Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

September 3, 2019

by Fr. Reginald Samuels

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We hear from St. Luke’s Gospel the second time that Jesus tells his would be followers that if they wish to be his disciples they must take up their crosses and follow him. For us today, the cross is not soo much a symbol of violence or brutality, but of the complete and total gift of self that Jesus completes on Calvary. On the cross, Jesus poured out his love upon us, and he is asking us to completely do the same.

This Sunday starts the new Religious Education year here at STHY. Please keep our Catechists, Teacher Aides, and Volunteers in your prayers as we move into a new year as our young people of the parish prepare to learn more about their own relationship with God and His Church. I want to say a special thanks to Mrs. Pamela Johnson, the Director of Faith Formation, and Faith Formation Assistant Mrs. Christina Reilly; who have been working hard over the last few months in preparation for new Religious Education year.

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 next week.

Many of you may be asking yourselves, how does the IGNITE campaign fit in to our parish plans and our existing Capital Campaign to build a new church and grow our parish. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity in our Campaign here. While we have not yet raised the necessary funds to begin construction, know that the project is far from over. We will use this time of IGNITE to pause, do our part for our Archdiocese, focus on improving our Parish Hall, and reengage ourselves for our Church project when we are through. I am still and always fully committed to our continuing to improve our parish and know through your hard work and the intercession of the Holy Spirit we will succeed.

FORMED is the revolutionary digital online platform that gives STHY parishioners unprecedented access to video-based study programs, feature films, audio presentations, and eBooks from the Church’s foremost presenters. With your free access to FORMED, 24/7 on your television, smart phone, laptop, I-pad, or Kindle, you can: Prepare for Mass, study the scriptures, watch religious movies and programs as a family, Enrich your marriage with the award winning video programs, and help your children grow in faith and character with engaging children’s materials. Our parish Password to FORMED.org is 77GVZ3.

Finally, on September 28^th and 29^th we will have our annual Ministry Fair and Stewardship weekend in the parish. This year’s theme is the STHY “Tailgate Party 2019”. The ministry fair will give everyone here at STHY a way to see and sign up for the various ministries of our parish and to have fun in the process. Please come out and support the various ministries of our parish next weekend. Please check the website: www.sthyacinth.org to find the many ministries and activities, plus days and times when they meet. Moreover, you can go online and register for the various ministries that we have here at STHY.

God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels