Page Two Second Sunday of Lent....Mach 4, 2012 SAT., MARCH 3RD 5pm-Deceased members of the Guinan & Thrall Families SUNDAY, MARCH 4TH 8:00am-For all our deceased parishioners & benefactors 9:30am-Michael & Pasqualina Brini 11:00am Stephen Romaine MONDAY, MARCH 5TH 9:00am Deceased members of the Bruno Family TUESDAY, MARCH 6TH 9:00am Deceased members of the Yaconiello & Sulick Families and Christopher Sulick WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7TH 9:00am For all our parishioners THURSDAY, MARCH 8TH 9:00am Gildo Alberto Colasacco FRIDAY, MARCH 9TH 9:00 am-deceased members of the Aurelio Gionfriddo Family SATURDAY, MARCH 10TH 9:00 am-sarah Ann Marie Privitera & Myles Connolly Sr. 5:00pm - Antonio & Rosa Chiulli SUNDAY, MARCH 11TH 8:00 am- Sebastiano Scalora 9:30 am Angeline Vignone, John A. Vignone Sr. & Raphael Vignone 11:00am Sebastian & Mary Bianca The Sanctuary Candle will burn from 2/27/2012 3/4/2012 in memory of Lillian Gogulski. The Blessed Virgin Mary Candle will burn from 2/27/2012 3/4/2012 in memory of Sylvester & Mary Grosso and Stanley Urbanik. Project Baby Love collection this weekend. Disposable diapers & wipes requested. This weekend marks the start of the 2012 Archbishop s Annual Appeal in our parish. You will receive a letter from Archbishop Mansell seeking your support. Together we can impact the lives of thousands. Our work as a Church in social service, healthcare, and pastoral services is exciting and fulfilling. It is work we must do together in Making a Difference out of love for one another and for God. Please respond generously. A DVD will be shown at all Masses this weekend. Parish Council meeting this Sunday, March 4th at 7:00pm in Fr. Crawford Hall. The Women s Club cooking team will cook this Monday, March 5th from 1-3pm in the kitchen of Fr. Crawford Hall Employment Support Group mtg. Tuesday, March 6th at 9:30am in Fr. Crawford Hall. The second collection next weekend will be the monthly collection. A morning and evening Lenten Reflection will be offered on Thursday, March 29th in the main church. The morning session will take place from 10-11am and the evening will take place from 7-8pm. Refreshments will follow. Noranne Wamester, M.A. will present a time of prayer and reflection as we enter into the Sacred Time of Holy Week. Flyers available next weekend. Each session will contain the same reflection but you may choose either the morning/evening session.
Page Three Second Sunday of Lent....March 4, 2012 Children s Liturgy of the Word will be held this Sunday at the 9:30am Mass. Debbie Lessard and Filomena Marinelli will preside. Thank you to the Marotta Family for hosting the refreshments this weekend! Please join us for juice and munchkins in the Fr. Crawford Hall after the 9:30am Mass! New Day a bereavement support program continues on Mon., March 5th at 1pm in the rectory. Friday, March 9th First Annual B.Y.O.G. Bring Your Own Game Night for high school aged parishioners in Fr. Crawford at 7pm. Bring a friend and your favorite board game. Pizza & refreshments will be served. College students are also invited to attend as helpers! See you there! Faith Formation for Grades K - 6 at Emerson-Williams on Sat., March 10th is cancelled due to the St. Patrick s Day Parade. Parish Family Home Communities will meet at their scheduled times. There will be classes on Saturday, March 17th. Our Annual Poor Person s Soup Supper will take place on Sunday, March 18th at 5pm in Fr. Crawford Hall. It will benefit the House of Bread and Kid s Café. Sebastian from the House of Bread and Wanda from the Kid s Café will be our guest speakers. Confirmation Candidates will sell tickets at all Masses and all exits the weekend of March 17th & 18th. Tickets will also be available at the door. The Church of the Incarnation awards two scholarships annually for parishioners entering area Catholic High Schools. The deadline to submit applications is April 1st. Call Noranne Wamester at 529-6765. For storm related cancellations please log on to our website: www.thechurchoftheincarnation.com. or tune into WFSB, WVIT or WTIC AM. Please do not call the rectory. Thank you LETTERS FROM HOME IN SUPPORT OF OUR TROOPS We continue to collect letters and cards of support to be sent to soldiers we ve made contact via our care packages so they can distribute them to their team members. What a great feeling it is to open a letter from someone you have never met before and feel so loved by a complete stranger. It can be hard and lonely here and every letter helps. They help us get our minds out of things for a little. It really helps with morale, which may be the most important way it helps. Please drop your letters/ cards off at the collection box in the Narthex. Thank you to everyone who reserved a seat at our St. Patrick s Dinner. We look forward to seeing you on Monday, March 12th, in Fr. Crawford Hall. Doors open promptly at 6:00pm. You may return your Easter Flower envelope any time until Easter. Thank you!
Page 4 Second Sunday of Lent....March 4, 2012 Incarnation Lenten Mass Schedule: During Lent daily mass will be celebrated at 9am Monday-Saturday excluding Holy Thursday 9am and Holy Saturday, at 9am. For your information, Corpus Christi will celebrate masses at 6:45am throughout Lent and at 5:30pm Monday-Friday. Saturday Masses at Corpus are 7:30am. Corpus will also offer Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings at 7:30pm. Please enjoy this lovely picture of parishioners at the Men s Retreat last weekend at the Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center in West Hartford. 50th Anniversary of our Mother Church, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell will celebrate a Mass in honor of the consecration of the Cathedral of Saint Joseph 140 Farmington Ave. in Hartford, Sunday, May 20th, at 3 p.m. Second Sunday of Lent March 4, 2012 If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31b The Wethersfield 2012 Catholic HoopFest was a huge success! The combined efforts of Incarnation, Sacred Heart and Corpus Christi Parish and School made this 4-day basketball event a wonderful place for our young people to spend some of their February vacation. We were blessed to have so many wonderful families, friends, volunteers and sponsors to help make it possible! This event involved over 250 players & coaches from our town. BRIDGET MEIRIE DAVOREN BRAYDEN SCOTT PERKINS JACK LOUIS MARTIN
Page Five Second Sunday of Lent....March 4, 2012 Men s Association Annual Baseball Trip: Sunday June 3rd 2012, Cardinals vs. Mets at Citi field - Price $80 p.p. Includes: luxury bus, food, beverages, movie, game ticket and lots of fun. Call Antonio (Tony) Colasacco at (860)-836-3064 to reserve your ticket. Catholic Relief Services Lenten Program: Rice Bowls are at the exits. Please return by 4/2. Thanks! The Archbishop s St. Patrick s Day Breakfast, which is hosted by the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools will be on Friday, March 16th from 7:30-9am at the Ct. Convention Center in Hartford. Proceeds provide scholarships and support for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford. Call (860) 761-7498 for info. The Knights of Columbus has been called by Pope John Paul II the Strong Right Arm of the Church. Its tireless support of the teachings, doctrines, and positions of the Church on important social issues of the day, has earned this proud reputation down through the decades. Our local council could really do wonders with a few new members, younger or older, who understand this grand mission., who are inclined to serve their beloved Church, and would be willing to offer a few hours of their time on a monthly basis to support its efforts. To join the Knights of Columbus in Wethersfield, call Mike Klinger at (860) 874-2292. March 23rd & 24th members will be at our church to speak and hold their membership drive. Peter, James and John saw the Lord transfigured before their eyes and heard. This is my son, my beloved, listen to him. Are you listening? If you are hearing a call to priesthood or religious life, call Fr. Michael Dolan, Director of Vocations, Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary, (860) 761-7456 or e-mail him at vocations@stseminary.org, or visit the web at www.vocationshartford.org. Lenten Regulations: Good Friday is an obligatory day of universal fast and abstinence. Fasting is obligatory for all who have completed their 18th year and have not yet reached their 60th year. Fasting allows a person to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may be taken, not to equal one full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids, i.e. milk/juices, are allowed. Abstinence (from meat) is obligatory for all who have reached their 14th year. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection. Fridays in Lent are obligatory days of complete abstinence (from meat) for all who have completed their 14th year. The rule does not apply when health or ability to work would be seriously impacted. For the Season of Lent the Eucharistic Response will be Save us Savior #914, Sanctus #859 and Agnus Dei #863 in your missal.
Page Six Second Sunday of Lent....March 4, 2012 HISTORY OF SALVATION The first reading today continues the history of salvation narrative that we hear throughout Lent this year. Today s story was among the best-loved in the Jewish tradition (surely Joseph told the story to young Jesus as he formed him in the ways of their faith); the early fathers of the Church were very fond of it as a means of explaining the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The overall tone of the first reading, psalm, and second reading seems a little incongruous with the dazzling Gospel, until we remember that the Transfiguration was placed as the Gospel for this Sunday precisely to remind us of the glory that awaits those who live faithfully and obediently to the will of God. In the life of Jesus, it is a preview of the glory of his resurrection; for us it is a glimpse of the destiny of those who continue, as we heard in last week s Gospel, to repent and believe in the Good News. TODAY S READINGS First Reading The sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith (Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18). Psalm I walk before the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 116). Second Reading God did not spare his own Son (Romans 8:31b-34). Gospel This is my beloved Son (Mark 9:2-10). SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES Sunday: Second Sunday of Lent; Wednesday: Ss. Perpetua and Felicity Thursday: St. John of God Friday: St. Frances of Rome; Abstinence READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Dn 9:4b-10; Lk 6:36-38 Tuesday: Is 1:10, 16-20; Mt 23:1-12 Wednesday: Jer 18:18-20; Mt 20:17-28 Thursday: Jer 17:5-10; Lk 16:19-31 Friday: Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a; 17b-28a; Mt 21:33-43, 45-46 Saturday: Mi 7:14-15, 18-20; Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 Sunday: Ex 20:1-17 [1-3, 7-8, 12-17]; Ps 19; 1 Cor 1:22-25; Jn 2:13-25 TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION The basis of Abraham s test in the first reading is the fact that his neighbors followed a religious system that demanded human sacrifice. In offering Isaac s life on an altar of sacrifice, he is following long-accustomed religious practice. Ancient people accepted this because they thought that life was an ever-renewing circle: what had been lost would be restored in time. But here, God springs this trap and gives Abraham, Isaac, and you and me, a future. From now on, God will provide the sacrifice. From this point on, our lives have a direction, a purpose, a goal. The faithful following of Lent and its consoling, challenging scriptures strengthens and prepares us to remember the Lord s passion and resurrection. Today, many parishes welcome home the elect, men and women chosen on the First Sunday of Lent for the Easter sacraments, from a celebration with the bishop. The scriptures today are chosen with them in mind, to steady their steps, to clear their vision, to strengthen their resolve: If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).