Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Due to Covid guidelines we will not have a Book of Remembrance to write the name of your loved one.  As an alternative, we will be the placing names here on our parish website.  If you have a loved one you would like to add to our list, please email mspaeth@shcmuenster.com or call 759-2500 if you do not use email.  If your loved one was buried in our cemetery their name should already be listed for you.  Please let us know if we missed anyone.  

Book of Remembrance

Eternal rest grant unto them , O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Herbert Matthew Miller
Darrell Peter Knabe
Ronald Lee “Ronnie” Kubis
Gary Joe Gieb
Carolyn Mary (Wiesman) (Walterscheid) Hoyt
Monica Dianne (Yosten) Koesler 
Aubrey Leo Lawson
Mark Joseph Hermes 
Angeline “Angie” (Knabe) Lutkenhaus
Dorothy A. Sprouse
Henry Louis “Hank” Bayer
Joyce Bernadette (Haverkamp) Boydstun
Doris Lee (Reiter) Grewing
James Delbert Whitt
Thomas Allan “Tom” Fuhrmann
Louisa Agnes (Lahey) Selby
Lindell Lorenzo Selby
Judith (Cain) Hartman
Clara Helen (Raleigh) Klement
Kenneth Leroy “Kenny” Otto
Mitchell Owen Rains
August Joseph “Gus” Felderhoff
Nathan Clay Sicking
Ronald Bernard “Ronnie” Klement
Loretta Ann (Droll) Felderhoff

Cemetery Blessing:  November 2 @ 5:00-5:15pm.  All are invited, masks are required and social distancing will be observed.

Mass of Remembrance:  Monday, November 2 @ 5:30 pm

PLENARY INDULGENCE DURING MONTH OF NOVEMBER

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need to avoid large groups, the Plenary Indulgence applicable to the deceased by those who visit a cemetery has been extended beyond the normal dates of November 1-8. This year, the indulgence can be obtained by anyone who visits a cemetery, even if only mentally, on any day in November, and devoutly prays for the faithful departed.

 PLENARY INDULGENCE FOR FEAST OF ALL SOULS’ DAY

Regarding the Plenary Indulgence attached to All Souls’ Day, this year, it can be obtained not only on the preceding or succeeding Sunday, or on the actual Feast day, but on any other day of the month chosen by each member of the faithful. In this case, the indulgence is obtained by “devoutly visiting a church or an oratory”, along with the recitation of the Our Father and the Creed, and the other requirements associated with a Plenary Indulgence.

THE HOMEBOUND

For anyone who cannot leave their home for various reasons, including Covid restrictions, they too can obtain the Plenary Indulgence by “uniting themselves spiritually to other members of the faithful”. In this case, the condition of being “completely detached from sin” and the intention of completing the other requirements for obtaining a Plenary Indulgence remain. These conditions are Sacramental Confession, reception of Holy Communion and a prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions. The Decree suggests that such prayer take place before an “image of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary”. Among the various prayers that are recommended are “prayers for the deceased, Morning or Evening Prayer from the Office of the Dead, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, meditating on various Gospel passages proposed for the liturgy.

God our Father, 
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family, 
relatives, and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.

Amen.

October 21, 2020

The Church is obliged to hand on faithfully what she has received from Christ.  It is the mind of Christ that marriage is an indissoluble bond between one man and one woman.  The Church preaches and acts upon this truth, regardless of the passing opinions of nations, states, or cultures.
Comments recently recorded in the making of a documentary about Pope Francis regarding civil recognition of “unions” between homosexual couples appear to have led some to the erroneous conclusion that the Church’s teaching on marriage has changed or is about to change.  Considering the above, faithful Catholics must insist that the Church’s teaching on marriage has not changed and cannot change. 
In a 2014 interview published in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis was asked about moves across Europe to legalize gay marriage or adopt civil union laws. "Marriage is between a man and a woman," he said. "Secular states want to validate civil unions to regulate different situations of cohabitation, driven by the need to regulate economic aspects between people, such as ensuring health care. These are cohabitation pacts of various kinds, of which I could not list the different forms."
It is a misunderstanding of rights to suggest or infer that legal arrangements of civil societies can confer a status equivalent to marriage to couples who do not conform to God’s intention and design for marriage. 

**Click here for complete letter**

The Annual Diocesan Appeal is a dynamic opportunity for all of the faithful in the Diocese of Fort Worth to impact lives beyond the scope of any individual parish. Its mission is to witness to God’s grace in our lives by together sharing the Gospel message of faith, hope and charity with those most in need of attention through knowing and doing all that we are called to as Disciples of Christ.

Thank you for prayerfully considering your gift to the appeal.

DONATE NOW

Annual Diocesan Appeal Letter from Bishop Michael Olson

**Bishop Olson's Pastoral Letter to All in the Diocese of Fort Worth-dated September 25

**Bishop Olson's Pastoral Letter to All in the Diocese of Fort Worth-dated July 3**

**Bishop Olson's Pastoral Letter to All in the Diocese of Fort Worth-dated June 26**

Letter from Fr. Joe Keating dated June  22:

Dear Parishioners of Sacred Heart,

 We are now officially in the earthly season of summer and the liturgical season of Ordinary Time.  This is the “long middle” of the year in which we learn perseverance in our discipleship with Jesus.  Perseverance is key when we are facing difficulties, and this year has been filled with difficulties, indeed. 
 
You have been very generous to our local food pantry, and I am proud of the great acts of almsgiving you continue to do for our less fortunate neighbors.  May God reward you!
 
I have no new restrictions to promulgate, nor news of things “letting up” anytime soon.  To make any prediction now would be foolish pride on my part.  I would only exhort everyone to persevere for as long as this trial endures.  We are blessed to still be at 50% capacity in our church, with the small burden of wearing a mask.  Please offer up these small sacrifices in union with the sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross.  Pray for the intercession of St. Joseph, our protector, and of our Guardian Angels, who, undoubtedly, are sitting behind us in the empty pews!
 
In perseverance with you I remain,
Rev. Joe Keating
Pastor
 
 Directives still in effect:

• All Masses will be in the church (not the chapel) so that we can spread out.  When attending Mass, we must keep 3 feet distance from one another.  Please sit only where you see marks on the pews.  Those who live together in the same household may sit close together, but households must be 3 feet from your neighbor.  Because of this inter-personal spacing, the church will be at about 50% capacity.  In case the building fills up, please bring a lawn chair and pray with us from the church lawn or from your car.  The audio will be broadcast from the steeple, as well as live-streamed on the Internet.  You may come inside for Holy Communion, keeping 3 feet distance from others in line.
• When you come in for Mass, please wear a mask, which is now required.  Please also use the provided hand sanitizer as you enter the church.
• Parishioners over age 60 are encouraged to stay home or in your car for your own safety. 
• The regular Mass schedule has resumed, but there is still no obligation to attend Sunday Mass.
• I can no longer distribute Holy Communion outdoors.  If you are outside and wish to receive Communion, please come in thru the west doors and exit thru the north and south doors.  The ushers should open the doors for you when it’s time for Communion.
• Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament will continue on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 6pm in the chapel.  Please maintain a distance of three feet from each other and wear a mask in the chapel.
• Everyone please wear a mask when you attend Mass.  Plan ahead and obtain/make your own masks.  They can be simple, improvised masks, even a bandana or scarf.  If you are not wearing a mask, the ushers will ask you not to come inside.  When you approach for Holy Communion, please briefly remove the mask. 
• Bishop asks that we still receive Holy Communion in the hand for the time being.
• The collection baskets will not be passed around.  Please drop your envelope in the offering basket near the west entrance or try online giving.  Click “Online Giving” on the menu bar above.
• When Mass is over, please allow the ushers to dismiss you from your pew.  Those seated nearest the doors will exit first.  This will prevent crowding at the exits.
• Still no sign of peace, no hymnals, and no chalices at Communion.
• Funeral Masses may now be celebrated with the above protocols.
• Confessions will remain at the regular times: Saturdays and Wednesdays at 3:30pm, but outside the church.  We have an open-air confessional near the south portico.  Please stand in line on the sidewalk where you see tape marks.

• As more of our neighbors are suffering economic hardships, we must continue to be generous with our resources.  Please give non-perishable foods and household items to Sacred Heart Outreach—there are collection boxes in the church office and at Fischer’s grocery.
• Mass will continue to be live-streamed online.  Please click on the link near the top-right of the home page.
• Please avail yourself of the plenary indulgences described in Bishop’s letter dated March 24 (visit www.fwdioc.org). You may now receive the Eucharist and make your confession as soon as possible.
• Due to the high risk of infection for the elderly and sick, I am suspending Holy Communion to the homebound until further notice.  The exception is in danger of death.  Please call the parish office, press 4, and I will come and give Last Rites.

• Sunday Mass is broadcast at 10:30am on KGAF radio at 1580 AM and 92.3 FM.  This is in addition to the televised broadcast at 8:00am and 10:30am on Nortex cable channel 2.
• St. Patrick Cathedral’s Sunday Mass will be livestreamed online at 11am.
• Palm branches were blessed on Palm Sunday, but may not be distributed at this time.  I will choose a date in the future to distribute the palms for your private devotion.
• Some nursing homes and hospitals may try to restrict clergy from visiting patients.  If you have a family member in one of these facilities, it would be helpful for you to make it known to the facility’s staff, verbally and in writing, that you wish for clergy to be allowed to visit for pastoral care, especially in end-of-life situations, so that your loved ones will have access to the sacraments (last rites).
• Be especially vigilant about scams at this time.  These are already happening.  Here is the truth:  I have not, and will not ask you to purchase gift cards as a donation, and I will certainly not ask you for monetary donations via text message or email.  Scammers can easily create an email account that seems to belong to me, and then pretend to be me.  They may send you an email asking you for money.  The only email address I ever use to contact you is this one:  joe.keating@fwdioc.org  I invite you to please continue your offering, and to make use of online giving at this time.  Simply click “Online Giving” at the top-right of the parish’s web page.

• The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is still available in cases of serious illness and/or danger of death.  Contact the parish office to request a visit from me.
• Please continue to make your weekly tithe to the parish.  You have a few options:
  • Drop your envelope in the parish office’s DROP BOX, located by the curb.
  • Online giving is now available!  Please visit the parish website and click “Online Giving” at the top-right of the home page.  You may make a one-time or recurring gift, and use either your credit card or your bank account.
  • Mail your check to the parish office.
  • Drop your envelope in the baskets by the church doors when you come to Mass.
• The parish office is still open during normal hours.

 Keep up with the latest news from Bishop Olson at  https://fwdioc.org/

Our local council of the Knights of Columbus continue the livestream with the broadcast of Mass each Sunday morning at 8:00 am.  This is provided through their Facebook page at Knights of Columbus:  Muenster Council #1459.  Click the provided link below or search for the page in the app or website.

Live Stream with Fr. Joe Keating

Thank you to the Knights for providing this much needed ministry to our parish family.

Sunday 7:30 AM (church)
Sunday 10:00 AM (church)
Monday 6:30 PM (church)-Novena-Perpetual Help
Tuesday 7:00 PM (church)-Cenacle Of Men
Wednesday 5:30 PM (church)
Monday-Thursday-Friday
7:30 AM (church)

WEDNESDAY 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
FRIDAY  9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

The Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth is Most Reverend Michael F. Olson, the first priest of the Diocese to become a bishop who was ordained and installed on January 29, 2014 at the Tarrant County Convention Center. Bishop Olson, a native of Illinois, was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Fort Worth on June 3, 1994 by the late Bishop Joseph P. Delaney at St. Patrick Cathedral. His first assignment was as the parochial vicar—an associate pastor—of St. Michael Parish in Bedford where he served from July 1994 through June 1997.