**PLEASE SEE THE DATES THESE MESSAGES WERE POSTED. SOME OF THE PAST MESSAGES HAVE HAD SOME NECESSARY CHANGES SINCE THEN DUE TO TO THE CORONAVIRUS UPDATES. "STAY HOME. STAY SAFE." THANK YOU.**
May 2020
My Dear Family and Friends of Holy Family,
I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE OUR PLAN FOR OUR PARISH REOPENING: As you are all aware, the Archdiocese of San Antonio has recently announced the gradual reopening of Masses beginning on May 19, 2020. We are grateful to have an Archbishop who has done all that he has done during all these circumstances. How wonderful it was for him to fly over several of the areas to show us how He is with us all as we gradually move forward in reopening. I ask that you will continue to pray for him and those who are assisting him in all areas concerning all the parishes in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
This is an exciting time for the Church and I am very happy and feel blessed to be able to Celebrate Mass once again with our parish community. I have missed you all so very much. We have done our best to keep in touch and stay connected during this time. I am thankful to all of you for checking up on me, for your prayers and your constant support through this time. I am very happy to be part of this blessed family!
As happy as I am and I know you are, it is important to remember that this reopening is going to be gradual and limited as we do our best to follow the guidelines given to us by the State, County and Archdiocese. This is not an easy time for all of us but we will need your understanding, patience and cooperation now more than ever. The health and safety of ALL is our top priority.
To read more and to see our plan for reopening, please look above on the Parish Reopening Policy Button. Thank You.
Rev. Ralainirina Francois Rakotovoavy, MSF
My Dear Family and Friends of Holy Family,
I want to thank you all so very much for your continuous support during this time.
I am so very happy of our parish and our parishioners for the way we have handled and responded during this time.
We thank you for checking our parish website and parish Facebook regulary especially during this time to stay connected with us.
Thank You for continuing to bless the parish each week with your weekly offerings. Your response has been faithful and filled with overwhelming support and love for our parish. I am very happy and thankful to all of you.
Thank You for continuing to bless the parish each week with your weekly offerings. Your response has been faithful and filled with overwhelming support and love for our parish. I am very happy and thankful to all of you.
We all have so much to be thankful for. Let us continue do our part to stay safe and keep others safe. Let us pray for each other as a family does and each day focus on any blessing we can.
Remember, God is with you always.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us,
Rev. Ralainirina Francois Rakotovoavy, MSF
April 15, 2020
My Dear Family and Friends of Holy Family,
I want to thank you all so very much for your continuous support during this time.
I am so very happy of our parish and our parishioners for the way we have handled and responded during this time.
Last week I sent out personal letters to remind you all that GOD IS WITH US. In the letters I included how during this time we would find a way and do our best to bring the Mass to you, your families and your homes. Even though we cannot be together at the church God is so good to bring the Mass into our homes. What a blessing for our parish families and our homes to have God present this way. GOD is GOOD! Thanks be to God to the technical support and help of some of our parishioners, we have been able to do so. Praise God, we were able to celebrate Easter with you. I am very thankful for all their help and services.
On Friday April 10, 2020 our Holy Thursday Mass made the cover of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
n the letters we also provided you with the parish website and parish Facebook information so that you would always stay connected with us especially during this time. We thank you for checking them regularly.
In the letters I had requested that you continue to bless the parish each week with your weekly offerings. Your response has been faithful and filled with overwhelming support and love for our parish. I am very happy and thankful to all of you.
On Thursday, April 9, 2020 it was my 20th Anniversary of the priesthood. It was different this year and a little hard to celebrate this year alone with the corona virus. But I am a very blessed pastor. I got the biggest surprise from so many of you. So many of you took the time to send me a message by phone, mail or Facebook. So many of you took the time to gather and make a parade of cars for me to help me celebrate my 20th Anniversary.
This made me feel so special and blessed. And this beautiful celebration made the cover of the newspaper again. We all have so much to be thankful for. Let us continue do our part to stay safe and keep others safe. Let us pray for each other as a family does and each day focus on any blessing we can.
Remember, God is with you always.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us,
Rev. Ralainirina Francois Rakotovoavy, MSF
April 3, 2020
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
These are uncertain and difficult times. Both government and Church officials are offering recommendations designed to limit contact in order to limit transmission of the virus. As you all know Archbishop Gustavo Paste from Wordextended the original decree given on March 31, 2020 to remain in effect until April 30, 2020. Both decrees can be viewed and heard on our parish website.
I am writing this letter to you at this time to remind you that am united in prayer with all of you, especially the sick, all those suffering and all those from our parish families that are faced with a death of a loved one during this time.
As our physical gatherings and opportunities for personal face-to-face communication are being limited, now more than ever we will be using the means of digital and social communication platforms to communicate with our parishioners. Please continue to monitor our parish website and our parish Facebook for the latest news. During the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" mandate the parish office will be able to respond to phone calls and emails. If you have any questions, please call our parish office at 830-609-5320 between the hours of 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm or email us at holyfamily@satx.rr.com
We will do all we can to be bring the Masses to your home. The Holy Week Schedule will be posted here on the website.
Please use this time to draw close to Jesus in prayer, silence, reflection and meditation. If you have children, please pray with them and exercise patience. All this will pass … and we can become better, stronger and more faithful if we use this time to grow closer to God.
Please pray that this outbreak comes to a swift end, and that our longing for the Eucharist be deepened and sustained even after Masses resume as usual. God is with us! Do not be afraid. We are all in this together! God bless you all!
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us
Pastor, Rev. Ralainirina Francois Rakotovoavy, MSF
April 2, 2020
A Time of Praying during the COVID 19
I am inviting and asking the parish community to join me this evening at 7pm on our parish Website or Facebook for a moment of prayer. As you know this Thursday is usually scheduled for 1st Thursday Evening Healing Mass. Even though we are unable to have the Healing Mass this evening due to COVID-19, we want to be connected to each other when it’s possible.
Let us gather from our homes in prayer this evening at 7:00pm to unite together with prayers of healing before the Blessed Sacrament. A Video from Church will be broadcasted at 7pm. Please join us.
When we aren't sure, God, help us be calm and help us to reach out with our hearts, when we can't touch with our hands.
Although we are physically separated, let us be united in spirit, heart and mind and continue to be a praying community. God Bless us all. - Fr. Francois
March 27, 2020
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As your Pastor, please be assured of my continued prayers for you, your families and all those affected by this virus. During this time we may have feelings of panic, fear, worry, and doubt. As we read in Isaiah, our Lord tells us to not fear for He is always with us and will uphold us during times of trouble.
I pray that all spend time in prayer, asking for our Lord’s healing for the sick, protection for those caring for the ill, and for His comforting hands on those who are fearful. A livestream of our Mass will be available oour parish Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HolyFamilyNBTXIf you do not have a Facebook account you can go to our parish website and just click the Facebook icon on the upper right-hand corner of the home page and you can see it there. I encourage you and your family to continue to pray at home. Continue to pray other devotions including the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy at appropriate times.
Holy Family Parish will continue during these times. But in order to continue our work, we need your support. I ask you to pray for our Parish, our Diocese and our Country. I also ask for your continued financial support. Without your gifts, our parish will struggle to continue to take care of our most basic functions. I know these times are challenging, but I humbly ask for your continued financial support so that we may continue our vital functions. Gifts can be made by dropping off your offering at the parish office, using the on-line giving on our parish website hfnb.org or mailing a check to the parish.
Thank you for your continued support. Your generosity is a blessing to our parish family. May God keep you safe, continue to bless you and your families, and keep us all in His loving care.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us.
Fr. Francois