In last month’s issue of the South Texas Catholic, “The Assent of Love,” we raised the question of what it means to love and love well.

Toward the end of our last article on “Growth in Prayer,” we mentioned “my sense of loss when, as happens from time to time, I cannot seem to find Him (God).”

The fundamental vocation of every human person directs men and women to seek God, to know him and to love him with all their strength.

The feast of Corpus Christi brings together my ministry as bishop and the ministry of all who comprise the Body of Christ. The sentiment that I have celebrating this feast is one of great hope. The Body of Christ is the sacrament of communion, communion with Christ and communion with one another. All of us should take seriously that we form the Body of Christ together as working together, praying together and serving as His body.

What Is Prayer? Prayer, we are told, is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God.

All communities of consecrated life share some elements that are necessary in order for the Church to recognize them as a community. However, individual communities also differ in regard to certain elements that give their communities the specific character that makes them who they are.

The Institute of the Sisters of Saint Ann was founded in Turin, Italy, in 1834 with the support of the Marquis and Marchioness of Barolo, Carlo Tancredi Falletti and his wife Giulia.

Driving into Corpus Christi on Interstate 37 one now notices a rather curious sign. It reads: “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.” It’s obviously a very public posting with a specific intent. But there is room to wonder whether it actually conveys more than was intended. As a believer, reading between the lines, I read it another way. I read: “Don’t believe in God? The truth is you’re not alone. He is with us!”

The Dominican Sisters of Saint Thomas Aquinas are a religious Congregation founded in Mexico in 1913 and are celebrating their centennial this year.

It is a positive fact that one day all of us will leave the bounds of time and enter into the limitless realms of eternity. The light of heaven will reveal to us things that eye has not seen, ear has not heard and the mind of man has not conceived.

A Catholic tradition that is oftentimes misunderstood by Catholics and non-Catholics alike is the veneration of relics.

Under the direction of Bishop Thomas J. Drury, Mother Teresa Santoya founded the Pax Christi Sisters in the Diocese of Corpus Christi on July 19, 1969. The order was initially named the Society of Christian Social Service.

At a recent talk at the Catholic educators conference, Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey told educators to teach and learn the faith by breaking “down the Creed sentence by sentence, clause by clause, adjective by adjective.”

There are millions of people around the world who believe in some kind of higher power, so what is so unique about our Catholic belief? The “who” and “what” of our Catholic faith is described well in the Nicene Creed which we Catholics profess at Holy Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.

The SOLT vision is to bring all people into union with the Most Holy Trinity through discipleship of Jesus and Mary. This discipleship is the charism or spiritual gift that God gives to members of SOLT. To live out the charism, teams of priests, sisters and lay people minister in Marian-Trinitarian relationships in areas of deepest apostolic need. The Eucharist, prayer, apostolic teaching and solidarity of spirit unite them.

As we begin this New Year, let us enter more fully into these mysteries and embrace more fully the gift of life. Join with your diocese family in attending both the Mass of Thanksgiving for the Gift of Life and the Texas Rally for Life.

The Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods founded in Indiana to honor Divine Providence and further God’s loving plans by devoting itself to works of love, mercy and justice in service to God’s people.

Roman Catholics are frequently accused by fundamentalist Christians of being “idol worshippers” because of the presence of statues in our churches. Fundamentalists believe that the Bible is the sole rule of faith and cite certain passages throughout Scripture to support their accusations.

Mother Julia Navarrete Guerrero, foundress of the Missionary Daughters of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, was born in Oaxaca, México in 1881. As an adult, she gathered together a small group of women who wished to serve the Church, but the Mexican Revolution was making this very difficult.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Adult converts to Catholicism regularly cite three things about Catholicism that they find attractive: the sacrament of confession, the pope and devotion to Mary, said New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.