Pastor’s Corner

Dear Sacred Heart Family,

This past Friday was a wonderful celebration of our Parish Solemnity. We, as the family of Sacred Heart, celebrate June as the month of the Sacred Heart, a time of special blessings for us. In music, clergy, and service, we have some new arrivals. Mr. Mark Pichowicz is our new Music Director, and is continuing the generous service of previous dedicated musicians in our Parish. Mrs. Elizabeth Caluda, Mr. Paul Cambell, and Ms. Sue Williams have enthusiastically dedicated themselves in service of God’s worship here at Sacred Heart for many, many years. The great fruit their work has born, includes a legacy of congregational singing, choral work, performance, reverence and beauty in the service of the People of God, our worship together, and the Sacred Liturgy. Mark will have opportunities this summer, and in the coming months, to get to know you as he puts down roots here in our musically rich community. We welcome him on board, and thank him for bringing his talents to serve our parish and academy. Please pray for him as he begins his work here among us, for the Lord.

Fr. Stephen Holmes will be joining us June 28th as our new parochial vicar. In recent years he has served generously and faithfully with great joy at Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he will be missed. Please look forward to welcoming him to our family, and getting to know his joyful and kind heart as he begins to work in our parish. We are truly blessed by the Bishop sending him to Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Finally, we will be welcoming another seminarian to our parish this summer. Mr. Zinjin Iglesia graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Biology and minor in Business, served the Catholic Campus Ministry as Student Campus Minister, led a FOCUS Bible study, and was applying for graduate school when he decided to enter seminary.

His experience at World Youth Day 2016 in Kraków, Poland, opened his “eyes and heart to the astounding beauty of the true Universal Catholic Church, the beauty of my brothers and sisters from every corner of the planet that are in love with Jesus Christ, and the astounding effect that priests have on the people of the world.” He believes his calling to the priesthood can have an impact today. “We live amongst a culture of destruction, with many turning their backs on truth and God, and I feel called to be a part of the counter-culture fighting for construction as a priest, being God’s instrument of mercy, hope, and love.” He loves cooking, traveling, hiking, going to the beach, eating good food, and going on adventures with family and friends.

We are blessed to welcome Mark, Father Holmes, and Zinjin to Sacred Heart this summer. Please pray for them and look forward to getting to know them as they bless us here.

In Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart,

Fr. Bjorn Lundberg