packed house while Gloria Pope gave the MLKDay sermon at St. Paul Baptist Church.

“We are talking today about what can you do for others,”Pope said to a congregation that was crowded into the sideaisles, balcony and narthex. “We are talking about a man…who said it really is a matter of service.”

The noonday service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.is an annual ecumenical event attended by leaders and mem-bers from a number of churches in San Angelo. The

(Please See MLK/20)

Bishop

Michael J.

Sis, right,

with Gloria

Pope, of

Galilee

Missionary

Baptist

Church.

(Photo by

Denise

Morris).

Brother Elias Mary, near the grotto at the Mt.

Carmel Hermitage. (Photo by Jimmy Patterson)

Page 2 FEBRUARY 2015 The Angelus

DIOCESAN BRIEFS

From The Bishop’s Desk

Lent 2015 and avoiding the Temptation of IndifferenceBy Most Rev. Michael J. SisBishop of San Angelo

Pope Francis has written a message to allCatholics, giving his advice on how toapproach the season ofLent in 2015. As youenter into this penitentialtime, deciding what willbe your particular Lentenpractices this year, itwould make sense to con-sider the advice of thePope.

The key word in hisLenten message is “indif-ference.” The kind of indifference he is talk-ing about is lack of interest in or concernabout our neighbor and God. He says “thisselfish attitude of indifference has taken onglobal proportions, to the extent that we cantalk about the globalization of indifference.”

Pope Francis wants us never to forgetabout the needs of others. He teaches us to beconcerned with the problems, the sufferings,and the injustices that are endured by ourbrothers and sisters around the world.

Lent is an opportunity for us to battle the

temptation of indifference through interiorrenewal. Pope Francis says, “Each year dur-ing Lent we need to hear once more thevoice of the prophets who cry out and troubleour conscience.”

To overcome the temptation of indiffer-ence, the Holy Father offers three brief bibli-cal passages for our reflection. The first is 1Corinthians 12:26, where St. Paul says thatthe Church is the body of Christ, and we areall members of that body. St. Paul says, “Ifone member suffers, all suffer together; ifone member is honored, all rejoice together.”

By sharing in the sacramental life of theChurch, especially the Eucharist, we becomemembers of the communion of saints. Assuch, we are united with one another in God.Rather than withdraw into ourselves, we areto reach out and do something in service ofothers, even helping those who live far awayfrom us.

The second biblical passage is fromGenesis 4:9. In that passage, after Cain haskilled his brother Abel, God asks him, “Cain, where is your brother Abel?” Cain replies, “Ido not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

(Please See BISHOP/21)

By Miguel SisObispo de San Angelo

El Papa Francisco ha escrito un men-saje para todos los católicos, dando suconsejo de cómo enfocarnos en laCuaresma de 2015. Al entrar a este tiem-po penitencial, decidiendo cuales seránnuestras prácticas particulares deCuaresma este año, tendría sentido elconsiderar el consejo del Papa.

La palabra clave en su mensaje de laCuaresma es “indiferencia”. La clase deindiferencia de que él habla es la falta deinterés en nuestro prójimo y en Dios. Éldice “esta actitud egoísta, de indiferencia,ha alcanzado hoy una dimensión mundi-al, hasta tal punto que podemos hablar deuna globalización de la indiferencia.”

El Papa Francisco quiere que nuncanos olvidemos de las necesidades deotros. Él nos enseña que nos preocupe-

mos de los problemas, los sufrimientos, ylas injusticias que nuestros hermanos yhermanas alrededor del mundo tienenque aguantar.

La Cuaresma es una oportunidad paranosotros de luchar contra la tentación deindiferencia por medio de la renovacióninterior. El Papa Francisco dice,“Necesitamos oír en cada Cuaresma elgrito de los profetas que levantan su vozy despiertan nuestra consciencia.”

Para superar la tentación de la indiferen-cia, el Santo Padre ofrece tres pasajesbíblicos cortos para nuestra reflexión. Elprimero es el de 1 Corintios 12:26, dondeSan Pablo dice que la Iglesia es el cuerpode Cristo, y todos somos miembros de esecuerpo. San Pablo dice, “Si un miembrosufre, todos sufren con él; y si un miem-bro es honrado, todos se alegran con él.”

Por medio de compartir en la vida (Mira OBISPO/19)

Bishop Sis

St. Stephen’s to host annual Knights ofColumbus Valentine’s Day Dance, Banquet

MIDLAND. St. Stephen's Knights of Columbus will be hostingtheir 5th Annual Pro-Life Banquet and Valentine Dance,Saturday, February 14, at St. Stephen's Ballroom. The event isthe primary fundraiser for our council's Right to Life campaign.Proceeds from previous events have been used to purchase anew ultrasound machine for the Life Center of Midland, Pro-Lifematerial for distribution to our community, and funding forRachael's Vineyard, a ministry supporting those who have beenimpacted by abortion. Please join us and support this very wor-thy cause. The evening will begin with a mixer and socializationtime to share in the fellowship of our Christian family. That willbe followed by a gourmet meal by Executive Chef Buenrrostro.The Brother Z Band will provide a variety of music duringbreaks, and you can also enjoy the act of illusionist BronsonChandler. A cash donation bar will be available offering variousadult libations. There will be a silent auction with wonderfulitems that have been donated by various businesses in ourarea. All proceeds will be used to help us fight for life. Largestitems will be on display for early bid in church foyer at eachweekend mass. For ticket information, contact Johnie Qualls,432.631.3429; James Buzan, 432.218.8288; Warren Ivey,432.238.7832, or Jeff Barger, 432.352.5426.

Soup Cookoff to Benefit Carmelite MonasterySaturday, February 21, 5-7 p.m.

Martin County Community Center in StantonBenefiting the Historic Carmelite Monastery Restoration &Preservation. Bring your best soup, your family and friends and beprepared to taste the Best Soups in the Permian Basin. Competefor 5 Prizes: 1st-thru-3rd place for Best Tasting Soup (public vote),Best tasting Soup (panel of judges) and Best Decorated Table. Formore information, email [email protected] or

call Shelly Borgstedte at 664-9660 after 5 p.m.

Rock 4 LifeSAN ANGELO. Rock 4 Life, the Diocesan High School Youth

Event will be March 7, 2015, at Sacred Heart Cathedral Gym inSan Angelo from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. This event is for HighSchool youth (grades 9-12). Sunday Vigil Mass will be celebratedat 4:00 p.m. with Bishop Michael Sis. Sal Solo, former lead singerfor the British rock band, Classix Nouveaux. Sal has dedicated hislife to worship music, will be the featured performer during theevent. The cost is $15 per person (if postmarked on or beforeFebruary 25, 2015) or $20 for registrations postmarked February26 to March 3, 2015. No registrations will be accepted at the door.Forms have been sent out to all parishes and missions. Contactyour local DRE, CRE or CYM for more information or call S.Adelina Garcia, OSF at the Office of Evangelization and Catechesisat 325-651-7500. Bring you own lunch. Drinks will be provided.

Advocacy Day 2015Freddy Medina, Director of Deacons in the Diocese of San

Angelo, will lead a group of West Texas Catholics to Austin onMarch 24, 2015, for Advocacy Day 2015. Catholics from acrossthe Lone Star State will unite that day for the Texas CatholicConference's 2015 Texas Catholic Faith In Action Advocacy Day.The bi-annual rally is hosted by the Texas Bishops to promote theChurch's values of Life, Justice, Charity, and Religious Freedom tomembers of the 84th Texas Legislature. The Bishops and eventparticipants will address a broad range of diverse issues includingadvance directives reform, school choice tax credit scholarships,payday lending, Medicaid expansion, and abortion facilities regula-tion.-- ADVOCATE by traveling to Austin. Email Deacon Freddy forinfo: [email protected]. -- LEARN more about Advocacy Day and JOIN the Texas CatholicConference : txcatholic.org

Catholic Laity Scholarship Deadline approachesSAN ANTONIO -- Catholic laymen and women pursuing a gradu-ate degree in theology or religious studies in order to serve theirchurch in a professional capacity must submit applications for theRev. Msgr. Larry J. Droll Scholarship by February 15, 2015. Therenewable $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to two candidatesin need of tuition assistance for additional education who serve orwant to serve his or her parish as an Administrator, Youth Minister,Parish Coordinator or other role. This scholarship is gearedtowards those who have already obtained their bachelor's degreeand who are either enrolled or wanting to enroll into any Catholicgraduate school in Texas, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, NewMexico, Oklahoma or Mississippi. Applicants may also be enrolledin an extension program or in the Catholic University of AmericaSchool of Canon Law. Applications may be obtained by submittingan application which may be found online at www.cliu.com, con-tacting the Communications Department at (210) 828-9921 or 1-800-292-2548 or by writing to Catholic Life Insurance, Attn:Communications Department, P.O. Box 659527, San Antonio, TX78265-9527. "Today many dedicated Catholics, who are notordained clergy or women religious, serve parishes as ParishCoordinators or Administrators, as Pastoral Associates, Directorsof Religious Education, Youth Ministers, Liturgists, and many otherroles," said Msgr. Droll. "This scholarship can help provide thefunds to earn the advanced educational degree in theology or reli-gious studies that is often required for these positions."

World Meeting of FamiliesThe World Meeting of Families, held every three years, is comingto Philadelphia September 22-27, 2015. Pope Francis will be mak-ing his first visit to the United States during the event. The themeis "Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive." For more informa-tion or to register for the WMOF, please visit the World Meeting ofFamilies website.

La Cuaresma y el Evitar la Tentación de la Indiferencia

The Angelus FEBRUARY 2015 Page 3

CALENDARSBISHOP SIS’ SCHEDULE

FEBRUARY

9-12 — WASHINGTON, DC,

New Bishops' Orientation

15 — MENARD, Mass at

Sacred Heart Church at 9:00 a.m.

15 — JUNCTION, Mass at St.

Theresa Church at 11:15 a.m.

16 — SAN ANGELO, St.

Mary's College Student Bible

Study at 7:30 p.m.

17 — SAN ANGELO, Holy

Angels, RCIA at 6:30 p.m.

18 — SAN ANGELO, Sacred

Heart Cathedral, Ash Wednesday

Mass at 12:10 p.m.


Angels, Rite of Election at 3 p.m.

23-25 — SAN ANGELO, Christ

the King Retreat Center, Spring

Priests' Conference

28 — ODESSA, St. Mary's

Catholic School, Diocesan School

Adv. Board from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

28 — MIDLAND, St. Ann

Church, Mass and meeting with

the EOHS at 5:00 p.m.

MARCH1 — MIDLAND, St. Stephen,

Rite of Election at 2:30 p.m.

3 — ROUND ROCK, Ordination

of Aux. Bishop Danny Garcia, 2 p.m.

4 — WALL, Mass for Parish

Retreat at 6:30 p.m.

6 — ABILENE, Visit to Dyess

Air Force Base.


Heart Cathedral, Closing Mass for

Diocesan High School Youth

Event, Rock 4 Life at 4:00 p.m.

8 — MIDLAND, San Miguel

Parish, Diocesan Adult

Confirmation Mass at 3:00 p.m.

11 — SAN ANGELO,

Diocesan Staff Day of Reflection,

9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

12 — DALLAS, USCCB

Workshop at University of Dallas

16-18 — BROWNSVILLE, Tex-

Mex Border Bishops Meeting

20-22 — CONCEPTION,

Missouri, Visit to Seminary

23 — AUSTIN, Texas Catholic

Conference Spring Meeting

24 — AUSTIN, TCC Advocacy

Day at State Capitol


Heart Cathedral, Chrism Mass at

11:00 a.m.

26 — SAN ANGELO,

Presbyteral Council Mtg., 1 p.m.


Heart Cathedral, Palm Sunday

Mass at 11:45 a.m.


Angels, Seder Meal at 5:30 p.m.

CHRIST THE KING

RETREAT CENTER

FEBRUARY10 — Adoration

13-15 — Deacon Formation

15 — First Holy Communion

Retreat-St. Ambrose, Wall

16 — Adoration

18 — Ash Wednesday

19 — Bishop Sis' Staff

Mass/Lunch

20-22 — Engaged Encounter

22 — Natural Family Planning

24-25 — Spring DOSA Priest

Conference

26-March 1 — San Angelo

Women's ACTS Retreat

27-March 1 — New Life Church

Ladies Retreat

27-March 1 — Trinity Lutheran

Retreat

MARCH1 — San Angelo Women’s

ACTS Retreat

1 — New Life Church Ladies

Retreat

1 — Trinity Lutheran Retreat

1-3 — San Angelo Association

of Realtors

5-8 — Men’s Walk to Emmaus

6 — Emmanuel Episcopal

Church/Stations of the Cross

11 — Bishop Sis’ Staff Lenten

Day of Reflection

13-15 — Deacon Formation

17 — Adoration

19 — Bishop Sis’ Staff Mass/

Lunch

20-22 — Engaged Encounter

22 — Natural Family Planning

23-25 — Episcopal Diocese of

Northwest Texas Fresh Start

Conference

29 — CKRC Confirmation

Retreat

NECROLOGY

February

5-Deacon David King (2006)

9-Rev. Albert Fuytinck,

C.SS.R.(1997)

10-Rev. Charles Vogel (2009)

10-Rev. Leo E. Lavoie (1978)

15-Rev. Frank Colacicco (2006)

20-Deacon Mark Reeh (2005)

21-Rev. Tom Kelley (2005)

22-Rev. Francisco Lopez (1994)

March

11-Rev. Leopold J. Bujnowski

(1976)

11-Dcn Albert Libertore (1977)

14-Rev. George Fey (2013)

15-Dcn. Cosme Ureta (2011)

21-Deacon Frank Trudo (1992)

26-Rev. Serran Braun (1999)

26-Deacon Audon Saldivar

(2000)

Josh Gray

My name is Joshua Gray. I have been inseminary for almost six years, and what ajourney it has been. I first heard the call toenter seminary at the age of 7 when Ireceived first communion. The Lord placed adesire in my heart to become a priest. Ienjoyed religion classes the most in school. Idesired to learn more about Jesus and toknow his will. When I graduated from highschool, I did not have certainty concerningwhat I should do with my life. I went beforethe blessed sacrament and I asked Jesuswhat I should do. He told me in clear wordsthat still resound in my heart: Become a

priest. Until that point I had doubts. All it tookwas for me to let go and simply ask the Lordwhat I should do. I joined seminary and fromthere I have had the opportunity to go toHonduras for a missionary trip, to learn phi-losophy in northwest Missouri, to travel toCosta Rica to learn Spanish, to study theolo-gy in northern Chicago, and even make a pil-grimage to France. The journey has beengreat and I go forward in joy, following thepeace in my heart, because I follow Christ.The important thing to keep in mind is thatseminary is a place where the priesthood isdiscerned, not where someone goes who hasto become a priest. Let St. John Paul theGreat's words echo onward, "Be not afraid."

SEMINARIAN OF THE MONTH

How to Catch a MonkeyEditor’s Note: Bishop Michael J. Sis presided over Massand blessed a new hall at St. Isidore Mission in Lenorah,January 25. The occasion also marked the final stop in thebishop’s year-long journey to visit every parish and mis-sion in the diocese before his one-year anniversary asshepherd of the Diocese of San Angelo. He accomplishedthat with two days to spare. At Lenorah, Bishop Sis deliv-ered the following homily, based on that Sunday’s read-ings, the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time.

---I don’t know if any of you have ever had the need to

catch a monkey before, but just in case you ever do needto catch a monkey, I’m going to tell you how to do it.

First you get an enclosed basket, and attach it to theground or a big tree so it can’t be carried away. You puta little bitty hole in the basket, and inside you put abanana. The monkey comes along and smells thebanana. The hole is just big enough for him to squeezehis little arm through. So, he sticks his empty handthrough the hole in the basket and grabs the banana.Now that he has the banana, he’s not gonna let go of it.

But he can’t get his hand out because the hole is toosmall for his hand with the banana in it. And that crazylittle monkey will not let go of that banana, even toescape you, because he wants to hold on to it and eat it.

And, with the monkey’s arm stuck in the basket andthe monkey refusing to let go of the banana, all you haveto do is go over and grab the monkey and you’ll havehim.

The reason I am telling you the story about the mon-key trap is because a monkey trap is a really good sym-bol for how you and I can grow as human beings. Youand I become trapped when we refuse to let go of thingsthat we need to let go of.

Like what, for example? Think of some things in yourlife that it’s time to let go of. Maybe it’s an old comfort-able, unproductive routine. You know it’s not getting youanywhere and you need to let go of it.

Maybe it’s stubbornness in insisting on your own way

(Please See JONAH/21)

Bishop Sis, center, with Deacon Mike Medina, Msgr. Larry Droll, Msgr. Timothy Schwertner, and Deacon

Clemente Villa, at the January 25 blessing of the new building at St. Isidore Mission in Lenorah.


Angelo Catholic blessed Community Workers by inviting them to lunch and blessing them. Students sang the blessing

song over SAISD Superintendent Dr. Carol Ann Bonds and Deacon Freddie Medina, Former ACS School Board

Member and Current SAISD School Board Member Max Parker, above center, and San Angelo Mayor Dwayne

Morrison (in photo below with student). ACS students decorated bags for the Meals for the Elderly program and deco-

rated cards for Community Workers, which were delivered to the Police Department with goodies for the police; cards

for the priest, which were delivered with roses; cards for the seminarians, which were mailed, and cards for the reli-

gious brothers and sisters. The annual Science Fair is always held on Thursday during National Catholic Schools

Week. Judges were provided with yummy snacks and presented with cards and US flags colored by the students

thanking them for their service. ACS students know that the military is one of the reasons we are able to have a

school where we are able to worship God and learn more about him. (Photos courtesy Angelo Catholic School)

The Value of Service: Giving

glory to God through good worksBy Heather BredimusSt. Ann’s School-Midland

“It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face acruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise childrenwho will make the world a little less cruel and heart-less.” This quote from L.R. Knost, acclaimed authorand founder of Little Hearts/Gentle ParentingResources, poignantly gives reason to one of the mostimportant and distinguishing qualities of Catholic edu-cation: the value of service.

Service learning has been a paramount objective inall three Catholic schools within the Diocese of SanAngelo. Found in the crest of St. Ann’s CatholicSchool in Midland, the vision of “Educating theSaints” is powerfully clear as faculty and staff joinwith families to form students in faith, knowledge,and character. Throughout their shared history, theschools of the Permian Basin have always encouragedstudents to develop a lifelong commitment to the serv-ice of others.

A great example of a school-wide effort from stu-dents in grades Pre-K through 6th to collaborate on aservice project that would reach a local communi-ty in an impactful and unforgettable way was the

(Please See SERVICE/22)

Catholic schools strive to

help students form faith,knowledge and characterEditor’s Note: Elizabeth Canon Moore and her husband, Todd, areparents of one student and one student-to-be at St. Ann’s Schoolin Midland. Elizabeth is on the public relations committee with theSt. Ann’s School Board.

By Elizabeth Canon Moore

Today we stand on the shoulders of the clergy, lay peopleand countless parents, volunteers and church members whohave paved the way for students who attend St. Ann’s CatholicSchool in Midland.

Catholic Schools Week, January 25-31, was the perfect timeto celebrate all of those who have played an integral role inshaping the St. Ann’s Catholic Education of many students forover 64 years. This year’s theme for Catholic School Week,“Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge andService.” It was a special time to celebrate the values of aCatholic education through a week of masses, open houses andother events. It provided a great opportunity for St. Ann’s tospread the message of its mission, which is to “join with fami-lies to form students in faith, knowledge, and character.” Theirvision is simple, but vital: “Educating the Saints,” and theircore purpose, is to “help in leading all souls to heaven.”

Catholic Schools Week was a perfect time to give thanks tothe many who have contributed in shaping the lives of so manystudents who have attended St. Ann’s, and who have since beenproductive, successful members of our society. According toPope Francis, it is a responsibility of Catholic educational insti-tutions to “express the living presence of the Gospel in the fieldof education, science and culture.” He adds that these institu-tions must “know how to enter, with courage, into theAreopagus contemporary cultures and to initiate dialog, awareof the gift they are able to offer all.” Therein lies the mission ofSt. Ann’s. Many St. Ann’s graduates have become successfulbusiness professionals, educators, civic leaders, medical profes-sionals, home-makers, craftsmen and clergy.

My family’s story with St. Ann’s School began over 60 yearsago and spans three generations of students. It began with myfather, Mike Canon, who was in St. Ann’s first-ever kinder-garten class in 1950. Our story continued when my brother,Christopher, and I began attending St. Ann’s in 1987, and itlives on today through our daughter Clare Moore, a kinder-gartener, and soon, our second daughter, Catherine (Cate)Moore, who will begin pre-school next year. In the words ofPope Francis, as members of the Canon Family, our hope isthat “school can and should function as a catalyst, being aplace of encounter and convergence of the entire educationalcommunity with the single objective of shaping and helpingstudents grow as mature, simple, honest, and competent per-sons who know how to love faithfully, to live their lives as aresponse to God’s call and their future professions as a serviceto society.”

I ask you to support Catholic schools in your community, notjust during Catholic Schools Week, but throughout the entireyear.

National Catholic Schools Week


The Angelus

WALL — Bishop Michael Sisrecently was invited to visit theRCIA and Religious Educationclasses at St. Ambrose Parish inWall. He came to talk to the com-bined classes about the Sacramentof Holy Orders and vocations. Priorto the meeting, everyone enjoyed apizza party and birthday cake. Theywere celebrating the recent birth-days of Bishop Sis and St. Ambrosepastor Fr. Joe Choutapalli.

Bishop Sis talked about the hierar-chy of the Catholic Church and theapostolic succession from whenJesus selected St. Peter to lead hischurch all the way to current times.He then answered questions fromthe classes on topics including semi-naries and convents, who pays for apriest’s education, why priests weara little white collar and the role ofwomen in the church today and inthe future.

Bishop visits combined RCIA, religious

education classes at St. Ambrose, Wall

Bishop Michael Sis, teaching RCIA and religious education classes in Wall, above, and, below with Fr. Joseph

Choutapalli, St. Ambrose pastor, celebrating their birthdays. (Courtesy photos)

God made a priestEditor’s Note: Midlander Dan Bertleson wrote the followingpiece dedicated to priests everywhere. Dan read, “God Made aPriest” at the January 15, 2015 Clergy Appreciation Dinner,sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, at St. Stephen’sChurch. Dan told the audience that his composition was pat-terned after Paul Harvey’s famous “And on the 8th day, Godmade a farmer.”

By Dan Bertleson

And on the 8th day, God looked down on his plannedparadise and said, “My people need a leader." So Godmade a priest.

God said, "I need somebody willing to get up beforedawn, say the Morning Mass, work all day in the office,counsel parishioners, eat supper and stay past midnightmeeting with the Knights of Columbus." So God made apriest.

"I need somebody with arms strong enough to playchurch league softball and yet gentle enough to hold adying child while giving him last rites. Somebody to look a260 pound, tattooed welder in the eye and tell him heneeds to change his life and then visit with the RosaryAltar Society and tell the ladies to be sure and come backreal soon -- and mean it." So God made a priest.

God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night tohear the confession of a dying man. And watch him die.Then dry his eyes and go off to his next meeting. I needsomebody who can plan an addition, raise the money, keepit under budget and have some left over to fix the bath-rooms at the school. I need someone to get my people totithe, but not talk about money, Teach CCD to third gradersand keep their attention, then teach adult RCIA and keep itall fresh and lively and to make his Homilies holy, butunder seven minutes. And who, during Christmas andEaster season will put in forty hours by Tuesday noon andtired and worn out put in another forty hours beforeMidnight Mass. So God made a priest.

God had to have somebody willing to help set up theChurch Fair and help tear it down and yet stop in mid-sen-tence and race to hear the confession of one of the CarnivalWorkers. So God made a priest.

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to lead achurch of hard-to-please parishioners. It had to be some-body who'd shoot straight and not cut corners. Somebodywho will get his parishioners to see what they don’t wantto see, do what they don’t want to do, give what they don’twant to give so that when they die, they will go where theyalways thought that they would go: heaven.

"Somebody who'd bale a family together with the softstrong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh,and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his nephew says hewants to spend his life 'doing what my Uncle the Priestdoes.'"

So God made a priest.


Clockwise from top left, Fr. Lorenzo Hatch processes in before the

Pro-Life Mass, January 22. Bishop Michael Sis, following the Mass

at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Pro-Life Supporter Sharla Ynostrosa

reads during the Mass. Above, diocesan pro-life director Jerry

Peters. (Photos courtesy John Rangel).

Pro-Life Mass

Sacred HeartCathedral

San Angelo

January 22, 2015


Area Catholics share

powerful experiences

at Austin pro-life rallyBy Sharla Ynostrosa

The Texas Rally for Life in Austin on Saturday, January 24, 2015 wasan incredible experience. In my previous post I told you how our daybegan praying the rosary at the Planned Parenthood on Ben White.Beginning the day this way, really puts things in perspective, I mean,this is why we march. I can't adequately describe the feeling of standingin front of a fenced facility where abortions are performed. Just knowingthat babies lives are taken from them at that place leaves a sick feeling inyour stomach. A surgery center is suppose to be a place of healing, aplace to help you get better. When someone goes to an abortion facility itisn't to get better, it is to pay an abortionist to end the life of their baby. Itis a very sad and sobering experience.

Arriving at St. Vincent de Paul Church and seeing a packed parking lotwas uplifting. Going into the Sanctuary and seeing the young childrenpantomime the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary while the older youth leadthe prayers was a much needed reminder about God's love and a visualimage of the strong pro-life presence of families, and people of all ages.As we sat shoulder to shoulder, stood side by side, kneeled next to eachother, with young adults from youth groups all across Texas standingalong the walls, I was overcome with joy and peace and happiness,because together, with God, we are strong. A Pro-Life Mass was cele-brated by Most Rev. Joe Vasquez, Bishop of Austin. He gave a wonder-ful homily, and the entire Mass was beautiful. I remember kneeling andpraying at the end of Mass, thanking God for such an amazing morning.

Driving to get to the March took a little time but we made it. We founda parking place pretty quick. I was so excited when I saw all the peopleparking and walking towards the gathering area for the March. Weended up towards the front. The Knights of Columbus led the March. Itwas awesome, there were pro-life people everywhere! I loved all the dif-ferent pro-life t-shirts, the banners, the signs! I loved when we prayedthe mysteries of the rosary, sang the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and whensomeone would holler out, "We are" and the rest of us would hollerback, "Pro-Life!" It was great!

Back to the signs, several of the teenagers held signs that said, "MyGeneration Will End Abortion" others held signs that said, "We are the

Please See YNOSTROSA/22

CatholicPro-Life Day

in AustinJanuary 24, 2015


Youth 2000St. Stephen’s Church, Midland, January 23, 2015

Top photo, Bishop Michael J. Sis addresses a large assembly of young people at Youth 2000, January 23, 2015, at the diocesan-wide event at St. Stephen’s Church in Midland. Above

left, attendees hear from Fr. Joachim, a Franciscan monk. At right, Bishop Sis at Mass during the event, and the bishop with Msgr. Jim Bridges during Holy Communion. (Photos by

Alan Torre / aptorre.com).


Parents have obligation toprovide children an educationBy Fr. Knick and Sandie Knickerbocker

Spiritual formation, i.e. formation of the whole personin Christ, involves growth, development, and learning. InLuke 2:40 we read, “The child grew and became strong,filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.”

Luke is telling us about Jesus’ owngrowing, developing and learning.Jesus grew and became strong,filled with wisdom, blessed byGod in his home in Nazareth asthe child of Mary and Joseph,devout Jews and holy parents—intheir domestic church. The life-long process of maturing physical-ly, emotionally, intellectually, andspiritually was the way of Jesusand is the way of each of us. Godfinds favor in this process and

blesses us in it. Jesus’ maturation—his total formation—sanctifies this process of growth and gives evidence of theholiness of gradual development.

In Familiaris Consortio, Pope St. John Paul II, writingabout the right and duty of parents regarding education,quotes the Second Vatican Council Declaration onChristian Education: “ ‘Since parents have conferred lifeon their children, they have a most solemn obligation toeducate their offspring. Hence, parents must be acknowl-edged as the first and foremost educators of their children.Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely any-thing can compensate for their failure in it. For itdevolves on parents to create a family atmosphere so ani-mated with love and reverence for God and others that awell-rounded personal and social development will befostered among the children….’ By virtue of their min-istry of educating, parents are, through the witness of theirlives, the first heralds of the Gospel for their children.”

In his book Stages of Faith, James Fowler reminds usthat during the first stages of development it is through theprimary caregivers that the child forms first and lastingimpressions of the world that become the foundations forsubsequent faith development. "The caregivers are thuseducating or forming from the beginning.”

Too often we think of educating as imparting informa-tion, as intellectual development, as academics—at home,at church, at school. In fact, education is formation of thewhole person and is taking place at every moment.Education is the completing of the person created inGod’s image. God wants to bring to completion the goodwork He has begun in us. All education is formation, andwe are being educated by all of life. We must be veryprayerful and very intentional in being formed by Gospelvalues to counter formation by the false values of our sec-ular culture--not only for this life but for eternity.

There is a maxim that the faith is “caught” as well as“taught.” In our homes, what are our spouses, childrenand grandchildren “catching” from us in terms of moralityand values? Are we consciously, prayerfully living

Gospel morality and values as taught by Jesus and theChurch or have we compromised the Gospel with culturalamorality and false values? How does this impact ourbehavior and decision making, our way of talking aboutand relating to family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, andour enemies? How does this impact our priorities of time,energy, money and commitments? How are we, our chil-dren, grandchildren, and the families in our parishes beingformed by TV, books, magazines, music, and the internet,in particular the social media?

Do we know how our children and grandchildren arebeing formed at school? Are we and our parish familiessufficiently involved in the schools to know what our chil-dren are learning from teachers, peers, coaches, and text-books? Concern about our children’s and grandchildren’seducation as formation is leading many to home school orsend children to parochial schools.

How are our children and grandchildren being educatedor formed in the Church? In Familiaris Consortio Pope St.John Paul II wrote that “Christian marriage and familybuild up the Church: for in the family the human person isnot only brought into being and progressively introducedby means of education into the human community, but bymeans of rebirth in Baptism and education in the faith isalso introduced to God’s family, which is the Church”(#15). Our baptismal commitment to Jesus Christ and HisBody, the Church, means participating as a member ofthat Body as a family. It means responding to Jesus infaithfulness and love in the community of faith. Fr. DavidKnight, quoting Pope Paul VI, has said that “’A family isnot a Christian family unless it worships together,’” andFr. Knight added that a group of baptized persons livingunder the same roof is not a Christian family unless theyexpress that faith together. The Sacraments, worship, reli-gious education, and other means of spiritual growth inthe parish are foundational for our education as formation.From the parish, as well as from the home, we go forth toexpress our faith as living witnesses to the Good News.

How are we being educated/formed in our work placesand our communities? In Romans 12:2 we are admon-ished, “Do not conform yourself to this age but be trans-formed by the renewal of your mind, that you may dis-cern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasingand perfect."

Education is formation of the whole person and is tak-ing place at every moment. Education is the completingof the person created in God’s image. God wants to bringto completion the good work He has begun in us. Alleducation is formation, and we are being educated/formedby all of life. It is God’s will that each person—child,teen and adult—be formed in Him—that we, like Jesus,grow and become strong, filled with wisdom, and that Hisfavor rest upon us. ---

Fr Knick Knickerbocker is the sacramental minister atSacred Heart Church in Menard and St. Theresa inJunction.

By Fr. Tom Barley Dean / San Angelo Deanery

Decades ago, when there was an abundance of priestsin the United States, Catholics became accustomed to andexpected the presence of a priest in an emergency, death,or time of crisis. In some places, Catholics even began toexpect priests to be on call 24-7-365, ready to respondimmediately to a wide range of requests by the faithful.

Today, a vast majority of priests try to be present intimes of need for their parishioners. However, due tothe ever-growing number of Catholics, our broad geo-graphic territory, and the reduced number and the agingof priests, not every expectation can be fulfilled. Yes,we will get out of bed at any hour of the night for a realemergency, even several times in a given night, evenwhen we have a full day of responsibilities ahead of us.However, our pastoral care will be more effective if allCatholics will be mindful of several things. 4 First, please don’t wait until the last minute to call apriest. Catholics should make it a habit regularly, atleast quarterly, to go to Confession. 4Second, pastors should be notified when a personenters a nursing home, is seriously sick at home, or isplanning surgery or hospitalization. 4Third, all too often many Catholics are not active intheir faith or are not registered and active in a parish.This makes it difficult for a priest to attend effectivelyto the needs of someone in an emergency situation atthe personal level that is so common here in West Texas.Yes, we can be like a priest in a movie who steps rightin and comforts the party in need, but when we knowthat person the connection makes our ministry so muchmore powerful. How long does it take to register at theparish office and to attend Mass each weekend? 4Fourth, not everything is an emergency. Wedding plans,Confessions, questions about sacramental preparation, etc.,are important, but they can be attended to in time.

A point of learning may be helpful here – theSacrament of Extreme Unction or Last Rites is now

(Please See EMERGENCY/22)

Fr. Knick and Sandie

Knickerbocker

San Angelo emergency

on-call priest coverage

Priests are often called on late at night or at the last

minute. (Catholic News Service file photo).


Gilbert of Sempringham wouldn’t letdisability affect goodness as person

Gibson

Mary Lou Gibson

writes about

saints for the

West TexasAngelus.

Gibson’s column

also appears

monthly in the

Catholic Spirit,the newspaper of

the Diocese of

Austin.

Speaking of Saints ...

By Mary Lou Gibson

A physical disability can either limit a person’s life choices or point themin another new direction. This is what happened to Gilbert ofSempringham. He was born in about 1083, the son of a Norman namedJocelin. His father received the estate of Sempringham as a reward for hisservices to William the Conqueror. Gilbert was destined for a knightlycareer, but the physical disability he suffered from birth prevented himfrom following that career.

Instead, he was sent to study in Paris. He returned with a master of artsand opened a school at Sempringham for girls and boys. Paul Burns writesin “Butler’s Lives of the Saints” that such a co-educational school wasmost unusual for the time.

Gilbert received the churches of Sempringham and West Torrington fromhis father. He was not yet a priest but was appointed a vicar for churchservices. He could have had a comfortable life from the revenues from thetwo parishes, but he chose to live in poverty. Gilbert made his parishes amodel of devout behavior.

He next became a household clerk for Robert Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln.When Bloet died, he was succeeded by Alexander who ordained Gilbert.So now Gilbert was the Lord of Sempringham as well as the parson of theparish.

There was a group of seven young women among his parishioners wholived under his direction in a house he had built for them. David Farmerwrites in the “Oxford Dictionary of Saints” that Gilbert’s rule for thesewomen was based on the Rule of St. Benedict. The community grew andlay sisters and lay brothers were added to help work the land.

Gilbert sought help for how the houses were to be ruled. Burns writesthat he went to Citeaux hoping to have the house placed under Cistercianrule. But his request was refused because the Cistercians had taken onother new commitments. Pope Eugenius III, who was at the general chap-ter at Citeaux, persuaded Gilbert to retain responsibility. Bernard ofClairvaux helped him draw up the instruments of government. The popeappointed Gilbert the first Master General of the Order of Sempringham,generally known as the Gilbertines.

The Gilbertines were the only religious order to have been founded inEngland. The Order was based on a pattern of a double monastery. EditorDom Basil Watkins explains in “The Book of Saints” that the nuns fol-lowed the Benedictine rule and the canons who were the community’s spir-itual directors followed the rule of St. Augustine with all sharing a church.

As Master General, Gilbert continued his austere way of living, travelingfrequently from house to house, mainly in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.According to Farmer, he also worked at copying manuscripts, making fur-niture, and building. Gilbert was master-general of all the foundations untilhe went blind late in life. At the time of his death in 1189, there were 13houses, of which nine were double monasteries and four for canons only.He also founded orphanages and leper hospitals.

Things did not always go well for Gilbert and the Order. In 1164, theOrder came into conflict with King Henry II (1154-1189) over ThomasBecket. Gilbert was accused of helping Thomas of Canterbury (ThomasBecket) escape to the Continent after Thomas had been condemned foropposing the king at the council at Northampton in 1163. Farmer writesthat Gilbert made no secret of his support for Becket and when he wassummoned to the king, he obtained pardon and immunity for himself andhis Order.

And years later when Gilbert was nearly 90, he faced problems from

(Please See SAINTS/23)

San Angelo, TX 40 DAYS FOR LIFE:

Vigil Location: Sacred Heart Cathedral 19 S. Oakes (in the courtyard facing Beauregard)

Vigil Hours: 7:00 am 7:00 pm every day

Local Contact: Sharla Ynostrosa (325)234-3757 or [email protected]

Learn More & Get Involved:

40daysforlife.com/sanangelo

BLESSINGWell-known Catholic apologist Steve Ray, left, receives a blessing

from San Angelo Bishop Michael J. Sis, January 15, 2015, at St.

Stephen’s Church in Midland. Ray received the blessing shortly before

he delivered his prepared remarks at the annual Knights of Columbus

Clergy Appreciation Dinner at St. Stephen’s.


By Erick Rommel Catholic News Service

Each of us has a set of life lessons. Some of these lessonsmake no sense and are nothing more than superstition, like thebaseball pitcher who refuses to step on the chalk line betweenhome plate and first base when walking to the dugout. Somepeople refuse to drink coffee or caffeinated soda after noonbecause they say it keeps them up at night,while others can have an espresso and go tosleep just fine.

Over the course of a lifetime, we incorporatedifferent lessons into our lives. If we docu-mented the most important of these, I wonderwhat they would tell us about the person webecome later in life?

Andy Anderson doesn't have to ask thatquestion. His great-granddaughter published alist of the 99-year-old's life lessons on thewebsite Popsugar. He credits the list for his long and wonderfullife.

The first lesson is one shared by many, "Always maintain agood sense of humor." He has two additional rules to help himfind humor, "Try not to take yourself so seriously," and "Findsomething comical in every single situation."

Think about those lessons the next time you're having a fight.Instead of finding reasons to be angry, look for reasons to laugh.If you do, those arguments might be much shorter.

Another lesson is the result of his most important life decision.He says, "Love at first sight is not a fable." He would know. Hemet his wife on a Saturday and married her the following week.They were married 67 years.

I'm sure that long relationship led to two of his other lessons,"Love is not always easy; sometimes you have to work at it,"and "Your family is the most precious thing you will ever havein life."

He also imparts advice for those with work woes: "Having abad job is better than having no job at all." He says "never betoo good to start at the bottom," then it's easier to "make sureyou're doing what you love."

Not all of Andy's life lessons are as profound. Andy also advis-es others to drink orange juice and eat sausage daily. I wouldhope not at the same time. I also question Andy's fashion sensewhen he says, "Everyone has too many clothes. Wear what youhave and quit buying more."

Because our lives are different, the lessons we learn are differ-ent as well. Heeding advice from a 99-year-old's experience, wemight uncover new lessons that can help us in the future. To me,the most important takeaway from Andy's list is that his lessonsdon't focus on "stuff" (excluding sausage and orange juice).

They're not about having the most money or traveling to themost places. They're about making the most with what we have.

Or, as he puts it, "life is a gift you must unwrap. It's up to youto determine if what's inside will lead you to happiness or dis-may. You have the power to make that decision for yourself."

I hope our decisions in life lead us to lessons that are asenlightened as Andy's. Life is too short for anything less.

By Fr. Tad Pachloczyk

Occasionally we hear disturbing stories in themedia about young people who perpetrate abuseagainst the elderly. In a widely reported 2009 story,for example, caretakers at the Quadrangle AssistedLiving facility outside Philadelphiawere charged in connection withthe abuse of an elderly patientnamed Lois McCallister. Threeemployees, aged 19, 21 and 22were caught on a surveillance cam-era as they taunted, mocked andassaulted the partially naked 78year old woman.

She had begun complaining tovisiting family members severalmonths prior that someone washurting her and hitting her. Therewere also initial signs of bruising on her hand andwrist. After bringing the bruises to the attention ofthe nursing home’s administrators, the family wasinformed that the allegations were unfounded, andwere told the accusations were simply the result ofthe patient’s advancing dementia. Family memberssuspected there was more to it, and clandestinelyinstalled the video camera, hidden in a clock in thevictim’s room.

After capturing the assailants on tape, they con-cluded that the abuse suffered by their mother hadbeen ongoing for some time. One of the youngwomen charged in the case told investigators shewas working on another floor the night theclock/camera captured the scene in the elderlywoman’s room. A family member later told newsreporters, “They called the third girl down fromanother floor and said, ‘Come down, we’re going tostart.”

As a consequence of the abuse, the Department ofPublic Welfare eventually revoked the license forthe facility, and the family filed a civil lawsuitagainst the parent company.

A tragic event like this leads to intense question-ing about how these young people, charged with thespecial care of the older generation, could end upbecoming so callous, inhuman, and brutal. Whatcan be done to prevent this kind of “inter-genera-tional disconnect” from occurring in the future?And what can be done to build up unity and respectbetween generations?

A nearly universal point of reference over theyears, and a counsel of incalculable worth, has beenthe injunction enshrined in the Decalogue: Honoryour father and mother. A decision to abide by thiscommandment invariably serves to strengthen theconcern of children for their parents and elders, andhelps forge a bond between the generations. The

Book of Sirach offers similarly sage advice: “Myson, take care of your father when he is old; grievehim not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, beconsiderate of him; revile him not all the days ofhis life; kindness to a father will not be forgotten,firmly planted against the debt of your sins…”

In a sense, it is precisely the weakness and vul-nerability of the elderly that beckons us to manifesta greater respect towards them, and never to mis-treat them in the strength of youth. As Pope JohnPaul II beautifully summed it up in his 1999 Letterto the Elderly: “…the signs of human frailty whichare clearly connected with advanced age become asummons to the mutual dependence and indispensa-ble solidarity which link the different generations…” Compassionately attending to the needs of theelderly draws the generations together and buildssolidarity.

When the unique gifts of the elderly are investedand shared with the younger generation, this, too,builds up solidarity. Elderly people help us seehuman affairs with a sense of perspective temperedby experience, reflection and wisdom. Whenevergrandparents contribute to the raising and formationof the grandchildren, even by doing something assimple as teaching them how to pray and thinkabout God, they strengthen inter-generational ties,and build family unity.

We can foster intergenerational care and supportwithin our families and communities in other sim-ple ways as well, for example, through conscien-tious parenting, including small but important stepssuch as insisting on meal time together as a family(which builds up mutual respect and concern forothers in the family); teaching compassion by visit-ing sick or elderly neighbors together; teachingchildren to welcome all human life, even whenweak or handicapped; praying together as a family;decreasing media time and guarding against violentcomputer/video games, pornography and other prac-tices that dehumanize people and make them seemlike objects to be manipulated.

As we seek to build relational bridges across gen-erations, and work to construct a society thatesteems its elders, we simultaneously build uphomes and communities that are liberated of thethreat of abuse or neglect — places of safety, mutu-al support and love, even as the hairs on our headturn gray and our strength wanes.

---Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doc-

torate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doc-toral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the dioceseof Fall River, MA, and serves as the Director ofEducation at The National Catholic BioethicsCenter in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org

Esteeming our elders and fosteringsolidarity across generations

Making Sense of Bioethics

Rommel

A list of suggestionsbacked by a lifetimeof wisdom, learning

Pacholczyk

Page 12 FEBRUARY 2015 The Angelus The Angelus FEBRUARY 2015 Page 13

Farewell, Mary SuePriests call her ‘Mother’ or ‘Mama.’ She calls everyone ‘Darling’ and ‘Honey.’

The only bishop’s secretary the diocese has known in 53 years calls it a career.

When she was hired in1962 as the first bishop’ssecretary of the Diocese ofSan Angelo, Mary SueBrewer, at the tender age of21, had already held whatshe at one time consideredthe most important job shemight ever be asked to per-form.

As office manager atWallace Lab, Mary Suehelped owner WallaceMoritz run a San Angelophotography studio that hadestablished a national repu-tation for itself. But it was aparticular part of that jobthat was, literally, veryimportant.

“We processed a lot ofphotos for Elvis Presley,”she said. “It was my job tolock them up at nightbecause people would stealthem if I didn’t.”

Elvis of course was at theheight of his popularity inthe early ‘60s. The photosthat Wallace Labs processed

were his official photos, for-warded to the lab in SanAngelo by The King’s man-agement team.

Fifty-three years later,Mary Sue would still considerthat job as a photo tech/secu-rity specialist/plant manageras important. But clearly, shewould consider it only thesecond-most important jobshe’s ever worked. After all,it’s hard to beat being knownas “the only bishops’ secretaryin the history of the Dioceseof San Angelo.”

* * *

Mary Sue Brewer has been theone constant at the diocesanchancery from day one. She hasbeen a breath of fresh air for allwho have known her. She hasbeen “mother” to many priests andeven “mama” to a few. And ifyou have never been called“Darlin’ ”or “Honey” by MarySue, it’s safe to say your life is notquite complete.

She has built a loyal family ofhundreds even though she nevermarried. Engaged once to LeoMcGowan, whom she describes as“a devout Catholic man,” Leo

drowned two weeks before their weddingin 1963. Over a half-century later, MarySue still cannot talk about his accidentwithout becoming emotional.

She speaks ill of no one, and has onlyfond memories of those she has workedwith and for through the years. Yet makeno mistake, when she feels somethingshould be addressed, she’ll do just that.She recently recalled the story of a bish-op early on in her career telling what shefelt was an inappropriate joke. When hebegan, she said, “Stop right there,Bishop. I don’t like those kinds ofjokes.”

And stop he did. It was the kind ofwhimsical quip she would never againhear cross his lips.

Mary Sue says her best friend in thelast half-century was Msgr. TimothyMurphy, a priest who died in January2004. Murphy, former vicar general forthe diocese and a former pastor of HolyAngels in San Angelo, as well as manyother parishes, helped start the HolyAngels Youth Organization (HAYO).Helping Fr. Murphy were TomBurscheidt and Mary Sue. HAYO, MarySue said, gave her some of her bestmemories in the Church.

Her memories of the six different bish-ops paint a picture of devotion, loyaltyand love — attributes that went bothways for the secretary and the six shep-herds she served.

“I was very close to Bishop Fiorenza.He loved to cook. He would always goto the store and buy pizzas and he wouldtake all the store-bought toppings off andreplace them with the toppings that hisfamily had sent him from Sicily. He wasa very loving man and would alwayscome down the hall and hug everyone.

“I worked for Bishop Pfeifer the

longest. He was such a hard worker. Heasked me how I felt when he said he wasgoing to retire, and I said, ‘I’m exhaust-ed.’ Bishop Drury lived at the big man-sion on Old Christoval Road. I used togo there in the afternoons to work andone day the bishop was down at the riverfishing. When I walked down to see him,I heard a big splash. His fishing line hadbecome stuck in the tree above him andhe had climbed the tree to untangle theline. When he did, the branch he was onsnapped and he fell in the water. Hewalked right past me and said, “Don’tsay a word!’

“Bishop Leven was a brilliant man. Hespoke nine languages. Bishop Tschoepe,he didn’t do much paperwork. If a priesthad an issue the bishop would call himon the phone or visit him at the parish.He wrote about six letters a month.Sometimes he would walk down the hall,toss me a $20 bill and tell me to take theafternoon off, and he would stay in theoffice and answer the phones the rest ofthe day.

“I am so impressed with Bishop Sis.He is a tremendous man. One time hegot back from Ozona and he said, ‘Wowwhat a long trip!’ I told him, ‘Honey,wait till you have to go to Fort Stocktonor Sanderson.’ Bishop Sis loves the peo-ple of West Texas, especially the youth.And he has said to me he looks into theeyes of congregations here and seessomething in them that speaks to thestrength of their faith.”

———Since she was very young, Mary Sue

was raised by her grandmother. Her par-ents had divorced and, she said, neitherone of them wanted their children, so

(Please See MARY SUE/19)

By Jimmy Patterson

Editor / West Texas Angelus

Clockwise from top left, Mary Sue

Brewer adorns the late Msgr.

Timothy Murphy with a wig; Mary

Sue with Bishop Leven; Mary Sue

with Msgr. Murphy; in a picture

dated 1970, Mary Sue at her desk;

with Bishop Tschoepe; a photo of

Mary Sue at her desk; with Msgr.

Murphy, and at her retirement

party with Bishop Michael Sis and

Bishop Emeritus Michael D.

Pfeifer. (Historic photos courtesy

Mary Sue Brewer. Photo at right

by Jimmy Patterson).


Finding the one God in our faith, denominational divisionsBy Fr. Ron Rolheiser

Christian de Cherge, the Trappist Abbottwho was martyred in Algeria in 1996, wasfond of sharing this story: He had a veryclose Muslim friend, Mohammed, and thetwo of them used topray together, even asthey remained awareof their differences, asMuslim andChristian. Aware toothat certain schools ofthought, both Muslimand Christian, warnagainst this type ofprayer, fearing that thevarious faiths are not praying to the sameGod, the two of them didn't call their ses-sions together prayer. Rather they imaginedthemselves as "digging a well together".One day Christian asked Mohammed:"When we get to the bottom of our well,what will we find? Muslim water orChristian water?" Mohammed, half-amusedbut still deadly serious, replied: "Come onnow, we've spent all this time walkingtogether, and you're still asking me thisquestion. You know well that at the bottomof that well, what we'll find is God's water."

There are important religious truthscouched inside that story. First off, all reli-gions worthy of the name believe that the

first thing we need to affirm about God isthat God is ineffable, that is, God is beyondall human imagination, conceptualization,and language. Everything we think and sayabout God, even within scripture and ourdefined dogmas, is more inadequate thanadequate. It reveals some truth, but, this sideof eternity, never the complete truth. Nodogma and no religion ever provide an ade-quate expression of God. If this is true, andit is, then all religious truth is always partialand limited in its historical expression andcannot claim adequacy. All religions, alldogmas, and all expressions of theology,irrespective of denomination or religion,must humbly acknowledge their incom-pleteness. Only God is absolute, and anabsolute knowledge of God lies at the bot-tom of the well, at the end of our religiousjourney.

That fact radically changes the way weneed to conceive of ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue. Since no one, us included,has the full truth, the way of ecumenism andinterfaith dialogue should not be conceived,as has been so much the case up to the pres-ent, of one side winning the other side over:We, alone, have the truth and you must joinus! Rather the way has to be conceived ofprecisely "digging a well together", namely,as each of us, with an open heart, longingfor those others who are not at our table,refusing all proselyting, becoming engaged

through our own religious tradition in thesearch for deeper conversion. That search isprecisely the search to get to the bottom ofthe well, knowing that, once there, we, as allother sincere, authentic religious searchers,will find both God's water and unity witheveryone else who is there.

The renowned ecumenist, Avery Dulles,called this the path of "progressive conver-gence". Eventual unity among the variouschurches and various faiths will not comeabout by everyone in the world convertingto one denomination or one religion. Ratherit will come about, and can only comeabout, by each of us converting more deeplyinside our own tradition. As each of us andeach faith move more deeply into the mys-tery of God we will progressively drawcloser and closer to each other. Christian deCherge's story illustrates this wonderfully.

And this path, when correctly taken, doesnot lead us into relativism and the naïvebelief that all religions are equal. Nor does itmean that we do not enthusiastically andopenly celebrate our own religious faith tra-dition, stand ready to defend it, and standready to welcome anyone into it. But it doesmean that we must humbly accept that,while we have the truth, the truth is not oursalone. God is not a tribal deity and God'ssalvific intent is universal. God desires thesalvation of those in other denominationsand in other religious traditions just surely

as he desires our own. Hence, as Jesusteaches us, God has "other sheep", lovedindividuals and loved communities who arenot of our fold. God's love and revelationembrace everyone.

The path to unity among Christians of dif-ferent denominations and the path to unityamong world religions is not then the pathof proselytism within which any one tradi-tion, Christianity included, claims absolutetruth for itself and demands that union canbe achieved only by everyone converting toits side. Rather it lies in "digging a welltogether", that is, in each of us, within ourown tradition, converting more deeply intothe mystery of God and into all that asks ofus. As we move deeper into the mystery ofGod we will find ourselves more and moreone, as brothers and sisters in faith.

No religion is absolute, only God isabsolute. Knowing that should make us lesssmug in the practice of our own religion,more respectful of other denominations andreligions, and more willing to let God'svision trump our own.

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian,teacher, and award-winning author, isPresident of the Oblate School of Theologyin San Antonio, TX. He can be contactedthrough his website www.ronrolheiser.com. Now on Facebook www.facebook.com/ron-rolheiser.

By Very Rev. Robert Barron

Daniel Dennett, one of the “four horse-men” of contemporary atheism, proposedin 2003 that those whoespouse a naturalist,atheist worldviewshould call themselves“the brights,” therebydistinguishing them-selves rather clearlyfrom the dim benightedmasses who hold on tosupernaturalist convic-tions. In the wake ofDennett’s suggestion,many atheists havebrought forward what they take to beample evidence that the smartest people inour society do indeed subscribe to anti-the-ist views. By “smartest” they usually meanpractitioners of the physical sciences, andthus they point to surveys that indicate only

small percentages of scientists subscribe toreligious belief.

In a recent article published in the onlinejournal “Salon,” titled "Religion's Smart-People Problem," University of Seattle phi-losophy professor John Messerly reiteratesthis case. However, he references, not sim-ply the lack of belief among the scientists,but also the atheism among academicphilosophers, or as he puts it, “professionalphilosophers.” He cites a recent survey thatshows only 14% of such professors admit-ting to theistic convictions, and he statesthat this unbelief among the learned elite,though not in itself a clinching argumentfor atheism, should at the very least givereligious people pause. Well, I’m sorryProfessor Messerly, but please consider meunpaused.

Since I have developed these argumentsmany times before in other forums, let mesay just a few things in regard to the scien-tists. I have found that, in practically every

instance, the scientists who declare theirdisbelief in God have no idea what seriousreligious people mean by the word “God.”Almost without exception, they think ofGod as some supreme worldly nature, anitem within the universe for which theyhave found no “evidence,” a gap within theordinary nexus of causal relations, etc. Iwould deny such a reality as vigorously asthey do. If that’s what they mean by “God,”then I’m as much an atheist as they—andso was Thomas Aquinas. What reflectivereligious people mean when they speak ofGod is not something within the universe,but rather the condition for the possibilityof the universe as such, the non-contingentground of contingency. And about that real-ity, the sciences, strictly speaking, havenothing to say one way or another, for theconsideration of such a state of affairs isbeyond the limits of the scientific method.And so when statistics concerning the lackof belief among scientists are trotted out,

my response, honestly, is “who cares?” But what about the philosophers, 86% of

whom apparently don’t believe in God?Wouldn’t they be conversant with the mostserious and sophisticated accounts of God?Well, you might be surprised. Many aca-demic philosophers, trained in highly spe-cialized corners of the field, actually havelittle acquaintance with the fine points ofphilosophy of religion and often proveham-handed when dealing with the issue ofGod. We hear, time and again, the breezyclaim that the traditional arguments forGod’s existence have been “demolished” or“refuted,” but when these supposed refuta-tions are brought forward, they prove, Ihave found, remarkably weak, often littlemore than the batting down of a straw-man.A fine example of this is Bertrand Russell’sdeeply uninformed dismissal of ThomasAquinas’s demonstration of the impossibili-

(Please See BARRON/23)

Catholic Voices

Fr. Rolheiser

Does religion have a ‘smart-people’ problem?

Fr. Barron


By Moises Sandoval

Frequently we read heartwarm-ing stories about the generosity ofindividuals, institutions, commu-nities andcorporationstoward caus-es wherehelp is need-ed.

After agunmanassassinatedNew YorkpolicemenRafaelRamos, 40,and Wenjian Liu, 32, as they satin their patrol car on a Brooklynstreet on Dec. 20, the YankeeSilver Shield Foundation, estab-lished in 1982 by the late GeorgeSteinbrenner, owner of the NewYork Yankees, announced that itwould pay for the education ofRamos' sons, one 13 and theother in college. Liu, recentlymarried, had no children. Thefoundation has helped educate thechildren of a thousand policemen,firefighters and Port Authorityemployees killed in the line ofduty.

For me, a favorite charity isDoctors Without Borders, serving

in the worst medical crises world-wide. Currently, they are in WestAfrican countries risking theirlives caring for Ebola victims. Ialso like the work of theAmerican Friends ServiceCommittee and Catholic ReliefServices.

For most of us, giving is a sea-son, and what we contributecomes from our abundance.However, there are special per-sons like Margaret Domashinski,of West Suffield, Massachusetts,who give of the very substance oftheir lives. She has been in thenews recently because she donat-ed one of her kidneys to FatherMichael Whyte, since 2007 pas-tor of St. Catherine of Sienaparish in West Simsbury,Connecticut.

Father Whyte has Type 1 dia-betes that over the yearsdestroyed his kidneys. A year anda half ago, his doctors told himhe could expect to live sixmonths if he did nothing and onlyfive to seven years on dialysis. Atransplant would give him 20 to25 years of life.

The priest announced hispredicament at a Sunday Massand parishioners formed a com-mittee to help him find a kidney.Domashinski, a parishioner, later

told a local TV news reporter inan interview: "I knew I was amatch. I know that's kind ofspooky, but I did. I asked him,'What is your blood type?' Whenhe said 'O positive,' I told myhusband, 'I am a match for him.'"

A mother in her mid-50s withthree daughters, ages 17, 13 and10, she consulted them and herhusband. With their full support,she offered her pastor a kidneyafter a daily Mass. After a yearand a half with many tests con-firming a near-perfect match, thesurgery was performed last fall.Six weeks later, Father Whytewas back to work, feeling health-ier and stronger.

"People are waiting for anotherLazarus to be raised from thedead or another 5,000 to be fed.... God gives us miracles," FatherWhyte said. "This is one ofthem."

In the spring of 2014,Domashinski went to Africa to domission work in Uganda. Nextsummer, she and her daughterswill go there to help build a newscience center. Crediting herupbringing, she told a reporterthat her parents told her: "You arenot here just to be a piece of fur-niture."

Renewing the holiday goodwill throughout the yearCatholic Voices

By Maureen Pratt Catholic News Service

The powerful seasons of Advent andChristmas remind us about being goodneighbors to those we know and those wedon't. But so often,comfort, compassionand joy fade quicklyshortly after the sea-sons pass, and weretreat behind ourInternet aliases,locked doors andstore away our"goodwill to all" foranother year.

Yet, two incidentsfrom this past holidayseason have stayed with me, challengingme to press forward in the new year withChristmas still fresh in mind and heart.

The first occurred as I was standing in along line at the post office just beforeChristmas. Behind me, an older womanand younger man stood. She was leaningon the display case and he was cradling alarge and obviously heavy box.

I couldn't help but hear them chat aboutmutual acquaintances, his job, her assistedliving community and the upcomingChristmas festivities. Clearly, they weregood friends, and there was no trace ofcondescension or impatience as theytalked and the wait dragged on. Then, sud-denly, the woman standing behind thempiped up in a cheery voice.

"I just have to tell you how refreshing itis to hear you two," she said, patting theyoung man on the shoulder. "Really. It'sjust so very nice. You must be goodfriends."

The man smiled and said, "Oh, yes.We've known each other a long time."

I'd never heard a stranger complimenttwo other strangers on simply being whothey are -- longtime friends, one helpingthe other navigate the post office so shecould send off a gift-packed box. But as Iwitnessed the positive result of thestranger's outreach, I wondered, what ifmore of us, including me, did likewise?What if we encouraged others, evenstrangers, to be good, giving people?

The second incident happened to mymother and her friend a couple of weeksbefore Christmas. They'd just gone to amovie and were having dinner. The restau-rant they'd chosen was crowded, the waitlong. They were drooping by the time theyfinished their meal. But, when they askedfor the check, the server's response perkedthem right back up.

"Oh, you don't have to worry aboutthat," she told them. "That man over there(she pointed out an older man dining with

his wife) has paid for your meals."At first, they couldn't believe it. The

server explained that the man had told hersomeone had done something very nicefor him in the morning and he was deter-mined to pass along the good deed tosomeone he did not know.

When my mother told me what had hap-pened, I could hear the uplift in her voice.For all the stories of bad things happeningin 2014, the man's gesture showed therestill is a lot of good in the world.

What if I, and others, did similar, ran-dom gestures of giving throughout theyear ahead? How many hearts would lift?How much hope would rekindle?

As 2015 unfolds, I hope to keep thesetwo incidents close in heart and mind, andchallenge myself to look for ways to moveoutside the norm and keep Christmas alivethroughout the year.

Modern miracles exist among us

Sandoval

Pratt

Milagros modernosentre nosotros

By Moises SandovalCatholic News Service

Con frequencia leemos noticias de la generosidad de la gente,instituciones, comunidades y corporaciones portando ayuda acausas que la necesitan.

Cuando un pistolero asesinó a policías neoyorquinos RafaelRamos, de 40 años, y Wenjian Liu, de 32 años, mientras estabansentados en su auto patrulla en una calle de Brooklyn el 20 deDiciembre, la fundación Yankee Silver Shield, establecida en 1982por el fallecido George Steinbrenner, dueño de los beisbolerosYankees, anunció que pagará por la educación de los hijos deRamos, uno de 13 años y el otro ya en la universidad. Liu, recien-temente casado, no tenia hijos. La fundación ha educado a loshijos de mil policías, bomberos y empleados de la autoridad delpuerto de Nueva York quienes murieron mientras desempeñabansus deberes.

Para mí, una caridad favorita es Médicos Sin Fronteras, sirvien-do en las peores crises médicas en el mundo. Actualmente están enpaíses del oeste de África asistiendo a víctimas de ébola. Tambiénme gusta el trabajo de American Friends Service Committee yCatholic Relief Services.

Para la mayoría de nosotros, donar es una actividad temporánea.Sin embargo, hay personas especiales como MargaretDomashinski, de West Suffield, Massachusetts, que dan de laesencia de su vida. Apareció en las noticias recientemente porquedonó uno de sus riñones al Padre Michael Whyte, desde 2007 pas

(Mira SANDOVAL/23)


By Father Kenneth DoyleCatholic News Service

Q. I have just watched Mario Cuomo's funeral on tele-vision and I noticed that his son Andrew, the currentgovernor, gave a 40-minute eulogy. I was wonderingwhat the Catholic guidelines are with regard to eulogiesat funeral Masses. (Albany, NewYork)

A. Andrew Cuomo's eulogy at hisfather's funeral has prompted a numberof questions from Catholics. It has alsocreated a certain awkwardness forparish priests, who are called upondaily to minister to grieving familieswhile remaining faithful to the liturgi-cal guidelines of the church.

The general rule is clear: Eulogies atCatholic funerals are discouraged. TheGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal (the rubrics thatserve as a preface to the large red book that the priest readsfrom at the altar) says simply in No. 382: "At funeralMasses there should usually be a short homily, but to theexclusion of a funeral eulogy of any kind."

The Order of Christian Funerals (published by the Vaticanin 1989), however, gives an option that allows a balancebetween what is proper and what is pastoral. Section No.141 of that document restates the prohibition of eulogies: "Abrief homily based on the readings should always be givenat the funeral liturgy, but never any kind of eulogy."

But further on, the same document (No. 170) allows that:"A member or friend of the family may speak in remem-brance of the deceased before the final commendationbegins."

The ritual's guidelines envision that such family remarks

be brief (coming at the end, when the priest is waiting topray over the casket), and many dioceses publish specificinstructions on length.

In Syracuse, New York, for example, guidelines say: "Ifpermission is granted for a eulogy to be given at the Mass,only one person should speak on behalf of the family andthe remembrance should be well-prepared, written and lim-ited to no more than three minutes in length."

The reason for limitations on eulogies has to do with thenature and purpose of a funeral Mass. The liturgy should befocused on the promise of eternal life and the eventual hopeof reunion. It is not meant to be a canonization of thedeceased.

Instead it is a tribute to the merciful love of Christ and tothe victory over death won by Jesus, together with theprayerful plea that the merits of that victory be extendednow to the person being prayed for.

Even the most liberal interpretation of the church's guide-lines would never permit a 40-minute eulogy. (In the viewof more than a few observers, Andrew Cuomo's speechcame across as the centerpiece of the ceremony and over-whelmed everything else that the Mass stood for and soughtto teach.)

Interestingly and somewhat prophetically, in a 2009 col-umn posted on the New York Archdiocesan website,Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan observed that at funerals "theeulogy should be brief, rarely if ever more than three or fourminutes; at times the eulogies go so long they overshadowthe Mass."

Q. Recently, on Dec. 8, the feast of the ImmaculateConception (which is always a holy day of obligation)occurred on a Monday. Our church, a large suburbanparish with three priests in residence, scheduled Massesfor the feast only on Monday. (On Sunday evening, therewas the regularly scheduled Mass at 6 p.m. but that was

not a feast-day Mass and only "counted" for Sunday.)The times for the holy day Masses (7:30 a.m. and

noon) were very inconvenient, if not impossible, foradults with jobs or for students in public schools.It seems inconsistent to me to require Mass attendance

but then to schedule the only Masses at times when mostparishioners will not be able to attend. I happen to workin a downtown area with several convenient churches,but everyone is not as fortunate.

EWTN provides more flexible alternatives, but watch-ing the Mass on television (when that is the only option)is not the same as being there in person (especially sinceone is unable to receive the Eucharist). (Philadelphia)

A. Your concern is valid. As you indicate, the ImmaculateConception (the patronal feast of the United States) is a holyday of obligation when Mass attendance remains mandatoryeven when the feast occurs on a Monday or a Saturday.

When the feast day falls on a Monday, having a vigilMass the night before is problematic in many parishes:either because there is a regularly scheduled Sunday Massin the evening or because the only priest has already cele-brated a full schedule of Masses for the weekend.

One solution is to have a feast-day Mass on Mondayevening as well as on Monday morning. In our parish, wehad three Masses for the feast: the regularly scheduledweekday Mass at 8:15 a.m., a school Mass (to which allwere invited) at 9 a.m. and an additional Mass at 5:30 p.m.on Monday.

As you suggest, as long as Mass is obligatory on feastdays, we must do our best to accommodate parishioners'schedules. The last thing we need to do is to trouble people'sconsciences by making it impossible to attend. Questions may be sent to Father Kenneth Doyle at [email protected] and 40 Hopewell St., Albany, N.Y.12208.

By Father William J. Byron, SJCatholic News Service

Here's a story to assist your preparation forthe September 2015 World Meeting ofFamilies, which will wel-come Pope Francis toPhiladelphia and stimu-late worldwide discus-sion of Catholic familyvalues.

This is not a religiousstory nor were its princi-pals, both Catholics, reli-gious professionals. Infact, one was a play-wright; the other an actress.

When the young newspaperman and aspir-ing playwright Charles MacArthur was court-ing (we would now call it "dating") theyoung actress, later to become known as the

first lady of the American theater, HelenHayes, he bought a bag of peanuts from astreet vendor and, with a great flourish, hand-ed the bag to her saying, "I wish they wereemeralds."

Many years later, as he was dying, shecame to his bedside one day and he surprisedher with an emerald bracelet saying, "I wishthey were peanuts."

Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthurenjoyed a long and happy married life togeth-er, despite difficulties. And through it all, theymanaged to keep their values and valuablesin perspective. They had their peanut daysand their emerald days as they built a lastingmarriage.

When I first heard that story, I thought itwas just a beautiful legend, but I later had theopportunity to meet Helen Hayes personallyand asked her if the story was true. Sheassured me that it was.

It says it all so neatly and well: how impor-tant it is to keep family values free of corro-sive materialism. In our advanced, technolog-ically sophisticated and affluent society, thereis poverty, of course, but there is also suffi-cient material abundance to constitute a threatto all families, even those of modest means,of becoming possessed by their possessions.

The virus of materialism can strike anymarriage. Awareness of that possibility canfunction as protection of the marriage. Andthe experience of peanut days, not just duringcourtship and the early days of marriage, butlater as well, can help strengthen the bonds oflove between husband and wife, and betweenspouses and their children.

Even without the benefit of a deathbed per-spective, the believing Catholic, the man orwoman of the Beatitudes, can figure out whatis really important in life and act accordingly.

In anticipation of the 2015 World Meeting

of Families, a "preparatory catechesis" hasbeen published under the title "Love Is OurMission: The Family Fully Alive." It is hopedthat all of us will read it and reflect on its les-sons. It purports to explain "what Catholicsbelieve about human purpose, marriage andthe family," and it relates this belief in 10chapters under the titles: "Created for Joy,""The Mission of Love," "The Meaning ofHuman Sexuality," "Two Become One,""Creating the Future," "All Love BearsFruit," "Light in a Dark World," "A Home forthe Wounded Heart," "Mother, Teacher,Family: The Nature and Role of the Church,"and "Choosing Life."

It would be great if the discussion this doc-ument hopes to stimulate will generate a fewmore peanuts-and-emeralds stories that caninspire an outlook that will strengthen con-temporary family life.

On the length of eulogies at funeral MassesOur Faith

Fr. Doyle

Fr. Byron

Peanuts, emeralds and family


By Father Eugene HemrickCatholic News Service

Pope Francis made what some would consider harshstatements in his Christmas message to the Roman

Curia. He warned the cardinals andarchbishops assembled of "the terror-ism of gossip," of being part of aclique that "enslaves all its members,becoming 'a cancer' that threatens theharmony of the body and causes somuch illness," and of "spiritualAlzheimer's," or forgetting what drewthem to the priesthood in the firstplace.Pope Francis said that the Curia,

those who make up the Catholic Church's governingbody, is "called on to always improve itself and grow incommunion, holiness and knowledge to fulfill its mis-sion. But even it, as any human body, can suffer from

ailments, dysfunctions, illnesses."That hardly made for a cheerful Christmas message.

But what was he trying to say? To understand PopeFrancis' thinking, we may want to look at religiousorders.

Some religious orders were founded to carry outreforms because its members felt as if inspiring exam-ples of Christ's teachings were lacking. Reform wasneeded to revitalize religion, spawn saints and to estab-lish revitalized centers for meaningful worship. As timepassed, however, so did reforms. But the church sawrepeated religious renaissances.

One way to interpret Pope Francis' Christmas messageis to view it as a call for a much-needed renaissance andrevitalization of religion in postmodern times. AlthoughPope Francis addressed the Curia, his message alsospeaks to the world.

When I was traveling in Germany with a friend, hesaid to me: "You Americans have big appetites." This istrue of humanity, not just Americans. For example, the

amount of food on supermarket shelves tempts us toappease our appetites. The saying, "The more you get,the more you want," holds true for many, as does a bigappetite for gossip and for forgetting to count the bless-ings we have.

Down deep, we crave a healthy orderly life and knowthat better controlling our lives is the best way to attaintrue, lasting joy. We are especially happiest when doingsomething good and wholesome for ourselves that leadsto doing something good for another.

I believe this is the underlining reason behind PopeFrancis' seemingly harsh words. He is calling for a post-modern renaissance. He wants to lift our spirituality tonew heights. This requires change and, yes, death to dis-orderly appetites and bad habits. And yet, when weadmit that these things enslave us and let go, we experi-ence the joy of freedom.

And that's the joy Pope Francis desires for all of us.

By Carolyn Woo

By now, many have broken some ofthose New Year’s resolutions that seemedso promising weeks ago. Research showsthat the majority ofAmericans engage inthis practice of settinggoals at the start of anew year, yet few ofus see it through withresolute consistency. Iam among that mass, Iregret to say, and havenot yet lost thosepounds as promisedyear after year.

“Why bother?” some may ask, of mak-ing resolutions. Is this just a perfunctoryritual taken on without thought and com-mitment? Would we be more honest withourselves to simply stop? As one who hasfailed frequently, I have pondered this.I’m happy to say, I’ve come out of mymusings affirming the practice and cheer-ing for my compatriots who keep trying.

The name of the month January takesits root from the mythical Roman godJanus, with his two faces confronting thepast and the future. Because Janus couldturn his gaze in both ways, the Romans,beginning in the reign of Caesar, madethe New Year a time to atone for the past

and appeal to Janus’ forgiveness throughacts of kindness.

From their inception, New Year’s reso-lutions as expressions of the desire andthe agency for improvement are inherent-ly self-critical and optimistic. There issomething fresh, renewing and energizingabout the ability to imagine a better futurethrough one’s efforts. It is the CharlieBrown in us unbowed by the hard-nosedrealism of the Lucy. It is a vote for our-selves saying that we will not just throwin the towel.

Despite my spotty track record, I amglad I have made my collective resolu-tions over the years. Weight may not havepeeled off, but I have learned a lot aboutnutrition, healthy foods and better eatinghabits. These now inform my choices. Imay not exercise with an iron will, but ithas become part of my regimen, and Imiss it when I get away from it.

From actions prompted by past resolu-tions that eventually took hold as habits, Inow take my vitamins daily, chug down abig glass of water when I wake up in themorning and explicitly acknowledgeGod’s presence in everything I am aboutto do that day. I may not have gotten an“A” for perfect execution, but taking thelong view, I see that not all is lost.

(Please See WOO/23)

The lesson of hope behind the Pope’s Christmas message

When broken resolutionsdon’t have to die

Family Life

Fr. Hemrick

Woo

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By Nancy WiechecCatholic News Service

PHOENIX — Saying their letters hadtouched his heart, Pope Francis wrote a per-sonal response encouraging teens in south-ern Arizona in their work aiding migrants.

"These young people, who have come tolearn how to strive against the propagationof stereotypes, from people who only see inimmigration a source of illegality, socialconflict and violence," he wrote, "can con-tribute much to show the world a church,without borders, as mother of all; a churchthat extends to the world the culture of soli-darity and care for the people and familiesthat are affected many times by heart-rend-ing circumstances."

The pope's letter, written in Spanish anddated Dec. 19, was responding to letters hereceived from Jesuit Father Sean Carroll,executive director of the Kino BorderInitiative, and Kino Teens at LourdesCatholic School in Nogales, Arizona.

The Kino Teens support the work of theinitiative advocating for more humane and

viable migration solutions."Your letter and the ones from the

Lourdes Catholic School students have

touched my heart, not only because of thedrama they describe, but also for the hopethey manifest," the pope wrote in his letter

addressed to Father Carroll.Father Carroll had written the pope about

the Kino Teens and invited him to visit theborder region in both Nogales, Arizona, andNogales, in the Mexican state of Sonora.The Arizona border with Mexico is one ofthe busiest for illegal crossings. It accountsfor nearly 30 percent of all U.S. BorderPatrol apprehensions.

Twenty Kino Teens wrote letters to thepope describing their experiences living onthe border and serving migrants.

"He didn't say whether he was coming (tothe border) or not, but he sent a beautifulletter expressing his gratitude for the lettersand his support for what the young peopleare doing," said Father Carroll. "It was awonderful response affirming the work ofKBI and the Kino Teens."

Pope Francis is set to travel to the U.S. inlate September and there had been rumorsthat he might make a stop along the U.S.-Mexico border. His only confirmed visits areto Washington, New York and Philadelphiafor the World Meeting of Families.

Pope, in letter to Arizona teens, encourages work with migrants

Kino Teens Marian Enriquez and Nicole Davison carry donated goods in 2014 as they walk toward

Mexico at the Mariposa border crossing in Nogales, Ariz. They were on their way to serve dinner at the

"comedor," the kitchen and dinning hall of the Aid Center for Deported Migrants, in Nogales, Mexico.

(CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Nation

Vatican: Archbishop Romero’s beatification will be soonBy Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — SalvadoranArchbishop Oscar Romero will be beati-fied in San Salvador "certainly within theyear and not later, but possibly within afew months," said Archbishop VincenzoPaglia, the postulator or chief promoter ofthe archbishop's sainthood cause.

Speaking to reporters Feb. 4, the dayafter Pope Francis formally recognizedthat the slain Salvadoran archbishop waskilled "in hatred of the faith" -- and not forpurely political reasons -- ArchbishopPaglia said the two decades it took toobtain the decree were the result of "mis-understandings and preconceptions."

During Archbishop Romero's time asarchbishop of San Salvador -- from 1977to 1980 -- "kilos of letters against himarrived in Rome. The accusations weresimple: He's political; he's a follower ofliberation theology."

To the accusations that he supported lib-eration theology, Archbishop Paglia said,Archbishop Romero responded, "Yes, cer-tainly. But there are two theologies of lib-eration: one sees liberation only as materi-

al liberation; the other is that of Paul VI.I'm with Paul VI" in seeking the materialand spiritual liberation of all people,including from the sins of injustice andoppression.

All of the complaints, Archbishop Pagliasaid, slowed the sainthood process and"strengthened his enemies," who, he said,included the late Colombian CardinalAlfonso Lopez Trujillo, who believed theSalvadoran archbishop tended towardMarxism and thought his canonizationwould be seen as a canonization of thematerialistic, political form of liberationtheology criticized by the church.

"This mountain of paper, unfortunately,weighed down" the cause, the archbishopsaid. But the Congregation for theDoctrine of the Faith examined all hishomilies and writings and cleared them.

Promoters of the cause, he said, collect-ed "a mountain of testimony just as big" tocounter the accusations and to prove thatArchbishop Romero heroically lived theChristian faith and was killed out ofhatred for his words and actions as aCatholic pastor.

In the end, Archbishop Paglia said, botha panel of theologians working for theCongregation for Saints' Causes and thecardinals who are members of the congre-gation voted unanimously to recommendPope Francis recognize ArchbishopRomero as a martyr.

"He was killed at the altar," ArchbishopPaglia said, instead of when he was aneasier target at home or on the street."Through him, they wanted to strike thechurch that flowed from the SecondVatican Council."

Shooting him March 24, 1980, as hecelebrated Mass in a San Salvador hospi-tal chapel "was not caused by motives thatwere simply political," Archbishop Pagliasaid, "but by hatred for a faith that,imbued with charity, would not be silentin the face of the injustices that relentless-ly and cruelly slaughtered the poor andtheir defenders."

Msgr. Jesus Delgado Avecedo,Archbishop Romero's secretary and aide,said he met the archbishop the day he wasinstalled in San Salvador; he came to thearchdiocese with a reputation as beingconservative. "The clergy did not like himat all, because the clergy of San Salvadorwere educated in the teachings of theSecond Vatican Council and Medellin,"the 1968 meeting of the Latin Americanbishops that called church workers tostand with the poor and for urgent andradical democratic and economic reformsthroughout the continent.

Archbishop Oscar Romero (CNS Photo)


(Para 2)

sacramental de la Iglesia, especialmente laEucaristía, llegamos a ser miembros de lacomunión de los santos. Como tal, estamosunidos el uno al otro en Dios. En vez deencerrarnos en nosotros mismos, hemos dellegar a otros y hacer algo en servicio de ellos,hasta ayudar aquellos quienes se encuentranlejos de nosotros.

El segundo pasaje bíblico es del Génesis4:9. En ese pasaje, después que Caín mató asu hermano Abel, Dios le preguntó, “¿Caín,dónde está tu hermano Abel?” Caínrespondió, “No sé. ¿Soy yo acaso guardián demi hermano?”

El Papa Francisco nos plantea la pregunta,“¿Dónde está tu hermano?” Él quiere quesuperemos la indiferencia y la dureza delcorazón por medio de cuidar a ellos quienesson débiles, pobres, sufridos, y doloridos. Éldice, “Toda comunidad cristiana está llamadaa cruzar el umbral que la pone en relación conla sociedad que la rodea, con los pobres y losalejados. La Iglesia por naturaleza es mision-era, no debe quedarse replegada en sí misma,sino que es enviada a todos los hombres.”

Si seguimos la guía de nuestro Papa, todasnuestras parroquias, misiones, y comunidadesllegarán a ser “islas de misericordia en mediodel mar de la indiferencia.” Este es un desafíoque debería motivar la manera en que vivimosla temporada de la Cuaresma.

El tercer pasaje bíblico es “Fortalezcan suscorazones” tomada de Santiago 5:8. El SantoPadre nos anima a tener un corazón fuerte y

firme, no de desesperarnos en un espíritu deimpotencia cuando estamos saturados porreportes noticieros del sufrimiento humanoalrededor del mundo. No deberíamos subesti-mar el poder de la oración. Por medio de lasacciones caritativas de la Iglesia, todos colab-oramos con ayuda tanto para las personas cer-canas como a las lejanas. También permitimosque los sufrimientos de otros nos recuerde dela incertidumbre de nuestras propias vidas ynuestra dependencia en Dios y en los demás.

En la Cuaresma 2015, el Papa Francisconos llama como individuos y como comu-nidades eclesiales a ser firmes y misericor-diosos, atentos y generosos, para que con laayuda de Dios podamos superar la tentaciónde la indiferencia.

Durante la Cuaresma en nuestra Diócesis deSan Ángelo, nos dedicaremos en variasacciones concretas para llegar más allá denosotros mismos y ayudar a aquellos quienesestán en necesidad alrededor del mundo. ElMiércoles de Cenizas, recogeremos unacolección especial para las necesidades de laIglesia en Europa Oriental. El Viernes Santo,nuestra colecta será para las comunidadesCristianas que sufren en la Tierra Santa. A lolargo de la temporada, cada uno de nosotrostenemos la oportunidad cada día de poner unacontribución personal en las cajas de monedascuaresmales las cuales apoyan el trabajo cari-tativo internacional de Catholic ReliefServices.

En un nivel local, servimos a nuestros próji-mos necesitados por medio de las agenciascatólicas como Catholic Charities en Odessa,

Catholic Outreach en San Ángelo, HelpingHands en Midland, y la Sociedad de SanVicente de Paul en varias partes de nuestradiócesis. Si su parroquia o misión no tieneuna Sociedad de San Vicente de Paul, u otraforma de ayuda práctica para el pobre local,¿porqué no empezar este año?

Este año, durante la Cuaresma, somos lla-mados a llevar a cabo nuestras prácticas tradi-cionales de la oración, el ayuno, y la caridad,dando atención especial a la batalla contra latentación de la indiferencia. Oremos no sola-mente por nosotros mismos, sino también pornuestros hermanos y hermanas que sufren.Cuando ayunamos, podemos relacionar con loque el hambriento del mundo sufre cada día.Por medio de la práctica de la caridad, hace-mos algo concreto para ayudar a los necesita-dos, tanto cerca como lejanos.

Al final, estas prácticas nos preparan paratomar pasos aún más grandes. Más allá de lasacciones de caridad tan importantes, somosllamados a resolver cuestiones de justicia.Debemos mirar las causas del sufrimiento ennuestro mundo, considerando cómo y porquétantos de nuestros hermanos y hermanas,tanto locales como globales, son dejados fuerade las márgenes sociales. Nos compromete-mos a unirnos en solidaridad con ellos,tomando acción individual y comunitaria paraedificar un mundo cuyas estructuras reflejanla justicia de nuestro Dios.

Nuestros hermanos y hermanas que sufrennecesitan ayuda. Como Católicos Cristianos,nos damos cuenta de ellos. Su situación nosimporta, y hacemos algo para dar una mano.

OBISPO

MARY SUE(From 13)

Mary Sue and her three brothers and sisterswere left with their grandmother in SanAngelo. That turn of events would provide afoundation in her formation. Rememberingher grandmother as a devout Catholic, MarySue says priests and sisters were frequently ather house.

“Mommy, which was what we called ourgrandmother, wanted that influence aroundus,” she said. “We never missed anything atImmaculate Conception (which becameSacred Heart Church and finally SacredHeart Cathedral in 1964). We were in thefront pew for every procession. We didn’tmiss anything.”

Mary Sue is fond of Pope Francis, callinghim a “breath of fresh air for the Church.

“He’s shaken up a lot of people who needto be shaken up,” she said. “He is for justiceand for the poor and he speaks out on what iswrong.”

She has met two popes: Paul VI andBenedict XVI, and attended Pope John PaulII’s visit to San Antonio in 1987. She also has

10 rosaries blessed by 10 different popes andgiven to her by bishops through the years.

———A priest at Sacred Heart Church in San

Angelo first told Mary Sue about the secre-tarial opening at the chancery in the fall of1961. Her response was, ‘Well, they’d neverhire me, I don’t have any experience.’ But,out of nine candidates, they did hire her.

And it has proved to be a good hiring deci-sion for the Church. At her retirement dinner,January 20, 2015, more than 80 people gath-ered in her honor and listened to the words ofher sixth and last boss.

“ This is a very historic night for our dio-cese,” Bishop Sis began. “Mary Sue beganher service to the diocese on February 19,1962. I was two years old.

“She has served all six of the bishops.Humanly speaking, that’s a privilege.Spiritually speaking, that’s a purgatory. I havenever known anyone who has worked longerthan this at a diocese. There probably aresome. Maybe St. Peter’s assistant did, butI’ve never known anyone who has workedfor a diocese as long as Mary Sue hasworked for us.

“In my one year of knowing and workingwith Mary Sue, here’s how I would describeher service to the Church. She has servedwith dedication, perseverance, patience, kind-ness, a good sense of humor, a great memory,and a well-grounded practical realism, whichis pretty typical of West Texas. She serveswith professionalism, diplomacy, humility,respect, love for people, love for the Church,and love for God.

“After almost 53 complete years, shedeserves to be able to have the opportunityfor a restful and fun retirement. We are hereout of love for you and we will miss youvery much.”

———Mary Sue intends to enjoy her retirement

by volunteering in San Angelo and travelingwhen possible.

She said the one thing she wants to impartupon people as she leaves the chancery forthe final time is this: Have your priests andreligious over to your home for dinner moreoften. Those who serve in the Church desirepersonal interaction with parishioners andlook forward to the opportunity to share intheir lives.


The West Texas AngelusOfficial Newspaper of the

Diocese of San Angelo, TexasPOSTMASTER: Send all address

changes to:WEST TEXAS ANGELUS

P.O. Box 1829SAN ANGELO, TX 76902-1829__________________________

Bishop Michael J. Sis

Publisher

Jimmy Patterson

Media Relations DirectorEditor

MemberCatholic News Service

Catholic Press AssociationTexas Catholic News

Published the first Monday follow-ing the 1st Saturday of each month

and delivered to all registeredparishioners in the San Angelo

Diocese.

Subscription rate for all others:$10 per year

THIRD CLASS POSTAGE PAIDAT SAN ANGELO, TEXAS

Printed by the San Angelo Standard TimesA Scripps-Howard Company

Submissions:

Story suggestions, calendar items,parish briefs and all other

submissions should be emailed toJpatterson@

sanangelodiocese.orgCOPY, PHOTO DEADLINE:

Third Friday of every month.Photos should be in jpeg format.

Letters to the editor are welcome,and should be emailed to

[email protected].

Letters to the editor are printed atthe discretion of the editor and

identities of the writer are subjectto verification. Please include

name, address and phone numberwhen submitting letters.

(From 1)

main speaker, Gloria Pope, is ministerof Galilee Missionary Baptist Churchalong with her husband, the ReverendJohn S. Pope Jr.

“The word means to be a servant,”she continued. “No one wants to waittables,” but all are called to share God’slove by acting in service.

Pope said Dr. King was calling for a“color blind society” that realizes “allmen are created equal.”

“We have come a long way, but westill have further to go. We haven’tlearned how to walk the earth as broth-ers and sisters.”

The congregation broke into applauseand Pope’s own voice was so powerful the church’s old stained glasswindows seemed to tremble. Pope broke into tears.

“If we knew how to love right, we wouldn’t serve some and notothers. The only way to love right is to do it God’s way. You learn todo it unconditionally.”

Throughout her message, she held the rapt attention of everyone,

including San Angelo Bishop MichaelJ. Sis, seated at the altar with minis-ters representing multiple churches inthe area.

Sis gave the opening prayer, quotingfrom Dr. King:

"Help us to walk together, praytogether, sing together, and livetogether until that day when all God’schildren, Black, White, Red, andYellow will rejoice in one commonband of humanity in the kingdom ofour Lord and of our God,” Sis read.

Ecumenical involvement in thecommunity is important to Bishop Sis,as well as to his predecessor, BishopMichael D. Pfeifer OMI. Sis said theannual event is a very good opportuni-

ty for Catholics of all races to express appreciation for the legacy ofDr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“He had the courage to speak out against injustice and violence,and he helped make our country a better place,” Sis said. “We canall learn from his heroic example.”

Sister Mary Theodore Therese, of Our Lady of Grace

Carmelite Monastery, speaking at the Ecumenical Service at

St. Paul Baptist Church in San Angelo.

MLK

(From 1)

The book was, “The Diary of Saint Faustina.” Isaac read it, and was fascinated. The one-time high school basketball player and U.S.Army paratrooper who had seen death bothhome and abroad, took a step toward hisfuture during the fourth quarter of that Heat-Celtics game.

“St. Faustina was a nun who didn’t go toschool,” he said. “The things she wrote wereway beyond her intelligence level. It wasdivinely inspired. The real miracle was that Istopped watching the game and started read-ing the book.”

Seventeen months later, October 2013, IsaacSokolowski entered Mt. Carmel Hermitage, asmall community of Carmelite hermits south-west of Christoval. Sokolowski became a“postulant” in March 2014 and in Januarybecame a “novice,” two words he said he hadnever even heard of when he cracked open St.Faustina’s book less than three years ago.

Isaac, now called Brother Elias Mary, hadalways made good grades while at MidlandLee High School, the school he would gradu-ate from in May 2008, but he never found ful-fillment in school and he never really yearnedfor the education he could gain from college.Time serving God through prayer and work, hecan look back on now and say, was what hewas really searching for.

“I am still trying to fathom why I have beengiven a name so much bigger than I am. Itkeeps me humble because I can never fulfillthat name,” he said.

Bro. Elias said as he continued to search for

meaning in his life, God’s voice grew quiet.“I still prayed, ‘Show me the way; where do

you want me to be?’ ” he said. “I came to visitthe hermitage here and I remember it was onDivine Mercy Sunday 2013. I wanted to meetall the brothers, but you’re not allowed to justwalk up to them and talk to them. When I vis-ited Fr. Fabian (the hermitage prior) and wetalked about what I wanted to do, which was toenter the hermitage, he said to me, ‘Well,we’re always looking for a few good monks.’ ”

“There is no mistake when God is callingyou,” Bro. Elias said.

“It will be very clear. After visiting here forfive days, which is the length of visit of yourfirst stay when you are in discernment, andthen later when I stayed here for a month, theLord left no doubt in my mind that this iswhere he wanted me. It was completely clear.”

For many who choose the monastic life,detaching from the secular world, and theireveryday life as they know it, can be a diffi-cult part of the transition process. BrotherElias said he is grateful to have parents whohave been supportive of his decision to enter alife where detaching even from family is nec-essary.

“Sports was one of the first things the Lordfreed me from,” he said. The Lord, it seems,had no trouble breaking Elias free from anoth-er piece of worldly culture that has becomesignificant in the lives of millions of people:Facebook.

Bro. Elias often encouraged people to go tochurch and become active in their parish onhis Facebook posts. Despite using it as hisown bully pulpit, ridding himself of it has notbeen difficult at all.

“There are people on Facebook all day,” hesaid. “If they prayed the same amount of timethey were on Facebook, they’d be saints. Theyfeel the need to share everything that happensduring their day. That’s the way it is here, thisplace is like a spiritual Facebook, but you gostraight to God and you begin understandingwhat false gods are. There are Facebookaddicts out there and I pray they be deliveredfrom that. If they all spoke to the Lord likethey do on Facebook, the world would be abetter place.”

Be it from sports or Facebook, detachment,Bro. Elias said, has never been a thing forhim.

“We put forth the effort (to detach),” Eliassaid, “but it’s the Lord that does it. To say I’vebeen here and done this would be a lie. Ihaven’t done anything. The Lord gives me thegrace to accomplish this.”

God willing, Elias said, he will make hissimple vows in two years. His solemn profes-sion of vows will come in five years — aGod-given accomplishment Brother Eliasalready refers to as his “marriage date.”

ELIAS


(From 3)

— my way or the highway!Maybe that banana we need to let go of

represents our unhealthy, sinful habits. Maybe it symbolizes our relationships

with so-called “friends” leading us downthe wrong path. We think they are ourfriends, but if they were really our friends,they wouldn’t lead us down the wrong path.They would want us to be good and holy.

Another thing the banana might representis resentment over past hurts, dwelling onold wounds and refusing to let go of stufffrom the past that we need to just let go andlet be.

Why don’t we let go of that banana in themonkey trap?

Maybe we think it is our source of securi-ty. Perhaps out of sheer habit or conven-ience. Maybe we lack hope in what Godcan do for us, and we don’t trust Godenough to think we can get along withoutthat banana.

Lets look at the message of the Scripturesin today’s Mass: Jonah, in the first reading,lives in Israel. He knows about those peo-ple up in Nineveh. They are of a differentlanguage, a different culture, a differentreligion, and they have their sins. God callsJonah to go to Nineveh to preach to themso they will repent and atone for their sins.Jonah doesn’t want to go to Ninevehbecause he refuses to let go of his negative

impression of the Ninevites. He doesn’twant to leave his comfort zone in Israel. Heruns from God’s call and takes the nextboat bound for Tarshish, which is far, faraway, on the other side of theMediterranean Sea. And you know whathappens: when he is on the ship, runningaway from God’s call, a big storm comes,and the crew on the boat throws him over-board and a big fish swallows Jonah andtakes him to the shore and spits him out onthe shore in the direction of Nineveh, andJonah says, “OK, OK, God, I’ll go toNineveh.” So he went and he preached tothe people and they all turned away fromtheir sins.

So, Jonah had to learn to let go of whatwas familiar and safe for him. He had tolearn to let go of his resentment of thoseNinevite people, so he could say yes towhat God wanted him to do.

In the second reading, Paul says theworld in its present form is passing away,so we should live with a spirit of detach-ment from earthly things, in order to bemore fully devoted to the Lord’s work.

In the Gospel today, from Mark, chapter1, Jesus finds Peter, Andrew, James andJohn, on a regular day of work in their jobas fishermen, and he says to them, “Comeafter me, and I will make you fishers ofmen.”

Imagine how hard that would have beenfor those guys to leave behind their nets,

their boats, their source of economic stabili-ty, and follow Jesus to go do who knowswhat. To leave it all behind and go. Ifsomething is truly valuable, then it’s wortha sacrifice.

Each one of us has a God-given missionin this life, and it usually comes throughsacrifice.

Imagine how powerful Jesus must havebeen for those guys, to leave it all behindand follow him. The person of Jesus was sopowerful and compelling, and their missionwas so vitally important, that those earlydisciples were willing to let go of theirsafety nets and say yes to whatever Godwanted them to do. Even though it was anunknown future.

Jesus is still that attractive and com-pelling today. The mission that he givesyou is just as important.

I invite you all to do a little exercise. Iwant you to look at your hands. Clenchyour fists tight. Now look at them … Whatis it that you are refusing to let go of?

Now ... open your hands. Look at them.What a great difference there is betweenthat clenched fist, and that open hand.Think of the difference between the two ofthem. If your fists are clenched tightly,holding that banana in the monkey trap,then you can’t open up your hands toreceive what God wants to give you. Andyou can’t put your hands to constructiveand productive use. What can you do with

a clenched hand like that? You can’t dovery much that is constructive. You can dothings that are destructive, but not construc-tive. If you want to do something construc-tive with your hands, you have to openthem.

So, my advice is, don’t get caught in themonkey trap. Keep your hands open, to beavailable to receive gifts from God and tobe of service to God. Keep your eyes open,to see the needs of people around you.Keep your ears open, to listen to God’s callto your mission in this world.

JONAH

(From 2)

Pope Francis poses the question to all ofus, “Where is your brother?” He wants usto overcome our indifference and hardnessof heart by caring for those who are weak,poor, suffering, and in pain. He says,“Every Christian community is called to goout of itself and to be engaged in the life ofthe greater society of which it is a part,especially with the poor and those who arefar away. The Church is missionary by hervery nature; she is not self-enclosed butsent out to every nation and people.”

If we listen to the guidance of our Pope,all of our parishes, missions, and commu-nities will become “islands of mercy in themidst of a sea of indifference.” This is achallenge that ought to motivate the waywe approach the season of Lent.

The third biblical passage is “Make yourhearts firm” from James 5:8. The HolyFather encourages us to have a strong andsteadfast heart, not to despair in a spirit ofpowerlessness when we are flooded by

news reports of human suffering aroundthe world. We should not underestimatethe power of prayer. Through the charita-ble actions of the Church, we all pitch in tohelp those near and far. We also allow thesufferings of others to remind us of theuncertainty of our own lives and ourdependence on God and others.

In Lent 2015, Pope Francis calls us asindividuals and as Church communities tobe steadfast and merciful, attentive andgenerous, so that with God’s help we canovercome the temptation of indifference.

During Lent in our Diocese of SanAngelo, we will engage in several concreteactions to reach out beyond ourselves andhelp those in need around the world. OnAsh Wednesday, we will take up a specialcollection for the needs of the Church inEastern Europe. On Good Friday, our col-

lection is for the suffering Christian com-munities in the Holy Land. Throughoutthe season, we each have the opportunityto place a personal contribution every dayinto our Lenten coin boxes that support theinternational charitable work of CatholicRelief Services.

On a local level, we serve our neighborsin need through Catholic agencies likeCatholic Charities of Odessa, CatholicOutreach in San Angelo, Helping Hands inMidland, and the St. Vincent de PaulSociety in various parts of our diocese. Ifyour parish or mission does not have a St.Vincent de Paul Society, or some otherform of practical outreach to the local poor,why not get started this year?

In Lent this year, we are called to carryout our traditional practices of prayer, fast-ing, and almsgiving with the special focus

of battling against the temptation of indif-ference. We pray not just for ourselves,but also for our suffering brothers and sis-ters. When we fast, we get in touch withwhat the hungry of the world are goingthrough every day. Through the practice ofalmsgiving, we do something concrete tohelp those in need, both near and far away.

Eventually, these practices prepare us totake even bigger steps. Beyond the impor-tant actions of charity we are called totackle matters of justice. We must look atthe causes of suffering in our world, con-sidering how and why so many of ourbrothers and sisters both locally and glob-ally are left out at the edges of society. Wecommit ourselves to walking in solidaritywith them, taking action both individuallyand communally to build a world whosestructures reflect the justice of our God.

Our suffering brothers and sisters needhelp. As Catholic Christians, we noticethem. Their situation matters to us, and wedo something about it.

BISHOP‘If we listen to the guidance of our Pope, all of our parish-es, missions and communities will become ‘islands ofmercy in the midst of a sea of indifference.’

— Bishop Sis

OmissionThe Necrology for January was

inadvertently left out of a recent

edition of the Angelus. Here are the

dates of priests and deacons

deaths in our diocese for the month

of January. Please pray for them.

10-Rev. Francis Beazley, OMI

(1992)

13-Rev. Joseph Walter (1989)

16-Rev. Cyril Lange (1971)

16-Msgr. Timothy Murphy (2004)

18-Rev. Patrick Ryan, O.M.I. (1975)

19-Fr. Robert Kelly (1999)

23-Deacon Jose Esparza (2011)

24-Bishop Thomas Tschoepe (2009)

26-Deacon D.J. Goetz (2003)

26-Deacon Jack Peterson (1987)


(From 10)

For resolutions to stick, they need to be small,denominated into specific actions. This meansthe opposite of grand intentions such as“become fit,” or “be thoughtful,” “get organ-ized,” or the like. Instead, say you’ll take thestairs instead of the escalators out of the subwaythree days a week, or mark the birthday of yourassistant or closest colleague in your calendarand send a greeting; organize one drawer amonth.

While resolutions point the way to the greatexpanse of the future, our actual living is doneday by day, moment by moment. To give up onour resolutions because of a lapse ignores thefact that every day is a gift filled with its ownopportunity and invitation. While the New Yearnaturally denotes a beginning of sorts, eachdawn offers the same fresh start.

The hopefulness that fills us at the beginningof the New Year can present itself every day ifwe choose to claim it.

WOO SERVICE

EMERGENCY YNOSTROSA

(From 4)

“Thanksgiving Feast” sponsored by St.Mary’s Catholic School in Odessa, TX.

On November 19, 2014, St. Mary’sopened its doors to hundreds of home-less within the Midland/Odessa regionto offer shelter, food, and fellowship tothe less fortunate within the community.Additional assistance was provided byCatholic Charities and the Jesus Houseas volunteers directed those in need tobuses providing free transportation tothe safe haven.

Students prepared for the hungrymasses by cooking and baking a deli-cious lunch of ham, turkey, casserolesand homemade pies, served by sixthgraders in the school cafeteria. As thehomeless were fed, the entire schoolpopulation adapted as students munchedon sack lunches packed and planned toeat in the gymnasium. The cafeteria

walls were covered with elaborate artpieces and tables adorned with decora-tive placements created by younger stu-dents, and the air was filled with sweetsounds as the school orchestra played.

“Let your light shine before others,that they may see your good deeds andglorify your Father in heaven.”(Matthew 5:16)

On January 25-31, 2015, studentsaround the nation celebrated CatholicSchools Week. The theme this year is“Catholic Schools: Communities ofFaith, Knowledge and Service.” It isimportant for all to remember that asteachers provide an exemplary educa-tion rooted in scripture and traditionfrom which a foundation of faith isbuilt, it is only through service that stu-dents experience a gain of growth andmaturity of that faith. Through service,students learn that part of living one’sfaith is to respond to the call to serve

others. And as an old saying is para-phrased, “Their actions will becomehabits. Their habits will become charac-ter. And character is everything.”

On February 7-8, 2015, Catholicchurches within the Diocese of SanAngelo will hold a second collectionduring all services to raise funds for thebenefit of Catholic schools in our area.Please be generous and remember thatthese students of faith, these stewards ofservice, these children that we call ourown are building character that will oneday serve us all.

* * *

If unable to contribute to the specialcollection in February, please feel freeto contact your local Catholic churchand/or school for information aboutdirecting your donation.

(From 9)called the Sacrament of Anointing of theSick. It is not reserved only for the lastmoments of life or just before going into sur-gery. It is a sacrament that should bereceived as a matter of our spiritual and phys-ical wholeness, and it can be received multi-ple times in one’s life. Many parishes offerMasses of Healing with sacramental anoint-ing of those who request it. Please takeadvantage of this gift in your parish.Receiving this sacrament does not mean youare going to die. However, we know not theday or the hour. (Matt 24:42 and 25:13)Instead of being afraid, we should maintainspiritual preparedness.

To meet the needs of Catholics in the SanAngelo area and those who come to our hos-pitals, there are two ways to approach it.First, if the person in need is a member of aparish and wishes that pastor to visit, thefamily should contact that priest through hisparish during work hours. Second, if theparty in need is not a member of a localparish, then the family should contact thefloor nurse and request that the nurse or thehospital chaplain call the emergency on-callpriest. The priests in Tom Green Countyhave developed an emergency on-call rotationsystem. A phone is passed to a differentpriest on a weekly rotation. The phone num-ber is NOT for public distribution. It hasbeen given only to the hospitals for use bythe staff. The emergency on-call priest is tobe available to help in emergencies. If thecall is not an emergency and can be handled

the next day, the priest may determine to waitto respond or refer the call to the appropriatepastor. Please understand that this is not aperfect system, but it sure beats calling fromparish to parish and having no priestsrespond, or having two or three priests showup at the hospital for the same case.

Remember: 1) Contact the floor nurse orER personnel as soon as possible. 2) Pray forthe patient.

On a side note: When a person is admittedto a hospital, they should a) notify their priestbefore going in, b) notify the hospital thatthey are Catholic, c) if admitted into the hos-pital through the emergency room, the hospi-tal might not record the religion of the personadmitted. The family or patient should checklater with the floor nurse to make sure thatthe patient's name is included on the Catholiccensus and therefore will be more likely toreceive a Catholic visit while in the hospital.

If there is need for a priest to visit a personat home or a nursing home for an emergency,please call your local parish. If the need is anemergency and is after work hours or on aweekend, the answering service can contactthe emergency on-call priest. Leave a call-back number and directions for a house call.Again, please call as soon as possible toallow time for the priest to respond.

Another thing you can do is to pray formore vocations from your parish and fromwithin your own family. You never knowwhen God will call for the final journey, andyou never know when God will call someoneto a vocation of ministry in the Church.

(From 7)

Pro-Life Generation!" Many of the signs were hand written on poster boards. One ofthese signs said, "1/3 of My Generation is Missing" another one said, "I Survived,but Roe v Wade won't Survive Me!" Another one said, "A person is a person no mat-ter how small!, Dr. Seuss!"

We marched several blocks to get to the capitol. The weather was perfect, andbeing with so many pro-life people of all ages, so many teenagers and young adults,was absolutely fantastic!

As we walked onto the Capitol lawn, pro-abortion protesters jumped out at usyelling in our faces, waving their signs with crude statements. We just kept walkingand totally ignored them. We stood in the shade of the trees and listened to the guestspeakers for the rally. Each one had a story to tell, Abby Johnson was the MC, andshe shared a little of her story as she introduced each speaker. Ons speaker wasClaire Culwell, and the story she told brought tears to my eyes. Claire was adoptedwhen she was about 2 1/2 months old.

She was premature and only weighed a little over 3 lbs. when she was born, andshe had several problems that required casting for her legs and lower body. Shelooked for her birth mother when she was grown, she is in her mid to late twentiesnow. The story her birth mother told her changed her life. Claire survived the abor-tion that killed her twin. I can't imagine hearing those words. Claire's story is one youshould read about. If you go to the Texas Alliance for Life page and click on picturesfrom the Texas Rally for Life, you will see her beautiful picture, and you can readthe rest of her story. When all the speakers were finished we walked back to ourvehicles. There were at least 2,500 pro-life people there, I've heard different num-bers, even as high as 6,000. That wouldn't surprise me, there were people as far as Icould see and then some.

Jim and I headed back to San Angelo, tired from waking up at 2:00am, but ener-gized from the wonderful experience the entire day had been. I was disappointedwith the media coverage. The liberal media refuses to acknowledge the huge pro-lifepresence that is growing stronger each year. The liberal media refuses to acknowl-edge the young men and women who carry signs that say, "My Generation Will EndAbortion!" You know what? I believe their generation will end it! Thanks be to God!

Sharla Ynostrosa blogs about pro-life issues at adoptedandblessed.blogspot.com


House, Senate

Contact Information

HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES-- U.S. Congressman K. Michael

Conaway (District 11-- San Angelo,

Midland-Odessa, Andrews, Stanton,

Crane, Rankin, Big Lake, Colorado City,

Sterling City, Robert Lee, Bronte, Ballinger,

Winters, Miles, Christoval, Eldorado,

Junction, Menard, Eden, Melvin, Brady,

Coleman, Brownwood, McCamey,

Mertzon, Sweetwater )

Phone: 202-225-3605

Mailing Address: 511 Cannon House

Office Building, Washington, DC 20515

Email (via Web):

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/wel-

come.shtml:

Web: http://conaway.house.gov/

-- Rep. Randy Neugebauer (District 19

-- Big Spring, Abilene, Clyde)

Phone: 202-225-4005

Mailing Address: 1424 Longworth

HOB, Washington, DC 20515

Email (via Web):

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/wel-

come.shtml

Web: http://randy.house.gov/

-- Rep. Will Hurd (District 23 — Fort

Stockton, Iraan, Ozona, Sonora)

Mailing Address: 431 Cannon HOB

Washington, DC 20515-4323

Phone 202-225-4511

U.S. SENATE-- U.S. Senator John Cornyn

Phone: 202-224-2934

Mailing Address: 517 Hart Senate

Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510

Web:

http://www.cornyn.senate.gov/public/

-- U.S. Senator Ted Cruz

Cruz, Ted - (R - TX) Class I

Phone: (202) 224-5922

Mailing Address: B40B Dirksen

Senate Office Building, Washington, DC

20510

(Para 15)

tor de la parroquia Santa Catarina deSiena en West Simsbury, Connecticut.

El padre Whyte sufre de diabetes tipo1 que durante los años le destruyó losriñones. Hace año y medio, sus médicosle informaron que podía esperar seismeses de vida si no hacía nada y cincoa siete años con diálisis. Un trasplantele daría 20 a 25 años más de vida.

El sacerdote anunció su situación undomingo en la Misa y sus parroquianosorganizaron un comité para ayudarle abuscar un riñón. La parroquiana

Domashinski dijó durante una entrevistade televisión: “Sentí que era compati-ble. Sé que es poco escalofriante, peroyo sabía. Le pregunté, ‘¿Cuál es el tipode su sangre’? Cuando el dijo, ‘OPositivo’ le dije a mi esposo, ‘Soy com-patible”.

Domashinski, una madre en suscinquentas y con tres hijas de edad 17,13 y 10 años, consultó con ellas y consu esposo. Con su pleno apoyo le ofre-ció al pastor un riñón después de unaMisa diaria. Después de año y medio depruebas que confirmaron compatibili-dad casi perfecta, la cirugía se llevó a

cabo el otoño pasado. Seis semanasdespués, el padre Whyte regresó a sutrabajo en plena salud y energía.

“El pueblo espera otro Lázaro…uotros 5.000 que sean alimentados….Dios nos da milagros; este es uno”, elpadre Whyte declaró.

En la primavera de 2014,Domashinski fue a África para servir enuna misión en Uganda. Vuelve este ver-ano con sus hijas para ayudar a estable-cer un centro de ciencia. Atribuyendotodo a su educación, dijo durante unaentrevista que sus padres le dijeron:“No estás aquí sólo para ser mueble”.

SANDOVAL

BARRON

SAINTS

(From 14)

ty of an infinite regress of conditionedcauses.

But more to it, the percentage of athe-ists in the professional philosophicalcaste has at least as much to do with aca-demic politics as it does with the formu-lation of convincing arguments. If onewants to transform a department of phi-losophy from largely theist to largelyatheist, all one has to do is to make surethat the chairman of the department andeven a small coterie of the professoriatare atheist. In rather short order, that criti-cal mass will control hiring, firing, andthe granting of tenure within the depart-ment. Once atheists have come to domi-nate the department, only atheist facultywill be hired and students with theisticinterests will be sharply discouragedfrom writing dissertations defending thereligious point of view. In time, very fewdoctorates supporting theism will be pro-duced, and a new generation, shaped bythoroughly atheist assumptions, willcome of age. To see how quickly thistransformation can happen, take a good

look at the philosophy department atmany of the leading Catholic universities:what were, in the 1950’s overwhelminglytheistic professoriats are today largelyatheist. Does anyone really think that thishappened because lots of clever newarguments were discovered?

Another serious problem with trum-peting the current statistics on the beliefsof philosophers is that such a move isbased on the assumption that, in regard tophilosophy, newer is better. One couldmake that argument in regard to the sci-ences, which do seem to progress in asteadily upward direction: no one studiesthe scientific theories of Ptolemy orDescartes today, except out of historicalinterest. But philosophy is a horse of adifferent color, more akin to poetry. Doesanyone think that the philosophical viewsof, say, Michel Foucault are necessarilybetter than those of Plato, Aristotle, Kant,or Hegel, just because Foucault is morecontemporary? It would be like sayingthe verse of Robert Frost is necessarilysuperior to that of Dante or Shakespeare,just because Frost wrote in the twentiethcentury. I for one think that philosophy,

so marked today by nihilism and post-modern relativism, is passing through aparticularly corrupt period. Why shouldwe think, therefore, that the denizens ofphilosophy department lounges today arenecessarily more correct than AlfredNorth Whitehead, Edmund Husserl,Ludwig Wittgenstein, Jacques Maritain,Emmanuel Levinas, and Jean-LucMarion, all of whom were well-acquaint-ed with modern science, rigorouslytrained in philosophy and affirmed theexistence of God?

I despise the arrogance of Dennett andhis atheist followers who would blithelywrap themselves in the mantle of “bright-ness;” but I also despise the use of statis-tics to prove any point about philosophi-cal or religious matters. I would muchprefer that we return to argument.

Father Robert Barron is the founder ofthe global ministry, Word on Fire, andthe Rector/President of MundeleinSeminary. He is the creator of the awardwinning documentary series,"Catholicism" and "Catholicism:TheNew Evangelization."

(From 10)

within the Order. Farmer describes arebellion of the lay brothers who com-plained that there was too much workand not enough food. The complainersfound support from some skilled crafts-men and magnates within the church.They went to Rome with their com-plaints, but Gilbert was upheld by PopeAlexander III. Gilbert accepted themback and improved their food and dress.

One of Gilbert’s long standing habitswas to place a plate at his side at table.

Omer Englebert writes in “Lives of theSaints” that he said it was “the plate ofthe Lord Jesus” in which he put the bestfood. This became the custom in hisOrder and that food became the portionof the poor. What was left was forGilbert himself.Gilbert was more than 100 years oldwhen he died on February 4, 1189 atSempringham. He was canonized 13years later by Pope Innocent III in 1202.The Order doubled in size over nearly350 years with 26 monasteries. All thehouses were dissolved by Henry VIII

when he suppressed monasteries andwere never revived. Gilbert’s shrine wasa place of pilgrimage at the great doublemonastery with its vast church. Today,only crop marks remain near the surviv-ing parish church at Sempringham. The school that Gilbert started for boysand girls is the existing primary schoolat Sempringham and is still named afterhim: St. Gilbert of SempringhamChurch of England School. The school’smotto is: “Energy and PersistenceConquers All.”


Smile & Click

Scenes of San Angelo Catholics at the Texas Catholic Rally

for Life Day in Austin, January 24, 2015. (Photos courtesy

John Rangel).

Bishop Michael Sis, far left, with UT-Permian

Basin president, Dr. David Watts; with the

Catholic Student Association at UTPB (near left).

Above, with Fr. Joseph Uecker, sacramental min-

ister for the CSA. (Photos by Alan P. Torre /

aptorre.com.)

Odessa

OdessaAustin

Abilene

Fr. Mark Woodruff, at right, pastor

of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in

Odessa, addresses a crowd of vol-

unteers at the church to kick off the

parish’s campaign to raise aware-

ness and funds toward the expan-

sion of its current campus.

The kickoff event was December 14,

2014.

(Photo by Alan P. Torre /

aptorre.com)

Youth groups at Abilene’s St. Vincent Pallotti recite

the Rosary while elementary children enact the 5

decades of the Joyful Mysteries.

(Courtesy photo by John Rangel)

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