For each month, the Church gives us a particular mystery of faith to anchor us amidst the various seasons of the year and occasions of life. June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus because the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart usually falls within it. July is traditionally dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

We commemorated this mystery on the Feast of Corpus Christi (this year, June 23). Devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus is important, says Pope Saint John XXIII in his apostolic letter (On Devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus). His letter acknowledges that the Precious Blood is “the great price of our salvation”: shed by Jesus during his agony in the garden; in his scourging and crowning with thorns; in his climb to Calvary and crucifixion; and finally from the great wound in his side. It symbolizes “the divine Blood flowing down into all the Church's sacraments,” most especially at the offering and reception of the Eucharist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The Precious Blood of Jesus cleanses us from our sins, protects us against sin and evil, and enables us to enter into the love of the pierced Sacred Heart of Jesus, the source and fount of Divine Mercy. Pope Saint John XXIII had a great devotion to the Precious Blood and declared the Litany of the Precious Blood of Jesus (included here) to be one of the Five Major Litanies of the Church alongside the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loreto), and the Litany of Saint Joseph.
 

May the Precious Blood of Jesus be our refuge, strength, and our healing.

Happy Birthday to our Parish – she is five years old! Just a reminder….On July 1, 2015 the Parish of Immaculate Conception (established 1853) and the Parish of Assumption (established 1911) both ceased to exist and The Parish of Immaculate Conception & Assumption of Our Lady was established canonically and legally.

As I begin my fifth year as your Pastor, we have just finished a full restoration of the interior of the Assumption of Our Lady Church and will continue on the exterior stained-glass window sashes and Prayer Garden upgrades. The third and fourth year of the Renew & Rebuild Campaign will assist in the completion of the new Parish Center, due to open in the fall in the lower level of ICS. All of the most recent projects, completed and begun, can be found here.

Also, our parish now has both a representative Finance Council and Pastoral Council which help me shepherd the Parish and all of its ministries, Apostolates and services.

When I asked a parishioner, since she has been attending here regularly for a long time, if she wouldn’t mind putting down a few thoughts about these first four years, she sent me this:
 

Per your request, these are some of the words that come to mind when thinking about the parish over these last four years:

• Welcoming
• FUN!
• Care for the spiritual (beautiful liturgies, multiple speakers & lecture series, cultural/spiritual events such as Lessons & Carols, etc.)
• Care for the physical (maintenance of the grounds/plant)
• Modernization (Flocknote, website improvements, WeShare).

Today is Corpus Christi Sunday and we celebrate the gift of the Eucharist -- the presence of Jesus -- that we receive at Mass and also His abiding presence in the tabernacle of every church.

The famous preacher and servant of God, Bishop Fulton Sheen, began making a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament every day as a result of hearing the story I’m about to tell. It took place in a Catholic church in China during the time of religious persecution. The church was ransacked, the tabernacle broken open and the Body of Christ was thrown all over the floor. The Pastor was put under house arrest and couldn’t go into the church and a guard was placed outside.

The soldiers who desecrated the church didn’t notice that a little girl witnessed the whole thing. The priest knew there were 32 hosts in the tabernacle. Every night for the next 32 nights the little girl sneaked into the church, past the sleeping guard, and spent an hour in front of one of the hosts -- in prayer and adoration before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In those days, no one dared touch the host with their hands so before she left, she bent over the host and with her tongue managed to place it in her mouth.

On the last of these 32 nights, she let the door slam and woke the guard. He chased her down the road and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. Bishop Sheen said to himself, “if that little girl gave her life to spend an hour in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, I can spend one hour a day.” He called it the hour of power, from which he received great peace and strength.

The other story I want to share involved a young man named Joseph. He was an indentured servant for a family of non-believers who knew of his faith and purposely gave him so many tasks to accomplish on Sundays, that he could not get to church. So Joseph would go during the week and sit before the Blessed Sacrament and pray.

The priest noticed him there week after week and asked him how he prayed. “You don’t have any rosary beads or prayer book. Just what do you do?” Joseph said, “I just repeat over and over, ‘Jesus, Joseph is here, Joseph is here.’ ” One day an out-of-control car ran over some bystanders, among whom was Joseph. Before he died, onlookers managed to get a priest to the scene who heard Joseph’s confession, anointed him and then gave him communion. As the priest raised the host to give to Joseph, everyone present heard a voice say, “Joseph, Jesus is here.”

Those who make these holy hours are amazed at the difference it has made in their lives. Bishop Sheen said that it was after these times that he would write his famous sermons and talks.

Every Monday from 12:30-7:00 PM and every First Friday of the Month, from 12:30-7:00 PM, Jesus is exposed in the Blessed Sacrament in Immaculate Conception Church. Of course, you can come anytime and pray in the presence of the Eucharist -- Jesus in the tabernacle. We highly recommend it as do the Saints and men and women of prayer throughout the ages. Why not give it a try, even if only for a few minutes? And watch how easily those few minutes grow to a Holy Hour!

We are approaching the end of the Easter Season and I want to devote this article to the people who worked hard in an Apostolate or Ministry, helping us to have such a rich and exciting Lenten and Easter Season. Hundreds of workers and thousands of worshipers came to Church during this most important time of the year: Lent in preparation, Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum, and the 50 Days of Easter to Pentecost. This year it stretched from March to June, about 100 days. We were Pilgrims: from the Passover of the Lord Jesus to His death and Resurrection, giving us our own journey with Him to heaven.

LENT: You may remember receiving a two-sided page on Ash Wednesday listing all of the Masses, Devotions, Adoration, Stations of the Cross, and other faith formation experiences during Lent. All were well attended and the Mission given by Fr. Paul Fagan was certainly a highlight. I am grateful because every one of these spiritual and liturgical activities take an army of men and women, young and old, to help, serve, work and minister. Think of the amount of Sacred Music that accompanies every event! There are booklets typed, edited and printed for almost everything -- and in three languages (Italian, Spanish and English); with groups of people serving each language community. You get the point! I’m grateful.

HOLY WEEK at both Churches was very well celebrated again by a large group of parishioners: Palm Sunday, Reconciliation Monday, Spanish confessions and Stations of the Cross. The Triduum began with a fully-sung Tenebrae and Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Also, almost 100 parishioners visited seven churches in two buses; we hosted three hours of Adoration, welcoming people from other parishes; we celebrated the Lord’s Passion in both Churches; the Easter Vigil with 11 Elect and Candidates receiving their sacraments; and of course, Easter Sunday.

During the EASTER SEASON: Divine Mercy Sunday, First Holy Communion, Confirmation with Edwin Cardinal O’Brien, Encounters of the Risen Christ, and still to come: Ascension Thursday and Pentecost.

Literally hundreds of people are involved and do it without applause but truly in the Spirit of Prayer and Charity. And speaking of charity: During this period we had the Coins for Nicaragua and the Cardinal’s Appeal which exceeded expectations.

I add to this moment of gratitude my reliance on Fr. Connolly, Fr. Silva, Deacon Viola and Deacon Carl as well as the clergy who help us weekly. Also, my thanks to our Maintenance Department and Sacristans. They are behind the scenes setting and cleaning up, repairing and building what we need with amazing skill.

I end with the beloved acronym from St. Ignatius Loyola: AMDG -- Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the Greater Glory of God). May the Lord always keep our Parish vibrant with ministry, apostolic work, charity and hearts filled with gratitude.

Jesus left all the details concerning “Divine Mercy” in a diary that He commanded St. Faustina Kowalska to write in the 1930’s. To get this great promise of Divine Mercy, one has to go to confession before or after Easter and then receive Holy Communion on the Feast of Divine Mercy (now called Divine Mercy Sunday).

This year, the feast is next Sunday, April 28. St. John Paul II canonized St. Faustina Kowalska in 2000 and fulfilled the wish of the Lord that the Sunday after Easter be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday.

Katy Feeney is well-known by our families having been DRE at ICA from September 2015 - June 2017. Using her wonderful voice and talented harp playing, she will lead us in song and reflection for the whole afternoon. Many throughout the Archdiocese remember her ministry from over 200 parish missions, and people all over the world are currently enjoying her Sing My Soul Podcast of stories and meditations.
 

Join us next Sunday
Please make time for prayer and veneration as we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at Immaculate Conception Church.

Schedule for April 28

• Noon - Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Divine Mercy & Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

• 1:00 PM - Blessing and Veneration of the Divine Mercy image and the relic of St. Faustina Kowalska

• 1:30PM - Reflection in song and story on The Divine Mercy

• 2:15 PM - Rosary using the Mysteries of Light and quotes from Faustina’s Diary

• 3:00 PM - Chaplet of Divine Mercy at the Hour of Mercy; Benediction and Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament

The Stations of the Cross, also referred to as the Way of the Cross, is a familiar devotion in the Catholic tradition of piety. As practiced today, the Stations represent 14 events experienced by Jesus as he walked to his place of execution at Calvary. Praying and walking through the Stations of the Cross is not exclusive to the Lenten season, however it receives a more prominent and public observance during Lent.

Stations from Holy Trinity Church in Azle, TX.

Early pilgrims to the city of Jerusalem in the first centuries of Christianity would often walk in Jesus’ footsteps, stopping along the way at appropriate and predetermined places to contemplate the meaning of the Passion and death of our Lord. An early tradition, as related by St. Brigid, suggests that the places where the pilgrims visited were the exact places the Blessed Mother visited after the Ascension of the Lord. What can be determined with certainty is that each of the stations represents a place visited and marked by the veterans of the Crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The modern devotion and practice can be reliably traced to the promotional efforts of the Franciscans, beginning in 1342 (the year they were given custody of the Holy Land), as a way to promote devotion and piety. The practice grew and eventually became a regular feature in monasteries and convents, and eventually parish churches throughout the world.

Today there are 14 stations, but that has not always been the case. At various times, there have been as few as four or five and as many as 20. In earlier collections, stations might have included the house of Dives and the houses of Herod and Simon the Pharisee. In some collections, there may have been as many as seven falls commemorated and some included the scene known as Ecce Homo or “behold the man,” the words with which Pilate presented Jesus to his accusers. However, by the 17th century, the content of the Stations of the Cross seems to have been set by popular custom.

This Lent, the Stations of the Cross are observed each week on Friday afternoons at 12:30 PM in Immaculate Conception Church and evenings at 7:00 PM, alternating in both Churches. Watch the bulletin for special ways of walking the Stations, e.g., with our teens on Good Friday or with original texts by our ICS students.

There are booklets at the entrances of the churches so you can also walk the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) by yourself. Please join us for this time-honored devotion.

The New Evangelization has been a primary focus of Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium ("The Joy of the Gospel").

Still, it's not something that many Catholics do well, if they do it at all. There’s a hesitancy among Catholics to share their faith. There are some common foes that prevent us from evangelizing. Here are the top seven:

2. Busyness.
Not only do we need to slow down and take moments — and Sundays — for rest, but we also need to be open to providence and movement of grace in our lives. This means being open to the moments, people, and experiences that God sets before us. In rushing to our next appointment, we may very well pass by the person who most needs us.

3. Secularism.
The increasing secularization of culture and the loss of the sacred make evangelization more difficult, but not impossible. We must place God first and put all other things in their proper place. Then we can evangelize.

4. Poor relationships.
Evangelization happens relationally — usually one-on-one. To be able to share your faith with another person, you need to be in relationship with them so that your words, actions or example will have meaning. Get to know the person. Spend time with them. Share your life with them. Life, after all, is about relationship — with the
primary relationship being your relationship with Jesus Christ.

5. Lack of prayer.
Speaking of relationships, to properly evangelize we must be spending time with the Lord. We must begin with prayer. How can we share Christ if we do not know
Him or if we aren’t spending time with Him ourselves? Evangelization begins with our own conversion through prayer and the sacraments. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.

6. Pride.
Believe it or not, evangelizing doesn’t necessarily mean having all the answers.

7. Selfishness.
Finally, another important aspect of evangelization is setting aside your own selfishness and needs and by practicing careful listening.

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you,” Christ says in the Gospel of Matthew.

This is our mission. Are we up for the task?

This fourth statue, called Joseph and the Christ Child, was brought in early January to Immaculate Conception Church from St. Joseph’s Church and Parish in Lower Manhattan. St. Joseph’s closed its doors forever in July 2015.

This is one of five statues that were placed in the niches high in the apse of St. Joseph’s Church 93 years ago. Carved from Carrara marble and weighing more than 1,000 lbs., this statue of Joseph and the Christ Child was the centerpiece because of the name of the Church and his patronage. It is a common depiction of St. Joseph, old enough to be a father but not an old man as some images show him. He is holding the Child Jesus who is blessing those who look upon Him and his foster father. Joseph holds the boy in his left arm as he slightly bows his head reverently facing the Christ child. In his right hand are three lilies.

The three white lilies in Joseph’s right hand tell us that he was a virtuous man that was pure and obedient to God. He had the difficult and large task of caring for and protecting the Holy Family, and he did so always listening for the voice of God. He also remained pure and chaste while loving and caring for his wife, Mary, ever-virgin. Even though they were married, they remained celibate: “he had no relations with her.” Mt 1:25

Although quiet in the Bible, St. Joseph has been a vibrant part of the devotional tradition of our Church. We Catholics love the holy foster father of Jesus and even celebrate two Feast Days in the Liturgical calendar for him alone:

March 19 is the Feast of St. Joseph and May 1 honors St. Joseph the Worker. We seek his intercession for everything from selling our house to praying for a happy death for ourselves and others.

May St. Joseph,
Patron Saint of the Universal Church,
pray for us.

In early January, this second set of statues were brought to Immaculate Conception Church from St. Joseph’s Church and Parish in Lower Manhattan after that church closed its doors in July 2015. Together, these early 20th-century statues are called Madonna Annunziata. Although bearing the elements of the traditional scene of the Annunciation, there are striking differences that make these museum-quality sculptures unique.

The material is hand-carved Carrara marble originally from Tuscany but commissioned by the citizens of Bronte in the Province of Catania in Sicily, Italy. The statues were meant as a thank you and a place of devotion for the immigrants who arrived safely in their new home in the United States. Our Lady of the Annunciation, representing a unique moment in Mary’s life, is the Patroness of the Brontesi.

The image to the left shows the precious statues of these immigrants in their hometown in Italy. Mary is remembered for her protection against the lava flows of Mt. Etna that threatened the town. The statues have been in the Shrine of Our Lady of the Annunciation since 1543 when it arrived in Bronte and was then taken up the northern slope of the volcano by oxen where it is venerated today inside its own church.

The similarities of all Annunciation statues, paintings, frescoes or mosaics are the image of the Archangel Gabriel and Our Lady alone, with the Madonna’s prayer book and a Lily, representing virginity, nearby . If you look below at a typical painting by Murillo in the 17th century, you see all of these elements, and even the expected overshadowing of the Holy Spirit represented by the dove. The Lily is on the table, Mary’s head is bowed and her hands are over her chest, quietly listening and in prayer as Gabriel gesticulates and speaks.

Now look at our new statues in Immaculate Conception Church. Mary is looking to heaven, the angel is wrapped in quiet prayer after delivering the message, and Mary holds the Lilies of virginity, even though she is now with Child. This is the moment when Mary is not only full of grace, as she was from her Immaculate Conception, but is now filled with the Life of the only begotten Son of God in her womb.

St. Gabriel the Archangel.
R/ Pray for us.

Mary, Mother of God.
R/ Pray for us.

 

One of the most profound images Jesus uses to speak to us is the image of His Sacred Heart. Depicted throughout history in paintings, statues, jewelry, and prayer cards, The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the image of Jesus with His heart exposed, surrounded by thorns, with flames and a cross emerging from the top. This statue dates from the early 1900s, was carved by Italian sculptors and placed as one of five statues in the apse of the Church of St. Joseph in Southern Manhattan on Monroe and Catherine Streets.

When the Church was closed in 2015 and before it had all of its sacred art removed, I asked if the Church of the Immaculate Conception could have five of the statues from the same period and three of them from the same sculptor’s shop. This is one of them. The white Carrara marble statue weighs over 1,000 pounds and was removed from St. Joseph Church, cleaned, repaired here on site, then moved into place at the rear of the Church. It is in a niche that most recently held a plaster and painted statue of St. Joseph. The niche will also be renovated to highlight this masterpiece.

In the early months of 1673, we hear more of Jesus’ Sacred Heart when he appears for the second time to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation Nun in the town of Paray-le-Monial, France. She wrote:

The Divine Heart was presented to me in a throne of flames, more resplendent than a sun, transparent as crystal, with this adorable wound. And it was surrounded with a crown of thorns, signifying the punctures made in it by our sins, and a cross above signifying that from the first instant of His Incarnation, that is, as soon as the Sacred Heart was formed, the cross was implanted into it and from the first moment it was filled with all the sorrow to be inflicted on it by the humiliations, poverty, pain, and scorn of His sacred humanity was to endure throughout His life and during His sacred passion.

Let this beautiful statue in our Church be a reminder for all of us to replace ingratitude with gratitude for “the Heart which has so loved all that It has spared nothing, even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself to prove Its love” to us.