Weekly Letter: Dec. 29, 2024 Bulletin

Dear friends in Christ,

    Merry Christmas! The birth of our Savior is not a once-and-done proposition but continues up until the celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord next weekend. So let the Christmas spirit reign in your hearts and in your homes. Don’t be so quick to put away the decorations (especially the crèche!) and try to hold on to the spirit of Christmas – the celebration of the Word made flesh that dwells among us – throughout this coming year.
 
    As the Christmas season continues this Sunday, Dec. 29, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This great feast day, which is always celebrated on the Sunday immediately following Christmas Day, is a beautiful reminder of the dignity and respect that being part of a family calls us to honor. We are members not only of our personal families, but also of the family of God. We honor Jesus, Mary and Joseph and we look to them to guide us in dealing with our families. Many, if not all, of us have “unique” family structures. There are always areas of both great love and great tension within every family. Some family members we are extremely close to while others may be estranged from us, often for years. If there are difficulties or bitter feelings lingering in your family perhaps this start of the new year would be a good time to bury the past and build up your family on the model of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. May they serve as an inspiration to us all to always follow the will of God in our family lives.

    Next Wednesday, Jan. 1, is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. We always start the new year off by remembering the motherhood of Our Lady who gave birth to the savior. It’s also a Day of Prayer for Justice and Peace, something that Mary knew well in her heart and that we should strive to emulate in ours. We’ll have two masses – a vigil Mass at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31 (maybe you’d like to come join us before the New Year’s Eve hoopla), and on Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 9 a.m., both in the main church. There is no evening Mass or confessions on Jan. 1. I invite you to start the new year off right by joining us as we ask for Mary’s holy wisdom to guide and protect us throughout 2025.

    Before we look ahead to events in this new year we take one final look back at all the events of the past few weeks. On Saturday, Dec. 14, we had a large group of parishioners who delivered the hundreds of toys you donated to Assumption Catholic Church on Houston’s northside. Thanks to your generosity we were able to bless 468 children from 218 families with two toys each for a whopping total of 936 gifts! God is good! My thanks to all who donated, and those who participated in the delivery, and an extra special thanks to Kerry Chu of our parish staff for organizing the entire drive. Great job!

     I likewise extend a heartfelt thanks to all who brought a gift card in our Christmas Giving Tree program. We gave out all you donated to Cypress Assistance Ministries (we also helped them out with some extra toys that came in after the delivery to Assumption) and they all went to spread the love of Christ to families in need in our area. As always, the people of CtR outdid themselves in their generosity in response to the generous blessing we have all received from our God. Thank you!

      In addition, we owe a sincere debt of gratitude to our Liturgy Department and volunteers who helped make the Christmas masses flow so smoothly. My very special thanks to Ofelia Carrasco, Deanna Negrete, Cindy McDonald, and our many liturgical ministers who put in long hours to make sure our masses were as well coordinated as they were inspiring. Thanks as well to Patty Arnett, Cecilia Truong, Cathy Oland, and all the Art and Environment team who helped create a beautiful worship space. To all of our extra ministers of the Word, Holy Communion, ushers, greeters, sacristans, and acolytes my sincere thanks. We thank our choirs (adult and children), led by Director of Music Ministries and organist Michelle Murphree, Bridget Wenk, and assisted by Christine Marté, as well as Mark Dolce and company in the Contemporary Choir. They all put in multiple rehearsals and enabled us to praise the newborn king with heavenly hearts and voices. Our parish is blessed with selfless people who sacrifice so much so that so many can experience the goodness of God. Thank you one and all for your beautiful stewardship of time and talent.

    I would be remiss if I did not give a personal thank you to everyone who sent cards and gifts to the office and rectory for Fr. Vincent and myself. Many more of you brought us presents, wine and all manner of assorted goodies. Thank you very much. You really tested our will power especially with those baked goods! We tried to sample a little of everything and we were happy to share the rest with the staff and friends. Most of all we truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and for remembering us in your Christmas prayers.

     I’m happy to report that we reached our goal for the 2024 Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) drive. Thank you to all who helped us to serve the greater Catholic community in this past year. Recall that DSF supports more than 60 ministries of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston that no one parish could ever do on its own, but that collectively allows us to offer, among other things, chaplains at hospitals, food pantry and soup kitchens, ministry to the imprisoned, senior care centers, and outreach to the neediest among us, in addition to providing training for lay ministers in Religious Education and Youth Ministry. It’s an important work of the Church that benefits so many and we all have a role to play, so thanks to the more than 800 families who helped make that possible. We’ll start over with DSF 2025 in early February to see that this good work continues.

      For those who might wish to make a final gift to the parish for tax purposes in 2024, our office will be open all day tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 30 and until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, before being closed on Jan. 1. We will reopen on Thursday, Jan. 2. There is also a mail slot to the right of the front door if you arrive after hours and want to drop off an envelope. Thank you for your support of CtR in 2024. Lastly, we thank the Knights of Columbus for again sponsoring the 2025 parish calendars which are being distributed at Mass this weekend. 

Peace, Fr. Sean