Parish Update – Friday, June 24
Today’s feast was first celebrated in the 17th century, though devotion to the Sacred Heart began much earlier and can even be traced back to the early Church Fathers like St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and St. Ambrose. … It was St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French mystic nun, however, who popularized it when she received several private revelations of the Sacred Heart in 1673. The mother superior of her religious order wasn’t easily convinced of the authenticity of these revelations, but through perseverance and prayer, they were later verified and the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been praised ever since. We owe a lot to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque!
• We return to the familiar green vestments of Ordinary Time this Sunday after a couple post-Easter celebrations in white for Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi Sunday. You’ll be seeing a lot of green for the next five months as we make our way through the liturgical year. … Our readings this weekend for the
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time are all about callings, departures, and following the Lord. That is the case for Elisha in the first reading from 1 Kings, and in the Gospel from St. Luke. What does it mean to be called, and how do we respond? By baptism, the Lord has called each of us by name. Our mission in life is to learn how we can best respond to that calling. It might take a lifetime. It might even take us beyond this lifetime and into eternity! … So do not despair if you sometimes get lost on the way. The Lord never fails to be faithful in calling us. Let us likewise never fail to seek to respond with a lively faith of loving service to God and neighbor.
• The news earlier today about the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health came just as I was preparing this week’s update. I share with you here the statement from Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, in light of that ruling: “Today’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health is a welcome and positive step toward creating a life-affirming society. It is a necessary step. Abortion is too often viewed as a positive good and a practice necessary to ensure women’s liberty. Although this perspective is deeply flawed, it is a widespread belief which will take time and patience to overcome. … Tensions are high. Violence and property destruction have already occurred in many places, and threats of further violence have been made by groups opposed to the decision of the Court.
"As we know, the Court’s decision will not end abortion in our country. In Texas, where laws protecting the unborn are relatively robust, much work will remain, as we increase our assistance to mothers and families and continue working for just laws to strengthen support for parents and children. … I urge Catholics to act prudently and to avoid situations that may lead to public confrontation. We are called to speak the truth wisely, avoiding conduct that could unnecessarily inflame tensions. I ask for your prayers; for peace, for our nation, for mothers and their children, and for ourselves, that we will not cease working for the dignity of all, especially the unborn and the vulnerable.”
I join with Cardinal DiNardo and all who want to safeguard the most vulnerable and innocent in welcoming the Court’s decision, and likewise wish to reiterate that our pro-life mission must continue in all facets. Along with it we must continue to practice the virtues of charity and humility, especially when faced with opposition to those who do not share our views.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York offered these wise words that I think speak well to the current climate in our country: “We must remember that this is a judicial victory, not a cultural one. The culture remains deeply divided on the issue, which will be evidenced by the patchwork of state statutes pertaining to abortion across the country. To change the culture and build a culture of life, we need to enact family-friendly policies that welcome children, support mothers, cherish families and empower them to thrive. … Building a culture of life is not solely the responsibility of the government or those heroic individuals working on the front lines, in crisis pregnancy centers and other ministries. All of us need to respect the dignity and sanctity of human life in everything we do: in how we treat our children, spouses and parents; in the way we behave in our place of work; in sum, how we live Jesus’ two great commandments to love God and love our neighbor. Love, charity and reverence for human life from the moment of conception through natural death – these will build and sustain a culture of life.” … May God’s peace through the Sacred Heart of Jesus accompany us in all we say and do, both now and for ages to come.
Let’s look ahead to what else is happening at 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. …
There is a second collection this Sunday for Peter’s Pence, the charitable arm of the Holy Father. You can imagine the number of request
Pope Francis receives for assistance from around the world, and the Peter’s Pence collection allows us to join with him to bring comfort and aid to so many in the world who are suffering and in need.
• Please plan to join us
this Sunday, June 26 after either the 9 or 11 a.m. Masses for a
Spring Festival Envisioning Session in the Community Center. Following our record-breaking festival this year, it’s time we begin to formulate plans for 2023. Yes, really! We need to look ahead at how we will approach the festival now that our long-time chairpersons
Mike and Camille Havelka have stepped aside after many years of service to our parish. They have given us a strong foundation, and we want to hear from you of how we can best manage our operations with our volunteers from the parish community going forward. … Ultimately what we do will come from you – the people of CtR. We want to hear from you. What works, or doesn’t work? How can we help shape it for the future? Now is the time for us to think, dream and plan. But we need your voice. … Our meetings after the 9 and 11 a.m. masses will last about 45 minutes each, and all are welcome. It’ll be interactive and participatory, so come ready to share your ideas. This is a brainstorming session, so let your voice be heard. We’ll even feed you, so join us, please, as we look forward to our 38th annual Spring Festival next year.
• I ask for your prayers for our annual Vacation Bible School session which gets underway this coming week.
We are maxed out on registrations and unable to accept any walk-ins this year, but please pray for all the children and volunteers who will be joining us. If you are visiting the parish during the week, please be mindful of the extra activity and keep an eye out for the kids. They’ll be mainly inside, but let’s be cautious nonetheless when driving around campus in the mornings. … Though VBS is full, we do have openings later in July for our
Faith and Fun Summer Camps for children ages 2-5, organized by our Genesis Early Childhood Program. See
www.ctrcc.com/genesis-summercamp for information. … In addition, Genesis has openings on its staff for teachers, co-teachers, and substitutes for the school year beginning in the fall. The
www.ctrcc.com/genesis website has information on how to apply.
• I include this next note under slight protest. Though I think it is far too early to be thinking about this, my staff tells me that
Operation Backpack begins this week. Really? How is that possible? It seems school just got out, but already we are anticipating the start of the next school year in August. Such is life! … The store shelves are already stocked and sales are taking place the next few weeks, so we invite you to again help us outfit those in need in our community and at Our Mother of Mercy, our twinned parish that we also assist. You can drop off new backpacks and assorted school supplies in the narthex at Mass or in the parish office now through July 17. Additional information and a list of needed items can be found at
www.ctrcc.com/operation-backpack. There’s also a link to an
Amazon Wish List on the website if you would like to have pre-selected items shipped directly to us. Thank you for your support for this wonderful initiative for our community.
• As many of you have asked, allow me to give you a brief recap of our recent parish pilgrimage to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The highlight for me, and I think I can speak for the other 46 in our group, was the Passion Play in Oberammergau. That probably comes as no surprise as attending the performance was the reason for the entire pilgrimage itself. We had planned on it way back in 2019 B.C. (Before Covid), and so to finally be able to see it in person after such a long delay was just a joy. … And while I expected it to be good, I didn’t think it would be as good as it was. It was spectacular and certainly a world-class performance in every sense, from the acting, to the singing, to the staging. I’ve been a season ticket holder to Houston Grand Opera and I can say without a doubt that the Passion Play was every bit as good as any opera I’ve ever seen.
Of course we all know the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ well, but to see it “come to life” was really something. And though sung and spoken in German, we had a booklet to follow along the dialogue so it made it very gripping. The actors were superb, conveying real emotion and energy, and the stagecraft was stunning, particularly the scene of the crucifixion of Christ. … The performance was split into two halves from 2:30-5 p.m., and then after a break for dinner at a local restaurant in Oberammergau, from 8-10:45 pm. The time flew by. It was a profoundly moving experience and I highly encourage anyone who is able to see it at some point in their life. Though staged only in years ending in a “0” (except for the pandemic; the next one is 2030) it’s a truly destination performance that is well worth the trip.
• I could have come home directly afterward and been satisfied, but we had much more to see on our 12 days. Other highlights for me included a boat cruise on the Rhine River, Mass at the Schoenstatt Monastery in Vallendar, Germany, and at Einsiedeln Abbey, a truly impressive compound that we stopped at on our way to Lucerne, Switzerland. We took a wonderful journey up Mount Pilatus (7,000 feet) via cogwheel train where the cool air reminded us we were not in Houston! … We later had an educational tour of Innsbruck, which is a picturesque Austrian city. After Oberammergau we ventured to Salzburg, Nuremberg, Rothenburg (an amazing place that is the quintessential German village), and finally Munich, where we took a wonderful walking and bus tour to see all the city sights. Along the way we celebrated Mass every day in beautiful churches, and prayed for all back at CtR in our intentions. We enjoyed good food and wine (and yes, plenty of pretzels and a few beers along the way – it was Germany after all!) and the company of each other. It was a good group of traveling companions.
• Many of you have asked where we are headed next and, while I don’t know quite yet, we’ll see if we can nail it down soon enough. One thought is to return to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. It’s been a few years since we’ve gone there, and it’s often requested by those who want to walk where Jesus walked. We might add on an extension to Egypt as well. … Other suggestions have been for a return to Rome and points in Italy, perhaps including Sicily, which we’ve never visited, or a trip to the Catholic shrines in France. If you have thoughts on possible destinations, please let me know. For now, we thank God for a safe pilgrimage to Oberammergau, and pray that the Passion of Christ will resound in our hearts and minds for years to come.
• In other news, you may remember Joseph White, who spent the summer of 2019 as summer intern for us at CtR. He was ordained a priest in 2021, and offered a Mass of Thanksgiving here before returning to Rome for additional post-ordination studies. I am happy to report that Fr. Joseph is now back for good in the Archdiocese and will begin an assignment at St. John Vianney Church in west Houston as the parochial vicar. I spent two years at SJV as a vicar in 2002-2003 and I know Fr. Joseph will do great things for the people of the parish while being a big help to their pastor, Fr. Troy Gately. I’m happy to have him relatively close to us (SJV is in our Northwest Deanery), and while he’ll be quite busy there we’ll see if we can get him over here on occasion.
• There are no personnel changes imminent at CtR meaning that Fr. Vincent will remain with us for another year, barring any unforeseen developments. That’s very good news as he has been a real blessing to our community. It’s not often that a vicar stays in his first assignment for more than three years, so we’re grateful that we can keep him for a while longer! That’s the good news. … The bad news is you are also stuck with the old pastor for another year. I begin my 19th year of service to CtR this Friday, July 1. I’m grateful to God (and Cardinal DiNardo) to be called to serve you as your pastor. Thank you for prayers for both Fr. Vincent and myself.
Praise be the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Now and forever! Amen.
Peace, Fr. Sean