Sacred Heart Parish
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Saturday, October 29
4:00pm Pete Daly
Sunday, October 30
9:00am Parishioners of Sacred Heart
Monday, October 31
12:05pm Theresa and Caroline Fickett
Friday, November 4
9:00am Philomena Polselli
Saturday, November 5
4:00pm Genevieve Slavin
Sunday, November 6
9:00am Parishioners of Sacred Heart
CELEBRANTS NEXT WEEK END
Saturday, November 5
4:00pm Fr. Imbelli
Sunday, November 6
9:00am Fr. Connelly
10:30am Fr. Carey
11:45am Fr. Connelly
ALL SAINTS DAY
Tuesday, November 1, is All Saints Day
Holy Day of Obligation.
Mass will be celebrated at
7:00am, 12:05pm and 7:30pm in the Lower Church
CAMPAIGN FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Next week’s special collection, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), works to uphold the dignity of human life by breaking the cycle of poverty across the United States through grants to local community based groups who create jobs, improve education, and strengthen neighborhoods. Twenty-five percent of the CCHD collection stays in the Archdiocese of Boston to fund local anti-poverty projects; seventy-five percent supports national grant and education programs. For more information, please visit www.usccb.org/cchd.
St. Paul and the other early Christian leaders were so committed to spreading the Gospel of Christ, they didn't think twice about making a physical or material sacrifice if it meant bringing new Christians into a more intimate union with Christ. In this spirit, please prayerfully consider a gift to the Catholic Appeal, which supports the 60 central ministries of the Archdiocese of Boston. In the words of Seán, "no contribution is too small if given with love." Information packets with pledge forms are available at the back of the Church, or for more information please visit: www.BostonCatholicAppeal.com.
BABY SHOWER FOR PREGNANCY HELP
We are collecting items for Pregnancy Help, the RCAB crisis pregnancy center. Especially needed are: diaper bags, pacifiers, sleep and play sets for boys and girls sizes 0-3 mos., onesies, size 0-3 mos, blanket sleepers 0-6 mos, bibs, bottles, toiletries such as baby wash, soap, shampoo (no powder, please), wash cloths and towels, snow suits (boys, 0-3 & 3-6 mos) and new or used maternity clothes. Thank you for your generosity.
CATHOLICTV SERIES
The New and Eternal Word
Monsignor James P. Moroney explores how the church celebrates the Holy Mass in our day. In particular, he examines how a new Missale Romanum and a new English translation of these prayers can draw us more deeply into the words and rites of the Mass. New shows premiere on Mondays at 11pm and are rebroadcast on Tuesdays at 9am, Wednesdays at 3:30am, Fridays at 3:30pm and Sundays at 9am and 6pm. The next three shows are The Prayers of the People at Mass: Parts I, II, and III.
LIFT WORKSHOP NIGHT
Join us for LIFT - an exciting monthly worship event which includes vibrant praise and worship music, dynamic and challenging Catholic speakers and Eucharistic Adoration. Our events are free to attend and open to all ages. Be with us on Tuesday, November 8th as we welcome Oscar Rivera as our guest speaker. The evening runs from 7 - 9pm at Fontbonne Academy, 930 Brook Road, Milton, MA. Directions and a downloadable flyer, along with more information about LIFT, can be found on our website at www.liftedhigher.com. Come join in worship with hundreds of Catholics from around the Boston area!
SACRED HEART
Serving the Lord and His People since 1891
“We thank you Father, for this house of prayer in which you bless your family as we come to you on pilgrimage. Here you reveal your presence by sacramental signs and make us one with you through the unseen bond of grace. Your house, Lord, is a house of prayer and your presence makes it a place of blessing.” From Our First Pastor, Fr. Denis Wholey
Welcome..If you are new in the Parish, please introduce yourself after Mass or at the Rectory or at the Coffee Hour. It would be most helpful if you would fill out a Parish Registration form. (These forms are available in the vestibule of the Upper Church and next to the Sacristy in the Lower Church.) We want to know and serve you. We hope that you will favor Sacred Heart Parish with your prayers, your presence, your talents, and your financial assistance.
FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
I Believe
Several columns ago we discussed several of the changes in language that we will discover when we begin using the newly translated Roman Missal on the first Sunday of Advent. You may remember, dear reader (you are one of 17 faithful readers) we reflected on the exchange of greeting that takes place between the celebrant and the members of the congregation. The celebrant says - “The Lord be with you.” and the new response which is really the very ancient and old response which goes as follows - “And with your spirit.” A second column concerned a very simple change which takes place prior to the Preface prayer when the priest will now say -“Pray, my brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” The change here goes from “our sacrifice” to “my sacrifice and your sacrifice”. The Mass of course is a single sacrifice offered by all present. It is the sacrifice of Christ himself from the cross which he has given to his Church to celebrate, and is now the sacrifice of the whole Church, head and members, Christ our head and all of us his members. However, each baptized member of the church is offering a sacrifice at every Sunday Mass in keeping with his or her priestly role, for the first letter of St. Peter reminds us that we are meant to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. That is why we bring our prayers and works and sufferings and difficulties and failures and disappointments that make up each day of our lives so as to join all of this to the one great sacrifice of Christ.
Lets take a look at the Creed. There is a unity to the creed but it is a triunity. God is one and yet within that Trinity which is God we believe in the divine distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In this column today we will focus on the second section of the creed which expresses our faith in Jesus Christ. The new translation reads as follows: “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man.” We will concentrate on two words: “incarnate” and “consubstantial with the Father”.
First the word “incarnate”. At Christmas time we celebrate the birth of Christ from his mother Mary and so we call him truly son of Mary. However, from all eternity, we say in faith he was born of his heavenly Father and so he is truly the only begotten Son of the Father. St. John’s Gospel calls him the Word of God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This is why we say of the Lord Jesus – he is true God and true Man equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit in divinity. He truly entered into our humanity and became like us in all things but sin. Thus the old translation said – “by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary”, while the new translation says, “by the Holy Spirit he was incarnate of the Virgin Mary”. (The editor has said to the author there is no more room. We will look forward to next week for an explanation of the word “consubstantial”.)
Father. Connelly
CITY OF NEWTON LOOKING FOR SNOW SHOVEL VOLUNTEERS
Students and interested adults: You can earn money shoveling snow. The City of Newton is preparing a list of those willing to shovel snow for local senior residents for a fee. Sign up and your name and phone number will be listed with Newton Parks and Recreation and made available to residents who need assistance with snow shoveling. You negotiate the price and timing with the resident. Applications are available in the rectory. The deadline for submission is November 1.
ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT CHILD SAFETY?
Sacred Heart Parish is seeking new volunteers to become members of our parish Child Abuse Prevention Team (CAP). Selected individuals will be trained in a two day program at the Archdiocese and then join our existing team. CAP teams are responsible for “safe environment” training of persons who work in or volunteer for the parish. If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please speak to Fr. Connelly.
CATHOLIC UPDATE
Pick up a copy of the Catholic Update –Using the Revised Roman Missal edition – at the church entrances this week: (“Whenever we experience a change in our cherished rituals it is a mater of concern. And as the Eucharist is our most cherished religious ritual – the very source and summit of our faith – any change in the way we celebrate the Eucharist will naturally produce a certainamount of anxiety.”)
“In this Catholic Update we will “walk through” the ritual prayers and actions of the Eucharist to examine why we do what we do at Mass.”
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Thirty - Second Sunday in
Ordinary Time
First Reading: Wisdom 6:12-16
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Gospel Reading: Matthew 25:1-13
PRAYING THE LITURGY
Oct. 30, 2011: There are 2 worthwhile articles in the October 21, 2011 issue of the Boston Pilot; access at www.thebostonpilot.com; “New Missal explained at Cambridge pub” (part of Theology on Tap series); Faith Alive! section : The New Roman Missal: Taking a stand with ‘I believe’.
ISSUES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH
Do you want to get the real teachings of the Catholic Church on issues of life, death, marriage, divorce, war and much more?
Visit www.catholicscomehome.org. Also, listen to and support: CatholicTV: www.CatholicTV.com; Comcast channel 268 in New England; Verizon channel 296 in New England and Catholic Radio: Station of the Cross, WQOM 1060am.
OFFERTORY INCOME
Weekend of October 22/23 $5,057.41
ADULT ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES
All Souls Memorial Concert at St. John’s Seminary Chapel, 127 Lake St., Brighton on Saturday, November 19 at 7:00pm. Free will donation at the door. All proceeds to assist students with tuition costs.
SIGNINGS
Again the ends meet.The Old Testament message given long before Christ came in the flesh is the very same message given through the Gospel.We have one Father: God the creator of us all.
The Old Testament reading points out that all of us are God's children, not by adoption as is the case through baptism into Christ's life, even before that, according to the order of creation.We are all God's children simply because He made us; His children by that very fact; one family with one origin in Him.He is our Father in the fullest sense of the word even before we know it like all babies in the beginning, unaware and yet truly offspring of another being.
The point is taught again in the Gospel. God is Father.It is said again as before. What can we glean from the repetition? It is an analogy with a direction. But what is the direction?Are we saying a biological father is like God is or is it the opposite?Is our experience of God able to help us see what it means for us to practice good fatherhood here on Earth?Is God like a good earthly father or is an earthly father like God? What is the direction?
Jesus through the Old Testament and in the Gospel and Jesus through the Church brings these two readings together and leads us to think about them as a Church today; Jesus Himself teaches in a profound and dramatic way about the priority of God.God is first.God is not like His creation so much as His creation is like Him.
A good father is not something that God in someway echoes.Fathers are rather an echo of God.We are made in His image - He is not made in ours.He makes us; we do not make Him. And so we need to remember that we are only fathers (or whatever else we are) by analogy.God is all in all.He is the source and the end that perfects. He gives us everything. We echo that and give Him everything back yet add nothing to Him.He gives us our identity.We do not give Him His. We echo Him.He is not an echo of us.
So coming to know God means coming to know ourselves.God reveals to us that to be a father means to be a servant for He, God, is Father preeminently and He shows us what it really means to be father in Christ, the only perfect image of the Father. Christ, the one who is not an echo but the eternal divine Son, is lowly, serving, and self sacrificing. As the real image of the real Father we come to know what fatherhood means in a way we never knew before. Our only real father is God.Everything else that smacks of fatherhood in any way is only an analogy.
It is a good time to be a "Father" priest or "father" biological, because the temptation to honors is greatly lessened in this time and place in history and the world.It is easier to see now that the priest or the dad is father only by analogy and for mature searching for the real Father above to be brought about. Our illusions or allusions to grandeur are greatly diminished and that is good. We can become more like God who loves to be a loving servant.
In Christ, - Fr. St. Martin
GUILD OF ST. FRANCIS
HOLLY HARVEST FAIR
Two weeks to go – Please mark your calendars for November 12th and 13th. Workshops continue from 7-9pm on Tuesdays on the 2nd floor of the convent. We have a wonderful crew, busily working to make the fair fun and successful. Please feel free to join us.
Remember to plan your bake table donations and mark the major ingredients, including nuts, chocolate, raisins, etc. Requests have been: Irish breads, cupcakes, fudge, all kinds of nut breads, hermits, chocolate chip cookies, pies, and items without nuts. Your generosity and creativity make this table very popular.
Reminder: The deadline for Silent Auction donations is
November 5th to facilitate organizing the table.
We will need help transporting items from the convent to the gym and also up from our gym storage area on Thursday, November 10th starting at 10am. We would appreciate help setting up the fair and cleaning up afterwards. Please come, enjoy the fair and bring a friend! For more information, please call: Barbara Hatem 617-969-2567
Cindy Raymond 617-527-3722
CALENDAR NOTES
Extended Coffee Hour:
Sunday, October 30 – 10am – 1pm – Parish Center
Religious Education: – Grades 1-5:
Sunday, October 30 – 10:30 – 11:45am – Lower Church
Boy Scouts:
Monday, October 31 – 7:30pm - Parish Center
Masses for All Saints Holy Day:
Tuesday, November 1 – 7:00am, 12:05pm, 7:30pm
Religious Education – Tuesday, November 1:
Grades 1-5 – 4:00 to 5:15pm – Lower Church
Grades 6-10 – 7:00 to 8:30pm – Lower Church
Holly Harvest Workshop:
Tuesday, November 1 – 7:00pm – Convent Guild Room
Prayer Group:
Wednesday, November 2– 7:30pm – Convent Chapel
Coffee Hour:
Friday, November 4 – Following 9am Mass – Parish Center
Liturgy, Adoration and The Rosary:
Saturday, November 5 – 9am to 12:30pm – Lower Church
Extended Coffee Hour:
Sunday, November 6 – 10am – 1pm – Parish Center
Social Justice Forum:
Sunday, November 6-7:30pm– Lower Church
FINANCIAL UPDATE
As members of the Parish Finance Council explained in their presentations last month, we need an increase of 20% in our offertory contributions to cover expenses for the current year and to begin rebuilding our general savings account that was used to cover the $426,000 deficit for the previous year. Thank-you to the parishioners who have already responded to the appeal. Not all parishioners are able to increase their giving by 20%, but there are some who could give more. We are asking all parishioners to prayerfully consider their responsibility to support the parish and to give as their situation permits.
Offertory for the 1st quarter of the current year
(July - September): $51,718
Offertory for the 1st quarter of the previous year: $51,229
Target weekly offertory: $5,500
Offertory for the weekend of Oct. 22/23 $5,057
An updated display of pictures for the reconstruction of Our Lady’s Grotto is in the gathering space. So far, we have received memorial contributions of $3250 toward our goal of $7800. Please identify the person(s) being remembered with your donations so that the names can be included on the plaque.
ADULT ENRICHMENT
Thomas Groome and Daniel Harrington, SJ, present Breaking Open the Word: Best Practices on Friday, Nov. 4, from 1-4pm, Corcoran Commons, Heights Room, Chestnut Hill Campus. Register at www.bc.edu/stmce.
29th SOCIAL JUSTICE FORUM
Join us on Sunday, Nov. 6, 7:30pm in the lower church, when Marjean Perhot and Sr. Marie Prefontaine will present: Immigrant -“Illegal?” Free admission, open to the public, refreshments to follow. If you are in need of transportation, please call Jini Fairley at 617-964-3966.
PRAYING THE LITURGY
There are 2 worthwhile articles in the October 21, 2011 issue of the Boston Pilot; you can access at www.thebostonpilot.com; “New Missal explained at Cambridge pub” (part of Theology on Tap series); Faith Alive! section : The New Roman Missal: Taking a stand with ‘I believe’.