Sometime after Vatican Council II there were many changes in the church.  One of the changes people joked about was, “What happened to those people who ate meat on Fridays?”  The distinction between church law and the moral code from scripture and tradition became blurred.  People told me they did not know anymore what was right and what was wrong.

In the first reading today (Deuteronomy 30:10-14) Moses, after wandering in the desert for forty years with the chosen people of Israel, lays out the commands of God.  If they were to keep the commands they would remain in the covenant with God and enjoy God’s promises to them.  If they did not keep the commands they could expect curses.  “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Choose life—if you and your offspring would live—by loving the Lord your God, heeding his commands, and holding fast to him; then you shall have life.”

We are always faced with making choices for various reasons—for personal benefit and self-interest or for the good of others.  Some choices become routine and require little thought.  Other choices are significant and have profound consequences.  Jean-Paul Sartre knew of the importance of decisions made on a daily basis when he said; “We are our choices.”

Moses told the people: “This command I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you.  It is not up in the sky, that you should say, ‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’  Nor is it across the sea that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’  No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”

As Catholics, we know what to do and what to avoid. Many times we might be tempted to follow the way of the world and not the way of the Lord.  The problem is we sometimes lack the courage and strength to follow through with a good decision.  Saint Paul wrote, “I would never have known the sin in my heart—the evil desires that are hidden there—if the law had not said, ‘You must not have evil desires in your heart.’”  He adds, “I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned.  No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right.  I want to but I can’t.  When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway…I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned…Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in!  Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature?  Thank God!  It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord.  He has set me free” (Romans 7).

Christ calls us to be intentional about choosing the path as his followers—to start again with a renewed vision of what God wants for us as his church.  The choices we make matter: choose life—and live.

 

St. Brigid Church
9:00am	Tuesday July 13th	Vaccaro & DeMarco Families
9:00am	Thursday July 15th	Edoardo & AdrianaBattenti & Family
9:00am	Saturday July 17th	Joan Marie O’Hara
Sacred Heart Church
9:00am	Monday July 12th	No Intention
9:00am	Wednesday July 14th	John Collins
9:00am	Friday July 16th	No Intention

 

Sunday, July 11th

EARLY MORNING –STUDENTS LEAVE FOR CATHOLIC WORK CAMP
11:00 – Baptism Instruction – SB

Monday, July 12th

7:00 – Joint Parish Finance Council

Tuesday, July 13th

Feast of St. Henry
There will be a wake for Father Smith at St. Brigid Church from 5:00-8:00pm.
Father Colletti will preside at the Rite of Reception at 5:00pm and the Vigil Service at 7:30pm at St. Brigid.

Wednesday, July 14th 

Feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
The funeral for Father Smith will be at 11:00 at St. Brigid Church.

Thursday, July  15th 

7:00-Young Adults Meeting - SB
7:00 – Boy Scouts Meeting - SB

Friday, July  16th

Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Saturday, July 10th

Lahey Duty - Fr.Hoang
 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND

Do Your Vacation Plans Include On-Line Giving?

Giving on-line is an easy and safe way to support your parish, even when you’re on vacation. Click the link for 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!

In Service For Their Country

Capt. 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 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.

Lexington Job Support Group

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 here and in flyers at the doors of the churches.  Please keep each job seeker and their families in your prayers.

Helping Hands Coordinator

Helping Hands coordinator for July is
Mary Peterson, 781-863-0319

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, 7:30pm - 9:00pm at Sacred Heart Parish Center. The next meeting is 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 (3) NOTE: There will be no meetings in August.

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(1)

Attention On-Line Contributors!

Now that you are an on-line contributor and no longer receive envelopes (delivery usually stops within three months after commencement of on-line giving), do you miss having something to put in the basket?  On-Line Giving cards – about the size of an envelope – are now available at the churches’ entrances.  Just pick one up as you enter the church and drop it in the basket as it passes by.  

Lexington Food Pantry

The collection of non-perishable food is the weekend of July 17th and 18th.  Items may be left at the food bins at the entrances of the church or on the altar at Sacred Heart.  Please check the expiration dates!
Special requests for this month include canned corn and peas, hot and cold cereals, meals in a can, spaghetti, canned fruit and low sodium chicken broth.  The food pantry also accepts personal hygiene items and paper products. Cash, supermarket gift cards and checks made payable to the Lexington Food Pantry may be placed in an envelope marked Lexington Food Pantry and placed in the offertory basket or dropped off at the office.
We thank you for your past generosity and continued support of this endeavor.

Please pray for all who are in need of our prayers that God’s healing and comforting presence may be with them, especially 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, Helen Milne, Alan Blanchard, 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, 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 Father William Smith, Donald Macbeth and John Walsh.

Young Adult Fundraiser

Do you like good Italian Food?  Would you like to help support young adult ministry?  If so then read on!  The Young Adult Group is having a fundraiser to raise money for the group activities and such, this includes, but is not limited to: books/materials, speakers for Theology on Tap, marketing, etc.  The fundraiser will take place on 5-8pm on July 13, 2010 at the Chateau Restaurant of Waltham.  It is very simple, 20% of your bill goes to support the Young Adult Group at no additional cost to you.  All you do is have to show up at the Chateau Restaurant of Waltham at this time and let them know you are part of this fundraiser and/or give them the ticket from the flyer for this.  You can sit wherever you like and bring whoever you like.  Enjoy great food and drinks while supporting the ministry.  For more info you can email youngadults@lexingtoncatholic.org or call the parish office at 781-862-0335.  You can do take out orders for this as well.  The Chateau's phone number is 781-894-3339, their website is www.chateauresturant.com and their address is 196 School St, Waltham, MA 02451. There will be flyers about this after the Masses this weekend that you can pick up as well.  Thank you in advance for your generous support!!!

Bible Study Humor

All Men All Girls

When her daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past).  For several weeks, after they had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, ‘And all girls.’  This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing.  Her mother’s curiosity got the best of her and she said, ‘Kelly, why do you always add the part about all girs?’
Kelli’s response was, ‘Because everybody always finishes their prayers by saying ‘All men’!’

Women's Book Group

SUMMER READING:  THE WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB’S SEPTEMBER SELECTION is The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, by Jeffry Toobin.

Bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin takes you into the chambers of the most important—and secret—legal body in our country, the Supreme Court, and reveals the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land.  Just in time for the 2008 presidential election—where the future of the Court was at stake—Toobin revealed an institution at a moment of transition, when decades of conservative disgust with the Court had finally produced a conservative majority, with major changes in store on such issues as abortion, civil rights, presidential power, and church-state relations.  Based on exclusive interviews with justices themselves, The Nine tells the story of the Court through personalities—from Anthony Kennedy’s overwhelming sense of self-importance to Clarence Thomas’s well-tended grievances against his critics to David Souter’s odd nineteenth-century lifestyle.  As we witness the confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan, we’re getting a glimpse into the Court’s inner workings.

Says New York Times Book Reviewer David Margolick, “The Nine is engaging, erudite, candid and accessible, often hard to put down.  Toobin is a natural storyteller, and the stories he tells—how a coalition of centrist justices saved Roe v. Wade; why Rehnquist, despite having loathed the rights granted to criminal suspects by Miranda v. Arizona, eventually declined to overturn the decision; how right-wing firebrands deep-sixed the Supreme Court candidacies of Alberto Gonzales and Harriet Miers—are gripping.”

The Book Club meets on Thursday, September 9th, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in room #8, lower level of Sacred Heart Parish Center.  For more information, contact Maria Griffin at avempg(4) or Beverly Good at Beverly.good(1), 781-863-0319, ext 20.

St. Brigid
Offertory for July 3rd & 4th	$ 6,182.00
Envelope Offerings	$ 5,443.00
Loose Cash	$    739.00

Out of the 548 envelopes we sent to St. Brigid parishioners 166 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

Sacred Heart
Offertory for July 3rd & 4th	$ 3,917.00
Envelope Offerings	$ 3,629.00
Loose Cash	$    288.00
St. Katharine Drexel	$   117.00

Out of the 265 envelopes we sent to Sacred Heart parishioners, 51 have used their envelopes this week. To date 16 parishioners have signed up for on-line giving. Thank you to all who so generously contribute to our parishes each week! —Fr. Colletti

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.

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 have been mailed out.  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.

He’s Looking Forward to Your Visit

Don’t forget the Lord during the summer months! You can spend some quiet one-on-one time with him this Friday and every Friday during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 12:00 - 2:45pm at St. Brigid Church.

St. Brigid Parish 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 parish property and do not cross barriers or fences into the construction worksite.     

Updates on this project, including building accessibility and safety issues during construction, will be provided weekly in this section of the bulletin.

Communion Distribution at St. Brigid

Communion will be distributed at the front of the church.  This is in keeping with the fact that all those participating at the Eucharist should approach the altar at communion time.  We ask that those who are handicapped please use the reserved benches, located on the left side of the church, or take seats closer to the front of the church so that they may more easily come to receive communion.  If you are handicapped and need Communion brought to you, please let the Usher or Pastoral Associate know; we will make arrangements to have Communion brought to you. 

Understanding the Liturgy

Coming to the Lord's Table - The Communion Rite -- #2
by John J. O'Brien, C.P.

The communion rite follows the Eucharistic Prayer.  This great prayer ends with the prayer of praise addressed to God the Father through Christ in the unity of the Spirit.  The priest lifts high the bread and the cup.  The priest sings: "Through him (Christ), with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, forever and ever."  The entire assembly sings Amen robustly and repeatedly.  This is the highpoint of the Eucharistic Prayer.  The prayer of praise is called the doxology because the church, in the ritual gesture of rising up the Eucharistic bread and cup on high, offers the sacrifice of Christ to God, the Almighty Father.  The gathered church looks upon this offering raised up on high and sings the Great Amen.

God then provides the holy meal of the Eucharist, the body and the blood of the Lord, for this assembly.  The communion rite begins with the Lord's Prayer.  The prayer spells out our relationship with God.  The text is originally found in the gospel of Matthew and another rendition is in the gospel of Luke.  The prayer has roots in the Jewish spirituality that the disciples knew.

The prayer is simple.  For that reason, it is often the first prayer that we learn.  Catechists use the prayer text as a model when adult catechumens and children learn the art of praying.  This prayer sums up the entire gospel.  If you learn this prayer by heart and etch it in your memory, you will put on the attitudes required of disciples.

Many early Christian writers instructed newly initiated Christians through their sermons and commentaries on the Lord's Prayer.  A copy of this prayer is handed over during Lent to those whom God chooses for baptism on the Easter night.

The prayer is simple.  Christians do not use a lot of titles nor do we heap up many epithets to address God.  We simply say Abba, dearest One.  Our relationship with God is one of creature to creator, daughter and son dwelling with a Father who is affectionate, tender, and loving. God, as it were, cradles us as a mother or father cradles an infant in their arms.  Our relationship with God is based on trust and on experience.  God is not aloof. God- Abba makes a covenant and God remains trustworthy in this relationship.  God does not back down from friendship and love.  God does not abandon or abuse us.

The Lord's Prayer is at once profoundly personal and communal.  We say Our Father.  God belongs to all people. God has a large household.  People of every continent and climate, of every country and culture are equally children of God.
So what is unique in our relationship with God?  We are adopted daughters and sons in Christ.  We are given the Spirit and are able to say Abba.

Service at the Table of the Lord says "Because of its themes of bread, forgiveness and mutual peace, the Lord's Prayer has been used in all liturgical traditions as the most appropriate preparation for communion.  The Lord's Prayer belongs to the whole assembly for it is the prayer of all God's children and sums up all our prayer thus far in the liturgy (p. 5)."

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.