Happy New Year! Fr. Ralph and the
pastoral staff of Christ the Redeemer join me in wishing you a blessed new year. I trust you all survived all the excitement of the Christmas holidays. Of course that excitement still continues. Remember that Christmas is far from over. Because Dec. 25 fell on a Sunday there was no Feast of the Holy Family, which normally is celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas and before New Year’s Day. Rather this year the first Sunday following Christmas is Jan. 1 and this day is always dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. We ask for her holy wisdom to guide and protect us throughout this coming year.
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. My thanks again to everyone who helped with our toy drive for Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, our sister parish in the Fifth Ward. We had a great response for it as well as for our annual Giving Tree for CAM. You all contributed more than $10,000 in gift cards that were given to those in need in our community. Thank you very much.
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 Deacon Jeff Willard, Ofelia Carrasco and our many liturgical ministers who put in long hours to make sure our Masses last weekend were as well coordinated as they were inspiring. Thanks as well to Patty Arnett and her great team who helped create the beautiful
Art and Environment in the church and the Parish Hall. To all of our extra ministers of the Word, Holy Communion, ushers, greeters, sacristans, and acolytes, my sincere thanks. Let us not fail to give thanks for the beautiful liturgical music provided by
our choirs (adult and children), expertly led by Bridget Wenk and assisted by Christine Marté and organist Dorothy VanDine, 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. Ralph and myself. Many more of you brought us presents, wine and all manners 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.
Looking ahead to this coming year, at 10 a.m. this Saturday, Jan. 7 in the Community Center, we will have an information session on annulments and convalidations of marriages in the Catholic Church. The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to begin the process for getting one’s marriage made right in the Church. If you have a previous marriage that ended in divorce and would like to know how one seeks an annulment, come to this meeting. Likewise if you are divorced and re-married civilly but not in the Church, come to find out how you can have your marriage validated and thus return you to active participation in the sacraments of the Church.
I highly encourage those who may have married before a Justice of the Peace or in a non-Catholic church to attend this meeting. It’s important to your spiritual life that you are in a marriage that was witnessed by a priest or deacon, and the process of doing so is known as a convalidation.
Annulments and convalidations are two areas that confuse many people. There is a lot of
dis-information out there and what you may have been told by a family member or friend about annulments may not be an entirely accurate representation of the teaching of the Church. Come and get the true story on how it works. We would dearly love to work with you to get your previous marriages annulled and your current marriages validated in the Church. Nothing gives me greater pleasure as a pastor than to help someone return to active participation in the life of the Church. A member of the Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will be here to answer your questions. We’ll take plenty of time to work with everyone, both in a group and one-on-one setting, to see that you understand the process and have your questions answered. Let us help you receive the graces that come from being in communion with the Church. Deacon Kerry Bourque, our Parish Administrator, can assist you if you have any questions prior to the meeting. You may contact him at the Parish Office.
The following Saturday, Jan. 14, will be our discernment for new members for the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC). The PPC is the advisory board that gives guidance and counsel to me as pastor on the mission and direction of our community. We have a wonderfully active PPC at CtR and we rotate members onto the council each year. If you would like to go through this discernment process I invite you to participate Jan. 14 beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Room 111 in the Parish Office. A discernment takes a few hours but it is a wonderful way to allow the Holy Spirit to work within those discerning to call forth those who will serve on the PPC.
PPC members must be registered and active members in the parish and fully initiated in the Catholic Church. If married they must be in a Catholic marriage. A willingness to serve and work collaboratively is a must. The PPC’s mission is to advise the pastor on the long-range planning and initiatives of the parish and as such it is not involved with day-to-day operations. It has no decision-making authority, but seeks to offer counsel and wisdom to the pastor and is charged with keeping the overall good of the parish and its parishioners in mind, not just one group or ministry.
Finally, we thank the
Knights of Columbus for again sponsoring the 2017 parish calendars which are being distributed at Mass this weekend. And if you missed getting a copy of the book we gave away at Christmas, “Resisting Happiness” by Matthew Kelly, I believe we have some extra copies available in the Parish Office. Stop by and we’ll be happy to get you a copy.