South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, January 8, 1993 Page: 1 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Gulf Coast Register/South Texas Catholic and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
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SOUTH TEXAS
Cum Petro el Sub Petro
Vat. II
t Catholic
Founded 1966
Vol. XXVIII, No. 1
.to inform, inspire, catechize, and evangelize the people of the Church...” 2nd Synod of Corpus Chruu
January 8, 1993
“If you want peace, reach out to the poor”
VATICANCITY (CNS) — Hereisthe Vatican text of
Pope John Paul IPs message for the World Day of Peace
Jan. I.
1. Whai person of good will docs not long for peace?
Today, peace is universally recognized as one of the
highesi values to be sought and de-
fended. And yet, as the specter of a
deadly war between opposing ideo-
logical blocs fades away, grave local
conflicts continue to engulf various
parts of the world. In particular, ev-
eryone is aware of the situation in
Bosnia- Herzegovina, where hostili-
ties arc daily claiming new victims,
especially among the defenseless civil
population, and causing enormous
destruction to property and territory.
Nothing seems able to halt the sense-
less violence of arms: neither the
joint efforts to promote an effective
truce, nor the humanitarian activity
of the international organizations, nor
the chorus of appeals for peace which
rise from the lands stained by the
blood of battle. Sadly, the aberrant
logic of war is prevailing over the
repealed and authoritative calls for
peace.
Our world also shows increasing
evidence of another grave threat to
peace: many individuals and indeed
whole peoples are living today in
conditions of extreme poverty. The
gap between rich and poor has be-
come more marked, even in the most economically devel-
oped nations. This is a problem which the conscience of
humanity cannot ignore, since the conditions in which a
great number of people arc living arc an insult to their
innate dignity and as a result arc a threat to the authentic
and harmonious progress of the world community.
The gravity of this situation is being felt in many
countries of the world: in Europe as well as in Africa, Asia
and America. In various regions the social and economic
challenges which believers and all people of good will
have to face are many. Poverty and destitution, social
differences and injustices, some of them even legalized,
fratricidal conflicts and oppressive regimes — all of these
appeal to the conscience of whole peoples in every part of
the world.
The recent conference of Latin American bishops, held
in Santo Domingo in October, carefully examined the
situation in Latin America, and while urgently calling on
Christians to undertake the task of the new evangelization
earnestly invited the faithful and all those committed to
justice and righteousness to serve the cause of man,
without failing to take into account any of his deepest
needs. The bishops spoke of the great mission which must
draw together the efforts of everyone: defense of the
dignity of the person, commitment to a fair distribution of
resources, the harmonious and united promotion of a
society in which everyone feels welcomed and loved. It is
apparent to all that these are the indispensable premises for
building true peace.
To say "peace" is really to speak of much more than the
simple absence of war. It is to postulate a condition of
authentic respect for the dignity and rights of every human
being, a condition enabling him to achieve complete
fulfillment. The exploitation of the weak and the existence
of distressing pockets of poverty and social inequality
constitute so many delays and obstacles 10 the establish-
ment of stable conditions for an authentic peace.
Poverty and peace: at the beginning of the new year, I
would like to invite everyone to reflect together on the
many different links between these two realities.
See Peace, page 2
We still have good families as role models
living. They are: Valentina, Juan, Isidro, Frank, Albert,
Fcrmin, David, Yolanda, Ricky, Raymond, Maria Elena,
Jeannie, Elizabeth, Jesse, and George. (Alejos died in
1969.) All the Flores children have graduated from the
Mathis Independent School District and all but one have a
college education. Alejos and Isidro served in Vietnam and
Juan in Korea.
The Flores family were migrant workers for many years.
Even though they moved around a lot, wherever they went
to work they tried to find a church to go to Mass and to take
their children to CCD classes.
The Flores’ still worry about their
children and grandchildren being
good Christians. This is “the greatest
pride in our family,” Guadalupe
Flores told the people participating
in the Walk for Life this year and
who stayed and spent the night in
Mathis before continuing with their
walk toward San Antonio and to
them. “On the contrary, all my chil-
dren were a blessing from God. Be-
ing a poor family, we passed through
many financial difficulties, but with
the help of God we managed to over-
come them and give our children the
best education that we could."
Francisco and Guadalupe are
Cursillistas and they are involved in the Evangelization
Communities of SINE. They help a lot in the parish
working every week in the bingos. Guadalupe is also a
member of the Altar Society and belongs to a group of
ladies who faithfully clean the church every week. At 70
years old, Francisco always is ready to work on anything
that is needed. He serves as an usher at the church.
Corpus Christi.
"I never thought that any of my 17
children were a mistake.” he told
In 1991, Sacred Heart Parish of Mathis began a tradition
of selecting a family that is outstanding because of their
Christian values, as “The Family of the Year.” Members
of the parish believe that with ever increasing news media
attacks on the traditional values of the family, it is more
important than ever to do something to defend them.
Finding exemplary families, families who are good ex-
amplesof Christian life, and presenting them so that people
can clearly see that even though it is difficult to be good
Christians and to practice the message of the Gospel, it is
not impossible to accomplish is the aim of the annual
award.
The family that has been selected for the “1992 Family
of the Year” is Francisco and Guadalupe Flores.
Francisco was bom in the Slate of Coahuila in Mexico
in 1922 and in the same year his parents came to the United
States. Guadalupe was bom in Kenedy, Texas in 1926.
The Flores family had 17 children, but only 16 are now
Francisco and Guadalupe have been married 48 years
and have 39 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.
Without any doubt, this family is a great blessing for the
parish and the church.
Hopefully their example will help other families keep
alive the Christian values and to recognize that all children
are a great gift from God.
Our congratulations to the Flores family and to the
Sacred Heart Parish of
Mathis for showing us
Christian families that
serve as examples for
all of us.
During this year’s
electoral campaign there
was talk about the
needed changes for our
society. The best way to
change for the better is
to have good families,
since the family is the
cell of our society.
Strong, healthy Chris-
tian families will impact
society in a way nothing
else can.
Let us join together
with the wishes of Pope
John Paul II, expressed
in his Apostolic Letter
FamiliarisConsortio"
and in many other writ-
ings and discourses, so
that the example of the
Sacred Family of Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph, is
imitatedbyalltheChris-
tian families.
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Horseman, Pete & Vega, John Michael. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, January 8, 1993, newspaper, January 8, 1993; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth855936/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .