Pastor Notes April 16, 2023
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April 17, 2023Welcome to the reception of the Eucharist, those who will receive their First Holy Communion this weekend at Sacred Heart and next Sunday at St. Malachy. Your desire mixed with a bit of anxiety gives us adults a pause to again recognize the grace in the real presence we too often take for granted. Thank you to the parents—the families—who have supported their faith, who have taught them prayer and shared times of prayer with them, who nurtures them with our Christian virtues and the sharing in the Sunday Eucharist. Not an easy task day in and day out, but an enduring blessing for them as they grow older and encounter various distractions and challenges. Thank you parents for providing your son or daughter with a foundation of faith nurtured by our Catholic-Christian values and the reception of the Eucharist. “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” (Corrie ten Boom)
Earlier this month Bishop Nickless announced the return of the Blood of Christ offered at Communion within our Masses. However, the Blood of Christ will be re-instituted at all the Masses on the weekend of June 11th, Corpus Christi Sunday. Next month the diocese will come out with guidelines and precautions for the offering and reception of the Blood of Christ. Bishop Nickless is concerned about the reverence of this aspect of the Eucharist, and the wellbeing of those who desire to receive the Blood of Christ. As the guidelines are brought forth next month, such will be shared with our parish and the Eucharistic Ministers.
Divine Mercy Sunday instituted during Pope John Paul II’s years shepherding our Church, brings forth the richness, if you will, of God’s mercy brought forth through His Son’s teachings, healings, crucifixion and resurrection. An understatement to say we are unable to grasp the magnitude of such grace, but nonetheless in dire need of. Scripture provides the crux of God’s call for mercy: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). At the appropriate time of 3pm this Sunday, the 16th, our parish is sponsoring a Divine Mercy Prayer Service at St. Malachy Church open to parishioners and visitors. Along with the Chaplet there will be the opportunity of Confessions, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
At a gathering in 2016 Pope Francis elaborated on the source of mercy we acknowledge and seek on this Divine Mercy Sunday: "Some of you might ask me, 'Father, how does one feel mercy and not pity?' Well, first we need to ask for the grace to have mercy. It is a grace and you must ask the Lord for it. The only road, though, to have mercy is through one's
own sin recognized by ourselves, and forgiven by the Lord; through sin acknowledged and forgiven. We can be merciful only if we feel we have truly received the mercy of the Lord, as otherwise one cannot be truly merciful. If you feel that your sin has been taken on, forgiven, and forgotten by God, you have received mercy, and by having thus received mercy, you can be merciful. If mercy does not come from your heart in this way, it is not mercy."
From his devotional, Jesus: A Contemporary Walk With Jesus, Mark Link, S.J., offers a brief story of our Christian calling to receive God’s mercy, and in turn, extend to others.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy (Matthew 5:7)
Little Jason was returning home later and later each afternoon from school. His father lectured him on punctuality, but the talks made no impact on him. Finally, he told Jason that the next time he was late, he could expect bread and water for supper. Sure enough, the next evening Jason was late. When he sat down to supper, he was stunned. On his plate was a single slice of bread. Jason saw his father meant business. When the punishment had sunk in fully, Jason’s father gave him his own full plate and took Jason’s single slice of bread. That was all Jason’s father ate that night. Years later, Jason said that what his father did at supper that evening taught him in the most eloquent way what Jesus’ mercy did for the human race 2,000 years ago.”
My blessings to the students who will receive their First Holy Communion this weekend and next, and their families as they continue to share the gift of our Catholic faith within their homes, and in our parish. And a sincere “thank you” to the volunteers who prepared them in the past year for this Sacrament.
God Bless, Fr. Tim
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” (Mark Twain)