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| Father David Garcia, 2009 Benitia Humanitarian Award recipient, shares a moment at the award banquet with Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú.
Carol Bass Sowa | Today's Catholic |
By Carol Baass Sowa
Today's Catholic
SAN ANTONIO • Father Eddie Bernal summed up the sentiments of the evening in his invocation at the annual Benitia Humanitarian Award Dinner on Feb. 6. In his prayer he thanked God for the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence (MCDPs) as “true heroines whose work sometimes and the miracles they do” are known only to God. And he thanked God for Father David Garcia, recipient of the 2009 Benitia Humanitarian Award, for his work in building up not just buildings, but people, and for his sense of justice and compassion. “Because of him,” he said, “the world is better, San Antonio is better and we are better people.”
Fund Development Director Helena Maria Kobylarz, who introduced Father Bernal, noted that the co-chairs for this year’s award dinner were Martha Tijerina, winner of the award in 2007, and Mayor Phil Hardberger.
George Kaus, a longtime friend of Father Garcia and parishioner at San Fernando Cathedral, introduced the honoree, recalling he first heard of him through Father’s role in Pope John Paul II’s visit to San Antonio. He later came to know him when he was assigned as rector of San Fernando Cathedral.
Noting “he performed his magic on us down there,” he described the priest’s role in renovating the then deteriorating cathedral during his subsequent time as its rector, an immense project, and trips he had made with him, at Father Garcia’s instigation, to Rome, when Archbishop José H. Gomez received the pallium, and other trips to search for appropriate statuary for the cathedral.
“He thinks big and he makes things happen,” said Kaus, noting Father Garcia’s next project was the renovation of Main Plaza, which involved enlisting the help of the city through Mayor Hardberger. He added Father Garcia is currently in charge of working to preserve the Old Spanish Missions here. “I don’t know anyone more fitting to receive the Benitia Humanitarian Award,” he said in conclusion.
Sister Esther M. Guerrero, MCDP, assistant to the superior general, then spoke briefly on the history of the Benitia Family Center, which was opened in 1994 under the leadership of MCDP foundress, Sister Benitia Vermeersch, CDP, in response to the needs of the poor and neglected, especially those residing in the West Side barrios.
At this center, she said, the sisters continue the work of “helping families redirect the future with hope and confidence,” realized through such services as bilingual counseling for individuals and families, opportunities for family social gatherings, adult education that focuses on ESL, GED tutoring and computer classes, assisting area residents in building stronger and safer neighborhoods and providing after school programs that include reading, writing and ESL.
“Your presence here tonight,” she said, “is helping us realize Sister Benitia’s vision.” Proceeds from the night’s dinner and accompanying silent auction help fund the Benitia Center’s programs.
Sister Mary Lou Barba, MCDP superior general, presented Father Garcia with the Benitia Humanitarian Award, noting he had been part of the sisters’ “family” for a long time. “Tonight, in the spirit of Sister Benitia,” she said, “we thank Father David for providing so many opportunities to so many people to help our neighbors.”
After receiving the award, Father Garcia first recognized the MCDPs, asking them to stand, noting “this is what it’s all about.” He also recognized Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú for all his support of the sisters’ efforts, his many friends present from San Fernando Cathedral and his family members.
He first came to know the sisters, he related, during his years as a seminarian and was impressed and inspired by their commitment to the poor. He added that his honor that night was really about their common ministry.
“We are about the urgent task of proclaiming the “good news” in a world that is lost and in despair,” he said, adding this is accomplished more through actions than words. Noting the morning’s news of shortages at the local food bank, he pointed out that in his work for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) he has become painfully aware of how many lack “food security” worldwide. And he noted that some, like himself, are blessed to be able to get the “good news” out to people in concrete ways.
In his own life he had been blessed, he noted, with the opportunity to first work in Immaculate Conception Parish in the barrios, with wonderful, dignified people, many of whom at the time did not have indoor plumbing, but who were able to improve their lives through the work of Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS).
His next appointment had been as secretary to Archbishop Patrick F. Flores, whom he described as never letting “the trappings of his high office get in the way of direct service and advocacy for the poor.” At the same time he also served as vocation director at Assumption Seminary, where he was given the privilege of sharing “the priestly commitment to justice” with the next generation of church leaders.
The Main Plaza project, he noted, served as an extension of his work in ministering at San Fernando Cathedral, “a sacred space for the city,” where “rich and poor have come together since our founding.” He also derived great satisfaction, he said, from his work with San Fernando’s community center, which offers adult care, education, social and legal assistance.
“Now,” he said, “I am working to preserve the Old Spanish Missions, and that’s a great privilege because to save some of the most wonderful cultural and historical treasures, not just of this city or of the state, but of this country, is indeed energizing for me.” He found especially inspiring the work of the priests, religious and Native Americans who helped build these communities from almost nothing, “leaving us a legacy of faith and of service” to be handed on.
Noting “the transformation of lives is what CRS is all about,” he spoke of his excitement at having the honor to also work now for Catholic Relief Services, finding it “overwhelmingly tragic” to learn daily of the “billions of our sisters and brothers in the world who each morning wake up and they are not sure if they are going to eat that day.” Those in poverty have no voice, he added, and depend on us to support such programs as Operation Rice Bowl and the CRS Lenten collection.
He looked to St. Paul, whose year we currently celebrate, as an inspiration, referring to him as one “who made the church catholic because he was a good fundraiser,” taking up collections in his travels that were sent back to Jerusalem. “He connected the body of Christ to the idea that we need to give,” he said, “and we need to sacrifice for those throughout the world who are more needy than us.”
“We stand in the great tradition of Paul today,” he observed, noting we can only be truly Catholic and our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers “if we think globally, living in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need, whether they live near us, in the barrios of our community, or thousands of miles away across the ocean.”
“The Benitia Center reminds us to think those great thoughts,” he continued, “thoughts of solidarity with the poor, thoughts of sisterhood and brotherhood. It tells us that we are all tied together in a fabric of relationships where our very holiness is judged by how we treat those who are most in need.”
“Tonight,” he said, “let us recommit ourselves to be that kind of community. May God bless the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence and the Benitia Center for helping us to think those great thoughts tonight, and to put them into action.”