Third Sunday of Lent—March 24, 2019

Dear Friends in Christ:

MONDAY CONFESSIONS…Please consider availing yourself of the opportunity to go to Confession during this Season of Lent. In addition to Saturdays from 3PM until heard, we are also available on Monday mornings from 7:30 to 8:30a.m. so come by on your way to work!

One of my priest friends commented the other night at a priest gathering that his loneliest time of the week is when he sits in the confessional. Although he laughed it off, I think his comment points to a real problem and is really quite sad.

It got me thinking, why do many not avail themselves of the opportunity to experience the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation? What is it that causes many Catholics to not come to seek forgiveness from God for their wrongdoings? Truth be told, his comment made me realize it was time for me to go to Confession and so I did that evening. Why wait?

When is the last time you went to Confession? Do you not want to receive the mercy of God? Do you not want a fresh start? Do you not want to be freed from that sin and burden?

I realize many do not consider Confession to be important to their spiritual life these days. This is truly concerning to me! Who wouldn’t want to be freed from their sin and begin a fresh start at trying to follow Jesus better?

Sacramental confession allows God’s loving mercy and His grace-filled absolution to be confirmed to us through the ministry of the priest. Christ, through the priest, invites us to let go of anything that gets in the way of our relationship with Him. Christ, through the priest, encourages us to open ourselves to the peace and grace which can only be found through God’s forgiveness.

Through the sacramental ministry of the Church and the Sacrament of Reconciliation our sins are forgiven and we are given the grace to be more like Christ; to experience and embody the saving ministry and healing grace of Jesus Christ.

I am also aware that some do not go to Confession because they are too nervous! If you're worried because you're "new at this," or because “it has been so long,” that's okay! It's okay to be nervous, it's okay to be afraid, but don’t let that fear hold you back. Just tell the priest how you feel. Let him know how long it’s been and that you are nervous and he will walk you through it. The priest is there to put you at ease and help you through your confession so you can experience the graces our Lord wants to pour out on you!

I urge us all to be open to God’s love and grace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation this Lent. Encourage family members and friends to do the same. Don’t wait to experience God’s mercy!

But Father, it has been so long since I went to confession I simply don’t know what to confess? That’s ok. Prepare for the Sacrament by examining your conscience. There are many good examinations of conscience out there that are available on the internet. We also have some copies of the one provided by the Knights of Columbus available at the doors of the church, which I think is very helpful. It can also be found on the internet by putting in this link: http://www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/cis/devotionals/2075.pdf.

I am asking every parishioner to give this some thought and PLEASE go to Confession! Don’t put it off. Come experience the mercy of God.

Please go to confession.

UPDATE…our Lenten Parish Corporal Works of Mercy…this past weekend the generous people of our parish donated 1,968 pounds of beverages to the Cheshire Community Food Pantry to give drink to the thirsty! Thank you! This weekend we are collecting WHITE socks for men, women, and children to be donated to the Saint Vincent DePaul Shelter in Waterbury to help clothe the naked.

VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE TO OUR CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY PROGRAM…Please note that we are switching the NEXT TWO corporal works of mercy. Next weekend, March 30 & 31, we will work to visit the sick so please bring your homemade Thinking of you and Praying for you cards to Mass next weekend. These will be distributed to the homebound parishioners and those in skilled nursing facilities. The following weekend we will work together to shelter the homeless by taking up a second collection. Thank you for your understanding with this switch in our schedule and for all you do to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate and for recognizing that in serving them we are serving the Lord.

Don’t forget about our Lenten Suppers…I hope you and your family will join us for one or all of the remaining Lenten Suppers. It is great to see so many from our parish family coming together, young and old, for a delicious Friday Supper, great conversation, and some fun activities for the kids. Supper is served from 5-7 PM. Come have a Lenten Supper then join us in the Church for Stations of the Cross at 7PM!

A Special Word of Gratitude…to our Pastoral Staff for organizing and leading a wonderful Lenten Evening of Reflection. Those who attended were given a simple supper, an age-appropriate talk and activity for the kids, and a wonderful presentation by Father José Mercado for the adults. We wish to say thank you to the Cheshire Knights of Columbus Santa Fe Council #2978 who gave of their time and talent to prepare the simple supper for those who attended. It really was a wonderful event that ended with a representative of each group sharing with the larger group what they learned and are taking into their prayer on this journey of the Lenten Season.

I wish to express A HUGE THANK YOU to our parish and community for your support of Saint Bridget School!!! A special thank you to all who assisted in so many ways to make the 2019 Saint Bridget School Mardi Gras Auction such a huge success. I am humbled and edified by the generosity of the greater Cheshire community. We are especially grateful to our major sponsors:

• Mardi Gras Court Sponsor: Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish Family.

• Marching Saints Sponsors: PPI Gas Distribution, Inc., Rowland Technologies, and Webster Bank.

• French Quarter Sponsors: Biller Associates, Christopher & Lilia Bunick, Carrano Law Firm, Complete Environmental Services, Daniels Orthodontics, Feldman Orthodontics, Ion Bank, Professional Coaching, LLC, Ricci Construction Corp., SERVPRO of Milford-Orange-Stratford, and Votto Vines Importing.

• Garden District Sponsors: Device42, Rupert & Pia Dogbey, Eastern Fuel Corporation, F.F. Hitchcock Company, Inc., LaRosa Construction, LIVE EVERY DAY A Physical Therapy, Orthotic & Prosthetics Co., Pediatric & Medical Associates, PC., Pepperland Marketing, Sound Spectrum/Club Lucent, and Viron Rondo Osteria.

• Bourbon Street Sponsors: John & Kelly Brucato, Dr. Pingfei Guan, Anna and Cole Kowalski, Pediatric Associates of Cheshire, PC, and Richard & Wendy Thayer.

I am likewise very grateful to all the school board members, the companies, and all the families who donated items, took out ads (we had an amazing amount of support from companies placing ads this year), and all who came and enjoyed the evening and supported our school with their generosity.

Last, but certainly not least, our gratitude to this year’s co-chairs Mrs. Tonya Baril Pelletier and Mrs. Emily Negron and to the many people who served on the committee, solicited donations, and helped to make this event such a wonderful evening and a huge success. To you all I say “Thank you!”

The Saint Bridget School Auction, presented by the Home & School Association, has become the largest fundraiser for the school with all proceeds directly benefitting our students. The funds raised have helped us expand our educational technology, improve the safety and security of our school campus, as well as bring exciting and important educational school programs for our children to enhance their learning environment. The success of this event and so much of our fundraising is that the proceeds really do impact our students. It is all for the children! On behalf of our students and our entire school family I say “Thank you!”

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.

Second Sunday of Lent—March 17, 2019

Dear Friends in Christ:

As we continue our journey of Lent…we should ask ourselves: “how is it going?” It is never too early to take stock of how we are doing with our Lenten practices.

• Ask yourself: How am I doing with my fasting? Have I remained vigilant in fasting from whatever I promised God and myself that I would fast from?

• How am I doing with my prayer? Have I increased the amount of time I give to God each day? Have I made room for God, or more room for God, in my heart?

• How am I doing with my almsgiving? Have I sought out opportunities to help those most in need? Have I participated in the Parish Corporal Works of Mercy in these first days of Lent by bringing food for the hungry or drink for the thirsty?

By fasting, prayer, and almsgiving we all renew and purify our hearts and are led to the fullness of grace. So how are we doing?

Lent calls us to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we have done and what we have failed to do, and to be generous to those in need among us.

As Catholics we joyfully engage in these Lenten disciplines because we are disciples. We pray, we fast, and we give because we follow Christ, who loved us so much that He gave His own life so that we might share in Eternal Life.

This weekend we continue our homilies emphasizing the Sacraments…last weekend we spoke about Baptism and this weekend we will be focusing on the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Since the Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives as Christians it is central to who we are! We need the Eucharist. The Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, offered to us in the Holy Eucharist unites us more closely to Christ and provides us the spiritual nourishment we need to answer His call to Follow Me…more to come this weekend in the homilies I am sure.

As we focus on the Eucharist in our homilies, let me take this opportunity to remind you all that we have Eucharistic Adoration EVERY Friday from 1-4PM in Saint Bridget Church. As we continue this Lenten journey seeking to EncounterChrist #prayfastgive I ask every parishioner to consider joining us for an opportunity to experience this prayer opportunity to sit before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and offer Him our prayers. We do ask everyone who comes to visit the Blessed Sacrament during this time to say a special prayer for the intentions we are praying for during that hour.

Our transfer of the Stations of the Cross is NOW COMPLETED. What a project! I am so pleased that the Stations of the Cross are now up in front of our parish school and what better time than in this Season of Lent! The Stations of the Cross is a powerful prayer experience in these forty days as we contemplate the Passion of Christ and the suffering He endured on His way to the Cross.

I am grateful to Larry Richard and all those who helped him to move the Stations from the Church of the Epiphany to our Saint Bridget Church Campus. It was a huge undertaking and not without its setbacks, but it is now done. One major setback as I reported, was the theft of a few of the bronze stations while they were still on the Epiphany Church Campus. Thanks to insurance we were able to replace the Stations but that certainly took time. Bringing a piece of the history of the former Epiphany Parish to the Saint Bridget Campus is yet another example of incorporating the former parishes together as we continue to merge into one parish family. They really are quite beautiful as well. I hope you will utilize the new sidewalk and make the way of the Cross perhaps at least once during these weeks of Lent.

Parish Corporal Works of Mercy update…this past weekend the generous people of our parish family donated over 1,000 pounds of food to the Cheshire Community Food Pantry to give food to the hungry! Thank you! This weekend we are collecting beverages to give drink to the thirsty and next weekend we will be collecting white socks for men, women, and children to help the clients at Saint Vincent DePaul Shelter in Waterbury, and onesies for babies at Carolyn’s Place to help clothe the naked. Thank you for all you do to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate and for recognizing that in serving them we are serving the Lord.

Lenten Suppers…we had an amazing group gathered together for the first Lenten Supper. We had over 200 people! It was just wonderful to see the adults getting to know each other, the young people enjoying time in the gym, and our family of faith being nourished together by food and fellowship. It was awesome!

Please join us as we come together for our Friday Lenten Supper, great conversation, and some fun activities for the kids. Supper is served from 5-7 PM, cost is only $10 per adult, $5 per child and senior citizen, and a $25 max per family. The menu includes pasta with sauce, salad, bread, a variety of soups each week, beverages, and a weekly special. Then, following the Lenten Supper, come and pray the Stations of the Cross with us in Saint Bridget Church at 7 PM.

In this Season of Lent let us strive above all to live holy lives as we make this journey with the Lord. May our Lenten journey be holy, prayerful, and fruitful.

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.

First Sunday of Lent—March 10, 2019

Dear Friends in Christ:

And so it has begun! The forty days of Lent, this holy season, began this past Wednesday as we marked ourselves with ashes! During my homily on Ash Wednesday I said that the message of Nike, Just do it, is our message for Lent.

If you aren’t the person you want to be, and want to change…just do it.

If you are far from God and yearn to be closer…just do it.

If you’ve been putting off confession, out of fear or shame or simple procrastination…just do it.

Just do it. We sinners come together every year on Ash Wednesday to declare our hopes and strengthen our resolve—and we leave marked. The marks on our brow are like billboards—advertisements of who we are, what we are. The ashes tell the world: we are works in progress. We are God’s renovation project. So, like fixer uppers, we are covered in dust—the dust of what we are, the dust of what we will become.

These marks also proclaim exactly who we are. We are Christians. We have been claimed by Christ. And for that reason, we have vowed to honor this season leading up to the holiest week on our calendar. We will pray. We will fast. We will give.

Want to be challenged this Lent? Give up pride. Give up jealousy or judging. Give up fighting on Facebook. Give up having to have the last word. Give up nursing old grudges or picking at old wounds. But don’t just give up something, give something. Give a hand for someone who needs it. Give attention to someone who is ignored. Give a prayer for someone who has hurt you. Give and forgive. Give like Jesus gave.

We talk about giving alms during Lent and we are called to remember in a special way those in need. But we can’t forget that the word “alms” comes from a Greek word that means “mercy.” If we give nothing else, we need to give mercy, compassion, and love.

This Lent resolve to begin anew. And: Just do it!

So, how is it going so far? Did you give something up? Did you take on something extra like an act of kindness? How are you doing with your Lenten practice? Are you truly doing something to make this season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving meaningful in your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you seeking ways to Encounter Christ, to renew, reflect, respond and repent?

As one of the Prefaces we use at the altar in Lent says so beautifully, “for you have given your children a sacred time for the renewing and purifying of their hearts, that, freed from disordered affections, they may so deal with the things of this passing world so to hold rather to the things that eternally endure.” Lent, then, is a time for us to get back on the right path. A time for us to abstain from those things that pull us away from God and His peace and mercy, and to practice those which bring us to experience His presence in our lives. That is why we focus so much in these six weeks of Lent on the practices of increased prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These three practices, or Lenten disciplines, call us to renew our discipleship in Christ, to truly Encounter Christ.

We pray, we fast, and we give because we follow Christ who loved us so much that He gave His own life so that we might share in Eternal Life. Lent, ultimately, is all about fasting and feasting, disciplining ourselves so that we can experience life in its fullness.

If you haven’t chosen something to fast from, here is a list of practical every day things to fast from and corresponding things to feast on. I have shared this in the past but was asked recently to give this list to someone so thought it was worth sharing again:

Fast from complaining and feast on appreciation Fast from judging others and feast on Christ within others Fast from idle gossip and feast on purposeful silence Fast from anger and feast on forgiveness Fast from discouragement and feast on hope Fast from worry and feast on trusting God Fast from unrelenting pressures and feast on unceasing prayer Fast from emphasizing the differences and feast on the unity of life Fast from thoughts of illness and feast on the healing power of God

Fast from a sour face and feast on smiles Fast from growling and feast on laughing Fast from depression and feast on joy!

This list strikes a nerve with all of us because when we read it we realize there is more we can do to become the people God is calling us to be. We realize quickly that we are indeed works in progress. We waste so much energy on complaining, judging, gossip, anger, and all these other things listed above that would be better spent on becoming people of appreciation, forgiveness, hope, and joy! I am going to pick one from above and work on it this week in my own life, will you?

Lenten Suppers have begun…join us for an opportunity to get to know one another and grow together in faith as we come together for Friday Lenten Supper, great conversation, and some fun activities for the kids. Supper is served from 5-7 PM, cost is only $10 per adult, $5 per child and senior citizen, and a $25 max per family. The menu includes pasta with sauce, salad, bread, a variety of soups each week, beverages and a weekly special. Then, following the Lenten Supper, come and pray the Stations of the Cross with us in Saint Bridget Church at 7 PM.

Don’t forget to sign up for the upcoming Lenten Evening of Reflection for ALL parishioners this COMING TUESDAY, MARCH 12th. We will begin with a Pasta Dinner at 5:30 pm cooked by our Cheshire Knights of Columbus, Sante Fe Council, which will be followed by presentations and age-appropriate activities for adults and children! There will be an adult presentation by Father José Mercado, Pastor of Saint John XXIII Parish in West Haven, as well as presentations and age-appropriate activities for our young parishioners. At the end of the evening we will come back together as one large group to listen to what each group learned and to have a closing activity. We really hope you will come and join us for this spiritual evening! Flyers were in last weekend’s bulletin and are on the tables at all the doors this weekend!

In whatever we do during this Season of Lent, let us strive above all to live holy lives as we make this journey with the Lord. May our Lenten journey be holy, prayerful, and fruitful. A Blessed Lent to one and all!

HAPPIEST CONGRATULATIONS to Sandra Thomas who on March 31st will be presented the Saint Joseph Archdiocesan Medal of Appreciation at the Cathedral for her many years of service to our parish family. This medal goes to a person, or married couple, who has given particular devotion and service to the parish over many years. Sandra has certainly done that. She has given of her time, her talent, and her treasure in a variety of ways to our parish family and for that we thank her and are pleased to recognize her with this Medal of Appreciation.

Sandi has been an active member of our parish family for many years. She is always ready and willing to help out when called upon in any capacity. Sandi is a true asset to our parish family.

Sandi has served and continues to serve in our parish office anytime assistance is needed whether helping to answer the telephones, assisting parishioners who come to the door, or stuffing the bulletins with all sorts of flyers. She helps to coordinate our new monthly coffee-and at the Saint Bridget Campus. She knits baby blankets for those being baptized through our Ministry of Praying Hands. Sandi also assists at our annual parish picnic. She is one of those “go to” people you know you can call on to help and can trust to get the job done right.

Sandi is a superb candidate for this Medal of Appreciation given her outstanding devotion to our parish, her desire to continually grow in her faith, her constant willingness to help out, and her years of service to our parish family and her fellow parishioners. I wish to publicly thank Sandi for the many ways she contributes to the vibrancy of our parish family. Please join me in congratulating Sandi on this honor and thanking her for her years of service to our parish family!!!

ATTENTION all who have Celiac Disease and need one of our Low Gluten Hosts…the process for distribution of these hosts will now change at the Saint Bridget Church Campus. At every Mass, either Tony Ginnetti, our Sacristan, or another Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion will automatically be standing in front of the Pulpit at Communion time ONLY for distribution of these low-gluten hosts. There is no longer a need to stop in the sacristy before Mass to let us know you are here. Simply sit in a place so that you can get to this designated person during Communion time. Please note the process will not change at Saint Thomas Becket Church where these are distributed by the priest celebrant of the Mass. It is important to note that these special hosts come from the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, and on the package it clearly states that the ingredients are Wheat starch, water, and less than 0.01% of gluten content.

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.