July 10 update from Fr. Sean

Parish Update – Friday, July 10

Happy Friday, one and all! I pray you have weathered (pardon the pun) the heat this week. It seems it will be even hotter this weekend, and next week looks to be more of the same. Stay cool, drink plenty of water, wear a mask, and be sure to check-in on those you might know of who do not have properly working A/C or otherwise live alone. Let’s take care of one another.

This weekend, on the  15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we begin a series of three consecutive Sundays where the Gospel reading will come from 13th chapter of St. Matthew. That’s quite a testament to the importance of that particular chapter, and we would do well to make it part of our spiritual reading this coming week. Take some time with Matthew 13 and pray with it over the next few days so that we might hear each of the particular passages with new ears and a new heart.

Matthew 13 is full of parables, teachings that Jesus used to convey what the Kingdom of God is like for his disciples long ago and that are still applicable for us in this day. We begin this Sunday with the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23).  Are we cultivating a ground that will accept the seed of the Lord and produce much fruit? Or are we wrapped in the thorns of the world that stunt the growth of the seed that is sown? Good questions to ask ourselves these days. As Jesus himself says,  “Whoever has ears ought to hear!”

Onto the updates:

• Please join us for Mass via our livestream on Sunday at 9 a.m. on both our Facebook and YouTube pages. You can find the link to the livestream at  www.ctrcc.com/live-stream, and in addition, you’ll find there both a worship aid and a link to the Scripture readings to follow along with Mass. And you can make your weekly offertory contribution online at  www.ctrcc.com/donate.

This weekend is also the annual second collection for the  St. Vincent De Paul Society. This is normally the “black bag” collection that is passed in the pews, but we obviously won’t be doing that this year for health reasons. Still, we want to support SVdP, which since the early 1880s has been doing critical work in feeding, clothing, and providing dignified living for the poor and disenfranchised. While we don’t have a St. Vincent de Paul Society outlet at CtR (because  Cypress Assistance Ministry fills that role for us), we are happy to assist the good work that it does throughout our archdiocese and the world.

• This Sunday at the 5 p.m. Mass  we will begin welcoming a few of our First Communion students to Mass so that they can join us at the altar of the Lord. We had to postpone the big First Communion Mass that was scheduled back in May, and while we are still waiting to reschedule it, we wanted to give those students and families who wish to move forward an opportunity to make the First Communion now at either the Sunday 5 p.m. Mass or a daily Mass of their choosing. We’ll have a limited number of children (along with family) at several of the masses over the next few weeks.

We have about 120 children who are ready, and since we don’t know when or how big the communal Mass can be, this is a way to continue to move forward and not be delayed any further. My sincere thanks to  Michelle Christopher, our Coordinator of Sacraments in Religious Education, who has worked tirelessly with our children and families, and, of course, to all the parents who have been patient as we navigate these uncertain times. Congratulations to all our First Communion students and welcome to the table of the Lord! May you the Bread of Life nourish you all the days of your life.

• We had an excellent virtual meeting this past week with more than 40 of our ministry and group leaders, along with members of our parish staff. It was good to connect (and see, if only virtually) with everyone and our discussion was wide-ranging.  The No. 1 takeaway for me was the sense of “connecting” that nearly everyone expressed. We’ve lost that, of course, at least in person for the time being, but our ministries, groups, and organizations are committed to “connecting” with their members in new ways.

Many of our groups are already doing so via Zoom meetings and the like, while others are still finding their way. Our staff will continue to support them and find new ways to fill that need for connection with each other, even while we are socially distant. I think it speaks well for our parish that the thing we long for the most is communion – with Christ, first and foremost, but also with one another. We are a corporal people, and by virtue of our baptism we live our discipleship as the Body of Christ that reaches beyond the barriers and walls of the world to connect with the other. We’re going to continue to foster that spirit for as long as this pandemic lasts until we can all be one again.  If you are a member of our group or ministry, please stay connected with one another and the Church! It’s hard, I know, for some because of the technological challenges, but let’s work together to overcome any obstacles so that all might know they belong to Christ’s body, the Church.  #weareCtR

• It’s a big week coming up for us as we get ready for our  Virtual Vacation Bible School starting Monday, July 13. I send out my sincere thanks to Linda Watso and her team for the work in getting us to this point. We’ve got 535 children registered who’ll be participating in more than 400 crew rooms spread out all over our community and from 13 states. While it will be different (to put it mildly) from our usual on-campus VBS, I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for our children and families to make new connections virtually. Those who have registered will receive a notice each night with the next day’s activities, but even if you didn’t sign-up in time, you can still join in the fun by checking our VBS webpage at  www.ctrcc.com/vbs. It, too, will be updated daily with all kinds of videos, resources, activity supply lists, and bonus items that can be done at home. The theme for this year’s Virtual VBS is  “Jesus Walks With Us,” and what a beautiful reminder that is for all ages that we are never alone.

• A reminder that we would love to have your assistance at daily and Sunday Mass as a  Minister of Hospitality to serve as an usher and sanitizer. It’s a great way for those who would like to join us in person for Mass, to give back to the community. It’s not a complicated or time-consuming task at all, but it does so much to help us celebrate the Mass safely and reverently for everyone. Find out more and sign-up to assist by visiting  www.ctrcc.com/liturgy.

• I’m happy to report that the Ordination to the Diaconate that was postponed three weeks ago has been rescheduled for tonight, Friday, July 10 at 7 p.m. at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in downtown Houston. You will recall that  Joseph White, who served here at CtR last summer, is one of the four young men to be ordained to the transitional diaconate as they make their way to priestly ordination next year. The ordination Mass is not open to the public due to the pandemic, but it will be available to watch via a livestream on the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston’s website at  www.archgh.org/live. We congratulate Joey and the other three seminarians and wish them well in their continued formation. I’ve invited Joey to join us one upcoming Sunday to serve as a deacon for us so you can see him in action. I’ll let you know when we get it scheduled.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, whose feast day is next Thursday (and the name of the church in southeast Houston where I was baptized), pray for us!

Peace, Fr. Sean