The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas
“I came so that all might have life and have it to the full” John 10:10
In a society and world where life is increasingly disrespected, it is important that we remind ourselves that Jesus came not only to give us eternal life but life in this world. Our duty to respect life is constant and never ending, but once each year for forty years the Church in America has set aside October as Respect Life Month to emphasize to us and to others Jesus’ new Commandment of unselfish love. [Read more…]
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
U.S. Constitution, First Amendment
The United States Constitution’s First Amendment gives two guarantees to religion. There can be no law establishing a state religion and there can be no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Much has been said and written concerning the “wall of separation between church and state.” A term used by Thomas Jefferson but not found in the Constitution. [Read more…]
A banner year for seminarians for the Diocese of Dallas will be celebrated Saturday, October 1, at the 2011 Seminarian Welcome Dinner at the Farimont Hotel in downtown Dallas. The Most Rev. Daniel Flores, Bishop of Brownsville, will be the featured speaker.
The event is especially significant because our diocese has 70 seminarians, a record number and an increase of 14 over 2010. In addition to our Dallas seminarians, seminarians from eleven other dioceses who are in formation at Holy Trinity Seminary will be welcomed.
Bishop Flores is among seven bishop alumni of Holy Trinity Seminary. He was ordained in 1988 for the Diocese of Corpus Christi and was named Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit in November of 2006. In December 2009 he was named Bishop of Brownsville.
An indication of the dramatic increase in priestly vocations is the fact that Holy Trinity will have 67 seminarians as compared to 21 in 2007. The Lord has truly blessed us with this very fine group of young men.
Please continue to pray for vocations and remember to encourage young people to consider a vocation to the priesthood and religious life.
Statistics are impersonal, but the statistic that more than 15% of Americans are living in poverty means that 46 million people don’t have the basic necessities of life.
There are many varied causes of poverty, but what is important is the toll it takes on our brothers and sisters. It means parents who cannot find a decent job; feed their family, pay the bills, get adequate health care and live in hunger and fear.
This is not just a human tragedy. It is a moral and spiritual problem. In Matthew’s Gospel (25:42-43) Jesus asks where were you when the least of my brothers and sisters were hungry or thirsty, naked or homeless, sick or in prison? [Read more…]
The causes of poverty are complex, but a major one is unemployment.
Which of us has not been touched by the loss of a job? Many of you reading this may have lost your job. If not you, then perhaps it is a son or daughter, a spouse or a friend who now finds themselves unemployed. Losing one’s job is devastating. It is a diminishing psychological experience. So many of us, especially men, find that the loss of a job is somehow the loss of our identity. [Read more…]
We all have a dream. Some are impossible. Some are achievable and some are just beyond our grasp.
Let’s talk about the latter…those just beyond our grasp. The United States is a great place to live. America is a wonderful place to grow up.
There is a group of young people who have grown up in America, lived in the United States most of their lives but for whom the dream of American citizenship is just beyond their grasp. [Read more…]
