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The
last days of January
brought some bad news. Sister Maria Refugio
Pérez of the Carmelite Missionaries of St. Theresa died in
Houston. She was one of the sisters who had worked at Moreau
Seminary in the kitchen. She was always a very happy and cheerful
person. Her cheerfulness served her well, and she remained
cheerful right up to her death. Her Mass of Christian Burial was
celebrated at the Carmelites' Motherhouse, and burial was in a nearby
cemetery. May she rest in peace!
After burial, people
gathered again at the motherhouse, but this time for lunch and the
opportunity to share news. Many of the Sisters who were at Moreau
were there. There were also several postulants and novices.
The first week-end of
February was designated by Pope John Paul II as a time to recognize and
celebrate consecrated life. Paulino Antonio
and Marin Hernandez came up from Monterrey
to talk about their vocation stories at Dolores Parish. The
Franciscan Sisters also spoke at the Masses; Sr.
Olivia Jasso, Sr. Adilia Reyna (a novice) and Claudia
Pérez (a postulant) also spoke at
the Masses. Fr. John Korcsmar and Fr.
Ed Kadzielawski, as well as Sr. Rose
and Sr. Olivia, were all given plaques in
recognition of their service as religious to the Dolores Parish
community.
Paulino and Marin had
a long journey in coming up to Monterrey on Saturday and returning for
class on Monday. Bro. Matthew McKenna
also did yeoman's work in bringing them up from San Antonio to Austin
and coming back for them on Sunday. We are all grateful for their
sacrifice and hard work to make this all possible.
The provincial
council met in New Orleans for their Mardi Gras meeting. After the
meeting Fr. Dick Nowery gave everyone a
tour of the Sacred Heart Parish Activity Center. The last time
that John Korcsmar had been in that
building (which has classrooms and a gym) was the summer that he spent
in New Orleans in 1970. Dick very proudly showed all the new
improvements--kitchen, elevator, extra windows for more light, new rest
rooms--that were being done. However, John noticed that they had
not straightened out the basketball rims; they were bent by all the
dunking when he was here. Some things are meant to last.
While they were
there, they celebrated Fr. Pete Logsdon's
birthday. At lunch they brought him a small piece of cake with a
candle--a single, symbolic candle. There had been thought to one
of those candles that relights itself, but we didn't want Pete to get
winded. After an afternoon Mass, we all went out to dinner at a
place that Dick Nowery had selected. It was a wonderful choice, as
we had a small room for the council and the guys from Sacred Heart.
While we were eating, Archbishop Hannan
came in. Dick is a thoughtful host, but we don't think he arranged
that.
Sacred Heart in New
Orleans has had two daily Masses (7:00 am and 12:15 pm) for many years.
After Dick Nowery's heart surgery, they have reduced that to one a day.
One liturgy will be a Mass, and the other will be a Liturgy of the Word
with Communion.
Of course, we have a
long tradition of participating in the Mardi Gras parades. Our men
participated in some of the 
parades prior to Mardi Gras Day, including Endymion which passes right
in front of Sacred Heart. But it was Brother
Thomas Krieter who did us proud. Not only did he go to the
parades before the big day, but on Mardi Gras he went and saw some of
the parades, including Zulu, on Mardi Gras Day. He put on his
Mardi Gras colors, went early, came back in the afternoon to drop off
his beads, get cleaned up, and go back for more. Congratulations,
Tom! That's the Mardi
Gras Spirit!
Rumor has it that Tom
has lived in Austin long enough that he cannot hide being a Texas
Longhorn. |
