Love of God, Neighbor and Self

Luke 10:25-27 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

Last Saturday, about 20 people came together at Sacred Heart Parish. Around 9:00 in the old convent, we began to gather. Father Jeremy, John Mazz and Sister Rita were making some last minute preparations. I, like a good Franciscan, was eating—just one more bagel and a cup of coffee. Joe and Olga Munafo arrived first. Soon more people were showing up.

Sr. Rita Marie Pickhinke is a Sister of Mercy from Omaha, Nebraska. She led us in retreat. For one day we saw and shared about love of God, neighbor and self. Sr. Rita has much experience giving retreats for the Deaf. She has worked with the Deaf in the Philippines. She has traveled to many countries.

Lk 10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Who is our neighbor? Sr. Rita showed us in sign, image and action. The entire day she signed to us her message of love. She reminded us of people like Mother Theresa of Calcutta. We shared with each other our reflections:
· Who is a holy person for me? My mother? My grandfather?
· What were our experiences?
We shared in large groups and small groups.

Sr. Rita also showed us pictures of her experience. She showed us pictures of Deaf people in the Philippines. She informed us that we need to share with others.

Many people in the world live in poverty. We have “time, talent and treasure.” We can share these with each other. God calls us to share all of this with each other, especially the poor.

Also Sr. Rita informed us about the need for forgiveness. This was a beautiful part of the retreat because at the end, we celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Fr. Jeremy St. Martin and Fr. Joe Bruce offered the Sacrament of Reconciliation to all who were there.

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Luke22:19-20 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

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Afterwards both Fr. Jeremy and Fr. Joe presided at the vigil Mass for Sunday. When Mass ended we all went into the dining room. To end the retreat we all shared a delicious meal of chicken picatta, rice Florentine and butternut squash. We are grateful to Richards & Company Catering of Belmont, MA. Richards & Company prepared all the wonderful meals for the retreat and even set the tables beautifully with table clothes, candles and sparkling water. We thanked God at the Eucharist. Then we nourished ourselves and each other physically with this scrumptious dinner.

It was a beautiful end to a beautiful day!

Sr. Rita Retreat

I just wanted to make a quick post today thanking everyone who made it to the retreat on Saturday with Sr. Rita, and wanted to thank you all for making me feel welcome. Between Fr. St. Martin, Br. Hugh and myself, there should be a longer blog post about the event coming soon, but until then, Check out some photos that we took all day long in a new large screen slide show format.

Click here for the photo Slide Show!

More Pictures of the Retreat with Sr. Rita

Bicentennial Prayer

Bicentennial Prayer
All loving and gracious God
We thank you for the Gift of your Son, Jesus Christ.
For two hundred years
We have journeyed together
As members of his Church
In the Archdiocese of Boston.
We have tried to live the Gospel message in service to one another.
Continue to walk with us as we seek to be receptive to your grace in Word and Sacrament.
Send us your Spirit to enlighten our minds, strengthen our wills
And open our hearts. By our witness may others know you.
Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, may the Church in Boston
Journey together in Christ with courage, joy and peace.
Amen.

Trip

Good People,

The International Pilgrimage to Rome for the Deaf in June will be a
once in a life time opportunity. Fliers have been passed out
regarding this. If you would like the details they are published on
the website at www.deafcatholic.org or you can ask me for a flier.
Many are excited about the possibility but the price tag is prohibitive.

We have the possibility of bringing down the price tag in a few ways
however. Our good Pastor, Fr. Connelly and others in the parish
have an eagerness to support this Pilgrimage for those people who are
deaf who might not be able to afford it. How this might be worked
out is something I still have no specific plans for but am hopeful
can be arranged. Please share any ideas you might have if you are
have ideas about how this process could be set up.

We also have the Yankee Candle Fundraiser underway. After Mass
please see the brochures set up at the coffee hour. This good
fundraiser helps the people who are deaf hear at Sacred Heart with
the special events that happen here specifically for people who are
deaf. We are, for example preparing for a retreat with a religious
woman named Sr. Rita who has lead many retreats for the deaf
throughout the world. We are also having a Religious Education Open
House to set up classes for deaf people preparing to complete the
Sacraments of Initiation. All these things are a great sign of the
love and support of the Christian Faithful. The Yankee Candle
Fundraiser is a way that you can be part of all this. Please help us
to have a good go at this years Fundraiser by participating.

Lastly, I would like to say a word about the Sunday Eucharist. It is
the case that we all need to redouble our efforts in this regard.
The central place of this weekly rhythm is not a simply a human
convention. It is not a laudable practice or an interesting little
custom. It is obvious that many of you have come to discover that
this rhythm is indeed something that is central to the plan God has
for us in our lives and I encourage and commend you. However, there
it is the case that not all seem equally successful in making the
Sunday Eucharist rhythm central. To that end I would like to explain
a little about how we know it is so important to keep. The Bible,
written by God has come to us over so many centuries and though the
human authorship of so many diverse people. And yet one of the most
constant and central revelations of God to us from the very first
story in Gennesis, with it's seven day rhythm, to the end is the
need we have to be serious about gathering as a people to give God
thanks and praise. The scripture shows us that this plan for our
good is foundational to our life with God and neighbor. Think of the
ten commandments. They are general in general. The command about
loving one's parents is general for example. There is nothing
specific in the command about how to love them by this or that action
with this or that frequency. The love of God is different. This
command comes with a clear specific direction: keep holy the Lord's
day. We must all by our presence and preparation be serious about
this plan for our salvation.

In Christ,

Fr. St. Martin