Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Parishioners,

    Several times since I have been at Sacred Heart, I have had an experience like this.  A young person or two young people will come to my office to plan a wedding.  I ask them why they want to get married at Sacred Heart. Many times, it is because they like the beauty of the church.

    At other times the prospective bride or groom will say that they want their wedding at Sacred Heart because they have attended Catholic school at Seton.  Many times, the couple will be professional people who are obviously economically successful.  I ask them what their background is.

Some of them have parents who hold white collar jobs.  At other times they tell me their parents had blue collar jobs.  Perhaps the parents of the couple were immigrants who had come to this country with little or nothing.  They relate how their parents wanted the best education for their children, so they made the decisions to send their children to Catholic School.  For some families this entails great financial sacrifice.  But the sacrifice is deemed worthwhile so that children can have a solid academic foundation.

Maybe the children involved are from impoverished homes.  Or, perhaps there is a single parent household.  Whatever the difficulty Seton Catholic School offered a quality education.  This makes a difference for many children so that they might succeed in high school and college.

We begin Catholic Schools week today.  We might ask whether our Catholic Schools are still worth it.  I would ask everyone to reflect on your education.  Did Catholic schools have a positive impact on you or someone you know?  The benefits are still there for many at risk youngsters today.

This is an important ministry of the Church.  Let’s support our schools and pray for their success.  Many children are depending on us and our commitment to Catholic grade school and high school education.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark