A Letter from Fr Tom

Apr 22 2020

Announcements
A Letter from Father Tom

Fr. Tom’s surgery is rescheduled for Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Hopefully, there will not be another delay.

Please pray for the team of doctors and Fr. Tom for a successful surgery. Continue to pray for Fr. Tom’s quick recovery.

April 21, 2020

Dear Sacred Heart family,

I have been quarantined since December, and it is nice to see I have had such an influence on so many of you that you have joined me in quarantine. LOL. Seriously though, these are certainly unprecedented times and I pray everyone is doing well and getting the support they need! These past several weeks I have had a great deal of time to pray and reflect. There have been challenges – having such a long wait for heart surgery, $10,000 stolen from my bank account that will not be returned, my car stolen and a close friend passed away from Covid-19. Despite all of that I am filled with great Joy and complete Trust in our loving God. I strongly pray for those who stole from me and others like them. It deeply saddens me that they would Jeopardize their souls for so little. I long for them to know our immensely merciful and loving God and be the beautiful gift each of us our created to be for this world. May they know they are beautiful, and they matter!

I am also so keenly aware that so many have far more difficult trials and crosses than I. I am so Blessed. Perhaps it is the grace of the Easter season and the fathomless gift of Divine Mercy, whose feast we celebrated this last Sunday. We are Blessed, all of us! I hope this quarantine has not gone by as an opportunity to just exercise more binge watch movies and TV. I hope it has not been lost on immersion in technology. What a wonderful time to be with family and friends, even thru technology, and share laughter, love, hugs (virtual) and tears. What an opportunity to read, reflect and pray. To be silent and still with our God. Each of us can make the world more beautiful right now simply by smiling. I pray we all emerge from this difficult time free of the virus known as selfish indifference. May there be an emergence of caring, compassion and love. May so many feeling the sting of hopelessness be addressed by our equal eruption of hope. May our selfless love and charity be immeasurably more contagious than any pandemic. We need to avoid the fears that blind us to the needs of others who share our same needs! Let us prevent the anxiety from extinguishing genuine concern for neighbors. We should wash our hands but not in the way Pontius Pilate did with Jesus, exclaiming, ” I am innocent of the blood of this just man. The responsibility is yours!” As we emerge from this pandemic, unlike Pilate, let us not wash our hands of the responsibility towards the poor, the elderly, the unemployed, the refugees, the health providers and first responders; Indeed all people and our God created world around us.

In such times the true heart and character of a person emerges! We must realize that there is not a light at the end of the tunnel but that we are the light! As venerable Carlo Acutis expressed, “Our goal must be the infinite and not the finite. The Infinity is our homeland. We are always expected in Heaven!”

I humbly ask for your continued prayers as I now proceed with surgery on April 28th placing myself in the trusting arms of Our Heavenly Mother, St. Joseph and His Divine Mercy. Please pray also for the surgeon and his team as well as the nurses caring for so many. I continue to pray for all of you especially with the Rosary and the Holy Mass. God Bless and belated Happy Easter!

Fr. Tom
Pastor

Second Sunday of Easter

Apr 18 2020

Announcements
Second Sunday of Easter Music and Mass Links

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

This week we are starting something new! Every week we will be providing the lyrics for the songs John Rodriguez has chosen to sing for the Sunday Mass in an attachment. Some of the songs may be new to you. If I think that is likely, I will provide a link to YouTube so you can hear it ahead of time, if you so choose, so that you’ll be able to sing along.

This week the communion song is Unless a Grain of Wheat by Bob Hurd. I think it may be new to you, so here is the link: https://youtu.be/KHrFcPOmzjc

In addition to that, I will also provide a link or an attachment (or two) for other music that I would like to share with you for your listening pleasure. This week I chose two:

Is He Worthy? by Andrew Peterson https://youtu.be/OIahc83Kvp4

and

My Life Is in Your Hands by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir https://youtu.be/AS6tQYJVO80

I hope you enjoy them!

May God bless you all and keep you safe and healthy,

Janis Cantú

Second Sunday of Easter Mass Online Links

There are two ways to view the video. The first way to view the video is through our parish YouTube account tomorrow (Sunday) morning. You can find the link here

Fr. Emmanuel will also make available the link to the video and text of this Sunday’s homily along with previous and future ones on his blog. You can find the link to his blog here http://frochigbo.blogspot.com/

You can also find the Mass that the Diocese of San Diego has on its website https://www.sdcatholic.org/find-a-parish/on-line-sunday-mass/.

Thank you to everyone who makes this incredible outreach possible.

May God be with you in these trying times!

Divine Mercy Sunday

Apr 16 2020

Uncategorized
Divine Mercy Sunday

What is Divine Mercy?

If you are a cradle Catholic like me, you have probably heard a lot of Catholic prayers, but you may not know where they came from. When I first heard of the Divine Mercy, I was at Vacation Bible School and my aunt, who was the Vacation Bible School Director, was telling us kids about the prayer. She may have gone over the origin story, but all I can remember was that the Divine Mercy prayer was said on the rosary beads and only took five minutes to say. The shortness of the ritualistic prayer was the thing that drew me into the prayer, and I have been saying it ever since.

But I think before we go over how to say the prayer it is important to know how the prayer came about. Here is a very brief summary of the prayer.

In 1931 Sister Faustina, a Congregational Sister of Our Lady of Mercy with the education of a third grader, was visited by God in prayer. He appeared to her in a white garment with pale and red rays coming from His heart. Jesus asked her to paint this image with the words “Jesus, I trust in You” beneath it. Sister Faustina did not know how to paint. In 1934 she got Eugene Kazimierowski to paint the image we see today.

In 1935 Sister Faustina was praying for mercy and God gave her the words to pray, “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us. (Diary, 475).”

The next time she was in prayer she heard God tell her to add the words “and on the whole world” after have mercy on us. God continuously revealed to her in prayer how He wanted the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy to be prayed. In Sister Faustina’s dairy she wrote that the purpose of the Divine Mercy chaplet was threefold: to obtain mercy, to trust in Christ’s mercy, and to show mercy to others.

On April 30, 2000 Pope John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina and established Divine Mercy Sunday as the Sunday after Easter.

Parish Divine Mercy Zoom Call

We know it is hard to not be together for a special Sunday in our liturgical year. If you wish, you can join a parish zoom call to participate in the Divine Mercy this Sunday at 3pm with Stephen Williams. To receive the link of the zoom call please email Stephen at relegioused@sacredheartob.org

Divine Mercy Plenary Indulgence

First let us define a plenary indulgence. Definition of a Plenary:

A plenary indulgence that can remove all the temporal punishment due to forgiven sin. Only God knows for certain when a plenary indulgence is actually gained, because only He knows whether a person’s dispositions are adequate. One norm for such dispositions is that “all attachment to sin, even venial sin, be absent.” If these dispositions are in any way less than complete, the indulgence will only be partial. The same provision applies to the three external conditions necessary to gain a plenary indulgence: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Pope. If these conditions are not satisfied, an otherwise plenary indulgence becomes only partial. These conditions may be satisfied several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work, though preferably Communion should be received, and the prayers offered for the Pope on the same day as the indulgenced work. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. (https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=35607)

Here is a link to find out about the Divine Mercy Plenary Indulgence from Pope Francis. Please look at this note, because the requirements to receive this plenary indulgence has changed thus year based on the current world situation.
 

Links to receive more information on the Divine Mercy

For more information on the Divine Mercy visit this site: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/

For more information on Sister Faustina watch this video:
To purchase St. Faustina’s Diary here is an amazon link:
For more information on the Divine Mercy watch this video:
A guide on how to pray the Divine Mercy
One way to pray the Divine Mercy is to say the words, but you can also sing the Divine Mercy. Here are two different videos of the Divine mercy being sung.
Religious Education Coordinator

Easter Lights

Apr 11 2020

Announcements
Easter Lights

We are joining a movement with various churches and would like you to join in, and encourage you to spread the word.

Let’s hang white lights on the house and the trees. Turn them on at 8:00 pm this Saturday April 11th – the start of the Easter Vigil – and light them every night through Easter until Pentecost, May 31st.

We are putting lights on the front of the church building too.

Let’s bring the Light of Christ to this pandemic darkness!
Peace to you, and shine your light!

Jesus Is: Episode 2

Apr 10 2020

Announcements
Video… “Jesus Is” Episode 2

Sacred Heart Youth Minister Pat Gunning shares a new message and methods for coping during this time in quarantine. Pat takes a passage from Isaiah 53 that is read every Good Friday and goes into how Jesus is the Lamb of God who fulfills the Old Testament with the New Covenant of his blood.

Direct Link to the Video
Sacred Heart You Tube Channel

Palm Sunday

Apr 04 2020

Announcements, Events
Sunday Morning Sacred Heart will
Distribute Blessed Palm Branches…
That Can be Put on our Doors & Windows at Home

On Palm Sunday let us all put a palm or branch on the door or window of our home to celebrate Palm Sunday. Sacred Heart will distribute blessed Palm branches in as safe a manner as we can.

You can pick up a palm branch for each member of your family at the Church, tomorrow (Sunday) morning from 9:00 AM -12:00 noon in the alley between Saratoga and Cape May. Parishioners can get your palms by driving in your cars through the alley starting at Sunset Cliffs, going North. Roll down your passenger side window and tell June or Gregg Sprosty the number of palms requested (one per family member.) They will pass the required number of palm branches through the passenger side window and put them on the car seat so they can maintain a safe distance. Then drive through the alley to Ebers Street and depart. There will be NO parking problems and people can be safe. If you are walking, June or Gregg will have branches available to pick up in a safe manner.

Since some of us will be unable to receive our beloved palms, those that don’t have palms can put a branch on the door or window of our home to celebrate Palm Sunday.

While we must be apart this Palm Sunday, we remain the Catholic community of Sacred Heart of Ocean Beach. No amount of social distancing and restrictions from public gatherings will change that here!

Through this green branch on our door, we remember each other and Jesus’s sacrifice for us as we enter into the holiest week of the Christian calendar.

And as we use this remaining time in Lent to reflect, so that we may celebrate Easter Sunday joyously, remember we do so not as isolated individuals but spiritually connected in our faith!
Palm Sunday Mass Online
There are two ways to view the video. The first way to view the video is through our parish YouTube account tomorrow (Sunday) morning. You can find the link here

Fr. Emmanuel will also make available the link to the video and text of this Sunday’s homily along with previous and future ones on his blog. You can find the link to his blog here http://frochigbo.blogspot.com/

You can also find the Mass that the Diocese of San Diego has on its website https://www.sdcatholic.org/find-a-parish/on-line-sunday-mass/.

Thank you to everyone who makes this incredible outreach possible.

May God be with you in these trying times!

Mass Online

Apr 03 2020

Announcements, Events
Mass Online
This weekend for Palm Sunday we will again be recording Mass in our church and posting it to the Parish YouTube channel for Sunday morning viewing. You can view Mass here.
Stephen Williams has helpful information below to make the most from Mass at home. You can download the document here.

Father Tom Update

Apr 02 2020

Announcements

Fr. Tom’s surgery has been postponed. The doctor chose not to take any chances with Fr. Tom’s health due the rise of the Covid-19 cases, which has increased at the local hospitals. He is hoping to have the surgery within the next month.

Please continue to pray for Fr. Tom’s health.