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 love one's passing as a way to ensure our community will thrive well into the future.
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time 21 August 2016
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 [email protected]
Director of Religious Education Mrs. Kathi Bonner 860 658 4737 or [email protected]
Director of Youth Ministry Mrs. Judy Pluta 860 408 9888 or [email protected]
Director of Music Ministry Mrs. Susan Zybert 860 216 6519 or [email protected]
Facilities Manager Mr. Michael Grappone, 860 658 1642
Parish Council President Mr. Jim Peters 860 651-3143 or [email protected]
Finance Council Chairman Mr. Scott Muryasz 860 693 4164
Parish Legacy Fund Chairman Mr. Peter Pabich, 860 408 1254
Parish Lay Trustees Mrs. Melissa Horbal, 860 651 7844 Mr. Joseph Capozzoli, 860 352 2390
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: [email protected] 265 Stratton Brook Road, Box 184, West Simsbury, Connecticut 06092 Tel: 860 658 1642 /Fax: 888 297 3134 Email: [email protected] Website: www.stcatherine.info
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 The deadline to register for Religious Education has now passed. Registration will only be accepted with the $50.00 late fee from this point forward. Online registration is still possible, downloading the form on our website and mailing it in is also acceptable. NEW children can be added only by completing the BLUE forms that are available in the atrium and vestibule.
Saturday, August 20th @ 5:00 pm Mass for Janet Russell, birthday remembrance, requested by her family;
Sunday, August 21st @ 8:00 am Mass for Mary Beth Hampton, requested by Kathy Cochener,
Sunday, August 21st @ 11:00 am Mass for John Raphael, requested by the Jahne Family;
Monday, August 22nd @ 8:30 a.m. Mass for Alfred Melanson, birthday remembrance, requested by his family;
Tuesday, August 23rd @ 8:30 am Mass for Eleanor Murphy, requested by the Lynch Family;
Wednesday, August 24th @ 8:30 a.m. Mass for Rev. Louis Evangelista;
Friday, August 26th @ 8:30 a.m. Mass for Dorothy “Fitzy” Montgomery, requested by Anna Carullo;
Saturday, August 27th @ 5:00 pm Mass for Daniel Gallagher, requested by Fay Shea;
Sunday, August 28th @ 8:00 am Mass for the improved health of Angela Ging; and,
Sunday, August 28th @ 11:00 am Mass for The St. Catherine of Siena Women’s Club Ministry.
WEEKLY MASS INTENTIONS
Offertory Collection Weekly Collection: $8,163.50 Loose Cash/Checks $1,224.50 Envelopes $6,939.00 Cathedraticum* -$ 448.99 School Tax* -$ 448.99 *Parish taxes (5.5%) paid to the Archdiocese for services to the parish.
Repair & Refurbishment… $2,935.00
Anniversary Celebration
Sunday, Oct. 16th at 2 p.m. All couples celebrating their 25th, 50th, 60th and any other special wedding anniversary this year are invited. Archbishop Blair
will be the main celebrant. Mass will include a renewal of marriage vows, followed by a simple reception and an opportunity for a photo with the Archbishop. Family members and friends are encouraged to attend. Please call the parish office, 658-1642, to respond to this invitation.
YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS
SENIOR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY
MISSION TRIP APPLICATIONS for this year’s trip to Delaware are due August 31. Register now for this enriching life experience. Sunday, August 28, 7:00 pm, LEADERSHIP TEAM meeting in parish library. Sunday, September 11, 6:00 pm, SENIOR High KICKOFF, Russell Hall. Pizza will be served. Sign up for car wash, TWA, service projects and more. Tee shirt give-a-way tonight !!! Join the fun. Bring a friend.
JUNIOR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY
Monday, September 12, 7:00 pm, Russell Hall, JUNIOR High KICKOFF. All 7th and 8th graders are invited to come and "check it out." Pizza will be served. Sign up for car wash and fall activities. Tee shirt give-a-way tonight.
DIVINE MERCY PILGRIMAGE Only 5 seats remaining for our
Oct 4 bus trip. If you would like to join us call Ann at
413 446 4401.
Defending Liberty—Critics who say the Catholic
Church is against universal health care are misinformed. The Catholic Church is founded on the Corporal Works of Mercy and helping others. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has always advocated for health care. The Catholic Church is opposing the health care mandate, because it violates the First Amendment, which is supposed to safeguard freedom of religion. If you haven’t done so already, please voice your opposition to the federal health care mandate by calling U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell at 202-205-5445, and your elected representatives. Let them know that the mandate is in violation of our First Amendment right to religious freedom. If you have called, call again, our representatives need to listen to us.
FROM FATHER MICHAEL...
Celebrating Together The power of the Eucharistic meal is beyond all human understanding; it is the Eucharist that binds us with Christ and God our Father, and it binds us together as One. Once a month, the fourth Sunday of the month, Father John Baptist Pesce, C.P., from Holy Family Monastery and Retreat Center in West Hartford comes to our parish to be the celebrant of the 8 a.m. Mass. Father brings with him more than 60 years of priesthood, 92 years of life experience, and a Doctoral degree in Theology from Rome. We are blessed to have his wisdom and passion for social justice and in leading our Mass celebration. Recently I received a note from Fr. John in which he told me how much he enjoys coming to St. Catherine of Siena Parish and what it means to him and his priesthood. I thought you would like to see his vantage point on the celebration of our Mass. He said, “Just to express my gratitude to you and the parish in having me there at St. Catherine’s to celebrate the Eucharist when such is my privilege. There is the “feeling” that it is really a celebration of a community, more of a family, and this makes it much more than a matter of obligation. May God continue to bless you…all. ” His words illustrate how powerful your faith-lived-out is to others. Each time I request priestly coverage for the Masses I hear the same common denominator from those priests: that the people of St. Catherine of Siena are a special breed and that the celebration of the Sacred Eucharist is always joyful and joy-filled—from the music to the readings to the prayerfulness and most especially to the responses of the congregation—not typical in all churches. Fr. John hits the nail on the head when he says it (the celebration of the Mass) is much more than an obligation. Vatican II (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosantum Concilium, solemnly promulgated by Pope Paul VI, 4 December 1963) states that “Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people, ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people…’” (1 Pet. 2:9, 4-5) And the way in which you do that certainly feeds and nourishes all the priest-celebrants as well as the congregation in the pews. Thank you!
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time: Who Has Heavenly Reservations? “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Jesus doesn’t give a direct answer to this question in today’s Gospel but rather He gives us clues as to the makeup of the Kingdom of Heaven and of His desires for us to be with Him for all eternity. I am reminded of the often repeated “homily joke : (which I’ve used a number of times before) of St. Peter greeting a new arrival at heaven’s gate and taking him on a tour. After passing by streets paved in gold, silver and platinum and filled with people from all faiths celebrating, St. Peter and he walk past a walled-off area where St. Peter tells the man to be very quiet. The new resident asks “why must I be quiet, everyone’s partying?” Peter replies “this is where the Catholics are and they think they are the only ones up hear.” The humor hear is meant to illustrate that sometimes we might believe that when it comes to getting into heaven, we Catholics might think “we’ve got it made.” When it comes to painting a picture of the Kingdom of
Heaven, Jesus uses three images in today’s gospel: (1) the narrow gate, (2) the locked door, and (3) the great banquet. Through these three images, we can gleam an understanding of heaven: First, “Salvation is not first come, first serve.” And no matter how much we do on earth or how wonderfully spiritually prepared we are, someone at the “end of the line” might get in ahead of us (remember we do believe in Purgatory). Secondly, getting into heaven is not a matter of “privilege…or of who you know.” Rather, when we might be shocked to see who is there—and how many people are there—even the people we never thought we’d see in the Kingdom. And finally, Jesus tells us that people from all nations will be joining in at the great banquet table in heaven, “from all the ends of the earth.” So what might be a “take-away” for this weekend’s scriptural message for us to consider? That each one of us needs to be open to our Father’s unique openness and hospitality as members within our own Christian community and then to generously embrace and share His love with others in our time and place.” In doing this, we need to:
Believe our faith by knowing what our faith teaches us.
We need to Live our faith in-and-through our daily activities of life, not letting our faith become foreign to the essence of who we are and then we must.
Share our faith—with our families and friends, incorporating our beliefs and moral compass into our work and in how we establish and build our lives.
From the “Way Back” Time Machine In 2000 the Church offered for us a Jubilee Year prayer as a daily morning offering that we should pray—both in gratitude to the Lord for all He has done and continues to do for us, and also to bring us comfort and peace in the midst of a world that does not offer us such peace and comfort. Perhaps we can give this prayer a work-out during these challenging times and in particular to help us embrace the message of this weekend’s readings: +Lord, thank You for a restful night and the gift of a brand new day. Walk with me that I may know that I am never alone and am infinitely loved by You. Strengthen me to make the most of this day’s possibilities. Grant me the grace to avoid what is unworthy of me and to do Your Will in thought, word and deed. May Your Spirit in me help me to bear whatever crosses, enjoy whatever successes, meet whatever challenges, forgive whatever wrongs, avoid whatever temptations come my way today. This day is Your gift to me. Help me to return it to You this evening, well lived, as my gift to You. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Catholic Liturgical Postures and Gestures
Last week I spoke to the idea of who should pray using the Orans position (for the priest only) within the context of the Mass (and never during the “For thine is the power…within the Our Father). This week we turn to the striking of the breast dur-ing the Mass. Using either a fist or tips of fingers, held close to-gether, one may strike their chest over the heart to express regret and sorrow. At what points in the Mass are these appropriate?
At each “mea culpa” during the Confiteor;
At the “forgive us our trespasses” in the Our Father;
When the bells are rung at the Consecration, and when the host and chalice are raised you bow your head and strike your chest 3 times saying “My Lord and My God;” and,
At any time within the liturgy to express remorse or penitence. ~Catholic Encyclopedia.
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
AUGUST
-Sat, 20th—Pantry Partners, Vestibule, 9 a.m.
-Mon, 22nd—NO Confession.
-Sat, 27th—Picnic in the Park, RH, 11:30 a.m.
-Sat/Sun, 27th/28th—Women’s Club Membership Drive
& Bake Sale, Atrium
-Sun, 28th—Leadership Team Meeting, Library, 7 p.m.
-Mon, 29th—Confession, Church, 6 p.m.
SEPTEMBER
-Mon, 5th-Labor Day, Office closed.
-Mon, 5th—NO Confession/Rosary
-Thurs, 8th—Girl Scouts, RH, 7 p.m.
Social Outreach
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Pantry Partners—Thank you to the many
volunteers who helped with the August distribution Saturday! I would like to specifically thank Mary and Corinne who call our guests every month on the Sunday prior to the distribution date. We get very positive feedback from everyone with whom they interact. It is a special blessing to those folks and to SCPP to have these dedicated ladies on the phone supporting this mission.
St. Elizabeth House—next service date is, August 28th. 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. Any questions, please contact Leila Bruno at (860) 392-8585. Thank you!
SCHOOL SUPPLIES STILL NEEDED!!! To help children of Hartford. Please donate the following items for Family Life Ministry to distribute to the children: backpacks, calculators, notebooks, pens, pencils, rulers, 3 ring binders, loose leaf paper, markers, crayons, erasers, and glue. All items can be placed in the boxes in the Atrium or the Vestibule. Help children be all that they can be!
Women’s Club Ministry News Weekend of August 27th and 28th - Ministry Membership Drive & Bake Sale after all Masses—look for representatives of the Women’s Club to renew your membership or consider joining us anew. All are welcome; the best $20.00 you can spend (more if you can, less if you need to). Join us for a year of fun and fellowship, making new friends and renewing old acquaintances. Membership Forms for the 2016-2017 year will be a Bulletin Insert next week (also available in the Atrium in the WCM basket and on the Parish website). Wednesday, September 21st, Welcome Back Potluck Dinner & Opening Meeting, 7pm Russell Hall—Meet your new Women’s Club Leadership Team, preview our upcoming Calendar of Events, and enjoy your evening’s dinner with friends old & new, sampling a tasty menu of each other’s home cookin’. Sign-up sheets will be available after Labor Day in the Atrium and on-line, so give some thought to your “category” (apps, sides, entrée, dessert).
Enjoy the beautiful grounds of the Abbey of Regina Laudis and bring your family to see the “The Fantasticks,” the world’s longest running musical, at The Gary The Olivia Theater, a roofed, open air theater located at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, a
Benedictine community in Bethlehem, CT. Weekend performances run from 9/17-9/25 at 7:30 PM with matinees on Sundays at 2:30 PM. Children 11 and under are free and discounts are given to seniors and groups of 10 or more. To purchase tickets, please visit www.thegarytheolivia.com or call the box office at 203-273-5669
Music ministers work magic! Learning through music is fun, rewarding and effective. Our Rel Ed program is looking for a music teacher to work with our little ones....Grades K-4 to lead and teach Bible songs and hymns that we all remember learning when we
were young. The music is simple but important. If you can sing, play keyboards and/or guitar, you are the perfect fit! A team of two would work well! We meet on Sunday mornings at Henry James. We have the sheet music and the children. You bring your faith, enthusiasm and talent! Call Kathi Bonner, 860.658.4737 or email [email protected].
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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
