The Pulse of Sacred Heart Parish, Moline, Illinois

PREPARATION & PENANCE THIS LENT

WORLD MARRIAGE DAY MASS

CELEBRATING AGNES WATSON

Issue 13February 2017

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PREPARATION & PENANCEDear Parishioners, As we all know the Lenten-Easter Season moves around on our Calendar. Last year Lent began really early in mid-February. It seemed like we were just packing the Christmas decorations away and then we were thinking about self-denial. I do not know about you, but for me this was too radical a shift.

This year Lent begins at the appropriate time in my world. We begin the season on March 1st. The schedule of the Masses that day is included in this newsletter. Hopeful-ly, Lent is not a one day event in our lives, but a six-week period of transformation. We have several weeks to prepare and decide what penance we want to undertake. I would remind everyone that Lent does not have to be about giving something up but it can be about doing something extra. You could go to daily Mass one day a week for instance or perhaps you could attend Stations of the Cross on Wednesdays. Another possibility is to adopt a shut-in or person in the nursing home and visit them. The works of charity and devotions that we can engage in are endless.

A wonderful thing to do is to give up social media for a few hours a day. I try to give up television on my fast days. The extra time I have is used for spiritual pursuits and silence. If you have a house full of children maybe some quality time could be spent with them working on a hobby or playing a board game. Family prayer could also be engaged for a half hour, again, by shutting down all the electronic gadgets in the home. 1

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WORLD MARRIAGE DAY CELEBRATED MASS ON FEBRUARY 11 Every February our parish honors married couples. At the 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, February 11, couples who celebrated a significant anniversary in 2016 will be honored by having their names read aloud and receive a memento. Special general intercessions will also be used in honor of them. All couples present will be invited to renew their marriage vows. A festive buffet dinner in Fellowship Hall for the honored couples will follow the Mass.

This tradition at Sacred Heart is linked to World Marriage Day with its theme of “Love One Another” from the gospel of John. The Marriage Day Mass invites couples to focus on the gift and challenges to keep growing: in intimacy infaith inforgiveness incommunicationskills inpatienceandhumor inexperiencinggratitudeandjoy. Couples who celebrated anniversaries of 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 50-plus years of marriage in the calendar year of 2016 received invitations to the special Mass and Dinner. Parishioners honor them for living their marriage vows.

Please notify the parish center 309-762-2362, immediately if you did not receive an invitation.

Families can also go on an outing together to visit an elderly relative who is living alone.

Other Lenten activities will be announced in our bulletin and on our website as plans are finalized. I would encourage everyone to think ahead. We have the time to prayerfully discern what we want to do. If we do that, it is easier to persevere in our penance. Blessings, Fr. Mark DeSutter, Pastor

P.S. I would like to thank Darlene Steffen and Jack Kearney who recently completed terms on Sacred Heart’s Pastoral Council. They served a long time and helped guide us through our parish strategic planning process. I would like to announce also that Kory Schultz, Joni Mack and Al Gorgal have agreed to serve on the council. The Pastoral Council is charged with guiding our strategic planning and with promoting Evangelization and Stewardship in our church community. I am happy that people are willing to serve.

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FORESTERS TO COLLECTFOR THOSE IN NEED The Catholic Order of Foresters, Ct. 1691 will be holding their 2nd Feeding God’sChildren event. From March 20th through March 25th, Seton students will be asked to bring a food item or monetary donation to help St. Mary’s Food Pantry. On Saturday, March 25th from 8:30am to 12:00noon we will be holding a blood drive and food collection in Culemans Memorial Hall.

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Lent is a time for repentance, prayer and fasting. Sacred Heart for several years has offered many opportunities for repentance, prayer and fasting. Supporting Catholic Relief Services with our Rice Bowls, Communal Penance Services, Weekly Confessions, Stations of the Cross, Bible Studies, and Simple Suppers. Once again Lent 2017 will be filled with many activities.

We will begin our Lenten season with our Ash Wednesday Mass on March 1, at 5:45pm. Following Mass a special Soup Supper will be provided and held in the Cafeteria of Culemans Hall. Every Wednesday, Stations of the Cross will be offered in church beginning at 5:30pm. We are happy to have the following parishioners lead the Stations this year:

• March 8 – Middle School Youth Ministry• March 15 – Amy Mack• March 22 – Simonne Counihan• March 29 – Bill Peiffer and Marcia Templemen• April 5 – Fr. Mark DeSutter• April 12 – Jim Watson

Following Stations of the Cross a Simple Supper Potluck will be offered in Culemans Fellowship Hall with guest speakers from our parish family reflecting on this year’s theme “Lord Let Your Mercy Be On Us, We Trust In You.”

You will have many opportunities to be involved in Bible StudyGroups and Small Faith Community Bible Sessions. If you are interested in leading a Small Faith Bible Study or just wish to join one, please contact Suzie Budde at 762-2362, ext. 201.

Weekly Confessions are offered on Saturday from 3:00pm to 3:45pm and at various times during Lent. Our Communal Penance Service will be held on Monday, April 10, at 7:00pm in the church.

Daily Mass is offered at 6:30am and 8:30am Monday through Thursday and when Seton School is in session, Friday Masses are 6:30am and 9:00am. Saturday daily Mass is at 8:30am.

Lent is filled with many opportunities for repentance, prayer and fasting. Please, come be part of our Lenten journey and join us at any or all of our parish events.

“LORD LET YOUR MERCY BE ON US, WE TRUST IN YOU.”LENT AT SACRED HEART

See our full Lent schedule on the back cover.

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Agnes Watson knows the ins and outs of cleaningSacred Heart probably better than just about anyone. As the long-time ministry leader of the Martha’s Marimaids church cleaning ministry at the parish, she has spent countless hours helping to ensure that the parish is at its brightest and best for liturgies and celebrations.

Agnes came to Sacred Heart from Chicago in 1979. She got involved in the parish upon her retirement in 1990. Along with a crew of a dozen dedicated volunteers, Agnes got involved in the cleaning of the church, rectory and Culemans Hall. In 2007 she became the Ministry Leader for Martha’s Marimaids. Over the years, volunteers have fluctuated, but at least eight volunteers could always be counted on to step up and help with the ministry when needed.

Besides cleaning the church, Agnes has been involved in parish life in many other ways, estimating she’s had about ten different roles at the parish at one time or another!

When asked the best part of her work at the parishAgnes says the friendships have been the biggestblessing of all. And, that there’s actualy never been abad role she’s had at the parish! Now with a walkeras her constant companion Agnes says she’s contentto have passed along the leadership of this ministryto a new generation. Sacred Heart recently presentedAgnes with a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ingratitude for all she has done for the parish,something she says she’ll treasure forever.

CELEBRATINGLONG-TIME VOLUNTEER AGNES WATSON

Agnesreceivingaspecialgiftonbehalfoftheparishatour11a.m.Mass.

MARTHA’S MARIMAIDS BECOME “THE LADIES & GENTS” CHURCH CLEANERS Now that Agnes has passed on the baton to Marcia Zerull and Debra Thornton, new recruitment efforts have meant that a new name for the Ministry was necessary. Martha’s Marimaids will now be called “The Ladies & Gents Church Cleaners” We welcome all men, women and teens (who need service hours) to this ministry. If you are interested in joining this fine group of cleaners, please contact the parish office.

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POPE FRANCIS TO THE LAITY: GO OUT AND EVANGELIZE, OR BUY MOTHBALLS When asked in a new interview what specific mission he has for the laity, Pope Francis responded with a frequent appeal: to go outside of oneself and take risks in evangelizing, rather than staying stuffed up at home while the moths move in.

“Sometimes I think the best business we can do with many Christians, is to sell them mothballs so that they put them in their clothes and in their lives and aren’t eaten by moths,” the Pope said in the interview, published recently. The interviewer, journalist Noel Díaz, had questioned the Pope about a comment he had made to him on a previous occasion to “tell the laity to come out of the caves.”

When asked about the comment and what mission he would give to the laity with that image in mind, Francis said that many times Christians “are locked up and they are going to get eaten by moths.” “They have to go out, they have to go and bring the message of Jesus” to others, he said, explaining that the Good News is meant to be shared, not stored away.

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“The message of Jesus is to give it; so just as I receive it from him through a brother or sister, the grace comes to me and I give it,” he said, stressing that Christians shouldn’t “can” the message, trying to conserve it in a jar, because “it’s not to save, it’s to give.”

By taking the Good News and then delivering it to others, “in this way I leave the cave,” he said, and stressed the importance of practicing the works of mercy, which are “the backbone of the Gospel” and what we will eventually be judged on. When asked by the journalist what Christians lack in order for this to become the norm, the Pope said there is a need for greater “courage, since we are comfortable and comfort betrays us.”

Pointing to the “apostolic zeal” of St. Paul, the Pope said he had the “courage to go out,” which is something Christians ought to grow in if they want “to bring what we have received” to others. Apart from courage, the Pope said that in his own personal view, something that is often missing is prayer: “prayer is lacking...because without prayer there is no courage, there is a lack of intercession.”

“We have to pray more and go out, but always with prayer, because I go out with the Lord,” he said, explaining that prayer is what unites us to God. He pointed specifically to meditating on Scripture through Lectio Divina, saying “this is a very beautiful exercise and all of us have a quarter of an hour to do it, to take the bible, a little piece, and reflect a bit.” Francis was also asked what kind of legacy he would like to leave with the Church, and responded with many ideas that have already become trade-marks of his papacy: “a Church that goes out is one, open doors, Christians going out on the streets, Christians who are convinced, a prayerful Church.”

Touching on what he said is a “key point,” Pope Francis said there is a great need for Christians “who know how to adore the Lord.” After sitting in silent adoration, “one leaves with the strength of knowing that there is someone above, that it’s the Lord,” he said, adding that the ability to adore is “the greatest strength” of the spiritual life, since many times our prayers are “petty.”

Many time people go to the Lord asking him to give them something or to solve a problem, he said, noting that “those who give thanks are fewer.” God, he said, “loves us, he gives us a hand and arranges things” when we ask, but “to adore, which few know how to adore, to adore God who is the Lord in this world” is rare, but essential.

Another legacy the Pope said he wants to leave is a sense of awareness in every Christian home, family and people that “the spirit of the world is not from God, it’s the antithesis of God.” It’s because of this that Jesus at the Last Supper prays not for his disciples to be taken out of the world, but to be “defended” from it, he said, pointing to money as a key cause of worldliness.

“Worldliness begins with money, the devil enters through the pockets, in money...it gives you security, (but) a security that isn’t from God,” he said, explaining that money eventually leads to vanity, which then leads to pride, “and from hence all sins” come.

Source: Catholic News Agency

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PAIDROCK ISLAND, ILPERMIT NO. 171

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART ISMass Times• Sundays: 7, 9, 11 a.m.• Saturday Vigil: 4 p.m.• Daily Masses (M-F): 6:30, 8:30 a.m. • Our Friday Mass, when school

students are present is at 9:00 a.m. instead of 8:30am, unless otherwise noted in the parish bulletin

• Saturday Morning: 8:30 a.m.

ConfessionsSaturday: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. and by appointment, call 762-2362.

Eucharistic Adoration & Benediction(St. Francis Chapel)• Wednesday: (During Lent)

7 a.m. to 4 p.m.• First Friday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

LENT SCHEDULEASH WEDNESDAY: Wednesday, March 1, 2017 Masses: 6:30am; 8:30am; (10:15 p.m. All School Mass) 5:45pmAsh Wednesday Soup Supper to follow the 5:45pm Ash Wednesday Mass

STATIONS OF THE CROSSWednesday, March 8, 2017 / 5:30pmWednesday, March 15, 2017 / 5:30pmWednesday, March 22, 2017 / 5:30pmWednesday, March 29, 2017 / 5:30pmWednesday, April 5, 2017 / 5:30pmWednesday, April 12, 2017 / 5:30pm

LENTEN SIMPLE POTLUCK SUPPERS with GUEST SPEAKERSWednesday, March 8, 2017 / 6:15pmWednesday, March 15, 2017 / 6:15pmWednesday, March 22, 2017 / 6:15pmWednesday, March 29, 2017 / 6:15pmWednesday, April 5, 2017 / 6:15pm

COMMUNAL PENANCE SERVICEMonday, April 10, 2017 / 7:00pm

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