This year, the Labor Day holiday falls on Monday, September 1. For Christians throughout the world, this day is also the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the first day of the Season of Creation, which lasts until October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. As a Franciscan parish, our celebration of St. Francis this year is extended into the Sunday celebrations on October 6 and so the Season of Creation lasts a little longer!

St. Francis showed a reverence towards creation in his writings and in his life. For this reason, he is known as the Patron of Ecology. More recently, the late Pope Francis recognized that the Season of Creation was already being celebrated in other Christian denominations and brought the Catholic Church into line with this ecumenical movement. Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ seminal document on the Care of Creation, is enjoying its 10th anniversary this year and stands as a significant contribution to the movement. If you have not read this it would be a good exercise to do so during the season. You can view the encyclical here.

Pope Leo XIV became Pope in May of this year, but Pope Francis had already chosen this year’s theme. He hoped that the Season would provide “individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live.” Perhaps it would be timely to consider, as individuals and as parish, what is our impact, both positive and negative, on our environment, our common home. The USCCB has published a summary for this year’s focus, which is available to view here.

– Phil Jakob, Director of Music

More from the USCCB on the Season of Creation

The Franciscan Center is also inviting our parishioners to celebrate the World Day of Prayer for Creation at an ecumenical prayer service on Wednesday, September 3, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. via Zoom. Br. Louis Canter, OEF, will be leading prayer. Br. Louis is a member of the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans and has been in pastoral ministry for more than 50 years. The theme for the service is Peace with Creation. This service is part of the overall Season of Creation, recognizing the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si. The prayer service will include song, sacred text, prayers, thanksgivings and more. Click here to register for the prayer service.

Over the last year, Director of Communications, Rob Boelke, has worked with our parish publications contractor, Diocesan Publications, in consultation with the friars and staff on an update to our parish logos. While images do not wholly define what a parish like Sacred Heart represents to our parishioners or the community we serve, our branding is the leading outward expression that visitors, ecumenical and secular neighbors, and parishioners of other parishes will often see and associate with.

“We wanted to make sure we incorporated elements from the previous logos that would make this new design an evolution of what parishioners, returning visitors, and partners might already be used to,” Boelke says. “A top priority for updating the imaging was to include the hallmarks of our church, namely architectural elements, which grounds the branding in something recognizable for those who may not yet know about us.”

The architecture of the church plays a central role in the new parish logos and wordmarks, with the full church displayed in the primary and secondary images. The color palate is reminiscent of the previous logos. So too is the wordmark, which features a decorative serif font in place of the previous hand drawn script. A tertiary, or third mark features the parish initials stacked in front of an outline of our rose windows.

An updated parish website has been in development alongside this new brand package. The site is slated for an early summer launch. The newly organized website will feature the most-searched information related to our church on a home page decorated with videos and images of what truly makes Sacred Heart the special parish that it is. “We know that the people are the parish here at Sacred Heart,” Boelke continues. “The meaningful connections we share both with God and each other help us fulfil our mission of creating a vibrant community of faith, so those connections, be it through Mass, prayer, outreach, or fellowship, will be front and center, hopefully inviting even more to join us.”
 

Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians is referred to as a more reflective extension his first. Scholars will assert the first letter had some tense moments and stern redirection for the community in Corinth, while the second letter was a bit more positive and wide-ranging. In our reading of the second letter this weekend, Paul hits us with some of that positivity and encouragement in the face of differences and difficulties, to center us all on our faith.

“Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we too believe and therefore speak…” (2 Cor 4:13)

Speaking publicly in any fashion can be a difficult or less than desirable activity. That’s partially why communications and public relations staffers exist. We coach clients who are nervous to give speeches at networking events. We ghostwrite presentations and media pieces to ensure the accuracy of the information needing to be delivered. We create talking points for interviews and press conferences to give our colleagues something to fall back on. All that prep, all that work still may not be enough for a polished delivery.

And guess what? That’s O.K.

Prior to this opening line and again throughout our reading, Paul describes the paradox of their ministry. He does so to encourage those who may be afraid of persecution that they are not alone in their mission to spread the Good News. While that persecution is more graphically detailed by Paul as a potential matter of mortality, a life in Christ is heralded as the confidence we should take into an anxious situation. So what if you are tripping over yourself while reading at Mass? So what if you aren’t able to speak as eloquently as you may have rehearsed for that business proposal? If your heart is in it and your belief is there, that will come through, so SPEAK!

That is the intention for our communications here at Sacred Heart as we begin to activate some new tools and channels this year. I am nearly finished with what will be called the “San Damiano Studio,” a space for us to develop content that will feature theology, catechism, and our parish outreach efforts. New ministry features will soon begin, to ensure all parishioners know what groups and communities are available to them within the parish, and how they may participate. In conjunction with the church’s 120th anniversary, we hope to have a revamped website in place. A new committee to advise and assist these efforts volunteers is also in its infancy.

We have such an impactful story to tell from this parish, so we should work confidently together to tell it!

– Rob Boelke
Director of Communications

Dear Parishioners,

Fr. Zack rightly asserts in his reflection for the 14 SIOT that Jesus’ invitation to shelter and rest are some of his most gentle words in the Gospels, and that invitation is central to our roles as His followers. While the word “rest” may intimate a pause from work or the growing number of responsibilities we all share (and that could entirely be a necessary avenue for those who are indeed weary), we know Jesus is eager to aid in rest for our souls. This is the rest that we all long for, the rest that will one day be uninterrupted in the bliss of heaven.

It is no coincidence that we heard this same Gospel three weeks ago as we celebrated our parish feast, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart. “Behold the heart that has so loved humanity,” wrote St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in her journals recounting Jesus’ words to her as He appeared bestowing the Sacred Heart. As His followers, we are called to extend the invitation of rest for those around us who are weary. While we all face our own challenges and tribulations, there are times when our burden allows us to shoulder that of others, and times when we ourselves are the ones in need of help. We can emulate His love for humanity and the love of His Sacred Heart with those who are burdened.

Equally, we can turn to Him when we are burdened. This Gospel stands out to me more than most, as it was an invitation to reengage with my faith after I had fallen away from the Church when I was in college. That reconnection didn’t come from a traditional source per se, like hearing the Gospel at Mass, or reading its verses during a bible study. Alternative-rock band Thrice, known for occasionally mixing Christian themes and theology into their songs, released “Come All You Weary” in 2008, a first-person take on Jesus’ invitation featuring a folk, or almost country-western feel, with slow-building acoustic guitars and gravelly vocals. I am a big fan of the band, both then and now, and drew to the song like a moth to a flame. I had lost faith in the work I was doing. I had stopped attending Mass. I had stopped praying. Then I found this song, and its reminder that He is always there to give us rest.

“Come all you weary, you cripples, you lame
I’ll help you along, you can lay down your canes
We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ll travel as friends
The light’s growing bright, further up, further in.”

I encourage you to listen to the song once or twice this week, and consider ways to embody His invitation to those around you. You can find the song from this link.

– Rob Boelke, Manager of Communications