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On Monday, February 12, we officially kicked off the planning for the San Antonio annual Gala fundraiser in favor of the houses of formation. The joyful meeting took place at the Theologate Community house. The meeting began with the celebration of the Eucharist, presided by Fr. Domenico Di Raimondo, the local superior. In the homily he expressed how the service of the planning committee brings to life Jesus teaching: “whatever you did for one of these least brothers [or sisters] of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).

The meeting was coordinated by Mrs. Margarita Ochoa-Smith, leader of the committee, with 7 other members of the committee also present. We were also joined by the Postulancy community. The event will take place on September 21, 2024, at Holy Trinity Parish in San Antonio, so please mark you calendars! The theme of the event will be A Masquerade Gala Dinner and Concert.

On February 11, our beloved sisters, the Oblates of Jesus the Priest celebrated the centennial anniversary of their foundation. They gave thanks to God with the celebration of the Eucharist at the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, presided by Rev. Fr. Gregory Sakowicz. Fr. Pedro Arteaga and Br. Lucio Galicia were able to accompany our sisters with their fraternal presence.

There was a reception after the Eucharist in which many of the bishops and priests expressed their affection and gratitude for our Sisters, sharing how they have been an important part of their vocational journey and ministry through their service, support and prayers. Two children made a presentation about the founders, Ven. Fr. Felix de Jesús Rougier and Sr. María Isabel Padilla. May God continue to bless our sisters in their beautiful service to the Church and grant them many, holy vocations.

Fr. Pedro Arteaga, MSpS and Fr. Alexandro Rubio, MSpS had the blessing to participate in the CMSM (Conference of Major Superiors of Men) Winter Gathering in Houston, TX from January 23-25 at the Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center. This annual gathering is geared toward creating a space for reflection and the interchange of knowledge and wisdom among the major superiors. The central topics of this gathering were: pastoral planning for an aging institute, vocations, and excessive workload. Despite the seriousness of the topics and the difficult realities that the leaderships teams face, there was a beautiful and inspiring sense of hope and joy in the sharing. There is a beautiful fraternity among the members of the conference; and these gatherings give us an opportunity to support each others both spiritually and in very practical ways. In the daily celebration of the Eucharist and prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, we were able to contextualize our work and reflection under the loving embrace of the Our Lord, the one who has called us.

The content of the gathering is structured around a case study for each of the topics, presented by one of the conference attendees. For this year’s gathering, Fr. Pedro was invited to give the spiritual reflections that follow each of the case study presentations and discussions. Fr. Pedro’s reflections were very well received and appreciated by the participants.

Although it is always a bit of a sacrifice to make these trips and participate in these events, it was a blessing to be there, both for what we received and what we were able to share with our brother major superiors.