Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church

In over 2,000 years, there have been a few saints given the title of “great” for their contributions to the Church.⁣
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Today's saint is considered the “Greatest of the Great.”⁣
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To read about the extraordinary life of this amazing pope and saint, click here: https://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&pgid=16180

Pope Francis' prayer intention for September is for the cry of the earth. Let us pray with him as a Blessed Sacrament Church family today!

Hope you have had a happy Sunday! ⁣
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In the ancient Jewish worldview, the center of a person is the heart, the "place of decision." When a person commits an evil action or thinks of evil behavior, it is here where sin begins. This hearkens back to Genesis. Although God created all things good, after the fall of man and original sin, the heart of man changed and became a slave to the passions. Ultimately, our Lord is not saying that man can’t cope with temptations, but with a defiled heart, it is difficult. This is why we need all the grace that's available to us!

Please help us spread the word! We apologize for any inconvenience, but repairs to our parking lot are behind schedule. Due to no parking lot access, we have to cancel tonight's healing prayer and tomorrow morning's Mass.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our parking lot sealing project will continue through Friday, August 30th. In view of this, Eucharistic Exposition (Adoration) originally scheduled for today from 4:00 - 8:00 PM is canceled.
- Daily Mass at 8:00 AM tomorrow will be held as scheduled, however, parking will be extremely limited. On-street parking is available on Stephan Ave.
- Healing Prayer Ministry and Reconciliation from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM will be held. Limited parking will be available.
We apologize for the inconvenience. God bless.

In his apostolic exhortation, Into the Breach, Bishop Emeritus Olmsted describes the attack on families as a war and says evil forces are winning because men have left the battlefield. His letter is a call to arms for Catholic men to return to fight the battle for the sake of their families. All Men, but we especially want the men of Blessed Sacrament Parish, to read the letter here and answer the call: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/into-the-breach-3981

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Our readings, children's booklets and music for our regular weekend Masses are now available on our website. Please print out what you like so that you can follow along from home or use the Breaking Bread 2024 hymnal or silenced smartphone to participate if attending in person.
https://blessedsacramentwaterloo.org/weekend-mass-info

Please take note that parking lot repairs start tomorrow on our campus!

Here is a neat way to personalize your Rosary or chaplet for another person. Pray it as you usually would, but make one small word change: Rosary: "Hail Mary, full of grace....pray for N. now, and at the hour of their death." Divine Mercy: "For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on N. and on the whole world." By doing this, you are connecting your heart and mind to the individual you are praying for. Try praying this way for people you love, your enemies, and don't forget to throw Fr. Tony in there every now and then!

The disciples openly admitted that Jesus' teaching on eating his flesh and blood was too difficult to accept, and sadly, many of them left. What would be so hard about it if Jesus were speaking metaphorically or symbolically as he had done so many times before? Notice that Jesus does not attempt to stop them from leaving or correct any misunderstanding because He is NOT speaking symbolically and means what He says. Unlike the Israelites, who doubted God in the desert, and the doubting disciples who left Jesus, Peter responds with faith and trust. Today, we are faced with the same choice: Do we trust our limited human understanding, or do we trust that Jesus' words are true, knowing that he can transcend our human limitations?

To calm your body, mind, and heart, try connecting slow, deep breaths with the simple but profound words of the Jesus prayer. With a deep inhale, say in your mind: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God." With a deep exhale, say in your mind: "Have mercy on me, a sinner."

"The Church needs ... to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful.... I see the Church as a field hospital after battle." (Pope Francis, 2013). TONIGHT @ 6pm, our Healing Prayer teams will be in the Church to pray for you. Whatever is hidden in you, pain from physical suffering, emotional or psychological wounds from long ago or from the present, spiritual suffering ... bring all of it and see what the Holy Spirit can do.
Just like the Angel Gabriel said to Mary, "... for nothing will be impossible for God." (Lk 1:37). Come and see ...

The Fatima Chaplet of Adoration and Reparation is a devotion comprised of the prayers given to the children of Fatima. It is prayed to offer reparation for all of the blasphemies and evils committed against our Lord today by offering him the adoration and love he deserves. It takes less than 15 minutes to pray the chaplet, and you can follow along with the audio here: https://youtu.be/N15Aye2mdUY

Does anyone spy our own Sr. Madonna Friedman? It's wonderful to see her smiling face!

Thanks to our Franciscan Way of Life group that visited us from Stonehill Communities last Friday! Our Charism Team Members Sister Michelle Balek (back left) and Nancy Knipper (back center) co-lead the group and Sister Madonna Friedman (front right) is the group's prayer sister!

Jesus is both fully divine and human. He received his divine nature from God the Father and his human flesh and DNA from his mother. This is the very same flesh we consume in the Blessed Sacrament! What’s more, we have the privilege of imitating Mary as a tabernacle as we, too, hold Jesus’ body in our bodies. Today, let's thank our Blessed Mother for her part in giving us the gift of the Eucharist by incorporating more daily masses into our week! Tuesday at 5:30pm and Wednesday through Friday at 8:00am