Weekly Message from Fr. Bob

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”( Psalm 118:24 ). This is the 11th week in Ordinary time of the year. In the first reading from the book of Exodus 19:2-6, God makes it clear to Moses that if the Israelites honor the Covenant He made with them, they would be His treasured possession and dearer to him than all the other people. The Covenant is not just an old Testament phenomenon. It is a close relationship or friendship with God which is offered to all of us. If we are faithful to God, we will be so dear to His heart and become His friends. What an honor and a blessing to be a friend of God! I am happy to report that we have paid off our loan on the Rectory. I thank you dear parishioners for your generosity to the parish. We thank Ray and Terry Pawlicki, Ken and Sherrie Cheline for donating two updated Roman Missals to our church for use during the Mass. Ken and Sherrie Cheline also financed the making of two new hymnal boards. We thank Mike and Mary Jo Gude for sponsoring the ambry which is a wooden box in which the holy oil of the Infirmary or the sick( OI ), the oil of the Catechumens or the oil of salvation( OS ) and the Sacred Chrism ( SC ) will be displayed. We admire the carpentry skills of our parishioners Jim and Lisa Stemo who made the ambry which is a gift given to our Church in memory of Mary Jo Gude’s parents Leo and Irene Cotter who used to be very active parishioners here. May they rest in Peace! The ambry will be blessed at 10:15 am this Sunday. It is to inform you that I will be away on a two week vacation from June 15-30, 2026. I will be returning to the Parish on July 1, 2026 as I begin my third year of serving the Lord here at Sacred Heart Parish. WHAT HAPPENS AT MASS?: A WALK THROUGH THE MASS We highlight the initial parts of the Eucharistic Prayer this weekend. The Eucharistic Prayers begins with Preface which is a prayer dialogue between the priest and the people. It is prayed by the priest as the people are standing. The Preface prayer leads the people to the mystery and the miracle about to happen in few minutes. After reciting or singing the ‘holy, holy, holy Lord’ prayer, people kneel while the priest alone remains standing. The priest uses one of the four Eucharistic prayers.  The Priest calls down the Spirit of God upon the gifts of bread and wine to sanctify them to become the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Liturgical terminology it is called ‘ the Epiclesis’. The Spirit of God who overshadowed the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Incarnation sanctifies the natural elements of bread and wine for supernatural phenomenon during the hoy Mass. We pause here for now and admire the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “ Amen, amen, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” ( John 6:53 ) This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Latin it is called the solemnity of CORPUS CHRISTI. (The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ). In the gospel of John, chapter 6, Jesus publicly proclaims to the people of his time that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood have eternal life. Even though all his listeners left him scandalized by his bold proclamation, he did not change his statement. During the third year of his public ministry, just before his Crucifixion and death, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of The Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper: the Gift of Himself as a perpetual Covenant under the species of Bread and Wine. I highly encourage you to grow deeper in your devotion to the Eucharistic Lord by regularly taking part in the celebration of the holy Mass and spending time in the Eucharistic Adoration. Together with the Catholics in our Country we are praying the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a preparation for the Consecration of the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11, 2026 in honor of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. On Friday, June 12, 2026, we are going to have Solemn Eucharistic Celebration on the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus at our Church at 6:30 pm. The Pastors and their Parishioners from the Parishes of St. Anthony of Padua, St. Anthony the Abbot, St. Rita, St.Ann, St. Mary our Lady of Sorrows, and St. Leo’s Abbey and Holy Name Monastery in our deanery are invited to join us in the celebration. There will be refreshments in our Parish hall after the Mass. WHAT HAPPENS AT MASS?: A WALK THROUGH THE MASS This weekend we begin exploring the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The first part of this section is The Offertory. After the Prayer of the Faithful, the ushers take up the monetary collection from the people as the choir leads singing the offertory hymn. The meaning behind the offertory is that we give back to God what He gave us. Two members of the congregation carry the gifts of Bread and Wine while an usher brings collection basket in procession to the altar and hand them over to the Priest. Since the Lord chose to give Himself under the species of Bread and Wine in the Eucharist, the great miracle, there can be no offertory without bread and wine. After preparing the altar for the holy sacrifice, the priest offers the Bread first. Then he pours wine into a chalice and adds a drop of water whispering the words: ‘By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity’. Wine represents the divinity of Christ and water our humanity. By the gesture of mixing water in the wine, we share in the divinity of Christ.  On solemnities, the priest incenses the altar with the gifts of bread and wine setting them as holy gifts. The action of the priest washing his hands reminds him to be ready literally with clean hands to hold the most holy Body and Blood of Christ in few minutes. Then the priest invites the people to join him as he prays over the gifts for their transformation and our transformation. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. (Psalm 118:24) Having completed the Easter Season last Sunday, we are now again back to Ordinary time of the year in our Liturgical Calendar. During Ordinary time, we reflect upon the Lord’s teaching through the parables, the miracles and His continued invitation to repentance and conversion of our hearts and minds. This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. We believe that God is One God in three Persons: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. We begin the day and all the liturgies in the name of the Trinity and also conclude them in the name of the Trinity. Even though we cannot fully comprehend the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity, we believe with our hearts. We congratulate four of our teenagers who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by our Bishop, the Most Reverend Gregory Parkes, at St. Rita Catholic Church, Dade City, FL, this weekend during the Holy Mass on Sunday at 11 am. I will be concelebrating that Mass. I thank their teacher Dr. Thomas Humphries, for preparing them for Confirmation and Terry Pawlicki, the Director of Religious Education in our Parish for her dedication and leadership. WHAT HAPPENS AT MASS?: A WALK THROUGH THE MASS: This weekend we highlight the second part of the Mass in our catechesis of the Holy Mass: The Liturgy of the Word. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) says: “When the Sacred Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself speaks to his people, and Christ, present in his Word, proclaims the Gospel.” (GIRM, no.29) We hear the Word of God from the Bible which is the Sacred Scripture written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. On Sundays and Solemnities there are three readings. The first and the second readings are proclaimed by lectors while the third reading, which is from one of the four Gospels, is proclaimed by a priest or deacon. Most of the time, the First Reading is from the Old Testament. It is only during the Easter season that the First Reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament to give us insight into how the early Church started after the Lord’s Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost. The First Reading is followed by a Responsorial Psalm which is a prayer of ancient Israel. The Second Reading is proclaimed from the New Testament letters of St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, St. James or the Book of Revelation. It is an instruction to the Church on how to live the light of Christ. Then there is the Gospel acclamation during which the congregation stands to sing the Alleluia (except during Advent and Lent) as a sign of joy and readiness to listen to the Gospel. The Gospel reading is the highpoint of the Word of God, recounting the life, the teachings and the miracles of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. After the Gospel, the priest or deacon gives a homily, explaining the readings and applying them to our daily life. Then the congregation stands to profess their faith by reciting the Nicene Creed on Sundays and Solemnities. The Liturgy of the Word concludes with the Prayer of the Faithful, which may include prayers for the world, the Church, local needs, the faithful departed and other intentions. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

“ Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues”. (Acts 2:3-4) This weekend, we celebrate the feast of PENTECOST . In Greek, the word ‘penta’ means 50th. For us as Christians, the feast of Pentecost refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the form of tongues of fire while they were gathered in the upper room. This occurred on the 50th day after the Lord’s Resurrection. In our Catholic Liturgical Calendar, the feast of the Pentecost is also the conclusion of the Easter season. Ordinary time resumes on the Monday after Pentecost. As promised, the Lord Jesus, having ascended to His Father, sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles to strengthen their faith and give them the courage to proclaim the Good News. Even though the Apostles saw the risen Lord, they were afraid to speak in the name of the Lord for fear of the Jewish authorities. It was only after the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them that their fear vanished forever. After receiving the Holy Spirit, nothing could prevent the Apostles from proclaiming the Good News of the Lord publicly and openly to all people. That’s why Pentecost is known as the Birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit is present in the Church today. He is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity. He guides us, inspires us, heals and enlightens us and renews the Church. Let us renew our Consecration to the Holy Spirit Lord on this Feast of Pentecost. WHAT HAPPENS AT MASS: A WALK THROUGH THE MASS As part of our Catechesis of the Holy Mass, we concentrate on the Introductory Rites of the Mass this weekend. As the Priest, the altar servers and the lector process towards the altar, the choir sings the entrance hymn. The congregation stands and sings along with the choir. After venerating the altar by kissing it and incensing the altar on solemn occasions, the Priest begins the Mass in the name of the Trinity: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. He greets the people and introduces the theme of the Mass, the feast or the liturgical season or the particular Sunday, along with the intention of the Mass. He then invites the faithful to acknowledge their sins to prepare themselves worthily to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by leading them in praying the Confiteor. On Sundays and Solemnities, the Gloria is sung. Did you know that the first Gloria was first sung by the angels in Bethlehem on the night that Jesus was born? The Gloria is a song of rejoicing because God sent us a Savior! After the Gloria is sung, the Priest prays the opening prayer known as the ‘Collect’. After the Priest says “Let us pray,” there is a moment of silence. It is during that period of silence that the Priest “collects” all the prayers of the people into the opening prayer. That is why it is called the ‘Collect’. The Priest does not know what the people are praying for. But the Lord knows. The opening prayer also reflects the theme of the Mass and concludes the Introductory rites. COME HOLY SPIRIT, COME! God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine