Blessed Sacrament June 21, 2020 Roman Catholic Parish Blessed Sacrament Parish Directory Roman Catholic Parish 11300 North 64th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 Clergy Phone: 480-948-8370 | Fax: 480-951-3844 Rev. Bryan Buenger, Parochial Administrator [email protected] | www.bscaz.org Rev. George Jingwa, Parochial Vicar Facebook: @BSScottsdale Rev. George Schroeder, Retired Deacon Jeff Strom Mass Times Senior Deacon Bob Evans Senior Deacon Jim Nazzal Bishop Olmsted has dispensed all of the faithful from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until Administration further notice. Catholics are encouraged to make Mary Ann Bateman, Office Manager & SET Coordinator a Spiritual Communion, to pray the Rosary and Larry Cordier, Finance Manager other devotional prayers during this time. Lucille Franks, Coordinator of Parish Events Reconciliation Farah Olsen, Administrative Assistant Anne Roettger, Parish Secretary Wednesday @ 4pm Mary Ann Miller, Office Assistant Saturday @ 8:30am Liturgy Other Contact Information Mike Barta, Director of Liturgy & Music Julie McBride, Facilitator of Liturgy Preschool & Kindergarten Formation 480-998-9466 Dr. Larry Fraher, Director of Faith Formation Dr. Isabella Rice, Coordinator of Elementary RE Infant Baptism Jeremy Stafford, Coordinator of Youth Ministry Larry Fraher: ext. 216 Outreach Funeral Planning Mary Ellen Brown, Director of Engagement Julie McBride: ext. 208 Communications Sacrament Preparation Michelle Harvey, Director of Marketing & Media Larry Fraher: ext. 216 Maintenance Adults Returning to the Faith John Escajeda, Facilities Maintenance Manager Larry Fraher: ext. 216 Greg McBride, Maintenance Parish Representation John Carcanaques, Maintenance Pastoral Council President Preschool & Kindergarten Scott Bushey Heather Fraher, School Director Finance Council President Dan Mahoney Gift Shop is closed until further notice © 2020 Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Parish Ernest Shackleton set out on an expedition to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. In Shackleton’s Forming the Flock words, the “one great main object of Antarctic journeyings” was that which was attempted by Norwegian rival Roald Reflection by Fr. Bryan Amundsen’s 1911 epic feat of endurance, but ultimately failed. Shackleton wasn’t a stranger to the wilds of the Antarctic; he had been on two previous missions but this time was doing it as the leader with the backing of the British government and some important financial backers such as the National Geographic Society. He had secured a crew of mixed personalities with varied experience, bought and set sail aboard the aptly named Endurance, a wooden sailing vessel strengthened to do battle with a harsh enemy: thick sea ice. In an attempt to be there before the southern hemisphere summer started (with average summer temperature being -4F degrees, and winter -76F), Shackleton and crew set sail in 1914 just as World War I broke out. The Endurance became beset in the ice of the Weddell Sea before reaching its destination in Vahsel Bay. It drifted for days, headed northward and held secure in crushing pack ice. The men, including teams of stout dogs, survived through the winter of 1915 on what little provisions they had supplemented with seal meat (when they could find a seal), and tried not to get too depressed in the long and near-endless nights of an Antarctic winter. Eventually the ship was crushed by the pressure of the ice and sunk, stranding the 28-man team on the ice. After months spent in makeshift camps as the ice continued to drift northward, the party set sail in lifeboats and landed on inhospitable Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean from which another sailing was undertaken. Eight men made the 800- mile open-boat journey to reach South Georgia, an island chain far to the south of Argentina that was an outpost whaling station for Great Britain. From South Georgia, a rescue operation was undertaken to get the remaining men off Elephant Island. Miraculously, there was no loss of life on this adventure. I tell this tale because one must wonder if Ernest Shackleton had known about the hardship and failure of his mission, would he have attempted it? Of course the explorer mindset of which Shackleton’s spirit certainly consisted finds such adventures appealing, but knowledgeable of the expense of both time and money, hardship and pain, and years of work only to fail to obtain the objective, would he (or anyone) go through with it? As with Sir Shackleton (who was knighted for his exploration and perseverance for the Crown), one could also wonder if Jesus’ disciples really knew what they were going to face, would they have done it? In the Gospel today, Jesus alludes to the dangers and persecutions that the disciples will face in their mission. Many people will not receive them well, and even family members will turn away from them because of their commitment to Jesus and the kingdom. In the Gospel passage, Jesus might be understood as putting suffering in perspective. The disciples of Jesus are called upon to keep their focus on God, even in the face of such hardships. Jesus comments that those who can harm the body do not have ultimate power; God does. Still, persecution and suffering cannot be avoided or prevented, but Jesus reassures His disciples that God knows and cares about what happens to His children. We might not face the same type of persecution and hatred as did the disciples, but we do experience difficulties as we endeavor to live a Christian life – a life that is akin to that of the great explorers like Shackleton and so many others. We Christians are on an adventure and are seeking treasure that we have been promised; it’s out there, way out there, and we have never seen it, but still desire to go there. Our barriers in this day and age may not be the extreme and bitter cold of an Antarctic winter, but we are in an age where there is cold and bitterness towards us Christians, and we might even get caught up in a drifting “ice flow” of modernism and relativism that leads us away from the Truth. As did that adventurous team on Elephant Island, and as did that small group of disciples in the desert landscape of the Middle East some 2000 years ago, you and I need to set sail from this desolate and inhospitable world, mount a rescue team, and bring God to recover and reclaim our Catholic faith and countless souls for God. We have one thing that Sir Earnest didn’t get from the world: we have the reassurance and promise that God cares for us and protects us. Let us go and bring God to our fellow human beings who await rescue – their lives (and ours) depend on it. May God continue to bless us, protect us, and have mercy on us. Fr Bryan Please take advantage of this opportunity to complete your 2 hour Safe Environment Foundation class from home! This class is needed in order to volunteer, in any capacity, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. If you have any questions please visit our website or contact our Safe Environment Coordinator, MaryAnn Bateman at [email protected]. Due to the pandemic, the new Safe Environment Training Renewal Class will not be available on July 1st. It should be available by August 1st. The Safe Environment Office at the Diocese will send email reminders when the new renewal is available online. Reminder that we need your help to continue to offer the Mass with distribution of Holy Eucharist. If you are planning to attend, we need you to reserve your space so that we can be prepared. The registration form is available each week on Wednesday evening. You can find the link on our website and it is sent out on Wednesdays and Fridays in our Eblasts. Thank you for your help with this. Blessed Sacrament live streams our regular weekend Mass schedule: Saturday @ 4pm Sunday @ 7am, 8:30am, 10:30am and 5pm Livestreams can be found during these times on our Facebook page facebook.com/ BSscottsdale/ as well as bscaz.org A thank you to Family Promise June 2020 Host Week Volunteers! Greg Sylvester, Esther Salas, Carol Edwards, Pam Paul, Karen Stewart, Chris Flynn, Veronica Piotrowski, Linda DeChant, Jeremy Stafford, Kathy Thieken, Cheryl Segneri, Susan Schnebly, Chris Bukowiec, Marianne Ast, Lauri Cooney, Chipo Chizengeni, Roberta Bonney Thank you for your wonderful contributions in support of families transitioning from homelessness to self-sufficiency. We will be hosting Family Promise again August 2-9, 2020. Want to help? Contact Mary Ellen Brown at [email protected] Images of Faith - Larry Fraher, Ph.D Father's Day Summer is upon us and in full swing as we acknowledge the fathers in our lives. Our faith is filled with images of fathers; God the Father, Priests whom we call ‘Father,’ fathers who drag their reluctant children to church on Sunday mornings or children who drag their fathers. We can recognize a variety of images that surround the realm of “father.” Anton Raphael Mengs image, The Dream of Saint Joseph, offers a perspective that calls us to reflect on our own experiences of fatherhood. The image depicts Joseph, a new adoptive father, at rest, wearied by the realities of caring for a wife who has just given birth and a new-born Son. A saw is seen in the lower left corner, signifying that perhaps Joseph is in his workshop. His outer garment is gathered about him offering the comfort that allows him to catch a short nap. At rest in the comfort of his workshop, Joseph is depicted as a pilgrim, the traditional walking staff in his hand. He is not without worry; the lines on his eyes and forehead present his concern for the family.