When I entered the seminary some 39 years ago, one of the first choices I had to make was who I wanted as my spiritual director. Unlike my course load that was pretty much set for me (and was quite a challenge with some of my professors being from Hungary, Viet Nam and Argentina), I was given a number of priests to choose from and found it easy to select Fr. Frank Colavechio who was a priest on loan from our diocese and was head of spirituality at the seminary. I found him comfortable to talk to, a good listener, and one who offered me support in my spiritual growth. He was also greatly responsible for me switching from receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation anonymously to going face to face to him. Even though Fr. Cal (as he was known) died a number of years ago, I have still chosen to go "face to face" to all priests whom I go to when "celebrating" the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Today, I am happy to share with you that we are blessed in this wonderful parish to have 2 trained spiritual directors (Paula Doyle and Deb Troxel) and 2 spiritual directors in training (Cherri Schwulst and Carolyn Westmoreland) who are able to take on people who want to grow in their spiritual life as parishioners of Sacred Heart Church. Of course, I am also available to a limited number of parishioners for spiritual direction as it can be worked out in mine and the parishioner's schedule.
Since I don't have enough space in my pastor's column to go into the particulars of "spiritual direction" we are including in this bulletin an insert with questions that someone or anyone might ask about spiritual direction and the contact information for the ladies mentioned above. it is important that one developes a connection with the spiritual director that makes it easier over time to share deeply with the director one's thoughts, feelings, experiences and even failures when it comes to their spiritual life knowing that anything that is shared remains STRICTLY confidential and always supportive for the person to discern what God is saying to them at any given time in their lives. It is always up to the one receiving spiritual direction to decide if or when they would like to discontinue the sessions with no questions asked by the spiritual director. Please take the time to read the insert in the bulletin and in prayer consider this help to your faith journey. A safe and confidential space will be provided here in our parish building for the spiritual direction to take place.
Today, I am happy to share with you that we are blessed in this wonderful parish to have 2 trained spiritual directors (Paula Doyle and Deb Troxel) and 2 spiritual directors in training (Cherri Schwulst and Carolyn Westmoreland) who are able to take on people who want to grow in their spiritual life as parishioners of Sacred Heart Church. Of course, I am also available to a limited number of parishioners for spiritual direction as it can be worked out in mine and the parishioner's schedule.
Since I don't have enough space in my pastor's column to go into the particulars of "spiritual direction" we are including in this bulletin an insert with questions that someone or anyone might ask about spiritual direction and the contact information for the ladies mentioned above. it is important that one developes a connection with the spiritual director that makes it easier over time to share deeply with the director one's thoughts, feelings, experiences and even failures when it comes to their spiritual life knowing that anything that is shared remains STRICTLY confidential and always supportive for the person to discern what God is saying to them at any given time in their lives. It is always up to the one receiving spiritual direction to decide if or when they would like to discontinue the sessions with no questions asked by the spiritual director. Please take the time to read the insert in the bulletin and in prayer consider this help to your faith journey. A safe and confidential space will be provided here in our parish building for the spiritual direction to take place.
Before I introduce our V.I.P. for the month of August, I will have to admit that to this point our VIP's have been people that I have known and worked with in various ministries for much of the time since I came as a pastor of Sacred Heart Church in June of 2010. Some were active parishioners for a time or even a fairly long time before I came here.
This month's Very Important Parishioner is fairly new to me and perhaps to some of you, however her impact has been felt knowingly or unknownly by many of our parishioners especially in the many months we were dealing with COVID and restrictions that we had never faced before!
Her name is Liz Edwards and she was someone who had anything but an "easy" year as the president of the Lady's of the Sacred Heart, as she worked "behind the scenes" for the benefit of many. She spent innumerable hours making and providing face coverings for first responders. She then spearheaded crews to make masks to raise funds for Jackson House and a local scholarship fund before turning her efforts to make over 400 masks for her fellow parishioners at Sacred Heart Church. Proceeds from donations for these masks went to LOSH's charitable endeavors. Her creativity in making designs of masks often made it a challenge for people to decide which one to get and use. All of these efforts contributed to keeping our parishioners and others safe during the pandemic.
While many groups and organizations in the parish and community did not meet for months during COVID, Liz came up with "out of the box" ways for LOSH members to meet (ie. Balboa Pavilion) and initiated some creative fundraisers that by the end of her term had, (with the help and generosity of many) resulted in the most money being made for LOSH charities EVER in a year's time. What an accomplishment when so many organizations saw drops (and some significant drops) in amounts of money made for the year because of COVID restrictions. Once again at her initiative LOSH started a new tradition of members placing flowers in a vase below the Blessed Mother's statue before the funerals of their members during COVID with measures taken to keep everyone safe while enjoying good food and time spent with loved ones after the funeral was over.
After relinquishing her position as LOSH president, Liz agreed to stay active this coming LOSH year in two committees and in heading up their first benefit golf tournament in the Spring of 2021. I and all of us need to give a big "Shout Out" to Liz and thanks to God for all her efforts and the inspiration and motivation she provided especially during the long, difficult months of COVID. I look forward to Liz being active in other ways in our wonderful parish in the future and being a blessing to many, including me!
This month's Very Important Parishioner is fairly new to me and perhaps to some of you, however her impact has been felt knowingly or unknownly by many of our parishioners especially in the many months we were dealing with COVID and restrictions that we had never faced before!
Her name is Liz Edwards and she was someone who had anything but an "easy" year as the president of the Lady's of the Sacred Heart, as she worked "behind the scenes" for the benefit of many. She spent innumerable hours making and providing face coverings for first responders. She then spearheaded crews to make masks to raise funds for Jackson House and a local scholarship fund before turning her efforts to make over 400 masks for her fellow parishioners at Sacred Heart Church. Proceeds from donations for these masks went to LOSH's charitable endeavors. Her creativity in making designs of masks often made it a challenge for people to decide which one to get and use. All of these efforts contributed to keeping our parishioners and others safe during the pandemic.
While many groups and organizations in the parish and community did not meet for months during COVID, Liz came up with "out of the box" ways for LOSH members to meet (ie. Balboa Pavilion) and initiated some creative fundraisers that by the end of her term had, (with the help and generosity of many) resulted in the most money being made for LOSH charities EVER in a year's time. What an accomplishment when so many organizations saw drops (and some significant drops) in amounts of money made for the year because of COVID restrictions. Once again at her initiative LOSH started a new tradition of members placing flowers in a vase below the Blessed Mother's statue before the funerals of their members during COVID with measures taken to keep everyone safe while enjoying good food and time spent with loved ones after the funeral was over.
After relinquishing her position as LOSH president, Liz agreed to stay active this coming LOSH year in two committees and in heading up their first benefit golf tournament in the Spring of 2021. I and all of us need to give a big "Shout Out" to Liz and thanks to God for all her efforts and the inspiration and motivation she provided especially during the long, difficult months of COVID. I look forward to Liz being active in other ways in our wonderful parish in the future and being a blessing to many, including me!
While we are just getting into August (and looking forward to cooler temperatures in September), I want to look ahead to October, specifically Monday, October 18 when Diamante Country Club Golf Course will host the 26th edition of the Bishop McDonald Memorial Golf Classic for the benefit of Catholic Charities of Arkansas. If you are not a golfer, perhaps you might be inclined not to read the rest of this column. Certainly, one plea in this column is for golfers to step up and commit to play in this four-person scramble either individually (and we'll find other players to join you) or as a team of four people who want to play together. This article serves other purposes. It is inviting our parishioners whether you are a golfer or not to volunteer to help make this tournament a success in raising needed funds for Catholic Charities of Arkansas. Please call Murray Claassen at 501-908-4346 and he will find something for you to help with in either the morning or afternoon rounds. I also want to tell you about Catholic Charities and all the good work it does for so many in need.
From Catholic Adoption Services which places newborns in loving homes, to Catholic immigration Services which provides low-cost counseling and support to families and individuals who are eligibile for immigration benefits, to the Westside Free Medical Clinic which serves people 18 and older who are unable to afford routine health care, to Prison Ministry throughout Arkansas that seeks to provide spiritual support to those who are incarcerated AND to their families, to helping individuals and families all over the state who have emergency needs that can't be helped by small parishes who have limited resources, Catholic Charities of Arkansas is truly a vehicle that helps the Catholic Church of Arkansas answer the call of Jesus to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit those in prison and other good works spoken and unspoken in Math. 25, which is often described as the "Last Judgement" of how we cared for the least among us.
The Bishop McDonald Golf Classic is the main fundraiser for Cathoic Charities of Arkansas for the year and I am confident that this can be the most successful effort to raise funds in the history of this event with the help of Sacred Heart Parishioners as players, volunteers and even some as business or individual sponsors of various levels of giving. (See announcement about the tournament in this builletin for more details. For parishioners who want to play in either the morning (preferably) or the afternoon round in that it will cost you $85 entry fee to play one of the best golf courses in the state AND support this most worthy of causes!!
From Catholic Adoption Services which places newborns in loving homes, to Catholic immigration Services which provides low-cost counseling and support to families and individuals who are eligibile for immigration benefits, to the Westside Free Medical Clinic which serves people 18 and older who are unable to afford routine health care, to Prison Ministry throughout Arkansas that seeks to provide spiritual support to those who are incarcerated AND to their families, to helping individuals and families all over the state who have emergency needs that can't be helped by small parishes who have limited resources, Catholic Charities of Arkansas is truly a vehicle that helps the Catholic Church of Arkansas answer the call of Jesus to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit those in prison and other good works spoken and unspoken in Math. 25, which is often described as the "Last Judgement" of how we cared for the least among us.
The Bishop McDonald Golf Classic is the main fundraiser for Cathoic Charities of Arkansas for the year and I am confident that this can be the most successful effort to raise funds in the history of this event with the help of Sacred Heart Parishioners as players, volunteers and even some as business or individual sponsors of various levels of giving. (See announcement about the tournament in this builletin for more details. For parishioners who want to play in either the morning (preferably) or the afternoon round in that it will cost you $85 entry fee to play one of the best golf courses in the state AND support this most worthy of causes!!