St. Ann Church | From the desk of Fr. Tharp

January 12, 2025 - The Baptism of the Lord

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:25:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Rescheduled Beacons announcement meeting : SHJ 1/12/25 @ 4:00 p.m.

Beacons of Light:

Announcement of Canonical and Legal “merge” of TWO parishes into ONE!

The combined Parish (Pastoral) Council of St. Ann and Sacred Heart has voted unanimously to complete the initial goal of the Beacons of Light initiative by asking the Archbishop to allow for the canonical “MERGE” of the two juridic persons known as Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and St. Ann Catholic Church into one new “parish” (aka juridic person) to be known by the name for which you all voted, i.e. the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church of southern Butler County. The canonical consultation includes the approval of the combined Worship Commission as well as the combined Finance Council. As stated in prior articles in this bulletin, the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish will have two separate parish schools known currently (and in the future) as Sacred Heart School and St. Ann School located at their present sites.

It is with great joy that the Immaculate Heart of Mary Combined Parish Council and I invite you to attend the rescheduled (due to the snowstorm) informational meeting so you may share our enthusiasm and be fully apprised of the intricacies that have been a part of this process. I will also invite any questions or comments regarding the timing of the “canonical merge” and the benefits that are ours in doing this sooner rather than later.

Please join us at Sacred Heart on Sunday, January 12 at 4:00 p.m. (if you have not attended last Thursday’s meeting at St. Ann), so you are “in the know” about this important new way of moving forward as an evangelical force .

Remember however that finalizing the canonical restructuring is only the beginning. Embracing the new canonical structure will require us to rethink all of our old priorities and gradually gravitate to an entirely new model of what it means to be a “parish.” In the past, the goal was to build and maintain physical buildings and tried and true programmatic structures. However we are not just combining two parishes under a new successor name! We are not just changing the rules of the game, we are redefining the “game.” Our focus is to reintroduce our faith filled gathering of believers into a cynical world with relevance to their daily way of life. In dialoging with our community we will reinvent models of service and frame definitions of prayerful fidelity into a structure that speaks to modern human experience. In other words, an entirely new paradigm of church.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Remember I NEVER solicit funds, donations, favors, or any request of any kind over the telephone, text, email, carrier pigeon, drone, etc. NEVER ! Do not allow yourself to be taken in by scammers. Even if they have my recorded voice, be assured it is computer generated fake! It is not me!!!

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Please be aware that failure to register with and complete the requirements of Safe Parish will result in your inability to continue to work with or around children in any parish and/or school setting. We have been informed by the Archdiocese that there can be NO EXCEPTIONS.

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

For us as Catholics, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord signals the end of the Christmas Season and the beginning of Ordinary Time. In many Protestant traditions however, Epiphany is a season encompassing the Baptism of the Lord (also called the Theophany) and all the way up to the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday. These Sundays celebrate the Divinity of Jesus. Today’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord remembers the voice of God (theophany) after Jesus baptism. The public ministry of Jesus is inaugurated. When the eternal makes itself known in temporality, holiness is in our midst.

NEXT SUNDAY Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 62:1-5

1 Cor 12:4-11

Jn 2:1-11

Theme : The Wedding at Cana

January 5, 2025 - The Feast of the Epiphany

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 15:32:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Baptism of the Lord Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons announcement meeting : SHJ 1/5/25 @ 4:00 p.m. St. Ann 1/9/25 @ 7:00 p.m.

Beacons of Light:

Announcement of Canonical and Legal “merge” of TWO parishes into ONE!

The combined Parish (Pastoral) Council of St. Ann and Sacred Heart has voted unanimously to complete the initial goal of the Beacons of Light initiative by asking the Archbishop to allow for the canonical “MERGE” of the two juridic persons known as Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and St. Ann Catholic Church into one new “parish” (aka juridic person) to be known by the name for which you all voted, i.e. the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church of southern Butler County. The canonical consultation includes (or will soon include) the approval of the combined Worship Commission as well as the combined Finance Council. As stated in prior articles in this bulletin, the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish will have two separate parish schools known currently (and in the future) as Sacred Heart School and St. Ann School located at their present sites.

It is with great joy that the Immaculate Heart of Mary Combined Parish Council and I invite you to attend either of the two following meetings so you may share our enthusiasm and be fully apprised of the intricacies that have been a part of this process. I will also invite any questions or comments regarding the timing of the “canonical merge” and the benefits that are ours in doing this sooner rather than later. Most of the changes are “Church and civil legal titles” which will likely go unnoticed by the general population. Please remember: Beacons of Light is taking place in every parish family throughout the Archdiocese. It truly is a “paradigm change” in focus and style. The canonical merge signals the end of the internal structural process, but only the beginning in our new combined parish (one parish with two churches) approach to following the way of Jesus in this ever changing world.

Please join us at Sacred Heart on Sunday, January 5 at 4:00 p.m. or at
St. Ann on Thursday, January 9 at 7:00 p.m. so you are “in the know” about this important new way of moving forward as an evangelical force in our communities, our nation, and our world.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The Magi are the source of more biblical conjecture than any other group. The scripture does not say how many Magi there are. Because there are three gifts, we always presume there are three Magi. Scripture does not say for sure. Some call the Magi “three Wise Men” while others call them “Kings.” Tradition says they represent the three great races of humanity, originating from Shem, Ham, and Japheth, but scripture is silent. The one certainty is that Matthew wants the reader to see that the whole world is coming to believe in Jesus, so it is illogical and regressive to see things otherwise. The actual identity of the visitors will be argued long after we are gone. By analogy, today’s scripture challenges us to get on board with Jesus or lose out. The message of the story is clear. Jesus is the one and only savior of the world.

NEXT SUNDAY Baptism of the Lord

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Ti 2:11-14, 3:4-7

Lk 3:15-16, 21-22

Theme : Ordinary Time

December 29, 2024 - The Holy Family

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 10:29:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Baptism of the Lord Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons announcement meeting : SHJ 1/5/25 @ 4:00 p.m. St. Ann 1/9/25 @ 7:00 p.m.

Beacons of Light:

Announcement of Canonical and Legal “merge” of TWO parishes into ONE!

The combined Parish (Pastoral) Council of St. Ann and Sacred Heart has voted unanimously to complete the initial goal of the Beacons of Light initiative by asking the Archbishop to allow for the canonical “MERGE” of the two juridic persons known as Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and St. Ann Catholic Church into one new “parish” (aka juridic person) to be known by the name for which you all voted, i.e. the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church of southern Butler County. The canonical consultation includes (or will soon include) the approval of the combined Worship Commission as well as the combined Finance Council. As stated in prior articles in this bulletin, the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish will have two separate parish schools known currently (and in the future) as Sacred Heart School and St. Ann School located at their present sites.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

NEXT SUNDAY Baptism of the Lord

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Ti 2:11-14, 3:4-7

Lk 3:15-16, 21-22

Theme : Ordinary Time

December 22, 2024 - Fourth Sunday in Advent

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 14:14:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Holy Family Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons announcement : SHJ 1/5/25 @ 4:00 p.m. St. Ann 1/9/25 @ 7:00 p.m.

“See Below” “See Below” “See Below” “See Below”

Schedule of Christmas Masses

Christmas Eve (Tuesday, December 24)

Sacred Heart….3:00 p.m . featuring Children’s Choir

St. Ann….5:00 p.m . Carols begin at 4:15 p.m.

St. Ann….10:00 p.m

Sacred Heart….12:00 a.m. Midnight

Christmas Day (Wednesday, December 25) follows the regular Sunday Schedule

Sacred Heart …8:00 a.m.

St. Ann ….9:30 a.m.

Sacred Heart….11:00 a.m.

Confessions

The communal penance service for both parishes took place on December 11. I will have the regular CONFESSIONS at St. Ann on Tuesday, December 17 beginning at 6:30 p.m. until all are heard. I will also have regular CONFESSIONS at Sacred Heart on Saturday morning, December 21 starting after the 8:00 a.m. Mass at about 8:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. or until all are heard. The last scheduled opportunity for confession will be at Sacred Heart on Monday, December 23, from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. or until all are heard. Obviously there are no Tuesday evening confessions at St. Ann on December 24 as it is Christmas Eve.

Beacons of Light:

Announcement of Canonical and Legal “merge” of TWO parishes into ONE!

The combined Parish (Pastoral) Council of St. Ann and Sacred Heart has voted unanimously to complete the initial goal of the Beacons of Light initiative by asking the Archbishop to allow for the canonical “MERGE” of the two juridic persons known as Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and St. Ann Catholic Church into one new “parish” (aka juridic person) to be known by the name for which you all voted, i.e. the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church of southern Butler County. The canonical consultation includes (or will soon include) the approval of the combined Worship Commission as well as the combined Finance Council. As stated in prior articles in this bulletin, the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish will have two separate parish schools known currently (and in the future) as Sacred Heart School and St. Ann School located at their present sites.

Archdiocese discontinues any partnership with GSUSA

In a letter dated October 28, 2024, the Archbishop has informed all pastors and administrators in the Archdiocese of the decision to discontinue any partnership with the Girl Scouts. The following is a quote from the third paragraph of the letter, “Unfortunately in recent years, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has embraced and promoted an impoverished worldview regarding gender and sexuality.” Thus, because Girl Scouts has apparently taken a position at odds with traditional Catholic moral teaching; any support and partnerships Girl Scouts has with the Archdiocese and its parishes must be suspended. An unabridged copy of the referenced letter is available at church doors.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The Fourth Sunday of Advent is like the bow on the ribbon of a wrapped present: “We have to get it out of the way to get to Christmas. But it would be a mistake to discount the value of today’s scriptures as we prepare for Christmas. The prophet Micah says of the coming of the Son of God, “…..He shall be peace.” Jesus is the only source from which to acquire a peaceful soul. Jesus is the only source of fulfillment. In the Eucharist, we become the “peace of Christ.” We have it within ourselves! We can convey it to the world. Peace on earth and in your soul. It is a blessing to die in peace. It is beatific to live in peace.

NEXT SUNDAY Fourth Sunday of Advent

1 Sam 1:20-22, 24-28

1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24

Lk 2:41-52

Theme : Holy Family

December 15, 2024 - 3rd Sunday of Advent

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 16:01:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Fourth Sunday of Advent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Nota Bene: Please do not overlook the invitation to come to informational sessions on merger in the article that follows this schedule:

Schedule of Christmas Masses

Christmas Eve (Tuesday, December 24)

Sacred Heart….3:00 p.m . featuring Children’s Choir

St. Ann….5:00 p.m . Carols begin at 4:15 p.m.

St. Ann….10:00 p.m

Sacred Heart….12:00 a.m. Midnight

Christmas Day (Wednesday, December 25) follows the regular Sunday Schedule

Sacred Heart …8:00 a.m.

St. Ann ….9:30 a.m.

Sacred Heart….11:00 a.m.

Confessions

Beacons of Light:

Announcement of Canonical and Legal “merge” of TWO parishes into ONE!

The combined Parish (Pastoral) Council of St. Ann and Sacred Heart has voted unanimously to complete the initial goal of the Beacons of Light initiative by asking the Archbishop to allow for the canonical “MERGE” of the two juridic persons known as Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and St. Ann Catholic Church into one new “parish” (aka juridic person) to be known by the name for which you all voted, i.e. the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church of southern Butler County. The canonical consultation includes (or will soon include) the approval of the combined Worship Commission as well as the combined Finance Council. As stated in prior articles in this bulletin, the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish will have two separate parish schools known currently (and in the future) as Sacred Heart School and St. Ann School located at their present sites.

Archdiocese discontinues any partnership with GSUSA

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Gaudate Sunday we light the “pink” candle! It signals we are halfway through Advent. But Gaudate Sunday is not just a matter dealing with time. It also alters our focus from praying for the Second Coming to preparing ourselves to celebrate Christmas well. Christmas is “Christ’s birthday celebration. It is not just a day off from work! It celebrates the incarnation as the most pinnacle moment in human history. God has decided to become one of us so we can live with him in Heaven for all eternity. Remember the reason for the season.

NEXT SUNDAY Fourth Sunday of Advent

Mi 5:1-4a

Heb 10:5-10

Lk 1:39-45

Theme : Emmanuel

December 8, 2024 - 2nd Sunday of Advent

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 16:00:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Third Sunday of Advent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Advent Communal Penance Service

At least four priests will be available to hear confessions on Wednesday, December 11 for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Family Advent Communal Penance Service which will be held at Sacred Heart Church at 7:00 p.m. With this many priests, the wait time to go to confession will be minimal, whereas if you wait until a week before Christmas, you can be assured of a long wait in line. Therefore, I strongly suggest not waiting until time before Christmas is short! Avoid the rush and come to the Communal Penance Service on December 11.

December 9 ^th IS a Holyday of Obligation!

Since Vatican II, the Conference of Catholic Bishops for each country or region has determined when the precept obligation for a Holyday could be rescinded because of proximity to another Sunday or Solemnity. This year the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (which is typically December 8) falls on a Sunday. Thus the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to December 9 for this year. The recent tradition of the Church has been to abrogate the obligation for a Monday Holyday, but the Holy See has informed us that because Monday, December 9 ^th is the Feast Day, and Mary’s Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast for the United States, the precept obligation remains for this year. Therefore, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, December 9 IS a Holyday of Obligation this year. Calendars will say it is not, but the Holy See has abrogated the exception.

Masses for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, December 9 at St. Ann at 6:30 a.m. Sacred Heart at 7:30 a.m. Sacred Heart School Mass at 8:15 a.m. (access only through the school) St. Ann School Mass10:00 a.m. (limited access) St. Ann at 5:30 p.m. and Sacred Heart at 7:00 p.m. There will be no anticipatory Masses for the Immaculate Conception on Sunday evening!

Beacons of Light: Canonical and Legal Unification of Two Locations into one Parish

For about the last ten years, Sacred Heart and St. Ann have existed as two parishes in one Pastoral Region. About two years ago, the St. Ann / Sacred Heart Pastoral Region was designated by the Archbishop to no longer operate as a simple Pastoral Region, but as a “Family of Parishes” under the Beacons of Light initiative. Being designated as a Family of Parishes means that our destiny is to become one canonical “parish” in our case with two worship space (aka church) locations or campuses. Having consulted with the directors of Beacons as well as the Chancellor and Finance Office of the Archdiocese, it has been determined that St. Ann and Sacred Heart are now ready for canonical unification as one parish to be known by the name you the congregation picked. Under the law of the Catholic Church, individual parishes are called “juridic persons.” Thus our target is to canonically “merge” the juridic person named Saint Ann Church with the juridic person named Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. At 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2025, the two churches will be merged into one new parish known as the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church of Butler County. Both locations and schools will still operate as they have, but as of 12:00 a.m. July 1, 2025 the two will be known as the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, St. Ann Campus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Sacred Heart Campus. In that one minute, two parishes will cease to legally exist as two separate juridic persons; and one new parish will be constituted as the accumulation of the assets and territories of both.

It is very important to note that this is not the END of Beacons of Light initiative but rather the “end of the beginning of one new parish born of the two. After the merge, both congregations (now one) will begin to work for the fulfillment of the goal to become an evangelical tool and not just the maintenance of what once was! Therefore, this is not the end of Beacons, but rather the Beginning of the evangelical community known as the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a parish of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

I hope to have two “question and answer” meetings (one at St. Ann and one at Sacred Heart) to explain all aspects of this during the months of December and January. With the approval of our combined Pastoral (parish) Council and combined Finance Council the matter will be recommended to the Archbishop by the Finance Council of the Archdiocese and the College of Consulters of the Archdiocese. This will give the Archdiocese the necessary time for all the changes of name and issuance of new identification numbers. The end of the beginning stages of Beacons will trigger as of July 1, 2025. Remember however that this is simply the end of the beginning process. The work of becoming an evangelical parish (not a maintenance parish) will only have begun.

Archdiocese discontinues any partnership with GSUSA

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

John the Baptist is the last and greatest prophet. Why? He announces the truth of the “Incarnation.” All prophets are charged with putting forth the truth. John announces that the “Truth” is Emmanuel. But in addition to his pinnacle role in salvation history, John the Baptist also reveals that the prophet must be ready to pay a high personal price for speaking the truth. We often consider persecutions of the faithful as being confined to history. Sadly, the reality is the opposite in our contemporary world. John pointed to Jesus as the messiah. Are we willing to conform our hearts to the way of Jesus so as to confront the evils in our world? Do we have the courage of John the Baptist? If you give yourself to the message of Jesus, it may cost you your head; but you will save your soul.

NEXT SUNDAY Third Sunday of Advent

Zep 3:14-18a

Phil 4:4-7

Lk 3:10-18

Theme : Rejoice

December 1, 2024 - First Sunday of Advent

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 15:59:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Second Sunday of Advent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

dvent

For the first part of Advent we focus on the Second Coming of Christ. Around December 17 we change our focus to prepare for Christmas. The Advent wreath allows us to count the weeks until Christmas, but also gives us in the cyclical nature of time and eternity. Jesus is born into time so we can be invited to eternity. Don’t let the busyness of the pre-Christmas season dissuade you from the meditative nature of the Advent Season.

December 9 th IS a Holyday of Obligation!

Since Vatican II, the Conference of Catholic Bishops for each country or region has determined when the precept obligation for a Holyday could be rescinded because of proximity to another Sunday or Solemnity. This year the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (which is typically December 8) falls on a Sunday. Thus the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to December 9 for this year. The recent tradition of the Church has been to abrogate the obligation for a Monday Holyday, but the Holy See has informed us that because Monday, December 9 th is the Feast Day, and Mary’s Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast for the United States, the precept obligation remains for this year. Therefore, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, December 9 IS a Holyday of Obligation this year. Calendars will say it is not, but the Holy See has abrogated the exception.

CWA Dedication of New Members this coming Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Mass

The Sacred Heart of Jesus branch of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will hold the dedication and blessing of new members in conjunction with the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, December 8 at Sacred Heart. Since December 8 is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9! Although Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation, it is also a work day when the CWA members cannot get off from work. The CWA is a group especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, the CWA will lead a special traditionally African presentation of the Book of the Gospel, offertory procession, and prayer of the Magnificat after communion at the 11:00 a.m. precept Mass on December 8. They will also invite all who are present at the Mass to join us for celebration of food and fellowship in Fellowship Hall immediate after Mass.

The members of the CWA are an important part of Sacred Heart parish and the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; volunteering as Catechists, lectoring (reading) at Mass, assisting in evangelical work, and helping with hospitality. I suggest you mark your calendar to experience the Catholicity (Universality) of the Catholic Faith as our fellow parishioners show us some of the beauty and culture of the country of their origin.

Beacons of Light: Canonical and Legal Unification of Two Locations into one Parish

Archdiocese discontinues any partnership with GSUSA

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Remember I NEVER solicit funds, donations, favors, or any request of any kind over the telephone, text, email, carrier pigeon, drone, etc. NEVER ! Do not allow yourself to be taken in by scammers. Even if they have my recorded voice, be assured it is computer generated fake! It is not me!!!

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Advent is not just a season or time, it is a vigilant state of being. Until the Second Coming of Christ, we will be a vigilant people waiting in anticipation for the parousia. When we prepare for the starting gun for a race, the judge says “Get ready”….”Get set”…! Then the runners wait in anticipation for “Go!” As followers of Christ, the appearance of the Advent wreath should say, “Get ready!” The eschatological signs that are present in every age should tell us, “Get set!” And the scriptural announcement of Emmanuel should engage us in an evangelical marathon that ends with the Second Coming. Let us enjoy the season of anticipation.

NEXT SUNDAY Second Sunday of Advent

Bar 5:1-9

Phil 1:4-6, 8-11

Lk 3:1-6

Theme : John the Baptist

November 24, 2024 - Feast of Christ the King

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 15:55:00 GMT

Next Sunday: First Sunday of Advent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

First Sunday of Advent

Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year for the Catholic Church. For the past year on Sundays, we have been reading from Cycle B from the lectionary. As on December 1, we will now read from Cycle C. For the first part of Advent we focus on the Second Coming of Christ. Around December 17 we change our focus to prepare for Christmas. The Advent wreath allows us to count the weeks until Christmas, but also gives us in the cyclical nature of time and eternity. Jesus is born into time so we can be invited to eternity. Don’t let the busyness of the pre-Christmas season dissuade you from the meditative nature of the Advent Season.

December 9 ^th IS a Holyday of Obligation!

CWA Dedication of New Members

The Sacred Heart of Jesus branch of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will hold the dedication and blessing of new members in conjunction with the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, December 8 at Sacred Heart. The normative liturgical day for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8 each year. Since December 8 is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9! Although Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation, it is also a work day when the CWA members cannot get off from work. The CWA is a group especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, the CWA will lead a special traditionally African presentation of the Book of the Gospel, offertory procession, and prayer of the Magnificat after communion at the 11:00 a.m. precept Mass on December 8. They will also invite all who are present at the Mass to join us for celebration of food and fellowship in Fellowship Hall immediate after Mass.

Beacons of Light: Canonical and Legal Unification of Two Locations into one Parish

Last week, the combined Parish Council of the Immaculate Heart of Mary agreed that I (as pastor) should begin the process of consultation between the Archbishop and our two churches to culminate around July of 2025 in the legal and canonical merger of the two entities into one parish. I proposed two general (open to the public) meetings: one at St. Ann and the other at Sacred Heart. After full and open disclosure of all the aspects of a canonical “merger” I will arrange an opportunity for all registered parishioners of both parishes to register a vote. Be aware that the decision is NOT whether the two parishes should combine for the future! The decision to combine was already a “fait accompli” when the Beacons of Light “Family pairings” were announced two years ago. Rather, the decision at hand is not “IF” we should become one legal and canonical entity, but “WHEN?” I believe the benefits of moving ahead NOW vastly outweigh any reticence.

Why NOW? Why not wait? This reminds me of the question: “If you have Thanksgiving dinner prepared and on the table, is it time to wait or time to eat?

St. Ann and Sacred Heart have been working together for the past eleven years knowing that every “Family of Parishes” in the Archdiocese has a duty by decision or default to achieve unity on or before 2027. Both parishes are currently fiscally strong. No bigger fish is swallowing any smaller fish! Neither church (worship space) is large enough to accommodate the needs of all combined parishioners. With two well-kept worship spaces close together, we can meet and exceed worship space needs for the future without the unreasonable cost of new construction. Both schools are capable of filling a need for Catholic education in the future as semi-independent unique evangelical extensions of the one combined parish. We are postured for the long term future to be “One parish, with two complementary worship spaces, serving their respective communities with two unique and economically solvent schools.

So why should we not wait? Some of the parishes awaiting consolidation around us may be looking to ask the Archdiocese to cannibalize neighboring territories for their benefit. Once we pull the trigger and officially merge, we are assured we know the territory we serve for the long term future.

Also, there are many canonical procedures by which multiple parishes become one combined parish. Many of these call for the big fish to swallow the smaller fish. If this happens, some parishioners are sure to feel disenfranchised. This won’t happen if we merge now.

Finally, I am old! When I am replaced by one new priest / pastor, the new person may or may not value the equality practiced thus far in the merging of the two parishes. I have great affection and respect for both parish communities. A new guy comes in without my history of affection for both parishes. If the Beacons process is complete before I leave, the new guy simply comes to continue moving forward with what has already been decided.

The reality is this; ever since the Family pairings were announced two years ago, the destiny of St. Ann and Sacred were forever inexorably tied together. If St. Ann does not wish to complete the union with Sacred Heart, St. Ann is likely to be cannibalized by neighboring clusters of parishes and closed. If Sacred Heart does not wish to complete the union with St. Ann, it may be likely that Sacred Heart School could continue as an unaffiliated school for a short time, but the rest of the parish would likely be cannibalized and cease to exist. Both historic entities only live if we become one entity stronger than before. We cannot return to the past! It no longer exists. We have two strong but small parishes at present. Do we embrace the future together as one strong diverse community? Or do we both fade into history? The “Beacons Train” is coming down the tracks in front of us. Do we stand in front of the train unwilling to change? The result is certain; we will cease to exist. Or do we jump on to the train together and become one of the engineers driving the train?

On Thursday, October 24, 2024, five representatives of the Archdiocese met with me and my Key Directors to address the question of the final step of the Beacons process; that is the canonical and legal merging of St. Ann and Sacred Heart both in terms of Church Law and Civil Law into “One Parish in Two Locations” henceforth to be known as the “Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church” (the name you the parishioners chose by vote) located in southwestern Butler County. This would signal the completion of the Beacons of Light process and safeguard both locations (St. Ann and Sacred Heart) from consideration or threat of being swallowed up and closed by a larger consolidation of multiple parish conglomerates on all sides of us.

Remember that unification of St. Ann and Sacred Heart began with the two parishes being constituted as a Pastoral Region in July 2013. This essentially meant that the two parishes would share one priest pastor. This process had resulted from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Futures Project which had called for pastoral regions in 2006. In 2022, the Beacons of Light initiative recognized and formalized the affiliation of Sacred Heart and St. Ann into a “Family of Parishes.” However, even as a (two parish “Family of Parishes”), Church Law has us constituted as “two” legal trusteeships (see Manix v. Elder, Ohio Supreme Court 1888) and Two “Juridic Persons” the term used for the identity of a parish under Church Canon Law.

The culmination of the Beacons of Light process would be for both present trusteeships (Sacred Heart and St. Ann) to “merge” or be transformed into one new parish in two locations. In Church law and legal designation Sacred Heart and St. Ann would both cease to exist at 11:59:59 p.m. on June 30, 2025 and one second later at 12:00:01 on July 1, 2025 both would emerge fully intact as one new parish with two locations called Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and Schools: St. Ann Campus and Sacred Heart Campus. The two parochial schools will do business as Sacred Heart School and St. Ann School, both under the parochial umbrella of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and Schools. We become one parish, operating in two locations, with two Worship Spaces (Church Buildings), and two separate schools, one positioned at each physical location. Autonomy of name is forfeited in favor of unification of economy. No building is closed. No real estate is lost. The Mass schedule remains the same. In practicality the average parishioner will notice little change from the present. The difference is that both deeds will read: “Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr and his successors in Office, Title, and Trust, as Archbishop of Cincinnati, as Trustee for the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” The properties and buildings remain the same. Only the official name of the successor parish entity will change.

On a personal note; I realize that all change is hard! But it is also unequivocally true that change is inevitable. I am not trying to play the hero, but both Sacred Heart and St. Ann are SO BLESSED to have survived the necessary diminution of locations and buildings called for by the Beacons of Light initiative. Every Catholic diocese and archdiocese is facing the realities of dwindling Sunday Mass attendance, dramatic change in numbers of priests available to each diocese, and the resulting conclusion that we have a shortage of priests coupled with an over-abundance of buildings. These buildings are now located in areas where (because of changing demographics) the buildings are not located in the places where they are needed. The solution is less property exposure and more ministerial efficiency. This means some parishes will be consolidated and their real estate sold. In our case, because St. Ann and Sacred Heart both have church (worship space) buildings too small to accommodate their current and potential congregations, we cannot afford to eliminate either church building. Thanks in part to Ed Choice, both school locations have a bright future. We are so blessed that the utilization of both worship spaces gives our combined congregations the economy of scale to satisfy our utilization needs for the long term future. Nothing needs to be sold. Nothing needs to be built.

I believe that it is the intervention of the hand of God that has given us this enviable situation. Most of the parishes involved in Beacons would pray to be in our situation. Neither St. Ann nor Sacred Heart are big enough to be a “stand alone.” Without the relationship with Sacred Heart, St. Ann would be closed. Without the relationship with St. Ann, Sacred Heart would be divided up and consolidated into one or more of the larger Catholic Churches surrounding us. Sacred Heart is too small to be a stand-alone parish. The only reason we are in this enviable place is that together both congregations are survivable. Like the cat and the small dog who combine forces to protect each other, without the two of us working as one, we are both destine to be the coyote’s next meal. Together we can compete and survive. Most parishes throughout the archdiocese involved in the Beacons process would pray for the position we are in! God has placed us in a position where neither congregation loses anything, and everyone from both parishes wins.

Before we complete this unification process, the Archbishop wishes to hear the consultation of each congregation. I plan on having a “town Hall” style meeting at both worship spaces followed in January with a combined “vote” of registered active parishioners and parishioner families. Once the Archbishop has received the consultation response from the combined Parish Council and Finance Committee.

Archdiocese discontinues any partnership with GSUSA

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

What stands firm in the midst of the earthquake? Buildings will fall into ruin. Solid rock foundations will be tossed about like ping pong balls. The sea may at once recede and then emerge to suffocate the land. Nothing is secure!

What stands firm in the calamity of the eschaton? All matter ceases. All time ceases! Only Jesus endures. Put your faith in him.

NEXT SUNDAY First Sunday of Advent

Jer 33:14-16

1 Thes3:12--4:2

Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Theme : Be vigilant!

November 17, 2024 - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:28:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Feast of our Lord Christ the King Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light: Canonical and Legal Unification of Two Locations into one Parish

Why NOW? Why not wait? This reminds me of the question: “If you have Thanksgiving dinner prepared and on the table, is it time to wait or time to eat?

Archdiocese discontinues any partnership with GSUSA

Looking Ahead….December 9 ^th IS a Holyday of Obligation!

Guest Celebrant at 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 16, 2024

Father David Endres is one of the priests who hails from Sacred Heart. He was ordained in 2009 and celebrated his first Mass here at Sacred Heart. He is Dean of Mt. St. Mary Seminary and Director of Priests Personnel for the Archdiocese. He will celebrate the 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 16 celebrating a family anniversary.

Announcing “Together Sunday”

Archbishop Schnurr is asking each Family of Parishes to participate in “Together Sunday” this year on the Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, November 24. Since the 1970s, the national trend of attending Sunday services only sporadically or not at all has become an epidemic. As a Catholic, one of the five precepts of the Church is attendance at Mass on Sunday and Holydays. How can we say we are part of the Body of Christ if we are not fed by the Body and Blood of Christ at the Eucharist? The more who come together through the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, the greater the presence of Christ radiates through us into a needy world. Thus, we are asking those who attend regularly to reach out with a personal invitation to friends and neighbors to join them at St. Ann or Sacred Heart on the Feast of Christ the King. Sometimes, all it takes is a personal invitation to find our strength in the community in which Christ is present to us in the Most Holy Eucharist.

CWA Dedication of New Members

The Sacred Heart of Jesus branch of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will hold the dedication and blessing of new members in conjunction with the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, December 8 at Sacred Heart. The normative liturgical day for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8 each year. Since December 8 is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9! Although Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation, it is also a work day when the CWA members cannot get off from work. The CWA is a group especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, the CWA will lead a special traditionally African presentation of the Book of the Gospel, offertory procession, and prayer of the Magnificat after communion at the 11:00 a.m. precept Mass on December 8. They will also invite all who are present at the Mass to join us for celebration of food and fellowship in Fellowship Hall immediate after Mass.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

What stands firm in the calamity of the eschaton? All matter ceases. All time ceases! Only Jesus endures. Put your faith in him.

NEXT SUNDAY - Feast of Christ the King (Together Sunday)

Dn 7:13-14

Rev 1:5-8

Jn 18:33b-37

Theme : The Alpha and the Omega!

November 10, 2024 - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:27:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

This is a reprint of the article from last week

Beacons of Light: Canonical and Legal Unification of Two Locations into one Parish

Archdiocese discontinues any partnership with GSUSA

Looking Ahead….December 9 ^th IS a Holyday of Obligation!

Guest Celebrant at 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 16, 2024

Announcing “Together Sunday”

CWA Dedication of New Members

The Sacred Heart of Jesus branch of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will hold the dedication and blessing of new members in conjunction with the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, December 8 at Sacred Heart. The normative liturgical day for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8 each year. Since December 8 is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9! Although Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation, it is also a work day when the CWA members cannot get off from work. The CWA is a group especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, the CWA will lead a special traditionally African presentation of the Book of the Gospel, offertory procession, and prayer of the Magnificat after communion at the 11:00 a.m. precept Mass on December 8. They will also invite all who are present at the Mass to join us for celebration of food and fellowship in Fellowship Hall immediate after Mass.

Reflection on Scripture:

The significance of every gift is relative to the need of the recipient and the capacity of the donor. Now to be clear, I do not mean the phrase borrowed by Marx: “from each according to his ability to each according to his need. “ Communism adamantly denies the existence of God. This concept however borrowed from the Acts of the Apostles is talking about “charity” not the State mandated requisition of all property. Charity demands that we see Christ in the other person.

The story in 1 Kings “the story of the widow of Zarephath” together with Mark’s rendition of the story of the “widow’s mite,” indicates that God requires the virtue of charity in one who wishes to please him. It must be an essential disposition of the Christian heart. You cannot despise what God made!

NEXT SUNDAY - Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dn 12:1-3

Heb 10:11-14, 18

Mk 13:24-32

Theme : Eschatology

November 3, 2024 - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:26:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light: Canonical and Legal Unification of Two Locations into one Parish

Looking Ahead….December 9 ^th IS a Holyday of Obligation!

Guest Celebrant at 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 16, 2024

Announcing “Together Sunday”

CWA Dedication of New Members

The Sacred Heart of Jesus branch of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will hold the dedication and blessing of new members in conjunction with the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, December 8 at Sacred Heart. The normative liturgical day for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8 each year. Since December 8 is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9! Although Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation, it is also a work day when the CWA members cannot get off from work. The CWA is a group especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, the CWA will lead a special traditionally African presentation of the Book of the Gospel, offertory procession, and prayer of the Magnificat after communion at the 11:00 a.m. precept Mass on December 8. They will also invite all who are present at the Mass to join us for celebration of food and fellowship in Fellowship Hall immediate after Mass.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

If you believe in the prayer called the Shema and you understand the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus says you are not far from understanding the sum total of his teachings. Jesus is telling the scribe to whom he is speaking, “You got it!” If you love God and recognize that caring for your neighbor (every other human being in the world) is the best way to show your love for God, then “Eureka, you got it.” It is like positioning an evergreen tree in your front room. Once you have the tree, everything else is decoration! Once you understand that love of God and love of neighbor are two aspects of the same reality, then the rest is simple.

The profundity of God and the complexity of loving neighbor as yourself, muddy the waters. But if you wade through the contingencies of every scenario, the rational conclusion is the same. St. Thomas Aquinas instructs all moral theology in the phrase, “Do good and avoid evil.” Articulating it is simple. Living it is complicated.

NEXT SUNDAY Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 17:10-16

Heb 9:24-28

Mk 12:38-44

Theme : The widow’s mite

October 27, 2024 - 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:13:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Friday, November 1 IS a Holyday of Obligation

Masses for the Holyday: Feast of All Saints

St. Ann : Anticipatory Mass on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Friday, All Saints: 6:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. (School Mass) (Adults must enter five minutes early through south side door. During Mass all doors are locked)

Sacred Heart : Anticipatory Mass on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Friday, All Saints: 7:30 a.m. 8:15 (School Mass) (Guests at this Mass must enter through school main entrance)

7:00 p.m.

Remembrance of Funerals throughout the past year…..

At St. Ann, the All Souls remembrance of funerals this past year entails the reading of the names and the lighting of a votive candle at each Mass. Families of recent deceased will pick the Mas at which their loved one’s name is read.

At Sacred Heart, the All Souls remembrance of funerals during the past year, names are read at a special Mass on Sunday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m.

Looking Ahead….December 9 ^th IS a Holyday of Obligation!

Announcing “Together Sunday”

Guest Celebrant at 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 16, 2024

CWA Dedication of New Members

The Sacred Heart of Jesus branch of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will hold the dedication and blessing of new members in conjunction with the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, December 8 at Sacred Heart. The normative liturgical day for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8 each year. Since December 8 is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9! Although Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation, it is also a work day when the CWA members cannot get off from work. The CWA is a group especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, the CWA will lead a special traditionally African presentation of the Book of the Gospel, offertory procession, and prayer of the Magnificat after communion at the 11:00 a.m. precept Mass on December 8. They will also invite all who are present at the Mass to join us for celebration of food and fellowship in Fellowship Hall immediate after Mass.

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

The next step in the Beacons process is to identify and lift up the various cultural adaptations that have evolved in each unique parish and determine how these can be incorporated into and maintained for the combined “Family of Parishes.” In meeting with the combined Parish Council, it seems that both St. Ann and Sacred Heart have combined cultural aspects unique to each so they are available to both. The four directors, two principals and certain volunteer coordinators have been invited to the Archdiocese to consider the timing of official canonical consolidation into the Parish Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; one parish with two worship locations and two semi-independent parish schools. As two parish communities becoming one parish in two communities, we do not want to lose the uniqueness of either while we become an even more powerful Catholic evangelical force in the future of the south Butler County region. More to come.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) begs Jesus that he might see! Jesus restores his sight by performing a miracle. By giving him faith, Jesus restores hope. Hope is that virtue by which we hear the voice of Jesus assuring us that he has our back. Hope is not envisioning the probability of a set of circumstances. Secular society calls that a “wish.” Hope is that optimistic perspective that says, “I have optimism because I believe in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit!” If God is in charge; then hope springs eternal.

In today’s readings, Jeremiah says there is hope for Israel because we know the love and providence of God. The Letter to the Hebrews says we have hope because Jesus is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. In Mark’s gospel, the return of eyesight to Bartimaeus fulfills his hope. Eternal optimism is the gift fulfilled in Jesis Christ.

A godless society or culture is without hope. The old bumper sticker is correct. No god No hope!

NEXT SUNDAY Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dt 6:2-6

Heb 7:23-28

Mk 12:28b-34

Theme : Love God and Neighbor

October 20, 2024 - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:12:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Announcing “Together Sunday”

Traditional African Cultural Mass

The Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will sponsor a traditional African Cultural Mass at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 20 ( TODAY ) at Sacred Heart Church. Even if you are not of African heritage, it is a prayerful experience of the unity in diversity of the Body of Christ. All are welcome.

Guest Celebrant at 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 16, 2024

CWA Dedication of New Members

The Sacred Heart of Jesus branch of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will hold the dedication and blessing of new members in conjunction with the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, December 8 at Sacred Heart. The normative liturgical day for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8 each year. Since December 8 is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9! However, Monday is not a Holy Day of Obligation. The CWA is a group especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, the CWA will lead a special traditionally African presentation of the Book of the Gospel, offertory procession, and prayer of the Magnificat after communion at the 11:00 a.m. precept Mass on December 8. They will also invite all who are present at the Mass to join us for celebration of food and fellowship in Fellowship Hall immediate after Mass.

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The lowliest servant by the sweat of his brow gives the greatest honor and glory to God. Service to others defines our love for God. In the first reading from Isaiah we hear one of the four “suffering servant songs.” Isaiah says that the messiah will be willing to suffer for the benefit of his people. In Hebrews, the author says that Jesus the High Priest sympathizes with his people. He feels what we feel. Mark makes the point in the story of the request of James and John that Jesus is not your drill sergeant (to use a military analogy) but rather that “Jesus has your back.” Jesus is so loyal to us that he will sacrifice himself for our sake. But the challenge is to remember that “selfless service” means “sacrifice of self.” I have to love every human being more than my own self. Our psychological self-defense mechanism enables us to sacrifice for someone we care about. Jesus says that to follow him, you have to care that way about everybody.

So how do we show loyalty to God? Not by status, but by service! In business, loyalty is not about your cost center turning the highest profit. Rather, it is the employee whose loyalty is evidenced by giving the extra effort without expectation of return. Jesus is telling us to invest ourselves in charity because we recognize God’s presence in the other. Loyalty to the poor shows a wealth of virtue.

Which would you prefer: to be loved by God, or to be esteemed by men. God loves to see his goodness reflected back to him. Charity even to the undeserving is the surest way to show loyalty to God.

NEXT SUNDAY: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jer 31:7-9

Heb 5:1-6

Mk 10:46-52

Theme : Sight is a gift of nature. Insight is a gift from God.

October 14, 2024 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:11:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Announcing “Together Sunday”

Archbishop Schnurr is asking each Family of Parishes to participate in “Together Sunday” this year on the Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, November 24. Since the 1970s, the national trend of attending Sunday services only sporadically or not at all has become an epidemic. As a Catholic, one of the five precepts of the Church is attendance at Mass on Sunday and Holydays. How can we say we are part of the Body of Christ if we are not fed by the Body and Blood of Christ at the Eucharist? The more who come together through the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, the greater the presence of Christ radiates through us into a needy world. Thus, we are asking those who attend regularly to reach out with a personal invitation to friends and neighbors to join them at St. Ann or Sacred Heart on the Feast of Christ the King. Sometimes all it takes is a personal invitation to find our strength in the community in which Christ is present to us in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Traditional African Cultural Mass

The Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will sponsor a traditional African Cultural Mass at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 20 at Sacred Heart Church. Even if you are not of African heritage, it is a prayerful experience of the unity in diversity of the Body of Christ.

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

What is “wisdom?” Is it the ability to conceive abstract thought? You won’t find wisdom on the periodic table of elements contained in your old high school chemistry book. Is wisdom a product of longevity or the accumulation of experiences? In the Old Testament wisdom and prudence are applauded as prophetic gifts from God. In the New Testament, wisdom seems to be thinking like Jesus; following your mind and your heart. In the Letter to the Hebrews, it is suggested that it is the interaction of heart and mind that allows us to see the truth. The two allow us to see the truth and feel the truth. And in the end, we call this “conscience.”

Our conscience can never take its origin purely from emotion. It can never be flippant or purely arbitrary. It must be based in fact (data), not suspicion of innuendo. But although conscience must be practical, it must also be livable. We are not pre-programmed robots. We experience life through our intellect and our feelings. The amalgamation of the two creates an abstract concept of God’s justice and love.

So learn about your faith and experience life in Christ-like compassion. Intellect and God’s love combine in our hearts to form Wisdom. It may not appear on the periodic table. It may not have an atomic weight; but it is very real and essential to our humanity. “Get real! Live your life in Jesus Christ.” Let the Holy Spirit fill your head and your heart and you will never be

NEXT SUNDAY Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 53:10-11

Heb 4:14--16

Mk 10:35-45

Theme : Humility

October 6, 2024 - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:10:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Rosary Coast to Coast

Immaculate Heart of Mary Family (Sacred Heart and St. Ann) will participate in the “Rosary Coast to Coast” in honor of Respect Life Sunday October 6, 2024. The Rosary Altar Society of St. Ann is sponsoring this service and will lead the Rosary at St. Ann Church starting at 3:00 p.m. The prayer of the rosary will be followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and special prayers appropriate for Respect Life Sunday. All are welcome to participate in this prayer supporting the value of Human Life from conception to natural death. Catholics in the military often point to their rosary as their most powerful weapon. Let us use the weapon of prayer to stand up for the sanctity of human life.

St. Francis Blessing of Pets by Appointment

Friday, October 9th was the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, known as the patron saint of animals and pets. Because today is Respect Life Sunday, there is no reasonable time for the gathering for a blessing this Sunday, and with a large group expected for group baptisms next Sunday, and the African Mass the following Sunday, there is no convenient time to do the group outdoor blessing this year. If anyone is interested in receive g the St. Francis blessing for their pet, simply contact me by email or telephone and I will set up a time for an individual blessing. I will be happy to do this for your pet(s) upon request, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

Traditional African Cultural Mass

Announcing “Together Sunday”

Archbishop Schnurr is asking each Family of Parishes to participate in “Together Sunday” this year on the Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, November 24. Since the 1970s, the national trend of attending Sunday services only sporadically or not at all has become an epidemic. As a Catholic, one of the five precepts of the Church is attendance at Mass on Sunday and Holydays. How can we say we are part of the Body of Christ if we are not fed by the Body and Blood of Christ at the Eucharist? The more who come together through the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, the greater the presence of Christ radiates through us into a needy world. Thus, we are asking those who attend regularly to reach out with a personal invitation to friends and neighbors to join them at St. Ann or Sacred Heart on the Feast of Christ the King. Sometimes all it takes is a personal invitation to find our strength in the community in which Christ is present to us in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Ever tried to play ping pong with one paddle? It only works when you have two paddles to bounce the ball back and forth over the net. Ever tried to see the myriad of visible colors in sunlight without a prism or at least water droplets? The visible tones only appear to our eyes when the colors of sunlight separate by wavelength in the prism effect. You need two or more sources to make something unique. In procreation, God makes us male and female so we can evolve. If every plant and animal was simply the clone of the old one, there would be perpetuation but with no advancement. The two become one and create an entirely new variation. This is how humanity evolves and flourishes.

The glass prism must have uneven edges so the different wavelengths of light can separate. The difference of the two or more sources becomes creative. In these analogous examples, God shows us through the mirror of Natural Law that the interaction is dynamic. The contemporary hedonist tells us “gender is a toy for entertainment.” The scientist tells us “gender (because of the “y” chromosome) is the dynamic element of evolution.” The Taoist tells us that gender is “the yin and the yang.” God tells us that “the two become one and create entirely new souls in a family.” Natural Law tells us that gender is not a “toy” but a creative “tool” bestowed on humanity so that we can participate with God in the creation of souls. This is what we mean when we talk about the “sanctity of human life.”

NEXT SUNDAY Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wis 7:7-11

Heb 4:12-13

Mk 10:17-30

Theme : Wisdom makes us free; not entangled!

September 29, 2024 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:08:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Announcing “Together Sunday”

It is no secret that the percentage of Christians in the United States attending weekly Sunday Services at their church has sharply declined in the past fifty years. Fifty years ago about fifty (50%) percent of the U.S. population attended church weekly. Now the figure is about thirty (30%) percent and dropping. For Catholics this is especially troubling as the “first precept” taught by the Catholic Church is attendance at Sunday and Holy Day Mass. In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Sunday Mass attendance is down thirty (38%) percent over the past fifteen years.

I only have twelve years of data for St. Ann, but at Sacred Heart when I arrived in 2006 we saw a modest increase for two years, which plateaued at 1834 per Sunday in 2008. We dropped slightly in the intervening ten years, but with the COVID epidemic in 2019 and 2020, we dropped below one thousand per weekend. Only now are we averaging about one thousand again. This represents about a forty five (45%) percent drop over the past fifteen years.

Part of the reason for this national trend of reduced attendance among all Christian denominations is the secularization of American Society since the 1960s. Although it is tempting to digress from this discussion to speculating about the reasons and causes for the decline; for our purposes here it is safe to say that there are many reasons and contributing factors involved in the analysis. Regardless of the reasons, the reality is that fewer people are attending church!

Archbishop Schnurr is asking each Family of Parishes to participate in “Together Sunday” this year on the Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, November 24. If you build a suspension bridge, each of the cables is made of many small wires. Each wire making up the cable is weak, but wound together into a cable, the strength of the cable as a whole increases seemingly exponentially. The same is true with the Body of Christ. The more who come together through the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, the greater the presence of Christ radiates through us into a needy world. Sometimes all it takes is a personal invitation to find our strength in the community in which Christ is present to us in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Scandal can influence people to despair. Scandal plants the seeds of doubt causing others to see evil in good, weakness in strength, and sorrow in midst of joy! Invoking scandal is the “oldest trick in the book” when it comes to ruining enthusiasm for the truth. It may be real or contrived, but even the implication of scandal can ruin any perception.

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that we must never diminish innocent faith by introducing scandal. The destiny of one who scandalizes the innocent is a fate worse than confinement in the basement of hell. Deliberately killing faith in another is a double slap to the face of God. It is a vicious attack against God and the damage is often permanent.

But as followers of Christ, we must not only avoid causing scandal (even inadvertently) but we must shield ourselves against the risk of being scandalized. We must put on the armor of faith in Jesus Christ. If we are impervious to scandal, our good example will assure others that the purveyor of the scandal is a parasite without a soul, and its lie falls on deaf ears. Look how Jesus turned the scandal of the cross into the most beautiful image of love and forgiveness ever known to humanity.

NEXT SUNDAY Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gn 2:18-24

Heb 2:9-11

Mk 10:2-16

Theme : Respect Life Sunday

September 22, 2024 - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 13:05:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

RCIA is now OCIA: Starts September 25

The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults is now called the “Order” of Christian Initiation for Adults. For the past thirty-six years I have brought people through the RCIA so that they could be baptized, received, and confirmed at the Easter Vigil. It was instructional and liturgical. In its new form as the OCIA it seeks to be “formational.” The new approach is to make the OCIA a journey of faith that touches both the mind and the heart. We have a team of lay volunteers who will take over the OCIA program under the direction of our Director of Evangelization. The first meeting is on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in RH 2&3 in the basement of Sacred Heart. Dress is casual. If you know someone interested in becoming Catholic, come check it out.

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Humility is the most important virtue for a follower of Christ. Before you can begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, you must acknowledge that you cannot save yourself; that we all are sinners. You have to admit you are a sinner before you can accept a savior. This act of humility is necessary as prelude to accepting Jesus as savior. Jesus can only invite you to accept salvation if in humility you have admitted to being a sinner. Jesus challenges us to admit we are all in the same lifeboat adrift in a sea of confusion. Only Jesus can make sense out of a chaotic world. Jesus is the only savior and Lord. Jesus is the only answer to all the questions of the world.

NEXT SUNDAY: Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Nm 11:25-29

Jas 5:1-6

Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Theme : It would be better to die than to cause scandal in the Body of Christ

September 15, 2024 - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 09:48:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

The next step in the Beacons process is to identify and lift up the various cultural adaptations that have evolved in each unique parish and determine how these can be incorporated into and maintained for the combined “Family of Parishes.” In meeting with the combined Parish Council, it seems that both St. Ann and Sacred Heart have combined cultural aspect unique to each so they are available to both. The four directors, two principals and certain volunteer coordinators have been invited to the Archdiocese to consider the timing of official canonical consolidation into the Parish Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; one parish with two worship locations and two semi-independent parish schools. As two parish communities becoming one parish in two communities, we do not want to lose the uniqueness of either while we become an even more powerful Catholic evangelical force in the future of the south Butler County region. More to come.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Caesarea Philippi was a truly secular city. It had devoted followers of polytheistic religions of the times as well as Jews living in a very religiously diverse city. Herod’s son Phillip named it in honor of Caesar Augustus but then distinguished it from other city’s named for him by adding his own name. Jesus reveals that he is the “hypostatic union” in a city that won’t raise an eyebrow to such a situation. Saying the truth in Jerusalem could cause you to be executed. Jesus did not choose this city for its “free thinking.” Jesus wanted to gently reveal what no self-respecting Jew could ever think; namely that Jesus Christ is fully diving and fully human. To speak the very words seem like heresy. It requires a whole new way of thinking.

We have many today who flatter themselves as being “thought police.” They know what you should think and you are not to speak a contrary opinion lest you be cancelled or ridiculed. Jesus challenges the limitations of reason by revealing the Incarnation.

NEXT SUNDAY: Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wis 2:12, 17-20

Jas 3:16—4:3

Mk 9:30-37

Theme : Humility

September 8, 2024 - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 09:47:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

I offer apology that this article may not be as up to date as usual. The deadline for copy to the printers is eleven days prior the published Sunday.

Demolition of the Old Convent at St. Ann

Before the old rectory at St. Ann was renovated into the parish office building, the parish offices were housed in the old parish convent. The decision to move the parish offices to the renovated space in the rectory building was necessitated by the failure of the heating system in the convent. The hot water system functioned with pipes running through the walls of the convent to convectors. Virtually all the piping had deteriorated and was leaking inside the walls. Only about 33% of the building was used for offices. Another 33% are storage garages dedicated to parish maintenance storage as well as festival storage. The final 33% is the second floor of the convent consisting of multiple small nun cells (bedrooms each the size of a closet) with a bathroom in-between. This was the sleeping area for the religious sisters. It has been abandoned and unlivable since the nuns left teaching at St. Ann. To replace all the piping and install a new hot water boiler would cost around three quarters of a million dollars. The windows are all non-functional with sever leaks. The roof would have had to be replaced for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The electrical system was antiquated. Much of the plumbing is non-functional. A forced air system could not be used as there is no ducting. By analogy, the convent was like paying maintenance for a ten foot bed ton and a half truck when all you needed was a two seat economy car to commute to work.

We examined the possibility of renting the building to an eleemosynary group, but the best scenario rent versus maintenance numbers showed the rent would be less than half the projected cost of maintenance. As my property manager at the Archdiocese used to tell me, “Buildings eat while they sleep.” The problem is that the parish has been paying the cost to feed it, or said another way has been deferring maintenance, that is failing to feed it as it was starving to death.

The Archdiocese is self-insured for property and casualty. The Archdiocese buys essentially high deductible reinsurance as a stop-loss measure. As these reinsurers see abandoned buildings like the old convent on their list of our assets, St. Ann became less of a good risk. Thus, about a year ago, the Archdiocese offered to pay St. Ann the cost of demolition in order to eliminate the risk. Parish Council has approved every step of the process. The City of Hamilton has now issued the proper permits. Demolition is scheduled to begin the day after Labor Day. It should be completed in or around six weeks. Please bear with us through the inconvenience.

Please remember that for St. Ann as a partner with Sacred Heart in the new parish family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, this removal of an unused abandoned building makes the St. Ann campus far more efficient. The fact that the Archdiocese is willing to pay the bill to make our operation more efficient tells me that the experts foresee a bright future for both the St. Ann and Sacred Heart campuses as we move to complete the Beacons of Light process and form one parish in two locations. I know it sounds simplistic, but it is a “win…win for everybody.”

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Today’s gospel tells the delightful story of Jesus healing the deaf man. But what teaching can be derived from the story? As is always the case, Jesus is not showing off when he performs the miracle. Jesus is showing us what the first reading implies, namely that if we see with the eyes of faith; we have vision. If we hear with ears atoned to faith in Jesus, we understand truth. Like a child staring through binoculars given to him by his father; God gives us the power to comprehend eternity. And we find eternity in Jesus Christ.

But remember that our vested interests may cloud the lens. Thus, we must surrender to God’s gift of faith to clear the fog of self-interest from our vision. Clarity happens when we abandon personal convenience in favor of accepting God’s way. Otherwise, we are using God’s gift of vision in a way that resembles looking through the binoculars backwards. The secular world may encourage us to look through the binoculars of faith backwards! They say, “It’s fun!” Their reversal of God’s view makes Heaven look far….far away.

NEXT SUNDAY Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 50:4c-9a

Jas 2:14-18

Mk 8:27-35

Theme : Can a human really think as God thinks?

September 1, 2024 - 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:32:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Labor Day

Monday, September 2, 2024 is Labor Day. The parish office at St. Ann and the parish office at Sacred Heart will be closed. Morning Mass at Sacred Heart will be at 7:30 a.m. as usual. There will be NO 6:30 a.m. Mass at St. Ann! Mass at St. Ann will be 9:00 a.m. as per the usual holiday schedule.

Demolition of the Old Convent at St. Ann

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

It is not the ritual….it is what the ritual produces that counts. In the Book of Deuteronomy, there are 613 commandments of the Jewish law. Many of these laws are dietary ritual or custom. Today, we would call many of these laws “rules for safe food preparation.” Obedience to the law symbolized worship. But following the law must mean more than empty ritual. It must be a sign of submission to the lawgiver.

In today’s gospel, the Pharisees are worried about cleaning and sanitary procedures for cleaning dishes and washing our hands before a meal. Jesus says that they are missing the point. Sanitizing utensils leads to good physical health. Purging ourselves of selfish sin leads to good spiritual health. Jesus is not interested in rules of etiquette, or even sanitization rules to prevent the spread of disease. Jesus is concerned about purging sin from their lives. Sin robs the soul of life. Remember why you do what you do. Then ritual becomes spiritual precaution. Precaution has a purpose. Remember the purpose and you will see things as God prescribes.

NEXT SUNDAY Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 35:4-7a

Jas 2:1-5

Mk 7:31-37

Theme : Jesus heals the deaf man.

August 25, 2024 - 21st Sunday in Ordinary TIme

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 09:10:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Heads-Up!

Beacons of Light: Phase Three: “Culture”

In early September, I hope to present to the combined Parish Council the final draft of the Immaculate Heart of Mary “vision” statement. We will then present it to the entire congregation for comment, and then officially to the Archdiocese.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” These words from Joshua are often quoted as a family motto, and sometimes displayed over the front door of a family home. The words are especially appropriate in today’s homogenized religious environment. It is fashionable today to say that you don’t affiliate with any organized religious group, or that you are a generalist and feel comfortable with all religions. Faith by default is not real faith in Jesus Christ. He either “is” your Lord and savior or he is relegated to unimportance as “anomalous religious clutter.”

Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." By these words, Peter speaks the truth. Jesus Christ is the one and only way to salvation. In quantum physics, we must accommodate “probability” as being as close to truth as we can achieve. Science is empirical. It is constructed by reason, but is still only empirical evidence. Faith on the other hand comes directly from God. It is a gift that comes only from God. Divine Truth is not accumulated or quantified. It simply is! Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. Jesus is the truth. He simply is!

NEXT SUNDAY - Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dt 4:1-2, 6-8

Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Theme : It’s not what you eat that makes you good or bad. Good or bad comes forth from what you are.

August 18, 2024 - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 11:07:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Sacred Heart Parish Festival 2024

Sincere thanks to our festival co-chairs Craig Breetz and Tim Jung, all the
Festival Committee members, and all the volunteers and workers from set-up to take-down at our Parish Festival last weekend. At present (with unaudited numbers) we are cautiously optimistic that this year’s “gross” proceeds may exceed all previous years. Remember however that we will not know the “net” proceeds for months until all outstanding bills are paid. It is like hearing the crack of the bat in the hands of the team’s best slugger. It sounds like the proceeds are going to be spectacular, but it is still a bit too early to be sure. More certain numbers will be available very soon.

African Cultural Mass

Four times per year, the African Community at Sacred Heart and St. Ann, sponsored by the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon present a traditional culturally African Mass at Sacred Heart. This cultural African Mass will take place at Sacred Heart at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (today), August 18, 2024. Anyone and everyone, parishioner, guest, or interested worshipper is welcome. If you have never experienced a culturally African Mass, you will be enriched.

Monitors for Deaf and Hearing Impaired at Sacred Heart

Reprint from last week’s bulletin.

When the sound system had to be rewired at Sacred Heart about a year ago, combined Parish Council considered and approved a proposal to allow for two monitors that would translate every word said over the PA in church into closed caption script displayed on the monitors. Recently the two monitors were installed in the front of church.
After discussion with the Archdiocese, this form of assistance to the deaf and hearing impaired was chosen because it enables both the person who is totally without hearing as well as the person with mild hearing impairment (these usually are people who do not understand American sign language) to be able to understand the homily and even the words to the music.

Subsequent to the installation of the two monitors, I received both compliments and complaints. A few of the complaints were offered quite passionately, as were some of the accolades. Given the dramatic disparity of opinions, I felt it best to survey the opinions of the congregation. Thus, last week we conducted a written survey at all three precept Masses. The first option, namely utilizing this at all precept Masses garnered 76% of the vote. The second option of keeping the system but utilizing it at one or more Masses of the Sunday schedule garnered 12%. The third option which was to remove the monitors completely garnered 12%. Although a clear majority chose to employ the system at every precept Mass, 24 % wanted some limitations or complete elimination.

Since the Mass is divided into two parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (pre-Vatican II called the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful) Melody and I have pondered a possible compromise of turning on the verbatim display only for the Opening Prayer, Sacred Scripture, Homily, and General Intercessions (petitions). It could remain off from the offertory until the after Communion, but reactivated only for the closing prayer, final announcements, and final blessing. It would be activated for the Liturgy of the Word for those with special auditory and perceptional needs and then turned off for the Canon of the Mass and Holy Communion. It would not be used for the words of the songs, but we will put back the hymn board and utilize the hymnals for this. This compromise is an attempt to take into account many of the suggestions offered by the numerous comments written in on the ballots.

Remember, we suggest doing this for a few weeks as a trial! Nothing is carved in stone. I am trying to maintain the benefit of the verbatim display to the hearing and perceptional impaired, while eliminating the possible distraction during the most solemn and profound part of the Mass. Let’s try it and see if this modification is beneficial to those with various opinions.

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

In early September, I hope to present to the combined Parish Council the final draft of the Immaculate Heart of Mary vision statement. We will then present it to the entire congregation for comment, and then officially to the Archdiocese.

In September we hope to move to Phase Three “Culture.” In this phase, we will examine how both St. Ann and Sacred Heart have operated in the past, and how we can move forward with common practices as one parish with two schools and two worship locations. We have already done much of this over the past twelve years operating as a Pastoral Region and most recently a Family of Parishes. I expect we will move through this phase very quickly.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Sometimes the truth is too good to be true. You want to believe your friend who tells you the truth, but you do not want to appear to be naïve or foolish. Sometimes we turn away from the truth when it is just too good to be true. When I growing up, we had a year when we had perfect autumn weather for turnips. After we completed the digging of the potatoes, I disked the ground and my father spread the turnip seed. By first frost we had bushels and bushels of unneeded turnips. A farmer who lived up the road from us put out a sign “Turnips $1.00 per bushel.” Not to be outdone, my father put out a sign “Free Turnips.” Fred up the road sold all his turnips. We could not give our better turnips away. Later when we asked people why they passed us by, they said that “free turnips” was just too good to believe. It must be a trick! My father was being too generous. There had to be a catch.

God is so generous to give us his son as our savior. The generosity of Jesus exceeds logic. Sometimes our human suspicion stands in the way of accepting the truth. Allow your mind to wrap itself around the reality of Jesus. What is too good to be true must come from God.

NEXT SUNDAY Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Eph 5:21-32

Jn 6:60-69

Theme: Jesus never “waters down” the truth!

August 11, 2024 - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 10:30:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Feast of the Assumption of BVM

Thursday, August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a Holyday of Obligation. We have anticipatory Mass fulfilling the precept for the Holyday at St. Ann on Wednesday, August 14 at 5:30 p.m. The anticipatory Mass at Sacred Heart is also Wednesday, August 14 at 7:00 p.m.

On the Holyday itself (August 15) I have 6:30 a.m. Mass at St. Ann, 7:30 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart, 10:00 a.m. Mass at St. Ann, and 7:00 p.m. (evening) Mass at Sacred Heart.

African Cultural Mass

Four times per year, the African Community at Sacred Heart and St. Ann, sponsored by the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon present a traditional culturally African Mass at Sacred Heart. This cultural African Mass will take place at Sacred Heart at 1:00 p.m. on August 18, 2024. Anyone and everyone, parishioner, guest, or interested worshipper is welcome. If you have never experienced a culturally African Mass, you will be enriched.

Report on the Eucharistic Congress

Some of our parishioners attended the Eucharist Congress recently held in Indianapolis. At the precept Masses at both locations this coming weekend (August 17 & 18), I will shorten my homily to two or three minutes, in order that the congregations at both of our worship sites can hear a report on the event and express encouragement for a deeper devotion to and evangelical encouragement and focus on the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Monitors for Deaf and Hearing Impaired at Sacred Heart

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Jesus says he is the source of life for the world. What does the Eucharist do for us? In Genesis, God breathes life into the man made of mud (Adam) and by doing so breathes life into a lifeless world. Grace is God pouring his life into us. Jesus Christ is the tangible “flesh and blood” experience of the God of life. When God breathes into Adam, he comes to life. But God has not made us for temporality. God has fashioned us for eternity. But humanity has foolishly squandered its eternal birthright on sin. When we tangibly receive the Eucharist; we then have Jesus to replenish the grace lost by sin so we are reinstated to life eternal. Thus, every time we receive the Lord in the Sacred Species, we are beaconed not to temporality, but to eternity.

NEXT SUNDAY Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Prv 9:1-6

Eph 5:15-20

Jn 6:51-58

Theme: Whoever eats this bread will live forever!

August 4, 2024 - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 10:29:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Trial Solution for Deaf and Hearing Impaired at Sacred Heart

As Melody Wallace, Director of Worship has promised, (in the next few weeks) we will survey the congregation and allow a vote to: 1) make the option permanent at all precept Masses, 2) make the option available at only select Sunday Mass times, 3) remove the monitors and disengage this help to the hearing impaired because it is too distracting for the general congregation. Perhaps another option I have not considered will surface .

Please watch for the survey and cast your vote. This was done as a Beacons of Light initiative to invite the hearing impaired and deaf community to feel more welcome to worship more fully with the hearing community. If it fails to achieve that purpose, or is far too distracting, please give your opinion by participating in the upcoming survey.

Sacred Heart Festival is next weekend

The Parish Family of Immaculate Heart of Mary (St. Ann and Sacred Heart) will for the long term future continue to need both church facilities, as neither location is large enough to accommodate the number of people in our combined parish boundaries who wish to attend Sunday Mass during the most favored Sunday timeslots. Since both locations also support a vibrant Catholic School, we need to maintain and enhance all existing fundraising activities at both sites. Thus it continues to be necessary for each site to host an annual “Parish Summer Festival” even when we become one parish at two locations. We need the revenues from both festivals to operate and maintain the physical plant at each of the two locations. If you are a parishioner at one or both, please prayerfully consider volunteering to work at the festival at one or both sites.

The Saint Ann Festival concluded Saturday, July 27. Since Sacred Heart’s Festival is next weekend, please consider volunteering whatever time you can.

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

“I am the bread of life…” If you are working on an automatic transmission, it is helpful to have a flow chart. It shows the channels and orifices through which the pressurized fluid travels. Similarly, when hired for work by a major corporation, surveying the organizational chart tells you your immediate supervisor, and who is who all the way to the top. In today’s gospel, Jesus gives us the flow chart of “life.” Life or God’s life of Grace as we know it, comes from God the Father, through the Son; and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. But Grace is neither static nor dimensional. It is God’s life poured out into us. We are alive only because of God. If God does not exist; neither do we!

Jesus says, “I am the bread of life…” God’s grace of life can only emanate from God, the only source. Saying that you don’t believe that God exists is tantamount to saying I don’t believe I exist. Existence does not exist outside of God. But remember, we are not parasites drawing life from an unwitting divine host. We are children of the God who created us. We are God’s family precisely because we are fed by the Body and Blood of Christ; the Eucharist. When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” he is saying that all life and redemption come into temporal existence only through him. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father (the source) except through him. This is why we revel in the fact that we are called “Christians.”

NEXT SUNDAY Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 19:4-8

Eph 4:30—5:2

Jn 6:41-51

Theme: The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

July 28, 2024 - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 10:28:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Trial Solution for Deaf and Hearing Impaired at Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart Festivals

The Parish Family of Immaculate Heart of Mary (St. Ann and Sacred Heart) will for the long term future continue to need both church facilities, as neither location is large enough to accommodate the number of people in our combined parish boundaries who wish to attend Sunday Mass during the most favored Sunday timeslots. Since both locations also support a vibrant Catholic School, we need to maintain and enhance all existing fundraising activities at both sites. Thus it continues to be necessary for each site to host an annual “Parish Summer Festival” even when we become one parish at two locations. The Saint Ann Festival concludes Saturday, July 27. Sacred Heart Festival is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (August 9 – 11). Remember we are one Parish Family, with only one priest; operating at two locations. We need the revenues from both festivals to operate and maintain the physical plant at each of the two locations. If you are a parishioner at one or both, please prayerfully consider volunteering to work at the festival at one or both sites.

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

Reprint from Last Week! One part of the “envisioning process” is to brainstorm what we as one parish with two worship locations, and two schools, could become. We have envisioned possibilities to be prophetically relevant in the community at large in our evangelization efforts. We have envisioned how our “Love in Action” charitable efforts can become more coordinated with other outreach programs for greater efficiency in serving the general need. We have reflected on possibilities to expand worship opportunities into opportunities to live “lives of worship.” We have reorganized administrative structure around a model of unified teamwork. But in all of this, we must also reflect on our personal perspectives and corporate self-image. To quote a line from a classic old movie, “We have to get our minds right.” Eleven players have to reconfigure their athletic skills to work as a “team.” This calls for changing our understanding of who we are, so we can better envision who we can become. This soul searching must lead us into a decided paradigm change as to how we envision ourselves. If we see Immaculate Heart of Mary Family Parish as two people in one canoe, we don’t worry about how many holes your end of the boat has versus my end of the boat. Rather you focus on fixing the holes so the entire canoe can stay afloat and go faster. “Them and us” concepts, no matter how benign, must morph into a “Yin and Yang” model. Coaches have to impress upon their players that, if it does not enable the whole team, it is not a genuine strength. Similarly we must get our minds wrapped around that which is complementary. In building a sky-scrapper, paradigm change requires restructuring the foundation. As a parishioner of one parish with two locations, what structural predispositions do I need to change in myself?

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is found in all four gospels. (Mt 14:13-21, Mk 6:30-44, Lk 9:10-17 and Jn 6:1-15. It is obviously a prefiguring of the Most Holy Eucharist. In John’s portrayal, the attention to detail make it seem like a Sunday Mass. By the time John’s Gospel is written (late 90s AD) early Christians are already attending the Sacred Meal every Sunday. John portrays that as this was a part of the life of Jesus, so also the Eucharist is part of the everyday life of the Church, allowing us to live in Christ and allowing Christ to live in us. This sacrament enables us to be the Mystical Body of Christ.

As we have just concluded the Eucharistic Congress for the United States, let us see ourselves as Catholics not just as a denomination of Christianity, but as the living breathing Mystical Body of Christ.

NEXT SUNDAY Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ex 16:2-4, 12-15 4:42-44

Eph 4:17, 20-24

Jn 6:24-35

Theme: I am the bread of life!

July 21, 2024 - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 10:21:00 GMT

Upcoming Festivals

The Parish Family of Immaculate Heart of Mary (St. Ann and Sacred Heart) will for the long term future continue to need both church facilities, as neither location is large enough to accommodate the number of people in our combined parish boundaries who wish to attend Sunday Mass during the most favored Sunday timeslots. Since both locations also support a vibrant Catholic School, we need to maintain and enhance all existing fundraising activities at both sites. Thus it continues to be necessary for each site to host an annual “Parish Summer Festival” even when we become one parish at two locations. The Saint Ann Festival is scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings (July 26 & 27). Sacred Heart Festival is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (August 9 – 11). Remember we are one Parish Family, with only one priest; operating at two locations. We need the revenues from both festivals to operate and maintain the physical plant at each of the two locations. If you are a parishioner at one or both, please prayerfully consider volunteering to work at the festival at one or both sites.

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

One part of the “envisioning process” is to brainstorm what we as one parish with two worship locations, and two schools, could become. We have envisioned possibilities to be prophetically relevant in the community at large in our evangelization efforts. We have envisioned how our “Love in Action” charitable efforts can become more coordinated with other outreach programs for greater efficiency in serving the general need. We have reflected on possibilities to expand worship opportunities into opportunities to live “lives of worship.” We have reorganized administrative structure around a model of unified teamwork. But in all of this, we must also reflect on our personal perspectives and corporate self-image. To quote a line from a classic old movie, “We have to get our minds right.” Eleven players have to reconfigure their athletic skills to work as a “team.” This calls for changing our understanding of who we are, so we can better envision who we can become. This soul searching must lead us into a decided paradigm change as to how we envision ourselves. If we see Immaculate Heart of Mary Family Parish as two people in one canoe, we don’t worry about how many holes your end of the boat has versus my end of the boat. Rather you focus on fixing the holes so the entire canoe can stay afloat and go faster. “Them and us” concepts, no matter how benign, must morph into a “Yin and Yang” model. Coaches have to impress upon their players that, if it does not enable the whole team, it is not a genuine strength. Similarly we must get our minds wrapped around that which is complementary. In building a sky-scrapper, paradigm change requires restructuring the foundation. As a parishioner of one parish with two locations, what structural predispositions do I need to change in myself?

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The gift of faith is not a trophy; it is a commissioning. If someone gives you an envelope filled with turnip seeds, the possibilities from a practical standpoint are very limited. You cannot eat them, as it would be like eating a handful of sand, and it would provide no sustenance. You cannot save them, as their small size means they will escape the seams of the envelope. If you plant them all in one handful, none are likely to grow. But if you scatter them throughout the freshly plowed and disked field, you set yourself up for a magnificent harvest.

The gift of faith is much like an envelope full of turnip seeds. There practical use is very limited. If you scatter and sow them on fertile soil, you will reap a wonderful harvest. Therefore, the gift of faith given to us by God is much less a trophy, and much more a commissioning. If you are a farmer, you must pull the weeds before they take over. If you tend a herd or a flock, you must pasture and protect the flock from the evil predator. And if you are engaged in pastoral ministry for Christ, then you must selflessly shepherd the flock like Jesus did. This means not counting the cost, but working for the harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God.

If you are baptized and confirmed, you are a shepherd whether you want to be or not. You are not just the recipient of a gift. You are a pastor of souls. Your task is evangelization, and this task becomes your duty as a result of receiving the gift of faith.

NEXT SUNDAY Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

2Kgs 4:42-44

Eph 4:1-6

Mk 6:1-15

Theme: The multiplication of loaves and fish

July 14, 2024 - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 11:24:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Upcoming Festivals

The Parish Family of Immaculate Heart of Mary (St. Ann and Sacred Heart) will for the long term future continue to need both church facilities, as neither location is large enough to accommodate the number of people in our combined parish boundaries who wish to attend Sunday Mass during the most favored Sunday timeslots. Since both locations also support a vibrant Catholic School, we need to maintain and enhance all existing fundraising activities at both sites. Thus it continues to be necessary for each site to host an annual “Parish Summer Festival” even when we become one parish at two locations. The Saint Ann Festival is scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings (July 26 & 27). Sacred Heart Festival is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (August 9 – 11). Remember we are one Parish Family, with only one priest; operating at two locations. We need the revenues from both festivals to operate and maintain the physical plant at each of the two locations. If you are a parishioner at one or both, please prayerfully consider volunteering to work at the festival at one or both sites.

Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17 through21

I invite you to type into your favorite search engine the “National Eucharistic Congress” set in place for this July17 through 21 in Indianapolis. If you are like me, you cannot take time off from work or obligations to attend, but simply inform yourself of the effort to make the most Holy Sacrament left to us by Jesus the foundation to rebuild the Church in America into a living evangelical force by the power of the Blessed Sacrament. Many musicians have returned to their roots so as to be inspired to write their greatest symphony. As Catholics, let us use this congress to return to our rootedness in the Eucharist, so we can go out into the world and unashamedly profess Jesus Christ.

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

This week I again ask again the question: “As the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, how do we amalgamate the unique Eucharistic traditions of St. Ann and Sacred Heart so that the combination does not erase their distinctiveness, but emerges with new vigor and resourcefulness?” As always, I invite your email comments and observations.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Fifty plus years ago, when I worked at the farm tractor implement dealership in College Corner, I usually commuted to and from work on my motorcycle. There were multiple reasons for this. One was that it made the trip enjoyable. Secondly, it saved money. Filling the tank on my old truck required me to open my wallet. Filling the tank on my motorcycle (back then) cost only the change I carried in my coin purse. When you are spending all your money on the cost of your education, efficiency is not a luxury; it is a necessity.

Jesus tells us today that if you are in the business of evangelization, efficiency is a precept. When a hog farmer puts on his waterproof rubber boots before he goes to clean out hog pens, he is not making a fashion statement. He is doing what he needs to do to provide sanitary conditions for his livestock. If we are to evangelize in the name of Jesus, we need the necessities. We do not need the frills. The essentials of faith are the truth. The truth does not need to be dressed up. Live your moral precepts as if you were focused on what is essential. That is what constitutes “divine efficiency.”

NEXT SUNDAY: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jer 23:1-6

Eph 2:13-18

Mk 6:30-34

Theme: Faith is not a trophy! It is a commissioning.

July 7, 2024 - 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 09:06:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17 through21

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

This week I again ask the question: “As the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, how do we amalgamate the unique Eucharistic traditions of St. Ann and Sacred Heart so that the combination does not erase their distinctiveness, but emerges with new vigor and resourcefulness?” As always, I invite your email comments and observations.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

People love to speculate regarding a baby’s future. You will hear them say things like, “Look at the size of his feet! He will definitely grow up to be an athlete.” They will fixate on some aptitude the child seems to possess and articulate their prophesy of his or her probabilities of achievement for the future. People enjoy pondering possibilities; and this is all fine and good unless we begin to create a self-fulfilling prophecy with a narrative that restricts the possibilities and options. When this happens, we restrict the options offered to the child based on our preconceived notions.

This is essentially what happened to Jesus when he returned home after beginning his public ministry. People were impressed with his eloquence, and amazed at his rabbinic insights. So instead of saying, ”Wow, look what he has become!” They rather gawked at him in jealousy and said, “Well he is simply a carpenter’s son. He is absorbed with his own bravado.” The story recounts that Jesus was so hurt by their negativity that he spent little time there and abandoned them in antipathy. Negativity is a disease spawned by human insufficiency. When a person becomes aware of his or her own deficiencies, the persons sometimes seek to repair their own self-image by demeaning the other. If the “good news” the prophet proclaims is too good, they may even hang him on a cross to die.

Please understand that this is not an advertisement for naiveté. The world abuses such people’s good nature and confines them in the prison of the foolish. The world treat’s them as “marks” ripe for the harvest of those who are “slick.” No, I am simply saying that “hope” is practical. Jesus Christ offers us hope. Those who would rather discourage then encourage are ripe to ridicule hope. It exposes their lack of potential.

Jesus came back to his home town to offer hope; but relatives and friends would not hear of it. Jesus did not let them stop him. Rather he gave hope to the world. The evil in this world loves to use the weapon of intimidation and ridicule to restrict our enthusiasm for the Lord. Jesus ignored the naysayers. Are you enthused by the Word of God? Don’t let the world put you down. Be lifted up by the certainty of God’s grace and the repository of hope in Jesus Christ. It is true that those who deal in hopelessness are more comfortable in their own self-made “hell” of negativity. Don’t settle for their invitation to mediocrity. Hope is ever new in Jesus Christ.

NEXT SUNDAY: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Am 7:12-15

Eph 1:3-14

Mk 6:7-13

Theme: Travel light!

June 30, 2024 - 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 10:18:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Independence Day

July 4, 2024, a national holiday, falls on a Thursday. Mass at Sacred Heart will be at the usual time of 7:30 a.m. We will NOT have 6:30 a.m . Mass at St. Ann, but rather the Mass will be moved to 9:00 a.m. at St. Ann. Also, please note that in addition to the patriotic theme, we will celebrate a 50 ^th anniversary of marriage at the 9:00 a.m. Mass.

Letter from Archbishop Schnurr on the 203 ^rd Anniversary of the Archdiocese

I ran this in last week’s bulletin, but I thought it deserved repeating:

To help us integrate this year’s National Eucharist Congress to be held in Indianapolis next month (the last National Eucharist Congress was held in 1941, so unless you are over 85 you probably don’t remember it), and the ongoing process of the Beacons of Light within the Archdiocese; the Archbishop has issued a letter dated June 19, 2024 addressed to the faithful of the Archdiocese. (Copies of this letter are available at the doors.) I encourage you to thoroughly read the Archbishop’s letter so as to integrate the two. The Eucharist is the Real Presence, body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. Pondering this sacramental mystery leads us not only to understand the truth of the Sacrament, but it allows us to better comprehend (as the Church) our prophetic role as Catholic members of the Body of Christ in the United States.

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

This week I ask the question: “As the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, how do we amalgamate the unique Eucharistic traditions of St. Ann and Sacred Heart so that the combination does not erase their distinctiveness?” As always, I invite your email comments and observations.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The gospel story of Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus is intended to reveal that Jesus is divine. He can bring life out of death. He can solve the most impossible conundrum. But what does his interaction with the other characters in the story reveal? By the time Jesus arrives at the house, the child has died, and according to Jewish custom at the time, those paid to mourn were already setting the mood. It would be socially inappropriate for a synagogue official to publicly display grief so emotionally. Just as people in mourning may wear black in our society, in the society at that time, paid mourners would display the emotions the synagogue official was feeling without diminishing his dignity. Jesus comes upon the professional mourners and asks them why they were going on so? The professional mourners think that Jesus’s introduction of hope in the face of death is ridiculous. They might well have said to him, “What don’t you understand about death!” They ridiculed him, so he throws them out of the house. Remember that if nobody died, they don’t get paid. He only allows Peter, James, and John to come in the house with him; the same three who witness the Transfiguration. Jesus is not doing this miracle to show off and astound the public. He is revealing that death is not hopeless or final if you live in faith.

The interaction of Jesus with the professional mourners makes it clear that there is no room for those who like to wallow in their own despair in the Church. The only hopeless situation is one in which we ignore God. Despair says faith in God is powerless and futile. Jesus counters that this is like cursing the darkness when you won’t plug in the lamp. If you have faith; nothing is impossible with God! If God is included in your equation; nothing is impossible.

NEXT SUNDAY Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ez 2:2-5

2 Cor 12:7-10

Mk 6:1-6a

Theme: Jealousy is the antithesis of humility!

June 23, 2024 - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 11:45:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Letter from Archbishop Schnurr on the 203 ^rd Anniversary of the Archdiocese

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

This week in line with the Archbishop’s letter dated June 19, 2024 I ask the question: “How can we as the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Sacred Heart and St. Ann) encourage our own appreciation of being the Mystical Body of Christ both internally and externally?”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

All nature obeys God. Jesus is the Son of God (God incarnate) so it stands to reason that in his hypostatic union he could control the weather. But Jesus was not showing off when he quiets the storm! He was showing us that without faith, you can’t understand science or the reality that surrounds us. The word “science” comes from the Latin word “to know.” Science is philosophically empirical; this means it begins with what we can understand with our five senses, and deduces from the use of tangible data the self-evident hypothesis that comes from the observation. Faith however does not confine itself to the empirical! Rather it relies on revelation of the Holy Spirit, revelation through nature, and revelation extrapolated through accepted philosophical logic in order to form its doctrine.

The philosopher Edmund Husserl essentially said that there is no knowledge without preconceptions. Faith is a preconception. We carry a watch because we have faith in the orderliness of time. As Christians, we believe that God made an orderly universe within which we can deduce Natural Law. This faith allows our certainty of scientific observation upon which all “human knowledge” (aka science) is based.

Jesus quelled the storm by his power as God. But Jesus’ real purpose in coming into the world was to change our hearts. To change the hearts of stubborn humanity, Jesus died on the cross for us to show us the depth of God’s love. Faith in Jesus Christ does not come from human science, but is a marvelous revelation and gift to us that comes only from our loving and omnipotent God.

NEXT SUNDAY Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wis 1:13-15, 2:23-24

2 Cor8:7-9, 13-15

Mk 5:21-43

Theme: Jesus is the resurrection and the only way to eternal life.

June 16, 2024 - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:31:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Happy Father’s Day

Today, June 16 is Father’s Day. We will have a special blessing for all fathers at the end of Mass. I always use this day as an incentive to remember the love and wisdom my father imparted to my sister and me. If your father is living, take a moment to thank him. If (like me) your father is deceased, send a special prayer of thanksgiving to Heaven in gratitude for the special role he played in your life.

African Cultural Mass

Today, June 16 at 1:00 p.m. the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon will sponsor a special celebration of Mass done in the traditional African cultural fashion at Sacred Heart. All are invited to participate regardless of whether you are familiar with the African cultural worship traditions or you are simply interested in participating in a unique experience of what it means to be “Catholic” (universal). This is a precept Mass, so it counts for one’s Sunday obligation.

11:00 a.m. Mass next week

We will have a special blessing at the end of Mass next Sunday at Sacred Heart for those who have recently graduated from some academic or training institution or program. We will ask you to stand for the blessing in acknowledgment of your achievement.

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

This week (the same as last) my open question to you for consideration is: What if you could envision an outreach to some sector or group of the community that would be new or innovative; something that would address a need that isn’t even on our radar at present. This is pure speculative science. Your speculation must remain within the realm of harsh reality, so there are limitations. Nevertheless, do a bit of controlled day dreaming. The purpose as always is to cause people to “think outside the box.” In other words, “Not just how do we become more evangelical rather than simply maintaining our recent past? But genuinely what do we begin to do to ready ourselves for an uncertain future? What lines of communication do we need to create or maintain?”

Remember that envisioning seeks to identify a need (or excess) and then determine whether the parish can reach out to the broader community in this area of interest or concern. We want to be part of creating the future, not a victim of it!

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Using a parable allows us to avoid the prejudice of preconceptions. We all have preconceptions that influence our perception. If you see a rope being pulled through the grass, so as to mimic a slithering snake; you automatically react! This is precisely why Jesus uses parables as a teaching tool for the general population. He draws the crowds into thinking like him by the use of imagery and then the conclusion or message is predetermined. In other words, he draws the crowds into his thought process so the conclusion in inescapable. By the use of metaphor or analogy, he opens our minds to the reality that otherwise might well lay hidden or be undetected.

Jesus deliberately used common preconceptions to teach complicated concepts. If but for a moment you are emotionally invested into living and feeling the story of the parable, you have had a glimpse into the mind of God. Thus, the best way we can fulfill our evangelical role as baptized Catholics is to let our lives be parables for others. Therefore, we cannot cloister our commitment to Christ from our daily actions.

In our secular society it has become sheik and fashionable to publicly divest ourselves of words or actions that would betray our faith. The secular world advises: “If you respect God, that is fine; but don’t display that faith in a way that requires me or others to take note of it!” In other words, “Don’t let your religion seep out through the facade of your life in a way that influences others.” To the secular world, this is the intimidation of religion on culture, and if you don’t want to be ridiculed as being weird; don’t do it!

If on the other hand, we allow our worship of God to be so intertwined with who we are so that every habit and action bespeaks our worship of God; then it will be our nature to be evangelical.

NEXT SUNDAY Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jb 38:1, 8-11

2 Cor 5:14-17

Mk 4:35-41

Theme: Nature is submissive to God

June 9, 2024 - 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 13:52:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

This week my open question to you for consideration is: What if you could envision an outreach to some sector or group of the community that would be new or innovative; something that would address a need that isn’t even on our radar at present. This is pure speculative science. Your speculation must remain within the realm of harsh reality, so there are limitations. Nevertheless, do a bit of controlled day dreaming. The purpose as always is to cause people to “think outside the box.” In other words, “Not just how do we become more evangelical rather than simply maintaining our recent past? But genuinely what do we begin to do to ready ourselves for an uncertain future? What lines of communication do we need to create or maintain?”

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The unforgiveable sin! “A sin against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven.” Isn’t that what today’s scripture says? This makes it sound like God is just waiting for us to say the wrong word or unwittingly mouth a heresy, and we are dead meat. The unforgivable sin in a football game means you are expelled from the game. You have to leave the field. In religion, it is the one way ticket to Hell! So why is blaspheming the Holy Spirit an unforgivable sin? Jesus is simply trying to point out the obvious. The Holy Spirit is the giver of all life, time, matter, and existence. If you cut yourself off from the giver of life, you have sentenced yourself to death. It is a bit like saying, “If I am living in a space capsule and I jettison all my air supply, I will suffocate!” A child might say, “Well that’s not fair! That’s mean.” It is not God’s fault. You jettisoned the air! It is actually pretty simple: If you jettison your air, you cannot breathe. If you can’t breathe, you will die. It is a matter of fact. And conversely, if you turn your back on the only source of life itself, your eternal soul will die. God does not do it. You do it to yourself.

“Atheism is suicidal!” Many in our society will say, “It is politically incorrect to say that! You have no right to tell the truth so harshly, even though it is the undeniable truth.” Jesus is deliberately blunt in speaking the truth. The truth may be the only logical conclusion, but it may be too harsh to be politically correct or acceptable. But the fact is that if you don’t breathe, you don’t live. And if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, you cut yourself off from God and life. Harsh reality, but truth!

NEXT SUNDAY: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ez 17:22-24

2 Cor 5:6-10

Mk 4:26-34

Theme: A parable makes you think!

June 2, 2024 - The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Fri, 31 May 2024 11:41:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

This week my open question to you for consideration is: What is the biggest thing you would identity that we DO and shouldn’t, OR NEGLECT TO DO and should implement in either St. Ann or Sacred Heart? You may offer reasonable solutions if you wish, but for right now “I am simply asking you to identify what is extraneous or missing? What is the obstacle holding the Family back from being the Parish Family we could and should be?” The purpose is to cause people to “think outside the box.” In other words, “How do we become more evangelical rather than simply maintaining our recent past?”

Remember that envisioning seeks to identify a need (or excess) and then determine whether the parish can reach out to the broader community in this area of interest or concern.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Corpus Christi is Latin for the Body of Christ. But the greatest gift given to humanity is (to some degree) an analogous term. The consecrated bread and wine are the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. But Jesus allows us to become what we consume. Thus we have the hymn “We are the Body of Christ.” The Church is the Body of Christ in the world. And then again, we are not a “corporate body” like an S&P 500 public company! Jesus rather comes to live in us so we can truly live in him. Therefore, we become the Body of Christ by receiving the Body of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist, and we are similarly challenged to live as members of the One Body of Christ. (Though many, we are one.) To become a person with a physical body is very constraining. To give us the Lord's real presence, allows Jesus to be present all over the world, everywhere at the same time. Jesus shows us that the elimination of the limitations of space and time can only happen when God is the solution. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the solution.

NEXT SUNDAY Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gn 3:9-15

2 Cor 4:13 –5:1

Mk 3:20-35

Theme: “…whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness ,”

May 26, 2024 - The Most Holy Trinity

Fri, 24 May 2024 11:26:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Feast of Corpus Christi Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

Three weeks ago, I shared with you some envisioned ideas about how the treatment of directed gift donations from an accounting prospective may help us retain membership and loyalty. Two weeks ago, I shared some envisioned ideas about how we might engage people interested in becoming Catholic through the use of trained volunteer mentor parishioners. Last week, I asked you to think about how we might invite people to our facilities not for worship specifically, but for information, camaraderie, and fellowship. This week, I am asking a more open forum question! What is the biggest thing you would identity that we DO NOT DO in either St. Ann or Sacred Heart? You may offer reasonable solutions if you wish, but for right now “I am simply asking you to identify what is missing? What is the obstacle holding the Family back from being the Parish Family we could and should be?” The purpose is to cause people to “think outside the box.” In other words, “How do we become more evangelical rather than simply maintaining our recent past?”

Remember that envisioning seeks to identify a need and then determine whether the parish can reach out to the broader community in this area of interest or concern.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The Most Holy Trinity is a mystery. We can never fully understand it. Jesus has revealed to us that there is One God in Three Divine Persons; namely the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The greatest Doctors (teachers / theologians) of the Church all come to the same conclusion: “It is a mystery.”

Jesus Christ is the revelation of God incarnate. Jesus says to Phillip, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus is the redeemer of the world.” The teaching of the Hypostatic Union reveals that Jesus is fully divine and fully human. This also is a mystery, explained by analogy.

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and comes upon the Apostles at Pentecost. The indwelling of the graces of the Holy Spirit change us so that our destiny is eternal life with God in paradise. We experience the Pentecost graces of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the Sacrament of Confirmation, when our baptism is completed.

It is challenging to love the infinity and omnipotence of God shrouded in mystery. As followers of Christ, we are called not to explain the mystery (a contradiction in terms) but rather to embrace the mystery and appreciate God’s infinite love for us. Embrace the mystery! Learn to love what is beyond your comprehension. Put your faith in the mystery you cannot understand.

NEXT SUNDAY Corpus Christi

Ex 24:3-8

Heb 9:11-15

Mt 14: 12-16

Theme: The Feast of the Body of Christ

May 19, 2024 - Pentecost Sunday

Fri, 17 May 2024 10:26:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Trinity Sunday Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light: Phase Two: “Envisioning”

Two weeks ago, I shared with you some envisioned ideas about how the treatment of directed gift donations from an accounting prospective may help us retain membership and loyalty. Last week I shared some envisioned ideas about how we might engage people interested in becoming Catholic through the use of trained volunteer mentor parishioners. In today’s article, I ask you to think about how we might invite people to our facilities not for worship specifically, but for information, camaraderie, and fellowship. In the Beacons Planning Pathway chart, these could fit in under Evangelization and Love in Action. Some parishes have sponsored “clubs” or “support groups” for interest in various activities or pastimes not specifically associated with worship. Sometimes these are parish sponsored clubs for the persons with interest in horticulture, painting, astronomy, classic cars, or varied interests. The purpose is to bring people into contact with the Catholic Parish in their community. In other words, how do we think outside the box in order to familiarize the broader community with Catholics who share similar interests or hobbies.

Remember that envisioning seeks to identify a need and then determine whether the parish can reach out to the broader community in this area of interest or concern.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The Feast of Pentecost is my favorite religious celebration. We often call Pentecost “the birthday of the Church!” Now you might say, “Wait a minute! What about Christmas and Easter?” Why? God created the universe. Thus we see our creator in all that surrounds us. Jesus Christ is the revelation of God incarnate; the Savior of the world. Pentecost allows us to live in God and God to live in us through the Sacraments. As members of the Body of Christ, God reaches out to us with His grace, and we become conveyors of grace to the whole world. The Holy Spirit fulfills what we could never have even hoped for or imagined.

One analogy I have heard refers to a train. God made the train so big and so powerful that it intimidates us. Jesus teaches us the controls of the train and how to operate it. The Holy Spirit at Pentecost makes us the owners of the train and lets us participate in his destiny and destination. The Holy Spirit of God is in charge. Don’t ever be afraid to board the train.

NEXT SUNDAY The Most Holy Trinity

Dt 4:32-34, 39-40

Rom 8:14-17

Mt 28:16-20

Theme: Embrace the mystery

May 12, 2024 - The Ascension of the Lord

Fri, 10 May 2024 09:01:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Pentecost Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Happy Mother’s Day

Today we have the opportunity to thank our mothers for giving us the opportunity to live lives of faith by the grace of God. As we bless and thank our mothers, let us also thank God for the gift of the Blessed Virgin as our mother and the Mother of the Church. Jesus gave her to us on the cross through John. Let us take this opportunity to thank God for all who serve us in a motherly role. And if you are like me and your mother is deceased, sent a special bouquet of prayers to God this day in memory of your Mom. I assure you, she will rejoice with the angels as you remember her on this special day.

CMA

As of 5/6//24, Sacred Heart is at 210% of target with 420 families participating. St. Ann is at 126% of target with 154 families participating. Remember that when any parish exceeds target, a percentage of the money over target comes back to the parish.

Thanks to all who have pledged or contributed. Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light: Phase Two

During Phase One, we identified and called to leadership key employees and volunteer staff into “Director” or “Leadership” positions. Since moving to Phase Two (envisioning) we have asked the combined Parish Council, as well as other advisory groups to “brainstorm” and identify problems which impede the Immaculate Heart of Mary Family from achieving desired outcomes such as increasing Sunday Mass attendance, becoming a more evangelically oriented community, involving a greater percentage of membership in active lay ministry, and creating a sustainable path of growth for the parish community and its ongoing outreach. During this phase, we seek out problems and envision possible solutions. The hope at the root of the “envisioning” is not just to survive as we have in the past, but to reorganize to thrive.

Remember that in each “phase” (we are now in phase two) our efforts form within Beacon’s six principles: 1) Eucharist 2) Church 3) Leadership 4) Stewardship 5) Evangelization and 6) Love in Action.

In thinking and discussing this, one of the problems brought to me over my forty seven years of priesthood has been the influence of secular society’s customs on membership in the Catholic Church. Individual Catholics, groups of Catholics, as well as those interested in being a Catholic are sometimes relegated to the category of “unacceptable” or they “feel estranged or unwelcome” because of issues such as divorce and remarriage, issues surrounding gender, disappointment at the Church’s past handling of the clergy abuse crisis, right to life issues, loyalties to political principles that may conflict with ecclesial moral teaching, Vatican II changes both real and perceived, and the list goes on. If a person feels unwelcome or disenfranchised, their perception becomes their personal reality.

It has been proposed by some that statistically, the largest religious denomination in the United States is Catholic and the second largest denomination is “fallen away” Catholics. The evangelical efforts required by Baptism and Confirmation demand an effort on our part to reconcile without forfeiting the integrity of Catholic teaching. How do we offer the hand of unity without capitulation of moral principle? Perhaps part of our the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish family response to evangelization should be a “truth squad” (or some such name) that would be conversant enough with Catholic Teaching so as to make the position espoused by the Catholic Church to be both understandable and practical to the inquirer. In other words, the lay person would offer to be a mentor. This does not mean all lay volunteers would have to be trained in Catholic moral apologetics; but simply able to hear the question honestly and bring the person to the pastor, lay minister, or diocesan resource that could provide specific and precise counsel.

The aforementioned is just one example of what this “envisioning” process is all about. “What are the problems we face as a Catholic parish? What is the desired outcome? What kind of vehicle do we construct to get there? I hope to have some listening sessions during the upcoming summer to invite and discuss envisioning ideas. Remember, no decisions are being made! We are simply throwing out ideas.

Razing of the old convent building at St. Ann

The old convent building at St. Ann is essentially a single purpose building. At present it is used only for storage. There is no future possibility of acquiring a religious order who would use it as a faculty residence (original purpose). The “circulating hot water” heating system is not functional, and cost to repair to functionality would likely exceed $750,000. Other necessary repairs would cause the restoration numbers to exceed 1.5 million for a building whose primary use does not fit our needs. The Archdiocese has asked us (for long term insurance purposes) to raze the building. The Archdiocese will pay for this improvement. Therefore Immaculate Heart of Mary Family “Combined Parish Council” has recommended we accept the Archdiocese offer and lower our operating costs at St. Ann by razing the building and making space for more effective storage facilities. It is likely this will all take place before the end of calendar year 2024. I will keep you informed as we progress.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The Feast of the Ascension is not Jesus saying, “Well I am done here.” Rather, Jesus is bringing everything to fulfillment so he can ascend to the Father and the Holy Spirit can make all of us his temple, and God can be present to the whole world through the Church. Jesus fulfills his ministry so that the Holy Spirit can fulfill our destiny. God creates the world. The Son of God is incarnate to redeem the world. The Holy Spirit comes to the Apostles at Pentecost and then to all the faithful in the Sacrament of Confirmation. With the fulfillment of God’s graces, we the Church become the vehicle through which God lives with us in the world. We become the Church in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are the Body of Christ, the People of God; The Church.

NEXT SUNDAY Pentecost

Acts 2:1-11

1Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

Jn 20:19-23

Theme: Descent of the Holy Spirit

May 5, 2024 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

Fri, 10 May 2024 08:58:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Ascension of the Lord Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Feast of the Ascension

The Feast of the Ascension was formerly known as Ascension Thursday. It was 40 days after Easter. This year it would fall on May 9. In most dioceses in the US, the celebration of the Ascension of the Lord is moved to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Therefore, there is no obligation to attend Mass on May 9, but rather the Feast will be celebrated on Sunday, May 12, which is also Mother’s Day in the United States.

CMA

As of 4/29/24, Sacred Heart is at 209% of target with 416 families participating. St. Ann is at 124% of target with 152 families participating. Remember that when any parish exceeds target, a percentage of the money over target comes back to the parish.

Thanks to all who have pledged or contributed. Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

As we move through the Easter season toward Pentecost, St. Ann and Sacred Heart are conducting meetings and discussion sessions regarding the process for “visioning for the future.” During this phase, we seek out problems and envision practical solutions.

We will inevitably move to a time when both parishes will become one canonical parish under Catholic Law. We will become the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish at St. Ann campus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish at Sacred Heart campus. Nothing will close! We cannot service our congregations without both church buildings and both school buildings operating as independent schools operating under the authority of one canonical parish, at two locations, namely Immaculate Heart of Mary. So that loyalty to separate buildings and structures may be specified for restricted donations, I have proposed that internally in our one parish operation we will have four cost centers. One budgetary cost center will be Sacred Heart Church building, another will be St. Ann Church building, yet another will be St. Ann School operation, and a fourth will be Sacred Heart School operation. Those who wish to restrict their donation to one or another of the cost centers will be able to so specify their temporarily restricted donation to the specific budget for each, with the understanding that functional operation of the whole is contingent to adequate funding for each. We of course do not want a situation that is like unto a lifeboat! We cannot say I will only help fund the bow of the lifeboat, while another says I only want to fund the stern. If the bow of the lifeboat sinks, the whole of the survivors sink with it. If the stern of the boat floats, all the survivors are saved regardless of their seating position. Either the whole boat floats, or the whole boat sinks. Nevertheless, we can donate favoring our part of the lifeboat, recognizing that we are all in this together.

This is only one of the many possible solutions for funding, sacraments, worship, outreach, and charity. The only thing we cannot do is go backwards. If we move forward as one parish in two locations there is every reason to believe Immaculate Heart of Mary can flourish. The only obstacle to success is rowing backward. We either win together or lose everything. If we work together, I am certain the Holy Spirit will make winners of us all.

Razing of the old convent building at St. Ann

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

“You are not a slave! You are a partner and friend.” This is essentially what Jesus is saying to the disciples about their employment in the Church. He says they are not slaves or even favored servants. (The Greek word used means favored and trustworthy servant.) Although I do not like the word “comrade” because of its communist connotation, it may better explain the use of the word “friend” in this context. It means you are not just a hired hand. You have “skin in the game.”

By our baptism, Jesus adopts us into his family. We are heirs to the family inheritance; namely Heaven. As members of the mystical Body of Christ through our reception of the Most Holy Eucharist, we are one body and one blood family in the Lord.

No one is sure of the anonymous author of the phrase, “You are born with your relatives, but you can choose your friends.” Although physically accurate, this statement loses its validity in spiritual matters. When we accept our baptism at Confirmation, we are choosing the spiritual bloodline of Jesus Christ. Every time we receive Holy Communion we are reaffirming our bloodline family. You made a decision to choose your spiritual family when you were baptized and confirmed in Jesus Christ.

NEXT SUNDAY The Ascension of the Lord

Acts 1:1-11

Eph 1:17-23

Mk 16:15-20

Theme: Don’t worry! I am not abandoning you.

April 28, 2024 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 13:36:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Sixth Sunday of Easter Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Feast of the Ascension

CMA

As of 4/22/24, Sacred Heart is at 208% of target with 411 families participating. St. Ann is at 124% of target with 151 families participating. Remember that when any parish exceeds target, a percentage of the money over target comes back to the parish.

Thanks to all who have pledged or contributed. Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

An electrician once told me know where the power comes from. If we know the location of the power plant, we know how to distribute the power. Sometimes we like to think we are an entity to ourselves. This lacks humility. “I am the vine….you are the branches.” Know where and who your power source is. You are then delegated to cooperate with the power.

“Pride goes before a fall.” We are not the power. Jesus is! Make sure in everything that you know where and who the power comes from.

NEXT SUNDAY The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

1 Jn 4:7-10

Jn 15:9-17

Theme: Together in Jesus, we are all superstars.

March 24, 2024 - Sixth Sunday in Lent

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 17:43:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Easter Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Holy week and the Sacred Paschal Triduum

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. We have our regular slate of Sunday Masses for Palm Sunday; the two anticipatory Masses at Sacred Heart at 4:00 p.m. and the 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann. On Sunday morning, we have the 8:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart, the 9:30 a.m. at St. Ann, and the 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart. This year we will read the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark. Because of the long passion reading, we will dispense with the homily. We do NOT have afternoon Stations of the Cross at Sacred Heart on Palm Sunday, March 24.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week are treated as regular Lenten
Weekdays. As usual, for the three days we will have the 6:30 a.m. at St. Ann and the 7:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart. We have confessions at St. Ann on Tuesday evening from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., or until all are heard. We have confessions at Sacred Heart on Wednesday evening from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. or until all are heard.

The Sacred Paschal Triduum consists of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. There are NO morning Masses on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, or Holy Saturday . For the Catholic Church, these are the “highest” Holy Days of the annual calendar. On Holy Thursday, Mass of the Last Supper begins at St. Ann at 5:30 p.m. and at Sacred Heart at 7:30 p.m. Note the two hour window due to the length of the Mass.

On Good Friday, we begin with Stations of the Cross at noon at Sacred Heart. At 1:00 p.m. the Immaculate Heart of Mary Family Choir will present the sung passion. If you have never experienced it before, it is very close to an opera like presentation. The music allows you to walk with Jesus in prayer as you listen to the narrative. At approximately 2:00 p.m. we have the traditional adoration of the cross. Finally at approximately 2:30 we have the distribution of Holy Communion. This completes our “Tre Ore” service.

The evening Good Friday service takes place at St. Ann and follows the order of service prescribed in the Roman Missal. We will have the reading of the passion, the veneration of the cross, and Holy Communion.

Recall that on Holy Saturday, the liturgical regulations will not permit the Easter Vigil to commence until after it is dark. Therefore we are not permitted to have the normal anticipatory 4:00 p.m. Mass at Sacred Heart or the 5:15 Mass at St. Ann on Holy Saturday, March 30. The Archdiocese has recently told us that we may not start the Easter Vigil ceremony until 8:45 p.m. (They actually prefer 9:00 p.m.) Also, please remember that I asked some years ago if we could have the first part of Easter vigil (the vigil of light) at St. Ann and move to Sacred Heart for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, thus including both parishes. The answer from the Archdiocese was “NO!”

It was therefore decided that we would alternate the Easter Vigil from one church to the other on an annual basis. Last year we had the Easter Vigil at Sacred Heart. There was no Easter Vigil at St. Ann. Therefore, this year, Easter Vigil will be at St. Ann. There will be no Easter Vigil at Sacred Heart. Traditionally we do not have large crowds at Easter Vigil as the service usually lasts about three hours. This year we have more than 20 in the RCIA, so we are expecting it may be even longer. Please remember that I have no control over this. The liturgical regulations are non-negotiable. We are required to do this according to the rules.

Masses on Easter Sunday are the normal Sunday Schedule: 8:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart, 9:30 a.m. at St. Ann, and 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart. The Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon is hosting a 1:00 p.m. Easter Mass at Sacred Heart done in the traditional African Catholic Style.

CMA

As of last Sunday, Sacred Heart is at 192% of target with 376 families participating. St. Ann is at 115% of target with 132 families participating. Remember that when any parish exceeds target, a percentage of the money over target comes back to the parish.

Thanks to all who have pledged or contributed. Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

As we move past Easter, St. Ann and Sacred Heart will be conducting meetings and discussion sessions regarding the process for “visioning for the future.” At present this has been done through Parish Council and some of the various committees. Soon this will expand to include ideas for worship enhancement, stewardship (Finance Committee), evangelization, and an all-inclusive look at charitable outreach (aka Love in Action).

We must also recognize that Beacons expects our two parish schools (St. Ann and Sacred Heart) to abandon the stance of “maintaining” what traditionally has been, and embrace a more forward looking (all encompassing) approach. To use an analogy; we have become accustomed to swimming in our fresh water lake. Now we must learn to swim in the ocean.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

I apologize for recent problems of transmission. Four weeks ago we had a problem with access codes being arbitrarily changed at both locations. Three weeks ago, we had a similar problem. Two weeks ago we had a server malfunction. Last week the devices connecting the church to the office building had been damaged by the recent storms. We have tried to correct all these problems, and hope for “smooth sailing” sometime soon.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

As a child, I remember the reading of the passion being too long. I had not yet learned the solace of meditate listening and prayer. Now as the priest taking the part of Christ, I really feel every word. I am humbled each year to remember that Jesus’ love for me is beyond my understanding. He thought of every human individual ever born as he walked the road to Calvary. God created us as individual souls. Jesus saves each of us as individuals when he dies on the cross. The Holy Spirit makes each of us a temple of his graces. We are the Body of Christ because we are in communion with one another, bound together in Christ. We will all stand as individual souls before the throne of God on Judgment Day. We are all individuals made in the image and likeness of God. What arrogance on our part to say that one “image and likeness” is more worthy of life and freedom than another.

Secular society loves to try to compel us to believe that the life of the “herd” supersedes the right of the life of the individual. Don’t be cajoled into believing that individual souls don’t matter. One fully divine and fully human man loved each one of us as individuals so completely that he died on a cross for all.

NEXT SUNDAY Easter Sunday

Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Col 3:1-4

Jn 20:1-9

Theme: Resurrection

March 17, 2024 - Fifth Sunday in Lent

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 12:28:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Palm Sunday Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Easter Vigil

Recall that on Holy Saturday, the liturgical regulations will not permit the Easter Vigil to commence until after it is dark. Therefore we are not permitted to have the normal anticipatory 4:00 p.m. Mass at Sacred Heart or the 5:15 Mass at St. Ann. The Archdiocese has recently told us that we may not start the Easter Vigil ceremony until 8:45 p.m. (They actually prefer 9:00 p.m.) Also, please remember that I asked some years ago if we could have the first part of Easter vigil (the vigil of light) at St. Ann and move to Sacred Heart for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, thus including both parishes. The answer from the Archdiocese was “NO!”

Lenten Devotions

Sometimes people like to “give up” something as a self-imposed penance during Lent. It is also possible to “do something special” as a Lenten practice. I will have Stations of the Cross and Benediction at St. Ann on the Friday evenings of Lent at 7:00 p.m. (Good Friday of Holy Week is different) and Stations of the Cross during Lent on Sunday Afternoons at Sacred Heart at 3:00 p.m. (No stations on Palm Sunday) Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is every Friday at Sacred Heart from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. Embrace to the degree you can without hurting yourself the dietary restrictions on the Friday’s during Lent. As we all live the discipline of Lent, we experience being the Body of Christ as the Church suffering. As we engage the discipline of Lent together, we hope in the promise of Easter.

CMA

As of last Sunday, Sacred Heart is at 180% of target with 459 families participating. St. Ann is at 114% of target with 166 families participating. Remember that when any parish exceeds target, a percentage of the money over target comes back to the parish.

Thanks to all who have pledged or contributed. Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

I apologize for recent problems of transmission. Three weeks ago we had a problem with access codes being arbitrarily changed at both locations. Two weeks ago, we had a similar problem. Last week we had a server malfunction. We have tried to correct all these problems, and hope for “smooth sailing” hereafter.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Jesus uses the “grain of wheat” analogy to explain his salvific mission. Just as one grain of wheat cannot provide enough food to sustain anyone; when that one grain is planted in the rich soil (in other words it dies) then it produces a head of wheat containing multiple individual seeds.

God is the creator of all life; physical and eternal. Sin kills God’s life (grace) in us. We are all sinners, and not one of us can pay the debt we owe to God. Jesus is the Son of God. Only Jesus can pay the debt we owe to God. Jesus cancels our debt owed to God by dying on the cross; the ultimate act of love. One man (Jesus) dies on the cross for all humanity. His death and resurrection is the “one seed” that produces the bountiful harvest that feeds the whole world.

Jesus is our only hope! Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him.

NEXT SUNDAY Palm Sunday

Is 50:4-7

Phil 2:6-11

Mk 14:1 – 15:47

Theme: The Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ

March 10, 2024 - Fourth Sunday in Lent

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 15:55:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Fifth Sunday of Lent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

RCIA Second and Third Scrutiny

The second scrutiny and third scrutiny both take place at the 11:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart on the Fourth Sunday and Fifth Sunday of Lent. Those to be baptized and those to be received into full communion are invited to reflect in prayer on the spiritual journey to Easter.

Easter Vigil

Lenten Devotions

On the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent, we will celebrate the scrutiny for that week at one of the weekend precept Masses. At all precept Masses during the petitions, we will prayerfully remember all of our RCIA elect catechumens and candidates.

CMA

As of last Sunday, Sacred Heart is at 176% of target with 459 families participating. St. Ann is at 113% of target with 166 families participating. Remember that when any parish exceeds target, a percentage of the money over target comes back to the parish.

Thanks to all who have pledged or contributed. Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

As we move through February, St. Ann and Sacred Heart will be conducting meetings and discussion sessions regarding the process for “visioning for the future.” At present this has been done through Parish Council and some of the various committees. Soon this will expand to include ideas for worship enhancement, stewardship (Finance Committee), evangelization, and an all-inclusive look at charitable outreach (aka Love in Action).

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

When the Israelites escaped Egypt, they entered the desert. When poison snakes came and bit the people, Moses put a seraph serpent on a staff. It represented their sin. If they acknowledged their sin by looking at the seraph serpent, they did not die. Jesus was raised up on the cross on Calvary. If we look at and ponder the cross, we will find salvation from sin in Jesus Christ. The cross of Christ is the means of our salvation. Looking at the seraph serpent, the people of Israel realized that they had to abandon Egypt as their savior and embrace God. Looking at the cross of Christ, we must acknowledge our sin so that Jesus can take it away. Acknowledge your sinfulness before the cross of Christ. Own up to it. Only then can Jesus save you from it. You can’t give away to Jesus what you don’t own.

NEXT SUNDAY The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Jer 31:31-34

Heb 5:7-9

Jn 12:20-33

Theme: Jesus admits that he came into the world to die for the world. A grain of wheat must die to feed many.

March 3, 2024 - Third Sunday in Lent

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:56:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Fourth Sunday of Lent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

RCIA First Scrutiny

The first scrutiny takes place the Third Sunday of Lent at the 11:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart. The prayers are all about the symbol of water and baptism. Those to be baptized and those to be received into full communion are invited to remember the waters of creation brought to life by the Holy Spirit, and Jesus who met the woman at the well and gave her the gift of faith. As in the past, we will only reference the “Cycle A” readings. We will use the ordinary readings for Cycle B.

Lenten Devotions

CMA

As of last Sunday, Sacred Heart is at 164% of target with 319 families participating. St. Ann is at 92% of target with 109 families participating. Remember that when any parish exceeds target, a percentage of the money over target comes back to the parish.

Thanks to all who have pledged or contributed. Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

What is Jesus so angry about? He makes a whip of cords and chases out the money changers. What were the money changers doing? They were exchanging Roman coins like the denarius for a faceless coin like the Jewish shekel. Remember that Jewish law required “no graven images.” This was especially true in the Temple. So the money changers were ripping off their own people by charging them more than the exchange rate for shekels they could use in the Temple. Jesus is not reacting to the Jewish tradition. He is reacting against the injustice of Jews taking advantage of other pious Jews; ripping them off when all they want is to worship God.

Thank goodness there is nothing happening like that nowadays! Wait a minute; we have thieves all over the internet and social media trying to scam the elderly out of their social security. We have artificial intelligence creating ways to steal your identity faster than security programing can be implemented. We have countries inviting Americans to come on vacation so that they can be kidnapped and held for ransom. Sadly man’s inhumanity to man is still alive and well.

So what would Jesus say to the level of deceit perpetrated against the innocent in today’s world? I think he would be outraged and probably making a bigger whip. I think he would challenge us to stand up against injustice. Call out business policies that let thieves win because it may cost less in the long run. Don’t be afraid to stand up for truth. Yes, it may make you the target of the bully, but think of Jesus’ use of the whip made of cords. It is not wrong or judgmental to call a “crime” a “sin.” It is not judgmental to call injustice a sin. Don’t be taken in by the slick! Accept only the truth.

NEXT SUNDAY The Fourth Sunday in Lent

2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23

Eph 2:4-10

Jn 3:14-21

Theme: The Son of Man must be lifted up so all may have eternal life.

February 25, 2024 - Second Sunday in Lent

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 16:21:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Third Sunday of Lent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Lenten Scrutiny Masses and Devotions

CMA

As of last Monday, 67 Sacred Heart families have donated or pledged 29% of the parish goal of $49,744. At the same time, 18 St. Ann families have donated or pledged 9% of the parish goal of $20,897. If we compare this year’s progress to last; 15% of the Sacred Heart donors from last year have contributed so far. Compared to last year, 11% of the St. Ann donors from last year have contributed so far.

Thanks to all who have pledged or contributed. Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The gospel story of the transfiguration appears in all three “synoptic gospels.” The awesome majesty of God is revealed “in the flesh” in Jesus Christ to Peter, James, and John. Why does Jesus preview his divinity in front of such a limited audience? Because Jesus does not want to scare them into submission! Rather he wants to show us that
God’s love is not the cause of panic, but rather the essence of fulfillment. Fear is simply a human emotion. No one ever worried their way into sainthood. But like a balloon filled with helium, God’s grace can lift us up from the fog that envelopes the valley, to allow us to see with the clarity of vision only possible above the fog. Have you ever flown in a jetliner at thirty or forty thousand feet? Once you have flown above the troposphere and looked down upon the clouds, you will never look at weather in the same way. Similarly, if God’s grace lifts you above the fog of human finitude, you will love God (never fearing God) in the light of eternity. That is what God did for Peter, James, and John in the transfiguration. Faith, logic, and love coalesce to receive a glimpse of eternity.

NEXT SUNDAY The Third Sunday in Lent

Ex 20:1-17

1 Cor 1:22-25

Jn 2:13-25

Theme: Jesus uses a whip to make a point!

February 18, 2024 - First Sunday in Lent

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 15:36:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Second Sunday of Lent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Personal Lenten Devotions

CMA

Lent is traditionally a time for almsgiving. Here in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati we began the tradition of charity last Sunday with Commitment Sunday for the CMA. Remember that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Paragraph #2447) defines our duty to participate in corporal works of mercy. Sometimes the scale of the task is beyond that which any one parish or Catholic parishioner could do. Participation in the CMA allows every Catholic in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by his or her donation to the CMA to fulfill their obligation to participate in these vital ministries; ministries that are clearly beyond the scope of any singular parish.

Thank you for considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

How do we know God’s promise is real? In the story of Noah and the flood, God places the rainbow in the sky as a sign of his assurance that the world will not ever again be destroyed completely by water. Rather in the Sacrament of Baptism we deliberately go into the font which is made to look like a tomb, so as to be “born again” when we emerge from the waters of death to eternal life in Christ. Baptism is our participation in the Resurrection of Christ. Jesus Christ the Son of God is not just the fulfillment of the promise; he is the promise fulfilled.

In today’s gospel selection, Jesus goes into that place which is the absence of life (the desert) willingly to confront sin and death. Jesus overcomes sin and death on the cross and blood and water gush from his open heart. Creation and life (blood and water) becomes a new flood of grace giving eternal life to the world.

By water (the flood) God showed that sin equals death. The Holy Spirit hovers over the waters at creation. Jesus Christ is the new creation by water and blood from his side on the cross. Jesus Christ the Son of God is the source of the New Creation in (water) baptism, which is Resurrection and eternal life in Christ forever. What God created the Son of God redeemed and through the graces of the Holy Spirit in Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist our destiny becomes to be eternal. Jesus truly is the “alpha” and the “Omega.”

NEXT SUNDAY The Second Sunday in Lent

Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

Rom 8:31b-34

Mk 9:2-10

Theme: Transfiguration

February 11, 2024 - 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 14:04:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The First Sunday of Lent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Personal Lenten Devotions

Ash Wednesday is February 14, 2024. Sometimes people like to “give up” something as a self-imposed penance during Lent. It is also possible to “do something special” as a Lenten practice. I will have Stations of the Cross and Benediction at St. Ann on the Friday evenings of Lent at 7:00 p.m. (Good Friday of Holy Week is different) and Stations of the Cross during Lent on Sunday Afternoons at Sacred Heart at 3:00 p.m. (No stations on Palm Sunday)

Dietary Rules of Lent

Rules of Fasting and Abstinence are not intended to do any harm. They are designed to

make us aware of “why” we are fasting or abstaining. The self-deprivation reminds us

that Jesus died on the cross for us. Our act of penance reminds us of who we are and why

we do what we do. During Lent, Catholics are asked to abstain from meat on Ash

Wednesday and the Fridays during Lent, and fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Abstinence simply means “abstaining from meat.” The flesh of mammals and birds

(essentially any animal that is warm blooded) is considered meat. The flesh of reptiles,

fish (cold blooded), bird “eggs” and cheese are not considered meat. The chicken itself is

warm blooded and thus is considered meat. Anyone fourteen years of age or older who

will not be physically harmed by the diet is asked to abstain from meat on Ash

Wednesday and the Fridays during Lent.

We define fasting for Lenten purposes as meaning eating only one regular meal and two

smaller meals or snacks, with no eating between meals. Fasting only applies on Ash

Wednesday and Good Friday and then only to those between the ages of 18 and 59 who

have no medical problem aggravated by the practice.

Looking ahead!

Remember that Easter is early this year, so Ash Wednesday is also a bit earlier than usual. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday February 14. Ashes will be distributed at the regular weekday Masses at St. Ann and Sacred Heart, plus we will have a special 7:00 p.m. Mass at Sacred Heart on Ash Wednesday at which ashes will be distributed. Ash Wednesday is NOT a Holyday of Obligation. There is NO obligation to attend Mass or receive ashes.

Lenten dietary practices have been listed above.

CMA

Thank you for considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA. I will report each week the results I have in the bulletin.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

As we move through the end of January into February, St. Ann and Sacred Heart will be conducting meetings and discussion sessions regarding the process for “visioning for the future.” At present this has been done through Parish Council and some of the various committees. Soon this will expand to include ideas for worship enhancement, stewardship (Finance Committee), evangelization, and an all-inclusive look at charitable outreach (aka Love in Action).

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Leprosy at the time of Jesus required you to be separated from the community by quarantine of distance and proximity. To be socially acceptable, you had to tear you garments, put dirt on your face, and yell out the warning “unclean” to anyone foolish enough to approach you. The quarantine could only be lifted by the priests.

Today, the fad among politicians and celebrities is to say, “I am very spiritual, but not religious.” In other words, I am not affiliated with any organized religion. This is intended to socially denigrate religion to being the new leprosy. Clearly you can be nondescript “spiritual” and not offend anyone. The advisor of faith and morals has become the opinion of celebrity or the majority in the most recent poll. Conscience has been relegated to the perceptions of the majority, not adherence to any code or rubric authored by any deity. If you dare to identify your religious affiliation by wearing a cross or “chi rho” pin, you may be asking to be cancelled. It is fine to be proud of your personal faith. It is not socially acceptable among the elite to be proud of your Catholic Faith. Identifying as a member of the Catholic Church is the new leprosy.

I suggest we not worry about wearing the vestiges of faith as much as we concern ourselves with living our faith so openly and eloquently that our charity becomes the symbol. St. Mother of Teresa of Calcutta and her order wore the simplest of habits, so that their looks blended in. They are identified by their charity and poverty of spirit.

Fashion sometimes requires that the manufacturer of your clothing place their doing business as name conspicuously on the article of clothing. Showing off the label supposedly makes you accepted or “cool.” If you are a follower of Christ, let charity become your symbol. It may not be looked upon as fashionable on earth, but you will be stylish forever in Heaven.

NEXT SUNDAY The First Sunday in Lent

Gn 9:8-15

1 Pt 3:18-22

Mk 1:12-15

Theme: The new leprosy is being religious!

February 4, 2024 - Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:18:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Boyscout Sunday

Next Sunday we will celebrate Boy Scout Sunday at the 11:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart.

Looking ahead!

Lenten dietary practices will be printed in next week’s bulletin but remember that Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of “Fasting.” Fasting applies only to those who are between the ages of 21 and 59. It does not apply to anyone who would be medically or emotionally harmed by eating only one regular meal, two smaller meals, and no snacks during the day. “Abstinence” means not eating meat. Abstinence is practiced by those over the age of 14 and includes Ash Wednesday and the majority of Fridays during Lent. I will give more details in next week’s bulletin.

This Weekend is CMA Commitment Weekend

Lent is traditionally a time for almsgiving. Here in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati we began the annual Catholic Ministries Appeal by listening to a message from the Archbishop. This message was played in every Archdiocesan parish at the weekend precept Masses on January 20 & 21. The Archbishop reminded us of the need to focus on Archdiocesan programs that no parish could ever provide individually. These ministries include our Archdiocesan Seminary (Mt. St. Mary Seminary), St. Rita School for the Deaf, Catholic Charities and Social Services, retirement fund for Archdiocesan priests, chaplains for Campus, Hospital, and Prison ministries, and the revitalization program known as New Evangelization. Remember that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Paragraph #2447) defines our duty to participate in corporal works of mercy. Sometimes the scale of the task is beyond that which any one parish or Catholic parishioner could do. Participation in the CMA allows every Catholic in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by his or her donation to the CMA to fulfill their obligation to participate in these vital ministries; ministries that are clearly beyond the scope of any singular parish.

If you have donated to the CMA in the past, you should have received through the mail a pledge card and return envelope for the CMA. Please prayerfully consider participation. Once you have completed your pledge or donation, you may place your stamp on the envelope and send it in, or you can bring the sealed envelope with you to Mass and place it in the collection basket. We have bulk mail envelopes from the Archdiocese by which we can send them in.

Thank you for considering a donation or pledge to this year’s CMA.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

I apologize that on January 27 ^th the 4:00 p.m. Saturday Evening Mass was not live streamed from Sacred Heart. Apparently someone inadvertently pushed some command buttons on the equipment used for transmission. We are looking at the surveillance cameras to identify how this happened, but suffice it to say by pushing one button the person effectively wiped out our interface programing. We are working on a way to contain the unit so it is accessible only to authorized personnel. Barring the unforeseeable; Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

If you really want to be depressed (and I cannot understand why anyone would seek this) just settle back and read today’s first reading from Job. This selection is one of the most unhopeful and pessimistic passages ever written. And yet, if you read it with unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, the words become a beacon of hope. In the second reading, St. Paul says, “It is not all about me!” Indeed, that is the point of faith in Jesus Christ. It is and must be all about him! In the gospel, Jesus says he distains notoriety or celebrity. He is here to plant the seeds of faith, hope, and charity, the theological virtues.

Why is there so much depression (especially among our youth) in our contemporary world? I submit it is because atheistic social forces in media, politics, art, entertainment, etc. want us to see the world without hope. As a farmer uses the pain caused by a chain in the bull’s nose to manipulate the bull’s aggressive behavior, so also a depressed population can be controlled and manipulated by evil people preaching pessimism. If there is no God then there is no hope in Jesus Christ. If Jesus isn’t real, there is no hope in the world, and no hope for the world. Then secular atheism (dialectic materialism) which has plowed the ground of hopelessness with the plow of pessimism, steps in with the solution of social anesthetics to dull the pain. Like a junky pushing drugs; once he has you hooked on despair, he owns your life.

The devil is the “pusher” aided by his minions the “atheists” who use despair to control their herd of the chronically depressed. There is only one antidote; one way out of the maze! The hope for the world and everyone in it is Jesus Christ.

Think of it like breakfast! Does it ruin your breakfast or day simply because you have to go out to the chicken coop and collect the eggs from beneath the hens who laid them? Similarly, how can you be owned by depression when you are sure Jesus has a place for you in Heaven? If you look forward to savoring the omelet, collecting the eggs is an act of hope. See the hope in today’s reading by finding Jesus Christ!

NEXT SUNDAY The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lv 13;1-2, 44-46

1 Cor 10:31-11:1

Mk 1:40-45

Theme: The contemporary leprosy!

January 28, 2024 - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 14:03:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Catholic School’s Week

Today is the beginning of National Catholic Schools Week. Both St. Ann School and Sacred Heart School will fill the week with special presentations and prayers. Let us celebrate the wealth and tradition that we have in the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with our two parish schools.

CMA Commitment Weekend is February 3 & 4

The Liturgical Season of Lent begins Ash Wednesday (February 14). Lent is traditionally a time for almsgiving. Here in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati we began the annual Catholic Ministries Appeal by listening to a message from the Archbishop. This message was played in every Archdiocesan parish at the weekend precept Masses on January 20 & 21. The Archbishop reminded us of the need to focus on Archdiocesan programs that no parish could ever provide individually. These ministries include our Archdiocesan Seminary (Mt. St. Mary Seminary), St. Rita School for the Deaf, Catholic Charities and Social Services, retirement fund for Archdiocesan priests, chaplains for Campus, Hospital, and Prison ministries, and the revitalization program known as New Evangelization. Remember that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Paragraph #2447) defines our duty to participate in corporal works of mercy. Sometimes the scale of the task is beyond that which any one parish or Catholic parishioner could do. Participation in the CMA allows every Catholic in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by his or her donation to the CMA to fulfill their obligation to participate in these vital ministries; ministries that are clearly beyond the scope of any singular parish.

If you have donated to the CMA in the past, you should have received, or will soon receive through the mail, a pledge card and return envelope for the CMA. Please prayerfully consider participation. Once you have completed your pledge or donation, you may place your stamp on the envelope and send it in, or you can bring the sealed envelope with you to Mass and place it in the collection basket. We have bulk mail envelopes from the Archdiocese by which we can send them in.

Remember that next weekend (February 3 & 4) are dedicated as Commitment Sunday for the CMA.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

As we move through the end of January into February, St. Ann and Sacred Heart will be conducting meetings and discussion sessions regarding the process for “visioning for the future.” The more people who contribute to the collective brainstorming the better! Check the bulletin for opportunities as they are announced.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

If you are follower of Christ, there is no such thing as a “good distraction.” Certain matters require our full attention. In baseball, when you are at the plate bat in hand, there are no good distractions. You are either focused on hitting the incoming pitch or you strike out. Similarly, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I either live in Christ or I flounder in sin. In today’s reading from Deuteronomy, Moses reminds those who wish to be prophets that they are either true to God’s word, or they deceive. Eternity does not go well for deceivers. In the second reading from 1 Corinthians, St. Paul reminds the faithful not to waste time with unnecessary focus on the temporal, but concentrate on every moment of life in seeking the eternal. In the gospel reading from Mark, Jesus dismisses the revelation of his purpose by the unclean spirit he is casting out as a distraction. Jesus calls out the unclean spirit as a diversion from the Word of God.

We live in a world filled with more “attractive distractions” than at any other time in history. In the midst of all these distractions, Jesus challenges us to keep our “eyes on the prize.” For us, the only prize is eternity with Jesus Christ.

NEXT SUNDAY The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Job 7:1-4, 6-7

1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

Mk 1:29-39

Theme: Evangelization is an “all in” decision!

January 21, 2024 - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary TIme

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 14:02:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Catholic School’s Week

Next Sunday, January 28 begins National Catholic Schools Week. Both St. Ann School and Sacred Heart School will make the week with special presentations and prayers. Let us celebrate the wealth and tradition that we have in the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with our two parish schools.

CMA Commitment Weekend is February 3 & 4

The Liturgical Season of Lent begins Ash Wednesday (February 14). Lent is traditionally a time for almsgiving. Here in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati we begin the annual Catholic Ministries Appeal with a message from the Archbishop. This message will be played in every Archdiocesan parish at the weekend precept Masses on January 20 & 21. The Archbishop will remind us of the need to focus on Archdiocesan programs that no parish could ever provide individually. These ministries include our Archdiocesan Seminary (Mt. St. Mary Seminary), St. Rita School for the Deaf, Catholic Charities and Social Services, retirement fund for Archdiocesan priests, chaplains for Campus, Hospital, and Prison ministries, and the revitalization program known as New Evangelization. Remember that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Paragraph #2447) defines our duty to participate in corporal works of mercy. Sometimes the scale of the task is beyond that which any one parish or Catholic parishioner could do. Participation in the CMA allows every Catholic in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by his or her donation to the CMA to fulfill their obligation to participate in these vital ministries; ministries that are clearly beyond the scope of any singular parish.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

As we move into January, St. Ann and Sacred Heart will be conducting meetings and discussion sessions regarding the process for “visioning for the future.” The more people who contribute to the collective brainstorming the better! Check the bulletin for opportunities as they are announced.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Conversion cannot be tentative. If conversion to Gods way is real, it must be absolute. In today’s scriptures, when Jonah warned the people of Nineveh to “Repent or else!” the people of Nineveh put on sackcloth and ashes. The directive from God was apodictic. The response of Nineveh was absolute and unconditional.

In today’s gospel Jesus calls his apostles. They immediately abandon their jobs and livelihood and follow him. Their acceptance of the call was absolute and irreversible.

Acceptance of Jesus Christ requires absolute commitment and unwavering resolve. When you bet your life on Jesus, you cannot hedge your bets. With Jesus, you are either all in, or out the door.

NEXT SUNDAY The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dt 18:15-20

1 Cor 7:32-35

Mk 1:21-28

Theme: Evangelize, but do it the Lord’s way!

January 14, 2024 - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 14:01:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

CMA Commitment Weekend is February 3 & 4

Please listen carefully with your heart as we play the Archbishop’s message next Sunday.

Declaration from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recently published the declaration Fiducia Supplicans on the pastoral meaning of blessings. The media (in my opinion) deceivingly reported this as “Pope allows for blessing of same-sex marriages.” The following is paragraph 39 of the referenced declaration: “ 39. In any case, precisely to avoid any form of confusion or scandal, when the prayer of blessing is requested by a couple in an irregular situation, even though it is expressed outside the rites prescribed by the liturgical books, this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding. The same applies when the blessing is requested by a same-sex couple.

Clearly the Dicastery has NOT legitimized “marriage” or for that matter “a marriage ceremony” for couples in canonically irregular situations in general; or for same-sex couples in particular. The Holy Father has simply permitted for pastoral reasons, non-liturgical prayers for and private prayer blessings of persons whose situation renders them canonically constrained.

So when you hear broadcasts stating that the Catholic Church is now doing same-sex marriages, be assured that this is not accurate.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Cephas ( in Aramaic “Kephas”) is the Aramaic word for “rock.” The New Testament was written in koine Greek. In koine Greek, the word for “stone” is “Petra” or Peter. In today’s gospel, Jesus gives this nickname to Simon. Thus he becomes known as “Simon Peter” or “Simon, the rock.” In architecture, building on immovable stone is a foundational standard. Stone or rock is the antithesis of flexibility. Therefore, Jesus was complementing St. Peter with his nickname “Rock” and commenting on his unwavering loyalty. Jesus was saying St. Peter’s loyalty was “rock solid.” He was “all heart.”

In today’s first reading we hear the story of the “Call of Samuel.” At first, Samuel cannot differentiate the call of God from the voice of Eli. Finally when he opens his ears in faith, he responds to God’s call.

How do we hear God’s personal call (aka Conscience) in the midst of being summoned by a hedonistic world? We research the Sacred Scripture and the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church. Once we recognize that it is God who is calling us, then we can form our conscience accordingly. In today’s electronic media terms; the world sends us all kinds of SPAM. God speaks solid truth to our hearts!

NEXT SUNDAY The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jon 3:1-5, 10

1 Cor 7:29-31

Mk 1:14-20

Theme: “I will make you fishers of men.”

January 7, 2024 - The Epiphany of the Lord

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 14:35:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Declaration from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

So when you hear broadcasts stating that the Catholic Church is now doing same-sex marriages, be assured that this is not accurate.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

This year, the Epiphany of the Lord falls on January 7, 2024; and the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated the next day Monday, January 8, 2024. As you can see, Sunday, January 14 then becomes the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The liturgical Christmas Season officially ends with the Baptism of the Lord.

Easter 2024 (March 31) for western Christians is always calculated as the first Sunday after the first full moon (March 25) after the spring (vernal) equinox which is March 20 (or March 19 depending on time zone). Ash Wednesday is February 14! To top it off, this year is “leap year” and so there is a February 29 ^th in 2024 calendar.

The Christmas Season seems to have come and gone so quickly. In celebrating Epiphany, we realize that the beginning of Lent is only 37 days away. So with all this being compressed into about a hectic six week period, why is Epiphany a big deal?

Epiphany celebrates the coming of the Magi to see the newborn Jesus; recognizing him as the King of the Jews and the long awaited Messiah. The Magi represent to whole world. The Savior of the World Jesus Christ is the one reality that can melt away all divisions and all that separates us from one another. Jesus Christ allows us to express our unity as humanity without arbitrarily imposed uniformity. On the Feast of the Epiphany, the Holy Spirit allows us to identify ourselves as one of many individual souls made in the image and likeness of God.

Do we see ourselves as nothing more than one of the “herd of humanity?” Just being one of the herd gives us no identity. Identify yourself as an immortal soul, created by God, baptized and reborn in Jesus Christ, and destined for eternal life in him. The magi recognized an infant as the Savior of the World, the King of Kings. Look into the mirror of your soul and see an inimitable and unique reflection of God. That is the epiphany our world so desperately needs today.

NEXT SUNDAY The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19

1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20

Jh 1:35-42

Theme: The call of Simon Peter

January 31, 2023 - The Feast of the Holy Family

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 11:01:00 GMT

Next Sunday: The Epiphany of the Lord Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

New Year’s Eve (Sunday afternoon) and Day (Monday)

New Year’s is NOT a Holyday of Obligation this year. There is NO SUNDAY EVENING Mass on New Year’s Eve. Liturgically it is still the Feast of Mary the Mother of God (aka Theotokos ) but the canonical precept obligation to attend Mass on the eve of the Holyday or the Holyday itself is eliminated.

Therefore Sunday, December 31, 2023 (the last day of 2023) will be the Feast of the Holy Family as usual, but there is no canonical precept obligation to attend Mass for the Monday, January 1, 2024 Holyday. Therefore, there is NO Sunday evening Mass on New Year’s Eve. On Monday Morning New Year’s Day there will be Mass at Sacred Heart at the usual 7:30 a.m. time slot, and Mass at St. Ann’s at 9:00 a.m. because the “Holyday is also a Holiday!” There will not be a 6:30 a.m. Mass on January 1, 2024.

Declaration from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

So when you hear broadcasts stating that the Catholic Church is now doing same-sex marriages, be assured that this is not accurate.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The Feast of the Holy Family reminds us each year that the Church is our “blood family.”

Now you may say that by saying this I am denying the reality of DNA and genetics. In fact, I am in no way denying science. I am simply stating that physical reality is subordinated to metaphysical reality. Science is dependent upon empirical evidence. Spiritual reality is dependent on faith. When Jesus Christ tells us that in the Eucharist we drink his blood, then we are “blood brothers and sisters.” If we eat his flesh, then we are his body. If we are united with Jesus Christ body and blood, soul and divinity; then we are more than physically in touch with our Lord and Savior; we are one in the love of God which is a reality far beyond any physical measures of width, length, or depth.

Magicians make us see physical things that are not real. Faith allows us to see realities that are not physical. Jesus died and then rose from the dead. Jesus is real. His promises are real. Heaven is our real home. If we are not one in Christ, then this is all an elaborate illusion.

NEXT SUNDAY The Epiphany of the Lord

Is 60:1-6

Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Mt 2:1-12

Theme: Jesus Christ is savior for all humanity

December 24, 2023 - Fourth Sunday of Advent

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 10:57:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Feast of the Holy Family Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Fourth Sunday of Advent (today) is Christmas Eve

We will celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent on the morning of Sunday, December 24, and begin the celebration of Christmas Masses that afternoon at 3:00 p.m. I realize that asking Catholic people to celebrate two major feast days (the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas) within the course of 57 consecutive hours seems a bit much; but this is precisely what the calendar requires us to do this year.

Unfortunately this means we cannot celebrate a “two-fer”! You cannot satisfy the “Sunday obligation” by celebrating the anticipatory Christmas Mass on a Sunday afternoon. Similarly you cannot celebrate Christmas by attending a Fourth Sunday of Advent Mass on Sunday Morning (December 24). Essentially, you can celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent by attending a Mass after 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon or by attending Sunday Morning (Christmas Eve) Masses before Noon. Masses starting from 3:00 p.m. or thereafter on Sunday afternoon will be for Christmas, not for the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

Confused? Don’t be concerned. If you intend to go to Mass to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve (Sunday) consider attending an anticipatory Sunday Mass on Saturday, December 23 like the 4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart or the 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann. Or similarly, if you always go to Mass on Sunday Morning, consider a Christmas Morning Mass on Monday (Christmas Day). It may help make the separation between Sunday and Christmas more distinct. And remember that 2024 is a leap year, so Christmas next year in 2024 will be on a Wednesday which solves the problem.

Preview of Christmas Schedule for the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Fourth Sunday of Advent Precept Masses on Saturday, December 23 and Sunday Morning December 24 at St. Ann and Sacred Heart will take place according to the usual weekend schedule.

Christmas Eve (Sunday afternoon and evening) precept Masses for Christmas are as follows: Sunday (December 24) Christmas Eve 3:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart, 5:00 p.m. at St. Ann, 10:00 p.m. at St. Ann, and midnight (12:00 a.m.) at Sacred Heart. Christmas Masses on Monday morning (Christmas Day) will follow the Sunday schedule, namely 8:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart, 9:30 a.m. at St. Ann, and 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart.

Looking ahead to New Year’s Eve and Day

New Year’s is NOT a Holyday of Obligation this year. There is NO SUNDAY EVENING Mass on New Year’s Eve. Liturgically it is still the Feast of Mary the Mother of God (aka Theotokos ) but the canonical precept obligation to attend Mass on the Holyday is eliminated.

Therefore Sunday, December 31, 2023 (the last day of 2023) will be the Feast of the Holy Family as usual, but there is no canonical precept obligation to attend Mass for the Monday, January 1, 2024 Holyday. Therefore, there is NO Sunday evening Mass on New Year’s Eve. On Monday Morning New Year’s Day there will be Mass at Sacred Heart at the usual 7:30 a.m. time slot, and Mass at St. Ann’s at 9:00 a.m. because the “Holyday is also a Holiday!” There will not be a 6:30 a.m. Mass on January 1, 2024.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

“Hail Mary, full of grace….” Why was Mary already full of grace? Because God had a plan in the Immaculate Conception of Mary. God filled her with grace from the first moment she existed in her mother’s womb. God had predestined her by his grace to be the mother of the Savior of the World. Therefore, Easter is a direct result of Good Friday. Good Friday is a direct result of Christmas. Christmas is a direct result of the Annunciation. The Annunciation is a direct result of the Immaculate Conception. It all happened exactly as God planned it. God is the origin of everything. Pentecost and the Church is the culmination of God’s plan. When God makes a plan, it works!

NEXT SUNDAY Feast of the Holy Family (New Years Eve)

Sir 3:2-6, 12-14

Col 3:12-21

Lk 2:22-40

Theme: Our Family is part of the Family’s Family, the Church

December 17, 2023 - Third Sunday of Advent

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 10:56:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Fourth Sunday of Advent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Christmas is on a Monday this Year

Preview of Christmas Schedule for the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Fourth Sunday of Advent Precept Masses on Saturday, December 23 and Sunday Morning December 24 at St. Ann and Sacred Heart will take place according to the usual weekend schedule.

Extra Confession Times for Christmas

The week before Christmas, I will have the usual confession time of 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. at St. Ann. On Thursday, December 21 ^st I will have confessions from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart. The final confession time before Christmas will be Saturday morning December 23 at Sacred Heart from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Nota Bene: Please do not wait to the last minute for Confession on Saturday Morning! If I should have to have a funeral that day, I will have to stop confessions at 9:30 a.m. whether all are heard or not!

Looking ahead to New Year’s Eve and Day

Therefore Sunday, December 31, 2023 (the last day of 2023) will be the Feast of the Holy Family as usual, but there is no canonical precept obligation to attend Mass for the Monday, January 1, 2024 Holyday. On Monday Morning New Year’s Day there will be Mass at Sacred Heart at the usual 7:30 a.m. time slot, and Mass at St. Ann’s at 9:00 a.m. because the “Holyday is also a Holiday!” There will not be a 6:30 a.m. Mass on January 1, 2024.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Today is called “Gaudate Sunday.” Today we lighten up from Advent to rejoice. We light the pink candle in the midst of purple. We have climbed the mountain of preparation. From here on, it is all down-hill. This is the theme of today’s readings and prayers. We celebrate being almost there.

In football, you don’t want to stop running until you break the plane of the goal line. If you slack off at the end, you may be tackled short of the goal line. But Gaudate Sunday is not a time to brag or act arrogantly. Rather it is a time to enjoy what comes next. When what comes next is Jesus Christ it is time to smile.

Gaudate Sunday begins late Advent. Late Advent is the time to look forward to the birthday of Jesus. Others may say, “What’s the big deal about Christmas?” We smile and say, “If you knew Jesus, you would understand.”

NEXT WEEK Fourth Sunday of Advent (The day before Christmas)

2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

Rom 16:25-27

Lk 1:26-38

Theme: The Annunciation

December 10, 2023 - Second Sunday of Advent

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 10:26:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Third Sunday of Advent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Christmas is on a Monday this Year

Preview of Christmas Schedule for the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Fourth Sunday of Advent Precept Masses on Saturday, December 23 and Sunday Morning December 24 at St. Ann and Sacred Heart will take place according to the usual weekend schedule.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

We have moved into Phase Two which is “Visioning.” We will endeavor to discern goals and create teams. We will explore opportunities for the parish to reach out in faith into a broader scope of our communities. We intend to pinpoint the purposes for our stewardship efforts and consider new ways to structure into cost centers which could pinpoint purpose and enhance revenue sources. We will marginalize the maintenance of the impractical and highlight the opportunities for purposeful expansion. We will seek to redefine the pathway and reaffirm priorities. All this must be done is the context of practicality and feasibility. We will look for opportunities to expand, not just maintain. Discussion sessions for groups and the general parish population are planned to begin in earnest after the Holidays.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Where do we seek shelter? Where do we experience security? Where do we go for comfort? Most of us would probably respond, “We go Home.” For most of us “Home” was and/or is the place where we feel comfortable, safe, and loved. Isaiah says in our first reading that God loves us like a shepherd carries the lambs close to his chest and leads the ewes with care. But then the second reading from 2 Peter seems to say heaven and earth are passing away. In other words, “You can’t go home!” In the gospel, John the Baptist reminds us that by faith in Jesus, we have a new home. Our new home is not a place, but a person; namely Jesus Christ.

If we seek security, comfort , and peace, in this world….our souls will never feel at home. We sing at funerals the song based on Psalm 62, “Only in God is my soul at rest…” The eschatological answer to longing souls is simple. You don’t need a map of the universe. You don’t need a celestial GPS. You simply need to acquiesce to the love of God freely given in his Son Jesus Christ. In faith, the old adage is wrong. You can go home; but not in a car, or plane, or even meditation. You can only find peace, rest, and consolation in a person; Jesus Christ.

NEXT WEEK Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday)

Is 61:1-2a, 10-11

1 Thes 5:16-24

Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

Theme: John the Baptist introduces Jesus

December 3, 2023 - First Sunday of Advent

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:50:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Second Sunday of Advent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

This coming Friday is December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a Holyday of Obligation. The obligation cannot be released (even though it is a Friday) due to the fact that the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast for our nation. Therefore, we will have the regular “Holyday” Mass schedule for Friday, December 8. On Thursday, December 7 we will have 5:30 Mass at St. Ann and 7:00 p.m. Mass at Sacred Heart. On Friday, December 8, we will have 6:30 a.m. at St. Ann, 7:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart, 8:15 a.m. School Mass at Sacred Heart (limited access only through the school) 10:00 a.m. school Mass at St. Ann (limited access) and 7:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart.

Advent

Advent is constituted by the four consecutive Sundays prior to Christmas. It could theoretically be twenty eight (28) days long if Christmas falls on a Sunday (as it did last year)! However, since Christmas falls on a Monday this year, Advent is 22 days long (the shortest Advent possible). We will celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent on the morning of Sunday, December 24, and begin the celebration of Christmas Masses that afternoon at 3:00 p.m. I realize that asking Catholic people to celebrate two major feast days (the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas) within the course of 57 consecutive hours seems a bit much; this is precisely what the calendar requires us to do this year.

Advent Communal Penance Service

Remember that the communal Advent Penance Service for the Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (the new name for “St. Ann and Sacred Heart Family”) will take place at 7:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart on Wednesday, December 6, at 7:00 p.m. There will be multiple priests hearing confessions.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will be live streamed each week.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Today’s scripture encourages us to be “alert.” This is not the same as being on edge. The old adage says a “watched pot never boils.” What is the meaning of the adage? I contend it reminds us that being on edge is not a prudent way to wait. Rather, I contend that being alert to all that is going on around us while we conduct business as usual is creative waiting and constitutes being watchful and alert. A mother with a small child may be immersed in cooking for her family, but she is also alert and listening for a cry or signal from her small infant revealing something amiss. As St. Paul tells the Thessalonians in his second letter to them, you do not need to stop living and working as you await the Second Coming! You simply need to be alert to recognize the realities.

As we live out the last month of calendar year 2023, most would admit that we live in perilous times. The threat of another “world war” seems more plausible than it has been in the last seventy years. We are constantly bombarded with advice from experts who NEVER mention prayer or God in any advice. The powers that be say there is much that divides us, but then only seek to engender suspicion between arbitrary groupings of people herded into opinion camps between which conversation and mutual respect are defined by them as anathema. Today’s scripture advises us to take care of our normal duties and obligations, but live alert, not to the prognostications of the media, but to the Word of God. The only plan for survival that will work is God’s plan. God’s plan is not devised by “opinion polls” or dependent upon the newest psychological or sociological paradigm. Be alert to the future as if you had a direct line to God. You do!

NEXT WEEK Second Sunday of Advent

Is 40:1-5, 9-11

2 Pt 3:8-14

Mk 1:1-8

Theme: John the Baptist

November 26, 2023 - Our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:48:00 GMT

Next Sunday: First Sunday of Advent Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light Phase Two

We are now moving into Phase Two which is “Visioning.” We will use this time to discern goals and create teams. We will explore opportunities for the parish to reach out in faith into a broader scope of community. We can pinpoint the purposes for our stewardship efforts and consider new ways to structure into cost centers which could pinpoint purpose and enhance revenue sources. We will marginalize the maintenance of the impractical and highlight the opportunities for purposeful expansion. We will seek to redefine the pathway and reaffirm priorities. All this must be done is the context of practicality and feasibility. We will look for opportunities to expand, not just maintain. Please watch for discussion sessions that peak your interest as we move forward through this discernment process.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, the Wednesday evening Mass will be live streamed at 7:00 p.m. Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will also be live streamed.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The story of the final judgment in Matthew 25 is filled with symbols. The sheep are on the right, goats on the left. The left hand is looked upon as the source of the sinister. The “dextera” or right hand is the hand doing good or exhibiting dexterity. (My mother was left handed and despised the meaning of the two words.) Sheep are able to be herded and controlled. Goats are given to recalcitrant behavior. The sheep go off to Heaven because they learned to show love for God by care for others. The goats of course went to Hell because they did not care for anyone but themselves. Their selfishness was their undoing.

This parable is often referred to as the basis for “Social Gospel.” You cannot do a favor for God! God does not need our favors. But we can show love for God by caring for one another. The message of the scripture this feast of Christ the King is, “If you want to show love for God, cast aside selfishness and show your love for God by caring for his humanity.

NEXT WEEK First Sunday of Advent

Is 63:16b-17, 19b, 64:2-7

1 Cor 1:3-9

Mk 13:33-37

Theme: Keep watch

November 19, 2023 - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 13:36:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Our Lord Christ the King Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is NOT a Holyday of Obligation under Catholic Precept Law, but it is a national holiday based on the premise that all (each in their-own unique way) should give thanks to God for all the blessings we have in this country. Masses for Thanksgiving begin on Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart. Masses on Thanksgiving Day are at 7:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart and 9:00 a.m. at St. Ann.

There is no offertory collection for the parishes, but if you wish to bring can goods for the poor, we will make provision to see that they get to our usual distribution agencies. Note to ushers, sacristans, and volunteers: Please note that there is a Wedding Rehearsal at St. Ann on Thanksgiving evening and a Wedding on Friday evening.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Barring the unforeseen, the Wednesday evening Mass will be live streamed at 7:00 p.m. Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart and Sunday morning at St. Ann will also be live streamed.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The parable of the talents unequivocally confirms that God does not associate dismissive lethargy with success. Procrastination is not a plan! We often feel sorry for the third steward who out of fear buries the talent in a hiding place. In essence, the parable teaches that we must invest ourselves in the service of the Lord or we are guilty of insulting the Lord. In the realm of contemporary financial investing, the decision to hold all assets in cash can be considered a defensive posture. In this realm, success will be judged by the comparative return on investment. But God does not judge investment by “return.” God can make the return anything he wants it to be. God created everything and thus owns everything. God judges sincerity of heart. Sincerity of heart never stands idle. The return God is looking for is the genuine effort we make for him. St. Thomas Aquinas once stated that all morality could be summed up with four words: “Do Good. Avoid Evil.” St. Thomas did not suggest “do nothing.”

After the dust cleared from the November 7 ^th vote against traditional Judeo Christian morality, some said that the Ohio Catholic Bishops and the majority of their priests had not done enough or had “messed up.” I respond that whenever you stand up for the teachings of Jesus, you never lose! Some say that we were (like Don Quixote), that is “jousting with windmills.” We may laugh at the character of Don Quixote. But what if God sees the effort of Don Quixote as admirable? Who is the winner then?

NEXT WEEK Our Lord Christ the King

Ez 34:11-12, 15-17

1 Cor 15:20-26,28

Mt 25:31-46

Theme: Separating Goats and Sheep

November 12, 2023 - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 13:32:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Genuflecting appropriate at Sacred Heart

Hopefully as soon as November 17, we will move the tabernacle at Sacred Heart to the center of the sanctuary. Thus when the tabernacle and sanctuary lamp are in the sanctuary, upon entering the nave, we should genuflect to the Blessed Sacrament or a solemn bow as we do before the tabernacle at St. Ann. Since we as Immaculate Heart of Mary Family (St. Ann and Sacred Heart) use both churches as worship space for common worship, I just wanted to give everyone a “Heads Up!”

Beacons of Light Phase Two

In Phase One of Beacons of Light (Leadership) we hired or promoted from within the four “Directors” who will be in charge of much of what the pastor traditionally has done that is non-sacramental. This restructuring allows the parish to focus on evangelization rather than simply maintaining what we have done in the past and doing it the same way. In addition to hiring and promoting lay ministers, we have refined the Sunday Mass schedule so that the Family can be served by only one priest.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

A apologize that the 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 4 was not live streamed. Someone unplugged the router and I had no time to sort out the problem before Mass. Therefore, I live streamed the 5:15 p.m. from St. Ann, and then live streamed the 8:00 a.m. from Sacred Heart the next morning. I also live streamed the 2:00 p.m. Memorial Mass. Sorry I missed live streaming the 4:00 p.m. Mass. When I discovered there was no internet, there was no time to investigate before Mass.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Those poor foolish bridesmaids! The wise bridesmaids brought plenty of oil so they could extend the flame of their torches. The foolish of course had come unprepared. Then to add insult to injury, the wise bridesmaids refused to share their oil as they all might be out of luck. The foolish had to go out shopping, and in the meantime they missed their chance to meet the bridegroom. Doesn’t this all make the “stingy” wise bridesmaids the bad guys?

Jesus is analogizing oil for torches for living one’s faith. The wise bridesmaids had been living their faith all along. They had stored up actual grace. When the opportunity arose to actively wait for Jesus, they knew how to do it! The foolish bridesmaids had done nothing but prepare to wait. Because the foolish had wasted their time, they did not have the grace of having practiced to know how to wait productively. If you don’t live in the light, you condemn yourself in darkness.

We all know the guys who come on a fishing trip and never think to bring a pole or bait. They have their minds on too many other things. Jesus encourages us to be wise. Practice your faith and store up grace. Then your life of waiting for the Lord will prove productive and you will be ready to meet him when he comes.

NEXT WEEK Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

1 Thes 5:1-6

Mt 25:14-30

Theme: Parable of the Talents

November 5, 2023 - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 12:03:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

All Souls Day, the forgotten day of Prayer

All hallows eve (aka Halloween) is the day before the Feast of All Saints. A “saint” is a holy soul who is in Heaven with God forever. Saints are our spiritual heroes in a world that has forsaken heroism. Oh yes, we have sports heroes; movie stars, and celebrities. We acknowledge and offer awards to some soldiers and first responders who give their lives protecting us. But most inspiring heroic actions remain known only to God. But just because you did not get a spot on the evening news does not diminish your contribution to “goodness” in our society and world.

In the early days of the Church, each town had their list of Christian martyrs. After Constantine became emperor and the Church became more organized, it was decided that the lists would be brought together to form one “master list” in Rome. In Latin, canon means list. Thus when your town’s hero was placed on the list, he/she was canonized.

The Feast of All Souls (November 2) was a day of prayer for all the heroes in waiting; the souls in Purgatory. In some cultures it is celebrated as the day of the dead. In some it is depicted as an emergency to pray our deceased relatives and friends out of Purgatory (which is seen as “temporary hell”). In a musical composition called the Dreams of Gerontius written by Edward Elgar, we hear of a soul who thinks he has died and gone to hell, but then rejoices to discover that he is only in Purgatory and on the way to Heaven. We do not pray people out of hell! Hell is a decision made in “free will.” We pray for our loved ones in Purgatory that they may be quickly purged of that which holds them back from relishing the Beatific Vision. The positive view of prayer for deceased souls as a work of mercy has been somewhat lost in recent years. Say prayers for your deceased loved ones frequently. It helps us anticipate eternity.

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

As regards the Church’s stance on Issue One, the Archbishop is not offering a “political opinion.” He together with the other Catholic bishops of Ohio are proclaiming the “moral teaching” of the Church which is their magisterial duty as bishops in the Catholic Church. Remember that the Church grew up condemning horrible pagan rituals encouraged by the Roman Empire. These practices were politically correct and even encouraged at the time. The Church complained that these practices were immoral in the eyes of God. They were not playing politics then. They are not playing politics now.

The bishops of the Catholic Church were then and are now, standing by the moral truth regardless of the political repercussions or consequences. The truth from God may put us in conflict with what is culturally acceptable, but then again, the Church does not make decisions from polling results. The Church simply tries to apply the Laws of God.

You can find on the internet the “Full Text of the Proposed Amendment One” annotated by the Ohio Roundtable explaining and commenting on each legal phrase. Even for those who would cite some remote good thing that resulted from an abortion, the end does not justify the means. The Archbishop is encouraging priests, Catholic laity, and all people of good conscience to get involved in attempting to send this “pro-death legislative initiative” down to defeat in November.

Adoration of Blessed Sacrament praying for the Conscience of Ohio

We have one more special adoration of the Blessed Sacrament time left praying for the conscience of Ohio. This is at Sacred Heart on Monday, November 6 from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. reposition. If you cannot come at this time, please pray wherever you are for the conscience of our State. Governor DeWine is opposed to Issue One. The Catholic Bishops of Ohio are unanimously opposed to Issue One. If your understanding of God’s law obliges you to be pro-life and pro-parent’s rights, you can easily see that Issue One is not right for Ohio.

The Tabernacle is moving at Sacred Heart!

When you first hear these words, you may think we are speaking of a miraculous event. Rather, the title reveals a decision approved by our Worship Commission, our Parish Pastoral Council, and the Archbishop. After reflecting on the Canon (universal) Law of the Church (referenced below), and given the USCCB’s National Eucharistic Revival; we have asked and been given authorization to move the tabernacle to the center of the sanctuary at the foot of the crucifix, displacing it from the small chapel which has been its home since shortly after the new church was built in 1989. So why should we make the change now? For one thing, placing the Blessed Sacrament in the center of the sanctuary renders us more compliant with the spirit of the current Church Law. Reference the following:

Canon 938: paragraph 2 & 3

¶ 2. The tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved is to be situated in some part of the church or oratory which is distinguished, conspicuous, beautifully decorated, and suitable for prayer.

¶ 3. The tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved habitually is to be immovable, made of solid and opaque material, and locked in such a way that the danger of profanation is avoided as much as possible.

In addition to conformity with Church Law, placing the tabernacle in the sanctuary speaks volumes to the centrality of the Eucharist in our spiritual self-understanding. For those coming to our worship space for the first time, there will be immediate recognition that this is a community that focuses on the Eucharist as our foundation. One of the most compelling reasons for using the brass tabernacle from the former church (now the gym) is that it provides a real sense of continuity.

We plan is to move the tabernacle to the center of the sanctuary before the Feast of Christ the King. We will have to remember to genuflect (or solemn bow) when entering or leaving the church. We will also wish to use the narthex a bit more for conversation so we show the appropriate respect for the presence of the Sacred Species. Be assured that we are simply moving existing furniture in this process. Nothing is permanently or irreversibly changed. There is no cost. More instructions to come as we move closer to Christ the King.

The Purpose behind Beacons of Light

Beacons of Light is a new way of thinking. Most of us think of maintaining our parish, but as attendance has declined at most all “organized religion” churches, Beacons challenges us not to maintain but evangelize and expand. We are and have always been a missionary church! Christ could have sat in the temple or his local synagogue and enjoyed the affection of many local rabbis, teachers, and congregants. Instead he “mitto” that is sends out the disciples to evangelize.

You can focus on your house and let your lawn go to seed. Or you can make your house inviting by enhancing its appeal with a well-manicured lawn. One looks outward; the other inward. Beacons calls us to always be going forth with the message calling others to Christ.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

The sound for the live-streaming from St. Ann has been repaired. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

“No brag….Just fact!” Walter Brennan in the “Guns of Will Sonnett” coined this iconic phrase. But it also is what today’s gospel is all about. The scribes and Pharisees were the official teachers of the Jewish Law. Jesus tells the people to obey the Law, but not to follow the example the Pharisees set. Pharisees often felt that their skill as lawyers gave them license to live above the Law. Some felt the Law did not apply to the enlightened elite. And of course, they were the elite. But Jesus says you can’t preach one thing and then do the opposite. To teach propriety to others, you must be a person of integrity yourself. Otherwise people dismiss you by saying, “it’s all just talk.”

God does not want to hear someone brag about his/her knowledge of the Law. God wants to see us live the truth. “No brag. Just fact!”

NEXT WEEK Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wis 6:12-16

1 Thes 4:13-18

Mt 25:1-13

Theme: Make sure you have extra grace before the journey!

October 29, 2023 - 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 15:27:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

No Confessions at St. Ann on Halloween

Because Tuesday, October 31 ^st is the eve of All Saints Day (in other words Halloween) there will be NO CONFESSIONS at St. Ann on Halloween.

November 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation

November 1 is the Feast of All Saints. Masses for the Holyday at St. Ann are Tuesday, October 31 at 5:30 p.m. On Wednesday November 1 Masses at St. Ann are at 6:30 a.m. 10:00 a.m. School Children’s Mass (limited access only with school permission.)

Masses for the Holyday at Sacred Heart are Tuesday, October 31 at 7:00 p.m. Masses on Wednesday, November 1 at Sacred Heart are 7:30 a.m. 8:15 School Children’s Mass (limited access only through school) and 7:00 p.m.

Pray for the Conscience of Ohio

We have two more special adoration of the Blessed Sacrament times left: Wednesday, November 1 Holyday Mass at 7:00 p.m. but adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from about 7:30 p.m. (or after Mass) until reposition at 9:00 p.m. Then also Monday, November 6 from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. reposition. If you cannot come at these times, please pray wherever you are for the conscience of our State. Governor DeWine is opposed to Issue One. The Catholic Bishops of Ohio are unanimously opposed to Issue One. If your understanding of God’s law obliges you to be pro-life and pro parent’s rights, you can easily see that Issue One is not right for Ohio.

The Tabernacle is moving!

Canon 938: paragraph 2 & 3

We plan is to move the tabernacle to the center of the sanctuary for the Feast of Christ the King. We will have to remember to genuflect (or solemn bow) when entering or leaving the church. We will also wish to use the narthex a bit more for conversation so we show the appropriate respect for the presence of the Sacred Species. Be assured that we are simply moving existing furniture in this process. Nothing is permanently or irreversibly changed. There is no cost. The only cost are two dowel pins for the securing of the marble, and I have two old ones in my tool box that I will donate.

More instructions to come as we move closer to Christ the King.

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

The Purpose behind Beacons of Light

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

There has been no sound for the St. Ann live stream for two weeks. We hope the problem is now fixed.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

How do you read the scripture? Here is an excerpt from the Book of Exodus: "If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset;…” Does it mean it is wrong to accept interest on your passbook account? Is it wrong to loan your money to a corporation expecting interest from the company under the debenture bond? That’s what the scripture from Exodus seems to say!

The theological opposition to usury was based on the model of society as a family. There were no accountants following FASBE regulations. Usury was seen as a direct affront to the theological virtue of “charity.” Collateral was seen as restricting a man’s right to his property. This was the judgment in a family based model.

Today (unless you are talking about a loan shark), debt and equity are regulated by law in the name of justice. In a capitalistic economic system, money is a commodity. Well regulated equities and debentures (debt securities) are no different than renting another your hammer so he can drive a nail. I have a number of chainsaws because I have about fifteen acres of dense wooded property. If I had only two trees on my property, it would be cheaper for me to rent a saw, rather than buying one and letting it deteriorate most the time. Many people would never be able to buy their own home if it were not for reputable banks and savings and loans.

In essence, scripture is addressing the idea of a loan shark ripping off his own family. This certainly constitutes injustice. In a capitalistic society however, buying equity, leveraging debt, and manipulating the valuation of the asset of capital are not uncharitable. They are well regulated, well monitored commerce.

NEXT WEEK The Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mal 1:14b—22b, 8-10

1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13

Mt 23:1-12

Theme: Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven

October 22, 2023 - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 11:24:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

The Purpose behind Beacons of Light

Beacons of Light Phase Two

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

As the new reduced Sunday Mass schedule is in place, it has been recommended that I continue to live stream the 4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart, and consider not live streaming the 5:15 p.m. Mass from St. Ann but instead live stream the Sunday Mass at 9:30 from St. Ann. We will experiment with this for a time and see which arrangement is more favored.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Is God subject to taxes imposed by men? This issue comes up periodically in the gospel stories. Today’s famous encounter with the Sadducees addresses this question. Jesus puts the issue to rest with a simplistic answer that embarrasses the Sadducees in its simplicity and profundity. Jesus says, “Let me see the Roman Coin (the Denarius). He asks them to identity the image on the coin.” Obviously it was the image of Caesar. Jesus then says, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar’s and to God what belongs to God.” The brilliance of the answer is astounding. Jesus answers the question without answering the question. To a Roman, Caesar owns all he has conquered. To a believer, God made the universe and all that is in it. Anyone who thinks he owns anything needs to remember the old adage, “There are no pockets in a shroud.” So Jesus basically says “If you think Caesar owns the money; then give it to Caesar. But if your hope and trust is in God, money means nothing. Jesus essentially answers the question by asking how you deal with the things of this world. Once you make a judgment on the parameters of the ultimate question; you have your answer. The Romans are not offended by the answer and neither can there be quarrel from the Sadducees.

Jesus is neither going to deny to the conqueror the right to tribute; nor is he going to foment rebellion. He reduces the question to a matter of convenience. If your priority is the things of this world, then you are already lost. If your heart is with God, then it is a matter of personal convenience.

NEXT WEEK The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ex 22:20-26

1 Thes 1:5c-10

Mt 22:34-40

Theme: Is usury fair? What does God say?

October 15, 2023 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 11:23:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

After listening to the Archbishop’s message two weeks ago, some have offered comment on what they are calling his “opinion.” It is appropriate to note with all due respect, that the Archbishop is not offering a “political opinion.” He together with the other Catholic bishops of Ohio are proclaiming the “moral teaching” of the Church which is their magisterial duty as bishops in the Catholic Church.

Remember that the bishops in the Catholic Church are the “successors to the Apostles.” It is their magisterial duty to preach, teach, and sanctify. At the Council of Jerusalem, the Apostles reflected on how the Greek culture of many non-Jewish Christians was forcing cultural behavior on Jewish Christians that was highly offensive. The Apostles stood their ground and determined that immorality accepted by one culture did not require the others to accept what they considered blasphemy. Many of the early Church councils had to deal with heresies which were more popular than the truth. The bishops in councils guided by the Holy Spirit spoke the truth even when the truth was not the popular discipline. In other words, the bishops spoke the truth of Jesus Christ even if it conflicted with popular political view. They were not playing politics. They were then, and are now, being loyal to the truths of the teachings of Jesus Christ regardless of how these truths are seen politically. They were not playing politics then. They are not playing politics now.

The bishops of the Catholic Church were then and are now, standing by the moral truth regardless of the political repercussions or consequences. Some who promote a “new morality” simply do not believe in God, so why would they give any credence to the Holy Spirit? Some who may or may not believe in God, claim that (if the Holy Spirit exists) the bishops misunderstand the inspiration. The truth from God may be “culturally hard to swallow” but then again, it does not function as a result of polling.

You can find on the internet the “Full Text of the Proposed Amendment One” annotated by the Ohio Roundtable explaining and commenting on each legal phrase. It is interesting that the word “woman” never appears anywhere in the entire amendment that is supposed to be incorporated into the State Bill of Rights. Is it intended to protect “women’s rights” or “political advantage?” For the Catholic Church and indeed all “life centered” religions who believe that God created all life, this is not a political issue. This is a moral issue. We see absolute law in the Decalogue. (Thou shalt not!) Even for those who would cite some good thing that resulted from abortion, the end does not justify the means. The Archbishop is encouraging priests, Catholic laity, and all people of good conscience to get involved in attempting to send this “pro-death legislative initiative” down to defeat in November.

The Purpose behind Beacons of Light

Years ago, I welded and then “fish-plated” the left I-beam rail under a flatbed truck for a friend who regularly hauled steel coils. After welding the broken rail on the left, I applied the same strengthening process to the unbroken right. My purpose was not simply to fix the broken rail, but to strengthen both rails of the truck to more safely haul its heavy cargo. Fish-plating before a crack occurred in an I-beam was a preemptive way of thinking ahead.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

Precious Blood at Communion

We have distributors lined up for two cups at all three Sunday morning Masses; two at Sacred Heart and one at St. Ann.” For the moment, we do not have cups lined up for the either of the Saturday evening Masses. Again, we can only offer both species to the degree we have enough Eucharistic ministers willing to do cups at the various precept Masses. We hope to have cups offered at the Saturday Masses very soon.

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

How many times have you said to a classmate or coworker who acts insensitively to the situation of another, “Hey, show some respect!” What is the meaning of the admonition you are injecting into the dialogue? Are you not cautioning your companion that he is not thinking straight? You are reminding him to reconsider his inconsiderateness.

In today’s gospel story, the man who refused to wear a wedding garment was being inconsiderate. He refused to show basic respect to the one providing the banquet. The wedding garment was provided when you entered the party. Why not show a little respect for the free meal?

Jesus saved us from our sins whether we asked him to or not. All we have to do is acknowledge him as Lord and Savior. If that is too much to ask, then you don’t respect the giver or the gift, and you have sealed your own fate. I suspect that many souls confine themselves to Hell not by what they have done, but by their recalcitrance. Compassion is the only key that unlocks the shackles of a recalcitrant attitude. If you want to be at the banquet (and even if you don’t), then show a little respect and appreciation for the one who made it all.

NEXT WEEK The Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 45:1, 4-6

1 Thes 1:1-5b

Mt 22:15-21

Theme: Jesus answers the death and taxes question

October 8, 2023 - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:27:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

In a letter dated August 12, 2023, Archbishop Schnurr cites the following reasons this amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November Ballot must be defeated:

In addition, take a copy of the “Full Text of the Proposed Amendment One” annotated by the Ohio Roundtable explaining and commenting on each legal phrase. It is interesting that the word “woman” never appears anywhere in the entire amendment that is supposed to be incorporated into the State Bill of Rights. Is it intended to protect “women’s rights” or “political advantage?” For the Catholic Church and indeed all “life centered” religions who believe that God created all life, this is not a political issue. This is a moral issue. We see absolute law in the Decalogue. (Thou shalt not!) Even for those who would cite some good thing that resulted from abortion, the end does not justify the means. The Archbishop is encouraging priests, Catholic laity, and all people of good conscience to get involved in attempting to send this “pro-death legislative initiative” down to defeat in November.

The Purpose behind Beacons of Light

Beacons of Light Phase Two

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Jesus expects a return on his investment! “ROI” Jesus invested himself completely in us by dying on the cross for us. Do we willingly go out and spend our lives in service to him? In the first reading and the gospel, the writers employ the imagery of a vineyard. Isaiah says the Lord nurtured his vineyard Israel, but it grew only wild grapes. I have wild grape vines all over my retirement property; but wild grapes are useless. If we produce like wild grapes, God has no ROI. Before you farm the land, you clear it of useless wild grapes and burn the vines. Wild grapes are only kindling for the bonfire.

In the gospel for today, Jesus says: “The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.” Jesus died on the cross and has become the cornerstone of life. The stone the builders did not think worthy of the foundation has become the guarantor of eternal life. The ignominy of the cross has become the jubilation of eternal life. The plan of God turns the logic of humans on its head.

So when society ridicules you for faith in Christ, take it as a complement. It is like wild grapes calling the finest Bordeaux vines “clutter.” We can be Christ’s ROI if we give ourselves completely in his service.

NEXT WEEK The Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 25:6-10a

Phil 4:12-14, 19-20

Mt 22:1-14

Theme: Respect (not the song); the attitude!

October 1, 2023 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:26:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Blessing of Pets

The Blessing of Pets in honor of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4) will take place THIS Sunday (today!) afternoon (October 1) at 3:00 p.m. in the west parking lot of Sacred Heart. For pets that might be harmed or suffer trauma by bringing them to the blessing, it is fine to come for the blessing with just a photo of your beloved pet. We do not want any tragedy or harm to come to any pet; only the opportunity to ask God’s special blessing on our animal companions.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

In a letter dated August 12, 2023, Archbishop Schnurr cites the following reasons this amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November Ballot must be defeated:

For the Catholic Church and indeed all “life centered” religions who believe that God created all life, this is not a political issue. This is a moral issue. We see absolute law in the Decalogue. (Thou shalt not!) Even for those who would cite some good thing that resulted from abortion, the end does not justify the means. The Archbishop is encouraging priests, Catholic laity, and all people of good conscience to get involved in attempting to send this “pro-death legislative initiative” down to defeat in November.

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Actions speak louder than words. This sums up today’s gospel. Talking the talk that you are committed to Jesus is fine. It may even inspire some. But walking the walk is what really matters. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta could have been a great motivational speaker, but her life of service caused her to become an inspirational saint. In today’s gospel, we hear the parable of the two sons. The father asks them both to go to work. The first says, “Yes Sir!” but never makes good on the promise. The second says “No!” but later repents and follows his father’s command. The difference is between enthusiasm and commitment. It is easy to say “Wow I want to play football!” until you find out that seemingly endless repetitive “wind sprints” are involved. But when you run the sprints complaining about it the entire time, you prove you are in shape.

Jesus tells us that it is OK to be enthusiastic and talk the talk, but if you are committed, you will walk the walk. Jesus always tells us, “If you want to be my disciple; take up your cross and follow me!”

NEXT WEEK The Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 5:1-7

Phil 4:6-9

Mt 21:33-43

Theme: The stone the builders rejected!

September 24, 2023 - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:24:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Respect Life Sunday

Cooperative Mission Appeal this Weekend

Thanks to the Divine Word Missionaries for their presence this weekend at the precept Masses at St. Ann and Sacred Heart. Funds collected are distributed according to Archdiocesan formula and procedure.

Parking Lot at Sacred Heart not accessible

Friday late afternoon and early evening on September 29

Each year in the Fall, Fairfield High School uses the parking lot at Sacred Heart for the staging of participants in Fairfield High School’s Homecoming Parade. Access to or from Sacred Heart will be restricted from about 3:30 p.m. until about 7:00 p.m. that day.

Official Family Name

With the completion of the run-off election of the two top names, the official name of the family is: “The Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Sacred Heart” or “The Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at St. Ann.” Thus we have one name for our combined parish family which serves the faithful at two physical distinct church buildings (or worship space) locations.

Beacons of Light Phase Two

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

In a letter dated August 12, 2023, Archbishop Schnurr cites the following reasons this amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November Ballot must be defeated:

RCIA begins Wednesday, September 20

RCIA classes began Wednesday, September 20, 2023 in the Church undercroft. (RH 2&3) Printed schedules are still available at the Church doors, on our website, and promptly sent to any emailed request. It is not too late to join this year.

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The positive adjective “good” has a comparative and a superlative form. Good is referred to as the “positive.” Better is the “comparative.” Best is the “superlative.” You cannot do better than the superlative. Heaven is a superlative. In Heaven we are with God forever in Paradise. No existence can be more perfect than perfection.

In today’s gospel all the workers got paid the same amount. Some had worked all day and some for only an hour. Is that fair? It is certainly not equitable! Jesus tells the parable to remind us that it is never too late for salvation in Christ. But this begs the question, “Are their higher and lower places in Heaven?” Is it more practical to sin extravagantly in youth, and then convert immediately before death? Especially if the end benefit is the same?

Conversion is not an “Ah Ha” moment revealed by the acquisition of data. Conversion is a state of being in which we accept Christ once and for all as the culmination of God reaching out to humanity. It does not come with an academic degree. It is not simply an emotional experience. It is a complete and unequivocal handing over the existence of self to Jesus Christ. This is what the Eucharist is intended to be for us each time we receive Christ’s Body and Blood. The Eucharist is a foretaste of the perfect union of God and humanity in Heaven.

NEXT WEEK The Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ez 18:25-28

Phil 2:1-11

Mt 21:28-32

Theme: Action is more important than “talk.”

September 17, 2023 - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:22:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Homilist: Divine Word Missionary

Official Family Name

Divine Word Missionaries Next Sunday

Next Weekend the Divine Word Missionaries will preach at all the precept Masses at both Sacred Heart and St. Ann. This is the annual Cooperative Mission Appeal set up by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for each parish in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. There will be a second collection after Communion for the Cooperative Mission Appeal.

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

In a letter dated August 12, 2023, Archbishop Schnurr cites the following reasons this amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November Ballot must be defeated:

RCIA begins Wednesday, September 20

RCIA classes begin Wednesday, September 20, 2023 in the Church undercroft. (RH 2&3) Printed schedules are available at the Church doors, on our website, and promptly sent to any emailed request.

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Saying compassionate things is nice. Living a life of compassion and forgiveness means we have a compassionate heart. God wants us to live with hearts filled with genuine compassion. Compassion means letting the feeling, the emotion define you. That is what Jesus did. He never healed to show off or to receive applause. He did it out of compassion for the person. Thus, today’s gospel does not recommend behavior! It recommends allowing God’s forgiveness to so convict you that you can’t help but pass on the compassion and forgiveness you have received. If you take God’s forgiveness into your soul then you will exude the forgiveness of Christ.

When a cat sees a moving string, he or she cannot help but pounce. It is the nature of the animal. If you allow the forgiveness of Christ to fill your soul, then, made in the image and likeness of God, it will be your nature to forgive as God has forgiven you.

NEXT WEEK The Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 55:6-9

Phil 1:20c-24, 27a

Mt 20:1-16a

Theme: Permanent Commitment to Christ

September 10, 2023 - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 14:01:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Religious Education Program (REP)

REP for St. Ann and Sacred Heart (religious training for students 1-8 who do not attend a Catholic School) begins with a prayer service on September 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the worship space at Sacred Heart.

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

In a letter dated August 12, 2023, Archbishop Schnurr cites the following reasons this amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November Ballot must be defeated:

RCIA begins Wednesday, September 20

RCIA classes begin Wednesday, September 20, 2023 in the Church undercroft. (RH 2&3) Printed schedules are available at the Church doors, on our website, and promptly sent to any emailed request.

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Justice must be remedial, not simply punitive. Fraternal correction is not an option but an obligation. This summarizes today’s first reading from Ezekiel as well as the formula for justice in Matthew’s gospel.

The reading from Ezekiel makes it clear that fraternal correction is not optional. God reminds Ezekiel that he is obligated to warn the wayward soul of God’s impending justice, lest he be destroyed by his sin. But if Ezekiel fails to warn the wayward, in justice he will die, and Ezekiel will be held responsible

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that fraternal justice requires that we engage in multiple attempts at remediation. Jesus demands that we do our best to dissuade the sinner from his error. It reminds me of the old Merle Haggard song in which he sings, “Momma tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied. That leaves only me to blame because Momma tried.” Merle’s character in the song exonerates his mother from guilt for his sin or subsequent incarceration, by admitting that she tried to warn him.

Sometimes in our cynicism we presume that the sinner will not change regardless of our intervention, and therefore relegate him to the scrapheap of humanity. Jesus says that such apathy makes us complicit in the consequences. Jesus is basically saying that if you tell your friend the stove is hot but do not say, “I mean it! Stop or you will be burned!” you have cooperated in the injury. In essence, Jesus is referencing the question Cain puts to God in the Book of Genesis when Able is missing: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer to the rhetorical question is obvious and unspoken. The answer is “Yes!”

NEXT WEEK The Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sir 27:30—28:7

Rom 14:7-9

Mt 18:21-35

Theme: Forgiveness

September 3, 2023 - 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 12:49:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Labor Day Mass Schedule

Monday, September 4 is Labor Day; a National Holiday. We will therefore follow the “Holiday” (not “Holy Day” but “Holiday”) schedule of Masses on Labor Day. We will NOT have a 6:30 a.m. Mass at St. Ann on Labor Day! Labor Day Mass at Sacred Heart will be 7:30 a.m. and Mass at St. Ann will be 9:00 a.m.

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

In a letter dated August 12, 2023, Archbishop Schnurr cites the following reasons this amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November Ballot must be defeated:

RCIA begins Wednesday, September 20

RCIA classes begin Wednesday, September 20, 2023 in the Church undercroft. (RH 2&3) Printed schedules are available at the Church doors, on our website, and promptly sent to any emailed request.

Beacons of Light: Choice of Family Name and Envisioning

Today we have the runoff election for the official name of our St. Ann/Sacred Heart Family. The option is between the two highest vote getters: “Immaculate Heart of Mary Family” and “the Family of Christ our Light.” Once we have our “official” name, we can begin Phase Two of the Beacon’s process, namely “Envisioning.” We are already “far ahead of the pack” (so to speak) in that we already have one RCIA, one REP, one St. Vincent De Paul, one combined Parish Council, and essentially one group of key staff serving both locations. There are some “givens” as we begin envisioning. For example, it is a given that our One Family will have two worship spaces (aka: church buildings) as neither worship space can house the entire congregation at one time. It is a given that our one family will have two “stand-alone schools;” each offering unique benefits tailored to the ever widening diversity of prospective clients in our respective territories. It is a given that our Family will be served by only one priest/pastor for the long term future.

The envisioning in Phase Two will challenge us to determine how we posture ourselves for the future so as to maximize our evangelization, stewardship, etc. Consultation will begin with parish council and fan out to hopefully engage all parishioners. The focus is not how do we maintain everything as is, but rather through efficiencies and creativity, how do we evangelize and become the catalyst to draw more to Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church? More to come for fall and winter.

The Sunday Mass Schedule

Precept Masses on Sunday Morning for the Parish Family of St. Ann / Sacred Heart are 8:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart, 9:30 a.m. at St. Ann, and 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart. All Masses are celebrated by the pastor, Fr. Tharp.

8:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

9:30 a.m. Mass at St. Ann worship space

11:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

Remember: The Saturday evening Masses (4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart and 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann) remain unaltered and are celebrated by the pastor, Fr. Tharp.

Children’s Mass Bags

Our new Director of Evangelization and his wife who is our new Coordinator of Religious Education have put together Children’s Mass bags which you will find displayed in the Narthex at Sacred Heart and soon at St. Ann. Each bag is filled with age appropriate materials for your child. After the items in the bags are used to entertain your child during Mass, please place the items back in the bag and place the bag back on the display frame. You may have noticed the steps and other items for children in place in the restrooms at Sacred Heart. This is all part of the process to make our churches and services more “child friendly.”

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The logic of God does not always match the human idea of practicality. In the reading from the prophet Jeremiah, we hear Jeremiah complaining to God that he has been deceived and treated unfairly by God. In the gospel, we hear Jesus chastise Peter for worrying about the approaching passion and death Jesus is soon to endure. Peter and Jeremiah are applying human standards to matters of divine providence. God sees every facet of every nuance of time and eternity. But immersed in and entrapped by the reality of time, we humans are myopic and focus on the here and now. How do you explain the eloquence of E=mc2 to an infant? The infant lacks the language as well as the ability to form abstract concepts. In just the same way, it is impossible for us as human beings to see things as God does. This is not intended to be humility answering the inexplicable! This is the art of purposefully accepting reality. In other words, “Faith.”

God offers each of us the opportunity to acquiesce to a version of Kierkegaard’s “leap of faith.” Jeremiah did but made it clear to God that he did not like it. Peter did out of friendship with Jesus. What is it that will cause a rational human being to yield to the absurdity of fate? The answer is “Faith in God.”

NEXT WEEK The Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ez 33:7-9

Rom 13:8-10

Mt 18:15-20

Theme: Discipline within the Church

August 27, 2023 - 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 12:28:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

November Ballot Issue enshrining Abortion as a Right

In a letter dated August 12, 2023, Archbishop Schnurr cites the following reasons this amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November Ballot must be defeated:

RCIA begins Wednesday, September 20

RCIA classes begin Wednesday, September 20, 2023 in the Church undercroft. (RH 2&3) Printed schedules are available at the Church doors, on our website, and promptly sent to any emailed request.

Beacons of Light: Choice of Family Name

The top two vote-getters were “Immaculate Heart of Mary” at 274 and the “Family of Christ Our Light” at 269. A close third was the “Family of the Divine Jesus” at 237. Since cumulative vote getters two and three are similar Christological names, in contrast to the Marian name “Immaculate Heart of Mary,” I believe we need a runoff election to choose between the top two vote getters. We plan to have the runoff election the first Sunday of September which is also the Labor Day weekend. Since there will only be two names on the ballot, one of the two is sure to receive a majority.

The Sunday Mass Schedule

8:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

9:30 a.m. Mass at St. Ann worship space

11:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

Remember: The Saturday evening Masses (4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart and 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann) remain unaltered and are celebrated by the pastor, Fr. Tharp.

Children’s Mass Bags

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Good News! We have installed a new (temporary) microprocessor in the audio system at Sacred Heart. We are praying that this will eliminate the loss of sound during the live streaming of Mass. At present, we have been told that the wait time for all the electronic components we need for a new system is running about one year from the time ordered to the time when we may actually receive the component.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

In the first reading from Isaiah, Shebna, a court official, tried to convince Hezekiah the King to make a deal with Egypt. In Isaiah’s mind this was making a deal with the devil. So he proclaims that Shebna will be removed when the people see the real intent behind his nefarious activities. In other words, “Don’t rely on political alliances for strength. Rather, rely on God.”

In the Gospel, Jesus asks the disciples who the authorities and the people perceive him to be? Peter proclaims Jesus to be the Son of God. Jesus says that this revelation comes not from human knowledge but is revealed by God.

In Romans, Paul says that only God knows the mind of God. Not the greatest prophet! Not the preeminent lawyer! Not the most celebrated theologian! Only the Son of God really knows the mind of God.

In the time of the Kings of Israel, there was always a plan that a political alliance would save the people. Isaiah says salvation comes only from God. Jesus tells his disciples that only the Son of God can save the world. Paul reminds us that only Jesus Christ is the Savior sent from the Father. Jesus and only Jesus “saves!”

NEXT WEEK The Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jer 20:7-9

Rom 12:1-2

Mt 16:21-27

Theme: “ Get behind me, Satan!”

August 20, 2023 - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 15:45:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Beacons of Light: Choice of Family Name

The Sunday Mass Schedule

8:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

9:30 a.m. Mass at St. Ann worship space

11:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

Remember: The Saturday evening Masses (4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart and 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann) remain unaltered and are celebrated by the pastor, Fr. Tharp.

Children’s Mass Bags

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The gospel about the Syrophoenician woman always sounds on the surface like Jesus is having a “bad day!” She pesters Jesus to heal her daughter; following him around like a persistent puppy looking for a treat. Jesus then says that he cannot give the children’s food to the dogs. Now being called a “dog” 2000 years ago was even less a complement than it is today. Most people would make some derogatory gesture, or utter a curse word, and leave. But this woman accepts the derision and makes the plea that dogs get the scraps that fall from the table.

Jesus was testing her to see if her faith was for real. Seeing it was genuine, he acceded to her request. Her humble faith won the day.

Boxers are often asked, “Can you take a few punches to get inside on him and knock him out?” Can we take a tongue lashing and still cling to faith? Can we be embarrassed or intimidated out of our faith? Are we ready to be martyrs if called to be? When trials come, will we be as unwavering in faith as the Syrophoenician woman?

NEXT WEEK The Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 22:19-23

Rom 11: 33-36

Mt 16:13-20

Theme: Where does your authority come from?

August 13, 2023 - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 15:44:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

Feast of the Assumption of the BVM is August 15

Tuesday, August 15 is a Holyday of Obligation for Catholics in the United States. It celebrates that Mary was God’s predestined chosen vessel through which the hypostatic union of Jesus came to be a reality. Therefore God would reasonable afford Mary the gift of being body and soul in Heaven with her Son, Jesus Christ. Mary is the model of the Church! What God promises for the Church, he pre-figures in Mary. Examples: Mary’s immaculate conception is a model for Baptism. The virginal birth is a model for all of us to participate in Mary’s title of Theotokos by receiving the Holy Eucharist. The Assumption is a model for the promise of Jesus to the Church of “resurrection of the body and life everlasting.” What God promises the Church in the Sacraments, God pre-figures in the Blessed Virgin Mary. The follow is the Mass schedule for the Holyday:

Monday, August 14: St. Ann 5:30 p.m. Sacred Heart 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, August 15: St. Ann 6:30 a.m. Sacred Heart 7:30 a.m. Sacred Heart 7:00 p.m.

Nota Bene…….Special presentation at 11:00 a.m. Mass next Week

Sacred Heart is home to a number of the Catholic faithful who have immigrated from west and central African countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo, Congo, Ghana, and others. I have been very blessed and have so enjoyed witnessing their practice of strong Catholic traditions in celebrating weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc. with parishioner families. I have enjoyed not just the friendship (which is wonderful in and of itself), but the richness their Catholic based African cultural traditions have brought to the prayer of the Mass and the administration of the Sacraments. As pastor, I am especially blessed by the presence of a special group of women from Cameroon who have established a Council of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon here at Sacred Heart. Under Catholic Church Law, groups such as the Knights of Columbus, Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, Daughters of Isabella, CWA of Cameroon, etc. are commissioned under Catholic Church Law (Canon Law) as “Associations of the Christian Faithful.” Deeply devoted in prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the CWA of Cameroon focuses their devotion on the Blessed Virgin and her special Feast Days. (Remember that the patron saint of the United States in the Blessed Virgin.)

Initially the local CWA Cameroon council had hoped to share their cultural prayer experience with the rest of the congregation on this week’s Holyday, the Feast of the Assumption. Work schedules made this impossible so we moved it to the Sunday 11:00 a.m. Mass on August 20. At this Mass, the CWA ladies will perform the 1) presentation of the Word of God, 2) the African tradition of the Presentation of the Gifts and 3) the post communion Magnificat, all during the 11:00 a.m. Mass. If you have never experienced the Mass (the Universal Prayer of the Church) as it is celebrated in Africa, you are in for a treat. The word “Catholic” means “universal.” If you are like me, experiencing this prayer form performed by our fellow members of the Body of Christ will make you so proud of your Catholic faith that you will come out of Mass with a whole new perspective on what Catholic (universal) really means.

Join us if you can for this special presentation of the ultimate prayer (The Holy Mass) with these parts performed for us in the African tradition by our fellow parishioners the members of the Catholic Women’s Association of Cameroon.

Beacons of Light

As of the deadline for submission for printing, I do not yet know the name for our Family chosen by your votes. I will of course announce it at today’s Masses.

The Sunday Mass Schedule

8:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

9:30 a.m. Mass at St. Ann worship space

11:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

Remember: The Saturday evening Masses (4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart and 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann) remain unaltered and are celebrated by the pastor, Fr. Tharp.

Children’s Mass Bags

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

Elijah and the tiny whispering sound! Jesus walks on water! Today’s scripture readings invite us to ponder the eternal question: “How do we experience the limitless power of God?” God’s power is not a magic trick. God does not reveal his power to us to astound or bedazzle us. Rather he reveals himself so we may gain humility. Socrates said he gained wisdom because he knew what he did not know. In today’s first reading, Elijah is not intimidated by the wind, earthquake, or lightning. He is humbled that God communicates his presence by a whisper. The disciples of Jesus were afraid because they saw him walking on the surface of the water in the midst of a life threatening storm. Jesus assures them he is in control, so put away fear. Peter says, “Can I try acting like I have the power of God?” Jesus gives him a chance at it, but his fear and insecurity reveal he is only human.

The point of these stories is this: Let God be divine and let human beings recognize that we are NOT gods. We make a startling new scientific discovery and we want to strut around the chicken yard like a young rooster as if we are “all that!” The humbling experiences of everyday life bring us out of our arrogance. In other words, “Don’t live in the fantasy that it is all about me. Live in the reality that it is all about God!”

NEXT WEEK The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 56:1, 6-7

Rom 11: 13-15, 29-32

Mt 15:21-28

Theme: Is your faith stronger than ridicule?

August 6, 2023 - The Transfiguration of the Lord

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 13:30:00 GMT

Next Sunday: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant: Fr. Tharp

August Special Election

As you all know, there is a special election on August 8 asking for approval or denial of Issue #1. As I understand it, Issue #1 deals with the percentage of votes (or vote count) necessary to change the Ohio Constitution. At present, the vote count necessary to alter the Ohio Constitution is a simple majority; that is 50% plus 1vote. Issue #1 requires a 60% majority to change the constitution.

Many parishioners have asked if the Archbishop has issued any advice from a moral perspective. People and organizations who are strongly Pro-Life have made it clear that a “YES” vote on Issue #1 will make it harder for Pro-Abortion forces to enshrine abortion and elimination of parents rights over their own children in the Ohio Constitution come the November vote. Since “percentage of votes to change the constitution” is not in and of itself a strictly “moral” issue (although the vote in November is a moral issue!), the Archdiocese has not issued a formal moral statement of instruction on Issue #1. This being said, virtually all Pro-Life spokespersons, agencies, and individual pro-life voters are praying for a “YES” vote on Issue #1 in the August election to make it harder to enshrine abortion in the State of Ohio Constitution come November.

Special Eucharistic Adoration and Prayer for Ohio and the United States

When the moral fiber of our state and nation is accosted by the specter of constitutional amendment proposals (November Ballot Issue) that could enshrine “abortion” as a constitutional right and simultaneously dismantle parental authority over their children’s gender; people of faith look to the Church for definition of moral principles and commit themselves to prayer for the conscience of our state and the nation as a whole. Since the aforementioned August 8 special election in Ohio has such importance to pro-life believers in relation to the constitutional amendment to be voted on in November; an impromptu special prayer for “the moral conscience of our state” has been organized by our Women of Faith for the evening of August 8, the day of the special election. Adoration at Sacred Heart will begin at 5:00 p.m. and conclude with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at 8:00 p.m. Come join in prayer that the guidance of the Holy Spirit will impact the consciences of all voters to favor and protect the sanctity of human life.

Remember

St. Ann Festival took place on July 28 ^th and 29 ^th . Sacred Heart’s festival is August 11 ^th , 12 ^th , and 13 ^th . As “One Family,” let us support each other’s festivals

Feast of the Assumption of the BVM is August 15

Monday, August 14: St. Ann 5:30 p.m. Sacred Heart 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, August 15: St. Ann 6:30 a.m. Sacred Heart 7:30 a.m. Sacred Heart 7:00 p.m.

Beacons of Light

The next phase of the Beacons of Light process calls us to envision our identity by choosing a name for our Family. The Combined Parish Council now has produced four possible Family Names that they would like to present to parishioners. The vote will take place on August 5 ^th & 6 ^th at all the precept Masses:

The combined Parish Council is planning to vote on the possible names at all the precept Masses on the weekend of August 5 and 6. Please prayerfully consider your preference.

The Sunday Mass Schedule

8:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

9:30 a.m. Mass at St. Ann worship space

11:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart worship space

Remember: The Saturday evening Masses (4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart and 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann) remain unaltered and are celebrated by the pastor, Fr. Tharp.

Children’s Mass Bags

The Sacrament of the Sick in Hospitals

Please remember that even Catholic Hospitals are not permitted to tell me when my parishioner enters their hospital. If two or three people tell me about their loved on in the hospital after Mass, I will not keep it straight in my weak brain long enough to get it on paper. Therefore, if your loved one enters the hospital (if it is not an emergency) and would like me to provide the Anointing of the Sick; please leave a clear and accurate message on my daytime voice mail at (513) 858-4260 or email me at frtharp@sacredheart-fairfield.org . Please also remember that you cannot text me at the above number as it is a land line and does not receive texts.

If an emergency arises during the evening or night after the secretaries leave and you need me for an emergency Anointing of the Sick, you must call (513) 858-4210, and press option number 2 to leave a paging voicemail for Fr. Tharp. This is the only way to be sure I will receive your message when I am away from my desk until the next morning. I suggest you use this emergency procedure only at the times when the secretaries are not available to answer the telephone.

Precious Blood at Communion

DO NOT FALL FOR SCAMS!!!!

I keep running this article because there are new scams everyday

Reminder for volunteers who work with or around children

Live Streaming for Precept Masses

I also want to apologize that the sound failed midway through the Mass on July 29 ^th from Sacred Heart. Our technician has updated the software in the hope it will provide a short term fix until we receive the new equipment which has been on order for some time.

Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg

Reflection on Scripture:

The Transfiguration of Jesus was what the TV people call a “sneak peek” preview of things to come, or in this case, of the reality of the hypostatic union. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of Man; a human being born of Mary. Jesus is also “THE” Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. He reveals both when Peter, James, and John witness him conversing with Moses, the great lawgiver, and Elijah, the epitome of the Prophets. Jesus is fully God and man. This is witnessed before their eyes.

The Old Testament Law contained in the first five books of the Bible was the foundational identity for the Jewish people. A boy of thirteen was to go through Bar Mitzvah to become a “Son of the Law.” He could now be part of the Quorum in his synagogue. He could now read and obey the Law.

The prophetic books of the Bible allowed both the literary and non-literary prophets to build the conscience of Israel. The prophets spoke the truth and sought to write the truth on human hearts.

The Law and the Prophets are the atomic structure of God revealing himself to humanity. Jesus supersedes both the Law and the Prophets because he does not just communicate Law and conscience! Jesus is the Son of God and therefore because he is God brings God’s revelation to humanity to its fullness and completion.

We have all heard the line from the old “A Team” TV show, “I love it when a plan comes together.” God’s love for us is evident and obvious when his plan of revelation comes together in Jesus Christ.

NEXT WEEK The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a

Rom 9:1-5

Mt 14:22-33

Theme: We are humbled by the power of God