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May is the month of Mary. For those of us who grew up in Catholic schools, we remember that every classroom created a “May altar” where the statue of Mary was displayed prominently and decorated with flowers and colorful streamers. Here at Saint John’s on May 11 we had a wonderful May crowning of our Mary statue in the cemetery. Of course, Saint John’s is a center of Marian devotion, especially our Lourdes shrine in the lower church where many people come each day to pray and light candles. But I aim happy that we did something special for May.

May is past and we are now in June, the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I mentioned in this column before that in October 1024, Pope Francis issued the last encyclical letter of his life, Dilexit Nos, on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Dilexit Nos means “He loved us”; here is the opening paragraph of this extraordinary encyclical:

“HE LOVED US”, Saint Paul says of Christ (cf. Rom 8:37), in order to make us realize that nothing can ever “separate us” from that love (Rom 8:39). Paul could say this with certainty because Jesus himself had told his disciples, “I have loved you” (Jn 15:9, 12). Even now, the Lord says to us, “I have called you friends” (Jn 15:15). His open heart has gone before us and waits for us, unconditionally, asking only to offer us his love and friendship. For “he loved us first” (cf. 1 Jn 4:10). Because of Jesus, “we have come to know and believe in the love that God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16).

What do we Catholics mean by our devotion to the Sacred Heart? Pope Francis explains it perfectly. Jesus loves us! Jesus’ only emotion for us is love. Our culture understands the heart to be not only the organ that pumps blood, but in a symbolic way, heart stands for the true emotional center of a person. And the true center of Jesus is love, unconditional love.

The image of the Sacred Heart shows Jesus with his heart outside of his body, surrounded by thorns and fire. Jesus died for us out of love and He burns with love for us.

Perhaps the most striking story of Jesus’ love is when, after His death on the cross, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance and blood and water flowed out, signifying the sacramental life of the Church, baptism and Eucharist flowing from the wounded side of Christ. Jesus gave all for us.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a guarantee that forgiveness is always there for us, that we are always invited to repent and that repentance is always met by Jesus with joy. The repentant sinner is never turned away. Almost every Catholic church has an image of the Sacred Heart, usually a statue or a stained glass window. Many Catholic homes also have an image of the Sacred Heart.

This June, meditate on Christ’s infinite love for you. Gaze upon a picture of the Sacred Heart and ponder how valuable you are in the heart of Christ.

Capital Campaign Update as of June 2

Large gifts: $625,000
Estate: 100,000
Historic Preservation Fund: 50,000
Smaller gifts: 233,064
Pledges 20,000
TOTAL $1,028,064

The amount of pledges decreases as pledges are paid. The project may cost as much as $1.4 million, so we are still in need of your help!

Archbishop Perez’s Pastoral Letter

Our Archbishop has written an important letter asking everyone in the Archdiocese to think about and plan for evangelization. We need to study and talk about his initiative.

1. Read the Archbishop’s letter. It can be found at trustandhope.org.
2. Attend a study/discussion session on the letter on Sunday, June 29, after the 10:30 AM Mass in our Saint John’s Parish Center. It will be led by Deacon James O’Neill.

Catholic Charities Appeal

We are a little late this year to kick off our parish Catholic Charities Appeal because of our capital campaign. Yet we still need to support the Church’s work among the poor. In a few weeks, we will have a speaker and a collection. In the meantime, there are donation envelopes in the back of the upper and lower churches. This is the local Catholic Church’s most important annual collection. Please be generous.

Christ in the City

Saint John’s is blessed that Christ in the City missionaries walk the streets of Market East befriending and getting to know our homeless neighbors. Christ in the City missionaries are fervent young Catholics who do one or two years of service in the name of Christ to homeless folks. The method is simple. These missionaries are not trying to solve all of the problems of homeless people; they simply make friends and treat them with dignity and respect. Christ in the City missionaries attend our 12:05 Mass several days each week. On Sunday, June 8, Alejandro Henao will speak at all of our Masses after communion, asking for support for his ministry at Christ in the City.

This week ...

From the Pastor' Desk