Sacred Heart Parish
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Friday, May 15
9:00 AM Daniel Gorman
12:05 PM Socorro Jimenez
Saturday, May 16
4:00 PM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
Sunday, May 17
9:00 AM First Communion
10:30 AM First Communion (ASL)
11:45 AM F. James O’Donoghue
CELEBRANTS FOR NEXT WEEKEND’S MASSES
Saturday, May 16
4:00 PM Fr. Imbelli
Sunday, May 17
9:00 AM Fr. Connelly
10:30 AM Fr. St. Martin
11:45 AM Fr. Connelly
CONFESSIONS
Saturday, May 16 – 2:00 to 3:30 PM – Fr. Connelly
READINGS FOR THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
First Reading: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
Second Reading: 1 John 4:7-10
Gospel Reading: John 15:9-17
CATHOLIC COMMUNICATIONS
The annual collection for The Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) will be taken up next weekend. CCC develops media programming, projects and resources that promote Gospel values. Fifty percent of the collection supports local communication efforts, such as televised Masses and diocesan newspapers. The other fifty percent supports the development and production of a wide range of national media programming. Please visit www.USCCB.org/ccc for more information.
CANCELLATION OF 10:30 ASL MASS ON MAY 24TH
Because of the first Mass of Shawn Patrick Carey, there will be no ASL 10:30 Mass upstairs or downstairs on Sunday, May 24th. Shawn will be ordained a priest on Saturday, May 23rd at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston and will be coming to Sacred Heart Parish to celebrate his first Mass on Sunday, May 24 at 2 p.m. in the upstairs church. A reception will follow in the Parish Center.
NO COFFEE HOUR ON MAY 24TH
The extended Coffee Hour on Sunday, May 24th, will be cancelled because of the reception following Shawn Carey’s First Mass at 2 p.m.
GUILD OF SAINT FRANCIS COMMUNION BREAKFAST
SAVE THE DATE – Be sure to circle Sunday, June 7th on your calendar for the Guild of St. Francis Mass and Communion breakfast.
AN ARISE MEMBER IN NEED
Dear parishioners and members of the ARISE community:
A problem arose out of the last session of ARISE impacting a member of ARISE and the parish community. This individual, a single mother of two, is in dire need of a safe, used car in good working condition. She is in danger of losing her government assistance and the financial assistance for her daughter’s school (her daughter, in open competition, has won a full scholarship to Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart) if she does not acquire a car which will allow her to take her children to school and to find a job.
We are appealing to our ARISE brethren and the Sacred Heart community for help. This can be either one of two ways: by either donating or selling a used car in good working condition; or by sending a financial contribution to Sacred Heart parish in care of Father Connelly. If we cannot find a suitable car within our community, then our hope is to raise around $2,500 which should provide sufficient funds to buy a good, safe, used car. Please contact Father Connelly if you would like to help, or Al Calvo or Pablo Coste for more information.
Your generosity will be greatly appreciated and will certainly serve as a testament of the good that the ARISE program brings to our parish community. Without the ARISE program we would not have heard of this person in need. Blessings,
Alberto Calvo (617) 244-2226 <abcalvo@alum.mit.edu>
Pablo Coste (617)-527-3808 Pablo.Coste@gmail.com
HELP WANTED
There are several Liturgical Ministries within Sacred Heart Parish that involve dedicated parishioners. These include Lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist, Ushers, Environment/Decoration, Linens and Mass Preparation. There is another important, more recent function that is key in the liturgical life of the parish and that is care of the Baptismal Font. There is, currently, a need for some parishioners to come forward as volunteers to share in this important task. No prior knowledge is required and the frequency of effort is only once every few months. If you are willing to explore this as something you can contribute to the Liturgical life of Sacred Heart Parish, please contact Dick Murphy for the Font 617-332-8587, rjmurphy17@comcast.net and Winnie Murphy for all others.
617-969-4021, Winnie.Murphy@sacredheart.ws
THE LORD’S GLORIOUS ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN
This year on Thursday, May 21, the Church will celebrate the feast day of the Lord’s glorious ascension into heaven. The Ascension of Jesus – sometimes referred to as his exaltation at God’s right hand – tells us this important truth: that in his risen body Christ the Lord plainly showed himself to his disciples and was taken up into heaven in their sight to claim for us a share in his divine life. In other words, the Lord Jesus, who in his earthly existence belonged among what was seen, in his ascension became numbered among what was unseen. At the same time, and this too is a truth of faith, he did not abandon his disciples and leave them orphans when he ascended into heaven. As Pope St. Leo, from the fifth century, reminded his parishioners, the disciples “were able to fix their minds on Christ’s divinity as he sat at the right hand of the Father, since what was presented to their bodily eyes no longer hindered them from turning all their attention to the realization that he had not left the Father when he came down to earth nor had he abandoned his disciples when he ascended into heaven.” In this context, in the opening prayer for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, we will say to God our Father – “Help us to keep in mind that Christ our Savior lives with you in glory and has promised to remain with us until the end of time.” This is possible because by the power of the Holy Spirit all that was once visible in the Lord Jesus’ humanity has now passed over into the sacraments of the Church. In other words, the mystery of the ascension is not intended to say something about the Lord Jesus now being here and then being there. Rather, it deals with the difference between what is seen and what is unseen. To quote Pope St. Leo once again – “The truth is that the Lord Jesus was revealed as Son of God in a more perfect way once he had entered into the Father’s glory; he now began to be indescribably more present in his divinity to those from whom he was further removed in his humanity.” St. Augustine has expressed the Ascension mystery in these words: He who ascended into heaven is with us now and we who are here are also with him by faith. He did not leave heaven when he first came among us, and he did not leave us when he ascended into heaven. That is why he promised his apostle-friends, and us too – I will be with you always.
Just as during his earthly existence the man Jesus, who was personally God, was the source of life and grace for those who believed in him, so now since his ascension he continues to be our source of life and grace through our contact with him in faith, in the prayer of faith, and in the sacraments of faith. St. Paul tells us – since you have accepted Jesus as Lord, you must live your lives in union with him. This is what faith is all about – a profound interpersonal relationship with him who through his death and resurrection has become the Lord of Glory. The Lord’s ascension did not remove him to some mythical existence beyond the furtherest galaxy. Rather, by the power of the Spirit, he is more dynamically present in our world, and can be in our personal worlds, than he ever was when he walked the hillsides of Galilee. Jesus’ ascension means for us the risen Christ’s – true, mysterious, invisible, most real, most powerful, most effective presence in our on-going history this side of the grave.
The risen Lord sends each one of us a message which is at once simple, radical and personal. Simple in that he says to each one of us personally – Follow me. Radical in that he says to each one of us personally – Take up your cross, put up with insults and hostilities; do not set your hearts on wealth or honors or power. Intensely personal in that he says to each one of us personally – Follow me for my sake; and for the sake of the Gospel, fulfill God’s will, fulfill God’s will God’s way, fulfill God’s will precisely because it is God’s will We must choose as we celebrate the Lord’s Ascension – we can live for self or we can live for God and, if we live for God, we must live for others through whom God reveals himself.
Father Connelly
WORLDWIDE MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER
“Love one another as I love you.” Do you love your spouse with the same kind of love that Jesus loves us? Take time now to learn this kind of love for each other. The next Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends in New England are June 19-21, July 17-19 and September 25-17. For more information call Ralph and Jane Becker at 1-800-710-WWME or visit www.wwmwMA.org.
MASTER OF ARTS IN MINISTRY COURSES
Come learn more about your Catholic faith. Summer courses begin May 19. A special seminar entitled “Four Mondays with the Apostle Paul” will be offered at no charge to commemorate the closing of the Pauline Year. Prof. Celia Sirois will base the seminar on the text Reading Paul by Michael Gorman. Dates are June 1, 8, 15, 22 from 7-9 PM. To register visit www.sjs.edu or call 617-779-4104.
AN ADDITIONAL OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY
We thank you all for your generosity to the needy in many different circumstances. Sadly our supply of supermarket gift cards has been exhausted. If some parishioners might be willing to donate a food card ($10) for Shaw/Star Market or Stop and Shop, it would be greatly appreciated.
PARISH PARTY
The party’s over but the joy lingers on from our parish party on May 1. A good time was had by all who attended and we thank those who worked so hard to make it happen.
SIGNINGS
Good People,
We are called to be connected inside and outside to Christ. How are we called to be connected on the outside?
The five precepts of the Church:
-
You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and remain free from work or activity that could impede the sanctification of such days.
-
You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
-
You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
-
You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
-
You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.
These are the external practices as stated in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
We must have a great honor and respect for God and do these things as the People of Jerusalem did in the first reading. These are external acts that we can see ourselves and others doing. Others can see us doing them. They are important. If we fail in these things we do not lose hope. We partake of the Sacrament of reconciliation and continue on again with new joy.
These practices, if they are true and they are not simply for show, produce in us the fruits of love for God and each other.
Take for example Mass. If we do that every Sunday well and really do our best to be there physically and internally we will be united to God and each other beautifully. If we don't do it we might tell ourselves we are still connected to God but are we? We might go for a walk in the woods or walk under the stars and pray but will those trees and stars be there to help us and encourage us? Can we help them in the way we can be there to help and support our brothers and sisters?
We need to do the internal and external. We need to be at Mass and all the rest. We need to then engage in the love and support of others that will naturally flow from that coming together. Works without prayer is nothing. Works without love is nothing. Works without God is nothing.
We need both. They reinforce and enhance each other. They lead to each other. They flow from each other. If we stay connected to the community through Mass (external) and bear fruit (good fruits) we will not suffer the unhappiness represented by the fire Christ warns of in today's Gospel.
In Christ,
Fr. St. Martin
OFFERTORY INCOME
Weekend of May 2/3 $4,563
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
1st Communion reminders:
-
The final classes before 1st Communion will take place today and Tuesday, May 12th. All parents please make sure that your child does not miss this important preparation.
-
Rehearsal for 1st Communion will take place for ALL GRADE 2 STUDENTS on Saturday, May 16th in the upper church from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. At least one parent must attend. Please be on time as we have a lot to cover during this time.
-
Make sure that Kathy Winters has received the number of guests that you hope to have join you on this special day. Please contact her as soon as possible.
-
All students MUST ARRIVE AT 8:15 a.m. in the lower church on First Communion day. The photographer will take a group photo prior to Mass.
-
Lastly, please pray for all who will receive Jesus’ Body and Blood for the first time, that they will receive him with sincere trust that He is truly present in the Eucharist.
During the month of May the CCD students will continue to honor and thank Mary, the mother of Jesus and our heavenly mother for the gift of her son. We will pray the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary that we may imitate her total love and trust in her son.
Michelle Solomon, Director of Rel. Ed.
CALENDAR NOTES
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:
Sunday, May 10 – 9:00 AM (ASL) – Lower Church
Sunday, May 10 – 10:30 AM – Lower Church
EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, May 10 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – GRADES 1-5:
Tuesday, May 12 – 4 to 5:15 PM – Lower Church
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – GRADES 6-10:
Tuesday, May 12 – 7 to 8:30 PM – Lower Church
PRAYER GROUP:
Wednesday, May 13 – 7:30 PM – Convent
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS:
Wednesday, May 13 – 8 PM – Convent (DR)
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING:
Thursday, May 14 – 7:30 PM – Convent (Library)
COFFEE HOUR:
Friday, May 16 – 9:45 AM – Parish Center
LITURGY, ADORATION AND THE ROSARY:
Saturday, May 16 – 9 AM to 12:30 PM – Lower Church
FIRST COMMUNION REHEARSAL:
Saturday, May 16 – 1:30-2:30 PM – Upper Church
FIRST COMMUNION RECEPTION:
Sunday, May 17 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center
WOMEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP:
Sunday, May 17 – 10:30 AM – Convent (DR)