Dear friends in Christ,
This, That & the Other ... I freely admit to being a “word nerd” and this week I get to use one of my favorites: penultimate. It means next to last, but more than that it’s just fun to say. I’ll use it in a sentence: This weekend is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, the penultimate Sunday before the Solemnity of Christ the King that closes out the liturgical year. This is one of the rare years that the liturgical season of Advent will fall entirely in the month of December, beginning on Sunday, Dec. 1. That may be of interest to only a few of us liturgy nerds (did I mention I’m one of those, too?), but I for one like those quirky Catholic facts.
... The Gospel from St. Luke this Sunday points specifically to the end of the known world and the people are curious as to when they will arrive. That leads Jesus into a long teaching, his final one before his passion, on what will happen and how one must be prepared for it. This is often called his “eschatological” discourse, which is a fancy word meaning the end times. The imagery and language is quite vivid. And though we cannot know the hour or day, two things are crystal clear. One, there will be suffering. And two, in the face of that suffering, we are to rely on God’s promise and presence. Let us strive to live thankfully that God is with us until the end of the age.
... A quick reminder about our CtR Catholic School Middle School Preview tonight, Thursday, Nov. 14 – if you have a child who will enter 6-8th grades next year we invite you to join us tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the school library. You’ll be able to speak with our faculty and tour our classrooms, labs, and gym to see all that CtR School has to both challenge your student to grown in knowledge and faith.
... This Saturday, Nov. 16, is the 11th anniversary of the dedication of our church. It is to Almighty God that we give thanks for the gift of our earthly spiritual house of worship. It’s a day of great rejoicing for us at CtR as we recall the beautiful events of 11 years ago and we see God’s manifestation in all the people who make up our parish community. ... As beautiful as our building is we know that it is the people of God who are the real shining lights of our parish. After all, this is only a building of brick, wood and stone made by man, but the Church is the living icon of Christ. It is the Body of Christ that makes the building, not the building that makes the Body of Christ. When that Body of Christ, united in faith, comes together with a single hope, dream and vision, we are able to do more than we ever think possible.
... Since the day of dedication 11 years ago we have welcomed more than 2,500 new families to our community. We now number more than 7,000. God’s holy Church is never static. It is always in mission to the world. ... And to that end, we celebrate Welcoming Sunday this weekend following the 9 and 11 a.m. Masses. It’s an opportunity for those who have recently joined CtR to learn a bit more about the parish – it’s easy to feel lost or un-rooted 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. I believe we’ve been in contact with most all of our recently registered parishioners, but if not and you are new to CtR, please join us after either mass this Sunday. We’ll have a special orientation for the newbies, but let’s have a good turnout of everyone at Coffee & Donuts to show them Christian hospitality and help them get acclimated to the parish.
... As we enter the final six weeks of the year please join me and more than 850 fellow parishioners in making your 2019 gift to the Diocesan Services Fund drive. We’re just about $11,000 short of our annual goal as set by Cardinal DiNardo for this year, and if you have not yet made your gift I ask you to do so soon. Remember the DSF funds the more than 60 ministries of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston that no one parish could ever do on its own, but that collectively allows us to offer, among other things, chaplains at the hospitals, food pantry and soup kitchens, ministry to the imprisoned, senior care centers, and outreach to the most needy, in addition to providing training for lay ministers in Religious Education and Youth Ministry. It’s an important work of the Church that benefits many and we all have a role to play. Your pledge of any size helps make it all possible. It’s quick and easy to make your gift today at www.archgh.org/dsf. There's a great video at that link, too, that shows the many ways that DSF makes the work of the Church possible for so many. Thank you for your continued support of DSF.
... As you prepare to make a grocery store run in advance of Thanksgiving, be sure to put tamales high on your list. That way you can cross it off after picking up a dozen or three this weekend after all masses when the Knights of Columbus will have the for sale. Done and done! ... Lastly, and most importantly, God loves you. See ya’ at Mass!
This, That & the Other ... I freely admit to being a “word nerd” and this week I get to use one of my favorites: penultimate. It means next to last, but more than that it’s just fun to say. I’ll use it in a sentence: This weekend is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, the penultimate Sunday before the Solemnity of Christ the King that closes out the liturgical year. This is one of the rare years that the liturgical season of Advent will fall entirely in the month of December, beginning on Sunday, Dec. 1. That may be of interest to only a few of us liturgy nerds (did I mention I’m one of those, too?), but I for one like those quirky Catholic facts.
... The Gospel from St. Luke this Sunday points specifically to the end of the known world and the people are curious as to when they will arrive. That leads Jesus into a long teaching, his final one before his passion, on what will happen and how one must be prepared for it. This is often called his “eschatological” discourse, which is a fancy word meaning the end times. The imagery and language is quite vivid. And though we cannot know the hour or day, two things are crystal clear. One, there will be suffering. And two, in the face of that suffering, we are to rely on God’s promise and presence. Let us strive to live thankfully that God is with us until the end of the age.
... A quick reminder about our CtR Catholic School Middle School Preview tonight, Thursday, Nov. 14 – if you have a child who will enter 6-8th grades next year we invite you to join us tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the school library. You’ll be able to speak with our faculty and tour our classrooms, labs, and gym to see all that CtR School has to both challenge your student to grown in knowledge and faith.
... This Saturday, Nov. 16, is the 11th anniversary of the dedication of our church. It is to Almighty God that we give thanks for the gift of our earthly spiritual house of worship. It’s a day of great rejoicing for us at CtR as we recall the beautiful events of 11 years ago and we see God’s manifestation in all the people who make up our parish community. ... As beautiful as our building is we know that it is the people of God who are the real shining lights of our parish. After all, this is only a building of brick, wood and stone made by man, but the Church is the living icon of Christ. It is the Body of Christ that makes the building, not the building that makes the Body of Christ. When that Body of Christ, united in faith, comes together with a single hope, dream and vision, we are able to do more than we ever think possible.
... Since the day of dedication 11 years ago we have welcomed more than 2,500 new families to our community. We now number more than 7,000. God’s holy Church is never static. It is always in mission to the world. ... And to that end, we celebrate Welcoming Sunday this weekend following the 9 and 11 a.m. Masses. It’s an opportunity for those who have recently joined CtR to learn a bit more about the parish – it’s easy to feel lost or un-rooted 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. I believe we’ve been in contact with most all of our recently registered parishioners, but if not and you are new to CtR, please join us after either mass this Sunday. We’ll have a special orientation for the newbies, but let’s have a good turnout of everyone at Coffee & Donuts to show them Christian hospitality and help them get acclimated to the parish.
... As we enter the final six weeks of the year please join me and more than 850 fellow parishioners in making your 2019 gift to the Diocesan Services Fund drive. We’re just about $11,000 short of our annual goal as set by Cardinal DiNardo for this year, and if you have not yet made your gift I ask you to do so soon. Remember the DSF funds the more than 60 ministries of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston that no one parish could ever do on its own, but that collectively allows us to offer, among other things, chaplains at the hospitals, food pantry and soup kitchens, ministry to the imprisoned, senior care centers, and outreach to the most needy, in addition to providing training for lay ministers in Religious Education and Youth Ministry. It’s an important work of the Church that benefits many and we all have a role to play. Your pledge of any size helps make it all possible. It’s quick and easy to make your gift today at www.archgh.org/dsf. There's a great video at that link, too, that shows the many ways that DSF makes the work of the Church possible for so many. Thank you for your continued support of DSF.
... As you prepare to make a grocery store run in advance of Thanksgiving, be sure to put tamales high on your list. That way you can cross it off after picking up a dozen or three this weekend after all masses when the Knights of Columbus will have the for sale. Done and done! ... Lastly, and most importantly, God loves you. See ya’ at Mass!
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