Bulletin Update

As many of you know, the Sacred Heart/Our Lady’s Collaborative is finishing the first year of a three-year Pastoral Plan focusing on the themes: Encounter Christ, Respond in Love, and Share the Good News. The initiatives in the plan are meant to facilitate the realization of these ideals in the collaborative, and assist all of us in our effort to grow in our Catholic call to be missionary disciples of Jesus Christ. This call, which is grounded in our Baptism, is the responsibility of each member of the Sacred Heart/Our Lady’s community.

In the weeks to come, these bulletin updates will highlight the successes and challenges experienced during the first year of implementation. It has been encouraging to see so many parishioners engaging with the vision and particular programs of the plan. It is a great testament to the health and vitality of both churches. In this first update, however, it may be helpful to address the end goal. What are we as a community hoping for from this three-year process?

We are called in this plan to be more Christ centered; to have our relationship with Christ infuse all that we do. Being ever more committed disciples of Christ will naturally push us out of our comfort zones. It will challenge us to take risks, reassess our priorities, and change the way we live our lives. Yet, in the face of such terrible and senseless violence observed in the world today, it is exactly what is needed. The courage, compassion, mercy, and love that flows from the God of Jesus Christ can heal and transform this painfully broken world.

We do not go to Mass out of mere obligation. We are not Catholics only because that is the religion of our parents. We are part of this community because we seek with all our heart to follow the teachings and life of Christ. We do this because we believe that in conforming ourselves more to Christ, we become the best and most fulfilled versions of ourselves. We become who we were meant to be. That is the ultimate end goal of this plan, and that is a goal that will very much change the world in which we live.