Bulletin for Jan. 21

Dear friends in Christ,

Now that the weather delays of this past week are behind us, we look forward to more seasonable temperatures and conditions going forward. While I suspect most of us enjoyed the brief reprieve from the usual schedule, being cooped up inside can get old pretty quick. We are creatures of habit, and when our routine is disrupted for more than a day we can easily get frustrated. It’s a good opportunity in moments like that to slow down and reflect where God is in my life. Am I so beholden to my schedule that I lose sight of the big picture? God is in control and we are invited to cooperate His grace at work within us. As we hear in today’s Gospel, when the Lord calls us He expects a response. Let nothing, least of all our schedules and routines, keep us from responding to His invitation.

Let’s look ahead to a couple of events that are on the radar for next few weeks. First, next week we’ll kickoff the annual Catholic Schools Week. This is marked throughout the country as an annual celebration of Catholic education in the U.S. Our own CtR Catholic School has a host of activities planned this week for students, families, parishioners and community members. Through these events, we will focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our Church, our community and our nation. This year’s theme is “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” Those four attributes are at the heart of Catholic education.

One of the highlights of the week is an Open House for the community on Thursday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a great chance to tour the school and see what the kids are doing up close and personal. That’s not only a good time for prospective parents to see what is happening, but it’s also a fine time for any parishioner to come and see. Even if you don’t have children or grandchildren that are school age you are invited to see how Catholic schools have an impact on the life of us all.

Another way to support our CtR Catholic School is through the annual Steps for Students 5K Run/Walk. It’s set for Saturday, Feb. 17 and it provides much needed funds for scholarships and programs in Catholic education. If you support my team, 100 percent of the money you pledge will come right back to benefit our own CtR School. You can make an on-line pledge to the Fr. Sean team and I’ll do all the work while you sleep in that morning! To pledge, visit my page. It only takes a few minutes to make your pledge safely and securely online. Or if you like, you can give me a check or cash in person at Mass or in the office and I’ll see that it is credited to our CtR team.

Next, I want to give you a “heads-up” on the forthcoming 2018 Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) which will begin two weeks from now in every parish throughout the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, including us here at Christ the Redeemer. I’ll have more information on it the next week, but I wanted to alert you that it is on the horizon.

You will recall that the DSF is the annual collection to fund those ministries and services offered in the name of the archdiocese that no one single parish could ever possibly fund on its own. The DSF theme this year is “Instruments of God’s Mercy,” echoing the words of Pope Francis that we not be indifferent to the needs of so many of those around us. It is a fitting theme for us as the mercy of the Lord is made manifest in our outreach and work on behalf of all our brothers and sisters in Christ. Your individual gift to the DSF enables us to reach to people in need in our archdiocese through more than 60 important program and ministries. 

Beginning next week, all registered parishioners will receive a letter from Cardinal DiNardo this week along with a personalized pledge card inviting them to participate in this year’s DSF drive. Please complete the enclosed pledge card and bring it with you to Mass the weekend of Feb. 3-4 or return it in the mail in the special envelope provided. If you prefer, you may go online to make your pledge. That’s what I do and I find it quick, safe and secure. We’ll also have pledge cards available in the pews that first weekend in February as well.

Every parish has a goal, set by the Cardinal, to meet as part of DSF. Our goal this year at CtR is $305,000, the same as it was this past year. I am happy to say we have made our goal each of the last 13 years and we definitely want to keep the streak alive. The goal is based on an average percentage of our previous three years of offertory collections and is reviewed and finalized by the Cardinal himself. As an incentive to reach and surpass we receive a rebate of 50 percent of any overage of our goal, with the other half going to support low-income parishes in the inner city.
    
I’m often asked how much should a family give to DSF. That’s ultimately up to you to decide, and I would ask you to please don’t forget to make a pledge to our own Capital Campaign that is ongoing, but maybe I could suggest that you consider giving $1 a day (a $365 yearly pledge) to support DSF. That’s about $91 every three months. Remember that you don’t have to pay it all at once. You can spread it out through the year, and there are options for credit card payments or bank drafts. But please do make a pledge of any size. If every family would give a dollar a day we’d make our goal easily.

I thank you in advance for your continued support of this wonderful initiative. The DSF is truly one of the real blessings of our great archdiocese to be able to help so many people in so many ways. Next week I’ll share with you some of the many ministries that are supported through your gifts.

Looking even further ahead, we are only three weeks away from the beginning of Lent. If you have old palms from past celebrations of Palm Sunday, please bring them to church anytime the next two weekends. We’ll collect them in baskets in the narthex and burn them to make ashes that will be used on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14.

Finally, tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 22, is a Day of Prayer for Unborn Children as we mark the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the U.S. Since that tragic decision, more than 60 million children’s lives have been lost to abortion, and many suffer that lost – often in silence. We’ll mark remember that event and pray for all human life at our 9 a.m. daily Mass, and I encourage you to keep a fast throughout the day if possible. In addition, it’s not too late to join the U.S. bishops annual novena 9 Days for Life which began Jan. 18 and continues through next Friday, Jan. 26. The bishops' website, linked on the front page of our CtR website, has much more information on the novena.

Peace,
Fr. Sean