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I hope this message finds you well.
I want to share a special experience I had last week—one that I truly consider an honor and a blessing. I was invited to offer the opening prayer before the legislative session at the Arizona House of Representatives. This opportunity was made possible by my friend, State Representative Lydia Hernández—the only pro-life Democrat in the Arizona House of Representatives—to whom I am deeply grateful, for the invitation, but also for her courageous witness of Catholic leadership in civil society.
Standing before our state’s legislators to invoke God’s presence and guidance was a humbling reminder of the importance of faith in leadership. It was also a testament to the mission we share through Tepeyac Leadership—to bring our Catholic faith into the public square and to serve with integrity, courage, and conviction.
This was my prayer:
The Jesuit priest, Father Eusebio Kino, a missionary pioneer, apostle to the Pimas and a foundational figure in Arizona history, dared to believe that armed only with love, he could mount on a horse and be a servant of the people.
Born in Yuma, farm workers’ rights activist, Cesar Chavez was convinced that faith, prayer, and fasting were enough to move mountains. This is the side of his legacy we hardly ever hear about.
Both men lived lives that transformed Arizona even before it was a state. They pressed forward with faith in their fellow men, with faith in God, and in the dignity of every human being, from natural conception to natural death. As they poured their lives into service, they found hope in a familiar image here in the Southwest, the image of a woman clothed with the sun.
It is her intersession I seek this morning as I pray for this legislative session. And I make mine the words of Pope John Paul the Second, when he prayed in front of her image in Mexico City in 1979.
O Mother, strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters in the laity, so that in every field of social, professional, cultural and political life they may act in accordance with the truth and the law brought by your Son to mankind, in order to lead everyone to eternal salvation and, at the same time, to make life on earth more human, more worthy of humanity.
Amen.
P.S. The Tepeyac Leadership Gala is around the corner! Be part of this effort by registering to attend the Gala or making a gift now. No amount is too small/large. THANK YOU!
