Dear Fellow Parishioners, I had an interesting talk with a young man after Mass Sunday. I mentioned at Mass that we needed to keep the middle aisle open to collect the money. After Mass he said he didn’t know that we were collecting money during the offertory. He also asked what the money was for. I explained that we use it to pay for the electricity so we can have lights, sound, air conditioning, and heat and also to pay me and the staff. He didn’t know that I got paid! It was an interesting conversation. We had children’s envelopes when I was growing up and we put our donation in the basket every week. I knew that we needed to pay for the utilities and candles and hosts, but now that I reflect back on it, I too didn’t know that the priests and the nuns got paid. Go figure. As we make our commitments and pool our gifts of time, talent, and treasure to pay our ordinary expenses, I encourage families to explain to their children how valuable our gifts to the Catholic Community of Sacred Heart are to keeping our parish as a viable Catholic presence in Hopedale. As you prayerfully consider your gifts, I also ask you to give some serious thought the time you spend in prayer. I would love to have those who are available to join us for morning Mass Monday through Thursday at 9:00 A.M. We gather in prayer for our parish and the larger community. The support we offer each other on a daily basis is a gift to all who attend. Please consider joining us if you can. And of course, other parishes in our area offer daily Mass at other times. Mass is great way to start the day. We received lots of positive feedback after the Teaching Mass this weekend. We are trying to make sure that as a community of faith we are life-long learners and deepening our understanding of our faith. Remember, if you have ideas about how we can increase our understanding of our faith, please do not hesitate to pass those along.