FEBRUARY 25, 2025 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
ANNUAL REPORT
Youth, priest and worship ministry draw focus in 2024
A SHEPHERD’S MESSAGE
Cardinal DiNardo reflects on the Lenten season ▪ SEE PAGE 2
▪ SEE CENTER
texas catholic herald 1
STEPS FOR STUDENTS MARKS BANNER YEAR Race celebrates Catholic education, legacy ▪ SEE PAGE 4 & 5
Celebrating 60 years of Catholic news in Texas FEBRUARY 25, 2025
Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
FAITH ALIVE
E M B R AC I N G L E N T
Hope in the Cross: A Lenten experience BY ERIN O’LEARY Special to the Herald
Lent gets its name from a word meaning “springtime,” the time of year when the hours of daylight are lengthening and the sun is bringing back its warmth and light. The Lenten season, indeed all of springtime, is a time of hope: We deepen our relationship with Christ through our Lenten disciplines and look to His crucifixion, death and resurrection to overcome the darkness that can cause us to struggle and despair. Some days, we may not feel the love of God that is always present, but we can rely on hope to move us forward in faith, especially in the 2025 Jubilee Year, in which Pope Francis gave the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” Exercise hope this Lent and find renewal for the coming Easter season, where we celebrate Christ’s joyful resurrection. Hope is a theological virtue, a gift from God that helps us act as His children. Received at Baptism, hope gives us confidence and inspiration as we look forward to heaven and salvation. Hope allows us to move forward in faith even in the most doubtful or difficult times. Hope can help us feel secure even in the midst of our own failings or the injustices we see in the world around us. St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Hope denotes a movement or a stretching forth of the appetite toward an arduous good.” In other words, we are reaching for the goodness of God when we exercise hope — even when it isn’t See LENT, page 8
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Rice Bowl program marks 50 years of working to end global hunger Iconic CRS cardboard box brings change worldwide HOUSTON — As Catholic Relief Services‘ (CRS) Rice Bowl program celebrates its 50th year of funding hunger and poverty alleviation efforts around the world, this Lent, calling on Catholics across the country to show their love for sisters and brothers around the world by participating in the annual Lenten project. The program, which is supported by more than 12,000 Catholic parishes and schools across the U.S., has raised more than $350 million since its inception. “For half a century, CRS Rice Bowl has been a pillar of our work,” said Sean Callahan, CRS president and CEO. “It has given hope to millions of our sisters and brothers experiencing hunger. We are humbled by the generous support that Catholics across the U.S. have shown for CRS Rice Bowl and for See RICE BOWL, page 3
VOCATIONS PRESENT! 40 MEN OF SERVICE AND CHARITY ORDAINED TO PERMANENT DIACONATE
Cardinal DiNardo ordains 40 men to the Permanent Diaconate in service of the Church ▪ SEE PAGES 6 & 7
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