by Sister Guadalupe Maria Cervantes, PCI Contributor
Holy Mother Church never tires of inviting us, never ceases to urge us to receive holy Communion frequently, yes, even daily. And she encourages us, whenever we assist at the holy sacrifice of the Mass, to receive the body and blood of Christ with the priest, not only spiritually, by way of desire, but actually, by the sacramental participation of the sacred species. The divine heart of Jesus burns with desire to communicate himself to those who assist to the holy sacrifice of the Mass. “Take and eat,” he says, “this is my body (Mt. 26:26).”
The month of October, as Respect Life Month, calls us to focus our attention on the respect of human life in all its stages, moments and situations. All human life, regardless of circumstance, is sacred and worthy of respect. Human dignity is rooted in the nature of the human person made in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gn 1:26) and knowable to us through the natural law.
In his Regina Caeli Message on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2013, Pope Francis said “Behind and before every vocation to the priesthood or to the consecrated life there is always the strong and intense prayer of someone: a grandmother, a grandfather, a mother, a father, a community…This is why Jesus said: ‘Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest,’ that is, God the Father, ‘to send out laborers into his harvest (Mt 9:38)’. Vocations are born in prayer and from prayer; and only through prayer can they persevere and bear fruit…
Forty-five years ago this month I walked into what was then Sacred Heart School in Corpus Christi to begin what I knew would be a short-lived teaching job as I waited for my “ship” to come in. That was on a Thursday and by the weekend I was in love—with the fifth graders, with teaching and with the three Sisters of the Incarnate Word who lived in the nearby convent. Their company and their mentoring and their great example are what helped to make me the person and teacher I am today.
St. John Paul II High School dedicated their weekly Mass, on Sept. 23, to Pope Francis' visit to the U.S. Pope Francis’ visit to the White House coincided with the school wide weekly Mass.
St. John Paul II High School Challenge Team won the Texas Quiz Bowl-Sparkling City Challenge II held on Sept. 26 at Flour Bluff High School. The Sparkling City Challenge II was open to all teams from South Texas, specifically to schools located in the Corpus Christi, Brownsville and Laredo areas.
Dealing with war, development, the economy or environmental concerns, bureaucrats and diplomats always must remember that the lives of real children, women and men are at stake, Pope Francis told the United Nations.
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops has called upon Governor Greg Abbott and other state leaders to end a political standoff and reconsider the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid coverage for an estimated 1.3 million uninsured Texans.
During an evening prayer service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Pope Francis thanked the nation's priests, brothers and women religious for their service and gave particular thanks to women religious saying, "Where would the church be without you?"
Benedict Zama looked out from her table and Pope Francis was coming toward her moments after he arrived at the St. Maria's Meal program of Catholic Charities of the Washington Archdiocese. "Hello," she said in her native French, extending her right hand. "Welcome. How are you? It's going well," Zama said the pope responded, also in French. That's when her son, Ezekiel, 7, walked up the pope, hugged him and shook his hand.
As Pope Francis spoke to a joint meeting of Congress Sept. 24, the members of the House and Senate vacillated between their usual response to similar addresses and intensely focusing on the pontiff's heavily accented, carefully pronounced delivery of a text in English.
Acknowledging the real challenges and burdens the U.S. bishops face in their ministry, Pope Francis shared with them his own experience as a pastor and urged them to keep their eyes focused on Jesus and their hearts open to others.
Incarnate Word Academy Middle Level and High School Level students and teachers watch live streaming video on Sept. 23 of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S. via the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Nellie Serna and the rest of the Corpus Christi delegation to the World Meeting of Families had an adventure getting tickets for the Papal Mass on Saturday. See the video and then see the pictures to celebrate their success!
At the Rotary Club of Southside Corpus Christi meeting on Sept. 16, St. John Paul II High School seniors Natalie Trevino and Bryan Flores were presented with certificates of recognition as outstanding students. They were the two top juniors last year who contributed the most number of volunteer service hours in their junior class.
Bishop Garriga Middle Preparatory School students honored Pope Francis this morning in their school Mass. We dedicated our mass to his visit and message. Father Patrick Higgins blessed a picture of Pope Francis that was given to the school recently. In classes, students are watching the visit of the Pope on EWTN and having discussions.
Pope Francis introduced himself to President Barack Obama and all people of the United States as a "son of an immigrant family" arriving in the United States for the first time to learn from others and to share from his own experience.