In last week’s column, I wrote about St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, from which the second reading at Mass has been taken for the past several weeks. In that column, I provided you with some background information important for understanding why Paul wrote this letter, and I noted the significance of this letter for the great split that took place between Roman Catholics and Protestants in the 16th century. In this week’s column, I will focus on the central theme of Paul’s letter to the Galatians: justification by faith. Click the title to read more.

For the past several weeks, the second reading at Mass has been taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Although this is one of the shorter writings in the New Testament—you can read it in about 20 minutes—it is one of the most important of Paul’s letters inasmuch as it presents his teaching on how we are saved: namely, we are saved by God’s grace rather than by the good works we do. Click the title to read more.

This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day, a day we remember our fathers, living and deceased. Like the role of mothers, the role of fathers has changed in recent years. Fathers today are more likely than in the past to share in some of the domestic tasks that were traditionally assigned to mothers, and it is no longer unusual for father to stay at home and watch the children. The expectations placed on fathers, however, can be overwhelming. Click the title to read more.

For the past two weeks, I have been discussing my vision for St. Mary’s Parish. The central element of this vision statement is our celebration of the Eucharist. There is nothing more important than what we do on Sunday when, as a community of believers, we celebrate the Eucharist. At that moment the church comes to life at St. Mary’s in Simsbury. At that moment we assemble as a worshipping community that offers perfect praise to God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Click the title to read more.

St. Mary’s Parish extends its heartfelt thanks to this year’s Carnival Committee for all the work that they did in making this year’s carnival so successful. Please click the title to read more.

Congratulations to the raffle ticket winners! The grand Prize of $10,000 went to Camille McNicholas; The 50 Inch LCD TV went to Judith McCarthy; Michael Laurino Jr. won the Weber Gas Grill and Margaret Lindberg won the Cake of the Month from Fitzgerald's.

Please join us in congratulating the St. Mary's School graduating class of 2013, We are proud of the many accomplishments of this year's twenty-four graduates and ask God's blessings as they begin their high school journey. Click the title to read more.