In my homily last Sunday I spoke about the "call of God" to do His work coming throughout our lives, even in our retirement years.  That call for some of us, may be to serve in the liturgical ministry, especially at Mass.  For some, it may be to serve as a "Helping Hand" to someone in need (call Cathy Wedwick at 915-8456 or Pat Widlowski at 922-1395) or pick-up an application on the table in the hallway of the Education building.  And for some, it may be to participate in our prayer chain which means accepting requests for prayer for people who need the help of The Lord because of sickness or other serious needs.  Call Kathy Oesterle at 922-3552 or Suzy Gieringer at 915-9777 if you would like to serve in this ministry.  Finally, the call to help the hungry in our area (which seems to grow louder these days) will hopefully lead you to begin (or continue) to bring non-perishable food items to church on the weekends to support the efforts of Jackson House and perhaps (if there's plenty of food) the Food Pantry at Harvey's Chapel Baptist Church in Mountain Pine.  The call from God is ringing out at all times and in many ways.  Won't you answer "yes" to one, or some, of these calls?  The results will be very rewarding.

It was a very upbeat and determined group of people who gathered early on a Saturday morning at the Cortez Pavilion. Over 115 Sacred Heart Parishioners signed up for the Village Cancer Walk, and many of them were there with me (and so many others) to walk in memory of, or in honor of, someone who had or has cancer.  I am so happy that so many of our parishioners responded in such a loving, sincere, and generous way.  They announced at the walk that over $30,000 had been collected for cancer research.  I pray that next year we will see even greater participation from members of this wonderful parish and that someday we will not have a need for such a walk because the scourge of cancer will no longer affect the human race.  We are a people of hope.  Alleluia.

Every time I come out of the church into the narthex after we have prayed the Patriotic Rosary, I hear positive comments of how powerful it is.  I always leave feeling thankful for the blessings that have poured out on our country by God over its relatively short history.  I am inspired by the powerful quotes from some of our early leaders who connected God and country so beautifully.  Finally, I have a sense of accomplishment that I have joined with others to pray for our country, its leaders and every citizen in every state of the union confident that through the intercession of Mary, many more blessings will come to our country in the future.  Please join us for the next recitation (and singing) of the Patriotic Rosary.  We will pray it this Sunday (09/11) during our holy hour between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m., and we will pray it next month on Columbus Day, October 10.