Parish Update – Friday, March 17

Happy Friday, my friends, and a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day to one and all from your proud Irish American pastor. May God bless us all this day, and may the luck of the Irish be with us. Come to think of it, God’s grace and Irish luck are all one really needs in life! Oh, and Guinness, too. Can’t forget about that! (More on that in a moment.)

First, I trust the Spring Break that many of us enjoyed this past week was a good one, though it is ending on a chilly note. It is important to take those periodic breaks to recharge and refresh our bodies and minds. In a way, Lent is kind of a “spring break” for our spiritual souls as well. It’s a time to slow down and recognize that there is something bigger going on here than just our own wants and desires. These 40 days will be over before you know it, just like Spring Break. Let’s resolve to use the time wisely so that we might better come to know the Lord in our life.

Secondly, this weekend we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Lent, also known as Laetare Sunday, from the Latin word “rejoice.” It is a day of joy in the midst of the penitential season of Lent, much like Gaudete Sunday is in the third week of Advent. It’s not quite Easter yet, but it lets us know that our journey is in the homestretch. Keep the faith! It’s also the second scrutiny for our Elect as they make their way to the waters of baptism. Please remember to keep them in your prayers.

Here’s some of the news and notes of what is happening at CtR this week:

• We invite and welcome you to join us for Mass this weekend on Saturday at 5 p.m., or Sunday at 7, 9, and 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. For those unable to join us in person due to illness or infirmity, our livestream is available 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. … There is a 2^nd collection this weekend for Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Since we didn’t distribute Operation Rice Bowls this year in lieu of a parish-wide almsgiving initiative through Catholic Extension to help the Migrant Workers Literacy Wagon program in the Diocese of Yakima, this is a good way to help CRS serve those hit by natural disasters around the world. … And if you have yet to offer alms for our parish project, or just want to add a bit more, you may do so by visiting www.ctrcc.com/catholicextension.

• Obviously today is a Friday in Lent, but given that it is also St. Patrick’s Day you might be in a bit of a quandary over what to eat. Fear not if you simply must have corned beef to honor St. Patrick, though I doubt he himself ever ate it. This year, Cardinal DiNardo has granted those in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston a dispensation from the usual Lenten practice of abstaining from meat today.

Now, being of Irish descent myself (my full name is Sean Patrick Horrigan – what did you think my heritage was?) I welcome this dispensation, but I have to admit that I’m not really a fan of corned beef. I’ll eat it from time to time, but it’s not my favorite, and so you will likely find me once again at the Knights of Columbus Fish Fry tonight. Nothing wrong with that! After all, you don’t have to have beef just because it’s St. Patrick’s Day, but if you wish to do so, feel free this year only. … And before you, ask, no, you don’t have to be Irish to use the dispensation as it applies to everyone. However, Cardinal DiNardo has asked those who partake of this dispensation to do an extra act of charity or penance in exchange for eating meat. That’s fair enough. … I do feel obligated to remind you, however, that drinking green beer on St. Patrick’s Day is a sin. Not in the eyes of God or the Church, of course, but in the Irish eyes of the pastor of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church. In my mind, anything other than Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day is an abomination. Irish beer is black, not green. That’s my rule and I’m not granting any dispensations from it!

• Now, let’s turn to the Italians. This Sunday, March 19, is our annual St. Joseph’s Altar pasta luncheon and bake sale in the Parish Hall. We’ll start with the blessing of the altar, which will be beautifully decorated with all manner of baked goods and treats, at 10:30 a.m. (following the 9 a.m. Mass), and then the serving line will be open continuously until 1:30 p.m. so those attending the 11 a.m. Mass can join us as well. ...  Dinners are $10 for adults and $5 for children, while kids three and under eat free, and trust me, you will not go hungry! All proceeds from the luncheon and bake sale go to benefit Cypress Assistance Ministries. It’s become a beloved tradition here at CtR each March and the ladies of the parish do a great job of making it a wonderful event for the whole parish.

What is a St. Joseph Altar? It’s a traditional way that Catholics of Italian descent honor their patron saint, the beloved husband of Mary, St. Joseph, whose annual feast day is March 19. It involves two things that are at the heart of what it means to be an Italian Catholic, namely family and food! ... There is a big pasta meal that is served, but the real centerpiece is the elaborate altar that is built. It’s usually several levels and includes all manner of Italian homemade cookies and sweets, bread and wine. … Tradition dictates that you offer a prayer at the altar for your family, and then after you enjoy your pasta (the sauce, or sugo in Italian, is the stuff of legend), you are encouraged to visit the nearby tables for a bake sale of traditional Italian cookies and other assorted sweet goodies to either enjoy here or to take home. … I know for a fact the ladies have been baking nearly non-stop the past several weeks and you are in for a real treat as it promises to be a feast for the eyes and stomach. Regardless of your heritage, on this day, everyone is Italian! Please plan on joining us this Sunday in the Parish Hall. Mangia bene!

• Also this Sunday we’ll offer an additional Mass at 7 p.m. This is our annual “Teaching Mass” for our high school confirmation students and their parents, but it’s open to the entire parish. I’ve offered this in the past for our youth and our RCIA community as a way to “break open” the Mass a bit more for them. It will be the regular Mass for the 4th Sunday of Lent, but I’ll be “teaching” throughout it, stopping occasionally to explain more of what is happening and, perhaps more importantly, why it is happening. We’ve found it to be a good way to get the youth engaged in the liturgy of the Church. … Each year I offer this Mass the youth seem to like it and get a lot out of it, but it’s the adults who are there with them who say they, too, learned things they never knew. We’re never too old to be reminded of the beauty and power of the Church’s sacred liturgy. ... Anyone is welcome to attend. It’s a regular Mass that “counts” for your Sunday obligation just like any of the others this weekend. This Mass takes a little longer (because of the narration during it), but we usually wrap up around 8:30 p.m. or maybe just a bit later.

• Lent is, of course, a great time to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Many of you have already taken the opportunity to come to Confession in this holy season and I encourage everyone to avail yourself of God’s mercy that awaits in this healing sacrament. But please do not wait until the very end of the season of Lent to come to confession! That’s when the lines are the longest and you run the risk of not only having to wait for a long time, but maybe not of getting in at all. We try to accommodate everyone, but every year it seems there are those who wait and then they get frustrated and even angry when we run out of time. Don’t let that be you this year.

To help you in your scheduling of confession, we will again offer a Lenten Penance Service next Wednesday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. We’ll have multiple priests here to hear confessions and I encourage you to take advantage of this wonderful time to be reconciled to Christ and the Church. … I especially encourage anyone who has been away from the Sacrament of Reconciliation for a number of years to avail themselves of God’s mercy. Don’t worry if you “don’t know what to say or do.” The priests will be here to help you. We’ll walk you through everything. “Be not afraid,” as Jesus says repeatedly in the scriptures. Come home to Christ’s love and forgiveness. … Because of the service, there is no 7 p.m. Mass on Wednesday this week, and please take note of the start time of 6:30 p.m. Confessions will begin at that time and will end by 8:30 p.m. so that our visiting priests can get home at a decent hour. Please do not wait until the last minute to arrive. If you’ve been to confession recently, you might consider sitting this one out so that others who have not been yet can have the opportunity to do so.

• Next weekend at all masses we will officially enter the homestretch for our upcoming 38^th annual Spring Festival taking place April 29-30. We’ll be distributing raffle tickets to everyone (sell ’em to your friends and neighbors!) and you’ll have the opportunity to sign-up to volunteer to take a shift or two at your favorite booths, rides, and games. Volunteers are the only way – let me repeat that, the ONLY way – we can have a successful festival. ... It’s an opportunity to practice Stewardship by giving your time and talent for a few hours before, during, and after the Spring Festival to serve our community. Make plans to join us by volunteering! ... We’ll also have advanced tickets on sale for the various food, rides, and game booths, and you can purchase raffle tickets yourselves for the chance to win a $12,000 Visa gift card or other gift cards of various denominations. You cannot win unless you play!

In advance of next weekend’s kickoff, you can still order Spring Festival t-shirts this weekend through Tuesday of this week, but after that we’ll cut off pre-orders. To assure you get the size and color you want, pre-order a shirt or two today and then pick it up next weekend at the Festival tent. We’ll have additional shirts for sale next weekend, too, but you’ll have to take what we have in terms of sizing. Once they're gone, they're gone! The order form can be found at www.ctrcc.com/springfestival. 

St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, whose feast day is today, pray for us! What? Did you think I was going to invoke any other saint than him today? Not on your life! … But to show that we Irish can play nice with our Italian friends (we love their wine – not as much as Guinness, but we do love it!), let me also add, St. Joseph, patron saint of Italy, whose feast day is Sunday, pray for us! We are well covered in saintly intercessors this weekend!

Peace, Fr. Sean