Fr. Chuck's Column, Sunday, January 25

Happy Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul! ALL the Paulists thank you most generously for your support this weekend in the Annual Paulist Appeal.

Recently, while stopped at a traffic light at MLK Jr Blvd and I-35, I counted 8 enormous cranes on the horizon, all around where the new teaching hospital is being constructed, south of MLK. With the construction of another high-rise dormitory going on caddy-corner from our gym on San Antonio and 21^st Street, the construction on MLK on either side of Hotel Ella, and the massive construction project across from our church of the new Rowling Graduate Business School, it seems that everywhere you go in central Austin you are in sight of a lane closure, a huge crane, an earth-moving truck, or other evidence of construction. Our neighborhood is changing dramatically right before our eyes.

There are certainly good aspects of all these signs of growth. Anyone fighting the traffic, the noise and the dust also knows that there are down sides as well. It certainly says to me that St. Austin Church will continue to be in the thick of the action in Austin. I don’t know if the first Paulists and parishioners here knew what a great spot they chose for being in the center of the action (or “eye of the storm” if you prefer), but they seem to have had an uncanny sense for choosing a spot that would remain active and dynamic for many generations to come.

So for better and for worse, here we are in the center of the action. I see this as all the more reason to repair, renew and refresh the exterior of our facilities. This can only help us to continue carrying on our mission of an evangelizing parish, served by the Paulists, deep in the heart of Texas!

Today also concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Please do not make this very important effort to heal the wounds in the Body of Christ the subject of your prayer only one week of the year! We have to keep praying for Christian Unity all 52 weeks of the year! Thank you.

And finally, this coming week is Catholic Schools Week in the Diocese of Austin. There will be an Open House Monday evening, January 26^th from 5 to 7 p.m. Prospective parents will be able to tour the campus, meet faculty and visit with current students, school board members, and parents.  But ALL parishioners are cordially invited to stop in and see our parish school. St. Austin Catholic School is not the building, but the wonderful community we have here. But all parishioners are welcome to stop in and see the school. Especially if you attended St. Austin Catholic School, please stop by and say hello.

God bless,