Sacred Heart Parish
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Monday, September 14
12:05 PM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
Friday, September 18
12:05 PM Anthony Fabrizio
Saturday, September 19
4:00 PM Frances Leonard Lovat
Sunday, September 20
9:00 AM Pierce Haley
11:45 AM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
CELEBRANTS FOR NEXT WEEKEND’S MASSES
Saturday, September 19
4:00 PM Fr. St. Martin
Sunday, September 20
9:00 AM Fr. Imbelli
10:30 AM Fr. St. Martin
11:45 AM Fr. Imbelli
READINGS FOR THE TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
First Reading: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
Second Reading: James 3:16 – 4:3
Gospel Reading: Mark 9:30-37
GUILD OF ST. FRANCIS TEA
Fr. Connelly and the Guild of St. Francis invite all ladies of the parish to attend the annual Tea at the rectory on Sunday, September 20th from 3:00 to 4:30 PM. Socialize with old friends and meet new ones as you enjoy tea and desserts.
AN HAPPY NOTE
I received recently a note from one of our new parishioners. She is the woman who was in great need of buying a previously owned car. She writes in the note – “I would like to share my happiness with all of you.” This happy event came out of the ARISE program and from a mention in our Parish Bulletin to which our parishioners, as usual, rallied generously. Thanks to all who were so generous.
Father Connelly
HOME SCHOOLING FAMILIES
In an effort to support families in the Archdiocese of Boston that home school their children, Cardinal Seán has established a position of Spiritual Director/Liaison for Home School Families within the Pastoral Center of the Archdiocese. If you would like to contact the office for more information or be connected to other Catholic home school families, please call 617-746-5875.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
REGISTRATION FOR CCD: Please take a moment to pick up a registration form at one of the church exits and register your child for CCD as soon as possible. We have a Sunday program for grades 1-5 from 10:30-11:45 am and a Tuesday program for grades 1-5 from 4:00-5:15 pm and on Tuesday evening for grades 6-10 from 7-8:30 pm. Please call the Religious Education office if you have any questions. CCD classes begin on Sunday, September 20th and Tuesday, September 29th.
CCD TEACHERS NEEDED! As our classrooms fill up, we pray for you to respond to Christ’s love by offering your time and gift of faith to the children of our parish. We are looking for teachers for the Sunday and Tuesday afternoon programs. No experience is necessary. A desire for others to know Christ and to serve is all that is needed to hand down the Catholic faith to the next generation. We will provide you with the training and support. Come and join the rest of us who are growing and learning the truth and beauty of our Catholic faith by bringing it to the children!
ATTENTION ALL CONFIRMATION II STUDENTS AND PARENTS: As part of your preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, Fr. St. Martin will be making a home visit with families of 2nd year Confirmation students before CCD begins . He is available Sundays and Thursdays at 7 PM. Please call immediately: 617-997-8025 and leave several options for this visit.
Calendar of Events for CCD:
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Wednesday, September 9, 6-9 PM in Convent: All new teachers, aides, and adults who regularly come in contact with children at Sacred Heart are required to receive this training in the Protecting God’s Children Program.
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Sunday, September 13, 10:30-11:30 am: Information about the Keeping Children Safe Curriculum being used in grade 1-8 this year will be presented for all CCD parents in McKenzie Center.
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Sunday, September 20, 10:30-11:45 am: CCD begins!
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Sunday, September 27 at 9 am Mass: Commissioning of Teachers
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Tuesday, September 29: Tuesday CCD program begins!
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Sunday, October 4, 7-8:30 PM in Convent: Theology of the Body curriculum presented to Confirmation Parents
Michelle Solomon, Director of R.E.
OFFERTORY INCOME AND
HOME MISSION COLLECTION
Weekend of September 5/6 $3,765
Home Mission Collection $ 668
SOME THOUGHTS ON RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Our Gospel reading last Sunday is a wonderful example of God speaking to us through the words and deeds of his Son. It is the story of bringing the gift of hearing to a man born deaf. Jesus touched the man’s ears and said to him, “Be opened!”, and immediately his ears were opened. As we reflect on this incident, it is important to recall the great truth of faith that all the power, all the divine strength, resident in the humanity of Jesus, thanks to his Ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit, has passed over into the sacraments of the Church. Think back at your own Baptism. The celebrant took note of the baptismal garment and its significance, then gave you a candle, a symbol of the light which is Christ, and then said to you while touching your ears and your mouth – “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to hear his words and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father. Amen.”
“Opening the ears” – What a wonderful name for our Religious Education Program. The Lord begins this process of opening the ears of our children through their parents in that “little church” which is the family. The Latin word for church is “ecclesia”; sometimes the family is called “ecclesiola”, that is “little church”. It is in the family that the child begins to pray, to give, to forgive, to share, to come to Mass on Sundays, to say prayers morning and night, to say prayers before and after a major meal. Then comes the educational work of the parish but always auxiliary to the role of the parents. Part of the Christian socializing process of growing up in the Lord takes place as a child enters the educational project in a more formal way and prepares to participate in the sacrifice of the Church which is the Mass and in Holy Communion which is the fruit of the sacrifice. The child begins slowly but persistently to understand what is so beautifully represented in the prayer which concludes our Liturgy, when we say to God our Father – “Your word and your sacrament give us food and life. May this gift of your Son lead us to share his life for ever.”
While I’m at it, it might be appropriate to mention the prayer the celebrant says at Baptism the moment the child is lifted from the font. The priest says, calling the child by name: “God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and has welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you participate in his ministry and live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.” This prayer points to the three-fold ministry of Christ our Redeemer – He is Priest, Prophet and King; He is our life, our truth and our way; He is our mediator, our teacher and our guide. Christ’s three-fold office he now shares with the Church. Our Religious Education Program participates in the work of Christ the Teacher. The Church, of course, is much more than a school. Doctrine is not the only, not even the primary activity of the Church, for the Church must worship God, serve mankind, work for the transformation of the world and await the consummation of its hope in the world to come. However, the Church cannot be anything less than a school, and so we teach our young people to believe, to teach and to confess what the Church believes, teaches and confesses. This is Christian doctrine; this is at the heart of our Religious Education Program. Who is important when it comes to religious education? Obviously the teachers in the classroom who represent the Church as teacher, but surely the mothers and fathers of families, and all the parishioners of the parish as well. If what is being taught does not coincide with the practices of family life, and if the practices of our parishioners are not constitutive of Gospel witness, what can we accomplish in a classroom in the short time of an hour or so a week for thirty weeks?
I would add this postscript. You and I, all who follow Christ, are citizens of two worlds – God’s city within the human city, and we have responsibilities in both. We face the same issues, under different circumstances, as did the Thessalonians of old when Paul wrote to them about holiness and hope in a pagan world. We are living in the same circumstances as did the Philippians when Paul taught them to sing the hymn of the crucified Lord in their community of life patterned on the mystery of the cross. You and I are living in the same world as did the Colossians of old when Paul wrote to them about the crucified Christ as the very wisdom of God. We live in a world filled with lights often contrary to the Gospel. And so we say – Lord, Christian is the name and Christian is the Gospel we glory in. May your love make us here at Sacred Heart what you have called us to be.
Father Connelly
ATTENTION UMASS-AMHERST
STUDENTS AND PARENTS
As students return to school this fall we want to make sure that you know that the Newman Catholic Center at UMass-Amherst is available to you and that our staff is eager to help in any way that we can. Newman offers a home-away-from-home environment where students can pray, study, relax and meet other students. The Center offers extensive spiritual, service and social programs. We also have the best cafeteria in Amherst. The Newman Center is located right on campus. We encourage all of you to drop in to meet the staff and to let us know how we can help you while you are at UMass. Visit www.newmanumass.org to register and to learn more about our programs.
ST. FRANCIS HOUSE
In September we are asked to provide dried pasta and spaghetti sauce. Please place your donations in the cart or cartons provided at the Church entrances at any time during the month.
SIGNINGS
God is love. We know that and we say amen. That is why we go to Mass every Sunday and every Holy Day even if we are traveling. At least that is why we should. God who is love has sent His Son to show His love and he sends his Spirit now in the Church to give us that love. So we stay close to love through staying close to His Church, its teachings and its sacraments.
Our friends, our family members, our neighbors (and maybe the person who is sitting next to us) do not always stay close to regular Church attendance. How can we help? There is one common excuse that comes up when I talk to people about it. Many are stuck repeating to each other that they don't need Church and all those teachings and sacraments because they are people of love. They do good works and that is proof that they are in touch with God who is love. They even have more time for doing good things because they don't go to Church. They have time for example to participate in this or that fundraiser for this or that good cause.
St. James in his letter experienced people making the same kinds of arguments way back at the beginning of the Church's life. Some people were saying they didn't need to focus so much on faith and that that wasn't so important. Good works, helping others, was what is important.
St. James agrees. And so do I. Faith without works is useless. If a person goes to Church and knows all about God and can say all the right things when asked questions about the content of faith but they don't do anything good - that is awful.
St. James, however, goes on to say that the practice and knowledge of faith and the doing of good works are not opposed and that is the simple answer that deep down we all know anyway. The knowing and practicing of the Sacraments and prayer don't steal away time and energy from good works. Really they draw us on to more with more love and more effectiveness.
Could Mother Theresa have done more good in the world if she studied about and prayed to God less? No. We know her faith was the engine. Faith and works are not opposed. They feed each other. A person who celebrates the sacraments, studies and prays to God, does do great good works and those good works in turn nourish the faith of that person and the Mass, for example, comes alive.
In Christ, Fr. St. Martin
TIME TO REPLENISH SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Next weekend is the last weekend for our collection of school supplies for Mother Caroline Academy. The items needed are posted on the collection boxes at the entrances. Thanks!
SIGN UP FOR ARISE - SEASON THREE
WILL BE FROM 9/12 TO 9/20
Season Three, IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHRIST, of the Arise program will focus on theological explanation of the Catholic understanding of discipleship, the social teachings of the Church, active commitment to charity and justice, and the communal dimension of life in Christ. Letters describing the details of the program were mailed to parishioners.
Season Three begins the week of October 4th. We will offer ninety minute sessions on:
Sundays 10:15 AM and 7 PM
Mondays 7:30 PM in Spanish
Tuesdays 12:30 PM and 7 PM
Wednesdays 7:30 PM
Thursdays 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM
Previous participation not necessary. Ask other parishioners about their experience in small faith-sharing groups. Let us all pray to be open to the Spirit and the call to grow deeper in relationship with God and with one another.
SOUNDER SLEEP
Learn a natural, drug-free way to overcome insomnia. Free for members of Sacred Heart Parish, the Sounder Sleep class will run on Sundays, September 20 and 27, from 1 to 5 PM in the MacKenzie Center. To register email frank@strengthspath.org or call 617.835.3163. Limit of 10 participants.
Thank you, Frank Medlar
CALENDAR NOTES
EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, September 13 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center
ARISE TOGETHER IN CHRIST SEASON THREE:
Sunday, Sept. 13 – Sign up after Masses – Church Entrances
BASKETBALL GAME FUNDRAISER:
Sunday, September 13 – 12:30 PM – Parish Center
LITURGY COMMITTEE MEETING:
Tuesday, September 15 – 7:30 PM – Convent (DR)
PRAYER GROUP:
Wednesday, September 16 – 7:30PM – Convent Chapel
COFFEE HOUR:
Friday, September 18 – Following 9 AM Mass – Parish Ctr.
LITURGY, ADORATION AND THE ROSARY:
Saturday, September 19 – 9 AM to 12:30 PM – Lower Ch.
ARISE SEASON THREE SIGN UP:
Saturday and Sunday, September 19/20 – Following Masses
EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, September 20 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – GRADES 1-5:
Sunday, September 20 – 10:30 to 11:45 AM – Lower Ch.
GUILD OF ST. FRANCIS “ANNUAL TEA”:
Sunday, September 20 – 3 to 4:30 PM – Rectory