Sacred Heart Parish
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Monday, March 2
12:05 PM Maggie Culleton
Wednesday, March 4
7:00 AM Nancy Copell
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Monday, March 2
12:05 PM Maggie Culleton
Wednesday, March 4
7:00 AM Nancy Copell Myette
Thursday, March 5
7:00 AM Margaret Libernini
Sunday, March 8
9:00 AM Parishioners of Sacred Heart 11:45 AM Rocco and Filomena Calvi and Maria Belcastro
CELEBRANTS FOR NEXT WEEKEND’S MASSES
Saturday, March 7
4:00 PM Fr. Connelly
Sunday, March 8
9:00 AM Fr. Imbelli
10:30 AM Fr. St. Martin
11:45 AM Fr. Connelly
CONFESSIONS
Saturday, March 7 – 2:00 to 3:30 PM – Fr. Connelly
READINGS FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
First Reading: Genesis 22:1-2, 9a,10-13, 15-18
Second Reading: Romans 8:31b-34
Gospel Reading: Mark 9:2-10
2009 CATHOLIC APPEAL
Next weekend, March 7-8, will be Catholic Appeal Weekend here at Sacred Heart Parish. Cardinal Seán is asking every Catholic household to participate. The Appeal is to our Archdiocese what the weekly offertory is to our parish, so your participation and support are critical. Because of the economic downturn, support of the Catholic Appeal is more urgent this year. Those of you that gave to the Appeal last year should be receiving a letter from him this week. We invite all others to take home an information packet from Mass this weekend. Please mail your completed pledge card in the envelope provided. Thank you!
SOUP AND STATIONS
Soup and Stations will again take place this year at Corpus Christi Church, 45 Ash Street in Auburndale on the Fridays of Lent. Soup is served in the downstairs hall at 6:00 PM followed by Stations of the Cross at 7:00 PM in the Church. Sacred Heart is hosting two Fridays this year: March 6 and 27. If you would like to help by preparing a soup or dessert for either or both of these evenings, please call Bernadette or Peter Castellanos at 617-969-4299.
LENTEN ALSMGIVING
The season of Lent calls us to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. This year our almsgiving projects are:
St. Francis House – men’s new socks and underwear, sizes 32-38
Walden School – Residential program at Learning Center for the Deaf (Framingham) ages 12-21
Girls: underwear sizes 14, 16; socks 6-8
Boys: underwear sizes 16, 18; socks 7 and up
Women: underwear sizes 5, 6, 7; socks 6-8
Men: underwear waist 36” or less; socks 7 and up
Rice Bowls – For worldwide needs, sponsored by Catholic Relief Services.
Large baskets will be available in the foyer of the upstairs church and in the hallway of the downstairs church for donations to St. Francis House and Walden School.
GUILD OF ST. FRANCIS FAMILY NIGHT
The next Guild of St. Francis’ event is Family Night, which will be a catered buffet dinner on Saturday, March 14th from 5-8 PM in the Parish Center. Dinner will include: Lasagna, Chicken Marsala, Rice Pilaf, Meatballs, Ziti, Garden Salad, Rolls, Bread and Dessert. Price is $15.00 for adults and $7.50 for children ages 2-12 years. To make your reservations, please call Sally Daly at 617-527-4468 or Mary English at 617-332-8656. Checks should be made payable to the Guild of Saint Francis and mailed to: Sally Daly, 138 Lincoln Street, Newton Highlands, MA 02461. Reservations must be made by March 9!
In the past, we have had some entertainment following dinner, such as Irish step dancing, native South American or Mexican dances, piano or violin solos, singing, etc. If you have a talent you would like to share, please call Olimpia Caceres-Brown at 617-222-0791 or email her at Olimpia@MIT.EDU.
BABYSITTER/MOTHER’S HELPER AVAILABLE
Hello, my name is Barbara Terwilliger. I would like to offer my service as a babysitter or mother’s helper. I am one of five children and have had previous child care experience. Please call if I can be of any help to you. I am a lifelong member of Sacred Heart community, altar server, previous member of children’s choir, honors freshman at Southfield School, most often attend 9 AM Mass and can meet you at coffee hour. Phone home: 617-332-1263; cell: 617-650-3918. I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks, Barbara
OFFERTORY INCOME
Weekend of February 21/22 $5,027.11
THE PROPHET JOEL, ASH WEDNESDAY AND THE SACRED HEART RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAM
The prophet Joel is the great spokesperson for announcing the season of Lent. Listen to what he says: “Blow the trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly; gather the people, notify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast, let the bridegroom quit his room and the bride her chambers.”
On Wednesday, February 25, the Church through the prophet Joel calls us to gather. We have welcomed Christ at Christmas time as Savior of the world. We have accepted him as our Redeemer and have become his disciples. Our hope is to get to know the Lord more and more, to understand the power of his resurrection, share in his suffering, be conformed to his death so that we may attain to the resurrection of the dead. This is no ordinary invitation as one might be invited to “High Tea” some afternoon. Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent are tests of the genuineness of our faith in the Lord. Ash Wednesday is a family affair. Admittedly, it is difficult for the family to respond. It is very discouraging to realize year after year how few of our Religious Education children come to Mass on Ash Wednesday.
Listen carefully to what Pope Benedict has to say about the season of Lent:
“Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter. Even in the ‘valley of darkness’ of which the Psalmist speaks (Ps 23:4), while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and sustain us. Yes, even today the Lord hears the cry of the multitudes longing for joy, peace, and love. As in every age, they feel abandoned. Yet, even in the desolation of misery, loneliness, violence and hunger that indiscriminately afflict children, adults, and the elderly, God does not allow darkness to prevail. In fact, in the words of my beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, there is a ‘divine limit imposed upon evil’, namely, mercy (Memory and Identity, pp. 19ff.). It is with these thoughts in mind that I have chosen as my theme for this Message the Gospel text: ‘Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity’ (Mt 9:36).
In this light, I would like to pause and reflect upon an issue much debated today: the question of development. Even now, the compassionate “gaze” of Christ continues to fall upon individuals and peoples. He watches them, knowing that the divine ‘plan’ includes their call to salvation. Jesus knows the perils that put this plan at risk, and He is moved with pity for the crowds. He chooses to defend them from the wolves even at the cost of His own life. The gaze of Jesus embraces individuals and multitudes, and he brings them all before the Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice of expiation.”
Father Connelly
ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON LENTEN REGULATIONS – 2009
ABSTINENCE: Catholics over 14 years of age are bound to the obligations of abstinence. Abstinence is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent. On days of abstinence, meat may not be used at all.
FAST: Catholics over the age of 18 and up to the beginning of their sixtieth year are bound to the obligation of fasting. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the days of fasting. On these days, only one full meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices are allowed.
Lent is a period of special penitential observance. Following the instructions of the Holy See, the Bishops of the United States have declared that the obligation to fast and to abstain from meat still binds on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In this matter, the faithful enjoy freedom in conscience to excuse themselves but, as the Bishops state, “no Catholic Christian will lightly excuse himself from so hallowed an obligation”. In addition, the tradition of abstinence from meat on the other Fridays of Lent is preserved. Again, the Bishops express their confidence that “no Catholic Christian will lightly hold himself excused from this penitential practice”.
Regarding all the other weekdays of Lent, we strongly recommend participation in daily Mass and the voluntary observance of fasting. Commendable, particularly during Lent, is generosity to local, national, and world programs of sharing our abundance, the traditional Lenten devotions, and all the self-denial summed up in the Christian concept of “mortification”.
“Let us witness to our love and imitation of Christ by special solicitude for the sick, the poor, the underprivileged, the imprisoned, the bed-ridden, the discouraged, the stranger, the lonely, and persons of other color, nationalities, or background than our own. A catalogue of not merely suggested but required good works under these headings is provided by our Blessed Lord Himself in His description of the Last Judgment.” (Cf. Matt 25, 24-40) “This salutary word of the Lord is necessary for all the year, but should be heeded with double care during Lent.” (Bishops’ Statement)
SIGNINGS
Parish news, especially of interest to our deaf parishioners
Good People, Jesus emerges from the 40-day battle in the dangerous desert victorious. He emerges proclaiming the Kingdom of God is at hand. God's Kingdom is finally coming down to earth. The love of God, powerful and good, is now springing forth like water. Now we who thirst can finally be satisfied.
Pope Benedict has a guide for us as we begin our 40 days of Lent. We too want to emerge victorious with Jesus to be living announcements of God's Kingdom, living breathing signs of his power and goodness. So what does our good Pope tell us? The Pope explains one of the three traditional practices for Lent. The three traditional lenten practices are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The Pope focuses on fasting. Some of the points which he makes you might find helpful. Fasting doesn't mean only fasting from food. It can mean fasting from anything "useful and good for our bodily sustenance."
What would be examples of things we can fast from besides food? The Pope gives us examples from "an ancient hymn of the Lenten liturgy" which exhorts: “Utamur ergo parcius, / verbis cibis et potibus, / somno, iocis et arctius / perstemus in custodia – Let us use sparingly words, food and drink, sleep and amusements. May we be more alert in the custody of our senses.”
This tells us that words and sleep can be added to the list of things that we fast from. We are used to fasting from candy or chocolate or meat. But what about fasting from words? I am sure the priests I live with would be happy if I decided to do more of that when we eat together. What about fasting from sleep? I am sure that there are some that should be careful not to do too much of that. What about fasting from amusements? I am sure that the TV shows, movies, video games, to name but a few, could be a fruitful fast for many in our world today.
The whole point is also contained in this little song from so long ago. The fasting is so that we can have custody of our senses. That is to say, we are training ourselves, increasing our self-control so that with that control we can focus on Christ. The Pope recommends that we use our new time and attention that fasting gives us to focus more on whatever nourishes our soul so that we can love God and each other more. It is easy. Fasting helps us focus more on God and therefore strengthens our soul.
Then when we emerge from the 40 days of Lent like Christ in the Gospel we will be with Him able to joyfully proclaim to the world that God's love is real and that his power is now at work. The world that thirsts needs us to do this Lent well. Fast well.
In Christ, Fr. St. Martin
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
First Reconciliation for all second graders in both Sunday and Tuesday programs will take place on Saturday, March 7, 2009 in the lower church from 10:30 am – 11:45 am.
Just when the darkness and cold of winter has slowed us down and made us numb, the Church ushers in Lent. We want to be full of energy and life again. Christ said in Revelation 21, “Behold I make all things new”! The pathway to becoming new and full of life is walking with Christ beginning with his fasting in the desert all the way through His death to His resurrection. So we ask our students to fast with Jesus by giving up something they love on a daily basis. We ask the students to love the poor as Jesus does by giving of their own money, so others can eat. Most of all we ask them to pray and ask Jesus to make them new inside from thinking only of themselves to thinking of others.
We encourage all our CCD families to attend Mass, pray together, recite the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary and pray the Stations of the Cross. All our students will be given a Lenten Rice Bowl to fill with their own allowance as their gift to the poor. Also, the Parish Lenten giving program gives the students an opportunity to buy clothing for those in need. All Rice bowls and clothing will be offered during the Holy Thursday Liturgy.
Michelle Solomon, Director of Religious Education
PEACE AND JUSTICE FORUM
Save the date for the next Social Justice Forum to be held on Sunday, March 22 at 7:30 PM in the lower church. Professor Thomas J. Massaro, SJ of Boston College School of Theology and Ministry will speak on “The Option for the Poor in 2009: Social Priorities for our Times”
CALENDAR NOTES
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:
Sunday, March 1 – 9:00 AM (ASL) – Lower Church
Sunday, March 1 – 10:30 AM – Lower Church
EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, March 1 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – GRADES 1-5:
Tuesday, March 3 – 4 to 5:15 PM – Lower church
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – GRADES 6-10
Tuesday, March 3 – 7 to 8:30 PM – Lower Church
GUILD OF ST. FRANCIS BOARD MEETING:
Tuesday, March 3 – 7 PM – Guild Room
LITURGY, ADORATION AND THE ROSARY:
Saturday, March 7 – 9 AM to 12:30 PM – Upper Church
FIRST RECONCILIATION:
Saturday, March 7 – 10:30 to 11:45 AM – Lower Church
EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, March 8 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center