September 20th, 2020 - 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Dear Friends in Christ:

Every now and then there is one line that really sticks with you! Do you know what I mean? I have found through my years that when I am at a talk, or listening to another priest give a homily, there is often one line that really stands out!

I remember one line that still sticks with me and comes up often in my prayer during these months of pandemic as I have been reflecting on the ministries of our parish. It was from a talk by Peter Burak, director of i.d.9:16, a young adult outreach of Renewal Ministries in Michigan, who by the way, is working with an amazing group of young adults from our parish to launch a Young Adult Ministry here in our parish. Anyway, I digress; the line he said during his talk at the Archdiocesan Synod last October was “what if this works?” His main point was what if the work of the Synod works? Let’s plan as if the things we are going to do are actually going to accomplish what we intended them to do. This is really something that provides a basis for much of what we are about in terms of reaching out to others, bringing the Gospel message to the wider community, calling others into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Well, the reason I bring this up is that this weekend in the Gospel, Jesus asks a question that is really one of those lines that can stick with you. Jesus has a powerful question for you and me: "Are you envious because I am generous?"

Wow. Give that one some thought. Bring that line into some prayer time and see what is on your heart.

Before we can answer that question we need to know what envy is. Here's the definition I found in a commentary on this parable: "Envy is not simply jealousy which is the desire to attain or possess what the other person has. Envy is the sin of being upset at another's good fortune."

The sin of being upset at another's good fortune. Wow. YES, I have given in to the temptation to fall into this envy.

I recently had an occasion of envy. I was speaking with a classmate who is also a Pastor of a large parish with a school. I was sharing with him the difficulties I have been experiencing as we prepared to reopen the school. The need to empty so much into a tractor trailer, the need to replace the PODS in the Science Room with new tables, the need to replace the tables in Pre-K with actual individual desks, and the great expense of ensuring the HVAC was ready to bring in the outside air as required by the State guidelines. He said “don’t worry Jeff we too faced all of that and the Lord provided.” I said “what?” He said “I was losing sleep about these issues and how we are going to meet our budget and then we got word about a new bequest given to the school.”

“That's great," I said while inside I was thinking, "Why couldn't St. Bridget School get a bequest?" I was upset at another priest's good fortune. I gave in to the sin of envy.

What should we do when envy attacks? We find the answer when we face Jesus' question: "Are you envious because I am generous?" You and I have to keep going back to the generosity of God. While I may not have received a bequest for our school, the more I think about this question from Jesus, the clearer I see that I have received something even better: the generosity of God poured out in his Son Jesus.

St. Paul tells us we are interconnected like organs in body. If one suffers, all suffer. And if one thrives, all ultimately thrive. That other priest's bequest is like the water of an incoming tide of blessings. So it is with God's generosity.

I am grateful for God's generosity - and the generosity that so many of you give to our Parish Family and our ministries with the gifts of your time, talent and financial resources. That brings me back to the line from Peter Burak, what if this works? I hope it does because if it does more and more will have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and will bring about a transformation of the lives around them that can then transform the world.

Today think about the very simple call of today’s Gospel: When envy enters the heart, we need to focus on God's generosity. Maybe then we can hear Jesus asking that tough question: "Are you envious because I am generous?"

THIS WEEKEND WE START OUR NEW MASS SCHEDULE!!!

We had made this clear in last week’s bulletin but due to the bulletin company only sending us 200 bulletins I realize many of you did not receive a bulletin and a good number of you do not have the Parish App or a way to get on the parish website. This change is a good change. It indicates more people are coming to Mass and it is our way of accommodating more people for the celebration of the Eucharist! So here is the information that was shared in the bulletin last weekend!

How can this possibly work? It can. But only with your help and your patience. Since we are limited to no congregational singing due to the pandemic, we have noticed that Mass is taking about 30-35 minutes. It then takes about 5 minutes for our amazing volunteers to sanitize the church, and then 10 minutes for the chemical to do its work.

That means we can open the doors between quarter of and ten of the hour for people to find their seats and say their pre-Mass prayers. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PERMIT PEOPLE INSIDE THE CHURCH UNTIL SUCH TIME…please be understanding of this during this time. As things change, if the demand continues to increase, we will certainly reevaluate and possibly add additional Masses. SO STAY TUNED.

What will this mean for intentions? Father, what about my intention for my mother for the 7:30AM Mass? Here is a chart to help you figure this out:

As we continue through this pandemic please be sure to download our Parish App TODAY. Don’t miss any notifications that we send out. DOWNLOAD THE APP TODAY! myParish App is being used already to communicate with our parishioners. It is a great tool for us to communicate information to our parishioners and also a “go to” place to access daily Mass readings, confession prayer reminders, and our parish bulletin. It is certain to become your “go-to” app for Catholic parish life as it has become mine. You can download the app by texting APP to phone number 88202. You will receive a link, click on it, open it in the store, download, search, and enter St. Bridget of Sweden and then click get started!

Annual Family Commitment 2020…THANK YOU!...Our initial response to the Annual Family Commitment is tremendous.

As of Friday, September 11th, we have received pledges in the amount of $42,920.00 from 145 of our families representing participation from only 4.68% of our families.

Thank you to those families who have made a commitment to our parish family. Facing major capital projects we need the help of every family! This year 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.

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.

YOU ARE INVITED to join the Knights of Columbus Council 2978 as the Silver Rose makes a historic visit to our parish family. As announced in last weekend’s bulletin the Silver Rose will be visiting our Parish once again along the way from Canada to Mexico. Every stop, at every parish, is an opportunity for Knights, parishioners, and community members to gather in prayer with the Holy Rosary and to pray for a greater respect for human life, for the spiritual renewal of our nation, and for the advancement of devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of America.

The Silver Rose is a program through which the Knights of Columbus share the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe and promote respect for life by participating in this meaningful pilgrimage. All the members of our parish family are strongly encouraged to join us this coming Sunday, September 27th, from 2-3PM in Saint Bridget Church for a Prayer Service as we mark this historic visit of the Silver Rose to our parish family. I am very pleased this program will be visiting our parish and really do hope you will join us in prayer next Sunday from 2-3PM in Saint Bridget Church. Please visit our website to use the Signup Genius for this event.

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.

Leave the W(h)ine at the Altar

Howdy, folks! I missed writing to you last week, and I pray that you all had a restful Labor Day (bit of contradiction there, but here we are). As schools have begun to open, the weather has cooled a bit, and the NFL has returned, many of us have appreciated some semblance of fall normalcy. But I have to say, there's been some really disheartening things I've seen as well.

In everyday conversation, in the the media, and especially on social media, I don't know that I've ever seen as much griping as I have of late. This is a tricky subject to talk about, because some might take offense, but I think it's crucial right now. Here's the thing, though: I get it! There's more complaining right now at least in part because there's plenty to complain about!

Even with a healthy dose of fall, there's plenty that we might want to gripe about. The pandemic is still ongoing, many parents are dealing with the ramifications of sending kids back to school, and we're in the throes of another contentious presidential election (...yay...). I get it. I feel it too. The temptation is there to commiserate with friends, vent on social media, and share our discontent with the world.

That's exactly what it is though: a temptation. Make no mistake about it, the devil loves it when you complain. LOVES it. "Complaining about your circumstances is a sin because you don't give God a chance," said an 8-year old when asked about this. I don't have the authority or expertise to declare complaining a sin with any certainty, but that doesn't make it good!

That child hit the nail on the head. We are called to faith and trust in God. This is an admittedly difficult duty, but a duty nonetheless! A short while ago, the Sunday Gospel included the famous "Get behind me, Satan" line. How can we put that into action and get behind the Lord?

I was blessed to hear an excellent homily on this Gospel. In it, the priest posited that we can live this passage by getting out of God's way. By praying that we will not be obstacles to the Lord and then actively avoiding becoming so. When we complain, we are doing just that: getting in God's way.

Not with me yet? Well, I've got someone pretty smart on my side: St. Teresa of Avila. One of her most well known quotations is, "Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which He looks with compassion on this world." Beautiful, moving, and more relevant now than ever.

We are Christ's body now, and we are how he ministers to the world. But how can He do that when we're too busy complaining about the very world He's trying to better through us? You know what this makes me think of? Ratatouille.

Easily one of Pixar's best films, Ratatouille follows a talented rat named Remy who loves to cook. He rises to stardom by hiding under a young chef named Alfredo Linguini's hat and controlling his movements by pulling his hair (it's an animated movie, suspend your disbelief). See how this fits in yet?

In this analogy, we are Alfredo Linguini. Just like the young chef with his rat mastermind, the Lord can't move us where we need to go without our cooperation. While Jesus pulls on our heart rather than our hair, the point remains. Linguini was a kitchen boy with no cooking talent before Remy came along and made him a world-famous chef. If a rat can do that, imagine what the King of the Universe can do.

We handicap God when we spend too much time complaining, and that's what's happening in our world right now. There is no social media post that will end Covid, no watercooler vent session that will heal our nation's divisions, and no amount of complaining that will make virtual learning easy. There just isn't!

As if St. Teresa of Avila, Pixar, and Jesus Himself aren't enough, St. Paul agrees with this, too. Just look at his letter to the Philippians: "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God." There's not much wiggle room there!

This isn't just me railing against the world; I fall victim to this as well. As I mentioned earlier, the devil loves getting us to complain, and he's darn good at his job. He weaves temptation into every aspect of our lives, and boy is there ever temptation to complain right now. But you know something? God's way better at His job. Don't be the one who gets in the way of Him doing it.

Give Ratatouille a watch and think about what I've said! Maybe you'll find some inspiration (also, it's just a great movie). If you're struggling with complaining, bring that to prayer. Heck, bring your complaints themselves to prayer! You'll get much better results than bringing them to Facebook, that I can promise you.

Get out of God's way, and let Him work good through you. I pray that He will use us all for His glory. May He bless you all.

Regis

September 13, 2020 - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Friends in Christ:

This week we celebrate a special feast in the life of the Church: The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (known in the former version of the Roman Missal as the “Triumph of the Cross”). This feast is celebrated on the 14th of September every year, so it is this coming Monday!

During the Fourth Century St. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, traveled to Jerusalem to visit the many holy sites in the life of Christ. While she was there, Helena began the process of having a church built over the traditional site of the Lord’s burial place, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. While excavating, the workers unearthed three crosses believed to be those of Christ and the two thieves crucified with him. Tradition has it that the true cross of Christ was identified when it was touched to a dying woman who was then miraculously healed. The cross immediately became a relic of veneration.

On Good Fridays, the wood of the cross would be removed from its reliquary, placed on a table, and all the people would pass by the cross, bow, touch the cross with their foreheads and eyes, and then kiss the cross before continuing on. This tradition of venerating the “wood of the cross” continues in our Good Friday liturgy to this day.

Because the cross is the instrument through which Christ won salvation for us, it is honored each year in this special feast of the Church on September 14th, the anniversary of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem where the true cross was discovered.

On this Feast we think of how the Cross is and always has been a symbol of such significant meaning for Catholics and for all Christians alike. It holds such significance because it represents the Cross of Jesus Christ where He gave everything that He had for the sins of mankind and He willingly laid down His life for us.

The cross means a number of things for us as Catholic Christians, here are a few reflections:

1. It is a confession of faith. When we make the sign of the Cross we are visibly expressing our belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

2. It is also a reminder of baptism. Baptism for us as Catholics is the sacrament that signifies death and rebirth, like what Christ Himself did on the cross.

3. It is a mark of discipleship. It comes from the scriptures when we are told by Jesus Himself, “if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

4. It is a symbol of Christ’s ownership. For us as Catholics, the cross stands for belonging to and obeying God and His will in our lives.

5. It is a defense against evil. Making the sign of the cross is showing the Evil One that we are owned willingly by God and that He alone is our protector.

6. It is a sign of triumph over temptations. The temptations of life, such as anger, greed, lust and fear, can all be conquered and destroyed through the cross.

7. Ultimately it is a sign of love. The cross is the greatest symbol of love the world will ever know. Christ willingly gave Himself up for our sins.

Saint Pope John Paul II once asked a group of children if they knew the first letter of God's alphabet. They of course said "a." But the pope replied, no, the first letter of God's alphabet is not "a"; it is the cross.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW AND IMPROVED SCHOOL WEBSITE…I am so excited about the redesigned school website. I was blown away, as they say, the other day when I needed to get some information for a prospective family and I took out my iPhone and brought up the school website and it was different. Now, before you think well certainly Father Romans knew they were working on the website, and yes you are correct I knew work had begun but I had no idea it was so far along. The new site is truly amazing. It is so much more user-friendly than before and has phenomenal visuals of all that makes St. Bridget School the awesome and amazing learning environment it has become. Please check it out and learn more about our mission, our return to school plan, our Pre-K program, and so much more. Visit https://www.stbridgetschool.org/

BY THE WAY THIS TUESDAY IS THE LAST CHANCE TO HELP MAKE THIS YEAR’S GOLF TOURNAMENT A SUCCESS FOR OUR PARISH SCHOOL…every bit of help is MOST appreciated!

THIS YEAR MORE THAN EVER, DUE TO COVID-19, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR PARISH SCHOOL. One of the ways you can help is to support the upcoming 7th Annual St. Bridget School Golf Tournament on Monday, September 21st, at the Waterbury Country Club. This is one of the two major fundraisers for our parish school, please consider assisting us in any way you can.

Here are a number of ways you can assist us:

1. YOU can consider sponsoring our event. If you own a business or work for one who supports local charities, consider asking them to be a sponsor or put an ad in our ad book for the tournament (we expect a pretty full field and additional people to attend the dinner following the tournament which means these booklets will be dispersed to a good number of friends from the greater Cheshire area). We really could use as many sponsors as possible…sponsorships make the tournament a success. https://stbridgetschool.ejoinme.org/Golf2020

2. YOU can join us! We have available spots for golfers ($200 per golfer/$750 per foursome), and if you don’t golf you can still get in on the fun by getting some friends together to come for a nice dinner that evening and support our parish school by your participation at this event and your opportunity to win a raffle prize. Cost for dinner only option is only $50 per person.

3. YOU can donate an item for our raffle. We are in need of a variety of items for the raffle which is held during the dinner at the tournament. Items such as a grill, a big screen television, foursomes to local golf courses, any electronic equipment from entertainment to home improvement, gift cards to local restaurants, bottles of wine or spirits, or anything your creative minds can come up with. Items can be dropped off to the school office or rectory office any day during the week, or in the sacristy at Mass on the weekend. Please be sure your name is on it so we may properly thank you!

ANY AND ALL information including registration forms and sponsorship forms can be found online at https://stbridgetschool.ejoinme.org/Golf2020. Thank you for whatever you can do to assist our parish school in this important fundraising effort.

A CHANGE IN MASS SCHEDULE IS COMING!!!

I know that the word CHANGE conjures up many emotions. We have certainly dealt with our fair share of change in these last few months as we deal with this pandemic. But the change we are announcing today is a good change. It indicates more people are coming to Mass and it is our way of accommodating more people for the celebration of the Eucharist!

Due to the number of people signing up each week this past month, and mindful that those were still summer weeks, we have decided to add a Mass, but doing so will require a few changes on the part of all of us.

We have had over 90 people at almost every Mass over the past three weeks and we are only allowed 100 people according to the State Guidelines dealing with COVID-19. And since next weekend, SEPTEMBER 20th, we would normally add a Mass anyway with the usual 4PM Mass on Sunday afternoons, we have decided to add a Mass to the morning schedule beginning next SUNDAY.

The new schedule will now be as follows:

Saturday at 4PM and 5PM

Sunday at 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11AM

How can this possibly work? It can. But only with your help and your patience. Since we are limited to no congregational singing due to the pandemic, we have noticed that Mass is taking about 30-35 minutes. It then takes about 5 minutes for our amazing volunteers to sanitize the church, and then 10 minutes for the chemical to do its work. That means we can open the doors between quarter of and ten of the hour for people to find their seats and say their pre-Mass prayers. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PERMIT PEOPLE INSIDE THE CHURCH UNTIL SUCH TIME…please be understanding of this during this time. We cannot wait until the pandemic is over and we can have more people at a Mass than the limited number of 100. SO AS THINGS CHANGE, we will accommodate our schedule as well. SO STAY TUNED.

What will this mean for intentions? Father what about my intention for my mother for the 7:30AM Mass? Below is a chart to help you figure this out.

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.