Bulletin for Nov. 25

Dear friends in Christ,

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King, the final Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Church’s liturgical calendar. Next week we begin the great season of holy waiting, Advent. But before then we honor Christ as our King. Not an earthly king of physical and political power and might, however, but a king who lays down his life in service to all.

A little background on our feast today. In 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his encyclical letter Quas Primas in response to growing nationalism and secularism around the world. He had the foresight to realize that secularism could soon wage awful wars against the Church. During the early 20th century in Mexico, Russia, and in many parts of Europe, atheistic regimes threatened not just the Catholic Church and its faithful but civilization itself. Pope Pius XI’s encyclical gave Catholics at that time hope and assurance that Christ the King shall reign forever, even while governments of men around them crumbled. Pope Pius XI said that Christ “reign[s] ‘in the hearts of men,’ both by reason of the keenness of his intellect and the extent of his knowledge, and also because he is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind.”

Today at the 9 a.m. Mass we welcome 22 new members into our Catholic faith. They have been preparing for the past several months through our RCIA program and are now ready to join us in full communion. My thanks to Julie Cook, our director of RCIA, and her dedicated team of parishioners who helped shepherd these newest Catholics to the altar today. They have another large group of inquirers who they are working with to prepare them for entry into the Church next spring at Easter. If you or someone you know is interested in learning about how to become Catholic, please contact Julie in the Parish Office.

Let me add that in visiting with those who are entering the Church this coming weekend I have been particularly moved by their conversion stories. They all celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time in the weeks leading up to their entrance today, and at that time I asked them to share with me a little of how they got to this point in their lives. After all, we are all on a journey of faith whether we were born into the Catholic faith or whether we came to it later in life. If there is one thing that is true of all people it is that God calls each of us by name.

And though that call is unique to everyone, the way we hear it is greatly shaped by those around us. Nearly all the adults entering the Church this weekend are married, and time and again, I heard from these new Catholics how influential their spouse was in their journey. Often they have been attending Mass with their Catholic spouse for a number of years and participated in raising of their children in the Catholic faith. For whatever reason, they were never quite ready to take that (literal) leap of faith, but the quiet witness of their spouse was working deep within them nonetheless. A few others were encouraged by a Catholic friend or co-worker to come and see. And then, in God’s time, they were moved to join.

Their stories of conversion were a great blessing to hear and as pastor nothing gives me more joy than to welcome someone into our faith. But it all starts with a witness. Let that be a lesson to all of us to strive to give a good witness of the faith to others, whether they be a spouse, friend or neighbor. You never know how the Lord might be working through you to touch the heart of someone else. What a blessing it is that God chooses us, broken though we are, to be a light to others! Remember, there’s a lot of wisdom in that childhood hymn, “This Little Light of Mine.” So let your light shine!

With Thanksgiving behind us, and with Black Friday having taken place this week as well, the attention of many in the country turns to “Cyber Monday” tomorrow, Nov. 26. This is an outgrowth of online shopping that has become the norm for so many of us, and which is especially popular during the holiday season. Amazon and other online retailers will be doing booming business tomorrow as people who didn’t go to the stores on Black Friday surf the web for the best deals. Of course, I’m sure there will be those among us who both shopped on Black Friday and clicked “buy” on Cyber Monday.

This consumer frenzy should give us all some pause. Is it necessary? Of course not. Are we buying what we want or what we need? I don’t want to be a Grinch, and believe me, I love a good sale as much as the next person, but I do hope we will all monitor our consumer habits and make good choices. Having cleared out my mother’s house earlier this year following her passing, I was amazed at how much stuff she had collected. It stands to reason that living in a house for 48 years there will undoubtedly be a great deal of things that are saved, but it was a good reminder to me to try to live more simply in my own life. I’ve got a lot of stuff, too, and if I’m honest with myself I have to admit that so much of it could easily be donated and I’d never miss it. That’s my vow to myself in this coming year. Let’s remember that when shopping this holiday season - to focus on the spirit of waiting in Advent and the spirit of joy of receiving the greatest gift of all at Christ, our Savior.

The day after Cyber Monday has become known as Giving Tuesday and it affords us a wonderful opportunity to help out worthwhile causes and organizations with our charitable giving efforts. I hope you will include Christ the Redeemer in your consideration of Giving Tuesday and make a pledge – or an additional payment – to our Capital Campaign to support the building of our Redeemer Activity Center. It’s easy to do online. From there you can make a secure donation to help further our mission. It’s also a great time to make end-of-the-year donations to the parish. Many have benefited from the good run of the stock market this year and if you need a tax incentive to offset some of your capital gains, a donation to the church can come in handy. Our Business Office can assist you with completing the necessary paperwork so that you might get proper credit.

Lastly, remember our parish bulletin advertising representative, Javier Aguilera, is in our offices this week through Thursday. If you have a small business, please consider placing an ad in the bulletin. We publish 2,000 bulletins every week which go out to households across the Cypress and northwest Houston area. Make sure you use the bulletin when you are in the market for goods and services and tell businesses you saw their ad in the CtR bulletin. Ads of all sizes are available at very economical prices and it helps us print the bulletin at no cost to the parish. Call the parish this week to reserve your ad space. Individuals may also place small memorial ads as well.

Peace, Fr. Sean