Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Psst! UTEP English and American Lit Majors!

Thanksgiving comes early this year.

Be sure your semester projects are ready o turn in by Wednesday, November 21! 

Good luck! :)

¡Ora, UTEP

¡Ora, MEChA!

¡Adelante, DESTINO!

Two - person Altar Server Team real asset at deacon - less Tuesday afternoon Mass

Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church.

Brackettville, Texas 78832.

Tuesday. October 30, 5:30 pm Mass. TEAM Ms. Jackie Pacheco and Ms. Brittany Castilla.

Way to go, ladies! :)

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Southwest Texas, U.S.A.

Bracketville's Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church 78832.

 
"What Bartimaeus sees ..." was the excellently delivered theme for Deacon Jimmy Bader's homily this past Saturday at the 5:30 pm Mass.

But!

It was also the theme for Pope Benedict XVI's homily at the Sunday Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome with around 150 bishops in attendance.

One of them, Mexican Bishop Alonso Gerardo Garza Treviño thoughtfully reported all this to us in Spanish last night via Radio ♪La Rancherita del Aire♫ Piedras Negras, Coahuila, México...

Point of all this??

The Catholic Church is indeed a "universal Church!" :)

From Brackettville, Texas to Piedras Negras, Mexico to Rome, Italy -- and back again... 

Monday, October 29, 2012

November 1.  Feast Day of Todos los Santitos -- All Saints Day.


In Southwest Texas U.S.A

Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church.

Brackettville 78832

Mass at 5:30 pm.

As Father Moreno reminds us:


"Holy Days of Obligation are feast days on which Catholics are required to attend Mass.

"If you do not attend the Holy Day Mass you are required to receive the Sacrament of Confession before receiving Communion on Sunday..."

'Way to go Father Moreno! :)


November 2. Feast Day of the Commemoration of  All the Faithfully Departed aka the Poor Souls in Purgatory.


First Friday.

November 3. First Saturday of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Feast Day of San Martín de Porres.


Even one (1) Altar Server makes a difference at a Saturday p.m. Mass!

Saturday. October 27, 2012. 5:30 p.m. Mass. Team Ms. Brittany  Castilla.

Way to go, Brittany! :)

Friday, October 26, 2012

Cowboy Fiction!

About those days of long ago:

"When only the bad died old ..."

Lauran Paine's Tomahawk Meadow.
 
"Ladd Buckner, a stranger to the small town of Piñon, Arizona Territory, makes a favorable impression on the townspeople when he joins a range crew from the Muleshoe Ranch under attack by renegade Apaches.

"Buckner buys the local saddle  shop from its aged owner.

"But the way he stitches a saddle makes the local doctor suspicious.

"He passes that on to the marshal, who makes inquiries.

"When the marshal is killed in a daring bank robber, a letter in his pocket states that Buckner had served a term in prison -- for bank robbery..."

Oh, my! Oh, my! :) 

Two items in Today's News from Inside The Vatican's email service: 

1) Bishop Williamson finally sacked.

2) Pope Benedict XVI's announces another six (6) new Cardinals.   Once more,  Archbishop José Horacio Gómez ignored... :) 

Flash Bulletin!! 

The venom  of the Brown Recluse Spider has a tremendous capacity to produce necrotic tissue!

Yet, Father Moreno said yesterday that massive doses of antibiotics are helping him cope with his Brown Recluse Spider bite!

Southwest Texas U.S.A.

Brackettville 78832.

Yet another YA from Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church on the move!

Mrs. Francisca "Chica" Hernandez honored as Kinney County Post's "Teacher of the Week" Thursday, October 18, 2012.

Snippet:

"The math teacher was raised helping her dad, a sheep shearer, now her boys work with the sheep.

"She is very active with the A.C.T.S. Community at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church.

"Having a family and home is a busy life, add teaching,  being the cheerleaders' sponsor and a Brackettville City Council Member makes for an even more busy life.

"Priorities are important to the Hernandez Family ...." 

You can bet on that! :)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Hilarious story in the November - December 2012 issue of Catholic Answers magazine.

The miss - named "Traditionalist Catholic" organization calling itself the  Society of Saint Pius X now has yet another splinter group.

But, these latest clowns can't call themselves the Society of Saint Pius V as those clowns split - off way back in 1983!

So!

Instead, they are taking this name: the Society of Saint Pius X -- SO!

And the SO stands for Strict Observance, believe it or not! :)

October 23. Feast Day of Saint John of Capistrano.

October 24. Feast Day of Saint Anthony Mary Claret

Southwest Texas U.S.A.

One - man Altar Server Crew great asset at  last Saturday's Deacon - less 5:30 pm Mass!!

Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church.


Brackettville, Texas 78832.

 
Saturday. October 20, 2012. 5:30 pm Mass. TEAM Mr. Dante Luna.

Way to go, Dante! :)

Monday, October 22, 2012

And then I got to preach ....:)

Southwest Texas USA

Friday, October 19, 2012 edition of Today's Catholic newspaper

Ms. Martha Fernández - Sardina's  Kinney County rural exploit!

Snippets from her  "Road to Misión San Pablo..."

"Father Henry Clay Hunt, III and Father Pius Ezeigbo, pastors of St. Joseph and Sacred Heart parishes in Del Rio stopped in my office recently and asked if I could come out and speak to their parishioners about the Year of Faith and the New Evangelization...

"I arrived into Brackettville later than I planned that Friday night, but a delicious barbeque rib dinner awaited me at the home of my gracious hosts, Rosa and César Cantu..

"We rose early next morning and headed to the Hunt family ranch where we were blessed to celebrate  the holy sacrifice of the Mass  in honor of  Our Lady  on that first Saturday of the month, over an altar built in an open field a few years ago when the good padre became a priest.

"The altar has a relic of one of my patron saints, St. Mary Magdalene..    

"Father Clay's altar has a relic of another great evangelization mentor of mine, St. Paul: it is a piece of the chains that held him bound for preaching the Gospel for which he suffered as a criminal, even to the point of being thrown into chains -- though there is no chaining the word of God! (2 Tim 2:9)  ....

"What a delightful morning Mass that was..

"And then I got to preach.


"Using Sacred Scripture and Church documents, and going back and forth from English to Spanish, I addressed the 150 or so parishioners present, an spoke to them about the Year of Faith and the call to a New Evangelization ..."

And you know she made an impact, as did Mr. "Jay Vela, the executive  director of ACTS  Missions who spoke about the need to rise each day ready to proclaim the good news of salvation and engage in the Church's New Evangelization ..."

 Way to go, great people! :)

Thursday, October 18, 2012

October 2012: Inside The Vatican magazine.

At August 29th's General Audience

Pope Benedict XVI genially wows 2,600 French Altar Servers "both male and female" plus who knows how many Maltese --

whose photo shows them proudly wearing their distinctive scarlet and white vestments --

and who were kindly shepherded by an elderly priest in a black cassock...
 
The Holy Father  kindly reassured the young people of their important role in the Eucharistic celebration...

Way to go, Holy Father and everyone! :)

And speaking of  such great Altar Servers making a difference:

That includes Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church.

Brackettville, Texas 78832

Tuesday. October 16, 2012. 5:30 pm weekday Mass. TEAM Ms. Britney Castilla and Ms. Jackie Pacheco.

Way to go ladies! :)

Monday, October 15, 2012

Southwest Texas U.S.A.

Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Parish.

Brackettville 78832


From Last Sunday's Bulletin:

"Congratulations!

"To Ms. Gail Goth on becoming a member of the Catholic Church through her Profession of Faith and receiving her First Holy Communion..." 

Way to go Gail! :)

One - man altar - server team shines, too!
At last Saturday's 5:30 pm Mass...

Saturday. October 13, 2012. 5:30 pm Mass. TEAM Mr. Moses Hernandez.

Way to go, Moses! :)

"Announcements
 
 "October 14, 2012 Women of the Gospel Bible Workshop.

"12:30 Pot Luck Lunch.

"1:30 pm presentation -- Saint Mary Magdalene.

"3:00 pm Rosary at the Church -- Sponsored by the Legion of Mary..."

"October 19, 2012 Freedom Rally

"At 5:00 pm  in the front of the Val Verde Court House in Del Rio, Texas.

"One of the presenters will be Father Moreno.

"October 21, 2012 Catholic Bible Encounter

"12:30 Noon is our Pot Luck Lunch

"1:30 pm presentation -- Overview of the Bible.

"3:00 pm Divine Mercy Prayer -- inside the Church.

"Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus ..."

October 15. Feast Day of Saint Teresa of Jesus.

October 16.  Feast Day of Saint Hedwig and Saint  Margaret Mary Alacoque.

October 17. Feast Day of Saint Ignatius of Antioch.

October 18. Feast Day of Saint Luke.

October 19. Feast Day of Saint John de Brébeuf and Saint Isaac Jogues and Companions

October 20. Feast Day of Saint Paul of the Cross.
 

Friday, October 12, 2012

In memory of UTEP English Department Detective Fiction Class -- Fall of 2004!

John Young takes a look at shifts in  Detective Fiction, contrasting then with now!

"When Life Is No Laughing Matter"

Snippets from his original in The Wanderer Catholic  newspaper,  Thursday, October  11, 2012.

 A "shift has occured in books, including detective fiction.

"The older detectives were not much troubled  by personal problems.

"Is Sherlock Holmes an exception?

"He had his drug problems and his fits of depression when London's criminals were quiet.

"But somehow the stories had a light touch; Holmes personal problems didn't inrude.

"Rex Stout's character Nero Wolfe could have been depicted in a very depressing way, with his laziness, his argumentativeness, his obsessions, his uneasiness with women.  

"But Stout treats  Wolfe with a light touch, and the reader is left amused.

"By contrast, Patricia Cornwell's character Kay Scarpeta and her associates are an unhappy lot, between them manifesting psychological  problems, sexual relationships -- including one - night stands and lesbianism -- and alcoholism.

"The first Scarpetta novel, Postmortem, was published in 1990.

"Of course there is much that is dark and pessimistic in earlier fiction; but I think the shift we find today is a reflection of an increased unhappiness in society.

"We live in a time of escalating violence and it is often a random violence ...."

And he develops his thesis from there! :)

Brackettville, Texas 78832.

One of Mrs. Monica Castillo's multi - talented nieces -- Ms. Bianca Cruz -- BHS Class of 2011 
 
... is striving successfully to help the BHS Class of 2010's Mr. Daniel Molinar, Mr. Roland Rivas, Mr. Gerald Lee DeHoyos and Mr. Raúl Rivas ... 

to put Brackettville on the 21st Century map!

Last week she co - hosted a live broadcast with Jay Tope of SAsports.com from the Tiger Gym.

Then in this week's Kinney County Post she interviews a fine young gentleman from the Antique Car Rally at Fort Clark Springs.

Way to go, Bianca

Your Aunt Monica is proud of you -- and so are the rest of us! :)
 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Southwest Texas USA

Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church in
Brackettville, 78832.

"Thursday, October 11, 2012.  The opening of the Year of Faith.

"5:00pm Living Rosary and Crowning of Mary by CCD Students.

"6:00pm Mass  ..."

"7:00pm Social..."

"MARK YOUR CALENDAR

"Please join the 2012 Rosary Crusade on Saturday, October 13th.

"As we all know, the United States is in great need of Public Prayer, Repentance and Conversion.

"We must must ask God to save America through the Rosary of His Most Holy Mother.

"The Rosary rally will take place in front of Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church.

"The rally starts at 12:00 noon so it would be appreciated if you could be there about a half  hour earlier.

"This will enable us to provide handouts to attendees prior to the beginning of the prayers.

"Please contact Jim or Barbara Voss for more information..."

Way to go, Father Moreno! :)


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Update! 

"Bob Woodberry, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin ..."

Now, here's a funny, make you feel good story!

About a UT Austin Sociology professor who was trashed by the UT Austin tenure committee ...

... plus subsequently denied a tenured faculty position by around 108 other U.S. institutions for good measure:

And then, the National University of Singapore hired him in a flash!

With the following perks:

1) A 50% increase in salary.

2) First semester off.

3) Free housing for nine (9) years.

4) $85,000 for his research! 

 His crime here in the "freedom - of - academic - expression - loving USA?"

Publishing results of a study that -- overall! -- tended to show that Christian missionaries did  a lot of good for people living under colonial rule, way back when...

Moreover, that -- overall! -- Christian missionaries stood up for them as in Jamaica in 1865, where they forced the recall of a royal governor back to England to be tried for the murder of a local black leader ...

Original source: By James K. Fitzpatrick "Doubling - Down On The Double Standard" in The Wanderer Catholic newspaper. Thursday, October 4, 2012.

In turn, Fitzpatrick cites an (unnamed!) article by one Marvin Olasky published in World magazine -- August 2012 issue.

Way to go, Singapore! :)

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Any good friends or  co - workers of the Rev. Smiley Goodloe's Ministry might  kindly let him know that Ms. Santa Claus has been waiting for him over a week now.... c/o the KCL!! :)

PS: His favorite lady elf seems to have disappeared, too ... :)

Thanks! :)

"Prayer Life on empty?

"Stop by for a refill!"


Marquee Magic from Brackettville, Texas 78832.

Frontier Baptist Church.

Rev. Ned Sitzes, Pastor.

Way to go Reverend! :)


Rare mother - daughter team assigned roles at the exact same 11:00 am Sunday Mass ...

at Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church in Brackettville, Texas 78832.

Sunday. October 7, 2012. 11:00 a.m. English Mass.  LECTOR Ms. Selina Gerardo and as an Extraordinary Minister -- Mrs. Martha Gerardo.

Way to go, ladies! :)

Congratulations, likewise to such CCD personalities as Mr. Adam Charlie Resendez and Mr. Daylon Miller on being elected officers to B.H.S. FFA!

Way to go, guys! :)
 

Sensational developments in last night's broadcast by Mexican News Radio aka La información sin fronteras ....  

Monday, October 8, 2012: Authorities have arrested the Assistant Chief of the Municipal Police for Ciudad Acuña -- across from Del Rio, Texas.


The charge? Complicity in last Wednesday's murder of José Eduardo Moreira Rodriguez, son of former Coahuila governor Humberto Moreira Valdes.

He was shot twice in the head... 

Thursday, October 04, 2012

Hello, UTEP!

¡Hey, FAMILIA!

Wow!

¡GUAU!

October means mid - term exams coming up pretty quick!

 ¡Ora, UTEP!                                                                    
 ¡Ora, MEChA!

¡Adelante, DESTINO!

According to El Universal ...

Snippet from     Monday, October 1, 2012.

"In Mexico no stores sale weapons, owning a weapon is illegal unless you can get a permit  that proves that your life depends on being armed  or that your job requires it ...

"In spite of all that, [Mexico] ranks seventh in the world for the most firearms in the hands of civilians: 15 million, one for every three adults, according to the United Nations..."

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Mexican military selective in recruiting!

Adapted from La Reforma, Monday. October 1, 2012.

In any given recent year:

Roughly 700,000 young Mexicans express an interest in joining the military.

Out of that, 21,000 actively apply.

Preliminary rigorous physical and psychological testing alone washes out all but 5,000.

Then things really get rough!

Because these remaining 5,000 are given a cultural examination.

Result??

Less than 1,500 make the grade!

Of which 9.88% are women ...

Just think if the U.S. Military had those kinds of standards!! 

O.K.!

So that's just dreaming! :)

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

"Mary's Perpetual Virginity" II.

Raymond De Souza quotes  from two of the main founders of Protestantism, Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli ---

These snippets are  in The Wanderer Catholic newspaper. Thursday. September 27, 2012.

Martin Luther -- "It is an article of Faith that Mary is the Mother of the Lord and still a virgin ...

"Christ, we believe, came forth from a womb left perfectly intact... (The Works of Luther, Weimar, English translation by Pelican, Concordia, St. Louis, vol. 11, pp. 319 - 320; vol, 6. p. 510)." 

Ulrich Zwingli -- "I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the Gospel, as a pure virgin brought forth for us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth forever remaining a pure, intact Virgin... (Zwingli Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Berlin, 1905, in Evang. Luc., Op. comp., vol 1, p. 424)."

Way to go, great people! :)

Mexican News Radio aka Información sin fronteras -- last night's last minute news flash!

"From the Public Security Director of the State of Coahuila with his counterpart from Tamaulipas: 

"Today October 1, elements of the Army re - captured 7 more escapees in Laredo [Mexico!].

"Those who were originally charged with Federal Offenses will be consigned to a Federal Prison, the others are going right back  to El CERESO here in Piedras Negras.

"No word on arms or munitions decommissioned

"This makes for [some such number as] 26 total escapees back in custody..."

Which also means there's still 100 or so left running amok... :)

Monday, October 01, 2012

October 1. Feast Day of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

October 2.  Feast Day of the Holy Guardian Angels.

October 4.  Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi.

October 5. First Friday.

October 6. First Saturday.

October 6. Feast Day of Saint Bruno and Blessed Marie Durocher.

October 8. Columbus Day.

.
October 9.  Feast Day of Saint Denis and Companions.

October 9. Feast Day of Saint John Leonardi

Last Friday's Mexican News Radio aka Información sin fronteras broadcast at last reveals public enemy Número Uno --

-- at least in the eyes of the all - knowing and all -- powerful gobernación --

Facebook is responsible for causing both panic and psychosis! :)

Meanwhile, in Laredo Tamaulipas: Eight escaped jailbirds were caught in a vehicle chock - full of automatic weapons plus a modest cargo of cocaine. 

They were turned over to the "federal authorities ...."

End of the story! :)

Southwest Texas High School Football!

Last Saturday: D'Hanis H.S. beats  Brackett H.S. by 2 points! :(

But, don't you know?

That was a heck of a good game! :)
                       
Plus the Tigers are still 4 out of 5 ...