To Celebrate a Life of Love: Alicia Ramírez Méndez Bullock, M.D.
July 2, 1930-March 9, 2020
Originally from Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Alicia was the third of seven children born to Manuel Ramírez and his wife, Marcelina Méndez. A bright and happy child, she started school a year early and later skipped the fourth grade. She excelled scholastically and was admitted to the first medical school class at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan. During her first year of study, she learned that her older brother, First Lt. Pablo Ramírez, a platoon leader and member of the 65th Infantry, had been killed in action in Korea. She graduated second of 50 students, one of eight women, at the age of 24. She moved to the mainland to complete her residency in internal medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. There she met and married another young resident, Allen Bullock, the love of her life. He said he taught her to read ECGs. She laughed and denied it. Devoted and generous parents, they raised three children and instilled in them some of the greatest traits of the greatest generation. Alicia’s interests were varied and included Russian literature, classical music, detective stories, antiquing, and sports. A compulsive note-taker, she was truly a lifelong learner. Storytelling with family and friends and homecomings to Puerto Rico delighted her. A lover of the bargain, her haggling skills were put to use in all of the family’s car purchases. She completed her career as the Medical Director of the VA Outpatient Clinic in Corpus Christi, retiring after her 75th birthday. Soon afterward the couple moved to San Antonio to be closer to family. She and son Allen cared for our father until his death in 2009.
Alicia was preceded in death by her husband Allen; parents, and siblings, Ana, Pablo, and infant brother Manuel. She is survived by her children, Allen, Delia, Wilfred (Annie); granddaughters, Heather and Meredith; siblings, Efraín (Edith) Ramírez, Adelina Ramírez (Reinaldo Alicea), Adelaida Ramírez; niece, Rosa (David) Rodríguez and great-niece Bianca Rodríguez.
Third Sunday of Lent
Thirst
Jesus was waiting for her and asked her for a drink of water. He asks because he is thirsty. A simple, human need opens up a deep conversation with a woman who others ostracized. We all need water. Are we, like Jesus, willing to ask anyone for a drink? Will we receive what they provide?
Jesus initiates the conversation even though he knows it is “unlawful.” He knows that even his disciples disapprove of him talking to this woman. In his desire to know her, a woman who has been cast away by five different men (husbands), he holds out to her an abundance of “living water.” She drops her jar, runs to the village and brings the whole village back to the well.
Jesus’ tenderness in accepting who she was results in her joyful, exuberant sharing of how Jesus knew her and acknowledged her, listened to her and accepted her in spite of her gender, her residency and her community. Many believed because of her!
Jesus also entrusts his thirst to us. We encounter him in order to be filled. Yet he has no bucket or jar but ours. What is our role in fulfilling Jesus’ mission to the thirsty world in which we live?
Like many of you, I thirst for ways of responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Just before writing this reflection, I found this resource that I highly recommend that we read and LIVE! It is “A Faith Response to the Coronavirus.” In it, I am reminded of what Jesus asks of all of us individually and as a faith community.
To Celebrate a Life of Love: Edward Michael Woodruff
June 22, 1935-February 24, 2020
Edward (Ed) Michael Woodruff passed away peacefully at his home in San Antonio, Texas, on February 24, 2020. He was born on June 22, 1935 in New York City to Elizabeth and John Woodruff. Ed married his best friend, Rose McKenna, in 1956, and along with their two young sons made their way to Austin, Texas. After graduating from the University Of Texas School Of Pharmacy, he moved his family to Laredo, Texas, where he opened his own pharmacy and enjoyed taking care of his many patients. Eventually, a new challenge presented itself and he joined the administration team at Mercy Hospital. He always felt grateful for the opportunity to work with the Sisters of Mercy and wonderful health professionals at the hospital.
Ed was a respected and very active member of the Laredo community. He spearheaded many United Way Campaigns and was selected to serve on several advisory boards. In addition, he was dedicated to Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church where he served as a Eucharistic Minister, Lector, and Parish Council Officer. One of his favorite activities was making and serving pancakes to parishioners as a member of the St. Patrick’s Men’s Club. Ed really loved living in Laredo because of the wonderful people that he met, worked with and served with. Laredo was also a great place to raise his four boys. Ed and Rose retired and moved to San Antonio in 2002 to be closer to their children and grandchildren. There they joined Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, a wonderful Christian Community. Ed was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council #15240, where he was very active, involved, and where one of his favorite activities with the Knights was serving at their annual Lenten Fish Fry.
Ed loved his family and was so proud of his children and grandchildren. He was also an avid University of Texas Longhorn fan and supported his Longhorns in good times and in bad. Ed went to the Lord on February 24, 2020 and is survived by Rose, his wife of 63 years and his children; Michael and his wife Kim, Edward and his wife Diana, Jimmy and his wife Terry, and David and his wife Shawna and his ten grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Sunset North Funeral Home, 910 N. 1604, San Antonio, TX, 78232. You may leave condolences to the family online at www.SunsetNorthFuneralHome.com.
To celebrate Edward’s life, the Holy Rosary will be recited at 10 AM followed by a Mass of Resurrection on March 14, 2020, at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 4201 De Zavala Road, San Antonio, Texas 78249. Private graveside services will follow at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the charitable organization of your choice. Charities meaningful to Ed include: Saint Francis of Assisi’s Mobile Loaves & Fishes Ministry and the Saint Vincent de Paul ministry.
Second Sunday of Lent
Listen to Him
How is your Lent going? What is different for you about this year’s observance of Lent? Have you left anything familiar and taken the risk to become “new” in any way? Our readings for this 2nd Sunday of Lent suggest some possibilities for change and newness.
Abram and Sarai leave everything they have ever known and venture into unknown territory. Risk and uncertainty compel them to steadily trust in God’s promise to bless them in countless ways. They listen and act.
Likewise, Paul writes to Timothy, reminding him that he has received a gift from God that must be “stirred into flame.” Teaching the words and example of Jesus means rejection and hardship at times. Nevertheless, God gives grace to live a holy life, to live and love with passion for God’s will. Timothy and his companions listen and act.
Finally, Jesus takes three of his favorites to the mountain-top, there to hear God’s voice and to experience brilliant, almost blinding light. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Knowing their fear, Jesus comes down and touches them saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”
How are we experiencing God’s radiant light? Do we feel the warmth, the brilliance? To “rise” means to be engaged in listening to what God is asking of us. And we probably are craving the removal of the many fears that possess us—the fear of the coronavirus, the fear of divisive politics, the fear of conflicts and wars throughout the world, the fear of abusive relationships, the fear of failure in our risk-taking.
We ask for steadfast light in our lives. We ask that we be purified of all that keeps us from experiencing the luminous beauty of light. May the sparks of fire become brilliant flames of love in our midst. And may we listen and act trusting that God leads us too to new creation, to conversion, and to transfiguration.
COVID-19 UPDATE
The parish office is closed until further notice. Watch our Masses at http://sfasat.org/liturgy/streamed-masses/.
Coro de Adoración
Are you a singer or musician who loves Latin rhythms? We are forming a new Coro de Adoración that will lead a monthly, bilingual night of lively praise & worship for all parishioners. All ages welcome. For more information, contact Cesar at 210-274-2197.
¿Eres un cantante o músico que ama los ritmos latinos? Estamos formando un nuevo Coro de Adoración que conducirá una noche mensual y bilingüe de viva alabanza y adoración para todos los parroquianos. Todas las edades son bienvenidas. Para más información, contacte a Cesar al 210-274-2197.
First Sunday of Lent
Choices
“I had no choice.” There was a time when I used that expression to justify my absence from a commitment I had made to attend a dinner. The host firmly corrected me with “You always have a choice.” I learned that I was using “no choice” as an excuse. I was hiding from a commitment I had made.
Jesus in facing the temptations in the desert—the allurement of power, authority, and food—teaches us that we are faced with choices in our lives, choices that either bring us closer to God or move us away from God. We too can succumb to using our powers for our own needs, putting ourselves first, forgetting about our neighbors in need, even our own family members in need. Our own insecurities may cause us to abuse power and authority in our relationships with others. All of the gospels show Jesus, as Son of God, serving others rather than himself. He trusts and remains faithful to following the path that leads to the Father. Jesus does not squirm away from obedience, from the path to God no matter the cost.
We need a new and steadfast spirit. We need to be attentive and aware of that which tempts us to avoid choices, to hide in the face of truth and reality and to not be “soft” in a culture filled with self-interest.
Lent provides us time to make choices to continue our journey of changing our hearts, of loving boldly, and of experiencing conversion. We choose “new life,” filled with new possibilities. We pray to act justly or do things with a sense of right and wrong. We pray to love mercy or embrace loving kindness in our hearts. And we pray to walk humbly, recognizing that there is little we can do for God except to abide by God’s wishes including upholding justice and mercy in a humble way.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Be Holy, Be Whole
“Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” God invites us to God-like. If we embrace our God-likeness, how do we look? How would we act? What would we feel? What would we see? To what would we pay attention?
“The Lord is kind and merciful” gives us hints. The actions of Jesus give us additional instruction. What we need most, in my opinion, is practice! To be a compassionate witness to the Gospel, we look at how Jesus related to persons. Who are the persons named in the Gospels who compelled Jesus to see, to cure and to send? What was it about them that caught the attention of Jesus? When Jesus responds to them or interacts with them, he changes things—rules and practices, lifestyles and relationships! Through our Baptism, we are asked to do the same.
How are we forming our hearts to be compassionate, merciful and forgiving? In Compassionate Integrity Training, compassion is defined as “the wish to alleviate the suffering of another. Compassion consists of noticing suffering, having empathetic concern and feeling a sense of agency. It does not mean simply giving them what they want but recognizing on a deeper level what they need.”
To be holy is to practice compassion, to make whole again. For this, let us all work and pray!
To Celebrate a Life of Love: Delmiro Elizondo
May 15, 1925-February 9, 2020
Delmiro (Dely) Isidro Elizondo passed away on February 9, 2020 at his home in Spicewood, Texas. Dely was born in San Antonio, Texas on May 15, 1925 to Matilde and Aurelia Elizondo. He was the fourth of five children. Dely graduated from Central High School and went to St. Mary’s University.
Dely enlisted in the Navy on November 1, 1943 and was honorably discharged as a Radarman First Class on March 20, 1946. He married Yolanda Olga Garza on August 8, 1946 and had two daughters, Diana Marie 1947 and Mary Alice 1951. He is predeceased by Yolanda, who died in 1963 and by Diana, who died in 2006.
Dely worked at his father’s meat market as a butcher growing up. As an adult, he was a Deputy Sheriff, worked at the home office for Comet Service Stations for many years, had his own business in Spicewood for 15 years and worked for McCoy’s Building Supply for 17 years retiring on January 23, 2020 at the age of 94. He enjoyed working with his hands, hunting, fishing, reading, and parties. We will especially remember him for his smile, laughter, and storytelling. He was always the life of the party!
Dely is survived by his sister, Dora Elizondo Guerra, daughter, Mary Alice Ezzell, son-in-law Michael Ezzell, grandchildren, Kristi Hynes, William Thomas, Stephen Zapata, and great-grandchildren, Samantha and Matthew Hynes. He is also survived by stepchildren Beth Allen, Suann Partlin, Hoppy Williams, step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren.
The Rosary will be Friday, February 21, 2020 at 7:00 pm at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at 4201 De Zavala Road, San Antonio, Texas. The Mass of Resurrection will be Saturday, February 22 at 10:00 am also at St. Francis of Assisi with a reception following the Mass in Henke Hall. The burial will be at a later date.
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Laws! Laws! Laws!
The emphasis on law in the time of the Israelites was not for the sake of abiding by the law, but about gaining access to God. If the people followed the laws—the laws of Moses, the laws of purity—they could gain access to God. Jesus knew that and understood the culture he was born into. When Jesus said that he came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it, he acknowledged their longing for God. Moving forward from the written law, he offered himself as the road, the access point to the Father when he said, “I am the way.”
Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount with examples of how that happens. He repeats several times “You have heard it said” with “but I say.” In each of the examples—the commandments, the laws—Jesus indicates what is at the heart of this new way of life. Life in Christ requires that our whole being needs transformation. To choose life in Christ is to pay attention to our inner being, to the emotions within us.
What is it that causes us to “kill” the spirit in others with our words? What is it that allows us to ignore the needs of others, to deprive them of what they need to live safely and securely?
In Psalm 119 we pray, “Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart.” May our hearts be transformed. May we choose life in both words and actions. We pray as we sing: “Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see you. I want to be with you.”