ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PSR Registration is closed!
Steeple roof work has begun and is expected to last 3-4 weeks. The back of the church and the church main door will be closed during this time. Access to the church will be through the north side door. Parking will also be closed on the west side, so please park in the back parking lot. Weekday masses will be held in the parish hall. For questions, please contact parish secretary or council president.
1. Our primary mode of parish communication is our webpage and bulletin. For those who would like a more immediate method of communication for things like changes to mass times, we have identified a phone texting app called "Remind" that is currently being used by our PSR staff and families. If you are interested in this type of immediate communication, please send your cell phone number to Anna Aparicio who will be setting this up for the parish.
2. It is that time of year again to begin selections for Parish Council members. We would like to thank Paul Wimsatt, Daniel Koehler, and Robert Jungbluth for their service as their term is ending. We will need three new members who will serve a three year term starting in October. Like last year, rather than nominations, we would like to request for volunteers to fill these positions. If we are fortunate enough to have more than three volunteers than we will have a parish voting process to pick the three new members. Please consider volunteering for this important position for our parish. Nomination forms, which are located by the doors, can be submitted in the collection basket, to any parish council member, or to the parish secretary and are due by 9/1/26.
3. Steeple work has begun. Effectively immediately, the back door is closed and only the side door can be used for entering the church. Weekday masses will be held in the parish hall, and at this time no work is planned for the weekend so weekend masses can occur in the church. Please continue considering donating to the project, as once the work is complete, we will have to begin repaying the loan to the diocese.
OUR MISSON
Sacred Heart Parish is the assembly in which God's word is proclaimed, the Eucharist is celebrated and God's people are united in a local community.
FATHER'S DAILY THOUGHTS
Contemplating today's Gospel: Monday 17 August 2026: Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time: 1st Reading (Ezek 24:15-24): Responsorial Psalm: Dt 32: R/. You have forgotten God who gave you birth. Gospel text (Mt 19:16-22): In Today’s Gospel, a rich young man approaches Jesus with this question. Jesus tells him to keep the commandments, and when the man asks which ones, Jesus lists the moral duties toward others and loving one's neighbor. When the man says he has done all these, Jesus tells him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him, which causes the young man to go away sad because he is very rich. Gaining Eternal Life: The story of the rich young man is found near the beginning of the fifth major section of Matthew’s Gospel. The narrative (Matthew 19–23) leads up to the “end-times discourse” (Matthew 24–25). The young man approaches Jesus with a question about how to gain eternal life. As a good teacher, Jesus responds with a question of his own: “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.” Jesus does not say, “I am not good; only God is good.” Rather, he invites the young man to ponder his identity. In hindsight, we can respond to Jesus’ question with faith: “Yes, Lord, I believe you are the One who is good.” Jesus then tells him to keep the commandments. The young man asks which ones, and Jesus highlights several commandments from the Decalogue, together with the commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18). The young man confidently responds that he has kept these commandments from his youth. Yet his question reveals that he senses something is still missing. Attaining Perfection: The young man’s first question concerns eternal life; his second, implied in Jesus’ response, concerns perfection: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor.” These two questions are not completely detached from one another. To be perfect means to be complete, whole, and fully ordered toward the end for which we were created. The young man knew in his heart that something was missing, and Jesus identifies precisely what it was: his attachment to his possessions. Jesus exposes a contradiction in the young man’s understanding of the commandments. He had avoided killing, adultery, theft, and false witness, but Christian morality cannot be reduced to avoiding certain actions. The commandments are ordered toward love. If he truly loved his neighbor, he would be willing to give generously to those in need. Jesus therefore touches the deepest obstacle in the young man’s heart and invites him to surrender everything that prevents him from following him without reserve. The Christian moral life: The moral life is not merely about refraining from evil; it is about receiving God’s grace and becoming capable of doing good. The commandment against stealing opens into the positive demands of justice, responsible solidarity, generosity, and care for the poor. The commandment against adultery opens into chastity and faithful self-giving. The commandment against murder opens into treating others with respect, mercy, and love. The commandment against bearing false witness opens into becoming a person of truth in both word and action. Jesus ultimately calls the young man—and each of us—to something greater than simply keeping rules. He calls us to follow him. Christian perfection consists in allowing Christ’s grace to transform us so that our lives increasingly resemble his own complete gift of self. As St. John Paul II writes, “Sharing in the Eucharist, the sacrament of the New Covenant, is the culmination of our assimilation to Christ, the source of eternal life, the source and power of that complete gift of self, which Jesus [...] commands us to commemorate in liturgy and life” (Veritatis Splendor, 21). The path to eternal life is therefore the path of loving Christ, following him, and allowing his grace to conform us to himself.
Contemplating today's Gospel: Sunday 16 August 2026: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A): 1st Reading (Isa 56:1.6-7): Responsorial Psalm: 66: R/. O God, let all the nations praise you! 2nd Reading (Rom 11:13-15.29-32): Gospel text (Mt 15:21-28): “Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." This honest and humble statement comes from the Bible Passages in Matthew 15:27, spoken by a Canaanite woman , A non-Jewish Canaanite/Syrophoenician mother, who begs Jesus to heal her suffering daughter. When Jesus initially tests her by saying food should go to the children (Israelites) and not the dogs, she humbly uses His own metaphor to show that even a tiny bit of His mercy is enough to heal her child. Great that desperate mother believes Jesus has so much power that just a small "scrap" of His grace is enough. The passage marks a turning point showing God's grace extends beyond just one group of people. A brother priest Knowledgeably pointed out that Within the context of the unfolding of the covenant first with Israel then to all humanity, we see a particular incident that not only foreshadows or points toward universal salvation (like the magi in the infancy account) but a moment where the salvation offered through that covenant breaks through the barriers of time and tribe. Jesus, the one who saves, hears the plea of the Canaanite. His compassion wells up in response to her persistent faith and He heals. The woman represents the faith-filled foreigners of Isaiah’s prophecy in the first reading. These people, though not Israelites, observe the covenant of the Lord. He in return will take them to “my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The woman’s great faith gives us an example in prayer. She turns to the Lord for she knows that He can help her. She acknowledges Jesus for who He is, the “Son of David” and “Lord.” These are signs of her faith. She is persistent in her pleading for help. She believes Jesus will help her. All these can provide witness to us as a people of prayer. The woman’s background as well as the interchange remind us (both at the same time) of the special role of Israel in salvation history and Jesus’ gift of Himself for all peoples and nations. Israel were the people chosen from all the peoples of the world for God to begin the work of salvation through whom He manifested Himself as the One God. The revelation reaches its climax as God becomes man in Jesus. He enters into the covenant as a Jew then opens the door for all peoples to know God’s love and mercy and to be saved through His death and resurrection. The priest concluded to tell: The little girl who Pope Francis encountered at Lampedusa 13 years ago reminds us of people in need around the world. They are foreign by earthly markers. She makes the same plea that the Canaanite woman made: “Lord, help me.” The three simple words provide a great prayer for anyone and everyone in need.
Father Rahab Isidor
Father Isidor Rahab was born in Haiti to a Dominican mother and a Haitian father. As a boy, Father Rahab enjoyed playing soccer nearly every day and swimming in the town's rivers with cousins and friends. His mother recalls Father playing "priest" with the kids in the neighborhood; she owned a grocery store where young Isidor was able to get fresh bread and practice giving communion by tearing off pieces from the bread. However, entering the priesthood was not even a consideration until much later in his educational journey.
Wanting to follow in his father's footsteps, Father Rahab applied to the military academy and was accepted. However, his mother was opposed to the idea, and Father Rahab declined the acceptance. At the urging of his maternal grandfather, he entered law school, financed by his local priest. Father studied law in both Haiti and in France, from about 1990-1994. Subsequently, Father was also encouraged to learn English, so the local priest sent him to Loyola University in New Orleans.
At Loyola, Father's interest in the priesthood began to ignite; while studying English, he also took a couple of theology classes. It was here that he met a Dominican priest who wanted him to join their order. After about a year of consideration, and now in his mid-twenties, Father decided to join the Southern Dominican Province, the Order of Preachers. After he completed his ESL certification (English as a Second Language), the Dominicans took over funding Father's education. They sent him to San Antonio, Texas, for his novitiate year, during which he made his first vow as a Dominican student. This was the beginning of his journey into the priesthood.
After several years of study that took Father from Barry University in Miami to St. Louis University and its then-Aquinas Institute of Theology, he ultimately earned two master's degrees: a Master of Divinity (MDiv) and a Master of Arts in Theology. Before completion of his second master's degree, he left the Dominican Order to join the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, ultimately resulting in his ordination at Holy Trinity CC in Aurora in July of 2006.
Father Rahab's career trajectory since ordination under Bishop John Liebrecht:
2006-2008: St. Vincent de Paul CC, Associate Pastor and Notre Dame Regional High School, Chaplain (Cape Girardeau)
2008: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton CC, Associate Pastor (Springfield)
2009: St. Joseph CC, Parochial Administrator (Billings)
2010-2018: Sacred Heart CC, Pastor (Webb City0
2014 - Current: Webb City Police Department Chaplain
Under Bishop Edward M. Rice:
2018-2019: Pastor of Saint Lawrence CC (Monett), Sacred Heart CC (Verona), St. Edward CC (Cassville), and Holy Family CC (Shell Knob)
2018- Current: continues as Pastor of St. Lawrence CC (Monett) and Sacred Heart CC (Verona)
In his free time, Father Rahab enjoys watching action movies, walking around the neighborhood, and checking in on his friends via Facebook. Chinese food is a culinary favorite. He also likes to follow the USA and Haitian men's soccer teams.
Weekly Mass Schedule
UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday
8:00a.m.
Friday
8:00a.m.
Spanish Mass
Saturday
6:30 p.m.
English Mass
Sunday
8:00 a.m.
KNIGHT OS COLUMBUS 50/50 RAFFLE The Knights of Columbus are raising money to help buy a mobile ultrasound machine for the Tri-County Pregnancy Care Center. 50/50 tickets are available at the table in the back of church; 1 for $5 or 5 for $20. The drawing will be on October 18th. Donations can be made in lieu of buying tickets.
RIFA 50/50 DE LOS CABALLEROS DE COLÓN: Los Caballeros de Colón están recaudando fondos para ayudar a comprar un ecógrafo móvil para el Tri-County Pregnancy Care Center. Los boletos para la rifa 50/50 están disponibles en la mesa situada al fondo de la iglesia: 1 boleto por $5 o 5 boletos por $20. El sorteo se realizará el 18 de octubre. También se pueden hacer donaciones en lugar de comprar boletos.
Steeple roof work has begun and is expected to last 3-4 weeks. The back of the church and the church main door will be closed during this time. Access to the church will be through the north side door. Parking will also be closed on the west side, so please park in the back parking lot. Weekday masses will be held in the parish hall. For questions, please contact parish secretary or council president.
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