‘It’s not about you, it’s about the Gospel’ South Texas Catholic

Father James Vasquez

Ervey Martinez, South Texas Catholic
 

The annual event is hosted by the Knights of Columbus also featured the vocation stories of Sister Delphine Alpinjoh, SSA and Deacon Amando Leal.  The Knights also presented a check to the Diocese of Corpus Christi, accepted by Bishop Michael Mulvey, in the amount of $34,505.06. Bishop Mulvey in turn gifted the check to Sister Milagros Tormo, MJMJ for use in serving children at The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth.

Father Vasquez’s vocation has been anything but boring. The pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Aransas Pass went on to say that “whenever God asks, he gives.” He started thinking of becoming a priest at the age of 13 but “constantly went back and forth.” He could see himself married with 10 or 12 kids living on a ranch. He made lists of why he should be a priest and why he should not. The list always came out in a draw. He thought he would not be able to speak in front of people, was not a very social person and felt he was not especially gifted in academics.

Still, the desire to serve the Church and the poor, kept drawing him to the priesthood. He finally came to the realization that discernment is not a decision-making process; it is to distinguish, to separate out. He recalled asking his spiritual director about his conundrum, and the response was “Get over yourself James, it’s not about you, it’s about the Gospel.” 

“All the things that I cannot do well, God does them,” Father Vasquez said. “Whenever he asks something he will provide. He will give us the grace to fulfill the vocation he is calling us to.”

Father Vasquez added “we need renewal on a regular basis. We need to apply the Gospel to the situation of our communities, to our time, to our society. We do not have to make the Gospel relevant, but we do need to show its relevance to the world we live in. It is all there. God has given us all the pieces. When he asks for something...he has already given us everything we need to do what he asks us to do.”

Father Vasquez pointed out that he could not forgive sin and he cannot baptize, but he can be God’s instrument. “It is God who forgives, it is God who baptizes,” Father James said. “I do not have wisdom, I cannot take away the pain in someone’s life, but I will be Christ for that person at that time, so God does. God has chosen me to be his instrument.”

The boy who thought he was not particularly smart enough to be a priest, was ordained in 2006 and went on to teach seminarians at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving. Before that he served as Director of Family Life for the Diocese of Corpus Christi and after returning from his teaching assignment he went on to be a parish priest, doing all those things he thought he could not do.

Sister Delphine Alpinjoh, SSA Ervey Martinez, South Texas Catholic

Sister Delphine, who hails from Cameroon in Central Africa, said she comes from a family of seven whose parents were dedicated to their faith. Still, when she first decided to enter religious life her father and mother were not supportive. They later came around when they realized she was serious. 

She was educated in Catholic schools, but eventually found herself surrounded by a bad group of friends, with whom she did not want to be identified and began to seriously think about religious life. 

Still, her interest in religious life was not compelling. She went to three vocations camps and finally found an order that appealed to her—the Sisters of St. Ann. They displayed the spirit of joy that she was searching for and wanted in her life.

“My vocation is the providence of God,” Sister Delphine said. Sister Delphine ministers at Most Precious Blood Parish in Corpus Christi.

Deacon Amando Leal Ervey Martinez, South Texas Catholic

Like Sister Delphine, Deacon Leal came from a very supportive Catholic family and attended Catholic schools through the eighth grade. He worked for the City of Corpus Christi for 23 years and while he had opportunities at his job to help those in need, the city precluded prayer, which he yearned for. With the support of his wife Criselda, he retired from the city and went back to school to prepare for a profession that would give him the opportunity to serve and allow him to pursue his needs to be faithful to his Church. 

He soon got two job offers, but accepted one from CHRISTUS Spohn “because they had a chapel.” Eventually, he was called to be an Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Communion and was accepted into the diaconate program. He was ordained in November 2016 and was assigned to Corpus Christi Cathedral.

Bishop Mulvey thanked the three keynote speakers, as well as those in attendance for “coming together as a diocese” to help build up the people of God. “Working together, we build up the diocese. We cannot be Christians alone, it is God and us,” Bishop Mulvey said. 

The bishop relayed the story of Blessed Stanley Rother who is the first recognized martyr in the United States, and the first priest born in the United States to be beatified. He famously wrote to his bishop, while serving in the hostile environs of Guatemala, “a shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger.” 

“If my destiny is that I give my life here, then so be it,” Father Rother said in his letter. “I don’t want to desert this people. There is still a lot of work to be done.” And, indeed, it did cost him his life as he was murdered in Gautemala in 1981 at the age of 46. In another letter to a priest friend, Father Rother wrote “take care of your priesthood. Service has to be our motto. Certain group of priests are expecting to be served, I don’t want that to be said of me.”  
 

The Knights of Columbus presented Bishop Michael Mulvey a check for $34,505.06, which he then turned over to the Ark Assessment Center. Pictured, from left, are Texas State Council Charity Director Ron Alonso, Corpus Christi Chapter President Joseph Hernandez, Bishop Mulvey, Sister Milagros Tormo, MJMJ and  Corpus Christi Chapter Diocesan Deputy Ruben Rodriguez. Ervey Martinez, South Texas Catholic