The Church of the Incarnation 544 Prospect Street Wethersfield, CT 06109

Transcription

1 The Church of the Incarnation 544 Prospect Street Wethersfield, CT Rev. James M. Moran Pastor Mrs. Noranne Wamester Pastoral Associate Mrs. Maggie Seaver Coordinator of Middle School Faith Formation Youth Minister Mrs. Audrey Saharek Pastoral Assistant Mrs. Teri Aiudi Rectory Office Assistant Faith Formation Secretary Mrs. Theodora Niver Director of Music Vanessa Crowley Lorissa Heath Rosanne Sweeney Gowdy Andrew Russo Heather Picard Bonney Gianna Bielenda Cantors Toni Munoz Sacristan Marguerite Heinimann Rectory Assistant Mass Schedule Confessions on Saturdays from 3:45-4:30p.m. Vigil Mass: Saturday at 5:00p.m. Sunday Masses: 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. Daily Mass: (Mon. - Fri.) 9:00 a.m. Recitation of the Rosary before 9:00 a.m. daily Mass Sacrament of Baptism By previous appointment Sundays at 12:30 p.m. in the Baptistry of the Chapel. Weddings Please contact a priest 6-10 months prior. New Parishioners and Faith Formation Registration The Church of the Incarnation welcomes new parishioners. All forms are available at the main entrance of the church. Please mail or place in the collection basket. You may also visit our website for printable forms at: Rectory Hours 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Rectory Fax Church Faith Formation Website address: (860) (860) cincarnation@sbcglobal.net (860) gotellit@aol.com

2 Page Two Epiphany of the Lord..January 3, 2016 SATURDAY, JANUARY 2ND 5:00 pm Nicholas & Mary Champ SUNDAY, JANUARY 3RD 8:30am Olga Spera 10:30am Anthony Melillo MONDAY, JANUARY 4TH 9:00am For all our deceased parishioners & benefactors TUESDAY, JANUARY 5TH 9:00am Elizabeth Matt WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6TH 9:00am Deceased members of the White Family & Michele Kalousdian THURSDAY, JANUARY 7TH 9:00am For all our parishioners FRIDAY, JANUARY 8TH 9:00am Sal & Dolores Brunetti SATURDAY, JANUARY 9TH 5:00pm Maryann Walmsley SUNDAY, JANUARY 10TH 8:30am Salvatore Tarascio 10:30am Rose Airo Mangiafico The Sanctuary Candle will burn from 1/4/2016 1/10/2016 in memory of Nicholas & Mary Champ and the deceased members of the Champ & Fanelli Families. The Blessed Virgin Mary Candle will burn from 1/4/2016-1/10/2016 in memory of Anthony Melillo. Wishing everyone a Happy, Holy & Healthy New Year 2016!! Fr. Moran wishes to thank all parishioners for their kindness, cards, gifts and prayers during the Christmas & New Year season. Thank you to all in our parish who contribute in so many different ways to the success of the various ministries of our parish. Thank you and God s Blessing upon you & yours! The Women s Club cooking team will meet this Monday, January 4th from 1-4 in the kitchen of Fr. Crawford Hall. Project Baby Love collection next wkd. Disposable diapers & wipes are needed. Thanks to all parishioners who support this most important ministry all year long! We continue to pray for all unborn children throughout the world. To benefit St. Gerard s Center for Life a Catholic Crisis Pregnancy Center. Thank you to all who donate to the House of Bread collection throughout the year! There is a collection on Jan. 23rd & 24th. There is a great need for sugar. The second collection next weekend will be the monthly collection.

3 Page Three Epiphany of the Lord..January 3, 2016 Children s Liturgy of the Word: Join us Sunday, January 3rd for a special liturgy celebrating Three Kings Day. We will also begin our winter/spring session on Sunday, January10th at the 10:30am mass. Please join us for refreshments in Fr. Crawford Hall after Mass. Thank you to the Paruta Family for hosting!!! Thank you to Filomena Marinelli, our Faith Formation communities and all others involved in making the mini- Christmas presentation so special! Gr. 8: Faith Formation will be on Tues., January 5th & Gr. 7: will be held on Wed., January 6th 6:30-8pm, Fr. Crawford Hall. Emerson-Williams Faith Formation Grades K-6 Sat., January 9th at 9am. Youth Ministry: Next gathering - Sunday, January 10th 6:30-8pm in Fr. Crawford Hall. 17th Annual Angel Tree Giving Program. Thank you for your most generous outpouring of gifts for the recipients. Thank you to the Carcia Family and our Confirmation candidates for organizing this Blessed collection. Thank you for sharing with those less fortunate during our Blessed Season of Christmas. Thank you to all Faith Formation communities on behalf of the Kids Cafe team for participating in the Goodie Bag collection. Our classes donated over 600 goodie bags to benefit Kids Cafe!! Thank you to Cathy Beers & Phyllis DiFiore for organizing! We received a lovely thank you note from the Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Archdiocese of Hartford, thanking us for our contribution of $3, to the 38th Annual Hopes Collection. Thank you for your kind generosity and support of the ministry of Catholic school education. PRAYER FOR PEACE: Please join us in the Church 30 minutes prior to the 9am Daily Mass to pray for peace in all the troubled areas of our world.

4 Page Four Epiphany of the Lord..January 3, 2016 A Weekly Bible Study Epiphany of the Lord Isaiah 60:1-6 Matthew 2:1-12 Jewel-toned Christmas cards depict kings in their finery, bearing opulent gifts and paying homage to one like their own, a newborn king. It is easy to get caught up in the splendor of these beautiful images. But we must journey more deeply into these readings today to extract a profound message of God s revelation. Having traveled about 800 miles, tradition tells us, the magi were foreigners, presumably from Persia. Guided by the light, these wise men came from a distant land to pay homage to the Christ Child. In beholding this child they recognized him as one who would bring light and hope to all nations. Isaiah, writing about 400 years before the Epiphany event, already speaks of the shining light of the Lord s glory that will enable nations to walk by its light and kings by its shining radiance. The hearts of those who encounter the light will throb and overflow at what they see. These foreigners the first Gentiles to receive the revelation realize that this child is a sign for all nations. This is a reality that does not sit well with the Hebrew people, the first custodians of God s revelation, who thought they had exclusive possession of God and thus of the Messiah. There will, in fact, be many conflicts over this very notion, as the Gospels unfold. But while this child is paid homage as to royalty, there is also an ominous tone in the gifts the Magi present. Is there something of a foreshadowing of this child s true mission? Gold is given in recognition of his kingship, as well as his divinity. Frankincense, the aromatic offering, symbolizes his priestly nature. Myrrh, the anointing oil, prefigures his passion and death. We reflect this week on the child made manifest and adored by the wise men, the LORD, the long-awaited one who will come to save all nations. Wise ones still seek him.

5 Page Five Epiphany of the Lord..January 3, 2016 TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION Over the next few weeks, if you were to stroll around Prague or Budapest or Kraków, you might see curious grafitti scratched in chalk over some doorways: 20 + C + M + B The families dwelling behind those doors have celebrated the Epiphany door blessing. They have gathered before the feast-day meal, probably after Mass, and the head of the family has traced the sign of the cross on the piece of chalk. Standing on a ladder, the leader traces the numbers for the new year, and the letters C M B for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, Latin for May Christ bless this house. The letters also point to the names that tradition has assigned to the mysterious magi, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar although scripture tells us nothing of their number, their country, or their names. The blessing speaks of journeys ended and journeys begun at the doorway, and prays that all journeys be as satisfying as was the magi s. It prays that the house beyond the door have the quality of love and peace that the magi marveled at when they at last arrived in Bethlehem. In some countries where the Soviet Union tried to impose a harsh atheism, the vigor of this household custom survived all efforts to erase Christian customs. In the years of struggle, the chalked blessings were a pervasive sign of defiance, and now in the light of new freedoms, they are a sign of the resilience of our tradition and the fulfillment of the magi s quest for meaning and peace. Thank you for your Annual Collection donations!. We have exceeded our goal! Any donations will continue to be graciously accepted. We will begin accepting the 2017 Masses, Sanctuary & Blessed Virgin Mary Candles on Monday, January 4, 2016 at 10am and not prior to that date. Please keep in mind that our parish has a large number of parishioners who remember their loved ones with Memorial Masses and we request that you limit your Masses to 2 per household. Thanks. Fr. Moran. Patronal Feast Archangel Gabriel, sent by God, appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce that she was to be the mother of the Promised Redeemer. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Son of God became one with us and the child of Mary. The fruit of her womb, Jesus, was born and dwelt among us. The feast of the Annunciation of the Maternity of Mary welcomes Christ in faith. In the feast of the Incarnation, the Son of God makes an act of obedience to the Father on coming into the world. May both feasts help us to conform ourselves to Christ our Lord. We invite you to view the new permanent statue, Holy Family - the Nativity, on display in the main church. If you have offered a Mass in memory of a loved one we invite you to carry the gifts up at Mass. Please notify the usher prior to Mass that you will be doing so. Thank you!

6 Page Six Epiphany of the Lord..January 3, 2016 LOOKING IN THE RIGHT PLACES Appearances can be deceiving, as the saying goes. As we celebrate the epiphania, the appearing of the eternal Word of God on earth, this is still true. What rapturous foresight must have filled Isaiah as he wrote the words we hear today. How, for four hundred years, they must have filled the hearts of the people of Israel with hope for the day when God s glory would shine on them. How deceived some must have felt when the glory of God came to them in the lowliest and humblest of human lives. We have many expectations about how the divine presence will appear among us. But we can also set ourselves up, through these expectations, to miss the divine glory when it truly appears. We get caught up in looking for the star, forgetting that the star is not the divine sign, the babe is. It may take a persistent journey for us to come upon the true appearance of God s glory in our lives: Jesus Christ. SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES Sunday: Epiphany of the Lord; National Migration Week Monday: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Tuesday: St. John Neumann Wednesday: St. André Bessette Thursday: St. Raymond of Penyafort; TODAY S READINGS First Reading Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! The LORD shines upon you and the glory of the Lord appears over you (Isaiah 60:1-6). Psalm Lord, every nation on earth will adore you (Psalm 72). Second Reading The mystery has been made known that the Gentiles are coheirs, copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6). Gospel Magi from the east arrived, saying, Where is the newborn king of the Jews? (Matthew 2:1-12). READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: 1 Jn 3:22 4:6; Ps 2:7bc-8, 10-12a; Mt 4:12-17, Tuesday: 1 Jn 4:7-10; Ps 72:1-4, 7-8; Mk 6:34-44 Wednesday: 1 Jn 4:11-18; Ps 72:1-2, 10, 12-13; Mk 6:45-52 Thursday: 1 Jn 4:19 5:4; Ps 72:1-2, 14, 15bc, 17; Lk 4:14-22a Friday: 1 Jn 5:5-13; Ps 147:12-15, 19-20; Lk 5:12-16 Saturday: 1 Jn 5:14-21; Ps 149:1-6a, 9b; Jn 3:22-30

7 Page Seven Epiphany of the Lord..January 3, 2016 Our Christmas Environment Through the generosity of several of our parishioners, we have added to our nativity and our Christmas environment. Two Gloria Angels, The Little Drummer Boy and Joseph with Lantern have been donated in memory of the deceased in their families. The new trees in the sanctuary and the trees around the crèche are also donated pieces as are the lanterns amid the nativity figures. The ornaments that adorn the trees on the altar, the wreaths and the wall hangings in the narthex are all handmade by one of our flower ministers. They are made with all natural materials gathered locally: stems, leaves, berries and flowers. The Lord is near! Am I able to read the signs of the times? What is God asking of me? He may be asking you to serve as a priest or religious. If you hear his voice, call Fr. Jeffrey Gubbiotti, Director of Vocations, Archdiocesan Center at Saint Thomas Seminary, Tel , vocations@aohct.org or visit the web at Join us the 1st Friday of the month at 9:30am, Church of the Incarnation Blessed Sacrament Chapel, for Vocations Holy Hour. We are grateful to two donors who enabled us to purchase six choir robes. These velvet trimmed black robes will distinguish our cantors/soloists as they carry out their ministry. The Junior Choir processes with the light to adore the Newborn King and then turns the light to us to remind us of who we are called to be, the Light of Christ to all in our lives. We are humbled by the outpouring of time, treasure and talent among our parishioners to make our Christmas decorating beautiful and a source of prayer for all who look upon it. We are hopeful that our Christmas environment reflects the words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis: May Jesus light reach all the world s children and all people of good will. Jesus is the Son of God, love s Pure Light. We say: Jesus, light the way. Our Confirmation 2016 candidates planned an evening of baking Christmas breads to hand out at a local food shelter. Pictured from right to left are: John Cravero, Mark Bagdasarian, Liam Harrington, Marc Generis, Luke Keleher, Matt Iallonardo, Craig Elliott & Mitchell Quadrato. Nice job!

8 Page Eight Epiphany of the Lord..January 3, 2016 Open Your Heart to Mercy This is an opportune moment to change our lives! (19) Pope Francis invites each and every child of God to accept his invitation to journey through the Jubilee of Mercy with a heart open to receive God s mercy and be a bearer of Mercy. This is an extraordinary moment in the history of our Church. Join the community of the Church in a profound renewal steeped in the mercy of God. The corporal works of mercy are as follows: To feed the hungry; To give drink to the thirsty; To clothe the naked; To harbour the harbourless; To visit the sick; To ransom the captive; To bury the dead. Please enjoy this picture of our Incarnation Bible Study Group. The spiritual works of mercy are: To instruct the ignorant; To counsel the doubtful; To admonish sinners; To bear wrongs patiently; To forgive offences willingly; To comfort the afflicted; To pray for the living and the dead.