SJV Adult Formation Ministry, 625 Nottingham Oaks Trail, Houston, TX (2026)

09/11/2025

NEVER FORGET

On this solemn day of September 11, Americans across the nation join in remembrance and prayer for the lives lost and the enduring impact of the tragic events that unfolded 24 years ago. September 11, 2001, stands as a stark reminder of the fragility of human existence and the importance of faith, hope, and unity in the face of adversity.

That three thousand people could go to work as part of their daily routine and never come home made us all aware of our fragile mortality.

Many Americans remember a country before and a country after, and for many young Americans, only a country after.

“Never forget” became a national motto after 9/11. Certainly, none of us will. The images of collapsing buildings, smoke, fire, and dust-covered faces will remain branded in our collective memories forever.

As Christians, let us pray for peace, healing, and reconciliation. Let us pray for an end to violence, hatred, and terrorism in our world.

If we return evil for evil, hate for hate, then evil and hate live on in triumph. But if we follow Jesus in his death-burial-resurrection-life, reconciliation and healing become possible through the triumph of Jesus.

"To triumph fully, evil needs two victories, not one. The first victory happens when an evil deed is perpetrated; the second victory, when evil is returned."

On this day of remembrance, let us recall all who perished, and all who did not, due to the many first responders and citizens who went to the aid of their fellow man. Thanks to them, we know where God is when we hurt.

Let us persevere in reflecting the light of Christ’s love in a world that is sometimes dark and divided.

“Never forget” is a most apt admonition as we move toward Sept. 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

Everything may have changed on Sept. 11, 2001 but everything changed the day Jesus was crucified.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted….
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy….
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:4,6,7,9

07/03/2025

"America The Beautiful"

This popular patriotic hymn was written by Katharine Lee Bates, who was born in Falmouth, MA on August 12, 1859. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1880. After teaching high school for six years, Katharine returned to Wellesley where she eventually became head of the English Department.

Miss Bates was first inspired to write patriotic verse in 1892 in recognition of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America. The following year, she visited and taught during the summer months in the state of Colorado. While viewing the countryside from the beautiful summit of Pike’s Peak, a summit which towers more than 14,000 feet above sea level, she was inspired to write a national hymn that would describe the majesty and vastness of our great land. She writes, “It was there, as I was looking out over the sea-like expanse of fertile country, spreading away so far under the ample skies, that the opening lines of this text formed in my mind. By the time she left Colorado Springs four stanzas were penciled in her notebook.

Katherine set aside her notes until the second summer following, when she sent them to "The Congregationalist", where they first appeared in print July 4, 1895. The hymn attracted an unexpected amount of attention. In 1904, Katherine rewrote the verses, trying to make the phraseology simpler and more direct.

Pikes Peak was the inspiration for “purple mountain majesties”. A vison of Kansas wheat fields she observed while riding on the train to Colorado led her to write of “amber waves of grain,” says Bates.

Though this text sparkles with distinctive language, it is interesting to note, that each stanza is rounded off with the earnest prayer, that God will always help our land to attain its real destiny. In this hymn, as in her other writings, Bates spoke often of the truth, that unless we crown our good with brotherhood, of what lasting value are our spacious skies, our amber waves of grain, our mountain majesties or our fruited plains?

She would add, “We must match the greatness of our country with the goodness of godly living.”

At least sixty tunes have been composed and paired with Katherine Bates’ poem through the years. Today “America the Beautiful” is sung to Samuel A. Ward’s “Materna” tune, meaning “motherly.” Ward, a New Jersey-born musician, served as organist at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Newark beginning in 1880. Ward wrote “Materna” in 1888 to accompany the words of “O Mother Dear Jerusalem”, written by a sixteenth-century poet.

It appears that Ward neither met Bates nor heard the hymn in its completed form set his tune before his death in 1903. In 1912, permission from the composer’s widow made it possible to join his tune with the text. Bates and Ward were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 for her words and his tune for “America the Beautiful”.

07/02/2025

Fr. Paolo Puccini
Welcome to St. John Vianney Parish!

Fr. Paolo says that "Life at the parish was the central focus of my family as I was growing up, and my time at a Jesuit high school introduced me in a deeper way to many beautiful aspects of the faith”.

Fr. Paolo’s interests in math and science, coupled with the study of Humanities, led him to the University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in Plan II Honors

A desire to apply his engineering degree, while traveling throughout the world and working with different cultures, led him to the oil and gas industry, in which he worked for three years with opportunities to visit Europe and Africa.

"As much as I enjoyed professional life, I realized that my deepest satisfaction was found in the Church, who for me is a constant source of growth, inspiration and love. I chose to enter the Paulist formation program because of their mission to bring the profound message of Gospel to the modern world." Fr. Paolo had first encountered the Paulists (the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle) in Austin at the University Catholic Center and through their various student ministries, formed many deep and lasting friendships.

Fr. Paolo entered the novitiate on August 24, 2013, made his first promises on July 26, 2014; his final promise on September 6, 2019, was ordained a transitional deacon on September 7, 2019, and ordained to the priesthood on July 25, 2020.

Fr. Paolo attended Strake Jesuit College Prep here in Houston and went on to The University of Texas at Austin. In formation he had the opportunity to study at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and took summer studies in Boston, San Francisco, Michigan, and Rome.

After priestly ordination Fr. Paolo was assigned to St. Austin Parish, in Austin, Texas. Now...he has returned home for a while!

Some fun facts about Fr. Paolo:
Favorite Saint: St. John the Apostle
Hobbies: Running, Reading, Travel
Favorite Food: Italian

Welcome Fr. Paolo!

06/18/2025

Welcome Home Fr. Michael!

On Sunday, June 22, newly ordained, Fr. Michael Noriega, will return to his home parish, St. John Vianney, to celebrate the 11am Mass.

Michael Lawrence Noriega was born in Baltimore and raised in Houston. He is the eldest child of Larry and Debbie Noriega and has one sister, Victoria, and one brother, David.

Michael was raised in a Catholic family and grew up in St. John Vianney Parish in west Houston. He was an active member of the parish’s youth group, worked part-time in the parish hall, and served as the youth representative on the Pastoral Council. The seeds of his vocation were planted at St. John Vianney.

Both his parents are nurses and being raised in the medical world of Houston, Michael desired to pursue a career in medicine. He graduated from Westside High School in 2009 and moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas. The thought of priesthood first came up in late high school, but Michael wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. While at UT he was an active member of the University Catholic Center (UCC). Michael’s faith was nurtured at UT through Longhorn Awakening, Schoenstatt University Men, and Lambda Omega Alpha.

Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in biology, graduating in 2014. After graduating Michael worked for three years in a physician’s office in Houston and then for a pro-life women’s healthcare organization in Washington, DC for one year.

It was during his time at UT, engaged with the UCC, that Michael began to ask the Lord where he was calling him to serve. In time, the Lord revealed to Michael that he wished to fulfill the desires of his heart but in a field different from the medical field. Michael’s desire to accompany people amid suffering and provide healing as a doctor and to build a culture of life would be fulfilled more deeply in the vocation and life of a priest. Specifically, to accompany people as a diocesan priest.

Michael entered Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas in the Fall of 2018 and studied philosophy for two years. In August 2020 he was sent to Rome to begin his theological studies at the Pontifical North American College. He earned his bachelor’s in sacred theology in June 2024 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and studied Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

Michael was ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Austin and is excited to return to the Diocese of Austin and serve the people of God as a priest.

“I am most grateful to God, our Father, who is never outdone in his generosity. I am grateful for the love and witness of my parents and for my sister, brother, and brother-in-law; for their love and support of my vocation. I am grateful for Archbishop Vásquez who accepted me as a seminarian for the Diocese of Austin and who became a shepherd and spiritual father to me. I am also grateful for the priests who have been mentors and witnesses of the joy of priesthood to me: Fathers Troy Gately, Jonathan Raia, Jesus Ferras, Greg Gerhart, Juan Carlos Lopez, Michael Romano, and so many others. Lastly, I am grateful for the Blessed Mother, who has protected me in her mantle and cared for me throughout my life. I ask her as Queen of Apostles to pray for my brothers and I and for all priests that we may be holy, apostolic priests on fire with the love of Jesus to serve his beloved people."

"I am grateful for the Lord’s patience with me yet his unwillingness to give up on me, despite my stubbornness at times in responding to the call.”

04/21/2025

Early, on this Monday within the octave of Easter, our Holy Father passed away, a day after delivering his Easter message, “Urbi Et Orbi”, on the balcony of St. Peter’s.

Pope Francis, the first pontiff from the Americas, died this morning, April 21, 2025, at age 88. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Dec. 17, 1936, Pope Francis rose from modest beginnings to become the 266th leader of the Catholic Church.

Kevin Cardinal Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced that Pope Francis died at 7:35 a.m. at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Maria. The late pope had been recovering from double pneumonia and a complex infection, resulting in a 38-day hospital visit.

As the Vatican and the universal, catholic, Church adjusts to the loss of its spiritual leader, a meticulously orchestrated period begins—one steeped in centuries of tradition and critical to the governance of the global Church.

When the death of a Pope is confirmed, the Catholic Church enters a phase known as "Sede Vacante", Latin for "the seat being vacant." This period, governed by strict canon law, triggers a sequence of events designed to both honor the deceased pope and prepare for the election of a new pontiff.

During "Sede Vacante", governance of the Catholic Church temporarily passes to the College of Cardinals, though their authority is strictly limited. The heads of Vatican departments, including those in the Roman Curia, cease exercising their duties until a new pope is elected. However, papal legates—diplomatic representatives—continue their external functions.

According to tradition, the camerlengo, currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell, is the official responsible for certifying the pope's death and initiating the formal protocols. Farrell sealed the papal apartment and broke the pope's “Fisherman's Ring”, a symbolic gesture to prevent its misuse.

Each pope chooses his own ring, which is destroyed at the end of his papacy, a formality meant to symbolize the end of his reign and to prevent forgeries. The papal “Fisherman's Ring” was named for the apostle Peter, who was a fisherman and the first pope.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

08/13/2024

August 15, The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Belief that Mary has been taken up and is now in heaven with both her body and her soul has been part of the teaching of the Catholic Church since the earliest centuries of Christianity. The strongest evidence for this belief of the early Christians is found in ancient liturgies and in homilies in honor of Mary's passing. A second source, widely spread in the Middle Ages is known as the "Transitus" writings.

By the end of the Middle Ages, belief in Mary's Assumption into heaven was well established and part of the devotional expressions of the people. The word Assumption comes from the Latin verb "assumere", meaning "to take to oneself." Our Lord, Jesus Christ took Mary unto himself, where he is.

For Martin Luther, Mary's Assumption was an established fact, as his homily of 1522 indicates, in spite of the fact that Mary's Assumption is not expressly reported in Sacred Scripture. For Protestant reformer, Martin Butzer (1545), there was no reason to doubt the Assumption of the Virgin into heavenly glory. "Indeed, no Christian doubts that the most worthy Mother of the Lord lives with her beloved Son in heavenly joy." (Marienlexikon, vol 3, 200)

H. Bullinger (1590), also a Protestant reformer, sought a theological foundation for the Assumption in Scripture. He believed that the Old Testament account of Elijah, taken to heaven bodily, teaches us about our immortality, and – because of our immortal soul – to respectfully honor the bodies of the saints. Against this backdrop he states, "Because of this, we believe that the pure immaculate chamber of the God-bearer, the Virgin Mary, is a temple of the Holy Spirit, that is her holy body, borne by angels into heaven." (Marienlexikon, vol 3, 200)

In the light of the long history of Christian belief since patristic times, in 1950, Pope Pius XII defined Mary's Assumption into Heaven as a dogma of Catholicism:

"the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven."

The proclamation of this dogma is found in the encyclical: "Munificentissimus Deus."

“All generations shall call me blessed; for he who is mighty has accomplished great things on my behalf.” – Lk 1:48, 49

08/12/2024

Many years ago, a former pastor declared that discipleship doesn't go on vacation. In times of weariness his comment has sustained and fueled me to persevere! The pastor's admonition holds true for a parish - it doesn't take a vacation! Saint John Vianney parish continues to pulsate with vivifying events!

If you visited the parish during the week, over the past two months, you most likely encountered the songs, chatter, and joy of the children attending the SJV summer camp program.

It concluded at the end of July and on its heels, we had the parish feast day barbecue on Aug. 4. This was followed by the resumption of First Friday breakfasts and the commencement of regular Coffee and Donut Sundays!

Throughout the summer so many faithful and committed liturgical ministers continued to serve in weekday and weekend Mass.

And here we are are - almost in mid-August - and on the horizon we view many opportunities to nourish our faith and stimulate our discipleship. Some include:

-Fr. Chuck returns this evening

- Thursday, Aug. 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - a Holy Day of Obligation.

- Training sessions on Aug. 21 and Sept. 7 for those interested in serving as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.

- Training sessions on Aug. 28 and Sept. 7 for those interested in serving as a Lector.

- RCIA Informational Meetings on Aug. 22, 25, and Sept. 5

Additionally, Adult Formation studies begin on Sept 3. "The Gift of the Mass" begins on that evening. Fr. Troy will walk participants through the Mass, explaining the parts which buoy the whole!

For detailed information on all events, peruse the parish weekend Bulletin and website.

Come and fuel your discipleship; lead others into it, and all the while enjoy the company of fellow pilgrims on the way.

08/03/2024

Saint John Vianney,
Priest of the Lord and inexhaustible Confessor,
in your quest to pursue your vocation,
you were not deterred by the obstacles that came your way.

Your strong faith carried you through all of life's trials to your place in God's Kingdom.

By contemplating your life,
may I be imbued with the same determination
to be the best I can be in my life.

Let what I think, say, and do, benefit my neighbor
and lead me ever closer to our Heavenly Father.

Through your intercession
may I be strengthened in courage and faith
so that I too may give all to God
without counting the cost.

Amen.

08/01/2024

John Baptiste Marie Vianney, Cure of Ars
Feast Day - August 4

Jean Baptiste-Marie Vianney, a French parish priest, born in 1786 and died on August 4, 1859. As a youth he and his family were forced to travel a great distance to attend Mass since its celebration was prohibited in France during this period in country's history.

As a newly ordained priest, (August 13, 1815) Jean Vianney was sent to a small Church in the remote French hamlet of Ars. By his saintly example in lifestyle, his inspired preaching, and undiminished dedication to pastoral ministry, especially in the Sacrament of Penance, Jean Vianney brought souls to Christ and eventually the entire community was radically transformed.

News of his ministry spread and people from around the world sought his counsel. As many as 20,000 pilgrims a year traveled to Ars, desiring to Confess to the Cure who spent long hours in the
Confessional each day.

Jean Vianney was canonized in 1925. His incorrupt body lies in a glass casket about the main altar in the Basilica of Ars, France.

SJV Adult Formation Ministry

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