Denver Catholic

2 AUGUST 8-21, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC Archbishop's Page Vatican Denver Catholic (USPS 557-020) is published bi-weekly. Denver Catholic is printed by Signature O› set in Denver. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or email circulation@archden.org. EDITORIAL: 303-715-3230 or denvercatholic@archden.org | ADVERTISING: 303-715-3253 or denvercatholicads@archden.org CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-715-3230 or circulation@archden.org General Manager KARNA SWANSON Director ANDREW WRIGHT Business Manager MICHAEL O'NEILL Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Archbishop's Column Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila ARCHBISHOP'S SCHEDULE Aug. 9: Mass, Guardian Angels Parish, Mead (9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.) Aug. 10: Annual Mass for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, St. Thomas More Parish, Centennial (6:30 p.m.) @ArchbishopDen July 30 The tragedy continues as #PPRockyMountain implicated in latest video. Pray for an end to abortion & the awakening of the conscience to life! PHOTO OF THE WEEK T he medieval Christian emperor Charlemagne once said, "To have another language is to possess a second soul." For most of July I had the privilege of experiencing the soul of the people of Mexico while studying Spanish at the Archdiocese of Puebla's seminary. My days involved four hours of one- on-one intensive Spanish instruction, and celebrating Mass in various par- ishes and convents, as well as with Archbishop Víctor Sánchez of Puebla. Part of the time I was in Puebla, I was also joined by seven of our seminari- ans, who are in a two-month program there that combines a three-week stint in rural parishes with language instruction. The Pontifi cal Palafoxiano Seminary is located on the northeastern side of Puebla, Mexico—a city of about 2 mil- lion people, located about two hours away from Mexico City. The climate is similar to northern Colorado's but with rain almost every day. On the grounds of the seminary, I was surrounded by beauty and the constant presence of lay people coming to its perpetual ado- ration chapel to specifi cally pray for bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians and vocations. I was deeply touched when I would go to adoration and see the number of people who came to pray before our Lord. Each hour was covered by two or more people praying, and often I would see families come for a Holy Hour. It was wonderful to see a mother and father come in with their three, four or fi ve children, fall on their knees, and pray before our Eucharistic Lord. I was also edifi ed by the faith of the people who attended the closing Mass of Archbishop Sánchez's three-week pastoral visit to the rural parishes in the sierras. He invited me to concelebrate the visit's closing Mass, which included a solemn procession from one church to another, followed by an impressive fi esta. During that Mass, I saw and felt the simple faith of the people who gave of themselves generously, despite their material poverty. These experiences helped me appre- ciate the presence and faith of the more than 300,000 Latino Catholics in the Archdiocese of Denver in a deeper way. The fact is, 52 percent of the Catholics in the archdiocese are Hispanic and about 80 percent of them come from Mexico. But too often language and cultural diŒ erences prevent our Church from experiencing the gifts of all our brothers and sisters. That is why the ability to speak Spanish and understand Latino devotions has become more and more important for all priests and dea- cons who serve in our archdiocese to acquire, and why I set aside a month to improve my Spanish. My time in Puebla was also a good reminder to me about the importance of growing professionally and spiri- tually. I hear from some priests and lay people who tell me that they just can't fi nd the time for continuing education. But our parishes, fami- lies and children suŒ er if we don't make personal and professional growth a priority. We owe them and our Lord the best we can give. The schedule of classes and the di£ culty of learn- ing another language in such a short period of time was demanding, but I was inspired by the dedication and faith of the priests who minister in the Puebla archdiocese. One priest shared with me that there are priests who say nine Masses each Sunday because the need is so great. I was stunned to hear another priest say that he presided over 17 Masses on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe so that all the people could attend Mass. Their heroic examples, combined with my love for the Latino faithful of our archdiocese, were present with me as I studied. It is my hope that Our Lady of Guada- lupe will guide me, the Latino Catholics of the archdiocese, and all the faithful in growing closer to her son and that he will increase our unity as a Church. A month in Mexico Archbishop Samuel Aquila, while in Mexico taking an intensive Spanish-language course, concelebrates Mass with Puebla's Archbishop Víctor Sánchez, pictured on the left. PHOTO PROVIDED Archbishop Samuel Aquila processes with Archbishop Víctor Sánchez and other faithful in the Archdiocese of Puebla during a month- long visit to Mexico. PHOTO PROVIDED

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