We are always called to give our hearts over in loving obedience to the ways of God. Giving over our hearts means changing all the ways to the truth. We are called to allow God to heal our divided hearts and what divides us from one another. What belongs to God is our whole selves united with the very heart of God.
I want to give a great thanks to our Knights of Columbus for hosting a great Oktoberfest. With plenty of great food and wonderful entertainment, this event served as a great kick off to a great Fall and Holiday season for our parish. Keep up the great work and thanks to all my fellow Knights.
This upcoming Wednesday evening, October 25th at 7:30 pm there will be a special prayer service at the Co Cathedral downtown to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Cardinal DiNardo will be leading a special prayer service along with the Lutheran Bishop of Houston. There will be a number of Catholic and Lutheran clergy and lay people on hand for the event. If you have the chance, come out and witness this historic event for out Church and for the nation.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis has encouraged the Church to have a special collection this weekend for The Society for the propagation of the Faith. This is Holy Father’s Chief missionary arm, providing resources for more than 1150 mission dioceses the world over. The special second collection next weekend will go towards the support of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in their efforts to train some 80,000 seminarians preparing for the priesthood and about 10,000 men and women preparing to serve as religious brothers and sisters.
Mark your calendars to join us for “Trunk or Treat” - our annual fun day for the young people of the parish on Saturday, October 28th from 4:00 pm -8:00 pm in Guyot Hall. At STHY we are always looking for ways to serve our neighbors and strengthen families, so we always look forward to this time to fellowship and get to know each other. Dress up the kids and come enjoy and celebrate the fall season.
National Vocation Awareness Week (NVAW) is an annual week-long celebration of the Catholic Church in the United States dedicated to promote vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life through prayer and education, and to renew our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations. Beginning in 2015, NVAW was moved to the first full week of November. Beginning November 5th thru 12th , there will be several events to kick off National Vocation Awareness throughout our Archdiocese. Please be on the lookout for the upcoming vocation events.
I want to point out that the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston has encouraged all the parishes of the Archdiocese to host a Vocation Chalice Program of prayer for priestly and religious vocations. Our vocations committee has implemented Vocation Chalice program here at STHY.The program consists of the rotation of a chalice, among the families of a parish in order to promote awareness and prayers for priestly and religious vocations. The consecrated Chalice is a tangible reminder of this special intention for the Church. The Second Vatican Council highlights the responsibility of the laity to pray for and support vocations. This urgent call has been strongly affirmed in the writings and addresses of both Saint Pope John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Praying for vocations is the most powerful way to support vocations. A vocation is a call from the Holy Spirit, a gift from God that is nurtured in prayer. When we pray for vocations, we lift up to our Father those men and women whom He is calling to follow Him in a very special way. We hope that those who bring the cup home will continue to pray daily for vocations. Each week at the end of Mass, an assigned family is called by the priest to come forward to receive the chalice. The family takes the chalice home and puts it in a place of honor. If you want to have the opportunity to have the chalice in your home, please contact the parish office for details.