Monthly Archives: September 2020

Fr. Todd Bulletin, September 27, 2020

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Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary’s on the Lake,

I will be gone for a few days this week on retreat (Mon-Wed).  Typically, this would have been our Convocation week when all the priests of the Diocese gather for a yearly meeting.  That was canceled due to the pandemic, but the speaker who was to keynote the Convocation will be leading this retreat.  On October 1st, we have a one-day gathering to go over the Bishop’s ongoing vision for the Diocese and honor the priests celebrating important anniversaries.  We will not have Mass at Sacred Heart or St. Mary’s on Thursday, October 1st.  Please pray for us this week!

Thank you to a few parishioners who have donated to have a new nativity set, which was delivered on Friday.  It will be a beautiful addition to our Christmas décor.  Your thoughtfulness and generosity is appreciated.

This week ushers in October, a month dedicated particularly to the prayer of the Rosary.  The Rosary is one of the most iconic prayers of the Church, made up of the prayers we learn from our youngest days: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be.  It is a prayer that walks us through the life of Jesus and invites us, and those we love, into His life.  One question that comes up, though, is that the Rosary can be difficult to pray because it seems too rout and/or distracted.  How then can we enter into this prayer?  I want to offer a few suggestions that I have found helpful.

Prayer is more about what God is doing than what I am experiencing during that time.  We all like to judge how good a prayer is by how it feels when we are praying.  The thing is, the efficacy of prayer cannot be judged by how it felt.  Some of the most profound times of prayer happen in times of dryness or desolation.  We may never know the fruit our prayers bear.  We bring ourselves, those we love, and all of our needs and leave them in His hands.

Bring a particular intention to each decade of the Rosary:

I have found it very helpful to focus my attention on each mystery if I can keep in mind a particular need or situation.  If the situation fits the nature of the mystery, all the better.  When I pray the 4th Sorrowful Mystery, Jesus carrying the cross, I often think of someone I know who is going through a very difficult time and needs to experience Jesus coming alongside them to help them bear their burden.  Or the 5th Joyful Mystery, the finding of Jesus in the Temple.  I like to think of someone I know who doesn’t know the Lord and that they might be able to encounter Him in their life.

The Rosary is a place:

One of the beautiful parts of the Rosary is that it gives us words when we have none.  Sometimes we run into things in life before which we feel powerless.  In those times when we don’t know what to do or say, the Rosary gives us the words.  More importantly, it brings us to a place of peace and rest before God.  I know of a grandpa mourning the loss of a grandchild who was stillborn and the helplessness he felt at his daughter and son-in-law’s grief.  The Rosary for him was a place where he could rest, lay down the hurt he felt, and realize anew that death no longer has the last word for the Christian.  That word belongs now to God in His victory over sin and death.

During October I encourage all of us to pray the Rosary, either part or all of it each day.  Mary, our Dear Mother, pray for us and help bring us right to the feet of Jesus.

We invite you to attend a special Rosary Prayer Service on  October 10th at 12:00 PM, Evergreen Golf Course, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.   All are welcome to attend.

 

God Bless!

 

Mass Intentions September 26 – October 4

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Saturday, September 26

4:30pm             The 12 children of James & Mary Brogan

Sunday, September 27

8:00am             Phil Fether by Betty Camp

11:00am           Dorothy Meredith by SH Choir

Monday, September 28

8:00am             People of the Parish

Tuesday, September 29

4:45pm             Confession & Adoration

5:45pm             Charles Mansfield by Betty Camp

Wednesday, September 30

8:00am             Shelly Veneros

Thursday, October 1

8:00am             Richard Bade by Larry & Dottie DeVries

Friday, October 2

9:00am Sheldon Peltier by Joe & Pam Marry

Saturday, October 3

4:30pm Lonnie Monahan by Bud Monahan Family

Sunday, October 4

8:00am Coddie Patton ~ 3rd Anniversary by Jim & Linda

11:00am Owen Thompson by Lew & Lisa

 

Anne Atkin, Principal Bulletin, Sunday, September 27, 2020

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You Are Never Alone

God knows! God knows everything! But what exactly does that mean? It means that God knows your heart and your soul. He knows you, truly. We teach our students to talk to God about everything. We ask for prayers for the people who struggle and need God to be with them. We talk to God about our sins and how we can get on the path back to a joyful heart. We practice seeing God in all things by appreciating all of our blessings: both big and small. We ask God to forgive us when we have been mean or made a mistake that hurt someone. We ask God to be with us when we are asked to do something hard or new. In short, we put God into all parts of our day, every day.

Sacred Heart is a wonderful place for children to be educated because we are able to teach the importance of prayer as the children are learning and developing. Our students are a gift and we can remind them how perfectly unique and special they are because God has a purpose for each of them. We teach our students to think about how much Jesus loves them and what it means to share that love with the world. The mission at Sacred Heart reflects our core belief that each child has unlimited potential to be amazing. They are taught by the teachers and staff that they can persevere with school work, friendships, competition, serving the community and all expectations because they have the power to talk to God about it. Our mission at Sacred Heart School is for our students to be balanced: confident of mind, academics and Catholic faith. As we begin another school year, it is this mission that guides us. The confidence in knowing that God is with you, through absolutely everything, is the best gift we can give our children.

Prayer is at the core of all that we do.  Matthew 19:26:  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Father Todd made a great, short video with ideas for prayer time at home entitled What does family prayer time look like?  https://youtu.be/EiZ5MjRJK5Q

You are never alone and you are blessed. If you need extra prayers, reach out to me at aatkin@sacredhearthudson.org and we will add your intentions to morning prayer and the 5th/6th grade Friday Rosary walks.

 

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal

 

Sacred Heart School

Students are balanced: confident of mind, academics and Catholic Faith.

Serving the Community. Teaching our students to live and model the Catholic faith. Reflecting the unconditional love of Jesus.

Remaining structured with the purpose of graduating students who are prepared to persevere.

 

Religious Education Update!!

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We are getting close to putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to begin Religious Education classes.  This year, we decided to delay the start of classes until November 8th to allow more time to prepare our program and for children and families to adjust to the new pandemic requirements for attending school.

Last month, the diocese issued a policy for Religious Education classes during Phase 4 of the Michigan Safe-Start Plan.  This policy closely follows the protocols used at Sacred Heart School.  The policy reminds us that we are all called to provide faith formation and support to our children to live their Catholic faith.   Although the current pandemic presents a challenge this year for classes to meet, it also provides an opportunity for our families to learn together in what we call the Domestic Church.  The Domestic Church is the home, where God is honored, his law is respected, prayer is a normal event, virtue is taught by word and example, and everyone shares the hopes, the problems and sufferings of everyone else.

So, what does all this mean for our Religious Education this year?  Our program will focus on simple, age appropriate, Scripture-based activities in support of Bishop Boyea’s calling for a Year of Scripture to begin this coming Advent.  The goal is to help families better understand the Bible through joining together in prayer, reading the Scriptures and Spiritual works, and discussing as a family what they have read.

After consulting with other Directors of Religious Education within the diocese, surveying our parents, and working with our Catechists, we have decided to hold in-Person classes on a weekly basis during our normal, Sunday morning religious education time.  However, to comply with the diocesan policy, we will also offer at-Home resources for those families who are not comfortable with their children attending in-person classes.  Our Children’s Liturgy of the Word during the 11am Mass will not be offered at this time.

Only students, catechists, and staff will be allowed in the building.  Students will be required to check in upon entering the building.  All students will be required to wear masks while in hallways and common areas.  Students in Grades 1 through 5 may remove their masks in the classrooms.  Students in Grades 6 and above must wear their masks at all times. Catechists and staff must wear masks at all times.  Social distancing is required (minimum of 6-foot separation) and as far apart as possible.   If a 6-foot distance is not possible, spacing may be as close as 4 feet if everyone is wearing a mask.

In order for children to attend in-person classes, parents will be required to provide a signed COVID-19 Health Screening Agreement, a completed Student Screening Checklist to enter the building each day of classes, and an appropriate and effective mask for each child (face shields are not acceptable).  Children will not be allowed in the building if any of the Screening Checklist questions are marked “Yes”, or they display obvious COVID-19 symptoms.  Catechists and staff will conduct daily COVID-19 self-examinations per the Parish COVID-19 Re-opening Policy.  Cleaning and Hygiene will follow the Sacred Heart School policy.

Registration for classes begins this week.  Parents opting for at-home learning must still register so we have a record of their children attending Religious Education class for future use in Sacrament Preparation.   Registration forms will be available on the parish website, at the entrances of the church, or by contacting the office.  A parent orientation package will be mailed to homes with the details of our Religious Education policy and all necessary forms.

As a side note, we are in need of a catechist to teach Grades 5-6, as well as additional volunteers help on Sunday mornings to assist with student check in.  If you are interested, or know of someone who may be, please contact me.

 Psalm 29 says, “The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace (v11).”  During this time of pandemic uncertainty, may we pray for the strength to do what is necessary outside of our normal routine to bring peace into our lives and those around us.

Deacon John

 

20.21 Religious Education Registration Form

 

Pet Blessing – Friday, October 2

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In honor of the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, Father Todd will be blessing our pets on Friday, October 2nd at 2:00 in the Church Parking Lot.  This is a favorite event for the students and parishioners and we have a great time seeing the dogs, bunnies, cats, birds and even horses.