Parish Update – Friday, May 13

Friday greetings to you all from the nation’s capital! I’m in D.C. this weekend, but will be back on Sunday night. More on that below but for now let’s try to stay cool in this stifling heatwave as we continue to celebrate the joy of the 50 days of Easter.

This weekend we mark the 5th Sunday of Easter and we will hear the Lord speak in John’s Gospel of what he calls a “new” commandment – love one another. Seems odd that he should label it as new. Isn’t love the oldest of all commandments? Of course it is, but this “new” type of love Jesus is asking of us is meant to mirror his love for us. Only when we give of ourselves freely, as he did on the cross, will we be fulfilling what the Lord asks of us, namely love one another as he has loved us. Let us strive to always do so. 

You may have seen the announcement earlier in the week about some concrete repairs around our campus. Those are expected to be wrapped up today and so you should have no problem accessing the various driveways as you come to Mass this weekend. Thanks for your patience as we finally got that much-needed work completed. … Also, I’m happy to report that the rectory has dried out from the water line break we experienced last Sunday evening. We’re going to need to replace a good bit of drywall in the guest suite and our wood laminate flooring in the main living room, but we mostly escaped significant damage. The living areas where Fr. Vincent and I reside at opposite ends of the house were fine for the most part so we caught a break in that regard, and the disruption this week was just a minor nuisance. We’ll get the repairs taken care of in the coming weeks. You know what they say, into every life a little rain (or broken water line) must fall!

Here is what is happening around our campus this coming 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. … In addition, we will have Coffee and Donuts after all morning masses this Sunday, our last such weekend before we take a break for the summer. My thanks to The Classics, our seniors' group, for hosting and serving this weekend. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, no ministry at CtR has more fun than our Classics. If you are of the age where you qualify for a seniors discount then you qualify to be a Classic. Come join them! … Also this weekend in the Parish Hall we’ll have the Gulf Coast Blood Center here for a blood drive from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. 

• The code for the door to the Adoration Chapel has recently changed. Those in the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Ministry should have received notice of the change earlier this week, but if not, please email adoration@ctrcc.com to obtain the new code. For the safety and security of all who visit the Adoration chapel, we ask that you keep the code confidential and not share it widely. … While it is a place of prayer for all who wish to come into the presence of the Lord, we still must be alert and vigilant while in the Adoration Chapel. Be kind and charitable to all, but keep your personal safety and security, as well as that of Blessed Sacrament, foremost in your actions.

• Next weekend, Sunday, May 22, will be our quarterly Welcoming Sunday after the 9 a.m. Mass, and we especially invite those who are new to the parish, visitors, and those who have registered in the past few months or so to join us for refreshments and to learn more about the life of CtR and how you can be part of it. … While it is geared to those who are new-ish to CtR, we welcome everyone to join us. We all had a “first day” at CtR at some point, whether it was 40 years or 40 days ago, so it’s always nice when our “seasoned” parishioners stop by and say hello. Come find one new person or family whom you’ve never met and offer them a welcome to the community.

 • I remind parents again that registration for next year’s (2022-23) Religious Education and Youth Ministry classes is now open. You may register children in grades Pre-K3 through 6th online at our parish website at www.ctrcc.com/re and children in grades 7th-12 on our Youth Ministry website, www.ctryouth.com. … Let me also add a word of encouragement for parents to register your child in grades other than the sacramental preparation grade of 2nd. Please remember that they are two separate things that run concurrently – RE classes and sacramental preparation sessions. This is mainly for 2nd graders, but occasionally for older students who may have missed it at the normative time. … But we notice there is a disturbing drop-off in registration in children grades 3-7 until such time the young children become teenagers and begin the next round of sacramental preparation for Confirmation. Thus they lose around five critical years of religious education and formation.

Parents, please enroll all your children in RE, regardless of grade. Don’t just sign up for 2nd grade and then take a pass for the subsequent grades. Just because there is no sacramental preparation going on in those later elementary grades does not mean that the children should forego their religious formation. … In fact, I would argue those years are essential for them to continue to grow in the knowledge of God. You don’t take your children out of school once they learn their ABCs do you? No, you enroll them each year so they can continue to build upon those ABCs and come to discover additional knowledge. … The same is true of learning our faith. One doesn’t master it at 2nd grade. They must continue to build upon the knowledge of God every year. And that goes for us as adults, too. Remember we have many sessions, including home-based options, that will surely enable you to enroll your child at a time that works for your schedule. Talk to our RE department and let’s make it happen. We are happy to work with you.

• Now is also the time to sign up for summer programs. The first one is our annual Catholic Faith Camp beginning in just a month’s time, June 13-17. It will run from 8:45 a.m. – 12 noon for the week and is geared for students entering 2nd-6th grade. We also have our traditional Vacation Bible School happening June 27-July 1 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Daily for 3-year-olds through 5th grade. You can sign up for either program, or both as many do. See our parish website at www.ctrcc.com/re for information on registration, and, of course, we are also seeking volunteers, adults and teens, to assist with each program. … For students in grades 6-12, Youth Ministry offers weekly Bible studies and game nights as well as camps and conferences out of town in June and July. See the Youth Ministry webpage at www.ctryouth.com for all the details.

• Speaking of Youth Ministry, they are hosting an Envelope Fundraiser this weekend after all Masses for their upcoming summer camps and conferences. You’ll find them on the plaza with envelopes in multiple dollar amounts and each envelope features a card with one of the teens being supported by your donation and a prayer intention. Make a donation in any size you like, and keep the card. (If you would like to give electronically, you can do so on the YM website at www.ctryouth.com/support.) The teens will be praying for you as you support them in their summer activities. It’s a win-win for everyone and a great and easy way to support our outstanding youth. On behalf of them, thank you for your generosity! … Congratulations as well to our graduating high school seniors. There is a special banquet for them and their family this Sunday following the 5 p.m. Mass in the Parish Hall. We wish them all of God’s blessings as they move on to the next chapter of their lives. 

• As mentioned I am in Washington, D.C. this weekend as my sister, Kathleen Butler, graduates from the Catholic University of America with a Master’s of Theology in Catechesis. In addition to being the General Secretary of the Canon Law Society of America, she has been working on her graduate degree for the past several years at night and online, and I told her if and when she finished I’d be there. I also promised her a bottle of Dom Pérignon if she finished with a perfect 4.0 GPA and, well, looks like I’ll need to find a Champagne shop in D.C. because she did that, too!. … She’s been a catechist at her parish of Holy Trinity in Georgetown for more than 30 years (!) and has inspired hundreds of children and their parents and fellow catechists over the years in classes and workshops she has led. Don’t tell her, because I don’t want it to go to her head, but our family is very proud of her. … I’ll also get to see Colleen Campbell, who you may remember was a former Echo apprentice for us at CtR for two years while she was completing her Master’s from Notre Dame. Colleen went on to Catholic University after she left us and she is graduating along with my sister in the same ceremony with her PhD in Theology. Colleen is now the Manager of Formation Programs for the Catholic Apostolate Center in Washington and doing great work on behalf of the Church.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us! It was on this day in 1913 that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal.

Peace, Fr. Sean