News - March 2017 RSS Feed

Beginning in early May, renovations begin on the current Youth Ministry suite. The space will be transformed during the summer months into classrooms, and meeting and lab spaces for Christ the Redeemer Catholic School. In anticipation of the renovations, the Youth Ministry Office is now on the second floor of the Parish Office.

Dear friends in Christ,
This is the 5th Sunday of Lent, but our Lenten journey is not over. In fact we’re entering the home stretch. We’ve got one more full week of Lent this week, and then next week we celebrate Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. In today’s Gospel we hear a precursor of Easter with the resurrection of Lazarus. Just as Jesus raises Lazarus from the realm of the dead, so too shall Jesus Himself rise from the dead.

Dear friends in Christ,
This weekend we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Lent, also known as Laetare Sunday, from the Latin word “rejoice.” It is a day of joy in the midst of the penitential season of Lent, much like Gaudete Sunday is in the third week of Advent. It’s not quite Easter yet (we still have no Gloria or Alleluia at Mass), but it lets us know that our journey is in the homestretch. Keep the faith! It’s also the second scrutiny for our Elect as they make their way to the waters of baptism. Please remember to keep them in your prayers.

Dear friends in Christ,
I trust the Spring Break that many of you enjoyed this past week was a good one. It is important to take those periodic breaks to recharge and refresh our bodies and minds. In a way, Lent is kind of a “spring break” for our spiritual souls as well. We “break” from sin (hopefully for good!) and refresh ourselves in God’s mercy and grace. It’s a time to slow down and recognize that there is something bigger going on here than just our own wants and desires. The dying to self and sin results in new life within us. These 40 days will be over before you know it, just like Spring Break. Let’s resolve to use the time wisely so that we might better come to know the Lord in our life.

Dear friends in Christ,
Are you missing something? There’s something absent at Mass these days. One of the hallmark liturgical aspects of Lent is the lack of the “Alleluia” before the Gospel is proclaimed. Did you notice it wasn’t there? The “Alleluia” falls silent in the season of Lent as we remember the penitential nature of these 40 days.

Dear friends in Christ,
Our journey of 40 days is officially underway as we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent this weekend. I pray that this will be a time of spiritual renewal for all of us. Please keep foremost in your prayers our Catechumens and Candidates who are in the “home stretch” for their entrance into full communion with the Church. We will celebrate the Rite of Sending for 14 of these Catechumens at the 9 a.m. Mass this weekend and later tonight they will be received by Cardinal DiNardo at the Rite of Election that we are hosting at CtR (one of four such services around the Archdiocese today). Our 16 from CtR, along with nearly 1,800 others from other parishes, will makeup the largest group of Catechumens from any one diocese in the country.