EASTER LETTER

MARCH 22, 2008

My dear parishioners in the Rio Grande Valley,

The Resurrection of our Savior fills us with joy! Alleluia! Let us give a heartfelt welcome to all those who were baptized at the Easter Vigil in parishes throughout the Diocese. With them and for them, let us proclaim, in the words of the psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it and be glad!” (Ps 118:24). Let us rejoice as well over the more than three thousand young persons and close to five hundred adults who will complete their initiation into the life of the Church when they receive the Sacrament of Confirmation during this Easter season. The sacramental presence of the Spirit of God among us gives new life to our particular church.

This new life calls us to be a source of spiritual life for others. You can do so by becoming more involved in the missionary work of the church. Our diocesan program of evangelization, Disciples in Mission, can prepare you and enable you to go, like the first seventy-two disciples, from house to house and say to them, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you” (Luke 10:9). If you do not feel called to go from house to house, visit the nursing homes in your neighborhood and go from room to room to proclaim the good news to the elderly; or go from detention center to detention center to tell the residents there how much God loves them and forgives them, no matter how society may judge them. Finally, you may become part of the diocesan outreach we will soon initiate and go from colonia to colonia announcing that the kingdom of God belongs to them, as well. You will, thus, respond positively to the Risen Savior who entrusted the Church with the responsibility of proclaiming His good news to the ends of the earth.

Not every one can do every thing that needs to be done, but we are all called as the Lord’s disciples, to be agents bringing new life to our society. If each of us, after prayerful discernment, does what he or she feels best able to do, we will succeed in fulfilling our mission to bring good news, improving the quality of faith and the quality of life in our beloved Valley.

May our Risen Savior bless you and enrich you with His love and grace during this Easter Season and every day of you life.

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 26-Mar-2008 8:20 sitemap