Look down upon
me, good and gentle Jesus, while before your face I humbly kneel,
and with burning soul pray and beseech you to fix deep in my
heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition
for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment, while I contemplate
with great love and tender pity your five wounds, pondering over
them within me, calling to mind the words which David, your prophet,
said of you, my good Jesus: "They have pierced my hands
and my feet; they have numbered all my bones" (Ps 21, 17-18).
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We honor the Papal
Seal
Viva il Papa!
Benedict XVI
Fr. Thoms' Farewell:
Alone
with God Liturgy of the Eucharist Pt 1:
Sacred
Heart Parish - Mission Statement
We
are the Catholic community
in Mifflin
County, a reflection of God's love for the world. We support
each other by reaching out to those in need, fostering the beliefs and Tradition of
the Universal
Church, and educating
our youth in knowledge and faith. We live our faith through
Word and Sacrament,
prayer and action, commitment
of time and talent, tithing, and using our resources to honor
Christ and respect all
human life. By doing so, we strive to bring all people into Jesus'
Sacred Heart, uniting us by living the life He exemplified.
"Green,
green, it's green they say, on the far side of the hill.
Green,
green, I'm going away
where the grass is greener still."
This
1960s-era song was made famous by the New Christy
Minstrels folk group and the refrain speaks to this season
of the year: Ordinary Time. Green is the liturgical color
now, the color of spring, summer, growth, new life.
It's
too bad that the resplendent red of Pentecost was only
up in
the sanctuary for one weekend because it all looked
so beautiful, representing those tongues of fire resting
on the first disciples. But that fire prompted them
to get out there and grow spiritually and share what
they
had received. Fire gives way to steady growth, red
gives way to green. The feast of Pentecost ends the Easter
season.
Nevertheless,
the first two Sundays of this ordinary time stretch are
"white" Sundays,
first for Trinity Sunday and then next, for the Feast
of the Body and Blood
of the Lord) Corpus Christi). Those green wall banners
may be hanging high in the sanctuary, reminding us of
the general season, but the priest's chasuble (his outer
vestment) is white on those Sundays, celebrating great
mysteries of the faith.
Then
from the 11th Sunday of Ordinary time (June 13) until
the First Sunday of Advent (Nov. 11), we go green every
weekend, the only exception being Sunday, August
15th, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (another
white day).
Although
not exactly liturgical events, two out-of-the ordinary
changes that we note for our parish this summer are
1) The departure of our beloved Fr. Jeffrey Thoms and
2) The arrival of Fr. Fidelis Umukoro, O.P., to take
his place. After two years here, Fr. Thoms becomes Catholic
campus
minister
at Bloomsburg (Pa.) University. Fr. Fidelis, a native
of Nigeria, is a member of the Dominican religious order,
currently serving
as
a parochial vicar (assistant pastor) in Seattle, Washington. We
will miss Fr. Thoms greatly as we welcome our newfound
guest and friend.
What's
the upshot of all this? Maybe that, despite the title,
there is really no such thing as "ordinary time." It's
full of surprises; extraordinary changes, mysteries and
wonders. Every day we live out the "redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according
to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us."
(Eph. 1: 7) Jesus is the reason for every season and
we can never exhaust the well-spring of wonder awaiting
us when we live in His grace and friendship. After all,
"He has delivered us from the dominion of darkeness and
transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col.
1:13)
And
yet, all this takes place in space and time that seems,
well, ordinary. But don't be fooled. Wonderful, hidden
realities hide just beyond the veil of appearances. After
all, "you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable
angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the
first born enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is
God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect..."
(Hebrews, 12: 22-23)
I
suppose we Christrians have to act like life is ordinary
so people don't think we're crazy. So
go green for now, until we get to that "far side of the
hill" that awaits us all.