Greetings!

Well, another Pie Baking adventure is in the books!! Hopefully, San Pasqual (patron saint of cooks), interceded on our behalf and cut the caloric value of the pies in half! We are especially grateful to all who donated various ingredients, purchased pies, and paused for a moment to offer a prayer while we were busy baking last weekend. Baking 300 pies is quite a task, and could not be done without the many students who spent time baking before they headed out for a much needed break from school.

The whole process is quite involved, and while it is primarily a fundraising endeavor, there is a great sense of community that is both engendered and celebrated over the 30 plus hours spent baking. Students share their time and talent, and pick up some new baking skills all while we laugh, joke, listen to some high energy music, and drink plenty of coffee. We do all this with a sense of purpose and faith. All kidding of San Pascual and calories aside, his faith journey is the story of a person who found a sense of divine purpose simply by preparing food for others. I hope all who helped prepare the pies will have enjoyed the time spent together, and trust that all who purchased pies enjoyed them as well!

Peace,
​Sal 

​Dear Newman Community,
 
This coming week our NMSU community takes time to pause for Thanksgiving Break. In this pause, students, faculty, staff and our local community, have a decision to make– how to use this break. Do we fill this time with even more feverish activity of studying, cooking, and shopping (hello, tempting Black Friday deals!)? Or do we take time to pause from our busyness for silence and prayer, family and connection, rest and rejuvenation?
 
Most likely it will be both/and. This is appropriate as our Catholic faith is often so much a faith of both/and. There are elements of good in our busyness! But I pray that we, that I, remember to intentionally make these decisions, this Thanksgiving and throughout the rest of the year. In a recent homily Bishop Emeritus Ramirez shared that the kingdom of God is not a spectator sport but a decision to be made.
 
Soon we begin a new liturgical year, may it be an opportunity to remember the abundant goodness of God and renew our hearts in hope as look forward to the coming of Jesus at Christmas.
 
Peace,
Mona
 
P.S. A BIG thanks to all who supported our pie sale! Campus Ministry is continually blessed by your generosity.

Dear Newman Community,

Last weekend a group of students and I drove to El Paso for the annual Border Mass. Hosted by the Dioceses of Las Cruces, El Paso, and Juarez, the Mass is an opportunity for Catholics living on the border to come together to remember the migrants who have died crossing the border.

This year’s Mass was held at the canal in Chihuahuita, a community in downtown El Paso. When we arrived it became clear the canal runs through a very active community, filled with homes, businesses, and life on both sides of the border. Bishop Seitz, from the Diocese of El Paso, shared in his homily that (paraphrase) while borders, whether the borders on a soccer field or between countries, serve a purpose our faith calls us to consider them also as bridges, and opportunity for encounter and unity. He reminded us that we are all one in faith, regardless of which side of the border we live on, all headed to the same home with God. Bishop Seitz also challenged us to consider how God crossed a border, through Jesus in the incarnation, to be with us, out of love for us, and how we are called to respond by following in the footsteps of Jesus.

​Many thanks to all who worked so hard to make this happen staff at the diocesan pastoral centers as well as member of the border patrol who were very gracious and supportive. To learn more about the Church’s teaching on immigration and “welcoming the stranger among us,” visit the U.S. Bishops’ website at www.usccb.org/issuesandaction/humanlifeanddignity/immigration/

Peace,
Mona