Volume 7, Issue 13

»Joy of Love

Share truth of family with mercy, pope says

THANKS BE TO GOD

Serving More Than A Million Catholics in the Diocese of Brownsville

Four new priests to be ordained

By CINDY WOODEN Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — The same mercy and patience that are essential for building a strong family must be shown to those whose families are in trouble or have broken up, Pope Francis said in his highly anticipated postsynodal apostolic exhortation. The document, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), on Love in the Family,” released April 8, contains no new rules or norms. However, it encourages careful review of everything related to family ministry and, particularly, much greater attention to the language and attitude used when explaining church teaching and ministering to those who do not fully live that teaching. “No family drops down from heaven perfectly formed; families need constantly to grow and mature in the ability to love,” Pope Francis wrote. People grow in holiness, and the church must be there to give them a helping hand rather than turn them away because they have not attained some degree of perfection. The exhortation was Pope Francis’ reflection on the discussion, debate and suggestions raised during the 2014 and 2015 meetings of the Synod of Bishops on the family. Like synod members did, the pope insisted that God’s plan for the family is that it be built on the lifelong union of one man and one woman open to having children. Synod members, including priests, religious and laypeople serving as experts and observers, talked about everything from varied cultural forms of courtship to marriage preparation and from the impact of migration on families to care for elderly parents. Pope Francis’ document touches on all the issues raised at the synods and gives practical advice on raising children, urges a revision of sex-education pro» Please see Exhortation p.14

May 2016

»Amoris Laetitia

Comparte la verdad de la familia con misericordia, dice el papa Por CINDY WOODEN Catholic News Service

Ordination Photo by Cesar P. Riojas/Photo illustration by Zulema Baez

By ROSE YBARRA The Valley Catholic

S

AN JUAN — Bishop Daniel E. Flores will ordain four men to the holy priesthood at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 27 at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine. The ordinands will be: Deacon Joel Ramiro Flores, son of Robert and Diamantina V. Flores of Mission Deacon Leonel Rodriguez Bazan, son of Leonel Rodriguez Gonzalez and Araceli Bazan de Rodriguez of Edinburg Deacon Joshua Andrew Carlos, son of Cruz and Beatrice Carlos of Brownsville Deacon Ricardo Chavez Flores, son of the late Ricardo Chavez Frausto and Maria Elena Flores of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico Deacon Joel Ramiro Flores Deacon Joel Flores, 33, first heard the call to the priesthood when he was a teenager.

WoRKs oF MeRcY

Ordination Mass Friday, May 27 at 6:30 p.m. Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle “I first heard it at age 15 in the homily during the Mass for my confirmation and it kept coming to mind, but I kept saying, ‘no, no, no,’ but that was the strongest I can remember it being as a child.” Deacon Flores didn’t respond to God’s invitation right away. He finished high school, pursued his college education, entered the workforce and even had a girlfriend along the way. “I didn’t start taking it seriously again until I was 24,” he said. Deacon Flores, who has a background in clinical psychiatry and nutrition, was working in a Houston hospital and the patients’ families and co-workers alike were seeking his counsel on spiritual issues.

GRAdUATioNs

There was a stretch when several patients died in a short period of time. “And I was being asked for help and advice,” Deacon Flores said. “They were confiding in me in ways I didn’t think I deserved simply because it was quite sacred, the nature of the conversations we were having.” The experience reawakened the call to the priesthood. “It made me think, ‘You need to take this seriously and consider discerning the priesthood,’” he said. At the time, Deacon Flores was pursuing a Ph. D in nutrition but did not complete that program so he could enter the seminary. He had his concerns, however, as he was not sure how his fields of study could be put to use in the priesthood. “I prayed to God, saying, ‘I’ll follow you, just show me the way,’” he recalled. Deacon Flores studied bioethics in Rome for two years and met other priests and religious » Please see New priests p.16

THose WHo seRVe

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO — Deberá demostrárseles la misma misericordia y paciencia que son esenciales para edificar una familia fuerte a aquellos cuya familia se encuentra en problemas o se ha disuelto, dijo el papa Francisco en su altamente anticipada exhortación posterior al Sínodo. El documento lleva el título en latín de ‘Amoris Laetitia’ (La alegría del amor) y el subtítulo de “Amor en la familia” y fue dado a conocer el 8 de abril. No contiene nuevas reglas o normas; sin embargo, en él se estimula a que se haga una cuidadosa revisión de todo lo que se relacione con el ministerio de la familia y, especialmente, mucha mayor atención al tipo de lengua que se use y actitud que se tome cuando se expliquen las enseñanzas de la iglesia y cuando se ejerza el ministerio con aquellas personas que no viven del todo conforme tales enseñanzas. “Ninguna familia cae del cielo perfectamente formada. Las familias necesitan un constante crecimiento y adquisición de madurez en su capacidad de amor”, escribió el papa Francisco. Las personas crecen en santidad y la iglesia debe de estar presente allí para darles una mano y no para ahuyentarlos porque no han adquirido cierto grado de perfección. En la exhortación se encuentran las reflexiones que hizo el papa Francisco sobre las discusiones, debates y sugerencias que se tuvieron durante las reuniones del 2014 y 2015 en el Sínodo de obispos en relación a la familia. Y de la misma manera como lo expresaron los miembros del Sínodo, el papa insistió en que el plan de Dios para la familia es el que se edifique una unión de por vida entre un hombre y una mujer, dispuestos a procrear hijos. » Por favor lea Exhortación p.12

eN eNesPAÑoL esPAÑoL Artículos sobre las obras físicas de misericordia, la columna de Vida Familiar y la Solemnidad de Corpus Christi

“VERBUM MITTITUR SPIRANS AMOREM”

(“The WORD is sent breathing love.”)

Shelter the homeless Page 3

Seniors from Catholic high schools celebrate milestone Page 6

Father Andres Gutierrez Page 9

Páginas 11-13