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Welcome to The New Messenger, your weekly archdiocesan newsletter featuring messages from Archbishop Gustavo, news briefs, event previews, and updated information. The Archdiocese of San Antonio's weekly newsletter is published every Friday morning.

Credit: Vatican Media

“Families we know by name are now afraid to come to the sacraments. Like the Good Samaritan who drew near to the wounded, we cannot walk past them,” said Archbishop Gustavo. Across our parishes, pastors describe families who long for the Eucharist on Sunday morning and remain behind closed doors out of fear. Archbishop Gustavo’s Pastoral Letter, We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration, includes a section titled, “A Time of Fear.” In this section, he names that reality with honesty and love, because the Church cannot look away, and she will not be silent. This week, read Part I, and carry these families in your daily prayer.

Young adults have been returning to the Church in what some are calling record numbers in the last couple of years. Being ready as parish leaders to welcome them is essential to young adults finding a home back in the Church, where they feel they can put down roots in our parishes. Join us as we host guest speaker, Paul Jarzembowski, associate director for the Laity at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, as he guides us in embracing the most common moments of return for young adults.

Conscience is often described as a gut feeling, something private and unexaminable. Catholic teaching says otherwise. Conscience “is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil.” A voice such as that deserves to be formed with care. In this free 90-minute session on Zoom, you will walk through the four principles at the heart of Catholic social teaching: the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity. You will not be told how to vote. You will be given a framework you can carry into every conversation, every ballot, and every act of service. Register today.

People often want to attend this Mass and hesitate, because they do not know what will be asked of them. The answer is almost nothing. You arrive. You sit where you like. There is no sign-in, no name badge, and no moment where anyone is asked to stand up and identify their loss. At one point in the liturgy, everyone present is invited to walk forward and place a single flower at the altar for the person they are remembering. Flowers will be provided. If you would rather stay in your pew and let others carry theirs, that is welcome too.

Preaching at this Mass last year, Archbishop Gustavo named what the gesture means: “Let us not define them by the way they died, but by the love they gave us.” The Remembrance Mass for Those Who Have Died by Suicide is at 6 p.m. at St. Matthew Church (directions). Come as you are, and bring whoever needs to be beside you.

Too often we treat creation as background noise, but in truth, it is a sacred symphony. Pope Leo XIV reminds us, "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters... The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty" (Psalm 29:3-4). The world is charged with divine presence, and this Season of Creation is our invitation to listen again, to let rivers, winds, birds, and stone proclaim the glory of God. Come, let the Lord sing through creation. Come, join the song. Join Archbishop Gustavo for this outdoor liturgy at Mission Espada (directions) celebrating God's creation, followed by a one-and-a-half mile pilgrimage along the San Antonio River Walk Mission Reach Trail. All are welcome.

The next quarterly gathering of the Young Adult Ministry will happen in the heart of the archdiocese at San Fernando Cathedral (directions) for Adoration, praise & worship, reconciliation, and a light dinner. All young adults (ages 18 to 39) are welcome.

Married couples, accept the Lord’s invitation: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mk 6:31). The Beyond Cana archdiocesan-wide marriage enrichment weekend at the Drury Inn & Suites at La Cantera (directions), offers two-and-a-half days of practical talks, prayer, and private time as a couple, including two date nights. Archbishop Gustavo will offer the opening prayer. The cost is $349 per couple through September 1 ($399 after the early bird deadline). The registration fee covers lodging, most meals, and materials. Scholarships are available.

One hundred years ago on August 3, 1926, Pope Pius XI canonically elevated the Diocese of San Antonio to a Metropolitan Archdiocese. San Antonio, then a frontier diocese barely 50 years old, became the mother church of a new ecclesiastical province in Texas. What Rome recognized on paper, generations of South Texas faithful had already built in adobe, limestone, and love: mission churches, parish schools, and communities of extraordinary resilience. At Nelson W. Wolff Stadium (directions) on November 7, we celebrate the century that followed. Be there when the next century begins. 

Photo: Veronica Markland for Today's Catholic Newspaper

A Mass of Thanksgiving for William McManus, recently retired Chief of Police for the City of San Antonio, was held at San Fernando Cathedral August 19, with Archbishop Gustavo serving as the presider with four priest concelebrants.

Photo: Provided

Downtown Campus Ministry at San Fernando Cathedral, in close collaboration with St. Anthony’s Catholic Student Center –– UTSA, kicked off the new academic year with Mass and a rooftop social on August 21. More than 60 college students from both UTSA campuses along with students from Texas A&M-San Antonio and local community colleges gathered for Mass at San Fernando Cathedral. Presiders at the liturgy were Father Carlos Velasquez, cathedral rector; Father Praveen Lakkisetti, archdiocesan director of Campus Ministry; Father Ed Gonzales, archdiocesan director of Vocations; and Father Guillermo Cruz Hernandez, parochial vicar at San Fernando; with assistance from Deacon Moses Castro. Following the Mass students gathered at La Sala, the rooftop venue located at the cathedral, for food, activities and fellowship. Downtown Campus Ministry at San Fernando Cathedral is a new ministry initiative in response to the growing presence of UTSA students in the downtown area. Beginning this Fall, upwards of 8,000 students are expected to attend classes in the downtown area. Many students will be attending classes in the recently opened San Pedro I and San Pedro II buildings, located along San Pedro Creek, just a short three-minute walk from San Fernando.

When you buy the commemorative book Treasures of the Archdiocesan of San Antonio you will also receive the Today's Catholic 150th anniversary magazine as an added bonus.

Don't let this opportunity slip away. Purchase your book now and take home or pass along a piece of history!

• Published by Editions du Signe | ISBN: 978-2-7468-4515-2
• 9.65” x 11.81”
• Soft cover – glossy paper – 440 pages
• Full color throughout

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