On Divine Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, our high school graduates were honored at the 10:00 Mass. The teens served as lectors, ushers and gift bearers during the Mass and received a special blessing from Fr. William. The following is a slideshow of photos taken during the Mass and at the reception that followed:

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The annual Chrism Mass was celebrated at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Tuesday, April 19, 2011. At this Mass Bishop Stika blesses the Holy Oils and all of the priests of the diocese renew their vows. The priests return to their parishes with the oils for the coming year. I strongly encourage you to attend the Chrism Mass next year as it is a wonderful celebration of our faith.

Several St. Mary youth were in attendance and carried parish banners in the opening procession.

View all 300 photos from the Mass in the slideshow below:

A memorial Mass for Jo Coakley will be held at St. Mary Church on Tuesday, November 9th, at 11:00 a.m.

This past Friday and Saturday, in preparation for Sunday’s Enthronement of St. Mary’s new Sacred Heart statue, Lisa Morris from Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville presented the history and practice of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Bishop Stika will be celebrating the 10:00 Mass on Sunday, during which he will Enthrone our new 5′ tall Sacred Heart statue.

Listen to the audio recording of Lisa’s presentation:

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Bishop Stika will again be visiting St. Mary’s, this time to enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus in our new Sacred Heart Chapel. This is the space behind the glass wall where the tabernacle was located before moving to it’s new home behind the altar.

The Bishop will celebrate a 10:00 bilingual Mass on June 27, the day of our parish picnic. During that Mass he will enthrone our new 5 foot tall Sacred Heart statue.

Parish “Retreat” for Sacred Heart Enthronement
To help us all better understand and prepare for this sacred event, the parish is planning both an English and Spanish orientation session on the practice of Sacred Heart enthronement. The sessions will be conducted by Lisa Morris from Sacred Heart Cathedral. She’ll be using professionally produced materials from the Sacred Heart Apostolate, founded in France in 1907. All parishoners are encouraged to attend so you are well informed about this practice prior to the enthronement Mass with Bishop Stika.

Retreat Dates
Friday, June 18, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. in English
Sábado, 19 de junio, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. en español

In addition to preparing us for our parish enthronement, Lisa will encourage us to consider enthroning an image or statue of the Sacred Heart in our homes. During the retreat she will discuss the history and how-to’s of this practice, as well as it’s spiritual benefits.

Bishop Richard Stika was at St. Mary’s Wednesday evening, May 19, to confirm nine of St. Mary’s youth and preside over the moving of the tabernacle to its new location behind the altar. Additionally, St. Mary’s youth presented the Bishop with a check for $533.25 for his seminarian fund. The proceeds were raised from our recent yard sale.

Introduction of the Confirmation Candidates
and Bishop Stika’s Homily
Lee Ann Moates, St. Mary’s Director of Religious Education, introduces and presents the confirmation candidates to Bishop Stika. He then addresses the candidates. (Note: the first few minutes of Bishop Stika’s homily is very difficult to understand due to technical issues.)
Download the MP3 file here, or listen below using the audio player:

Following the community prayer intentions, the candidates were confirmed by Bishop Stika.

Tabernacle Move
At the suggestion of the Bishop during a recent visit to St. Mary’s, we moved the tabernacle from behind the glass window in the sanctuary to it’s new location behind the altar. Listen to the recording of Bishop Stika as he installs the tabernacle:

Check Presentation by Youth
The youth presented a check for $533.25 to Bishop Stika for his seminarian fund. The funds represent half of what was collected at our May yard sale. The other half of the funds will be donated to our international outreach efforts. A matching contribution from an anonymous donor for the full amount collected at the yard sale is earmarked for our new parish family center. Listen to the audio recording of Chris Granger announcing the donation:

Closing Remarks
Listen to Bishop Stika’s closing remarks, including a request that we continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life.

Family & Sponsor Photos with Bishop Stika
A group photo of the Confirmandi and their sponsors with the Bishop. The group photos were taken before Mass, while the others were shot in the narthex during the reception following Mass.

Once again, we heartily congratulate our newly confirmed members and wish them a lifetime of happiness and service to the Lord.

✞

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A memorial Mass for Linda Vojtech was held Monday evening at St. Mary’s.

The prayers and sympathy of St. Mary’s Parish are extended to Leon Vojtech and his family at the loss of his wife, Linda. May God be with your family at this time of sorrow.

Yesterday’s 6:00 p.m. Mass was offered for the people of Haiti and all those affected in some way by the earthquake.

Listen as Deacon Moises proclaims the very appropriate gospel reading (Matthew 25: 34-40) and Fr. William delivers the homily. Also included in the recording are the prayers offered for Haiti during the Mass.

Download MP3