Bulletin for Dec. 24

Dear friends in Christ,

“And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Those words from the Gospel of St. Luke resound in our hearts as we celebrate the birth of Christ our Lord. On behalf of Fr. Ralph, our deacons and the entire pastoral staff of CtR, I wish you and your family a blessed and Merry Christmas.

Of course, if you are reading this on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, Dec. 23 or 24, those words don’t yet apply to us! It’s still the 4th Sunday of Advent, but don’t worry. Wait a few hours and Christmas will officially be here. The great season of Christmas begins in the late afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 24 and will continue through Epiphany on Sunday, Jan. 7 and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord the following day on Monday, Jan. 8. So let the Christmas spirit reign in your hearts and in your homes a few days longer. Don’t be so quick to put away the decorations (especially the crèche!) and try to hold on to the spirit of Christmas – the celebration of the Word made flesh that dwells among us – throughout this coming year. Let us never forget that the Incarnation of God among us is not just a feel-good, Hallmark moment. It is the beginning of our salvation in Christ the Redeemer!

I offer a special word of welcome to all our visitors who are with us on Christmas and in these coming days of the holiday season. We are truly glad that you are with us and we hope you will join us time and time again in the future. Whether you are here for just a few days to visit with family and friends or whether you live in the neighborhood and are visiting today for the first time, it is truly good that you are with us. Please know that the doors to this church are open to you always. We hope the Lord will touch your heart today and lead you to worship with us. Let any of our staff know how we can assist you.

In particular I extend both a welcome and an invitation to those who perhaps were raised Catholic, but who have been away from an active practice of the faith in recent years. Christmas is often a time when some among us “come home.” We rejoice that you are with us today. I hope that the celebration this weekend might prompt a gentle “nudge” of the Holy Spirit within you to begin coming again on a regular basis. Both Fr. Ralph and myself or any of our deacons would be happy to arrange a time to visit to see how we might assist you to reconnect with the Church. It would be our great honor to do so.

This past year of 2017 has been an eventful one for the CtR family. We’ll remember it for the devastating flood that hit our region in wake of Hurricane Harvey in late August, but even in those trying days the real spirit of our community was evident as we worked together to serve those in need. Though I’ve said it before I again say “thank you” to the hundreds who helped us respond in our community. What a blessing it was to serve! Exhausting, but a blessing nonetheless. 

Everyday our parish continues to grow in faith and we are blessed by the many families that call CtR home. We now number more than 6,800 registered families and I suspect we’ll likely top 7,000 some time in this coming year. The number of people who are responding to God’s call in their life to be good stewards of their time, talent and treasure has been a source of blessing for our community. I thank all of you. There is no way we could continue to grow and offer the many ministries we do without the dedicated ministers and volunteers that we have. I invite everyone to take up the call of Stewardship in 2018.

Speaking of 2018, what might the coming year have in store for us at CtR? It promises to be another year of continued growth and celebration for our community. By next summer we will be planning the dedication ceremony for our new Redeemer Activity Center. The two-story RAC will be home to an auditorium, gymnasium, classrooms, and outstanding and expansive youth center for our junior and senior high school students. It is thanks to the generosity of the people of CtR that we are able to undertake such a much-needed project for our parish. My sincere thanks to all of you who have made a pledge to our “ Living Our Mission” Capital Campaign. If you haven’t yet joined us in this effort please do so. The beginning of the new year is a great time to get on board and your pledge of any size is greatly needed and appreciated.

Of course, any building plans or projects are always secondary to our true goal – to build up the Body of Christ and grow in holiness as a people of God. That has to be the litmus test of all that we say and do. We must strive daily to grow in holiness, to care for the least of our brothers and sisters, and to be Christ for others. Everything else will flow from the single, solitary mission of CtR. For now let us faithfully celebrate the coming of Christ into our world at Christmas and let us long for His coming again. As 2018 dawns we will again joyfully take up the charge to love and serve the Lord! 

Early yesterday morning we had a large group of children, teens and adults who delivered the hundreds of toys you donated to Our Mother of Mercy Church, our twin parish in the Fifth Ward of Houston. Thank you to all who brought a gift for a young boy or girl. My thanks to all who participated in the delivery and extra special thanks to Tim Herbert for organizing the collection and distribution of the toys. Likewise I extend a heartfelt thanks to all who brought a gift card to a local retailer in our Christmas Giving Tree program. They were distributed through CAM to the many families in need in our area. As always this annual event proved to be a great blessing to so many who found times tight this year.

Next Sunday we return to our regular Mass schedule with the Feast of the Holy Family. The following day, Monday, Jan. 1, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, and we’ll have one Mass that day at 9 a.m. Because it falls on a Monday this year, Jan. 1 is not a Holy Day of Obligation. Still, it’s good and proper to begin the new year in thanksgiving to God so please join us as we honor the mother of our Lord and ask for God’s blessing in this coming year. Our office will be closed on Monday, Jan. 1, but will re-open on Tuesday, Jan. 2.

Again on behalf of the staff of Christ the Redeemer, we wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May God bless you and your family always in this coming year.

Peace, Fr. Sean

P.S.: As we near the end of 2017, I invite you to prayerfully consider a special end of the year financial gift to CtR. As Christmas falls on a Monday this year, we will not see the normal holiday collection as we do when it falls later in the week. Gifts of cash and stock are also most welcomed at this time of the year. Gifts can be made to our  Living Our Mission Capital Campaign or to the general parish fund. In addition, those 70½ years of age or older might consider a Charitable IRA Rollover donation. For more information, please contact Deacon Kerry Bourque, our parish administrator, in the Parish Office. Thank you for remembering CtR at Christmas and for your generosity and support throughout the year.