People pray during a religious service held outside a displacement camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 24. The government said over 1.5 million people were left homeless by the catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake. (CNS photo/Tomas Bravo, Reuters)

February is Catholic Press Month and right now there is a lot of "Catholic" news.

To put events in chronological order, today (February 2) we are going to press as many from our diocese are headed to Brownsville for the installation of Bishop Daniel E. Flores.

For those who may not know, "Bishop Danny" used to be Father Danny, a priest of our diocese, and before that he was just "Danny" growing up in Flour Bluff as a member of St. Paul the Apostle Parish.

Our prayers are with him as he begins this next chapter in his ministry.

On Sunday, February 7, everyone is invited to the dedication of a new shrine which will have a special devotion to Our Lady of San Juan de Los Lagos. It is located on land donated to the diocese by the Huerta family of Corpus Christi and most likely the shrine will become a popular pilgrimage site.

Lent begins 10 days later on February 17, and gives us another opportunity to examine our lives and make the necessary adjustments needed so that we may continue to grow as mature Christians.

On Sunday, March 21, we will gather with Bishop Carmody for the celebration of the Eucharist and a reception as he retires from his ministry as an active bishop. For those who know Bishop Carmody, there is no doubt that he will remain quite active after the farewell and into his retirement.

Just four days later, on March 25, we will welcome Bishop-elect Michael Mulvey as our eighth bishop.

In the meantime, our parishes, schools and ministries in the diocese continue in their day-to-day activities and generate news of all sorts.

Also, in the meantime, we hear of the stories and news from around our country and world. Health care reform and immigration will remain in the spotlight. Conflicts and war continues in the middle east.

And, then there is Haiti.

It is difficult for us to understand and relate to much of the news that comes from other parts of the world where people live without the basic necessities and privileges most of us take for granted. The poverty in Haiti was hard to comprehend before the Jan. 12 earthquake and now it is worse.

Parishes, agencies and ministries in the Diocese of Corpus Christi have joined the international effort to send aid to Haiti and will continue to do so.

A special collection was taken up across the country and locally the weekend of Jan. 16 and 17. Our people and parishes have responded generously by donating over $169,000 which has been sent directly to Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi immediately cut a $20,000 check for CRS and is taking online donations.

The Columbian Ladies from Our Lady of Guadalupe donated $10,000 to the local chapter of the American Red Cross, which will be used directly for relief efforts in Haiti.

The U.S. bishops are talking about long-term plans to assist the recovery.

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, New York, said a strategy for rebuilding Haiti in the wake of the earthquake needs to coordinate "different U.S. government agencies in a comprehensive approach, engaging other groups with expertise and experience with Haiti."

His entire letter can be found online at: www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/2010-01-26-let-clinton-napolitano-geithner-kirk-haiti.pdf

The Haitian government estimates that over 1 million people have been left homeless. That is another mind-boggling piece of news.

And what does all of this have to do with us in south Texas? That part is up to each of us as we prioritize the news that comes before us and decide if there is anything we can do about it.

Not far down the time-line, when Lent begins, we are asked to pray, fast and give alms to the poor. Those three practices are not bad to practice the whole-year round.

And if we need ideas about how to do any of these, we can turn to Haiti. Of course we can pray for the people and we can fast and send them the money we would have spent for a dinner for four. We can send them a little bit of hope.

But we can also turn to them and look at the expressions on many of their faces in the photos we have seen in the news and will see in the future, such as the one above.

In the midst of their crisis they have hope on their faces, and that is good news indeed.