Having celebrated the special Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ these past two weekends, this Sunday we return to the Ordinary Time Sundays for the remainder of our Church’s Liturgical Year, which ends on November 20th with the celebration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. “Ordinary Time” gets its name both from the fact that there are no special or particular liturgical celebrations or seasons for the remainder of the year, and because we count these weeks with “ordinal” numbers. Our liturgical color for our vestments is green – a color that dominates our landscape through summer into fall. Click the title for more.

This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (also known by its Latin name: Corpus Christi). This feast was introduced into the Church in the Thirteenth Century during a time when the legitimacy of the doctrine of the Real Presence (that Jesus is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist) was being questioned. A priest traveling from Prague on a pilgrimage to had stopped in the town of Bolsena, Italy to celebrate Mass. As he was elevating the host during the consecration, the host suddenly appeared in a visible way as true flesh, sprinkled with red blood. This Eucharistic miracle inspired Pope Urban IV, who investigated and approved its legitimacy, to institute the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1264, commissioning Thomas Aquinas to compose prayers and music to celebrate the feast. The hymns, Tantum Ergo and O Salutaris that we use even today for Eucharistic Adoration, are among the fruits of Aquinas’ work in response to the Pope’s request. Click the title to read more.

Like married couples, it is customary for Priests to celebrate their 25th and 50th Anniversaries of Ordination, or in the case of Religious Sisters, Brothers and Priests, those Jubilee Anniversaries of their Solemn Profession. This weekend Fr. William Metzler celebrates his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood. His preparation for ministry included studies at public grammar and high schools, undergraduate studies at Boston College and two masters’ degrees from Niagara University. On May 27, 1922, Fr. Metzler was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral of St. Joseph by then Archbishop John Francis Whalen. Click the title to read more.

“What can we do to pray for a loved one, living or deceased, or how can we do something to honor or memorialize them?” This is a common question, especially after the death of a loved one.   To have a Mass or several Masses offered for a person who is deceased is an ancient and commendable practice.  A Mass is offered to pray for a person that he/she may be at peace in heaven.  Since each Mass is of infinite value, requesting one or several Masses is of tremendous benefit for the person prayed for as well as for the family, knowing that their intention is joined with the prayer of the Church. Click the title to read more.

KC Council 2758 is offering post secondary education scholarships. These scholarships are intended for students and families who have demonstrated an active commitment to the Church. Students can obtain an application form and a list of criteria for the scholarship at the St. Mary’s office. The applications are due June 30th, 2022.

We have begun the process of searching for a new Youth Minister. A group of parents and teens have been meeting to brainstorm ideas on how we can shape our youth ministry program going forward. This group will assist Father Stephen in putting together a job description that will be used to search for candidates.

Sr. Maryann Cantlon, a team member from Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center, will offer a program focusing on the Samaritan woman at the well and her encounter with Jesus. She will discuss how the woman came to know who Jesus was. This Biblical scene from John becomes a way to nourish our faith. It will take place in the Upper Church and there will be a Q&A after the program.

Over the next two weeks (5/23 & 5/30) there will be NO Adoration on Monday evenings. Stay tuned for the upcoming summer schedule.

Birthright will continue to have baby bottles after Masses. We ask that you take the bottles home, fill them with coins, cash, or check and return them to the Birthright volunteer stationed after Masses on Sunday, June 5th. This is an opportunity for our church families to have hands-on involvement in a project that saves the lives of unborn children and makes a lasting difference in the mothers’ lives. Thank you for any help you can give. Note: Please make checks out directly to Birthright.

Know God’s Word . . . Know God’s LOVE! The Archdiocese of Hartford has Bible studies for adult learners. The Biblical School is now enrolling virtual and in-person classes! Find out more at www.CatholicEdAOHCT.org, or contact us: catholic.biblical.school@aohct.org

How is it possible that nearly 40 days have passed since Easter? Time certainly flies! This coming Thursday is Ascension Thursday, when we recall and celebrate Jesus ascending into heaven. In the opening verses of The Acts of the Apostles, Luke gives us a detailed description of this event introduced by these words: “In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” Before Jesus began his public ministry, he prepared himself through 40 days of fasting in the desert. After his resurrection, but before returning to the Father, Jesus prepared his apostles for their public ministry through 40 days of instruction and accompaniment. Click the title to read more.

As you’ve noticed from our bulletin cover we have a number of our parish youth receiving their Confirmation this Sunday afternoon at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, as well as two adults who will be Confirmed there on Tuesday evening. In our Catholic tradition, Confirmation is one of three Sacraments of Initiation, along with Baptism and Eucharist. Although in the early days of Christianity, these three Sacraments were celebrated in one event at the Easter Vigil, over time they became separated from one another for very practical reasons. Click the title to read more.

I remember as a child, my mother placing fresh flowers each day before the little statue of Mary she kept on her bedroom dresser. Whether they be forsythia, tree blossoms, irises or lily of the valley (all of which grew in our yard), Mary always had fresh flowers during the month of May. Why do we honor Mary with flowers during May? Many of our Christian customs have roots in pre-Christian celebrations. As the Christian faith was taught to peoples of different cultures, missionaries often took their local customs and connected them to Christian belief. In ancient Greece and Rome, the goddesses of fertility and blossoms were honored during the month of May as springtime brought fertility and new life. Click the title to read more.

For the past six weeks of Lent, we’ve been preparing for and building up to the celebration of the greatest event in Christianity, the celebration of Easter – when Christ defeated death by rising to new life. Whether we’ve been coming to daily Mass, praying or reading the Bible more, attending a bible study, making the Stations of the Cross, following Dynamic Catholic’s Best Lent Ever series or the daily readings from the Lenten meditation book, we’ve been highly engaged in faith activities during the Lenten Season. Even in our homes perhaps we’ve been preparing in all kinds of ways, cooking traditional Easter specialties, decorating or planting flowers, creating Easter baskets. Now that we’ve celebrated Easter Sunday, what’s next? Click the title to read more.

A Very Happy and Blessed Easter to All! Today our 40-day Lenten pilgrimage culminates in Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. Mary Magdalene delivers the disturbing news to Peter and the beloved disciple that the body of Jesus is missing from the place where they buried him on the preceding Friday. They race to the tomb only to find the tomb open and Jesus’ body gone. The tidied burial cloths raise a suspicion that Jesus’ body was not simply moved or stolen. Rather it must mean that he had been raised as he promised: “the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed, and rise after three days” (Mk. 8:31). God’s extravagant love has rolled away the stone and emptied the tomb! The beloved disciple sees and believes! Alleluia! Click the title to read more.

Another obstacle to going to confession I often hear from people is they don’t know what to confess. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, morality seemed so black and white – we knew clearly what was and wasn’t a sin. Today however there seems difficulty discerning what is appropriate matter for confession. First, to be culpable (responsible) for a sin we must know and understand that what we have done or neglected to do is sinful. We can’t be guilty of something we are unaware is a sin. A thorough Examination of Conscience will help us to discern our sins both of commission and omission. To do this, we could start by remembering the Ten Commandments and determining if we are guilty of breaking any of these. Click the title to read more.

One of the reasons Catholics often cite for not going to confession is that it’s been so long since they last went, they’ve forgotten what to do. If this is what is keeping you from experiencing this beautiful sacrament perhaps a review of how to celebrate this sacrament might make it more approachable. First, don’t worry or be embarrassed if it has been a long time since last celebrating Reconciliation. All that matters is that you are seeking out the sacrament now. If you let the priest know it’s been a while and you are a little “rusty” he can help you with the process. Take a few minutes before confession to examine your conscience. You may use the 10 Commandments or even the Two Great Commandments (Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself) to help you review your recent past. There are also Examinations of Conscience online or on the MyParishApp or the Confession App which can help you recall your sins.

Following the movement of the Church’s penitential practice from a more public ritual to a more private experience during the 6th -8th centuries, the theology of the Sacrament of Reconciliation continued to develop. Penitential books were composed with lists of sins and corresponding penances to be given. The practice of waiting to receive absolution until one had completed the prescribed penance gave way to receiving absolution immediately after confession and completing the penance later. St. Thomas Aquinas in the 12th Century, further defined the understanding of the sacrament by declaring that the works of the penitent (the one confessing sin) and the priest including the confession, contrition and imposition of a penance formed the “matter” of the sacrament while the words of absolution spoken by the priest was the “form” of the sacrament. The practice of confessing sins behind a screen to ensure the anonymity of the penitent came into use. Click the title to read more.

A major event in our early Church’s experience contributed to a number of changes and developments that would forever shape Church history in the West. Up until the 4th century, the practice of the Christian faith was outlawed by the Roman Empire. While many emperors were somewhat indifferent to Christianity, several would initiate fierce persecutions of Christians including men like Nero and Diocletian. With Constantine becoming Emperor around the beginning of the 4th Century, things change radically. In 313, following a vision Constantine experienced prior to a major military battle encouraging him to conquer under the signs of the cross and Christ, leading to a subsequent victory, Constantine issued his famous Edict of Milan declaring that Christianity would be accepted in the Roman Empire. Click the title to read more.

This weekend I am beginning a series on the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). The history of the development of this Sacrament is rooted in ministry of Christ himself. Often in the Gospels, Jesus forgives the sins of public sinners (e.g. the woman caught in adultery or the woman at the well in John’s gospel) or of those who were infirm in some way (as sin was widely believed at the time to cause illness.) The religious leaders of his time often questioned him on this point, claiming that Jesus was committing blasphemy, as God alone can forgive sins. (Little did they know that Jesus WAS God!) Jesus’ response was to prove he had such authority by effecting miraculous cures. When Jesus appears to his disciples in the upper room following the resurrection, he gives this same authority to the apostles, and by extension to the Church: “whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn. 20:23). Click the title to read more.