South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, April 2, 2004 Page: 5 of 20
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April 2, 2004
commentary/letters
South Texas Catholic -
Guest Column
Teens feed the hungry and you can, too
By Mscr. Lawrence
White
For a number of years
^ the high school teens
who participate in the Ss.
| Cyril and Methodius Life
Teen Program have been
getting up very early in the morning every
second weekend of each month in order
to scramble eggs with chorizo, heat up
the tortillas and the beans, preparing the
orange juice so they can feed between 50
to 70 homeless people. They first started
taking breakfast to the Maurin Day House,
but they now go to the Mother Teresa
Shelter that the diocese recently opened to
care for the homeless.
This past Sunday, Gilbert Juarez, the
parish’s youth minister and director of the
Life Teen Program, had the help of only
three teens. Since the diocese now has
a rule that in order to transport minors
there must be a least two adults in the car,
I went along with them for the first time.
I had just dropped by the parish hall to
give my moral support, as I frequently do
on the second weekend of the month; but
when I got there I noticed that Gilbert was
short of help, so I began helping him cook
the eggs and chorizo. When it was time
to load up and head toward the Mother
Teresa Shelter, Gilbert was still the only
adult. Since I was scheduled to celebrate
the 12 noon Mass, I decided to go with
them. Otherwise the homeless would not
get breakfast.
Since I had been scrubbing the kitchen
floor in the rectory before going to the
hall, I was dressed in a pair of shorts and
a t-shirt. I tell you this to emphasize the
point that the homeless did not know I
was a priest. I think that this was a morn-
ing that the Lord had pre-arranged for
me!
When we arrived at the shelter, Gilbert
and the teens gathered the homeless to
pray. Gilbert’s son, J.T., a freshman at
Miller, led them in a prayer before they
ate. Inside the dining area, a buffet line
was set up. Rebecca put a fork wrapped
in a napkin on a plate and handed it to
Christa who added a tortilla and handed it
to J.T. for some beans and then to Gilbert
for eggs with chorizo. There was a tray of
assorted donuts and rolls from which the
homeless served themselves. My job was
to serve the coffee.
As the homeless people came through
the line, I was shocked by the number
of young people. I heard not one rude
remark. In fact, I was impressed at how
friendly and polite everyone was. Each
person who picked up a cup of coffee
said “thank you,” and later “May I have
another cup of coffee please?” There was
great respect among the homeless and
they were most grateful for the breakfast
being served by the teens.
When they finished eating, they picked
up the trash and left the room relatively
clean. As Dennis, the man who takes care
of the dining room for the shelter, was
sweeping the floor, Gilbert and the teens
washed the pots and pans and wiped
the tables. When all the work was done
Called and Gifted: The Call to Ministry
Editor’s note: The message
of Vatican Council II was ex-
tended by American Bishops
in their pastoral letters that
followed. We re-visit their
statement on “The American
Catholic Laity’’first printed
in 1980, the fifteenth anni-
versary of the issuance of the
Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity.
By Sister Annette Wagner, IWBS
What is a sure sign you belong to a
group? Easy! You get to do the work.
My first visit home after becoming a
Sister made that truth very clear to me.
I had just arrived and we were all sitting
around visiting. My parents’ home had a
family room that opened into the kitchen,
so everything that went on there was
clearly visible from the couch. Mother
had my favorite meal steaming away on
the stove to welcome me home.
When it was time to start the final
efforts to put the food on the table, I
automatically got up to help. Imagine
my shock when I was told just to sit and
wait —and then my actual discomfort as I
watched everyone else contribute to put-
ting the food on the table. I felt like such
an outsider!
In my home that kind of non-involve-
ment was reserved for guests—people
who were just passing through—people
who had no permanent position in the
family.
The same is true in the family of faith.
You don’t fully belong until you have been
Capitol Comments
Texas bishops call for the
restoration of funding for CHIP
By Richard Daly,
Director, Texas
Catholic Conference
The Roman Catholic
Bishops of Texas have
joined religious leaders
across the state in en-
couraging state leaders
to restore full funding for the Children’s
Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In
the statement, the Bishops “.. .note with
sorrow that Texas children lack health in-
surance at much higher rates and in much
higher numbers than American children
overall.”
The most likely time for full funding
to be restored will be when the 79th Texas
Legislature convenes next year.
Statement by the Catholic Bishops
of Texas Supporting Restoration of
Funding for the Children’s Health
Insurance Program, March 15, 2004
As Texas religious leaders, we wish to
express our strong support for the Chil-
dren’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP),
and we encourage our state leaders to
restore to CHIP the full balance of state
funding reductions reflected in the 2004-
2005 Texas budget, about $206 million.
Since its inception just a few years ago,
CHIP has been successful in alleviating
suffering for hundreds of thousands of
Texas children and their families. CHIP
has made health care accessible and af-
fordable to children of working parents
who were otherwise unable to purchase
health insurance.
We note with sorrow that Texas chil-
dren lack health insurance at much higher
rates and in much higher numbers than
American children overall. More than 22
percent of Texas children are uninsured,
compared to 12 percent of all children in
the U.S. Health insurance leads directly
to improved health and wellbeing for
children. Good health is necessary for
children to learn and grow; pervasive
lack of health insurance means that Texas
children are “left behind” in school and
in life.
Because CHIP receives an especially
favorable federal match rate, state funds
spent on CHIP provide extra federal dol-
lars to help pay the doctors, nurses, and
other providers who care for Texas chil-
dren. Full restoration of CHIP funding
would yield an additional $537 million
in federal funds for Texas. The issue of
federal match is of deep importance. For
more than twenty years, Texas has worked
to increase the amount of federal funds
flowing to our state. The federal dollars
in question are taxes paid by Texas fami-
lies, and it is poor fiscal policy for Texas
to leave those dollars “on the table” when
there is so much unmet
See CHIP, page 13
initiated—welcomed—into the world of
ministry.
Whose picture comes to mind when
you hear the phrase “the Church”? If
you see bishops, priest and nuns, you are
still sitting in the family room, watching
the action going on in the kitchen. “The
Church” is all of us—sin-
gle, vowed, consecrated
and ordained. “The
Church” is the family of
faith—parish, diocesan,
universal. We—“the
Church”—have been en-
trusted with the mission
of Jesus: to relish God’s
unconditional love, then
proclaim it and to pass
it on by our own acts of
love and service.
The call to loving service is first given
at Baptism. However, it takes a while to
understand the call and ourselves well
enough to know the best method of
answering the call. Liturgical worship,
ongoing catechesis, service projects, and
loads of other experiences help us along
when we are young.
Confirmation, the “final” initiation sac-
and before heading back to Ss. Cyril and
Methodius, I joined Gilbert, Dennis and
the teens for a prayer thanking God for
the opportunity to serve the homeless.
I must admit that I felt a little ashamed
that it took me so long to accompany the
teens as they feed the homeless. But I also
felt very proud of the good work that they
were doing. Gilbert and the teens were
doing the work of the Lord - feeding the
hungry.
I am sure that you would be welcomed,
if you wanted to get up early and help
out. Extra hands are always welcomed! If
you cannot physically help, think about
making a donation to help by the food.
The cost is about $100 a weekend.
I want to thank the high school teens
for showing us how one can be Christ in
our world today. The second Sunday of
April will be Easter Sunday; maybe you
can help make it something special.
(Msgr. White is the pastor of Ss. Cyril and
Methodius Parish and Dean of the Corpus
Christi Westside Deanery. The tel. no. of the
Mother Teresa Day Shelter is 883-7372.)
rament, offers us the opportunity to move
off the couch and into the action. It gives
our family of faith the opportunity to say,
“Yes, you have something to contribute.
We need you.” “You are one of us. You
belong.” It gives us the opportunity to
say, “Hey! I’m ready. Let me show you
what I can do.”
In my home visit
experience, that is
exactly what hap-
pened next. I guess it
felt too funny to them,
too. Maybe during
the meal they realized
that they missed me;
maybe they needed
me. When it was time
to do the dishes, I was
assigned my usual
post. And I was right there!
Baptism and Confirmation
empower all believers to share in
some form of ministry. Although
the specific form of participation
in ministry varies according to the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, all who
share in this work are united with
one another.
What is your specialty? Are you using
it?
(Sister Annette Wagner is a Sister of the
Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament and
the director of the Pastoral Institute for the
Corpus Christi diocese. She can be reached
at AWagner@diocesecc.org or by calling
882-6191, ext. 704.)
CCHD grateful for diocesan collection
On behalf of the Catholic Campaign
for Human Development (CCHD), I am
writing to thank you and all of the faithful
of the Diocese of Corpus Christi for your
very generous 2003 collection contribu-
tion of $16,168.96. This support enables
the Church in the United States to con-
tinue to support people who are poor to
break the cycle of poverty.
Thanks to the prophetic foresight of our
bishops and the generosity and dedication
of clergy, religious, and laity, the Catho-
lic Campaign for Human Development
has been able to support low-income
people as they find a way out of poverty
for themselves and their communities.
In 2003, you helped CCHD grant $8.75
million in support of 318 local projects in
45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We are
proud to be one of the largest private
funders of anti-poverty programs initiated
and led by people living in poverty.
As Pope John Paul II reminds us, our
Church is one “that works with all sectors
of society, including the poor themselves,
in search of solutions to the problems of
poverty, in order to free people from lives
of misery and want.”
Through their gifts to the Catholic
Campaign for Human Development, the
people of Corpus Christi help to break
the cycle of poverty and build community
across our nation. We are grateful for you
leadership and for the invaluable partner-
ship of your diocesan director, Sr. Martha
A. Snapka. Be assured of our prayers for
you and those you serve.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Rev. Robert f. Vitillo, Executive Director
Letters
Welcome
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welcome. All letters must be signed by the
writer and include a telephone number
for verification. Letters are subject to edit-
ing. Publication of letters does not imply
endorsement by the South Texas Catholic.
Send letters to: Letters to the editor,
South Texas Catholic, EO. Box 2620, Cor-
pus Christi, TX 78403-2620. Fax letters to
(361) 883-2556.
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Goldapp, Paula J. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, April 2, 2004, newspaper, April 2, 2004; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth855687/m1/5/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .