Sacred Heart Parish
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Sunday, May 29
9:00 AM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
10:30 AM Brother Benedict
Wednesday, June 1
7:00 AM H. Joseph Myette and Andrea Myette
Saturday, June 4
4:00 PM John Pomponio
Sunday, June 5
9:00 AM Living and Deceased Members of the Guild of St. Francis
11:45 AM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
CELEBRANTS FOR NEXT WEEKEND’S MASSES
Saturday, June 4
4:00 PM Fr. St. Martin
Sunday, June 5
9:00 AM Fr. Mark O’Connell
10:30 AM Fr. Carey
11:45 AM Visiting Priest
CONFESSIONS
Saturday, June 4 – 2:00 to 3:30 PM – Fr. St. Martin
READINGS FOR THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
First Reading: Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14
Second Reading: 1 Peter 4:13-16
Gospel Reading: John 17:1-11a
ASCENSION OF THE LORD – JUNE 2, 2011
Holy Day of Obligation
Thursday, June 2, the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, is a holy day of obligation. Mass will be celebrated at 7 AM and 12:05 PM in the Lower Church. We will not have an evening Mass here at Sacred Heart. There is a 5:30 PM Mass at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, St. Ignatius, and St. John the Evangelist in Wellesley; a 7 PM at Corpus Christi; and a Latin Mass at 7:30 PM at Mary Immaculate.
TORNADO DISASTER RELIEF COLLECTION
As mentioned in last week’s bulletin, Cardinal O’Malley has authorized a special collection for the victims of the recent tornados in the U.S. If you would like to participate, please place your donation in one of the baskets available at the entrances labeled for this purpose. If you write a check, put “Tornado Recovery” on the memo line. Thank you.
OFFERTORY INCOME
Weekend of May 21/22 $4,299
CLERGY BENEFIT TRUST COLLECTION
Next week’s special collection supports the retirement, medical and financial needs of priests of the Archdiocese of Boston. These priests have given their lives to faithfully serve Christ, the Church and you. On behalf of all our priests, thank you in advance for your generosity.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
CCD came to an end this past week with Mass, cake and many beautiful expressions of thanks for all our kind and generous catechists on Tuesdays and Sundays. As teachers and parents we are also thankful for the leadership of our Sunday Coordinator, Grace Alexander. Her prayerful and loving guidance of our Sunday CCD program has once again made all things work together for good this year! We pray that our children and their families have grown as much in faith as we have this year! I would like to acknowledge these catechists for their part in passing on the treasury of our faith:
Paulette Adams, Theresa Bucher, Violeta Caballero, Lisa Green, Mary Hoppe, Raymond Kabunga, Amelia Micheli, Lauren O’Brien, Jasmine Perez Coste, Jacob Joseph, Christine Sanroma, Rosely Shields, Tisha Stadnicki and the help of our many aides in the classroom and hallway! God bless you all!
We would also like to thank Kathy Winters for coordinating and creating a wonderful 1st Communion celebration for our families and parish, along with the help of many 3rd grade parents in the CCD program. The food was delicious and plentiful as was the happy din of our 1st Communion students and their families!
Please remember to attend Mass every Sunday this summer and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When we take a vacation from Our Lord, we cut ourselves off from the true source of our joy, peace and strength!
As always, we will be looking for catechists for our upcoming 2011-12 CCD year. Anyone interested in offering their time and faith for our students, please contact the Religious Ed office: 617-969-4031 or email: religious.education@sacredheart.ws. Is Our Lord calling you?
Have a Blessed Summer!
Michelle Solomon Director of Religious Education
FAMILY ROSARY RETREAT
A Day Just for You and Your Family to Grow in the Faith Together: Family Rosary Retreat: "God’s Children Now: Living and Learning Together.” Saturday, June 4, 8am to 5pm at Boston College High School, Boston, MA. For info/registration call 508-283-4095 or 800-299-7729 or www.FamilyRosary.org/conference.
THE CALL TO HOLINESS OF LIFE
It is not my intention to be overly autobiographical in this brief article, but something autobiographical is necessary to understand the following. In 1943 I sailed to Europe on the Ile de France. It was not a pleasure trip. This very beautiful ship had become a troop ship carrying about 10,000 troops across the sea. I had been a member of the army reserves and was called up in ’43. This move necessitated a suspension of my interest in becoming a lawyer. Once I got some idea of how ridiculous war can be and the like, I said to myself – “Why not drop the law and study for the priesthood?” When I entered the seminary after the war, a strange thing happened. I had so much to learn about the Christian life, the expectations and demands of the priesthood and the call to holiness of life. I remember going to the chapel one day as I began my stay in the seminary. I noticed a book that had been left on the bench. It was entitled “Christ The Life of the Soul”. It was written by a Benedictine monk – Dom Columba Marmion. This began a multi-decade interest in Marmion and his many writings on the spiritual life. It was for me one of those books that was life changing.
Who was Dom Marmion? His name was Joseph, born of Mr. and Mrs. Marmion, a family that lived in Dublin Ireland. He studied for the priesthood in Rome and was ordained to serve in the Archdiocese of Dublin. With the permission of his Bishop, he was allowed to pursue his interest in monasticism. He entered the Benedictine order in France, ultimately being elected Abbott of the Benedictine Abbey Maredsous.
In the course of his life as a Benedictine monk, he became well known for the work of spiritual direction and published a number of volumes relating to the perfection of the Christian life. Those books are still in print – Christ the Life of the Soul; Christ in His Mystery; Christ the Ideal of the Monk; Christ the Ideal of the Priest. I mention all of this at this time with the thought that over the weeks of the summer I might suggest some thoughts of the writings of Dom Marmion which have helped me and which I think could be helpful to others as well.
Anyone who knows something about Marmion recognizes that a fundamental intuition which was to become the keynote of his spiritual writings was inspired by the celebrated passage of St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. It was this passage in great measure that Marmion made his own and, with the help of Thomas Aquinas, developed his wonderful vision of our life in Christ. We should first take a look at that passage from St. Paul:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ in heaven and on earth.
In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, the praise of his glory.
CARING FOR AN OLD CHURCH
We are fortunate to have a beautiful church, but like any building that is over 100 years old, it needs a lot of maintenance. The members of the Parish Finance Committee and the Business Manager have been discussing various major repair and renovation needs. The first priority is the dormers on the small parking lot side of the church; the woodwork is beginning to rot and must be replaced before there is major water damage. The exterior window frames and doors need to be painted. The floor beneath the pews in the upper church should be refinished. And we all know that the clunky and clanking heating system has got to go! The rectory exterior also needs attention, as does the pavement in our parking lots.
None of these projects will be inexpensive, and we cannot afford to tackle them all in the coming year. With increased financial support from parishioners, we can make a good start, however. The proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is based on offertory contributions of $5,000 per week. We currently average $4,500 per week. Please be as generous as your circumstances permit to help us reach our goal.
Comments and suggestions can be sent to the rectory or given to any member of the PFC.
Jerry Bresnahan, Cathy Schneider, Al Calvo, Eric Turner,Bill Heck , Maureen Walsh, Stephanie O’Brien
SIGNINGS
Back in High School I had a friend. She was smart; a good person to talk to. She was interested in some popular books at the time about vampires. I thought her fascination with that kind of thing would lead her in the wrong direction, to the wrong kind of friends. It represented the wrong kind of culture. However she continued to get more involved in that kind of culture and all the very serious things that go along with it.
We maintained contact over the years and I was invited to renew the friendship. I found out that the life she thought was good (and that I did not agree with) had proven itself seriously lacking. Her parents who did not take the road of faith were divorced and some of her friends who were living "alternative lifestyles" were suffering in the most horrible way. It was no joke. I met one "couple". One was very thin and his face was sunken. He was dying young. It was a culture of death that lead up to this and they knew I thought so. My friend and her friends weren't obnoxiously and dismissively hateful toward me anymore. They wished they had been better friends with me or someone who was trying to follow the Church for they wished they had been closer to that Church and Christ; the Truth.
The lady who wrote that vampire book recently came back to the Church and wrote a book about that. She quotes some of the prayers that she loved as a child. In the book she quotes the Divine Praises. This is a great prayer of the Church. She puts down all the details of the prayers well. However she skips one concept in this list of praising God. It would be like forgetting the name of the Red Sox but remembering the team players.
She forgets to put down the Holy Spirit. She remembers the various names for Christ in the list but omits the Holy Spirit. This is like knowing the names of all the presidents through history but being unable to remember the name of the current president. It is all upside down and backwards. The details are there but the substance is so profoundly missing. There is no possible excuse. There is simply a failure.
In today's Gospel Christ is talking about sending another. This is the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Helper. He is the very love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father. He is a person. He is not corporeal. He is Divine. He is not an angel. He is God. He is not a bird. We use the image of a Dove, Fire, the Outreach Hand, wind, or a cloud, to represent Him but He is none of these things. He is not incarnated like the Son. He is sent from the Father and the Son to live in our hearts. He is like a lawyer who acts for us as the presence of God the way a lawyer helps us understand and express ourselves in a courtroom. He gives us the seven gifts:
1. Wisdom 2. Understanding 3. Counsel 4. Fortitude
5. Knowledge 6. Piety 7. Fear of the Lord
Not knowing and not rejoicing over the Holy Spirit is to be hopeless. There is no sense in which we can even call ourselves Christian if we are not people of the Holy Spirit. It is no wonder we get so off course if we don't even know the Trinity.
But we can. Read today's Gospel again when you have a chance. Jesus is telling us about the Holy Spirit. There is another person He is talking about. We need to do more than simply note this other person, for this other person is a Divine Person. There are Three Persons in the one true God.
In Christ,
Fr. St. Martin
FREE BIBLICAL STUDIES SEMINARS
“Women in the Old and New Testaments” is the topic of the June Biblical Studies Seminars offered by Prof. Celia Sirois at the Master of Arts in Ministry Program at St. John’s Seminary. This series is offered at no cost on the Mondays of June from 7:00 – 9:00 PM at 149 Washington St., Brighton on the second floor of the former St. Gabriel’s School. Plenty of parking is available in the back parking lot. Please register online at www.sjs.edu or call 617-779-4104 x 1.
INFORMATION NIGHT AT FONTBONNE ACADEMY
Fontbonne Academy, 930 Brook Rd., Milton MA, will host its first Transfer Information Night, on Thursday, June 2 at 7 p.m. Called “Find Your Compass”, the night aims to help young women seeking a new direction in their high school career. With a commitment to social justice, wellness, and the arts, Fontbonne Academy’s college preparatory curriculum yields a 100% college acceptance rate. The welcoming community embraces young women who want to be challenged and to succeed. RSVP to admissions@fontbonneacademy.org or 617-615-3014.
CALENDAR NOTES
EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, May 29 – 10 AM to 1 PM
HOLIDAY MASS SCHEDULE:
Monday, May 30 – 9 AM – Lower Church
PRAYER GROUP:
Wednesday, June 1– 7:30 PM – Convent Chapel
ASCENSION THURSDAY MASS SCHEDULE:
Thursday, June 2 – 7 AM, 12:05 PM – Lower Church
COFFEE HOUR:
Friday, June 3– Following 9 AM Mass – Parish Center
LITURGY, ADORATION AND THE ROSARY:
Saturday, June 4 – 9 AM to 12:30 PM – Lower Church
GUILD OF ST. FRANCIS COMMUNION BREAKFAST:
Sunday, June 5 – Following 9 AM Mass – Parish Center
DEAF CATHOLIC COMMUNITY FIRST COMMUNION RECEPTION:
Sunday, June 5 – Following 10:30 AM Mass – Convent