But what I have heard so many of you tell me time and time again is that we need to grow in our spirituality, and I couldn’t agree more. We have beautiful buildings and facilities that serve our needs, and now is the time to look inward to deepen our union with God and beautify our campus so that all can find a place to be with the Lord in prayer. We need a place to “come away and rest awhile,” as Jesus invites us to do. I think our proposal will do just that, as you can see for yourself in the accompanying images here. (Click on each of the pictures to expand it to see in detail.) We’ll have these five architectural renderings of the Grotto and Gardens on display in the narthex at all masses this weekend, and they are available at www.ctrcc.com/ignite.

The proposed use of our funds from Ignite has been recommended for approval to me from the Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Council of the parish, and I’m grateful for their insight and counsel. One thing we are all in agreement on is that we do not want to incur any further debt. We are paying down regularly our existing loan for the Redeemer Activity Center. That stands at roughly $8 million, and is structured so that we can continue to chop away at it over the coming years and still manage our daily operations before we need to run a debt campaign in the future. But for now we want be able to construct the Grotto and Garden fully from Ignite alone. We are beginning to pull together pricing but I suspect it will take about $750,000-1 million to finish it completely.

To help us reach our goal, I ask everyone to make a three-year pledge to the Ignite Capital Campaign. The size of your pledge is up to you, as the circumstances of every family are different, especially in light of what we have all experienced these past two years. What we ask is equal sacrifice, not equal giving. You can make your gift online at www.ctrcc.com/ignite. From there it will redirect you to the main Ignite page with the Archdiocese to enter your information. It will take all of us sacrificing together to make it a reality. We’ll need major gifts at the $50,000 and $100,000 level, but we will also need gifts at the $3,000 and $5,000 level, as well as gifts at every level above and below.

Personally I am going to make a pledge of $3,285 – that’s $3 a day for next 1,095 days, i.e., the next three years. That’s doable given my personal financial circumstances. Now I ask you to do your own math and decide what is right for you and your family. You can pay monthly, semi-annually, annually, or however you wish, and you can do so by credit card, check, and gifts of stocks are also welcome. Megan Dillingham in our Stewardship office is happy to assist with any questions you might have at stewardship@ctrcc.com for assistance.

I'll have more to share with you this weekend, but for now, I ask you to please pray for the success of the campaign, make plans to do your part to help us, and let’s get ready to Ignite the faith, not only here at CtR, but throughout the local church of Galveston-Houston. Together, we’ve been able to do so much to further the spread of the Gospel in Cypress over the past several years, and I’m confident that we will do so again. I invite you to please join me and others who have given from their hearts as we work in support of our Archdiocese and our parish. As always, I thank you for your continued generosity and support of our mission here at CtR.

Let’s take a look at 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.

• Remember that next Friday, Oct. 29, we'll host our annual Trunk or Treat. All are invited to join us from 5-7 p.m. next Friday for music, games, candy and more in the parking lot behind the parishes offices. This is a fun, family event co-hosted by the parish, CtR School, and our Genesis Early Childhood Program, and is supported by the CtR Ladies Auxiliary and St. Anne's Society. It's free and open to everyone who would like to join in a safe and controlled celebration of Halloween. We've done it on a smaller scale in the past, but now we'd like to open it up and make room for all to participate. The kids really enjoy it, and judging by the decorations and the costumes on the adults, it seems you "old kids" do too! ... We invite you to sponsor a decorated trunk (we’ll have prizes for the best in show), and bring candy for all the kids in their costumes who will be making the rounds safely in our parking area. It’s a great evening of family fun for everyone. If you’d like to volunteer or donate candy (even if you can't make it in person), contact the office, or just drop by a bag or two. It's going to be a fun evening for all ages so please join us.

• As we enter into the final full week of October, we'll soon be wrapping up our Senior Care Drive as part of Respect Life Month. There's still time to donate items for seniors that will be distributed through Catholic Charities and our sister parish, Our Mother of Mercy. Many seniors live on a fixed income and even those who are not in a nursing home have supply and food needs that are not always met by their income or by another family member. They can often be forgotten about, but our faith calls us to honor and respect life at all ages: from before birth, in childhood, and in our elderly years. … Suggested items include lap blankets, hand lotion, non-slip socks and slippers, cleansing wipes, hand and body soap, scares, and large-print activity books (crossword puzzles, Sudoku, etc.) We have boxes in the narthex and the parish office to collect the items or you can use our Amazon Wish List to order and have the items sent directly to us in the office. We in turn will get them out into the community right away. We've had a great response from the community the first three week, and I offer my sincere thanks for all who have ordered from Amazon or dropped off an item or two in person. For more information and a link to the wish list visit www.ctrcc.com/respectlife.

Today we call upon a saint that most all of us surely have a vivid memory of ... St. John Paul II, whose feast day is today, pray for us!

Peace, Fr. Sean