Posted on November 4, 2018 View all news
Laudetur Jesus Christus! Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo! Praised be Jesus Christ!
I want to take this opportunity to issue many thanks. First of all, thank you to all those who helped to direct and volunteer for the biannual Original Italian Dinner on October 21. This is an essential part of Sacred Heart’s history, and without so much dedication, we certainly couldn’t pull this off. Thank you so very much!
Secondly, a big thank you to all those who helped to make desserts for the Oratory Fundraising Banquet on October 29. This resulted in savings to the overall dinner, so we are very appreciative of all who took the time to provide the desserts. Thank you!
Talking about money is one of my least favorite parts of the “job.” Especially today, when we hear of settlements and wasteful spending on the part of the Church. I want to thank each of you for your support of Old St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, and the Oratory. Without your help and sacrifice, none of these institutions would exist.
Old buildings take a lot of maintenance, from financial resources to the time required. Priests become very expensive to education, with one seminarian being more than $30,000 a year to educate, house, feed, and provide medical insurance. But with everyone’s sacrifice and commitment, we can make sure that these little gifts to us from God can continue. Please remember each of these in your daily prayers. For without prayer and the Sacraments, what we do would not be worth it. But the graces and benefits that our sacrifices produce help lead us onto the path of Heaven.
Please find this short reflection from St. Augustine on why church buildings are essential for our spiritual life and give us something to strive. Have a blessed week ahead!
“Dearly beloved, as often as we keep the Dedication Feast of some Church, if we think faithfully and carefully, and live holily and righteously, that which is done in temples made with hands, is done in our soul by a spiritual building. He at the Dedication of the Temple lied not who said: Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you. And therefore, dearly beloved brethren, since by the grace of God, without any foregoing deserts of our own, we have been made meet to become the Temple of God, let us work as hard as we can, with His help, that our Lord may not find in His Temple, that is, in us, anything to offend the eyes of His Majesty.
Let the Tabernacle of our heart be swept clean of vices and filled with virtues. Let it be locked to the devil, and thrown open to Christ. Yea, let us so work, that we may be able to open the door of the kingdom of heaven with the key of good works. For even as evil works are so many bolts and bars to close against us the entrance into life, so beyond doubt are good works the key thereto. And therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let each one look into his own conscience, and when he findeth the wounds of guilt there, let him first strive by prayers, fasting, or alms deeds to purge his conscience, and so let him dare to take the Eucharist.” – St. Augustine