Sacred Heart is participating in the CRS Rice Bowl, Catholic Relief Services Lenten program as a way to encounter Jesus through others, especially through the most vulnerable in our world. Rice Bowls are available on the table in the rear of Church. Please be sure to take a Rice Bowl home and use this fun and easy resource to deepen your family’s Lenten experience and make a difference in the lives of the poor.

Pancake Breakfast: A Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast will be held down in the cafeteria on Sunday, April 14th 8:00-11:00 am. The meal will include: pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, butter and syrup. Beverages will include: coffee, hot tea, orange/apple juice and milk. The offering is: $10.00 per adult and $5.00 per child (ages 12 and under). This is an EAT IN ONLY event and pre-orders/payment would be greatly appreciated. We just want to make sure that we have enough food for everyone.

This movie is a true story about Abby Johnson, who quit her job in October 2009. That simple act became a national news story because Abby was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who, after participating in her first actual abortion procedure, walked across the road to join the Coalition for Life. No matter how you feel about this issue this movie is worth every minute of your time. Please attend a showing and bring friends! In theaters everywhere March 29, 2019. Crossgates Mall Cinema 18, Crossgates Mall, Albany, NY @UNPLANNEDMOVIE|#UNPLANNED|UNPLANNED.COM

Last week I was talking to a friend in Texas and they were sharing with me the difficulties of their life and how it had become over whelming. They were depressed and lost their hope. The conversation became more silence than words until they shared with me the worst of it. Mark they said. I am driving around looking for a place to take my own life. And then the silence became powerful and stifling. They had nothing else to say and I was bound by anxiety and sadness; helplessness and despair. We are so very fragile, us human beings. Our bodies, our minds, our souls, all can be damaged and left to die easily by a culture that devalues, desecrates and dismisses the central truth of who we are in the eyes of God. I often think of the words in Isaiah 43 – “You are precious in my eyes and glorious, and I love you.” Do we all know this. My friend had forgotten. He had forgotten the reason God tells us that He alone is our God and we should not have any other gods. That reason is love. That reason is care and concern for us. It is an awareness of the trials we will face in our life. Only God knows these things and only God can help us with them. And He says over and over again: I am the Lord your God: hear my voice. Ps – my friend is okay.

“Therefore I swore in my anger they shall not enter into my rest” Psalm 95, a magnificent hymn of praise once celebrated in the magnificent temple of Jerusalem, holds a special place of honor in the Church’s tradition; it is the invitatory hymn for morning celebrations of the liturgy of the Word. Members of the clergy and consecrated religious are obliged to begin prayer each day be reciting or chanting this Psalm. The Psalmist warns those whose hearts are hardened and who audaciously put God to the test shall not enter into His rest. The word “rest” is a biblical reference to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. In addition, the word recalls the Sabbath, the day of rest, God gives his people .For the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, a committed Christian convert, “rest” is understood to be the eternal life which God made possible through Jesus’ death and Resurrection The prayers recited by a priest or deacon at a funeral service comes to mind. “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord and let perpetual light shine on him”. Also: “May she rest in peace”. Let us pray that we enter into the rest of God once our earthly pilgrimage comes to an end!

Liturgical Psalm for March 27, 2019 Wednesday of the third week of Lent. The first reading in today’s Mass is presented as the final advice by Moses to God’s people to be ever aware of and faithful to the Word of God – here called His statutes and decrees – or what they traditionally called the Torah, or Law. As a reflection upon this counsel, the liturgy presents us with six of the twenty verses of Psalm 147, i.e. verses 12 & 13, 15 &16 and 19 & 20. Psalm 147, by the way is part of the great Hallel (praise) traditionally used to conclude the Passover supper, sung by Jesus and the Apostles after the Last Supper, on the way to Gethsemani. This Psalm reflects the counsel of Moses to be ever grateful for the privilege of receiving the gift of God’s word. It wasn’t given to everyone. We Christians need to bear in mind that God’s Word for us means both what has been handed down in the Bible and the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. The world is still waiting for everyone to get the message, to receive the word. May we be forever grateful for His choosing us. Thanks be to God!

If I offered you 30,000 paths, and said only one of them would lead you to the desires of your heart, might it be a bit confusing? What if I told you that choosing the wrong path could have eternal consequences. Would that raise the stakes a bit higher? Such is the state of Christianity today. We’ve gone from One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church to a fractured 30,000+ Christian denominations, all claiming to be the way to Christ. This isn’t counting the hundreds of thousands of undeclared “personal churches” of those who claim to be spiritual but not religious—to love Jesus but not his Church. Those who want a personal relationship with Jesus, just not his Body. It’s the equivalent of approaching a king and saying, “I am here to serve you, I just don’t want to be part of your kingdom,” or telling your spouse “I love you, just not your body.” How would that go? Would that lead to a thriving relationship? The psalmist today acknowledges this dilemma of multiple ways, multiple paths that are laid before him by life, by sin, by gurus, by news outlets, coaches, loving family members and friends, and tabloid magazines—all of them touting the path to happiness and truth. He proclaims, “Make me to know thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.” For with more than 30,000 paths claiming to be the way to Christ, how are we to say yes to the true path. But we need not fear, for Christ tells us that he is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6). He has given us the Holy Spirit to be our guide. If you were standing at the crossroads of 30,000 paths, just think how confident you would be with the Holy Spirit guiding each of your steps. Should you find yourself at a crossroad today, before phoning a friend, perhaps you might pause and invoke the Holy Spirit for guidance. He is the Good Shepherd who will never lead you astray.

Faith Formation (Grades 1-5): Next classes are March 24 & March 31 with Religious Ed Mass at 10:30am. Junior High Youth Program: Next class is March 24 & Friday, April 5 Holy Hour at 7pm. Confirmation Preparation: Next class is March 24 & Friday, April 5 Holy Hour at 7pm.

Speaker Series Sunday, March 24 at 9:30am in the Cafeteria will be Kathy Barrans, a Producer with Channel News 13 with a Presentation on Faith and Work. Thursday, March 28 at 7:00pm in the Church will be Ed Martin, PHD, Biblical Scholar with a Presentation on The Our Father. Sunday, April 7 at 9:30am in the Cafeteria will be Coach Christian of Siena College with a Presentation on Faith and Sports.

With Spring just around the corner, we are looking for gardening advice in planning to beautify our grounds! We would love to get a group of people together and come up with a plan for when the weather breaks! If you would be willing to discuss a plan, please contact Barbara or Mark at the rectory (518) 274-1363.

When I was a kid, hearing stories in scripture was much like hearing any story.  Full of bigger than life things that where entertaining because they were impossible.  I’m not sure when it happened but Scripture became alive and so too did the people and stories they’re in.  Fiction is fun and entertaining but true life, especially when it seems bigger than life is captivating and empowering.

Reflection on Psalm one for March21, 2019 If you are of a certain age, you may remember a hugely popular song recorded by the rock and roll band, Aerosmith, “Walk this Way”. The number of popular songs featuring the word, “walking” is rather striking, and indeed telling.

In today’s first reading we hear of the resistance and rejection of the prophet Jeremiah by some of God’s chosen people.  For our reflection upon this, the liturgy presents us with five verses from the twenty four verses of Psalm 31, i.e. verses 4 & 5, and 13, 14 & 15.

Enter into Psalm 89 with King David. Imagine that the Lord has just told you that your son or daughter would be President of the United States, or the founder of a grand global enterprise, or that they’d just gotten a full scholarship to an Ivy League university.

No School: Sacred Heart School will be closed on Friday, March 22 for a Professional Development Day. The answering machine is always on so feel free to leave a message and we will get right back to you.

Anyone wishing to contribute towards the Easter Flower Memorial may place their donation in the special envelope in your packet (or pick up an envelope in the back of Church.)

Our Church calls God’s word efficacious. He speaks and things happen; “let there be light, and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3). Read More »

The second talk in Sacred Heart’s 2019 Lenten Speaker Series presentations will occur this Sunday, March 17 at 9:30am in the Parish Multi-purpose Room (former School Cafeteria) Dr. Elizabeth Stack, Director of the Irish American Heritage Museum will present on Irish Culture.

Lord, your kindness is forever. Do not let go of Your handiwork.” (Ps. 138:8) Read More »