Next Sunday: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant : Fr. Williams
Parish Festival
Thank you to all the volunteers and donors who enabled the festival to take place again this year. Since the deadline for submission for the bulletin is Monday and thus the festival has not taken place at the time this is written, I will offer more specific thanks in next week’s bulletin.
Safety for both Schools in our Family
The Archbishop has issued some new directives as to approved security procedures for churches and schools involving the use of, and restrictions on the use of defensive weapons. It is my hope to have a meeting or meetings for parents and parishioners as the experts advise us on how to improve security in our schools and churches.
Mark your calendar now!
The determination has been made by the Beacons of Light process that EVERY active priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will be required to attend a Convocation at a distant location they have determined. This absence of priests will begin Monday, September 26. We should be permitted to return by evening Thursday, September 29. Just as it is during the Easter Triduum each year, there will be virtually no availability of priests for daily Mass, anointing of the sick, or funerals for the four day period. I will seek to advise our local funeral directors as well as hospitals and nursing homes. We have had mandatory convocations in the past decades, but forewarned is forearmed. As we approach the time, I should have more information.
Beacons of Light
The 57 new “Families” under the Beacons of Light program are now officially promulgated as of July 1, 2022. The implementation of the “families” signals the beginning. It is the hope that over the next few years, parishioners of both parishes will meet and discern possibilities. Over the next five years (or possibly less due to the fact that your pastor is “long in the tooth”) you, the parishioners, will determine Leadership in Phase One, achieve a Vision in Phase Two, lift up and celebrate your Family’s history and Culture in Phase Three, engage in Planning in Phase Four, and determine Mission in Phase Five. This all happens according to your family’s time schedule; not some pre-determined calendar. The only caveat is that we cannot stand still or choose to do nothing.
Eucharistic Display created by Blessed Carlo Acutis
The Women of Faith group is sponsoring Eucharistic Miracle posters created by Blessed Carlo Acutis, who died of Leukemia at age 15, but had created a website displaying these accumulated Eucharistic miracles from throughout the world. There is little doubt that when canonized, he will almost certainly become the patron of the internet and social media. Remember that the three stages or “cause of sainthood” to having one’s name placed on the “list” or “canon” of Saints in Rome starts with the title “Venerable, “ moves to the title “Blessed, ” and then after miraculous interventions is verified by the Holy See, the pope may name the person to the “list” or “canon” of titled “Saint.”
To encourage especially the young to take note of these posters, the Women together have created a raffle for those who take note of each poster throughout the next year.
Re-introduction of Precious Blood at Communion
Despite new COVID variants and the emergence of Monkey Pox, we are continuing to re-introduce communion under both species at as many Masses as possible. However, for the time being, we have only enough distributors for two cups at the 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon Masses at Sacred Heart, and for the time being the 11:00 a.m. Mass at St. Ann. Again, we can only do this to the degree we have enough Eucharistic ministers willing to do cups. Also, I have heard chatter regarding other viruses in the news. I continue to be cautiously optimistic with the emphasis on “cautious.”
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
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:
What is the difference between “faith” and “reason?” While the rest of the known world at the time is pondering Plato and Aristotle looking for the philosophical meaning of existence, time, and eternity; Qoheleth (known in the Catholic Canon as Ecclesiastes) analyzes all human wisdom and discards it to the trash bin as so much “vanity.” It is not that Qoheleth hates all intellectual pursuits. Rather, he is offering a commentary on the mundane from a perspective not achievable without faith. Philosophy without faith is like analyzing the chemical make-up of a 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild without ever having tasted wine. As a chemist, you can recite the ingredients of the savory compound, but you don’t really comprehend the magic of the substance until you have tasted it. In the same way, all intellectual pursuits are meaningless without faith.
At this point, all people of modern science have thrown up their hands in complete exasperation. Science gives us modern medicine, space travel, artificial intelligence, and a million other things that have changed everything. How can one abandon the lucidity of modern science for the enigmatic illusion of faith?
Have you ever struggled through a dark room, stubbing your toe on every protruding invisible object? Suddenly, when the lights are turned on, the endeavor seems manageable. You see, faith and reason are not opposites. To become strong, faith must be enlightened by reason; and reason leads us to faith. For this reason, intellectualism has always found great support in Christianity. Did not most of the European schools of higher learning originate from the Catholic Church? And many of the most renowned physicists have been men (and women) of faith. Evidence George Lemaitre who first proposed the theory of the origin of the universe as what is commonly called the “Big Bang.” He was of course Father George LeMaitre, a proud Catholic and functioning Catholic Priest. Soren Kierkegaard reminds us that intellect leads us to the point when we must make that “leap of faith.”
Therefore intellect and faith are not adversaries. They are essential components of our humanity. Faith employs reason to lead us to realize that temporality only makes sense in the light of eternity. This is the enduring message of Qoheleth.
NEXT WEEK Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wis 18:6-9
Heb 11:1-2, 8-19
Lk 12:32-48
Theme: Responsibility in Christ is meant for everyone.