Vol. 1, No. 42. Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Arizona Rosary Celebration

Photos by Katheryn Hutchinson  Above,  altar servers from around the Diocese line up for the procession into St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish during the Rosary Celebration.  Right, Bishop Weisenburger with Julianna Grace Martin.  Below, Bishop with Miguel Lopez from Sacred Heart Parish in Tucson.

It was delightful to attend the Rosary Celebration at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.  I was impressed to see so many young people – many of whom are altar servers in our parishes.

Our devotion to Mary, the mother of Christ, provides great comfort of faith to so many of us. It seems so easy to pray to Mary, as our own mother in faith, for her to intercede on our behalf, and for her to provide us with guidance in our lives.

I discovered a good article, "Why pray the Rosary?" posted by Edward Sri on a Franciscan Media webpage about how praying the rosary can be a great addition to prayer life. The article is not too long, and gives some good tips about overcoming some obstacles people often have about praying this devotion.  If you would like to read the whole narrative, please visit https://blog.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit/why-pray-the-rosary

 "If the rosary is not a part of your regular prayer life right now, it's easy to get your feet wet with this devotion. Here are five key things you need to know to get started.

"First, we don't have to pray the rosary all at once. Sure, some people might sit down and quietly pray a whole rosary in one sitting. But we can also choose to divide it up, saying just a decade or two at a time at different points throughout the day: on the way to work, in between errands, in between meetings, while folding laundry or doing dishes. Many holy men and women and even popes have prayed the rosary this way and have found it manageable and fruitful for their busy lives.

"Second, we can pray it anywhere! The rosary is like a portable chapel we can keep in our pocket and pull out anytime, anyplace. Whether we have a sudden, urgent situation to present to God in prayer or we just want to fill some of our day with thoughts of God, all we need to do is pull out our beads and turn to the Lord in this prayer. Indeed, the rosary is always accessible. We might pray it in a church, in our room, in our office. Or we might pray it in the car, on the exercise machine, in the grocery store line, or while cutting the grass or going for a walk. Bringing our hearts into the rhythm of the rosary is something we can do intermittently throughout the day.

"Third, we can pray the rosary in different ways, customizing it to fit the needs of the moment. Sometimes we might focus on the words of the prayers, thinking, for example, of Gabriel's greeting to Our Lady as we slowly say with great devotion, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." At other times, we might reflect on the mysteries of Christ's life, prayerfully contemplating scenes such as his birth in Bethlehem, his transfiguration, or his death on the cross, etching the Gospel on our hearts. At still other times, we might focus on the holy name of Jesus at the center of each Hail Mary, speaking his name tenderly with love as the pulse of our rosary.

"Fourth, it's easy to fit the rosary into your schedule. Do you have two and a half minutes in your day that you can give to God? This is the beauty of the rosary."

My thanks to Bishop Patrick Zurek of the Diocese of Amarillo, Texas for being our guest speaker and for his gracious presentation.

Red Mass

I celebrated the annual Red Mass Monday evening at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish. This Mass was sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society at the Newman Center and the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson. 

Our honorees this year were Timothy Reckart, Esq. and Nogales Police Officer Jesus Manuel Cordova, whose recognition in being presented posthumously.

 It was very touching to see several members of the Nogales Police Department at the Mass, offering prayers for their fallen colleague, and I am sure, offering support to Officer Cordova's wife, Alyssa Cordova, who gave birth to baby boy - Jesús Manuel Cordova II on Aug. 10  Cordova was slain while on duty April 27, 2018 trying to halt a carjacking.  He and Alyssa have three older children.

Timothy Reckart practices patent law in Tucson, AZ, at the Rusing, Lopez and Lizardi law firm. He has 35 years of legal experience and has a long history of service to the community and to the church.

Here are some photos from the Red Mass:

Photos by Iliana Gonzales Above left, Alyssa Cordova, wife of Nogales Police Officer Jesus Cordova, receives recognition for her husband at the Red Mass. At right, Timothy Reckart receives his award.

To Mount Angel

I will be traveling to St. Benedict, Oregon today to participate in the  Mount Angel Seminary Episcopal Council meeting. 

Mount Angel, near Portland, Ore.,  is the seminary  our diocese uses for college level seminary studies.  Attending there now for our diocese are Jesus Gomez,  Charles "Carlos" Nagore, Luis Alberto Palencia, Joseph Schaaf and Alan Soto Hopkins.

When they complete their studies at Mount Angel, these seminarians will move on to graduate level education at either St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, Calif., or at University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Ill.

I return to Tucson on Friday.

While on this topic, I encourage everyone to take a close look at our new seminarian poster.  The poster, soon to be on display at our parishes and schools, features photos of each of our seminarians.  You may recognize one of these men from your parish.  My hope is that you will pray for each of the men working his way through seminary studies and through his own discernment process and eventually, many of these men photographed will someday be ordained.

Our diocese is in need of priests.  Please pray for these men and pray for an increase in vocations to religious life for men and women.  If you are considering priesthood, read more below.

Upcoming

Vocations Discernment Retreat

Date: October 26-28, 2018

Where: St. Helen of the Cross Parish

205 W. 8th Street

Eloy, Arizona 85131

This is a discernment retreat for men, so please be open to God and His will for you.

Please contact Fr. Jorge Ricardo at 520.838.2531 for additional information.

The retreat begins Friday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. and concludes on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m.

Participants will  meet at the main entrance of the Parish Hall then proceed to dinner. Please be considerate of others and arrive on time. We will begin promptly.

Please bring comfortable clothes to wear and jeans are allowed. Also, please bring personal

hygiene items, sportswear, a sleeping bag, Bible, notebook and snacks to share.You also  are encouraged to bring your own pillow and extra blankets.

Registration is required, please visit https://diocesetucson.org/vocations/ to complete the forms.

Pilgrimage to Mission San Xavier Del Bac

Saturday, Nov. 3

There are several starting points for this pilgrimage. For more information please visit

https://diocesetucson.org/vocations/