Aug. 14 update from Fr. Sean

Parish Update – Friday, August 14

Happy Friday, friends, and a very happy Assumption Eve, too. We’ll get to that in a minute, but before then let’s remember that today is the feast day of  St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr. St. Maximilian was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1941 after he volunteered to take the place of a married family man condemned to die. Our deacon candidate  Dan Ruvalcaba gave a fine summary of the life of St. Maximilian in his reflection at today’s Mass and I encourage you to listen to if you weren’t watching earlier.

In 2016 during our Parish Pilgrimage to the Shrines of Eastern Europe we visited the church of St. Maximilian near Warsaw, and then later toured Auschwitz. It was a powerful and sober day for all of us. I don’t think you can walk those grounds and not be struck by the weight of history and the thousands upon thousands of lives that were taken within those walls. It’s a day that will stay with me, and I when I think back on the life St. Maximilian and what he did, literally doing exactly what Jesus said,  “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” (John 15:12) it shakes me to my core. What a beautiful and selfless witness.

And then, I’m always struck by the thought, how did he do it? And would I do the same? I heard it said once that  if you want to be a saint, practice every day. St. Maximilian Kolbe did just that. He lived every day of his life in a desire for holiness, conforming his will to that of Jesus, and thus when the moment came, he was able to be a saint and give his very self so that another could live. Let us beg the Lord to grant us the desire to practice every day to be a saint!

This weekend on the  20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time we’ll hear a small back-and-forth conversation between Jesus and an unnamed Canaanite woman. She’s persistent, even in the face of some not very treatment, and in the end, her faith wins her the favor of the Lord. Let us strive to be as persistent in our desire for holiness as well.

Now, on to a few items:

• As mentioned, tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 15, is the  Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It’s not a holy day this year because it falls on a Saturday, and also because the obligation to attend Mass is still suspended due to the pandemic, but we will celebrate Mass at 9 a.m. for those who might like to attend or watch on our livestream at  www.ctrcc.com/live-stream. Please note we won’t hold our usual confessions tomorrow since they fall at the same time, but I’ll be around after Mass and am happy to hear anyone who’d like to go. Fr. Vincent is on vacation, so it’ll just be me.

• And then, of course, we again invite you to please join us for Mass via our livestream 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. If you’d like to join us in person for Mass, we welcome you on Saturday at 5 p.m., or Sunday at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

• Please pray for seminarian  Alfonso Coronado who will be ordained to the Diaconate this evening at 8 p.m. in the Diocese of El Paso. You will recall that Alfonso was assigned to us this past year while in formation at St. Mary’s Seminary, and God willing, he will be returning to us as a transitional deacon this fall (we’re still waiting on confirmation from St. Mary’s on what the plans are for the seminarians) before his eventual ordination to the priesthood next summer. You can watch tonight’s ordination from St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso on the Facebook page of the Diocese of El Paso ( www.facebook.com/DioceseofElPaso). Here’s a tidbit: When I was a first-year seminarian way back in 1992, the vice rector of my studies was a priest named Father Mark Seitz, and tonight, Alfonso will be ordained by his bishop in El Paso, none other than now  Bishop Mark Seitz. It’s a small world after all!

• A few weeks ago we announced our plans for Religious Education faith formation for our younger children (see  www.ctrcc.com/re for the details), and this week we have rolled out our plans for our junior and senior high students in Youth Ministry ( www.ctryouth.com/2020-2021-opening-plan). We’ve extended the registration period until Aug. 28, so I encourage all parents to get their teens signed up in the next two weeks if you have not done so. Both our Rise (junior high) and Encounter (high school) programs will have the option of either in-person sessions with their small groups or virtual formation on-line. In a sense, it mirrors what we are doing with our CtR Catholic School – giving students and parents the option on how they wish to proceed. We’re happy to work with everyone, and of course, we’ll be maintaining the highest level of safety protocols for those who do wish to meet in person. Regardless of which option is chosen, all faith formation programs will begin the week of September 20, which is Catechetical Sunday this year. My thanks to our  Youth Ministry team for their hard work to connect with our teens this year. They’ve done great work over the summer with inventive programs and I have no doubt they will meet the challenge of the year in a similar style to help our students grow in the faith.

• A reminder to all to please complete the 2020 parish census if you have not yet done so. It will be a great help to us to update our parish data management system and to be able to offer your kind of communication from us that best suits the needs of your family. … It will take you no more than five minutes to complete at  www.ctrcc.com/census. You may also have the postcard or email that we sent to you, and if so, there are direct links on each of them that will take you to the form to complete on your phone or computer. Or remember we also offer the “old school” style of completing by calling the parish office (281-469-5533) and will walk you through it over the phone.

• We welcome back our teachers for our  CtR Catholic School to campus this week as they begin a period of in-service before school starts on Sept. 8. They will be a sight for sore eyes – we haven’t seen them since we transitioned to online learning in March of the previous school year. I’m grateful for their dedication to teaching our students this year – whether in-class or on-line – and though it’s going to be an academic year like no other, I know this year will be a great one for our Crusaders. A reminder that we’re still accepting students in grades Pre K-8 ^th. Discover all the benefits of a Catholic education for your children and arrange a tour at  www.ctrschool.com. … Likewise our  Genesis Early Childhood Program has openings for children (ages 18 months through 4 years) in either a 2- or 3-day-a-week format. See  www.ctrcc.com/genesis for additional information. 

• Lastly, join me in congratulating  Rachelle Havelka and Austin Shaffer who will be married tomorrow at CtR. Many of you will recognize the Havelka name: Rachelle is the daughter of  Mike and Camille Havelka, our longtime Spring Festival chairpersons. If you’ve been to the festival, then you’ve seen Rachelle in action as she’s volunteered at every festival since her birth. A few years ago, she brought a guy she was dating to help alongside of her, and then the following year, he was back again, and that’s when I had a feeling that this Austin fellow might stick around for the long haul. If you can survive working the Spring Festival with the Havelkas and then come back for more, it must be true love! … Here’s a fun tidbit: Rachelle was an altar server at the very first Mass at CtR I presided at way back in the summer of 2004 when she was in the 6 ^th grade. Fast forward 16 years and I’m now presiding at her wedding. Yes, the pastor suddenly feels very, very old. Congrats to Rachelle and Austin! (There is no truth to the rumor that they are registered for the wedding at the Spring Festival Flea Market, Ring Toss, or Cotton Candy booths, but I do believe they will gladly accept Beer booth tickets as a wedding present!) 

St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, pray for us!

Peace, Fr. Sean