Bulletin for Dec. 9

Dear friends in Christ,

This second week of Advent finds us still waiting and watching for the coming of the Lord, but we get a most welcomed visitor today – John the Baptist. He comes seemingly out of nowhere to prepare the way of the Lord and while he was by all accounts a bit eccentric, his message is as timely today as it was some 2,000 years ago. Let us heed his message to repent and as we go about busily preparing our Christmas lists and making plans for the holidays, let us prepare our hearts as well to welcome the coming of the King of Kings.

You can take heed of John the Baptist’s call to repent by joining us for our Advent Penance Service at 6:30 p.m. this Monday, Dec. 10 in the church. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available with many of my brother priests on hand for confession. I invite you to come experience the healing mercy of God’s forgiveness through this powerful sacrament. If you haven’t been to confession in a while – especially if you haven’t been to confession in a while! – please come. We’ll walk you through “what to do.” It’s very easy. Just come, and open your heart to the Lord. God does everything else!

As mentioned last week we are once again assisting our twinned parish of Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church by collecting Christmas gifts for the children of that community. All the parishes of the Archdiocese have a “twin” and it is encouraged that the two work together on a variety of projects. We’ve collaborated on the Christmas gift giving project for several years now and it is always a great success. CtR parishioners are generous in giving and our brothers and sisters in Christ at OMOM are truly grateful.

OMOM was founded in Houston’s Fifth Ward in 1930 and is one of the great historical African-American parishes in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It is quite small in number, but they are large in spirit. It serves not only as a spiritual home, but also a community advocate in the Fifth Ward and is a place of refuge for many who are trying to make it through these difficult times. Each year OMOM tries to offer each child a Christmas present from the larger community. For many it might be the only present they will receive.

We invite you to bring an unwrapped Christmas gift to Mass next week or drop it off in the office. Tim Herbert does a great job each year of coordinating the delivery and distribution of the gifts to OMOM. This year it will be done on Saturday, Dec. 22. We’ll need some help with people with large vehicles to come with us that day for the delivery. It’s a great service project for the youth. But before that, we need your gifts. There are about 150 boys and 120 girls in the OMOM greater community and it is our hope to offer each child one toy. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or extreme, but just a gift from the heart. The children range in age from just a few years old up to 17, but the bulk are in the 5-15 age range. What do they want? Well, just about whatever any child wants. Feel free to use your imagination. Basketballs are always popular with the boys last year and the young girls always seem to gravitate to the dolls. Maybe you can ask an expert – your own child living under your roof. It’s a safe bet that the children of OMOM would welcome the same type of gifts.

Closer to home we are also again collecting gift cards to be distributed through Cypress Assistance Ministries (CAM). We passed out Christmas cards last weekend but feel free to use one of your own. Write a nice little note inside and include a gift card to a local merchant (Wal-Mart, Target and HEB gift cards seem to be the most popular as they can be used for a variety of items). Then bring the Christmas card with the gift card inside to Mass next week and we’ll distribute them through CAM. If you don’t have a Christmas card just simply bring the gift cards themselves and we’ll get them to CAM on your behalf. It’s a great way to help out those in need in our community and be part of the Christmas spirit.

Don’t forget our Christmas liturgical schedule: On Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, Masses will be at 4 p.m. (with an additional Mass at the same time in the Parish Hall), 6:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 12 Midnight. On Christmas Day, Tuesday, Dec. 25, Masses will be at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion, sacristans, ushers, greeters and altar servers are asked to please sign up in advance for which Mass you will be attending so we can be sure to have sufficient liturgical ministers in place for our many services. Thank you!

Peace, Fr. Sean

P.S.: This Wednesday, Dec. 12, is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and always a special day in all Catholic parishes, but especially those of us in Texas and the southwest. Our Lady of Guadalupe is Patroness of the Americas (as declared by Pope Pius XII in 1946) and holds a place in the hearts of all people of faith. I myself have a special love for her, and I know Fr. Ralph really does, too. In fact, so great is his devotion to her that he was ordained a priest on her feast day in 1998 – I know because I was there! That means that this Wednesday he’s celebrating his 20th anniversary as a priest. He’ll celebrate the 8:30 a.m. Mass that day with the school, and there is a small reception planned afterward in the Parish Hall for parishioners who’d like to come. Please join me in congratulating him on the important milestone. May Our Lady of Guadalupe continue to cover him with the mantle of her love and guide his priesthood all the days of his life.