James Derkits

I like to play at remembering the spiritual nudges I have received along the way that led me into this priestly vocation. On a recent trip to San Marcos, during which new students were arriving at my alma mater and getting settled into dorms, I was reminded of how I ended up spending so much time at St. Mark's and involved with Canterbury. It was a simple invitation to come play music. On that recent trip, I spent time with one of the new College Missioners for Texas State.  They are calling the ministry The Spring . How appropriate! I tried to convey to him just a drop of the importance of that river ( the San Marcos ) to my own spiritual life, to the life of University, and the life of the town. I looked Sam in they eyes and told him I learned about as much from the river as in classes; that it taught me about Baptism and about the Holy Spirit. I invited him to sit at the feet of that master for a while, and get to know the wisdom of the river. I actually got a little choked u...

Beverly supports a baby on the baby-supply area. The new U.T. Marine Science Institute Estuary Explorium is now open, and I get to be a volunteer docent! I've been learning more about the unique ecosystem created there where the freshwater from rivers co-mingles with saltwater from the gulf, like it does in our bay here between the island and the mainland. It creates a place where so much life thrives. It is also an in-between place. It's not the ocean nor the river. The water's salinity, temperature, and level change with weather, seasons, and tides. The flora and fauna are uniquely evolved to exist in that ever-changing environment, so long as the changes aren't too swift or drastic. After my volunteer orientation, but before my first day as a docent, I spent some time in a sort-of cultural estuary. Three of us from Port Aransas traveled toward the United States-Mexico border; as we started our journey, I soon I realized that we were already moving from o...