Fifth Sunday of Easter—May 19, 2019

Dear Friends in Christ:

This Fifth Sunday of Easter we hear Jesus give us the new commandment: “love one another.” We are reminded that our love for others in our day to day lives is what keeps the great love of Jesus for His people visible in our world today. There is a story told that an American journalist, watching Mother Teresa caring for a man with gangrene, remarked to her: “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.” Mother Teresa replied: “Neither would I… but I do it for love of God.”

Mother Teresa, Saint John Paul the Great, and all the Saints show us by their very lives that love demands the best from us, and it also brings out the best in us. Love bears fruit in that it makes us fruitful, productive, joyful, and constant in doing good. Love is ultimately giving of oneself selflessly to others. It is why Jesus insists, very strongly: “as I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

A word of profound gratitude to the Sante Fe Council #2978 of the Knights of Columbus for all their efforts to support our parish throughout the year. The phrase “In service to one, in service to all” has long been a motto of the Knights of Columbus. And indeed they are. They live out the two great commandments of Jesus Christ: to love God with our entire being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Every day, people witness the work undertaken by Knights as members work in thousands of communities around the world. They strive to live lives filled with charity, motivated by faith and hope, and do so in service to others in the name of Jesus!

The Knights of Columbus were founded right down the street in New Haven by a parish priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, (now Venerable), Father Michael J. McGivney, on March 29, 1882. He founded the Knights to help the men of his parish to grow in their faith, to provide financial security for the widows and orphans of deceased members, and to perform acts of charity! The Knights are based on four guiding principles: Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. Today they number 1.9 million members in the world and last year alone donated over $182 million dollars to charity and 75 million hours to works of charity.

They are a force of love for our neighbors, wherever and whenever a need arises. Here in Cheshire we see them at the grocery store selling their infamous tootsie rolls to support the Special Olympics, we see them assisting in various ways to collect food to support the Cheshire Community Food Pantry, we see them hosting their traditional Pancake Breakfasts to support scholarships, and we see them assisting our parish in a variety of ways throughout the year. They are always ready and willing to help out in our parish and for that we thank the Knights. We thank them for helping at our Annual Parish Picnic, we thank them for helping with the Saint Bridget School Golf Tournament, and we thank them for helping with odd jobs throughout the year.

Most recently the Knights organized and executed two Spring Clean-Up Days for our Parish Properties. On Saturday, April 27th, and on Saturday, May 11th, the Knights, together with other volunteers, spent hours cleaning up our parish properties, laying mulch, and making our properties look spectacular. Thank you for all you do for our Parish Family!

I am taking this opportunity to personally invite all men of the parish, over the age of 18, to consider becoming a Knight of Columbus, or if they are one already to become active in the Council once again! I am confident that we can accomplish much more for our Parish, our School, and the wider community with more Knights in our midst. Won’t you consider joining? For more information please contact our Grand Knight Ronald Painchaud at ron12pain@gmail.com.

Summer Camp at Saint Bridget School…are you looking for summer care opportunities for your children while you are at work? Saint Bridget School offers a weekly camp for all Saint Bridget School students as well as all Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish children from grade PreK3 through grade 4. This camp will run from June 17th through August 9th. This year we will have a different theme each week. Themes include Disney, Carnival, Dinosaurs, and more! The Summer Camp is run by teachers from Saint Bridget School and support staff and, as you know, the entire building is air-conditioned. You can register for one week or all of them depending on your needs, and we offer Before and After Care to accommodate your work schedule. For more information and registration, please call Christina Cummings at 203-272-5860 or email her at ccummings@stbridgetschool.org.

We are holding another poster contest! It is that time of year again when we need to prepare for our annual parish Christmas card. We are looking for children of all ages to design our parish Christmas card. Last year it was a huge hit. I heard from so many people how much they loved that we used artwork from one of our young parishioners. We invite all school aged children to think of Christmas and send us their design. The winner’s artwork will be the cover of our parish Christmas card which is sent to all parishioners and friends of Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish. All artwork must be submitted to the rectory by June 30th for consideration! We look forward to many submissions!

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.