New Year Mass Schedule

On Tuesday, December 31 New Year’s Eve,  Fr. Tharp will have Mass at Sacred Heart at 4:00 p.m. for the Feast of Mary the Mother of God and then at 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann for the Feast of Mary the Mother of God.  

Fr. Schmitz will have the 8:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Masses at Sacred Heart on New Year’s Day for the Feast of Mary the Mother of God; and Fr. Tharp will have the 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Masses at St. Ann.  Remember that we will have the special consecration to the Blessed Mother as outlined in the Book 33 Days to Morning Glory immediately following the 11:00 a.m. Mass at St. Ann.

Every parishioner from either St. Ann or Sacred Heart is free to attend the most convenient time for them at either location.  Remember we have reciprocity so a St. Ann donation envelope put in at a Mass at Sacred Heart goes back to St. Ann, and a Sacred Heart donation envelope put in at a Mass at St. Ann goes back to Sacred Heart.  Therefore choose your New Year’s Mass times based on convenience, not just location.

Reflection on Scripture

The Feast of the Holy Family is always celebrated on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s, unless Christmas and New Year’s Day are on a Sunday.  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, together as a family are the inspiration for the feast. It was instituted by Pope Leo XIII in 1893 and celebrates the need for our families to be grounded in holiness, as well as our need to see the Church as our spiritual family.  As the importance of “family life” has been eroded by contemporary trends, the feast calls us to see the family unit created by marriage and progeny to be a holy gift from God. Contemporary society seems more and more intent on redefining family as an archaic social structure, superseded in the communist model by the state.  

My paternal grandparents married when they were 17 and 15 respectively, and were together for 63 years until the death of my grandfather.  A plaque always hung on the wall of their farmhouse. It read, “Christ is the head of this house. He is the unseen guest at every meal; the silent listener to every conversation.”  The Sacrament of Matrimony allows our world to see Christ present in our families. If Christ is truly the “head” of our families; then they are truly “holy!”   

Next Weekend: Feast of the Epiphany

Is 60:1-6

Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Mt 2:1-12

Theme:  Following the star.