The Will of God & The Word of Life
October 2026
James 1:22: "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror."
Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven"
This month we will focus on living the Scripture concretely. The will of God and the Word of Life- the natural, spontaneous response to God’s love is to do His will and live His word.
The Will of God & The Word of Life: Love received becomes obedience lived. After internalizing God’s immense love for each one of us, the natural response we feel in our hearts is: How can I return God’s infinite love with my own heart? Jesus Himself responds: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (Jn 14:23). And in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt 7:21).
The will of God is not first of all an abstract plan we have to discover for our entire lives. It is also the present will of God: what love asks of me here, now, with this person, in this circumstance. The Word of God becomes our guide because it teaches us how to recognize and accomplish that will.
This is why the Word is not merely something we study, understand, or admire. We live it. We take a Gospel phrase and put it into practice until it becomes life in us. The Word forms a new way of thinking, choosing, speaking, suffering, working, forgiving and loving.
And when the Word is lived, something extraordinary happens: God’s Word becomes visible. Christ continues to live in the world through people who put his Gospel into practice.
MONTHLY GATHERING:
Monday, October 12, 2026
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Located in the Main Church
The speaker will be Bishop M. Mulvey
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
MOST REVEREND Wm. MICHAEL MULVEY, S.T.L., D.D.
Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi
Eighth Bishop of Corpus Christi, 2010–2026
The Most Reverend Wm. Michael Mulvey served as the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi from 2010 to 2026.
Episcopal Ministry in Corpus Christi
Pope Benedict XVI appointed then-Monsignor Mulvey as Bishop of Corpus Christi on January 18, 2010. He was ordained to the episcopacy and installed as the diocese’s eighth bishop on March 25, 2010.
For nearly 16 years, Bishop Mulvey provided pastoral and spiritual leadership to a 12-county area that spanned the Diocese of Corpus Christi. His ministry was rooted in a desire to help the faithful live the Gospel and foster what he often described as a “spirituality of communion.”
During his tenure, Bishop Mulvey introduced Fraternity Days to strengthen prayer, fellowship and unity among the priests of the diocese. He established the St. John Vianney Residence for retired priests and expanded Catholic campus ministry through the Newman Centers in Corpus Christi, Kingsville and Beeville. He also encouraged and supported prison ministry throughout South Texas.
Bishop Mulvey brought the faithful together through the annual State of the Diocese gathering and promoted synodal listening as a way for the Church to pray, listen and discern together. Throughout his years as bishop, he celebrated the sacraments, ordained priests and deacons, confirmed young people, welcomed people into the Church, supported Catholic education and visited parishes and communities across the diocese.
He also guided the diocese through significant moments in the life of the Church and the wider community, including Hurricane Harvey, the COVID-19 pandemic, the diocesan synodal process and the National Eucharistic Revival.
Transition to Bishop Emeritus
On December 1, 2025, Pope Leo XIV accepted Bishop Mulvey’s resignation from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Corpus Christi and appointed the Most Reverend Mario Alberto Avilés, C.O., as his successor. Bishop Mulvey continued serving the diocese as Apostolic Administrator until Bishop Avilés was installed as the ninth Bishop of Corpus Christi on January 28, 2026. Bishop Mulvey then became Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi.
Early Life and Education
Bishop Mulvey was born on August 23, 1949, in Houston, Texas, the second of six children born to Daniel H. Mulvey Jr. and Marjorie Jane Patterson Mulvey.
He received his education in Catholic schools, including St. Theresa and St. Cecilia schools and St. Thomas High School in Houston. He graduated from St. Edward’s High School in Austin in 1967 and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Edward’s University in 1971.
He attended the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 1971 to 1976. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, commonly known as the Angelicum, in 1974 and a licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1976.
Priesthood and Ministry
Bishop Mulvey was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Austin by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter’s Square on June 29, 1975.
During his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Austin, he served in the following assignments:
1976–1977: Associate Pastor of St. Mary and Our Lady of Guadalupe parishes in Taylor
1977–1980: Associate Pastor of St. Louis Parish in Austin
1980–1981: Sabbatical studies with the Focolare Movement
1981–1986: Chaplain at Reicher Catholic High School in Waco
1986–1992: Director of Spiritual Formation at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston
1992–1995: Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in College Station
1995–1997: Associate Director of the Center for Spirituality for Diocesan Priests of the Focolare Movement in Florence, Italy
1997–1999: Director of the Center for Spirituality for Diocesan Priests of the Focolare Movement in Hyde Park, New York
1999–2004: Pastor of St. Helen Parish in Georgetown
2004–2007: Chancellor of the Diocese of Austin
2007–2009: Vicar General of the Diocese of Austin
2009: Vice Rector of St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston
2009–2010: Administrator of the Diocese of Austin
Bishop Mulvey continues to serve the Church through prayer, pastoral ministry and his faithful presence among the people of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.