Fellowship Potluck

Holy Spirit
Fellowship
Potluck Dinner


September 30, 2006, 6:30 pm

Please join us for shared prayer, food,
fun and fellowship! We will meet in the Activity Room at the First Christian Church.

First Christian Church is located at the cornor of 10th
and Nyssa, 2 blocks south of Pecan St.
(Our thanks to First Christian for the use of their facilities.)

We will be celebrating one year of gathering for fellowship!

Farewell to Victor
This Friday will be Victor Quintanilla’s last workday at Holy Spirit. He has worked at Holy Spirit for 18 years. Everyone is again invited to join us in the courtyard at Holy Spirit on Friday at 6:00pm, to join us in thanking Victor for everything that he has done for us over the years and to wish him great success in the future. All are also welcome to join us for supper at a local restrurent following this celebration.

A FAREWELL MESSAGE

A FAREWELL MESSAGE
from
Ann Cass, Martha Sanchez and Chayo Vaello

Three years ago, Bishop Raymundo Peña and his “transition team” forced us out of Holy Spirit Parish. It is interesting that on that day, all of the locks to the church were changed. Yesterday, our pastor again ordered that all of the locks be changed.

As you know, because of the efforts of the United Farm Workers, we were all able to go back to work after we were fired. But Bishop Raymundo Peña’s intense efforts to defeat us have continued.

We know from a letter sent to every Bishop in Texas from the Vicar General's Office (attached), that Bishop Peña has consulted with Canonical and Civil Law Experts to develop strategies to use against us and we feel that we have continuously been harassed and libeled and that our characters have been defamed because of this retaliation during the last three years.

Bishop Peña and Monsignor Louis Brum have refused to deal with our Union Contracts and our grievances have been totally ignored. For example: we were not even given cost of living increases which were called for in our contract, in spite of the fact that cost of living increases were given to every other diocesan employee. Our bookkeeper even told us that our phones were bugged.

Our Pastor refused, early on, to sit down with our union representative to review our contracts. To this date, our Pastor has not even read them. The Tribunal that was ordered by Bishop Peña found no fault with our contract itself, only with the addendum regarding our pension, which was an arguable point.

Most importantly, under directions from our Bishop, our Pastor has not allowed us to perform our ministries. We have not been allowed to do our jobs. We have been micro-managed by a person who was never here to make any decisions, by a person whose way of dealing with personnel has been passive-aggressive and by a person whose way of working with staff has been to simply ignore them. It is our contention that such poor management practices could only have come about through intention.

We cannot even begin to describe the stress that we have been under during the last three years. One of us was recently informed by her doctor that she needed to quit work or suffer grave consequences to her health. This is the reason that we have now all decided to resign our positions at Holy Spirit. It is not worth putting our health in jeopardy.

Our struggle has never been about winning or losing. Our struggle has been about being faithful to the Gospel, about speaking truth to power and about working for justice for all people who are employed by the Catholic Church. We leave here today with our heads held high, knowing that we did what was correct according to His teachings. We could not have found the courage to speak up against the power of our Church if it had not been for all of you, the people within our community that have supported us and have become our “Church beneath the Church.”

We apologize that our actions for justice have ended with so many being hurt, with so many experiencing pain and with the destruction of our parish. By neglecting the problem, our Bishop has encouraged this to happen. We do not buy his repeated statements that he is helpless to intervene in the operation of a parish or with its pastor.

Bishop Peña was appointed by our Pope to be our Head Shepherd. We feel that a wolf, rather than a shepherd, has come into our sheepfold. We never dreamed that a Bishop of the Catholic Church could retaliate against one of his own Church communities with such meanness of spirit and vindictiveness.

It has been part of our Catholic social teaching for over 100 years that workers have the right to organize. Our Bishop has even claimed to have "walked" with Cesar Chavez. Why has he been so afraid to embrace our efforts and to have it serve as a model for all of our church, as the Catholic Church so vividly teaches? Even the workers serving the Vatican are unionized.

It is unfortunate that Bishop Raymundo Peña and Monsignor Louis Brum have taken the route of ignoring this problem rather than addressing it. It is unfortunate that neither of them has responded to requests to bring someone in from outside, not to preach, but to facilitate healing in our parish. Monsignor Brum has even refused to allow prayer requests on Sunday asking for the healing of our parish. Outside of our maintenance staff, the only employee now remaining at Holy Spirit parish is our bookkeeper. All of our professional staff have now either been fired or have left our parish in disgust.

Our resistance has not been about accepting the change that comes with a new Pastor. We never had any problems accepting any of our four previous Pastors. This has been about resisting a Pastor that was sent here specifically by his Bishop to destroy our parish. It seems that our Bishop just doesn’t care that he is destroying a parish that has been the model for social justice, religious education and worship for over 22 years in this Diocese.

Now, however, our voices can be freer than ever. We are not leaving this parish; we are only leaving its employ. We will now be able to lift our voices even louder to our Pastor and to our Bishop in our continuing effort to bring about justice in our Church. That is the only way that the Church that we love so dearly can regain its integrity and can bring about the kingdom.

We now kick the dust from our sandals and ask for your prayers to insure that we love our new ministries as much as we have loved serving the people in this parish for so many years.

Ann Williams Cass
Pastoral Associate

Martha Sanchez
Family Ministry Coordinator

Chayo Vaello
Sacristan

Vicar General's Letter, July 3, 2002
(Click on image to enlarge, click on "back button" to return)

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A Farewell Prayer

A Farewell Prayer:

Gracious Father
We pray to you for your Holy Spirit Catholic church.
Fill it with your truth, so there will be no more lies.
Keep it in your peace, so all are again welcomed.
Where it is corrupt, open the eyes of the faithful to reform it.
Where it is in error, give it the strength to admit and correct.
Where it is correct, let us all loudly proclaim.
Where it is in want, grant us the means to provide.
Where it is divided, reunite us with love and understanding;
for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Link to Action-4 Newscast: KGBT-TV

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MORE FAREWELLS

Join our Farewell gathering for Ann, Chayo and Martha today (Friday, 09/22) between 5:00 and 5:30 PM, in the Courtyard at Holy Spirit. See you there!


~MORE FAREWELLS~

I have just received word that Victor Quintanilla will also be leaving the employ of Holy Spirit Parish in the very near future. Victor has served our parish for over 18 years.

Victor was usually the first person who greeted you when you walked into the parish offices. He performed so many important tasks for so many people in our parish that his services will be a devastating loss to all.

Victor has always been the essence of patience and kindness, always so willing to give of his time and talents, usually well beyond the call of duty.

Thank You Victor, you will always remain in our hearts!

I also received the following:

Goodbye Youth Group Friends.
For the past 11 years (7 of which have been under the direction of Victor Quintanilla) you have allowed us the privilege to minister to your needs through our Middle School Youth Group.

The time has come for us to say goodbye to this ministry. Victor and I have been struggling with this decision for some time. With the current uncertainty as to when our meetings could be held, what length of time we would have for our meetings and what would be expected of us during these meetings, we find it difficult to continue with this ministry.

We tried to find a way for our youth group to meet on Wednesday nights, but unfortunately that cannot happen. During tonight’s (Wed. Sept. 20) Parents meeting, we discussed options for other nights, but no other night or time seems workable.

We will miss all of the activities that we have shared with each of you over the years -the meetings, the lock-ins, the service projects, the year-end trips. But we will also have the many memories of past years to help fill our loss.

We wish only the best for each of you and we want to say goodbye by sharing the prayer that we used to send forth our graduating eighth graders, during the final meeting of the school year.

Blessings upon you,
upon those you love
and those you shall never know.

Blessings upon your health, upon your steps,
and upon the vision of your eyes.

Blessings upon you in all circumstances;
joy and sorrow,
for wisdom rests in them,
twin experiences with different faces.

Blessings be upon what lies before you,
the sun, mostly unseen
the challenges and decisions
the pain and the relief.

Blessings upon you, my dearest friends.

Peace and All Good Things,
Benny Arfele & Victor Quintanilla


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A FINAL FAREWELL

~A FINAL FAREWELL~

This Friday will be the final workday for Ann Cass, Chayo Vaello and Martha Sanchez at Holy Spirit Parish.

As a showing of our appreciation for all of the many times when they have been there for each of us, we want to be there to show our appreciation to them when they walk out for the last time.

You are cordially invited to join us in a showing of appreciation for their many years of past service, in the Courtyard of Holy Spirit Parish, between 5:00 and 5:30 PM on Friday, September 22, 2006.

Please join us!

Also, please remember:

Holy Spirit Peace and Justice/ Pax Christi USA
is sponsoring a special public event in celebration of
International Peace Day.

Visit our previous post "Day of Peace" for details.

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Newsletter of 09/17/06

Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo
Thoughts from Some Fellow Parishioners of Holy Spirit—September 17, 2006

Alternative History
The phenomenon of “alternative history” has been around a long time (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_History). You know, what if the South won the Civil War or the Nazis won WWII, etc.? Let’s play that game a little bit:

Suppose a pastor, after his first year at a new parish, was uneasy about the religious education program—its curriculum and its structure were unfamiliar to him and a few vocal parishioners were clamoring for a more traditional program. So this new pastor decided to embark on an evaluation of the program, both curriculum materials and structure. Now realizing that evaluating any educational program is a challenge, given the fact that everybody has an opinion whether they have any first-hand experience or expertise, he decided to put in place a process that gathered input and data from students, parents, teachers, professional staff, and even an outside evaluator. He asked a small group of parishioners with experience in education evaluation to help him design the details of the process.

“Let’s examine the rationale for the current program and see if it still makes sense,” Father said to the parish, “and let’s try to measure the impact we are having with the youngsters, let’s survey the parents, teachers and staff to see what they like and what they don’t like, and let’s get somebody from the outside, with a little distance and a different perspective, to help us understand the data and input. Above all, let’s carry out this process openly and dispassionately with everyone with opinions and ideas given a structured way to contribute.”

Instead of portraying this effort as a battle, old pastor vs. new pastor, liberal vs. conservative, etc., the pastor presented this as an important task for the whole parish to help complete. He got things started in January and by the end of the school year in June, the process was complete. Together with his parishioners, the pastor decided… .

We don’t know how it came out—it’s alternative history, after all.

It Bears Repeating
This has become a matter of “truth is what we say it is if we say it persistently and insistently enough.” editorial in the National Catholic Reporter, 9/15/06

This quote from the NCR is referring to the Bush administration’s public pronouncements about the war in Iraq, but it has great relevance for the current state of discourse in our Parish. The Monsignor and others repeat statements that are not true, seemingly under the impression that it is within their power to turn lies into truth by being persistent and insistent, like medieval alchemists thought they could turn lead into gold.

The RCL religious education curriculum is an approved one; CTA members do not want to “kill babies in the womb;” it is not heresy to call for the Church to ordain women; there is no evidence that any catechist taught contrary to Catholic faith and morals; it was written parish policy that being a CTA member was sufficient reason for being banned from some parish ministries; the FRE model of the past 23 years is not some bizarre outlier but is a well-recognized and respected model for religious education that is in place in hundreds of parishes nationwide; the former staff of the Parish did not undermine the work of the Monsignor—it was the Monsignor who undermined their work; etc. The list goes on.

Truth is the bedrock of any human interaction—abandon that and the whole enterprise becomes pointless. For example, the Sunday Bulletin says that the catechists have had training in the Sadlier materials—true as far as it goes, but fundamentally misleading, since only nine potential catechists for the elementary program took part (a program with 500 children registered— for the math challenged , that’s over 55 students per teacher) and several of those indicated they are no longer willing to be part of the program. Truth sets us free, Jesus said that!

$$$$$ Update
According to the Sunday bulletins, since 10/16/05 parishioners have donated $70,867.32 less than the $696,000 the parish budget has called for (this includes an estimate for the weekend of April 2, since no data was ever reported for that date). If the spending patterns of the last fiscal year have continued (13.4% over budget), then this gives a total of $164,095.80 of red ink (versus budget) for the period 10/16/05 to 9/10/06. Stretching that pattern for an entire year, the Parish would fall short by $177,770.45.

An inquiry: why are we still collecting money each month for the Building Fund when it had sufficient funds to pay off the debt at the end of last fiscal year (July 2005)?

Stand Up, Guys
I know I will be the object of ridicule, scorn and anger…if the exercise of my power becomes my burden, then I will bear it.

This quote sounds like it could be from the “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah or even a Gospel saying from Jesus Himself. But it is instead a quote from Governor George Ryan of Illinois in January 2003 upon his commutation of the death penalty sentences to life in prison for all 167 prisoners on Illinois’ death row.

Now a disgraced ex-governor, George Ryan is set to begin, in January, a 6 ½ year prison sentence for corruption. Because of ill health, he will probably die in prison. So why is a corrupt, convicted politician worthy of our attention? An excellent documentary, Deadline, is making the cable rounds currently (Sundance Channel) and is available on DVD (e.g., Netflicks). This film dramatically records the background and run up to Governor Ryan’s 2003 decision.

What is striking about the film (and the book Ultimate Punishment, by Scott Turow, who appears in the documentary) is that it makes no appeals to a moral code, to the Gospel, etc.—the arguments presented are entirely secular. So how is it that such a compelling case against the inherent injustice of the death penalty can be made with none of the full weight of the Gospel and the Church’s teachings being brought into play and yet many, if not most, Catholics continue to support the death penalty? Is it that despite statements from the Vatican and strong exhortations of the Conference of Bishops, from the pulpits of our parishes the faithful are not being taught what even unchurched secularists and at least one corrupt politician have determined to be the right position to take on this, the most important issue in our criminal justice system?

The Diocese of Brownsville has approximately 110 priests, most of them in parish ministry and they are the primary face and voice of the Church for the Catholics of the Valley. What are they showing to us by their example and saying to us in their words about the morality of the State of Texas killing people in our names? Not much, apparently. And why is that? Surely they must know that good preaching that explains not only the flaws of the current system from a criminal justice perspective, but makes the clear Gospel case against capital punishment would have an impact. Surely they must know that putting themselves in the public eye, standing with those who vigil at the courthouses before each execution, making comments in the press, helping to organize the public to put pressure on the political system would all have an impact on the thinking of their parishioners.

So, why is there less than a handful of priests of this diocese standing up? Why is it that their exercising the authority of their pulpit and of their public lives is a burden that they are unwilling to bear? Is it the potential “ridicule, scorn and anger”?

Stand up, guys, do the right thing. Even sleazy old George Ryan could figure it out, why can’t you?

Prepared by RGV Parishioners for Progress and edited by Jerry Brazier. Copy this, and pass it on to fellow parishioners, either by e-mail or paper. If you want an opportunity for prayerful discussion of these and other issues about the parish or have any other comments, please contact us at mailto:gbrazier@rgv.rr.com

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The Rights of Church Lay Workers.

The following was sent in as a "comment" to my "Late Breaking News" post. I thought it was exceptionally well done and deserved to be posted front and center. Thanks for sharing this with us, Bridgit.

About the Rights of Church Lay Workers
It is very important to remember that this struggle was never about winning. It was and continues to be about working for the rights of lay workers in the church. That cause will continue day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year until the church treats lay workers with dignity and respect.

Ann, Martha and Chayo are leaving our parish staff because it is wrong for them to have to continue to endure the difficulties that have been purposefully put in the way of their ability to minister to the parishioners of Holy Spirit Parish.

Just a reminder of what they faced every day:

Unbelievable stress from a pastor who will not involve them in programs that they have been responsible for 25 years; who devalues the importance of what they contribute to Holy Spirit; who does not have the courtesy to inform them of changes in programs; and who would not meet with them to discuss these problems.

Parishioners who once called them friends now treating them with hostility. Some parishioners and members of our parish council want them out—people who seem to be choosing to forget the beautiful faith that these women not only have, but share with the community.

Some of these same people stood with us outside when the diocesan staff took over our parish. At least one of them even helped Ann move from her office on that tragic day. Another offered the services of his company—free of charge—to aid in fighting the injustice that we were trying to overcome.

Now these parishioners and their families have been given positions of power in our church, or maybe even an opportunity to enter the diaconate program. Some are even choosing to do the Sacristan duties that Chayo excelled at for so many years. Things worth far less than Judas’ 30 pieces of silver, but evidently tempting enough for them to turn their backs on these faithful women, and to become no different than the diocesan staff members that overtook our parish three years ago.

Certain staff members who once called these women family; who encouraged them to fight for the pension fund when the Bishop dismantled the retirement pension for lay-workers; who wanted these women on the forefront of a fight they couldn’t—or wouldn’t—fight for themselves. When the struggle got difficult, they treated Ann, Martha and Chayo as if they were lepers.

I wonder if they will be reminded of these women when they open their monthly pension checks from the UFW, and if they will remember that they receive those checks because of the courage of the same three women they have treated so badly.

Ann, Martha and Chayo embody the very meaning of Catholicism and Faith. The void that these women will leave on our church staff cannot be filled. The experience they bring in ministry to this parish cannot be matched. Holy Spirit Parish is poorer today because of this tragic loss.
Bridget Cook

The same for Harry Mosher's comment:
For over 25 years I have served Holy Spirit Parish side by side with Ann Cass. Throughout those years we focused on the parishioners and attempted to bring them true service and knowledge of the Gospel and Vatican II. Ann's knowledge and true understanding of what it means to be Church was, and continues to be, an inspiration to me.

We have had differences, but in the spirit of Church we were always able to work them out. What has happened at this now dysfunctional parish is an abomination. The pastor has demonstrated no Christ like characteristics and has shown only hatred and a complete disregard for the members of the parish. His dictatorial manner is an attempt to intimidate and belittle all who disagree with him.

I have known him for over 30 years and never saw the arrogance and hatred that I witnessed in the past three years. "What price glory?" All this for a title.(Msgr.) When he came to Holy Spirit he claimed, "I have come to serve" when upon this proclamation he was cheered by staff and parishioners. He failed to tell us whom he was here to serve. It was apparently the bishop and himself. One cannot serve the parishioners unless they serve him first. "What price glory?"

Ann, Chayo, Martha I know you will never relinquish your love of the Gospel of the Church and the Parish. You are all so much a part all three. I stand beside you always. We who know the meanness you have endured, who know the indecencies you have experienced, who know the unprofessional manner in which you were treated, who know the outright harassment that was sent your way will never forget the enormous contributions you have made to Holy Spirit, it's wider community and to the Diocese of Brownsville. No one can take that away from all of you.

Someday, the persecutors will have to answer to a Higher Authority. Let's see if they can lie their way out of that. "What price glory?"

I just wish the clergy of this diocese would lift their voices and sing the Gospel message rather than resign themselves to intimidation from their bishop.

All of this rings of the hierarchy attempting to regain authority after their mishandling of the child abuse scandal. Intimidate, force, condemn, and threaten all who fail to bid them homage.

"Do not fear to hope" We pray for the salvation of the Church through the Gospel and not through the hostile hands of those who claim to be Church.
Harry Mosher

And this from a previous comment:
Over the past 3 years, things have been extremely stressful around the office (especially in recent months).
Consider the recent happenings with Religious Education. Martha knew nothing of the new plan for Religious Ed, and yet she was supposed to sign people up. When she asked Fr. Louis how frequently the program was going to meet (so she could tell curious parents) he replied, "You do not need to know that. I'll have a meeting in September." (Well, we all know how that went)
One cannot do their job when they are not told what is going on. Many secrets were kept from them, and this creates a lot of undue stress.
I do not know exactly how bad it was, however I know it must have been extremely bad for I know Ann, Chayo, and Martha and for them to leave the church that they helped build and have been intimately involved with over the past 10-20 years, well it must have been bad. For them to leave the jobs that they have literally fought for; it must have been bad. None of them are the type to leave for no reason.
Ben Salines

And this:
I think most of us in our parish will feel a great sense of loss with the resignation of Ann, Chayo and Martha. I cannot even begin to find words adequate to describe the gift each has been to my family and myself.
However, we cannot give in to the idea that this is a situation that is over, or that someone has to be the winner and someone the loser.
We are a parish family, a community and we cannot let someone, be it the bishop or anyone else, reduce us to a territory and just a fight for control. To do so ignores everything that we are called to be and everything that Holy Spirit has ever been.
The loss has been to the whole body of Christ that is our community because these three members of our family have been treated so badly. As they have been hurt, we all have been hurt. They have tried to take on the pain for all of us and ministered as best they could to our parish family as it has been torn into so many directions and broken pieces.
They have made a difference, they have been a powerful example and voice, and it is time that we all shoulder our own responsibility to minister to each other and bring our family back together.
They resign only their positions in our church office, but never their place in our hearts. I will miss witnessing each of them in the positions I am used to seeing them fill - but I am looking forward to sitting with them in church and joining with them as we support each other and take some of the burden from their shoulders.
Michelle Peña

And this:
TO THE LADY AT THE PIANO:
What went through your heart as you would listen to the homily, since way back when, when your spirit was free.
What pain have you endured that was surely greater than ours, since way back when, when your spirit was free.
What have you shown us these past three years since way back when, when your spirit was free.
You have shown us grace and beauty, that love is patient, that love is kind, to show our faith through our works, not just our words.
What have we given you this past three years, since way back when, when your spirit was free.
Did we do what was right. Did we write. Did we even try to make them see the light, or were we the quiet ones who did nothing at all, the most dangerous of all.
What will you give us now, now that your spirit is free as it was way back when, when your spirit was free - grace and beauty, that love is patient and kind, to show our faith through our works, not just our words, is what it will be.
Thank you Ann.
Arturo R. Cantu

Thanks to all of you for sharing your feelings. We all know how you feel.
~Kanickers

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Late Breaking News

Ann Cass, Chayo Vaello & Martha Sanchez Resign!

I have just received information that Ann Cass, Chayo Vaello and Martha Sanchez have resigned their positions at Holy Spirit Parish. More details as they are available...
~Kanickers

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The Truth About Religious Education

The Truth about
the Religious Education Program
at Holy Spirit.

An Editorial Comment:
Father Louis and his "new administration" have been attempting to change an extremely successful religious education program at Holy Spirit Parish for all the wrong reasons.

Our previous once-a-month family-based religious education program has been in place for years. It has been well accepted by our parishioners and has been professionally administered by Martha Sanchez. Martha Sanchez received national recognition for her development of this program. This program is fully approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. It was an excelent program and there was no ligitimate reason to change it!

Because Martha Sanchez is part of the "old staff" group that joined the Farm Workers Union against the wishes of our bishop, Father Louis has been attempting to remove administration of the religious education program away from Martha Sanchez. This is what this whole thing is about!

Martha Sanchez has been kept "out of the loop" on our religious education program for over a year, with Father Louis refusing to allow her to order books and instructional materials or even to inform her of when religious education classes could be scheduled! These same type of tactics have also been utilized by Father Louis in his dealings with Ann Cass and Chayo Vaello.

As part of this removal process, several other key volunteers (including a paid employee) in the religious education/youth group program have recently been removed or driven off by Father Louis and his forces.

This year, due to the uncertainty of the RE program, only about 800 kids signed up for religious education. Holy Spirit normally has about 1,300 kids in religious education. Because of the tremendous growth in our area, this figure should have been well over 1,500 this year.

When Father Louis and his "new administration" put out a call for volunteer catechists (religious education teachers), only about 20 to 25 parishioners responded. When those responding realized the time requirements that the "new" weekly religious education program would require, over half declined.

This left our "new" religious education program with only about 10 or 15 "potential" (untrained) catechists to teach over 800 kids, with virtually no competent administrator. When the remaining volunteers discovered the situation, almost all of them also abandoned the cause.

The Truth: There is simply NO religious education program left at Holy Spirit! Father Louis' attempt to remove Martha Sanchez has virtually resulted in the TOTAL LOSS of our religious education program!

When Father Louis stated, "There will be no questions and there will be no answers" at his recent religious education meetings (2), he truly had "no answers and wanted no questions"! He had no religious education program to offer to the parishioners of Holy Spirit!

At this point, our parishioners are left with two choices: (1) they can "home-school" their children or, (2) they can send their children to another parish for religious education.

Religious education is key to the survival of our Catholic faith and it is the responsibility of every Catholic to provide religious education to their children. This is a requirement of the Catholic Church!

This useless destruction of our religious education program at Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin of magnum proportions. Bishop Peña and Father Louis are playing games with our children!

Every Catholic in the Diocese of Brownsville should be totally outraged at what has happened at Holy Spirit Parish and should join me in demanding that Bishop Raymundo Peña and Monsignor Louis Brum immediately resign themselves of their positions in the Catholic Church!

We have asked Bishop Raymundo Peña to do something about this deplorable situation at Holy Spirit Parish for over three years. By ignoring this problem, he has encouraged it! His continuous acts of retaliation against three fine ladies that have dedicated their hearts and souls to the Catholic Church must stop! Enough is enough!
~Kanickers


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Religious Education Meeting

Religious Education Meeting
Attended the Religious Education Meeting held at the parish Monday night. What a Goat-Rodeo! A great lesson in how "NOT To Hold a Meeting!"

One good thing,.. there was a lot of parents in attendance. Most left confused and with the feeling that something was being pushed down their throats.

Fr Louie said this program was the recommendation of the Parish Council, but a Parish Council member said that it had been brought before them... Who knows, since our Parish Council meetings are now held in secret and no parishioners are ever invited?

One thing for sure, Fr. Louie talked for so long that most of the attendees just left... Most left saying, "Why didn't anybody ask US what WE wanted? I thought we were going to VOTE on what we wanted!

There were people passing out information sheets so people could know the facts and could ask informed questions. The Louie forces did not provide this information. Of course, Fr. Louie never allowed anyone to ask questions anyway!

Since all of you were not allowed to voice your opinions at the meeting, you are most welcome to do so here...
~Kanickers


Update:
Please remember that there is another Parish Religious Education Meeting tomorrow night (Wednesday - 09/13/06) at 7:00 PM in the parish hall.

For those of you that missed the Monday night meeting, here is your chance to find out what your parish is doing about the religious education program for your children. It may also be your only chance to voice your opinion.

For your information, attached is a scan of the Religious Education Information Sheet that was given out at the last meeting. Click on the image to enlarge and on your "back button" to return.
Note: Reference to this Blog was included only to provide a forum for comments.




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Day of Peace

Holy Spirit Peace and Justice/ Pax Christi USA
is sponsoring a special public event in celebration of
International Peace Day.

September 21, 2006

In the Spirit of Peace, Humanity and World Understanding,

the public is invited for an evening of shared prayer, information exchange and community building with the local Muslim community.

The event will begin at 7:15PM on
Thursday, September 21, 2006
at the Mosque (Masjid)
located at 1910 Elsham in Edinburg.

The Mosque is located one block north of Dove Ave., on Jackson Rd.
behind the Jackson Village – between Dove and Alberta Rd., on Jackson Rd.

We will begin with Maghrib prayer, the 4th prayer of the day. After prayer there will be a power point presentation to learn about Islam and Muslims, some discussion on current political and other issues regarding Islam and time for a question and answer discussion. We are especially grateful to our Muslim brothers and sisters for the opportunity to visit their Mosque.

Clothing requirements will be observed in respect for the Masjid. For information regarding appropriate clothing and because of limited seating, anyone interested in attending should contact Mark or Michelle Peña at mpena113@rgv.rr.com or (956) 380-3731, to reserve a spot.

Holy Spirit Peace and Justice/Pax Christi USA is a member of Pax Christi International, a Catholic peace movement. The organization strives to create a world that reflects peace by exploring, articulating and witnessing to the call of nonviolence. We advocate a primacy of conscience, economic and social justice, and respect for creation. Holy Spirit Peace and Justice/ Pax Christi is committed to peace education and in cooperation with other groups, works toward a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. We invite you to join us for our International Peace Day Celebration.

If you would like more information on the United Nations International Day of Peace, we invite you to visit the following website: http://www.InternationalDayofPeace.org

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What Did He Say?

What Did Bishop Peña Say?

Here is the link,.. read it yourself. -> -> -> Remembering 9/11

Newsletter of 09/03/06

Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo
Thoughts from Some Fellow Parishioners of Holy Spirit—September 3, 2006

Professions and Oaths
A lay person who is to serve as a Lector or Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion must … [make] a profession of faith and an oath of fidelity… Monsignor Louis Brum, to the Parish, August 24, 2006

You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?
Joseph Welch to Senator Joseph McCarthy, June 1954

It is clear that stymied by his inability to exclude people merely on the basis of Call to Action membership, Monsignor Brum has come up with another subterfuge to be able to deny full participation in parish life to people he doesn’t like.

Those of a certain age will remember the 1950’s with the “loyalty oaths” and the rampant persecution of people with “suspect” political views. Those events are a black mark on American history — they created divisiveness, ruined peoples’ lives and reputations, left the great American tradition of free expression in tatters, and damaged the body politic in ways from which we have not yet completely recovered.

The Body of Christ is more important than any body politic and anyone can see how damaging the Monsignor’s actions have been so far and how further damaging these recent policies will be to individuals and to the Church.

It is possible to hear what some voices will say: “If your beliefs are orthodox, then you should have no problem with a profession of faith and an oath of fidelity. It is only those who hold beliefs contrary to Church teaching and who are not faithful who would have a problem with such a profession and such an oath.”

This is not unlike those who say, “if you have nothing to hide, then you shouldn’t mind having your phones tapped without knowledge or consent.” These policies create a pernicious atmosphere. Can’t you hear in their words the clatter from the assembly of the rack and the noise of the wood being stacked at the foot of the stake? Our Church abandoned the Inquisition centuries ago and no one can be required to cooperate in what amounts to a reimposition of its tactics—whether he or she finds the texts of a particular profession or oath objectionable or not.

Make an Informed Choice
You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. John 8:32

Religious Education is being restructured, and parents will be given a choice of continuing with the Family Religious Education (FRE) model of once-a-month instruction or participating in a new weekly program. The curriculum materials will no longer be from Resources for Christian Living (RCL), but will be from the Sadlier program.

Those are the facts. But more than those facts are being presented to the Parish. In his efforts to sell the changes, the Monsignor has engaged, once again, in what can be politely described as misrepresentation.

He has repeatedly said that the RCL materials are “not approved”— this is not true. This curriculum is not one of the three diocesan recommended ones, but is in no way disapproved of. In fact, the Diocese uses this very curriculum and its supporting materials in its own catechist training program [note: In the opinion of the parish staff, the Sadlier curriculum and materials are very good and would work quite well in the FRE model].

The Monsignor has also stated that our FRE program is the only one of its kind in the country—again, not true. Just try a google search of “family religious education” and you will see for yourself. The Monsignor has indicated that the FRE program which the Parish has used for over twenty years is a failure and yet presents no evidence of any credible assessment.

To those being asked to make this choice: make it an informed one.

$$$$$ Update
According to the Sunday bulletins, since 10/16/05, parishioners have donated $68,062.56 less than the $667,000 the parish budget has called for (this includes an estimate for the weekend of April 2, since no data was ever reported for that date). If the spending patterns of the last fiscal year have continued (13.4% over budget), then this gives a total of $157,406.52 of red ink (versus budget) for the period 10/16/05 to 8/27/06. Stretching that pattern for an entire year, the Parish would fall short by $177,937.81.

Dark and Dangerous
Dark and dangerous times lie ahead. Albus Dumbledore

After last week's bulletin insert, I think Dumbledore's words to Harry Potter sum things up pretty well. We seem to have entered a new witch hunt era, complete with oaths of fidelity and parishioner turned against parishioner. It is a sad state of affairs when a once unified though diverse parish family has degenerated to the point where parishioners actually believe they need to come be "bodyguards" for the pastor at a catechists’ meeting.

What can any rational adult believe would happen at a catechists’ meeting that would require bodyguards? How dysfunctional have we become that we can start using “visitor” as a derogatory term and treat others with a total lack of respect while sitting in God's house? How much further will we spiral downward as the oaths of fidelity are administered — will you get to wear a scarlet letter if you refuse to make an oath?

Thank God for the gift of wisdom in Benjamin Salinas that begs us all to stop and think for a moment before getting caught up in any kind of pack mentality. Personally, I am going to visit my children's bookshelf again for some of my favorite Dr. Seuss stories involving an elephant named Horton and lessons in unconditional love and patience.
Submitted by fellow parishioner, Michelle Peña

Adoration and the Eucharist
It's from our reciprocal love and, in particular, from the concern we have for those in need that we will be recognized as true disciples of Christ (Jn 13:35; Mt 25:31-46).

This is the criterion on the basis of which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations will be confirmed. Pope John Paul II, in his proclamation of the Year of the Eucharist [not the Year of Adoration].

A meeting of Eucharistic Ministers about two weeks ago didn’t end with people being shouted down, nor did it explicitly contain a reiteration of exclusive policies (though there was no rejection of them either), so it was probably an improvement over last year’s meeting, which contained a whole lot of both.

What it did contain was a very odd identification (by the Monsignor and in an instructional video) of the sacrament of the Eucharist and the pious practice of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Adoration is not the Eucharist — the Eucharist is not a rite whose purpose is to create a thing to be adored; it is a ritual meal that is a sacramental celebration of our being bound to Christ, His death and resurrection, and to each other.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is not an ancient practice—the first appearance was in the thirteenth century (according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, hardly a boiling cauldron of “liberal” thought). The practice is long-standing, but is not rooted in apostolic or even patristic times. Like many other practices that have grown up over the years in the Church, Adoration satisfies many people’s religious needs, but is not a fundamental part of the Church’s life. A person can be a devout Catholic and follower of the Gospel and never make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament.

In the only Gospel account of judgment (Matthew 25:31-46), it is our recognition of Jesus in other people and how we then respond to those people that will be the criteria upon which we will be judged. Recognizing Jesus inside a monstrance doesn’t get any mention in that Gospel scenario.

Prepared by RGV Parishioners for Progress and edited by Jerry Brazier. Copy this, and pass it on to fellow parishioners, either by e-mail or paper. If you want an opportunity for prayerful discussion of these and other issues about the parish or have any other comments, please contact us at mailto:gbrazier@rgv.rr.com



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