As February begins, we get a special celebration this weekend with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which is always celebrated 40 days after Christmas on Feb. 2. It’s actually a combined feast, commemorating the Jewish practice of the purification of the mother after childbirth and the presentation of the child in the Temple.
Sunday is also known as Candlemas, after the tradition from the 8th century of a procession and blessing of candles to mark the day, for Jesus is the light that enters the world. It’s also the annual World Day of Consecrated Life, and so let us pray for all women and men in consecrated life. We have a number of religious sisters who call CtR home and we honor them today.
As I mentioned last week, our 2025 Diocesan Services Fund drive kicks off this weekend. The DSF raises funds to support the 64 ministries of the Church that no one parish on its own could ever accomplish, but that collectively we can all do to bring God’s love to all people. Most of these ministries operate behind the scenes and we don’t think about them because we just assume that the Church does them, but it can only be done through your support. Areas of support include:
Teaching, Evangelizing, and Worship: This includes, among others, the Apostleship of the Sea (every ship that comes into the Port of Houston is visited by a Catholic chaplain); the Catholic Schools office, Young Adult and Campus Ministry (to engage college-age Catholics in the faith), the Texas Catholic Herald newspaper (which you receive free of charge with a donation to DSF), and the CCE office (our children at CtR directly benefit from this as all our Religious Education staff and teachers and our Youth Ministers attend workshops and training offered by the CCE office).
Ministering to the Poor, Sick and Incarcerated: A Catholic chaplain is assigned to every hospital in the Texas Medical Center to provide spiritual care to the sick. Every Catholic that requests to see a priest while in the hospital has access 24 hours a day in their time of need. The Archdiocese also runs programs to bring pastoral and sacramental aid to the disadvantaged, the disabled, and those in need of God’s healing grace through the San Jose Clinic. Whether comforting refugees or battered women, those in a prison cell or in a hospital bed, these ministries show God’s mercy to those on the margins of society.
Promoting, Preparing and Supporting the Clergy: From training our seminarians and deacon candidates (we currently one parishioner, Warren Maness, in priestly formation and one, Brad Snyder, who will be ordained to the diaconate next week), the DSF helps train the future clergy of the Archdiocese. It was also through DSF that both Fr. Vincent and I were formed at St. Mary’s Seminary here in Houston. We can testify that it alone is worthy of your support of DSF.
Nurturing and Strengthening Families: Perhaps in no other area do we benefit from the generosity of DSF at CtR than in the support it offers our families. The Family Life Office works directly with a number of our couples preparing for marriage. It hosts marriage enrichment programs and also prepares couples married civilly to have their marriages regulated in the Church. It runs the St. Dominic Village retirement home for older adults, as well as an assisted living facility with a nursing home and special care unit for those with dementia. It also supports the work of the Tribunal to assist individuals with decrees of nullity so they can marry in the Church. Each year our parish, through the Tribunal, helps dozens and dozens of couples in their nullity cases, and that brings about healing and hope as they reconnect with the life of the Church. What a beautiful gift! And, of course, our large and active Youth Ministry program benefits greatly from the many retreats, conferences and workshops sponsored by the archdiocese.
That’s just a small sampling of the many programs we offer through DSF. You are part of them when you make your pledge to DSF. It is the work of the Lord done directly in your name through DSF. Those ministries can only happen through our support. The thing I most like about the DSF is that 100 percent of all money pledged goes directly to support ministries, people, and programs. The administrative costs are absorbed by the Archdiocese; DSF provides direct aid to people. Your support of DSF goes directly to helping people encounter the mercy of God. Isn’t that what it is all about? That’s why I always say that it is an honor, not a burden, to be asked to support the work of DSF.
Our parish goal for 2025, as determined by Cardinal DiNardo, is $373,000. The average pledge is usually around $300-400. Could you please consider giving that amount again this year? Or maybe make a pledge of $365 – a dollar a day to support those great ministries. Recall as well that we receive a rebate of 75 percent of any overage of our goal with the other portion going to support low-income parishes in the inner city.
All registered parishioners should have received a letter from Cardinal DiNardo recently along with a personalized pledge card. Please complete the card and drop it off at Mass sometime over the next couple of weeks. You can also return it in the mail, or drop it off in the office, just as you do with your weekly offertory. You can make your pledge in one lump sum with a check, or make monthly or quarterly payments on your credit card. Please prayerfully consider what you will pledge and we’ll see that it is processed. If you prefer, you may go online at www.archgh.org/dsfto make your pledge. That’s what I did and it couldn’t be easier.
Let’s do our part, so that we may embody the spirit of this year’s DSF theme: “Cry Out with Joy to the Lord.” Taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, this theme reminds us that despite our differences, despite our circumstances, and despite who and what the world tells us we are, we are first and foremost created in the image and likeness of God. We are constantly called back to Him. DSF is a way in which we, as Catholic Christians, can live out these joys and these hopes as one Church.
Finally, having celebrated Catholic Schools Week last week, the annual Steps for Students 5K Run/Walk is set for next Saturday, Feb. 8, and it provides much-needed funds for scholarships and programs in Catholic education. If you support my team, 100 percent of the money you pledge will come right back to benefit our own CtR School. To sponsor me, follow this link: www.runsignup.com/frseanctr. It only takes a few minutes to make your pledge safely and securely online. Or if you like, you can give me a check or cash in person at Mass or in the office and I’ll see that it is credited to our CtR team.