A Parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford

The St. Catherine Parish Legacy Fund is committed to ensuring the long-term stability of our parish and its ministries. Please consider a gift in lieu of flowers upon a loved one's passing as a way to ensure our community will thrive well into the future.

Fourth Sunday of Lent 26 March 2017

Parish Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m.

Pastor The Reverend Michael Whyte, 860 658 1642

PARISH STAFF Administrative Assistant-Parish Office Mrs. Lisa Cerchia 860 658 1642 or stcathy@comcast.net

Director of Religious Education Mrs. Kathi Bonner 860 658 4737 or kathidre@aol.com

Director of Youth Ministry Mrs. Judy Pluta 860 408 9888 or judyplutaym@gmail.com

Director of Music Ministry Mrs. Susan Zybert 860 404 5514 or susanzybert@comcast.net

Facilities Manager Mr. Michael Grappone, 860 658 1642

Parish Council President Mr. Jim Peters 860 651 3143 or jpetersjjr@gmail.com

Finance Council Chairman Mr. Scott Muryasz 860 693 4164

Parish Legacy Fund Chairman Mr. Peter Pabich, 860 408 1254

Parish Lay Trustees Mrs. Anne Hoffman, 860 651 3887 Mr. Steven Moretta, 860 658 9630

Thanks for worshiping with us. If you would like to join our parish

family, fill out a yellow membership form found in the vestibule or atrium and mail it to us, drop

it in the collection basket or call us at 658 1642.

We Welcome You to Our Family of Faith!

Mass/Liturgy Schedule: Saturday Vigil at 5:00 p.m. Sunday Masses at 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend, NO 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass) Daily Mass at 8:30 a.m., Monday through Wednesday, and Friday. (Yearly) Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday from 4:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Baptisms and Baptismal Preparation: Please call the parish office at 860 658 1642 Sacrament of Holy Matrimony: Please call the parish office at 860 658 1642 at least 6 months in advance Choir Practices: Adult—Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. Youth—Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Contemporary Music Group—Sundays at 4:00 p.m.

Bulletin Deadline: Monday at 10:00 a.m. Website News: email to: StCatherineWebMaster@Comcast.net 265 Stratton Brook Road, Box 184, West Simsbury, Connecticut 06092 Tel: 860 658 1642 /Fax: 888 297 3134 Email: stcathy@comcast.net Website: www.stcatherine.info Facebook Page: St.Catherine of Siena Parish-West Simsbury CT

WELCOME! We welcome all visitors who are celebrating with us today. As is our custom at St. Catherine of Siena, please remain in your pew for the singing of the first and last verses of the recessional hymn.

Religious Education News CHILDREN MAKING CHANGE—our Religious Education Lenten Giving Program is coming to a close; last day to participate is today, March 26th! Our children can "change" another child's life by giving their “change" each Sunday during classes. A container is in each classroom (courtesy of Kane's Market) to collect change to donate to CCMC. Together, we can make a Difference! FIRST COMMUNION FAMILY DAY is next Saturday, April 1st! All families should be at the church no later than 1 PM so we can start promptly at 1 o'clock. Please remember to bring a baked goodie or milk/juice (no brownies, please) for refreshment. LAST CLASS Music & Awards Program is next Sunday, April 2nd at Henry James Memorial School gym. All students, K- 8 are expected to attend! All parents, grandparents and family members are invited to join our K-8 students for this final day where we showcase the songs we learned, prayers we know, skits and reception of attendance and Christian Character Awards. Pot Luck Brunch for those who sign up by Wednesday, March 29th. Contact Kathi Bonner at Kathidre@aol.com to sign up! CONFIRMATION II Interviews are Sunday, April 2, 7 pm at the church. There are no morning classes. All Confirmation Candidates come at 7 pm.

Saturday, March 25th @ 5:00 pm Mass for Lidia Procaccino, requested by Bob & Jackie Newman & family;

Sunday, March 26th @ 8:00 am Mass for Robert G. Studley, requested by the Chappano family;

Sunday, March 26th @ 11:00 am Mass for Vera Foxe, for improved health, requested by her family;

Sunday, March 26th @ 5:00 p.m. Mass for

Anthony Daniels, requested by Steve & Lisa Cerchia;

Monday, March 27th @ 8:30 a.m. Mass for Susan Caldwell, requested by Dave Balboni;

Tuesday, March 28th @ 8:30 am Mass Rev. Thomas J. Baylis;

Wednesday, March 29th @ 8:30 a.m. Mass for Special Intention;

Friday, March 31st @ 8:30 a.m. Mass for Rev. James C. Rush; Stations of the Cross, 9 a.m. Mary’s Way of the Cross, 7 p.m.;

Saturday, April 1st @ 5:00 pm Mass for Deborah Dionizio, requested by the Newman Family;

Sunday, April 2nd @ 8:00 am Mass for Robert G. Studley, requested by Caroline & Steve Gorecki;

Sunday, April 2nd @ 11:00 am Mass for Jennifer Horn, 4th anniversary, requested by her family; and,

Sunday, April 2nd @ 5:00 p.m. Mass for Matthew LaMothe, requested by the Hark Family.

WEEKLY MASS INTENTIONS

Offertory Collection Weekly Collection: $9,302.00 Loose Cash/Checks $1,217.50 Envelopes $8,102.50 Cathedraticum* -$ 512.60 School Tax* -$ 512.60 *Parish taxes (5.5%) paid to the Archdiocese for services to the parish.

Repair & Refurbishment…....$ 454.00(additional) Online Donation Line for the Annual Catholic Appeal is: https://appeal.archdioceseofhartford.org/donations/ .

YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS

SENIOR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY Sunday, March 26, 6:00-8:00 p.m., MOVIE NIGHT. Join us for a thought provoking, inspirational film capable of transforming the lives of teens! (This film is guaranteed by Mrs. Pluta not to disappoint.)

Pizza will be served promptly at 6:00 pm. Sunday, April 2nd, 5:15 p.m., DELAWARE

MISSION TRIP MANDATORY MEETING in Russell Hall. Please be on time so we can end on time. Confirmation II interviews begin at 7:00 pm.

JUNIOR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY Monday, April 3rd, 7:00 p.m., Russell Hall. We begin with ice cream sundaes tonight promptly at 7:00 p.m. Join us tonight for an evening of community building and activities. We look ahead to plan for next year. All ideas are welcome!

Lenten Stations of the Cross will be held on Friday evenings. This week

members of the Women’s Club will lead us through the "Mary's Way of the Cross”

at 7 pm. All are welcome.

CREDIT UNION HOURS--The Valley Catholic FCU will be closing for Good Friday (April 14th) but we will be open on Thursday night (April 13th) from 6:00–8:00 p.m.

FROM FATHER MICHAEL...

Technology Helpers Needed Tom Tanski who heads up our website and technology services in the parish is looking for a few tech-savvy folks who would like to work with him on the design and maintenance of the parish website. If you have a few hours per month and would like to help benefit the parish’s communication services, please contact Tom Tanski directly at 860-559-2024. Thank you for your consideration!

Parish Lenten Penance Service On Wednesday, March 29th, Saint Catherine of Siena Parish will hold its annual Lenten Penance Service in the main Church. Additional priests from the Archdiocese will be here to hear confessions and absolve sins for Catholics wishing to make the “Easter Duty.” This Penance Service is

in addition to our regular Monday evening Confessions, held all year long, from 6-7 pm and Saturday afternoons from 4-4:30 pm.

Need First Holy Communion or Confirmation Gifts? If you have a child about to make the First Holy Communion or a Confirmand in your family, you are in luck…the Luck of the Irish, that is: on the weekend of April 1st & 2nd parishioners Sergio and Luana Berardelli who are owners of America’s largest Irish Import store, O’Reilly’s Irish Gift Shop will be here at Saint Catherine of Siena offering a huge selection of religious appropriate gifts and Irish gift items for the Confirmand and Holy Communicate in your family. Gift items range from Art, Baby & Kids, Books, Clothing, Crosses Wall & Standing, Crystal. Fine China, General Giftware, Gifts For Her and Him, Jewelry, Music, Pewter, Sayings & Blessings, Stained Glass Lamps & Sun-catchers and more. In addition to providing wonderful religious and spiritual items for those on their faith journey to Christ, O’Reilly’s provides a portion of their sales to the parish religious education program. For more information on O’Reilly’s products and services, call them directly at 860 677 6958mor visit them in Farmington at 248 Main Street or at GotIrish.com. Laetare Sunday The fourth, or middle, Sunday of Lent, so called from the first words of the Introit at Mass, "Laetare Jerusalem" — "Rejoice, O Jerusalem". During the first six or seven centuries the season of Lent commenced on the Sunday following Quinquagesima, and thus comprised only thirty-six fasting days. To these were afterwards added the

four days preceding the first Sunday, in order to make up the forty days' fast, and one of the earliest liturgical notices of these extra days occurs in the special Gospels assigned to them in a Toulon manuscript of 714. Strictly speaking, the Thursday before Laetare Sunday is the middle day of Lent, and it was at one time observed as such, but afterwards the special signs of joy permitted on this day, intended to encourage the faithful in their course through the season of penance, were transferred to the Sunday following. They consist of (like those of Gaudete Sunday in Advent) in the use of flowers on the altar, and of the organ at Mass and Vespers; rose-colored vestments also allowed instead of purple, and the deacon and sub-deacon wear dalmatics, instead of folded chasubles as on the other Sundays of Lent. The contrast between Laetare and the other Sundays is thus emphasized, and is emblematical of the joys of this life, restrained rejoicing mingled with a certain amount of sadness. The station at Rome was on this day made at the church of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, one of the seven chief basilicas; the Golden Rose, sent by the popes to Catholic sovereigns, used to be blessed at this time, and for this reason the day was sometimes called "Dominica de Rosa". Other names applied to it were Refreshment Sunday, or the Sunday of the Five Loaves, from a miracle recorded in the Gospel; Mid-Lent, mi-carême, or mediana; and Mothering Sunday, in allusion to the Epistle, which indicates our right to be called the sons (and daughters) of God as the source of all our joy, and also because formerly the faithful used to make their offerings in the cathedral or mother-church on this day. This latter name is still kept up in some remote parts of England, though the reason for it has ceased to exist. –Catholic Encyclopedia

Enlightenment On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Scrutiny which we are called to review our faith life in the midst of this Sunday’s Gospel of John, the man born blind, is one about our own personal enlightenment—a word that was used to describe Lent in the ancient world—as Lent is a time of purification and enlightenment. In today’s Gospel we see the man born blind having his eyes anointed by Jesus and then were told to wash them in the Pool of Siloam—anointing and washing are both rituals of Baptism. The man’s eye sight was regained by belief in Christ and by the power of Christ. For those of us who are born into the Catholic faith—cradle Catholics—and then journey toward a deeper, hopefully, faith in the loving God, it is by challenges to our infant-given faith that we come closer to Christ. May we use this Lenten Season to open our eyes of faith to the God we see around us in the Church, in our needs and in community of believer around us, so that our eyes are washed by faith and anointed by belief—to see more clearly the Goodness of the Lord.

MANY THANKS to our Senior High Youth Ministry who baked and delivered 75 apple pies to area soup kitchens for their Thanksgiving meals. Thank you to the parent helpers who gave their time and energy on PIE NIGHT: Rosanne O' Hara, Amy Dillon, Susan Hoffman, Jeanne Carpenter, Debbie Hamil, Kathy Duford, Manuela Hanshaw and Mike Laiuppa.

Upcoming Meetings/Events

MARCH -Sun, 26th—Children’s Liturgy of the Word, RH, 11 a.m.

-Sun, 26th—St. Elizabeth House, parking lot, 3:45 p.m.

-Sun, 26th—Sr. High Youth Ministry, RH & Library, 6 p.m.

-Mon, 27th—Confession, Church, 6 p.m.

-Mon-, 27th—Organizational Golf Meeting, Library, 7 p.m.

-Tues, 28th—Children’s Choir, MR, 6:30 p.m.

-Tues, 28th—RCIA, Library, 7:00 p.m.

-Tues, 28th—Children’s Choir, MR, 6:30 p.m.

-Wed, 29th—Bible Study, Library, 9:15 a.m.

-Wed, 29th-Lenten Penance Service, church, 7 p.m.

-Thurs, 30th—Renew, Library, 10 a.m.

-Fri, 31st—Stations of the Cross, 9 a.m.

-Fri, 31st—Stations of the Cross, 7 p.m.

APRIL

-Sat, 1st—First Communion Family Day, RH, 1 p.m.

-Sun, 2nd—Children’s Liturgy of the Word, RH, 11 a.m.

-Sun, 2nd—Contemporary Choir, MR, 4 p.m.

-Sun, 2nd—Mission Trip Meeting, RH, 5 p.m.

-Sun, 2nd—Confirmation Interviews, all rooms, 7 p.m.

-Mon, 3rd—Mass at McLean, 11 a.m.

-Mon, 3rd—Confession, Church, 6 p.m.

-Mon, 3rd—Rosary, Church, 7 p.m.

-Mon, 3rd—Jr. High Youth Ministry, RH, 7 p.m.

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Pantry Partners—Thank you to all of the

volunteers who assisted in the SCPP distribution on Saturday. . We are always grateful for the generous donations from our St. Catherine parishioners who make this possible.

The WOMEN’S CLUB is CALLING ALL BAKERS! Yet another opportunity exists to assist the Little Sisters in their fundraising efforts. We will be soliciting bakers to drop off their creations at the parish kitchen by Friday, March 31st for pick-up. Their Annual Bake Sale is in Enfield on Saturday, April 1st. Stay tuned for further details via the Women's Club Ministry mailing list. If you are not on our e-mail list and would like to be, please contact Rosemary Clarke at rchad.clarke@gmail.com or 860-651-5507. Friday, March 31st at 7pm "Mary's Way of the Cross" Stations led by the Women's Club Ministry.

Save-Date: June 26th-30th from 9:15-Noon. Planning is underway for VBS 2017. If you would like to be involved in this wonderful program for St. Catherine's youth, please contact Colleen Tighe, (860) 951-2679.

St. Elizabeth House—next service date is today,

March 26th. Food needs to be ready to serve (casseroles hot, salad pre-cut) and at the church by 3:45 p.m. Please sign up in the atrium. Questions, please contact Leila Bruno at (860) 392-8585. Thank you!

"Hop along to our annual Children's Easter Party on

Saturday, April 8th, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.!

Come for pancakes, crafts, an egg hunt and a visit from the Easter bunny! Remember to bring your own basket! Please consider donating a bag of candy which can be dropped off in the atrium. The children of Sacred Heart

parish in Hartford will be joining us this year!" Register to attend and/or volunteer at www.stcatherine.info. Registration on-line ends Sunday, April 2nd.

New Day Bereavement Group--Living through grief is not easy and it does not have to be done alone. St. Bridget’s Church in Manchester offers “New Day,” a nine-week program for those who wish to do grief work with others having the same experience. This program provides a sense of community where support is given and received, and one feels at ease knowing that those attending have also had the pain of loss. “New Day” is led by trained facilitators and includes prayer, discussion and journaling. It is a faith-based program and all are welcome. We are looking forward to holding our next program on Tuesday evenings beginning April 4, 2017 from 7:00–8:30 p.m. in the St. Bridget Parish Office, 80 Main St., Manchester. For further information or to register for the program, please call Dana at 860-883-9822.

Men’s Club Events: 1. There will be an organizational meeting on Monday,

March 27th, 7p.m. in the Library regarding the annual St. Catherine’s Golf Classic. Men, Women, Golfers and non-Golfers are invited and needed. Great way to meet people of the parish while supporting a great event.

Call Lou Daniels for more info 860.916.3577, or just come to the meeting.

2. Afternoon 1/2 Day Retreat, May 13th, Russell Hall. 3. Golf Outing - May 26th, Simsbury Farms.

End of Bulletin Information on this page is not printed

Church: St. Catherine of Siena City: West Simsbury, Connecticut Account # 04-0523 Run # Routing Code: O Phone: 860.658.1642 Fax: 888.297.3134 Contact: Lisa Cerchia