Third Anniversary
WE REMEMBER...
WE CELEBRATE...
WE BELIEVE...
~ More to Come ~
Pictures, News, Video!
Holy Spirit Catholic Parish was a Catholic Community unlike any of us had ever experienced. It was a parish truly alive with the Holy Spirit. It had over 100 very active ministries. This all changed on June 18, 2003, when our bishop, Raymundo Peña, sent his diocesan employees into our parish to fire all of our staff. These firings were done in retaliation for their having joined a Union. Our archives, begining in July of 2003, provides the complete history.
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6 comments:
Those cartoons say it all. Isn't it a shame how the parishioners and staff at Holy Spirit have suffered because of the childish retaliatiory acts of their bishop. Did anyone see the letter to the editor in the Monitor on Sunday about his legacy? So true!
I was a returning visitor to 8:30 Mass at Holy Spirit last Sunday. No red ribbon, just there to watch and remember!
I was extrimely impressed with your new priest, Father Gernardo. He truly seems to have Christ in his heart and I was impressed with the quality of his homily. What a change from all the dramatics of the Monsignor!
Peace to all of you!
I attended the 5:30 Mass on Saturday. The Knights of Columbus were there in full dress. I still can’t figure why they must bring their weapons of war (swords) into Mass, but at any rate, my real question is why they must also wave their fancy feathered hats during the consecration of the bread and wine? Talk about a distraction at the worst possible moment!
Don’t they realize that they are calling attention away from our devotion to our Father? They remind me of the guy that is always at 9:30 Mass at OLS that says, “MY LORD AND MY GOD”, out loud during the consecration. Show me anywhere in the GIRM where it says that a parishioner should speak out loudly during the consecration. To me, that is the height of being inconsiderate to your fellow parishioners.
The guy at OLS and our Knights of Columbus are fruits from the same tree, both are saying; “LOOK (LISTEN) TO ME, not to Him”! How can we put a stop to this, or at least be better informed of when they will be putting on their dog and pony show, so we can attend another Mass?
And also, why are we still being forced to say the Rosary before Mass? I have absolutely no objection to anyone saying the rosary, but please, don’t force me to say it, too! Do you think that Mary would not hear you if you said your Rosary in silence, or if you were in the chapel instead of the church? Please be a little more considerate of your fellow parishioners!
Yes, I did see the letter. Hats off to Mr. Hallman for speaking truth to power. Here it is from the Monitor website for those who have not have seen it. You all should be writing letters frequently.
June 18,2006
The Monitor
Bishop has time to leave positive legacy
To the editor:
In very few years Bishop Raymundo Peña will be 75, the mandatory retirement age for bishops. That gives him less time than George Bush to leave a positive legacy. It can happen; Archbishop Oscar Romero was a coward and servile to the corrupt rulers of El Salvador, but in a short period of time became a revered martyr.
I don’t expect Bishop Peña to become a martyr! But here is what he could do to leave a positive legacy:
Full disclosure on sexual abuse in the diocese. Don’t wait for it to “hit the fan.”
Full disclosure on finances. We give the money. How much goes to pay off victims of abuse? What happened to the workers’ pension funds?
Sign the UFW labor contract. Unfortunately, church workers need protection from corrupt pastors.
Return the basilica to the Oblates so that it may be run with dignity again, not as the cash cow/circus it has become.
Take a stand on immigration, capital punishment, Iraq war, health care, living wage. The Vatican has taken progressive stands on these issues, but we never hear about them from you.
Implement the reforms of Vatican II. It has been 40 years since that council promised to bring the church to modernity and the laity into participation as equals — but with different roles — as the clergy.
And finally, admit that the divisive, arrogant, absentee pastor at Holy Spirit Parish in McAllen is a poor fit and replace him with someone parishioners can respect.
Make us proud!
Guy Hallman,
McAllen
There was also a very appropriate letter there from another of our parishioners:
Letters to the Editor
June 18, 2006
The Monitor
June Torture Awareness Month
To the editor:
June 2006 has been designated Torture Awareness Month by Torture Abolition and Survivor Coalition International.
The month will culminate on June 26 with the 9th Annual United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims and Survivors. Anyone can participate by simply becoming more educated and aware. Web sites like www.tortureawareness.org are a good place to start, and the need for awareness is great.
Governments in more than 150 nations practice torture, and we are not immune from involvement in our own country. We need only to watch the news to see our own participation as a nation in the torture of others.
On a more human level, it is estimated there are more than 500,000 survivors of torture who live in the United States alone who need our support and compassion.
Sadly, almost two-thirds of the people of the United States agree that you could torture someone to get information from them. When a majority of our people can support an action so contrary to the principles on which our country was founded, we have lost our way.
Many of the original colonists fled to this country to escape such torture practices as “the rack,” “the screw” and “the star chamber.” If we allow practices of torture, in the words of Patrick Henry, then “we are lost and undone.” The iconic photograph from Abu Ghraib of the hooded man on the box reflects an old practice known as “the Vietnam” — we are truly undone.
I would like to believe that my country, while not perfect, at least tries to follow its own guiding principles. We cannot strive for the ideal of democracy and at the same time subscribe to the idea that some people deserve to be treated as subhuman.
Michelle Peña,
Edinburg
6/20/2006 4:05 PM
RE: Saying the Rosary before Mass.
Saying the Rosary in silance or back in the chapel (instead of in the church before Mass) would not make a bit of difference to Our Lady. The only difference would be to those SAYING the Rosary... no one would SEE them! Sad, but that is what this is all about!
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