Next Sunday: Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebrant : Fr. Tharp
Don’t Forget
Daylight Savings Time (aka: fast time) ends at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, November 7, 2021. Remember to set your clocks back (“fall back”) one hour before you go to bed Saturday night.
Stewardship Sunday
November 14 is “Stewardship Sunday.” The financial reports for Sacred Heart will be available this weekend. The reports for St. Ann will be available next weekend. My thanks to the donors in both parishes for your stewardship.
Synod 2021-2023
(The Archdiocesan coordinator for the Worldwide Synod on Synodality has asked that this be posted in all bulletins:
The Holy Father has called a synod inviting ALL the Baptized to come together to discuss and discern how we can walk together in accomplishing the Mission of the Church. He wants ALL those who make up the Church to participate: elderly, youth, religious orders, clergy, lay faithful, poor, disabled, divorced, migrants, those who no longer practice the faith, etc. More will be coming on how this is going to be accomplished at the local level, and what the discussion themes will be. In the meantime, please give participating in this first phase of the synod some prayerful thought. The Holy Father and the Holy Spirit value your input! Questions? Please feel free to contact me at jhomoelle@catholicaoc.org. God Bless!
Beacons of Light
Please reference the Beacons of Light web page for the most up-to-date information. Simply go to your browser and type in “BeaconsAOC.org” or type the same into your favorite search engine.
Split the Pot
The annual “St. Ann New Year’s Eve Split the Pot” is underway. Tickets are on sale in the vestibule of St. Ann after weekend precept Masses. This is a major fundraiser for St. Ann Church and School, so as Sacred Heart and St. Ann become a new Family, let’s support each other. Split the Pot fundraisers always work best when lots of tickets sell early. This encourages others to consider buying tickets as the pot grows.
Attention parish or school volunteers who work with or around children
If you are a volunteer classroom parent in the school, a coach, drama club volunteer, scout volunteer, etc please note that you should have been moved to the Safe Parish program. Fulfillment of this requirement is mandatory for anyone working with children. Please contact your parish safe environment coordination if you are uncertain whether you are registered or approved.
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 a precept Mass from St. Ann and Sacred Heart each week
Since I live stream both the 4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart and the 5:15 p.m. at St. Ann; I usually manage to live stream both, but on rare occasions the internet is out at one or the other location. If this happens, be assured that I will make every effort to correct the malfunction before the next weekend.
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 “widow’s mite” story is found in Mark and Luke’s gospels. The moral lesson of the pericope is that generosity is not necessarily predicated on one’s retained wealth or possessions. Generous sacrificial giving is an act of love for God, because it is an act of selflessness on the part of the donor. Jesus points out that the amount of the donation to another must be sacrificial for the donor. If the gift given is from one’s surplus, (wealth beyond what is needed) it is certainly a sign of generosity; but it is not sacrificial. If you give until it hurts however, you are a sacrificial donor. To the accountant, sacrificial giving is risky business. What if ill fortune strikes and you later need what you precipitously gave away?
I am reminded of a story about Saint Teresa of Calcutta. A wealthy celebrity gave her food for her and the sisters to have a feast. When the gifted food arrived, Mother Teresa told the nuns to distribute it to the poor. She reminded the nuns that they were vowed to “beg” for their food from the poor. In the 1980s and 1990s when I was the Financial Officer of the Archdiocese, I assure you, I would not have supported Mother Teresa’s economics! Such selfless generosity is based on faith; not budgeting! But like the lifeguard who would rather die trying to save the person caught in the rip current rather than to save him or herself, the true virtue of charity is to be found only in sacrificial giving, not just in the disposal of unneeded assets.
Before we claim to be charitable, we must ask ourselves, “Where is the risk to me in my generosity?”
NEXT WEEK
Dn 12:1-3
Heb 10:11-14, 18
Mk 13:24-32
Theme: The Eschaton!