“Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Such a powerful and altogether soothing assurance from Jesus in today’s Gospel on this 6th Sunday of Easter. It seems like something we should commit to memory, and most certainly it is something we should commit to in our hearts. The reason we should not fear is because the Lord has promised that He will not leave us abandoned or alone. The gift of the Holy Spirit, which we’ll celebrate in a few weeks at Pentecost, is all we need to give us the peace of God’s everlasting love. Remember those words throughout this week any time your heart is worried. The Lord is near to us. That is the promise of Easter!
One liturgical note to make you aware of – next week we’ll celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, but you might see it listed on some calendars as happening this Thursday, May 30. Rest assured there is no holy day this Thursday. The Solemnity of the Ascension is transferred to the following Sunday in most dioceses in the country, including Galveston-Houston.
If you missed the announcement last weekend I’m happy to report that our recent
CtR Spring Festival was a great success, netting more than $227,000 for the parish. That’s a Top 5 all-time result in our 34 years of hosting the Spring Festival! Thank you one and all who made it possible.
Leading the way was once again the live and silent auctions which brought in a whopping $115,831. Thank you to Bryan and Rachel Smyth, our auction chairs in their first year, and Dan Block and Briz Garcia, our auctioneering team, and especially all of our bidders and buyers. The raffle ticket sales for the new vehicle, along with the tickets and T-shirts, netted $54,105 and the flea market set an all-time record of more than $18,000 worth of items sold. I’m delighted as well that the wine pull from my cellar brought in nearly $4,000. In two years you all have greatly reduced my inventory. I don’t know that I’ll have any left to offer next year, but then again, the Lord continues to send rain and sunshine to grow grapes so maybe we’ll be OK in that regard. I hope everyone who bought a bottle has made plans to enjoy it soon, and if you need help consuming it, give me a call!
We enjoyed great weather and smooth operations all Festival weekend long, and every booth, ride and game did well in their results, but beyond that I think that everyone who attended had a great time. All of that was made possible to you, the parishioners of CtR, who gave of your time. Thank you again to everyone who volunteered in a booth, bought a ticket, or lent a hand in any way. We couldn’t have done it without you. As for what the parish does with the funds generated by the
Spring Festival, it always goes to a variety of areas and ministries. We certainly will use it to help pay down our debt obligations on our construction loans, but we’ll also use some of it on capital improvements and updates to our physical plant.
Let me again express my sincere thanks to our dedicated core committee, led by Mike and Camille Havelka, our general chairpersons. My sincere thanks to them and all of their great team. What a blessing they all are to our parish. And remember they are parishioners just like you and me. They give of their time and talent to make this possible, so be sure and thank them when you see them at church, and better yet, join them next year by getting involved and doing your part. It’s a community event and when we all participate as joyful stewards we are blessed beyond measure. We’re already looking forward to Spring Festival 2020!
In other news, next Friday, May 31, is the last day of school for our students at
CtR Catholic School. They’ll join the community for Mass at 9 a.m. that day for one final time before the summer. This has been the fifth year our school has been opened, and on Wednesday night this week, we’ll have a special graduation Mass for our second class of graduates. (Please note that our Wednesday evening Mass this week will begin at 6 p.m. in the church, not at the usual 7 p.m. time in the chapel). It was a great year for all our kids, and while the students (and faculty, especially) are looking forward to their break, we’re still accepting applications for new students. I encourage all parents of school-age children (Pre-K through 8th grade) to take a tour of our facilities and discover all the wonderful aspects of a Catholic education for your children. Contact our
Director of Admissions, Tamara Freeman, for more information at 281-469-8440, or visit the
school website.
In other news, the
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will be blessed with seven new priests who will be ordained next Saturday, June 1. It’s one of the largest ordination classes in recent memory, thanks be to God. These men will be ordained by Cardinal DiNardo at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart at 10 a.m. in a service that is open to the public. If you’ve never attended an ordination, I invite you to come if your schedule permits. It’s a beautiful and powerful rite of the Church. We send our congratulations to these new priests and look forward to their service in our Archdiocese. Please note that we will not hold confessions next Saturday so that Fr. Ralph and I might attend the ordination to welcome them to our presbyterate. Please keep them in your prayers as they begin their ministry.
Our Parish Offices and school are closed Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day. Please join us in remembering all those who died while serving in the military for our great country. May God grant them eternal peace and bring comfort to their families. Our offices re-open at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 28.
Peace,
Fr. Sean
P.S.: Remember our
Cypress Assistance Ministry food drive next weekend. It’s always the first weekend of the month, and with summer approaching, there is a need for breakfast cereals and staples such as peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese and canned foods. Drop off donations in the baskets in the narthex at any time and we’ll make sure they get to CAM food pantry and in the hands of those in need. Thank you for your support of this vital ministry in our community.