tvc.dsj.org | April 25, 2017
IN THE DIOCESE
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Bishop McGrath Joins with Catholic Relief Services for Impactful Trip to Guatemala
By Liz Sullivan
While the visit was brief, the impact
is everlasting.
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath traveled to
Guatemala for the first time March 14-
17 as part of a Catholic Relief Services
(CRS) Immersion Trip with CRS Board
Member Charmaine Warmenhoven, of
Saratoga.
Those four days were the first time
the Bishop had been to the Central
American country; and he said it had
a profound effect on him.
“It greatly impacted my life,” said
the Bishop a couple of weeks after re-
turning home. “We did a lot of things
while we were there and there were
many highlights. It was wonderful to
see the great work CRS is doing and the
changes they are making in people’s
lives.”
Founded in 1943 by the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops (US-
CCB), CRS is an international humani-
tarian agency. What originally began to
help war-torn Europe and its refugees
recover as a result of World War II, CRS
now carries out the commitment of the
Bishops of the United States to assist the
poor and vulnerable overseas. As part
of the universal mission of the Catholic
Church, CRS works with local, national
and international Catholic institutions
and structures, as well as other organi-
CRS delegation members led by Board member Charmaine Warmenhoven (center in tan jacket)
and Bishop Patrick J. McGrath (burgundy sweater) pose for a group photo with graduates of the
CRS-supported YouthBuild project on the grounds of the Barbara Ford Peacebuilding Center in
Santa Cruz del Quiché. The youth were on hand to demonstrate the various job skills they learned
during the project. –Photo courtesy of David Snyder, CRS.
zations, to assist people on the basis of
need, not creed, race or nationality.
The Bishop said he was especially
touched by his visit to this country
during Lent. In their brief time in Gua-
temala, the Bishop and his traveling
party visited the capital of Guatemala
City, along with the cities of Antigua
and Santa Cruz del Quiché.
“I was struck by the faith of the
people,” said the Bishop. “I truly be-
lieve they see the face of Christ in each
other. I was struck by how they live out
their faith.”
Bishop McGrath said wherever the
group went, the people were excited to
see them and thanked them for visit-
ing, especially at a school.
“It was actually very humbling,” he
said. “I felt like we should be thank-
ing them for letting us into their lives.
The people were very grateful for CRS
and what CRS has done for them. CRS
has helped them with things we take
for granted in this country. It is really
life-changing.”
In addition, another area which
touched the Bishop was the work CRS
is doing with migrants. The Bishop and
his group, which also included Brother
Mickey McGrath, OSFS, visited a re-
settlement center in Guatemala City.
Most of Guatemala borders Mexico
and Guatemala serves as a funnel from
Central America to North America.
While at the rest center, the Bishop
said he met a family from El Salva-
dor, with 11 children, including two
daughters who had been threatened
with death.
“That was very poignant,” said
the Bishop. “It was very interesting to
see how CRS treated everyone at this
center with kindness and compassion.
CRS was there to take a look to see
what they could offer. I wonder what
happened to that family I met.”
As for the impact this trip had on
the Bishop, he was quite honest.
“It took a while for me when we
returned home to think about what
happened,” he said. “It all happened
so fast. It was a very moving experi-
ence for me. Many of them don’t have
much, but as far as I am concerned
they have everything – that which is
most important – their faith and sup-
port of each other.”
To learn more about CRS, please visit
www.CRS.org.
Diocese of San Jose to Host Discernment Retreat for Women
The Diocese of San Jose and the
Serra Club will hold a Discernment
Retreat May 6-7 at Presentation Cen-
ter, 19480 Bear Creek Road, Los Gatos.
Donations are $25 and scholarships
are available.
On May 6, the retreat begins at 8:30
a.m. and it concludes on May 7 at 3:30
p.m. The retreat is open to all women
between 18-35.
Also, the retreat is held in conjunc-
tion with the World Day of Prayer for
Vocations on May 7. Pope Francis has
prepared a personal message for this
occasion. In it, he reminds us: “There
can be no promotion of vocations or
Christian mission apart from constant
contemplative prayer. The Christian
life needs to be nourished by attentive
listening to God’s word and, above all,
by the cultivation of a personal rela-
tionship with the Lord in Eucharistic
adoration, the privileged ‘place’ for
our encounter with God.” He goes on
to encourage “parish communities, as-
sociations and the many prayer groups
present in the Church, not to yield to
discouragement but to continue pray-
ing that the Lord will send workers to
his harvest.”
The entire message is available
i n bot h Engl ish a nd Spa n ish at
www.usccb.org/vocat ions, along
with other resources from the CCLV
Secretariat for the observance of the
World Day of Prayer for Vocations in
the United States.
For more information, contact San-
dra Torres at (408) 983-0112 or Sister
Rosalie Pizzo, ND, at (408) 983-0123.
CATHOLIC PROFESSIONALS
faith
Father Dave Mercer’s Monthly Talk
Difficult Bible Passages
Thursday, April 27 | 7-8:30 p.m. | 1522 McCoy Ave, San Jose
Let’s admit it: some Bible passages startle us. Is the God of the Old
Testament warlike? Was Saint Paul anti-woman when writing that
women should be silent? Father Dave will address how today’s
scholars understand such passages. If there’s a passage that
confuses your sensibilities, email it to Father Dave for consideration:
[email protected]. Bring a friend.
community
business
Presents
Nancy Kehoe
RSCJ, PhD, Author: Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness and the Journey to Wholeness
"Robbed by Mental Illness: Discarded by Society,
Who will be my Good Samaritan?"
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Monthly Speaker Series | September – June
Join us for Morning Mass & special Speaker Presentations the second Thursday of each month.
Mass: 7:00am | Speaker Presentation: 7:30am
Members: $15 | Non-Members: $20
Three Flames Restaurant – 1547 Meridian Avenue, San Jose
RSVP for events at: www.sjcatholicprofessionals.com