Next Sunday: Palm Sunday Celebrant : Fr. Williams
Lenten Penance Service
The Lenten Penance Service for St. Ann / Sacred Heart Family, featuring multiple priests hearing confessions, will be at Sacred Heart on Wednesday, March 29 starting at 7:00 p.m. This is a great way to avoid the long confessional lines always experienced during Holy Week.
Heads-up on Holy Week
Palm Sunday is next week, April 2. Blessed palm branches will be available at every Mass. Blessed palms are a sacramental, not a Sacrament. If taken home, they should be used with reverence. When you no longer desire to keep them, you do not have to bring them back to church to be burned for the next Ash Wednesday’s ashes. You can discard them reverently by breaking them into small pieces and bury them in your yard or garden where they will deteriorate naturally. You may also burn them without saving the ashes. As long as they no longer look like palms, you may discard them in any way you wish.
As usual on Holy Thursday, April 6, I will have the Mass of the Last Supper at St. Ann starting at 5:30 p.m., and the Mass of the Last Supper at Sacred Heart at 7:30 p.m. Feel free to attend at either as your schedule allows.
On Good Friday at Sacred Heart I will participate in the three hours of services beginning at 12:00 noon and ending with distribution of Holy Communion at 2:30 p.m. I will also celebrate the traditional three part Good Friday Service at St. Ann beginning at 7:00 p.m.
As of last July, St. Ann and Sacred Heart are officially a “Family of Parishes” we are to have only one Easter Vigil Mass. Last year I celebrated Easter Vigil at St. Ann. This year, the Easter Vigil will be at Sacred Heart. Next year it will be at St. Ann. Thus each church will celebrate Easter Vigil every other year.
On Tuesday, April 4, I must attend the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral. I will forego the “social and dinner for priests” and try to be back to St. Ann in time for the 6:30 p.m. confessions, but I may be a few minutes late depending on how traffic is that day. Skipping a meal will be good for my waistline.
Catholic Conference of Ohio
In a letter dated February 28, 2023, all the Catholic Bishops from the State of Ohio have asked faithful Catholics throughout Ohio to oppose the proposed ballot initiative for the November ballots enshrining and expanding abortion in the State of Ohio. We have numerous copies of the letter at the doors of Church. Please take a copy and read about this troubling ballot proposal aimed at the Catholic Church and pro-life efforts throughout the state. You have seen similar initiatives reported in other states. Catholics of good conscience are encouraged to read the letter, speak out, and stay informed.
CMA: Catholic Ministries Appeal 2023
I applaud both parishes in our family for your extraordinary effort. St. Ann has exceeded its goal and Sacred Heart has doubled its goal. Remember that the Archdiocese looks both at the dollars pledged as well as the percentage of participation. Even a very small gift lifts our participation numbers. We have plenty of extra cards and envelopes available at both parishes. Please help us show the rest of the Archdiocese that the Family of St. Ann/Sacred Heart does its part for the ministries funded by the CMA. Remember that fifty (50%) percent of every dollar over goal returns to the donating parish.
Director of Evangelization for the St. Ann/Sacred Heart Family
I am pleased to announce that Mr. Jose Martinez is the new Director of Evangelization for the Parish Family of St. Ann / Sacred Heart. He is hard at work familiarizing himself with both parishes. Please read his introduction in a separate part of this bulletin.
Beacons of Light Organizational Structure
The recommended Beacons of Light organizational structure requires a Family of Parishes to have a Director of Evangelization, a Director of Worship, and a Director of Administration. The structure I envision will also include a Director of Real Estate and Physical Assets. (This is due to the reality that our Family needs both churches to accommodate our Sunday attendance, and both schools to accommodate our existing and anticipated students.) Together with the two principals, all four directors will serve as an extension of the pastor in their specific areas of expertise. “Beacons” foresees an environment not simply focused on maintaining what is, but directed to outreach, evangelization, and growth.
The symmetry of all this organizational structure is not based on the clerical model I, and most priests of my age, have grown up with! Rather it operates on a model of assumed delegation, so that the younger priest who replaces me when I retire will feel comfortable assuming the role of pastor in an organizational model normative throughout the Archdiocese. In other words, my oversight in this process is to establish a manner of operation designed not for me personally, but for my successors about three years from now. The reality is that priests my age (70 plus) have functional and canonical “expiration dates.” “Beacons” is a creative structuring for where we are going; not for where we have been.
Review of Mass Schedules
There are “five Phases” of the implementation of Beacons of Light. Family C-4 (comprised of Sacred Heart and St. Ann) has been designated a “one priest/pastor region.” It is almost certain that this will become the reality by July 1, 2023. This means that there is no assisting priest envisioned. In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati no one priest is canonically permitted to celebrate more than three Masses on any one day. At present we have two Sunday morning precept Masses at St. Ann and three Sunday morning precept Masses at Sacred Heart. Five Masses may not be celebrated by any one priest. Also every precept Mass at any parish must adhere to “space utilization requirements.” We have a declining Sunday attendance based on St. Ann and Sacred Heart’s October Count numbers. At least three of the five existing Sunday Masses are not well enough attended to meet these utilization requirements.
After we have the data from the survey recently completed, we will empanel an ad hoc utilization committee representing St. Ann and Sacred Heart in order to study, discuss, and reconcile our Sunday numbers with Archdiocesan utilization requirements. In the meantime, please remind parishioners that their presence each week at either St. Ann or Sacred Heart will result in a tremendous impact on the recommendations that the ad hoc committee will be required to bring to the Archdiocese.
Re-introduction of Precious Blood at Communion
We have distributors lined up for two cups at “all three Sunday morning Masses at Sacred Heart.”
For the time being we only have distributors for the cup at 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 at the various precept Masses.
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:
The Gospel according to John allows us to see the humanness of Christ’s divinity. What?! You may ask. Divinity and humanity are mutually exclusive. They cannot exist in the same person simultaneously! Oh but wait a minute. They do exist simultaneously in Jesus Christ. We call this the “hypostatic union.”
In the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, we see the humanity of Jesus when he weeps grieving tears for his friend Lazarus who has died. And yet the next moment he calls a verifiably dead man out of the tomb. Only God himself can give life. The principal purpose of the story is to verify that Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life.
Ever feel weak of faith because you are grieving? Well it should help to know that Jesus wept in grief for Lazarus even though he was about to raise him from the dead. Ever feel frustrated that you allowed yourself to lose your temper? Remember that Jesus made a whip out of cords and chased the money changers out of the temple. Ever feel like things are so bad there is no purpose in going on? Remember that Jesus looked down from the hill over the city of Jerusalem and wept tears of exasperation as though he was “throwing in the towel.” Jesus became incarnate so he could assure us that he has been there and done that. The plan of Jesus is to have us with him in Paradise. He died for our sins on the cross. Don’t disappoint the Lord. Don’t act like you don’t appreciate what he has done. Keep the faith!
NEXT WEEK Palm Sunday
Is 50:4-7
Phil 2:6-11
Mt 26:14—27:66
Theme: The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ