An Oasis in Downtown Houston

God calls us to serve Him in the midst of our daily responsibilities and we try to do so because we want to be saints.  But how can we find God in the middle of our work when so many things distract us?  We must remember that however small a task is, it is filled with divine meaning and it can be offered to Our Lord as a pleasing sacrifice, undertaken for love. In and through doing our work with love, we learn how to love Our Lord.

Jesus worked joyfully as a carpenter for a number of years.  In the narthex of Holy Cross Chapel, we have a relief of St. Joseph as a loving father teaching a young Jesus how to do this work.  Daily, Joseph and Jesus and Mary grew closer to God, giving their work dignity and giving glory to God in their everyday duties.  Christ redeemed us so that we also can give glory to His Father in our work and in our duties to our family just as he did while on earth, the earth he had created. 

Christianity centers on the world that God gave us and we need his grace to change it.  Human realities are what we need to embrace, just as Christ embraced them when he became one of us.  Jesus, a carpenter, became our Redeemer.  Mary, a wife and a mother as depicted in our bronze statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, became the Queen of All Saints.  Joseph, the carpenter, became the head of the Holy Family on earth and a saint for all upon death.

God will not change what we do as wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, and persons who have to strive to work well while winning the respect of others.  But instead, you may discover that there are quiet ways to bring our Gospel values into your life by following the example of Jesus Christ.

Many have learned about Holy Cross Chapel from their friends who work downtown.  But there are still many who have been downtown for years and years who exclaim that they never knew we are here!  We hope you will visit us, bring your friends and help us spread our good news!  There are not many workplaces where we can bring the responsibilities of our family and the tasks of our work to the altar and offer them as a sacrifice, along with bread and wine, which miraculously becomes the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  We invite you to avail yourself of this gift!

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