From the Desk of Father Tharp

October Count

As is the case every year, during the month of October we will count the people attending Mass at our parishes.  Special attention to weekly attendance at your home parish or pastoral region is paramount during this month.

Blessing of Animals

It is time again for the blessing of animals who serve as our pets.  The feast of St. Francis is October 4, but we will anticipate St. Francis’ feast day and offer the blessing on Sunday, September 30 in the west parking lot of Sacred Heart at 2:00 p.m.

Please don’t risk an older pet’s good health by bringing them to the blessing if there is any chance it will cause them harm. Sometimes pets can panic when they are around other pets or people. Please simply snap their picture and bring the picture for the blessing.  Remember also that no pet should pose a risk to any other pet or participant.  If you need space, I will come to you for the individual blessing.  We want to make a safe and comfortable environment for all pets and people.

Archdiocesan Workshop

The Office of Divine Worship and Sacraments of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will hold a regional Eucharistic Minister’s Workshop at Sacred Heart on October 10, 2018 from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.  More information will follow.

RCIA / RCIC for 2018/2019

RCIA for 2018/19 began on Wednesday, September 19.    Schedules for RCIA are still available at the doors of church or on line.  RCIA is an acronym for Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults and RCIC is the acronym for Rite of Christian Initiation for Children.  Individuals interested in becoming Catholic are invited to the Wednesday evening class.  If you missed the first class, it is not too late.   Please simply attend the next class.

 Reflection on Scripture

Ever have a rosary you carry in your pocket for a few years?  When you have need of it, you may find the chain broken and some beads missing.  Like an unused muscle, an unused tool of prayer deteriorates from neglect.  The same thing happens with the neglected graces of a sacrament.  I speak of the Sacrament of Confirmation.  In the Sacrament of Confirmation we are all given the graces to be prophets, teachers, and saints (people who live a holy life).  In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, Joshua is surprised that the Holy Spirit of God descends on the un-commissioned.  Moses retorts that he wishes everyone would be prophetic.  In the epistle of James, we hear that every tiller of the soil has a right to the harvest.   In the gospel, we hear how participating in creating or promoting scandal is tantamount to treason against God.  Through the use of hyperbole, Mark says it is better to suffer anything on earth rather than the punishment of loss of Heaven because of disloyalty to God.

Therefore, let us show our loyalty to God by exercising and using those conformational graces.  When faith in Jesus Christ is being ridiculed, be prophetic.  When sin is presented by the culture as something beneficial, stand up an exercise your prophetic graces.  If you stood looking at a fire with a fully charged fire extinguisher in your hands, and you did nothing, you would be judged as complicit in the arson.  Don’t let secular society denigrate your Judeo Christian morals.  Rather, live your faith so eloquently that your life testifies to the reality of God.

Next Weekend: Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gn 2:18-24

Heb 2:9-11

Mk 10:2-16

Theme:   The indissolubility of marriage.