News - February 2014 RSS Feed

The Catholic Church needs to find a way to offer healing, strength and salvation to Catholics whose marriages have failed, who are committed to making a new union work and who long to do so within the Church and with the grace of Communion, Cardinal Walter Kasper told the world’s cardinals.

Those who recognize marriage as a sacrament, a divine blessing and a reflection of God's love for humanity should have even greater sympathy for husbands and wives whose relationships have failed, Pope Francis said.

?Bishop Mark J. Seitz has announced that the El Paso Diocesan Church will celebrate its 100th birthday March 1 at the Ysleta Mission. The mission is the oldest Catholic institution in the Diocese of El Paso.

On the Feast of Christ the King last year Pope Francis published his Apostolic Exhortation following the Synod on the New Evangelization from the previous year. It is a document that I believe can serve as a manual for us to examine ourselves as “missionary disciples” of Jesus Christ and on how we can better make him known and the truth of his Gospel lived in this modern times.

"It does make sense to become a priest: the world needs priests, pastors, today, tomorrow and always, until the end of time," Pope Benedict said, speaking from his heart, to seminarians throughout the church in an open letter on Oct. 18, 2010.

The sacrament of confirmation is a path of Christian initiation for the baptized. Through the sacrament of confirmation the baptized receive the Holy Spirit who was sent upon the Apostles by the Lord on the day of Pentecost.

CNN recently profiled the case of a woman named Marlise Muñoz, who was both pregnant and brain dead. Its report noted that Mrs. Muñoz was “33 years old and 14 weeks pregnant with the couple’s second child when her husband found her unconscious on their kitchen floor Nov. 26.

Two recent books suggest that, amidst challenges and problems, the pace of authentic Catholic renewal is accelerating in these United States.

A year ago at the Inauguration Mass of the pontificate of Pope Francis, the occasion being the Solemnity of St. Joseph the Spouse of Mary, the Holy Father meditated in his homily on the humility and fidelity of the patron of the Universal Church. A few weeks later, the pope issued his first decree ordering that the name of St. Joseph be added to three Eucharistic Prayers.

"It is difficult/to get the news from poems/yet men die miserably everyday/for lack/of what is found/there." Great poets have their finger on the pulse of their society.

When you move toward a time of prayer, normally you look forward to it as a time that will be one of peace and joy. Sometimes, however, for one reason or another, you may be surprised to find that this is not so on this particular day and that it is very difficult for you to settle down to celebrate such a relationship with God.

This morning, Feb. 27, in the Sala Clementina of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father received in audience the bishops who are friends of the Focolare Movement, who have held a meeting during recent days on the theme of “Mutual love among Christ's disciples.” Among them was Bishop Michael Mulvey of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

Claire Thomas, a sixth grader at Incarnate Word Academy Middle Level, placed first at the South Texas Regional Spelling Bee on Feb. 22 at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center.

Bishop Michael Mulvey blessed 16 couples who celebrated 25 and 50 years in sacramental marriages. The celebration of World Marriage Day was held at Corpus Christi Cathedral on Feb. 16.

Prayer is one of the three pillars of Lenten practice. Through prayer, we raise our hearts and minds to God in thanksgiving and praise. Prayer is our “vital and personal relationship with the true and living God.”

We can begin to embrace this call by fasting from or “giving up” material things, including certain foods, that are superfluous to our basic needs; “taking up” habits that our directed to helping others; and “lifting up” our brothers and sisters through prayer and devotion. By taking an active approach to the three traditional pillars of Lenten observance, prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we recognize that to be evangelists, we must be evangelized ourselves.

The foundational call of Christians to charity is a frequent theme of the Gospels. During Lent, we are asked to focus more intently on “almsgiving,” which means donating money or goods to the poor and performing other acts of charity.

In the early Church and, to a lesser extent still today, there were two fasts. There was the “total fast” that preceded all major feasts or sacramental events. The ancient name for this fast was “statio” from the verb “sto, stare” to stand watch, on guard or in vigil. The second fast was a fast of abstinence from certain foods, e.g., meats or fats. This was more an act of self-discipline and self-control.

As Lent draws near, I would like to offer some helpful thoughts on our path of conversion as individuals and as a community.

The Lenten Season begins on Ash Wednesday March 5. While many look forward to this time for opportunities for spiritual growth and renewal, quite often many people see it as a liturgical season to dread focusing on “What am I going to give up?” “How long can I live without whatever it is I am going to give up?” “How many more days before I don’t have to give up whatever it is that I am giving up?”