Fifteen young men attended the annual St. Andrew’s Dinner at St Pius X Parish on Jan. 26. The dinner is an invitation to young men who might have an interest in the priesthood.

"Goodbye, Sister Barbara!” “God bless you.” “We will miss you, Sister.” All these greetings I heard recently as I took leave of friends and relatives after 31 years of ministry in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. In late December, I returned to the motherhouse in the midwest, thus ending 71 years of service to the Diocese of Corpus Christi by my community, the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

The Church offers to us the example of the most holy family that ever existed—the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. What peace, joy and love must have reigned in that family even despite all the challenges they faced: poverty, persecution, being aliens in a foreign land, the challenges of daily life.

James Akin, the Senior Apologist for Catholic Answers, defines Lent as the 40-day period before Easter, excluding Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. Lent is a period of prayer and fasting which we observe in imitation of Christ using a 40-day period of prayer and fasting “to prepare for the celebration of his ministry’s climax, Good Friday—the day of the crucifixion—and Easter Sunday—the day of the resurrection.”

Bishop Michael Mulvey made a campus visit of Sacred Heart School in Rockport during National Catholic Schools Week. It was his first opportunity Bishop Mulvey had to see the new and temporary portables that have been brought it to get the school up and running after Hurricane Harvey's devastating effect.

On the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, we as the people of God in the Diocese of Corpus Christi began a process to develop a pastoral plan for the diocese. A pastoral plan is like a road map similar to the star the Magi saw that led them to Jesus. Over the next few months, together, we will discern in the light of the Holy Spirit and with the presence of Jesus among us, how God wants us to renew ourselves as a community of missionary disciples and by what means he wishes us to be his instruments in bringing the Good News to others.

El objetivo de el proceso de planificación pastoral es poner en claro porque “estamos aquí”, dijo el obispo Michael Mulvey de Corpus Christi a el personal diocesano que se reunió para un retiro en diciembre. “El Papa Francisco ha hablado de una serie de casos de personas que vienen a nuestras parroquias y se encuentran con una institución,” dijo el Obispo Mulvey. La respuesta es generalmente algo como, “Aquí están las reglas, aquí están los horarios de clase, aquí están los requisitos.”

In his Apostolic Exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis encourages “the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization.” A chapter, the pope said, that is stamped by the joy found in Scripture, and which will lay out “new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” That is the intent and hope of the new pastoral planning process in which the Diocese of Corpus Christi has embarked.

Gage Tyler, 9, is thrilled to be back home at Sacred Heart School. Since Hurricane Harvey destroyed his old school in Rockport on Aug. 25 of last year, both Gage and his twin sister Mia have attended school at Sts. Cyril and Methodius School in Corpus Christi.

Esai Lozano was just 10-years-old when a career day assignment at school helped him realize what he wanted to do when he grew up. In his heart, he knew he wanted to become a Catholic priest someday. The fourth grader did not mind being the only priest, among a sea of police officers, doctors and teachers.