Welcome!
Sacred Heart & St. Patrick Catholic Churches

MORE GOOD NEWS!! Fr. Pat is able to have an outdoor Mass this Sunday at both parishes in the parking lot. WEATHER PERMITTING, Mass will be at St. Patrick at 8 am and at Sacred Heart at 10 am. Everyone must remain in their car for Mass and each car will have a 6-foot distance between them. Fr. Pat will bring Holy Communion to you in your car. There will be people directing you where to park when you pull in. We are limited to the number of cars we can have in each parking lot so if you are not able to get a parking spot, you are welcome to come back after Mass (approximately 8:30 am at St. Patrick and 10:30 am at Sacred Heart) and drive up to where Fr. Pat is standing and roll down your window and Fr. Pat will give you Holy Communion. In the event of RAIN, Fr. Pat will still be distributing Communion as he did last weekend.
Confessions will be on Saturday, May 30th from 3-4 pm at Sacred Heart this week.

Yesterday, we celebrated our first public Mass on the Ascension of our Lord into Heaven. The symbolism was not lost on me. Jesus assured His disciples that He would not abandon them. I alluded to this during the second Mass, that Jesus loves us. And to love someone is to be present to them. Jesus came down to us on a makeshift Altar in the bed of a pickup truck. There is no place that Jesus would not go, to remind us that indeed, he loves us.

There are two frequent statements Jesus uttered throughout His ministry here on earth: I love you and be not afraid. The two actually go together. Why did Jesus tell us not to be afraid, because There is nothing to be afraid of because of God’s total love for us. I would like to share again the words of Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, who said in his inaugural homily:

“At this point, my mind goes back to 22 October 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry here in Saint Peter’s Square. His words on that occasion echo in my ears: ‘Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!’ The Pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they let him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free. Yes, he would certainly have taken away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law and the freedom to do as they pleased. But he would not have taken away anything that pertains to human freedom or dignity, or to the building of a just society. The Pope was also speaking to everyone, especially the young. Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that he might take something away from us? Are we not afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes us beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.”

I share this with you because Christ does take away our fears. I heard that there are many people afraid of things returning to some kind of normal as things begin to open up. Go to God, trust in His love for you, know that He is in total control. Jesus, is good on His promise when He said, I will be with you until the end of the age. In moments of fear, turn away from the news and turn toward God. This does not mean that we forego all safety, but it means, stay safe and trust in God.

Once before I used this scene from the popular 1994 movie entitled, Forrest Gump, but decided to use again because of its relevance to the Solemnity we celebrate today. At one-point Forrest feels rejected by the people he loves, and he gets the urge to start running. And so, he walks out the door, jogs across the yard and does not stop. In fact, when he gets to the ocean and runs out of road he simply turns around and runs the opposite direction. His running becomes national news and they ask him why he is running. He simply answers, I’m just running. Unintentionally he sparks a huge national following.

He abruptly quits running in the middle of the dessert. Forrest now has long hair and a long beard. His fellow joggers who have been following him stop and wait for some words of wisdom. Forrest announces to the people, I’m kinda tired, I think I’ll go home now. Forrest walks through the small and silent crowd and one of them yells after him, “Well, what are we supposed to do?”

All people are looking for the answers to life’s deepest questions. But since our thirst for truth and happiness is infinite because we were created by God and for God, no finite worldly thing can satisfy us. These joggers personified their thirst for meaning. The fact that their hero abandons them without any explanation illustrates the inability of the things of this world; money, fame, politics and pleasure; to provide that meaning. Only God is the Way, the Truth and the Life and only He can fulfill our desire for meaning.

Today, the Church is inviting us to reflect on this great mystery of our faith, Christ’s ascension into heaven. When Jesus ascends into heaven, there is the temptation to think that he has left us. We might then think of absence rather than presence. The mystery of this feast is that it is more about presence than absence. Jesus ascends into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. But, Christ remains ever present to us through the Holy Spirit and walks with us on our pilgrimage of life. Jesus is ruling history right now; none of the difficulties, injustices, and problems we face as individuals, families and societies is outside of His knowledge or power. He is at work in all things, even if it is sometimes difficult for us to see exactly how.

Someone asked me a few weeks back, “why do you have such peace during this pandemic?” I answered, first, I don’t watch the news. I don’t care how much someone watches the news, it’s not going to change a thing. Secondly, I trust God. I spend my time praying to God, long periods in His presence in church. Because I know that God can and will bring a greater good out of this.

The apostles probably felt discouraged again that Jesus was no longer present in the familiar way. But, once they received The Holy Spirit, they knew that Jesus had not abandoned them, but was present in a different way. The apostles could rejoice In this. God simply does not abandon us, ever! And so, when I encounter darkness, I’m always on the lookout for the great light God will send to conquer the darkness. After all, no matter how menacing the darkness, even a tiny light is able to push it back. God wants us to become His light, no matter how insignificant you might feel. With God, even the tiniest light is able to push back the darkness, all we have to do is open ourselves to God’s grace. St. Ignatius of Loyola had a great phrase that might guide us; “Pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon us.”

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he didn’t take the members of His church with him, instead he entrusted his mission to their care. That mission includes following Christ and helping others to do the same. Although, our Sunday obligation of attending Mass has been lifted, we still have the obligation to be a witness of Jesus in our world. This world, especially during this pandemic, needs such witnesses, because Christ wishes that we bring hope in a world that is full of despair. It is in our hands and if we do our best God will surely do the rest. After all, God is with us until the end of the age. I’ll end with my favorite quote from Saint John XXIII: “I’ve done all I can, it’s your church, I’m going to bed.”

If you have a prayer intention, I will bring with me to tomorrow’s Mass.  My hope is not only to bring these intentions with me to Mass but that we as a faith family may join our prayers together. It’s a way to come together while social distancing ourselves from each other. If you want to be totally anonymous in your intentions, you can text them to me at 1-815-252-4400, it will be totally confidential.

Love & prayers,

Fr. Pat

All Masses at both parishes have been suspended due to the Coronavirus threat.  We will post here when Masses resume.  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/363898067094156/