There are moments when life makes no sense. When someone dies after suffering due to illness. When someone you know commits suicide and their family still struggles to understand. When you see those coping with depression, trying to survive day by day. At such times, it seems all we can do is pray with them.
Last month I watched the movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, with Tom Hanks portraying the beloved Mr. (Fred) Rogers. I must say it was a great movie, very insightful. It was somewhat nostalgic, but at the same time it made me think what a great human being Fred Rogers was and how much he influenced the world with his gentleness and sincerity.
This special season of Advent can be a wonderful time of reflecting on the “light of Christ that lives in each of us.” Our Catholic faith has so many beautiful rituals, prayers, and symbols that can assist us in connecting with those deep desires that each of us have to be in relationship with the Holy Trinity: with God our heavenly Father and with his Son Jesus for whom we await the celebration of that special day we recall his birth — an event that turned the world on its axis and changed the course of history (We even changed the calendar). During this season, we trust the Holy Spirit to lead us into 2020 Anno Domini — In the year of our Lord.
Transitional deacons Pedro Hernandez, Robert Moreno Jr. and Joe Luis Hernandez, together with seminarian Alejandro Garcia, made their profession of faith and oath of fidelity before Bishop Daniel E. Flores April 25 at the St. Eugene de Mazenod Renewal Center in San Juan. Hernandez, Moreno and Hernandez will be ordained priests for the Diocese of Brownsville this summer.
HARLINGEN — Father Lawrence (Larry) J. Klein, 66, longtime pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Harlingen, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020 after a protracted illness. “Father Larry was very proud of his parish,” said Bishop Daniel E. Flores at the Rosary for Father Klein Jan. 29 at St. Anthony Church. “The parish gave him life, and even in the midst of his struggle, he was looking forward to what he could do next and get back to work.”
A world away from the bustling urban centers of Hidalgo County lie the two most sprawling parishes in the Diocese of Brownsville. St. Isidore Parish in San Isidro covers almost all of northern Starr County, while that of Immaculate Conception in McCook takes in a broad L-shaped tract in northern Hidalgo County from that community all the way to Linn, San Manuel and beyond. San Manuel is home to a third church, the mission church of St. Anne.
Nearing 70 years of age and after logging more than 30 years of service as a deacon, Robert Cano figured he could finally relax and ease up a bit from the rigorous church life of assisting priests in their parish duties. “We bring much comfort to those who are suffering; we bring the presence of God into the hospital. It’s not human’s work you are doing, it’s God’s work.”