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October 19, 2023Dear friends in Christ,
Our gospel on this 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time is one that has entered into popular speech with the famous line, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” But before you get to that verse, I think something even more striking occurs. The Pharisees attempt to “butter up” Jesus by noting that he is a “truthful man” and that he “teaches the way of God in accordance with the truth.” They go on to say that he is “not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status.” Nice words, but as usual, the Pharisees’ strategy backfires on them.
It seems to me the Pharisees’ comments, as disingenuous as they may be, are actually real qualities of Jesus that we should strive to emulate. Indeed, long before we consider giving to Caesar what is his, should we not all first seek to be “truthful” men and women? We don’t need to live with deceit or false witness. Heaven knows that there is enough of that going around, both long ago with the Pharisees and in our own world today. And like Jesus, we should not regard a person’s status, whoever it may be. We are to treat everyone from all walks of life with the honor and dignity due to them as being in the image of Christ, even if we can’t at first see it. If we will practice doing those two things, I’m willing to bet we will come to know what it means to truly “give to God what belongs to God.”
I want to call your attention to a grand celebration happening not too far from CtR next weekend. It’s the dedication of the new chapel at the De La Salle Education Center on Cypress-N. Houston Road, just around the corner from the parish. This is a very big deal for our Catholic Vietnamese brothers and sisters, as it marks the culmination of an extensive rebuild of their campus that was destroyed in the flood waters from Hurricane Harvey six years ago.
La Salle is a group of Vietnamese religious sisters who minister to the large Vietnamese community in the U.S. Houston is home to the second-largest Vietnamese community in the country (outside of the Bay Area in San Francisco), and the great majority of these families are Catholic. They have a strong and abiding faith that has been their strength over the years. The La Salle Sisters (you see them often at Mass at CtR in their gray habits) teach the Vietnamese language and culture to the 2nd and now 3rd generation youth at the education center here in Cypress.
When Harvey hit, a team of CtR parishioners helped muck out the chapel and other buildings at La Salle, and now, after a successful fundraising effort and extensive rebuild, they are ready to dedicate their new chapel with Cardinal DiNardo presiding at a Mass next Saturday, Oct. 28. They have invited me and Fr. Vincent to attend as well, and we are happy to represent our community at the service. In addition, Ofelia Carrasco, our CtR Director of Liturgy, has been working with the sisters to help prepare them for the very big ceremony in their very small chapel! Furthermore, as a sign of the closeness between our two communities, we as a parish have gifted a new set of chairs for the presider and deacons for use in their chapel, designed and handcrafted by CtR parishioners Brian and Barbara Dumaine of Impressions Architectural, who also built many of the furnishings in our church. To cap it off, the Dumaine’s shop where the chairs were made is located just about 500 yards from La Salle on Cypress-N. Houston Road, so you can say we are definitely keeping it all in the family!
I share this with you to ask for you to pray for the La Salle community. Sr. Thoa and her fellow religious sisters are beautiful souls who do great work in the name of the Lord for the very large Catholic Vietnamese community in our area. In addition, please note that we will not hold our regular parish confessions next Saturday, Oct. 28, as Fr. Vincent and I will both be at the dedication. Our parking lot will also be used for shuttle buses taking visitors to and from our campus to the La Salle campus (where parking is extremely limited), so be aware of a lot of traffic coming and going, too.
A few ongoing reminders for events coming up real soon that need to be on your radar: First, our annual All Saints Trunk or Treat takes place this coming Friday, Oct. 27 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the back parking lot. It’s not too late to sign up to host a decorated trunk, or to simply donate candy for the cause. Parents, it’s open to all kids so it’s a great way to get extra wear out of their costume this year. Speaking of costumes, we have a special contest for those who come dressed as their favorite saint, so get creative and let’s see a litany of saints! Visit www.ctrcc.com/events/trunkortreat for the details and come join us this Friday.
Secondly, make sure you have the 10th annual CtR Catholic School Chili Cook-off on your calendar for Saturday, Nov. 11 from 6-9 p.m. It’s a big night of chili, hot dogs, Frito Pie, drinks, rides, games, music, live and silent auctions – in short, everything that makes for a great night of family fun for all ages. Purchase tickets (we’ve got different levels for adults, teens, and kids) in advance online at www.ctrschool.com/chili or after Mass on Nov. 4-5.
Thank you to all who have donated so generously to our Senior Care Drive to collect items for the aged, homebound, and infirm during October as we mark Respect Life. You’ve got one more week to donate if you'd like to join us to help our friends and neighbors at Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston and at our twin parish, Our Mother of Mercy. Details and a link to the Amazon Wish List can be found at www.ctrcc.com/respectlife.
Finally, let us continue to pray for peace in Israel and Palestine, as well as in Ukraine, and all areas of the world that are experiencing war. I sent a message this week to Habib Butros and Rami Abu Hanna, who were the tour guides for our group of pilgrims that journeyed to the Holy Land just last month, to let them know of our closeness to them and all the Palestinian Christians living in Israel. Having heard their personal stories of the difficulties they faced even in times of peace it is important even more in the time of war to remember them in our prayers. May God send his consolation upon all of his children, wherever they may be, and may peace take hold now and forever in the land of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Peace, Fr. Sean