Parish Update – Friday, Sept. 17

Happy Friday, one and all! I trust that you all survived Hurricane Nicholas earlier in the week without too much damage. It was fairly mild for us in this neck of the woods, save for some power outages, but I know it created quite a mess for the folks down along the coast. Here’s hoping we are all back and up and running at full speed now.

This weekend is the 25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, but it’s also designated as Catechetical Sunday in the U.S. to mark the beginning of the Religious Education year for children, youth and adults. That’s true for us at CtR as classes begin this week for all our children and for junior- and senior-high school youth ministry as well.

The theme for Catechetical Sunday this year comes from the words we pray at every Mass, “Say the Word and My Soul Shall be Healed.” It is a reminder for us to open our eyes to the healing that Jesus offers us in the Eucharist which is essential, eternal, and ever open to us. We humbly ask him to say the word, and with that prayer, we have faith that, with the fantastic and improbable prospect of Jesus entering under our roof, our souls shall be healed. That is the faith which we seek to teach to every generation through Religious Education.

I am most thankful to our fine RE staff who have been hard at work preparing this year. We are blessed by a dedicated group who take seriously the commandment of Jesus to “go and teach.” To Kathy Kelley, our Director of Religious Education, along with her staff of Linda Watso, Marisel Menendez, Michelle Christopher, Adilene Huff, and Anja Ozlos, we offer our sincere gratitude for coordinating the many aspects that go into a comprehensive RE program. Likewise we appreciate the great work done by Angela Sengenberger, Tommy Lannen, Rachel Smyth, and Stacie McKay in our Youth Ministry department.

Their work would not be possible without our teachers, catechists, aides, and parent and core team volunteers. There are about 150 of them for our younger students in Pre-K-6th grade, and an additional 85 for our youth ministry in junior and senior high, plus another 42 teen mentors. You are truly the backbone of our program and without your selfless gift of your time and talent we would not be able to accommodate our roughly 1,600 students in all grades. Thank you one and all! We’ll have a special commissioning and blessing today at all masses for our catechists as they begin this new RE year.

I’m fond of this quote from Joe Paprocki, a long-time Catholic catechist and author, that should be memorized by every catechist – every parent, too: “Remember that you are not teaching a subject. Jesus Christ is not a subject to be taught. You are not the teacher of a subject but the facilitator of an encounter.” Isn’t that beautiful? I pray that all our catechists and all our parents (and all of us priests and deacons, too) will keep that foremost in our hearts as we teach this year. We are facilitators of an encounter with Jesus Christ!

Let me add one additional note to parents of our RE students: One of the most important ways to develop the faith is to see that your children attend Mass on a regular (i.e., weekly) basis. Every year catechists tell me they are amazed when they ask their class how many of them went to Mass that week. Inevitably it is less than half of the students. I ask all parents to please make a commitment to worship with your children at Mass, either in person, or since we are still dispensed from the obligation at this time, to actively watch it with them on our livestream. To sign them up for RE class is a good thing and I thank you for that, but please do not fail to have them engage with the Church so that they can give fitting worship to God.

Here’s 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.

• At our 9 a.m. Mass this week you will hear something that has been missing for quite awhile – the beautiful voices of our CtR Choir! They normally take a break during summer, but that was extended even longer during the pandemic. And while they are not yet back to their full size and range of voices, and will be taking a few extra precautions to keep everyone as safe as possible, it will be great to hear them once again. My thanks to Bridget Wenk, our Director of Music Ministries, and our many choristers who have been planning for this return. … Remember that while the choir is featured on at least one hymn (usually at the offertory), they are not there to replace the congregation. You’re encouraged to join your voices to theirs from your pew, and I know from listening to you each week that CtR parishioners love to sing. I can’t wait to hear everyone together again! 

• My thanks to all who came out to our Welcoming Sunday last weekend. We had a very nice showing from a number of parishioners who are new to CtR. It was great to meet so many who have started to call our parish their spiritual home. A number have moved to the area for work (including one family who relocated from Hawaii!), while others have been residents in Cypress for a while and are just beginning to sink down spiritual roots here. It was wonderful to gather with all of them and share a little bit about our parish’s history, its present, and its future! If you missed it, our next Welcoming Sunday will be Nov. 7. … And this Sunday after all the morning masses we invite everyone to the Parish Hall for the long-awaited return of Coffee and Donuts. All are welcome!

• Looking ahead to next month, let me call your attention to our Evening of Taize Prayer and Community Dinner happening on Friday, Oct. 15. The service will start at 7 p.m. in the Church, and our Knights of Columbus Council #8771 is hosting a free community dinner in the Parish Hall beginning at 5:30 p.m. This promises to be a beautiful evening to come together as a community for a shared meal followed by a shared experience of meditative prayer. … Taizé Prayer is a distinctive style of prayer developed by an ecumenical community of monks in rural France. It is quiet and reflective in nature, and incorporates periods of silence with readings from Scripture, prayers of praise and intercession, and beautiful music and chants based on the Psalms or other parts of Scripture that moves your prayer from the head to the heart. I’ve been to a number of Taize services over the years and they always touch me deep down. I highly encourage you to join us, and what a great opportunity to gather beforehand as a community for a meal, too. … It’s all free, though we do ask you to RSVP so we might have a good idea of how much to prepare. Childcare will also be provided. For more information, see www.ctrcc.com/taizeprayer.

• Lastly, tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 18, is First Reconciliation day for our 2nd grade students, with two groups coming at 8:30 and 10 a.m. Recall that we hold First Reconciliation (and, subsequently, First Communion) three times a year to accommodate our many young people making these important early sacraments. As such, our regular Saturday morning confessions at 9 a.m. will not be held that day. Of course, you’re welcome to come later, around 11:15 a.m. or so, but we’d kindly ask any adults present to please wait until after all the children have had the opportunity to go to confession first. Thanks for understanding as our kids experience this beautiful sacrament for the first time.

St. Charles Borromeo, patron saint of catechists, pray for us!

Peace, Fr. Sean