Dear friends in Christ,
This, That & the Other ... This summer at the Sunday liturgies we are hearing some of the most beloved Gospel passages in all of the Sacred Scriptures. Last week was the Good Samaritan parable, and this week, on the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time,
we hear the famous conversation between Jesus and his friend, Martha. … She, of course, is troubled by all the details that need to get done around the house and she’s more than a bit perturbed that her sister, Mary, is not much help. (Her brother, Lazarus, is nowhere to be found, either.) … That leads to the powerful saying of Jesus,
“Martha, Martha. You are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Does this sound familiar? Maybe ring a little too close to home in your own life? I know it does for me. Perhaps we too are “anxious and worried” about many things. Let us allow the words of our Lord to come into our hearts.
What “better part” might we look for? What’s missing in our lives? Jesus is there to bring us comfort in our time of need. Mary knew that and Martha is learning it. In these weeks of summer, before all the hub-bub of the fall comes upon us and our families, let us seek the “better part” that can come only from the knowledge and love of our God.
… Our 2019 goal for the
Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) is $305,000 and we are currently about $50,000 short in pledges of meeting it. We’ve got until the end of the calendar year to pay it, but I encourage you to make your pledge now if you have not done so already. … Among the many ministries that DSF supports are the Catholic Chaplain Corps at the hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, the education of seminarians (like
Joseph White, our summer intern), and the Office of Correctional Ministries (by the way, we have a retreat team from CtR at the Ellis Unit in Huntsville this week – please keep them in your prayers). Your pledge is important to keep those ministries alive and active to help spread the Gospel. It’s a wonderful way to go beyond ourselves at the parish and serve the larger Church of Galveston-Houston.
… For those who haven't pledged as of yet, I would appreciate if you would look for a reminder from
Cardinal DiNardo in the mail this week and make your DSF pledge son. Or simply follow this link to
www.archgh.org/dsf and there you can make your pledge on-line. That’s how I made my pledge and it was fast, easy, and secure. A gift of any size will be a great help to us meeting our goal and providing for others. Thank you for your support of the many ministries that benefit from the DSF.
… Another area that your DSF pledge supports is the Family Life Ministry of the Archdiocese. That office sponsors a number of initiatives that impact us directly in the parish. One is
Engaged Encounter, a weekend retreat for couples preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage. This weekend, I’ll be leading an EE weekend for 46 couples on our campus. Please pray for them (along with myself and the team from CtR assisting me) as these young men and women reflect deeper on God’s love for them as they prepare to unite their hearts on their wedding day. They’ll join us for the 5 p.m. Mass on Sunday, too. … Another area that DSF supports is Natural Family Planning (NFP), and this coming week is designated as
NFP Awareness Week. The highlighted link has a great list of resources, and I encourage all married couples to dive further into the gift that NFP is for your marriage. … NFP reflects the dignity of the human person within the context of marriage and family life, promotes openness to life, and recognizes the value of the child. By respecting the love-giving and life-giving natures of marriage, NFP can enrich the bond between husband and wife. There are multiple methods of NFP, and
Christy Wright, our Director of Parish Life at CtR, can help you learn more about the availability of information sessions and training in our area. See our
webpage for more information.
… This weekend we welcome back to CtR our old friend,
Fr. Dominic Peluse, S.C.J., one of our former pastors. Fr. Dominic is a priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus religious order and works now in their U.S. headquarters in Milwaukee, WI. He comes back to Houston once or twice a year to visit friends and see his doctors. He’ll preside at the 5 p.m. Saturday Mass for me while I’m with the Engaged Encounter group. … I always say we owe Fr. Dominic a great deal of credit for having the foresight to purchase the land next door to our original church because that’s where our new church sits today (and the old church is now the chapel). We are grateful for his forward-looking vision that enabled CtR to grow. Please make him feel at home as he returns to us this weekend. … Lastly, and most importantly,
God loves you! See ya’ at Mass!