Newsletter of 02/06/05

Thoughts from Some Fellow Parishioners of Holy Spirit—February 6, 2005

The Beatitudes
When we feed the hungry, we are saints; when we ask why they are hungry, they call us communists. Dorothy Day.

“Sheila O’Keefe O’Brien died November 27, in Tallahassee, Florida. She was a gentle, smiling woman who led the formation of the local Pax Christi USA chapter, the Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty, and was an unwavering force on the Tallahassee Network for Peace and Justice. She was appointed to the diocesan Justice and Peace Commission and was involved with those who raised the awareness that led to the release of 26 innocent people from Florida’s death row.

At her funeral, in the packed cathedral of 500 people, her pastor said that when Jesus created the Beatitudes he looked down through the ages to his disciples of future generations. In the 20th and 21st centuries, "He saw Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa and Sheila O’Brien among those living the Beatitudes". National Catholic Reporter, January 7, 2005.

“Just weeks before the scheduled execution of serial killer Michael Ross, Connecticut’s Catholic bishops urged the state’s more than one million Catholics 'to make their voices heard’ by calling for repeal of the death penalty….The Connecticut bishops each issued letters outlining the Catholic church’s opposition to capital punishment that were to be read at all Masses January 8th and 9th”. National Catholic Reporter, January 26, 2005.

The contrast between the Catholicism that is preached from the pulpits and being exhorted to practice in the parishes of Tallahassee and Connecticut, and the Catholicism being presented in our parish is not only sharp, but is deeply disturbing to anyone who has listened to the Scripture readings of the last few Sundays.

Peace and Justice Commission Meeting.
At the Peace and Justice Commission meeting on January 31st, our Pastor refused to provide any justification to the gathered Commission for his limiting its activities. He told the group that he had made a decision and owed the group no explanations—even though he indicated he was willing to meet individually to discuss the matter.

After some unruly time, the Commission began to work its way through the agenda, with the discussions punctuated by comments from the group reminding the Pastor that simple charity is never enough—the Gospel compels us to seek changes in society so that social injustice is corrected; we must do more than bind those wounded by it.

Throughout the evening, our Pastor voiced, again and again, the sentiment that systemic change is impossible and we must content ourselves with direct help to those closest to us.

The defeat of slavery began with the voices of a few Christian abolitionists, the British were driven from India by the insistent voice of one man inspired by Christ’s Beatitudes, civil rights were won for Black Americans by a few voices speaking out, guided by their understanding of the Gospel, and a whole world was changed by twelve people who believed in the message they heard that day on the Mount.

The Parish Council
"…In this council, which is presided over by the parish priest, Christ's faithful, together with those who by virtue of their office are engaged in pastoral care in the parish, give their help in fostering pastoral action." (Canon Code 536.1)

On the weekend of February 12-13, we will have an opportunity to nominate people to serve on an interim Parish Council (why the current Council cannot serve until the Diocese “develops its guidelines” is not at all clear).

What will happen with these nominations?
What qualifications should members of the Council have?
How will the Council function?
What are to be its responsibilities?

These are only a few of the questions that should be answered before we are asked to put people’s names forward.

Letters, We Get Letters…
What follows is from a letter sent to our Pastor in December:

“It is with great sadness that we are writing this letter. After more than 8 years of growing and celebrating our faith as members of Holy Spirit Parish, we find it necessary to terminate our membership and move on.

“…We have appreciated greatly the challenge to growth that it has provided with the continuous invitation to serve the poor, reach out to the needy, struggle for social justice, develop a mission consciousness, serve the youth and the elderly and celebrate the faith that unites us in meaningful and Spirit-filled liturgical celebrations.

“All of that has changed since you have become the pastor of Holy Spirit. You have quenched the Spirit in Holy Spirit and have substituted external symbols and meaningless, outdated ritual in its place. You have closed yourself to the involvement and input of us as parishioners and have set yourself up as the sole authority and only instrument of God’s action in the parish.

This ‘sin against the Holy Spirit’ (cf Mt 12:31) cries out to heaven as the parish itself is dying… .”

“…Therefore we pray that God will have mercy on you, on Bishop Pena for what you have done to this formerly alive, vibrant community of faith. And once again, Jesus wept.”

Ron and Janella Frankl Reicks, former Parishioners.

The Church in the Desert, Part Two
Along with the rights we have as members of the Church, comes responsibility. We have the responsibility to actively claim and live out our rights and our faith. Yes, we have a right to be a Vatican II Church – but just as Vatican II gave voice and a place for laity, it also asks the laity to step up to the plate. As Ghandi has said, we have to “be the change.”

Yes, our Church is in a desert time, but that does not necessarily mean a barren time. Jesus actively went to the desert to spend time in prayer, to seek clarity, to gain wisdom and courage. Jesus sought His Father in the desert and then renewed in strength went out in compassion to “be the change.” And so it should be with our Lent in our desert.

The desert can seem harsh, but it is also a place full of life and growth if we search and listen. We must keep in mind the words of Margaret Mead as we journey: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” From a Parishioner

A Brief Note
The Pastor has asked the Choir Director to tell a parishioner that she is no longer welcome to sing in the choir because "she does not support me 100% and has been defiant." Not singing out of tune, you understand, but just hearing a different drummer.

Prepared by RGV Parishioners for Progress and edited by Jerry Brazier. 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 gbrazier@rgv.rr.com. If you would like to have your comments or correspondence posted to Reflections of the Spirit, please e-mail your post to kanickers@aol.com, with an inclusion of “Holy Spirit” in your title line.

Newsletter of 01/23/05

Thoughts from Fellow Parishioners of Holy Spirit.

¡Basta!
It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it. Upton Sinclair

Affermation Night:
“Affirmation Night, sponsored by the parish Peace and Justice Commission, recognizes and ‘affirms’ those individuals and non-profit organizations in the Valley that are committed to works of peace and justice.”

The Pastor had the above sentence stricken from later copies of the parish bulletin inserts, publicizing Affirmation Night. This was a petty action, revealing more of our Pastor’s misunderstanding and mishandling of the parish than he realizes. The sentence describes the purpose of Affirmation Night.

Does our Pastor object to the parish’s affirmation of those committed to works of peace and justice?
Does our Pastor object to the parish’s espousal of the Church’s teachings on peace and justice?
Does our Pastor have a logically or theologically based argument that refutes these teachings?
Does our Pastor honestly believe that affirming the work of such groups as Mujeres Unidas, Comfort House and the El Milagro Clinic is inappropriate for a Catholic parish?

Or,... was this simply peevishness, an arrogant display of his personal dislike for those putting on the activity? Our Pastor will not attend this Affirmation Night, just as he opted out of last year’s, but seems very willing to judge its value, nonetheless.
¡Basta, Padre—Enough!

Affirmation Night—the Final One for the Parish
On Saturday, January 29th, at 7:00 pm, in the church, Holy Spirit will sponsor the last of its aforementioned Affirmation Nights. This activity, besides affirming the work for peace and justice in the Valley, has brought many outstanding speakers to us, including Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking.

This year’s speaker is Sister Dianna Ortiz. An Ursuline nun, Sister Dianna, while ministering in a retreat center in Guatemala was abducted, tortured and raped. She will speak of the shattering effects of torture on her life, her long slow journey toward healing, and her efforts to bring her perpetrators to justice.

Sister Dianna will be introduced by Jennifer Harbury, who is the widow of Efrain Bamaca Velasquez, a Mayan resistance leader assassinated in Guatemala by high level military officials. Upon learning of her husband's secret imprisonment and torture, she carried out an international campaign which revealed the CIA's involvement in her husband's murder.

Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, from the Archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan, in reflecting on the Baptism of our Lord, highlights the particular way in which Jesus was called to minister and bring justice. In fulfilling Isaiah, Jesus was not to cry out and raise his voice in proclamations in the street. In the Hebrew text, the words for calling out in the streets would mean calling people to arms. Instead, Jesus was to minister with gentleness, compassion and nurturing. Jesus was not to break the bruised reed, but care for it, heal it and bring it back to life. In short, Jesus was to be a “servant-king”,.. not another military king to unite Israel.

This call to be a servant and to be people of gentleness and compassion is also our calling through our baptism. It is the way Jesus, through us, is to bring the promised peace and justice to the world.

Pope John Paul II
As we begin the next four-year chapter in the history of our country, the following words from Pope John Paul II, in his peace day statement from Jan. 1, 2005, seem especially timely:

“To attain the good of peace, there must be a clear and conscious acknowledgment that violence is an unacceptable evil and that it never solves problems. Violence is a lie. It goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity, the truth about Jesus. Violence destroys what it claims to defend, the dignity, the life, the freedom of human beings. What is needed is a great effort to form consciences…to goodness, to nonviolence, to love.”

The Church in the Desert:
We are coming upon the Lenten time, the time for metanoia, a deep and fundamental conversion. As José Moya reminded us in the last newsletter, we cannot allow the desert to defeat us, but instead we need to take this time to look deep into ourselves and our community. Let’s rediscover the fundamental values of our parish, and then take what actions are necessary to implement them.

A Catholic Bill of Rights in the 1983 Code of Canon Law
According to well known canonist, Fr. James Coriden, the list of rights and responsibilities found in the 1983 Code of Canon Law possess constitutional status, and could be said to be a "Bill of Rights" for Catholics. He says: "...the contextual situation of these canons shows them to be of foundational significance. To call them constitutional is not an exaggeration. The rights stated in the code ... are concerned with matters basic to human dignity and to the meaning of church membership" [below is a selection from these rights; the references in parentheses are to the applicable canon]

1. The fundamental equality of all Christians based on baptism, and equality and dignity in action; the right and freedom to cooperate in building up the Body of Christ (c.208)
3. The right to petition, that is, to make known to pastors one’s needs (especially spiritual) and one’s hopes (c 212 #2)
4. The right to recommend: the right to advise pastors regarding the good of the church, and to participate in public opinion and informing the faithful (c.212#3)
8. The right to association: the right to found and direct associations with charitable purposes and as an expression of Christian vocation. (c.215)
9. The right to assembly: the right to hold meetings for the same purpose as to associate. (c.215)
10. The right to promote the apostolate and to one’s own proper initiative in apostolic work, based on the right to participate in the church’s mission. (c.216)
12. Academic freedom: the right to research and to publication (c.218)
16.The right to vindicate one’s rights in church court and to defend one’s rights in church court (c.221 #1) with equity and in accordance with law (c.221 #2)
18. The right to legality regarding sanctions, that is, the right to expect the church to impose sanctions only in accordance with law (c.221 #3)
From: A Challenge: Making the Rights Real. J. A. Coriden pp 7-29.

Prepared by RGV Parishioners for Progress and edited by Jerry Brazier. If you want an opportunity for prayerful discussion of these or other issues concerning our parish, please contact us at mailto:gbrazier@rgv.rr.com. If you would like to have your comments or correspondence posted on Reflections of the Spirit, please e-mail your post to Kanickers@aol.com, with an inclusion of "Holy Spirit" in your title line.

Newsletter of 01/09/05

Thoughts from Fellow Parishioners of Holy Spirit.

Thoughts About Baptism:
The readings for the next few Sundays are full of images of baptism and reminders that our baptism is not a passive event. Through our baptism we are called to actively live love and bring justice.

According to our gospel tradition, Jesus was baptized by John and then began his active ministry. Our baptism too begins our active ministry. And by our baptism we are all ministers – whether we live out that vocation as a lay person or as an ordained person. All of us are “called to be holy” and to be “a light for the nations”.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our church, in the present day, could realize and respect the voice and calling of both the laity and ordained without engaging in a tug-of-war over power. In the end, the words of the Father are meant for each of us: “Here is my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit”. From a Parishioner.

Two Mega-Trends in the Church:

Identity Pressures:
The phrase "the politics of identity" comes out of secular political science, and it describes a strategy adopted by minority groups when facing a hostile majority. The minority resists assimilation by accenting traditional dress, language, and ritual.

Today an increasing number of Christians feel that secularity itself represents a hostile majority vis-à-vis Christianity, and are drawn to an unapologetic assertion of identity. This reality means, among other things, that devotional practices such as the rosary and Eucharistic adoration, doctrines such as limbo and papal primacy, and the sacrament of individual confession—all matters that distinguish Catholicism from other branches of Christianity from other religions, and from secular modernity—are likely to draw increasing interest.

People who work on justice issues in the church, therefore, could face growing pressure to articulate why and how work on the death penalty, or Darfur, or the environment does not detract from the traditional mission of the church, which is spiritual and evangelical.

Commodification of spirituality:
Today, spiritual offerings are increasingly tailored to the consumer preferences of niche groups. Liturgical traditionalists, charismatics, peace-and-justice activists and liberal reformers all have their own publications, conferences, even movements and parishes in most dioceses. Catholics who move in one circle can sometimes go through life never interacting with someone from another.

In light of an ecclesiology of communion, this is problematic. All sectors of life in the church, including those in the social apostolate, will have to strive to carve out spaces where conversation can happen. John Allen, Vatican Correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, December 3, 2004.

Wants and Needs:
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes
You might find
You get what you need. Mick Jagger.

We want a lot in our parish:
Solid preaching that rises above the level of oft-repeated platitudes.
Liturgy that is a communal celebration, not an ornate show.
True servant-leadership grounded in the Second Vatican Council, not the Council of Trent, etc.

Any one of these is going to be difficult to have any time soon. But what we need and are entitled to as parishioners, is a Pastor who is in the parish, not one who has had 92 Masses covered by someone else in the months from March through November—a number that represents almost 25% of the scheduled liturgies during that period, and not one who is rarely in his office during the working day.

What we need and are entitled to as parishioners, are activities and services that are organized and on time, not weddings and quinceñeras scheduled at the same time (twice in the past few months), and not Masses that routinely start ten and fifteen minutes late.

What we need and are entitled to as parishioners, are parish governance bodies that meet and carry out their responsibilities as described in Canon Law (Finance Committee and Parish Council).

What we need and are entitled to as parishioners, is an efficiently run parish in which the staff has clear responsibilities, are communicated with as professionals, and are left to carry out their jobs without interference.

Are we going to get what we need? Are we not entitled?

Desert Time:
I heard somewhere that we are all angels born with only one wing. We can not fly unless we hold on to one another. At no time in the history of our parish has this been truer. The parish that many of us remember, vibrant and full of life, has been transformed into a dry husk.

Like some ancient dusty parchment with writing too faded to read, we try to decipher the words of the gospel on Sundays, but hear only disjointed homilies with little if any reference to how or why we need to live this call named Christianity. It has become our desert time.

It is increasingly clear that the parish we once knew and experienced is no longer here and there is no indication that it might rise again any time soon. It has been set aside in lieu of kneelers and cups of precious metal. It has been replaced with matching vestments and perpetual adoration.

So what are we to do? How do we as members of a community that once lived vibrantly and challenged one another, live through this dry sandy expanse?

Like the one winged angel described in the first line, we must learn to hold on to one another. We can not wander away from this house that was once home. Instead, we should challenge ourselves to bring the truth we once heard proclaimed from the altar to our brothers and sisters remaining in our house.

We all know parishioners that have wondered from home, looking for that living water that once quenched our thirst. Many of us have gone to other parishes, denominations or even stopped attending all together. Let us not give in to the desert, but like the children of Israel in their long sojourn through Sinai, we must travel together.

If you know someone that has wondered away, invite them back. Bring them to mass with you on Sunday and sit in the pew next to them. Search out a community of like minded men and women that believe in the gospel message of peace and justice. Contrary to what some in our church might believe, we are not children of a lesser god.

So, join in the flight of our one winged brothers and sisters. We can know with certainty that although we are in the desert, the promised land is there, just above the horizon, waiting to quench our thirst again. Jose Moya, a Parishioner.


Prepared by RGV Parishioners for Progress and edited by Jerry Brazier. If you want an opportunity for prayerful discussion of these or other issues concerning our parish, please contact us at mailto:gbrazier@rgv.rr.com. If you would like to have your comments or correspondence posted on Reflections of the Spirit, please e-mail your post to Kanickers@aol.com, with an inclusion of "Holy Spirit" in your title line.

Newsletter of 12/26/04

Thoughts from Fellow Parishioners of Holy Spirit/

Peace and Justice, Decommissioned:
Within a week of being honored with a national award by her religious community, the Sisters of Mercy, for her work for peace and justice, Sister Moira Kenney was informed by our pastor that "her services as Coordinator of the Peace and Justice Commission were no longer required."

In addition, "after much prayerful thought and consideration," he made other changes to the Commission, with no consultation with any of the members. In fact, our Pastor has never attended a meeting of the Commission, even though repeatedly invited.

These changes, as originally announced, eliminated (among others) the following activities:

Affirmation Night, that honored those in the community working for peace and justice and has brought major speakers to the parish, including Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and noted critic of the death penalty.

Downtown Good Friday Stations of the Cross. A part of our parish for years.

Labor Issues. Where attention has been drawn to Catholic social teaching, including advocacy for justice in the workplace (maquiladoras and for the farm workers in the field).

Peace and Non-violence Issues. Where information is provided about the Church's teachings on discrimination, hate crimes, capital punishment, war, etc. This has included protesting the Afghan and Iraqi wars (wars condemned by the Church), and protesting the atrocities committed against religious workers and the oppressed of Latin America by graduates of the School of the Americas.

Housing Issues. Parish participation in the Homeless Coalition, the Community Hope Project's Housing Division, and efforts to establish a Catholic Worker House.

Hunger Issues. Parish participation in the Crop Walk to alleviate hunger, our membership in Bread for the World, and plans to establish, in conjunction with other parishes, a soup kitchen.

In his discussion about these changes with Sister Moira, our Pastor indicated that he was unhappy with the people currently involved with Peace and Justice Commission, calling them "divisive."

The inference could be drawn that removing Sister Moira and curtailing the activities of the Commission were not necessarily motivated by principled differences about the implications of Catholic social teaching, but instead, were motivated by personality conflicts that our Pastor has with people active in the Commission who are among those who have been critical of his work in the parish.

On other occasions, our Pastor has characterized some of those who are critical as "evil." A divisive person is one who brings divisions, not one who points them out; an evil person is one who causes distress and harm, not one who seeks to heal and restore.

Charity and Justice:
There is a distinction between the call we have as Christians to be charitable (feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.) and the call we have as Christians to hunger and thirst for justice.
Anyone who has spent time working face to face with those in need eventually comes to the realization that those important efforts, though never to be abandoned, are not sufficient.

In many situations, the suffering of people is the direct result of malformed or malfunctioning social systems that violate the principles of justice laid down in the Gospel. In those cases, the Church teaches that we must work to reform the systems—we cannot stand silent and deal only with the results of the injustice.

Such a mandate requires public action; it may even require action in the political arena. Concern for life issues eventually leads to working for abolishing the death penalty and trying to end American involvement in war. Concern for health, housing, and immigration issues eventually leads to political action to reform our government policies that lead to the unjust treatment of people.

These (and others) are Catholic issues, they are not separated from our faith in some other domain. The Vatican and the Bishops of the United States have been very clear on this point, many times risking controversy to call us to action (see Faithful Citizenship at: http://www.blogger.com/app/www.usccb.org).

It appears, however, that our parish will no longer be allowed to be a voice for issues like these and we of Holy Spirit will no longer be allowed to carry out the Gospel mandate for peace and justice as part of our parish life. Someone may be made uncomfortable by the Gospel message—therefore we must be silent?

Dissent.
What has for long years been considered “dissent” in the churches by those who want more answers than questions, more clerical authority than spiritual investment, may not be real dissent at all.

People are not challenging Christianity and leaving the Church. They are not arguing against the need for a spiritual life. They are not denying God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They are not ridiculing religion and going away. On the contrary. People currently considered “excommunicated” or “suspect” or “heretical” or “smorgasbord” believers, are in many ways, among the most intense Christians of our time.

They do more than sing in the choir or raise money for the parish center or fix flowers for the church. They care about it and call it to be its truest self. They question it, not to undermine it, but to strengthen it. They call for new ways of being church together. They do not dismiss the need for the spiritual life. They crave it. What’s more, they look for it in their churches. But, they crave more than ritual. They crave meaning. They look for more than salvation. They look for authenticity and the integrity of the faith. Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, In Search of Belief, page 9

The Sanctity of Life:
A rose has been placed on our altar to remind us of our church’s teaching on the sanctity of life—that life is a gift and should be respected from “womb to tomb”. Certainly at this time of year, we remember especially the miracle of the womb as we hear stories of the infant Jesus. But just as the coming of the Christ child into our hearts should make a tremendous difference in how we live, the teaching of the sanctity of life dictates a fundamental change in our actions as well.

If we truly accept that all life is sacred, we must not only protect the unborn and the elderly. We must treat every person we encounter with the dignity due one of God’s own. We must even treat with dignity and respect those who disagree with us or those who don’t do things our way.

God’s creation is diverse, unique and infinite - and there is room for all at God’s table. If we cannot gather to celebrate in all our God-given diversity, then the rose on our altar is just a rose. In this season, we muct remember that Christ came for all, to love all. We are called to do the same. From a Parishioner.

Prepared by RGV Parishioners for Progress and edited by Jerry Brazier. If you want an opportunity for prayerful discussion of these or other issues concerning our parish, please contact us at mailto:gbrazier@rgv.rr.com. If you would like to have your comments or correspondence posted on Reflections of the Spirit, please e-mail your post to Kanickers@aol.com, with an inclusion of "Holy Spirit" in your title line.

Newsletter of 12/12/04

Thoughts from Fellow Parishioners of Holy Spirit.

Some Thoughts for Advent.
We all know that our culture has commercialized Christmas, but has the commercial spirit also crept into our faith life? Is our advent wreath just another decoration? Are we more concerned with making sure all the gestures, candles and vessels look correct, than what they mean?

Two thousand years ago, the Christ child came—but not to a perfectly appointed temple. He came to a humble manger. He came to a man and woman who had nothing but hearts full of love and trust in the will of God.

After our advent season of preparation, the Christ child will come again. This Christmas the Christ child will come once again to the manger of humble hearts—hearts with love and trust in God: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. From a parishioner.

If You Want Peach, Work for Just Ice.
The foolishness of relying on the spell checker to do proofreading was brought home a few weeks ago, as the phrase heading up this section managed to slip into a draft of some comments on "peace and justice". The word processing software didn't know what was supposed to be there, and so allowed the properly spelled, but meaningless, phrase to past muster.

But even if the words are spelled right, the phrase from Pope Paul VI, "If you want peace, work for justice," still passes through the minds of many, even Catholics, as a misunderstood or consciously rejected proposition, and ends up garbled in our conversations within the Church and when we present ourselves to the world at large.

The sermon offered to the parish on the weekend of December 5th, presented a view of peace, justice, and the relation between the two, that is not only at odds with Paul VI's, but appears to be at odds with that familiar ''job description of a Christian," the Sermon on the Mount.

Peace is not the same as tranquility and tranquility is not the goal we seek—we seek the peace that is the fruit of a just society. The Apostle Paul, Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena, the Prophets of Israel, even Jesus Himself were harsh, public critics of the established religious institutions—they did not stand by in quiescent tranquility, valuing unity with authority above all else, but spoke out against what they thought was wrong. Their comments were not complaining or whining.

Sometimes philosophical and theological differences have little significance on our day to day lives as Christians, but other times, such differences matter. When the very nature of the parish community, its ministries, and its liturgy are impacted, then the differences matter.

An Advent Parable
This Advent, just learn to wait. It's one of life's greatest lessons.

The ancients tell the story of a greathearted soul who ran through the streets of the city crying, "Power, greed and corruption. Power, greed and corruption." For a time at least, the attention of the people seemed to be riveted on this single-minded openhearted person for whom all of life had become focused in one great question.

But then everyone went back to work, only slightly hearing, some downright annoyed. Still, however, the cries continued. Finally, one day, a child stepped in front of the wailing figure on a cold and stormy night. "Elder," the child said, "don't you realize that no one is listening to you?"
"Of course I do, my child," the elder answered. "Then why do you shout?" the child insisted, incredulous. "If nothing is changing, your efforts are useless." "Oh no, dear child, these efforts are never useless," the elder said. "You see, I do not shout simply to change them. I shout so they cannot change me."

That is the fruit of Advent. That is the secret of waiting. It is ourselves we must teach to listen. It is we who must wait again for new life, like all of those before us who waited for the "fullness of time." Sister Joan Chittister , OSB, contemporary spiritual writer.

Congratulations to Sister Moira.
A distinguished national award was presented at Mass on December 12th to Moira Kenny, RSM, who was honored by her community, the Sisters of Mercy, for her work in peace and justice. Sister Moira, among many other things, is the Chair of the Holy Spirit Peace and Justice Commission. Scores of people joined in a social after the ceremony—the Pastor couldn't make it.

An Update.
From a fax sent by the Diocese as a weekly update:

Canonical Judges to Assess Contract Validity.
Three ecclesiastical judges with doctorates in Canon Law were scheduled to be in the Diocese of Brownsville next week to assess an internal matter of the Church, the canonical validity of a contract entered into on May 23, 2002 between Holy Spirit Parish in McAllen and the United Farm Workers Union. However, one of the judges has taken ill and the process will be rescheduled.

The judges will be here as part of a Diocesan Collegiate Court [Tribunal] to review the case. All have written and lectured extensively on matters of Canon Law issues.

What is not part of this weekly update is that the Bishop has failed to inform the litigants in the Holy Spirit workers case of the existence of this Tribunal, much less its scheduling, as required by the mediation settlement. This weekly update appeared only a few hours after questions about such a Tribunal were raised with the Pastor.

In answering these questions, our Pastor indicated that it was at his instigation that the validity of the contract is being reviewed. Additionally, he stated that he dislikes the UFW and agrees with our Vicar General that parish employees don't need unions. His solution: have priests take courses in administration.

So, even though the long established teaching of the Church supports the right of workers to organize, such a teaching does not apply to the Church itself! It is clear that the diocese doesn't want unions or see a need for them, but shouldn't the parish employees be able to decide for themselves whether they do or not? This is the teaching of the Church and is the heart of American labor law.

Some Suggestions.
Everybody have a wonderful Christmas—deeply spiritual and loads of fun. Remember, in your prayers and in your generosity, the poor and needy or our community.

Prepared by RGV Parishioners for Progress and edited by Jerry Brazier. If you want an opportunity for prayerful discussion of these or other issues concerning our parish, please contact us at mailto:gbrazier@rgv.rr.com. If you would like to have your comments or correspondence posted on Reflections of the Spirit, please e-mail your post to Kanickers@aol.com, with an inclusion of "Holy Spirit" in your title line.