February 15, 2022
Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,
Greetings and blessings!
This week we celebrated the wonderful Feast of St. Valentine. It recalls for us the necessity to honor, nurture and celebrate the love commitments of our lives. For every love commitment is, I hope, a real reflection of the Divine Love that always desires to be revealed in our world.
Fortunately, I have witnessed awesome examples of committed and sacrificial loves that speak loudly and clearly of the divine love I refer to. Unfortunately, due to the nature of being a priest I also hear the painful stories of broken and sometimes irreconcilable loves. I always try to lead broken relationships to healing and reconciliation. But sad to say, even prayer, sometimes, cannot mend a broken relationship.
This Sunday the Gospel (Luke 6:27-38) suggests that love is demanding work. Jesus makes the point in the Gospel that to love as God loves, to care with the measure of God’s compassion, is challenging work. For example, to love one’s enemies, Jesus challenges us to break the cycle of fear, hatred and vengeance that traps us and society in brokenness.
Jesus also suggests that is only in realizing the struggles and disappointments of those we love, and of those we find difficult to love can we begin to move beyond feelings of bitterness and the sad desire to get even. The faithful disciple of Jesus seeks to break that destructive rut of hatred and distrust by taking the giant and necessary steps to love, to trust, to heal, to be reconciled with those from whom we may be separated.
Wow that is vastly different from the Hallmark Card kind of Valentine Day we try to celebrate in our popular culture.
Peace to everyone!
Fr. George Couturier
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Check Out Our Social Media Facelift |
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Our parish communications committee is happy to announce the launch of our new parish website to go along with the new parish logo introduced a few weeks ago. As we continue to grow in unity as one parish, this new website will serve as another innovative way to tell our story and invite others to join us and learn about our faith. You might notice that the introductory pages are designed with the "seeker" in mind. These days, if someone is looking for a church to call home, they will start on google. Our website is designed to showcase that we are a vibrant and welcoming faith community. We are grateful to Eric Melanson of Melanson Media for his beautiful design and outstanding collaboration on this project.
In addition to our website, e-newsletter and bulletin, we also communicate through our Facebook Page, Instagram Account and YouTube Channel. Be sure to "like," "follow," and "subscribe" to each of them - as we seek to broaden and deepen the creative ways we communicate, evangelize and stay connected.
Check Us Out At All The Following Locations:
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Seventh Sunday
in Ordinary Time
February 20, 2022
4 PM Vigil - St. James
*Masks are strongly encouraged in our worship spaces!*
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February Faith Activity
All members of the Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish community are invited to join in the faith activity for the month of February. Engage in a service project to help people in our local community. By engaging in service, children and adults alike live out the teachings of Jesus to love and serve one another, especially those most in need of our help. To learn more, Click Here. Please share a description and/or pictures of your service activity to the Faith Formation Office at reo@sjbrh.org.
“We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love, be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.”
-Pope Francis
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Lent Reflection Series
The Spirituality of Fasting:
Rediscovering a Christian Practice
Rediscover fasting this Lent!!! Deacon Michael will be leading an ONLINE 4-part book discussion series on the recovering of the christian spiritual discipline of fasting starting Wednesday March 9th.
- Session 1: Loss and Recovery of the Tradition of Fasting
- Session 2: Fasting And Our Relationship With God; What The Ancients Have To Teach Us
- Session 3: The Christian Notion Of The Body And Fasting; Fasting And Our Relationship With Others
- Session 4: Fasting Prayer and Charity as Practical Program; the Spirituality of Fasting
Registration deadline February 23, 2022. To learn more and register, Click Here.
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Food & Cereal
For Our Local Pantries
We continue to seek food and cereal donations for our monthly delivery to the Rocky Hill and Amazing Grace food pantries. Non-perishable food items and cereal boxes can be dropped off at either church location:
St. James Church: Father Shea Hall, Mon - Fri (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM) or before the masses at 4:00 or 11:00.
St. Elizabeth Seton Church: Bins located near the kitchen, Mon - Fri (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM) or before the Sunday mass at 9:00.
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Winter Clothing
Collection
The Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish Winter Clothing Collection continues through the coming weeks. We accept Winter Clothing in clean, good to excellent condition. Place donations in the collection bin in the front foyer of St. James Church (behind the divider). Unfortunately we are no longer able to accept household goods.
St. James Church: Father Shea Hall, Mon - Fri (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM) or before the masses at 4:00 or 11:00.
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Blood Donors Needed
The American Red Cross has launched a Severe Blood Shortage Appeal. All eligible donors are encouraged to schedule appointments now. The next drive hosted at our Parish Center at St. James Church is scheduled for Thursday, February 24 from 1PM-6PM. Go to www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS to register to give.
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During the month of February we will be highlighting Our Haitian Promise. Our parish established a "twinned" relationship with the parish of Saint Anne in Saintard, Haiti in March, 2001. Saint Anne Church, established in 1958, is a parish of over 3000 people, located on the coast just north of Port-au-Prince. Deacon Steve and Betty Weaver visited Haiti with a parish delegation in March 2001.
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We spent several days at Vialye visiting there and out at the missions. The school at Vialye was most impressive. The children were dressed in perfectly ironed uniforms and worked diligently in their classroom that were naturally lit with light through the openings in the walls.. There was no electricity in the school. Here are preschoolers with their teacher and a class of older children with their teacher. The younger children used little, individual slates and chalk for their lessons. The older children had books and notebooks.
-Betty Weaver
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Haiti is an incredibly beautiful country. This is the breath-taking view from Notre Maison, a home for orphans with special needs that we visited outside Port-au-Prince. There were children in wheel chairs, using home-made walkers, lying on mats because their hydrocephalic heads were so large they could not sit. They were the most loving children and stole our hearts! It was difficult leaving them.
-Deacon Steve Weaver
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Join Us For The
Men's Retreat Weekend
The opportunity go on retreat is back. Our scheduled men’s weekend, February 25-27, 2022 is coming up fast. Typically around 15 men from our parish attend. Please join us!
This year at Holy Family, the theme will explore the Spirit of Trust. The retreat begins with a buffet dinner at 6PM Friday evening and concludes Sunday with Mass followed by brunch.
For everyone’s peace of mind, protocols are in place. Vaccination card and temperature checks as your arrive on Friday and mandatory indoor masks are required. Approximately 50 people attend each weekend retreat, allowing for plenty of room for social distancing. Individual rooms, spaced out dining or “takeout” to your room is also provided.
There are 7 other dates available this spring. To learn more and register, Click Here.
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Poland Pilgrimage 2022
*** Rescheduled ***
Our pilgrimage to Poland hosted by Deacon Michael and Krystyna Ward has been successfully rescheduled for September 12-21, 2022 and registration is open.
We will visit Warsaw and Krakow, the modern and ancient capitals of Poland with their historic Old Towns, places associated with Saint Maximilian Kolbe and Saint John Paul II, Jasna Gora Monastery to see the Black Madonna icon, the solemn Auschwitz Holocaust memorial site and museum and a day trip to the beautiful alpine village of Zakopane.
This promises to be a rich and surprising experience of discovery. If you are itching to travel once again and this has been on your “To-Do” or “Bucket” list for years this is your moment, whether you are of Polish heritage or just curious! Friends and family are very welcome to join us!!!
The 10-day pilgrimage starts at $3,318 including airfare, hotel, breakfast and dinner daily, deluxe motor-coach, guide and all transfers.
E-mail Deacon Michael at saintjmdeacon@gmail.com of call him at 860-836-8218 with any questions and for further information about registration.
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Daily Mass Schedule
Monday: 8:30am-St. Elizabeth Seton
Tuesday: 8:00am-St. James
Thursday: 8:00am-St. James
Friday: 8:30am-St. Elizabeth Seton
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Reconciliation
Fr. George welcomes all to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Monday evenings at 6:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Seton.
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Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish
767 Elm Street
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
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