Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Magic of Jan Karon!

"Saint Père, accorde - moi, s'il te plaît, l'occasion de faire quelque chose pour ton cher émissaire, quelque chose que fera une différence!"

Pages 154 - 155

The French woman next door to Fr. Tim & his wife Cynthia.

"Since her youthful faith grew cold years ago, she regretted that she hadn't often prayed.

"Of course she must pray at once; she had neglected to do this most crucial thing for a man who had, in almost every sense, saved her life, whose tender forgiveness of the wrong she'd done him had resurrected her from a grave of bitterness and guilt.

"She crossed herself quickly and looked toward the ceiling, Saint Père, accorde - moi, s'il te plaît, l'occasion de faire quelque chose pour ton cher émissaire, quelque chse que fera une différence!

"She reflected a moment, then spoke the same words in English. Holy Father, please give me the oportunity to do something for your dear emissary, something that will make a difference.

"She hoped that two separate pleas might be doubly persuasive, yet had no idea at all that she'd heard.

"She felt an odd relief, nonetheless, as she straightened the collar of her bluse and pinched her cheeks and walked downstairs to prepare for her next student...."


The Magic of Jan Karon!

"Church architecture ought to be an earthly and temporal fulfillment of the Savior' s own prophesy..."


Pages 80 - 81.

Fr. Tim dictates an email for his secretary to send on his behalf to Bishop Stuart regarding the bishop's plans for building a big cathedral ...

"[S]he asked, Who to?

"[Answer] The bishop.

"[S]he typed, Church architecture ought to be an earthly and tempral fulfillment of the Savior's own prophesy that though the voices of men be still, the rocks and stones themselves will cry out with the laud and praise and honor due unto the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Michel di Giovanni, medieval builder and designer..."


All the above has been adapted here from In This Mountain, A Mitford Years Novel by the #1 New York Times Bestselling author.

NOTE:

Whether or not there ever was such a person as Michel di Giovanni, the philosophy expressed in Fr. Tim's email to his old friend from his Episcopalian seminary days, Bishop Stuart, does most certainly seem Medieval! :)

Friday, January 30, 2009

UTEP Prospector's Mr. Justin Anthony Monarez has this weeks story!

"From student to school board trustee"

The ongoing Teen Spirit saga of Tanya Loya


Adapted from The UTEP Prospector, January 27, 2009.


"Business cards populate white - collar America and indicate professionalism in an individual.

"It is not common for a teenager to have her own set of cards, but an accomplished teen spirit like junior political science major Tanya Loya is far and few between.

" Loya, 18, has responsibilities that students he rown age an din some cases, people generations ahead of her cannot juggle.

"Not only is she a full - time student at UTEP, Loya is also a Socorro Independent School District board trustee representing the district at - large.

"She was unanimously appointed to the vacant seat Nov. 17 after Mr. Joe Sarabia resigned the position.


Regarding her luck in getting appointed in the first place, Ms. Loya had no illusions:

"Loya said, I was in shock considering I was the underdog going in. I was very pleased to know that they are willing to rely [on], teach and trust someone that they know is going to be taking the district in a couple of years.

"Loya and six other board members are held accountable for 25 elementary schools, 14 middle schools, six high schools and a multi - million dollar budget.

"As an at - large board trustee, she is the voice for nearly 40,000 students within the district.

"Loya has virtually twice the UTEP enrollment to worry about..."

Way to go, Tanya! :)

¡Ora, MEChA!


¡Adelante, DESTINO!


¡Ora, UTEP!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

"Mr. Joaquin Solis, age 12, of Spofford bags deer"


From: A front page colored - photo caption in The Brackett News, Thursday January 22, 2009.


In part, this caption tells us:

"Mr. Joaquin Solis, 12, of Spofford bagged this 130 class Whitetail Buck on the Dailey Ranch in Live Oak County.

"Joaquin is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Alex and Yolis Solis.

"Pictured from left, [are] Mr. Pete Dailey and Mr. Joaquin Solis."

"Pinales graduates UTPA"

"Mr. Arnold Pinales, Jr. son of Rev. Arnold and Mrs. Rocio Pinales of Brackettville, graduated from the University of Texas -- Pan American on December 13, 2008.

"Mr. Pinales was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Biology and will pursue a career with Texas Parks and Wildlife."

Way to go, Mr. Pinales!

I had four siblings who attended classes there in what used to be called PAN AM COLLEGE; three of them took classes in biological sciences.

However, as I recall, only one perosn from my family actually graduated from PAN AM, and that was my mom, after taking around a 40 year break from higher ed.

I seem to recollect she then taught highschool English in Weslaco, after she'd previously taught in the old Migrant Program in Donna while studying for her degree at nights.

Sounds like you're heading for a fascinating career, good luck! :)


"Ms. Maddie Frerich wins prize for her Most Improved Feeder at the 2009 Kinney County Livestock Show & Sale"


Congratulations, Maddie!

"Sheriff confiscates 1,000 lbs. of dope"

Kinney County a hot spot for drug smugglers?


Adapted from: Ms. Leigh Volscko, tbnews@sbcglobal.net

The Brackett News, Thursday, January 22, 2009.



"The Kinney County Sheriff's Department confiscated more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana in a ten day period beginning January 10.

"Kinney County Sheriff LK Buddy Burgess says drug smugglers believe they can use the county's back roads as a way to get their shipments to the larger cities, but are surprised when they are met by his deputies and other [law] enforcement agencies.


"Burgess has pursued and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money over the last several years, to aid the department in [its] own war on drugs."

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

1986 - era priestly volunteer roofing nail - driver at the old Cumberland Presbyterian Church now strives to extinguish PR firestorm...


Bishop Bernard Fellay asks for forgiveness from Pope Benedict XVI!!

Adapted from this original source:

"Catholic society orders Holocaust denier bishop to be silent"


"Vatican tries to repair breach with Jews after pope's rehabilitation of conservative clerics"



An Associated Press item in the San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Wednesday, January 28, 2009, page 9A


"VATICAN CITY -- An ultra - conservative society recently rehabilitated by Pope Benedict XVI silenced one of its bishops Tuesday and distanced itself from his claim that no Jews were gassed during World War II.

"Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, also asked for forgiveness from the pope for the dramatic consequences of Bishop Richard Williamson's comments.

"The Vatican press office issued Fellay's statement as part of its efforts to quell an outcry among Jews that Benedict had removed Williamson's 20 - year - old excommunication, despite his views on the Holocaust.

"Fellay said he has forbidden Williamson from speaking publicly about any historical or political questions and that his views don't reflect in any way the position of the society.

"Fellay himself referred to the genocide of Jews by Nazis.

"Benedict rehabilitated Williamson, Fellay and two other members of the society last week as part of his efforts to bring traditionalist society, which opposes many of the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, back into the Vatican's fold..."

Good read! You bet!! :)

From Italian Homeboy - with - a - Badditude to ... ??!!

A
Canonized Saint!!



How Camillus of Lellis Became an Ambassador of Mercy


Adapted from this source: Ms. Louise Perrotta's rock'em take on what she calls The Saint of the First Red Cross, in "The Word Among Us," magazine, May 2008.

"The story of Camillus begins auspiciously enough.

"His devout mother, Camilla, was childless and nearly sixty when he was born, on May 25, 1550.

"Wondering neighbors in her small Italian town called her St. Elizabeth, after John the Baptist's mother, and saw the pregnancy as a miraculous answer to her prayers.
"And like other expectant mothers of saints, Camilla had a prophetic dream: She saw her son wearing a big red cross on his chest, leading others who were dressed the same way.

"Because prisoners of the day wore a cross as they were led to execution, Camilla mis - interpreted her dream to mean that Camillus was likely to meet a bad end as a criminal gang leader.

"She fretted as he grew into a wild and moody boy who was easily influenced by the wrong crowd.

"Often before her death, when Camillus was thirteen, she would tell him her dream in order to warn him away from the fate she foresaw.

"At nineteen, Camillus joined his father, a professional soldier who had been fighting for various armies in their incessant regional wars.

"Before Camillus saw action, however, both fell sick, and his father died.

"Camillus decided to pursue a better life.

"He even vowed to become a Franciscan.

"But his resolve was sort - lived, and he came away from his brief military experience with two more liabilities: an addiction to gambling and a festering leg sore that refused to heal.

"If you were poor [and wretchedly sick] in Renaissance Italy, like Camillus, you traveled to one of the urban charity hospitals founded by pious benefactors and overseen by religious groups.

"Many of these hospitals were grand buildings with large, high - ceilinged wards dominated by beautiful altars where the sick could easily attend Mass.

"[T]hey were also noisy, smelly, unhygienic places where patients sometimes slept two to a bed.

"Many of the hospital attendants were unfeeling and incompetent, ignoring patients' basic needs."

Anyone who applied was generally hired on the spot

"Some [poor patients] they hauled away for burial without checking to make sure they were really dead!

'"Because the work was messy, risky and poorly paid, these aides had a high turnover rate.

"Anyone who applied was generally hired on the spot, no background check, no questions asked.

"This was especially true at the "hospitals for the incurables," which treated patients so ravaged by disease -- most especially, syphilis -- that no one else wanted them.

"Camillus made his health care début as an aide at one of these hospitals, Rome's St. James the Incurables, in exchange for treatment of his leg injury.

"He was soon fired for picking fights and slipping away to play cards cards whenever his supervisors turned their backs.

"As he regretfully told a friend much later, he lived for gambling then and cared nothing for the sufferings of the sick.

"A soldier of fortune once again, Camillus fought and gambled throughout Italy for the next four years..."

Man! Don't we know this homeboy was one, slow, slow, learner?

You bet!

TO BE LOOKED AT ONCE AGAIN.....

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Archbishop Gomez equates pro - abortion Catholics today, with the slave - owning Catholics of yore.


Good, point, your excellency!


Adapted from this source: His article, We shall reap, if we do not lose heart. This "address was originally given by Archbishop José H. Gomez at the Orange County Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Grove, California, on Nov. 21."

"The election [of President Obama in 2008] made me think of the story of another historic black man in our country.

"His name was Augustine Tolton.

"He was the first African American priest in America.

"Like our president - elect, and President Lincoln, he had a connection to Springfield, Ill.

"But he got there in a much different way.

"Augustine Tolton was born a slave, in 1854.

"His mother and father were owned by Catholic families who lived on adjacent farms in Ralls County, Mo.

"Those were strange times, just before the Civil War, and it is easy to be judgemental, to feel superior.

"It is harder to try to understand an dto see the connections with our own day.

"These white Catholics bought and sold men, women and children on auction blocks.

"Yet they cared somehow for their slaves' eternal souls.

"They allowed them to be baptized and to partake of the sacraments.

"Augustine's parents were married in a Catholic church, with their owners worshiping alongside them.

"As a little boy, Augustine was worked year - round, day till night, in his master's fields.

"They were rye fields, and the crop was sold for the making of whiskey.

"And the working conditions were awful.

"By the age of 7, Augustine's back already bore permanent scars from the overseer's lash.

"His father escaped to fight in the Union Army.

"And some time later, Augustine's mother, with their three children, including a 20 - month - old baby, escaped too.

"She made a dangerous passage across the Mississippi River.

"In the middle of the night, across the wide, black river, she rowed an old boat to the shores of the free state of Illinois."


Augustine grows up and studies for the priesthood


"A German priest, Father Richardt, was teaching him philosophy.

"They were studying St. Thomas Aquinas' theory of justice and natural rights.

"The priest was telling him how Thomas taught that all people have God - given rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"Augustine responded to his teacher this way.

"If St. Thomas was right, he said, then blacks in America weren't being treated with justice.

"Either that , he said, or Negroes aren't counted as people.

"What he wanted to know most, however, was how Catholics could participate in this injustice.

"Father Richardt had a very wise answer.

"He said it with sadness: The church always stands for right and justice. Members of the church, however, since they are human beings,often fall short of the ideals of the Christ and his church.

"Catholics were among those who owned slaves."

The Dred Scott Decision & Catholic Chief Justice, Roger B. Taney.


"The notorious Supreme Court decision, Dred Scott v. Sanford -- which ruled that slaves were property, not people -- was written by a Catholic, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.

"Yet, as Pope Benedict noted, and as we all know:

"Today there are many Catholics who are actively engaged at every level [Including Brackettville, too, maybe? Including the K.C.'s?] in defending the peculiar institution of abortion in this country.

"For me, the issue is very basic, my friends.

"To have a Catholic vote, we need to have Catholics voting.

"We need Catholics who know the teachings of [their] church.

"We need Catholics who have the courage to live and defend the truths that Christ came into this world to die for..."


Good points, Excellency! Too bad your predecessor insisted on ordaining both priests and deacons that -- based on what we've seen in this archdiocese -- are men who -- in many cases, at least! -- may or may not even believe themselves in Jesus Christ! :)

The Rev. Fr. Anton Quang Dinh Van "officially" due back this Sunday, February 1, 2009.



Or at least, so said the original official posting in Today's Catholic last September, 2008!

Monday, January 26, 2009

WOMENS' ACTS Retreat 2009 veterans welcomed home to St. Mary Magdalene's -- Brackettville, Texas 78832


With a regulation 30 Double - Clangs of the Bell!




While he had already rung the bell once himself at around 10:15 am that same morning of Sunday, January 25, 2009, the Rev. Fr. Pius U. Ezeigbo graciously conceded, in the presence of his officiating Deacon, the Rev. Mr. James Bader, permission for a mentally - challenged elderly person from the community's nearby half - way house to do so immediately before the start of the 10:30 a.m. Mass, and lo and behold, or so we were told afterwards, the poor old fellow did so! :)

More from the astral plane of UTEP Cowboy Lit 1318 v.


"When Only the Bad Died Old"


Marshall Grover's Larry & Stretch episode where the then - teenage Texas Confederate Cavalrymen -- and future legendary Texas Trouble - Shooters -- meet their real - deal Virginia life - saver, and future Colorado lawman Ansell Boyd, who we can be sure!

Will indeed be back in their lives again within a quarter of a century: The Lawman Wore Black.

Adapted from pages 1 to 3.

"November 24th, 1863.

"In the area near Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, Tennessee, Confederate Cavalry had been scattered by Union artillery and heavy casualties inflicted.

"Lieutenant Ansell Boyd, about to turn his mount eastward to seek survivors of his regiment, took a moment to use his field - glasses.

"Had he not done so, two young cavalrymen would not have lived to see this day's sundown.

"They were pinned down.

"Their horses must have been shot from under them he surmised, because they had sought cover in a shell hole.

"Why weren't they firing at the ten Northern infantrymen advancing on them from the west?

"Only one explanation; they had used up their ammunition.

"He didn't recognize them.

"Da*m*n it, they weren't 4th Virginia Cavalry.

"Plainly, they too had become separated from their comrades in the heat of battle.

"Could he reach them unscathed, give them a fighting chance?

"[H]e chided himself, You're a fool if you try, but what's your alternative? Pretend ignorance of their plight?

"Before beginning his run to the shellhole, he dismounted and moved among several of the fallen, two dead cavalrymen, their gray uniforms bloodstained, two blue uniformed bodies.

"He checked the loading of the weapons of these fatalities, a Spencer carbine, a Remington percussion pistol with four live rounds in its cylinder, a fully - loaded Army Colt, the 1860 model.

"All right, his own pistol had been reloaded a short time before.

"Hefting the Spencer and with the spare pistols rammed into his belt, he remounted, sank spur and started for the shellhole at a gallop.

"The ball from a field piece landed twenty - five yards to his left.

"An artillery shell exploded closer.

"The horse balked, neighing shrilly, but he maintained control and kept moving.

"Bullets sped his way.

"The din of battle was deafening, but he pressed on, reached the near edge of the hole and hustled his mount into it.

"The troopers,sprawled side by side at the hole's west edge, greeted him with curt nods -- the nerve of them -- one remarking he hoped the spare weapons weren't empty.

"he was dark - haired,a good - looking youth.

"Youth?

"Like his blond and homely companion, he looked to be no more than a boy.

"The young officer swung down, tossed the carbine, then the pistols, and brusquely assured the boys that, with his own pistol fully loaded, they had fire - power enough to discourage the oncoming [Union] infantrymen.

"The taller boy grabbed for the pistols, the other one settled for the carbine.

"Boyd crouched beside them, and said,

"Now..."

And for the next 264 pages this LARGE PRINT version of a good story continues to move ... :)

Triple - header this weekend on St. Mary Magdalene's Altar Server Show - up HONOR ROLL!


Saturday, January 24, 2009. 5:30 p.m. Mass. TEAM Mr. Christian Quiroz & Mr. Jonathan Quiroz.

Sunday, January 25, 2009. 8:00 a.m. Mass. TEAM Ms. Bianca Martinez & Ms. Bianca Terrazas.

Sunday, January 25, 2009. 10:30 a.m. Mass. TEAM Mr. Raúl Rivas & Mr. Garón Rueda.

"Former bishop the object of a credible abuse charge"

"First American Bishop Named Under Dallas Policy"


Although many other American bishops charged with sexual misconduct


Adapted from "The Catholic World Report," January 2009.

Photo caption: Retired Bishop Lawrence Soens of Sioux City, Iowa, is pictured in an undated photo. The Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, has found credible accusations that Soens sexually abused minors from 1950 to 1983.

"Bishop Lawrence Soens, the retired head of the Sioux City, Iowa diocese, has become the first American bishop to be named as the object of credible sex - abuse charges under the US bishops' policy guidelines.

"A review board in the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa announced on November 3 that evidence existed to support charges against Soens and three other priests.

"More than 30 men have come forward to say that they were molested by Soens while he was a priest in Davenport from 1950 to 1983.

"He became bishop of Sioux City in 1983, retiring in 1998 at the age of 72."

Davenport diocese [already] forced into bankruptcy


"The Davenport diocese has [already] been forced into bankruptcy because of damages awarded to sex - abuse victims.

"Although many other American bishops have been charged with sexual misconduct, and several have reached court settlements with victims, none had previously been named under the terms of the Dallas Charter established by the US hierarchy in 2002 to deal with sex - abuse allegations.

"The Dallas Charter does not apply to bishops; Bishop Soens was named in his capacity as a diocesan priest in Davenport prior to his episcopal ordination.

"The case of the retired bishop will now be forwarded to the Vatican for any possible further action."

Saturday, January 24, 2009

U.S. Catholic magazine's author Patrick McCormick on suicide:

"Weapons of self - destruction"


16,000 yearly homicides versus 32,000 annual suicides...


This is adapted from his timely article in U.S. Catholic's January 2009 edition.

"If your view of the world is shaped by what you see on TV and at the movies, you probably think that murder is a real problem in the United States, and you would be right.

"But what you would probably never guess from watching TV or going to the movies is that suicide is a much greater problem in this country than murder.

"Because we see murders and attempted murders on crime shows every night, you might not be surprised to learn that every year about 16,000 homicides are committed in this country.

"But you might be stunned to learn that our nation's suicide rate is about twice as high as our murder rate, and that we have more than 32,000 suicides each year.

"As a regular TV viewer or moviegoer, you could hardly guess that while our murder rate has dropped precipitously since the mid - 1990s, our suicide rate has grown over the past five years.

"And because our TV dramas and films pay so little attention to a deadly plague that takes nearly as many lives as car crashes, there are a couple of other things that might surprise us: the fact that more than 800,000 Americans attempt suicide each year, that suicide is the third ranking cause of death among young people in this country, that one in 12 college students has made a suicide plan, or that the suicide rate for children and young people has skyrocketed over the last half century.

"More than 52 percent of suicides in this country are committed with firearms.

"That is more than all the U.S. murders committed each year by any means.

"But suicide destroys our national faith in guns, so we do not look at it.

"Men with guns cannot solve our growing suicide epidemic.

"We cannot declare a war on suicide, lock up 800,000 attempted suicides, or put more cops with guns on the streets to stop the spread of suicide.

"Indeed, a lot of men with easy access to guns is a big part of the U.S. suicide problem.

"Addressing and reducing America's suicide rate will require a focus on prevention and compassion -- rare and precious qualities in our culture."

Right on, brother! You do know how to make folks think!! :)

Friday, January 23, 2009

"Uncertain Sympathies." Michael V. Tueth S.J.'s take on John Patrick Shanley's film DOUBT



Adapted from the Jesuit magazine America , January 19 - 26, 2009.


"The winds of change are blowing in the Catholic church in 1964, and Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the principal of the St. Nicholas parish school, seems determined to protect her domain form any corrupting influences in the air.

"Catholics of a certain age might be tempted toward nostalgia by the film's opening shots, showing a quiet Sunday morning in this Irish - American neighborhood.

"The altar boy prepare the cruets f water and wine and negotiate which one of them will light the charcoal for the incense and which will ring the altar chimes for this pre - Vatican II Sunday Mass.

"Maybe Sister Aloysius has a point.

"But things are not as solid and certain as they seem.

"The first hint comes from a sermon given by a young priest, Father Brendan Flynn: What do you do when you're not sure? he asks the congregation.

"He suggests someone might be thinking No one knows that I've done something wrong.

"Before long, Sister Aloysius suspects that someone has been doing something wrong: Father Flynn himself.

"And she certainly disapproves of Father Flynn's comfort with and affection for the students, especially Donald Muller, who incidentally in the first African - American student admitted into the school.

"[H]e calls Donald out of a class for a private conversation in the rectory, after which the boy returns to the classroom with the smell of alcohol on his breath.

"Father has several of the boys over to the rectory for soft drinks and shooting the breeze.

"In one awkward scene, after a basketball practice, he encourages the boys to keep their fingernails clean and well manicured, letting them grow longer than Sister Aloysius would want.

"And, as Sister Aloysius discovers, he has been assigned to three different parishes in the last five years [Humm .. . now I wonder: 3 parishes in 5 years, you say? Oh my goodness! Who should that remind us of? And not so many months ago? :) ]."

Folks, it just keeps getting better!

To read the whole fascinating movie review, just click on this website:

www.americamagazine.org

"Patriotic Association collapses: no interest in Communist Party control"



Adapted from "The Catholic World Report," January 2009.

"Efforts by Vietnamese officials to form a government - sponsored group similar to China's Catholic Patriotic Association have apparently failed.

"A November 19 - 20 meeting of the Vietnam Committee for Solidarity of Catholics drew only a handful of attendees, who acknowledged that the goal of setting up a religious organization taking direction from the Communist Party rather than the Holy See is completely impossible in Vietnam today."


You bet! Just goes to show that in the long run, we did indeed back the winning side! :)


Nairobi Cardinal John Njue "condemns pro - abortion legislation"

"Statement draws editorial fire"


Adapted from the original news item in "The Catholic World Report," January 2009.


"Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi led a demonstration on November 16 against legislation that would legalize abortion in Kenya.

"In a homily following the demonstration, Cardinal Njue decried foreign pressure to legalize abortion and said, I appeal to you young people of this country, not to be party to this anti - human - dignity move, while you women, you should not allow your wombs to be turned into slaughterhouses.

"Cardinal Njue's staunch pro - life advocacy, evinced in a September 28 pastoral letter, was blasted in the Daily Nation, Kenya's largest newspaper, which supports the move toward legal abortion."

UTEP Prospector's Mr. Jesús Martinez: "Hook - up with hookah"


Sumatra Hookah Bar offers students, soldiers a unique spot to unwind



Freshman English lit. major: "...smoking is what keeps our bond close together..."



Adapted from the very first Spring Semester edition of the UTEP Prospector, January 20, 2009.


"A new semester usually brings back stress and even though some students prefer to drink their stress away,others would rather blow it up in smoke.

"Nearby campus, some students head off towards the Sumatra Hookah Lounge in an effort to forget their troubles and make some new friends in the process.

"It is seen as a popular hot spot for students to lay off some steam and study for their classes.

"Ms. María Sally Castaneda, a Sumatra employee, said, It gets busy on the weekends, so they get more work done during the week.

"The fact that the lounge fills up very quickly fails to stop students like Ms. Patricia Piña, freshman English literature major, from going.

"Ms. Piña said, It's very relaxing and there is a lot of good energy throughout the place; after finals, I went there just to forget my troubles and not worry if I passed or failed...

"Ms. Piña started going to hookah lounges when she turned 18 and has gone regularly since them.

"She added that the hookah lounge is what keeps her childhood friends together.

"Ms. Piña said, We've grown apart and don't have anything in common anymore, but smoking is what keeps our bond close together..."

Wow! ¡Guau! A good read....:)

Womens' ACTS Retreat 2009 off and running in Brackettville!



Yesterday afternoon on the St. Mary Magdalene's parking lot from around 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, some loyal and hardworking young men were observed gallantly helping the ladies of their families transfer their luggage for the Big Trip to Fort Clark Springs, Texas.

Meanwhile, off to the side, in front of the Old Rectory Building, a distinguished - looking clerical gentleman was standing and talking to someone.

I find it hard to believe it might have been the Rev. Fr. Arturo Cepeda himself in person, but!

He sho' did look real, real familiar! :)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

"Vendrá el sacerdote Cipriano Sánchez"

"Celebran aniversario con conferencia"



Adaptada libremente de esta fuente original: El Zócalo de Piedras Negras, miércoles el 21 de enero de 2009. Por Siboney Alvarado.

"EL CLAMOR: La cita con el padre Cipriano Sánchez, es el 29 de enero a las 20 horas en el Casino Nacional.

"El tema Una espiritualidad para el mundo moderno estará dirigido a la comunidad en general.

"La Escuela de la Fe, fundada hace 28 años, cuenta actuamente con 580 alumnas en esta ciudad.

"LO QUE DIJO: El evento se llevará a cabo el día 29 de enero y nace a raíz de los acontecimientos que vivimos hoy en día y la falta de valores. Sandra Balderas, Coordinadora del apostolado."

Anuncios del Zócalo: dos ejemplos de la Magia Negra.


Número uno:



"Oración Milagrosa"

Ésta consta de la cantidad usual de vulgaridades religiosas y finalmente las huellas del demonio reveladas en esta frase:

"... y se cumplirá aunque no tenga fe...."

Número dos:

"Amplia lectura Tarot gitana y española, amarres, endulzamientos, velaciones.

"Citas [¿con el demonio garantizado, y con nomás que poco enganche, cuando más les quieres?]:


782 - 1649, 878 - 111 - 5917.

"Y, qué buscamos entonces, ¿La India María?"


Adaptada libremente de los Auncios del Zócalo de Piedras Negras, Coahuila, miércoles, el 21 de enero de 2009.


"Solicito muchacha humilde y sin hogar..."



"Solicito muchacha humilde y sin hogar para trabajo de tiempo completo.

"Informes: 044 - 878 - 114 - 3050.

"C#7728:15 - ene: 23 - ene )

"La Iglesia católica se unirá a la campaña nacional en contra de FOCA ....

...para evitar la legalización del aborto"



El Zócalo / Eagle Pass, Texas. Miércoles 21 de enero de 2009. Por el Sr. licenciado Francisco Javier Garza.


"La iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Refugio, en apoyo a la campaña nacional en contra de la propuesta de ley Libertad de Decisión (Freedom Of Choice Act) realizará una marcha encontra del aborto el próximo 22 de enero [hoy mismo], en la que se espera participen ciudadanos que apoyen la no legalización del aborto.

"La Iglesia católica está haciendo un llamado a toda la comunidad para que participe en esta march, además de que se enviarán al presidente de los Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, cartas para rechazar dicha propuesta.

"Una de las promesas del presidente Obama durante su campaña fue firmar la propuesta para que se convirtiera en ley, una vez que tomara el poder de la nación."

FOCA anulará cualquier ley estatal o federal que evite se realicen abortos


"De convertirse en ley, FOCA -- por sus siglas en inglés -- anulará cualquier ley estatal o federal que evite se realicen abortos.

"Ésta es una campaña que a nivel naiconal se ha estado generando y en la que se está pidiendo la participación no sólo de los católicos, sino de toda la comunidad que esté en contra de la legalización del aborto...."

A perfect comedy for UTEP Bilingual Womens' Studies 1318 c. Spring 2009??!!


"
Por qué los hombres aman a las C*abr*on*as"



De esta fuente: El Zócalo de Piedras Negras, Miércoles, 21 enero de 2009.


"Diez premios de la crítica de teatro mejor comedia, mejor actriz en comedia Consuelo Duval y mejor actor en comedia Revelación Janlú"


¡Con el apoyo de La Segunda Reina del Elenco, Mercedes Molto!


"Teatro del IMSS"

"Piedras Negras, Coahuila"

"Martes 27 de Enero de 2009"

"Tel. 782 - 4851 Cel. o44 - 878 - 108 - 3280"

St. Mary Magdalene's Catholic Parish, Brackettville, Texas 78832:

Wednesday Night's Rosary, Night Prayer and Conclusion of Benediction


Mrs. Lourdes Zamora, senior CCD Staff member + Mr. Sam Stewart, representing St. M.M. Youth Group led the Rosary last night, while the Rev. Fr. Pius U. Ezeigbo led Night Prayers and officiated at the Conclusion of Benediction...

Great job, good people.

Anybody interested -- doesn't matter your own particular religious beliefs -- is both encouraged and welcomed to come by and experience all this for yourself.


That's most ANY Wednesday Night starting around 7:20 p.m.

See ya.... :)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

"Se registra hombre de 106 años

"Don Mateo Rodríguez es originario de San Pedro de las Colonias...

"... pero actualmente vive en Acuña"



Adaptada de esta fuente original: El Zócalo de Piedras Negras, Coahuila, República Mexicana. Miércoles 21 de enero de 2009.

"Nacimiento: Don Mateo nació un 20 de marzo de 1902.

"Sobreviviente: De niño don Mateo fue escondido de los revolucionarios por sus padres y luego rescatado por la señora Martha Gaytán, quien lo acogió como hijo adoptivo."

Por la Sra. licenciada Laura Estrada Lugo / Ciudad Acuña.

"El hombre más longevo de Coahuila, después de 106 años de nacido se puede llamar ciudadano, toda vez que jurídicamene no existía al no contar con su registro de nacimiento, el cual se llevó a cabo ayer en la Oficialía del Registro Civil número 5 de esta ciudad.

"Originario de San Pedro de las Colonias, Mateo Ramirez González vive actualmente en la colonia Lázaro Cárdenas con la familia Gaytán Ramírez, que aunque no de sangre, lo consideran un miembro más desde hace tres generaciones, cuando fue amparado por la abuela de Martha Elba Gaytán en el año 1910 contando el niño sólo con ocho años de edad.

"Martha Elba platicó que el niño fue escondido en un pozo por sus padres Mateo Ramírez Hernández y Agustina González Martínez para proteger su vida de los ataques revolcuionarios en los que ellos perdieron la vida, por lo que el niño fue rescatado y desde entonces ha vivido con esta familia..."

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Oh, that warm and fuzzy black magic!


The kind that muzzles our priests and deacons...



"[H]e said, I dedicated it [a cup of the victim's blood] to the Santissima Muerte."



Adapted from this original source: "Intercepted call helped solve pair of grisly slayings -- S.A. native in squad of young hit men pleaded guilty in border case." By Ms. Susan Carroll. The San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Sunday, January 18, 2009.


"Eleven days earlier, Jorge Poncho Aviles, 19, and Inez Villarreal, 14, were abducted from a nightclub in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico,taken to an abandoned house south of the border, tortured, gutted and then burned in 55 - gallon drums, according to recently unsealed federal court records.

"On the recording, [Gabriel] Cardona said Aviles died first, after begging for his life.

"[H]e [Cardona] said, I grabbed a (expletive) bottle, and slash! I slit his whole (expletive) belly. And poom! He was bleeding, I grabbed a little cup and poom, poom! I filled it with blood and poom! I dedicated it to the Santisima Muerte, (the Saint of Death).

"The [recorded] conversation with hit man Rosalio Bart Reta would prove to be a key piece of evidence in a federal case that could land Cardona,who is already serving an 80 - year prison sentence for convictions on five state murder charges, with a potential life sentence.

"In August, the San Antonio native pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to kill and kidnap in a foreign country for the murders of Aviles and Villarreal.

"He is scheduled for sentencing this spring..."

Memo to St. M.M. friends and relatives of LADIES' ACTS Retreat movers and shakers



"An invitation to have fun, while helping our ACTS Ladies Retreat sisters get a brand - new electric stove to help them in their work!

"But!

"There's three (3) challenges!

"First Challenge: Find anyone with ACTS who really knows what's going on.

"Second Challenge: Find out if they could use a brand- new electric stove by this Thursday noon.

"Third Challenge: All they'll need to do themselves is provide us with a pick - up and driver and enough gas to go down to Del Rio with us, pick - up the stove, and then deliver it here to ACTS.

"It's free!!

"Thanks!"

D.


St. Mary Magdalene's Altar Server Show - up Honor Roll!


Sunday, January 18, 2009. 8:00 a.m. Mass. TEAM Mr. Jerry Lee DeHoyos.


Sunday, January 18, 2009. 10:30 a.m. Mass. TEAM Mr. Adam Resendez & Mr. Tony Flores.

"Beekeepers fear sting of Australian hives"

"Some worry about a deadly parasite entering U.S. with the insects."



Mr. Ken Haff, described as a vice president of the American Honey Producers Association as well being a beekeeper himself, gives us this sound bite:

"We've got enough problems with our own bee diseases that we don't know how to treat."

Adapted, albeit loosely, from this original source: Mr. Garance Burke, Associated Press, by way of the San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS. Sunday, January 18
, 2009.

Now, here's the story:

"Domestic honeybees feed on most flowering plants, and are vital pollinators for many crops.

"However; domestic bee stocks have been waning since 2004, when scientists first got reports of the puzzling illness that has claimed up to 90 percent of commercial hives and has been labeled colony collapse disorder.

"That's also the year the USDA allowed imports of Australian hives, and scientists have been investigating whether Australia was a source of a virus tied to the bee die - off.

"Entomologists also fear that the aggressive bee species found near Australia's Great Barrier Reef could carry a deadly mite, said Mr. Jeff Pettis, the USDA's top bee scientist.

"The Australian government has adopted emergency controls to quarantine and destroy the aggressive bees and has never detected that [deadly] mite, according to materials provided by Ms. Chelsey Martin, counselor for public affairs at the Australian Embassy in Washington.

"U.S. agriculture officials say they also are taking precautions.

"Agriculture officials started sampling Australian bees last week after they were released in the Central Valley.

"Government officials said they do not know how many Australian bees have been imported, but [one ] hive importer [with the last name of ] Sullivan estimates that he has sold 110,000 hives since 200
5."




Today, a new President, a New Era!

Congratulations to President and Mrs. Barack Obama

Have a good, solid 8 consecutive years...

Goooood morning, UTEP!



Yes! Spring 2009 Semester is already up and rolling!


Just smell the aroma of that Student Union Coffee...

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Just Seventy - two hours to the start of UTEP Spring Semester 2009!


¡Ora, UTEP!

¡Adelante, DESTINO!

¡Ora, MEChA!



Enjoy the rest of this three -day weekend, everybody: we'll see you next Tuesday, si Dios quiere ...

"Jesus, who had participated in the design of 20,000 abstract designs on butterflies..."



Philip Yancey, "an editor at large for Christianity Today," on art: "What Art Can - and Can't - Do." In First Things magazine for February, 2009.

"In the Gospel of John we find the only scene from the Bible that shows Jesus in the act of writing.

"Jesus left us relatively few words -- a person could memorize them all -- and he spoke with such precision that each can be seen as a goad and a nail.

"Only once, though, did Jesus write, as far as we know.

"It came at the tense moment when Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in the act of adultery, demanding that Jesus pronounce the death penalty.

"Jesus stooped and drew figures in the sand.

"The Irish poet Seamus Heaney finds in that scene an allegory: The drawing of those characters [in the sand] is like poetry, a break with the usual life but not an absconding from it. Poetry, like the writing, is arbitrary and marks time in every possible sense of that phrase. [P]oetry holds attention for a space, functions not as distraction but as pure concentration, a focus where our power to concentrate is concentrated back on ourselves.

"Jesus, who had participated in the design of 20,000 abstract designs on butterflies and half a million species of beetles, left no lasting works for us to admire from his sojourn on earth [outside the Shroud of Turin he means? Heh, heh!].

"He chose as his medium not plates of gold or rolls of papyrus, which could be preserved by the Church and revered as icons, but rather a palette of Palestinian sand.

"The next rainstorm that came along obliterated every trace of Jesus' only written words.

"Jesus had come primarily to change lives, to write his words on the hearts of his followers.

"Following in those footsteps, the Apostle Paul would later say to the Corinthians, You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.

"Both Jesus and Paul know that only one thing will survive into eternity from this planet: the souls of individual human beings.

"We deceive ourselves with delusory talk about the permanence of art: Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, six did not survive into the Middle Ages..."

Good point, señor!