News - March 2023

A new film highlighting a recent journey by the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli is making an extended theatrical run in Houston and around the country during Holy Week.

A local parishioner, embarking on a pilgrimage to attend Mass at all 146 parishes and seven missions in the Archdiocese, so far has visited more than 100 local churches by this Lenten and Easter season.

The faithful must set aside their egos and sense of superiority over others to make room for God and His tender mercy, Pope Francis said at a Lenten penance service. “Only those who are poor in spirit and who are conscious of their need of salvation and forgiveness come into the presence of God,” he said March 17.

Every year during Holy Week, the faithful of the Archdiocese are invited to gather with Daniel Cardinal DiNardo for the celebration of the Chrism Mass — one of the most solemn and significant events of the liturgical year.

A common sentiment nowadays is that we cannot return to pre-pandemic ministry. We need to start afresh. Pope Francis, in his message for the 36th World Youth Day — confirms this sentiment regarding the young Church: “…we cannot begin anew without you, dear young people. If our world is to arise, it needs your strength, your enthusiasm, your passion.”

It is National Women’s History Month; a time when we reflect on the contributions of women to culture, science, art and society. I would like to offer my own small reflection on three notable Catholic women who used their unique gifts and experiences to make an impact on the American Church.

In the spring, as birds wake me up with their singing, I get a melody stuck in my head. Their song reminds me of a piece of music that I used in a dance routine over 20 years ago.

Mario Cardinal Grech, secretary-general of the Synod, has named Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas and six others to be members of the preparatory commission for the general assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October.

With a loud thunk-thunk-thunk, St. Joseph knocked on the door and called out: “We seek food and shelter.” A voice beyond the door responded: “There is no room for you here.” Asking again, knocking on another door, St. Joseph cries out: “We seek food and shelter,” only to receive another decline.

Busy Catholics working in the central business district of downtown Houston for over four decades have found a place of respite from their highly plugged-in, hectic lives inside a quiet little chapel located on Main Street.

The last of 175 years of the history of the Church in Galveston-Houston is filled with remarkable examples of service and faith. From its earliest days, this local Church has been marked by the selfless determination and dogged perseverance of women and men who built parishes, schools and orphanages and served the poor and immigrant.

Local parish leaders followed up with training March 17 to 18 on Pope Francis’s call to organize with immigrants and those at the margins to encourage “participation of the Christian in public life.”

Recognizing education is one of the best means to escape poverty and that parents are best suited to determine the right educational choice for their children, the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops supports a set of bills increasing parental choice in education.

After a brief theatrical run in the U.S., a new film that profiles Pope Francis’s last decade of traveling the world as the pontiff of the Catholic Church will be available on most online streaming sites on March 31.

“I like a challenge.” That’s St. Thomas High School Director of Theatre Dan Green’s reaction when he’s asked what excites him about mounting the musical Les Misérables as the school’s spring offering. He also loves other things about it: the music, the story and the students involved.

I grew up in a dysfunctional family; however, one thing my parents did give me was a sense of faith and a duty to the Church. But that wasn’t enough. I needed more. Eventually, God showed me what I was missing through St. Joseph and men that lived up to his example as a father to a boy that was not his son.

This Lent, Jonathan Roumie has a full plate at work — and an empty one at home, he told OSV News, thanks to some “heavy fasting” he plans to undertake between now and Easter.

Each January at the Annual Study Week, the Southwest Liturgical Conference (SWLC) presents “Faithful Servant” awards to recognize outstanding contributions to the work of liturgical renewal in the region.

Right from the start, upon his election, Pope Francis presented a whole new style of being pontiff. The way he spoke to the vast crowd after his election March 13, 2013, was familial and down-to-earth, beginning with, “Brothers and sisters, good evening,” and ending with “We’ll see each other soon!” and “Have a good night and sleep well!”