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Volume 10, Issue 3 Serving More Than A Million Catholics in the Diocese of Brownsville AUGUST 2018

“VERBUM MITTITURSPIRANS AMOREM”

(“Th e WORD is sent breathing love.”)

Una carta del Obispo Daniel E. Flores, un resumen de las fi nanzas de la diócesis, un artículo sobre la fi esta de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María y mucho más

Páginas 2, 10-14

SHARE THE JOURNEY FINANCES

San Antonio residents make hefty donation to respite center

Mercy Sister Rose Weidenbenner

Page 3 Page 6-7 Page 8

THOSE WHO SERVE EN ESPAÑOL EN ESPAÑOL

Diocesan Financial Report: A Summary

NON-PROFITU.S. POSTAL PAID SAN JUAN, TXPERMIT NO. 40

Th e Valley Catholic

SAN JUAN — Más de 500 familias reunifi cadas recibieron asistencia en la Basílica de Nues-tra Señora de San Juan del Valle, Santuario Nacional en San Juan del 13 al 30 de julio.

Las familias, que fueron sepa-radas en la frontera, reunifi cadas y luego liberadas por las autori-dades de inmigración, recibieron una calurosa bienvenida en la basílica y se les proporcionaron comidas, alojamiento y trans-porte a la estación de autobuses o al aeropuerto.

El gobierno de EE.UU. se comprometió con la Conferencia Católica de Obispos de EE.UU. para apoyar a las familias recién reunidas. Localmente, Caridades Católicas del Valle del Río Grande, la Diócesis de Brownsville y la basílica respondieron al llamado para servir a estas familias.

"Hay muchas organizacio-nes maravillosas que ayudan a las familias necesitadas", dijo la hermana Norma Pimentel de los Misioneros de Jesús, directora ejecutiva de Catholic Charities of Rio Grande Valley. "Estamos agradecidos de que el gobierno de EE.UU. nos haya confi ado el cui-

Bajo el manto de

La Virgencita

Under La Virgencita's mantle Church, community respond to help reunifi ed families


SAN JUAN — More than 500 reunifi ed families were assisted at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine in San Juan from July 13-30.

Th e families, who were sepa-rated at the border, eventually reunifi ed and then released by immigration authorities, were warmly welcomed at the basilica and provided with meals, lodg-ing and transportation to the bus station or the airport.

Th e U.S. government engaged the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops to support the newly re-united families. Locally, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Val-ley, the Diocese of Brownsville and the basilica answered the call to serve these families.

“Th ere are many wonderful organizations that help families in need,” said Sister Norma Pi-mentel of the Missionaries of Je-sus, executive director of Catho-lic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. “We are grateful the U.S. government entrusted the care of these families to us.

“We are especially grateful that the basilica grounds pro-vided a place for them to begin their healing. Th e families who came here were immediately sur-rounded with an outpouring of cariño.”

La Virgen de San Juan del Valle has long been a patron saint of migrants.

“Th is time around, she re-ally came across to help, she was

there,” said Father Jorge Gomez, rector of the basilica. “It was providential that God sent them our way to the basilica, under the protection of La Virgencita.”

“Th ese families have experi-enced great sorrow and uncer-tainty during these past many weeks,” Bishop Daniel E. Flores said. “I am immensely grateful for the generous work and avail-ability of so many people in the Rio Grande Valley who are at-tending to the human needs of these parents and children.”

Several parishes and busi-nesses rallied around the cause to help provide as many as 900 meals a day.

» Por favor lea Familias p.12

Photos by The Valley Catholic

Top photos: Familes who were once separated share time together at the the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle. Omar Marino Dominguez Mejia and his 8-year-old son Arin Omar Dominguez Paredez from Honduras were separated for three months and one week after they came to the United States seeking asylum. They were reunifi ed at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Bayview on July 25, 2018 and then briefl y stayed at the basilica before heading to their fi nal destination.

» Please see Families p. 12

La iglesia, comunidad

apoya las familias reunidas

FAMILY REUNIFICATIONS

More than 500 families reunifi ed

As many as 900 meals provided each day

Basilica 1 of 4 sites in nation to welcome families

The Valley Catholic

A child from Guatemala enjoys an evening playing at St. John the Baptist Church in San Juan after being reunifi ed with her father.

2 DIOCESE The Valley Catholic - August 2018

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Novena para la protección legal de la vida humana

Dear faithful of the Diocese of Brownsville,

One of the responsibilities of the Church is to care for those most vulner-able and particularly those who have no voice of their own. In a world immersed in a throwaway culture there are many whose voice is not heard — the poor, the marginalized, the immigrant — but, as Pope Francis reminds us, none are more defenseless than unborn children in the womb (Evangelii Gaudium 213).

I invite the faithful of the Diocese of Brownsville to join me and the rest of the Church in the United States in the prayer of the Novena for the Legal Protection

of Human Life. Every Friday, starting on Aug. 3 and ending on Sept. 28, 2018. Th e call is to pray and fast.

As you know, in the 1973 the Roe v. Wade decision of the Supreme Court made abortion a legal right in this coun-try. Th e Church steadfastly teaches that law and society should work to defend human life, especially when most de-fenseless. And we teach that the deliberate killing of an unborn child is a grave evil and can never be justly recognized as a right.

Th e United States Senate will be delib-erating soon on the next Supreme Court Justice. Th e Church of course will not support or oppose any particular nomi-

nee; however, we strongly oppose the idea that for any nominee to be confi rmed, he or she must publicly support the Roe v. Wade decision. Our prayers and our voice in defense of the voiceless are our best response to those activist groups who actively lobby against any nominee who does not promise to endorse Roe v. Wade

I ask you to refer to the website

prepared by the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Th ere you will fi nd the prayers and materials to promote it in your parishes, such as bulletin inserts and announcements. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/take-action-now/call-to-prayer/legal-protection-of-human-life.cfm

I thank you in advance for your prayers. May the Mother of God assist us in our mission to defend the most vulner-able among us and to heal our nation from the self-infl icted wound of legalized abortion on demand.

In Christ,Bishop Daniel E. Flores

Novena for the legal protection of human life

Estimados fi eles de la Diócesis de Brownsville.

Una de las responsabilidades de la Iglesia es vigilar por los más vulnerables y particularmente por aquellos que no tienen una voz propia. En un mundo in-merso en la cultura del descarte hay mu-chas personas cuya voz no es escucha-da—los pobres, los marginalizados, los inmigrantes—pero, como el Papa Francisco nos ha recordado, ninguno de ellos es más indefenso que los niños no nacidos (Evangelii Gaudium 213).

Quiero invitar a todos los fi eles de la Diócesis de Brownsville a que se unan

conmigo a los esfuerzos de la Iglesia en los Estados Unidos de participar en la Novena Nacional para la Protección Legal de la Vida. Se llevará a cabo cada viernes, comenzando este 3 de agosto y terminando el 28 de septiembre. Esta es una llamada de colaborar rezando y ayunando.

El Senado de los Estados Unidos es-tará deliberando la elección del siguiente Juez de la Corte Suprema Federal. Ciertamente, la Iglesia no apoya o opone ninguna nominación; sin embargo, nos oponemos fi rmemente a la idea de que para que algún candidato sea confi r-mado, él o ella, deba apoyar la decisión

de Roe v. Wade. Nuestras oraciones y nuestras voces, apoyando a los que no tienen voz, son la mejor respuesta en contraparte de aquellos grupos de activistas o personas que trabajan en contra de cualquier juez nominado que no prometa apoyar Roe v. Wade.

Les pido encarecidamente que vayan al sitio preparado por el Comité de Actividades Pro-Vida de la Conferencia Episcopal de los Estados Unidos (US-CCB). Ahí encontraran las oraciones y los materiales necesarios para promover la novena en sus parroquias. También ahí encontrarán anuncios e imágenes que pueden incluir en sus boletines.

http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/take-action-now/call-to-prayer/legal-protection-of-human-life.cfm

Les agradezco de antemano por sus oraciones. Qué la Madre de Dios nos asista en nuestra misión de defender a los más vulnerables entre nosotros y también para sanar la herida tan grande que hemos causado en nuestra nación por medio de la legalización del aborto.

En Cristo,Mons. Daniel E. Flores

MOST REVERENDDANIEL E. FLORES

BISHOP OF BROWNSVILLE

By RHINA GUIDOSCatholic News Service

McALLEN — Th e journey for many of the new migrants entering the U.S. near the border town of McAllen involves a mix of hardship and blessings.

Having made the treacher-ous trip through the desert land-scape and across the border, the lucky ones fi nd themselves wel-comed with food, water and hu-man warmth at the Catholic-run Humanitarian Respite Center in downtown McAllen.

But having just conquered the life-changing crossing, many of

the migrants also fi nd themselves immediately facing an unknown world and future ahead.

Th ough many bishops come to know many immigrants in the dioceses where they serve, except for the bishops along the border, few prelates witness that initial phase of the immigration journey that a group of bishops was privy to in early July.

Th ey spoke with a group of newly arrived immigrants at the respite center and visited the con-troversial facilities where migrant children and teens have gotten their fi rst taste of the U.S. — in detention — while temporarily separated from family. Th e bish-ops gave them rosaries and Bibles following a Mass they celebrated at one of the centers.

With their actions of char-ity and faith, they inserted them-

selves into the heart of the radio-active immigration debate the United States is experiencing, and one in which some Catholics re-main aligned with political party ideology rather than with what the church is saying on the topic.

Th e way the bishops see it, they were simply answering the call of Pope Francis, to "share the journey," a campaign started in September 2017 that called on Catholics and people of goodwill around the world to spend time with migrants, to come face to face with them, perhaps serve them in some fashion and hear their story.

Th e migrants have to settle in, fi nd work, learn the language and, in some cases, face "the bias-es," said Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Rockville Centre, New York, one of the prelates on the trip.

Th ere's always that fear," Bishop Brennan said. "I know it's not easy, but I think the people I met today are driven by a sense of a hope-fi lled future. Th ey want to build their lives up, they want to provide for their families. Th e children are actually looking for-ward to school."

Bishop Brennan, along with USCCB president Cardinal Dan-iel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Pennsyl-vania, took part in the visit to the center, along with Bishop Daniel E. Flores and Auxiliary Bishop Mario Aviles. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles joined the group July 2 and celebrated Mass at one of the facilities with the children and teens.

Bishop Bambera said he heard repeatedly from those he met in Texas about the fear they were facing and the urgency to leave to protect their lives or the lives of their children from im-minent danger. It was a story re-peated, too, to Cardinal DiNardo,

when he spoke with the recent arrivals.

His hope, Cardinal DiNardo said, was to "let all Catholics in our country know that we wel-come immigrants. ... You can-not look at immigration as an abstraction when you meet" the people behind the issue and the church stands with those at the margins.

For the bishops, whose ac-tions and words are amplifi ed and oft en publicly scrutinized, "sharing the journey" when it comes to immigration meant sharing a story that some in their fl ock resist hearing because of the political rhetoric surrounding the issue. But the prelates tried to di-rect the attention away from the

politics of it and directed it to-ward its human cost and why the church cares about it.

"It's not just a matter of poli-tics, it's a matter of humanity," said Archbishop Gomez during a July 2 news conference closing the prelates' visit.

Th e origin of the trip began in early June when Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, called on his fellow bishops at a meeting in Florida to organize the visit to the border "as a sign of our pastoral concern and pro-test against this hardening of the American heart," a phrase he has used to refer to the anti-immi-grant atmosphere and harsh sen-timents toward immigrants in the country.

Bishops seek to share journey with migrants, not join political fray

The Valley Catholic

Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Rockville Centre, New York, visits with a small child July 1 at the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen who was recently released from U.S. custody. A delegation of U.S. bishops traveled to the Diocese of Brownsville to learn more about the detention of Central American immigrants at the U.S.-Mexican border.

Prelates visit diocese to see border crisis for themselves

August 2018 - The Valley Catholic 3DIOCESE

By SISTER CINDY MELLOTh e Valley Catholic

Catholic Education has a long and proud tradition in the Diocese of Brownsville. Since the early religious priests and sisters arrived to be missionaries in the Valley, they saw a need for a strong Catholic school system where children would be educat-ed in the faith as well as in aca-demics. We have been blessed and continue to be blessed to have so many individuals who have made strong commitments to Catholic education and its mission of teaching the message of Jesus Christ.

Th e Diocese of Brownsville Catholic community is united in the belief that every child entrusted to us is a gift and de-serves a quality catholic educa-tion … this is our good news.

Our Catholic schools are a tremendous gift to the children and families they serve, to the Church, and to our entire world. We live in challenging times, but never has Catholic school education been more important as it is today. We are grateful to our parents, teachers, adminis-trators, pastors, benefactors, and volunteers for their support and example.

It is only in Catholic schools that students experience on a daily basis an educational en-vironment in which learning is integrated with faith and Church teachings, assisting students to develop their gift s as whole per-sons – intellectually, spiritually, socially and physically. Catho-lic schools combine the great liberal arts tradition of Catho-lic education with engaging technologies and methodologies to inspire our young people to grow to their highest potential as students and as children of God. Students of diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds learn together in a spirit of community, prayer, sacramental celebration, and service.

As we open our doors for the 2018-2019 school year, we wel-come all our families to experi-ence and be part of the purpose of our Catholic Schools:

• To provide a safe, nurtur-ing and secure environment in which students encounter the living God;

• To partner with parents to support students as they search for knowledge, meaning and truth;

• To create a Catholic climate that forms students to be active in the parish community;

• To foster educational excellence through curriculum standards and an emphasis on moral education, community and service;

• To promote life-long learn-ing in the development of the whole person – mind, body and soul.

•To graduate students prepared to be good citizens and church leaders who will make a diff erence in our world.

I ask for your prayers as together we extend the vital mis-sion of Catholic School Educa-tion for the benefi t of all through the years ahead.

Catholic Schools kick off new year

» From the desk of the superintendent

San Antonio residents donate 3,000 pounds of goods to Humanitarian Respite Center


McALLEN — Stocked with 3,000 pounds of food, bottled water, gift cards, new clothing and more, Catholic Charities of San Antonio’s mobile relief unit, fi ttingly named “Hope,” arrived at the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen on July 12 with a caravan of volunteers fol-lowing close behind in their own vehicles.

Th e delegation, led by J. Antonio Fernandez, CEO and president for Catholic Charities of San Antonio, made the 240-mile trip south to the Rio Grande Valley to deliver and unload the donated supplies to the center, located at 1721 Beaumont Ave. in downtown McAllen.

Many San Antonio residents have felt “helpless” as they watch the continuing immigration cri-sis at our border unfold on TV and social media and wanted to do something to help, Fernandez said.

Catholic Charities of San An-tonio put a call out for donations and in less 24 hours, collected

thousands of items, including shoelaces and belts, which are removed from the immigrants in detention. Fernandez said the organization will likely have to

make several more trips to de-liver all the donations.

“Th is is a brother helping a brother,” Fernandez said. “Th is is Matthew 25:35 at its best.”

Th e idea for “Hope” the mo-bile unit sprouted as Catholic Charities of San Antonio evalu-ated its disaster response op-erations aft er Hurricane Harvey. Th e organization sent dozens of volunteers and trucks fi lled with supplies to the areas most af-fected by the storm. “Hope” not only carries goods but also is also equipped with a kitchen to cook and serve meals.

Operated by Catholic Chari-ties of the Rio Grande Valley, the Humanitarian Respite Center has responded to the needs of more than 100,000 immigrants, mostly from El Salvador, Hon-duras and Guatemala, since its inception in June 2014.

'Th is is a brother helping a brother,' CEO/president says

Amber Donaldson, Mobile Journalist/The Valley Catholic

Left: A toddler from Honduras eats soup at the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen on July 12. Below: Volunteers from San Antonio unload goods donated by Alamo City residents to aid the effort to serve immigrant families from Central America.

The Valley Catholic

More than a thousand people turned out July 11 for the blessing and dedication of the new church of Sacred Heart Parish in Hidalgo. At top right, Bishop Daniel E. Flores and Auxiliary Bishop Mario A. Avilés lead the faithful into the still-unlit sanctuary for the fi rst time. At center right, Bishop Flores spreads Holy Chrism over the altar, which was then wiped down and altar cloths placed to prepare for the fi rst Mass. At right, Bishop Avilés, who for 15 years was pastor here before his episcopal ordination, distributes the Eucharist. As seen from the choir loft, the church will seat more than 600.

La casa del SeñorNew sanctuary blessed, dedicated for

Sacred Heart Parish in Hidalgo


»Women en la FronteraOutpouring of cariño provides space for healingSome families would arrive

in the morning, some in late evening, sometimes

in the middle of the night at 3 a.m. Th e time did not matter; staff at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine was ready to receive the immigrant children and par-ents who had just been reuni-fi ed a few hours before at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Bayview.

With open arms and an outpouring of love, the Catho-lic Church in the Rio Grande Valley provided families with a safe and holy place to recon-nect with each other aft er weeks and months of being separated.

From the fi rst families that arrived on July 13 to the last two on July 30, more than 500 reunited families spent their fi rst nights together, reunifi ed on the basilica grounds.

One child said it would be the fi rst night she would go to sleep without crying now that she was with her mother. One mother from Honduras who was reunifi ed with her son on July 27 aft er 55 days of being apart did not sleep that fi rst night. She wanted to watch her son sleep and hear his heart beat. "Mi corazón comenzó a palpitar de nuevo,” she said. (My heart began to beat again.)

She recounted the pain of her initial reunifi cation, saying it took nearly an hour for her six-year-old son to hug her at the detention center. “No me toques,” he told her; “no te conozco. Tu me abandonaste.” (Don’t touch me. I don’t know

you. You abandoned me.”)Each child, mother, father

who was thankful for their re-unifi cation carries at the same time untold traumas because of their separation. As a nation, many of us felt helpless as more than 2,000 immigrant children were separated from their parents as part of the “zero-tolerance” policy.

As soon as the reunifi ca-tion of families began, every-one wanted to do what they could. Here in our diocese we witnessed the Church in action during a critical time. Th is is an amazing moment in the history of the Church. We focused not on the politics but rather on taking care of our brothers and sisters before us.

Th e Church response is not new. It is ongoing. Each week since 2012, volunteers pray with children who are living in detention centers for unaccompanied minors. Th ey sit and listen to their hopes and dreams, their prayers to be reunifi ed with their fam-ily. Also, other volunteers help keep the Humanitarian Respite Center in operation. To date, more than 100,000 immigrant men, women and children have found rest at the center, which fi rst opened in 2014 at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen

and is now at a temporary site nearby.

“Th is is a blessed moment, where we have been chosen to care for them, to welcome them, to help them beyond this point in their journey,” said Sister Norma Pimentel, of the Missionaries of Jesus, who has been overseeing the care of newly released immigrants as executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.

From the moment they ar-rive, it is important to welcome them and care for them, to let them know that they are safe, said Sister Pimentel, who is a licensed professional counselor. “Th e moment that another human being opens up their heart and their care to them begins a process of healing,” she said. “Th at human contact is so transformative, and that is what is happening here.”

Witnessing the Church’s response, witnessing the people who turned all their attention to helping the families, helps us to see the light of Christ shine in even the darkest of times.

Th eir joy was contagious as we witnessed countless embraces between children and their mothers and fathers. Th eir smiles and laughter gave us hope. We trust in God that that their faith will continue to guide them in the journey ahead.

As we rejoiced with families celebrating their reunions, it was joyful as well to serve. Consuelo Jones from Mission worked from early morning into the evening securing food

for each meal. Socorro Ortega and her family drove to San Juan from Brownsville at 5 a.m. to cook breakfast for the fami-lies. Parishes and businesses donated meals as well. St. John the Baptist Church in San Juan hosted an outdoor picnic for the families. Th e youths from the parish organized games and gift s for the children. Th e abundance of giving from so many in our diocese translated into smiles for the children and their parents. Th at evening, they cried, they celebrated, they rejoiced.

An added joy, on Friday aft er the government’s dead-line to reunite families, the six-year-old who hesitated to hug his mother at their initial reunifi cation presented her with a yellow Esperanza fl ower he found aft er spending the morning with her. He picked it for her just as he used to pick fl owers for her when they were in Honduras, she said.

To witness and be a part of this moment in history is the most blessed experience of all my years of working with the Church.

CORRECTIONA fi gure cited in the col-

umn headlined “What we can do …” on of the July issue of Th e Valley Catholic was in error. Th e correct number of immigrants and refugees who have been served by the Humanitarian Respite Center in downtown McAllen during its four-plus years of operation is more than 100,000.

Brenda Nettles RiojasEditor of Th e Valley Catholic

Th e joy of reading and writing »Family Life

Lydia PesinaDirector, Family Life Offi ce

One of the many bless-ings I am grateful to God for is the ability to

read and write. My parents of-ten told me the story of the fi rst word I ever wrote: “Cookies.” Apparently, I was so anxious to write like my older sister and brothers that I practiced with whatever was available to me, and the word “Cook-ies” was written on a cookie jar my mother kept in the center of our dining room table. My mother bequeathed the cookie jar to me and I keep it as a re-membrance of this family story.

My paternal grandfather, Dionicio Reyna, was a great inspiration to me and had a big infl uence on my love of reading and writing. He did not have the privilege of a formal education but taught himself to read and write in Spanish and English. I recall sitting under a “mora” (mulberry tree) during evenings of my child-hood, listening to him tell us stories about whatever he read in the Reader’s Digest about the atomic bomb or whatever was the current news.

Several years ago, my uncle Ruben Reyna lent me some of my grandfather’s journals and I was fascinated by what he re-corded. I found notes on things

he found interesting, a love note to my grandmother, draw-ings of the undercarriage of a vehicle, and a short story he wrote about his brother joining the military during the Mexi-can Revolution entitled “Entre Las Balas.” Until then, I did not know I had acquired my love of journaling from him! I have journaled for most of my adult life and have a ritual of naming each year at the end of Decem-ber aft er reading the patterns of my life in my journaling. I have had the “Year of Job,” the “Year of Walking and Talking,” etc.

Our Catholic faith is based on scripture and tradition. It is based on those wonderful bodies of writing in the Holy Bible, and in the teachings of the Church such as in the Cat-echism as well as in the many beautiful documents includ-ing the most recent apostolic exhortations by Pope Francis: Amoris Laetitia (Th e Joy of Love) and Evangeli Gaudium

(Th e Joy of the Gospel). It is a wonder to behold that we have access (and in today’s world in so many ways including elec-tronically) to read, study, and be enriched by these writings. Before the advent of the print-ing press in the 1500s and the availability of Bibles in diff erent languages, only church leaders could have access to reading scripture. Now all of us can read the Bible every single day if we so desire. We can follow the scripture readings from the liturgical year through web-sites such as USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) or through publica-tions such as The Word Among Us, which also includes refl ec-tions. Daily devotionals such as “Our Living Faith” found at the Basilica Bookstore abound. Bishop Flores stated in a con-fi rmation homily that we are what we think. He said that it is important for all of us to make room in our heads (minds) daily for the word of God. He encouraged us, as families, to read a few lines from the Gospels daily. I fi nd great joy in doing so.

When I was working on a master’s degree in Pastoral Studies in the early 1990s, I would read and study between

10 p.m. and midnight. Being a young mother at the time, that was what worked for me. I have since pretty much kept the ritual of reading right before bedtime. However, currently I share my reading time with our grandson Elian who loves me to read to him. I have always loved reading aloud to anyone who will listen, so I relish that time. Typically, he picks a book and I pick a “Jesus book.”

I believe that family life can be enriched by taking opportu-nities to read together. Some of the things that might be helpful include: (1) Reading a few lines from the Gospels at dinner-time; (2) having the readings of the day sent to phone or computer daily; (3) reading to children at bedtime including “Jesus books”; (4) reading as a married couple for enrichment (Two wonderful books for couples: “For Better, For Worse, For God” by Mary Jo Pederson and “ 21 Undeniable Secrets of Marriage” by Dr. Allen Hunt.) Both of these books have ques-tions for sharing aft er each chapter; (5) Reading diff erent genres of books for Summer Fun!

May we be open to the mes-sages of the Holy Spirit through what we read and write.

By PAUL BINZTh e Valley Catholic

SAN JUAN — Repairs are likely to begin soon on the Bishop Adolph Marx Confer-ence Center in San Juan, which suff ered serious damage in early July when a vehicle crashed com-pletely through it.

Javier Solis, director of the Diocese of Brownsville’s Building & Property department, said he plans to start taking bids on re-pair work as the month of August begins.

“We hope to have people coming in here later this week,” he said July 30. Inspection of the electrical and fi re alarm systems and assessment of damage to the drop ceiling and a large refrigera-tor in the food staging area are also pending.

“Once we have all that, we’ll run with it,” Solis said of getting repair work started. “We want to do it right.”

Th e conference center, home to many diocese-sponsored or affi liated retreats and workshops throughout the year, has been unusable since the July 3 acci-dent.

Shortly aft er 5 p.m. that day, an SUV turning onto the ba-silica grounds from Nebraska Avenue knocked down a chain-link fence at the Pastoral Center and crashed through an outside brick wall on the east side of the Marx building into the dining area, then punched through an inside wall into the food staging area and out through another ex-ternal wall. Th e SUV then rolled over a second chain-link fence before fi nally coming to a stop in bushes outside the St. John Lutheran Church next to the Pastoral Center. Police reported the driver lost control aft er losing consciousness due to a medical issue. Th e driver was not seri-ously injured in the incident.

Th e main meeting hall of the Marx building escaped major damage.

Repair work to begin on Marx Center

SUV plows through building

on July 3

The Valley Catholic

An SUV crashed into the Bishop Marx Conference Center at the San Juan Pastoral Center on July 3. No dollar estimate of the damage is available yet, but it will likely exceed $25,000.

August 2018 - The Valley Catholic 5FAITH

Th e Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church

AUG. 5Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1EX 16:2-4, 12-15

Responsorial PsalmPS 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54

Reading 2EPH 4:17, 20-24

AlleluiaMT 4:4B

GospelJN 6:24-35

AUG. 12Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Reading 11 KGS 19:4-8

Responsorial PsalmPS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Reading 2EPH 4:30—5:2

AlleluiaJN 6:51

GospelJN 6:41-51

AUG. 19Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Reading 1PRV 9:1-6

Responsorial PsalmPS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Reading 2EPH 5:15-20

AlleluiaJN 6:56

GospelJN 6:51-58

AUG. 26Twenty-fi rst Sunday

of Ordinary Time

Reading 1JOS 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B

Responsorial PsalmPS 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Reading 2EPH 5:21-32

AlleluiaJN 6:63C, 68C

GospelJN 6:60-69

»Sunday Readings

Superheroes attract us. From Greek gods to Superman and Spiderman, our fascina-

tion with the awesome deeds of superheroes beckons us to be-come Masters of our own destiny. Yet even as we enjoy the fantasy of acquiring Promethean pow-ers to combat our enemies and conquer evil, we have legitimate misgivings about mere mortals taking on god-like powers in real life. We are concerned about those who play with fi re just like Prometheus did, at the risk of harm and great destruction. Today, as modern medicine tries to rebuff death and control our humanity in ever more sophis-ticated ways, new temptations arise that challenge us to choose between life and death, between living in reality and living in a fantasy world where we elevate ourselves as “Masters of our own destiny.”

We encounter these Pro-methean temptations today in the expanding fi elds of reproductive medicine and infertility. We may be drawn to the idea of “manu-facturing” children through in vitro fertilization and related forms of assisted reproductive technologies. By producing and manipulating our children in laboratory glassware, however, we cross a critical line and sever our obedience to the Giver of life. We assume the role of Masters over, rather than recipients of, our own off spring. We allow our children to be mistreated as so many embryonic tokens — with some being frozen in liquid nitrogen and others being dis-carded as biomedical waste. We

take on the seemingly divine role of creating another human being and reigning supreme over his or her destiny.

We are tempted toward this same type of Promethean mas-tery at the other end of life. While we recognize that we cannot avoid death, we may be troubled and vexed by the possibility of a protracted and painful dying process. We may decide that the best answer is to “take charge” of the situation and move into the driver’s seat, resolutely calling the fi nal shots ourselves. By ending life “on our own terms” through physician-assisted suicide, we hope to steer around the suff er-ings and agonies of the dying process. Yet suicide clearly goes against the grain of the kind of creatures we are, creatures intended for life, not death.

Th e temptation that fl ashes before us when we consider suicide is the fantasy of becom-ing “Master” over our destiny by arrogating to ourselves direct power over life and death. We begin to accept the falsehood that we are uniquely in charge of our own destiny, and can remake or destroy ourselves as if we were gods. It is but a short step, then, for us to take further powers unto ourselves, lording it over the fate and destiny of others through

activities like euthanasia, direct abortion, and human embryonic stem cell research.

Although we are creatures intended for life, we may not be entirely clear about how we came to possess that life. We sense how we have been cast headlong into existence without asking for it, and we know, with certainty, that we did not create ourselves or have any role in bringing our-selves into being. Th e fact that we were created entirely apart from our own will means that our existence has been intentionally chosen by Another. Th e goodness and beauty of our life has been independently conferred on us by One who has radically willed our personal existence. Because that existence is good and beautiful, it ought always to be treated as such, and never directly violated.

Th e goodness and beauty of the human life we have received is also connected to the gift of our masculinity or femininity. Yet here we also face the tempta-tion of Promethean mastery as we imagine we can become the opposite sex, or that we needn’t be either male or female, but can be any of dozens of diff erent “gender identities.” We engage in the fantasy that our embodied nature is fl uid and malleable, and that we can vanquish our birth sex, remaking ourselves through the gender bending powers of medicine and science. But the damage that this fantasy can wreak in a short space of time — the hormones, the surgeries, the irreversible decisions and mutilated bodies — is not trivial.

Tadeusz PacholczykPriest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

»Making Sense of Bioethics

Promethean medical temptations

» Please see Bioethics p. 15

Catholic News Agency

On Aug. 8, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Dominic Guzman, who helped the cause of orthodoxy in the medieval Church by found-ing the Order of Preachers, also known as Dominicans.

Born in Caleruega, Spain around the year 1170, Dominic was the son of Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza, members of the nobility. His mother would even-tually be beatifi ed by the Church, as would his brother Manes who became a Dominican. Th e fam-ily's oldest son Antonio also be-came a priest.

Very early it was decided that Dominic should have a career in the Church. His call was so evi-dent that while he was still a stu-dent, Martin de Bazan, bishop of Osma, appointed him canon of the cathedral.

While traveling in France with the bishop, Dominic ob-served the bad eff ects of the Albi-gensian heresy, which had taken hold in southern France during the preceding century. Th e sect revived an earlier heresy, Mani-cheanism, which condemned the material world as an evil realm not created by God.

Dreading the spread of here-sy, Dominic began to think about founding a religious order to promote the truth. He engaged in doctrinal debates and set up a convent whose rule would even-tually become a template for the life of female Dominicans. He continued his preaching mission from 1208 to 1215, during the in-tensifi cation of the military eff ort against the Albigensians.

In 1214, Dominic's extreme physical asceticism caused him to fall into a coma, during which the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to him and instructed him to promote the prayer of the Rosary.

During that same year, Dom-inic returned to Tolouse and ob-tained the bishop's approval of his plan for an order dedicated to preaching. He and a group of fol-lowers gained local recognition as a religious congregation.

Th e founder spent the last several years of his life build-ing up the order and continuing his preaching missions, during which he is said to have convert-ed some 100,000 people. Aft er several weeks of illness, St. Dom-inic died in Italy on August 6, 1221. He was canonized in 1234 by Pope Gregory IX.

Spotlight on St. Dominic

Guzman

»Feast Day Aug. 8

Courtesy photo

A statue St. Dominic Guzman on the campus of St. Dominic High School in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

For the latest news

Watch Tuesdaysat noon on Facebook

@CatholicRGV

www.vencuentro.org

V National EncuentroSept. 20-23

DeaconLuis ZunigaDirector, Offi ce for Pastoral Planning & San Juan Diego Ministry Institute

Th e only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint

“Th e only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy is not to become a saint.” In his very fi rst homily as pontiff , Pope Francis quoted León Bloy, a French novelist and later mystic whom converted to Catholicism in 1868.

In the latest Apostolic Ex-hortation, Gaudete et Exsultate, “Rejoice and Be Glad” (on the call to holiness in today’s world) the Holy Father invites all Catholics to live holy lives and to be God’s holy people.

“Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven” (taken from the Gospel of Mat-thew 5:12) are the comforting words of Jesus in his teaching of the Beatitudes when we feel persecuted and humiliated for believing in him. His words are also an invitation for us to follow him, to imitate him and to give witness in everything we do and wherever we fi nd ourselves in life.

Th e Catechism of the Catho-lic Church states that “all the bap-tized are called to be saints.” Th e call to live holy lives and become saints is rooted in the sacrament of baptism. “Incorporated into Christ by baptism ... we partici-pate in the life of the Risen Lord. Following Christ and united with him, Christians strive to be ‘imi-tators of God as beloved children, and walk in love’ by conforming their thoughts, words and ac-

tions to the mind which is yours in Christ, and by following his example … Justifi ed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God … we are sanctifi ed and called to be saints” (1694 and 1695).

Th e Holy Father wants to encourage all Christians to seek holiness in practical ways and reminds us of the universal call to holiness (found in Chapter 5 of Lumen Gentium) following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the saints and guided by the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis in Gaudete et Exsultate reminds all Catho-lics that you don’t have to be a bishop, a priest, a deacon or a religious to live a holy life. While everyone has a unique vocation, every mission “has its fullest meaning in Christ, and can only be understood through him” (GE, 20).

He invites everyone to refl ect and see the Beatitudes (Chapter 5 of the gospel of Matthew) as a blueprint for a “school of holi-

ness” in our everyday relation-ships with those whom we meet in everyday life. In other words, the Beatitudes (happy, blessed) are the “attitudes” needed to be Christian with others and serve as a Christian’s identity card, (GE, 63).

Th e Holy Father also encour-ages us not to be afraid “to be holy” as we imitate the saints and in some instances the martyrs in the world today:

“Do not be afraid to set your sights higher, to allow yourself to be loved and liberated by God. Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace. So in the words of León Bloy, when all is said and done, ‘the only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint.’ ” [GE, 34]

Chapter 5 of Gaudete et Exsultate speaks of spiritual combat, vigilance and discern-ment. Evil (which the Catechism defi nes as the “absence of good”) is very much present in the world and we should not dismiss it as a myth, lest we let our guard down and end up vulnerable.

We are in constant battle against evil; however, in our daily path toward holiness; the Lord Jesus equips us very well and we

» Please see Saint p. 15

Office of Catechesis: Celebrating the Sacraments


Use of Funds, by CategoryCOMMUNITY SERVICES – Hospital Chaplaincies, Immigration Offi ce, Jail Ministries, Relief Services, Catholic Charities, Diocesan Newspaper, Family Life Offi ce, and others

$3,398,215

FORMATION AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – Catholic Schools, Seminarians, Ministry Institute, Diaconate, Offi ce of Catechesis, Development & Planning, and others

$1,407,506

MINISTRIES AND PASTORAL CARE – Youth and Young Adults, Family Life, Catechesis, Liturgy & Worship, Vocations, Retirement Home, Tribunal, and others

$3,010,404

ADMINISTRATION – Human Resources, Accounting, Information Systems, Legal, Buildings & Property Management, and others

$2,025,835 Total: $9,841,960

How Funds Were Spent

Community Services

35%Ministries

& Pastoral Care

31%

Administration 20%

Formation & Religious Education

14%

Th e following information has been compiled from the audited fi nancial statements of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville for the fi scal year, which ended June 30, 2017. It reports on the general operations of the diocese and on the various charitable gift s and trusts managed or administered by the Pastoral Center for the benefi t of the faithful. Content typical of an audit report has been simplifi ed and formatted here to make the information more readable. A copy of the audited fi nancial statements can be obtained by writing to the Department of Finance or viewed at the Diocese of Brownsville’s website: www.cdob.org.

Th is information and the related audited fi nancial statements exclude assets and liabilities of the parishes, missions, chapels and schools. Titles to those properties are in the name of the institution or in the name of the Bishop in trust for the benefi t of those various institutions. Th ose institutions are also responsible for their own funding and budgets. Th e Bishop’s Annual Appeal, whose funds are administered separately, is included in this report.

A Letter from the BishopDiocesan Financial Report: A Summary

In July, I consecrated a new church for Sacred Heart Parish in Hidalgo. As we

gave thanks, we also recog-nized the way God inspires the entire community to work. He moves us to his will. We see this daily in the work of the Church.

Th e building of the church took more than 15 years – selling tacos, organizing kermeses, applying for grants, working with architects, listening to the needs of the people. Before that, the com-munity in Hidalgo saved to build classrooms where stu-dents could receive catechesis. Th e numbers are not suffi -cient to evaluate the blessings and the time invested in the construction of a church. Th e same is true for the Church here in the Rio Grande Valley.

As I travel throughout our diocese, I fi nd great joy in the lived faith here. Th e joy of the gospel thrives in each community. I am thankful for your daily examples. I am thankful as well for all our ministries that help make the Church present, whether assisting during a natural di-saster or providing resources for catechesis or ministering to those who are in jail. Ours is a diocese that reaches out to the neighbor, to the person in need. I am always amazed by how much the people in our diocese accomplish with limited resources. Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, for example, the charitable branch of the diocese, sponsors programs that provide emergency as-sistance to more than 100,000 residents each year. Also, our Family Life Offi ce, with a staff of three, hosts retreats year round, working 36 weekends of the 52 in a year.

In this issue of Th e Valley Catholic, we are publishing a summary of the fi nancial report for the fi scal year that ended June 30, 2017 to give you insight to our fi nances. Ours is a growing diocese with 72 parishes and 43 mis-sion churches, and we could use more churches in some areas. As we continue to grow and explore ways to be more present in our communities, it is imperative that we carefully manage the resources in our diocese.

While we continue to rely

on the generosity of founda-tions, such as the Kenedy Foundation and Catholic Extension Society, overall, our diocese remains in a healthy fi nancial position. Th rough the support from parishes, by way of the cathedraticum, and other contributions, which include grants, donations and fees, along with limiting expenditures, we are able to maintain a balanced budget most years. Th anks to the generosity of the Kenedy Foundation, for example, we were able to provide infrastructure grants to St. Joseph the Worker Church in McAllen, Our Lady of Refuge Church in Roma, Prince of Peace Church in Lyford and San Juan Diego Church in El Flaco.

It should be noted that a “Diocesan Budget” does not include information about the budgets of individual parishes. Each parish, in its own way, allocates funds to support local ministries such as religious education, food pantries, evangelization and outreach. We are all indebted to each parish community’s generous support of the mission of the Church. Th e diocesan budget is an expres-sion of how we try to support and sustain both the wider work of the Church and the work that goes on in each lo-cal community.

Walking together, we con-tinue to build up the Church. As your bishop, I assure you of our diligence as good stewards of the resources entrusted to our care, striving continually to maintain a bal-anced budget each fi scal year. I pray the Lord will continue to bless our diocese with his love and generosity.

In Christ,Bishop Daniel E. Flores

Did you know?

Insurance Expenses

Health Insurance Claims 74% $7,664,999

Property Insurance Claims 19% $1,936,853

Workers' Compensation Claims 7% $728,386 Total: $10,330,238

RevenuesEnd of FY2017 (June 30, 2017)

Royalties $212,800Other income $357,581Parish Assessments $4,247,985Donated Income (Grants) $3,901,631Contributions toward insurance expenses $11,572,687Gain or Loss on Investments $1,656,172

Total Revenues $21,948,856

The Valley Catholic

The Diocese of Brownsville is home to 1.2 million Catholics and it has the largest percentage of Catholics of any

diocese in the United States. Per capita the operating budget for our missionary

diocese is among the lowest in the United States. Catholic Extension Society

identifi es missionary dioceses as isolated and/or fi nancially

under-resourced.

Community: Repairing houses

in the colonias Jail Ministry: Praying with

those behind bars

Pro-Life Apostolate: Praying for the unborn

Communications: Sharing theGood News through all channels available

Catholic Schools: Educating the mind and the spirit


Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

Annual Diocesan Appeal 2016-2017

$41,162.40 St. Eugene Church, Brownsville – Operations

$9,000.00 Project ARISE – Summer Youth Program $10,000.00 CDOB Office of Youth Ministry $18,000.00 Holy Spirit Church, Progreso -

Operations $13,000.00 Immaculate Conception Cathedral,

Brownsville – One Priest Salary $24,000.00 Sacred Heart Church, Hidalgo – New

Church Sound System $73,500.00 Prince of Peace, Lyford – Bathrooms $15,000.00 St. Benedict Church, San Benito –

Renovate Sacristy $10,000.00 CDOB Development Office – ICSC

Conference $3,000.00 CDOB Archivist Training Conference $8,792.31 CDOB Stewardship Conference $5,000.00 St. Francis Cabrini Church, Pharr –

Operations $10,000.00 St. Joseph the Worker, McAllen –

Parochial Vicar Salary $2,500.00 Our Lady of San Juan Basilica, San Juan

– Migrant Festival $4,000.00 St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus Church,

Edcouch – Office Equipment & Electrical $4,000.00 St. Joseph the Worker Church, San

Carlos – Purchase of Property $5,000.00 St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, Pharr -

Security $15,000.00 San Pedro Church, San Pedro – Office

Renovations $43,285.00 St. Martin of Tours Church, Sebastian –

Construction of New Church $30,000.00 St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, Pharr –

Security Cameras and Fence $5,000.00 Our Lady of San Juan Basilica, San Juan

– Welcome Plaza Parking $23,409.00 ICSC Stewardship Conference Fees

52 Delegates $372,648.71 Total Grant Distribution Amount

END OF FISCAL YEAR REPORT"Walking together, we continue to build up the Church."

- Bishop Daniel E. Flores

St. Martin of Tours Church in

Sebastian built with funds from

the appeal.

St. Benedict Church in San Benito has a newly renovated sacristy.

Funds from the Annual Diocesan Appeal are used to assist parishes and other diocesan ministries.

In partnership with the Kenedy Foundation, the diocese provided infrastructure grants to St. Joseph the Worker Church in McAllen, Our Lady of Refuge Church in Roma, Prince of Peace Church in Lyford and San Juan Diego Mission in El Flaco.

Church in Latin America$43,617.78 Catholic Home Missions Appeal$39,589.73 Catholic Relief Services$49,320.57 Holy Land$39,211.91 Catholic Communication Collection$32,934.84 (50% retained by Diocese)Holy Father's (Peter's Pence)$41,348.15 The Catholic University of America$30,036.16 World Mission Sunday(Society for Propagation of the Faith)$44,567.41

Campaign for Human Development$34,464.38 (25% retained by Diocese)Retirement Fund for Religious$50,160.09 Seminarian Education$38,281.10 (Retained by Diocese)Disaster Relief Fund (Emergency Aid)$45,222.37 Hurricane Victims Collection$17,772.15 Flood Victims Collection$33,183.77 Operation Rice Bowl$34,198.93 (25% retained by Diocese)Archdiocese for Military Services, USA$1,360.00 Aid to Church in Central & Eastern Europe$1,003.16

National Collections

Catholic Charities Revenues

End of FY2017 (June 30, 2017)Diocese $ 443,620Texas Pregnancy Care Network $ 17,876Grants & Contracts $1,170,326Other Income (Including Gala) $ 237,549Contributions $ 360,584Program Fees $ 9,887

Total Revenues $2,239,842 How Funds Were Spent

Operations$91,524

5%

Services$1,697,048

95%Rental/Security Deposit, Utilities/Deposit, Emergency Shelter, Medical, Funeral, Fire loss, Food Distribution, Meals Served, Counseling, Baby essentials, Humanitarian Relief

Year round Catholic Charities responds

to the needs in the community.

Summer Food Program

Family Life: Saying "I do" before God.

Nursing Home: Praying with the elderly and infirm

Parish Life: Keeping traditions

alive

Humanitarian Respite Center Food distribution Pregnancy Care

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is the charitable branch of the Dio-cese of Brownsville, with the mission to provide assistance to the most poor and vulner-able in our community. Last year alone, Catholic Charities provided services to 157,630 people across the Rio Grande Valley.

Services provided through Catholic Charites include: homelessness prevention, food program, counseling, disaster relief and other humanitarian

needs. During the 2014 immigra-

tion infl ux, Catholic Charities took the lead in organizing the Humanitarian Respite Center to provide assistance to the tens of thousands of refugees and immigrants coming to our border.

Over the past few years Catholic Charities has ac-cumulated $1,915,848 which includes grants, contributions and donations; some of these funds have been designated for the Humanitarian Relief Proj-ect. Catholic Charites will be kicking off a capital campaign with $1 million and has set a goal of $5.5 million with the purpose of fully funding the building of a permanent Hu-manitarian Respite Center.

$1 million

$5.5 million

Capital Campaign for New Humanitarian

Respite Center

Lay Ministry Program:

Forming leaders for our parishes


Those Who Serve: Sister Rose Weidenbenner, RSM

By ROSE YBARRATh e Valley Catholic

ALAMO — When the late Mercy Sister Gerrie Naughton founded ARISE in 1987, a com-munity based program that works with families in the colonias, her goal as a leader was not to boss people around, but to empower the women of the community to help themselves.

In keeping with Sister Naugh-ton’s vision, Mercy Sister Rose Weidenbenner, who serves as ad-ministrative assistant and grant writer at the ARISE (A Resource in Serving Equality) Support Center on South Tower Road in Alamo, prefers to stay in the background.

“We ask the community, ‘What do you need? What are your dreams? What are your challenges? Let’s fi gure out how to reach those goals together,'” said Sister Weidenbenner, a Sis-ter of Mercy in the South Central Community. “We don’t have all the answers, but we can help.”

Th e third of eight children, Sister Weidenbenner, 60, was born in the small community of Glennonville, Mo., which was founded by German Catholics – her ancestors. Her great-great uncle from Germany was tasked with implementing a coloniza-tion program there, clearing the woodlands and creating farmland to make way for the community.

Archbishop John Joseph Glennon, who served as the Archbishop of St. Louis from 1903 until his death in 1946, is the namesake of the community, which included a church, a Cath-olic grade school, a Knights of Columbus Hall, a tavern, a cem-etery and about 25 houses, Sister Weidenbenner recalled.

“Th e whole town is Catho-lic,” said Sister Weidenbenner,

who is among the more than 35 priests and religious sisters in her extended family. “Being Catholic is a big part of who we are as a family.”

When she was in the fourth grade, she told her grandmother in passing she wanted to be a re-ligious sister, but it became a se-rious goal aft er she made a TEC (Teens Encountering Christ) re-treat, a three-day retreat of prayer and refl ection based on the Pas-chal Mystery of Jesus Christ.

“I knew then,” she said. “I just had this experience of if Jesus could do what He did for all of us, I could hopefully do something in return.”

Sister Weidenbenner began exploring and researching diff er-ent religious communities when she was in college.

“I had a fi le box full of infor-mation,” she said. “Everyone told me, ‘When you fi nd the right community, you’ll just know’ but I was determined to make it a practical decision.

“I wanted to be able to do social work, I wanted to be close

enough to my family because family means a lot to me and I wanted the choice of being able to wear a habit or not.”

Sister Weidenbenner attend-ed a prayer service with the Sis-ters of Mercy and had an experi-ence where everything appeared “blacked out” except for the sanc-tuary light.

“I just shook it off ,” she said. “But I went back and it happened

again. To me, it was God saying this is the right place and I had a feeling of, ‘Th is is it. Th is where I need to be.’”

Joining the Sisters of Mercy ultimately fulfi lled both her practical and spiritual needs. She entered the community in 1981 serving primarily as a so-cial worker. She has ministered in several places throughout the country including Missouri, New Orleans, Washington, D.C. and Detroit.

ARISE is just one of the many ways the Sisters of Mercy have served the community in their 140-plus years of ministry in the Rio Grande Valley. Over the years, they have served as edu-cators, social workers, cared for sick, the immigrant, and much more.

Today, there are ARISE pro-grams in four Hidalgo County colonias, where members of the community can study for their citizenship exam, take health and wellness or parenting classes, learn how to drive, participate in child development programs, learn leadership skills and engage in social justice issues, among other initiatives designed to im-prove the lives of the poor and marginalized.

In addition to her ministry at ARISE, Sister Weidenbenner also has other responsibilities within her religious community as well

as family commitments, which require extensive travel — some-thing she thoroughly enjoys. She has visited fi ve of the seven conti-nents and 47 of the 50 states, the exceptions being Alaska and the Dakotas.

Sister Weidenbenner serves as a board member for four of the Mercy Sisters’ partner orga-nizations, including the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio and on Aug. 1, she will begin mentoring two of the newer members of the commu-nity in Missouri and Mississippi.

She also visits her mother in Missouri fi ve to seven times a year.

Amy Westphal, who will be joining the Mercy Sisters on Aug. 18, said Sister Weidenbenner has been a sounding board for her in the three years that she’s known her.

“When I’m listening to God or questioning what’s next, or how does this work, she’ll just sit there and listen,” Westphal said. “She has shared her experiences as well – her experience within religious life and also her family experience and then how we are family and community together when we are in ministry.

“Perhaps we don’t live near our families, but through her I have come to understand how to be that for one another and how to support each other.”

'We don't have all the answers, but we can help,' she says

The Valley Catholic

Sister Rose Weidenbenner, who entered the Mercy Sisters in 1981, has devoted her ministry to social work and social justice.

Mercy Sister provides support from behind the scenes

AUGUST 2018 - The Valley Catholic 9DIOCESE

10 NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL The Valley Catholic - Agosto 2018

Uso de fondos, por categoríaSERVICIOS COMUNITARIOS – Capellanías de hospitales, Ofi cina de Inmigración, Ministerios de la Cárcel, Servicios de Socorro, Caridades Católicas, Periódico Diocesano, Ofi cina de Vida Familiar y otros $3,398,215

FORMACIÓN Y EDUCACIÓN RELIGIOSA – Escuelas Católicas, Seminaristas, Instituto Ministerial, Diaconado, Ofi cina de Catequesis, Desarrollo y Planifi cación, y otros $1,407,506

MINISTERIOS Y CUIDADO PASTORAL – Jóvenes y Adultos Jóvenes, Vida Familiar, Catequesis, Liturgia y Culto, Vocaciones, Casa de Retiro, Tribunal y otros

$3,010,404

ADMINISTRACIÓN – Recursos Humanos, Contabilidad, Sistemas de Información, Legal, Edifi cios y Administración de Propiedades, y otros

$2,025,835 Total: $9,841,960

Cómo se gastaron los fondos

Servicios comunitarios

35%Ministerios y cuidado pastoral

31%Administración

20%

Formación y educación

religiosa 14%

La siguiente información ha sido recopilada de los estados fi nancieros auditados de la Diócesis Católica de Brownsville del año fi scal que fi nalizó en junio 30 de 2017. Reporta sobre las operaciones generales de la Diócesis y sobre los diversos obsequios y fi deicomisos caritativos gestionados o administrados por el Centro Pastoral a benefi cio de los fi eles. El contenido típico de un reporte de auditoria ha sido simplifi cado y formateado aquí para que la información sea más legible. Se puede obtener la copia de los estados fi nancieros auditados escribiendo al Departamento de Finanzas o visitando el sitio web de la Diócesis de Brownsville. www.cdob.org

Esta información y los estados fi nancieros auditados relacionados excluyen activos y pasivos de las parroquias, misiones, capillas, y escuelas. Los títulos de esas propiedades están a nombre de la misma institución o a nombre del Obispo en administración para el benefi cio de esas instituciones; esas instituciones son también responsables de sus propios fondos y presupuestos. La Campaña Anual del Obispo, cuyos fondos se administran por separado, está incluida en este reporte.

Una Carta del ObispoInforme fi nanciero de la diócesis: Un resumen

En Julio consagre una nueva iglesia para la Parroquia del Sagrado

Corazón en Hidalgo. Al dar gracias, también reconocimos la manera que Dios inspira a trabajar a la comunidad entera. Él nos mueve hacia su volun-tad; esto lo vemos diariamente en el trabajo de la Iglesia.

La construcción de la igle-sia llevó más de 15 años – ven-diendo tacos, organizando ker-meses, solicitando subsidios, donaciones, trabajando con arquitectos, escuchando las necesidades de la gente. Antes de eso, la comunidad en Hi-dalgo ahorro para construir salones donde sus estudiantes pudieran recibir la catequesis. Los números no son sufi cientes para evaluar las bendiciones y el tiempo invertido en la cons- trucción de la iglesia, lo mismo es cierto para la Iglesia en el Valle del Rio Grande.

Al recorrer la diócesis, en-cuentro una gran alegría en la fe vivida aquí. El gozo del Evangelio prospera y fl orece en cada comunidad. Agradezco mucho sus ejemplos diarios. Estoy muy agradecido tam-bién por todos los ministerios que ayudan a hacer la Iglesia presente, ya sea asistiendo en un desastre natural o pro-porcionando recursos para la catequesis o ministrando a aquellos que están en la cárcel. La nuestra, es una diócesis que llega al prójimo, a la persona necesitada. Siempre me sor-prende lo mucho que las perso-nas en nuestra diócesis logran hacer con recursos limitados. Caridades Católicas del Valle del Río Grande, por ejemplo, la rama caritativa de la diócesis, patrocina programas que brin-dan asistencia de emergencia a más de 100,000 residentes cada año. Además, nuestra Ofi cina de Vida Familiar, con un per-sonal de tres personas, organi-za retiros durante todo el año, y trabaja 36 fi nes de semana de los 52 en un año.

En este ejemplar de Th e Valley Catholic, estamos publicando un resumen del informe fi nanciero del año fi scal que fi nalizo el 30 de junio de 2017, para darles un panorama de nuestras fi nanzas. Nuestra diócesis, es una diócesis en crecimiento, con 72 parroquias y 43 iglesias de misión. A medida que continuamos creciendo, y buscamos formas de estar más presentes en nuestras comunidades, es necesario que administremos

cuidadosamente los recursos en nuestra diócesis.

Si bien seguimos confi -ando en la generosidad de las fundaciones, como Kenedy y Catholic Extension, en general, nuestra diócesis se mantiene en una situación fi nanciera salu-dable. A través del apoyo de las parroquias, del Cathedraticum y otras contribuciones, que in-cluyen subsidios, donaciones y honorarios, junto con gastos limitados, podemos mantener un presupuesto equilibrado la mayoría de los años. Gracias a la generosidad de la Fundacion Kenedy, por ejemplo, pudimos otorgar subsidios de infrae-structura a la Iglesia San José Obrero en McAllen, la Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Refugio en Roma, la Iglesia Príncipe de Paz en Lyford, y la Iglesia San Juan Diego en El Flaco.

Cabe señalar que el “Presu-puesto Diocesano” no incluye información sobre los presu-puestos de las parroquias. Cada parroquia, a su manera, asigna fondos para apoyar los ministe-rios locales como educación re-ligiosa, despensas de alimentos, evangelización y misión. Todos estamos en deuda con el apoyo generoso de cada comunidad parroquial hacia la misión de la Iglesia. El presupuesto dioce-sano es una expresión de como intentamos ayudar y sostener tanto el trabajo más amplio de la Iglesia como el trabajo que se lleva a cabo en cada comu-nidad local.

Caminando juntos, continuamos construyendo la Iglesia. Como su Obispo, les aseguro nuestro compromiso como buenos administradores de los recursos confi ados a nuestro cuidado; Luchando continuamente por mantener un presupuesto equilibrado cada año fi scal. Rezo para que el Señor continúe bendiciendo nuestra diócesis con su amor y generosidad.

En Cristo,Mons. Daniel E. Flores

¿Sabías?

Gastos de seguroReclamaciones de seguro de salud 74% $7,664,999

Reclamaciones de seguro de propiedad 19% $1,936,853

Reclamaciones de Compensación de Trabajadores 7% $728,386 Total: $10,330,237

IngresosFinal de 2017 (Junio 30, 2017)

Regalías $212,800Otros ingresos $357,581Evaluaciones parroquiales $4,247,985Ingreso Donado (subvenciones) $3,901,631Contribuciones hacia gastos de seguro $11,572,687Ganancia o pérdida de inversiones $1,656,172

Ingresos totales $21,948,856

The Valley Catholic

La Diócesis de Brownsville es hogar de 1.2 millones de católicos y tiene el mayor

porcentaje de católicos de cualquier diócesis en los Estados Unidos. El

presupuesto operativo por habitante para nuestra diócesis misionera se encuentra

entre los más bajos de los Estados Unidos. Catholic Extension Society identifi ca las diócesis misioneras como aisladas y / o fi nancieramente con pocos recursos.

Programa de Formación para el

Diaconado Permanente

¿

Ministerio de Cárceles: Al servicio

de la población penitenciaria

Vocaciones: Formación para los que siguen el llamado de Dios

Oficina de Corresponsabilidad y Desarrollo: Edificando el Pueblo de Dios

Vida Familiar: Sirviendo las parejas que deséan casarse en la Iglesia

Escuelas Católicas: Creando una cultura llena de fe y aspiraciones

AGOSTO 2018 - The Valley Catholic 11NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

Campaña Anual Diocesana 2016-2017

$41,162.40 Iglesia San Eugenio, Brownsville – Gastos Operativos

$9,000.00 Project ARISE – Programa Juvenil de Verano $10,000.00 DCDB Oficina de Ministerio a Jóvenes $18,000.00 Iglesia Espíritu Santo, Progreso –

Gastos Operativos $13,000.00 Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción –

Salario del párroco $24,000.00 Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón, Hidalgo –

Sistema de sonido para nueva iglesia $73,500.00 Príncipe de Paz, Lyford – Baños $15,000.00 Iglesia San Benito, San Benito –

Remodelación de sacristía $10,000.00 DCDB Oficina de Desarrollo – Conferencia

Internacional de Corresponsabilidad $3,000.00 DCDB Conferencia de Archivistas $8,792.31 DCDB Conferencia de Corresponsabilidad $5,000.00 Iglesia Sta. Francisca X. Cabrini, Pharr –

Gastos Operativos $10,000.00 Iglesia San José Obrero, McAllen –

Salario del vicario parroquial $2,500.00 Basílica de Nta. Sra. De San Juan del Valle,

San Juan – Festival del Migrante $4,000.00 Iglesia Sta. Teresita del Niño Jesus, Edcouch –

sistema de alambrado, implementos de oficina $4,000.00 Iglesia San José Obrero, San Carlos –

Compra de propiedad anexa $5,000.00 Iglesia Sta. Francisca X. Cabrini, Pharr –

Seguridad $15,000.00 Iglesia San Pedro, San Pedro –

Remodelación de oficinas $43,285.00 Iglesia San Martin Caballero, Sebastian –

Construcción de nueva iglesia $30,000.00 Iglesia Sta. Francisca X. Cabrini, Pharr –

Cámaras y barda de seguridad $5,000.00 Basílica de Nta. Sra. De San Juan del Valle, San

Juan – Estacionamiento de Plaza de Bienvenida $23,409.00 Inscripción a Conferencia Internacional de

Corresponsabilidad para 52 Delegados $372,648.71 Total de Fondos Distribuidos

REPORTE, FIN DEL AÑO FISCAL " Caminando juntos, continuamos construyendo la Iglesia."

- Mons. Daniel E. Flores

Grupo de madres en la Parroquia

Madre Cabrini en Las Milpas

YouthJAM: Retiro para jóvenes

Los fondos de la Campaña Anual Diocesana se utilizan para ayudar a las parroquias y otros ministerios diocesanos.

En asociación con la Fundación Kenedy, la diócesis brindó subsidios de infraestructura a las siguientes parroquias: San José Obrero en McAllen, Nuestra Señora del Refugio en Roma, Príncipe de Paz en Lyford y la Misión San Juan Diego en El Flaco.

Church in Latin America$43,617.78 Catholic Home Missions Appeal$39,589.73 Catholic Relief Services$49,320.57 Tierra Santa $39,211.91 Catholic Communication Collection$32,934.84 (50% retenido para la diócesis)Holy Father's (Peter's Pence)$41,348.15 The Catholic University of America$30,036.16 Domingo Mundial de las Misiones (La Obra de la Propagación de la Fe)$44,567.41

Campaign for Human Development$34,464.38 (25% retenido para la diócesis)Fondo para la Jubilación de Religiosos$50,160.09 Educación de Seminaristas$38,281.10 (retenido para la diócesis)Fondos de Alivio a los Desastres$45,222.37 Colecta para Alivio de Huracanes$17,772.15 Colecta para Inundaciones $33,183.77 Operation Rice Bowl$34,198.93 (25% retenido para la diócesis)Archdiocese for Military Services, USA$1,360.00 Ayuda para la Iglesia en Europa Central y Oriental $1,003.16

Colectas Nacionales

Ingresos de Caridades Católicas

Final de 2017 (Junio 30, 2017)Diócesis $443,620Texas Pregnancy Care Network $17,876Subsidios & Contratos $1,170,326Otros ingresos (Incluyendo Gala) $237,549Contribuciones $360,584Cuotas de programa $9,887

Ingresos totales $2,239,842 Cómo se gastaron los fondos

Operaciónes$91,524

5%

Servicios$1,697,048

95%Servicios de Emergencia, Consejería Profesional, Respuesta a Desastres, Prevención de Personas sin Hogar, Programa de Alimentos, Centro de Embarazo

Caridades Católicas responde a los

necesitados todo el año

El Programa de Servicio de Alimentos de Verano

Promoviendo la cultura de vida y valores

Ministerio a los enfermos y los ancianos

Ministerio de Jóvenes: Inspirando

testigos firmes y fieles

El Centro de Respiro en McAllen Distribución de alimentos Tim's Coats: Chamarras y abrigos para los más necesitados

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, es la rama caritativa de la Diócesis de Brownsville, tiene la misión de proporcionar asistencia a los más pobres y vulnerables en nuestra comunidad. Tan solo el año pasado, Catholic Charities brindo servicios a 157,630 per-sonas del Valle del Rio Grande.

Los servicios dados a través de Catholic Charities incluyen: prevención de falta de vivienda, programa de distribución de alimentos, consejería, ayuda en casos de desastre u otras necesi-

dades humanitarias.Durante la afl uencia de in-

migración de 2014, Catholic Charities tomó la iniciativa de organizar el Centro de Alivio para brindar asistencia a dece-nas de miles de refugiados e in-migrantes que llegan a nuestra frontera.

En los últimos años Catho-lic Charities ha acumulado $1,915,848 a través de subsi-dios, contribuciones y dona-ciones; algunos de estos fondos han sido destinados para el Proyecto de Ayuda Humanitar-ia. Catholic Charities iniciará una campaña de recaudación con $1 millón y se ha fi jado una meta de $5.5 millones con el objetivo de fi nanciar, por com-pleto, la construcción de un centro de ayuda humanitaria permanente.

$1 millon

$5.5 millones

Campaña Capital para el nuevo Centro

de Respiro

El Ministerio de Jóvenes Adultos y

Estudiantes de Universidad


Familiascontinúa de pág. 1

dado de estas familias."Estamos especialmente

agradecidos de que los jardines de la basílica les hayan brindado un lugar donde comenzar su cu-ración. Las familias que vinieron aquí fueron rodeadas inmediata-mente con una efusión de cari-ño".

La Virgen de San Juan del Valle ha sido, durante mucho tiempo, patrona de los migrantes.

"Esta vez, ella realmente se acercó para ayudar, estaba allí", dijo el padre Jorge Gómez, rector de la basílica. "Fue providencial que Dios los envió a la basílica bajo la protección de La Virgen-cita".

"Estas familias han experi-mentado gran tristeza e incer-tidumbre durante estas últimas semanas", dijo el obispo Daniel E. Flores. "Estoy inmensamente agradecido por el trabajo gen-eroso y la disponibilidad de tan-tas personas en el Valle del Río Grande que están atendiendo las necesidades humanas de estos padres e hijos".

Varias parroquias y empresas se unieron en torno a la causa para ayudar a proporcionar hasta 900 comidas por día.

Entre las parroquias que asistieron estaban la Parroquia San Juan Bautista en San Juan; la Parroquia Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles en La Joya; la Parroquia de San Cristóbal Ma-gallanes y Compañeros Mártires en Misión; y la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Perpetuo Socorro en McAllen y la Parroquia Sagrada Familia en Brownsville.

Consuelo Jones, feligresa de la Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores en McAllen, estuvo entre los voluntarios que cuida-

ron a las familias."Digo esto con humildad.

Esta experiencia me hizo sentir muy amada por el Señor porque siento que me eligió y confi ó en mí para esta difícil misión ", dijo Jones. "Alimentar a las familias no fue difícil, pero atender sus necesidades espirituales si lo fué. Hubo muchos testimonios poderosos.

"Al mismo tiempo, me sentí bendecida por estar en compañía de gente tan valiente, gente que dejó lo que era más querido para ellos, su país, sus seres queridos, todo lo que poseen, para brindar una vida mejor a su familia".

Jones dijo que los voluntarios vieron la mano de Dios trabajan-do y muchas oraciones respondi-das durante la experiencia.

"Algunos días, nos pregunta-mos si tendríamos sufi ciente comida o suministros, y de re-pente, alguien llamaba y ofrecía exactamente lo que necesi-tábamos".

La hermana Pimentel se in-spiró con la respuesta rápida y generosa de la comunidad.

"Mencioné en las redes socia-les que nos estábamos quedando sin agua y llegó agua a torrentes", dijo. "El Valle es uno de los lugar-es más pobres de todo Estados Unidos, y sin embargo es muy generoso. Hemos tenido tanta ayuda de tanta gente ."

Cuidar de tantas familias era una tarea grande, pero el padre Gómez dijo: "Nunca me pasó por la mente decir que no. Teníamos familias en el hotel, en el centro de renovación, en las salas de conferencias ... Si nos hubiéra-mos quedado sin espacio estaba dispuesto a poner familias en la basílica.

"Fue una bendición cuidar de estas familias. Fue una opor-tunidad para ser testigos del amor, misericordia y compasión".

Among the parishes that as-sisted were St. John the Baptist Parish in San Juan; Our Lady, Queen of Angels Parish in La Joya; San Cristóbal Magallanes y Compañeros Mártires Parish in Mission; Our Lady of Perpet-ual Help Parish in McAllen and Holy Family Parish in Browns-ville.

Consuelo Jones, a parish-ioner of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, was among the volunteers who cared for the families.

“I say this with humility. Th is experience made me feel very loved by the Lord because

I feel he chose me and trusted me for this diffi cult mission,” Jones said. “Feeding the families wasn’t diffi cult but tending to their spiritual needs was, hear-ing the stories. Th ere were many powerful testimonies.

“At the same time, I felt blessed to be in the company of such brave people, people who left what was dearest to them – their country, loved ones, ev-erything they own – to provide a better life for their family.”

Jones said the volunteers saw God’s hand at work and many prayers answered during the ex-perience.

“Some days, we wondered if we’d have enough food or sup-plies, and then suddenly, some-one would call and off er exactly what we needed.”

Sister Pimentel was inspired

by the rapid and generous re-sponse of the community.

“I mentioned on social me-dia that we were running low on water and water came pour-ing in,” she said. “Th e Valley is one of the poorest places in the whole United States, and yet the people are very generous. We’ve had so much help from so many people.”

Caring for so many fami-lies was a large undertaking but Father Gomez said, ‘It never crossed my mind to say no. We had families in the hotel, in the renewal center, in conference rooms ... If we had run out of space; I was willing to put fami-lies in the basilica.

“It was a blessing to care for these families. It was an op-portunity to be witnesses of love and mercy and compassion.”

Familiescontinued from pg. 1

Los obispos dan cálida bienvenida a inmigrantes

Por RHINA GUIDOSCatholic News Service

Algunos llevaban semanas viajando y otros unos días, unos venían decaídos y quemados del sol. Llevaban apenas lo que tenían puesto y tomaban las manos de sus hijos, mientras un grupo de obispos católicos se unió a darles la bienvenida con un coro de aplausos.

La hermana Norma Pi-mentel, miembro de la Con-gregación de las Misioneras de Jesús y directora ejecutiva de Caridades Católicas del Valle del Río Grande, les pidió a los obispos que visitaban el centro — al momento en que entraron los inmigrantes recién llegados el 1 de julio — si ellos podían ayudar a servir alimentos a los niños, cuyos ojos se iluminaban cuando veían fruta o sopa y los sonrientes rostros de los volun-tarios que llenaban sus platos y les hacían preguntas.

"¿Tiene buen sabor la sopa?" preguntó el obispo Daniel Flores de Brownsville en español a al-gunos niños que tímidamente asentían con la cabeza.

No muy lejos el presidente de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos (USCCB), cardenal Daniel Di-Nardo de Galveston-Houston, cargaba una bandeja con platos de sopa en un lugar repleto de voces infantiles. DiNardo enca-bezaba la delegación de obispos que visitó el 1 y 2 de julio a las comunidades fronterizas de Brownsville-McAllen en Texas, cerca de la frontera sur con México.

La visita a lo que se conoce como el centro de respiro di-rigido por Caridades Católicas en el centro de McAllen, rápida-mente ubicó a los obispos en el corazón del drama humano de la migración y su costo humano.

Una mujer que viajaba con una niña de 3 años contó que a lo largo del trayecto había es-cuchado que a los niños los es-taban separando de sus padres y rezaba para que no le sucediera a ella, ya que regresar a su hogar en Guatemala no era una opción — de cualquier manera, ella cor-

ría el riesgo de perder a su cria-tura.

Pero las autoridades de in-migración se portaron amables cuando ella ingresó al país, según dijo, y les permitieron a ambas quedar libres después de cumplir con papeleo y una breve detención. Luego, la bienvenida que recibió en el centro de res-piro fue una señal para ella de que "Dios es tan grande y nunca nos abandona", dijo.

El centro es la primera para-da para los inmigrantes como ella, sufi cientemente afortuna-dos de tener un sitio adonde llegar, tal como el de McAllen, después de ser liberados por las autoridades de inmigración. El centro, igualmente fue una primera parada para los obis-pos que buscan comprender el contexto de la separación de fa-milias y otros asuntos de inmi-gración a lo largo de la frontera.

DiNardo, junto con el obis-po auxiliar Robert Brennan de la Diócesis de Rockville Centre, Nueva York, y el obispo Joseph Bambera de Scranton, Pensil-vania, aprovecharon la opor-tunidad para hablar con tantas personas como pudieron en el lugar. Abordaron asuntos como las razones por las que los inmi-grantes dejaron su hogar o sim-plemente les preguntaron hacia dónde iban o cómo estaban.

Una niña de 12 años sentada junto a su padre le preguntó al obispo Brennan sobre la nieve ya que nunca la había visto. Cuan-do monseñor les preguntó hacia

dónde iban, el padre de la niña respondió: "Filadelfi a".

"Vas a ver la nieve", le dijo el obispo a la niña en español.

Entonces, padre e hija le pre-guntaron al obispo sobre Nueva York.

"¿Has oído de los Yankees? ¿Y los Mets?", les preguntó el obispo Brennan. Y el padre con-testó "sí" con entusiasmo.

El padre de la niña, quien viajó desde Honduras en gran parte a pie, más tarde contó que estaba agradecido por la gran bondad que los obispos habían manifestado y la manera en que los habían tratado a él y a su hija, lo hicieron sentir como si se qui-tara fi nalmente un peso de enci-ma, después de un largo y difícil trayecto.

El obispo Bambera dijo que encontró esperanza al escuchar a la gente en el centro hablando del futuro. Ellos no hablaban de hacer dinero, sino de hallar se-guridad para sus hijos — dijo — movidos por "el instinto más ele-mental de proteger a tu familia".

Voluntarios, entre ellos muchos jóvenes adultos, se movían con rapidez por dentro del centro durante la visita, dis-tribuyendo ropa, jugando con niños, mostrándoles las duchas a los que acababan de llegar, dándoles agua y calentándoles la comida hecha en casa especial-mente para ellos.

"En este lugar está el núcleo de la enseñanza social católica: la dignidad de la vida", dijo Bambera.

Atestiguan la crisis humanitaria en la frontera

The Valley Catholic

La Hermana Norma Pimentel compartío su pastel de cumpleaños con los inmigrantes en el centro de respiro en McAllen el 1 de julio. El Obispo Daniel E. Flores ayudó a la Hermana repartir el pastel.

Photos by Eduardo Hernández/The Valley Catholic

El Padre Jorge Gómez, rector de la Basílica de Nuestra Señora de San Juan del Valle - Santuario Nacional (en la foto de arriba); Nora Ortiz, parroquiana de la Iglesia Nuesta Señora de los Dolores en McAllen y Socorro Ortega, parroquiana de la Iglesia Sagrada Familia en Brownsville (en la foto de abajo) preparan el desayno para las familias.

AGOSTO 2018 - The Valley Catholic 13NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL

RESERVE YOUR SPACE TODAY(844) 659-5263

Para más fotos y videos, síguenos en las redes socialesCatholic Diocese of Brownsville

»Vida Familiar

El gozo de leer y escribir

Lydia PesinaDirectora, Ofi cina de Vida Familiar

Una de las tantas Bendi-ciones que agradezco a Dios es la habilidad de

leer y escribir. Mis padres me contaban a menudo la histo-ria de la primera palabra que escribí: “Cookies”. Parece que estaba tan ansiosa por escribir como mi hermana mayor y mis hermanos, que decidí practicar con lo que estuviera disponible para mí: la palabra “Cookies” escrita sobre un frasco de galle-tas que mi madre conservaba en el centro de nuestra mesa de comedor. Mi madre me heredo el frasco de galletas y yo lo con-serve como un recuerdo de esta historia familiar.

Mi abuelo paterno, Dionicio Reyna, fue una gran inspi-ración para mí y tuvo una gran infl uencia sobre el amor que siento por la lectura y la escri-tura. El no tuvo el privilegio de una educación formal, pero se auto enseñó a leer y escribir en español e inglés. Recuerdo estar sentada debajo de una “mora” (mulberry tree) en los anoche-ceres de mi infancia, escuchan-do a mi abuelo contar historias de lo que había leído en la revista Reader’s Digest sobre la bomba atómica o lo que fueran las noticias del momento.

Hace varios años, mi tío Rubén Reyna me presto algunos de los diarios de mi abuelo y estaba fascinada por lo que él había plasmado. Encontré notas sobre cosas que le parecían

interesantes, una carta de amor a mi abuela, dibujos del tren de rodaje de un vehículo, y una historia corta que escribió sobre su hermano enlistándose en el militar durante la Revolución Mexicana, la cual tituló “Entre Las Balas”. ¡Hasta ese momento no sabía que había adquirido de él mi amor por escribir un dia-rio! He escrito diario durante la mayor parte de mi vida adulta y tengo el ritual de ponerle un nombre a cada “año”, al fi nal de diciembre, después de leer en mi diario los patrones de vida que resaltaron. He tenido el “Año del Job”, el “Año de Cami-nar y Platicar”, etc.

Nuestra Fe Católica está basada en la Escritura y la Tradición. Está basada en esos maravillosos cuerpos de escri-tura de la Santa Biblia, y en las enseñanzas de la iglesia tanto en el Catecismo como en los múltiples y hermosos docu-mentos que incluyen las recien-tes Exhortaciones Apostólicas del Papa Francisco: Amoris Laetitia (La Alegría del Amor) y Evangeli Gaudium (La Alegría

del Evangelio). Es una mara-villa considerar que tenemos acceso (y en el mundo de hoy en tantas formas incluyendo la electrónica) a leer, estudiar y ser enriquecidos por estos escritos. Antes de la llegada de la imprenta en los 1500’s y la disponibilidad de biblias en diferentes idiomas, solo los líderes de la iglesia podían tener acceso a leer la Escritura. Ahora todos nosotros podemos leer la Biblia cada día si así lo deseamos. Podemos seguir las lecturas del año litúrgico por medio de sitios Web como US-CCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops por sus siglas en inglés) o a través de publicaciones como “La Palabra Entre Nosotros” que también incluye refl exiones. Devocio-nales diarios como “Nuestra Fe Viva”, que podemos encontrar en la librería de la Basílica, abundan a nuestro alrededor. El Obispo Flores dijo en una Homilía de Confi rmación que somos lo que pensamos. Dijo que es importante para todos nosotros hacer espacio cada día en nuestras cabezas (mentes) para la Palabra de Dios. Nos animó a todos, como familias, a leer algunas líneas del Evangelio diariamente. Encuentro mucha alegría en hacerlo.

Cuando estaba trabajando en una maestría en Estudios Pastorales en los tempranos 1990’s, leía y estudiaba entre las

10 p.m. y medianoche. Siendo una joven madre en ese tiempo, era lo que me funcionaba. Desde entonces he mantenido el ritual de leer antes de dormir. Sin embargo, actualmente comparto mi tiempo de lectura con nuestro nieto Elián que ama que yo lea para él. Siempre he disfrutado leer en voz alta a cualquiera que desee escuchar por lo que saboreo este tiempo. Típicamente, el escoge un libro y yo escojo un “Libro de Jesús”.

Creo que la vida famil-iar puede ser enriquecida al aprovechar oportunidades de leer juntos. Algunas de las cosas que pueden ayudar incluyen: (1) Leer algunos versos de los Evangelios en la hora de la cena (2) recibir las lecturas del día en el celular y la computadora (3) leer a los niños a la hora de dormir e incluir “Libros de Jesús” (4) leer como matrimo-nio para enriquecer su relación (dos libros maravillosos para parejas son: “For Better, For Worse, For God” de Mary Jo Pederson y “ 21 Secretos In-negables del Matrimonio” del Dr. Allen Hunt). Ambos libros tienen preguntas para compar-tir al fi nal de cada capítulo. (5) Leer diferentes géneros de libros como una actividad divertida de verano.

Ruego que estemos abiertos a los mensajes del Espíritu Santo a través de lo que leemos y escribimos.

Delegación de Extensión

Católica visita el valle

Catholic News Service

Seis sacerdotes de la región de Chicago se unieron a la Socie-dad de Extensión Católica en un viaje a la frontera suroeste para conocer los desafíos que enfren-tan las familias migrantes y para donar fondos a varios ministe-rios.

El viaje del 11 al 13 de julio al Valle del Río Grande en Texas y México permitió que los sacer-dotes se reunieran con personas que reciben los servicios de cen-tros y parroquias administrados por católicos.

Los lugares visitados incluy-eron La Posada Providencia en San Benito y el Proyecto Desar-rollo Humano en Peñitas.

Ambos programas recibieron fi nanciamiento del Fondo de Re-unifi cación Familiar de Exten-sión Católica, que fue establecido en junio para responder a la sep-aración de niños de sus padres entrando a Estados Unidos a lo largo de la frontera con México.

Proyecto Desarrollo Huma-no recibió $45,000 y La Posada Providencia recibió $25,000.

El viaje incluyó paradas al otro lado de la frontera con México, donde los sacerdotes visitaron dos lugares que ayudan a migrantes.


Cuando se habla de "problema de ira", se piensa en explosiones de enojo, rabietas, gritos, etc., pero muchas veces el peligro no es sentir enojo — una emoción integrada en el cerebro humano — sino enterrar esa respuesta útil hasta que se convierta en una cocción a fuego lento.

Las mujeres, en particular, pueden haber sido criadas para no hacer una escena. A menudo, las mujeres están sobrecargadas de trabajo, privadas de sueño, siempre de guardia y, en general, malhumoradas. Y como sabe cualquier persona con una cuenta de redes sociales, se sienten indignadas a diario: sobre los OGM (en la dieta es un organismo genéticamente modifi cado), el futuro del planeta, los Kardashians, lo que sea.

De hecho, "el estilo de vida moderno y conectado nos ha puesto en un estado de tensión casi constante," dice Ryan Martin, presidente del departamento de psicología de la Universidad de Wisconsin--Green Bay y fundador del blog All the Rage. Aunque no quieras explotar, retener la emoción podría ser tan malo para ti.

"La rumia es como una bomba de relojería," dice Matthew Zawadzki, profesor asistente de psicología de la salud en la Universidad de California, Merced.

El co-autor de un papel sugirió que simplemente pensar

en lo que le haya molestado días, semanas o incluso meses antes aumenta su presión arterial y latidos del corazón tanto como lo hizo el evento original. Ya sea que hierve a fuego lento o se enfurezca, su ira está tratando de decirle algo sobre su vida, mente y cuerpo.

A continuación se le explica cómo usarlo de catalizador para el cambio.

Tan malo como lo es sentirse molesto, en realidad es una respuesta protectora a lo que generalmente comienza como miedo o dolor, explica Verónica Rojas, una psiquiatra que se especializa en psiquiatría de niños y adolescentes.

Antes de que puedas dar sentido a una amenaza, tu amígdala, el centro de emoción del cerebro con forma de almendra, desencadena la liberación de adrenalina y otras hormonas del estrés. Tu energía aumenta a medida que tu respiración se acelera y aumentan también los latidos del corazón y la presión arterial.

"Tu cara puede sonrojarse, tus pensamientos se hacen estrechos, y es muy difícil pensar en otra cosa por unos minutos," dice Rojas. Se

necesitan varios segundos para que ese estallido inicial de miedo o dolor se convierta en enojo.

A medida que comienzas a pensar las cosas, tu corteza prefrontal analítica, el principal responsable de la toma de decisiones del cerebro, contextualiza la amenaza: ¿por qué me habla de esa manera? ¿Cómo sigo trabajando en este pésimo trabajo?

"Es por eso que clasifi camos a la ira como una emoción secundaria," explica Rojas. "Nunca ocurre a solas." Es la forma en que tu cerebro te saca de un lugar vulnerable y te lleva al modo de autoprotección.

La mayoría de nosotros no llegamos a ponernos los guantes de boxeo. La corteza prefrontal corta impulsos de enojo a la raíz.

Pero si constantemente apaciguas tu enojo, esas hormonas del estrés que bombean la sangre pueden permanecer elevadas, dice Rojas.

Un estudio realizado por la Universidad Carnegie Mellon en 2012 descubrió que el estrés psicológico prolongado nos hace más propensos a una serie de malestares y enfermedades, en parte al interferir con la capacidad del sistema inmune de regular la infl amación en todo el cuerpo.

Está bien no estar bien a veces. Jesús alguna vez se enojó, y mucho … como hombre!

“It is OK not to be OK sometimes.”

Maneras saludables de enojarse» La Alegría de Vivir

Msgr. Juan Nicolau, Ph.D.,STL Sacerdote jubilado de la Diócesis de Brownsville

La Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María

ACI Prensa La fi esta de la Asunción de

la Santísima Virgen María, se celebra en toda la Iglesia el 15 de agosto. Esta fi esta tiene un doble objetivo: La feliz partida de María de esta vida y la asunción de su cuerpo al cielo.

Es fi esta de precepto en el cal-endario católico.

La creencia en la asunción del cuerpo de María se funda en el tratado apócrifo De Obitu S. Dominae, que lleva el nom-bre de San Juan, y que pertenece de todos modos al siglo cuarto o quinto. También se encuen-tra en el libro De Transitu Virgi-nis, falsamente imputado a San Melito de Sardes, y en una carta apócrifa atribuida a San Dionisio el Aeropagita. Si consultamos a los genuinos escritores de Ori-ente, este hecho es mencionado en los sermones de San Andrés de Creta, San Juan Damasceno, San Modesto de Jerusalén y otros.

En Occidente, San Gregorio de Tours (De gloria mart., I, iv) es el primero que lo menciona. Los sermones de San Jerónimo y San Agustín para esta fi esta, de todos modos, son apócrifos. San Juan el Damasceno (P. G., I, 96) formula así la tradición de la Iglesia de Je-rusalén:

San Juvenal, Obispo de Je-rusalén, en el Concilio de Calce-donia (451), hace saber al Em-perador Marciano y a Pulqueria, quienes desean poseer el cuerpo de la Madre de Dios, que María murió en presencia de todos los Apóstoles, pero que su tumba, cu-ando fue abierta, a pedido de San-to Tomás, fue hallada vacía; de esa forma los apóstoles concluyeron que el cuerpo fue llevado al cielo.

Hoy, la creencia de la asun-ción del cuerpo de María es Uni-versal tanto en Oriente como Oc-cidente; de acuerdo a Benedicto XIV es una opinión probable, cuya negación es impía y blas-fema.

ACI Prensa

»Media Resource

Center


Format: DVD Run time: 120 minutes Production: Franciscan (2009) Hosted by: Gaynell Cronin

The Faith and Family Life series contains six DVD programs… Directed toward parents as the primary religious educator of their children, each program is fi lled with practical how-to ideas that focus on real-life concerns, relationships and joy.

Faith and Family Life

Format: Paperback Length: 201 pagesPublication: Our Sunday Visitor (2010) Author: Lorene Hanley Duquin

Stories of Catholics Who Came Home. Every person’s journey of faith is fi lled with twists and turns. …follows the personal and heartfelt journeys of 18 well-known Catholics who have come back to their faith. Adults and Teens.

Format: paperback Length: 26 pages Publication: Multnomah (1989) Author: Doris Sanford

Something strange is happening to Grandma! Seven-year old Maria watches her grandmother change from a happy, competent person, to a dependent, emotional, and increasing forgetful person. And she fearfully wonders…Grandma has Alzheimer’s Disease, and they learn some simple ways to help her.

Maria's Grandmother Gets Mixed Up

Recommended by SISTER MAUREEN CROSBY, SSD

Coordinator of the Media Resource Center - Diocese of Brownsville

»From the Bookshelf

Recovering Faith: Stories of Catholics Who Came Home

Format: DVD Run time: 87 minutes Production: 20th Century Fox (2006) Directed by: Christopher Reeve

Ten-year-old baseball fanatic Yankee Irving is always the last one picked for sandlot baseball games. He learns the importance of perseverance and the true meaning of friendship. In Subtitles, dubbing in English and Spanish.

Everyone's Hero

10-15CHARITY GARAGE SALEHoly Spirit Parish, 2201 Martin Ave. in McAllen, is holding its 8th annual garage sale to benefi t its charities in Mexico and Paraguay. For more information, call Alma Kalifa at (956) 369-1189.

11-12NIGHT OF REFLECTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS The Offi ce of Campus and Young Adults is hosting this event from 6:30 p.m. to 10 a.m. (overnight) at the Catholic Pastoral Center, 700 N. Virgen de San Juan Blvd. in San Juan, featuring prayer and

fellowship, including a Latin Mass. Participants will also view a meteor shower (weather permitting). Donation is a case a of water to benefi t Catholic Charities. RSVP at www.cdob.org/yaoutreach

12ST. THOMAS CHURCH KERMESSt. Thomas Church, 155 E. Jefferson St. in Brownsville, is hosting a kermes from 5-11 p.m. Food, games, live music, raffl e and more. More info (956) 546-3178.

13BACK TO SCHOOL The 2018-19 school year starts on Monday, Aug. 13 for the Catholic schools of the Diocese of Brownsville.

15CONSECRATION MASS Father Hugh Gillespie, SMM, will celebrate a Consecration Mass at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 15 at Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville for those who have completed the Total Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary classes. He will celebrate a second Mass at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22 at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine.

25VOCES UNIDAS Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and Fuerza del Valle are hosting a know your right Conference “Voces Unidas: Conferencia Informative” on Aug. 25 from 9 a.m. to noon at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 699 N. 2nd St., in Raymondville. For more information call (956) 702-4088 or (956) 990-1550.

AUGUSTHAPPENING IN

» Monthly calendar

SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Aug. 15 is a holy day of obligation marking the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. Diocesan offi ces will be closed. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia on the newadvent.org website, “This feast has a double object: (1) the happy departure of Mary from this life; (2) the assumption of her body into heaven. It is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin.”

Photo courtesy of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Th e lives of many thousands of individuals, convinced they have become Masters of their own identities, have already been irretrievably altered or ruined, oft en with the assistance of other medical or political Masters.

Th e ever-expanding pow-ers of biomedicine call us to careful ethical refl ection and discernment, so we do not fall prey to the temptation of seeing ourselves as Masters, rather than collaborators with God, our inalienable Source of life and being.

Bioethicscontinued from pg. 5

Bishop Daniel E.

Flores

Offi cial schedules Sunday, Aug. 5Masses at 1 p.m. (Spanish) and 3 p.m. (English), Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National ShrineWednesday, Aug. 15Mass for Solemnity

of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 7 p.m., Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Harlingen Wednesday, Aug. 22Mass for the Queenship of Mary, 7 p.m., St. Francis Xavier Parish, La Feria

Friday, Aug. 3Mass for Summer Program, 6 p.m., Holy Family Parish, BrownsvilleSunday, Aug. 5Masses at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., Our Lady of

Good Counsel Parish, BrownsvilleMonday, Aug. 13Mass, 11 a.m., Incarnate Word Academy, BrownsvilleWednesday, Aug. 15Mass, 9:30 a.m., Juan Diego Academy, Mission Thursday, Aug. 16Ground-breaking ceremony, 9:30 a.m., Proyecto Juan Diego, BrownsvilleSaturday, Aug. 18Confi rmation, 10 a.m., St. Jude Thaddeus Parish, Pharr Sunday, Aug. 19Mass, 9:30 a.m., St. Mary's Seminary, Houston Tuesday, Aug. 21Radio talk, 11 a.m., Alégrate Maria Radio, Edinburg Wednesday, Aug. 22Deanery Meeting, 10 a.m., San Benito

Sunday, Aug. 26Mass, 10 a.m., Santa Rosa de Lima Church, La RositaFriday, Aug. 31Border Bishops Meeting, Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico

Monday - SaturdayDaily Mass, 8 a.m., St. Joseph Chapel, AlamoEvery Sunday Mass, 3 p.m., St. Joseph Chapel, Alamo Every Thursday

Holy Hour for Vocations, 7 p.m., St. Joseph Chapel, Alamo.

For the intention of ... 1st Thursday: Consecrated Life2nd Thursday: Diaconate3rd Thursday: Married Life4th Thursday: Priesthood 5th Thursday: Lay Ministry

Auxiliary Bishop

Mario A. Avilés

Bishop Emeritus

Raymundo J. Peña certainly rely on prayer (espe-

cially the rosary), the word of God (especially the gospels), the celebration of the Holy Sacrifi ce of daily Mass, Eucharistic adora-tion, the works of mercy and the sacrament of reconciliation.

Boldly the Pope states in the Apostolic Exhortation that we need to spend our lives medi-tating on the Beatitudes (Mat-thew, Chapter 5) and the Final Judgement (Matthew, Chapter 25), and of course to imitate the saints who once lived on earth and are now in heaven.

Th e way to happiness and the way to holiness are both found in the great expressions of love for God and love for neighbor.

In the end, the way we will be judged by God, the Father of love and mercy, will be for what we did for the least of our brothers and sisters: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked aft er me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25).

Saintcontinued from pg. 5

»Birthday & Anniversary Wishes

August» Birthdays 2 Rev. Alfonso M. Guevara13 Rev. George Kerketta16 Rev. Joshua Carlos19 Rev. Artemio Jacob19 Rev. Derlis Garcia21 Rev. Miguel Angel Ortega28 Bishop Daniel E. Flores 28 Rev. Aglayde Rafael Vega

6 Sister Armida Rangel, MJ 11 Sister Monica Garza, OP

6 Deacon Johnny Gonzalez 10 Deacon Jesse E. Aguayo18 Deacon Raymond Th omas Jr.18 Deacon Albert J. Aldana 21 Deacon Gerardo Aguilar26 Deacon Silvestre J. Garcia26 Deacon Carlos Treviño28 Deacon Jose Humberto Rios29 Deacon Reynaldo Q. Merino

» Anniversaries 1 Rev. Raymond Nwachukwu 24 Rev. Jose Juan Ortiz, CO26 Msgr. Heberto M. Diaz, Jr. 28 Msgr. Luis Javier Garcia, JCL

Th e list of birthdays and ordination anniversaries is

provided so that parishioners may remember the priests, deacons

and religious in their prayers and send them a note or a card.

»Worth Watching


Our Catholic Family

Feeding the body and the soul

By ROSE YBARRATh e Valley Catholic

RIO GRANDE CITY — “A

friend of mine once told me he oft en struggled with hunger – that there were days he did not have breakfast, lunch or dinner,” said Alberto Escobedo, a mar-ried father of two and a parish-ioner of Immaculate Concep-tion Church in Rio Grande City. “I couldn’t believe that in this day and age and in this country, people are going hungry.

“I told my wife, we’re going to do something about this.”

Moved and inspired to live out his faith aft er attending an ACTS retreat, Escobedo found-ed Casa de Esperanza in 2015 to provide hot meals and groceries for the Starr County community as well as services for the home-less.

Casa de Esperanza, which is located at 804 Ringgold St. in Rio Grande City, provides hot meals from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Th e nonprofi t organization, which purchases most of its products from the Laredo Food Bank, feeds about 30 people a day. Th e food pantry assists 748 families, including many elderly people.

“Our vision is a community where no one goes hungry,” said Escobedo, who is an extraordi-nary minister of Holy Commu-

nion at his parish. Casa de Esperanza also has a

temporary shelter for the home-less as well as a full shower and laundry facilities for those who do not have running water or warm water at home.

Escobedo, who owns Esco Spa & Salon, also organizes free haircut events throughout the

community. He is known as the "singing

barber" because he enjoys belt-ing out opera as he works.

“If you don’t look good, you don’t feel good,” Escobedo said. “A haircut just makes you feel better about yourself and when we feel good, we are able to function better as human beings and as Christians.

“Our mission is to make sure we’re feeding their bodies and feeding their souls,”

“He’s 100 percent for God and 100 percent for others and a person of great joy, even when he’s hit bumps on the road,” said Sister Nancy Boushey of the Benedictine Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Rio Grande City, who has collaborated with Esc-obedo to help care for the needy in the community.

“His heart is so big, it’s hard for him to see poverty," Sister Boushey added.

Born in McAllen and raised in Rio Grande City, Escobedo followed in his mother’s foot-steps by entering into the world of barbering and cosmetol-ogy. His mother, Elvia, owned a beauty shop in Rio Grande City.

Escobedo, who had a hum-ble childhood, studied at the Vidal Sassoon Academy in London and his work has been featured in fashion shows, hair shows and red carpets in New York, London, Los Angeles and Beijing among other places.

He said he reluctantly left Rio Grande City in pursuit of new opportunities and experi-ences in his chosen fi eld, but al-ways knew he’d be back.

“Everybody has a gift , whether it is singing or dancing, or the art and science of barber-ing. But being able to travel the world doing what you love and then coming back to your com-munity and sharing what He has given you is a blessing, a true blessing,” Escobedo said.

For more information on Casa de Esperanza, call (956) 263-0562 or visit the orga-nization’s Facebook page at @804casadeesperanza.

Holy Spirit moves Rio Grande City barber into action

The Valley Catholic

Alberto Escobedo, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church in Rio Grande City and founder of Casa de Esperanza, a non-profi t organization that ministers to the homeless, sponsored a community event on July 18 at Payne Rio Grande City Ford that included free haircuts and groceries. Left: Escobedo sports an ACTS bracelet and a holster full of hair cutting shears.

San Juan Nursing

Home gala set for Sept. 6


San Juan Nursing Home is hosting its annual gala dinner, “Th e Golden Years: Decorat-ing Life’s Moments,” at 6:30 p.m. on Th ursday, Sept. 6 at Memo-rial Event Center, 208 E. Canton Road in Edinburg.

Proceeds from the event will help raise funds for roof repairs and other improvements to the facility, which was built in 1965. San Juan Nursing Home is lo-cated on the grounds of the Ba-silica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores will deliver the keynote address at the gala dinner. Th e event will also feature live and silent auc-tions. Single tickets are available for $100.

While there are many nurs-ing homes in the Rio Grande Valley, San Juan Nursing Home is the only Catholic facility in the area, said administrator Eloisa Fernandez.

“We are faith based,” she said. “We provide religious services every single day to include Sun-day Mass. Aside from that, we have a low patient-to-caregiver ratio, allowing us to take better care of our residents.”

San Juan Nursing Home in-vites the community to support its ministry by attending the gala dinner, donating an auction item or sponsoring a table.

For reservations or to make a donation, call (956) 787-1771.

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