On March 25, we had the great joy of receiving nine new members in our Congregational Family. They are Julia Acosta Cornelio, Melchora Tránsito Alfaro Benites, Luisa Julia Encinas Malarín, Ida Ynda Gil Calderón, Flora Lucrecia Guimaray Carbajal, Aidé Rocha Vásquez, Francisca Irene Santa María Cornotero, Umelia Julia Soto López y Gina Paredes Guiñones who made their commitment as Lay Associates in our San Francisco de Asís Parish, Chimbote - Perú.

This weekend we had the opportunity to witness the life testimony of our sisters, the Incarnate Word Associates at Santiago, Tuxtla, and we express our gratitude to the Incarnate Word for the richness we find in each and everyone of them.We are sure that they live hand in hand with the Lord, who guides constantly in carrying out their activities. They do their work with charity, simplicity and a very special strength.We visited them because we wanted to be with them in the renewal of their commitment, a commitment that all of us have to the Incarnate Word as Associates and Apostles. We express it freely every year saying: “Yes, we want to continue in the mission of spirituality to which He has called us”.            On Friday, February 12, we arrived on time and full of emotion to our appointment with the Incarnate Word; Sister Magdalena Torres guided us in the reflection. She addressed the community in simple and eloquent words that reached our hearts. The whole ceremony was full of a series of feelings stemming from the great moment we were living together.            The Eucharist was celebrated in memory of Sister Mary Suárez Vázquez; all those who had the opportunity to know her will always remember her as a life example that is deeply engraved in our being.     Alter the Eucharist we went to Julita’s home where delicious dishes, typical of this area, had been prepared for us. We enjoyed then with Sister Magda and Sister Erika who accompanied us, and with some relatives of our Incarnate Word Associates.      We lived leisure moments that helped us realize how valuable, how united and how loving they are among themselves and toward others.       Our Incarnate Word Associates in Santiago Tuxtla have united into one community and they are an example of love, commitment, joy and charity in their area. They have had to face problems and limitations such as age, illness, fatigue and family situations, but they have transformed then into formidable challenges. This has given them the opportunity to renovate their commitment with creativity and to live it with joy, inventiveness and efficiency.       Chita shares with others the message of the Gospel at home, instead of moving to the places in the community where she normally used to be active. She also manages to distribute food and respond to the needs of others with the warmth that has been her special quality.     María Antonia takes care of her mother who is old and ill with great fortitude and faith in the Lord. This sorrowful situation moves to pray weekly to the Holy Sacrament. She is part of the liturgy team in Sunday Masses and devotes part of her time to give pre-baptismal lectures at the parish.      Aurelia, (Lela, as her friends call her), is a woman of prayer. She draws her strength from the Word of God. She attends Bible lectures once a week and helps as much as possible bringing clothes and food to the needy people around her.     Epifanía, better known as Epi, is the community treasurer and devotes part of her time to visit the sick. She is a missioner at heart and organizes raffles and coordinates events to raise funds and help the missioners to cover their needs.      Chita and Ofelia are neighbors and they have taken advantage of this closeness to work together. They offer their help to the Redemptorist Missioners, who are very grateful to them.     Eva is fully aware of the encouragement and relief that a visit can bring to the sick. A visitor listens to them, brings them comfort and offers help in whatever is needed from the community. Thus, she goes from house to house, offering her time, her help and comfort to the sick with an impressive enthusiasm.     Clarisa works at home; her eyesight is not good and it is very difficult for her to go out, but she offers the community and all the Incarnate Word Associates the treasure of her prayers. She prays constantly and offers her daily life to the Lord.      Julita has been the group coordinator for several years. Because of the situations that the members of the three previous communities have had to face, they have merged into one single community and she has generously remained as its coordinator. Of all the community members, she is the one who can more easily serve all her sisters from this post. She has assumed the task of visiting all her sisters and she keeps them united and active. She also visits the ill and rural communities. Many people in the area go to see her and ask her for advice and encouragement. She is always happy and willing to help. She makes it a point to celebrate all important feasts with the community. She helps others with food and she loves to invite people to her house where, with the help of the parish priest, they pray and celebrate joyfully the festivities that unite the community in a very special way.     It was a great joy for us to have spent some time with the Incarnate Word Associates at Santiago, Tuxtla, and experience the great love they share with one another. We could see how that love shows itself in charitable works and bears fruit for the glory of the Incarnate Word.     We are especially grateful to Sister Erika and Sister Magdalena for their love, they kindness and their constant company during our visit to these beautiful Veracruz lands. May God bless you, Sisters.Dear Sisters, thank you very much for your live testinony!Incarnate Word Associates, General CommitteeFebruary 15 , 2010. Mexico City.

By María Elena de las Mercedes Anaya Moreno, Bethany of Guadalupe Community     / Mexico, a wonderful country, full of contrasts, fantasy, nobility, joy, sensibility, art, beauty, richness, love, history, tradition, bravery, heroism, fortitude, tenderness, work, childhood, youth and experience. It is a privilege to be a Mexican; we possess a series of qualities that confirm what I say. This is not just an expression of fervent patriotism, it is something real. The wealth of our Mexico is in the heart of its people and also in its territory. We Mexicans like parties; we are hospitable, joyful, hard working and religious; we have loud voices, act with solidarity, simplicity, tenderness, and affection. We are intelligent, friendly, warm, sensitive and clever. Our artistic sensibility is always ready to express itself. We like music, we love to write songs, to dance and to paint. We like to wear “Charro Suits”, we love to sing with “mariachis” and to shout cheers. We like popular festivals and we love to live our traditions. We create lovely handicrafts. We reconstruct with incredible creativity, things that in other countries would be considered useless. We see with the heart, know how to share what we have with outsiders and strangers with an incredible naturalness and simplicity, because our warmth and hospitality are very special, very Mexican, and we know how to open the doors of our homes in a wholehearted manner. If you want to enjoy beautiful sceneries and gorgeous beaches, if you want to climb high mountains, lonely deserts and lush jungles, if you want to enjoy hot, warm and cool weather, come to Mexico! Whenever you want to taste the most exquisite and varied dishes, try our Mexican cuisine. It has an impressive variety of delicious flavors that are typical of the different regions of our  Republic. This can be seen from the simple stall placed with ingenuity on a street corner, to a market, to an elegant and sophisticated restaurant. What do you think about our delicious “mole”? About our “chiles en nogada”? About our infinite variety of tacos? You might want to taste crispy tostadas accompanied by red “pozole”, or by white or green “pozole”. Or you may prefer “tamales”, beans, charro style, “enchiladas”, chilaquiles”, or the popular “quesadillas” served with delicious hot sauce. And what about “guacamole”, fish and sea food. Our drinks are a real art. Would you like a delicious cup of coffee, a glass of punch, a jar of “atole” or chocolate, a glass of “tepache” or fresh fruit water? And our desserts are simply magic. What about our national tequila? There’s nothing like it. And if you want vegetables or fruits, we can offer a huge array of vitamins in different colors and at excellent prices. If a citizen from any country of the world wants to be warmly welcomed, with courtesy,  tenderness and simplicity, he or she has to come to Mexico. Our beloved Pope John Paul II is an example of this. He used to proclaim publicly and privately his love for Mexico. He used to say that nowhere else in the world did he feel as he felt in Mexico. He really loved us, he felt Mexican, and a priest friend of his comments that when he felt sad and discouraged, he asked his attendants to show him the videos of his trips to Mexico in order to feel the tenderness, the warmth and the love of a country that knows how to give itself generously. This gave him greatcomfort. Our country has also been the birthplace of great writers, artists, musicians, educators,  inventors, composers and teachers. Every corner of our country reflects our history, most of which is heroic and has been preserved in books, museums, ruins and pyramids. But there are also great episodes of our past greatness that are anonymous. I am talking about the heroism which is not recorded in books. We can see it in the vibrant silence of an adobe hut high in the mountains, in the plains and also in cities; near our rivers, oceans and lakes, that remind us of everyday tasks, of courageous, tenacious and hard-working women who have been able to bring up their children by themselves. They also remind us of noble peasants with calloused hands, whose eloquent example helped educate valuable men and women. They remind us of the silent heroic life of thousands of priests, nuns, soldiers, workers, mothers and businessmen, young people, women and children, doctors, lawyers and illiterate people. Today we are talking about the heroism of millions of Mexican citizens of noble hearts and great spiritual strength, who day by day have done their best working in the fields, in the cities, in a hospital, in a laboratory, in a rural school or in a university; they have worked in thousands of imaginable places, leaving their work as a heritage for us. They knew how to forge a rich, happy, simple and committed country, full of the values that have distinguished the Mexican Nation. We remember all of them with gratitude and emotion. How could we forget the thousands of “Cristeros”, the men, women and children who fought proclaiming “Long Live Christ the King and Mary of Guadalupe!” with all the love of their heart, with determination, spiritual strength and great courage. They all gave us an example defending their convictions. They never gave up in spite of cold weather, hunger, or martyrdom. Thousands shed their blood in our land defending their ideals.  All our territory is full of anonymous heroes who have responded to God and to Mexico. They are men and women who have left us the legacy of their blood, their name and their lineage, and who are part of our personal history. They are part of our family tree; we know anecdotes about some of them, like the courageous and heroic Father Pro. Others have left us their daily struggles to forge a more noble and just Mexico for us, a strong country, full of values. They are our heroes, they live by the notes of our National Anthem, which is the most beautiful and martial in the world. Their names have embroidered our beautiful flag; we proudly contemplate how it waves, clean and fragrant.  Mexicans are also noted for being a traditionally religious people, that feels and lives God in its simple popular fervor. God our Father, who loves us deeply, has distinguished us with a special gift. He looked at our land and sent us Our Holy Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. She blessed our country when she came to our land. She had Jesus in her womb, and she came to bring Him to us. She came to our country and talked to us with the tenderness of a mother saying: “Am I not here, who am your mother? Aren’t you under my shadow? Am I not your health? Aren’t you in my lap? What else do you need? Don’t let anything else worry you. She is our queen, our mother, our strength, our consolation, our refuge and our love. She came to Mexico almost 500 years ago to stay with us forever and accompany us in our daily living. That is why we rush to the Tepeyac when we have trouble, to ask her for help and protection. The distinction, love and predilection that our Holy Mother of Guadalupe has given our country, is a real honor, so much so that in the Old Guadalupe Basilica there is a plaque that reads: “She has not done the same with any other nation”. Having our Holy Virgin of  Guadalupe as our mother, intercessor and protector, what can we fear? We Mexicans live happy and safe in her arms. After reading these paragraphs and considering the great gifts that God has given our country, its wonderful people and its beautiful and rich territory, we ask ourselves: Why doesn’t the Mexico that has been described in those lines correspond to the Mexico we now live? What happened with the blue and trans- parent skies? Where is the respect we used to live with? Why has the water dried in our rivers and lakes? Why are they now full of trash and harmful waste? Why have so many children and teenagers forgotten how to respect their parents, old people and the authorities?Why have our forests and natural areas been destroyed? Why are so many species on the verge of extinction? Why are children abandoned? Why do we see abuse and violence everywhere? Why are families destroyed? Why do the strong suppress the weak? Why is there so much selfishness, so many thefts, alcoholism, drugs, sadness? Why have morality and values lost their importance? What is happening to us? Why, having so much beauty, do we live as we live? Some people might say: “Why is there so much darkness when we have so much light? We have neglected what is really valuable. We have failed to guide the new generations. We have forgotten education, good example, honesty, and what we do does not agree with what we say. We have expelled God from our environment. We have taken Him out of our schools, our homes and our offices. We have forgotten love; we have forgotten how much we are worth. We seek material things and not spiritual values. We copy the conduct of foreigners, we adopt their unfair laws that go against life because we want to look modern and are anxious to be like the nations of the first world. We are lazy when we are called to participate actively against all this. We don’t speak for the unprotected. We don’t unite in order to achieve the common good. We are selfish and we don’t make a commitment with the improvement of our country. We think only of ourselves, and we are not loving Mexico. But all is not lost. It is never too late to start. Together we can change all this, little by little. Mexico needs both our hands and our hearts. Let’s work hard now that we have life, to transmit to the newer generations the pride of being Mexicans. Let all boys and girls discover the greatness, sensibility and nobility that they have in their hearts. Let us educate them toward the common good. We all should feel that we are brothers and sisters. Let us defend our customs, our traditions, and our language. Even when nobody is looking at us, let us try to be better Mexicans. Let us protect life, our children and our elderly. Let us defend the family. Let us preach with our example. Let’s have solidarity with those who have material or spiritual needs. Let’s not lose hope or joy. Let’s work together to recover the respect we have lost. Let’s keep our streets, our oceans, our rivers and our environment clean.  We should be tolerant, we should forgive and pray for our country. Let us place our dear Mexico in the hands of God and in the hands of our Holy Mother the Virgin of Guadalupe. And with that same intensity, let’s pray, let’s act and love our families, our friends and the work we do. Let’s take care of the soil, the environment, the water and animals. Our prayer must have action. Let’s bring hope and smiles everywhere. Let’s serve those we know and those we don’t know, as if the brother or sister we are serving were Jesus. Let’s work together to make our country a land of brothers and sisters, where everyone works for the common good. If we really do this, our Mexico will soon be a rich and beautiful country, where our children and grandchildren will live as brothers and sisters. Perhaps many of us will not see all these hanges, but we will have the satisfaction to have planted the seeds. We will be the root that supports the tree. No one can see it, but without it, the tree would fall. LONG LIVE MEXICO!LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING ANDMARY OF GUADALUPE!

Mary Queen of Peace Community. Chihuahua. COMMITMENTTo make Christ’s merciful love a reality by giving testimony of this love through our life and with the Word of God, promoting human dignity and extending the Kingdom of God. WHO ARE WE? We are a group of women who desire to help our brothers and sisters in Indian Tarahumara communities. The members of our community are: Ale, Ana, Armida, Isabel, Isela, Luly, Tere, Olaya y Pilo. APOSTOLATE “Our Lord Jesus Christ suffering …” We went to the Tarahumara area “Pbro. Carlos Díaz Infante S. J.”, looking for the most needy people in our city.  STARTING POINT The original reason for our presence there was to announce the word of God to our Indian brothers and sisters who had not heard about it, but we discovered some urgent needs, such as lack of hygiene, illiteracy, marginalization and illness. To our question: “How can we be of help to you?” Their answer was: “Teach us how to read and write”. BACKGROUND These brothers and sisters of ours are: reserved, proud and isolated; their culture is totally different from ours. Our work with them must be very special and delicate, respecting their ideologies in order to gain their trust. Our Aim is: • to teach catechism in a subtle and testimonial way.• We will leave formal classes for the future. TEACHING MATERIALS • The Chihuahua Institute for Adult Education [Instituto Chihuahuense para la Educación del Adulto (ICHEA)] gives us support through teaching materials and courses. However, the materials are inadequate for an Indian who knows very little about the world beyond his/her own region. As a result, we find ourselves unable to use this method of teaching. TEACHING METHOD As the people have different academic levels, we work with small groups, personalizing our approach to teaching. We try to make them feel loved, respected, accepted, important and integrated into our mixed-race society. We believe that learning how to read and write and improving these basic skills, will also help improve their overall education, their work, their everyday tasks, their health and the quality of their life in general. If our Indian brothers and sisters know how to read and write, it will be easier for them to receive God’s message when it is preached to them. In the meantime, we will preach the Gospel, giving testimony to our Faith through our life, while offering these brothersand sisters affection, understanding and material assistance.

By Sister Mary Carmel Smith, CCVIThe early hours of November 11, found a group of Incarnate Word Sisters and coworkers heading for Dallas by bus, van and car to visit the extensive exhibit mounted by LCWR on the Contributions of Catholic Sisters in the United States during this past century.The proximate location of the exhibit at the Dallas Women’s Museum made the trip possible for manyresidents of Texas and surrounding areas.Throughout the exhibit, as we surveyed the rich history and contributions of Catholic sisters through photographs, artifacts and documentary material drawn from the archives of many congregations, we recalled our own beginnings in Texas and our great “Women of Spirit” which our history so well recalls. While observing the works of other congregations on display, we could trace the vital role our own sisters played in shaping American life in the late 1800’s and into the 20th and 21st centuries, finding similarities in the trials and hardships which they also endured in those early days.It was heartwarming to see our Congregation’s name inscribed in the long roster of Congregations spreadout in the exhibit area, and we credited our long line of Sisters, so many now deceased, for their heroic contributions in the health care ministries and in the field of education for over a century.We recalled the “Cradle of our Congregation” at the Galveston Exhibit which highlighted the Flood of 1900in which ten Incarnate Word Sisters perished along with about ninety orphans.The people of Galveston will never forget the heroic witness of these Sisters who washed up on shore, twoof them with babies still in their arms, and the others with the children attached to them by cords, a precautionthey had used to save them as the storm threatened.We have indeed come from a very rich heritage of service to the Incarnate Word and his people.Praised be the Incarnate Word!