It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the green vestments and colors in the church, but Ordinary Time has returned now that Advent and Christmas have concluded. Today is the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (the 1st Sunday was superseded last week by the Baptism of the Lord) and we’ll be in this liturgical season until Lent begins in early March. Our Gospel today is the famous miracle story of the Wedding Feast at Cana, wherein Jesus intercedes with the first of His many “signs” that foreshadow His abundant, overflowing love for all people. May the fullness of that sign be seen in our own love for others as well.
Last week at all Masses I presented to the parish our Vision 2020, a two-year strategic plan of three priorities and six goals that we are going to highlight as make our way to our 40th anniversary as a parish in 2020. My explanation in the homily was necessarily brief, but let me expand upon the vision here. It actually began as a three-year plan that was in the planning stages in the summer of 2017. We had our first meeting scheduled for Sept. 12, if I recall correctly. But then on Aug. 26-28, Hurricane Harvey dumped 51 inches of rain upon us. That necessitated a delay as we jumped into action to help our community.
The aftermath of Harvey took the rest of 2017 (and still lingers for many) so our Vision 2020 was put on hold until the summer of 2018 when we could again focus our attention on it. More than 75 staff and key volunteers were interviewed in person and by phone, online surveys were completed, and a working group of nine parishioners joined me for three full days of envisioning the plan to life. We were expertly led by Tricia Cellucci of the Catholic Leadership Institute, and after a few months and a lot of hard work and prayer, we created our Vision 2020 to focus on throughout 2019 and 2020.
The three priorities are summed up from the words of Jesus: “Come and See,” “Follow Me” and “Go and Make Disciples.” Those words command us to journey with Jesus throughout our entire faith life. Let’s look at all three.
Our priority of “Come and See” is defined as a dedication to engage parishioners in the life of the Church so that we may hear God’s voice and embrace the Catholic faith. Under that priority our two goals are 1) to increase our Spanish language ministry to better serve our community by offering three to five additional programs and ministries by July 2020; and 2) to establish at least 10-12 faith-sharing groups that meet weekly through the Easter Season, as a result of a Lenten Mission by March 2020.
Our priority of “Follow Me” is defined as a lifelong commitment to continually deepen and strengthen our knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. Our goals in that regard are to 1) provide three to six spiritual enrichment days of prayer, reflection and retreats annually by July 2020; and 2) offer quarterly “Catholic 101” sessions to deepen our knowledge of the faith by July 2020.
Lastly, our priority to “Go and Make Disciples” is a lived response to the call of Jesus Christ by glorifying God in our lives through our words and actions. Our goals to see that to fruition include 1) to increase and enrich participation in Stewardship throughout the parish by 25 percent by July 2020; and 2) to create an Office of Social Ministry and Outreach to grow and coordinate services for the parish and the community by July 2020.
I’ll expand on all of these in the weeks to come, but I wanted you to have them now. They are available on our website as well, and at the end of the month representatives of our all ministries have been invited to a day of prayer so that we might dive deeper into the Vision 2020 and begin to plan concrete ways we can make it a lived reality. As I said at Mass last week it will take the work of us all, and I look forward to partnering with you to see our vision – the vision of Jesus – come into view.
Next week we’ll kickoff the annual Catholic Schools Week. This is marked throughout the country as an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. Our own CtR Catholic School has a host of activities planned to mark the week for students, families, parishioners and community members. Through these events, we will focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our Church, our community and our nation. This year’s theme is “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” Those four attributes are at the heart of Catholic education and certainly they are the framework of our CtR Catholic School.
One of the highlights of the week is an Open House for all grades (Pre-K through 8th) from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31. This is a great chance to tour the school and see what the kids are doing up close and personal. That’s not only a good time for prospective parents to see what is happening, but it’s also a fine time for any parishioner to come and see. Even if you don’t have children or grandchildren that are school age you are invited to see how Catholic schools have an impact on the life of us all. In addition, this week our school is hosting a Kindergarten preview at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24. See the website for information and registration.
Another way to support our CtR Catholic School is through the annual Steps for Students 5K Run/Walk. It’s set for Saturday, Feb. 16 and it provides much-needed funds for scholarships and programs in Catholic education. All are invited to join our CtR team and all proceeds come back to our school – 100 percent! It’s a well-organized fun run through downtown Houston with a big party afterward. I’ve done it for a number of years and find it to be a great way to get some exercise and help a great cause. Registration is fast and easy and we always have a big team from CtR and we’d love to have you join us this year. Visit
www.ctrschool/steps4students for information and to register.
If you don’t want to run yourself, you can sponsor my team with all proceeds benefitting our own CtR School. You can make an on-line pledge and I’ll do all the work while you sleep in that morning! To pledge, visit www.steps4students.org/p2p/61414/fr-sean-horrigan (sorry it’s so a cumbersome URL; there’s a link on our parish website that’s easy to follow). It only takes a few minutes to make your pledge safely and securely online. Or if you like, you can give me a check or cash in person at Mass or in the office and I’ll see that it is credited to our CtR team.
Our offices will be closed (and our school as well) tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 21, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Finally, Tuesday, Jan. 22, is a Day of Prayer for Unborn Children as we mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. in the U.S. Since that tragic decision, nearly 60 million lives have been lost to abortion. We’ll pray for all human life at our 9 a.m. daily Mass, and I encourage you to keep a fast throughout the day if possible.