Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

August 27, 2019

by Fr. Reginald Samuels

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

There are two distinct lessons from Jesus in our readings this week. Frist we are called to humble ourselves and then we are called to serve those who cannot reciprocate. We can find way in which we can start to imitate Jesus in our lives. When Jesus humbled himself to serve us, we in turn are called to serve our fellow brothers and sisters. Now is the time of action. How are you called to serve? Speaking of serving, On September 28^th and 29^th we will have our annual ministry and stewardship fair.

We have an exciting new parish bible study program that has started with a study on the Gospel of Matthew called : The King and His Kingdom. This Bible study program shows how Jesus fulfills God’s promises to Israel and establishes his kingdom on earth. Classes are Tuesday mornings from 9-11 am and Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:30 pm. All are welcome! Contact Faith Formation office at 281-479-8832 for more information or to sign up for this study on line at our parish website.

Religious Education classes will be starting next Sunday September 8^th , and now is the time to plan for the upcoming Faith Formation school year. With more than 600 children in some level of Religious education last year at STHY, we need to have a head start in preparing for this fall’s Religious Education classes. Registration is ongoing. (Please check the bulletin and parish website: Sthyacinth.org for more information).

Remember as well that when you are registering your child for Religious Education classes you can also sign-up yourself to be a catechist or aide. We are in great need of a number of catechists to teach our children, from the littlest ones in the early grades on through middle school and high school. It’s a wonderful way to get involved in the life of the parish and to live out the call of Stewardship of your time and talent. There is no greater gift than to pass on the faith to a child, so please consider joining this important ministry of STHY. The Faith Formation staff is happy to answer questions and get you involved.

Speaking of Faith Formation, while you are picking up your kids school supplies, please help STHY with supplying our Faith Formation programs with school supplies. A supply list is in this week’s bulletin. Please drop your donated supplies off in the Faith Formation office, or the narthex. Thank you for your generosity toward helping our young people learn about their faith.

As you may know, our Archdiocese is in the midst of the IGNITE Capital Campaign. Every parish in the Archdiocese will be participating in the campaign at different times. Our time is now. The IGNITE campaign is composed of 6 distinct case elements. Five of the elements: Seminary renovations, Catholic Education Scholarships, Faith Formation Funding, Harvey Relief, and a Future Disaster Fund will touch every Catholic in out Diocese, today and for generations to come. We will also be keeping one third of all the monies raised in out parish. That’s the 6^th case element. Each parish will be able to make improvements as their needs dictate. As we know, our needs dictate the Parish Hall updates. By working together, we will be able to replace the flooring and lighting, making Guyot Hall a more hospitable gathering place for us as a parish community.

The IGNITE campaign is structured so that you will receive much of the information needed to consider a gift during Mass times and through the bulletin and web pages. Additionally, we will be hosting informational receptions in October. I encourage you to RSVP for one of these receptions. They are brief in nature, quite informative, and will help bring us together as a parish family in support of our Archdiocese. Please look in your mail in September for your invitation. We will be discussing the campaign more beginning with our Kickoff in September.

Finally, I want to remind everyone that our offices are closed on Monday September 2nd, for Labor Day. Please keep all who labor in your prayers as we honor the dignity of human work on that day. Let us all pray also for those searching for gainful employment in these times and those who have recently been downsized, laid off or seen a reduction in their pay or work hours. May they not become discouraged and may God open new doors for them soon.

God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels