WELCOME! Bulletin Deadline: Monday at 10:00 a.m. 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. Third Sunday of Lent 19 March 2017 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, Website News: to: Parish Council President Mr. Jim Peters or jpetersjjr@gmail.com 265 Stratton Brook Road, Box 184, West Simsbury, Connecticut Tel: /Fax: stcathy@comcast.net Website: Facebook Page: Finance Council Chairman Mr. Scott Muryasz StCatherineWebMaster@Comcast.net St.Catherine of Siena Parish-West Simsbury CT 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 loved one's passing as a way to ensure our community will thrive well into the future. 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, March 5:00 pm Mass for John Flannery, 1st anniversary, requested by his family; Sunday, March 8:00 am Mass for Julia Donahue, 90th birthday blessings, requested by her family; Sunday, March 11:00 am Mass for Anthony Daniels, requested by the Men s Club; Sunday, March 5:00 p.m. Mass for Ethel Melanson, requested by the Contemporary Choir; Monday, March 8:30 a.m. Mass for Michael Donahue, birthday remembrance, requested by his siblings; Tuesday, March 8:30 am Mass Ben Nascimbeni, Jr., 12th anniversary, requested by his family; Wednesday, March 8:30 a.m. Mass for Special Intention; Friday, March 8:30 a.m. Mass for Stella Kobza; requested by the Neureither Family; STATIONS OF THE CROSS, 9 a.m. LIVING STATIONS OF THE CROSS, 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 5:00 pm Mass for Lidia Procaccino, requested by Bob & Jackie Newman & family; Sunday, March 8:00 am Mass for Robert G. Studley, requested by the Chappano family; Sunday, March 11:00 am Mass for Vera Foxe, for improved health, requested by her family; and, Sunday, March 5:00 p.m. Mass for Anthony Daniels, requested by Steve & Lisa Cerchia. Offertory Collection Weekly Collection: $10, Loose Cash/Checks $ 1, Envelopes $ 8, Cathedraticum* -$ School Tax* -$ *Parish taxes (5.5%) paid to the Archdiocese for services to the parish. Repair & Refurbishment...$4, Lenten Stations of the Cross will be held on Friday evenings. This week our Grade 8 students will lead us through the Living Stations at 8 pm. All parishioners are welcome. Religious Education News CHILDREN MAKING CHANGE our Religious Education Lenten Giving Program continues. Our children can "change" another child's life by giving their change" each Sunday during classes. A container is in each classroom (courtesy of Kane's Market) to collect change to donate to CCMC. Together, we can make a Difference! Grade 8 Living Stations of the Cross are on Friday, March 24th at 8 PM. All 8th graders should come to the church no later than 7 PM. Mandatory rehearsal is Thursday, March 23 from 6:30 PM-8:30 PM. Please be on time so we can finish on time! Confirmation I & II meet today, Sunday, March 19th. All Confirmation II paperwork is due at that class. YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS SENIOR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY AWAY ON MINI-MISSION TRIP TO BOSTON. Please pray for us. Sunday, March 26, 6:00-8:00 p.m., MOVIE NIGHT. Join us for a thought provoking, inspirational film capable of transforming the lives of teens! (This film is guaranteed by Mrs. Pluta not to disappoint.) Pizza will be served promptly at 6:00 pm. Sunday, April 2nd, 5:15 p.m., DELAWARE MISSION TRIP MANDATORY MEETING in Russell Hall. Please be on time so we can end on time. Confirmation II interviews begin at 7:00 pm. JUNIOR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY Monday, April 3rd, 7:00 p.m., Russell Hall. We begin with ice cream sundaes tonight promptly at 7:00 p.m..join us tonight for an evening of community building and activities. We look ahead to plan for next year. All ideas are welcome! This weekend we welcome representatives from Catholic Bethlehem Christian Families. They will be with us this weekend to ask for your help and blessing for the native people of the Holy Land in Bethlehem. These families rely solely on the income from their religious hand carved olive wood artifacts to tourist. All proceeds will be sent back to the families of the Holy Land. PLEASE BROWSE THEIR ITEMS AND HAVE SOMETHING FROM THE Holy Land. Next weekend, we welcome the Dominican Sisters for their annual bread and pie sale. Proceeds benefit their missionary work with lepers.

3 FROM FATHER MICHAEL Saint Joseph Parish Medal Awardee Mrs. Agnes (Kurt) Dickenson was nominated and has been accepted by Archbishop Leonard P. Blair to receive the Archdiocese of Hartford s Saint Joseph Medal of Appreciation Award for The award ceremony comprises a Liturgy of the Word at 3 p.m. on Sunday March 19 th at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph and all are invited. Mrs. Dickenson was nominated for, among other works, more than 26 years of service to our parish s children and their parents through our religious education and Confirmation programs. Through all life s challenges and family and work schedules, Agnes has been there as a dedicated and selfless individual when it comes to the children and youth of our parish and the passing on of our faith to them, in both words and deeds said Kathi Bonner, Director of Religious Education. More than 26 years ago Agnes began teaching in our RE program as a Catechist for Grade 5 and was well-known for teaching the children The Lord s Prayer in American Sign Language. She has grown with the programs into a dedicated Confirmation teacher offering Christ s and His Church s teachings to new generations of believers. In this effort, Agnes has not just given herself to the children but also to their parents and this parish in assisting us all in our individual and collective callings by Christ to Go out to all the nations (peoples) and preach the Good News, said Fr. Michael. In addition to all this work, she attended and earned a graduate degree in Catholic Theology. That s dedication, Fr. Whyte noted. The Archdiocese of Hartford awards the Saint Joseph Medals each year on the feast of St. Joseph to a filled Cathedral representing the appreciation of our Archdiocesan Church family and her many parishes. I, too, would like to add my appreciation and good wishes to Agnes, and all our parish volunteers, who say yes to Christ and then by His Grace give abundant life to our parish and the Church of Hartford: Thank you, thank you, thank you! We would not be here without you all! -- Fr. Michael Third Sunday in Lent: Today We Can Dialogue with God. The late Father Raymond Brown, Sulpician priest, professor and Biblical scholar, speaks in his commentary on this Sunday s Gospel about how we come to believe in Jesus even when there are lots of reasons we can find not to believe in Him, and uses this gospel to highlight our lives as a sign of a well of living water. But first, on the Third Sunday of Lent we begin the Scrutiny s the Rite of RCIA when the unbaptized that are to be baptized on Easter leave the Church and go into deeper study while we hear Sacred Scripture. Today we hear from the Gospel of John about the Samaritan women at the well with Jesus, and the review of her life the choices she made based on the truths she accepted and how she answers His questions in seeking His Truth. Father Brown wants us also to know and understand Christ s Truths and then to enliven our lives with His absolute and life-giving Word, when we do this we are then called to live out our daily activities of life developed by the Word of God. What Fr. Brown really wants us to see is that like the Samaritan women at the well, we also may be living in a conflated form of truth and may not even know it. In fact, we may believe we are correct about many things (vocatu ) and not be yet that does not deny the Truth of God He is present anyway! So for many modern-day readers we need to put this into an updated analogy: if we are going to run the race or do the work, shouldn t the practice or preparation be valid? For if not, why bother? Father Brown would ask us to use this gospel and this Lenten season to look interiorly and scrutinize our own lives and actions fill our way of life with Truth (righteousness) and run toward Christ whose arms are open to us whether we are sinners or not, and who isn t? Christ is ready and waiting to dialogue with us and to meet us anywhere at any time and place for He desires nothing more to bring another child of God home to Him, no matter what our past has been. As they say: God is good all the time and all the time God is good March 19th, Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Archdiocese of Hartford Blessed Joseph, pray for us.

4 Get involved: you don t have to do everything... but everyone should do something! Upcoming Meetings/Events MARCH -Sat, 18th, Sun, 19th Holy Land Articles, Atrium -Sun, 19th Children s Liturgy of the Word, RH, 11 a.m. -Sun, 19th Contemporary Choir, MR, 4 p.m. -Sun, 19th Confirmation, 1 & 2, all rooms, 6 p.m. -Mon, 20th Confession, Church, 6 p.m. -Mon, 20th Prayer Shawl, RH, 7 p.m. -Mon, 20th Parish Council, Library, 7 p.m. -Tues, 21st Children s Choir, MR, 6:30 p.m. -Tues, 21st RCIA, Library, 7:00 p.m. -Tues, 21st Adult Choir, MR, 7:30 p.m. -Wed, 22nd Bible Study, Library, 9:15 a.m. -Thurs, 23rd Renew, Library, 10 a.m. -Thurs, 23rd Rehearsal for Stations, church, 6:30 p.m. -Thurs, 23rd Women s Club, RH, 7 p.m. -Fri, 24th Stations of the Cross, 9 a.m. -Fri, 24th Living Stations of the Cross, 8 p.m. -Sat, 25th Bible Study, RH, 9 a.m. -Sun, 26th Children s Liturgy of the Word, RH, 11 a.m. -Sun, 26th St. Elizabeth House, parking lot, 3:45 p.m. -Sun, 26th Sr. High Youth Ministry, RH, 6 p.m. -Mon, 27th Confession, Church, 6 p.m. -Tues, 28th Children s Choir, MR, 6:30 p.m. -Tues, 28th RCIA, Library, 7:00 p.m. -Tues, 28th Children s Choir, MR, 6:30 p.m. -Wed, 29th--Lenten Penance Service, church, 7 p.m. -Thurs, 30th Renew, Library, 10 a.m. -Fri, 31st Stations of the Cross, 9 a.m. -Fri, 31st Stations of the Cross, 7 p.m. Social Outreach Pantry Partners Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped in the distribution of food on Saturday morning. The hospitality you offer to our neighbors nourishes the soul while the groceries provided nourishes the body. We are most grateful to all of our parishioners who make this possible both financially and spiritually. St. Elizabeth House next service date is March 26th. 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. Questions, please contact Leila Bruno at (860) Thank you! ============================================== Save the Dates for Men s Club Events: Afternoon 1/2 Date Retreat, May 13th in Russell Hall Golf Outing - May 26th, Simsbury Farms. Details coming soon. Please join-n and come to a meeting of your choice. "Hop along to our annual Children's Easter Party on Saturday, April 8, 2017 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.! Come for pancakes, crafts, an egg hunt and a visit from the Easter bunny! Remember to bring your own basket! Please consider donating a bag of candy which can be dropped off in the atrium. The children of Sacred Heart parish in Hartford will be joining us this year!" Register to attend and/or volunteer at Registration on-line starts Sunday, March 19th and ends Sunday, April 2nd. The WOMEN S CLUB invites all parishioners on Thursday, March 23 rd to meeting which will feature a speaker, Sheila Horan who served as a longtime FBI Agent, continuing her career post-retirement with the Conference of Catholic Bishops in assisting US Bishops deal with the sexual abuse crisis. Her topic will be: "Take a Look into the FBI and the Church. Where are we today?" We will begin at 7 p.m. in Russell Hall. Thanks to all who made the Wine Tasting at Super Cellar such a big success. We raised $535 for the Little Sisters of the Poor Saint Joseph Residence, an excellent result! Thank you for your generosity. CALLING ALL BAKERS! Yet another opportunity exists to assist the Little Sisters in their fundraising efforts. We will be soliciting bakers to drop off their creations at the parish kitchen by Friday, March 31st for pick-up. Their Annual Bake Sale is in Enfield on Saturday, April 1st. Stay tuned for further details via the Women's Club Ministry mailing list. If you are not on our list and would like to be, please contact Rosemary Clarke at rchad.clarke@gmail.com or Friday, March 31st at 7pm "Mary's Way of the Cross" Stations led by the Women's Club Ministry. New Day Bereavement Group--Living through grief is not easy and it does not have to be done alone. St. Bridget s Church in Manchester offers New Day, a nine-week program for those who wish to do grief work with others having the same experience. This program provides a sense of community where support is given and received, and one feels at ease knowing that those attending have also had the pain of loss. New Day is led by trained facilitators and includes prayer, discussion and journaling. It is a faith-based program and all are welcome. We are looking forward to holding our next program on Tuesday evenings beginning April 4, 2017 from 7:00 8:30 p.m. in the St. Bridget Parish Office, 80 Main St., Manchester. For further information or to register for the program, please call Dana at OPEN HOUSE, SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017, for Holy Apostles College & Seminary, 9 11 AM, 33 Prospect Hill Road, Cromwell, CT Come Discover More about our High School / Home School Take Credit Program, Our Undergraduate and Graduate Programs Which can ALL be taken On Campus or 100% Online!

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