Some will remember 2020 as the year of the coronavirus, national division, riots, protests, and the rise of extremist groups. Still, for many in the south Texas community, it’s been a year to pray. Red and white pray signs are seen throughout neighborhoods in the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Laredo, and beyond.

All single women ages 18-42 are invited to join the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana and the Illinois Women Against Human Trafficking for a virtual performance of “The True Costs: Stories of Human Trafficking,” scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 23 from 3-5:30 p.m., CST. This is a virtual event hosted by the Sisters of Providence.

Parishes are about to participate in a diocesan-wide program that will unite the Diocese of Corpus Christi in prayer through the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Due to St. Paul the Apostle Parish construction, the food pantry in Flour Bluff will open every other Tuesday until further notice. The dates are scheduled through June, but the pantry will resume normal operating hours if the construction ends sooner. 

In 2019, Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott announced an initiative to end child exploitation and sex trafficking in Texas. The Governor’s Response Against Child Exploitation (GRACE) Initiative intends to empower and mobilize communities of faith in the fight against child sex trafficking.

Pope Francis has decreed a Year of St. Joseph in which Catholics will have the opportunity to obtain a special plenary indulgence. Until December 2021, there are many new ways that Catholics can receive an indulgence, including entrusting their daily work to the protection of St. Joseph the Worker or reciting the rosary with their families.

Everyone has had to deal with many difficulties resulting from the pandemic; their lives disrupted through most of 2020. Many Special Olympic athletes and their families have had their daily routines disrupted and turned upside down without knowing or understanding the reason why. Their annual events which typically occur had been rescheduled and eventually cancelled. 

The Mother Teresa Shelter held their annual Christmas luncheon, feeding over 200 of our homeless brothers and sisters on Dec. 25. The event began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Edmond Carmody, who reminded helpers, volunteers, staff, and families, “Today a Savior is born for us."

Mi oración para ti esta Navidad es que tengas una feliz y bendita Navidad sabiendo que Jesucristo nacido en Belén es la luz para nuestras vidas. Que nos ilumine a todos esta Navidad.

2020 has been a year of challenges. Planning how or whether the Diocese of Corpus Christi could still host the Annual Angel Tree Children Christmas party was highest on the list of challenges. 

Maria Teresa Reyna and Leticia Roman representatives of the Schoenstatt rosary group in Banquete will be delivering 327 beanies, socks and gloves to the homeless at the Mother Teresa Shelter on Christmas Day. All 17 women in the rosary group are from St. Michael the Archangel Parish.

Father Ray Yrlas, Pastor of Sacred Heart in Rockport and Mrs. Gloria Scott, Office Manager, take the first crack at tearing down what used to be their office. Several buildings on the Sacred Heart campus were severely damaged due to Hurricane Harvey which hit the Coast of Texas on August 25, 2017. 

To celebrate the Christmas season, Catholic pilgrimage company Verso Ministries has published “Christmas Around the World,” an at-home pilgrimage guide. Available as a free download on their website at www.versoministries.com/christmas. The 28-page e-book features Christmas traditions of eight different countries, including the West Bank, Italy, Philippines, France, South Africa, Mexico, Spain, and Portugal.

Just a few years ago, Centurion Night of Worship was a small gathering in the chapel with typically less than fifty people in attendance. However, 2020 gave the event a major face lift. Due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, many of our usual events, such as weekly Mass and reconciliation or class retreats, were just not possible. But where there’s God’s will, there’s a way.

Promptly at 8 a.m. cars began lining up in front of 614 Oliver Court to participate in Catholic Charities’ Community Christmas Drive-Thru. The line of cars continued around the corner onto Leopard Street where people in pain, sick, or just down on their luck had arrived early to receive Bishop Michael Mulvey’s blessing and a Christmas meal in a box on Dec. 15.

Christmas is going to be different this year. It will be a somber and perhaps mournful season, for those suffering from the multiple effects of the pandemic. For many of us, however, this could be our best Christmas ever. We have every reason to skip the frantic shopping and awkward gatherings that cause us stress during the Christmas season. 

During November and December, over 100 students from St. Pius X Catholic School have participated in beautifying their schools’ Prayer Garden. 

Touching is a deeply intimate act. Physically touching someone implies a certain objective: “I want to get closer to you.” Touching transmits a kind of warmth from one person to another. The touch of one person to another suggests a certain level of trust and confidence in the other. It also implies a vulnerability in those who are touching.

In my few years of ministry, I have found it humbling and inspiring to share in the joys and sorrows of the families to whom I minister. Whether it be witnessing a couple’s love and outlook on life as I prepare them for marriage, or see their love made manifest in their child brought forth to the waters of baptism or to be with spouses as they say their farewell at death. What is evident is their love for one another. You yourself have probably participated in these many sacred moments, you too have witnessed how marriage is the closest and most intimate of all human friendships that reflects the love of God.

Ministry and Life Enrichment for Persons with Disabilities, a Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi program, welcomed some 120 clients at the Heart of Christmas Drive-thru, held in the parking lot of St. John Paul II High School Campus and Immaculate Conception Chapel on Dec. 5.