Parish Update – Friday, Sept. 9
Happy Friday, my friends. I always look forward with great joy to the Sunday liturgy, but I might be just a bit more excited for it this week because it doesn’t get much better than this when it comes to the gospel. Not that any gospel is bad, mind you – it is the good news, after all! – but on the
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time it is especially good news from the great Chapter 15 of St. Luke.
The entire chapter is only 32 verses and contains three short parables: the story of the lost sheep, the story of the lost coin, and the one we know best, the story of the lost son, i.e., the Prodigal Son. You can read the entire chapter in less than three minutes, and let me suggest you do so at some point this weekend. … But let me also suggest you take longer than three minutes – in fact, take your time and let the words wash over you. Savor it. Read it again. Let it sink in. Read it again. Sit with it. Pray with it. It’s perhaps the single most powerful chapter in the entire bible and it deserves our time and attention.
As a suggestion, you might do so on Sunday as it will be a day of reflection for us in the United States as we mark the 21st anniversary of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. I’m sure all of us who are old enough to remember can recall where we were and what we did when we heard the news that day. I can recall that it was a Tuesday without even looking at a calendar, as it was my day off from my assignment at St. Michael Church and I had just finished my morning jog at Memorial Park when the news came on the radio. I stopped to fill up my truck with gas (and have kept the receipt all the years later, for some unknown reason) and returned to the parish rectory to watch the news all day before leading a prayer service that night in the church.
The following Sunday was Sept. 16 and I remember as well that it was the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, as it is this Sunday 21 years later. We heard the exact same readings on that Sunday we do this weekend, and while the words of the parable of the Prodigal Son are powerful in that context, I especially commend to your attention today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus and the words of the Lord speaking to Moses. … “I see how stiff-necked this people is. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.” The Lord is furious that the Israelites are offering sacrifices to the idol of the golden calf. Moses, however, reminds the Lord of the covenant, and so God relents. … As we reflect this day, may we consider who or what we worship. Have we created any false gods, or are we following the way of the one, true God of all? May we, too, remember the covenant and all that God has done for us, and may he make us instruments of his peace that we, like the Prodigal Son, may find our way back to him.
Here’s what’s happening this week:
• We invite you to please join us for Mass this weekend. If you’d like to join us in person, we welcome you on Saturday at 5 p.m., or Sunday at 7, 9, and 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. You can also join us 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.
• It’s also our quarterly
Welcoming Sunday following the 9 a.m. Mass for new parishioners. It’s an opportunity for those who have recently joined CtR over the summer to learn a bit more about the parish – it’s easy to feel lost or unrooted when you first join as we’re a big place with a lot happening. I invite everyone to join us in the Parish Hall so that the community can say hello and be the face of Christ to our new members. We’ll have a special orientation for the newbies, but let’s have a good turnout of everyone to show them Christian hospitality and help them get acclimated to the parish. …
In addition, our summer sugar and caffeine drought is over – we’ll have coffee and donuts after all the Sunday morning masses in the Parish Hall. All are welcome!
• In other news, our
Religious Education school year begins next week and class lists are posted this week on the Parish Hall windows. The lists will be up the next two weeks, so make it a point to stop by to find your child’s correct time and classroom assignment. (It was also sent via Flocknote to all who registered.) It will make the first day of class go much smoother next week if you know when and where to take your child. … If you have not yet registered your child, or if you need to make changes, the late registration form can be found online at
www.ctrcc.com/re-registration. We always have availability in the home-based program but have limited space available for in person classes. Once you have registered the RE Department will contact you with your options.
• I especially want to say thank you to all who have put your Stewardship into practice by signing up to be a catechist or aide in RE, however we are still in need of a small number of parents to assist us in that regard. We all have a role to play in helping pass on the faith to the next generation so please contact the RE office this week and find out how you can help as a catechist, aide or even a hall monitor. We’ll give you all the training and support you need. We just need your time, and most especially your love, to help teach the younger generation.
• We will start the RE year on what has been designated as Catechetical Sunday by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. We’ll have a special commissioning and blessing for all parents, catechists and aides at all the masses next weekend. This year’s theme for Catechetical Sunday is “This is my body given for you” taken from Luke 22:19. It’s appropriate as we prepare for the Eucharistic Revival in the Church that all our catechesis, be it for young or old alike, center itself in and around the great gift of Jesus that we receive in the holy Eucharist. I ask that all catechists – and parents, most especially – take special care to teach our children this catechetical year of the significance of the Real Presence in the Body and Blood of Christ.
• One final note about Religious Education: in addition to our classes for the younger (i.e., elementary) kids starting next week, our
Encounter program for high school students also gets going next Sunday, Sept. 18 at 6:45 p.m. in the Redeemer Activity Center, and our
Rise program for junior high youth starts the following Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m., also in the RAC. … If you still have not registered your teens for either program, please visit
www.ctryouth.com today to do so. We are in need of additional adult volunteers to lead small groups in order to have space for all of our students, so please consider joining the Core Team as a way to share the Gospel with our young people.
We must have sufficient adult team members to accommodate those students who seek to join our Youth Ministry, so this is the time when we need our parents to step up and take a role in the faith formation of their children. Please join us, and I promise it is a ministry that will reward you many times over. Thank you in advance for understanding.
• My thanks to everyone who recently gave their input on our Envisioning Sessions for the 2023 Spring Festival. We had a nice response after the evening masses a few weeks ago, in addition to those who responded earlier in the summer after the morning masses. For those who have not yet responded, or who would like to expand upon what you have said previously, I ask you to please respond to the parish-wide Flocknote
survey that was sent earlier this week – or
simply click on this link and complete it now. It only takes about five minutes to give us your thoughts on the Festival – what you like or what can be improved about the festival layout, food, games, rides, bingo, pricing, auction, flea market – in short, just about everything!
We value your input, and so I ask you to take a few moments to complete the online survey. It will be a great help to us as we prepare for the 38th Spring Festival in 2023. Thanks very much.
• Among the many groups, bible studies, and parish organizations beginning to reconvene soon after the summer break is our
Divorced and Separated Ministry. (More to be added). They will begin a new 12-program called “Surviving Divorce” this Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. in the parish office. The program looks to be excellent, and you can find a complete overview on our website at
www.ctrcc.com/surviving-divorce. … The Divorced and Separated Ministry has been a true blessing to so many of our parishioners over the years as they navigate the often-confusing waters following the breakup of a marriage. The good news is that you do not have to go at it alone, and there are brothers and sisters in Christ right here in the parish who can help you find your place in the Church. And make no mistake,
those who have gone through a divorce have a place in the life of the parish community. I pray that all who may find themselves in a similar situation at this time in life will check out the good things happening in this most vital ministry of CtR.
• A couple of random notes to wrap up things: Sunday is Grandparents Day. Be sure to call or visit your grandparents if you can, or remember them in your prayers. … Please keep Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Fiorenza in your prayers. He has been going through some serious medical issues of late and has been in and out of the hospital a number of times. May God bring him comfort and healing. … There will be no weekly update next Friday. We’ll return with all the news and notes on Friday, Sept. 23.
• Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us! Yesterday, Sept. 8, was the celebration of the Nativity of Mary, when we celebrated her birth. May we honor her life and imitate her “yes” to God’s call in our own lives. … As we honor the queen of heaven and earth, we also remember and commend to God the repose of the soul of Queen Elizabeth II. May she rest in peace.
Peace, Fr. Sean