THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - JANUARY Glenbrook road Stamford, ct

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1 THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - JANUARY 13 WEEKEND MASSES Saturday, 4:00pm Sunday, 8:00am and 10:30am WEEKDAY MASS Monday through Thursday, 8:00am SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday, 3:30-3:45pm or by appointment BAPTISM AND WEDDINGS Contact the Parish Office for information and scheduling 358 Glenbrook road Stamford, ct

2 SAINT MAURICE CHURCH PAGE 2 To speak of many things... Happy (still) New Year! This weekend, the Christmas season concludes with the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Next week we find ourselves back in the Ordinary time of the Church year with the Second Sunday of Ordinary time. I am happy to announce Neil Flores will be joining us as organist and cantor for the 4:00pm vigil Mass on Saturdays on a regular basis. Neil is known to us as he has led us in music at masses on many occasions over the past few years. Neil is excited to be joining us and leading us in song and comes to us with enthusiasm and a desire to continue helping us to pray twice with song. Please welcome him to our Parish and wish him God s blessings as he provides support in our liturgical celebrations with a strong musical background and a keen liturgical sense. As the search continues for a musician to provide for our Sunday Masses let us join in prayer for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in making our choice. May the Holy Spirit lead and inspire someone to join the Parish family of Saint Maurice Church as our Director of Music. God s choicest blessings! Fr. Fred Christopher Anderson, Elena Cates, Ray Duda, Lenore Mandi, Frank Colandro, Susan Jacobsen, Bart Heefner, Warren Denny, Toni Coe, Gary Livia, Taylor Bova, Gerry Fraioli, Betty Vitti, Rosemary Bella, Sonya Correntee, Mary Caruso, Patrick Battinelli, Julie Salce, Lois Scatton, Carol Kane, Kristee Brooks, Michael Pataky, Ed Gentile, Daniel Caruso, Anthony Tomczyk, Marge Denicola, Gina Stuart, Adam Godlewski, Mark, Johann Fernando, Sandy Recchia, Gene Gil, Kathy L., Mary Palmer, Sylvia Privil, Sandra Coppola, Theresa Riendeau, Maria Nurena, Sal Bonina, Harper Pappas and Josephine Zinicola. Remember the men and women in the Armed Forces and all who protect us and put themselves in harm s way on our behalf; may they be shielded from danger; and for their families and loved ones. In particular, Andrew Anderson, Christopher Blasius, C. J. DelVaglio, Samantha Krom, Christian Legaspe, Steven Nolan and Dylan Schneider.

3 PAGE 3 find us at facebook/smcglenbrook THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD Think of what it's like to wait a long time. Can you imagine what it would be like to wait for centuries? No one person lives that long, of course. But for the Israelites, they had heard the stories from generation to generation. They had been conquered time and time again, and now "the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ." They had been waiting for a Messiah, one who did miraculous deeds and said profound things; someone aglow with the glory of God. We all know what it's like to hope and be disappointed. But what if your hopes were fulfilled? That day at the Jordan River, an audience had gathered. Among the crowd for baptism was an unknown man. Perhaps he was dirty from weeks in the desert. His hands had the calloused palms of a tradesman, a carpenter. He and John the Baptist may have embraced with the familiarity of the cousins they were. This man wades into the Jordan for a good, solid dunking. As he rises from the water, the One who breathed life into Adam gasps for air like any other man. But then "heaven was opened." The clouds in the sky part miles above. "And the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove." An apparition with substance sails through the sky. It exudes gentleness and power all at once. "And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'" Can you imagine the sight? For the crowd, there is no doubting what they have seen, who they have seen. Can you imagine this encounter with our God who keeps His promises? What are you waiting for? MINISTERS - Weekend of January 20, 2019 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time MASS 4:00PM SAT 8:00am SUN 10:30am SUN READER M. Lamonte C. Happel R. Shoztic EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS ALTAR SERVERS L. Lombardo N. Colon B. Little May serve at Mass they attend LIVE THE LITURGY - INSIPRATION FOR THE WEEK At the baptism of Jesus, a voice came from heaven saying, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." Through Baptism, Jesus' identity as God's Son is revealed and understood. He knows very clearly who he is. Baptism does the same for us. It gives us our identity as daughters and sons of God. We have the wonderful opportunity, given to us as a gift, to share in the same intimate relationship Jesus has with God his Father. Being a daughter or son of God gives us a unique and focused mission to which we must be faithful. Our identity, as with Jesus, is rooted in God. This is a simple fact we all must accept. Through Baptism, we are given the power and ability to see the world as God sees and to think and act as God would think and act. This is a tall order but one that will lead us to truth and ultimately to happiness.

4 FAITH FORMATION PAGE 4 No Faith Formation Classes There are no faith Formation classes on the following dates due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday: Pre-K through grade 5 - Sunday, January 20 Grades 6 through 8 Tuesday, January 22 First Penance Update For the weeks of 1/13 and 1/20, First Penance candidates and their parents should begin Blessed - Session 4 Forgiveness and Healing. Family Mass Grade 8 The eighth grade class will host the Family Mass at 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 26, Please join us! A Season of Peace The young parishioners in the Faith Formation program will be honoring Jesus, the Prince of Peace, throughout the month of January. We will reflect on peacemakers and acts of kindness, culminating with the Great Kindness Challenge during the week of January 28. Family Scripture Reflection: Gospel - Luke 3:15-16, Today the Church celebrates the baptism of the Lord. The baptism of Jesus shows his humanity. We hear about the humanity of Jesus throughout the Christmas season. The celebration of the baptism of Jesus marks the end of the Christmas season. After Jesus is baptized, he begins his public ministry. Today s gospel helps us understand the meaning of the sacrament of Baptism for all Christians. In this gospel, Luke presents the baptism of Jesus. Jesus comes to John to be baptized. John questions Jesus at first because he thinks that Jesus should be the one baptizing him. Jesus tells John to baptize him in order to fulfill what he has come to do. When Jesus comes up from the water, the heavens open and Jesus is revealed as God s Son, the beloved. For reflection and discussion: What does the baptism of Jesus tell us about Jesus? How was Jesus baptism like our baptism? How does baptism help us to live as followers of Jesus? (from RCL/Benziger) VIRTUS Safe Environments All volunteers in the Church are required to attend a Virtus Protecting God s Children Awareness Training session. The Safe Environment Initiative is intended to make each person more aware of the warning signs of child sexual abuse and how to prevent it. The trainings also provide the correct methods to report suspected abuse both in the State of Connecticut and the Diocese of Bridgeport. Meet Saint Hilary Hilary was born to pagan parents of Poitiers, France, in 315. After training in the classics and philosophy, Hilary married. He and his wife had one daughter, Afra. All who knew Hilary said he was a friendly, charitable, gentle man. Hilary s studies led him to read Scripture. He became convinced that there was only one God, whose Son became man and died and rose to save all people. This led him to be baptized along with his wife and daughter. The people of Poitiers chose Hilary to be their bishop in 353. He spoke out against Arianism, a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ. When Emperor Constantius II wanted him to sign a paper condemning Saint Athanasius, the great defender of the faith, he refused. The emperor was furious and exiled Hilary to Phrygia. In exile, he preached, wrote, and suffered, and even asked to debate the Arian bishops. Fearing Hilary s arguments, Arian s followers begged the emperor to send Hilary home. The emperor, believing Hilary was also undermining his authority, recalled him. Hilary s writings show that he could be fierce in defending the faith, but in dealing with the bishops who had given in to the Arian heresy, he was charitable. He showed them their errors and helped them to defend their faith. Though the emperor called Hilary disturber of the peace, Saints Jerome and Augustine praised him as teacher of the churches. Saint Hilary s Feast day is January 13. (from Loyola)

5 PAGE 5 Parish Offering Weekend of January 6, 2019 Saturday, 4:00pm (89)... $1, Sunday, 8:00am (58)... $ Sunday, 10:30am (113)... $1, TOTAL... $3, Mailed into Parish Office... $ Online Giving... $1, Capital expense collection... $1, This past weekend 101 Parish family offertory envelopes were collected. $ was collected in loose checks and cash. 260 were in attendance. Thank you for your continued and generous support and for your consideration in participating in on-line giving! May God Bless you in your care and concern for the well being of Saint Maurice Parish. THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD Many parishioners have signed up Will you? CONSIDER ONLINE GIVING??? Online Giving is a safe and convenient way for you to make your weekly offertory and special collections and contributions in support of our Parish. The service is easy to set up and manage. If you have not yet signed up for Online Giving, please consider this option. To sign up, visit our Parish website and click on the Online Giving logo located on the main page. Thank you for considering this safe, secure and easy method of donating regularly in support of our Parish. Our Online Giving system is also an App for Apple and Android products! You can download it free in the App Store, Google Play Store or go to OLGapp.com. If you are new to Online Giving, register and enter Church ID SECOND COLLECTION NEXT WEEKEND The second collection next weekend is the January Snow and Fuel subsidy which helps with the increased expense during the winter months for heating the Church buildings and snow removal (We have been lucky so far this year!) Thank you for your support of this collection in the care and concern for our Parish. May God bless you and your families for your generosity Sunday, January 13 Weekly Calendar January 13-20, 2019 Baptism of the Lord Wednesday, January 16 8:00am Mass with Miraculous Medal Novena Chapel 10:00am Prayer shawl ministry Catacombs Thursday, January 17 6:30pm Walking with Purpose Doran Hall Sunday, January 20 Second Sunday in Ordinary time Knights of Columbus Council #5833 is sponsoring the Annual Basketball Free Throw Championship for our community. All boys and girls, ages 9-14 (as of January 1, 2019), are eligible to participate and will compete in their respective age division. Sunday, January 27, 2:30pm (Registration begins at 2:15pm) at Trinity Catholic High School Gym, 926 Newfield Avenue, Stamford. All contestants on the local level are recognized for their participation in the event. Participants are required to furnish proof of age and written parental consent. For entry forms or additional information contact us at KofC5833@gmail.com. The Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship is sponsored annually, with winners progressing through local, district, and state competitions. International champions are announced by the K of C international headquarters based on scores from the state-level competitions. Last year, approximately 120,000 children participated in more than 4,000 local competitions.

6 13 JANUARY 2019 PAGE 6 Saturday, January 12 4:00pm All our parishioners and Marge and Nicholas Altomare Sr. Sunday, January 13 8:00am Thomas Curtin 10:30am Vito Calo Monday, January 14 8:00am All souls Tuesday, January 15 8:00am A special intention The Baptism of the Lord Wednesday, January 16 8:00am Men and women of the armed forces Thursday, January 17 8:00am Msgr. Thomas J. Driscoll Saturday, January 19 4:00pm Frank J. Kinney III Sunday, January 20 Second Sunday in ordinary time 8:00am Assunta Zinicola 10:30am All our parishioners BEREAVEMENT GROUP FOR THE WIDOWED. A support group for women and men who have lost a spouse or significant other. The meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month from 7-8:30pm in the Saint Maurice Chapel (located on the south end of Augustana Homes). For more information, contact Donna Hughes at or donnahuz@aol.com. READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 13, 2019 Sunday: Is 40:1-5, 9-11/Ps 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, [1]/Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7/Lk 3:15-16, Monday: Heb 1:1-6/Ps 97:1 and 2b, 6 and 7c, 9 [cf. 7c]/ Mk 1:14-20 Tuesday: Heb 2:5-12/Ps 8:2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9 [cf. 7]/ Mk 1:21-28 Wednesday: Heb 2:14-18/Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9 [8a]/ Mk 1:29-39 Thursday: Heb 3:7-14/Ps 95:6-7c, 8-9, [8]/ Mk 1:40-45 Friday: Heb 4:1-5, 11/Ps 78:3 and 4bc, 6c-7, 8 [cf. 7b]/ Mk 2:1-12 Saturday: Heb 4:12-16/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15 [cf, Jn 6:63c]/ Mk 2:13-17 Next Sunday: Is 62:1-5/Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10 [3]/1 Cor 12:4-11/Jn 2:1-11 The Sanctuary candle is in honor of all our parishioners. The Chapel candle is for our nation. CONTACT INFORMATION PARISH OFFICE parishoffice@smcglenbrook.org Phone: Office Hours: Monday-Thursday - 10:00am to 2:00pm PARISH STAFF Reverend Alfred Riendeau Jr., Pastor (Ext. 701) frfred@smcglenbrook.org Sandra Kluun, Coordinator of Faith Formation (Ext. 707) Safe Environment Coordinator skluun@smcglenbrook.org Monica Di Costanzo, Administrative Assistant (Ext. 705) mdicostanzo@smcglenbrook.org Tony Recchia, Facilities (Ext. 708) trecchia@smcglenbrook.org MEMBERS OF THE PARISH CORPORATION Steve Doran Mary Lamonte PARISH FINANCE COUNCIL Kathryn Jimenez