Next Sunday: Fourth Sunday of Easter                          Fr. Schmitz

PLEASE NOTE:

There is NO GROUP Baptism at Sacred Heart on Sunday, April 25.   This is due to First Communion Sunday at St. Ann. 

Convocation of Priests

I will be largely unavailable after morning Masses on Wednesday, April 21 as it is a day-long virtual convocation for the priests of the Archdiocese.  I will be in my office sitting in front of a computer, attending a Zoom convocation, but I will not be able to answer the telephone or leave to do a sick-call. 

Beacons of Light

If you have access to the internet, go to https://catholicaoc.org/beacons-of-light or type Beacons of Light into your favorite search engine.  The Archdiocese has known we were facing a shortage of priests for the last forty years.    Now we need to use all the modern tools at our disposal and the power of the Holy Spirit to plan for our future of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.  This is why we must all participate as parishioners of our pastoral region in the Beacons of Light initiative, so we can look to the future with hope and trust in the Holy Spirit. 

I encourage everyone to check this website out and pray for this important initiative. 

Communion on the Tongue

Because we are still within a time of high risk for certain segments of our population, if you wish to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, you must come to me (Fr. Tharp) ONLY; and you must be sure you are at the end of my line.  Please do not present yourselves to Fr. Schmitz or any of the Lay Eucharistic Ministers for communion on the tongue!  If on Sundays, you see that I am going to be at St. Ann, then you must come to St. Ann that Sunday if you want to receive ONLY on the tongue.  If on Sundays, you see that I am going to be at Sacred Heart, then you must come to Sacred Heart that Sunday if you want to receive ONLY on the tongue.  I always celebrate Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart and  5:15 p.m. at St. Ann every week. 

Live Streaming a precept Mass from St. Ann and Sacred Heart each week 

Live streaming will continue for the sick, shut-ins, and others unable to come to 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: Third Sunday of Easter

“Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”  In quotes such as this in the gospels, Jesus reveals to us what it means to be resurrected, both body and soul.  Every time we say the Apostles Creed, we say, “I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.”   Jesus ate and drank in the presence of his disciples after his resurrection.  They could touch him, and yet he could also walk through solid walls as well as closed and locked doors.  This defies “common sense.”  And because it defies common sense, many who see themselves as persons of science have chosen to deny such miraculous accounts in the gospels.   Now this sounds logical until you remember that there are many things we cannot see or hear, and yet we still recognize them as real.  You cannot see or hear radio wave transmissions, but if you push the correct button you can listen to the radio or use your GPS.  Two hundred years ago, such things would have defied common sense, but now knowledge of these things is commonplace.  When we are resurrected and fathom the unseen  because we see God face to face, I suspect we will say to one another, “Why did I not understand?”  

I often advise the questioner, “Don’t fall into the trap of telling God what he cannot do!”  Jesus promises resurrection and eternal life.  He revealed himself in a resurrected state to his disciples.  Sometimes when faced with a power greater than we can comprehend, it is prudent not to ask how? or why?, but to simply be in awe of the reality.   Someday when we are living in Heaven, we will understand.

Next Week:  Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:8-12

1 John 3:1-2

John 10:11-18

Theme:  The Good Shepherd