Dear friends in Christ,

     This, That & the Other ... There’s a powerful line at the end of the 2nd reading this weekend on the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time. It comes from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: “For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.” I don’t know what impacts me more – the fact that the Spirit scrutinizes (such a great word) everything (not just some things, but everything!), or the fact that it includes even the “depths of God,” which I have to figure is pretty deep. … But far from being an ominous warning, I take it to be a sign of accompaniment. That’s how close God desires to draw near to us so that we might be perfected in Him. We’ve got a long way to go, of course, but the Spirit is there with us. Listen for those words this Sunday and see if you doesn’t hit you like a ton of bricks, too.

     ... Thanks to everyone for your very wonderful response to our Stewardship Sunday last weekend. We distributed more than 2,100 of the Stewardship booklets (a record high for us), and you can find additional copies in the narthex and in the parish office. Continue to pray over your response to being a good steward – remember G-P-S – Give, Pray, Serve – and in the coming weeks look for ways you can increase your practice of Stewardship to serve God and neighbor here at CtR.

     ... Recall as well I mentioned that in this 40th anniversary year of CtR we are collecting photos you might have of you and your family taken here at the parish. Please send us a digital copy to ctr40@ctrcc.com and we’ll begin to gather them for use in our upcoming photo mosaic that we’ll debut on our anniversary weekend, May 30-31. Any photo of taken at CtR is what we are looking for. It might be from a baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, wedding, Christmas, Easter – just as long as it shows the Body of Christ – you! – in or around the parish. It might be from long ago or it might come from last week, it matters not. Thanks for your help in this fun anniversary project.

     ... I invite you to join us this Sunday, Feb. 16 for a presentation from our Respect Life Ministry entitled “Catholics Care. Catholics Vote.” It will be from 1-3 p.m. in the Parish Hall with Dr. Stuart Squires, PhD, from the University of St. Thomas. He’ll be taking a deep dive into U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” In this election year, what does our Church teach on how a Catholic should seek to form one’s conscience? You can read the document for free (in either English or Spanish) at this link. ... This is a non-partisan event as the Church does not endorse candidates, but rather asks us to form our hearts and minds well so that each Catholic voter can make a choice that takes into account our faith. It’s a powerful document that deserves careful study and reflection. It comes from the Bishops’ Conference and was recently updated (our own Cardinal DiNardo was instrumental in that updating). Dr. Squires is a professor of theology and Associate Director of the Center for Faith and Culture at UST. All are welcome and there is no charge for the presentation.

     ... We’re just a few weeks away from the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26. I’ll have more details about it next week, but just to give you a head’s up we will have six liturgies on Feb. 26, beginning with a 6:30 a.m. Liturgy of the Word service for those on the way to work or school. We will offer two Masses on Ash Wednesday, at 9 a.m. (with the school joining us) and at 6 p.m. We will have additional Liturgy of the Word services (all with distribution of ashes) at 12 noon, 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. That is a slight change from past years in that we are offering the additional evening Mass instead of a Word service. It’s not a Holy day of Obligation, but I know many of you like to attend Mass on that day. (There will not be confessions on Ash Wednesday.) … Also, if you have old palm branches from past years, bring them to Mass this weekend or next. We’ll collect and burn them and then use the remains as part of the ashes that will be “branded” upon us on Ash Wednesday.

     ... If you would like to be part of our Vocation Chalice ministry we invite you to sign up this weekend. It couldn’t be easier. Sign up after Mass for a week of your choosing (you choose the Mass time, too), and then at the designated Mass you’ll receive our Parish Vocation Chalice to take home to pray as a family for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated life. That’s it. All you have to do is pray! Single individuals and couples are welcome to sign up, too! … Remember, no confessions this Saturday morning, as Fr. Vincent and I will be at the Steps for Students 5K race for Catholic education. ... Lastly, and most importantly, God loves you! See ya’ at Mass!