2021 Heritage Festival – Save the Date and Volunteers Needed!
Please see the attachment above for information about the 2021 Heritage Festival. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Parish Office at 928-445-3141 and speak with Alma.
Please spread the word and invite people you know to come celebrate our Sacred Heart Heritage.
Fraudulent texts/emails
Just a reminder that a popular current scam all over the country is to send a text or email that purportedly comes from a priest (usually the pastor) asking for monetary help (usually purchase and donation of gift cards for a specified “cause”). Please be assured that no priest from Sacred Heart would ever contact you in that way asking for financial support. The best thing to do is not respond at all, and block the phone number or email. Parish staff has reported this to the authorities several times, but these people are almost impossible to catch. Please share this information with friends and relatives. The best way to foil these scams is to not even respond. Thank you
Recorded livestream now available
We continue to livestream the 9AM Mass on Sundays. Mass can be viewed directly on the Parish website. Remember that, if you are able to attend Mass in person, the weekly obligation to attend Mass was fully reinstated on July 1. If you cannot be physically present, please go to the website just before 9AM. From the main page, look under “Watch Mass Online” and select “Click Here for Livestream”. You will then be able to watch Mass live. It is highly recommended that, if you cannot physically attend Mass, that you watch the live Mass rather than a recorded version.
We are now offering the option to watch the recorded Mass, for the most recent week’s Mass only. The video will be overwritten every week. To watch the recorded Mass, select “Click Here for Livestream” and then select “View Most Recent Mass.” Please keep in mind that, depending on staff availability to post the Mass, it may not be immediately available.
We understand that the music can be sporadic coming through the livestream; however, the readings, homily and the Mass itself comes through very clearly using this method rather than Facebook. In addition, this eliminates the need to go through Facebook, which many parishioners did not want to do. The livestream is not perfect, but we are doing the best that we can.
Weekday Mass will be live-streamed to Facebook generally only on Mondays and Thursdays starting the week of July 26.
Thank you for your continued support.
Returning to Normal Operations – New Procedures effective July 1, 2021
Please see attached for changes to Sacrament and Mass procedures effective July 1.
Bishop Olmsted’s Announcement about Mass Obligation
Bishop Olmsted announces lifting of the dispensation of the Sunday and Holy Day obligations effective July 1, 2021
The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In the Gospel of Saint John, the Lord Jesus tells us, “If you love me, keep my commands.” Participation in Mass on Sundays is one of the most practical ways Catholics respond to the Lord’s love.
Therefore I wish to announce the restoration of the obligation for Sunday and holy day Masses in the Diocese of Phoenix, effective July 1, 2021. On this day we commemorate Saint Junipero Serra, the great missionary and evangelist. He is a shining example of the Church’s mission to announce the joy of the Gospel to all the nations.
Given the current status of the pandemic and the availability of vaccines, I believe it appropriate for the Church to take safe and sensible steps forward in our approach to Mass.
Why should Sunday Mass be an obligation for us? In my recent Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist, entitled Veneremur Cernui, I wrote:
The ultimate effect of the Holy Eucharist is not only the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ for our spiritual nourishment, but the transformation of those who receive Holy Communion into “one body, one spirit in Christ.” Through this personal relationship with the Risen Jesus in the Eucharist, we experience the self-sacrificing love of Jesus, who invites us to imitate His love and to bring that love to everyone and every situation of our daily life. (41)
These words help us see that the law mandating Mass attendance is not simply an arbitrary imposition. The obligation arises from the natural demands of love, that those whom the Lord loves must be steadily transformed by His love by means of what He has instituted for our good. Sunday is a “little Easter” each week, the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist. It is the central day for the celebration of His death and Resurrection (cf. CCC 1167).
Consider the human body. Lungs demand oxygen. The stomach obliges us to consume water and food. Our day is interrupted by the happy obligation to breathe and drink and eat. Likewise for Christ’s Body the Church: the obligation of attendance at Sunday Mass reflects our spiritual need to ingest the power of the Resurrection. Our days, weeks, and years are punctuated by the sweet demand that together at Mass we breathe and drink and eat the gifts of Christ’s grace.
Nevertheless, there are circumstances when a member of the faithful is “excused for a serious reason” (CCC 2181) from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days. A serious reason occurs when one is physically or otherwise prevented from attending. For example, if a person is sick or unable to find reasonable transportation, the obligation no longer applies.
Given the current situation of the pandemic, further examples of this are the following:
- If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have good reason to believe you have contracted it;
- If you are ill or have a condition that would seriously compromise your health if you contracted COVID-19 or another communicable disease;
- If you care for the sick, homebound, or infirmed and have a compelling reason for believing that you would infect them by going to Mass;
- If you are elderly or pregnant and have a serious reason to believe you would put yourself or your child at risk by attending Mass.
In applying this guidance, each person must make use of their good judgement. If someone is unsure, confused, or concerned about a situation not listed here please consult with any priest for clarity. The faithful are always called to the sacred duty to keep holy the sabbath day, so even if one cannot fulfill the Sunday obligation, all are encouraged to spend time in prayer, thanksgiving and rest on Sundays.
May today’s celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and the return of the Sunday obligation on July 1, provide a deep renewal of our love for Sunday Mass in the Diocese of Phoenix. I pray that we will all respond with great joy to the words of our loving Savior: “If you love me, keep my commands.”
Sincerely Yours in the Risen Christ,
+ Thomas J. Olmsted
Bishop of Phoenix
Prayer to St. Joseph
Pope Francis has designated the Year of St. Joseph from December 2020-December 2021. St. Joseph’s Feast Day is March 19. The attached prayer is being said at all Masses from March 15-19.