EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD……….APRIL 12, 2020

Reverend John Kha Tran, Pastor ● Reverend Michael Pham, CRM, Parochial Vicar Deacon Dennis Hayes ● Deacon Bob Henkel ● Deacon Steve Klak

Deacon John Naber ● Deacon Matt Rust ● Deacon Joe Weir

EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION (MASS):

Temporarily suspended. Please watch online.

RECONCILIATION (CONFESSION): Temporarily suspended; Emergencies only—please call the parish office.

ANOINTING OF THE SICK: Someone who is seriously ill, at home, or in the hospital, or who is about to undergo major surgery, should call the parish office, and arrange for a Priest to celebrate with them the sacrament for the ill.

BAPTISM: ADULT BAPTISM: Adults who are preparing to become

Catholic, will participate in the Rite of Christian Initiation at Easter. INFANT BAPTISM: We celebrate infant Baptism on the 2nd

Saturday of each month, except during Lent. Parents and Godparents of infants to be baptized should attend Baptismal classes, preferably before the child is born.

CONFIRMATION: Adults and older youth who have not been Confirmed should contact the Parish office.

MARRIAGE:

Couples who are considering marriage should contact the parish office, at least six (6) months before the couple's projected wedding date.

Stay connected with us—we miss you!

Subscribe to the parish YouTube Channel: ‘SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE CHURCH’

Join FLOCKNOTE: Sign-up online or text: STMAXCHURCH TO 84576

Check our parish website for up-to-date information.

PARISH STAFF Mary Alice Greaney—Music Director

Dana Henkel—Parish Stewardship Director

Jennifer Henkel—Youth Ministry Director

Beth Jones—Parish Business Manager

Eileen Mace—Kolbe Kids EC Program Director

Lupe Mendez—Custodian

Yvette Neider—Parish Night Clerk

David Nguyen—Custodian

Sister Vinflora Onije—Pastoral Assistant

Miguel Perdomo—Maintenance & Handyman

Phyllis Schoelman—Parish Secretary

Molly Smith—Director of Evangelization and Catechesis

Diana Thomas—Faith Formation Assistant

PASTORAL Anna Cardona Jason Donat Madelyn Henderson Judy Quinn Christian Munoz (Recorder) Pam Munoz Mitch Reece (Facilitator)

COUNCIL Esteban Teron Paul Simon Eileen Torres Jorge Torres Chuck Woodruff Paul Yim Ken Zavatsky

FINANCE

Martha Alvarado Sean Kennedy Wilfred Krenek (Facilitator) David Ricke

COUNCIL

Bob Charnock Mark Kohlschmidt Evie Ornelaz

10135 West Road Parish Office: (281) 955-7324 Office Hours: Limited until Apr. 30

Houston, TX 77064 Fax: (281) 955-7328 Monday—Friday 9:00am-5:00pm

www.stmaximilian.org Kolbe Kids: (281) 970-0979

www.cmgconnect.org FlockNote: text StMaxChurch to 84576

SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE CATHOLIC CHURCH Page 2 HOUSTON, TEXAS

We remember you, O risen Lord, firstborn of the dead.

Your resurrection destroys the power of death and changes tears of agony into cries of joy.

Blessed are you!

To my dear parishioners of St. Maximilian, With the Covid-19 virus is still spreading around; we are not able to congregate at church on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist. There is not always a good time to share this news with you. But I feel I need to inform you that I have received the letter from the Archbishop appointed me to be pastor of the Vietnamese Martyrs Church in Houston effective July 1

st, 2020.

Time has gone so fast. I came to the parish on July 1

st 2014, and have completed my six

- year term of pastoring at St. Maximilian Community with joy and lot of good memories. I have learned and grown so much from serving you and received lot of love and support from all of you. I have become somewhat comfortable and content and God has another plan ahead. Due to health reason, Fr. Joseph Vu, the current pastor of Vietnamese Martyr Church has been granted retirement and I have agreed to accept the offer from the Personnel Board and the appointment from the Archbishop to be the next pastor there. Please pray for me that I will be able to serve effectively in this new assignment. You might wonder who will be coming to be the new pastor? Once I hear from the archbishop and the personnel board, I will inform you. In the meantime, I am still here to serve you through June 30

th. I am looking forward to the days we can gather again to

celebrate the Masses and participate in different parish’s activities. Pope Francis mentioned in his homily recently that the Coronavirus has claimed so many lives in Italy and around the world: “In these days there’s so much suffering. There’s a lot of fear.” This fear, he recognized, includes that “of the elderly who are alone in nursing homes, or hospitals, or in their own homes, and don’t know what will happen. The fear of those who don’t have regular jobs and are thinking about how to feed their children. They foresee they may go hungry. The fear of many civil servants. At this moment they’re working to keep society functioning and they might get sick.” The Pope then recognized “there’s also the fear, the fears, of each one of us.” “Each one,” he said, “knows what their own fears are.” And he says we must turn to God to help us conquer our fear. May God protect you and keep you safe!

Fr. John Kha Tran

OUR PARISH MISSION

We are the Christian Community of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Embracing our many and diverse gifts, we are united in Christ Jesus. Challenged by the teachings of Our Lord, and inspired by the example of our Patron, we strive to serve God, and to minister to others, in prayer, sacrament,

faith formation, and charity.

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD APRIL 12, 2020

SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE CATHOLIC CHURCH Page 4 HOUSTON, TEXAS

TODAY’S READINGS

First Reading — Peter is an eyewitness: The Lord is risen (Acts 10:34a, 37-43). Psalm — This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad (Psalm 118). (1) Second Reading — All who are baptized, set your hearts in heaven (Colossians 3:1-4) or (2) Second Reading — Christ our Passover is sacri-ficed; therefore let us celebrate (1 Corinthians 5:6b-8). Gospel — Three witnesses, Mary, Peter, and John; each responds to the empty tomb (John 20:1-9) or Matthew 28:1-10 (or, at an afternoon or evening Mass, Luke 24:13-35). The English translation of the Psalm Responses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

KOLBE SENIORS

Hello Kolbe Seniors! We have not been able to meet as usual, so we want to explore other ways to reach out to each of you, to support each other in this time.

First off, we would like to just say 'Hello!', Kol-be Seniors is thinking of you :)

Secondly, we would like to create a way to say hello to others in our group.

And thirdly, we would like to hear if you have something you need help with or if you would just like to have someone from our group give you a call!

This will be a work in progress to see what works best, so please bear with us, help us to tweak this communication!

Send us a comment if you think of something that might be helpful for others in the Kol-be Seniors!

E-mail: stmax.kolbe.seniors@gmail.com 713-724-1075 [Becky]

Please subscribe to our parish YouTube Channel!

MASS [ONLINE]

An Act of Spiritual Communion My Jesus,

I believe that You are present in the

Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You

into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment

receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I

embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.

Other resources to aid us in our prayer time.

Magnificat online: us.magnificat.net/free

Word Among Us: www.wau.org

Give Us This Day: https://giveusthisday.org/

Digital

USCCB Website: Usccb.org

Our Food Pantry is in need of the following items: Chili [can] Spaghetti sauce [can/jar] Jelly & Peanut butter Dry beans & Rice Toilet paper & Paper towels.

Many thanks and God bless! Please drop off to the parish office M-F 10am-4pm. E-mail: FoodPantry@stmaximilian.org *If you need food assistance PLEASE contact us, we are here to help you!

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD APRIL 12, 2020

Easter Baskets In the 16th century, children in Germany would turn looking for eggs to eat on Easter into a game. When the German immigrants came to America, they brought with them this custom which turned into an American Easter tradition. What Easter traditions can your family start, to make sure your home is focusing on Christ throughout the Easter season?

A very well- known Easter hymn is “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.” Based on a 14

th century Bohemian Latin

hymn, “Surrexit Christus hodie”, this hymn brings back childhood memories for many of us and remains a much-loved favorite today.

Happy Easter from your Choir! ♫

SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE CATHOLIC CHURCH Page 6 HOUSTON, TEXAS

Easter weekend is such a beautiful time in our Catholic faith and it’s about

much more than just Easter Sunday. All of the liturgies of the Triduum: Holy

Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil build to a crescendo that culmi-

nates with the empty tomb that we celebrate Sunday morning.

But as a convert, my favorite is the Easter Vigil of the Night Watch on Satur-

day night. The is the longest and in my humble opinion, the most beautiful lit-

urgy of the entire year. It is also traditionally when we welcome new members to the Catholic

Church through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. And it is truly an

honor as the RCIA Coordinator to help prepare and assist in this process.

This year we are blessed to have eleven adults and two children preparing for reception of the

Sacraments. We have six Elect who are prepared to receive all three Sacraments: Renzo Cald-

well, Quan Truang, Laritza Navarra, Edgar Ramirez, Candace Lopez and Nathan Aristotle

Zumparelli-Castillo. We have four Candidates who are prepared to make a Profession of Faith

and receive Confirmation and Holy Eucharist: Justin Meyer, Scott Love, Daniel Wiseman and

Amara Konstantinidis. And we have three Baptized Catholics who are prepared to complete their

Sacraments of Initiation: Yalixia Rivera, Ashlyn Jackson and Phuong Dinh.

As you can imagine, they were upset and disappointed that they were not able to experience the

Easter Vigil and be received but they have learned patience in their faith journey and they await

the joyful day when we can all gather together and they can be received.

Please add their names to your prayer list that God will continue to bless them in this time of wait-

ing and when we can all come together and they get to experience God’s grace through the Sac-

raments, please join me in welcoming them and embracing them as part of our local and Univer-

sal church.

Many thanks to the entire RCIA team: Molly Smith, Domenica Weir, Mike Breeding, Mike Watkins

and Mitch and Nancy Reece. I am just the pretty face and they do all the work!

He is risen, alleluia! Peace and blessings, Deacon Matt

YOUTH FAITH FORMATION

Due to the evolving COVID-19 situation, we are cancelling the Youth Faith Formation/CCE classes for the remaining spring session. If you would like to get your child/children’s copy of the workbook, please let us know.

Also, registration for Kamp Kolbe VBS and Faith Formation/CCE 2020-2021 sessions are available. At this time, we are planning two summer sessions; one for grades 1—8 and one for high school.

For more information go to: https://www.stmaximilian.org/children-youth-faith-formation For CCE registration go to https://www.stmaximilian.org/registration For VBS registration go to https://www.stmaximilian.org/kamp-kolbe-vbs

In order to receive all Youth Faith Formation updates, join FlockNote. Just text StMaxYFF to 84576 or sign up @ https://StMaxKolbe.flocknote.com/YouthFaithFormat. This will also make it possible for you to receive in-formation to the whole parish about advisories, events and cancellations.

Please contact Molly Smith if you have any questions.

EASTER SUNDAYOF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD APRIL 12, 2020

When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:4

STEWARDSHIP REFLECTIONS

Online Weekly Offertory Giving Thank you for your continued support of our parish! We ask you to continue your weekly gift to the parish if you are able to do so: Any gift is extremely appreciated and will sup-port our parish bills, outreach efforts, and also the staff and their families. Suggested ways for you to continue to give to our parish Online at FaithDirect.net; You may easily

schedule a regular monthly offertory or make a one-time donation to St. Maximilian Kolbe using Faith Direct; our parish code is TX625.

Bring envelopes with cash or checks to

the parish office during office hours. Mail checks (do not mail cash) to the

parish office: St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Community; 10135 West Road, Houston, TX 77064.

Easter Sunday: That we put God first in every-thing and not let earthly possessions become gods to us. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colos-sians 3:2 Do you put God first in all things? Possessions, money, power, ego can easily be-come gods to many of us. Do a quick check of what is important to you. Is God at the very top of the list? If not, your priorities need to be readjust-ed. Don’t let earthly things become a god before God. This is also the first commandment – I am the Lord your God, you shall not have any strange gods before me.

OUR PARISH DEBT Original Loan, October 2010:

$5,200,000 Amount to be paid:

$197,295.15

THE MYSTERY OF EMPTINESS Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! This Paschal greeting is customary in Eastern Catholic and Ortho-dox churches on Easter Sunday. Then there is Saint Augustine’s acclamation of joy: We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song! However you ex-press it, Easter is the time for rejoicing because Je-sus Christ, our friend and brother, is risen from the dead. And yet today’s scriptures are less joyful than one would expect for the most important feast in the Christian calendar. Perhaps we are being asked to look deeper into the mystery of the Resurrection, just as Peter went into the tomb to look deeper into the mystery of its emptiness. Mary Magdalene, who loved the Lord so much that she risked everything, possibly even her life, to go to the tomb before daybreak, finds the stone rolled away and assumes that someone has taken Jesus’ body. Frightened and sad, she runs to tell Peter and John. They all run back to the tomb, but what do they expect to see? Peter enters the tomb and sees. John enters, sees, and believes. But what does he believe? Scripture states, “For they did not yet un-derstand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9). They went home, not really know-ing what had happened. But John “believed” some-thing.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!” Psalm 118

SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE CATHOLIC CHURCH Page 8 HOUSTON, TEXAS

WE WELCOME YOU!

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD APRIL 12, 2020

Have You Moved? Changed your Phone Number or Email Address? If you have it is important to let us know in the parish office. Please call 281-955-7324 to update your information. Thank you!

Are you registered at St. Maximilian Kolbe? It is im-portant to register as a member of a parish so we can better serve the needs of all our parishioners. To register, call the parish office and we will mail out a Registration Form to you. (281) 955-7324

Benjamin Bellami, Chris Buckley, Bill

Carew, Michael Cartafalsa, Patricia

Carter, Denise Caskey, Patria Cillo,

Emilio Chavez-Cody, Kayson Clay,

Patricia Crim, Martha Dardnel, Deacon

Fred Dinges, Mark Durocher, Jearald Dyer, Bobby

Embesi, Aurora Enciso, Karen English, Linda

Everest, Jennifer Foty, Missy Fouts, Sheri

Friecke, Joseph Gallagher, Carol Ann Geary, Eric

Gensch, Richard Geveshausen, Beatriz

Gonzales, Kenny Gordon, Adria Gould, Francisco

Grados, Jesse Guevara, Ofelia Guevara, Rudy

Guevara, Mack Harper, Mitzi Harper, Charles

Hebert, Janelle Hoffart, Rachel Huebel, Irma

Jacinto, Linda Johnson, Monsignor Milam Kleas,

Corine Konvicka, Laurine Krejci, Della Kubeskie,

Tommy Kubeskie, Mrs. Hoang Le, Neveah Leger,

Rachele Marchisio, Ashley Mueller, Mark Neagli,

John Oggero, Father Roy Oggero, Kristen

Ornelaz, Richard Ornelaz, Carmen Ortiz, Jerry

Pendlum, Stan Petty, Drake Pope, Chris Raggio,

Oralia Ramirez, Carol Rodriguez, Kent Rogers,

Nelda Ruiz, Alveraize Saizan, Maria Senjudo,

Ernest Sepulveda, Doug Shepherd, Tony Sliva,

Grace Smith, Lance Smith, Nancy Snyder, Irma

Sosa, Marilyn Stocker, Christine Swiech, Ken

Switzler, Diana Thomas, Vick Anthony Todaro,

Ruth Tolentino, Annette Triska, Father John Ulm,

Janet Vasko, Megan Waggoner, Jerelyn Walker,

Linda Webb, and Adam Wendel.

If you would like someone added to our Parish Prayer List, please contact the parish office @ 281-955-7324. Going forward the Prayer List in the bulletin will be reviewed periodically and names on the list over 90 days will be re-moved unless we receive notification to retain them. May God bless you, protect you and please keep all those on our list in your prayers. Thank you.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK

Monday: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps 16:1-2a, 5, 7-11; Mt 28:8-15 Tuesday: Acts 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-5, 18-20, 22; Jn 20:11-18 Wednesday: Acts 3:1-10; Ps 105:1-4, 6-9; Lk 24:13-35 Thursday: Acts 3:11-26; Ps 8:2ab, 5-9; Lk 24:35-48 Friday: Acts 4:1-12; Ps 118:1-2, 4, 22-27a; Jn 21:1-14 Saturday: Acts 4:13-21; Ps 118:1, 14-21; Mk 16:9-15 Sunday: Acts 2:42-47; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 Pt 1:3-9; Jn 20:19-31

Dear adorers, I pray that you are doing well mind, body and soul. Yes it is difficult to be "cooped up", but oh how much I have learned about myself (my virtu-ous and non virtuous self :) One of the tools that is helping me stay realistic with what I see about my heart, is the daily Mass celebrated at Bishop Barron's chapel. The Mass is only 30 minutes long and the homilies are pragmatically to the point and exactly what I need to hear. Because you all are better souls than I am and you might already be obtaining graces through this avenue, this may not apply to you. But if it does, I invite you to celebrate daily Mass and this way grow in virtue and be transformed. Click on the link be-low. Praying for you daily...Take care and God bless, Susie https://www.wordonfire.org/daily-mass/”