All posts by Rob Boelke

Incredible Activity | From the Desk of the Pastor | June 2026

Friar Reflections, From the Desk of the Pastor, Parish News

Dear Parishioners,

Peace be with you! We have an incredible amount of activity happening in our parish right now, and I am so energized by the enthusiasm of our young adults who are eager to get involved and do more. As we move into a season of transition and renewal, I want to share several important updates with you.

Farewell and Blessings to Deacon Ray Ferreris: Please join me in congratulating Deacon Ray Ferreris on his new assignment at Incarnation Parish, beginning July 1, 2026. His last Sunday will be June 21, as he celebrates with us at the 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. Masses. A farewell reception will follow immediately after the 9 a.m. Mass in St. Francis Hall. All parishioners are invited to come by to offer him your prayers and well wishes as we say goodbye!

Maintenance Committee Updates: Our facilities require continuous care, and the Maintenance Committee has been hard at work planning essential updates for our worship and community spaces.

  • Main Church Buildings
    • Dome & Choir-Side Exterior Repointing: Work will begin this June to repair the dome and repoint the exterior brickwork on the southern side of the church. This vital structural work is estimated at $282,000.
    • New Wireless Microphone System: To fix the frustrating “dead spots” and drop-offs we have experienced for quite a while, we are replacing much of our wireless microphone system. This $20,000 project will begin soon and greatly improve our sound quality.
  • North Campus Renovations: We are very close to beginning a major renovation of the Kitchen and Auditorium, which we hope will start by late summer.
    • The Scope: The kitchen and restrooms will be gutted to install brand-new electrical and plumbing.
    • We will also be addressing asbestos removal, installing a building-wide sprinkler system, and bringing the facility into full ADA compliance.
    • Please Note: Due to strict budget constraints, we unfortunately cannot replace the roof at this time or purchase all the kitchen equipment we might want. Furthermore, there will be a period of time when the building will be completely closed and unavailable for use.

Looking Ahead | Franciscan Mural Project: We are currently gathering designs for an exciting new mural to be placed on the 11’×12′ exterior wall of the Parish Office building.

  • The goal of this project is to create a visually compelling and spiritually meaningful work of art in downtown Tampa.
  • It will reflect the core values of Franciscan spirituality—particularly humility, compassion, and service to the poor. It is our hope that this mural serves as both a warm invitation and a holy witness, inspiring our own parish family to deepen their faith in action while offering encouragement and hope to everyday pedestrians and visitors.
  • While we do not have a final cost quote yet, we are praying we can secure the funds to complete this beautiful project in celebration of the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, stewardship, and dedication to our vibrant parish life.

Peace and All Good,
Fr. Mike Jones, OFM

Online Mass | The Most Holy Body & Blood (2026)

Online Mass Readings & Music

Music and Readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, June 7, 2026

Opening Song: All Who Hunger Gather Gladly G-1010

Glory to God: Mass of New Wine

Psalm 147: O Jerusalem, glorify the LORD!

(Text: Abbey Psalms & Canticles © 2010, 2018 USCCB; Music: © 2026, Philip Jakob)

Gospel Acclamation: Salisbury Alleluia

Preparation of the Gifts: You Satisfy the Hungry Heart G-1032

Eucharistic Acclamations: Mass of Creation

Lamb of God: Mass of Creation G-217

Communion Song: I Am the Bread of Life G-1008
Communion Song (10:30 a.m.): Jesus is Here Right Now G-1020
Communion Song (10:30 a.m.): What Has Passed Our Lips (w/ Verse 1)

Dismissal: Alleluia, Sing to Jesus G-1018

  • Readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, June 7, 2026
  • Lyrics and Mass Order for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, June 7, 2026
  • Contemporary Music for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, June 7, 2026

Online Mass | Holy Trinity

Online Mass Readings & Music

Music and Readings for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, May 31, 2026

Opening Song: All Creatures of our God and King G-665

Glory to God: Mass of New Wine

Canticle of Daniel: To be praised and highly exalted for ever!

(Text: Abbey Psalms & Canticles © 2010, 2018 USCCB; Music: © 2026, Philip Jakob)

Gospel Acclamation: Salisbury Alleluia

Preparation of the Gifts: Holy God We Praise Thy Name G-662

Eucharistic Acclamations: Mass of Creation

Lamb of God: Mass of Creation G-217

Communion Song: How Great Thou Art G-630
Communion Song (10:30 a.m.): What Has Passed Our Lips (with verse 1)

Dismissal: Christ Be Beside Me G-724

Magnifica Humanitas | On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence

Parish News
“Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” | Magnifica Humanitas 1

Marking the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the document written by his namesake Pope Leo XIII and credited as the cornerstone of modern Catholic social teaching, Pope Leo XIV has released his first encyclical, entitled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. “He appeals for the safeguarding of humanity, promotion of truth, dignity of work, social justice, and peace,” wrote Isabella Piro of Vatican News on release day.

Signed on May 15, 2026, the Feast of Saint Isidore, patron of farmers, peasants, and rural laborers, and released ten days later, the pontiff provides us “a powerful reminder that no technology can replace a child of God, and all technology should be placed at the service of helping humanity thrive,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“We encourage all people of good will to reflect on this rich papal teaching and to seek ways in which to apply it in their lives,” Bishop Coakley continued. “As his predecessor Pope Leo XIII addressed the challenges of the Industrial Revolution in Rerum Novarum one hundred thirty-five years ago, our Holy Father shines the light of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church on the new opportunities and challenges posed by the rise of Artificial Intelligence. The Pope calls us to never lose sight of the inherent dignity of all human life and the moral imperative for technology to support peace and the common good rather than the limited interest of a few.”

An encyclical is a formal papal letter sent by the Pope to all Roman Catholic bishops. Derived from the Greek word enkyklios, meaning ‘circular’ or ‘general,’ these documents are among the highest levels of papal teaching, used to provide guidance on faith, morals, or major social issues.

“Magnifica Humanitas is a theological reflection on AI and its impact on the human person and society,” says Fr. Steve Kluge, OFM. “He writes that AI is not the solution to humanities problems. Much like his predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, in Rerum Novarum highlighting the too often damaging impact on people of the working classes during the industrial revolution, Leo XIV, in this new encyclical, reminds us that AI is not evil in and of itself, but “takes on the characteristics of those who design, finance, regulate, and use it” and encourages it to be used for the common good of all people.”

Parishioners who review the document will undoubtedly see how the development of AI has potential influences and impacts on every facet of life, from the more mundane administrative or task-based advancements that might make life and work easier, through to the potential abuses or negative impacts the technology could unknowingly assist.

As mentioned at the release of Dilexi Te, Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation, it is no secret that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost chose the name Leo to connect his papacy to the Leo XIII. St. Pope John Paul II wrote on the 100th Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, “’In the face of a conflict which set man against man’ Leo (XIII), for the first time, both established and firmly defended the Church’s moral authority to promote justice in public life and, by so doing, ‘created a lasting paradigm for the Church’”. This new encyclical truly takes the baton from Leo XIII, examining a new industrial revolution and a time in which justice can be obscured not only by those who are helping create and utilize this new technology, but by the technology itself.

You can read Leo XIV’s new encyclical by clicking here.

Between His Death and Resurrection | From the Choir Loft

Parish News, Staff Side Notes

What did Jesus do between His Death and Resurrection?

In recent years at Sacred Heart we have returned to the practice of using the Apostles’ Creed during Sunday Masses in Lent and Easter. This version of the Creed was named after the Apostles, not because tradition says that they composed it, but because it was developed during 800 years of continued apostolic succession to the form we now recognize.

One phrase always causes me to think twice: ‘He descended into Hell’. What did Christ get up to after his death and being laid in the tomb? If, as this Creed affirms, he descended into Hell, what was his purpose there? Why don’t we see this descent represented in the Nicene Creed or any of the Sunday scriptures? Why don’t we hear more about this seismic event?

During my 20 years as Director of Music at the Cathedral of St Marie in Sheffield UK, in addition to the normal celebrations of Triduum, we used to add Sung Morning Prayer and Office of Readings on Good Friday and Holy Saturday and into these liturgies we would insert some additional preparatory rites for the Elect. It was on the morning of Holy Saturday that I got to hear, for the first time, that great reading from ‘the ancient homily for Holy Saturday. I am pleased to learn from Fr. Steve that this same reading is given to the Elect from Sacred Heart at the final stage of their preparation for Initiation at the Easter Vigil.

Hell, in the original understanding was the place of death. Everyone went there when life ceased. It was neither a place of judgment nor torment; that came from St. Bede in 8th century England and, more popularly, from what Dante (1265–1321) imagined in his ‘Inferno’ and from countless ‘fire and brimstone’ homilies in subsequent generations!

Before Christ, no one ascended to heaven but, in this reading, Christ, who is ‘the life of the dead’, extends a hand to Adam to lift him from Hell, and along with him, all those who had died subsequently were also lifted from the underworld to follow Christ to share his glory and the greater life.

In the book Between Cross and Resurrection: A Theology of Holy Saturday Alan E Lewis goes deep into all of this and at one point introduces Christ’s encounter in the place of death with the prophet Isaiah who comments: ‘Now I understand what I meant when I wrote the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light’.

If any of this has got you thinking, allow that ‘light-bulb’ moment to get brighter!

– Philip Jakob,
Director of Music

To read the Holy Saturday Homily that Phil references, click here.

Online Mass | Pentecost (2026)

Online Mass Readings & Music

Music and Readings for Pentecost Sunday, May 24, 2026

Opening Song: O Spirit, All-Embracing G-599

Glory to God: Mass of New Wine

Psalm 104: Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

(Text: Abbey Psalms & Canticles © 2010, 2018 USCCB; Music: © 2024, Philip Jakob)

Gospel Acclamation: Easter Alleluia (Hurd)

Preparation of the Gifts: Send Down the Fire of Your Justice G-593

Eucharistic Acclamations: Mass of Resurrection

Lamb of God: Mass of Resurrection G-217

Communion Song: Holy Spirit, Come to Us (Taize) G-596

Dismissal: O Holy Spirit by Whose Breath G-588

Challenge, Identity, and Mission | Friar Reflections | The Ascension

Friar Reflections, Parish News

Saints of God…

the Lord be with you!

In today’s Collect (opening prayer), the Church prays, “Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God…for the Ascension of Christ your Son is OUR Exaltation.” As I often say in O.C.I.A. classes, “Christianity is the most optimistic of all the world’s religions.” There is no greater optimism than believing that the Ascension of Christ is OUR exaltation because human nature, creation, the fully human One is now part of the Godhead. This is our identity and our destiny.

But today’s first reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (1: 1-11) confronts us with a challenge. “He (Jesus) was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. (When) two men dressed in white garments stood beside them (and said) ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?’”. Where do we look for Christ?

Years ago, in the 1970’s, I remember reading a book of theology which said, “If Jesus ascended anywhere, He ascended into the heart of the Church.” That always struck me, and I’ve come to the conviction that we are not to look up to find Christ, but to look for Him still alive, albeit in a new and mysterious way, and active in the world around us particularly in we who are the Church.

Baptized into the baptism of solidarity of Christ, we have received an identity and a mission. Our identity is that we are other Christ’s, and our mission is to live as Christ in the world through acts of charity, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The Spirit given to us at Baptism and in Confirmation gives us power and enables us to live as we should.

By cooperating with the Holy Spirit, we can and do live as Christ more often than we sin. Every time we take care of our family, are kind to the homeless, help the people we work with or our classmates are once again giving Christ flesh in our little corner of the world in 2026.

You, the parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish, embody Christ in so many ways: your generosity in the Catholic Ministry Appeal does good throughout the Diocese. When you support the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Bikes from the Heart, the good deeds of our Knights of Columbus, share your time with Hands of Hope or donate to Giving from the Heart, or offering a smile and a greeting to our homeless men and women, you are being Christ for someone. Today we celebrate that our God in the flesh has mounted His throne. We shout and sing with joy and works of charity!

– Fr. Steve

Online Mass | The Ascension of the Lord (2026)

Online Mass Readings & Music

Music and Readings for the Ascension of the Lord, May 17, 2026

Opening Song: Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise G-584

Gloria: Mass of New Wine

Psalm 47: God has gone up with shouts of joy. The LORD goes up with trumpet blast.

(Text: Abbey Psalms & Canticles © 2010, 2018 USCCB; Music: © 2024, Philip Jakob)

Gospel Acclamation: Easter Alleluia (Hurd)

Preparation of the Gifts: Alleluia, Sing to Jesus G-1018

Eucharistic Acclamations: Mass of Resurrection

Lamb of God: Mass of Resurrection G-217

Communion Song: In the Breaking of the Bread G-582

Dismissal: If You Believe and I Believe G-886

You’ll Never Walk Alone | Friar Reflections | Sixth Sunday of Easter

Friar Reflections, Parish News

My Dear Friends,

The readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter this year take on a beautiful simplicity when seen through a Franciscan lens: God is not distant, and we are never alone—He is near, dwelling within us and all around us. In the Gospel of John, Jesus promises, “I will not leave you orphans,” and that assurance echoes the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, who saw God’s presence not only within his own heart, but reflected in all of creation—brother sun, sister moon, even in suffering itself. The Holy Spirit is not an abstract idea; it is the living presence of God, quietly guiding us toward love, humility, and peace.

Franciscan spirituality invites us to receive this presence with simplicity. We don’t have to strive for greatness or control every outcome. Instead, we are called to be attentive—to notice God already at work in the ordinary: in a morning walk, in a kind word, in the rhythm of breath and prayer. The Spirit forms in us a gentle way of living, where love becomes visible not in grand gestures, but in small, faithful acts. This is how we “keep His commandments”—not through rigidity, but through a life shaped by love.

There is also a quiet courage here. Like the early Christians in the Acts of the Apostles, we are sent into the world not with force, but with peace. A Franciscan heart does not argue loudly; it witnesses softly. It trusts that the same Spirit dwelling within us is already moving in others. This frees us to live with humility, reverence, and a deep respect for every person we encounter.

Ultimately, this Sunday reminds us that God’s presence is not something we chase—it is something we awaken to. And when we do, like Francis, we begin to see the world differently: not as something to grasp or fear, but as a place already filled with God’s love, waiting to be recognized and returned.

Peace and All Good,
Fr. Zack

Online Mass | Sixth Sunday of Easter (2026)

Online Mass Readings & Music

Music and Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2026

Opening Song: Alleluia, Sing to Jesus G-1018

Gloria: Mass of New Wine

Psalm 66: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth, all the earth.

(Text: Abbey Psalms & Canticles © 2010, 2018 USCCB; Music: © 2025, Philip Jakob)

Gospel Acclamation: Easter Alleluia (Hurd)

Preparation of the Gifts: Be Not Afraid G-754

Eucharistic Acclamations: Mass of Resurrection

Lamb of God: Mass of Resurrection G-217

Communion Song: No Greater Love G-769

Dismissal: If You Believe and I Believe G-818