Parish Update – Friday, Jan. 27

Happy Friday, my friends, and I pray you all made it through the storms earlier this week without too much difficulty. That was a wild day. We’ve had plenty of practice dealing with hurricanes, but tornadoes are a different beast. … I grew up not far from where the heaviest damage was on the southeast side of town. You might have seen the pictures from the Beamer Road apartments that were leveled. That was directly across the street from my old high school, J. Frank Dobie. (It was an empty field where we parked when I was a student!)

Please keep our good friends at St. Hyacinth Catholic Church in Deer Park in your prayers. The parish suffered significant damage to its property when the tornado whipped through the area. The Religious Education building appears to be a total loss, and a few other areas were hard hit by the wind and blowing debris. Fortunately their recently renovated church suffered only minimal damage, and I believe they’ll be able to celebrate Mass this weekend as usual. … You may recall that the pastor of St. Hyacinth is Fr. Reginald Samuels, who was our parochial vicar here at CtR in 2011-12 before moving to Deer Park. I’ve been in touch with him this week and he’s thankful there were no injuries to his people in the wake of the storm. He welcomes our prayers, and I know he’ll do a great job of leading that community in repairing and rebuilding their campus.

On this 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time we find Jesus teaching on the top of the Mount of Beatitudes, which is only fitting as we begin Catholic Schools Week. (More on that below.) Class was definitely in session, and Jesus is the master teacher. So popular are the Beatitudes we can probably recite them from memory, and indeed, though they stand in stark contrast to what we might desire (who among us would think that being poor in spirit, or meek, or mournful is a blessing), they nonetheless form a blueprint for Christian living. Such authoritative teaching of Jesus can only come from the source of all that is true – his father in heaven.

Here’s what’s happening this week at the parish:

• 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 been wonderful to see so many people at Mass since the beginning of the year. Keep it up! As our Mass attendance increases, we are in need of more ushers to assist with seating, collection, distribution of worship aids and bulletins, and tidying the pews after Mass. Many of our ushers are assisting several weekends a month to provide welcoming hospitality to our community. They do so with a smile, but they need help from parishioners like you! … A few weeks ago many of you filled out a Stewardship commitment card. Now is the time to put your time commitment into action by joining us for an Usher Information Session next Sunday, Feb. 5 at 10:15 a.m. (so, right after the 9 a.m. Mass, and we’ll have you done in time if you want to attend the 11 a.m. Mass) in Room 301 by the chapel. Join the Usher Ministry and let your light shine for all to see!

• You’ll see a number of our CtR Catholic School students at Mass this weekend (you’ll spot them in their uniforms) for Catholic Schools Week, and we’ll hear from our principal, Mr. Dan Courtney, but in a special way I ask you to pray for our CtR Catholic School teachers. Many of them are parishioners just like you and they do a wonderful job of representing our parish and teaching with a love that comes from God.

• In addition to Coffee and Donuts hosted by the school this Sunday after the morning masses, we’ve got a host of activities planned throughout this coming week, not the least of which is our CtR School Open House on Wednesday, Feb. 1 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., which is open to everyone. Please let family and friends who may not be members of CtR but who nonetheless may be looking for a new educational option for their children. Above all I ask you to pray for our school. It is a wonderful gift to our parish, and in the nine years since it opened CtR Catholic School has truly made an impact on us all.

• Applications are now being accepted for next year in all grades Pre-K 3 through 8th, and I encourage you to spread the word to your family, friends and neighbors about the great opportunity for a Catholic education available right here at Christ the Redeemer. We are open to all families (not just Catholic), and financial aid is available for those in need. We want all children and families to have access to a Catholic education and our doors are open to everyone. Our school website has more information and you can apply online at www.ctrschool.com.

• I want to give you a “heads-up” on the forthcoming 2023 Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) which begins next week in every parish throughout the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, including us here at CtR. I’ll have additional information on it next week, but I wanted to alert you that it is on the horizon. … You will recall that the DSF is the annual collection to fund those ministries and services offered in the name of the archdiocese that no one single parish could ever possibly fund on its own. The DSF theme this year is “God is the Strength of My Heart” (Psalm 73). It is a fitting reminder that God has granted us a share in His heart, and because of that we are thus able to join together in our service and outreach to all our brothers and sisters in Christ. Your individual gift to the DSF enables us to reach people in need through more than 60 important programs and ministries.

• Beginning this coming week, all registered parishioners will receive a letter from Cardinal DiNardo along with a personalized pledge card inviting them to participate in this year’s DSF drive. Please complete the pledge card and bring it with you to Mass on the weekend of February 4-5 or return it in the mail in the envelope provided. If you prefer, you may make your pledge online at www.archgh.org/dsf. That’s what I do and I find it quick, safe and secure. We’ll also have pledge envelopes available in the pews as well. … Every parish has a goal, set by the Cardinal, to meet as part of DSF. Our goal this year at CtR is $335,000, which is an increase of about $15,000 from last year. Coincidentally, we exceeded our goal last year by about $15,000, and that overage was returned to us, so we’ll use it as a seed donation to get us jump started toward our goal this year. We have a long history of just cresting above our goal each year and we definitely want to keep our streak alive. As an incentive to reach and surpass we receive a rebate of 75 percent of any overage of our goal, with the other 25 percent going to support low-income parishes.

• I’m often asked how much a family should give to DSF. That’s ultimately up to you to decide, but I might suggest that you consider giving $1 a day (a $365 yearly pledge) to support DSF. That’s about $91 every three months. Remember that you don’t have to pay it all at once. You can spread it out through the year, and there are options for credit card payments or bank drafts. Regardless of the amount, please do make a pledge. If every family would give just a dollar a day we would make our goal easily. … I know these are tight economic times for all of us, but generosity has always been a hallmark of the people of this parish. Let us prayerfully discern God’s call so that we too might join with the faithful throughout Galveston-Houston to follow the Lord in this great work. I thank you in advance for your continued support of this wonderful initiative. It is truly one of the real blessings of our great archdiocese to be able to help so many people in so many ways.

• Our Divorced and Separated Ministry begins its winter series “Surviving Divorce” soon on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in the parish office. You can find a complete overview and register 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.

• I mentioned the Married Couples Retreat last week (and there's still to register for it), but we are also hosting our 4th annual Women’s Retreat on Feb. 10-11 here on our parish campus. As you might surmise, it’s open to all women in the parish and will be a chance to come away with one another “as Women Living in the Spirit,” as this year’s theme states. It starts on Friday evening, Feb. 10, and then continues all day on Sat., Feb. 11 and concludes with the 5 p.m. Vigil Mass. All meals are included. We’ve had great responses to our previous three women’s retreats and I am sure this one, too, will be a gift to all who seek to deepen and refresh their spiritual life. For more information and to register, visit www.ctrcc.com/womensretreat. … I might even suggest to my brothers that the Women’s Retreat would make an excellent early Valentine’s Day present to give to your beloved. Make plans on your end of things to take on whatever responsibilities you need to do with the kids or at the house that weekend so as to free your wife’s schedule to be able to attend. That’s a win-win for both of you!

• St. Thomas Aquinas, priest and Doctor of the Church, whose feast day is tomorrow, pray for us! … The 13^th century Dominican was nicknamed “Dumb Ox” by his peers during his studies, both because of his size and the fact that he was slow in speech. But his teacher, St. Albert the Great, said of him “We call this man a dumb ox, but his bellowing in doctrine will one day resound throughout the world.” Those words have proven prophetic, as Aquinas’ philosophical teaching is the undergirding of nearly all theological thought and doctrine in the Church to this very day. He is now most well known by another nickname, the “Angelic Doctor.” Let that be a lesson to us all!

Peace, Fr. Sean