Parish Update – Friday, Sept. 3

Happy first Friday of the month to everyone, and a blessed Labor Day weekend to you all as well. I pray that we all might take a bit of a breather from our labors, be they our employment or just the everyday “work” it takes to keep things going in life. Let us call to mind Jesus’ invitation to “come away by yourselves … and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31)

But on this Labor Day weekend and 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we will come to Mass (or even watch it online) and that’s “work.” Ironic, isn’t it? Our Sunday celebration of the liturgy is truly “the work of the Church.” Actually, all liturgy is the work of the Church. It’s what we do, and the “doing” of this good and holy work is our small way of giving praise and glory to God. Not that God needs our praise, but rather we have an innate need to give glory to God.

Our neighbors in Louisiana are certainly on our minds and in our prayers as they work to recover in wake of Hurricane Ida. As of this writing, much of the area in southeastern Louisiana is without power and it seems it will be that way for at least a few weeks more if not longer. Add in the terrible destruction from the hurricane wind and storm surge in certain areas and it’s easy to see their recovery will be long and arduous, and we, of course, want to help. There are a number of good organizations that have boots on the ground, and I encourage everyone to support them to the extent you can. We have a couple of direct ways here at CtR.

First is through Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston, which is serving those from Louisiana who have evacuated to our city. Earlier in the week they reported there were more than 1,500 people in line at their downtown offices. They are asking for gift cards in the amount of $50 each from Wal-Mart, Target, Visa, or MasterCard so that they might distribute them to those who have come to Houston and cannot go back just yet. Catholic Charities is handling their physical and material needs at this time, and the gift cards are a way to further assist those who have been displaced. … You are welcome to drop the gift cards here at the parish office and we’ll make sure they get to downtown Houston and into the hands of the evacuees who are in need. We have already made an initial donation from the parish to this gift card collection, and we’ll be taking another batch down there this coming week and are happy to include any you’d like to donate as well.

If you’d like to give electronically, we direct you to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, which is situated where the eye of Ida passed. The destruction in that small diocese was great, and while the Archdiocese of New Orleans also welcomes donations, particularly for those in the LaPlace area, I’d also ask that we don’t forget about those in other small rural communities. I’ve had the opportunity to make a few presentations to the priests of Houma-Thibodaux over the years, and I’ve always been impressed by how well organized and connected the Catholic Church is in the region. Bishop Shelton Fabre does a wonderful job shepherding his people. They are asking for electronic donations at their website of www.catholiccharitiesht.org/ida. … There may be a further national collection later (I haven’t heard of one yet), but for now I encourage you to help in one of these two ways, or through a charity of your choice, and of course, keep all impacted by this terrible storm in your prayers. We in Galveston-Houston have been there before, and likely will be again, and we know what it means to brothers and sisters in Christ to all who have suffered so greatly.

Let’s see what 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.

• This weekend is the annual second collection for the Catholic University of America and the University of St. Thomas. I encourage us to be generous in supporting Catholic higher education at these two fine institutions. Catholic University in Washington, D.C., is the national university of the Roman Catholic Church while St. Thomas is our local Catholic university in the heart of Houston and one of the nation’s top Catholic schools. It is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report in the top tier of its annual “America’s Best Colleges” study and has also been honored by the Princeton Review for being among the “Best in the West.”

We are proud at CtR to be one of a handful of parishes in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston that is a “Parish Partner” of UST. We have a great relationship with the campus and are happy to promote the educational, social, and spiritual activities that the university offers. In turn, UST is a welcome home to many students from the parish. II believe we have six students from CtR enrolled at UST this semester. … If you are looking for a small liberal arts college with national recognition, low student-to-teacher ratio (11:1), with generous financial aid, affordable tuition and core Catholic values, you will be hard-pressed to find a better option than St. Thomas. If you know of a senior or junior in high school encourage them to make a visit to see the UST campus. It’s a real gem, with plenty of on-campus housing, athletics, and student life that make for a vibrant college experience. … In addition, did you know that there is a parish scholarship available for any CtR parishioner who chooses to attend UST? We’re happy to support our students that attend UST and the university matches our parish donation. It makes for a nice pool of scholarship money available for our UST students from CtR. Your support of the second collection this weekend makes that possible. Thank you in advance for your generosity to Catholic higher education.

• Thank you to all who came out last Sunday for our CtR Block Party following the 11 a.m. Mass. We had a great gathering of families, and though it was hot as expected, we managed to keep cool in the shade and air conditioning of the gym (the Kona Ice treats helped a lot, too!). I heard from so many people how good it was simply to gather as a parish family for a few hours. We’ve missed that human connection, haven’t we? Special thanks to Megan Dillingham from our staff for spear-heading it, and thanks as well to the Knights of Columbus and Ladies Auxiliary for their contributions in making it a big success.

• Next weekend we’ll be hosting a special Welcoming Sunday for those families who have joined the parish in the past year. If you are among them, be on the lookout for your specific invitation to join us after the 9 or 11 a.m. masses. It’ll be our first Welcoming Sunday in 20 months! We’ve got a lot of welcoming to do! … And then the weekend after that, on Sunday Sept. 19, it’s the long-awaited return of Coffee & Donuts after the Sunday morning masses. Can I get an “Amen?” Thank you, Jesus! 

• Remember that throughout September we are hosting a peanut butter and jelly drive. The peanut butter is for our good friends at Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Houston’s 5th Ward (our “twinned” parish) who are re-opening their Food Pantry this month and the one item they have asked for assistance with is peanut butter. The jelly is part of the “Jam for CAM” event of Cypress Assistance Ministries and that’s to help stock their soon-to-open food pantry at their new location which will be opening soon. Various churches and organizations have signed up for a particular item and they will all “jam” the shelves with that one item. Our item for CtR is jelly. (Another church is taking care of the local peanut butter needs.) Bring your PB&J any weekend this month and we’ll make sure it gets to those who need it. Thanks for your assistance with both CAM and Our Mother of Mercy to help feed those most in need.

• Take a look at our spiffy (there’s a word I need to use more often) webpage for our various Adult Faith Formation opportunities at CtR at www.ctrcc.com/adults. It’s recently been updated, and my goodness, even I didn’t realize all that we had going on – and I work here! There’s literally something happening every day and night. If you are looking for a way to get involved or to jumpstart your spiritual journey, you’ve got plenty of options. … Coming up soon are our Catholic book group that begins next Monday, Sept. 14, focusing on Henri Nouwen’s “The Return of the Prodigal Son” and our Men’s Retreat, which takes place in just a few weeks on Sept. 24-25. See the link for additional information on all this and much, much more.

• We welcome back students to our Genesis Early Childhood Program which begins classes next Tuesday after Labor Day. It’s always great to have the littlest ones on campus. Their joy and curiosity as they grow and learn is a gift to our community. May God bless and keep safe all our students and teachers this new school year. … We still have openings if you would like to enroll your children (from age 18 months to 4-year-olds), either for two or three days (or all five!) a week. See www.ctrcc.com/genesis for information and to schedule a tour.

• Our offices are closed Monday on Labor Day. Please keep all who labor in your prayers as we honor the dignity of human work. We pray also for those searching for gainful employment. Remember that CAM has a vibrant job placement program and stands ready to assist people in finding their way back into the work force.

St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, whose feast day is today, pray for us! … St. Gregory, a late 6th century monk and abbot, is venerated for his saintly virtues not only by Catholics, but also by the Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans. This quote from him is especially fitting for Labor Day: “The proof of love is in the works: where love exists, it works great things; but when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.”

Peace, Fr. Sean