From the Desk of Father Tharp
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Divine Mercy next Sunday and St. Ann “First Communion Sunday”
Because of First Communion at St. Ann next Sunday, (April 28 at 2:00 p.m.) the Pastoral Region Divine Mercy Sunday Celebration for the Sacred Heart/St. Ann Pastoral Region will be at St. Ann, but the time is moved to 4:00 p.m.!
Next Sunday Sacred Heart 12:00 p.m. Mass
Because of First Communion at St. Ann next Sunday, Fr. Tharp will have the three morning Masses at Sacred Heart and will do the baptisms previously scheduled for the fourth Sunday of the month afternoon at the 12:00 noon Mass. Therefore this one time I will have the 4th Sunday baptisms at the Noon Mass. Those who attend the 12:00 noon Mass, please take note.
Auxiliary Group Checking or Savings Accounts
Both St. Ann and Sacred Heart (in other words our Pastoral Region) are scheduled to be audited by the Archdiocese this Summer. For years, it has been the stated policy of the Archdiocese that any and all parish associated groups which collect, receive, distribute, or hold funds in name associated with either parish, must list the current pastor as one of the signatory names on the account. Most parish groups at both sites are compliant.
However, in recent months, the reinsurers of the Archdiocesan Self Insurance Program have added exclusionary language in their policies stating that any funds held under the specific parish’s Tax Identification Number which do not show the pastor as one of the signatories to the account, will not be covered by fraud protection under Archdiocesan insurance.
If your parish group has a checking or savings account using the parish TIN, please make arrangements with Fr. Tharp so he can be listed as a signatory. It is very important that this take place before the audit.
Reflection on Scripture
Happy Easter! Easter is the most joyous celebration in the Christian Calendar. Now I suspect some of our children might argue that Christmas is more joyous because of the gifting. It is true that you have to have the birth of Jesus before you can have Good Friday, and then Easter! But without Easter, nothing before or after has significance. In the pinnacle moment of the Resurrection, the past becomes a stepping stone and the future becomes infinite. Putting it into today’s colloquial language, “It’s all about Resurrection.”
The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead changes everything. Every year, there are atheists, agnostics, and (self-proclaimed) celebrities who delight in contradicting the physical resurrection of Jesus. What to say when confronted? Just look at them with pity and say, “You have no hope? Hope makes my life joyful. I am sad that you have limited your mind to exclude faith and its resulting hope. You have my condolences.”
Next Weekend: Divine Mercy Sunday
Acts 5:12-16
Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
Jn 20:19-31
Theme: “Doubting Thomas!”