A word of thanks

January 25, 2010

As I look forward to a happy retirement from a position of leadership in the Church, I have been counting my blessings and I pause now to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God, to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and to the countless men and women, clergy, religious and laity, who have shared my joys and sorrows in four dioceses, during fifty-three very happy, faith-filled years.

When I was first asked what I would do after I retire, I replied that I intended to “live happily ever after.”  Because I cannot be truly happy if I am not doing what a priest does, I hope to serve as chaplain to the Capuchin Poor Clare Nuns at our diocesan perpetual adoration chapel, in Alamo.  (Bishop Daniel Flores has graciously invited me to continue to reside in the house where I live.)  I will be available to assist the Bishop in whatever he may ask of me and to offer assistance to parishes when there is a need.  On a regular basis, I will celebrate the Sacrament of Penance at the Basilica and I will assist with the jail ministry.  I was ordained “a priest forever;” I will happily exercise my priestly ministry all the days of my life.

Now, let me highlight just a few of the many blessings for which I offer thanks to God.  In Corpus Christi, my greatest joy was to be the first pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, a community that blossomed in the l950’s and became a parish in 1969.   In San Antonio,  I had the privilege of assisting Archbishop Francis Furey, who ordained me to the episcopal office, during the last few years of his life. 

During the fifteen years that I served as Bishop of El Paso, many exciting things happened: ten new parishes and a significant number of ordinations.  My greatest joy was the establishment of the Tepeyac Institute for training lay women and men for service in the Church. It is now a nationally recognized educational institution. 

In 1995, Pope John Paul II asked me to return to the Rio Grande Valley where I had served in the 1960’s to lead the local church, as its Bishop.  It was a great surprise and an even greater joy!   It was good to come home!

I returned with a firm commitment to build up the Body of Christ in the tradition of my two great predecessors.  Placing the diocese and my ministry under the care and protection of the Mother of God, I declared that I would work hard, together with the priests and parishioners, to enhance the quality of faith and the quality of life in the this four county diocese.  She has accompanied us every step of the way and her Shrine in San Juan has become a national shrine and a Minor Basilica, associated to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.  Consequently, the pilgrims visiting our basilica may gain the same indulgences as those who visit the roman basilica.  
Devotion to the Eucharistic presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has also increased both in our diocesan Adoration Chapel in Alamo and in the parishes that offer special times of prayer (some 24/7) before the Blessed Sacrament.    

I muse happily over the twenty-eight diocesan priests and two transitional deacons    (almost 50% of our presbyterate) and eleven religious priests that I have ordained, the 1,094 lay persons who  have been certified for various ministries by the San Juan Diego Ministry Institute and the twenty-three men who are preparing for  the permanent diaconate.  Our Catholic schools and religious education programs, as well as our family life programs have continued to offer quality service to our parishioners. 

As Disciples in Mission, over 700 lay evangelizers have taken the good news of salvation to our homes; they are now forming small groups to study the Bible.  I am particularly proud of what our youth and young adults are doing among their peers.  There has been a resurgence of life and activity at the Newman Centers in our universities and colleges. 

We have also made serious efforts to enhance the quality of life in the Valley.  We began with the employees of the diocese and parishes by establishing the principle of a living wage rather than the minimum wage to define the entry level wage for our staffs.  The diocesan nursing home for our infirm seniors, in San Juan, was one of only two in the Valley to receive a “5” – the highest rating – in a recent inspection and the diocesan El Rosario and La Merced Homes offer affordable housing to 200 Valley families.

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley has become a major player in assisting those in need.  It has grown from a staff of eight offering personal and family counseling services and outreach to persons in detention centers to a staff of twenty-seven offering emergency assistance, immigration services ,  jail ministry, Adult Protective Services, disaster related long term case management, and the Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP).

By the grace of God, together, we have done some very good things and I thank you.  We have enriched the quality of faith as well as the quality of life in our diocese.  Let us all give thanks to God.
As we thank God for his goodness, for his presence in our lives and for allowing us to serve the Church, we recognize that there have been tensions at times, hurt feelings, false accusations and misunderstandings.  I trust, nonetheless, that there has never been ill will on anyone’s part.  Now is the time for all to forgive and to pledge to work together with our Bishop Daniel Flores, for the glory of God. 

Finally, I thank the Freedom Newspapers of the Valley for graciously printing my weekly columns in their weekend editions and on their websites.  May God bless all the residents of the Valley and grant you all good things.

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 09-Jun-2010 10:44 sitemap