“He is risen, he is truly risen Alleluia!” These words of the angel at the tomb of Jesus are an indication of our Lenten journey. I believe in many ways we have all “Risen to the Occasion!”
It is April School Vacation and some people will be traveling during this time. I know two families and some students are traveling to Italy and will be spending Holy Week in Rome, celebrating the holiest days of our Catholic faith-life with Pope Francis. How wonderful is that. As exciting as that is, the very same celebrations that are taking place in Rome take place in our parish and every Catholic Church throughout the world. We gather as a community of faith to remember our Salvation History in ritual, song and action to assist us in deepening our understanding and commitment to a powerful relationship with Jesus Christ.
I want to address a few items before Holy Week that have been brought to my attention. Three weeks ago, we sent out our Annual Parish Report. I hope you have had a chance to read through it about all the good things happening here through the pooling of time, talent and treasure as a Catholic Community. Any feedback regarding the report would be greatly appreciated, as it assists us in being true to our commitment of ownership, transparency, and accountability in all aspects of parish life.
How is your Lenten journey going so far? We gather this weekend for the 4th Sunday of Lent, know in the Latin Rite as “Laetare Sunday” which comes from the intro to the Mass “Laetare Jerusalem” or “Rejoice Jerusalem”! We rejoice because we are more than halfway through Lent and to our celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord! Are you up for rejoicing? I know that my Lenten journey has had a huge turnaround since the 3rd Sunday of Lent. I took the time on Sunday afternoon to take a good look at what was happening around me and identified what was broken. I realize there are lots to work on; some of it here in our parish.
We continue our Lenten journey focus on “Fixer-Upper” and have taken the time to examine the issues in our spiritual selves that are broken, or the hurts or baggage that we are carrying around that need to be addressed. Sometimes we don’t go deep enough; for example, it is not enough to say “I’m lonely or overwhelmed” we need to look at what might be the cause of the loneliness or the reason we are overwhelmed. Don’t rush, take your time to sit with the hurts and find out what’ behind it. Only then can we come up with a blueprint and design for the renovation of our spiritual selves. Like all blueprints and designs they are only a start, others need to see what we have come up with and make suggestions and share wisdom with us. That’s why the spiritual journey should never be done alone.
Generate Joy! What an inspiration it is for all of us to know that when we support the Annual Partners in Charity Appeal we generate joy in the lives of those served by our many agencies and ministries. And you, in turn, share in the joy of bringing hope into the lives of those we serve. It is why I offer my thanks to God for the prayers and support of the generous people of our Catholic Community of Sacred Heart. The inspiration for this year's campaign came from Saint Pope Paul VI who reminded us so eloquently ''The world calls for and expects from us simplicity of life, the spirit of prayer, charity towards all, especially towards the lowly and the poor, obedience and humility. ... Without this mark of holiness, our word will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man. It risks being vain and sterile." As your pastor, I cannot overstate the importance of this appeal, which supports the work of 28 diocesan agencies, ministries and programs, and serves the people of all our parishes and missions (nearly 280,000 local Catholics), as well as many thousands of people in need throughout Worcester County. It also supports the Deaconate Education program that Tom Tierney is in, preparing him for ordination on June 1st of this year! The theme of the appeal this year, "Generate Joy," is based on our ongoing commitment to serve the needy throughout Central Massachusetts. Once a year, we commit ourselves to this ongoing work with our Annual Partners in Charity Appeal. We as a parish reflect on God's great generosity and respond with generous giving of our own. Our parish goal is $43,200.00. We will need many generous donors to reach and hopefully exceed our goal. I know that I can count on wonderful parishioners like you. I am asking new parishioners to step forward and join your resources in meeting our parish goal in assisting the many needs of our brothers and sisters throughout Worcester County. Please pray for the success of our appeal in our Catholic Community of Sacred Heart and join me in supporting Partners in Charity. Fr. Bill
I wish to thank everyone who e-mailed, or spoke to me after the Masses regarding my letter in the bulletin or in the briefs and/or my homily for the 8th Sunday in Ordinary time. Getting that feedback helps me to know that I am being heard and that I am reaching areas of concern in the lives of the members of our Catholic Community. It is so important to hear from you in order to be able to speak to the issues that touch our hearts as a community of faith. Considering my need for feedback I realize that we all need to have encouragement on the faith journey; for following Christ is never a solo journey - it is a journey in community. Therefore, I am encouraging all of us to join a small faith sharing group that begins this week for the Season of Lent. Why join?
I am sure that many of you like me have had your eyes and ears attuned to the happenings in Rome seeking news regarding the Summit on Sexual Abuse in the Church, summoned by Pope Francis calling all the Bishop leaders of National Episcopal Conferences throughout the world.
Looking out at the Catholic Community assembled at each Mass on the weekend, I am reminded of the Parable of the Lost sheep. It appears in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 18:12–14) and Luke (Luke 15:3–7). It is about a shepherd who leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep to find the one which is lost. As I look out I am noticing and recalling the names of people who are no longer sitting among us; as their children get older they absent themselves from the pews
There are so many things happening here at Sacred Heart, that sometimes one thing or another fall through the cracks, or we think they are so far off that we will take care of it later. I do want to bring to your attention the Parish Pilgrimage to Austria and Germany featuring the Passion Play of Oberammergau which is only held every 10 years. I have 16 spots put aside for us and 11 of them are spoken for. I can add more spaces if necessary. I need to know by the end of February the exact number of people from Sacred Heart that will be going. If we have open spots I need to offer these spots to people from outside the parish.
Spring is in the air as temperatures more than double from the negative temperatures we have had for several days in a row. Many of us take this time to go through our closets and attempt to weed out clothes that we do not wear anymore for various reasons. I am hoping that when this occurs, or when a loved one dies, and we are packing up their clothing or small household items we remember our own parish thrift shop; The Twice Blessed Thrift Shop, located in the parish center. The all-volunteer staff has been very dedicated for the 40 + years that the thrift shop has existed They collaborate with St Vincent de Paul Thrift Shops in providing clothes and household items throughout Worcester County, that may not be needed in the Hopedale-Milford area.
In this homily series, we are looking at “What does it mean to be Spiritual?” We hear many people say that they are spiritual but not religious. What does that mean? For some, I’m told that they believe in God and the message of Jesus but don’t like the rules of a formal religious organization. In the letters to St. Paul to the Corinthians that we have been focusing on the last several weeks, we hear that one cannot be spiritual without belonging to a faith community. We hear that being spiritual and religious go hand in hand. During the first week, St. Paul tells us that we all have spiritual gifts and that we need to use them for the common good. Each one of us has different gifts; if we all had the same gifts the world would be a really boring place. Last week, St. Paul tells us that we can do nothing unless we work as a team – just like the Patriots!
With the impending storm last weekend, it was so nice to see so many at the 4:00 P.M. Mass. We had 8 at the 8:30 and 13 at the 10:30 Mass and had nice intimate Masses in the Manella Day Chapel. When ever there is a weekend storm we will have Mass but I want people to be safe, so all those who are scheduled for ministry please just come on the best day and don’t worry about finding a replacement for ministry. When we gather during a stormy weekend we will do the best we can. If there is a state of emergency declared by our Governor, we will receive a cancellation message from the Diocese of Worcester and pass it on through e-mail and Facebook.
Christmas Season has come to an end and we enter several weeks of Ordinary (numbered) Time before the Season of Lent begins. Here at Sacred Heart we will also enter into “FLU MODE” as we gather for worship until Holy Week which begins April 13th. A reminder of Flu Mode precautions— We will not be sharing the communion cups, and if I remember we will only hold hands and shake hands with people from our own household. I would also ask that everyone please receive the Body of Christ in the hand. We want to keep everyone as healthy as possible during this flu season. I thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
The Catholic Community of Sacred Heart is hosting the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. It will be held this Wednesday January 16th at 7:00 P.M in the church followed by refreshments in the parish center at 8:00 P.M. This is a joint venture of the Hopedale School Community and the local parish communities. At this event we present the “Power of One Award” recognizing an individual, family, committee or group for an extraordinary contribution in the area of community improvement or social justice during the past 5 years.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! I wish to begin this New Year with a heart filled with thanks to all those who are on the faith journey with the Catholic Community of Sacred Heart. With the joyous spirit of that community, all involved in ministry pulled together throughout the year to worship fully as a community of faith. The last days of the Advent Season were a beehive of activity as we witnessed the young children of our parish in the Christmas Pageant. Then everyone moved into action as chairs were put in place to welcome all those who would attend the 4:00 P.M vigil Mass for Christmas. People worked together to decorate the church for Christmas, the children’s choir practiced in the hall, the Sacred Heart Beats in the Conference Room and the Adult Festival Choir in the Church. Behind the scenes readers prepared to proclaim the word, altar servers practices, ministers of Holy Communion came forward, homilies were prepared, many gifts were bought for the needs that hung from the Giving Trees, people feasted at the Mustard Seed, donations made to the Food Pantry. That was just the month of December. This community action and working together takes place all year long here at Sacred Heart and we should all thank God for the gift we are to one another.
We continue this Christmas Season as we gather for the feast of the Holy Family. I pray that your Christmas Season is relaxed, safe and filled with all the hopes and dreams you have held in your heart. Our celebration continues, as we gather on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to honor Mary as the Mother of God and celebrate Word Day of Peace. On the Feast of Epiphany, we hear the story of the wise men and their journey of faith, which parallels to our own. To close the Christmas Season, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem stands as an ancient witness to the birth of Jesus Christ. For some on the outside, the Church of the Nativity, battered, fortress-like and unattractive to the eye, is disappointing. Even to some on the inside, the neglect is disheartening.
Many people are busy with many things at this time of the year. Yet, there was much “stewardship in action” on and off the Sacred Heart Campus. Several individuals and families assisted at the Trinity Supper on Friday evening, preparing and serving food to those in need. Our aging creche has been brought back to life with new pressure treated flooring and new roof through the efforts of Mike Chaisson, Bill Parent, Larry Bonetti, Rob Callahan and Tony Claro. Mike Chaisson also fabricated a new audio/visual table in the loft so that the new streaming equipment installed by Rob Russell and Ed Lavallette has sufficient space for those who will be operating the equipment. In the meantime, Phil, Casey, Riley and Rory Goyette cleaned all the wood out of the basement and will cut it up for my fire pit. Now shelving will be installed for storage. It is great to get this all cleaned.
How are you doing with the Advent Conspiracy? I am finding the prayer card helpful. On Sunday after the Masses I drop the collection into the night deposit at the bank and there was a person in front of the drive through that was out of their car and trying to work the ATM with little success. So, guess what, I had to “wait!” As I was there I decided, instead of getting anxious at waiting, I took out the prayer card and as soon as I was done praying, the lady got back into her car with her cash and was happily on her way. I realized the opportunity the card offered me to realize “Emmanuel-God is with us!”