Sacred Heart Catholic Church

06/23/2026

Daily Reflection for Tuesday, June 23 2026


Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,

We encourage you to reflect on Tuesday’s readings at this link:
Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
Responsorial: Psalm 48:2-3Ab, 3cd-4, 10-11
Gospel: Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Our reflection on Tuesday’s readings:

I am not sure about you, but my brain tends to lean towards the pessimistic side of things. Evidently it is human nature to experience more negative thoughts than positive ones. This is primarily driven by a built-in cognitive phenomenon called the negativity bias. My brain is simply trying to protect me by prioritizing potential threats over pleasant experiences.

This is the brain that I used when I first read today’s Gospel reading. In a negative, suspicious, and condemning voice, I heard “Don’t throw to dogs what is holy!” and “The road to destruction is wide!” After having this bounce in my head for a while, it wasn’t long before my brain started playing Highway to Hell instead of Stairway to Heaven. Unfortunately, there are many sources in society that preach and reinforce this unhealthy and unhelpful “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” mentality.

Fortunately, years of spiritual searching and wandering have taught me to put up some detours along my brain’s negative highway. The first is to find out the historical context. Who was Jesus talking to? What is the setting of the story? Who was audience that the Gospel writer was addressing? These are helpful in understanding what was written. The second and most important thing that I remember is a lesson I learned from Fr. Greg Boyle SJ. In his books and many talks found on YouTube, he often quotes 13th century mystic Meister Eckhart, “It is a lie, any talk of God that does not comfort you.” While I often ask God to help me to see others as He sees them, I usually forget to ask to hear with inclined and loving ears what He is really trying to tell me.

It is with Eckhart’s words in my ears that I am able to stop trying to figure out what commandment God is admonishing me with but rather feel the love that God is sharing with me with His words (and works). From this posture of love, I hear not that there is a narrow gate that I probably won’t squeeze through or a seven-lane highway to destruction that I cannot exit, but rather that there are TWO roads. And I am being lovingly and gently invited to get on (or continue along) the path that leads to life and wholeness. Nor do I believe that these roads are separated by a giant wall or huge chasm, but rather there are multiple paths connecting these two roads. Every breath, every second, every choice is an opportunity to choose a different road.

06/22/2026

Daily Reflection for Monday, June 22 2026

Peace and Blessings, Friends, and Parishioners,

We encourage you to reflect on Monday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062226.cfm

If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18
Responsorial: Psalm 60:3, 4-5, 12-13
Gospel: Matthew 7:1-5

Our reflection on Monday’s readings:

Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Matthew 7:1-2

It is easy for me to be judgmental, and judge others very quickly. Sometimes I judge simply based on a person’s appearance or a few words I hear from them. Sometimes I judge others because I know how they lean on various issues of the day.

With some celebrities and politicians, even world leaders, I sometimes judge them based upon a few comments they make, or something they did even if those words or that action occurred long ago.

But frequently I call to mind the verses above, and say to myself, “Al, stop being so judgmental.” Then I will try to understand, and put things into context and perspective.

However, there’s also a danger in not judging at all, or in not forming an opinion based upon what I see or hear. Some things are clearly wrong. Examples: child abuse, r**e, intentional starvation of others, missile strikes on schools, capital punishment. But I can rationalize almost anything (can’t we all?).

So, can I never judge the actions of others? I find some comfort in the footnote to verse 1 in the USCCB online Bible. After the words “Stop judging” there is this footnote: “This is not a prohibition against recognizing the faults of others, which would be hardly compatible with Mt 7:5, 6 but against passing judgment in a spirit of arrogance, forgetful of one’s own faults.”

Ahh, so I can recognize faults in other so long as I am also mindful of my own. I can recognize racism or misogyny in others, so long as I also acknowledge my own behaviors, words, or thoughts that also might be racist or misogynist.

I can call out or challenge someone for being a warmonger or advocating violence, but I also need to look within and recognize my internal anger.

Lord, please help me remove the wooden beam from my own eye first, so that I can see clearly to remove the splinter from someone else’s eye.

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

06/22/2026

There will not be confessions on Saturday afternoon, June 27. Instead, Father Reynolds will be in the confessional starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 26, and remaining there as long as penitents are waiting for confession. Thank-you.

06/17/2026

Daily Reflection for Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,

We encourage you to reflect on Wednesday’s readings at this link:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061726.cfm

If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 2 Kings 2:1,6-14
Responsorial: Psalm 31:20,21,24
Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Our reflection on Wednesday’s readings:
“Ask for whatever I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” 2 Kings 2:9

Many years ago now I signed up for a weekend retreat called Christ Renews His Parish. I had heard about it after joining St. Monica and knew it had been a pivotal point for many of the most engaged parishioners I had met at this new parish. But I am not by nature a joiner. And the idea of spending a long weekend with an unknown group of strangers talking about our faith was not something I would normally consider. But for some unknown reason (Hello? Holy Spirit here!) at the last day of signups, I walked back into the narthex after Mass and signed my name to the list. I instantly regretted it as anxiety set in, but I went. It was the beginning of a love affair with scripture and an encounter with the people who would challenge me to deepen my commitment to Jesus.

One of the activities during the retreat weekend was called the Emmaus Walk. We were asked to pair up randomly and spend an hour just walking and talking with one person and reflecting on the reasons we had come to the retreat. This was the image that came to me as I read the first reading for today. The Old Testament is often disturbing and confusing to me. But here is the relatable story of two men, student and teacher, nearing the end of their earthly time together, walking dusty roads just conversing about their beliefs, challenges and dreams. There is a sense of urgency for Elijah who knows he is about to be taken away from his protégé. When Elisha asks Elijah to give him a double portion of his spirit, he is asking for the wisdom and power he will need to continue the ministry the two of them have nurtured when he must walk on alone.

One of the outgrowths of my participation in Christ Renews His Parish was subsequently joining a small church community with some of the people who had been on the retreat with me. We continued to meet for years and that ongoing sharing of our lives and spiritual challenges was a source of tremendous blessing for all of us. As members moved or had to leave the group for one reason or another and we were no longer able to meet regularly, we continued on the road strengthened by our time together. They are still the touchstones I return to when facing difficult challenges in my faith life to this day.

Think about the people who have accompanied you on your spiritual journey. How can you honor them and continue walking the path you walked together, even when you must continue on alone?

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

06/16/2026

Daily Reflection for Tuesday, June 16 2026


Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,

We encourage you to reflect on Tuesday’s readings at this link:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061626.cfm

If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 1 Kings 21:17-29
Responsorial: Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 11 and 16
Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48

Our reflection on Tuesday’s readings:
“You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies…” Matthew 5:43-44

When I hear Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 5 to love your enemies, I usually take it as an opportunity to think of the people I most dislike and to try to find love in my heart for them. I call to mind the person in the world who seems most evil to me, and I take a minute to remember that he or she is a child of God with the same dignity as anyone else. I get curious: Maybe she was abused as a child and that’s why she’s so nasty. Or, maybe he has some kind of untreated mental disorder and that’s why he’s so twisted.

I’m tired of this exercise, and I don’t think it’s been especially fruitful for me. I read today’s Gospel longing to hear something different, and I did. Today, the line from the Gospel that most struck me was: “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” I heard this and thought about how much energy goes into hating our enemies. I thought about the gossip, the labeling, the thoughtless negative comments, the derisive social media posts, and the festering frustration that builds up when we can’t stand other people and wish they would just go away.

I thought about this hate in general, but I also thought about it in terms of my own mind, heart, and actions. I thought of how often I make a negative judgmental comment, assuming it will never get back to the person I made it about. I thought of how much energy I spend being irritated with people, whether near to me or very far from me, who just are not doing what I think they should be doing.

And when I think of all this hatefulness, in the world and in myself, Jesus’ line “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies…”, does not read as a challenge but as a liberation. The hate and the negativity is so draining, so heavy, and so cumbersome, and Jesus says we don’t have to bother with it. What freedom. We don’t have to judge, we don’t have to figure out why people are the way they are, why our country is the way it is, or even sometimes why our Church is the way it is. We are free in Christ Jesus to put all of ourselves and all of our energy into living the Gospel as we’ve been taught, proclaiming the truth given to us through prayer, and standing up for the values we believe in. The rest we entrust to the Holy Spirit.

Lord Jesus, liberate us from hate. Cure us from the negativity that festers into spiritual rot. Heal our wounds and make us strong. Then unleash us on this world to boldly love as you do.

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

06/15/2026

Daily Reflection for Monday, June 15 2026

Peace and Blessings, Friends, and Parishioners,

We encourage you to reflect on Monday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061526.cfm

If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 1 Kings 21:1-16
Responsorial: Psalm 5:2-3ab, 4b-6a, 6b-7
Gospel: Matthew 5:38-42

Our reflection on Monday’s readings:
“If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.”

We recently returned from a pilgrimage to Assisi with a group from Marian University. St. Francis was legendary for how freely he gave everything, including his clothes, to those in need!

His vow of poverty was rooted in an early experience with his first follower, Bernard, a close friend and wealthy young noble. After attending Mass one day, they prayed and randomly opened the book of gospels three times. They first opened it to the passage where Christ told the rich young man, “Go and sell what you have, give to the poor and follow Me.” Next, they opened it to, 'Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor bag, nor shoes, nor money.” The third time they read, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” This prompted them to sell all they had, go into the town square and give away the money.

A priest whom Francis had purchased stones from to rebuild the San Damiano church saw him giving away money and accused him of not paying enough for the stones. Francis smiled, reached into his cloak, pulled out a handful of coins and gave them to Fr. Sylvester. Then he gave him a second handful. The priest rushed home with the coins, but later regretted his greed and asked to join Francis. Francis asked him to retreat to a mountaintop and meditate on Jesus for a year before allowing him to join!

“Going the extra mile” is unforgettably illustrated in the Chosen (season 4, episode 5), when Roman soldiers conscript Jesus and his followers to carry their armor. When they reach the stopping point, the apostles start wearily putting down the armor, but Jesus cheerfully keeps walking. The soldiers try to stop Him saying they can only force Jews to carry their armor for one mile. He asks, but can’t we voluntarily carry it for one more? As they continue walking, the Roman soldiers looked increasingly sheepish and start offering to take back the armor.

In these two stories, generosity inspired a more generous spirit in others, but the true beauty of generosity is that it is a gift freely given, that does not depend upon the outcome.

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

06/13/2026

06/12/2026

Daily Reflection for Friday, June 12, 2026

Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners!

We encourage you to reflect on Friday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061226.cfm

If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-11
Responsorial: Psalm 103:1-2,3-4,6-7,8,10
Second Reading: 1 John 4:7-16
Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30

Our reflection on Friday’s readings:
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.
1 John 4:11-12

If I were to sum up what I believe about God in one statement, it would be this: God is love. That’s what we hear in today’s second reading from 1 John. The writer seems to repeat the same idea over and over, perhaps so that his audience would really start to internalize it.

This reading is so powerful because it sets aside many of the Old Testament descriptions of a God that is powerful and mighty and at times judgmental and vengeful. It sets aside the directive to fear and obey God and instead, simply invites us to feel God’s love and share that love with others.

This reading is well-chosen for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus which we celebrate today. The image of the heart is associated with love and our common language talks about the center of love within us residing in our heart. But of course, we aren’t talking about the physical organ of our heart, which has the job of pumping oxygenated blood through our body, but something more elemental.

My book club is reading about the 20th Century Jesuit priest and scientist Teilhard de Chardin. Teilhard’s devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus evolved over time to a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ, which he saw as a brilliant light and fire that shines through the universe and all of creation. The author writes, “By picturing the Heart of Christ as Fire, we can invite Christ’s Fire to both consume our self-centeredness and enflame our hearts, so that we share the Fire that would transform the world.” [Louis Savary, Teilhard de Chardin on the Eucharist]

God loves us and God loves through us. May we choose to let the love of God transform us and through us, the world.

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

06/11/2026

Daily Reflection for Thursday, June 11, 2026

Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,

We encourage you to reflect on Thursday’s readings at this link:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061126.cfm

If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Acts 11:21b-26, 13:1-3
Psalm: 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26

Our reflection on Thursday’s readings:

“ . . . For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.* Acts 11:26

This verse in today’s first reading of Acts is very significant because this event in the city of Antioch is the very first time followers of Jesus were called “Christians.” These followers of Jesus in Antioch believed in Him and His teachings. They modeled themselves after Christ—therefore, they were named “Christians.” These individuals in Antioch eagerly followed Jesus by sharing the Gospel with both Jews and Gentiles, supporting the poor, and living a way of life that was deeply characterized by grace and devotion to Christ. Being on a journey to follow Christ may begin with attending church regularly, but this journey includes making changes to have a lifestyle of unconditional love, humility, and service to others.

My (Dorothy’s) Christian journey of “living a way of life that was deeply characterized by grace and devotion to Christ” began years ago. I grew up in Wilmore, Kentucky--a tight-knit, historic "Mayberry-style" college town in the Bluegrass region, located just 25 minutes south of Lexington. It is known to be very Christian as it is primarily known for its prestigious Christian higher education institutions, its massive impact on Christian music, and its quiet, dry-county, small-town charm. Growing up in the small town of Wilmore provided me with a set of values that were very Christ-like. Throughout the years, there were always many opportunities to be Christ-like and be of service to others.

My hometown of Wilmore is the home of Asbury University and Asbury Theological Seminary—both non-denominational. Wilmore is closely tied to the history of Christian revivals that bring thousands of visitors to the city. It is also the birthplace and host location of the Ichthus Musical Festival (https://ichthusfest.org/ ) that was established in 1970, and it is still known as one of the oldest and most prominent Christian music festivals in the United States.

Today, as my journey continues in the Catholic faith, I am thankful and appreciative of my upbringing and for the many opportunities that I have had along the way—from teaching CCD and Vacation Bible School to currently being involved in the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and Our Lady’s Guild.

Our Prayer: We ask for a heart of compassion, humility, and love that we will continue our focus on Christ. We ask for God’s guidance to become Christ-like in all our actions, words, and thoughts.

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

06/10/2026

Father Hammond’s first Masses at Sacred Heart will be July 4–5. Please join us in welcoming him to our parish!

After the Saturday evening Mass, cookies will be available for everyone. Following the Sunday Masses, we will have donuts and other sweet treats.

Please stop by, enjoy a treat, and take a moment to introduce yourself to Father Hammond. We look forward to welcoming him to the Sacred Heart family!