Bulletin for Aug. 19

Dear friends in Christ,

Our First Reading today comes from the Book of Proverbs and it is particularly lovely and inviting. I love the opening line: “Wisdom has built her house.” In the Hebrew literature like the Book of Proverbs, Wisdom is always feminine in nature and is God’s first creation. Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit that offers grace that allows one to practice virtue more perfectly. Thus it is that in today’s reading we are invited to come to the table of Wisdom, eating and drinking her food and wine, so that we might advance in the way of understanding. That sounds like a dinner party I want to attend!

As we are created by God, we can come to discover valuable information and knowledge in the world around us, but true wisdom can only come from its source – namely God alone. We must strive for such wisdom by conforming ourselves ever more to the Son of God. That is why the dinner invitation of Lady Wisdom will ultimately lead us to the banquet of life that is Jesus’ Body and Blood that we hear about in today’s Gospel from John 6. It’s our fourth of five consecutive weeks of hearing these important words of our Lord. He is the living bread that has come down from heaven. He is wisdom incarnate. Come to the table!

All this talk of wisdom is appropriate as our students begin to make their way back to class. With the new school year underway ( CtR School began this past Thursday, Aug. 16 with 435+ students enrolled in grades Pre-K through 8) and with the local Cy-Fair schools preparing to open next week, I welcome all who are with us this weekend for the first time or perhaps the first time in several months. The start of a new academic year always brings a spike in our attendance at Mass as people make their way back to church after various summer trips and vacations. I pray that this coming school year will be a blessing to our children in the community. May they be filled with gifts of wisdom and understanding. May it also be a time of joy and peace for the many teachers and administrators from our parish who do such good work in our local schools. God bless you all!

Since we are thinking about school at this time don’t forget to register your children for Religious Education classes for this year. R.E. classes begin the week of Sept. 16, but the time to register is now. There are just 12 days left in the current registration period – it ends Friday, Aug. 31. If you have not already done so, please take time this week to register your children. We will close registration at the end of the month so that we can balance the class loads, order books and supplies, and properly form our teachers and catechists. We will re-open registration later in September after classes have started, but now is the time to register. It only takes a few minutes and can be done online at our parish website or in person at the R.E. Office in the Education Building.

Given that we expect upwards of 2,300 children in R.E. we are in need of class teachers and catechists as well as volunteers in a variety of roles. Please consider volunteering your time and talent to pass on the faith to the next generation. We will provide training and support throughout the year. Don’t worry that you are not “holy enough” or “smart enough” about the faith. If you have a willing heart and an open mind, we can help you do great things for our children. Talk to anyone in our R.E. Department for how you can be part of this dynamic ministry at CtR.

I’m fond of the words of Deirdre Mundy about what it means to be a catechist. Allow me to share them with you again as I did last year. Mundy is a volunteer catechist in her parish, and I thought her reflection from a few years ago was a wonderful summary of what it means to serve the parish community as a catechist. It’s titled “Why I Am the Worst Catechist at my Parish, and I’m Still Signing Up.” I’ll admit that it is a catchy title, but the content is even more powerful. I’m reprinting a portion of it here. Read it and then come join us in this vital ministry in the parish.

I can safely say that I am the worst catechist at my parish. This isn’t false modesty. It’s just that the other catechists are great catechists. They’ve been at it for a long time, they know how to teach and reach kids, and they know their curricula inside and out.

Often, as a teacher, I am a mess. The kids are too, because with little reinforcement at home they have, over summer, all but forgotten everything beyond Jesus having died and risen, and I don’t know where to start. So, why am I in the classroom, trying to teach Catechism at a table surrounded by squirmy, exhausted kids who don’t want to be there? Why did God call me to teach religion when there are better teachers out there, people who could really set the kids on fire with love for Jesus and mankind? “Shouldn’t someone else be leading this class,” I think.

But I tend to wonder the same thing about a lot of other places God calls me. It seems like God keeps calling me to things I’m barely capable of, and often not comfortable with. Couldn’t he find someone better?

Actually, I think the answer to that last question might be, “No, he couldn’t.” Not because I’m super-wonderful and practically perfect in every way, but because I’m available and willing. Maybe God takes who is available and willing. Moses was a murderer with a stutter; Saint Bernadette was the merest creature on earth. Saint Peter wasn’t exactly a calm, cool management type, or a smooth operator, and look where he ended up.

So, here is what God and the Church are left with: the unworthy yet willing. A lot of us who are called to things we’re not especially good at, but we’re game to give it a try, all for Jesus. Fortunately, where our own talents, skills, and energies fail us, grace can fill the gaps, if we let it.

I know there are people in my parish, and in every parish, who would be better catechists than I am. But here’s the thing: The perfect person isn’t here. The perfect person will probably never show up. But you are here, and you’re the one God’s calling right now, in all your imperfection. It’s OK to hold your breath, close your eyes, make the leap and offer to help. His grace will make up for your faults.

Thanks to all who came out for the dedication and blessing of our new Redeemer Activity Center last Sunday. We had a beautiful Mass with Cardinal DiNardo and everyone who toured the building remarked about its beauty and how great it will be to have it available to our parishioners. We’re working our way through the final “punch list” of construction items that need to be completed, but for the most part the RAC is up and running. We’ll have more opportunities to see it in the coming weeks. Please come and enjoy this beautiful new addition to our campus, the final piece of our 2005 Master Plan to serve the families of CtR. Thanks to all who made it possible!

Peace, Fr. Sean