The Reyes family shares their faith and love for God through music

Joseph and Irene Reyes’ love for music, culture, faith, and family bolstered an entire generation of children dedicated to sharing their love for God by singing in churches throughout Corpus Christi. And sing they do —all nine members of the family belt out songs and hymns of praise and worship. They sing Tagalog and pop but mostly Christian music. They sing at home, in the car and in churches throughout Corpus Christi and Portland. 

Both Joseph and Irene were cradle Catholics whose faith deepened over time. They were born in different areas of the Philippines and raised partly in the United States, specifically Corpus Christi. Both their fathers were U.S. Navy men —which is why they happened to meet, fall in love, court, marry and raise their children in our diocese.

Irene inherited her gift from her mother, Concordia Goce, who was a gifted vocalist. At age ten, Joseph started singing in the choir at St. Paul the Apostle Church after much encouragement from his mother, Guillermina Reyes, who was very involved with their church community.

Joseph and Irene served in choirs at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Most Precious Blood Church after marriage. “We had to step away for a while because we ran out of hands to hold our three youngest during Mass. During this time, we encouraged each of our children to participate actively in the Mass from the pew,” Irene said.

Father Bob Dunn, then pastor at Most Precious Blood, “used to tease us as ours was one of the only families he knew that could fill an entire pew from end to end. True Catholics living out our faith to be fruitful and multiply,” Joseph said.

All their children attended Flour Bluff Independent School District and were encouraged to learn an instrument in the band. In retrospect, Joseph acknowledged they were strict parents but never had to schedule practice time or force any of their kids to practice. “They each recognized the gifts they were blessed with and developed their abilities individually,” he said. 

During special occasions, their children would put on a concert for them of songs they’d written. They have also been asked to perform at community events, like the Filipino-American Association and the Instituto of Cultura Hispanica. “We feel humbled and blessed by God for these wonderful and talented children,” Joseph said. “We hope one day they will put an album together for us.” 

They are like the Reyes “von Trapp family” of singers, as all of them sing, but many play one or more instruments. Mother Irene plays the piano and clarinet, the eldest, Andrew, plays the keyboard, Carissa plays the guitar, Daniel plays the trombone, and Jessica plays the piano and ukulele. Their fifth child, Nathaniel, plays the piano, acoustic and electric guitar, and ukulele; Matthew, child number six, plays the French horn and is currently improving his skills on the piano; Isabel, their youngest, plays the ukulele and piano. “She has an outstanding voice and is frequently the harmonizing backup vocalist for her older siblings,” Joseph said. They all played and sang together during Easter and Christmas Masses.

As their eldest children grew up and branched out on their own, Andrew, Carissa, Daniel and Jessica have served as music ministers at multiple parishes around the diocese. They currently serve at St. Thomas More, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Portland, and the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Newman Center chapel. The family would go to support them at one or more of the Masses they served. Still, parishioners of Most Precious Blood though, Joseph and Irene and their three youngest became part-time parishioners of the “roamin” Catholic Church.

They also sing together at special diocesan events like the “Feast of Corpus Christi,” where some of the family sang Tagalog Christian songs at the Mother Teresa Shelter, one of the stops during the eucharistic procession.
Carissa has gained most of the notoriety in the family because she is the family’s spokesperson for diocesan events. She spearheaded last year’s “Night to Adore” at Cole Park, and her brothers Andrew and Daniel played the keyboard, and trombone, respectively. She led the singing, and the rest of her family helped in one or another. They helped at the water stations, and her sisters took care of the youngest Reyes —Grace, daughter of Daniel and his wife, Angela. “Angela helped with a lot of the planning and gathering of materials. She designed our T-shirts,” Carissa said.

Nathaniel and Matthew take the reins in caring for their now 91-year-old grandpa, Irene’s father, Elpidio “Eddie” Goce, who can still accompany them to most of the events. “They have a special relationship with our grandpa,” Carissa said. “They kid with him and attend to him. It’s just so beautiful.”

“It is an honor to be able to serve him in this capacity,” Joseph said. “Our Filipino culture places a great deal of importance on being able to care for our elders. We believe that no one can care for a loved one as well as family, and we will never be able to pay back what our parents have done for us.” 

“We strive daily to live out our faith not in words but in our actions. We truly believe that our children are God’s treasured gift to us. As such, we follow God’s example as we try to provide for their needs, protect them from harm, and train them in the way they should go so they will not depart from it. Our faith and love for God are among the most important legacies we can pass on to them,” Joseph said. “Faith is not taught, it is caught. Our mission is to help as many people get to heaven.”