I spoke of the Holy Spirit who unified the apostles in their action (of coming out of the room they were in to proclaim Jesus Christ crucified and risen) and in their message of hope through Jesus Christ. The Most Holy Trinity is a unity of identity and action as of the Body and Blood of the Lord is about the great "Sacrament of Unity" that is the Eucharist and the Eucharistic celebration.
I spoke of the unity at every Mass of people coming from different backgrounds, locations, and ages to join together in unity of giving praise and worship to God in our thoughts, words and in song.
I made the statement that the one aspect of the Mass in which we are the most unified is our posture. At various time of the Mass we all stand. At various times we sit and at various times we kneel. Someone who had never been to Mass would certainly be impressed by our unity of worship, especially in our posture, EXCEPT perhaps at Communion time.
Around 2003, the bishops of the United States in teaching about our liturgical celebrations, especially the Mass, pointed out the uniform posture that we have during Mass and they stressed that that should be the case at Communion time. Those who grew up in the pre-Vatican II days remember that the common posture of the congregation during Communion was kneeling. People received Communion kneeling and the rest of the congregation was kneeling throughout Communion. With Vatican II came the change in our posture to receive Communion (standing). Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be a corresponding change in the congregation's posture before and immediately after receiving Communion. The Bishops of the United States in the year 2003 reemphasized unity of posture throughout the Mass including Communion time. This means that we should all stand at the beginning of Communion and remain standing until everyone receives Communion. During this "Communion Time" we are strongly encouraged to be in Communion of voice by singing the Communion Hymn or Antiphon. Once everyone has received Communion, we all kneel (or sit if you can't kneel) and speak and listen to the Lord during a time of complete quiet, before we all stand for the "Prayer After Communion."
Back in 2003 when then Bishop Sartain of our diocese instructed our priests about this emphasis of common posture during Communion time, he stated that if anyone chooses to kneel after going back to their pew after receiving Communion that no judgement should be made by anyone about that person, and certainly nothing derogatory should be said to those who do this. That should be the case here and at every Catholic Church that responds to the call for unity of posture throughout Mass, including the Communion Rite.
Reverend Robert Barron in his DVD presentation, EUCHARIST, explains the biblical roots of our Eucharistic celebration of the Mass as Sacred Meal, Sacrifice, and Real Presence. It will be shown Thursday at 9:45 a.m. after Masses July 7, 14, 21 in the Lower Hall. Mark your calendars! Invite your friends. For more information, call Marcia at 922-9190. 
A scripture study on "The Gospel of John and I, II, III John" will begin on Tuesday, July 12. Apostle John calls himself the 'disciple Jesus loved' a total of four times in the Gospel of John. Why is he the only one in all of Scripture who calls himself the 'disciple Jesus loved'? As Jesus was dying on the cross, He gave the care of his beloved Mother to Apostle John. Why? Come to this Gospel study July 12, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, you will get answers to these questions. Call Mickey Townsend at 501-922-0705.This study will run for women in the Townsend home from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. every Tuesday from July 12 to August 30, and in the evening at church for anyone who would like to come from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on those same dates. Sign-up sheets are in the hallway of the Administration and Education Building.
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| St. Andrew Cathedral |
In his homily, Bishop Taylor referenced the feast day of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, while both comparing and contrasting the saint's life with that of the priests in attendance. One very obvious difference was the breadth of life experiences, since St. Aloysius died at the age of 23 from the plague contracted while serving in a hospital, only five years after he had joined the Jesuit order.
The Assembly's Honor Guard was well represented at this mass as 11 of the 29 were from Hot Springs Village. Including the Honor Guard and their spouses, there were about 40 Sacred Heart of Jesus parishioners in attendance to help recognize their priests Father Bieberle and Father Elser, as well as retirees Father Rossi and Monsignor Malone. Father Bill had arranged for a 4:30 guided tour of the Cathedral, in which most of the Sacred Heart mass attendees participated.
2011 Jubilee Honorees: Rev Vic Bieberle (60), Rev Eugene Luke, O.S.B. (50), Rev John Oswald (50), Rev Joseph L. Pallo (50), Rev David Bellinghausen, O.S.B. (25), Rev Frank du Preez (25), Rev William A. Elser (25), Rev James P. West (25 - unable to attend).
Retired priests of the diocese (not all of whom were in attendance): Rev Joseph Enderlin, Rev Msgr John Kordsmeier, Rev Msgr Bernard Malone, Rev Milton Lange, Rev Msgr John O'Donnell, Rev Raymond Rossi, Rev James Savary, Rev Msgr Gaston Hebert, Rev Robert Dienert, Rev Richard Strock, Rev Msgr James Mancini, Rev Nho Duy Do, Rev Venantius Preske, Rev Ralph Esposito, and Rev Ed Graves.
Check out the Photo Gallery for a few photos provided by Renee Steinpreis.
"And God said What?" is the title for this year's Bible Institute July 8-10 at St. John's Catholic Center in Little Rock. All adult Catholics are invited to come learn about puzzling Bible passages from Father Patrick Mullen of Camarillo, California. Click here to download a registration brochure or phone 501-664-6102 to request a brochure. The $90 registration fee covers all events as well as meals on Saturday and Sunday. Pre-registration is required. Deadline is June 24.
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| Sacred Heart Men’s Club officers gather to celebrate Fr. Vic’s 60th anniversary. Included in the celebration (from left) were Msgr. Malone, Richard Birzer, Bob Heisler, Bill Patterson, Bill Hurley, Fr. Vic, Jim Schmidt and Jimmy O’Donnell. |
The Sacred Heart Men’s Club gathered to congratulate Fr. Vic on his anniversary. He was presented with some gifts for him to enjoy as he relaxes in the years ahead. Fr. Vic thanked the Men’s Club for their thoughtfulness to him and the group enjoyed a good dinner and great fellowship.
The placement of the flags around the church property is a function of the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus Assembly 2316. The Knights felt it would be appropriate to display the flags on Flag Day, June 14 and also on the 4th of July. Over the years they added Memorial Day and Columbus Day along with other special occasions as they occur. The founding principle of the Fourth Degree Knights is patriotism so the Knights now place the flags as an ongoing function throughout the year. Bill Hartnett is the current chairman of this program.Also, the Knights began a Flags Forever program to provide a free American flag to each of the 8 golf courses and 4 fire stations in Hot Springs Village. The Knights purchase flags through the office of Congressman Mike Ross and provide them upon request of the POA as needed when the current flag becomes worn or torn. The idea is that the American flag will always be proudly displayed in the Village. Russ Harrison is currently the chairman for this program.
Arkansas Knights on Bikes is a part of the National Knights on Bikes Catholic Motorcycle Ministry. We are looking for new members to join us. The only requirements to join our group is that you own, or anticipate owning, a motorcycle capable of highway speed and be a first degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus. For more information, contact Michael Huber, President, at 479-387-4751 or check out our website, www.KnightsonBikesArkansas.com. 
The Ladies of Sacred Heart ask our parishioners to help with their “green initiative”. By bringing your aluminum beverage cans to the recycling bin in the church parking lot, you can help our country stay a little greener and cleaner, and, at the same time, you can help the Ladies of Sacred Heart earn some “green” to help support our fundraising activities. This past year, the Ladies of Sacred Heart were able to donate $8,000 to organizations who support the needy in our community, with the proceeds from our recycling effort amounting to about one-tenth of the total amount donated.
Please bring only aluminum cans (soda pop and beer cans). If you can crush them (squeeze them and then step on them), it will reduce the size of the cans and make more room in our recycle bin. Please also put the aluminum cans in plastic bags and then tie the bag closed so that the cans are not loose in the bin. Removing those unbagged “donations” from the recycling bin on recycling day can be a most unpleasant job.
Dick Palinko and some of his fellow KCs take care of removing the contents of the recycle bin every month and hauling the bags to the pick-up area at church where the recycling company parks its trailer and collects, weighs and pays for our cans.
Please help us by adding all your aluminum cans to our recycling effort. Stop at the recycling bin before Mass on Sunday, or any other convenient time, and toss in your bag. (Just make sure that you include only aluminum soft drink or beer cans.) Thank you for helping keep our country a little greener while helping the Ladies of Sacred Heart with their charitable fund raising activities. If you have any questions, call Kathy Geske at 922-6323.
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| The priests participating in the Silver Anniversary mass were (from l to r) Fr. Bieberle, Fr. Robbins, Fr. Rossi, Fr. Melnick, Fr. Raja, Bishop Taylor, Fr. Elser, Fr. Keller, Msgr. Malone and Fr. Nolan. |
Many Sacred Heart parishioners took time after Mass on Wednesday, June 1, to help assemble Disaster Relief Kits. Our parish purchased the supplies with funds that came from the Social Justice and Charitable Outreach Commission budget. The Commission voted at their May meeting to answer the call from the Arkansas Rice Depot to help provide personal care kits, food kits and cleaning bucket kits for the victims that were devastated from the tornadoes and floods during the April storms.
Bernie Kernen, John Bodensteiner and Dick Hill did the comparative shopping and purchasing of the items to make up the disaster relief kits. Thank you to all that helped in the assembly of the disaster relief kits.
The Arkansas Rice Depot is still in desperate need of emergency food kits, flood bucket kits and personal care kits to distribute to the needy. Gathering the supplies and assembling the kits is an ideal project for Vacation Bible School, summer programs and men's and women's groups. The kits can be dropped off at Arkansas Rice Depot at 3801 W. 65th St. in Little Rock or call Lauren at (501) 565-8855 and ARD can send a truck to pick them up.  |
| Pictured following a clean-up effort at Elizabeth Barry's residence: (front l-r) Pat Perilloux, Ed Miller, Don Levac, John Bodensteiner; (back l-r) Jim Passe, Dave Witchger, Tom Auel, Bob Bowman, Mike Frantz; (not pictured) Tom Thornton and Marvin Young. |
While most of the work has been done in the Village itself, the case management requests have come from outside of the Village following the “One Stop Assistance” event, which DRT case managers and one interpreter helped staff. The case manager coordinator also visited a number of individual households outside the Village to assess damage and evaluate requests for assistance.Also, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) has asked the Sacred Heart Team to investigate several requests for assistance near Royal, west of
Hot Springs.
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| Men’s Club Fish Bake guests enjoy their meal while waiters serve food and Pastor Fr. Bill Elser (center rear) welcomes those attending. |
On April 15 Sacred Heart Men’s Club sponsored their annual Fish Bake. Over 375 meals were served as guests were treated to baked fish, potatoes, vegetables, cole slaw and special bread from Chicago. A Sacred Heart Ladies Guild and CCD Students joined in by selling Pastor Fr. Bill’s home made ice cream which was a special added treat.
The Men’s Club Fish Bake is one of the two major fund raisers the club sponsors during the year. The money raised at these events goes to support charities in the community including Jackson House, the McCauley Center and various parish ministries.
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| The Men’s Club Assistant Program Chairman, Mickey Jordan, greets Jerry Grote before his talk to the April Sacred Heart Men’s Club meeting. |
Mr. Jerry Grote was the guest speaker at the April 12th meeting of the Sacred Heart Men’s Club. Mr. Grote has been a resident of Hot Springs Village for 6 years with his wife Anne who is a floral designer and manager of The Bee Hive. Jerry was an all American athlete in college in both baseball and basketball. Following college he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team and the St. Louis Hawks NBA team. He decided to play basketball and played for both the Hawks and the LA Lakers. Following his professional sports career he was a college basketball coach, a television announcer for the LA Lakers and involved in the insurance business.
Jerry spoke to the Men’s Club about the importance of daily scripture reading, the value of daily prayer and finding satisfaction through service. He used examples from his experience along with numerous humorous antidotes to bring his presentation to life. His talk was followed by a lively question and answer period.
Sacred Heart Men’s Club is an organization of men from Sacred Heart Parish that meet monthly for fellowship and provide services and financial donations to various community charities.
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| Sheila Harrison allowing the third grade students to carefully feel the owl. |
The third grade classes at Mountain Pine Grade School had a special opportunity to learn about and also to touch and feel a screech owl. The owl visited the school on March 28th through an outreach program conducted by the Little Rock Museum of Discovery. The Museum provides a live animal from their collection to visit classrooms accompanied by an employee or a trained volunteer. Through these visitations the students learn about the animal’s habits and habitat as well as having an opportunity to actual experience a live animal in the classroom.
The Mother Teresa Guild of Sacred Heart Parish has supported the third grade classes at Mountain Pine for a number of years. Their support has included providing students with needed school supplies, conducting parties, providing volunteer readers and various projects. Last year, Sheila Harrison, a member of the Mother Teresa Guild for 10 years, took the training for the Lively Science Program which provides the animals. Over the past two years Sheila has been a regular visitor to the third grade students accompanied by a new animal each time. For her March visit she brought along a screech owl which the children really enjoyed learning about. After introducing the students to the owl, Sheila carried him around the classroom for each student to see it close up and to gently touch its feathery back. Other animal visitors have included snakes and even an alligator. This program certainly helps to bring natural science to life for the Mountain Pine third graders. |
| Left, Becca Clark showing Sheila Harrison, President of Ladies of the Sacred Heart, a daily file with folders for each day of the month for organizing daily tasks. |
She spoke about the importance of de-cluttering, obstacles to clutter, which includes “mental clutter,” and her Top 12 Tips for getting organized. The first of Ms. Clarks TOP TIPS is “When in doubt about what to keep and what to let go, keep this concept in mind: everything around you should be functional, beautiful, or both.”