These awards are given to those who exemplify Catholic values, stewardship of creation and dedicated service within rural agricultural communities. Each year the Austin Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (ADCCW) sponsors the Mass to give thanks for the harvest and to honor those who work in agriculture.

During his homily, Bishop Garcia reflected on Mary Magdalene and how her encounter with the Lord changed her. It made her want to be a witness to the Lord, he said.

“Every one of us, by virtue of our own baptism, is called to be a witness of the Lord Jesus, how he has touched our lives and how he has blessed us. Today, as we gather in faith as a community, as a diocese, we thank and pray for all of our families and friends who work in the fields. As I was driving here from Temple, I saw all the combines that were out in the fields working at this very moment … You never know, from one year to another, what the yield is going to be. But you put confidence and trust that God will help you to provide for yourselves and for others,” Bishop Garcia said.

“Mary Magdalene was called to be a witness, just like you and I are. We may drop a seed in the field, and we trust that God will be with us. Mary Magdalene trusted that God would not only take care of her and love her, but help her to go out into the world and tell others the Good News … You and I are called to go out into the world and tell people the Good News, maybe not so much by our words, but by the way we live, by the way we live out the Lord in our daily lives, by the way we share compassion and love, and the way we share forgiveness with those around us,” the bishop said.