Dear friends in Christ,
This, That & the Other … The word, my dear friends, is rose. Not pink! … When you come to Mass this weekend for the 3rd Sunday in Advent you will notice the third candle of the wreath will be lit. It is rose in color – a sign of joy for our Lord draws near. Likewise Fr. Ralph and I and the deacons will don the rose-colored vestments. Anyone who says to me “Father, you look good in pink” will find themselves saying a few hundred Hail Marys for the rest of Advent! … Seriously, this weekend is one of my favorites in the entire Church calendar. It’s “Gaudete Sunday,” a Latin word meaning “rejoice.” Pay special attention to the readings this weekend, too. In fact, I encourage you to click on the link below and read them in advance of Mass. They are all filled with a sense of joy! Do we convey such joy in our lives as well? Don’t be a Scrooge amidst all of the hoopla of this final full week before Christmas. Let the joy of the coming of Christ take root deep in your life!
… This will be our last weekend to collect for our annual Advent traditions of the Giving Tree and our Toy Drive. If you’d like to participate, bring a gift card to a local merchant (H-E-B, Wal-Mart, Target, etc.) to Mass, and we’ll distribute them to families in need in our area through Cypress Assistance Ministries. The amount is up to you, but most are in the $10-$25 range. We get them to CAM right away who in turn puts them in the hands of those families who need an extra hand at this time of the year. We’ve already delivered more than $5,000 in cards and we are hopeful for another big push this weekend. If you forget this weekend, we will accept them in the office anytime throughout the coming week.
… Likewise our annual Toy Drive for our “twin” parish of Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church continues throughout this weekend (or, like the gift cards, they can also be brought to the parish office). Bring an unwrapped toy for a young boy or girl (again, it need not be too flashy or expensive) and drop them in the bins in the narthex. We’re collecting them for distribution at OMOM parish on Saturday, Dec. 22. It’s a great way to spread the joy of Christmas far and wide. For those interested, I’ll have more details next week on how you can help participate in the load-up and delivery of the toys.
… I don’t want to jinx it, but we should have more of our great looking CtR Christmas ornament available this weekend. We sold out of the first batch in quick order, and so we’ve had another 200 made. They're scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, so God willing, we’ll have them at all masses, but then again, you never know about deliveries this time of the year. We’re going to reserve a number of them for those who attend the 5 p.m. Sunday Mass as they were shut-out a few weeks ago in the first go-around when we sold out, but rest assured we’ll have some available at every Mass. They are $15 and all proceeds benefit to our CtR Pipe Organ Fund. Trust me: your tree needs a CtR ornament!
… CtR is blessed with parishioners from nearly every country in the world. We are truly “catholic” – universal in our membership, as is the entire Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. One of our largest groups is from the Philippines. Each year the Filipino community hosts a series of masses over nine nights called Simbang Gabi in advance of Christmas. It rotates to a different parish each night and recalls the journey of Joseph and Mary as they made their way to Bethlehem. In that regard it is similar to the Posadas that are held in the Latin American community. Isn’t it beautiful how each culture remembers the journey through its own devotions, customs, and traditions? We’re hosting the Simbang Gabi Mass on Monday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Church. While the Filipino community will be out in force, it’s a Mass for the whole parish and all are invited. Come experience the music and liturgy (some of it will be in Tagalog, the native language of the Philippines.) It’s really beautiful. And then afterwards, they host a dinner of traditional Filipino foods in the Parish Hall and again, all are welcome. It’s a feast worthy of the King of Kings! … Lastly and mostly importantly, God loves you! … See ya’ at Mass!
This, That & the Other … The word, my dear friends, is rose. Not pink! … When you come to Mass this weekend for the 3rd Sunday in Advent you will notice the third candle of the wreath will be lit. It is rose in color – a sign of joy for our Lord draws near. Likewise Fr. Ralph and I and the deacons will don the rose-colored vestments. Anyone who says to me “Father, you look good in pink” will find themselves saying a few hundred Hail Marys for the rest of Advent! … Seriously, this weekend is one of my favorites in the entire Church calendar. It’s “Gaudete Sunday,” a Latin word meaning “rejoice.” Pay special attention to the readings this weekend, too. In fact, I encourage you to click on the link below and read them in advance of Mass. They are all filled with a sense of joy! Do we convey such joy in our lives as well? Don’t be a Scrooge amidst all of the hoopla of this final full week before Christmas. Let the joy of the coming of Christ take root deep in your life!
… This will be our last weekend to collect for our annual Advent traditions of the Giving Tree and our Toy Drive. If you’d like to participate, bring a gift card to a local merchant (H-E-B, Wal-Mart, Target, etc.) to Mass, and we’ll distribute them to families in need in our area through Cypress Assistance Ministries. The amount is up to you, but most are in the $10-$25 range. We get them to CAM right away who in turn puts them in the hands of those families who need an extra hand at this time of the year. We’ve already delivered more than $5,000 in cards and we are hopeful for another big push this weekend. If you forget this weekend, we will accept them in the office anytime throughout the coming week.
… Likewise our annual Toy Drive for our “twin” parish of Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church continues throughout this weekend (or, like the gift cards, they can also be brought to the parish office). Bring an unwrapped toy for a young boy or girl (again, it need not be too flashy or expensive) and drop them in the bins in the narthex. We’re collecting them for distribution at OMOM parish on Saturday, Dec. 22. It’s a great way to spread the joy of Christmas far and wide. For those interested, I’ll have more details next week on how you can help participate in the load-up and delivery of the toys.
… I don’t want to jinx it, but we should have more of our great looking CtR Christmas ornament available this weekend. We sold out of the first batch in quick order, and so we’ve had another 200 made. They're scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, so God willing, we’ll have them at all masses, but then again, you never know about deliveries this time of the year. We’re going to reserve a number of them for those who attend the 5 p.m. Sunday Mass as they were shut-out a few weeks ago in the first go-around when we sold out, but rest assured we’ll have some available at every Mass. They are $15 and all proceeds benefit to our CtR Pipe Organ Fund. Trust me: your tree needs a CtR ornament!
… CtR is blessed with parishioners from nearly every country in the world. We are truly “catholic” – universal in our membership, as is the entire Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. One of our largest groups is from the Philippines. Each year the Filipino community hosts a series of masses over nine nights called Simbang Gabi in advance of Christmas. It rotates to a different parish each night and recalls the journey of Joseph and Mary as they made their way to Bethlehem. In that regard it is similar to the Posadas that are held in the Latin American community. Isn’t it beautiful how each culture remembers the journey through its own devotions, customs, and traditions? We’re hosting the Simbang Gabi Mass on Monday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Church. While the Filipino community will be out in force, it’s a Mass for the whole parish and all are invited. Come experience the music and liturgy (some of it will be in Tagalog, the native language of the Philippines.) It’s really beautiful. And then afterwards, they host a dinner of traditional Filipino foods in the Parish Hall and again, all are welcome. It’s a feast worthy of the King of Kings! … Lastly and mostly importantly, God loves you! … See ya’ at Mass!
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