The Race is on for auction tickets–do you have yours yet? Go to our auction website sacredheartauction.com to browse the list of live auction items and get those last minute tickets.  Silent auction items will be up and ready to bid on by Monday, October 9th! Hope you’re ready for an amazing evening!

This is a night you will NOT want to miss. The annual Parish and Academy Auction date is Friday, October 13, 2023. Doors open at 6pm at the Goei Center with a strolling dinner, a robust silent auction, and Heart-to-Heart tables that benefit specific needs within the parish and academy. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and while we do need to raise funds, our bigger initiative is to build relationships! So, ladies, start making your hats now and plan for an evening of fun and friendly competition.

Can’t make it to the auction and still want to show your support? Make a donation on the website or contact Amber Hiske at ahiske@shgr.org and she will let you know where your donation is needed.

The sanctuary will be closed from November 6 to December 24. During this time low Mass (no music or incense) will be celebrated in Cebelak Hall. We will be adding extra Masses to accommodate everyone.  The Mass schedule will be as follows:

Weekdays:  8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Saturday:  7:45 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Sunday:  7:45 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. (Latin) and 5:00 p.m. (Latin)

Please note that Cebelak Hall holds a maximum of 400 people standing and many fewer seated.  The two main Masses (9:30 and 11:30) will be very crowded. If you normally attend either of those Masses, please consider attending either the 5pm Mass on Saturday or the 7:45am or 5pm Mass on Sunday.

Due to overcrowding, there will be no confessions during the 9:30 and 11:30 Masses. Confession will be offered at the regularly scheduled times of Friday 3-4pm and Saturday 3-4:30pm. Sunday confessions will be offered during the 7:45am and 5pm Masses if a priest is available.

Venerate the relic of St. Jude at its ONLY Grand Rapids stop!

The arm of St. Jude the Apostle is currently on pilgrimage around the United States – the first time it has left Italy. The faithful of the Diocese of Grand Rapids will have an opportunity to venerate and pray with the relic at its West Michigan stop:

• Date: Oct. 9
• Location: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 151 Garfield Ave. SW, Grand Rapids, 49504
• Time:
  • Veneration Begins: 1 p.m.
  • Mass in honor of Saint Jude: 7 p.m.
  • Veneration Ends: 10 p.m.

The Relic will be in the main sanctuary of the Church. All the faithful (other than those who are handicapped) should enter through the main front doors. Handicap accessibility is through the Park Street side entrance to the Church. 

The holy cards, medals, etc. provided by the Vatican will be located in the Parish Hall (Church basement). Handicapped faithful should enter through the Park St. side entrance and take the elevator down.  

Parking is limited so it will be expected that people park on side streets around the Church. Handicapped faithful can be dropped off and assisted at the Park Street side entrance.

For the full tour schedule of the Midwest, including a handful of stops in the Diocese of Lansing, see: Tour Schedule.

Please take a moment and check out the local businesses you can support in this directory in the event that you will need them someday! There are several categories; gifts, goods, services, health, technology, and more! Thank you to our community for their help in putting this together. You can refer to the parish website to find the directory or click SH Catholic Business Directory.

Please join us for our next Authenticum Series lecture titled, “FOOD FOR BEASTS AND CONSUMED BY FIRE:The Eucharistic Existence of St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Polycarp of Smyrna” led by Father Justin Kizewski, Director of Intellectual Formation for St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5
Sacred Heart Cebelak Hall
151 Garfield Ave. SW Grand Rapids

Wine & Cheese Social 6:30pm
LECTURE BEGINS: 7:00PM

FATHER JUSTIN KIZEWSKI, MS, MA, PHL, STD, ordained in 2008, is a priest from the
Diocese of La Crosse. He is the Director of Intellectual Formation at St. Francis de Sales Seminary
in Milwaukee and adjunct professor of theology at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.
Previously he was a pastor of two parishes in Chippewa Falls, WI. His graduate studies were done in
health care bioethics, philosophy, and theology. He has previously taught for Christendom College,
Saint Paul Seminary, and the Gregorian University.

Authenticum Flyer

Do you experience fear and doubt that you will make it to heaven? Do you sometimes feel close to God and then another moment feel He is far away? Do you feel inspired to do good while in prayer and then become sad that once again you have failed? Are you discouraged when you look back since your conversion and see very little pro- gress? All of these agitating feelings and thoughts are part of the interior struggles of the spiritual life that can debilitate our movement toward God. However, St. Ignatius of Loyola, in his 14 Rules of Spiritual Discernment, has formulated a way to clearly discern the way to God instead of following our changing emotions and erratic way of thinking. Being unaware of the movements of the spirit make us easily susceptible to its harmful deceptions. In this book study you will learn to become spiritually aware, understand the good and bad spirits at work, and then take action to either reject or accept the spiritual movements of the heart.

When: Wednesdays at 8:45-10:15am, October 4—December 20 Where: Cebelak Hall in the parish basement for first meeting. Register by emailing Mary Tober: marymiryung@gmail.com Cost: ~ $15 for the book

 The Knights of Columbus are hosting a soccer challenge for boys and girls ages 9-14. Registration Form and Flyer

Bishop Walkowiak has issued new regulations on the care, handling, and distribution of the Most Blessed Sacrament. These changes have the force of “particular law” in our Diocese and will take effect this fall. Most of these represent little or no change from our current practices at Sacred Heart. However, the most significant change will be the Bishop’s prohibition of any blessing for those unable to receive Holy Communion.

The Bishop’s decree states: “Ministers of Holy Communion may not impart special blessings, (e.g. for children or non- Catholics) while distributing Communion.”

You might wonder what the reason for this norm is. The reception of Communion is the reception of Jesus Himself, whole and entire, and ALIVE. It has always been the tradition of the Church that priests, who make Jesus present in a lesser way (“in persona Christi”), do not bless anyone or anything else while Christ, the One Who blesses, is truly present before them in the Blessed Sacrament. The custom of blessing that has popped up in the last forty years or so, largely for sentimental reasons, never really made theological sense since it distracts from the purpose of the moment, namely union with the One Who blesses. As the Bishop reminds us, after Communion is received, “all members of the assembly, including those who have not received the Eucharist, are blessed at the end of Mass” by the priest.

Starting this fall, we ask that if you are unable to receive Communion for any reason, you should stay in your pew, making way for those approaching the altar and asking the Lord to make a spiritual communion. To facilitate this, please be flexible with your seating at Communion time. Remember, if there is a free space at the altar rail, please take it without drawing attention to those ahead of you who, for whatever reason, are not ready to approach the altar. Parents of small children are, of course, still welcome to bring their children with them if necessary so long as it is understood that they will be blessed at the end of Mass.

Here is an act of Spiritual Communion:

My Jesus,
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things,
And I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, Come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
And unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen