Jonathan Bading, Director of Sacred Music for Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, was recently interviewed by Julian Kwasniewski from Catholic World Report about Palestrina500 coming up in 2025. Enjoy the article here!

Please read this important Letter from Father Ron regarding the restoration project reminders.

Advent by Candlelight – Ladies of the parish are welcome to sign-up for our annual Advent by Candlelight to be held on December 3rd, 2023 at 6PM in the academy gym. This is an opportunity to set aside the hustle and bustle of the holiday preparation and focus our minds and hearts on the Advent Season. Beautiful decorations and fellowship will provide a delightful atmosphere for ladies to come together and grow closer to our Lord and to one another.

This year our speaker is: Sr. Jacinta Miryam

Please consider hosting a table and invite your relatives and friends! We have a limited number of tables, please sign up as soon as possible. Hostesses are responsible for decorating their table (rectangular 6 or 8) with an Advent or Christmas theme and providing a place setting, appetizers, and desserts for their guests.

Sign Up Form

A tremendous THANK YOU to all parishioners and community members who contributed to the success of our annual Parish and Academy auction on October 13th. The evening was filled with laughter and conviviality. For those not aware of the scope of the auction, through the generosity of our donors we were able to raise money to help fund the following parish projects: stained glass windows, renovation of the church bathrooms, campus landscaping, refinishing the parish doors and up-grading the back confessional.

All these projects and more are made possible through your generous support of the parish auction. Final numbers aren’t in yet but all indications point to a very successful year with a net profit of just over $250,000 with $100,000 of that going directly to student scholarships, the academy’s biggest expense each year. If you were unable to attend the auction but would still like to contribute toward the schol- arship fund or another aspect of the event, please contact Amber Hiske at ahiske@shgr.org and she will set up a time to meet with you.

We look forward to seeing you for the November Authenticum!

Join us on Thursday, November 9 in the Sacred Heart  Parish Gym as we welcome Mr. Martin Cothran for our next Authenticum Lecture.

The title of his lecture is: The Metaphysics of Amazement: Children’s Literature and the Romance of Reality

MARTIN COTHRAN is provost of Memoria College, editor of Memoria Press’ Classical Teacher magazine, and Director of the Classical Latin School Association. He is the author of several educational textbooks including Traditional Logic, Books I and II, Material Logic: A Course on How to Think, Classical Rhetoric: A Study of Aristotle’s Principles of Persuasion, and Lingua Biblica: Old Testament Stories in Latin  

Doors open at 6:30 PM for Wine and Cheese Social

Lecture begins at 7:00 PM

Authenticum November 2023 – Martin Cothran

The church will be closing after the November 6 morning Mass for restoration. From November 7 until the morning of December 24, Mass will be celebrated in Cebelak Hall. An additional daily Mass will be offered Monday-Friday at 11am (Tuesday in Latin) as well as a Sunday Latin Mass at 5pm to accommodate everyone.

Renovation Mass Schedule
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.

Cebelak Hall will remain open via the courtyard door during this time for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament with the exception of Tuesdays during school Adoration when adults will need to check in at the school office before being let in Cebelak Hall.

The ramp door will be locked except during Mass. Please contact the parish or school office if a handicapped person needs access.

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.

Please DO NOT enter the upper church during renovations. Workers may need to prop the doors but for safety reasons, please keep out.

All 8th-12th Graders of Sacred Heart are welcome to come with us to March for Life at the State Capitol! Contact Christian Balanda at cbalanda@shgr.org for registration.

• 8:00am – Holy Mass at Sacred Heart
• 9:00am – Bus Ride to Lansing
• 10:00am – Eucharistic Procession
• 11:00am – Rally
• 12:00pm – March for Life

Would you be willing to pray for one hour to end abortion?
40 Days for Life is a pro-life effort that consists of 40 days of praying, fasting, and holding a peaceful vigil in front of an abortion facility. The fall campaign will take place from September 27th through November 5th, from 7am-7pm.

IMPORTANT LOCATION CHANGE: Due to the closing of Heritage Women’s Clinic, we will now hold our vigil in front of Planned Parenthood at 425 Cherry Street SE in Grand Rapids. This facility provides the abortion pill and refers for abortions. Sacred Heart has adopted Wednesday, September 27th to pray at the peaceful vigil. At least two individuals are needed for each hour of the vigil. Please sign up following Mass or by following the instructions below.

1. Visit www.40daysforlife.com/GrandRapids.
2. Click “Log In / Sign Up” box.
3. Click “Sign Up for Vigil Hours” box.
4. Click on the day you want to pray at the peaceful vigil.
5. Click on the hour you want to pray.
6. Click “Submit Hours” box. All done!

A reminder will be sent to you via e-mail before your prayer time. Thank you for praying to end abortion in our city.