Bulletin Deadline: Monday at 10:00 a.m. Website News: to: Pastor The Reverend Michael Whyte,

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1 A Parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford Mass/Liturgy Schedule: Saturday Vigil at 5:00 p.m. Sunday Masses at 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend, NO 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass) Daily Mass at 8:30 a.m., Monday through Wednesday, and Friday. (Yearly) Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday from 4:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Baptisms and Baptismal Preparation: Please call the parish office at Sacrament of Holy Matrimony: Please call the parish office at at least 6 months in advance Choir Practices: Adult Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. Youth Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Contemporary Music Group Sundays at 4:00 p.m. Bulletin Deadline: Monday at 10:00 a.m. Website News: to: StCatherineWebMaster@Comcast.net 265 Stratton Brook Road, Box 184, West Simsbury, Connecticut Tel: /Fax: stcathy@comcast.net Website: WELCOME! We welcome all visitors who are celebrating with us today. As is our custom at St. Catherine of Siena, please remain in your pew for the singing of the first and last verses of the recessional hymn. Parish Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. The St. Catherine Parish Legacy Fund is committed to ensuring the long-term stability of our parish and its ministries. Please consider a gift in lieu of flowers upon a love one's passing as a way to ensure our community will thrive well into the future. Second Sunday of Lent 21 February 2016 Pastor The Reverend Michael Whyte, PARISH STAFF Administrative Assistant-Parish Office Mrs. Lisa Cerchia or stcathy@comcast.net Director of Religious Education Mrs. Kathi Bonner or kathidre@aol.com Director of Youth Ministry Mrs. Judy Pluta or judyplutaym@gmail.com Director Of Music Ministry Mrs. Susan Zybert or susanzybert@comcast.net Facilities Manager Mr. Michael Grappone, Parish Council President Mr. Jim Peters or jpetersjjr@gmail.com Finance Council Chairman Mr. Scott Muryasz Parish Legacy Fund Chairman Mr. Peter Pabich, Parish Lay Trustees Mrs. Melissa Horbal, Mr. Joseph Capozzoli, Thanks for worshiping with us. If you would like to join our parish family, fill out a yellow membership form found in the vestibule or atrium and mail it to us, drop it in the collection basket or call us at We Welcome You to Our Family of Faith!

2 WEEKLY MASS INTENTIONS Saturday, February 5:00 pm Mass for Jennifer Furda, 8th anniversary, requested by her family; Sunday, February 8:00 am Mass for Pauline Pelletier, requested by her family; Sunday, February 11:00 am Mass for Mina Lu Delehanty, 2nd anniversary, requested by her family; Sunday, February 5:00 p.m. Mass for Patricia Dahill; Monday, February 8:30 a.m. Mass for Patrick Duggan, requested by Julia & Myles McCabe; Tuesday, February 8:30 am Mass for Thanksgiving, requested by the Clarke Family; Wednesday, February 8:30 a.m. Mass for Special Intention; Friday, February 8:30 am Mass for Margaret Sitarz, requested by the Neureither Family; Saturday, February 5:00 pm Mass for Jack Winters, birthday remembrance, requested by his wife; Sunday, February 8:00 am Mass for William Rose, 21st anniversary, requested by his family; Sunday, February 28th@ 11:00 am Mass for Nicole Larramee, 18th anniversary, requested by Fred Prior; and, Sunday, February 28th@ 5:00 p.m. Mass for Eileen Adams, requested by Julia & Myles McCabe. Offertory Collection Weekly Collection: $7, Loose Cash/Checks $ Envelopes $6, Cathedraticum* -$ School Tax* -$ *Parish taxes (5.5%) paid to the Archdiocese for services to the parish. Repair & Refurbishment..$3, Mission Trip.. $ (additional) Please join us for Coffee & Donuts after the 8 and 11 a.m Masses this Sunday, February 21st. 2 nd Quarter Honor Roll for Xavier High School. St Catherine of Siena West Simsbury Marty Wall Grade 9 Honors. Religious Education News CHILDREN MAKING CHANGE Be Merciful Like the Father! This Lent the children,k-8, will participate in "Children Making Change" to support Connecticut Children's Medical Center. Children can make a difference just by bringing in their change each Sunday during Lent. Each week the "change" will add up to helping other children who are in need. Watch the big container get filled-up each Sunday of Lent and see how your change makes all the difference. REL Ed Classes resume, K-8 today, Sunday, Feb. 21st. CONFIRM I & II Classes meet again on Sunday, Feb. 28th. GRADE 8 Students will be rehearsing The Living Stations of the Cross for the next 4 weeks beginning today. Please make attendance a priority so the teens are prepared for this program on Friday, March 11th. REL ED THANK you to all parents and children who bought in cans of soup for our SOUP-er Bowl Year of Mercy food collection. The many boxes of soup were donated to Gifts of Love in Avon who, on behalf of the many local families they serve, are grateful for the donations. YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS SENIOR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY Sunday, February 21st, 6:00 p.m. SHARP Mr. Terry Dietz is our guest speaker tonight on the topic Second Chances. He will speak from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. and then must leave, so please be ON TIME. Pizza will be served at 6:30 p.m., followed by small group discussion and activity. Bring a friend. Also on Sunday, February 21, 2:00 4:00 p.m. Volunteer at McLean. Contact Mrs. Pluta if you would like to join us. Sunday, February 28th, 4:30 6:00p.m., Russell Hall MISSION TRIP ORIENTATION, mandatory for all chaperones and teens going on this years trip. JUNIOR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY Sunday, February 21, 2:00-4:00 Junior High joins Senior High at McLean home. Join us as we visit with and play games with the residents. We meet in the lobby of McLean at 1:55 p.m. for a short orientation and then proceed up to the floors together. Please contact Mrs. Pluta if you would like to join us. Monday. February 22nd 6:45 pm in Russell Hall (NOTE: EARLIER START TIME). Jr. High meets tonight for MOVIE NIGHT on the big screen. Pizza will be served. Bring a bag of munchies to share. A friend is always welcome.

3 FROM FATHER MICHAEL... Little Sisters of the Poor Our second weekly Lenten Mercy Project is meant to benefit the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Joseph s Residence in Enfield. Since 1901 the Little Sisters of the Poor have continued the mission of St. Jeanne Jugan in Connecticut by helping hundreds of needy in New Haven and at St. Joseph s Residence, Enfield. Many generations of friends have shared this mission and have known the great joy which comes from providing for their older brothers and sisters. In this ministry, a full continuum of care is provided to seniors in financial need, blended with loving care and a great spiritual life and faith community. In a welcoming and friendly facility and apartments, nestled in a very relaxing environment, the Little Sisters of the Poor provide care, friendship and a close relationship with our loving Father. The Little Sisters are asking for your help for various items to help care for their residents and to stock their pantries in order to provide nutrition as well as a comfortable home-like atmosphere to our senior Connecticut residents in need. Please consider leaving a bag or box full of the following items to help these Sisters carry out their ministry of love and compassion: juices, diet and regular sodas, decaf coffee for a drip machine. These devoted Catholic sisters are working hard to continue Christ s call to care for the frail and the weak as they fight to keep their First Amendment right to live out this ancient Catholic tradition of offering hope and care in the midst of a religious faith. Right now the Little Sisters of the Poor are before the US Supreme Court battling to continue their work alongside the federally mandated Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which forces them to violate their constitutionally protected right to religious freedom to meet onerous federal mandates, fines and penalties. Our support this week will not only be practical help to the elderly poor, but also benefit the Sisters spiritually. Second Sunday of Lent: Will you be transformed? Father Jack Sullivan, professor of Old Testament Studies at St. John Seminary in Boston, always said, Gentlemen, listen very closely to the gospel every time you hear Jesus went up the mountain to pray, the words went up to the mountain to pray is a warning sign that something powerfully important is about to happen. And indeed today something very important happens in the gospel: along with the Transfiguration, we hear no less than God Himself say, This is my chosen Son; listen to Him. So what does all this really mean for us today? The focus of today s Sacred Scripture is this: If we want to be transformed by Christ, we must be willing to listen to Him, do the work and pay the price! What is the work and the real cost? The price to be paid is excellence, or the seeking of it. In modern day America we now live in a time and place where excellence and perfection is the goal. For example, a great many Americans seek the perfect body. Just look at all the gyms along any main street. Count the number of cars with Zumba bumper stickers on them, personal trainers are everywhere, television ads offer nutrition or health experts and enthusiasts, even melon-based anti-age creams are broadcast and fat-free ice cream. There is a lot of time and money being spent on the physical beauty. And while some folks achieve their ideal body image, many end up where they started perhaps a few pounds and a few bucks lighter. And yet the search for excellence in the realm of the physical is rarely matched by a search for excellence in the moral realm. If our humanity is to be transformed, and if Christ is the icon of that goal, then what do we need to do? In today s readings, Moses wants to bring his people to freedom and to a life God wants for them but it will be also be costly. The Jewish people are led from Egypt but the costs are too high many moral and personally burdensome choices so they want to return to slavery in Egypt with their full fleshpots. For us, advancement or freedom is also burdensome. To get a good education and a well-paying job we must study hard and go through difficult exams it s called self-sacrifice and discipline. It is true of every successful person: work hard, go without, and put in your time. Should we expect otherwise when it comes to our moral and spiritual growth? Will we grow in Christ without knowledge of His Word? Will we deepen our relationship with Him without going deep into a prayerful dialogue with Christ? Will our faith come alive if we do not spend time living it out in our daily activities of life? And will we become a moral person if we do not succeed at habitus practicing the virtues? Or does acting and choosing morally cause us discomfort, embarrassment or pain? Do we expect morality to come to us as second nature? Might we opt for a quick fix rather than a long workout, with self-sacrifice and discipline when it comes to building up our moral fiber in our spiritual workout? What s our we will to spend on this cause? According to scripture scholars, The Transfiguration is meaningless if we do not understand the context: Jesus was about to suffer and die in order to release God s transforming power unto humanity. The whole of Christ s life is meaningless unless it points to the meaning of suffering. Of all the great founders of religions, only Jesus Christ enters into suffering, loss, pain and even death in order to lead us through it into the Resurrection and a higher and better life. Transcendence comes only through death and resurrection. That s the guts of Christianity, a religion that goes way beyond being nice. (FaithCatholic) This Lenten season don t listen to the Pilates and Herods standing along the Easter roadway ready to mock and ridicule us for our spiritual exercises. But have faith and listen to Christ. Those phonies along the road who will judge or mock us for our Christian ways they won t be able to save us with eternal joy and happiness. No they will only offer to derail our journey to God with a few, albeit enticing temporary fixes like the magic creams to eliminate the years or the powdery drinks to shed the pounds or the ab-o-flex machine now holding the piles of clothes in our bedrooms rather, it is the hard exercise and the upward climb that will provide the noble outcome: the beauty and the God-likeness that our hearts and bodies really desire. Forty days and counting! Daily Mass and More Try something different this Lent to practice our faith. Daily Mass is at a civilized time: 8:30 am Monday through Friday, save Thursdays. On Tuesday mornings the rosary immediately follows daily Mass and on Friday mornings the Stations of the Cross follow Mass. Join us and receive the Lord in Word and Sacrament, pray for help, offer a thanksgiving prayer, light a candle for a special need all while praying with like-minded believers. Peace can be yours!

4 Get involved: you don t have to do everything... but everyone should do something! Upcoming Meetings/Events February -Sat, 20th VBS Informational Meeting, Library, 6 p.m. -Sun, 21st COFFEE & DONUTS, 9a.m., 12 noon -Sun, 21st Children s Liturgy of the Word, RH, 11 a.m. -Sun, 21st VBS Informational Meeting, Library, Noon -Sun, 21st Contemporary Choir, MR, 4 p.m. -Sun, 21st Sr. High Youth Ministry, RH, 6 p.m. -Mon, 22nd Liturgy Committee, Library, 10 a.m. -Mon, 22nd Confession, Church, 6 p.m. -Mon, 22nd Jr. High Youth Ministry, RH, 7 p.m. -Mon, 22nd Prayer Shawl, Library, 7 p.m. -Tues, 23rd Rosary, Church, 9 am. -Tues, 23rd Children s Choir, MR, 6:30 p.m. -Tues, 23rd RCIA, Library, 7 p.m. -Tues, 23rd Adult Choir, MR, 7:30 p.m. -Wed, 24th Bible Study, Library, 9:15 a.m. -Thurs, 25th Renew, Library, 10 a.m. -Friday, 26th Stations of the Cross, Church, 9 a.m. -Sat, 27th Bagels and the Bible, RH, 9 a.m. -Sun, 28th Children s Liturgy of the Word, RH, 11 a.m. -Sun, 28th St. Elizabeth House, parking lot, 3:45 p.m. -Sun, 28th Contemporary Choir, MR, 4 p.m. -Sun, 28th Mission Trip Orientation Meeting, RH, 4:30 p.m. -Sun, 28th Confirmation, all rooms, 6 p.m. -Mon, 29th Confession, Church, 6 p.m. March -Tues, 1st Rosary, Church, 9 a.m. -Tues, 1st Children s Choir, MR, 6:30 p.m. -Tues, 1st RCIA, Library, 7 p.m. -Tues, 1st PC Exec, Rectory, 7 p.m. -Tues, 1st Adult Choir, MR, 7:30 p.m. -Wed, 2nd Bible Study, Library, 9:15 a.m. -Wed, 2nd LENTEN PENANCE SERVICE, Church, 7:30 p.m. Social Outreach Please join-n and come to a meeting of your choice. Our Parish Holy Land Tour 2016 Our Parishioners who are traveling to The Holy Land in October, 2016 invites you to travel with them. Learn all the details of this exciting once in a lifetime trip on Wednesday March 9th at 7 PM in Russell Hall. A veteran professional Holy Land traveler will present the trip itinerary including: Galilee, Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. Non-stop airfare, accommodations, tour guides, trip costs and trip insurance will be reviewed. Please join us for this opportunity to experience our themed tour Walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Questions or for more information contact Tom Clarke, or tom.daybreak@gmail.com. VBS is coming in June!! Please attend the information meeting after the 5pm Vigil Mass and 11am Mass today to find out how and when to register your children, how you and/or your teen can volunteer and what you can do to help prepare for Mt. Everest: Conquering Challenges with God's Mighty Power. Lenten Bible Study 2016 Continues. Kathi Bonner (kathidre@aol.com), Wednesdays, 9:15-10:30 a.m., Library; Father Michael & Lou Daniels (ldaniels@cadrplus.com) Saturdays, 9-10:15 a.m., Russell Hall Join us on the journey! All are welcome. Simsbury High School Benefit Concert for Alice Li, Tuesday, March 1st, 6:30 p.m. at Eno Hall. Tickets are $8 and may be purchased by calling Brian Sennott, Week 3 Lenten Mercy Project Clothe the Naked Nurturing Families Network-St. Francis Hospital Hartford Pantry Partners Thank you to all of the volunteers who assisted in the Feb. 20 distribution for Pantry Partners. We served 26 families. We are grateful to Marandino's Supermarket in New Hartford for providing the fresh produce, frozen meats and vegetables. They have been a great partner! St. Elizabeth House next service date is, Sunday, February 28th. Food needs to be ready to serve casseroles hot, salad pre-cut) and at the church by 3:45 p.m. Please sign up in the atrium. Any questions, please contact Leila Bruno at (860) Thank you! Thank you On behalf of the Simsbury Social Services Department, we would like you to take this opportunity to thank the Saint Catherine congregation for their participation in our 2015 Holiday Program. The 44 toys and $270 collected at your Breakfast with Santa event were given to many needy Simsbury Families. These families were able to celebrate the joy of the season because of your thoughtfulness. On behalf of those lives that have been touched by your generosity, we thank you for sharing with our Simsbury neighbors in need. M. Lecours-Beck, Director

5 End of Bulletin Information on this page is not printed Church: City: St. Catherine of Siena West Simsbury, Connecticut Account # Run # Routing Code: O Phone: Fax: Contact: Lisa Cerchia