Sixty Years of Pastoral Work
On August 14, 1960, Fr. Chris Schmitt was ordained a priest in the Basilica of San Miguel in Madrid, Spain along with twenty or thirty other numeraries of Opus Dei. Since then, Fr. Chris has exercised his pastoral ministry in several continents: Europe for one year, Australia for five years, and America for fifty-four years. In the US he has worked in a number of US cities: Chicago, Milwaukee, Valparaiso (Indiana), Washington, Miami, Menlo Park, Houston, and Dallas. Fr. Chris is also known for his interest in college football and things Italian. He is has been living at Chaucer Center in Houston for the last few years. Please join us in thanking God for so many years of faithful service.
Texan Couple Featured on the Opus Dei Website
An article entitled Dancing the Texas Two-step Towards the Faith on the Opus Dei website tells the story of Courtney and Brian. Both are Texans but until recently they lived in Spain. Their love story began on a dance floor and has led them to places they never dreamed of.
Fr. Bill Shaughnessy and Fr. Jay Alvarez Swap States
Fr. Bill Shaughnessy and Fr. Jay Alvarez will be switching positions in August. Fr. Bill is the current chaplain of the new Montevista Study Center in San Antonio. Fr. Jay takes care of activities of Opus Dei in Florida, and currently lives in Tekesta Study Center, the center of Opus Dei in Miami. We will certainly greatly miss Fr. Bill in Texas, and we warmly welcome Fr. Jay. He was not born in Texas, however, he is coming to the Lone Star State as soon as he could.
Illustrated Biography of Saint Josemaria
The Saint Josemaria Institute has published the illustrated biography, Wanting Jesus Alone to Shine by Jesús Gil and Enrique Muñiz. This book is an excellent introduction to the life of St. Josemaría.
Wanting Jesus Alone to Shine” is a biography of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, illustrated with more than 300 photos, maps, infographics and autograph texts. The authors, Jesús Gil and Enrique Muñiz, offer a biography in which the images allow readers to enter into the life of Saint Josemaria: not only to learn about his experiences intellectually, but also to share in some of the feelings that accompanied these experiences.
The e-book is available for free in English, Spanish and other languages on opusdei.org.
Texas Family Enrichment Talks in the Fall
Due to the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty about its evolution, the 2020-2021 Family Enrichment courses have been canceled. After considering many factors, including the unavailability of some of the venues, Texas Family Enrichment (TFE) was left with no choice but to come up with a plan B to replace the traditional FE courses.
Some Recollections Back to In-Person in August
Number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals in the vertical axis, versus the date from April to July 26 in the horizontal axis (Data from https://txdshs.maps.arcgis.com).
The COVID-19 situation in Texas seems to be starting to improve (see graph above). With that in mind and encouraging everyone to keep following the directives from civil and ecclesiastical authorities, we will be holding some "hybrid" recollections (in-person and on-line) at Westcott Study Center (Saturday, Aug 25, 8 AM and Wednesday Aug 19, 7:30 PM), and at Western Academy, on Aug 5, 7:15 PM. Those attending in person will be required to wear a mask at all times during the activity. We encourage those unable to comply with that requirement to attend the recollection online.