I always like when Moses appears in our first reading on Sunday as he does this weekend on the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. As I’ve stated many times, I’m a big fan of Moses, and outside of Jesus, and probably Mary, too, he’s my favorite person in all of the Sacred Scriptures. In the Book of Numbers this weekend we hear how God comes down in the cloud and strikes up a conversation with Moses, and then “takes” some of the Spirit that was on Moses and bestows it to the elders. I find that fascinating! The Spirit that Moses has, which he of course received from God, is in a sense subdivided and given to others, and when the elders receive some of what Moses had been given, they too are able to prophesy in the name of the Lord. That my friends is some powerful stuff!
As great and powerful as the Spirit is, Joshua is not too happy about it. Usually Joshua comes across as one of the really good guys in the Old Testament, but today we see that he, like us, is far too human. He’s a bit jealous and petty. He’s upset that Eldad and Medad, who were not present when the Spirit was given, were nonetheless prophesying still the same. He implores Moses to stop them, but being imminently wise, Moses refuses to take that bait. “Are you jealous for my sake?” he asks. “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets.”
Brothers and sisters you and I are among “all the people” of the Lord and it is incumbent on us to make the Lord known. We have the gift of the Spirit, whether we think we do or not, and others have been given it too. Let us not be petty like Joshua and worry about who should or shouldn’t be doing the Lord’s work. If they are speaking the truth and preaching God’s words by lives of faith and action, then let us not get in the way of it being heard.
I ask for your prayers for myself and 47 parishioners who leave today on the 2024 Parish Pilgrimage to Mexico City. We’ll be visiting the historic Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most visited Marian shrine in the world, and taking day trips to visit churches and architectural sites in the surrounding areas of Teotihuacan, Tlaxcala, and Puebla. We’ll be celebrating Mass and praying in some of the most beautiful churches in Mexico, and promise to take your prayers and intentions with us in our hearts. It’s a quick trip, just six days and we’ll be back next Friday. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
As soon as I get back, we will have our First Reconciliation service for our (mostly) second grade students in Religious Education. That takes place next Saturday, Oct. 5 beginning at 8:30 a.m., with another session to follow at 10 a.m. As such, we will not celebrate our regular weekly Saturday morning confessions that day. Please keep our young people in your prayers as they come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time in preparation for the First Holy Communion taking place later in November.
Also next Saturday, Oct. 5, after we wrap up First Reconciliation, we’ll have our annual Blessing of the Animals at 12 noon in honor of the patron saint of animals, St. Francis of Assisi, who was, of course, a friend to all of God’s creatures. Bring your fur-babies and other pets and meet us in the circle drive in front of the Parish Life Center for the blessing.
Looking ahead a few weeks, there is a Men’s Retreat at Holy Name Retreat Center on Bunker Hill, just off I-10, the weekend of Oct. 11-13. It’s a great chance for the men of the parish to come away for a couple days for a retreat led by the Passionist Fathers who oversee Holy Name, which is a bit of an oasis right in the middle of Houston. There will be other parishes joining CtR on this weekend, and the Holy Name Preaching Team will lead a holy jubilant retreat of talks, liturgies, confession, fellowship and Eucharistic Adoration. For information and to register, visit www.holynameretreatcenter.com/catholic-weekend-retreats.
Lastly, I hope you saw the good news announced earlier this week that CtR Catholic School has been awarded the prestigious distinction of being a National Blue Ribbon School for 2024. We are one of only 356 schools in the nation – and one of just 40 non-public schools – to receive this recognition of academic excellence this year. Having opened in 2014, winning this award is a notable achievement for a relatively young school. It highlights the dedication and exceptional achievement of the student body, whose performance in reading and mathematics ranks in the top 15 percent nationally. When we first began planning for a school in 2013, we said becoming a National Blue Ribbon School was one of our goals, and to achieve it after just 10 years of operation is a true blessing and testament to the hard work of our students, families, teachers, and administration. My thanks to the people of CtR who have supported our Catholic school every step along the way. We can rightfully be proud of the great work it is doing to educate young hearts and minds!