SCCR Parish Blog

  After extensive review of the first draft and evaluating thousands of suggestions from priests and people across the Archdiocese, the Beacons of Light planning team is ready to finalize the new groupings of parishes ("families of parishes") that will take effect in July of 2022.  These will be announced on December 5th via the diocesan website . Once this is announced, the groupings will be final and we will have the opportunity to begin planning for the implementation in our parishes here.  Archbishop will be instructing all parishes to play his audio message on this process at all the Masses for that same weekend, the second Sunday of Advent.  Please continue to pray for the Archbishop and his planning team so that we can help the mission of the Church thrive in the local Church of Cincinnati. 

  UPDATED: 12/2/2021 This Wednesday, December 1st, the U. S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments for a case that could have enormous implications for the protection of babies in the womb and potentially even reverse all or part of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that overrode nearly all state protections against killing innocent unborn children. Archbishop Schnurr of Cincinnati together with his priests and pastors are encouraging all Catholics to pray and act to defend the sacredness and dignity of human life at this critical time.   Here are some opportunities to do that this week. ·         Join Archbishop Schnurr for 5:15 p.m. Mass on Tuesday, Nov. 30  at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, as we pray in a special way for the dignity of all human life.  More information and livestream link for those who can't attend in person.    * Check out good resources from th...

  As we celebrate the Thanksgiving Day holiday, it is fitting that we turn that day to enjoy the gift of family (not to mention good food!) and give gratitude for it.  But as Christians, we sometimes need to work to cultivate gratitude to God every day of the year, not just for the holiday. Here's a good video by Fr. Mike Schmitz giving some tips on how to avoid being ungrateful . 

  UPDATED: November 19, 2021 While many turn their attention to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, it is important to keep an eye on the threats to religious liberty as they advance.  Joseph Biden and his health secretary Xavier Becerra (both baptized as Catholics) appear to be poised to move against the right of Catholic institutions to run their businesses and apostolates in accord with Catholic teaching,  as well as to violate the conscience rights of thousands of Catholic health care workers and others who oppose such evils as the killing of children in the womb and surgery to attempt to change one's "gender" (sex)  .  You might recall that various federal laws passed over the years, including "Obamacare" give sweeping power to the federal government's department of Health and Human Services to regulate all aspects of healthcare.  Under that cover and ironically in the name of "anti-discrimination," new rules appear to be imminent which would n...

  UPDATED: November 18, 2021 For many years, pro-life Americans have been praying for a reversal of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision from 1973 that swept away pro-life laws in many states and, together with a companion case, made the killing of children in the womb legal until birth for virtually any reason. With the decision to hear some very important cases in this Supreme Court term, including Dobbs vs. Jackson , that possibility is more realistic than ever. The U.S. Bishops' conference in conjunction with many Christian groups is sponsoring a webinar to unite Christians around the nation together to pray for this intention. Please sign up for that webinar here and pass the word!  If you miss the seminar, there are still opportunities to pray and act regarding this important case.  The U.S. Bishops have set up a helpful website .  For more information on the legal angles of the case, check out this article from the National Catholic Register .

  For this Advent season only this year (Masses of November 28th through December 23rd), Fr. Reutter will be offering all of his parish Masses in the traditional posture of the Church, with the priest and people together symbolically facing the Father.  (This liturgical orientation is sometimes called by its Latin names, ad orientem or ad Deum  which mean "facing the East" or "facing God [the Father]" This way of celebrating the Mass has centuries-long and ancient roots.  In fact, it was mandatory for much of the Church's history.  After the Second Vatican Council, two options were introduced: the traditional posture or Mass facing the people ( versus populum , to use the Latin phrase).  This resource page has some information on the symbolism behind this option and how it helps to reveal what is happening in the mystery of the Mass. * Fr. Mike Schmitz video, " Pray the Mass like never before ."  This is a general video on the mystery of the Mass, with...

  In light of the Beacons of Light initiative to reorganize parishes due to declining Mass attendance and fewer priests, we are all painfully aware that many of our fellow Catholics are walking away from the greatest gift Christ gave us, the holy Mass.   I am convinced that the main reason for this is that people do not understand what is happening at the Mass.  I think this video from popular youth eveangelist Fr. Mike Schmitz will help change that.  We are showing this to our youth, but it is informative and of interest to Catholics of all ages. 

I highly recommend the Magnificat devotional magazine.  In addition to all the Mass prayers offered day by day, they have inspirational short reflections and commentaries on the great religious art of the day. This month, there is a commentary on a beautiful painting of today's saint, Charles Borromeo, from 16th century Italy, the era of the Catholic Reformation (the rebuilding of the Church after many Protestants divided her after rejecting the Church's teaching). He was an extraordinary man who lived a very short life, but in that brief time as Archbishop of Milan saw through many reforms, including increasing reverence for the the holy Mass and celebrating it in a consistent way and reforming seminaries so they could shape good priests.  (Please pray for our seminarians through his intercession this month that they will become good and holy priests, and for all the faculty who help make that happen).  He was an aesthetic, choosing not to become overly trapped in the lu...

  As we celebrate the feast of all the saints in Heaven (all saints day), that begs the question of just what is Heaven?  We might have a lot of cartoon-like ideas, but it would be good to go a little deeper than that.  Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI frequently reminded us not to think of Heaven just as a "prettied up" version of earth: it is the total fulfilment of what we long for and the love from God that we desire with every fiber of our being.  It is the ability finally to see Jesus, the Son of God and the Lamb of God, face to face.  Here's an article from Catholic apologist Tim Staples that goes into more detail