Sacred Heart Parish
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Saturday, July 2
4:00 PM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
Sunday, July 3
9:00 AM Karel Holbik
11:45 AM Anna Esposito
Saturday, July 9
4:00 PM Russell Pizzoglio
Sunday, July 10
9:00 AM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
CONFESSIONS
Saturday, July 9 – 2:00 to 3:30 PM – Fr. Connelly
READINGS FOR THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
First Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11
Second Reading: Romans 8:18-23
Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:1-23
HOLIDAY MASS SCHEDULE
Monday, July 4, is Independence Day. Our celebration of the Liturgy will take place at 9:00 AM in the Lower Church. There will be no 12:05 PM Mass this week. Make this holiday extra special by starting off with Mass attendance and reception of the Eucharist.
CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE
Two of the projects described in a bulletin announcement a month ago are about to get underway. A contractor to take care of the church dormers has been chosen and work should begin sometime in July. The exterior of the rectory will also be painted in July.
Taking care of our property has costs. The ladders, scaffolding, and contractor trucks around the property may be a temporary nuisance. More important, of course, is the financial cost. These two projects will cost approximately $57,000. Our budget for the new fiscal year is based on offertory income of $5,000 per week. Please be as generous as your circumstances permit to help us reach this goal. If you are away for part of the summer, our Business Manager would be happy to receive your contributions by mail or to help make other arrangements.
PARISH PICTORIAL DIRECTORY
We are no longer distributing Directories after the Masses but copies may be picked up at the parish office Monday – Thursday from 9-5. A limited number of books are offered for sale in the rectory office during normal business hours at $5 per copy.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Before you head off for vacation, remember to pick up your 1st Communion photos at the rectory during regular business hours. These pictures are a free gift from the parish to 1st Communion families.
While you are relaxing on the beach or hiking in the mountains this summer, drink in the beauty of God’s creations and the gifts of family, freedom and faith. We find real appreciation and thanksgiving need to be expressed in action. Faithfully attending Sunday Mass, spending time in conversation with God, going to confession, and offering to be of service to others are the fruits of thanksgiving. Sacred Heart Church needs your thanksgiving in passing on the Catholic faith to the next generation. It is the primary mission of the Church! Please consider sharing your faith in Religious Education on Sunday mornings, Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday evenings. Don’t wait until September! Call the Religious Education office now!
Michelle Solomon
Director of Religious Education
THE CATHOLIC FAITH COMES HOME
TO YOUR COMPUTER!
Originally designed to encourage fallen away Catholics to come back to the Church, the Catholics Come Home website (www.catholicscomehome.org) is also for those of us who are already home but want to learn and understand more of our Catholic faith. Can you explain to others what the Church really teaches about homosexuality, divorce or annulments? Do you know why Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist? These topics and hundreds more are part of a virtual encyclopedia of Church teachings that any computer novice can use. There is an easy link to find answers to common questions, listen to talks, find books, CD’s and support groups, parenting resources for whatever your needs or interests are. Now you can find answers to how to learn and grow in the Catholic faith without ever leaving your living room! Check it out today and God bless you on rediscovering the riches of our Catholic faith!
Listen to and support Catholic TV and Radio. They are both wonderful resources for growing in your knowledge of the Catholic faith! www.CatholicTV.com; Comcast channel 268 in New England; Verizon: channel 296 in New England. Catholic Radio: Station of the Cross, WQOM 1060 AM.
OFFERTORY INCOME
Weekend of June 25/26 $ 4,566.
For the Seminaries $ 1,004
Military Archdiocese/Home Missions/
Black and Native American $ 927
WHAT’S GOING ON THIS SUMMER?
Most of us in response to the above question would like to say “nothing”! We need some rest, we need some country, we need some beach, we need some reading time, we need some leisure time. Thus Sacred Heart Parish staff has adjourned meeting until the second Wednesday of September. The Parish Pastoral Council has adjourned until the second Thursday evening of September. The Parish Finance Council may be meeting a couple of times if necessary to deal with the unfinished business as yet of the new lease for the Montessori School and for the removal and replacement of the grotto in the backyard of the school. Let me comment briefly in this non-theological article on a few items on my desk which we will be dealing with as the weeks go by.
With regard to the grotto: Several years ago the Board of Trustees of the Montessori School asked if the grotto could be removed from its present place and positioned elsewhere. The school board said that would help immensely their work of fixing up the back of the school for some recreation space for the children. The school board also said that the Montessori School would defray the costs involved. I will be reporting again on the progress being made in this regard. I think it will be wonderful for us to fix up the back of the convent, to reposition the grotto and then, in our liturgical calendar, to bring back a wonderful notion of parish processions – Corpus Christi processions, Marian processions and the like – so as to have outdoor benediction in a newly furbished convent backyard.
A second item concerns parish signs and all sorts of other things that pertain to our publicizing who we are and what we are about here at Sacred Heart Parish in the garden city of Newton. We intend to take a good look at our website – we want an excellent one – we want to examine our parish bulletin; we want to perhaps reposition our beautiful sign on the front lawn of the rectory and add some data to the sign such as Mass times and the like. A small task force will be at work on parish publicity during the weeks of summer.
Another issue that comes front and center from the Parish Pastoral Council, not unrelated to the above paragraph, is the question of an up-to-date parish census. If we want to tell people who we are and what we’re up to here at Sacred Heart Parish we’ve got to know more accurately who we are, who constitutes Sacred Heart Parish. We have discussed this issue at the Parish Pastoral Council and we will be forming a task group to think through what is involved in such a visitation.
Another issue of great significance is a neuralgic one, a difficult one, an issue where there can be ten people discussing it and thirty-five different solutions to the issue. The issue is Mass times. Nobody seems happy with our present Sunday morning worship schedule. The 9 o’clock Mass is somewhat early for our main parish Mass although Sacred Heart Parish would be an ideal parish to have just two Sunday Masses for our hearing folk – the Saturday vigil at 4:00 and the main Mass on Sunday morning. Furthermore, the present Mass schedule while it seems to work for the Sundays of Ordinary Time cannot handle our major celebrations such as First Communion, Confirmation, Palm Sunday and obviously our Christmas and Easter celebrations. What to do? We need to have all who are touched by our Mass schedule discuss its recent history, its present problematic and some possible solutions. Perhaps I could ask the readers of this column to do some thinking and I will return to this subject next week.
Father Connelly
PRAYING THE LITURGY:
THE NEW ROMAN MISSAL
The Liturgy Committee will be using the bulletin and web site to help parishioners become comfortable with the new translation which goes into effect on the First Sunday of Advent, Nov. 27, 2011. Additional information and resources are available at www.usccb.org/romanmissal; also www.LTP.org; and www.RevisedRomanMissal.org.; website for Boston, www.rcab.org.
INTRODUCING THE NEW TRANSLATION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL
The following comments are taken from an article written by Andrew Salzmann, a member of the LiturgyCommittee:
“Sunday, the celebration of the Death and New Life of Christ, is the central moment in the life of Christians: through the liturgy, we participate in the New Life, the grace, of Christ, receiving strength for the rest of the week and the opportunity to give thanks to God on the Sabbath day. Our Sunday is not just an escape from the week’s trials: it is our encounter with the Risen Lord, who promises, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). By entering into Christ’s paschal mystery, by receiving the Bread of Life, we prepare to live the coming week in the strength of Christ and his Spirit, who pours out “the love of God…into our hearts” (Rom.5:5).
Our weekly encounter with the Risen Lord gives us guidance and strength for daily life, but it is still “set apart” from any other encounter. In Advent the Mass will sound more formal, closer to Vatican II’s Latin version. Biblical citations will be restored in full. It will require us to “actively participate” in relearning parts of the Mass, but with the goal of participating ever more fully in the paschal mystery of Christ, at Mass and in the world.”
Winifred Murphy, Pastoral Associate
SIGNINGS
Every Wednesday Night the official night prayer for the Church echoes the Gospel we just took in. Jesus tells us today and every Wednesday night that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
When you go to the Isabelle Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston and take an immediate right you see a picture in stone. It is white soft stone and it shows Jesus carrying a thin light cross. He doesn't look tired or in great pain. He looks happy and at peace. The people with Him are not too upset. His cross is light and easy in that artwork. It is a very nice piece of art. I love it.
When I was in the seminary reading with the Church every Wednesday about how the cross of Jesus and His way; His work, is easy and light, I asked for an explanation because it didn't make any sense to me. It seems that to follow Jesus is very difficult and challenging – not light and easy.
I did get an answer and have been getting an answer ever since. Jesus' way is the Father's way and that is a simple way. It is the way of love. That is His command. We should love one another.
To go a different way is quite awful and hard. If we were to go the way of greed that is a notoriously competitive and cut throat way to go down. We might succeed in becoming the owner of a giant office tower if we were to go down that road but that is a very heavy thing to carry. That is not light at all.
We could go down the road of pleasure and become, in a bad way, a party animal, but that requires making yourself sick and not eating right, you have to drink too much, and you get old quick. You have to suffer with ugly humiliating tattoos and watch a lot of your friends die early from sickness and car accidents that could have been avoided and such. There are even worse things. It is not an easy life. As they say, you have to sell your soul to the devil to succeed at that. It is not a light road. It is dark and usually is lived in the dark.
There are roads by the millions that we can take and they are all heavy and dark, difficult and complicated, compared to Christ's road of love.
I highly recommend it. It involves the cross and it is a burden. It is a journey to be sure. But it is easy and light, simple and humble. It doesn't pay much but the retirement benefits are out of this world.
In Christ, Fr. St. Martin
WORKSHOP ON SIGNING
THE NEW ROMAN MISSAL
Save the dates 9/18, 10/16, and 11/20 for one hour workshops at Sacred Heart Parish after the 10:30 AM ASL Mass.
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLE WATERS, PART II
In late 2009, as part of the ARISE program, a group of parishioners committed to furnishing a bedroom in the home for single mothers that is run by Bridge Over Troubled Waters and a number of other parishioners provided financial assistance. The decorating was completed in March 2010, and a young woman named Catherine and her 1-month-old son, Nicholas, moved in. For the past year, Catherine has been working part-time and taking college courses. Now she and Nicholas are ready to move on! They will be moving into their own apartment in mid-July. The furniture and accessories that Sacred Heart provided will go with them to get them started in their new home.
Bridge has a list of applicants, all homeless single mothers or pregnant women, to move into Catherine’s empty room. The problem is that it will be EMPTY….no furniture! It is wonderful that we were able to support Catherine and Nicholas, and it would be even more wonderful if we could do the same for another young woman. The estimated cost of refurnishing the room is $1200. If you would like to help with this project, please contact Cathy Schneider at 617-964-6876 or cschneider52@comcast.net. Financial contributions can be sent directly to the rectory, with a note that they are for the Bridge project.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT NEEDED
St. John the Evangelist Parish, Wellesley, is looking for a full-time Administrative Assistant/Receptionist. This organized, detail-oriented individual must have strong receptionist, word processing, and data entry skills; be proficient with Microsoft Word, Publisher, database management; and possess strong time management skills. Confidentiality and professional image essential. This is a 37-1/2 hour/week position with benefits. Reply to StJohnBusinessOffice@comcast.net or send resume to St. John the Evangelist, 9 Glen Road, Wellesley, MA 02481.
ST FRANCIS HOUSE
Items needed for July are condiments – mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish, salad dressing, coffee creamer, etc. Bring them anytime during the month to the bins at entrances.
CALENDAR NOTES
COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, July 3 – Following the 10:30 AM ASL Mass
HOLIDAY MASS SCHEDULE:
Monday, July 4 – 9:00 AM – Lower Church
COFFEE HOUR:
Friday, July 8 – Following 9 AM Mass – Parish Center
LITURGY, ADORATION AND THE ROSARY:
Saturday, July 9– 9 AM to 12:30 PM – Lower Church
COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, July 10 – Follows 10:30 AM Mass