As the days of the calendar pass, and winter gives way to spring, we begin one of the great seasons of the Liturgical Year: LENT. The Church provides us with forty days to draw nearer to God, allow grace to facilitate conversion and help us grow in holiness. Some people think Lent is for giving things up. It is for giving up sin! As adults we cannot afford to do childish things like giving up candy, chocolate, gum, etc. Rather, it is a fast from our bad habits: lying, cussing, impatience, and all the other behaviors that separate us from God. It is also about praying more, visiting the sick, being mindful of the elderly around us, and being more generous to those in material need. Living Lent honestly will make Easter a truly meaningful celebration of new life, and Our Savior’s triumph on the Cross over sin and death.

CUARESMA 2012

Al ir pasando los días del calendario, y ver como el invierno cede a la primavera, empezamos una de las grandes temporadas del Año Litúrgico: la CUARESMA. La Iglesia nos proporciona cuarenta días para acercarnos a Dios, dejar que la gracia ayude a nuestra conversión para crecer más en santidad. Algunas personas creen que la Cuaresma es para dejar de hacer cosas. ¡Es para dejar de cometer pecados! Como personas adultas no podemos sencillamente dejar de comer dulces, chocolates, chicle, etc. En realidad se trata de abstenernos de nuestros malos hábitos: mentiras, maldiciones, impaciencias, y las demás cosas que nos separan de Dios. También se trata de rezar más, de visitar a las personas enfermas, estar conscientes de las personas mayores a nuestro alrededor, y ser más generosos con las personas necesitadas. Vivir la Cuaresma honestamente hará de la Pascua una verdadera celebración de nueva vida, del triunfo de Nuestro Salvador en la Cruz sobre el pecado y la muerte.

Join us Friday the 24th for a Mariachi Concert at the Basilica.

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Novenas

This past January fourth, after the 5:30 P.M. evening Mass, the Basilica Volunteers gathered at the Basilica Café for our Annual Christmas Party. Our volunteers are the Lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of Communion, Ministers of Hospitality, and Acolytes who serve all year round. They are dedicated children, adolescents, women and men who have a sincere devotion to Our Lady of San Juan del Valle and wish to serve her pilgrims.

During the course of the evening beautiful religious items from our Gift Shop were given as door prizes. It kept the evening interesting as Father Amador conducted the raffle at intervals while we were eating the delicious tamales made by the Kitchen Staff at our Café. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Volunteer of the Year Award. Earlier in the week, the members of the Worship Department of the Basilica gathered in a top secret meeting to vote on the person who most exemplified the sense of service, prayer, and devotion that should characterize our volunteers. They unanimously chose Mrs. Manuela Villescas of San Juan. Manuelita, as most people call her, or Meme as Father calls her has been serving as a Basilica Volunteer since the dedication of the Shrine in April of 1980. She is a true example to us of service and dedication. The volunteers immediately, and spontaneously, rose to give her a standing ovation. Congratulations Manuelita!

If you are interested in becoming a Basilica Volunteer, please call our Worship Department at 956.787.0033

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Lord God of time and eternity, today and tomorrow are Yours, as are the past and the future. At the end of this year, I wish to thank You for all You gave me. Thanks for life and love, for flowers, for wind and sunlight, for joy and sadness, for all that became and what was not to be. I offer to You all my actions of the past year, the work I did, and all that passed through my hands, and what I built up. I offer You all the persons I loved in these past months; new friendships and old loves, those closest to me and those further away, those who offered their hands to me and the ones I was able to help, those who shared my life, my work, my pain and joy. But, also Lord, I wish to ask pardon for lost time, for wasted money, for foolish words, and love I did not accept or did not share. Pardon my empty deeds and half hearted work, pardon my lack of enthusiasm. Pardon also those prayers I kept putting off each day until today. For my absent mindedness, neglect, and silence forgive me, Lord. As the New Year begins, and I stand before a new calendar I offer You the days to come. Today, I ask for peace and happiness, strength and prudence, clarity and wisdom for myself and those dear to me. I want to live each day with optimism and kindness, bringing to all a heart full of understanding and peace. Seal my ears off from all falsity, and my lips from lying, selfish, biting, wounding words. Instead, open my being to all that is good, and may my spirit only know blessings that can be shared along the path. Fill me with kindness and happiness so that all who live alongside me, or draw near to me may find in my life a little bit of You. Give us a happy year, and teach us to spread happiness.

AMEN.

ORACION DE FIN Y PRINCIPIO DE AÑO

Señor Dios, dueño del tiempo y de la eternidad, Tuyo es el hoy y el mañana, el pasado y el futuro. Al terminar este año quiero darte gracias por todo aquello que recibí de Tí. Gracias por la vida y el amor, por las flores, el aire y el sol, por la alegría y el dolor, por cuanto fue posible y por lo que no pudo ser. Te ofrezco cuanto hice en este año, el trabajo que pude realizar y las cosas que pasaron por mis manos y lo que con ellas pude construír. Te presento a las personas que a lo largo de estos meses amé; las amistades nuevas y los antiguos amores, los más cercanos a mí y los que están más lejos, quienes me dieron su mano y a quienes pude ayudar, con quienes compartí la vida, el trabajo, el dolor y la alegría. Pero también, Señor, hoy quiero pedir perdón, perdón por el tiempo perdido, por el dinero mal- gastado, por la palabra inútil y el amor desperdiciado. Perdón por las obras vacias y por el trabajo mal hecho, y perdón por vivir sin entusiasmo. También por la oración que poco a poco fuí aplazando y que hasta ahora vengo a presentarte. Por todos mis olvidos, descuidos y silencios, nuevamente te pido perdón. Al iniciar un año nuevo detengo mi vida ante el nuevo calendario, y te presento esos días. Hoy te pido paz y alegría para mí y los míos, fuerza y prudencia, claridad y sabiduria. Quiero vivir cada día con optimismo y bondad llevando a todas partes un corazón lleno de comprensión y paz. Cierra Tú mis oídos a toda falsedad y mis labios a palabras mentirosas, egoístas, mordaces e hirientes. Abre, en cambio, mi ser a todo lo bueno, y que mi espíritu se llene sólo de bendiciones y las derrame a mi paso. Cólmame de bondad y de alegría para que cuantos y cuantas conviven conmigo ó se acerquen a mí encuentren en mi vida un poquito de Tí. Danos un año feliz y enseñanos a repartir felicidad.

AMEN.

We, at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan, want to wish you a very Merry Christmas. We had truly beautiful celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and we wanted to share with you some of those moments. At 5:30 PM Christmas Eve and 11:00 AM Christmas Day, we had a Children’s Masses that were absolutely joyful. Indeed, Christmas is for the child in all of us!

At Midnight Mass we had the honor and pleasure of Bishop Daniel E. Flores presiding at our Eucharistic Celebration, and his words touched our hearts as he spoke about God’s great love for humankind. We had great crowds of pilgrims all day long, and after being very tired…all of us priests, Worship Staff, Security Guards, God decided to surprise us and sent us at least 3,000 people to our 5:30 PM Evening Mass. Inside the Basilica it was standing room only, walking down the hallways and corridors was difficult. God is so good to us! Crowds and crowds stood around our Nacimiento to take pictures of their children, and family groupings. And our Virgencita looked so very pretty in a white dress and red cape presiding over the whole scene. We hope that you can visit before Epiphany to see the beauty of our decorations in honor of Emmanuel, Wonderful-Counselor, Prince of Peace, the Messiah and Christ.

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Novenas

On Wednesday afternoon, November second Bishop Daniel E. Flores and our Rector Fr. Amador Garza welcomed guests to the official ribbon cutting ceremony for the Basilica Hotel. Our special guests were a group of tour operators from Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Lubbock who have been bringing pilgrims to the Basilica for years and years. Also present were Basilica Board members, Basilica Staff, San Juan city officials, and RGV Hispanic Chamber of Commerce representatives. The Hotel has recently gone through a $1 million dollar face lift. After the official ribbon cutting and blessing, HEB Trenton in McAllen graciously provided cheese and olive platters, and wine for a small reception. The Basilica café prepared delicious fruit trays, veggie trays, and chocolate covered strawberries.

After the festivities the visiting tour operators were hosted by Fr. Amador, Pablo Villescas, and Sister Rose Carmel Garay at a private dinner.

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