The beginning of Lent, our annual pilgrimage of 40 days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in preparation for the celebration of Our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection, begins this week. But we may have questions about how Lent came about as a season of repentance. So this week I’d like to share a little about the origins and meaning of Lent historically. Click the title to read more.

As I’m sure you are aware, Connecticut State officials are preparing to relax many of the COVID restrictions for businesses, public buildings and schools that have been in place for some time. Governor Lamont’s Executive Order for mask mandates, although extended by the State legislature this week, will expire at the end of the month. After that, it becomes the responsibility of local governments and boards of health to make recommendations and policies in response to further COVID outbreaks. Our Superintendent of Catholic Schools has informed us that on March 1st, masks will become optional in our parochial schools. Click the title to read more.

Our St. Mary’s myParish app is available for iPhone and Android. Stay connected with our Parish throughout the the week with instant notifications, parish calendar, the ability to share messages to your Facebook account. Also enjoy additional features like prayers, daily readings, helpful reminders to silence your phone before Mass or Confession, and much more. Strengthen your Parish life at St. Mary’s through this wonderful app.

On May 17, 2022, the Archdiocese is holding a Confirmation ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford for adults who need to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is only for Catholics who have been baptized and received their First Holy Communion and for whatever reason were never able to, or chose not to be Confirmed as a teen. If you are preparing for marriage or hope to be a baptismal godparent or sponsor in the future (for which Confirmation is required), this is the perfect time to complete your initiation as a Catholic. Fr. Stephen will be offering preparation sessions that will review some of the important teachings of our faith and provide preparation for reception of the Sacrament. If you are eligible and interested in receiving this Sacrament as an adult, please contact Fr. Stephen in the parish office to register.

This Sunday the annual contest between the two best teams in football commences. As the LA Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals, over 100,000 spectators are expected to fill SoFi Stadium and over 100 million more will watch from Super Bowl parties at home. Individual ticket prices for attendees range from $6,400 to $147,000 with the average cost of tickets around $9,700, not to mention the cost of traveling there, lodging and meals while away. An additional $14-15 billion is expected to be spent on Super Bowl watch parties. The average cost of a 30 second ad this year is hovering around $7 million. Players on the winning team will each receive $150,000 and those on the losing team $75,000 each for this one game. When combined with their other post-season compensation those figures increase to $300,000 and $250,000 respectively. And only heaven knows how much money will be exchanged through office pools, online gambling apps or other means of betting. Then there are those having no interest in football or the “big game” who host “alternate” Super Bowl events during that time, or perhaps go out to dinner and a movie instead of football. Click the title to read more.

This week in our Church’s liturgical calendar we meet a recently (1992) canonized saint, St. Josephine Bakhita. As her biography tells us, she was born in Africa, in Darfur, Sudan, ironically four years after the conclusion of the Civil War here in the States which was fought to abolish slavery. Unfortunately, the slave trade persisted in other parts of the world and she was kidnapped at the age of 7 and sold into slavery numerous times. Her final owner, the Italian consul serving in Khartoum, gave her to his friend, Augusto Michieli, to serve as a nanny for his daughter, traveling with her to Venice, Italy where the daughter attended a school run by the Canossian Sisters. When the Michielis wanted to return to Africa and take Josephine with them, the Italian courts ruled that since slavery was illegal in Italy, Josephine actually was freed the moment she set foot on Italian soil in 1885, and thus did not have to return with them as a slave! Click the title to read more.