Reaching Out To/ Bias Toward Spanish Speakers

Hello:

I'm very hopeful that life is on the upswing right now. Actually, I hope that life continues to be as good to me as it has been - but that I'm ready to step out of this dark place that prevents me from appreciating how good I have it. When I get like this, I experience this sort of weird abstract way of viewing my situation from the outside. No matter how loudly 'outside' me shouts 'Stop your bitching, look how good things are.' inside me likes to sit around in the dungeon of self imposed despair. Oh well, on to something else.

One of the things my department does at Liguori Publications is produce a monthly electronic newsletter. It isn't as full of a 'newsletter' yet as what I hope it evolves into but we have about 24,000 subscribers that seem to get some value out of it. Normally it's a brief letter from one of our Redemptorist priests that reflects on the season and suggests some of our titles that are relevent to the topic. [You can sign up by going to www.Liguori.org and entering your email address under 'mailing list' on the right hand side]

We asked Fr. Matt Kessler, CSsR, the editor of our Libros Liguori imprint, to write a bilingual edition of our May newsletter. May is traditionally the month of Mary and many hispanics have a special devotion to her. I should have caught it before it went out the virtual door, BUT we sent the newsletter out with the Spanish text at the top of the email and the English below. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but within an hour we received an extremely angry email from a reader who was 'fed up' with her 'forced inundation with hispanic 'culture'. I stop short of describing it as "hate filled" or "vitrolic", but only just. [I paraphrased the quotes so that I don't need to interact with her to print them here].

I understand that this was one woman out of 24,000 readers. I also understand that she is not alone in her opinions. None-the-less it disappointed (and depressed) me that she took the time and energy to lash out at a newsletter from a religious publisher. I'm including the text of the newsletter below (English first) and would be interested in feedback from my readers. I'll be posting about my personal views on illegal immigrants in the next few days and I think it would be interesting if we could begin a thread of discussion.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

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May Is The Month Of Mary

What better way to acknowledge God’s presence than to see how Catholics in other countries express their faith in their own language and music? Latinos honor God through their veneration to the saints and the Blessed Virgin. In the month of May, Catholics turn their focus to the salvation brought to the world through Mary. Jesus’ Good News of salvation has been preached throughout Latin America, and his mother is never far from the hearts and minds of Latinos. Liguori invites you to deepen your own Marian spirituality devotion with this beautiful devotional. Mary Throughout Latin America tells the stories as well as gives a full color image of the Blessed Virgin as she is known in every Latin American country. A specially composed prayer for each image adds a soft touch.

The Catholic faith can make sense to young people if it’s communicated with the right language and examples, so that’s why we’re including Spanish editions of Jim Auer titles for teens and young adults. Liguori’s commitment to Spanish-reading Catholics extends to the Church’s youngest and fastest growing group. We hope these titles quickly find their way into the hands of our youth. Click on any of the images for more information.

In Christ Our Redeemer,

Fr. Matthew Kessler, C.Ss.R.
Liguori Publications

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¿Qué mejor manera existe para reconocer la presencia de Dios sino la de ver cómo los católicos en otros países expresan su fe en su propio idioma y su música? Los latinos honran a Dios a través de su veneración a los santos y a la Santísima Virgen. En el mes de mayo los católicos cambian su enfoque hacia la salvación que vino al mundo a través de María. La Buena Nueva de la salvación de Jesús ha sido predicada por toda América Latina, y su madre nunca está alejada de los corazones y las mentes de los latinos. Ligorio lo invita a profundizar su propia devoción espiritual mariana con este bello librito de devociones. María en Latinoamérica relata las historias al igual que da una imagen a todo color de la Santísima Virgen tal como se conoce en cada país latinoamericano. Una oración compuesta especialmente para este libro añade una suave ternura.

La fe católica puede tener sentido para la gente joven si se comunica con el lenguaje y los ejemplos correctos. Es por eso que incluimos ediciones en español de los títulos de Jim Auer para adolescentes y jóvenes adultos. El compromiso de Ligorio para con los católicos que leen en español se extiende a su grupo más joven y de más rápido crecimiento. Esperamos que estos libros lleguen rápidamente a las manos de nuestra juventud. Haga clic en cualquiera de las imágenes para hallar más información.

Spotlight On Spanish Resources

Hello, my name is Rebecca and I work as the bilingual sales representative for Liguori Publications. Please feel free to contact me by phone or email if I can help you in any way. I'll be happy to answer your questions whether you are looking for a single title to further your personal spirituality or resources for your entire parish. If you are English-speaking and need materials for the Hispanic Ministry at your church, I can make your life much less stressful. I can be reached by phone at 800.325.9521 (press one for English and two for Spanish) or by email ventasliguori@liguori.org

Hola, me llamo Rebecca y trabajo en el departamento de ventas en Liguori Publications. Favor de contactarme por teléfono o correo electrónico si puedo ayudar en cualquiera manera. Me alegraré contestar sus preguntas si busca un título en particular para enriquecer su espiritualidad personal o recursos para toda su parroquia. Si usted habla inglés y necesita materiales para el ministerio hispano en su iglesia, puedo aliviar su estrés. Nuestro número de teléfono es 800.325.9521 (marque uno para inglés y dos para español) o por correo electrónico ventasliguori@liguori.org.