Parish Update – Friday, March 5
Happy first Friday of the month to one and all! I pray these early days of March are a foretaste of a beautiful spring to come. The storms of February are officially behind us now, but if your yard looks anything like mine (and the grounds around the parish, too), I suspect we all are dealing with brown grass and plants that are in need of the last rites on the way to the trash bin. Maybe that’s not a bad thing for Lent. It should be a season of dying so that we might prepare for a season of rising. By April and Easter morning, may we be ready to bloom again, just like our flowerbeds!
A quick note here to answer a question that I know more than a few of you have asked: we do not plan any immediate changes to our current health and safety protocols on our campus. Masks are still required, we’re limiting ourselves to 50 percent capacity, and we’re practicing social distancing. Gov. Abbott’s recent announcement that goes into effect next Wednesday has no bearing on our practices in the church, as houses of worship are free to make their own determination of what best serves the needs of their community. It’s one of the hallmarks of religious liberty in our society. … In consultation with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the local health community, we’re going to keep on doing what we’ve been doing. When that changes, we’ll let you know. Like you, I hope and pray it is soon. We all look forward to that day – and it’s coming – but now is not the time for it at CtR. Thank you in advance for understanding and cooperating with our protocols. May we offer up any inconvenience we might feel as a Lenten discipline practice for the good our brothers and sisters, particularly the most vulnerable among us.
Speaking of Lent, on this 3rd Sunday of Lent we will hear the famous passage from St. John’s Gospel of Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers in the temple area. It’s one of the earliest bible stories I can recall reading as a child because the imagery is so vivid – Jesus makes a whip out of cords and drives them out, spilling their coins on the tables, and scattering the doves. I remember a children’s prayer book with fantastic drawings of the scene that captured my amazement. It was wild and chaotic, and dare I say it, even cool, at least to my 7-year-old mind. The bad guys were getting their just desserts, it seemed to me.
As I’ve matured (hopefully), I’ve come to see this moment in the life of Jesus as not an excuse for violence (“If Jesus overturned a table, it must be OK for me to throw a temper tantrum, too.”), but rather an opportunity to look at my own life. Do I have such zeal for the house of the Lord? Am I profaning another of God’s sacred places – the temple of my heart – by my own actions and sins? Jesus’ anger at what he witnessed in the temple area does not give us carte blanche to do the same in our life. Though it looked like chaos, he was always in control, driven by the mission of his Father, not his internal rage.
Ask yourself, in your moments of anger, if you are really compelled by the will of God, or just our own desire to have things our own way? Jesus was teaching a lesson long ago that we would do well to still take to heart today. He is creating a new temple by his life, death, and resurrection, and anything that profanes that mission in our life needs to be driven out in these days of Lent by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Life must always be about his Passion of the cross, not our passion of fear or anger.
Now, onto the news and notes around CtR this week:
• 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. Of course, be mindful of the ongoing pandemic, and stay at home (and join the livestream) if you or a loved one has been exposed.
• We resumed using our Redeemer Activity Center (RAC) this week after being displaced from it due to a broken pipe during the winter freeze. The water damage was limited to the first floor, and though it spread throughout the building, it wasn’t too deep. Fortunately, most of the flooring is concrete so it cleaned up easily. We were able to dry the building thoroughly and now we will begin to repair and paint the drywall near the floor, a lot of footage of baseboards, and some carpet in the auditorium. ... We’ll bid out the project to get the best price (it’s all covered by insurance) and make sure it’s returned to its original state. We’ll continue to monitor the floor in the gym to make sure it doesn’t have any long-lasting problems, but the initial inspection of it shows that it is in good order. We’re happy to be able to use it again now, and we’ll get those cosmetic repairs taken care of in short order. All in all, we were fortunate that the damage wasn’t too bad. I hope those of you with burst pipes in your homes are also able to get the repairs you need taken care of soon.
• The winter storm also disrupted the timing of our annual Steps for Students, but I’m happy to report it’s still taking place. As you may recall, every February there’s a 5K (3.1 mile) race/walk in downtown Houston to support the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It’s a huge event, attracting up to 10,000 participants and generating much needed support for our schools. This year’s plan called for it to be virtual due to the pandemic. We weren’t going to gather downtown, but instead all participants will complete the 5K on their own and we at CtR were going to run/walk here on our campus. Of course, that’s right when the storm hit, and I don’t know about you but I didn’t feel like going on a three mile walk through ice and snow!
Fortunately, the organizers have extended the deadline and so our kids, along with Fr. Vincent and myself, and many of our staff members and school families are going to do the race this week (the kids will do a mile walk/run so during their PE classes). Best of all, you can still support us by making a pledge, and remember that all donations (100 percent) come right back to our school to benefit our students and teachers. To support my team for CtR School, visit this link: www.runsignup.com/Race/85757/Donate/ySGWqa1jzzj3z3Pg. It only takes a few minutes to make your pledge safely and securely online. Or if you like, you can give me a check or cash in person at Mass or in the office and I’ll see that it is credited to our CtR team. Thank you!
• Lastly, our Friday Fish Frys continue each week of Lent. We had a tremendous start with 1,070 dinners served last week, and remember that it is all carry-out orders this year. Thank you, Knights of Columbus. They have an efficient system in place to get your order taken, paid for, and delivered quickly and safely. Please join us today from 4:30-7:30 p.m. and take home a hot and delicious meal for you and your family. ... Stations of the Cross follow at 7 p.m. every Friday, too, in the church.
Our Lady of Good Counsel, pray for us!
Peace, Fr. Sean
