Congratulations St. Philip Graduates 2024

Congratulations On Your First Communion, Sunday, May 7.

The ‘going forth’ of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the outpouring of an endless, inexhaustible miracle. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself foretold this miracle when he said, “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” [Jn 7:38] This invisible living water reveals itself in our lives as visible cherishing and sharing, its most perfect expression being the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Our 2024 Annual Picnic was held on Sunday, April 21.

My dear parishioners, I give you the joy of Easter and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! We rejoice in his baptismal blessings. Our baptismal promises shape every moment of our lives. They strengthen, prepare and enrich our future. In Christ we are everything. Without him we are nothing. Jesus suffered, died and rose from the dead that we might live. Therefore, Jesus is worthy to be the cornerstone of the Church and the joy of our lives. To be in the Church is to be one in Christ. We are the Body of Christ, and he is the head. The head and the body are one.

The Women's Guild hosted a beautiful, morning retreat on Tuesday, March 12.

The sacred activities of the Holy Spirit may be likened to the outpouring of an endless, inexhaustible miracle. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.”  [Jn 7:38]  Cherishing and sharing are part of this living water. Loving and giving are profoundly expressed every time we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which our Lord Jesus commanded his followers to offer in his name. 

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”  [Rev 3:20]  FIRST PILLAR:  The Vatican Council II Church fathers recognized the celebration of Holy Eucharist to be the “. . . source and summit of the whole of the Church's worship and of the Christian life”.  [Vatican II]  The “living bread which came down from heaven”  [Jn 6:51]  is the divine school in which disciples of the Lord grow in their love for one another and ministry in his name.

Fr. Barker blessed the 2024 Women's Guild at the 4:00 p.m. Mass on January 20.

My dear parishioners, all over the world people like to fly kites. Kites were invented 5th c BC in China which has an abundance of silk and bamboo. A kite looks simple, but the mechanics and forces that make it work are not. It’s heavier than air, but it acts lighter than air.

Our church was filled to capacity. Yes, visiting Angels and the Holy Spirit were everywhere.

Our ministries have been savoring the Christmas season with food, fun and fellowship!

My dear parishioners, the door to a house opens inward. However, the door to the human heart, it seems to me, must open outward. The phrase ‘reaching out’ expresses how human beings are to be with one another. The more one reach out to other human beings, the better off he is. We are more energetic, more positive and more forward looking in the company of others.

On this Solemnity of Christ the King I invite you to consider what Steven Pressfield has to say about kingship in his novel GATES OF FIRE (1998). Pressfield’s fictional account tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, a titanic clash between the freedom loving Greeks and the colossal Persian empire.

My dear parishioners, in 1621 the Wampanoag Indians shared a memorable meal with the Plymouth colonists they had befriended and to whom they entrusted priceless knowledge of the New World. In 1863, President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a perpetual celebration to be held annually on the last Thursday of November. This national holiday was to be observed by all citizens whether at home in America, or at sea or in foreign lands. Soon American families everywhere celebrated this autumn harvest feast.

     My dear parishioners, God says, “Behold, I make all things new.”  [Rev 21:5]  Our true destiny is life, eternal life, for our God is a God of the living. I believe anyone who is spiritually perceptive, who realizes human eyesight is not the only way to see, understands that God permits heavenly angels and saints to see and know the things of earth as well as heaven.

Congratulations to our middle school youth group!

An ideal Fall morning greeted us at the Oakhurst Golf Club in Porter, TX. After a hearty breakfast and reflecting on an opening prayer of thanksgiving, eleven golf foursomes made their “shotgun” start at separate holes.

At our weekend Masses on August 19-20, St. Philip was blessed with priestly joy, and motivated by the message of Fr. Fernando to make our “gift of self” to Christ, in the presence of the Eucharist, as the center of our lives. Our Mission Sunday goal is to assist their ministry with needed prayers and financial support, especially for their passionate support of Sri Lanka’s poor and oppressed.

Prime Timers ‘Humble-d’ August 25—visiting Humble, our neighboring City Mayor Norman Funderburk defined Humble’s 130 year history as a logging, cattle and later oil-boom town. We visited old downtown, the Charles Bender High School Performing Arts Center, and Lambrecht’s Artesian Well.