As most of you know, I celebrated my big 6-0 birthday this past Thursday. The one thing about these milestone birthdays is that it gives you a chance to pause and reflect on where the years have gone and where God is calling next. Looking back on the past 60 – one thing is very clear; the church girl grew up to become the church lady. I say this with a smile, because the church has been central to who I am as a person.
Happy Father’s Day Week! Did you know that Father's Day began as a Catholic tradition to honor fathers and celebrate the influence of fathers in society? It all began in European countries during the Middle Ages and has been celebrated on March 19 (Saint Joseph's Day). This celebration was brought by the Spanish and Portuguese to Latin America, where it is often still celebrated on March 19th.
It’s Official! We officially have so many blessings! Congratulations to Deacon Tom Tierney, his wife Debbie and his daughters Catherine and Sarah on his Ordination last Saturday. What a blessing Deacon Tom is to our faith community and what an incredible accomplishment!
What a challenge it was to choose a date for vacation this year. I was hoping to go in May after Easter, but there were lots of events taking place here at Sacred Heart and with family. The Church consecration, confirmation, First Communions, a family wedding and then, the wonderful ordination of Deacon Tom Tierney and his Mass of thanksgiving this weekend. I certainly didn’t want to miss any of those significant events in the lives of our Catholic Community. I will be missing some Graduation Celebrations but know that each person that has invited me to join them understands my absence.
We gather together for what most people celebrate as the “official” beginning of summer. Memorial Day weekend begins our summer mass schedule; Saturday is at 4:00 P.M. as usual, and on Sunday we have one Mass at 9:30 A.M. I am hoping that all of us, when we are not traveling will make the effort to attend one of these two Mass times so that we as a community continue to support each other during these vacation times. Remember, there is no vacation from our vocation as Disciples of Christ.
There have been lots of positive feedback from those who attended the consecration of the church and altar and the gala. Msgr. Doran said, “I have been ordained 53 years and never attended a church consecration before, what a beautiful experience.” Many commented on how quickly the service passed, because there was so much beautiful ritual happening in the ceremony; so reverent and powerful. There was also feedback from people who didn’t attend; many were sorry that they didn’t take or make the time to be present. Some thought it would be too long, others thought they were not interested, and after they heard from everyone that did attend, they wish they took the opportunity.
What a wonderful celebration of the consecration of our church and altar, and the Gala that followed. Bishop McManus was so impressed by the participation of our community throughout the ceremony; “Everyone paying attention, singing and praying together.” Many of you who attended have shared at how moving and meaningful the whole service was. We received a 48-page document of instructions on April 8th to prepare for the consecration and Pam Chaplin got to work and pulled it all together; working along with Msgr. Bob Johnson, Bishop McManus’ master of ceremonies, and created an event we will all remember for a lifetime. How wonderful it was to have Fr. Ray Goodwin, Msgr. John Doran and Fr. Denis O’Brien with us, all of whom had never been present for the consecration of a church and altar before
We welcome Bishop Robert McManus this weekend for the Dedication of our Church and Altar. All this is taking place because of the wonderful partnership we have established one with another as a Catholic Community. We pooled our financial resources, our wisdom and our talents to create a vision of what we wanted our campus to be and worked together through listening to make that vision a reality.
What a wonderful Holy Week here at Sacred Heart. Even though it was April school vacation, we came together as a Catholic Community of faith to celebrate in ritual and sacrament the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection. Everything moved like clockwork as everyone pooled their ministry skills together to assist us in the “work of the people” liturgy. I know it is not wise to list names of people who assist with each and every task because there is the danger of forgetting someone important. I will not do that; however, I want to thank everyone who is there, not just during Holy Week, but all year long, functioning in ministry.
“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.