The Church of the Sacred Heart

MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR

March 29, 2020
In case you missed it, here is a link to Mass celebrated this morning at Sacred Heart.
https://youtu.be/EOMl4psgoAA

March 28, 2020
Mass will be live-streamed from Sacred Heart at 10am on Sunday, March 29th. Go to the parish Facebook page (click on Facebook icon in top right corner of this website) and watch through Facebook Live, or click on the following link to watch live through YouTube. Church will open at 11:30 for Eucharistic Adoration and remain open until 7pm. Please spread the word!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIO61b-W00gEiuEKWB-vFhQ


March 23, 2020
Dear Sacred Heart Families,

In response to multiple queries, I am happy to report that Eucharistic Adoration is still taking place at Sacred Heart. According to the guidance provided with Governor Cuomo’s most recent executive order (EO 202.6), churches are not considered essential businesses. However, the guidance states that “houses of worship are not ordered closed” provided that “no congregate services be held and social distance be maintained.” In light of this guidance, I will not be shutting down Eucharistic Adoration. We have already taken away so much from our people that I simply cannot bring myself to take this away too. If you signed up for an hour and do not feel comfortable leaving your house, it’s perfectly fine, you do not have to come. Remember, all we need is one person per hour to keep adoration going. However, if you desperately need Jesus’s living, consoling presence in the Eucharist now more than ever, know that He is waiting for you on the altar at Sacred Heart in Monroe, Monday through Friday, from 4pm to 9pm. Know, also, that our church is being disinfected regularly and that doors are being left propped open so that people can come to pray without making contact with anyone or anything. Should you decide to come for a visit, please do your part to use the doors that are already opened, to avoid touching the tops of the pews with your hands, and to stay at least six feet away from anyone else who may be there in prayer. Let it be known that Jesus and the Church have not abandoned us in our hour of need and are there waiting for all who wish to draw near. May God bless you all and keep you safe.

March 20, 2020
Dear Sacred Heart Families,

I hope you are holding up well during these very difficult times. You are all in my daily prayers.  

As you well know, our Masses have been canceled for the foreseeable future. With no Masses, our collections have dropped drastically. Some of our wonderful parishioners have come in and handed us their envelopes, and for that I am grateful. However, it is no longer advisable to do this. Many others, quite understandably, have not been able to make the generous contributions they usually make when attending Sunday Mass. And yet, while these contributions have temporarily ceased, our Church’s bills, of which there are many, continue to pile up. Contrary to popular belief, the parish is not wealthy and does not receive any financial help from the archdiocese.    

I know that this is a difficult time economically for many businesses and families, so please know that I turn to you for help with the utmost sensitivity to the challenges that you may be facing in your own personal finances. With that said, I would like to clearly state that we really need your help if we are going to meet the many expenses of running our amazing parish. 

The best way you can help is to sign up now for automatic giving. You can do this in one of two ways. You can contact your bank and ask them to include Sacred Heart among your recurring bills, in which case they would mail a weekly or monthly check with your contribution to the parish. If you already participate in online giving, this is a simple matter of adding Sacred Heart as another one of your payees. Or, you can sign up for WeShare, a secure way of registering a credit card, debit card, or checking account to which weekly, automatic contributions will be charged. To sign up for WeShare, click on the following link and follow the instructions: 

https://sacredheartchurchmonroe.churchgiving.com/Regular

Please give serious consideration to signing up for one of these two methods of automatic giving. It only takes a few minutes, but it makes a huge difference in our parish finances. If you have any questions, or run into any problems, feel free to contact our bookkeeper, Cathy O’Hare at cathy@sacredheartchurch.org.

Thank you for considering this request, and please know that I completely understand if it is not possible for you to do what I am asking due to your own financial hardships at the moment. Please know of my prayers for you, and please keep our parish and our parishioners in your prayers at this time.

Yours in Christ,
Fr. David 


 
March 17, 2020
Dear Parishioners of Sacred Heart,

Peace of Christ!

As you all know, we are currently living in trying times. Times like these call for even greater faith, deeper trust, and more fervent prayer than usual. They also call for greater solidarity with one another. Please know of my solidarity with each of you and my prayers for you as you face the challenges of these days.

Here at Sacred Heart, we are committed to serving your spiritual needs however we can, while respecting all the regulations currently being put in place by government and church authorities. For the time being, His Eminence Cardinal Dolan has suspended all public Masses - both Sunday Masses and daily Masses - until further notice. You can fulfill your Sunday obligation by watching Sunday Mass online or on TV, or by listening to it on the radio.  Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral will be broadcast and available on many cable systems via the Catholic Faith Network and its website at https://www.catholicfaithnetwork.org as well as at https://www.saintpatrickscathedral.org/live. In addition, please know that I am celebrating Mass privately every day, and that you and your families are being remembered in my daily Masses. I strongly recommend that parishioners make a spiritual communion every day that they cannot attend Mass. The words of a spiritual communion can be found here. I am not preaching homilies during Mass right now, as I have no one to preach to. However, in an attempt to stay connected and bring you some inspiration, I will periodically be posting audio messages on my website. Please go to the homilies tab at https://www.fatherdavidrider.com to listen.

Eucharistic adoration will continue Monday through Friday from 4pm-9pm, for as long as we are still allowed to have it. We will also have adoration during the hours that we would normally have Sunday Mass. If you cannot come for the hour you are committed to, it's okay. I would really like to keep adoration going for as long as possible, as I believe that we need to have access to the consoling presence of Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament now more than ever. Thank you for helping me to keep this available by coming to keep Jesus company while he is exposed on the altar.

Stations of the Cross will not take place until further notice, insofar as gatherings of over 50 people have been prohibited by New York State. Our parish mission has been postponed for the same reason.

As for confessions, we have been instructed by the Cardinal that confessions are to be by heard "upon reasonable request" and "preferably by appointment." Therefore, if you wish to go to confession, please call the parish office (do not come in person) and a priest will be happy to make an appointment with you.

Our parish outreach will continue to serve our community as much as possible. Our food pantry will be open on Wednesdays from 10am-11am and Our Father's Kitchen will be handing out take-out meals on Wednesdays from 4:30-5:00. Both operate out of the basement of our chapel on Stage Rd.

Finally, I am ready at a moment's notice to administer the anointing of the sick to anyone who may need it, including anyone infected by the coronavirus. St. Paul tells us that true love casts out fear, and in that spirit, I am ready to go wherever a priest is needed to minister to the sick, even if it involves a risk to my health. Please know that I am with you as your shepherd and I am ready to suffer, if need be, with those of my people who are suffering.

May Jesus fill your hearts with his peace, and may this be a time of deeper conversion for each one of us. May God bless you, and may our Blessed Mother, Health of the Sick, watch over you and your families.

In Christ,
Fr. David