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Listen! Jonathan Bading and Michael Tober on Holy Family Radio talk about Palestrina500: Sacred Heart Music Program 2025 – Holy Family Radio Tune in for the installments listed here:

Monday, January 29, 3pm-4pm / Session One – Discussion:  Sacred Music & it’s Importance in Encountering God 

Monday, March 4, 3pm-4pm / Session Two – Discussion: The work of the Liturgy in building, maintaining, and strengthening a Christian Society (As the Liturgy Goes, so Goes man)

Monday, May 6, 3pm-4pm / Session Three – The Riches of the Rite of Rome.  The unique power of its Signs & Symbols. 

Monday, July 8, 3pm-4pm / Session Four – Man’s need for Beauty, Contemplation, and the Mystagogical nature of the Mass

Monday, September 9, 3pm-4pm / Session Five –  Personal Testimony – Our Journey and How the Mass has impacted our lives.    Live Questions on Air?

Monday, November 11, 3pm-4pm / Session Six –  Ready, Set, Go Palestrina500!  – A review of the event, live on air questions

Miss me yet? You may have noted that our ten painted glass art deco windows have been removed and their rotting frames replaced. As part of the church restoration project, the windows are themselves being reworked with the central figures in each window being retained and the decoration around the figure being replaced. The draft proposal for the first window to be reworked is featured on the cover of this week’s bulletin. You might note that the decorative border, which was originally art deco, now matches the more classical style found on the St. Cecilia window in the choir loft, while the background of the scene is far more realistic and is reminiscent of the background of the windows in the apse, behind the altar. The hope is to create a stylistic unity with the new windows while maintaining the subject matter and ele- ments of the original windows. The first two windows are being worked on now and will be installed by the end of the year. They are being funded by a generous loan from the diocese. If you are interested in the project or know someone who would like to fund a window, large or small, please contact our Direct of Advancement, Mrs. Am- ber Hiske at ahiske@shgr.org for more information.

Did you know you can have our Sunday bulletin delivered directly emailed to your inbox? Go to:

discovermass.com/subscribe to sign up.

Please visit the Commitment of Fidelity page to complete the Commitment of Fidelity Form.

Please see the following documents for a detailed overview.

Sacred Heart is happy to announce that we will be moving forward with another crucial piece of our restoration project–the construction of a handcrafted pipe organ!

Handcrafted to our church’s architecture and acoustics, it will serve as yet another monument to the glory of God. Made possible by a generous gift from the Secchia Family Foundation, work will begin next month with a plan to install the new instrument in the summer of 2025 in time for the conclusion of our year-long Palestrina500 Festival. We are so thankful for all of the generous donations that are making our Parish restoration and the work of our apostolates possible. We ask for your continued prayers and support as we continue our restoration efforts!

We are excited to announce that a hearing assistance system is available. Please see an usher to sign-out a receiver before Mass.

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!

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