This week our Church celebrates Catholic School’s Week. This is an opportunity for us to celebrate the great treasure that Catholic School education is for us, historically, and now in this present time. As a beneficiary of Catholic Schools myself from the 5th grade on, I am well aware personally of the value of Catholic Schools. The challenging and stimulating academic expectations and the religious and spiritual formation I received was foundational to my current success in life, and I’m sure was instrumental in my discovering my vocation, my call to priesthood. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that had I not attended Catholic School, someone else would be writing this column to you right now! Click the title to read more.

Pope Francis has declared that this Sunday, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, be observed as “Sunday of the Word of God” to highlight the importance of the Bible in our prayer and worship as Catholics. It is so appropriate to focus on the importance of Sacred Scripture on this Sunday which comes on the heels of the celebration of the Birth of Jesus who is, as St. John the Evangelist reminds us, “the Word [who] became flesh and dwelt among us,” (Jn. 1:14). With the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, inclusion of Sacred Scripture in our celebration of Mass was greatly expanded. Click the title to read more.

Confirmation for St. Mary’s has been scheduled for May 15th, at 2:00 PM at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hartford. Our second year students should complete the confirmation application, saint, and sponsor forms found on the website. Please contact Steve DiMotta with any questions.

Thank you for your continuous support during these challenging and difficult times. Without your generous support of St. Mary’s, we would not be able to carry out our many ministries. Through E-giving and envelope usage, our parish continues to meet the many needs that face our parish. For those who are with us at home, thank you for staying connected each week. For the parishioners who attend daily and weekly mass, we are blessed to have you in person. We pray God continues to bless the people of St. Mary’s.

We will be kicking off a 7-week book club on February 1st; Walk in Her Sandals: Experiencing Christ's Passion through the Eyes of Women by Kelly M. Walquist. We will offer Tuesdays at 7:00 pm via Zoom and Wednesdays at 8:45 am in person. Please email us if you're interested: stmarywomensguild@gmail.com

This weekend, our second reading features St. Paul’s poetic rendition of how the Holy Spirit gifts the Church with a diversity of talents, unique to each individual but given for the benefit of the whole community. This list of gifts leads up to St. Paul’s famous passage about love which is often chosen as one of the readings at weddings: “Love is patient, love is kind,…” (1 Cor. 13). Click the title to read more.

It's was our privilege to start the new year by hosting one of our Archdiocesan seminarians, Mr. Martin Chouinard, over his winter break. Although his time with us was quite brief, we thank you so much for sharing time with us and, more importantly, for answering the call of the Lord. We promise you our continued prayers and support as you continue your discernment and studies, and look forward to that day God-willing you will be ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Hartford. We also pledge our prayers for all who may be discerning a vocation to service in the Church and for an increase in vocations to priesthood, religious life, diaconate, marriage, and lay ministry in the Church.

This weekend (Jan 9), the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord. In our Christian tradition, Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry and is one of three “epiphanies” of Jesus. And we can relate it to our own baptism. Click for the full message.

In the event that schools are closed due to inclement weather, there will be NO 8:00 AM Mass and our office will be closed. Sunday Mass will continue as scheduled but please use your best judgement when venturing out.