On Saturday, May 11, the children in the second grade at Sacred Heart School and in the Parish School of Religion will receive our Lord for the first time in Holy Communion. The First Communion Mass will be celebrated at 11 AM in the church. It will be a very special day for all the children and their families as well as it should be. It is a very sacred moment in the lives of these children and their families. Sometimes it is very easy for us to take for granted the great gift that the Eucharist is for all of us. We sometimes forget what Jesus did in order to give us the gift of Himself. We forget how much He suffered and so willingly gave His life for us so that our sins may be forgiven, and we could then live our lives in the way He created us to live them, full of life and love for God and for our neighbor.
We pray that these children will know and grow in the knowledge of how much Jesus loves them so that they can continue to follow Him and become more like Him in all they do. If any of us is to live our faith and be what God created us to be, we cannot do this without the Eucharist and that means we cannot do this without being at Mass every Sunday. The Mass is the making present of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The only place this happens is at the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Sunday Mass is the primary and most important event of our lives. Nothing can take its place and nothing should keep us from being at Mass with Jesus and our faith community unless we are sick.
Hopefully, as we pray for these children, we will also pray for ourselves and one another that we may always have the wisdom and understanding to see how important the Mass is to us every week because it is where we encounter Jesus Himself in the Eucharist. It may not be the most exciting encounter but is the truest of all our encounters. It is the encounter that can most change our lives, our hearts, and our minds. Let us pray for these children and for one another.
I am very grateful for all those who have supported these children in their preparation for First Holy Communion – their parents, their families, and especially their catechists, Lisa Kelley, Elizabeth Fick, Lindsay Frame, and Abby Cook, our DRE. May God bless you for your dedication to these children and may He inspire you to always be the light of Christ to them and all children.
I am very happy to announce to everyone that another member of our parish will soon be ordained to the transitional diaconate. Joshua Heskamp, son of David and Theresa Heskamp will be ordained on Saturday, May 18, in Covington, Kentucky. Josh has been studying at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, PA, for the Diocese of Covington, KY. Another wonderful blessing for our parish and the fruits of our prayers for vocations. Below you will find the formal announcement as well as information for those who would like to attend the ordination. Anyone wishing to attend the ordination, please go to the web site https://heskampordination.rsvpify.com by May 10. Congratulations to Joshua and the Heskamp family.
