Sacred Heart - Brianne

A friend said to me the week before our Mass Chaos visit to Sacred Heart, "Brianne, you realize once you go to Sacred Heart, you're never going to finish Mass Chaos because you're never going to want to leave." Though he wasn't correct - I have every intention of finishing this journey - he was right about how much I would love Sacred Heart.

There really are no words to describe how different Sacred Heart is from any other Catholic church I've ever attended. When we entered Sacred Heart, the church was bustling. People were mingling throughout the church, the choir was already singing, Fr. Tom was wandering through the congregation - it was like a celebration before mass even started! This is such a change from most churches, as quiet meditation is the norm as far as I've seen. If I could capture the energy of this parish and put it in a bottle, I'd carry it with me everywhere I went!

Mass was great - full of spirit and life. The congregation at Sacred Heart is very diverse, and the church was full to the brim (I'm not exaggerating when I say it was standing room only!) Fr. Tom's homily was spirited - it was so easy to connect to him. He spoke about what it means to be "in communion" - with one another, with God. What a great homily for us on this journey, and a great way to speak about how I'm feeling with my Mass Chaos friends - "in communion". We really are a community through Christ's body and blood. Fr. Tom said, "the Mass is 24/7 - a global community" and that if we think about it, somewhere in the world there is a mass being celebrated constantly. I loved this thought - that I have a family in worship every minute of every day!

The Freedom Choir (directed by Omaha Community Playhouse Music Director Jim Boggess) is a spectacular sight to see, but more importantly, a joy to listen to. When we walked in prior to mass, they were already singing beautifully (and quite loudly!) Their musical choices varied from traditional to contemporary - and each and every song was a treat. The choir featured some amazing soloists and great musicians. We were gifted after mass with two of the Freedom Choir's CDs (which I'm listening to as I write this blog) - I highly encourage you purchasing one and supporting this great group!

The remodel of the parish was done beautifuly - The Pieta (pictured here) took my breath away!

Though my intention on this journey was never to find a new parish home, I do believe I will be coming back to Sacred Heart more than once in the near future...

Sacred Heart - June 6, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
My visiting Sacred Heart isn't just another stop on this journey for me, it's a reunion. In 1996 after my divorce I met a group of wonderful people who helped me get through the divorce, deal with other issues, and get back into church. One of those people is my physician, Dr. Lorrie, the others attend Sacred Heart, Barb, Karen, and Mark.

I met Barb and Karen more or less together and for a while, the three of us were fairly inseparable. I watched Barb and Karen's children go from teens to adults, spent hours at one or other of their houses, and on occasion (mostly my fault I'm sure) we argued like brothers and sisters. I always knew one thing though, Karen and Barb knew what it was to love, and they taught me how to stick with the love, regardless of anything else. Mark and Barb are brother and sister, and I met him a couple years later. Mark taught me something interesting, he taught me to expect redemption. I've not seen him be anything but patient, honest, and open, I hope I that when I grow up I can be just like him.

As time went on, I moved to Papillion, then Bellevue, Karen married Mark, then Barb also married, and I drifted away. Make no mistake though, these were the most important people in my life for a long time ... I had been talking to Karen ahead of time to make sure that she knew we were coming, and in fact she helped me pick out the date ... she used the magic words ... ice cream social. As 'coincidences' work, naturally I ran into them (with Barb's husband Russ) at the Santa Lucia Festival on Saturday night, so we had a chance to talk about our visit. She suggested that they would have us mentioned in the announcements.

Sunday morning Brianne and I arrived early and were walking around the church before Mass. We ran into Karen, Mark, and Father Tom. Karen explained, with our help, to Father Tom what we were doing, and he said "I'd like to make your visit to Sacred Heart an unforgettable one." Father Tom was a man of his word, and at the beginning of the Homily, he had us stand up, recognized what we were doing, and gave us a blessing for our endeavor. It was quite moving, and with some of the people blessing us being such dear friends, it made it all the more special.

On behalf of the other Mass Chaos-ers, many thanks to the parishioners of Sacred Heart for your welcome and blessing and music.

Me, Teri, Jen, Brianne, Ron, Marcus, Frank, Joe, Patrick. Many thanks to J.D. for the camera work.

Location and Architecture
Sacred Heart, 2207 Wirt Street (22nd & Binney), Omaha. This week Sacred Heart Parish celebrated their 120th year as a parish. In conjunction with the anniversary, they renovated the church, and it is beautiful. You can contrast the picture on the left from historicomaha.com (with a somewhat modern car), with the one I took on the right.

If that isn't breathtaking enough, the changes on the inside were just as amazing. The stained glass, the murals on the ceilings, the details, the new floor, it's all amazing. Having seen and known the church before the refurbishment, it was such a joy to see the center of that community be bright and shining. It's worth a visit, and check out the chapel, it has the oldest altar in Nebraska.

You can see all my pictures from Sacred Heart here.

Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ / Gospel:
He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves..." Luke 9:13

The apostles come to Jesus with a problem, "Lord, we need to feed all these people." I must admit, this is one of my favorite parts of the Gospels. Jesus challenges the apostles, and us, to figure out how to do it on our own. Jesus asks "Really? How hard is it to feed everyone, or share what we have?"

I have read where some Biblical scholars have said that there is no 'miracle' here, that instead Jesus knew that if everyone saw Him sharing the food He had, they would pull out the food they had and share it too. Even if this was entirely the case, it does not diminish the miracle of the feeding of multitudes.

Jesus, with the Father behind Him, is not just super smart enough to just feed five thousand people with a simple psychological experiment. He fed them, He taught them to share, and through the ages, hundred of millions if not billions of people have had this story to be one of their favorites, and it's made them think: "What do I have that I can share with others?" This isn't charity, it's sharing with the group of fifty you're sitting with, and it makes everyone's life better.

Then, if that wasn't enough, Jesus blesses the food, involving the Father, and making certain that even if the mundane explanation failed, that the Father would provide for anything that was lacking after everyone shared what they had. When we share what we have, we add things together, everything we give in God's name multiplies. It multiplies, multiplies, and then does so again.

Thank you Lord for the lesson in sharing what you have given us.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Kevin as he prepares for the priesthood.
My friend B., who is struggling with herself lately.
Heidi as she prepares for a mission trip to Haiti in July.
Me, I'm pretty burned out on the job lately.

Peace, Eric

Sacred Heart

I have to say that I do feel blessed for having the opportunity to have this group of friends, new and old. I came into Sunday feeling a bit uninspired, and luckily for us all... I did not leave that way ;)

We journeyed to Sacred Heart (2207 Wirt St)

The altar was pretty neat (top). There were a few nice surprises like the oldest altar in Nebraska (lower left), and a loft with a great view.

Our group:

Left to Right (top) Jen, Marcus, Joe, (middle) Eric, Brianne, Frank, (top) Teri, Ron, Patrick

I did mention that I did feel a bit inspired, and I will say that if you go to Sacred Heart and leave feeling the same... I would say that something is wrong with you. It isn't quite the same mass you may be used to, but I enjoyed it. The music was a bit up tempo, the parishioners were extra friendly, and Father Tom made it a complete experience.

The most surprising part of the mass was that our group was recognized during the mass. We received our first blessing. I found it a bit odd. I think sometimes I forget this isn't just some random dare that I'm taking on with friends, but also something that's being shared with others. I still wish I had a better idea though what exactly I'm trying to share with all of you, I guess for now I'm hoping that there's some takeaway you find.

The gospel for this week was the story of the fish and loaves. We've all heard it before. The point made during the homily that made me think was taking into account the balance of how much you get for how much you take. Jesus fed the multitude from a small amount. He didn't say, "Let's count everyone up and make sure I'm passing enough to you." He gave what he had without reservation, and it was more than enough for everyone there. I will admit that hearing this kind of hit me in the gut. I wasn't really giving much, and was getting even less before that moment, but hearing about the inspiring things that Jesus did made me realize that maybe I should put a little more effort into getting myself right. I put more energy in, and I felt like I got much more out of the rest of mass. Hopefully I can keep that up.