In today’s gospel (Luke 9:51-62) we read that some people were willing to follow Jesus while others were called to follow him. The responses Jesus gives to them seem strange at first. He speaks of the cost of discipleship. To one he says can you follow if I can’t promise a place to lay your head. To another he says let the dead bury the dead. And still to another if you look back you are unfit for the reign of God.
The call to discipleship requires costly commitment. The word “disciple” is so much a part of our Catholic faith that it hardly has any meaning outside of Christianity. The word is used 262 times in the New Testament. The word is mathetes, the basic root meaning is to be a learner but it has much more content than that. The lexicons tell us that it means “one who shares a close and intimate relationship with a person.” The disciple is one who at Jesus’ call follows after Him. He must observe the will of God and even binding upon himself unreservedly to the person of Jesus; go as far as death and the gift of his life out of love.
The people we read about in today’s gospel said, Let us go do this and let me go do that, and let me go do the other thing. Jesus said, “You’re not worthy to be my disciple”. Puritan William Perkins wrote: “The true Christian is of this disposition of mind, that if there were no conscience to accuse, no devil to terrify, no judge to arraign or condemn, no hell to torment, yet he would be humbled and brought to his knees for his sins because he has offended a loving merciful and long-suffering God.” That is discipleship—“an intimate relationship with a Person”.
John MacArthur writes in The Cost of Discipleship, quoting John Stott: “For thousands of people still ignore Christ’s warning and undertake to follow Him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so
called nominal Christianity. In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent but thin veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved, enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. Their religion is a great soft cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of life while changing its place and shape to suit their convenience. No wonder the cynics speak of hypocrites in the church and dismiss religion as escapism.”
The cost of discipleship is too high. It cuts against the grain. It is too hard, too severe, too rugged, too cruel and just too uncompromising. Only by the grace of God and his Spirit will we be able to attach ourselves to the person of Christ and follow wherever he leads.
Readings for the Week Of Sunday, June 27, 2010
In Service For Their country
Lt. John Schiavi, Sgt. Christopher Considine, Timothy Dunbar, Richard Rigley, Chris Cullen, Caitlin R. Battell, Robert McLaughlin, Sean Maddigan, Michelle Leverone, Marissa Leverone, Rev. Paul Passamonti, 1st Lt. Todd Donaldson, Airman Jason Cunha, Pfc. Erik Muskavitch, Mark Zarnecki, Patrick J. Nordahl, Scott and Michael Donahue, CDR Michael P. MacLellan and Captain Brian Geary.
Lord Jesus, watch over our sons and daughters in the service of their country. Give them the courage to serve their country with honor and dignity and grant that when their service is finished they may return to us, sound in mind, body and soul.
Please pray for all who are in need of our prayers that God’s healing and comforting presence may be with them, especially Father William Smith, Jen Bombaca, Marianne Slack, Elaine Murphy, Ed Burri, Bob Kozlowski, Francis Cote, Deacon Bill Wildes, William McCarthy, Marie Dempsey, Pat White, Mary Whelan, Prudy Bulger, Eleanor Mann, Phyllis Lange, Amy Galehouse Goolkosian, Jane Beauchemin, Mary Ellen Connor, Marybeth Morgan, Billy Wedgwood, Gerald McCue, Kathleen Brown, Brendan Murphy, Frank Stankowski, Theresa Flynn, Ann LaMantia, Christine Griffin, Josephine Siders, Paula McKenna, Douglas DiVito, Frank Hassett, Mary McGuinnes, Joseph Fremont-Smith, Marjorie Kearns, Shannon Capriulo, Fr. Waldron, Mildred Page, Cathy Larson, Victoria Killgore, Virginia Tavilla, Christine Screeton, Olivia Moran and Brianna Cimino. Please also remember in your prayers all of our deceased family members and parishioners, especially James Marasa and Arthur Silva.
Looking For Support During Your Job Search?
Seasoned Human Resources and Marketing pros to lead the Lexington Job Support Group (LJSG) for the Catholic Community of Lexington and our friends. Learn and share job search strategies, resources and networking tips while getting support during your search for that next great opportunity. Meetings are the first and third Wednesday of the month, 7:30 - 9:00 pm at Sacred Heart Parish Center. The next two meetings are July 7th and July 21st. Informal, no need to sign up, come on the evenings you are free with a cup of coffee or supper, and invite a friend. If you have any questions, contact Bob Ludwig at 781-861-7231 or Donna Heuchling at dheuchling@comcast.net.
Helping Hands
Helping Hands for June is Mary Lou Knight
781-862-3634.
Can You Help Fellow Parishioners Seeking Employment?
- DO YOU HAVE INFO ON JOB LEADS?
CAN YOU MAKE AN INTRO TO A HIRING MANAGER?
- CAN YOU PROVIDE INFO ON A SPECIFIC JOB OPPORTUNITY?
- ARE YOU ELIGIBLE FOR A COMPANY REFERRAL BONUS?
See Job Seeker biographies and contact information at www.lexingtoncatholic.org and flyers at the doors of the churches. Please keep each job seeker and their families in your prayers.
Have you Checked Out On-line giving?
Giving on-line is an easy and safe way to support your parish, even when you’re on vacation. Visit our web site, www.lexingtoncatholic.org, and click “Sacred Heart Parish” or “St. Brigid Parish” to learn about this new way to contribute via a charge to your bank account or credit card. Check it out!
St. Katherine Drexel Food Pantry St. Brigid And Sacred Heart
The food collection for St. Katharine Drexel is on the weekend of July 3rd and 4th. Please remember to bring bags of non-perishable food for the pantry by 11 am on Sunday.
You can leave food donations at the entrances to both St. Brigid and Sacred Heart or at the altar at Sacred Heart. Please check the expiration dates. The food pantry also accepts Stop and Shop gift cards and checks made payable to St. Katharine Drexel. These may be placed in the offertory basket or left at the office. Food collections tend to drop off in the summer but your continued support will enable the food pantry to stay open. Thank you for past generosity to this ministry in Roxbury.
Registrations for the 2010-2011 Religious Education Program have been mailed out. For advanced planning, please be aware that classes for Grades 1 thru 8 will be available on Sunday mornings at St. Brigid from 10:00-11:15 (after the 9:00am Mass) and at Sacred Heart from 11:15 – 12:15 (after the 10:00 Mass). Classes will also be held for grades 1 – 6 on Tuesday afternoon at St. Brigid from 3:45 – 4:45. Classes will be available for grades 7 and 8 on Monday from 5:30 – 6:30pm.
New Parishioners Registration – If you are new to the parish, and/or you have a child entering the first grade, please contact the Religious Education office to register your child for classes in the fall. Please call 781-862-8724 and we will send you a registration form for your completion. At this time we will also send out a parish registration form if you are not registered in either parish.
You will also need a copy of your child’s Baptism record if he/she was baptized at a parish other than Sacred Heart or St. Brigid.
Confirmation classes
Registration Placement forms for 9th and 10th grade Confirmation Classes were sent out this week. Please complete the form and send it back with the registration fee and a copy of your child’s baptismal certificate if it is not already on file. If you have any questions, please contact the Religious Education Office at 781-862-8724. A detailed schedule for the year will be available in the coming months.
Witness to Truth
Witness to Truth held July 12th-16th at St. Thecla's Retreat House, Billerica is a dynamic overnight leadership institute designed for Roman Catholic High School students who have completed grades 9, 10, 11, 12. For more information go to www.oymboston.org.
Witness To Hope
Witness to Hope held August 12th-15th at St. Thecla's. Retreat House, Billerica is an exciting overnight leadership institute specially designed for Roman Catholic Middle School students who have just completed grades 6, 7, or 8. For more information go to www.oymboston.org.
Olive Branch Olive Oil
Parishioners and friends in both parishes together bought 14 cases of Olive Oil! Thank you all for joining in this work. It not only gives crucial support to Palestinian farmers and their families but also maintains their dignity as workers and producers. Thank You!
R.C.I.A.
Are you searching for meaning or trying to make sense out of life? Have you ever thought about becoming a Catholic? Are you married to a Catholic and wonder what Catholics believe? Have you considered sharing the same faith as your spouse or your kids? Were you baptized Catholic but never learned about God? MAYBE GOD IS CALLING YOU… The R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is the process by which we “make new Catholics”: a process of learning, and asking questions, and growing together in a nurturing welcoming community of faith. Find out more: contact Beverly Good at 781-863-0319, ext 20 or Beverly.good@lexingtoncatholic.org.
Community News
Sunday, June27th
1:00 – BAPTISM – SB
Monday, June 28th
Feast Day of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
Tuesday, June 29th
6:30 – Meeting with Collette Tour representative for upcoming trip to the Passion Play in Germany.
RM.10
Wednesday, June 30th
Feast Day of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome
Thursday, July 1st
7:00-YOUNG ADULTS MEETING - SB
7:00 – BOY SCOUTS MEETING - SB
Friday, July 2nd
NO MEETINGS
Saturday, July 3rd
NO MEETINGS!
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND
Welcome To New Parishioners And Summer Visitors
No matter what your present status in the Catholic Church, no matter what your current family or marital situation, no matter what your current personal history, age, background, race, etc., no matter what your own self-image; you are invited, welcomed, accepted, loved and respected here with the Catholic Community in Lexington. . If you are new to Sacred Heart or St. Brigid Parishes, please introduce yourself to either Father Colletti or one of the Pastoral Associates, Beverly Good or Mary Peterson, after Mass or at your convenience. Also, please contact the Office, 781-862-0335/4646 to register as a member of the parishes.
If you are visiting Lexington, we welcome you to either Sacred Heart or St. Brigid Parishes. Please let us know where you are from, and please enjoy our community while you are here in Lexington.
Homebound Parishioners
As always, if you know of anyone who is homebound and unable to get to church, please contact the office, 781-862-0335/4646, so that we can make sure they receive the Eucharist.
Most of us see the same people week after week at “our” Mass. If you find that you are not seeing a certain person or people who are always at “your” Mass, please call the office and we will be happy to call and check to see if they are in good health or if they need some help or a visit from our Ministers to the Homebound.
Camp Mishannock
Camp Mishannock is a Residential and Day Camp for girls ages 5 to 15 owned and operated by the Sisters of Divine Providence. We are located on the shore of Lake Providence in Kingston, Massachusetts. Camp Mishannock offers instruction in land and water sports, as well as environmental studies. We are currently accepting registrations; please visit our website www.campmishannock.com for information and registration forms.
Sacred Heart Parish
Offertory for June 19/20 $ 3840.00
Envelope Offerings $ 3139.00
Loose Cash $ 701.00
St. Katharine Drexel $ 125.00
This week’s On-Line Giving Offertory $ 295.00
Clergy Benefit Trust Collection $ 265.00
Of the 265 envelopes we sent to Sacred Heart parishioners, 75 parishioners have used their envelopes this week. To date 14 parishioners have signed up for on-line giving. Thank you to all who so generously contribute to our parishes each week!
Fr. Colletti
| St. Brigid Church |
| |
| 9:00am | Tuesday June 29th | Linda Landry |
| 9:00am | Thursday July 1st | Alan O’Neil |
| 9:00am | Saturday July 3rd | Paul Donahue, John Paratore and Gabriele Perez |
| |
| Sacred Heart Church |
| |
Prayer For Travel
God of our ancestors,
Long ago you sent Abraham on a journey of faith
to a land promised to him and his descendents.
You led the people of Israel through the desert
to a land flowing with milk and honey
where they might live according to your covenant.
You continued to protect and guide your people
sending Raphael to watch over Tobiah on his way
as he journeyed to fulfill his father’s command.
Watch over us as we travel and keep us secure.
May your angels protect us on our journey
and lead us safely home at the end of our trip.
Let your provident hand guide us while we’re gone
and upon our return may we offer you thanks
for your protection and watchfulness over our days.
Amen
The Ambo
by Paul Turner
Ambo, lectern, pulpit it goes by many names but it serves one purpose, to mount the Liturgy of the Word. In some denominations, the ambo dominates the worship space. Since the Bible alone governs their system of belief, they give its proclamation primacy of place in the arrangement of the sanctuary.
In Catholic churches the altar typically dominates the sanctuary because our tradition has emphasized the Eucharist as the climax of our worship. However, this worthy emphasis sometimes caused us to slight the role of the word of God, and our ambos have suffered from sapless designs and insignificant placement. For centuries the priest used to read the Scriptures himself at the altar. Altars had an "epistle side" and a "Gospel side." Now the Scriptures have their own place, the ambo. (In Greek the word originally referred to a platform or stage.)
The ambos’ specific purpose provides a place for the Scriptures, the responsorial psalm and the Easter proclamation (the Exultant, proclaimed once a year, only at the Easter Vigil). It may also be used for the homily and the general intercessions (the Prayer of the Faithful). But that's it! It is not the place for announcements, for the priest's opening prayer, for the soloist at the wedding, or the folk choir unless, of course, they're singing the responsorial psalm. The priest should pray from his chair, and the songs and announcements belong at a stand in a different location. We reserve the ambo for the word of God.
Consequently, the ambo should look special. It enjoys a fixed place in the sanctuary, not a portable status subject to removal or displacement. Too often we obscure the ambo with decorations and banners, as if it were merely a hook for hanging pictures rather than the home for the word of God. It demands dignity of place, room for candles if desired and a location where all can see and hear the reader. Microphones of good quality are essential in most churches. A church's best mikes belong with the Scriptures, not just with the musicians.
The ambo is the primary place from which we hear the word of God and it deserves our sacred respect.
Copyright (c) 1997 Resource Publications, Inc., 160 E. Virginia St. #290, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 286-8505. Paul Turner, pastor of St. John Regis Parish in Kansas City, Mo., holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Sant' Anselmo University in Rome. His e-mail is PaulTu@aol.com.
St. Brigid Parish
Offertory for June 19/20 $ 7736.00
Envelope Offerings $ 6701.00
Loose Cash $1,035.00
This week’s On-Line Giving Offertory 860.00
Clergy Benefit Trust Collection $ 1162.00
Out of the 548 envelopes we sent to St. Brigid parishioners, 214 have used their envelopes. To date 27 parishioners have signed up for on-line giving. Thank you to all who so generously contribute to our parishes each week!
Fr. Colletti
Start The Holiday Weekend With The Lord
Celebrate quietly with the Lord this Friday and every Friday during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 12:00 - 2:45pm at St. Brigid Church.
St. Brigid renovation Project update
The project to add an elevator to the church building and accessible restrooms in the hall; to expand and improve handicapped seating in the church and handicapped parking; and to remodel the kitchen and Keilty Hall is underway.
Keilty Hall will not be accessible as a pass-through during construction. As a result, the stairway on the east side of the church building will be the only access to the existing restrooms and the Music Room.
During the demolition, enlargement and relocation of the current west side entrance and stairwell, the installation of the elevator, and the site preparation for seven handicapped parking spaces off the west driveway, the west side entrance to the church and the driveway between the church and parish center will be closed. Also during the entire project, the Reconciliation Room will be relocated to the small room off the church vestibule.
For your safety, please take note of all signs posted in the church and on the parish property and do not cross worksite barriers and fences.
Updates on this project, including building accessibility and safety issues during construction, will be provided weekly in this section of the bulletin.
Holiday Humor
The Fourth of July weekend was coming up, and the nursery school teacher took the opportunity to tell her class about patriotism. "We live in a great country," she said. "One of the things we should be happy about is that, in this country, we are all free." One little boy came walking up to her from the back of the room. He stood with his hands on his hips and said. . . .
"I'm not free. I'm four."
Understanding the Liturgy
by John J. O'Brien, C.P.
I want to comment on the entrance rite, the beginning of Sunday Eucharist. Let me begin personally. My love for singing and music began in my boyhood. I was and am always moved by the sacred songs of African-Americans. For example, "Shall We Gather at the River?' Verse three goes like this: "Ere we reach the shining river, Lay we ev'ry burden down; Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and crown. Yes, we'll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river; Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God."
Every Sunday we gather with the saints (= baptized journey-mates and catechumens) at the assembly halls we call Sacred Heart and St. Brigid Churches. Upon entering we are greeted and we greet each other. We ready ourselves to do the arduous work of public prayer. Our bodies ritually move from one posture to another walking, sitting, kneeling, standing. Each outer posture expresses and cultivates an inner attitude, a spiritual feeling, the soul's desire e.g., walking is a bodily movement conveying the soul's movement toward God or another Christian pilgrim, or towards the communion table. Thus we walk away from sin, injustice, or selfishness. We personally and mutually walk with a hunger and thirst for God, don't we?
The assembly lays the burdens of life down, places them in God's hands, and allows "grace our spirits to deliver." We want our personal and mutual hungers and thirsts to mix and to mingle as we become the chorus and congregation of God. We sing out the ways God is present with us, within us, among us, for us - even when our burdens make us feel spiritual darkness, as if God were absent from us.
I say that we sing out the ways God is present because that is what we do at the beginning. We stand to sing. We stand and sing so that we can move out of our own inferiority and self-absorbed concern and can become an assembly, a community, these local churches. There is no better way to do this than by singing. Singing delivers and frees us, unites us, engages us together, bonds us, and enables many voices to harmonize and blend into one marvelous sound.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (who died twenty-five years ago on 20 December, 1972) wrote of the call to be God's cantor in 1957:
"The heavens declare the glory of God. How do they declare it? How do they reveal it? There is no speech, there are no words, and neither is their voice heard. The heavens have no voice, the glory is inaudible. And it is the task of mankind to reveal what is concealed, to be the voice of the glory, to sing its silence, to utter, so to speak, what is in the heart of all things. The glory is there invisible and silent. Man is the voice; his task is to be the song. The cosmos is a congregation in need of a Cantor."
Helping Hands Ministry
Helping Hands is a group of volunteers who provide assistance to members of the Catholic Community of Lexington who are in need, such as giving rides to doctor’s appointments, or making meals for the sick. Volunteer drivers make no minimum time commitment. They only need to be willing to join an email distribution list for ride requests, and accept only those that fit their schedule. Volunteer meal makers can respond to requests as they are able. For more information, please contact Jeanne Hobbs at 781-248-9722 or jeannehobbs@verizon.net.
Now that the summer has officially begun, many people are traveling to summer homes. This may leave a serious lack of help within the volunteer list. If there is any way you can help, it would be much appreciated.
Boston Catholic Television
Daily Mass can be seen LIVE on Catholic TV and Boston’s WBPX, Channel 68, weekdays at 9:30 am, at 7:30 p.m. or midnight (all times Eastern). You can also celebrate it LIVE or "on demand" here at Catholic TV's web site, www.CatholicTV.com