St. John Neumann enthrones Sacred Heart of Jesus over parish and homes
By Emily Booker
St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut held a three-day mission June 28-30 focused on the love of Jesus, reconciliation, and building a civilization of love.
The mission was brought to the parish by the Sacred Heart Apostolate, which is committed to the Christian renewal of families through the Heart of Jesus. The apostolate is headquartered in the Diocese of Knoxville and brings missions such as this to parishes free of cost.
Father Mark Schuster, St. John Neumann pastor, displays the Eucharist. The mission included exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and adoration. (Photo courtesy St. John Neumann Parish)
Father Richard McNally of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary led the three-day mission.
Each night drew a large congregation of close to 200 people who were looking to learn more about the Sacred Heart of Jesus and go deeper in their personal relationship with Christ.
“It’s gone really well, with great turnout,” Father Mark Schuster, pastor of St. John Neumann, said.
Father Schuster said he has always had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He realized that it had been several years since the parish had hosted a mission, and with the parish’s 50th anniversary coming up in 2027, he felt it was the right time for a mission like this.
“In preparation of this 49th year into our jubilee year, how great would it be to begin to prepare the different homes, for people to come and hear about this then possibly enthrone the Sacred Heart into their own homes as a preparation for this jubilee for the entire parish community? So, that was part of the impetus to do this. I think the Lord wanted it. We can’t be obstacles to His will,” Father Schuster said.
A small group of parishioners began planning the mission early in the year. Later in the spring, the U.S. bishops announced that they would be consecrating the country to the Sacred Heart in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary.
“We heard about what the bishops of our country were doing, and I was like, wow, this just seems fortuitous because we have been working on this since early this year unbeknownst to what the bishops were working on. It seems like we might be praying for the same thing. The Holy Spirit is guiding this,” Father Schuster said.
Children of St. John Neumann Parish listen to Lisa Morris talk about the love of Jesus and sharing that love with others. The parish mission included special activities and talks for children. (Photo Emily Booker)
The final night of the mission began with Father Michael Raj Joseph, IVE, associate pastor at St. John Neumann, exposing the Blessed Sacrament.
After the opening prayer, Lisa Morris, president of the Sacred Heart Apostolate, called the children to the front and spoke to them about St. Carlo Acutis (a teenage saint who created a website about eucharistic miracles), Jesus’ love for each of them, and living a life of sharing Jesus with others.
Following singing and Scripture-reading, Father McNally spoke on the theme of the evening, “building a civilization of love.”
Father McNally recalled one of his favorite verses in the New Testament, when Paul says in Romans 5:5, “Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
“The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God’s love,” Father McNally said. “In our tradition, we say the Holy Spirit is substantial love…the infinite and unbounded love of God is pouring into each of our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
“This is the gift of Jesus to us, the gift of His life, the gift of His love.”
He noted that at the Last Supper, Jesus said, “This is my blood, poured out for you.”
“The very same word that Jesus uses there—the word poured—is the same word that St. Paul uses when he says ‘the love of God has been poured out into our hearts from the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.’ This great spirit of love.”
The Holy Spirit is received in the sacraments and is with us each day, he said. He reminded those listening to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit each day. He also spoke about the image of the Sacred Heart and reflecting on Jesus’ outpouring of love.
A Blessed Virgin Mary statue leads a procession into St. John Neumann Church during the parish’s enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (Photo courtesy St. John Neumann Parish)
“The heart is the deepest, most intimate center of the person. It is Jesus’ heart pouring out His Spirit into us, into our hearts, so that we can be transformed.”
He called for the faithful to be witnesses of Jesus’ great love in a world that desperately needs it. By being witnesses of that love and sharing it with others, they build a civilization of love.
“We are where God dwells. We, together as a Church, are a living temple of the Holy Spirit. This is a beautiful parish church. But if this church did not exist, the Church, the temple of God, would still exist because we together are the temple of God. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and the world needs us. The world needs the power of Jesus Christ, the power of His love who dwells within us.”
Following Father McNally’s talk, Mrs. Morris spoke about the Sacred Heart Apostolate and enthroning the Sacred Heart in one’s home.
“One heart at a time. We can change our families. We can change our world,” she said.
“Some of the goals of the apostolate are the revitalization of faith and love in the home, families witnessing God’s plan for marriage and family, greater reverence for the Eucharist…we’re just trying to fulfill the mission of helping families make Christ the center of their home.”
Individuals and families were then invited to come forward to kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament, praying for family members who were burdened or had left the Church. Members of the Knights of Columbus assisted.
At the end of the evening, Mrs. Morris called Father Schuster forward. She thanked him for hosting the mission at St. John Neumann. A reflection of gratitude and blessing was then read as a gift from the parishioners to Father Schuster. It said in part:
“Today, we anoint your hands anew with our love, not just our love but the love of the entire Catholic Church family. Hold up your hands and look at them and remember how they fed us the Bread of Life, how they brought hope into our lives, how they comforted us and healed us, and then welcomed us home to the Church again. We wish we could take you by the hand and stand at the busiest intersection in Farragut and shout to the world: ‘Look everyone! This is our beloved priest in whom we are well pleased!’”
As the Sacred Heart was enthroned, more than 50 families signed up to enthrone the Sacred Heart in their homes. (Photo courtesy St. John Neumann Parish)
Gifts of the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were then handed out to the parish priests and deacons as well as Father McNally.
Susan Rigaurd was one of the parishioners who helped bring the mission to the parish. She said she was pleased by the turnout and the eagerness of families to come pray each night and prepare to enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their homes.
“We’ve been involved with the Sacred Heart Apostolate for about 15 years. So, when they were ready to do a mission here, especially as we have our coming jubilee year at St. John Neumann, I wanted to have a mission like this,” she said. “It’s been beautiful, really beautiful. I love it when families bring all the children.”
Through the mission, more than 50 families signed up to enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their homes, which is publicly proclaiming Christ as King over one’s home and family. The Sacred Heart Apostolate will help these families prepare for the enthronement ceremony in the coming weeks.