Fr. Todd Bulletin Article 8/23/26

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,

I am getting very excited for the beginning of the school year! We have an open house at the School August 29/30 for anyone to come over after the weekend Masses at Sacred Heart if you would like to see all of the renovations. I am very happy with them. Many, many thanks to all of your and our benefactors who have made this project possible!

In the first week of September, we will be welcoming Harrison Bertram for the year. He will be staying with us at the recommendation of the Diocese. He plans on applying for seminary in the upcoming spring but in the meantime getting some time in our parishes. (I am still figuring out what to call him- perhaps a pre-seminarian?) He is actually from Fowler, my hometown, although I have never met him until last week. It will be great to have him with us as he discerns his calling. Thank you for your warm welcome and the important role you play in his formation as with all the guys we have been blessed to have with us over the years.

Catechism in a year: I am continuing my way through the Catechism in a year with Fr. Mike Schmitz. It really is a great resource to deepen your understanding of the faith and so many of the whys behind what we believe and live as Christians. Fr. Mike has a great way of synthesizing and making very real and relevant each day’s section. If you have not had the opportunity to go participate in yet I would highly recommend it. It is available on many platforms as a podcast. If you have the Ascension Press app or the Hallow App you can easily access it there.

Potential Sanctuary Beautification at Sacred Heart: Earlier this spring I was approached by a couple of families at Sacred Heart about the possibility of beautifying the Altar, ambo, and furnishings of the sanctuary and wanting to help make that happen. As you are well aware we have a beautiful, historic Church. Sacred Heart is built in the Romanesque style. For example, one of Romanesque’s signature features is the half dome. That feature marks everything throughout the Church from all the curved arches on the walls and ceilings to the communion rail. Our current free-standing altar and ambo are quite modern both in their materials/design and do not match the architecture of the rest of the Church. One simple example is that they have peaked arches- a signature feature of Gothic architecture, not Romanesque.

When I came to Sacred Heart in 2018, the idea of a new altar had been talked about as a part of Witness to Hope but it didn’t make the list with all of the other projects that needed to be done. I have begun some investigation with a couple different companies and the Diocesan Committee on Liturgical Design. I would love to see a marble altar and ambo that would match the High Altar and Communion Rail in design and color. At first, I honestly didn’t know how possible this would be but it seems that with modern technology, (CNC machines), replicating the design features of the high altar seems pretty promising. When I have something more definite, I will share what is possible with everyone.

God Bless, Fr. Todd