I was ordained a deacon in 2012, but my diaconate journey began long ago in three phases.

My journey to the permanent diaconate began many years before formation classes started in the early 1990s. It actually began with meeting and eventually marrying my wife, Barbara.

Matthew’s Gospel speaks tellingly of the qualities and requirements for those seeking to serve God. In chapter 9 we are happy and challenged by the promise of an abundant harvest. The sobering counterpoint rests with the limited number of laborers able to bring that sweet harvest home. In chapter 20 the simile between the kingdom of God and a vineyard enlightens our understanding and suggests how we should proceed, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” That is serious and necessary advice for anybody seeking to work “in the vineyard.”

I love being a deacon and performing all the duties asked of me. It's very demanding, but also very rewarding. I have proclaimed the gospel, given numerous homilies, served at the altar, presided at funeral vigils and graveside services, and baptized babies and children.

Growing up in Tabaco, Albay in the Philippines, Father Rogel “Ogie” Rosalinas, SOLT, always knew he wanted to dedicate his life to the church. By the time he felt ready to answer the call, he was not spiritually prepared, so he faithfully waited for God’s timing.

Eight religious’ sisters in the Diocese of Corpus Christi will be recognized at a special Mass on World Day for Consecrated Life at Corpus Christi Cathedral on Feb. 3. Those being honored for their years of service will renew their commitment to serve the Lord and his people.

For more than 10 years, the Missionaries of Christ Charity, as the extended arm of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, continues its mission of serving infants and elderly in the diocese of Corpus Christi.

Over 150 high school students attended “Sisters Rock” at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Alice on Nov. 7. Sisters Rock is the brainchild of the Vocation team spearheaded by Sister Gloria Rodriguez, MJMJ Director of Consecrated Life and Women's Vocations for the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

Sister Kathleen McDonagh (Catherine Ann) died Nov. 13, 2018. She was born in Dublin, Ireland, August 12, 1930, to Francis McDonagh and May Duignan. She entered the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament Congregation on Aug. 26, 1947, at age 17.

In 1956 at the invitation of Bishop Mariano Garriga, Bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi which included what is now the Diocese of Brownsville, the Missionary Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph came to Texas from Spain. 

The congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Saint-Marc (SJSM) was founded on March 3, 1845, by Father Pierre Paul Blanck (1809-1873) from Saint-Marc, France. Father Blanck had seen the results of wars that crippled 19th century France–utter poverty and unrest. It was during the chaos and turmoil that he learned to live his life according to Scriptures and to understand that every stroke of good and bad fortune is the will of God.

Sister Vimala Joseph, with the Congregation of the Sisters of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (SABS), is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her religious profession this year.

Sister Rose Paul Madassery, a Sister of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of religious profession this year. Born in Kerala, India she grew up in a very tight-knit family of nuns and priests. Her brother was her greatest inspiration. He chose to be a Franciscan Capuchin priest, and like her two aunts, she decided to join the Congregation of the Sisters of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Sister Rosa Maria Ortiz, Sister of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Corpus Christi, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her religious profession this year.

The Congregation of the Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (SABS) was officially founded on Dec. 8, 1908, by Bishop Thomas Kurialacherry in Kerala, India.

Growing up, many of my family’s summer vacations took place at the ocean. Whenever we could afford it we would head for Cape Cod, New Hampshire or Maine. As we kids splashed around in the saltwater or searched for shells, my mother loved to just sit and watch the waves crashing against the rocks. “I could stay here all day,” she’d often muse. We’d cringe at these words as we quickly grew bored and looked for the next great adventure!

The beginning of our institute marvelously highlights God’s infinite wisdom and love shown through His Divine Providence. To reflect on this divine call, it is imperative that we ponder the rich legacy, passed on to us by our predecessors, for their heroic lives laid the foundation of what we are today.

It was the Dominican sister’s joyful disposition of spreading the Word of God through good examples that inspired Sister Flaviana Macasling, OP to discern a vocation with the Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic. This year she celebrates her 45th anniversary of religious profession.

On July 14, during the seventh General Chapter of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, I professed my perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. In preparation for this long-awaited day, I have been blessed to look back and see how God’s guiding hand has placed this desire to belong totally to Him so carefully in my heart. It has truly been a gift from our heavenly Father that has grown and deepened over time.

Raymond Pendleton believed he could fulfill his Catholic obligation by only attending Sunday Mass and working at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center and Chapel as a student at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Then something unexpected happened that changed his life: He fell in love with the Church.