The Passing of a Dear and Blessed Friend

A small group of close friends, gathered around the bedside of our dear friend Bishop Francisco Garmendia knowing it would not be long before he would leave us. What can you do or what can you say?  He had already passed into that area of what is often referred to as the “Vestibule of Heaven.”  It was sad. He had been ill for over 4 years. His memory would fail him at times but not his faith and deep love of Our Blessed Mother. The Rosary was his companion as it had been all his life. Each of us remembered him from other days. To all, he was a shepherd, pastor, teacher and friend.

Then an unexpected friend arrived. The beautiful worldwide traveling statue of Our Lady of Fatima which had come to Rosary Hill Chapel on the same day November 14th and was scheduled to leave in 4 hours. Before leaving however, She was brought down to visit Bishop. All knew of Bishop’s total devotion to our Lady, His Episcopal motto was “I am all Thine My Queen and My Mother and all that I have is Thine.” They knew each other well.

The statue was placed close to the bed and Our Lady looked down on him. She had on a beautiful jewel studded cape of white satin. The Dominican Sisters in their white habits accompanied Her and sang the beautiful “Salve Regina.” How could we be mournful, He was on the last lap of the journey and Our Lady came to tell us She would take care of him now, no need to worry.

On Tuesday, his condition remained somewhat the same however Sr. Helen Winters decided to stay with him throughout the night. Early on the 16th Sr. Kevin called to say that his breathing had changed and she did not expect him to last the day. When Tommy Terci and I arrived about 9:30 a.m. other friends were already there. Arlene Vega who moved to Panama last year was in Florida to attend a wedding the previous weekend and decided spontaneously to come to NY to visit him unaware of his critical condition He passed away quietly at 11:10 a.m. The entire Church was represented at his bedside. Sisters, Seminarians, priests and laity. All the Bishops were in Conference in Washington. Bishop Iriondo returned home immediately on hearing the news. Bishop’s sister, brother in law, nephew and 2 nieces arrived from Spain the following day.

The wake at St Thomas Aquinas was beautiful. There was such an outpouring of love displayed by his people as they came to him crying and carrying their Rosaries. He was their Monsenor and he had come home to them. The kitchen was in a flurry. All were welcome to come and eat. The Rosary was being prayed continually at the coffin. In the evening, the church was filled wall to wall at the Mass of the Eucharist. When it came time to close the church, close friends offered to stay the night and Fr. Nieto agreed.

On Tuesday, the Mass was held at St. Patrick’s. Cathedral and here again was a gift from Our Lady. Prior to the Mass, Bishop Iriondo spotted Mm. Ervita Granda, who works at Rosary Hill in the Housekeeping Department and asked her to read the Prayer of the Faithful in Spanish at the Mass. She was very close to Bishop. She was able to speak to him in Spanish and did so, oftentimes consoling him or at other times, he consoling her. Never could she have dreamed of speaking from the pulpit of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Bishop was laid to rest at Our Lady of Peace Mausoleum at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. Valhalla, New York. We thank God for the privilege of knowing him and ask him to intercede for us who are still on the journey. He was and will always be our Shepherd, spiritual father, teacher and friend.

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to have shared in a minute way the ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. We have watched their care of the dying, their hospitality to the families, their love for the Lord, the poor and the dying. All who enter the Home speak of the atmosphere of peace and love that pervades. It is a credit to their Foundress Rose Hawthorne, daughter of the noted author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Pray that they may receive many vocations.

~ Friends of Bishop Garmendia

Bishop Francisco Garmendia Ayestarán †

Bishop Francisco Garmendia

6  Nov 1924 –  Born Lazcano, Spain
29 Jun 1947 –  Ordained Priest Priest of Canons Regular of the Congregation of the Most Holy Saviour of the Lateran

Parish of St Thomas Aquinas: Date of Installation: November 26, 1976

Auxiliary Bishop of New York: Date of Installation: June 29, 1977

Vicar of the South Bronx: Date of Installation: January 1, 1986

30 Oct 2001 –  Retired Auxiliary Bishop of New York, New York, USA

16 Nov 2005 –  Died Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of New York, New York, USA

Parish Groups

a) Legion of Mary
“Aurora Naciente Praesidium” (1977) Adult
“Madre Del Resucitado” (1988) Adult
“Rosario Viviente Praesidium: (1988) Youth
b) Charismatics (Spanish) (1978)
c) Charismatics (English) (1978)
d) Neo-Chatecumenate (1988)
e) Alcoholics Anonymous (1988)
f) Narcotics Anonymous (1989)
g) Association of the Families of Drug Addicts (1990)
h) Children of Mary (1967)
i) People for Change (1986)
j) Spanish Choir (1980)
k) Hope Line (1989)
l) Youth Group (1980)
m) Charismatics (Children’s Group) (1988)

***

Parish Activities – Ministries
a) Parish Council (1989)
b) Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist (1985)
c) Lectors (1985)
d) Ushers (1977)
e) Baptismal Instructions (1987)
f) Finance Committee (1988)
g) Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (1987)
h) Perpetual Rosary (1987)
i) Confirmation Classes (1990)
j) R.C.I.A. Religious Instruction (Spanish) (1987)
k) R.C.I.A. Religious Instruction (Engish) (1987)
l) Religious Instriction for Every Classin the School of the Parish
m) Procession with the Blessed Sacrament thorugh the streets of the Parish
n) Procession with the Statue of the Blessed Virgin through the streets of the Parish
o) Housing
p) Pantry
q) Good Friday Procession

Gentleman, Priest and Bishop

by Mario De Jesus Paredes
Executive Director of the Northeast Hispanic Catholic Center
(May 1977)

I approach the person of Bishop Francisco Garmendia with admiration, awe and deep-seated appreciation. Admiration for the witness of his own exemplary life. Awe of the piety and holiness that has shone forth in fifty years of his priesthood and twenty year of his life as a bishop. And deep-seated appreciation for the gift of his unremitting friendship and the special concern he has had for me personally, for my work at the Northeast Hispanic Catholic Center, and for my affiliation with his work, especially at the Hope Line, where I have been able to collaborate so closely with him.

The admiration, awe and appreciation I have for Bishop Garmendia corresponds to the three-fold reality that sums up his life, for I see in him the shining example of a gentleman, a priest and a bishop. The first characteristic that arises from within this strong yet loving and gentle personality is his gentlemanliness. His imbedded nobility, rooted in his Basque heritage, with all the strength this implies, makes him open in his dealings, sincere in his loyalty, upright in his work and assiduous in his life, leaving no room for either wasting time or mediocrity.

Bishop Garmendia is truly a Basque gentleman, from the same stock that produced Ignatius Loyola. He is incapable of betrayal; he speaks without duplicity and lives with a spirit of service. All this he chose to dedicate from his youth to “the Eternal Lord,” as his countryman Ignatius, refers to him in that well-known meditation on the Two Standards. Surely Bishop Garmendia, in all that he has chosen to do, has honored the proud nobility of his Basque people and had done so with no presumption and without the slightest trace of pride. With complete independence, neither yielding not halting, he follows only the voice of his conscience and the deep commitment of his life.

Thank you very much, Bishop Garmendia, for the witness you have given us of a truly Christian gentleman. It is difficult to find such a genuine and Christian human being these days.

Bishop Garmendia is a priest with all this means of dedication and service in the Catholic Church. In those fifty years that have gone by since his ordination in Vitoria, the beautiful capital of Basque country and of the Province of Alava, he has maintained the desire to live his life in imitation of Christ, priest and king.

There radiates from the depths of Bishop Garmendia his priestly vocation – sacerdos propter sacrificium – a priest who lives for sacrifice. Above all Bishop Garmendia is a prayerful man, deeply dedicated to the Eucharist and a true son of Mary. His liturgical life, grounded, I would think, in a personal asceticism, is so carefully woven into the fabric of his daily life that he wants to be an instrument of grace and salvation in spite of the weight of sin which results from our weak human nature.

There resonates from the heart of Bishop Garmendia in the cry of St. Paul: “I am ruined if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor 9-76). For this reason he has taken on a prophetic role especially in his work as catechist. He know how to decry evil with courage, as in his defense of the right to life of the child in its mother’s womb. He knows how to take on the cause of immigrants and of the poor. But, above all, he has always proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord and the Good News of his kingdom; he has shown Christ in the saving mystery of the cross.

Bishop Garmendia understands the meaning and value of the social and charitable life of the Church. He has lived its social doctrine and been a true promoter of genuine Christian liberation with neither stridency not ideological aberrations. As Pope Paul IV would say, to love and serve the poor, he has not his to go to extremes, he has merely chosen the radical call of the Gospel.

Twenty years ago he was ordained a bishop, the first Hispanic bishop in the archdiocese. He has served loyally as auxiliary bishop to Cardinals Cooke and O’Connor.  It is not an easy task but one which he has carried out with dignity, magnanimity and a humility that edifies and captures our attention.

Bishop Garmendia knows how to be discreet and effective. Many have not understood his humble ways or his low-key way of greeting things done. Yet he has abundantly fulfilled the commitment of his consecration as a bishop.

Thank you very much, Bishop Garmendia, for your life and priestly ministry, for the Masses and sacraments you celebrate, for your simple and popular preaching and for your love of those in need, especially Hispanic migrants.

Bishop Garmendia has been a friend and father to priests, concerned for them and in particular for their spiritual life and their growth in holiness. I don’t think there has ever been a priest who came to him who was turned away. He has been close to so many, especially those who are sick, for he knows how to inspire, to heal wounded spirits and to be with them. He has been a true shepherd of his flock, a real father-of the poor and of migrants. He has been a defender of family life and an initiator of apostolic movements. He has encouraged the religious customs of the people (popular religiosity) and has urged and supported vocations both to the priesthood and to consecrated religious life.

Bishop Garmendia has certainly been a bishop with vision, a proponent of the pastoral use of the media, of “the modern areopagites” (Acts 17:34), as Pope John Paul II calls them. And he has created meaningful social works, the most outstanding of which is the Hope Line. As bishop he has been courageous and fearless, when necessary, in defending just causes.

Thank you very much, Bishop Garmendia, for the richness of your life as a bishop and all that this has meant for us. As a successor of the apostles, your Excellency has done honor to “the imposition of the hands” and has shown us a bishop can be a pontifex -a bridge-builder- between God and us in the midst of the complexities here in our beloved New York and given the particular conditions that exist in the Bronx.

Thank you, Bishop Garrnendia, for your 73 years as a christian gentleman, for your 50 years as a faithful priest and your 20 years as an exemplary Bishop.

Homily for the Ordination of Three Bishops

FEAST OF SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL June 29, 1977

Homily for the Ordination of Three Bishops
The Most Rev. Francisco Garmendia, D.D.
The Most Rev. Theodore E. McCarrick, Ph.D., D.D.
The Most Rev. Austin B. Vaughan, S.T.D., D.D.

HOMILY – FEAST OF STS. PETER AND PAUL – ORDINATION OF BISHOPS – JUNE 29, 1977
by Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, O.F.M. Cap. Director of the Office for Spiritual Development – New York Archdiocese

Today, we celebrate the feast of two men who more than any others in the New Testament proclaimed their unworthiness and, who more than any others, made it clear that all they had received was a gift from God to be used for His glory in Christ Jesus. In fact, Peter is the only person in the Gospels to explicitly confess to Jesus that he is a sinful man; while Paul states clearly that he is not even worthy to be an apostle. Today, as we come together to celebrate the bestowal of spiritual gifts on these three priests and on the Church of New York through their ordination to the order of bishop, it is most appropriate for us to mediate on the gospel text for this feast day to learn more deeply the power of the humble confession of faith in the performance of the work of salvation.

The humble fisherman who has confessed “Depart from me for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8) hears the Lord not only proclaim him to be the rock and foundation stone of the Church, but he is also told that his faith in Jesus as the Messiah is a gift from the Heavenly Father. He can take no credit for his faith yet he receives blessings for himself and for the whole church because of his faith.

The significance of this confession and of the response of Christ is brought out by St. Augustine who writes “To Peter alone, was it given to play the part of the whole Church…for it was not one man but the unity of the Church which received those keys. By this fact the pre-eminence of Peter was proclaimed in that he was the figure of the very universality and unity of the Church”… (Serm CCXCV). But Peter was told to be more than a rock, more than, as it were, a static foundation to preserve the truth of revelation against the forces of hell. He was told that he must fulfill the more dynamic roles of binding and loosing, of feeding the flock, of strengthening his brethren and with them of carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

But Peter receives these gifts amidst constant reminders of his own personal weakness, of his complete dependency on Christ for salvation. “Remember, Satan has asked for you that he might sift you as wheat but I have prayed for you that your faith may never fail. You, in turn, must strengthen your brothers” (John 22:21). Even when the pastoral office is in all finality bestowed upon Peter by the Risen Lord, “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep,” it is done in the context of the remembrance of Peter’s denial.

And so the office of Chief Bishop and Pastor of the church is first promised and then conferred amid confession of weakness and contrition for sin. How well is this summed up by Paul when he teaches that “this power is made perfect in weakness.” This is not some neat rhetorical abstraction; it is real. Peter had looked with need and repentance to Jesus so often and the look of Jesus had been strength and salvation for him and for the Church.

Moreover, there was that very poignant incident in Peter’s life when it was written that “the Lord looked on him and he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:54-62). St. Augustine writes that “his going out is his confession that he wept bitterly because he knew what it meant to love. He had been bitter with grief but soon there was sweetness,” the sweetness of the loving forgiveness of the Risen Lord followed him.

Today, the office given to the Church and especially to the bishops of the Church through Peter and the apostles is given to these three priests. It is given at a very crucial period of Church history. They, like Peter and the Apostles and the bishops down through the ages, are to be solid foundations for the unchanging dogmas of Christ and the Church. They are to confirm us their brethren in these tunes when many things grow old and change, when new things as well as old, must be brought out of the household closet of the Church. They must feed us the lambs and sheep of Christ with the spiritual food which so many desperately crave in our own highly materialistic and neo-pagan culture. They must go out with compassion to those who are like sheep without a shepherd. The times in which these three men will serve in the office of bishop are times of crisis in so many ways that we do not have time to elaborate them. But every crisis in the history of the Church has offered new opportunities for growth and new testimony to the power of the grace of Christ, as the crises in the work of Peter and Paul have manifested the great things these men were to do in His Name. Do not be without hope.

The painful crisis of our times could well result in the providential healing of the wounds of the Church through Christian reunion. The crisis may lead to a more profound affirmation of the Incarnation and Redemption in contrast to the melancholy skepticism of modern thought. The serious social problems of our age are already providing the church with new and meaningful opportunities for the proclamation of justice and peace founded on the teaching of the gospel. The crisis in moral teaching so confusing to many may shock those who have strayed from the law of the Lord into a heartfelt and profound confession that the peace of Christ is only given to those who obey the commandments.

The possibilities and crises of these times together bring forth great responsibilities. These responsibilities were clearly summed up for bishops in the recent statement of the Holy Father for the American Bishops attending the canonization of St. John Neumann. “The faithful preaching of the word of God, in all its purity, with all its exigencies, in all its power, constitutes the highest priority of our ministry.” Let Peter remind us and Paul proclaim to us that only in humble confession and in complete reliance on the Father and on the power of Christ’s intercession in the Church can you do anything. On one hand, “without Me you can do nothing,” on the other hand, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens Me.”

Dear Theodore, Austin and Francis, today, we all say to you, grow in holiness and humility like Peter and Paul the rest of your days, so that you may be truly fishers of men in our own times; so that you may be rocks of solid doctrine keeping alive and safe the revelation of Christ and the sacred tradition of the Church; so that you may bind and loose for us in our moral lives in this confused and worldly age; so that you may confirm your brothers in hours of trial and moments of shaken faith; so that you may feed the lambs and “sheep that we may not be like sheep without a shepherd.

Keep your eyes always fixed on Jesus; with Peter and Paul, so that the work of Christ may be done in our days, and so that eventually Paul’s vision of the work of the Church be fulfilled; “All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image by the Lord who is the Spirit.”  (3 Cor. 3:18).

Queridos Theodore, Austin y Francisco, hoy, todos de nosotros les decimos: Cresca en santidad y humildad como Pedro y Pablo; para que sean verdaderamente pescadores do los hombres en nuestros tiempos; para que sean piedras de una fe viva; para que puedan fortalecer la fe de tus hermanos en momentos de tentación y prueba; para que puedan cuidar los corderos.
Levanten la mirada hacia Jesus, del cual viene muestra fe, para que la obra de Cristo sea cumplida en nuestros dias y para que la vision de San Pablo de la obra de la Iglesia también sea cumplida; “Por eso todos nosotros andamos con el rostro descubierto, reflejando como un espejo la gloria del Señor, y nos vamos transformando en imagen suya mas y mas resplandeciente, por la acción del Señor, que es espiritu.”

NOTE: I wish to express my thanks to Father Richard Adams, Spiritual Director of St. Joseph’s Seminary for his assistance with the English and Spanish texts of this homily.

Father Benedict Joseph Groeschel, O.F.M.Cap,

Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms

The colors on the shield represent the flag of the Basque Province of Spain.
The shield is horizontally divided into three parts. The upper section red, the center white, and the lower green. Since the Bishop’s family both maternal and paternal parents are from this area of Spain, it is important on his coat of arms to commemorate this beautiful section of their native country.

In the upper partition of the shield the Cantabrian Mountains and the Bay of Biscay which identify this Province are depicted.
In the upper left corner is a gold star which is the symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary to whom the Bishop has a special devotion.

In the center there is an open book which in heraldry designates learning. The Bishop has spent years in education; thus this book, tinctured in blue with is the heraldic color of Our Lady is indicative of the Bishop’s dedication to this field of culture.

In the lower section there is an inverted crescent gold and black checky from the coat of arms of St. Francis Xavier who is the baptismal patron of the Bishop.
The motto is, “I am all thine, my queen and my mother.”

His Excellency
The Most Reverend Francisco Garmendia, D.D.
Titular Bishop of Limuisa
Auxiliary Bishop of New York

Homily for the Ordination of Three Bishops

FEAST OF SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL June 29, 1977

Homily for the Ordination of Three Bishops
The Most Rev. Francisco Garmendia, D.D.
The Most Rev. Theodore E. McCarrick, Ph.D., D.D.
The Most Rev. Austin B. Vaughan, S.T.D., D.D.

HOMILY – FEAST OF STS. PETER AND PAUL – ORDINATION OF BISHOPS – JUNE 29, 1977
by Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, O.F.M. Cap. Director of the Office for Spiritual Development – New York Archdiocese

Today, we celebrate the feast of two men who more than any others in the New Testament proclaimed their unworthiness and, who more than any others, made it clear that all they had received was a gift from God to be used for His glory in Christ Jesus. In fact, Peter is the only person in the Gospels to explicitly confess to Jesus that he is a sinful man; while Paul states clearly that he is not even worthy to be an apostle. Today, as we come together to celebrate the bestowal of spiritual gifts on these three priests and on the Church of New York through their ordination to the order of bishop, it is most appropriate for us to mediate on the gospel text for this feast day to learn more deeply the power of the humble confession of faith in the performance of the work of salvation.

The humble fisherman who has confessed “Depart from me for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8) hears the Lord not only proclaim him to be the rock and foundation stone of the Church, but he is also told that his faith in Jesus as the Messiah is a gift from the Heavenly Father. He can take no credit for his faith yet he receives blessings for himself and for the whole church because of his faith.

The significance of this confession and of the response of Christ is brought out by St. Augustine who writes “To Peter alone, was it given to play the part of the whole Church…for it was not one man but the unity of the Church which received those keys. By this fact the pre-eminence of Peter was proclaimed in that he was the figure of the very universality and unity of the Church”… (Serm CCXCV). But Peter was told to be more than a rock, more than, as it were, a static foundation to preserve the truth of revelation against the forces of hell. He was told that he must fulfill the more dynamic roles of binding and loosing, of feeding the flock, of strengthening his brethren and with them of carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

But Peter receives these gifts amidst constant reminders of his own personal weakness, of his complete dependency on Christ for salvation. “Remember, Satan has asked for you that he might sift you as wheat but I have prayed for you that your faith may never fail. You, in turn, must strengthen your brothers” (John 22:21). Even when the pastoral office is in all finality bestowed upon Peter by the Risen Lord, “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep,” it is done in the context of the remembrance of Peter’s denial.

And so the office of Chief Bishop and Pastor of the church is first promised and then conferred amid confession of weakness and contrition for sin. How well is this summed up by Paul when he teaches that “this power is made perfect in weakness.” This is not some neat rhetorical abstraction; it is real. Peter had looked with need and repentance to Jesus so often and the look of Jesus had been strength and salvation for him and for the Church.

Moreover, there was that very poignant incident in Peter’s life when it was written that “the Lord looked on him and he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:54-62). St. Augustine writes that “his going out is his confession that he wept bitterly because he knew what it meant to love. He had been bitter with grief but soon there was sweetness,” the sweetness of the loving forgiveness of the Risen Lord followed him.

Today, the office given to the Church and especially to the bishops of the Church through Peter and the apostles is given to these three priests. It is given at a very crucial period of Church history. They, like Peter and the Apostles and the bishops down through the ages, are to be solid foundations for the unchanging dogmas of Christ and the Church. They are to confirm us their brethren in these tunes when many things grow old and change, when new things as well as old, must be brought out of the household closet of the Church. They must feed us the lambs and sheep of Christ with the spiritual food which so many desperately crave in our own highly materialistic and neo-pagan culture. They must go out with compassion to those who are like sheep without a shepherd. The times in which these three men will serve in the office of bishop are times of crisis in so many ways that we do not have time to elaborate them. But every crisis in the history of the Church has offered new opportunities for growth and new testimony to the power of the grace of Christ, as the crises in the work of Peter and Paul have manifested the great things these men were to do in His Name. Do not be without hope.

The painful crisis of our times could well result in the providential healing of the wounds of the Church through Christian reunion. The crisis may lead to a more profound affirmation of the Incarnation and Redemption in contrast to the melancholy skepticism of modern thought. The serious social problems of our age are already providing the church with new and meaningful opportunities for the proclamation of justice and peace founded on the teaching of the gospel. The crisis in moral teaching so confusing to many may shock those who have strayed from the law of the Lord into a heartfelt and profound confession that the peace of Christ is only given to those who obey the commandments.

The possibilities and crises of these times together bring forth great responsibilities. These responsibilities were clearly summed up for bishops in the recent statement of the Holy Father for the American Bishops attending the canonization of St. John Neumann. “The faithful preaching of the word of God, in all its purity, with all its exigencies, in all its power, constitutes the highest priority of our ministry.” Let Peter remind us and Paul proclaim to us that only in humble confession and in complete reliance on the Father and on the power of Christ’s intercession in the Church can you do anything. On one hand, “without Me you can do nothing,” on the other hand, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens Me.”

Dear Theodore, Austin and Francis, today, we all say to you, grow in holiness and humility like Peter and Paul the rest of your days, so that you may be truly fishers of men in our own times; so that you may be rocks of solid doctrine keeping alive and safe the revelation of Christ and the sacred tradition of the Church; so that you may bind and loose for us in our moral lives in this confused and worldly age; so that you may confirm your brothers in hours of trial and moments of shaken faith; so that you may feed the lambs and “sheep that we may not be like sheep without a shepherd.

Keep your eyes always fixed on Jesus; with Peter and Paul, so that the work of Christ may be done in our days, and so that eventually Paul’s vision of the work of the Church be fulfilled; “All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image by the Lord who is the Spirit.”  (3 Cor. 3:18).

Queridos Theodore, Austin y Francisco, hoy, todos de nosotros les decimos: Cresca en santidad y humildad como Pedro y Pablo; para que sean verdaderamente pescadores do los hombres en nuestros tiempos; para que sean piedras de una fe viva; para que puedan fortalecer la fe de tus hermanos en momentos de tentación y prueba; para que puedan cuidar los corderos.
Levanten la mirada hacia Jesus, del cual viene muestra fe, para que la obra de Cristo sea cumplida en nuestros dias y para que la vision de San Pablo de la obra de la Iglesia también sea cumplida; “Por eso todos nosotros andamos con el rostro descubierto, reflejando como un espejo la gloria del Señor, y nos vamos transformando en imagen suya mas y mas resplandeciente, por la acción del Señor, que es espiritu.”

NOTE: I wish to express my thanks to Father Richard Adams, Spiritual Director of St. Joseph’s Seminary for his assistance with the English and Spanish texts of this homily.

Father Benedict Joseph Groeschel, O.F.M.Cap,

World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life

This news clip and photo from the Catholic New York celebrate the prayerful life Bishop Garmendia led.