Tuesday, June 30, 2009

"[M]ost Hispanics in America are Protestants already, not Catholics"

"Carroll disagrees with surveys that paint Hispanic Catholicism as matriarchal"

"Carroll turns a critical eye on the shrine at Chimayó"

Shades of UTEP's Comparative Religious Anthropology 2318z. Fall 2009! :)


¡Ora, MEChA!

¡Adelante, DESTINO!

¡Ora, UTEP!



A sort of micro - adaptation from some isolated fragments found in the July 2009 issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review.

Fr. Michael P. Orsi reviews sociologist's Michael P. Carroll's book: American Catholics in the Protestant Imagination, Rethinking the Academic Study of Religion.


"Perhaps the most arresting part of the book is its portrait of Hispanic Catholicism.

"Carroll maintains that data on Latinos is not only inaccurate and erroneously reported, but is being intentionally used to promote a politico - theological agenda.

"He notes that that sociologists repeatedly tell the U.S. Catholic bishops that Hispanics are leaving the Church for Protestant Pentecostal denominations.

"This is false, he insists, for two reasons: first, most Hispanics in America are Protestants already, not Catholics [You sure??!! Where's the stats?]; and second, Hispanic Pentecostals have more children than their Catholic counterparts.

"Hence, the growing number of non - Catholic Hispanics and the seeming loss of Latinos from Church rolls."


Hispanic Catholics as Matriarchal


"Carroll disagrees with surveys that paint Hispanic Catholicism as matriarchal.

"He provides evidence of broad involvement by Latino men in the Church.

"And he believes that claims of female leadership and the exaggerated loss of Hispanics constitute a ruse on the part of liberal sociologists and theologians aimed at forcing a change in Catholic ecclesiology to allow the entrée of women into Holy Orders and encourage a more democratic model of Church organization.


The Shrine at Chimayó, New Mexico:
America's Medjugorje??



"In one fascinating section of the book, Carroll turns a critical eye on the shrine at Chimayó, New Mexico, where pilgrims suffering from a variety of illnesses come seeking cures from the holy dirt (the equivalent of the healing water of Lourdes ).

"He charges that Chimayó is the product of clever real estate developers who used the shrine, with its adobe clay architecture, as a symbol of the old Southwest to attract buyers to the area.

"And he backs his charge with data indicating that it wasn't until the 1920s, when the developers began advertising, that the great pilgrimages began."

Boy! What do you know??!! :)

Rev. Ned Sitzes' Bill Board Message:

"American Ends in I CAN "

"Some Pursue Happiness, Others Create It"




Courtesy of Frontier Baptist Church, Brackettville, Texas. 78832.

June 30. Feast Day of The First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Mexican "Mobsters have told bishops to keep silent"

Priests have been warned not to meddle in underworld affairs.


Adapted from an article by the Houston Chronicle's Dudley Althaus, picked up by The San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS. Sunday, June 28, 2009.


"Drug war enveloping clergy"

Death of Mexican priest heightens fears of violent narcotics cartels...



"CIUDAD ALTAMIRANO, Mexico -- Assassins have killed more than 11,000 people amid Mexico's 30 - month campaign against organized crime, slaughtering gangsters, police officers, soldiers and the occasional innocents alike with unfettered gusto.

"And now the killers have claimed Habacuc Hernández Benítez, 39, a Catholic priest whom colleagues and townspeople describe as a self - effacing, hard - working, humanity loving servant of God.

"Hernández was murdered gangland style on June 13 -- along with two teenage recruits to the priesthood -- at the entrance to Arcelia, a narcotics - country town near this isolated market center in Guerrero state, 160 miles southwest of Mexico City.

"The three were stopped by gunmen riding in two sport utility vehicles, forced out of their pickup and shot repeatedly in the back.

"[S]aid Othon Carranza, rector of the seminary where Hernández worked as a recruiter and fundraiser, This is a beginning, an indication that they don't respect anything. To be a priest doesn't mean anything. He was just one more victim of this violence.

"Mobsters have told bishops to keep silent.

"Priests working in communities controlled by gangsters have been warned not to meddle in underworld affairs."


Father Habacuc Hernández Benítez's heroic legacy: Carry on....


"His fellow priests said they would continue with a recently launched campaign to pormote peace in the diocese, undeterred by Hernández's death.

"The doors of the houses where parish priests live remain open, the gate of the seminary grounds unguarded.

"[D]eclares a pendant hanging in Hernández's small living quarters at the seminary, To serve God is not to live in peace. But to use yourself up for the good of others..."


Father Habacuc Hernández Benítez.

And two companions.

RIP June 13, 2009.





St. Mary Magdalene's Sunday Altar Server Show - up HONOR ROLL



Sunday, June 28, 2009. 8:00 a.m. Mass. TEAM Ms. Brenda Pacheco. TEAM DAD Pedro.

Jolly, bearded Italian - Slovakian priest to say next Sunday's Mass in Brackettville, Texas!


Formerly of such parishes as Dilly & Carrizo Springs -- now resident in La Casa de Padres.

The Rev. Monsignor Pablo Sicilia has been characterized as a world - wide traveler.

Sources: St. Mary Magdalene's bulletin for June 27 - 28, 2009 + Ms. Carol Bass - Sowa of
Today's Catholic News.


Father Jaime Renteria of Del Rio's Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is slated to offer next week's Saturday 5:30 p.m. Mass.



Source: St. Mary Magdalene's parish bulletin of the weekend of June 27 & June 28.

June 29: Feast Day of Saint PETER & Saint PAUL.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Three St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Parish BHS Senior ladies make All - Star Softball.

Two are cousins.

Two are Altar Servers.

The end of Father Cornelius Scanlan's era?



Adapted-- albeit somewhat loosely -- from The Brackett News. Thursday, June 25, 2009.

"Three Senior Athletes Chosen for All - Star Softball Game."

Señora Elvia Estrada's granddaughters Ms. Natalie Aguirre and her cousin St. M.M.Altar Server Ms. Bianca Terrazas were selected along with their good friend and class mate, St. M.M. Altar Server Ms. Bianca Martinez, "were chosen to compete in this year's South Texas All - Star softball game held in Pearsall, Texas on June 20.

"Ms. Terrazas was chosen at the catcher position, Ms. Martinez to play first base, while teammate Ms. Aguirre showed her skills on the mound as well as at the short stop position."

While it's true that Ms. Martinez and Ms. Terrazas would have been still in eighth grade when Father Cornelius left us in early 2005, I'd like to think his openness in allowing girl altar servers while still maintaining the traditions of the Knights of the Altar (or was it of Saint Gregory?) -- which his wretchedly afflicted and unhappy successor abolished -- gave a certain push towards these two young women's striving to be all they could be: whether on the altar or off.

And don't you know they did just that?

So ... who -- if anyone -- can ever replace them/

Humm .. like the old saying goes:

Only time will tell ...

June 27. Feast Day of St. Cyril of Alexandria.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Does Pastor Jeremiah Wright meet DHS criteria?

As
an African - American "Soul NAZI?!" :)


Me: President Obama is a prisoner of all they bad 'ole Jews!! :) x 10

DHS: "[A] heightened level of extremist paranoia has the potential to facilitate criminal activity and violence."

Wright: "Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me."


Adapted from these sources:

(1) Jonathan Gurwitz commentary "Extremism right and left." The San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS. Wednesday, June 17, 2009.

(2) Possibly hoked - up Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis Assessment: Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence and Radicalization and Recruitment. 7 April 2009.


Gurwitz:


"[T]he Daily Press of Newport News, Va. reported on an interview with the Pastor Jeremiah Wright.

"Asked by a reporter whether he had spoken with a longtime member of his church who now lives in the White House, Wright replied, Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me."


DHS:


"(U) Exploiting Economic Downturn

"(U//FOUO) Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy ...

"Anti - Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish financial elites.

"These accusatory tactics are employed to draw new recruits into rightwing extremist groups and further radicalize those already subscribing to extemist beliefs."

To yours truly's knee jerk way of thinking, two examples of such hot - headed Accusatory Tactics would be such strident comments as:

A) Mine, strictly for illustration: "President Obama is a prisoner of all they bad 'ole Jews!!"

or

B)
Pastor Jeremiah Wright's dead serious example of extremist paranoia: "Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me!"


Since both these inspiring comments are sheer bravo sierra -- what's the difference, really? Between them? :)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

"Quien no conoce a Dios ante cualquier palo se hinca"

Algunos cultos han estado desde antes de la aparición del fenómeno del narcotráfico


El nuevo comisionado de la Policia Federal, Facundo Rosas Rosas:

"Narcosatánicos, que practicaban la santería, palo mayombe o mayombé.."



Adaptada de esta fuente original: EL Zócalo de Ciudad Acuña. Miércoles 24 de Junio de 2009.

"Entre el fervor religioso y la violencia extrema, los narcotraficantes mexicanos se mueven con igual facilidad.

"Su religiosidad es su soporta para interactuar socialmente, igual que sus armas su respaldo para sobrevivir con impunidad e imponerse en su mundo delincuencial.

"Sus prácticas religiosas, como sus actos criminales, han quedado registrados en expedientes de la Procuraduría General de la República, además de ser temas de debate y análisis entre especialistas en seguridad, sociólogos, religiosos, investigadores de la religiones y de la cultura.

"[A]segura Martín Barrón, investigador del Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Penales (Inacipe) y especialista en temas de seguridad pública y crimen organizado Algunos pensarían que por el ambiente de violencia en que se mueve la gente viniculada al tráfico de drogas no cabría un mundo de religiosidad, pero hay todos un mundo de creencias no sólo para lavar sus conciencias, sino incluso ya hasta para justificar como una acción divina sus actividades ilícitas.

"La creencia religiosa es muy evidente, comenta y añade que incluso en algunos casos se han valido de todo este mundo religioso para obtener reconocimiento dentro de una comunidad, como por ejemplo donando dinero para mejoras de templos o apoyos para festividades, lo que los convierte ante los ojos de los demás como buenos creyentes."

"Veneración

"Al nuevo comisionado de la Policia Federal, Facundo Rosas Rosas, nada se le va de la memoria y recuerda el caso de 1989 en Matamoras, Tamaulipas, con los Narcosatánicos, que practicaban la santería, palo mayombe o mayombé.

"[I]ndica el experto, En el rancho Santa Elena encontraron 12 cuerpos de hombres y mujeres ejecutadas, sin el cerebro y sin el corazón. Con esos ritos buscaban protección en la tierra y fuera de lo terrenal. Esperaban ser invulnerables a las balas y ser protegidos en su viaje al más allá. Eso es más o menos lo que hoy en día esperan los que adoran a la Santa muerte, los que adoran a Jesús Malverde, a San Judas Tadeo, pero básicamente a la Santa Muerte."

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Manila is not Havana!!

1762 - 1764. British learn the hard way:

Military occupation of the Philippines is one long and hard recipe for disaster.

Filipinos did not respond to conquest by cooperating with their conquerors...



Adapted from this source: Author Fred Anderson's The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War. 2005.


Pages 225 - 227.


"Roughly a month after Havana surrendered, British forces on the far side of the world embarked on the last great enterprise of the war: the seizure of Manila.

The British under Lieutenant Colonel William Draper of the Seventy - ninth Regiment, reinforced with "one artillery company, two companies of French deserters, and several hundred Asian recruits ... established batteries before the walls of Manila, and in just under two weeks' time succeeded in making a breach large enough to rush through and take the city by storm.

"What the exuberant Britons did not know about the Philippine adventure, however, was in some ways the most important of all.

"Unlike the planters of Guadeloupe, Cuba, and the other islands Britain had seized in the West Indies, the people of the Philippines did not respond to conquest by cooperating with their conquerors, but by mounting an insurrection that effectively confined the British to Manila and its immediate surroundings.

"By the time Britain finally returned the capital to Spanish sovereignty on May 31, 1764, the East India Company had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds beyond what it and initially realized in plunder, in trying to hold on to a colony whose inhabitants preferred killing their occupiers to trading with them.

"The lesson of Manila was a simple and powerful one, but a British public transfixed by the glories of imperial victory did not grasp its significance.

"Armed force could conquer lands and peoples, but only voluntary cooperation could maintain imperial control.

"Wherever the conquered withheld their consent, the empire's sway could not exceed the range if its guns..."

Humm ... some mighty interesting points here, huh??!! :)

Congratulations to B.H.S.'s Ms. Kelsey Bruce!

Placed third in the state 3200 meter race w/time of 11:35.87 and fifth in the state 1600 meter race with the time of 5:29.07.

Congratulations to B.H.S.'s Ms. Karley Harris!

Placed seventh in the state 300 meter intermediate hurdle race with the time of 50:56 .

Congratulations to Brackettville Resident Ms. Daphne Hunt!

She made Distinguished Students List at Tarleton State U.

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert & Jean Gallegos!

Grandson Justin Gallegos will be apart of the Little League all - stars playing Carrizo Springs in Del Rio June 28, at 8:00 p.m.

All the above taken from the "Tiger Page "of The Brackett News. Thursday, June 18, 2009.

June 24: Birthday of Saint John the Baptist.

Ex - Brackettville Police Chief Mr. David Bohmfalk:

Still insists upon his right to stay forever in former orbit! :)


"Flag - burning at Alamo sparks lawsuit"

"Man claims rights were violated in 2007 incident."



Adapted from an item by Guillermo Contreras, The San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS. Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Page 11A.


"A Hondo man who was cited for burning the Mexican flag in front of the Alamo is suing the city of San Antonio, park rangers and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas over the matter.

"David Bohmfalk, 48, claims he burned the flag on May 17, 2007, to protest a Senate bill that would have given amnesty to millions of unauthorized immigrants.

"Bohmfalk, a disabled veteran and former police chief of Brackettville, tried to get a permit, but the city does not issue permits for flag burning, said his lawyer, Jason Jakob.

"Jakob said, He has an absolute constitutional right to do this..."

Cool! Supreme Court, here he comes! :)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Actor Jim Caviezel thoughtfully ponders fatherhood and The Stoning of Soraya M.


From the Catholic Digest, July / August 2009. A Question & Answer format with Julie L. Rattey.

Jim Caviezel is quoted as saying "how being a dad has changed his life and how he hopes his new film, The Stoning of Soraya M. -- now out in theaters -- will change others."

As Jim says:

"[T]he greatest miracle to me from this movie would be that someone watches it and it changes their life."

In the movie, "this woman was brutally attacked by a group of Islamic people who believe in Sharia law, prevalent in many countries.

"Weekly, women are stoned to death.

"I met a group of Iranian actors and one of the women said to me, [w]ell, what makes you think we don't want to have free rights and free choices in our country? You guys always write us off because of some religious fanatic thing."

To which Jim now adds, reinforcing this Iranian lady's views on the current situation in her country today:

"If you speak out in their area, you disappear or you get publicly stoned to death..."

Good, point, Señor!


Happy June Birthdays to all these fine young people of:

Rev. Jeffrey Janca & the First Baptist Church.

Brackettville, Texas. 78832 .


Dorothy Olson

Maddie Frerich
Sara Titchenell
Jeanine Rex
Matthew Sheedy
Austin Pettet
Beth Ann Smith
Tucker Allen
Jennilee Robinson
Bryan Shaw
Carol Salladay
Beau Baggett
Jim Titchenell
Jeff Janca
Joy Williams
J.J. Ducharme

More of Rev. Ned Sitzes Bill Board Moments

"A Closed Mouth Gathers No Foot"

"Why Worry When We Can Pray"


Courtesy of:

Frontier Baptist Church.
Brackettville, Texas 78832.

Monday, June 22, 2009

June 22. Triple Feast Day!

Saint Paulinas of Nola

Saint John Fisher of Merry Olde England

Saint Thomas More of Merry Olde England

Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church.

Brackettville, Texas. 78832.


Altar Server Show - up HONOR ROLL!*



Fathers Day Sunday, June 21, 2009. 8:00 a.m. Mass. TEAM Mr. Jerry Lee DeHoyos & Ms. Samantha DeHoyos + Ms. Brenda Pacheco. DADS DAY TEAM: Jerry, Sr. & Pedro.


A Memorable Fathers Day Spanish Mass 2009!


This memorable Fathers Day Spanish Mass was celebrated by Father Pius Ezeigbo and the Rev. Mr. James Bader, Deacon. The three(3) altar servers are listed above.

Ms. Rosa Maria Garcia did the Spanish readings and announcements.

Doña Celestina Hernandez and Doña Estela Valdez led the Spanish Choir.

Don Jorge and Don Domingo took up the collection.

Mr. and Mrs. Joel and Elda Terrazas and their daughter, Altar Server Ms. Bianca Terrazas, presented the ritual offerings of wine and unconsecrated bread at the Offertory.

Mr. & Mrs. Jerry and Janie DeHoyos were Extraordinary Ministers of the Lord's Chalice.

Ms. Nora Rivas likewise really shined as she took charge of the Mens 2009 ACTS Retreat Bake Sale Fund Raiser after this Mass.


There were from 60 to 75 of us in attendance, including other such fine friends and neighbors as Mr. Wayne Meyer, the Rev. Mr. Joe Goebel, Deacon (he would go on help officiate at the 10:30 a.m. Mass), Mrs. Julia Terrazas, Mr. & Mrs. Jack and Ruth Tate, and just so many more...


All in all, a most memorable occasion!

*Saturday, 5:30 p.m. Not observed...

Saturday, June 20, 2009

"[H]e decided to leave the priesthood and marry."


"[W]ife says h
e loved imparting what he knew."

"Is there such a thing as a soul or a God?"

"Wife says He knew that God is much bigger than where we bank."

"A couple of years ago, his family adopted a stray dog."

"He decided on the dog's name: Aristotle."



Adapted from a wickedly whimsical obituary about a deceased former OMI priest, superbly written by Mr. Edmund Tijerina in The San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS. Friday, June 19, 2009.


"Aspell, 78, dealt with life's larger questions"

Former priest taught philosophy, was therapist.



Gee I dunno folks!

That former stray dog Aristotle may still be scratching one or more ears as he ponders THE MEANING OF IT ALL, but his former lord and master will most certainly by now have it all figured out.

Man, I can only wish him luck! :(

June 20. Feast Day of The Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Friday, June 19, 2009

June 19: Feast Day of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

"Pope Benedict has granted new powers to dismiss priests who are living with women ..."


This does not apply to cases involving the sexual abuse of minors by a priest...


Adapted from the NEWS BRIEFS section of the Jesuit magazine America. Issue of June 22 - 29, 2009.

"Pope Benedict has granted the Vatican Congregation for Clergy new powers to dismiss from the priesthood priests who are living with women, who have abandoned their ministry for more than five years or who have engaged in seriously scandalous behavior.

"The new powers do not apply to cases involving the sexual abuse of minors by a priest; those cases continue to be overseen by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."

"Umuntu, muntu umulandu wa Bantu"

Zambian ubuntu Bemba proverb.



Adapted from Seminarian Kennedy Katongo, OMI. In Today's Catholic. Friday, June 19, 2009.


"As I look back and reflect on my time as a volunteer with Catholic Charities Refugee Services, I feel honored, privileged and blessed to have been of service to the individuals and the refugee families that I encountered.

"This experience reminds me of my experience back home in Zambia, when I worked with with the refugees from Angola who were fleeing their country because of the civil war.

"Thus, as a human being, a Christian and a Missionary Oblate, I feel that reaching out to my brothers and sisters in need is a mission we are all called to undertake.

"As one of the Zambian ubuntu Bemba proverbs states, Umuntu, muntu umulandu wa Bantu, that we are who we are because of other people.

"This proverb clearly points to the fact that, as human beings, we are interdependent, and we always need each other on our life's journey.."

Good point!



"Modifican criterios de ubicación en ESOL"

¡Adelante, DESTINO!

¡Ora, MEChA!

¡Ora, UTEP!


Por: La Stra. Nicole Chávez. Posted 4/28/09. The UTEP Prospector.


"Señor Guido Armendáriz fue ubicado en clases remediales de inglés como segundo idioma (ESOL) aún cuando en el examen de inglés como idioma extranjero (TOEFL) obtuvo más de 600 puntos.

"El Departamento de Idiomas y Linguisticas de UTEP indica que los estudiantes que no obtengan un puntaje mayor de 600 en el TOEFL deberán tomar el examen de colocación SLEP que mide su habilidad en el manejo de inglés.

"[C]omentó el Doctor Alfredo Urzúa, director del programa de inglés como segundo idioma, Hay ocasiones en que los estudiantes no tienen problemas con el lenguaje hablado, pero tienen problemas con el lenguaje académico, es decir con la escritura. Por eso se les recomienda entrar a clases de ESOL...."

¡Gracias, Profe! :)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

"Monopolizing the Shoah ... has been a disaster for Israel"

In trying Adolph Eichmann: Israel embarked on the road to exclusive possession of the Shoah...

"[N]o other people may lay a claim to it"



Adapted from the book Review by Fr. Donald J. Moore, S.J., of Avraham Burg's
The Holocaust Is Over, We Must Arise From Its Ashes.

The Jesuit magazine America. June 22 - 29, 2009.

The original book title in Hebrew of Burg's work was apparently Victory Over Hitler.

The Hebrew - to - English translation is attributed to one Israel Amrani.

Our own little 'ole extract of the book review starts below:

"The publication of this book in Hebrew prompted a tidal wave of criticism not only because of the impeccable Zionist credentials of its author.

"Zionism, Burg thought, should offer to the world an alternative political model, a rejuvenated Judaism with a universal appeal that would make Israel a light unto the nations.

"Scarcely anyone in Israel is talking in these terms, and one major reason for this is that Israeli society has become a prisoner of the Shoah.

"Burg traces the wavering of the Zionists ideal to the 1960s, beginning with the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the the principal architects of Hitler's Final Solution.

"The trial became an all - Israeli affair, and for Burg a turning point both personally and collectively.

"Eichmann was convicted of genocide against the Jewish people and executed by hanging in May 1962.

"Voices calling for an international tribunal and judiciary and for a wider participation of non - Jewish witnesses went unheeded.

"Instead of recognizing the Shoah as a crime against all of humanity and linking Jewish suffering with all other innocent victims of racial fanaticism, Israel embarked on the road to exclusive possession of the Shoah.

"Instead of seeing its horrors in a more meaningful, universal light, Israel made it a source of its isolation from the world, reinforcing the idea of perpetual victimhood.

"Burg points out that since the Shoah has become Israel's exclusive property, no other people may lay a claim to it.

"It has become at once a weapon in the service of the Jewish people but also the source of their imprisonment.

"Monopolizing the Shoal, he argues, has been a disaster for Israel and for Judaism.

"Monopolizing the Shoah has led to a state of hysteria, leading Israel to brand its opponents with the Nazi swastika.

"The use of the term Arab in Israeli parlance is often derogatory signifying something or someone that is inferior, as was the German word Jude in the pre - Hitler years.

"But Burg warns his readers: It happened to the Germany of Schiller, Goethe and Mendelssohn, and it can happen also to us.

"He pleads with his fellow Israelis to open their ears and eyes and hearts.

"There is a vast treasure of unfulfilled potential represented by the State of Israel.

"Yet the author is fearful that what was possible in the land of poets and philosophers [Germany] is possible here too, in the land of the prophets.

"A chilling thought indeed..."

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Edward Behr's fine 1961 work on old French North Africa:

The Algerian Problem.





"INTRODUCTION

"One summer's day in 1957, a rebel band of some 250 men broke through the Algerian frontier defenses from Tunisia and lay up on the hills adjoining the old Roman town of Tébessa.

"They were spotted and surrounded.

"After an unsuccessful attempt to break through a strong paratrooper and Foreign Legion cordon, they fought it out to the death: one French lieutenant described how, in the final assault -- in which eight paratroopers, including an officer, were killed -- some of the rebels rose from their hiding places and, their ammunition gone, smashed their rifles against the rocky hillside.

"Only eight rebels survived.

"[These] prisoners were sat on stools in open army trucks and the grisly procession wound its way through the Roman ruins and the narrow streets of Tébessa, to the disgust of the few French and foreign journalists present.

"The Moslems of Tébessa reacted in a way which must have infuriated the [French] Psychological Warfare expert: they behaved as though the hideous procession before them was a figment of the imagination.

"They neither looked at it nor deliberately away from it.

"Sipping mint tea at café tables, haggling over small purchases in squalid shops, they carried on as though nothing unusual were happening.

"The ignored French troops escorting the prisoners felt, and looked, foolish.

"The instinctive reaction of the inhabitants of Tébessa goes far to explain why Algeria, conquered and colonized successively by the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Arabs, the Spaniards, the Turks and the French, has constantly eluded its conquerors ... "

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

"Priest's decision to be Episcopalian said to harm ecumenical relations"




Adapted from this source: Our local archdiocesan publication, Today's Catholic, June 5, 2009.


"MIAMI (CNS) -- Archbishop John C. Favalora of Miami expressed disappointment May 28 at both Father Alberto Cutié's decision to join the Episcopal Church and th epublic way he was received into his new church.

"[T]he archbishop said in a statement that This truly is a serious setback for ecumenical relations and cooperation between the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami and the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.

"[He] also warned Catholics not to request the sacraments from Father Cutié nor attend Masses celebrated by him.

"Father Cutié, who was suspended from his parish and Catholic radio posts after photos of him with a woman were released by a tabloid magazine, joined the Episcopal Church May 28 at a ceremony at Miami's Trinity Cathedral.

"The woman, identified as Ruhama Buni Canellis, 35, also became an Episcopalian in the same ceremony..."

Humm .. o.k.!

"So what happens a year or two down the line?"

Will this star - spangled relationship between these two lovebirds and or maybe simply two totally self - absorbed -- but essentially harmless idiots! --last even that long??!! :)

Monday, June 15, 2009

"Make - A - Wish helps St. Mary's student Ms. Alyssa Treviño meet pope"

Part II.


[ Continued from actual text of article related to Saturday's photo caption posting ]


"Wednesday's meeting with the pontiff was the culmination of a wish she made more than four years ago, when John Paul II still reigned over the church.

"Though Treviño could not be reached from comment, the photograph of the young Harlingen native being greeted by Pope Benedict XVI, who is smiling broadly, tells it all,

"Her parish priest, Father Tom Pincelli of Harlingen's St. Anthony Catholic Church calls it a masterful smile.

"[H]e added, You will not find a more courageous young lady as this girl.

"In April, Treviño also told a reporter that her family is close - knit.

'[S]he said They've gone through the same stuff I've gone through because they've always been there.

"They accompanied her to Rome, too.

"Make - A - Wish flew her father, Albert, a Border Patrol agent, there, along with her mother, Edna, who works at a dental office in Harlingen, and her younger brother Danny, a high school student.

"Back home, many well - wishers were cheering her on.

"[Father] Pincelli said he hoped the papal meeting would add to the strength she already has.

"Every Wednesday, thousands of people gather in Vatican City for the pope's weekly audience, an event held in the 6,300 - person capacity Paul VI Audience Hall.

"Before leaving, Treviño said she didn't know what she'd say if she got the chance to meet the pope. I think I'll probably be really scared, and I might cry...."

St. Mary Magdalene's Altar Server Show- up HONOR ROLL *



Sunday, June 14, 2009. 10:30 a.m. Mass. TEAM Mr. Tony Flores.


*
Not observed -- Saturday, June 13, 2009. 5:30 p.m. Mass.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

June 13: Feast Day of Saint Anthony of Padua.

Special patron of Mr. Vic Anthony Robledo of St. M. M.

Of Altar Ser
ver Mr. Tony Flores, too!


"South Texan gets her wish"


Harlingen's Ms. Alyssa Treviño meets Pope Benedict XVI!




Adapted from:

L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO / ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO / The San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS. Thursday, June 11, 2009. Local coverage by Ms. Elaine Ayala and Lauren M. Sanchez.

Photo Caption below front page picture of the smiling pope clasping the hands of Ms. Treviño and her mother Edna reads:

"St. Mary's University sophomore Alyssa Treviño, accompanied by her mother, Edna, fulfills her longstanding wish to meet the pope.

"The 19 - year - old Harlingen native was born with heart disease but received lifesaving open - heart surgery six years ago.

"She was sent to the Vatican by the Rio Grande chapter of the Make - A - Wish Foundation.

"Treviño is majoring in biology at St. Mary's and wants to become a pediatric cardiologist..."



Friday, June 12, 2009

México Bronco!"

Casi cien años después...

"Originan balaceras pánico en Durango"



"Afortunamente Gral. Moisés Melo García el titular de la Décima Zona Militar resultó ileso."


Su camioneta recibió no menos de 20 impactos de bala de grueso calibre...



Fuente original: AGENCIAS / Zócalo / Durango. Jueves 11 de Junio de 2009.


"La ciudad de Durango vivió una de las noches más difíciles de los últimos tiempos, pues delincuentes y elementos de las diferentes corporaciones policiacas, sostuvieron un cruento enfrentamiento que arrojó una persona muerta y horas después en un segundo tiroteo fallecieron tres personas más, dos de ellos sicarios y un agente de la Policía Federal; dos militares y dos federales resultaron heridos, así como una mujer del bando contrario, amante de Israel Sánchez, informó el general de la Décima Zona Militar, Moisés Melo García.

"Como era de esperarse, esta situación generó una gran psicosis cuando elementos federales y estatales anunciaron a los reporteros y a la gente que se encontraba a sus alrededores que se resguardaran, ya que se esperaba un comando armado, el cual posiblemente iría a rescatar a los sicarios heridos o que estaban participando en la balacera..."

Four more BHS Grads of 2009 outbound for Planet Earth!

Mr. Eric Gaona.

Ms. Bianca Martinez.

Ms. Laura Kirsten Swinson.

Ms. Felisha Abrego.


All lucky winners of inter - galactic one - way escape tickets!! :)

Basic info freely dreamed up from The Brackett News. Thursday, June 11, 2009.


Way to go, guys!

Archbishop's Appeal Acct. # 056000273 09 IPS

560 - St. Mary Magdalen Church -- Brackettville
.



Total Pledged: $1,051.50*

Amount Paid: $451.50

Balance as of 6/1/2009:
$600.00 .

*
This is a flat 30% of the assessed total of $3,505.00 .


Contrast this -- "¡O amigos mios!" -- with the following:

Money orders and lump sum cash contributions up in smoke in the Fall of 2007: $600.00 in three(3) consecutive weeks' worth of collection basket contributions.

Pastoral reaction to all this:

OPEN hostility. By the
Rev. Anton Quang Dinh Van.


Now, we fast forward to:


Special Cash
contributions for the Spring of 2009:

Altar Servers (Mrs. Janie DeHoyos) Thursday, January 29, 2009. $100.00. CASH DONATION. "Where did it go, then??!!" :)

Youth Group (Mrs. Maria Elena Molinar and Mrs. Janie DeHoyos), Thursday, January 29, 2009. $300.00 CASH DONATION. "Where did it go, then??!!" :)

Festival Committee (Mr. Cesar Cantu), Sunday, March 29, 2009. $80.00 CASH DONATION -- via Mrs. Janie DeHoyos. "Where did it go, then??!!" :).

Alleged "emergency expenses" (Mrs. Janie DeHoyos), Monday, March 30, 2009. $225.00. CASH DONATION.

NO problem HERE -- in "Where did it go?" (or if we ever get it back) -- BUT!

Was this money "traveling alone," or was there another $480.00 along side, "keeping it company??! " :) .

Pastoral reaction to all this:

ATTITUDE of polite -- and bored -- skepticism. By the Reverend Pius Ezeigbo.