Something very special has been happening these last few years in the Rio Grande Valley and this is a grace-filled and an exciting time for the Catholic Church in South Texas. One finds there an active and animated body of lay Catholics and a remarkable degree of collaborative effort toward spiritual growth that reaches across and involves a number of parishes. The present Consecration Mission that is underway in the Valley is a striking example of this. No less than twenty-seven groups involving members of some fifteen parishes – approximately one thousand people – have set out together on a common engagement of the Preparation for Total Consecration that will culminate in shared celebration of the Act of Total Consecration on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady (August 15) at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle.
The Consecration Mission has been timed to help bring this process to a joyous conclusion at the Mass of Consecration at the basilica and involves visits to many of the parishes that have been hosting consecration groups over these last several weeks. The Mission began at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in McAllen, TX, on Sunday, August 5. Approximately 100 people attended the presentation on Knowledge of the Lord Jesus. The service featured a deeply moving period of personal veneration of the Cross of the Savior.
Here is the audio from the first day. The first file is the preached reflection concerning knowledge of the Lord and concludes with the invitation to venerate the Cross. The second file features the praying of the Litany of the Sacred Heart which concluded the service.
