Parish Update – Friday, Jan. 15

Happy Friday, one and all! We’re entering into a three-day weekend (at least for most) with the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday set for Monday, so let’s take the time to recall his vision for all of God’s children. It’s no coincidence that we are also beginning the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a time set aside so that all Christians throughout the world might be united in a common prayer to fulfill Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper that “they all may be one.” (John 17:21)

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the green vestments and colors in the church, but the return of Ordinary Time following Advent and Christmas will remedy that quickly. This weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (the 1st Sunday was superseded last week by the Baptism of the Lord) and we’ll be in this liturgical season until Lent begins in roughly a month on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17.

As we are at a beginning it’s only appropriate that our scriptures for this Sunday reflect a new start, too. Samuel responds, “Here, I am,” when called in the first reading. He’s not entirely sure who is doing the calling, however, until Eli instructs him that it is, in fact, the Lord who is summoning him. Samuel listens again for the voice, and when he hears it, put himself at service to God’s will by saying, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Would that we do the same when the Lord calls us, as he surely does!

And in our Gospel, Peter is likewise called by Jesus, but not until Andrew, his brother, brings him to the Lord. Never underestimate the role that Andrew plays – he literally brings his brother to meet Jesus. Do we use our initiative to bring our brothers and sisters to encounter Jesus, too? We should, and in fact, we must!

Here’s what is happening at CtR this week:

• As always we invite you to please join us for Mass either in person or via our livestream on Sunday at 9 a.m. on both our Facebook and YouTube pages. You can find the link to the livestream at www.ctrcc.com/live-stream, and in addition, you’ll find there both a worship aid and a link to the Scripture readings to follow along with Mass. And you can make your weekly offertory contribution online at www.ctrcc.com/donate. Thanks to everyone for your continued support of the parish in these days. … If you’d like to join us in person for Mass, we welcome you on Saturday at 5 p.m., or Sunday at 7, 9, and 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

• As you might have heard, retired CtR Deacon Jim Osterhaus died January 6 after a brief illness. He was 91. We extend our deepest condolences to Deacon Jim’s family and all at CtR who knew him. Though retired for several years now, Deacon Jim continued to be a source of light and inspiration to many in our community, including our permanent deacons for whom he was a great mentor. A member of the inaugural class of men ordained for the diaconate for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in 1972, he was truly and literally a "”first-class deacon” who was dedicated in his service to the Church and to God's people. There’s a link to his obituary on the front page of our parish website.

Deacon Jim was a good friend to me, and so very kind and helpful when I first arrived at CtR as pastor in 2004. We had many long conversations about the parish and the Church community, and he was always so proud to call CtR his home. We were blessed by his ministry, particularly his love of the Word of God which he shared through homilies and bible studies. … His funeral will be next Friday, Jan. 22 at 11 a.m. All are welcome, though, of course, we will handle it like a regular Sunday mass in terms of capacity and social distancing. We will also livestream the funeral Mass on our regular Facebook and YouTube social media channels. In your charity, I invite you to pray for the repose of the soul of our brother, Deacon Jim. May he, and all the faithfully departed, rest in peace.

• Speaking of deacons, please keep our three deacon candidates from CtR in your prayers this weekend as they make their canonically-required retreat prior to ordination. David Carrasco, Mike Jones, and Dan Ruvalcaba will be ordained on Saturday, Jan. 30 by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo following more than six years of formation and we rejoice with them and their families. The men will be assigned to us at CtR for their service to the Archdiocese and you’ll start to see them serving at Mass beginning the day after their ordination. … CtR has a great tradition of diaconal ministry and much of that is directly attributable to the ministry of Deacon Jim. He set a high bar for our deacons (and priests, too!) and we’re grateful to God that David, Mike and Dan will soon follow in his footsteps. I’ll have more to share with you about our new deacons in the next couple of weeks, but pray for them this weekend as they spend time with the Lord on retreat to prepare their hearts for their day of ordination.

• Speaking of retreats (it seems one thing flows into another this week), please also keep in your prayers about 170 of our high school students who will be making a full day retreat this Saturday in preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation later in the spring. This is just a portion of the more than 240 that will be confirmed at CtR, one of largest classes in recent memory. … We usually go off-site for two nights for the retreat but that’s not possible this year in the time of Covid, so I’m grateful to our wonderful Youth Ministry leaders and Core Team members who are helping lead our teens to a close walk with the Lord. May the Holy Spirit be with them all throughout the day tomorrow. 

• Our Business Office of the parish is preparing 2020 IRS statements to be mailed in the next few weeks. Please keep an eye on your mailbox for your tax statement. You need not call to request one – we send a statement to everyone who made any amount of a contribution that we can track (i.e., other than cash). Thank you for generous support of the parish this past year, and always.

• A reminder that our offices will be closed (and our school as well) on Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. … Finally, next Friday, Jan. 22, is a Day of Prayer for Unborn Children as we mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the U.S. (There's also a "9 Days for Life" novena that starts the day before. See the link for further information.) Since that tragic decision, nearly 60 million children’s lives have been lost to abortion, and many suffer that lost – often in silence. We’ll remember that somber event and pray for all human life at our 9 a.m. daily Mass, and I encourage you to keep a fast throughout the day if possible.

St. Lawrence and St. Stephen, patron saints of deacons, pray for us!

Peace, Fr. Sean