A new heart, this new way of life, flows from the sacred Heart of Jesus, ever moved with compassion for the troubled and abandoned (Matthew 9:36.) As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this week and pray this devotion, we recall St. Jean Vianney, who linked this devotion to priestly ministry and identity in saying “The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.” 

Today we joyfully congratulate Rev. Louis Cona, Rev. Christopher Heller, and Rev. Stephen Rooney on their priesthood ordination that took place last weekend at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre. We are filled with gratitude for the pastoral heart and zeal of all those who serve in our parishes, schools, and health care facilities, showing the closeness of Christ by the outpouring of his Sacred Heart. We also pray for the repose of the souls of our priests who have died this past year, especially Bishop Emil Wcela who served the diocese modeled after Christ the Good Shepherd for over 65 years. And we pray in a special way for Fr. Paul Driscoll, who is fondly remembered by many in our parish as an advocate and spiritual director, dedicating over 50 years of his service to the protection of the unborn. 

We pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, so other men may model their hearts after Christ’s Sacred Heart. May our parishes become sanctuaries of discernment, helping young men and women grow in holiness and respond to the call of the Good Shepherd.

The Novena of Masses gives us the advantage of knowing that our dads and granddads are being remembered at Masses even if we are not there with them. This is particularly pertinent today when so many of us are so busy – too busy as a matter of fact! If we are fortunate enough to have our dad (or granddad) present with us be sure to make that extra effort to point out one or two of his finer points of character and dedication. Don’t wait for the eulogy slot at his funeral Mass to share those kind words. Do it this time around – you will never regret it! Dad needs to hear it now!

It’s not too late to enroll your dad or granddad in the Father’s Day Novena of Masses. Envelopes are available in the lobbies of the church. Make an appropriate offering, fill in the family names, and deposit it in the box in the main lobby, the collection basket, or bring it to the rectory.

It was a joyful occasion and even surpassed our expectations!

I’m referring to the Pentecost Party for our Starfish Coffee House Young Adults group. We usually refer to Pentecost as a liturgical feast and it was certainly that and much more! We needed to replicate naturally the joy of the apostles and others at that first Pentecost. And we did experience our full numbers once again! More than 40 young people came together to celebrate their unity, common journey of faith, and hopes for the future. 

Do you know any Catholic young adults? Tell them about our ministry and the coffee house. We will see that they’ll feel “at home.” We still have two potential weddings; truly good fruit of our coffee house. Very special thanks to Kelly McGuiness and Jocelyn Russo for their leadership, time, and energy on behalf of the Starfish Coffee House young adult ministry and this terrific party.

On the evening of May 24 we held an unusual meeting of our Pastoral Council. Under Neil Coscio’s guidance we reviewed all the questionnaires we sent out to elicit the opinions of our parishioners regarding parish life and activities, with the qualities of accountability and transparency highlighted. This is our parish-level moment of participation in the Synod on Synodality. We have collated the responses and are in the process of compiling the parish Final Report. We have held a general parish meeting, and sent out 1,800 questionnaires, and received 165 in return. Many respondents made extra comments and we will take those into account also.

I want to thank Neil Coscio for his outstanding leadership in the whole Synodal project. We are now putting together our report to be sent to Bishop Andrzej at the diocese. The report will be posted on our website and summarized in the bulletin. John Destefano is producing a “pie chart” to be added to the report clarifying the results.

All in all, we feel we have done our part in advancing a project dear to Pope Francis’ heart; please remember this effort in your prayers. It will conclude in 2023 at the final Synod at the Vatican.