Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time—February 10, 2019

Dear Friends in Christ:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you!” WOW! Those words were heard in our first reading last weekend and I couldn’t help but be moved. While the focus of my homily was on the second reading and seeing the words of Saint Paul as a job description for us as Christians, I couldn’t help but be struck by these words at each Mass I celebrated.

Jeremiah didn’t ask to be a prophet. Jeremiah didn’t want to be a prophet. Jeremiah knew very well that he wasn’t qualified to be a prophet. But God made him a prophet anyway. God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” And that was true.

Before Jeremiah was conceived, God knew all about Jeremiah’s life. God knew that Jeremiah was going to preach during Judah’s most troubled times. God knew how much Jeremiah would suffer for saying what God sent him to say. God knew that Jeremiah would be jailed, persecuted, and nearly put to death by the very people who should have been protecting him. Before he formed him in his mother’s womb, God knew how hard life would be for Jeremiah. But God also knew how he would carry Jeremiah through all those troubles. He knew that Jeremiah would serve his Lord on earth with suffering but then rejoice with his Lord in heavenly joy.

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Those words that the Father spoke to Jeremiah also apply to Jesus. Before Jesus was born, God the Father also had a gracious, loving plan for him; He didn’t wait until his Son was hanging on the cross and then say, “well, I might be able to do something saving with that death.” The Father had the crucifixion all planned out in advance. Before he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, the Father knew Jesus. The Father knew:

1. That Jesus would get into trouble for speaking the Lord’s Word

2. That Jesus’ hometown people would try to throw him off a cliff

3. That the religious leaders of the time would keep scheming to kill his Son — and eventually, in His own time, they would succeed

4. That Jesus’ friends would desert Him just when He needed them the most

5. That His Son would be mocked and flogged and finally crucified.

But God the Father also knew that Jesus’ death was the way He would keep us sinners from having to spend all eternity in hell. He knew that Jesus would take our sin, take our guilt, take our death, and give us His life.

These words could also be spoken about each of us! God knew each of us before we were born. God had every reason to give up on us, to wash his hands of all humanity, to simply scrap this world that He created so well and we messed up so badly. But instead of aborting us worthless people, he decided to adopt us. Before you were born, before you were even conceived, God knew exactly how he was going to bring you to faith. Maybe it was when he adopted you by water and His Word at the font of Baptism. Or maybe someone told you that Jesus died for your sins. Maybe you don’t even remember when you first came to faith. It doesn’t matter. God remembers. He had it all planned out.

Think about it for real. Take a moment and reflect on this! Before your parents ever laid eyes on each other, before your grandparents had ever heard of each other, God knew you! God loves you so deeply that he had your salvation planned before you were a twinkle in your father’s eye!

Before God forms any child in the womb, He knows him or her already! God has a plan for every child he has ever formed in the womb. Sometimes we think of abortion as a political issue that has no place in the pulpit. And if abortion were purely a political issue, it would have no place in the pulpit. But God’s Word has something to say about abortion. Abortion may be legal in American courts, but it is certainly not acceptable in God’s courts. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that unborn children are not persons “in the whole sense.” Not persons in the whole sense? That’s essentially what Hitler said about Jewish people—that they aren’t persons in the same sense. NO NOT ACCEPTABLE!

Every life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is part of God’s plan! WAKE UP PEOPLE OF AMERICA. I was horrified to read the articles recently regarding the State of New York’s Reproductive Health Act which was signed into law by a governor who claims to be Catholic. This bill no longer has limits. No time limit. No limit as to who can perform an abortion. We cannot sit by callously as one to two million babies a year are aborted. We cannot just sit by while such laws, that would have been considered incomprehensible twenty to forty years ago, are being presented and discussed in office dwellings and public places. This is murder. They can shield it in whatever terminology they want but to pass a law that allows someone to abort their baby up until and including the day of his or her birth—this is murder. There is no question about it. THIS IS NOT A MATTER OF CHOICE. If so then what are they choosing? Life? No they are looking to call it choice to take the stigma away from the fact that they are looking for the choice to kill a life that God formed in the womb! Please my friends stir up and advocate for life! Help build a culture of life here in our parish, in our community, and indeed in our country and world. Let us do our part whether by prayer or actual activity to build a culture of life! Let us help others see that there are other life-giving alternatives.

While I write this I also am reminded that I know people, and perhaps you do too, who either had an abortion or assisted in an abortion who continue to grieve over that fact. I have heard from friends, and parishioners, who have been involved in abortions about the pain. I have heard of their feeling trapped by being angry with themselves, and of the emotional and spiritual wounds of a past abortion that prevent them from experiencing the joy of our faith. There is a program designed to help men and women who are experiencing this type of pain and suffering! Rachel’s Vineyard, www.rachelsvineyard.org, offers a safe place to renew, rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion. I know from those who have attended these retreats of the healing it can bring into one’s life, of the experience of God’s love and compassion, and of the sense of hope and meaning for the future that is rediscovered. To anyone and everyone in this situation please know of my prayers for you!

Let us be people who not only respect life, but do what we can to build a deeper appreciation for the gift it is, a gift from God.

As always, remember to pray for our parish family and ask God’s blessings 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.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time—February 3, 2019

Dear Friends in Christ:

As you can imagine, preaching for Father O’Neill and I is one of the joys of our ministry to God’s people. I know that we both take it very seriously day after day and week after week. Last weekend for me was perhaps one of the hardest homilies I have ever had to give but it needed to be given. As the dark cloud of sexual abuse of minors by clergy continues to hang over our beloved church I, and Father O’Neill, felt it was necessary to speak about it directly.

The Scripture readings really provided us a basis from which to bring this message home. Remember as Saint Paul said in the reading from Corinthians, “as a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ…and…if one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.” There are many who are suffering, be they victims of abuse, their families, those of us attempting to serve the church today as priests, and those who love and serve our beloved church throughout the world. There is so much pain and anger, disappointment and embarrassment.

Remember what I said in my homily and Father O’Neill said in his, the work of renewal in our church has to begin with each and every one of us living authentic Christian lives. The work of renewal in our beloved church has to begin in living lives that are pleasing to the Lord. We owe the Lord nothing less than striving to live out His way of life in our own day to day lives. I am convinced that the Spirit of God will work through you to renew the Church, and through the Church to renew the face of the earth!

These days are indeed very difficult and challenging for all of us as members of the Catholic Church. My friends, these are difficult days for Father O’Neill and I as well, and we ask for your prayers for us and we promise you our prayers daily! Further, to any parishioner who may be a victim survivor of abuse by a member of the clergy, we offer you our apology! We are sorry for what you endured and perhaps continue to endure. It is a cause of profound sorrow. We pray in a special way for you.

The Cold Season is upon us both in terms of weather and in terms of the number of people coming down with some sort of a cold. Please remember a couple of things:

1. As we announced in January, at this time we have suspended distribution of the Communion Cup at all Masses. The Connecticut Department of Public Health established that the Influenza Activity is NOW widespread in the State of Connecticut. Therefore, at this time, I have decided that it would be prudent to suspend the distribution of the Communion Cup until such time that it appears the flu outbreak is over.

2. Other precautions for you to consider during this time include:

a. If you are ill or suspect you are ill with a contagious illness, please stay home and watch the Mass on television. You can get the local Mass from the Office of Radio and Television on WTXX(Channel 10 or 11 on most providers) and also on EWTN.

b. Perhaps not hold hands with those around you during the Lord’s Prayer.

c. At the Sign of Peace consider a verbal greeting to those around you, or exchange peace with a bow or wave instead of a handshake.

DON’T FORGET YOU CAN HELP OUR PARISH SCHOOL…a reminder that we NEED YOUR HELP to make our Annual School Auction a success…This is the MAJOR fundraiser of the year and we need your support and help!

1. You can mark your calendars and plan to join us at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville on Friday, March 1st, 2019, for a great night of food and fellowship as well as the chance to win a raffle item, or an auction item.

2. You can place an ad in the evening’s program book or become a sponsor. Ads run anywhere between $50-550 and the sponsorships costs between $500-5,000.

3. You can donate an item for the silent or live auction, such as sporting event tickets, theatre tickets, bikes, grills, jewelry, televisions or electronics of all kinds, golf foursomes to local golf courses or Country Clubs, overnight stays to a nice place, or any item you think will solicit support for our school.

For more information about the auction or to sponsor us, please visit the school’s website at

https://stbridgetschool.ejoinme.org/sbsauction2019

Italy! So many have commented that they are excited we are planning a pilgrimage to Italy. And yet there is still room! Want to join us? We are going October 1-10, 2019 to visit the Almalfi Coast and Rome! We will be seeing a lot during these days! We will visit the Floral Gardens of Caesar Augustus in Capri, the Saint Andrew Cathedral along the Amalfi Coast, the excavations in Pompeii, the sites of the life of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio). We will also visit Lanciano, a town most noted for the Eucharistic Miracle which became the foundation for the Feast of Corpus Christi. Finally, we will spend a couple of days in Rome, the Eternal City, where we will see the Vatican Museums, Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Catacombs, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and more including plans for the weekly Papal Audience on Wednesday in Saint Peter’s Square.

This pilgrimage includes round-trip air from JFK, four-star hotels in Sorrento, San Giovanni Rotondo, and Rome, 6 dinners, breakfast daily, English-speaking licensed tour escort throughout, private motorcoach transportation, Daily Mass, and more. Cost per person in double occupancy is $3,779.00. Space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Initial deposit of $500 is due at time of registration. To register, please call Candy at Elite Travel at 203-271-0623 AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I hope you will join us!

Finally, I ask for your prayers for my project that I am working on for the Archdiocese. The Synod 2020: Grow and Go is gearing up and running full steam at this point. It is both exciting and stressful but I do believe that the Lord will work through the Archdiocesan Synod to put our Archdiocesan family of faith on the right path for a future filled with life, love, and faithful discipleship.

Please join me in prayer for the success of this Synod. Here is the Synod Prayer which Archbishop Blair wrote for our Synod which I hope you will say with me as often as you can:

Lord Jesus Christ, in the Gospel we hear the voice of the Father telling us to listen to you. It is your voice that we heed. It is your way that we follow. It is your Spirit who leads us into all the truth. Look kindly upon your Church in the Archdiocese of Hartford and upon the work of our Archdiocesan Synod. We pray that through the Synod our souls may be stirred and our hearts set on fire in order to bring new energy and zeal to the mission of our local Church. May the Synod inspire us to missionary discipleship, so that filled with the faith and boldness of the Apostles and first Christians, we may draw others to you and to your body and bride, the Church. At Pentecost Mary your Mother joined the Apostles in imploring the gift of the Holy Spirit. By her prayers, and those of her spouse, Saint Joseph, our Patron, may the same Holy Spirit inspire and direct us and the work of our Synod. Through you, Lord Jesus, we give glory to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

As always, remember to pray for our parish family and ask God’s blessings 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.

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time—January 27, 2019

Dear Friends in Christ:

Catholic Schools Week…as I wrote about last week, today we begin Catholic Schools Week throughout the Archdiocese and, in fact, throughout the country. WE INVITE YOU to our Open House TODAY (Sunday, January 29th) from 10AM to 1PM. Come tour our school. This is a great opportunity for parents, grandparents, and extended family members to visit our parish school and see all that we offer in a safe and nurturing environment. I want every family to feel that Saint Bridget School is an option for you! We educate students from PreK3 to Grade 8. Come and learn firsthand from our faculty, staff, and current students why you should consider Saint Bridget School for your child(ren).

We are charged with exceeding national standards and so continue to implement curriculum that provides a challenging course, grounded in basic skills necessary for students to develop foundational skills that lead to higher, more complex thinking skills, rooted in Gospel values, and integrating Catholic social teaching across all disciplines, ensuring the development of the whole child. Students graduating from St. Bridget School exceed state and national benchmarks, evidenced by our exemplary standardized test scores and high performance on high school placement exams. Most importantly, we truly educate the whole child: academically, socially, physically, and spiritually. Our students enter to learn, and leave to serve! Come see how! Hope to see you at the Open House!

This Wednesday I will celebrate the LIVE Television Mass with some of our students from Saint Bridget School in celebration of Catholic Schools Week. You can watch us live at 10AM on WTXX (Channel 10 or 11 on most carriers). The school students will be serving, reading, and leading us in song!

Also part of Catholic Schools Week will be a visit from the Connecticut Science Center! A special word of gratitude to parishioner Frank Loehmann for coordinating a grant for our Saint Bridget School from The John G. Martin Foundation that makes this visit possible. It is through this generous grant that Saint Bridget School has been able to have the opportunity to have the Connecticut Science Center’s Science in Motion Program brought to our school in celebration of Catholic Schools Week. I am sure it will be an educational and entertaining visit as our PreK3 through Grade 8 are offered various programs. Thank you Frank and thank you to the Board of Directors of The John G. Martin Foundation for this phenomenal opportunity! We are blessed by your generosity!

Last Saturday I was able to visit the men from our parish family who were on retreat. Each year Father O’Neill and I make it a priority that one of us get to the retreat that our parish men and women attend, if possible, depending on funerals, weddings, and other commitments. This past Saturday I was pleased to join the men of our parish at lunch during their retreat. It was great to hear from them about the theme of the retreat which very much worked well with the book we gave out at Christmas and how much they were enjoying a little time away for spiritual refreshment and renewal. There is still to come in 2019 another weekend for the men of our parish in early May and a weekend for the women of our parish in early March. Would you consider joining them? Details will be in future bulletins.

LAST SATURDAY we also welcomed Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt, the new Auxiliary Bishop of our Archdiocese, to our parish for a visit and the celebration of evening Mass at Saint Thomas Becket Church. One line that really stuck out in his homily to me is that “wherever the Blessed Mother is, there all will be ok.” It was said regarding the story of the Wedding at Cana where they ran out of wine for the wedding party and Mary interceded on their behalf to her Son, and then she instructed the waiters to “do whatever He tells you.” Then, as we know, the water was turned into wine and all had a good time. So, wherever the Mother of Jesus is, there is our intercessor! Photos are one of Bishop Betancourt offering his inspiring homily at the pulpit and the other is one with the Negron Family. Nicholas, their youngest, was really intrigued by the Bishop’s Crozier!

The Parish Pastoral Staff is busy now that we are in Ordinary Time. The one thing Ordinary Time does for us is to provide the chance to catch up on projects and day-to-day life before Lent begins! Yes I said it, Lent is not too far away and we are already making plans for our parish journey of Lent. I have said it before but I say it again, we want to hear from you! Is there a particular ministry you would like the Pastoral Staff to work toward forming? Is there a particular devotion you would like to see us offer? Is there a particular topic you would like covered in an evening Adult Education Talk? Let us know. Write it out and email it to rectory@stbridgetcheshire.org or drop it in an envelope marked Pastoral Staff in the collection on the weekend. All ideas are possible for consideration.

A reminder that we NEED YOUR HELP to make our Annual School Auction a success…As I mentioned last weekend I am hoping that the parish family will truly come out and support the Annual Auction for our parish school. IT IS the major fundraiser of the year for our school. There are a variety of ways you can help:

1. You can mark your calendars and plan to join us at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville on Friday, March 1st, 2019, for a great night of food and fellowship as well as the chance to win a raffle item, or an auction item.

2. You can place an ad in the evening’s program book or become a sponsor. Ads run anywhere between $50-550 and the sponsorships costs between $500-5,000.

You can donate an item for the silent or live auction, such as sporting event tickets, theatre tickets, bikes, grills, jewelry, televisions or electronics of all kinds, golf foursomes to local golf courses or Country Clubs, overnight stays to a nice place, or any item you think will solicit support for our school.

For more information about the auction or to sponsor us, please visit the school’s website at

https://stbridgetschool.ejoinme.org/sbsauction2019

A few words must be said about the announcement earlier this week from the Archdiocese of Hartford. Back in December the Archbishop wrote a letter to all the people living in the Archdiocese in which he promised that in “January the Archdiocese of Hartford will be publishing the names of archdiocesan clergy who have been the object of lawsuits and legal settlements, or otherwise credibly accused, and the names of religious order priests and priests from other dioceses who have been credibly accused of an offense that took place in the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese will also contract for a further independent review of all our clergy files to identify any additional names from the present going back to 1953, the year in which the Archdiocese of Hartford as such was established. The publication of names will be updated as any new information becomes available. Finally, the Archdiocese will be publishing the financial outlay that has been made as a result of the abuse of minors by clergy and the sources of these funds.”

The announcement this week was the fulfillment of these promises. The Archdiocese released the names and assignments of the 36 (out of over 1,000) Hartford priests who have been the objects of legal settlements or otherwise credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor from 1953 to the present. Also released were the names of another 6 priests from religious orders and 6 priests from another diocese who also were the objects of legal settlements or otherwise credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor from 1953 to the present.

Further, it was announced that retired Connecticut Superior Court Judge Antonio Robaina, of the firm McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP, will be hired to perform an independent review of all our clergy files going back to 1953 to identify any additional names.

Finally, the financial outlay in relation to the payment of settlements of these allegations of abuse of minors by clergy was also shared with the faithful .

More detailed information can be found on the website: promise.archdioceseofhartford.org.

These days are indeed very difficult and challenging for all of us as members of the Catholic Church as the great crime and sin of sexual abuse continues to cast a very dark cloud over the Church’s leadership and its clergy. My friends, these are difficult days for Father O’Neill and me as well. We ask for your prayers for us and we promise you our prayers daily! Further, to any parishioner who may be a victim survivor of abuse by a member of the clergy, we offer you our apology! We are sorry for what you endured and perhaps continue to endure. It is a cause of profound sorrow. We pray in a special way for you.

Masses of Reparation will be offered at various places in the Archdiocese. You are all invited to join Archbishop Blair as we celebrate three Masses of Reparation. The whole body of the Church is suffering as a result of these sins and crimes, and we all must recognize that the prayers of all God’s people are vital to the impact of healing and reparation. These Masses will be accompanied by Eucharistic Adoration and the recitation of the Holy Rosary and will be offered at the following dates, times, and locations:

Sunday, January 27th, 2PM—Saint Bartholomew Church, Manchester

Saturday, February 16th, 11AM—Saint George Church, Guilford

Tuesday, March 26th, 7PM—Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Harwinton

As always remember to pray for our parish families and ask God’s blessings 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.