Our Lady of Sorrows
    info@oladyofsorrows.org
    956-686-0251
    • Home
    • News
      • Weekly Bulletin
    • Homilies
      • Msgr. Gustavo Barrera
      • Dcn. Ray Thomas
      • Dcn. Johnny Gonzalez
      • Dcn. Crawford Higgins
    • About Us
      • Office Directory
      • Worship & Liturgy Schedule
      • Our Pastor
      • Photo Gallery
    • Donate
    • Sacraments
      • Baptism
      • Matrimony
      • CCD
      • RCIA
    • Ministries & Organizations
      • Adoration
      • Altar & Rosary Society
      • Altar Servers
      • Asamblea de Oracion de Matrimonios (AOM)
      • Catholic Daughters of the Americas
      • Homebound Ministry
      • JCDA
      • Choir
      • Knights of Columbus
      • Legion of Mary
      • Readers of the Word (Lectors)
      • Serra Club
      • Star of Hope
    • Faith & Spirituality Groups
      • Bereavement Support
      • Centering Prayer Group
    • Become a Parishioner
    • Funeral Information
    • Quinceañera Information
    • OLS YouTube Channel
    • School
    • Diocese of Brownsville
    • Contact Us

    6 SUNDAY, CYCLE C

    2/18/2019

     
    Luke 6:17, 20-26
    ​
    When you last saw me I was 18 years old and about to enter the seminary to begin his studies to the priesthood.  Corpus Christi Minor Seminary was my first home away from home.  Both my parents had been very supportive.
     
    When I first told them I didn’t know what to expect.  We were in our pickup truck.  I was driving, my Mother was in the middle and Dad was on the passenger side.  I asked them what they thought about the idea of me getting married.  Mother jumped in right away with the objections.  “You just graduated, you do not have a job, where are you going to live?”  Dad said, “Wait a minute.  Since you’re the oldest my responsibility is to your younger brothers and sister.  I will help you, but you know my policy, once you get married, you move out of the house and start your own next.”  I said that I agreed; but that I was not planning on getting married.  I said, “I want to join the seminary and study to become a priest.”  Silence.  Then my Father said, “I woke up this morning feeling so happy.  I thought that today might be the day that I was going to die.  But it was because you were going to give me this great news.  We are proud of you and will give you our full support.”  Mother said that she was not surprised.  She had consecrated me to the Blessed Mother when I was born and my news was a confirmation of Her care.  On the day that they dropped me off at the seminary Dad said, “We did not tell you to go into the priesthood, but if you every change your mind, the door will always be open, not questions asked.”  With freedom I began an eight-year plan that took me to three different seminaries and universities.  Majoring in music sounded exciting but meant that I had to attend summer sessions to acquire a minor in Philosophy, (15 credit hours) which was a requirement.  The first two years of studies were in Corpus Christi Minor Seminary and Del Mar College. (5 Pictures)  I was transferred to Assumption Seminary and Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio where I completed a bachelor’s degree in music in 1975. (Photos) 
     
    From Falfurrias to San Antonio was light years away.   After San Antonio I transferred to St. Meinrad, Indiana to study Theology with Benedictine monks.  I had never met a monk face to face.  At Corpus Christi we were 12 seminarians in the college program.  In San Antonio we were 30.  At St. Meinrad there were 180 of us in the four years of theology.  A drastic move, from expressways and traffic jams to the absence of civilization in the middle of rolling hills of Southern Indiana.  Another big difference was that on a campus of over 500 men there were only about 6 women, all over the age of 50. (Photo)
     
    (Photos) Bells rang every hour and 15 minutes continuously before Holy Mass.  Three Masses were celebrated at the same time each day:  one with the monks, the theologians and the collegians.  We all had a telephone in our rooms but for long distance we went through an operator.  A call home every two—three weeks was what we could afford so I recorded my voice on cassette tapes and mailed them to my parents.  They did the same for me, which kept me updated on family news and the local gossip.  The campus was huge, with five lakes for our enjoyment.  Most attractive was the Unstable—a pub where we could buy beer, wine, and pizza.  Never knew why it was name the “Unstable”, unless there was a connection of how people walked when they came out.  No trotillas, no frijoles, no tamales—just German sausage and sour crout and lots of potatoes.  Only four of us spoke Spanish.  Emphasis was placed on prayer and work--ora et labora—straight from the Rule of St. Benedict.  Writing papers on my typewriter, reading, praying—there was not much time for fooling around.   Our courses were grounded in Church Tradition:  studies in Canon Law, the Psalms, Old Testament, Church in the early Roman Empire, Letters of St. Paul, each of the Gospels, Marriage, Pastoral Counseling, Liturgy and Liturgical Practicum.  All the courses were taught by monks, except for one—preaching.  We had a Presbyterian minister.  He told us that Catholic priests were not too good at preaching, so they hired him.  To this day, his method is still used by his disciples.  I’m one of them.  (Last Photo) Thank you to all who had the patience to teach me, direct me, council me.  Four years of undergraduate studies and four years of Theology and there is still so much more to learn. 
    To be continued…           

    Comments are closed.
      Picture
      Msgr. Gustavo Barrera,
      ​celebrated his first Holy Mass as pastor on September 15, 2007, the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows. With his enthusiasm and spiritual guidance, OLS continues to serve our Catholic family in a way that challenges us to grow as an evangelizing community.

      Archives

      February 2023
      January 2023
      December 2022
      November 2022
      October 2022
      September 2022
      August 2022
      July 2022
      June 2022
      May 2022
      April 2022
      March 2022
      February 2022
      January 2022
      November 2020
      October 2020
      September 2020
      August 2020
      July 2020
      June 2020
      May 2020
      April 2020
      March 2020
      February 2020
      January 2020
      December 2019
      November 2019
      October 2019
      September 2019
      July 2019
      June 2019
      May 2019
      April 2019
      March 2019
      February 2019
      January 2019
      December 2018
      November 2018
      October 2018
      September 2018
      August 2018
      July 2018
      June 2018
      May 2018
      April 2018
      March 2018
      February 2018
      January 2018
      December 2017
      November 2017
      October 2017
      September 2017
      August 2017
      June 2017
      May 2017
      April 2017
      March 2017
      February 2017
      January 2017
      December 2016
      November 2016
      October 2016
      September 2016
      August 2016
      July 2016
      June 2016
      May 2016
      April 2016
      March 2016
      February 2016
      January 2016
      December 2015
      November 2015
      October 2015
      September 2015
      August 2015
      July 2015
      June 2015
      May 2015
      April 2015
      March 2015

      Msgr. Gustavo Barrera, Pastor.

      Categories

      All

      RSS Feed

    About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Office Directory
    • Stewardship
    • Pastor
    • Our History
    Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • First Reconciliation
    • First Communion
    • Confirmation
    • Marriage
    • Anointing of the Sick
    Parish Life
    1. Become a Parishioner
    2. Bulletin & Newsletters
    3. Planning Center Log-in​
    Worship and Liturgy
    • Daily Readings
    • Liturgy of Hours
    • Mass & Reconciliation
    • Eucharistic Adoration
    Faith Formation
    • CCD
    • RCIA​
    Links & Resources
    • CDOB
    • USCCB
    • Vatican: Holy See
    • American Catholic
    More
    • Homilies
    • Online Giving
    • OLS School
    • OLS on YouTube
    Our Lady of Sorrows Parish
    1108 W Hackberry Ave.
    McAllen, Texas 78501-4370
    Telephone
    : (956) 686-0251
    Picture
    Picture

    Website Development by The Parish Solutions Company
    Our Lady of Sorrow Image Copyright Cromo NB permission to use by CNB Basevi.
    Back to top