Bulletin for Aug. 6

Dear friends in Christ,

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which always falls on Aug. 6. When that day is a Sunday like it is this year it’s a chance for us to highlight the beauty and joy that emanates from Jesus as He was transfigured high upon the mountain in the presence of Peter, James and John. The voice from upon high that called out “Listen to him” should still ring in our ears today. Do we hear it?

At the end of each fiscal year (June 30) all parishes of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston are asked to complete a pastoral report that gives a snapshot of the local church. I always like to share this information with the parish family as it gives us a good overview of the sacramental life and ministry of our community of Christ the Redeemer.

The first number won’t come as a surprise – we continue to grow at a strong rate. CtR now numbers 6,694 families, an addition of 215 families from last year. For the past several years we have averaged anywhere from between 200-300 new families yearly. We welcome all who have joined the parish in the past year, and by the way, if you’ve been coming here and haven’t yet registered, please do so today. It’s quick and easy to do – just stop by the information desk in the narthex (by the welcoming monitor) after any Mass and pick up a form. You can also register online at our parish website. It's quick and easy to do so. 

Registering as a parishioner is a different concept for some people. Though it's fairly common in the U.S., those who move here from other parts of the world may find it to be an odd request. Why does the church want to know about me? It keeps us informed on who is calling CtR home, but most importantly it helps us to help you grow in your faith. We want to keep keep you in the loop with all the opportunities for spiritual growth in the parish. We try not to bombard you with too many mailings, but we do want you to be aware of what is happening at CtR. I might also add that if your address or phone number has changed recently, please let us know in the office so that we might update your information in our records.

We baptized 189 babies this past year, which is 16 more than last year, and we also baptized an additional 53 children aged 1-7 years old. The Church sets the age of reason at 7, so children may be baptized up to that age, and then those children older than 7 are brought into the Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Given that the U.S. birth rate has dipped the last several years it may not be that surprising that our overall number of baptisms will fluctuate somewhat from year to year.

In regard to adults in RCIA, we continue to grow through that wonderful ministry. We baptized 18 adults and youth at the Easter Vigil and then welcomed another 15 adults into full communion with the Catholic Church. That’s a whole bunch of new Catholics we welcomed into our faith. Praise God! We have approximately 75 people at some stage of preparation in RCIA at the moment. Perhaps you know of a family member, or friend or co-worker who has asked you what the Catholic faith is all about. Invite them to come to the RCIA and learn more about it. Of course it would be great if you would accompany them on the journey as a sponsor. We need more Catholics to step forward and help others come to discover the beauty of our Church through RCIA.

As our parish grows, so does our Religious Education program. When you total all the children in R.E., which numbers 2,180, and the enrollment in our CtR Catholic School (which is projected to be right at 450 students this fall) we have more than 2,500 children and youth in some form of Catholic Religious Education coming through our door. Plus, we have a number of parents who choose home-based educational opportunities (approved by the Church) for their children. Regardless of how you slice it, it’s a lot of kids. You can see why educating our young people is such a central point of our current  Living Our Mission: Shaping Our Future Capital Campaign. We need the  additional space of our new Redeemer Activity Center to be able to form these children into life-long, faith-filled Catholics! 

We helped 377 children celebrate First Reconciliation and First Communion this past year, an increase of 86 more than the previous year. (Unofficially I can also tell you that the most popular sin that they confessed was “I hit my brother.” This has remain unchanged since the time of Cain and Abel!) We also had a whopping 239 teens, mostly sophomores in high school, receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. I expect next year’s Confirmation class to be even larger. We owe a great deal of thanks to our hard-working R.E. and Youth Ministry departments who help catechize all these children (and their parents) throughout the year. As always I encourage you to register your children promptly for the R.E. year which begins on Catechetical Sunday, Sept. 17. R.E. registration opened again on Aug. 1 and run throughout the month of August. Register online.

Finally, we celebrated 41 marriages at CtR this past year, eight less than last year, and we commended to Almighty God the souls of 40 of our brothers and sisters in Christian funerals, one less than the previous year. As always I find it interesting how, nearly every year, the number of weddings and funerals closely parallel one another. I have no idea why that is, but you can almost bet on it every single year. It’s one of the odd quirks of Church life.

Statistics like these are interesting to track from year-to-year but in the end they are just numbers. We know the real beauty of our Church is in the people behind the numbers. Every person in every one of our nearly 6,700 families has a story to tell about what God is doing in his or her life. God has called each of us by name. How will we respond to that call in our lives? It will differ for each one of us no doubt, but we all must respond. Make it your solemn pledge this year to grow in your own journey with the Lord. Deepen your prayer life, get involved in a ministry or two, become more generous — in short, pledge to be an intentional disciple and a good steward of the gifts that God has given you. Let us give our lives with a dedicated faith in the Lord so that we go forth to be His leaven for the world.

Next week I’ll share with you the second half of our annual report which will include a deep dive into our budgeting process for the parish and an overall look at our financial report. Operating a parish like CtR requires the generous sacrifice of everyone and I am forever grateful for your weekly Stewardship that enables us to provide so much for so many who call CtR home.

Peace,
Fr. Sean