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MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Sunday, January 3

9:00 AM Parishioners of Sacred Heart

11:45 AM Robert Groden

Friday, January 8

12:05 PM Gerard F. Murphy

Saturday, January 9

4:00 PM Parishioners of Sacred Heart

Sunday, January 10

9:00 AM Salvatore, Louis and Philip DeSimone

11:45 AM James P.D. Waters

CONFESSIONS

Saturday, January 9 – 2:00 to 3:30 PM – Fr. Connelly

READINGS FOR THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7

Second Reading: Acts 10:34-38

Gospel Reading: Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS

There will be no CCD classes today, Jan. 3rd. Classes will resume on Sunday, Jan. 10 and Tuesday, Jan. 12.

We begin our new year with a teachers’ workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 5th from 7-8:30 pm in the convent.

On Jan. 12, the Confirmation classes will begin a speaker series on the 4 pillars of our faith. During the Tuesday evening CCD classes, we will have speakers from our parish as well as from the Archdiocese of Boston. All parents of CCD students, as well as our entire parish, are invited to attend these sessions to grow and develop in their knowledge of our beautiful Catholic faith. Only through a process of life-long learning, can we begin to know the beauty and depth of the truth that is in Jesus Christ. Don’t miss this opportunity to come and learn with us!

Our pastor, Fr. Connelly will begin the speaker series on Tuesday, Jan. 12th from 7:00-8:30 PM and will speak to us on “Christology”. I will post the speakers for each week in the bulletin, but a copy of the schedule will be at all entrances and exits of the church. Pick up a copy!

A Blessed and Happy New Year!

Michelle Solomon, Dir. of R.E.

OFFERTORY INCOME

Weekend of December 19/20 $3,799

Weekend of December 26/27 $5,860

A CHRISTMAS SERMON

(St. Augustine of Hippo, North Africa, gave many a homily to his parishioners at Christmastime. He speaks eloquently to us as he ever did centuries ago.)

The Word of the Father, through whom time was made, became flesh and made his birthday in time, and willed a single day for his human birth, he without whose divine permission no day rolls round. With the Father he precedes all the spaces of ages; born this day of a mother, he inserted himself into the courses of the years.

The maker of man was made man [homo factus hominis factor] so that: the ruler of the stars might suck at breasts, bread might hunger, the fountain might thirst, light might sleep, the way might be wearied by a journey, truth might be accused by false witnesses, the judge of the living and the dead might be judged by a mortal judge, justice might be condemned by the unjust, discipline might be beaten with whips, the cluster of grapes might be crowned with thorns, the foundation might be hung from a tree, strength might be weakened, health [salus] might be wounded, life might die.

He suffered these and like indignities [indigna] for us so that he might free the unworthy [indignos]. He who did no evil suffered such great evils for our sakes, while we who deserved nothing good through him have received such great goods.

For the sake of all this, he who was the Son of God before all the ages, without a beginning of days, deigned to be a son of man in the last days, and the One who was born, not made, of the Father was made in the mother whom he had made, so that he might exist here and now, made from the mother, from the woman who except for him would never ever herself have been able to exist.” (Sermon 191, 1; Pl 38, 1010)

Wake up! For you God was made man! “Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten you” (Eph 5:14). For you, I say, God was made man!  You would have been dead for eternity if he had not been born in time. You would never have been freed from sinful flesh if he had not taken up the likeness of sinful flesh (see Rm 8:3). Endless misery [miseria] would have possessed you if this mercy [misericordia] had not been accomplished. You would not have come back to life if he had not taken on your death. You would have faded away if he had not healed you. You would have perished if he had not come.

What greater grace of God could shine upon us than this: that, having an only Son, God should make him a son of man and that in turn He should make a son of man the Son of God. Look for some merit; look for a reason; look for the justice: and see whether you find anything but grace. (Sermon 185, 1 and 3; PL 38, 998, 999)

Word of God before all time, Word made flesh at the appropriate time; maker of the sun, made under the sun; disposing all the ages from his Father’s bosom, consecrating this day from his mother’s womb; remaining there, coming forth here; the creator of heaven and earth born beneath heaven on earth; wise beyond words, wisely incapable of speech [ineffabiliter sapiens, sapienter infans]; filling the world, lying in a manger; ruling the stars, sucking at a breast; so great in the form of God, so small in the form of a slave, that the greatness was not diminished by the smallness, nor the smallness overwhelmed by the greatness. (Sermon 187, 1; PL 38, 1001)

SOME THOUGHTS ON HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY

Each year on the Sunday after Christmas Day, we who accept the Lord at Chrismastime have the opportunity to reflect on the family. Folks are asking a number of questions these days – What is the family? Who invented the family? Who has the authority to define the nature of the family? Many people in our day do not understand the deep truths the Church emphasizes about marriage and the family: that marriage centers on a man and a woman entering into a new partnership with the Holy Spirit; that this partnership lasts until the death of one of the spouses; that this partnership is one of life and love involving a generous response to their vocation of marriage, with regard to the conception and birth of children and the children’s physical, emotional, moral and religious upbringing until the children’s roots give way to wings. A man and woman united in marriage together with their children form a family. This institution is prior to any recognition by public authority which has the obligation to recognize it. The Church, of course, is interested in the Christian family which is a communion of persons patterned after the communion of divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the mystery of the Trinity. The Christian family has often been called the “domestic church” for it is a community of faith, hope and love.

Pope Paul VI made a visit to Nazareth in 1964. He was asking – what does Nazareth teach us? First of all, we can learn from the silence of Nazareth. Given the phenomena of radio and television and the insatiable demands for news and entertainment characteristic of our times, can we not learn the great value of silence which teaches us to meditate in peace and quiet? It helps us in prayer, in seeking a well-ordered personal spiritual life.

A second lesson from Nazareth focuses on it being a model of what the family should be. The family at Nazareth exemplifies a basic function that any family must carry out in society, that is, being a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings, a perfect setting for rearing children – and for this there is no substitute.

Jesus’ family in Nazareth could be described as the home of a craftsman’s son, where the child Jesus learned about work and its discipline and its value. It highlights what many in our society do not really enjoy – the dignity of work, a dignity deriving not only from its place in the economic system but from the purpose it serves. (The full text of Pope Paul’s talk at Nazareth can be found in the Roman Breviary in the Office of January 1.)

Nazareth makes us very much aware of the meaning of Christmas which is a wondrous exchange between God and ourselves. As one of our Feast of Our Lady, Mother of God, January 1 antiphons will say to us: “O marvelous exchange! Man’s Creator has become man, born of a virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”

Father Connelly

LABOURÉ COLLEGE

Labouré College, 2120 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, MA 02124 is offering information sessions on their Associate Degree Program in Nursing on Wednesdays, January 6, February 3, March 3 or April 21, 2010 at 2 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. For further information or to reserve a place, please contact the Admissions Office at 617-296-8300, ext. 4016 or visit: www.laboure.edu

JACKSON AND WALNUT PARK ALUMNI SOUGHT

The Jackson School and Walnut Park Montessori, Newton, both sponsored ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph, want to connect with former students/graduates from their schools. Please send contact information to our email: alumni@jacksonwalnutparkschools.org or mailing address: Jackson Park Collaborative, 71 Walnut Park, Newton, MA 02458.

CALENDAR NOTES

EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:

Sunday, January 3 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center

BOY SCOUTS:

Monday, January 4 – 7:30 PM – Parish Center

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHERS’ WORKSHOP:

Tuesday, January 5 – 7-8:30 PM - Convent

PRAYER GROUP:

Wednesday, January 6 – 7:30 PM – Convent (Chapel)

COFFEE HOUR:

Friday, January 8 – Following 9 AM Mass – Parish Center

LITURGY, ADORATION AND THE ROSARY:

Saturday, January 9 – 9 AM to 12:30 PM – Lower Church

EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:

Sunday, January 10 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – GRADES 1-5:

Sunday, January 10 – 10:30 to 11:45 AM – Lower Church

SIGNINGS

Today we remember the mystery of the star that the "wise men" from the East saw and followed. As Pope Benedict said last year in his homily, "In all likelihood the Wise Men were astronomers. From their observation point, situated in the East compared to Palestine, perhaps in Mesopotamia, they had noticed the appearance of a new star and had interpreted this celestial phenomenon as the announcement of the birth of a king, specifically that in accordance with the Sacred Scriptures of the King of the Jews (cf. Nm 24: 17)." This star is a work of God as is all that happens in creation. Astronomers and men of science such as Galileo are apt to think of creation "as work of an Author who expresses himself in the ‘symphony’ of the Creation." (from the same homily quoted above).

We know that God is the author of all that is; He is the single source of all that is. Jesus is His star. Jesus is His ultimate and eternal Son who is Himself God and one in being with the Father. The star, and all of creation is indeed imbued with the same beginning and end as the Son of God. We are all, like the star, made from God's glory and for His Glory. We are all from God and lead to God.

Like the star, the Church shines brightly. We are a church that shines more brightly than any other star in the darkness. We are the instrument of God in the world similar to the instrument represented by the Christmas star that led people who were searching and eager for God.

Each of us is called to be a star. In our lives there are some people around us who are searching for God. They are sincere and eager in their search. We are called to be stars shinning brightly in the darkness for them. The way we live, the things we say and do not say, the love we show, the hope we have in times of trial, the power to forgive and never get tired, the ability to bring about forgiveness and healing, our joy; all these things have, do, and will stand as a bright sign for others.

Others, like the wise men from the East, will notice the light we have and will seriously ask us to lead them to the true source of that light. We can then bring them into the Church so that they will have full access to our Savior Jesus, and like the wise men of old, come and worship the true King.

In Christ,

Fr. St. Martin

SAVE THE DATE

On January 17, Cardinal Seán O’Malley will celebrate the 10:30 AM Mass here at Sacred Heart with the deaf Catholic community. All are welcome to attend.

We are happy to say that the Mass that the Cardinal will offer at Sacred Heart on Jan 17th at 10:30 a.m. will be for the repose of the soul of Mary McCarthy of happy memory. A faithful member of the Eastern Church, Mary was granted formal permission to celebrate in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church which was one of the great joys of her life. She even had occasion to tell this fact to the Cardinal at the one of the Deaf Catholic Community's trips to the Cathedral. It will be a great time of joy to be with our Bishop and at the same time with Mary's family who have asked for this Mass intention. She continues to shine brightly as a star in our lives for we know by faith that, by God’s mercy in Christ, death is not the end. Maybe all this is somehow being set up by this good woman from her new home in the Kingdom. If you knew her, I am sure you would agree that this is a real possibility.

Fr. St. Martin