Parish Update – Friday, July 30

Happy final Friday of July, friends. Sort of hard to believe we’ve arrived at this point, isn’t it? The calendar flips to August on Sunday and I for one am not prepared for it. Growing up I always associated August with the end of summer and the beginning of school, and while that’s still true for the latter, it doesn’t seem to be so for the former. Fall weather is a long way off so let’s do our best to stay cool in the interim.

Summer or not, we continue our deep dive into the 6th chapter of the Gospel of St. John this weekend, and on this 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus makes abundantly clear that he himself is the eternal bread of life that has come from heaven. Just as God rained down manna for the Israelites while they were on their journey in the desert, so too does he give us food – Jesus! – that is life for the world.

I love the line from the people who hear Jesus’ words, “Sir, give us this bread always.” It’s oddly formal and polite  (“Sir”), and yet so simple in its declaration. They hear of the bread of life and so they want the bread of life. Ah, but do they really know what they are asking for? Are they prepared to conform their life to His to truly receive what is being offered? Or do they simply want to fill their bellies while they continue to seek out so much else that fails to satisfy them? Those same questions are good “food for thought” for us as we approach the table of the Lord. 

One quick note up top here about what I mentioned last week. With the uptick in positive Covid cases and hospitalizations in Harris County I ask us all to be vigilant in protecting ourselves and others. … We will host another opportunity to receive the vaccination (this time the Pfizer version) this coming Saturday, July 31 in our Parish Hall from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. It’s open to everyone 12 years old and up, and no pre-registration is needed. The Church fully encourages those who are eligible to receive the vaccination, so please take advantage of its availability without delay. … Our policy on masks continues to be, at the directive of Cardinal DiNardo, that those not fully vaccinated should wear one out of charity for others. They are encouraged for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, but not required. 

Here’s what else is happening around CtR this week:

• We invite you to please join us for Mass this weekend, 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. … 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.

• After we took a break last year during the pandemic, we again resume our participation in the annual Missionary Cooperative Appeal of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston this weekend as we welcome Father Osas Onaiwu of the Somascan Fathers to CtR. As you may recall, each year we host a visiting sister, priest or brother to inform us of the good work their religious order is doing in spreading the Gospel to all people throughout the world. It is our chance to unite our hearts with those at work in the missionary fields and to offer our support for their service. Missionary appeals are the chief ways these orders sustain their work, so I’d ask you to please be generous in the second collection that will be taken. … Father Osas is a member of the Somascan religious order of priests, and if that sounds familiar, it’s probably because it is the same order of our new Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, who has visited us several times at CtR. Known as “Company of the Servants of the Poor,” the Somascans originated in 1534 under the direction of St. Jerome Emiliani in Venice, Italy, and today they minister throughout the world with a special emphasis on the care of orphans, youth, and the poor. … All the proceeds from the second collection will be forwarded to the Somascan missions to help foster their initiatives on behalf of all of us. Please join me in welcoming Fr. Osas to CtR.

• Following the success of the Women’s Retreat on-campus last year, we’re pleased to announce our inaugural CtR Men’s Retreat set for Sept. 24-25. I encourage the men of the parish to join their brothers from CtR for a few hours together in prayer. It will be an opportune time to “disconnect” and to satisfy our longing for communion with the Lord. In fact, the title of the retreat is “I Thirst.” There is a real need to drink deep from the well of the mercy of God, and the team has put together a beautiful retreat to help you do so.

It starts on Friday evening from 6-9 p.m., and then will continue all day on Saturday from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., ending in time to allow you to join us for the 5 p.m. Mass if you wish. Cost is $60 for all materials, and includes dinner Friday and lunch on Saturday. … See www.ctrcc.com/mensretreat for additional information and to register.

• This coming Monday, August 2 is our final installment in our summer Adult Faith Formation series, “Our Sacred Space.” It will focus on our beautiful crucifix that hangs above the altar in the church. Kathy Kelley, our Director of Religious Education, will lead our discussion and prayer time as we meditate on the richness of the artwork, commissioned especially for CtR, and how the crucified body of the Redeemer draws us into the the Paschal Mystery of our Lord. It starts at 7 p.m. and will last about an hour, and will be livestreamed as well for those who can’t join us in person.

• School will be back in session in just a few weeks, but before we say goodbye to summer I wanted to give you an overview of what the youth at CtR have been doing the past few months. We had a busload of our high school students attend the annual Steubenville Mid-America conference in Springfield, MO and from reports it was a spiritual blessing for all. This weekend we’ve got another group attending the local Archdiocesan Youth Conference at the Hilton of the Americas in downtown Houston and that’s always a great event. And then next week we’ll have yet another group (this time junior high students) off in Medina, TX for a camp aimed to grow them in their faith.

Add in that weekly Mass and bible studies in the Youth Suite in our Redeemer Activity Center (RAC) and you can see it’s been a productive summer. It’s all to help them grow in discipleship and the parish can be rightly proud of the good things the youth are doing. When you think of it, that’s really why we are all part of the Church. The Lord desires us all, young and old alike, to grow into life-long intentional disciples that seek to make Him known in all we say and do. As we continue to resume more and more of our former activities at church, at school, at home, and at work, let’s keep that foremost in our hearts and minds.

• Speaking of our youth, next weekend at all masses we will offer a blessing for all our school children, youth and young adults, as well as staff members, who will soon be heading back to school. We’ve been blessed to have many of our college students home over the summer and we wish them God’s blessing as they go off to their respective universities. In particular I want to encourage our students to continue their faith life back on campus. College is often a time young adults can drift from active participation in the life of the Church. In fact the numbers of college-age students that leave active participation in the faith is staggering. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Nearly every college or university has a Newman Center where students can connect with fellow Catholics and the larger Catholic community. Named after St. John Henry Newman, these centers allow Catholics to “find a place” within the Church when they are away from their home parish. We’re blessed that our three most popular public universities in the state, UT, A&M, and Houston, all have vibrant Catholic populations where students can be engaged in the faith, as does Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Texas State, Texas Tech, and on and on. ... I encourage parents and grandparents to gently encourage your college students (you might even “expect” it) to attend Mass on a regular basis. If they can find time to attend football games and parties, or find time to go to the library, there is no reason that they can't also find an hour on Sunday to go to church, too. It'll help them in more ways than they can imagine as they grow into the disciples the Lord calls them – and all of us – to be.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), whose feast day is tomorrow, pray for us!

Peace, Fr. Sean

P.S.: The next Weekly Parish Update will be Friday, Aug. 13. We're taking a brief pause this next week.