Please pray for
- Lee Cutrone, who is seriously ill
- Mitzi Van Landuyt, who is undergoing treatment for illness
- Dana Merritt, who is recovering from surgery
- Mary Burke, who has passed away
- Dora Azucena, who died this past week. She was the mother of parishioner Jose Rivera. Jose is also our current candidate for the permanent diaconate
Priests' Convocation
Fr. Rito and I will be away from Monday through Thursday morning this week. We will be attending the annual priests’ convocation at the Marriott hotel in Round Rock. In case of an emergency please call the parish office. Do not leave messages on the rectory phone.Fall Fest on Sunday, October 1
Fall Fest this year is going to be very different. In addition to all of the favorite activities and games from previous years (i.e. wine wheel, cake wheel and pot of gold) there will be a different approach to food. Actually someone recently said that we should call this year’s event “food fest.” First of all, our Hispanic parishioners are preparing some wonderful treats including, of course, tamales! In addition there will be 11 more food trucks/vendors here. One note, those are outside vendors so they will be taking cash or credit cards. Fall fest tickets are good for use at the Mexican food tables and at everything else. Come and join us. See below for the list of food trucks and vendors.
More about Fall Fest
- Oktoberfest: The weekend of celebrations actually begin on Saturday evening with Oktoberfest sponsored by our Knights of Columbus. There will be great German food, music and dancing. Check out the parish website for more details. All are invited for an evening of fun and fellowship. Tickets available at the door. (6:00 PM in the Great Hall)
- Bilingual Mass: Fr. Rito and I will be co-celebrating a bi-lingual Mass at 11:00 AM. The 10:30 AM and the 12:15 PM Masses are cancelled. The remainder of the weekend Mass schedule remains in place. Come to Mass dressed for Fall Fest. I may well be in shorts under my vestments. That is one of the nice things about vestments. I can do that.
- Parking: Fall Fest will be in front of the church this year in the upper two parking lots. You can park in the lower third parking or in the parking spaces on the east side of the church and around the parish life center. There will also be parking in the school parking lot across the street. For parking there please follow the instructions of the police officer who will be directing traffic. There is a church service in the school at 10:00 AM and we want to be good neighbors to them. We will be offering shuttle service for anyone who would like to use it from the school parking lot to Fall Fest.
Why do we do Fall Fest?
The center of our faith is the Eucharist. The Eucharist calls us to be a people dedicated to faith, trust in God and service to each other. It calls us to come together as community. It is important that we pray together, that we work together in service to the gospel and that we celebrate and play together. Fall Fest is about all of those things. It is a time to come together in all of our diversity to celebrate that God has blessed us with this wonderful community of faith. That is why we begin with a bilingual Mass and then move on to a joyous afternoon.Food at Fall Fest
- L’s Bakery
- Garbo’s Lobster
- Rosarito ATX
- RJ Roasting (Elotes)
- Cinco Sentidos
- Mama Noy
- Big Kahuna Donuts
- Shishman Mediterranean
- Papa Murphy’s
- Kona Ice
- Tamales and Fruit Cups
- Duros and Street Tacos
- Wagyu On Wheels Burgers & Fries
- F'real Shakes
Homemade Heaven Crafters
- Barbara’s Creations
- Moria Victoria
- The Winged Soul
- Creative Little Hands
- Charlotte’s Creations
- @imadart
- Kathy’s Kreations
- Stylish Rustic Living
- URPI Latinamerican
- Fr. Rito’s Rosaries
Book Recommendations
The Baker’s Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan
A few weeks ago I recommended Kiernan’s first two books, The Hummingbird, and The Curiosity. If you have read these, then you have yet another wonderful work ahead of you in his third novel, The Baker’s Secret. Each of his books is very different and this one is set in World War II in a northern coastal French town occupied by Germans. In the face of the challenges of the occupation a young woman, who is a baker by trade, undertakes ways to help to keep the people of the town alive. It is a tough book in many ways but beautifully written and compelling. For those of you who have not read any of Kiernan’s books, oh, you have such good reading ahead of you.
The Heart’s Interior Furies by John Boyne
I am strongly recommending this book with two caveats. First, if it would bother you to read a novel in which the main character is gay then do not read this book. Second, if it would bother you to read a book in with the Irish Catholic church in the mid-20th century is portrayed in a very negative (although probably justified) way then also, do not read this book. However, you will be missing one of the finest books I have read in years. Boyne, an Irish writer, whose works I have previously recommended, has produced, in this book, a magnificent piece of modern literature. Beautifully written, Boyle has a capacity to create characters, dialogue and images that capture both one’s imagination and one’s heart. This is a book that I will simply have to read again and again.