Bulletin for July 16

Dear friends in Christ,

Throughout this summer at the Sunday liturgies, we are hearing from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans in the Second Reading. In fact, we are in the middle of 16 weeks of reading from this particular letter. Get used to it as you’ll be hearing it until well into September!

Each week we’ll hear short snippets from the letter, but it would be a good summer spiritual practice to read it in its entirety. Though it’s the longest of Paul’s letter, you can easily make your way through it in one sitting or maybe spaced out over a few days. I encourage you to try to carve out some time for yourself over the next few weeks and spend time with this letter from the great Apostle.

The Letter to the Romans dates from around year 56 and thus portrays a picture of the early Church. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are very much in the memory of the people. But, as Paul discovers, they are forgetting some of the teachings of Jesus’ life and falling back in their old way of being. The whole of the letter is an exhortation for the Romans (and us today) to remember that a life in God is only possible through living in the way of His son, Jesus Christ. In the reading today we are encouraged to find hope in suffering. The glory that is to come, Paul says, makes the pain of this world bearable. That is just as true in the 21st century as it was in the first century.

In other news, last week I introduced Mary Caprio, our new Director of Adult Faith Formation, who has joined our staff in the wake of Deacon Jack Alexander’s retirement. Unfortunately, I described her as the new Director of Family Life and not as the new Director of Adult Faith Formation. I owe both Mary and Christy Wright, who is the Director of Family Life, an apology. Mea cupla, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

In their respective positions, however, both Mary and Christy will be working closely together in a variety of areas. One that I am excited about is our outreach and ministry to married couples, particularly those who are in the early years of marriage. I think we do a good job at getting couples prepared for the Sacrament of Marriage, but we also want to extend our outreach to them after the honeymoon ends and they begin to live out their married life in the context of the greater faith community.

As so many married couples discover, those first five to seven years of life together can bring about many challenges. Every couple is different, of course, but there are often common themes of not only a new life together, but also new jobs, home purchase, and, God willing, children being born. With so much going on in their young married life, it’s important that couples stay connected to the faith through the Church. We want to help couples of all ages grow in that faith together. There is much the Church can offer and I look forward to helping our couples at CtR discover a greater depth of their love for God and for one another.

Turning from the beginning of married life to its end, let’s talk about death. (How’s that for a segue?) I know it’s not something many of us like to think about, especially in the summer months, but let me put in my semi-annual reminder that it is a good idea to think about your funeral. None of us knows when the Lord will call us home, but we can all help our family members by making choices now to aid in the planning of the liturgy. We have a helpful packet of information that can be a great aid in answering many questions about funerals. Deacon Jeff Willard, our Director of Liturgy, is always happy to meet with parishioners in advance to go over some of the options for funerals.

Planning for a funeral involves, among other things, making choices of Scriptures, prayers and music for the funeral liturgy. The Church provides various options and we can walk you through the choices for both the funeral vigil and rosary, as well as for the Mass of Christian Burial itself. We have information on cremation (that’s a frequent question) and on burial rites. In short, pre-planning your funeral liturgy is a great gift you can leave for your family. Our front desk receptionist has copies of the Funeral Packet available. Stop by and pick one up at your convenience, and if you’d like to talk through the options, please let us know. We’d be glad to help you now to take off some of the pressure of your family later.

This week is our annual Catholic Faith Camp for children entering 2nd through 6th grade. It runs each day this week from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the cost is only $25 per child, and that includes a T-shirt and daily snacks. This camp is separate and distinct from Vacation Bible School which ran earlier this summer. In Catholic Faith Camp, the kids go a bit deeper into their Catholic faith and we’ll conclude the week with Mass on Friday, July 21. It’s not as crowded as VBS, and it’s a chance for us to break-open the faith with the kids on their level. Catholic Faith Camp has been a big hit the past few summers and if you are looking for an activity for the kids this week, it’s a great opportunity. See the website for more information and plan to join us starting tomorrow.

A special thank you to all who donated last weekend in our emergency summer blood drive. The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, which asked us to conduct this drive due to their low supplies, reported we had 98 donors (out of 114 who attempted to give) who gave a total of 127 units of blood. That’s a great gift of life to so many in need. Thanks to all our donors (and those who tried but couldn’t give this time around), and of course, to Marty Weidemann, the Count Dracula of CtR, who always does a great job of coordinating the blood drives for our parish. We’ll have another chance to give at our annual fall drive coming up in a few months. 

Finally please remember that our annual Operation Backpack for school supplies kicks-off next weekend and runs from July 22 through Aug. 6. Bring supplies to Mass or drop them off in the Parish Office during the week. We are asking for new school supplies (wide notebook paper, folders, binders, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, map colors, etc.; see the website for a complete list) that we can distribute to local school children in need through Cypress Assistance Ministries (CAM) and also our sister parish, Our Mother of Mercy, in Houston’s Fifth Ward. We always have a great response from the CtR community so please remember to pick up a few items when you are at the store. I’ve seen plenty of sales advertising school supplies, so stock up and bring them to Mass and we’ll make sure they get to children most in need.

Peace,
Fr. Sean