From the Pastor’s desk— July 16, 2023

  

Where is God in the summer?

It would seem that sometimes Churches close down in summer, Mass attendance is down, meetings are suspended, faith formation programs take a break.  Some will say in summertime, we don’t have to go to church every Sunday, that God is everywhere, He is in the beaches, in the mountains, in our family gatherings, weddings, and quinceañeras. 

While it is true God is everywhere, our life with God is like water…There is water in every part of the atmosphere, even the desert, but if we want to drink, we must go to the source… Church is that source for us.  The Eucharist as our Church Fathers have told us is “the source and summit of our life.” There is a temptation in summer to put other things ahead of our Sunday celebration, but whatever we put in front of our Sunday duty to God, is quite simply an idol.   Anything that replaces the worship we owe Him is our new god, which can include summer fun.

Summer Tips for faithfulness

  1. Make sure to make time for Mass with your new summer schedule. If you are traveling on a Sunday, make efforts to go to the Saturday vigil masses. 
  2. As you prepare for summer excursions and trips, consult masstimes.org to find where masses will be happening in the area you are visiting.  Fortunately for us, there are Catholic Churches EVERYWHERE in the world. 
  3. On your trips, consider making visits to historical or beautiful Catholic churches in the areas where you are staying, especially if it is a city with a Catholic cathedral.
  4. If you are with a family that may not be as faithful to Sunday Mass, invite them to go with you and make it a family event.
  5. If you are a godparent, use the summertime to reach out to encourage your godchildren to not miss their Sunday obligation to God. 
  6. If you are part of the summer faithful here at Sacred Heart, take the time to LOVINGLY reach out to others we have not seen in a few weeks/months perhaps by saying “Hey we haven’t seen you in a while at church, are you alright?  We miss seeing you at Mass.” 
  7. Whenever we encounter someone who hasn’t been here in a while and they might talk about how busy they are, before saying anything that may come off as judging, use that as an opportunity to ask “Is there anything I can pray for , for you?”   This is especially good if during the year someone gets tied up with caretaking for family members.

Summer is a wonderful time of vacation for many, but we must be careful not to think that vacation applies to our life with God and our life with the sacraments. If anything, summer is a time, as the readings often show, to grow deeper in our daily walk with Jesus.

 

 

                     

 

Fr. Ray Smith, CMF
Parochial administrator

With a heart for Mission,
Fr. Ray