Sacred Heart Parish
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday, January 7
4:00pm Donald Burke
Sunday, January 8
9:00am, Elbira Rojas de Vegalara
12 Noon, Salvatore Lombardo, Nicola and Judith Lombardo
Monday, January 9
12:05pm, Parishioners of Sacred Heart
Sunday, January 15
9:00am, Parishioners of Sacred Heart
12 Noon, Sharon Claire Smith
READINGS FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
First Reading: 1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20
Gospel Reading: John 1:35-42
OFFERTORY INCOME
Target Weekly Offertory $5,500
Weekend of December 31/January 1 $7,755
Christmas Collection (Clergy Benefit Fund) $7,738
PLEASE NOTE There will be no 4:00pm Mass next Saturday. The National Catholic Office for the Deaf (NCOD) is holding its Pastoral Ministry Conference in Boston from January 13 to 17th and on Saturday, January 14th, Cardinal Seán O’Malley will celebrate Mass here at 5:30pm. All are welcome.
A WORD OF THANKS
Each Christmas, the diocese-wide collection is for our senior priests. These faith-filled men have served our Archdiocese well over the years, and many still continue to help out in so many ways. Thanks to your generous support, the health and well being of our senior priests will be cared for during this New Year and beyond. It you were out of town this Christmas or did not have the opportunity to make a contribution, all are welcome to donate online at www.careforseniorpriests.org. On behalf of our priests, thank you for your generosity and prayerful support.
CALENDAR NOTES
Coffee Hour:
Sunday, January 8, 10am to 11:30am, Parish Center
Coffee Hour:
Sunday, January 8, following 11am Mass, Convent
Women’s Discussion Group:
Sunday, January 8, 10:30am, Convent
Catechists Workshop:
Sunday, January 8, 7-9pm, Convent
Boy Scouts:
Monday, January 9, 7:30pm Parish Center
Knights of Columbus:
Wednesday, January 11, 7:30pm, Convent
Parish Pastoral Council:
Thursday, January 12, 7:30pm,Convent Library
Coffee Hour:
Friday, January 13, Following 9am Mass, Parish Center
Liturgy, Adoration and The Rosary:
Saturday, January 14, 9am to 12:30pm, Lower Church
NCOD Mass:
Saturday, January 14, 5:30 pm, UC
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Happy and Blessed New Year! There will be no CCD classes today. Classes resume on Sunday, January 15th, in spite of this being the day before Martin Luther King Day! Classes will also resume for the Tuesday program on January 17th.
Our Catechists are asked to attend a workshop today, January 8th, from 7-9pm in the Convent. Refreshments will be served.
Grade 2 students will now begin preparation for receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Please pray for our students and their families to come to know that God’s greatest gift to us is his mercy and forgiveness. There will be a workshop for parents of Grade 2 students on Sunday, February 5th, from 10:15-11:45am in the Convent. At least one parent needs to attend this workshop. If you will be needing babysitting, please contact the Religious Education office two weeks prior to this date.
We are currently looking for an aide in the Tuesday, Grade 1 classroom, from 4:00-5:15pm. If you are interested in helping out please contact the Religious Education office (617-969-4031).
Michelle Solomon, Director of RE
SAVE THE DATE
The 31st Social Justice Forum will be held on Sunday Evening, January 22, 2012 from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. Our speaker will be Ellen Bruce, JD, Director of the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The topic for the evening will be "Social Security and Medicare: Protecting the Most Vulnerable in an Era of Cuts". Free admission - Open to the Public. Refreshments follow the presentation. If you need transportation, call Jini Fairley at 617-964-3966.
JUSTICE & PEACE COMMITTEE
As we begin 2012, the Sacred Heart Justice & Peace Committee invites new members to join the Committee. Please contact Bob DeSimone at 617-332-7272 or by email at radesi@rcn.com.
NEWTON COMMUNITY CELEBRATION
You are cordially invited to attend the 44th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Newton Community Celebration on Monday, January 16, 2012 at 10:00am at St. Bernard’s Church, 1523 Washington St., West Newton, MA 02465. Please bring non-perishable food items for donation to the Newton Food Pantry.
BOSTON ARCHDIOCESAN CHOIR SCHOOL
Do you know a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade boy who likes to sing? For a friendly and positive singing audition please come to one of the following venues: Jan. 21 at the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School, 29 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge, or February 25 at St. Julia Church in Weston. The Choir School offers a fulltime Catholic day school for boys grades 4-8 with rigorous academics, unparalleled music education and small class sizes. For more information please contact John Robinson, Director of Music, jrobinson@choirschool.net. or 617-868-8658.
MONTROSE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
Montrose School (29 North Street, Medfield, MA 02052) will host an Open House on Thursday, January 12 from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. Take a tour of campus, meet current families and faculty, and hear from our Head of School and senior scholar at Boston University's Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, Dr. Karen E. Bohlin.
PROGRAMS AT THE MACKENZIE CENTER
Children’s Karate program—Tuesdays 5:30-6:15pm ages 5 and up; Wednesdays 3:45-4:15 ages 3-5. Please contact Marisa Cimino at 617-332-7220 or email mackenziecenter@verizon.net
K&S Ballroom Dance—Every 1st Saturday of the month, 7pm. Contact www.kandsmusic.net
Change Your Body Boot Camp—Monday, Wednesday & Friday 9-10am; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 6:30-7:30pm. Please contact bootcampboston.com
Music & Movement of Newton—Contact musicmovementofnewton.com
Super Soccer Stars—a new program coming this winter—Mondays & Thursdays 10:15 & 11:00am, ages 3-4. Contact boston.supersoccerstars.com
ADULT ENRICHMENT
Saint John’s Seminary, Theological Institute for the New Evangelization, Spring 2012 Courses begin on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 149 Washington St., Brighton. Come learn more about the Catholic faith! For additional information call 617-779-4104, go to www.sjs.edu, or email TINE@sjs.edu.
2012 WORLD DAY FOR MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
On Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 11:00am in the Lower Church Media Room of St. Ignatius Parish there will be an ARRUPE (Assisting Refugee Resettlement Using Parish Energies) Refugee Awareness Session. Find out how the Church helps refugees Globally, around the U.S., in Massachusetts, and at St. Ignatius Parish. There will be excerpts from Lost Boys of Sudan, an award winning film on the refugee experience. You can hear parishioners and refugees share their experiences.
ASSEMBLY FOR LIFE
On Sunday, January 29, in Faneuil Hall, Boston from 2-4pm, the Massachusetts Citizens for Life is sponsoring Wayne Cockfield, a dynamic, nationally known pro-life leader, who lost both legs and most of the use of his right hand as a Marine in Vietnam. He will speak about the implications of the upcoming ballot question in Massachusetts which seeks to legalize doctor prescribed suicide. Further information at masscitizensforlife.org or 617-242-4199.
A DOOR OF FAITH
A month or so ago Pope Benedict XVI, through his Apostolic letter—the Door of Faith, announced a Year of Faith starting in October 2012 on the day that commemorates the convening of the Second Vatican Council. This is an important initiative. The Year of Faith will run from October, 2012 to the Feast of Christ the King, 2013. The title of the Year of Faith will read as follows: “ The new Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.” The following paragraphs are taken from this letter and aim to recall a few fundamentals about what we mean by Catholic Faith.
10. At this point I would like to sketch a path intended to help us understand more profoundly not only the content of the faith, but also the act by which we choose to entrust ourselves fully to God, in complete freedom. In fact, there exists a profound unity between the act by which we believe and the content to which we give our assent. Saint Paul helps us to enter into this reality when he writes: “Man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (Rom 10:10). The heart indicates that the first act by which one comes to faith is God’s gift and the action of grace which acts and transforms the person deep within.
The example of Lydia is particularly eloquent in this regard. Saint Luke recounts that, while he was at Philippi, Paul went on the Sabbath to proclaim the Gospel to some women; among them was Lydia and “the Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). There is an important meaning contained within this expression. Saint Luke teaches that knowing the content to be believed is not sufficient unless the heart, the authentic sacred space within the person, is opened by grace that allows the eyes to see below the surface and to understand that what has been proclaimed is the word of God.
Confessing with the lips indicates in turn that faith implies public testimony and commitment. A Christian may never think of belief as a private act. Faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him. This “standing with him” points towards an understanding of the reasons for believing. Faith, precisely because it is a free act, also demands social responsibility for what one believes. The Church on the day of Pentecost demonstrates with utter clarity this public dimension of believing and proclaiming one’s faith fearlessly to every person. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes us fit for mission and strengthens our witness, making it frank and courageous.
Profession of faith is an act both personal and communitarian. It is the Church that is the primary subject of faith. In the faith of the Christian community, each individual receives baptism, an effective sign of entry into the people of believers in order to obtain salvation. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “ ‘I believe’ is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during baptism. ‘We believe’ is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. ‘I believe’ is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both ‘I believe’ and ‘we believe’.”[17]
Evidently, knowledge of the content of faith is essential for giving one’s own assent, that is to say for adhering fully with intellect and will to what the Church proposes. Knowledge of faith opens a door into the fullness of the saving mystery revealed by God. The giving of assent implies that, when we believe, we freely accept the whole mystery of faith, because the guarantor of its truth is God who reveals himself and allows us to know his mystery of love.[18]
Father Connelly
SIGNINGS
Good people, I am now writing to you as the Pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Townsend and Ashby and at the same time am still the Director for the Deaf Apostolate. Father Mike Medas is working with Fr. Shawn and me to make this time of transition successful. Thank you for all your encouraging messages, prayers and love. We are getting ready for NCOD and this is very exciting. The Mass with the Cardinal on the 14th at Sacred Heart, and the dinner, and the play, are all things that I hope you will participate in.
The play is going to be about the Sacred Heart. The children will tell the story of how we know about Jesus and His Sacred Heart. The first character is a contemplative theologian; a monk. He reads the four Gospels to find out who Jesus is. The four Gospels are alive and so we have four little children who represent the four living Gospels. As the story continues we find that one young nun’s vision of Christ’s Sacred Heart is the true summary of the four Gospels.
Some people have been asking about the details of the transition and I am putting updates on the website every day as I find things out. Blessed be the Lord.
Fr. St. Martin
COVER ART NOTES
Painting by Albrecht Altdorfer 1480-1538, German-Northern Renaissance style entitled “Adoration of the Magi”. As with Durer we see the theme of the beautiful yet broken old world meeting the King of creation, the light in the darkness, who helps bring out the best in us all as little children have a way of doing.
RETREAT OPPORTUNITIES
The Espousal Retreat Center offers Day Retreats for Women on the 2nd Wednesday of the month from 10am to 2:30pm. Jerri Lou Buffo and Sue Gormley will present Mary Our Mother Too on January 11, 2012. Bring a bag lunch and enjoy the conference, quiet time and small group sharing at the Espousal Retreat Center, 554 Lexington Street, Waltham, MA. Offering: $15. Registration is not required but appreciated. Call 781-209-3120 or email espousaladmin@gmail.com.
Miramar Retreat Center, 121 Parks St., Duxbury, will be offering a Worldwide Marriage Encounter on January 13-15; My One Wild Precious Life Retreat for Women on January 27-29; as well as a number of Day retreats in February. Please check the website at www.Miramarretreat.org or call 781-585-2460 for more information.
ST. JOSEPH PARISH, MEDFORD EPIPHANY CONCERT
The St. Joseph Parish Music Ministry will present its Epiphany Concert on Sunday, January 8 at 2pm at St. Joseph Church, 118 High Street, Medford (Route 60). Music Director Betsy Pesce will conduct a varied program of sacred, classical and popular selections with adult and youth choirs, The Messengers (young adult music group), organ, piano, instrumentalists and soloists. Free will offering. Light refreshments following concert. All are welcome! Handicap accessible.
PROGRAMS AT THE FREEDMAN CENTER
Registration is now open for the free groups for new Moms with babies up to 6 months—NewBabies/New Moms. The next session begins Wednesday, January 25, 12:30-2pm. This is an opportunity for new moms to ask questions, share experiences, make new friends and get support from a professional facilitator. Registration is also available for winter sessions of Music and Movement Groups for children 3 months to 4 years, starting February 1. Sign up for “Navigating the Rocky Road of Adolescence” a support group for parents of adolescents which meets four Wednesdays from 7-8:30pm, beginning February 8. All programs are at 225 Nevada St., Newtonville. Pre-registration required. For information and registration, visit freedman.mspp.edu or call 617-244-INFO x 123.