November 8, 2020 - 32nd Week in Ordinary Time

Dear Friends in Christ:

Don’t forget this weekend, on Sunday from 2-3PM, we are offering an opportunity for our parishioners who have yet to return to “in-person” Mass to come by and receive Holy Communion without even leaving your car!

So many of our beloved parishioners have been joining us “virtually” for Sunday Mass since the shutdown all the way back in March. I have spoken to many of them, either by phone or written communication, and have heard directly how they miss receiving the Eucharist! We have been talking about what we could do to help meet this need while at the same time not requiring people to come into the church building with others present at the same time…and we have come up with a plan that has me super excited!

It is as safe as we can possibly make it. You don’t even need to leave the car! Drive in and follow the signs. These signs will guide you through some preparation prayers, then to a station where Father Federico and I will be there one on each side of the car, roll down the windows and receive the Holy Eucharist, then pull forward to do your prayer of thanksgiving and be on your way.

PLEASE COME BY AND RECEIVE JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST!

CONNECTICUT RETURNS TO PHASE 2…well now known as Phase 2.1…this past week we received word that the Governor has decided to revert back to the restrictions of Phase 2 once again. What does this mean for us? It means, beginning this past Friday, November 6th, our capacity is back down to 50% capacity or 100, whichever is less. For us that means we can only have 100 people at every Mass! This is disappointing news to say the least. And as I said the weekend in early September when I announced an additional Mass, as with all COVID-19 related things are constantly changing and we will continue to adjust based on the guidelines issued from the State and from the Archdiocese.

Therefore, the pews have already been reconfigured to provide that extra spacing we had early on, though it is more than the required amount. But since we cannot have more than 100 people, providing that extra spacing between pews puts a little extra distance between people and, hopefully, helps us all be extra cautious and safe.

Once again, I wish to publicly thank, on your behalf, Lynn Krieg and Jim Mitchell, Co-Chairs of our Parish Pastoral Council for all that they have been doing to assist us in this process of reopening! They are on top of things and are always there to lend advice, help in planning, assist in ensuring a safe environment for those who come to Mass and coordinate all our awesome volunteers at each Mass. We simply could not be doing what we are doing without their phenomenal assistance.

NOW MORE THAN EVER the importance of signing up for Mass is evident. We ask all who attend Mass here at Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish, either weekday or weekend, to continue to make a reservation online through our SignUpGenius available through our website at www.stbridgetcheshire.org, or by calling the parish office to have one of our staff members assist you in signing up in advance, enter by the front door or south door entrances only to check in, and that while in church PLEASE REMEMBER masks must be worn at all times.

Also, just by way of reminder when receiving the host in the hand, please place one hand on top of the other, keeping the palm fully open, and waiting for the priest or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion to place the host in your hand before moving. Please do not cup your hand, try to take the host between your fingers from the minister, or move quickly. We all have to do our part to avoid contact with the communion minister for the safety of all.

Donations for the collections may continue to be put in the corresponding offering baskets on the communion rail (they are covered with a red cloth) or by using our online giving portal, available on the parish website at www.stbridgetcheshire.org.

Again, I personally thank you all for your flexibility and patience as we navigate these uncharted waters of the pandemic. It is a constantly changing situation and we will get through this together as long as we all continue to be patient and understanding.

Let us continue to pray for all those affected by COVID, and those working diligently for treatments, vaccines, and other remedies-physical, financial and emotional-that one day soon we can return to our regular worship practices and daily routines. Finally, if you or someone you know is in need of any assistance during this time, please contact me to let me know so that we may reach out to them with whatever help we may be able to provide. May God continue to bless us all!

PLEASE NOTE…Archbishop Blair has extended the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass… I know that relieves some stress for those among us who are worried about returning to Mass “in-person” during these times due to underlying health conditions and/or nervousness. With notice of this change back to Phase 2.1, we also received word from the Archbishop’s Office that said:

“Dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation is hereby extended for all the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Hartford through Tuesday, February 16, 2021, which is the eve of Ash Wednesday.”

LAST WEEKEND WE CELEBRATED WITH GREAT JOY THE BEATIFICATION OF MICHAEL J. MCGIVNEY. What a great blessing to the local church to have one of our own, born and raised in Waterbury, Connecticut, declared a Blessed!

As I said in my homily last weekend on the Solemnity of All Saints, nobody is born a saint. That is the simple and reassuring fact of the Solemnity of All Saints, and it shows us, or better reminds us, that we can all become saints!

Think about it someone born 10 miles from here is officially declared a Blessed, and we pray, please God, one day a Saint. He was a simple parish priest of our Archdiocese. He never tired in serving the people entrusted to his care with great devotion and love and NOW he is a Blessed. It could happen for any one of us!

The Saints were just like us—ordinary men and women who dared to live in an extraordinary way in faithfulness to the Gospel. Flesh and blood, strength and weakness. They were people of appetites and longings, ambitions and disappointments. They were simple sinners just like the rest of us. They have struggled with sin and temptation, they’ve walked the journey toward holiness, sometimes stumbling, sometimes falling. The difference between a saint and the rest of us is that saints get up one more time after they fall. They get back up—they move on—they resolve to do better, to be better, to aim higher. The potential is within each of us, and with the help of God’s grace, and the intercession of Blessed Michael J. McGivney, I pray each of us will strive to be a Saint.

Shown above are two more pictures from the amazing weekend…the one on the left is Michael McGivney Schachle who was the baby healed in utero of a life threatening illness known as fetal hydrops diagnosis. Little Michael was with us at the Cathedral for the Beatification and there was not a dry eye in the Cathedral as he handed Cardinal Tobin the relic of Blessed Michael J. McGivney. The picture to the right is of the relic in Saint Mary’s Church in New Haven where Blessed Michael McGivney’s body is enshrined. It was a busy weekend but one filled with many graced moments as one of our own shows us that the path to sainthood is possible even for people born in Connecticut!

The Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Project for the Cheshire Community Food Pantry. I have to say one of my highlights each year as Pastor is seeing our parishioners work together with people of the other houses of worship in Cheshire to serve our brothers and sisters in need for Thanksgiving. I have loved it. I remember the times we gathered here to assembly the boxes in the school gym and gather in prayer in the Church. I remember how after the new pantry was built we moved this to be an on-site event at the Food Pantry and how we still prayed together.

This year, due to the pandemic, the Pantry asked us to collect gift cards for their clients rather than food. After much prayer and consideration, I informed the Pantry that our parish would not participate this year. Before you say, WHAT? Why would you do that? I need you to understand. They are collecting gift cards this weekend and then NEXT WEEKEND we will be kicking off our Annual Advent Giving Tree Program. I did not feel right asking the people of our parish family to do both BACK TO BACK. If you would like to make a donation to the Thanksgiving Meal Project by all means please do but I could not, as your Pastor, ask you one weekend for gift cards for this project knowing that the following weekend we are launching an extensive giving program and requesting from you, once again, help to meet the requests of these families served by the Food Pantry. The Advent Giving Program will be much different than years past and I am hoping, even with this new way of doing it, we will be able to meet the needs of those we serve.

As always, remember to pray and ask God’s blessings upon our family of faith as we build His kingdom here. Please know that I am praying for you, and I ask for your prayers for me, that together through the intercession of Saint Bridget of Sweden, our Patroness, and united in the Eucharist, we will reflect the presence of Jesus to the world.

Apologetics 101: Praying for Vocations

November 1-7 was National Vocations Awareness Week. Praying for vocations is essential helping more people say yes to their calling as priests and religious.

· We all know that the Church desperately needs more priests and religious. Oftentimes our instinct is to try to solve problems like this ourselves. As Catholics, our first response to any difficulty should be prayer, as a sign of trust that vocations are a gift from him and he is the one that will open more hearts to say yes.

· The best way to get more Vocations is the pray for them. The amazing story of a little town in Italy named Lu is a great example of this.

o The mothers of this little town greatly desired that their children would become priests and religious. They decided to start having adoration for this intention. 323 vocations came from this town in the next 50-60 years!

§ The dedication of these mothers to prayer created an atmosphere in which their children could recognize their vocations. They did not pressure their children into becoming priests and religious

§ Read more about the story here: https://bit.ly/3exX7ST

· Another example of a mother who persevered in prayer was Saint Monica. Saint Ambrose said to her: “talk to God about Augustine more than you talk to Augustine about God.” She knew that praying to God would be more effective than badgering her son to change his life

· Praying in Adoration is especially powerful, as the priesthood and consecrated life are closely tied to the Eucharist.

o Parishes that have Holy Hours for vocations get more vocations. In our Parish, the first hour of our Friday Adoration is dedicated to praying for vocations.

Check out our other video on fostering vocations in your children: https://fb.watch/1zN9nLjE1E/

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38

November 1, 2020 - Solemnity of All Saints

Dear Friends in Christ:

Halloween is this weekend and in “normal times” we would be excited to answer the door of the rectory and greet the tricker treaters but these are NOT “normal times.” That said, we do want to give our youngsters candy to give them something in the spirit of this tradition. Therefore, at ALL Masses this weekend our volunteers will be at the doors of the church as you leave and will hand little baggies of candy to all the young people present for Mass. We look forward to next year, we hope and pray, when we can once again greet you and see the creative and interesting costumes our young people choose!

We remind you all that THIS SUNDAY we also mark the Solemnity of All Saints and then we celebrate the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day) on Monday. At ALL THE MASSES THIS WEEKEND, candles will be lit in front of the altar as a special way to honor our parishioners who have died throughout the past year. Each family will be provided the opportunity after the Mass they attend to take the candle with their loved ones name on it as a reminder of our prayers for them during this time of loss, and as a reminder of our need to pray for our deceased loved ones. Please note the candles are arranged in alphabetical order by last name. ALL parishioners are welcome to join us in prayer for our parishioners who died this past year and for their families who mourn their loss.

On All Souls’ Day we will have the normal daily Mass at 7AM and 9AM in Saint Bridget Church. Please join us if you are able and then visit your loved ones at the cemetery. In “normal times” this indulgence is only from November 1 to November 8 and if you meet the requirements necessary for a Plenary Indulgence for the Souls in Purgatory. This year this has been EXTENDED for the entire month of November.

Traditionally, the faithful could receive a full indulgence each day from November 1 to November 8 when they visited a cemetery to pray for the departed and fulfilled other conditions ***, and, in particular, when they went to a church or an oratory to pray on November 2, All Souls' Day.

Bishops' conferences in countries where large numbers of faithful traditionally go to confession, attend Mass and visit cemeteries during the week had asked how the faithful could be accommodated given COVID-19 restrictions or in the case that a member of the faithful was ill, in isolation or in quarantine and the Vatican responded by granting this extension!

The full indulgence traditionally offered November 2 for those who visit a church or an oratory and ***recite the Our Father and the Creed can also be gained any day in November!

Those who cannot leave their homes or residence for "serious reasons," which includes government restrictions during a pandemic also can receive a plenary indulgence after reciting specific prayers for the deceased or reflecting on a Gospel reading designated for Masses of the Dead before an image of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary in their home, or by performing a work of mercy.

In all cases, one also must fulfill the normal requirements set by the church for all plenary indulgences, which demonstrate a resolve to turn away from sin and convert to God. Those conditions include: *** having a spirit detached from sin; going to confession as soon as possible; receiving the Eucharist as soon as possible; praying for the pope's intentions; and being united spiritually with all the faithful.

The church teaches that prayer, particularly the Mass, and sacrifices may be offered on behalf of the souls in purgatory.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." It is by our prayers and our obtaining for them the plenary indulgence that our loved ones are brought closer to their entrance to the heavenly kingdom.

A reminder…as we did last year, we as a parish family will be placing the All Souls’ Day envelopes (included in your offertory envelope package) on the altar for the whole month of November at all the Masses. These envelopes allow you to list your loved ones names on the back so that their names will be remembered in a special way at all the Masses in this month of Remembrance.

ELECTION DAY…Archbishop Blair has asked all parishes to offer the opportunity for Eucharistic Adoration on the Day of the Election. Therefore, on Tuesday, November 3rd we will have Eucharistic Adoration from 12-4PM. PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYER ON THIS IMPORTANT DAY!

EXCITED!!! WE ARE SO THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THIS NEW IDEA!!! So many of our beloved parishioners have been joining us “virtually” for Sunday Mass since the shutdown back in March. I have spoken to many of them, either by phone or written communication, and have heard directly how they miss receiving the Eucharist! We have been talking about what we could do to help meet this need while at the same time not requiring people to come into the church building with others present at the same time…and we have come up with a plan that has me super excited!

WE ARE GOING TO OFFER HOLY COMMUNION TO OUR VIRTUAL MEMBERS THIS COMING SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8th, FROM 2-3PM in the Church parking lot. You don’t even need to leave the car! Drive in and follow the signs. These signs will guide you through some preparation prayers, then to a station where Father Federico and I will be there one on each side of the car, roll down the windows and receive the Holy Eucharist, then pull forward to do your prayer of thanksgiving and be on your way.

PLEASE COME BY AND RECEIVE JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST!

Saint Thomas Becket Education Wing Roof is being worked on as I write this article. The work is nearly complete on the overlay roof project at the Education Wing and the Father Frisbie Hall at Saint Thomas Becket Campus. Your generosity to the 2019 Annual Family Commitment made this project possible and for that I thank you! With your financial generosity, your trust in me, and the support of our phenomenal volunteers on the Parish Facilities and Grounds Committee we were able to complete both roof projects in this fiscal year and have a 20 year warranty for both! Truly amazing! And throw in a pandemic and it was still completed! Thank you!

This is an opportunity for me to remind you of our 2020 Annual Family Commitment that is going on NOW!

As of Monday, October 26th, we have received pledges in the amount of $185,246.50 from 613 of our families representing participation from only 19.79% of our families.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who have already made a commitment!

To those who have not yet made a commitment to the 2020 Annual Family Commitment, would you consider doing so soon to help your parish family?

This year, as we face some much needed repairs, I am personally asking every family to support the 2020 Annual Family Commitment. Your generosity to this year’s collection will help us to address the deterioration of the pews here in Saint Bridget Church (once the pandemic is over), and address some much-needed parking lot repairs and hopefully address some repairs to the West Wall at Saint Thomas Becket Church. These are projects, once again, that simply could not be addressed within the ordinary budget of our parish. Please be as generous as you are able as these are projects that come with substantial costs. I am grateful to our own David Riccio, a Principal from John Canning & Co., who is working to solicit proposals for the pew project.

Your gift, no matter its size, makes a difference, and 100% of all funds collected will be used here in Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish. We need your help! If you have not given yet please prayerfully consider doing so. Thank you for what you do to make Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish such a phenomenal and vibrant family of faith.

With the changing of months comes the end of Respect Life Month. I publicly thank our Pro-Life Coordinators Rosa and Peter Spilka for what they do throughout the year to build a Culture of Life here in our parish and town. The Spilka’s recently joined other parishioners in peaceful prayer outside an abortion clinic in Hartford as we participated in the 40 Days for Life campaign held each year throughout the country prior to the elections. Thank you to all the parishioners who gave of their time throughout the month to come together and pray and witness to the Gift of Life.

REMINDERS:

WE WANT YOUR RECIPES…THE PANDEMIC SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN COOKBOOK

started a few months ago when Father Federico and I were doing our weekly Casual Conversations during quarantine and we realized that the pandemic has caused a lot of people to start cooking and baking more than normal. People were sharing recipes on the Facebook posts so we figured why not put together a parish pandemic cookbook. A good number came in but we WANT more.

SEND US YOUR RECIPES!

At this time we are NOW looking for your favorite soups and salad recipes. Send in those family specialties to cookbook@stbridgetcheshire.org.

WE ARE ALSO LOOKING FOR STORIES OF FAITH! We want to hear from you! The Pastoral Staff discussed the desire to hear from you about your story of faith! We would like you to write out your story and share it with us. We hope to highlight different stories from time to time in upcoming bulletins. Stories can be submitted anonymously or with your name on it.

Please tell us how you became Catholic and why you stayed Catholic. Describe what the Catholic faith means to you.

How has the faith helped you in the tough and dark times of life? How has your faith helped you during this pandemic?

Tell us about any incredible and uplifting supernatural experiences that have happened to you. Share with us why Saint Bridget of Sweden is your parish? We are planning to incorporate your story of faith into an outreach program for those friends and family members who have left the Catholic faith. The testimony and faith stories from people just like them will have a much bigger impact than if it came only from their priests. Your submission will not be shared without your permission. Please send your story to my attention through the collection or via email to rectory@stbridgetcheshire.org. Thank you!

As always, remember to pray and ask God’s blessings upon our family of faith as we build His kingdom here. Please know that I am praying for you, and I ask for your prayers for me, that together through the intercession of Saint Bridget of Sweden, our Patroness, and united in the Eucharist, we will reflect the presence of Jesus to the world.