If you’ve been bowling, you might have observed that little kids can always hit the pins and even get a strike at the odd time. Of course, they have assistance from the bumpers on each side of the lane to prevent their ball from falling into the gutters. Watching their bowling ball weave slowly back and forth from bumper to bumper and then gently knock all the pins down is jaw-dropping and, yes, a little bit humiliating.

Joseph and Irene Reyes’ love for music, culture, faith, and family bolstered an entire generation of children dedicated to sharing their love for God by singing in churches throughout Corpus Christi. And sing they do —all nine members of the family belt out songs and hymns of praise and worship. They sing Tagalog and pop, but mostly Christian music. They sing at home, in the car and in churches throughout Corpus Christi and Portland. 

The Office of Catholic Schools held their in-service, in-person, for the first time in three years. Some 300 diocesan and parochial teachers had met virtually every year since the start of the pandemic. This year they gathered in the Cafetorium at St. John Paul II High School for two days of spiritual and professional development on Aug. 8-9. 

The Ministry & Life Enrichment for Persons with Disabilities Program at Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi was established in 1983. Since then, we have been working hard to create and modify programs that would be effective in the religious formation of children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their siblings. Loyola Press offers excellent resources and programs for faith formation and sacramental preparation that have been very helpful to our ministry.  In 2022, we dared to want more for our clients. 

On Sept 17, Suzie Garza professed as a Secular Franciscan. The Right of Profession was celebrated in a Mass celebrated by the pastor, Msgr. Roger Smith at St. Patrick Church in Corpus Christi.

The St. Anthony of Padua Secular Franciscan Fraternity of the Corpus Christi Diocese recently celebrated the Transitus of St. Francis at St. Joseph Church in Port Aransas. The Transitus is the annual celebration by Franciscans throughout the world of the passing of St. Francis from this life to life with God. It is celebrated the night of Oct. 3, the eve of his feast day. The word “transitus” comes from Latin, meaning passage or crossing.

In a continuing effort to provide college preparedness events and activities for students and parents, Incarnate Word Academy hosted its annual College Fair for Middle and High School Level students on Sept. 13 in the school’s Mother Patricia Gunning Gymnasium.

After a year in the making, the new Memorial Prayer Garden at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish opened with a special rite of blessing. The event was presided over by the Vicar General of the diocese, Father James Stembler, on Sept. 29. After the blessing, Father Stembler reminded those in attendance that our time with our loved ones is like “a sentence, followed by a comma, not a period. “We must never forget what comes next after our time here on earth —the promise of everlasting life.” 

Ten men in the Diocese of Corpus Christi are currently on the journey to the permanent diaconate. While the road leading to their calling as deacons is challenging, it is also filled with many memorable moments. One of these was the Institution of Lectors at the Mass of the Conferral of Ministries, celebrated by Bishop Michael Mulvey at Ss. Cyril & Methodius Parish on Sept. 30. 

 “We want this to be a community,” said Hailey Henry, Islander Catholic committee chairperson and 3rd year nursing student. This was how the IC officers began to introduce themselves to the approximately 40 students from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi gathered for the Newman kickoff dinner on Aug. 25. 

Incarnate Word Academy commemorated the anniversary of the death of Venerable Jeanne Chézard de Matel, the foundress of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament (IWBS), during a campus-wide Mass on Sept. 12.

On a recent Saturday, a small group of students from the Newman Center of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi woke up early to prepare for the first Service Saturday event of the school year. For some of them, the drive back to their hometown over the Labor Day weekend would have to wait until after the activity.

Pope Francis recently echoed these words in his general audience talks on aging. “Old age is the phase in life most suited to spreading the joyful news that life is the initiation to a final fulfillment,” he said. “The elderly are a promise, a witness of promise. And the best is yet to come. The best is yet to come: it is like the message of elderly believers, the best is yet to come.” Pope Francis sees our final years as a time of joyfulness.