Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

With flowers, songs, and prayers we celebrate our Virgencita Morena, nuestra madre celestial. 

Oración a la Virgen de Guadalupe
 

¡Oh Virgen Inmaculada,
Madre del verdadero Dios y Madre de la Iglesia!
Tú, que desde este lugar manifiestas
tu clemencia y tu compasión
a todos los que solicitan tu amparo;
escucha la oración que con filial confianza te dirigimos,
y preséntala ante tu Hijo Jesús, único Redentor nuestro.
Madre de misericordia, Maestra del sacrificio escondido y silencioso,
a Ti, que sales al encuentro de nosotros, los pecadores,
te consagramos también nuestra vida, nuestros trabajos,
nuestras alegrías, nuestras enfermedades y nuestros dolores.
Da la paz, la justicia y la prosperidad a nuestros pueblos;
ya que todo lo que tenemos y somos lo ponemos bajo tu cuidado,
Señora y Madre nuestra.
Queremos ser totalmente tuyos y recorrer contigo el camino
De una plena fidelidad a Jesucristo a su Iglesia:
No nos sueltes de tu mano amorosa.

Virgen de Guadalupe, Madre de las Américas, te pedimos por todos
Los Obispos, para que conduzcan a los fieles por senderos
de intensa vida cristiana, de amor y de humilde servicio a Dios
y a las almas.
Contempla esta inmensa mies, e intercede para que el Señor infunda hambre de santidad en todo el Pueblo de Dios, y otorgue abundantes vocaciones de sacerdotes y religiosos, fuertes en la fe y celosos dispensadores de los misterios de Dios.
Concede a nuestros hogares
la gracia de amar y de respetar la vida que comienza
con el mismo amor con el que concebiste en tu seno
la vida del Hijo de Dios.
Virgen Santa María, Madre del Amor Hermoso, protege a nuestras familias,
Para que estén muy unidas, y bendice a la educación de nuestros hijos.
Esperanza nuestra, míranos con compasión,
Enséñanos a ir continuamente a Jesús y, si caemos, ayúdanos
a levantarnos, a volver a Él, mediante la confesión de nuestra culpas
y pecados en el sacramento de la Penitencia,
que trae sosiego al alma.
Te suplicamos que nos concedas un amor muy grande a todos los santos sacramentos,
Que son como las huellas que tu Hijo nos dejó en la tierra.
Así, Madre Santísima, con la paz de Dios en la conciencia,
Con nuestros corazones libres de mal y de odios,
Podremos llevar a todos la verdadera alegría y la verdadera paz,
que vienen de tu Hijo, nuestro Señor Jesucristo,
que con Dios Padre y con el Espíritu Santo,
vive y reina por los siglos de los siglos.
Amén
México, enero de 1979.                      Juan Pablo II

"Peace is possible. Peace is urgent."

The Holy Father reminds us in his homily at the closing of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops that “we must never resign ourselves to the absence of peace.”

"Conflicts, wars, violence and terrorism have gone on for too long in the Middle East. Peace, which is a gift of God, is also the result of the efforts of men of goodwill, of the national and international institutions, in particular of the states most involved in the search for a solution to conflicts. We must never resign ourselves to the absence of peace. Peace is possible. Peace is urgent. Peace is the indispensable condition for a life worthy of humanity and society. Peace is also the best remedy to avoid emigration from the Middle East. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” we are told in the Psalm (122:6). We pray for peace in the Holy Land. We pray for peace in the Middle East, undertaking to try to ensure that this gift of God to men of goodwill should spread through the whole world."

Petra Beyond the Tourist Route

Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world, gets crowded these days, especially when the cruise ships bus in crowds by the hundreds for a quick tour of this lost city in the desert.

Maneuvering through such crowds creates a challenge for those who want to focus on what it must have been like to discover the awesome structures carved into the mountians.

After making our way along with the hundreds filing through, we were left to explore on our own, and seven dinars bought us time on a donkey and a glimpse of Petra beyond the tourist.route. With just a couple of hours left in our day, a local Bedouin guided a fellow journalist and I through caves and ruins off the beaten path. We felt like explores as we made our way up the mountain.

But adventure comes with risk andI found myself praying at times that the donkey I was riding would not walk off one of the cliffs as we climbed some steep and narrow steps.

Building Understanding

Father Nabil Haddad, Executive Director of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center (JICRC) based in Amman, talked about promoting peace between faith traditions during a press briefing on Monday.

In Jordan

Corazón Bilingüe

 

Corazón Bilingüe, a conversation about language, culture, and the art of poetic creation, is taking on a life of its own. Beginning this Mother's Day, May 9, it will run as a weekly radio program at 2 p.m. on Sundays on KMBH FM 88.9. You can also find earlier programs on www.corazonbilingue.com.

Reading at Barnes & Noble

Seguimos dando luz a “La Primera Voz Que Oí.” Entrando al Día de las madres, dedico las lecturas a mi querida mama.

Esta lunes en Barnes & Noble en McAllen, Irma Guadarama me acompaño para compartir sus canciones y sus poemas.

Valley International Poetry Festival

April 22-25, 2010
A weekend to celebrate poetry on both sides of the Rio Grande River. A toast to the magic of words and so many talented poets.

He is Risen

"Today is the day for all to be bathed anew in the light of the Redeemer."

The Innocent One freely gave himself up to death, accepted being nailed to the cross and raised above the earth.  Alone, upon the altar made of wood, the Redeemer embraced the whole world with his outstretched arms. Oh Cross of Christ!  You were chosen to lift high the Son of Man; you are the instrument that draws the whole world to healing and life. By your height, oh Saving Cross, the Christ reveals himself to the world as He truly is: purest love, without resentment; long-suffering, yet not defeated.  The Son of God even allowed himself to be wrapped in a shroud in order to fulfill the ancient rites of burial.  Oh empty tomb! By showing us that you cannot contain Christ within your walls, you are the clear sign of the cause of our joy!

-Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Easter Message 2010

We look for clues...

The Shroud of Turin

 

If only I could sneak away to Torino. The Shroud will be on display April 10 - May 23.
The Real Face of Jesus

Good Friday

The 11th Station
Jesus is nailed to the cross

  

 Photos by Cesar Riojas III 

Oración

Cristo elevado
Amor crucificado,
llena nuestros corazones de tu amor,
para que reconozcamos en tu cruz
el signo de nuestra redención
y, atraídos por tus heridas,
vivamos y muramos contigo,
que vives y reinas con el Padre y el Espíritu Santo,
ahora y por los siglos.

Amen.
                                   Oración del Papa Juan Pablo II

A midweek journey

The local garden center on the first week of spring.

Close to home

It seems I am always planning the next adventure, most likely away from home. Perhaps it’s my craving for exploration or my own remedy against routine. Already, having just returned from Egypt, I began looking for flights for my next departure. As a counterbalance I think it is time to highlight adventures nearby.

Alain de Button’s book “The Art of Travel” provided the inspiration. In the final pages labeled “On habit” under the category “Return” he reminds us that a “traveling mind-set” when applied to our own backyards can open our eyes to that which “we have become habituated”. He offers us Xavier de Maistre’s example of undertaking a journey around his bedroom.

“…Xavier de Maistre was gently nudging us to try, before taking off for distant hemispheres, to notice what we have already seen.”

For the next several months, I propose to take a journey each week close to home. By ‘home’, I mean Harlingen (where I sleep) and San Juan (where I work). By ‘close’, I mean no further than an hour’s distance.

Tantas millas caminadas

It’s hard to say goodbye to hiking boots that have accompanied me on so many miles, so many adventures - Machu Picchu, El Cielo, the Sahara Desert, and now Mount Sinai and the Giza Pyramids, not to mention the countless hikes with the Boy Scouts and the Venture Scouts. Maybe they have just a few more miles left before retirement.

Coptic Cairo

March 19, 2010

In Luxor

March 18, 2010
Temples of Karnak

Luxor Temple

Where we found rest

March 16, 2010

We enjoyed our rest and reflection time in Dehab before continuing on to Luxor via a 15-hour bus ride.

Nura, Fatima, and Nura did their best to sell us some of their mother’s handmade jewelry.

The name Nura in Arabic means “the light of Islam” and Fatima means “prophet’s daughter.”

From the top of Mount Sinai

 
March 15, 2010

___________

“The mountain opens its secrets only to those who have the courage to challenge it. It demands sacrifice and training. It requires you to leave the security of the valleys but offers spectacular views from the summit of those who have the courage to climb.”

- Pope John Paul II, 1993

___________

We walked in the dark up a mountain, Moses’ Mountain, along side hundreds, to summit before sunrise. Flashlights and headlamps helped us navigate through the uneven rocks and make way for passing camels.

During the three-hour trek I could have used a few more rest stops. I also considered paying for a camel ride, which would have made the hike so much easier, but somehow taking the easy path was not in my program.

An hour or so before sunrise, we reached the final 700 Steps of Repentance. Immediately upon reaching the summit at 7,455 feet, our tired bodies could feel the chill with nothing to block the wind.

This holy peak attracts hundreds, so a quiet space was rare this morning. But surrounded by the mountains, where God spoke to Moses, we know words are not necessary here. God hears our hearts, knows our intentions. The immensity of the world stands before us, and it is God who makes it all possible. He not only leads us through the desert, he helps us find he beauty in its midst.
 
 

After sunrise, we make our way back down the mountain, and get a better view of the trail we first walked in the dark.