Dear Fellow Parishioners, I have been wondering how people ever come to know the real meaning of Christmas. “Jesus is the reason for the season,” doesn’t get much attention. Many strive to be “politically correct” and wish people “Happy Holidays.” Outside decorations are Santas, snowmen, Smurfs, grinches, reindeer, colored lights, Disney characters, and more. Even our holiday cards are pictures of summer vacations, and fun times. The music on the radio, talks about Grandma getting run over, and jingle bells, and rockin’ round the Christmas tree... I often hear that Christmas is for children.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, As we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, I invited us all to go deeper into our understanding of Matthew 25. Matthew 25 is all about recognizing Jesus in the least, the last and the lost. Our Catholic Social Justice teachings invite us to go deeper. We go deeper by analyzing or examining the situations that we see around us. For example, ask yourself, “Why are there hungry people in the richest country in the world?” Seeing social situations, judging them in light of Catholic Social Teaching principles, and acting to promote justice and improve the situations of those served. See, Judge, Act.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Being from Massachusetts I like many Baystaters come to think of Thanksgiving as our gift to the nation. Of course, the actual history tells a different story. George Washington in 1789 issued his Thanksgiving proclamation designating Thursday November 26, 1789 the first national celebration of public “thanks-giving.” It was President Lincoln that proclaimed Thanksgiving to be an annual celebration for our nation. Interesting enough, Thomas Jefferson in 1801 refused to endorse the Thanksgiving tradition because of its Puritan religious roots.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Twelve weeks ago, we began a homily series on the “Fruits of the Holy Spirit.” We did so for two reasons; Pope Fransis asked all communities of faith to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on those who were assembling in Rome for the Synod on Synodality. As a parish we faithfully prayed the Synod prayer together each weekend, and we prayed daily at Mass during the sessions of the gathering. The second reason we focused on the Fruits of the Spirit is because the world right now is certainly not the way God says it ought to be. We need to refresh our memories of how we who have received the Holy Spirit need to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I recently met a young couple attending a funeral who met at Stonehill College. They are preparing for marriage and both active in their respective parishes. I was happy to hear that they were involved in ministries in their home parishes and asked what gave them the incentive to be so active in ministry. They made it clear that at Stonehill they deepened their faith in Jesus Christ and as Catholics, faith without service was never an option. Faith and action; faith and ministry, faith and service go hand in hand. I was happy to hear that a Catholic College like Stonehill was encouraging their students to make a difference in their parish and in the world.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, As I mentioned before, I am taking the “Kick Start” course for pastors with Divine Renovation. This is a follow-up on the meeting seven of us attended in June at St. Mary’s in Uxbridge. This course is a real eyeopener for me. I keep wondering what is happening with parish life, why some people are reluctant to make commitments to parish life, why some parishes are struggling to keep parishes and parish life afloat, and the doors open. Why do we see some families for faith formation when their children are making sacraments and then they disappear after that? Why do so many have no intention or desire to keep holy the sabbath by gathering for weekend Mass? Why are sports, dance, and other activities seen as more important than planting the seeds of faith? I keep thinking this is a result of Covid-19 lockdown, but that is not true. This happened long before that. Maybe it is the clergy sexual abuse scandal? No, this change in thinking was taking place even before that!
Dear Fellow Parishioners, We can come up with all sorts of excuses for not making a commitment to share our time, talent, and treasure; our gifts, skills, and talents with those around us. · “No one asked me.” · “They already have someone for that.” · “They don’t need my help.” · “I don’t have anything to offer.” · “I am too busy and have no time to offer.” · “What if I commit and then find I don’t have the time?” · “I could have a change in my financial situation, what will I do if
Dear Fellow Parishioners, How wonderful it was for me to have all the young families and their children gathered in worship Sunday. It is so nice to be surrounded by all ages as we gather in prayer to be nourished by Word and Sacrament. For me, there are lots of “moving parts” and making sure that everyone gets to age-appropriate spaces to unpack our faith and the Word of God. I am thankful that there are many hands to pitch in so that all these learning sessions can happen on a Sunday morning.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, In June seven members of our parish attended the all-day workshop offered by Divine Renovation. It was held at St. Mary’s in Uxbridge which made it very convenient for all of us to attend. From that workshop our Pastoral Planning Team decided to hold the Parish meeting on September 25th. As I reported we had a great turnout of 72 people who spent two hours together discussing the things we liked about Church and our community and the things that we were concerned about.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Members of The Catholic Community of Sacred Heart gathered on Monday September 25th in advance of the worldwide gathering in Rome. Those who attended got a taste of what it is like to discuss faith, parish life, community life, and the future of church with a small “c” and the Church Universal with a capital “C.”
Dear Fellow Parishioners, It was a damp, cold and rainy Monday night. The perfect night to stay inside and enjoy a hot beverage, or a hot toddy and wrap yourself up in an afghan, with a favorite book and sit by the fire; or veg in front of the TV. I was in the Fr. Reilly Center at 6:15 to personally welcome those who accepted the invitation to come to our parish wisdom sharing meeting.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, The most important ingredient and principle of planning is to allow those you are planning to be involved in the planning process. I have always kept that principle in mind throughout my priesthood. That is why we held a Parish Synod here at Sacred Heart shortly after I arrived over 20 years ago. As we shared wisdom together, we made many decisions that shaped the last 20 years of our parish. Those were challenging times because some parishioners were opposed to any change taking place in the parish.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, As we join in prayer for the “Synod on Synodality” gathering in Rome during the month of October, our Pastoral Planning Team thought it would be beneficial for us, too to come together as a parish. I would like to invite everyone to come together to discuss parish life here in the Catholic Community of Sacred Heart. Save the date: We will gather at 7:00 P.M. in the parish hall on Monday 25 September. To focus our discussion, we are asking everyone to reflect on their answers to the following four questions: 1. What is the thing that delights you the most about our parish? 2. What is your holy discontent? 3. Who could be members of a vision team for our parish? 4. What can we do to raise the visibility of the Parish in town to involve other town residents currently not members of our Parish?
Dear Fellow Parishioners, We begin a new 12-week homily series that will increase our relationship with the third person of the Blessed Trinity. We will deepen our understanding of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul introduces us to the fruits of the Spirit, and we will unpack these wonderful attributes and qualities at the same time that Pope Francis is gathering in Rome for the next session of the Synod on Synodality, which begins in October.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Throughout the summer months Rob Callahan, (finance) and Kevin Maldarelli (operations) and our staff have been doing the groundwork to address several major issues regarding our campus. I would like to bring two of them to your attention.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Whenever a vacation was approaching, the Rector of the Seminary would remind us, “Remember, there is never a vacation from your vocation!” This emphasized that our vocation was not only preparing for the priesthood but being disciples of Jesus Christ. I have always kept that in mind, and so when traveling I bring my breviary (Prayer book) and rosary with me and take time to pray each morning and evening when I travel. Part of my daily prayer is to pray for the sick that are listed in the bulletin. Praying for people twice a day is important for them and for me.
Dear Parish Family: It’s hard to believe that we are in mid-August! How did that happen? Why do the summer months fly by and the winter months seem to drag on when they are the same amount of time?
Dear Parish Family: We are so blessed. I am so blessed. Last week, I required emergency surgery. I have been reflecting on my experience and can’t help feeling blessed. Everyone that I encountered the paramedics, the ER staff, nursing staff and surgical staff were incredibly professional, compassionate, and kind. There have been so many people checking in and checking up on me; I am eternally grateful.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I am staring at a blank screen as I prepare to write my last bulletin letter before I go on vacation. In order for me to take a vacation I need to make sure that there is “coverage” while I am away. That means I need to find a priest to celebrate the weekend Masses while I am gone. The challenge of doing that gets more difficult as we age, because there are fewer priests available to fill-in. Fortunately, Fr. Jim Lyons will celebrate the two Saturday Masses and Fr. Greg Hoppough will celebrate the two Sunday Masses while I am gone.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I cannot believe that July is almost over and that means summer is quickly slipping away. It also means that it is time to think about and to begin to prepare for the fall activities, including registering for Faith Formation. Registration is easily done on our parish website: https://sacredhearthopedale.org clicking on the Faith Formation tab for all the details of the offerings for each grade level. The registration form, and calendar for each program are clear and easy to print. Register before September 1st as the registration fee increases after that date.