Mercy, family highlight annual Ministry Conference

See more photos below

Bishop Michael Mulvey delivers homily at annual Ministry Conference. He reminded the faithful that in the family they experience God's mercy and love.

Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic

The one liners came out with machine gun rapidity, but the point was clear: discipline done by loving parents in a loving family does not lead to dysfunctional adults. Ray Guarendi, Ph.D. told parents at the Selena Auditorium on Saturday, Jan. 9, that most of what they hear about child rearing from experts—with letters after their names—is “nonsense”; it is psychological theory based on surveys and not on studies.

​Guarendi, a psychologist and father of 10 adopted children, was a keynote speaker at the Diocese of Corpus Christi’s annual ministry conference with the theme of “Family & Mercy, United by Love.” Guarendi shared keynote duty with Jackie Francois, a singer/songwriter and worship leader.

Rather than rely on experts, Guarendi told the some 750 attendees that disciplinary tactics such as spanking and “time out” was their choice. That is what he found when he interviewed parents from all over the country for his book “Back to the Family.” He found some 70 percent of parents used spanking in some form in some occasions.

The experts that advised “never tell your toddler no”, “do not send a teenager to his room” and "spanking is evil" were wrong, Guarendi said.

“Say what you have to say and back it up,” Guarendi said. “Don’t send mixed messages. If you spank, don’t spank in anger. Don’t spank when you’re frustrated, when you’ve had enough. Do not create fear.”
Guarendi closed his remarks by addressing another subject that is prevalent in today’s Catholic families—children who leave the faith after they leave home. He told his audience that Jesus was God, he did not sin, he performed miracles and had a perfect understanding of human kind. Still, Jesus was not able to get every human being to convert to Christianity. “You are not the Christ man, so don’t beat yourself up over this,” he said.

Francois told her audience she was “so afraid to say I was Catholic because I did not know my faith.” She was afraid people would make fun of her or ask her questions about the Church she would not be able to answer. But the Church wants her members to ask the hard questions about its teachings, whether it is abortion, same sex marriage or contraception, she said. After more than 2,000 years, the Church is comfortable in its teachings.

She was raised Catholic, but like many Catholic families it was a cursory faith; the family prayed before meals, attended Mass on Sundays and prayed before going to sleep and that was the extent of their faith.

One summer after high school graduation she attended a week long retreat and was changed forever; she was truly hooked on Jesus and his Church. The transformation was brought about by three things; first she began to attend daily Mass; second she met teenagers that, unlike her up to that time, were on fire for their faith; and third, she heard the Church’s teaching on contraception, and while as an 18-year-old it made her uncomfortable she realized she needed to be 100 percent Catholic and that the Catholic Church had the “fullness of truth.”

She began to read apologetic writers and Church documents. “The more I learned about the Catholic Church, the more I fell in love with Jesus Christ,” Francois said. “The more I learned about what the Church taught, the more I thought wow! This is so beautiful. The Church wants me to love. The Church wants me to be holy and special.”

“God is calling us to be great,” she said. “Every little act of love can help us become saints.” She said, “you must trust God” even if “you fear losing everything” for following his teachings and commandments.
Bishop Michael Mulvey opened the conference with the celebration of Mass. In his homily the bishop reflected on the themes of the conference, the family and mercy.

“I have to admit that this is a day I always look forward to. To be immersed in the joy of so many people in the diocese and so many wonderful speakers from around the country, so it’s a great day for us to be together and celebrate the body of Christ,” Bishop Mulvey said.

Pope Francis, the bishop said, called for a Year of Mercy so that the faithful could engage in the “EXTRA-ordinary” nature of mercy. “Pope Francis says that Jesus Christ is the face of the father’s mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. In a special way these words of the Holy Father bring us to another dimension of our understanding of faith,” Bishop Mulvey said.

The bishop shared with the participants at Mass, the story of the a man that had been found dead near Sacred Heart Church in Corpus Christi and quickly labeled by the media as nameless, homeless individual. He, of course had a name—Chris. His friends at the Mother Teresa Shelter knew his name; they knew him as a person with aspirations and hopes. They knew him as one who showed his joy and life and was always at the ready to help others.

“It is important because in the family we are not nameless,” the bishop said, as he turned to the second theme of the conference. “In the family we have an identity. In the family we have value and we are affirmed. In the family we discover our potential, we know who we are and what God wants us to be. In the family we have dignity. In the family we are loved. In the family we find mercy. In the family we experience and practice Jesus Christ, the face of God’s mercy.”

In addition to Guarendi and Francois, seven other nationally known speakers presented workshops on various topics. Janet E. Smith Ph.D., spoke on “Loving the Elderly”; Father Isaac Orozco presented on “Building a Culture of Vocations in the Parish”; Bobby Angel spoke of the “Face of Mercy”; Matthew Fraud’s focus was on “Porn: Seven Myths Exposed”; Rene Gonzalez talked what it means to recognize Jesus in oneself; and Tom McCabe’s talk covered “Better Homes & Pardons-The Raw Power of Forgiveness to Transform Family”.

Jesse Romero led two Spanish workshops on “Los Cuatro Pilares del Matrimonio Católico” and “Como Ser un Buen Católico”.

Some 100 people attended the Spanish tract and an equal number attended the Youth track, said Jaime Reyna who coordinated the speakers for the conference. Overall, 850 participants took part.
“Every comment we heard was that the speakers were fantastic,” Reyna said.