Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Mindful of the destruction wrought by natural disasters here at home and in places not-so-far-away as of late, we continue to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, asking him to build up and perfect what is lacking in our faith. It is especially in these times that Christians are called to solidarity, bearing one another’s burdens in the sure and certain hope that a heavenly home awaits us—and the journey out of the valley of tears is made less arduous where charity and love prevail.
This Friday (September 22nd), we begin a Novena (nine days of prayer) leading up to the Feast Day of our Patroness, Saint Therese of Lisieux (October 1). For those who are able, I encourage you to make a special effort to attend daily Mass during the novena, where we will pray the special novena prayers together. If you cannot join us, however, you can still pray during those days the following prayer:
Dearest Saint Therese of Lisieux, you said that you would spend your time in heaven doing good on earth. Your trust in God was complete. Pray that He may increase my trust in His goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions…
(State your intentions)
Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God. Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me, and one day see the Face of God whom you loved so deeply.
Saint Therese, you were faithful to God even unto the moment of your death. Pray for me that I may be faithful to our loving God. May my life bring peace and love to the world through faithful endurance in love for God our savior.
(Continue with one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be)
May this time be filled with God’s grace as we seek, ever more, to be “love in the heart of the Church.”
Healing After Harvey:
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
First of all, thank you once again for your incredible generosity and support for our community throughout the ravages of the hurricane and flooding the past few weeks. Your charitable efforts helped so many families, not just with immediate supplies, but needed emotional and spiritual support, too. Here at the church campus alone, we were able to help almost 3,000 families find food, shelter, a listening ear and an assurance of God’s closeness during this difficult time. Thank you.
We remain ready to assist in any way we can, especially with home clean-up efforts. Feel free to give us a call at 281-494-1156 – especially if you would like to help as a cleaning volunteer.
To donate directly to our parish hurricane relief fund, visit our Quick Give Link and choose “Hurricane Relief” from the drop-down menu on the right-hand side.
Some have asked about the status of our parish capital campaign in light of these events. Seeking counsel from the Archdiocese on how they are moving forward with their campaign, we have decided to put ours on a temporary pause. Our parish needs time to recover and continue to help those who are still hurting. We will start working on the campaign again in earnest after the 1st of October. Please take time to carefully review the materials that were mailed to you. If you have yet to receive this packet, please contact our parish office to verify your information, as we will need everyone’s support. We will resume contacting families again in October to complete our campaign and reach our goals.
Thank you for your continued support of these important matters for our community. Please stay connected via our Facebook page and website. With gratitude for your continued charity, I am
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Eurel Manzano
Great news: we are more than 60% of the way to meeting our Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) goal for 2017! Thank you!
If you’d to make a pledge for this year’s Diocesan Services Fund (2017), please do so now! There are over 60 ministries in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston that depend upon your continued support.
Learn more about the ministries supported by the Diocesan Services Fund.
