It was announced today that Sister Norma Pimentel MJ, Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, has been awarded the University of Notre Dame Laetare Medal. I and the whole Rio Grande Valley congratulate her and share in her joy today. Sister Norma has dedicated her life to being a living sign of Christ Risen responding to Christ Crucified in our midst. This is the way of Christ, and it must be the way of the Church.
I consider Sister a great friend and source of encouragement. She is a servant who invites others to join in the joy of serving. In that sense she exemplifies how, by always working together, a poor church can serve the poor. And in this way she expresses what is especially beautiful about the inculturation of the faith in the whole Rio Grande Valley. By the grace of the Savior, this is a good and generous people.
For her to receive the honor of the Laetare Medal for her service, (Sister would be the first to tell you) is for the whole Rio Grande Valley to receive a recognition for its quiet generosity. The immigrant, the flood victim, the young person needing counseling, are not statistics, for Sister they are real flesh and blood persons with great dignity; they are Christ. She sees and she responds, and she helps us all see and respond.
I consider Sister a great friend and source of encouragement. She is a servant who invites others to join in the joy of serving. In that sense she exemplifies how, by always working together, a poor church can serve the poor. And in this way she expresses what is especially beautiful about the inculturation of the faith in the whole Rio Grande Valley. By the grace of the Savior, this is a good and generous people.
For her to receive the honor of the Laetare Medal for her service, (Sister would be the first to tell you) is for the whole Rio Grande Valley to receive a recognition for its quiet generosity. The immigrant, the flood victim, the young person needing counseling, are not statistics, for Sister they are real flesh and blood persons with great dignity; they are Christ. She sees and she responds, and she helps us all see and respond.
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