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