Bulletin for May 21

Dear friends in Christ,

I’d like to take a moment this weekend to both look back and look forward. I’m in a bit of a reflective mood after celebrating my 19th anniversary of priesthood ordination this past week. Thank you for the kind wishes. While I’m not one to mark anniversaries too much in my own life, it’s nice to pause and remember all the people who the Lord has brought into my life since that day. My life has been enriched a “hundredfold,” to quote Jesus, as a result of His calling me to the priesthood. I give thanks for it every day. And to spend the last 13 years of it here at CtR is just icing on the cake!

    I’m also looking back to one year ago at this time. It was our Commitment Weekend for our Living Our Mission: Shaping Our Future Capital Campaign. I’m grateful to the families who made a pledge at that time to help us raise the necessary funds to start the third and final phase of the Master Plan that we began 10 years ago. To date we have received $4,139,269 in pledges from 907 families. And, as we promised, we have broken ground on the new Redeemer Activity Center (RAC) and you can see the beginning groundwork on campus in preparation for pouring the foundation.

All of that has been made possible by the good people of the community. I don’t even know how to begin to thank everyone who has brought us to this point. Your generosity and enthusiasm is a great sign of the goodness of God. The work we have begun is a testament to the power of God alive in our community.

And now, as we look forward to what is to come, I ask those of you who have not yet made a pledge to prayerfully discern a sacrificial gift over the next three years. The RAC will house three main components that will enable us to meet our present needs and prepare us for the next generation at CtR. It includes an auditorium, a gymnasium and an expanded Youth Ministry suite, along with additional classroom improvements, enhanced safety and security measures, and the expansion of driveways and new parking spaces.

We are a parish of more than 6,500 families, and we are asking every family to prayerfully consider a pledge to this campaign. This is a project that will benefit all of us at CtR, those young and old here now, and those that will come in the future. We cannot all make the same size gift, but we can all make an equal sacrifice. Every pledge, of every size, is needed and most welcomed. Do not think your gift will not make a difference. I assure you it will.

Think of it this way – when we look back, we see all those who came before us at CtR who contributed to build our first church, our office building, our Community Center, our new Church, our Parish Hall, and our Education Building. Now, we look forward to doing our part so that those who will come after us will be able to build upon that faith. They, in turn, will look back on us and work to build for the generation after them. That’s how our Catholic faith is passed on through the ages. That’s always been the case, and always will.

We have received major gifts of $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000. We have also received pledges of $500, $1,000, and $3,000. They all add up, and they are all important. I ask every family to consider a pledge of $5,000 over three years. Or, maybe you could consider a $3,000 pledge – that’s less than $3 a day to build up your parish both now and for years to come. Again the size of your gift is not important and it can be paid out over three years. The equal sacrifice is all we ask. Our website has additional information and an easy link to pledge through FaithDirect, our online giving service.

We have financing in place with Frost Bank to fund the project, but it will take the work of our entire community to pay down our debt. Like a mortgage on a house, we pay it each month, and just as all the members of the family contribute to the good of the home, so too in our parish home are all asked to participate. Every family is important at CtR and we all have a role to play no matter the size. We ask every family to make a gift, large or small. It all adds up and contributes to our goal. Please do not sit on the sidelines and let someone else do your work for you. You are precious in the eyes of God and He has called you to this family of faith. I look forward to the future of CtR with great hope that as members of one family in Christ, we will together work to do more than we ever thought possible by ourselves. I thank you for your great faith, love and sacrifice.

In other news, I want to look back at two projects on our campus that have recently been completed. First, our beautiful prayer garden is looking very nice these days. As many of you know, this has been a labor of love for Fr. Ralph. He has been a very hands-on project manager for it and I thank him for his dedication to enhancing this space at the front of our campus. If you haven’t visited it lately, make a point to stop by and see it near the front of the Community Center and Adoration Chapel.

Fr. Ralph recruited several members of our parish to assist him, and while there are too many to list here my special thanks goes out to Gary Boudreaux and members of the Knights of Columbus for their work. The vines were trimmed back (way, way back!), but are already blooming beautifully. Thanks as well to Steve St. Germaine of Trail Creek Landscape, who provided much of the greenery that you see. There are also new cedar wood slats on the awnings, thanks to Leroy Henneke, and new electrical connections for the lighting from RCC Liberty Services. Dozens more contributed plenty of hours of sweat equity and financial donation to make it all come together. It’s all gorgeous and really creates an inviting place of prayer and meditation. My thanks to all who worked on it and contributed to its beauty. It’s the crown jewel of our campus!

Also put into place recently are new handrails on the front steps of the plaza in front of the church. My thanks to Deacon Kerry Bourque, our Parish Administrator, who took over this project from Deacon Phillip Jackson, our past Administrator, and has seen it to completion. It took some logistical juggling with the company that manufactured the railings to make sure they match the ones that were already in place, but in the end they came out looking very nice. Many of you have already commented on how happy you are to have them when walking up or down the steps. That’s what we like to hear so please put them to good use!

Peace,
Fr. Sean