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TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME A
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Despite the experiences of life, God does treat us the same. Unfortunately, we will not completely realize this equality until we celebrate eternal life in the Kingdom.
Sunday's Readings
The prophet
Isaiah
wrote words of encouragement in a time of threat. Jerusalem, the holy mount of the Lord, would be a place of peace and equality. The city would be a space for mutual respect and mutual worship.
Psalm 23
is one of the most beloved psalms in the Bible. It is a song of God's care even in the darkest of times and the toughest of journeys.
In his letter to the
Philippians,
St. Paul held himself to the community as an example of Christian living. He pointed to God's constant care in his experience of the ups and downs of life.
In
Matthew's Gospel.
Jesus told the parable of the king wedding feast of his son. The invited nobles refused to attend, so the king invited the commoners. We might miss the import of the story. As an allegory of the Kingdom, the parable proclaimed all are invited and all are equal in the eyes of God the King.
Larry Broding (Copyright 1999-2017)
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BR
EAKING OPEN THIS SUNDAY'S READINGS
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28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
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There was a lot progress made on all our buildings ...
WE ARE RUNNING FULLY SOLAR POWER as of last Thursday afternoon.
Pray to the Son for the Sun!
All of the compressors and air handlers are in place both inside of the church building. They will complete the full system connections next week and the new high efficiency low energy HVAC system will be up and running in the church - they are already installed and functioning in the ParCtr and the Rectory. So far, A/C and the little heat we have needed has functioned properly and to our satisfaction.
You've probably noticed a very strange sound in the church this weekend when you enter...silence - complete mechanical silence. That is a because the old blowers on the perimeter walls that have served us so well over the last 25 years are taking a well deserved sabbatical. The new system uses another air circulation integration so the old boiler and blowers will be on backup reserve for days when frigid air remains for an extended period.
So, lots more to come in the following weeks and a great blessing may have been uncovered in the whole process.... something we have desperately needed but has been to elusive to obtain, may be dropped right into our laps... to be continued... It has to do with "age" and you don't have to go to the "store" to get it! What could it be???
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MASS ETIQUETTE REFRESHERS
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"...at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord..."
Philippians 2:9-11
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
Peace be with you!
From time to time I feel as though we need to be reminded of the basics that we learned as young Catholics about the majesty, wonder and awe of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in which are all blessed to participate each week.
As clergy, we have undertaken the duty of examining how we celebrate our liturgies and have addressed some of the laxities that have crept in over the years and made the proper adjustments. I now would like to share some observations I have regarding the faithful in the same manner.
- reading the bulletin during Mass is not appropriate - in most churches I've served do not make the bulletin available until after each Mass
- leaving for the restroom during Mass should be out of true necessity only and certainly not during the reading of the Word and the Eucharistic Prayer through the Lamb of God
- Blessing oneself with holy water upon entering the church is a reminder of our own baptism which signifies that as adopted sons and daughters of the Father we are part of the Body of Christ, his Church
- Genuflecting (or a reverent bow) toward the tabernacle upon entering and leaving your pew at the beginning and end of Mass is appropriate just as greeting and saying goodbye is upon entering and leaving someone's home
- Talking loudly before or after Mass is disrespectful of the people who have come early or stayed later to have some alone time with God in prayer
- leaving early or coming late is for many people simply a habit that should be addressed... some people have responsibilities at home that necessitate those circumstances however, for most, it is simply habit.... (ask me - I'll tell you how I know)
- PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not leave Mass from the Communion line - that is wrong on so many levels - take the time to go back to your pew and spend some quiet time in prayer with the Blessing you have just received and the One who loves you completely and unconditionally
- Do all Catholics sit in the back of the Church? + ; )
All in all, I have always commented that St Joseph Church prays and prays well, better than any other church I've had the pleasure to serve. I thank you for all of your support and all that you do to make our church our spiritual home.
In His peace,
FrGFO
Pastor
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Our Lady of Fatima Prayer
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The 2017
Blessing of the Animals
was a great success. Even though the weather was threatening rain, that did not stop the pet parents from escorting their four legged family members for their annual blessing... We welcomed several new entries to our blessing and said sad farewell in prayer to those who have crossed over Rainbow Bridge. Fr Silva did another wonderful blessing ... he is becoming quite experienced.
Thank you to all our wonderful pets - you give us great joy and happiness. God bless you!
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DOROTHY DAY - SECOND THURSDAY DINNER DISCIPLES
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Just some of our wonderful team!
A whole year has passed and a new one beginning in our ministry of serving the hungry of Danbury at the Dorothy Day House. We all agreed how fast it went, indeed. Thank you to Maria Fernandes our coordinator and the 16 other volunteers that make this ministry work each month.
We have two volunteers who each month faithfully provide 2 large trays of Baked Ziti with sauce each as our main meal. At the kitchen we prepare salads with tomatoes and green beans as our monthly meal (although we did grilled hot dogs in July and August). From what we hear, the guests are very pleased when St Joseph Brookfield is preparing their meal.
We have 2 shifts of volunteers;
Shift One comes in at 12:45pm to up set up the tables, put out the bread, milk, butter, prepare coffee and desserts etc. and prepare the main food for the guests who begin to arrive at 3:15pm. Shift One usually is finished by 2:30pm
Shift Two arrives at 3:00pm and begin serving at 3:15 until 4:45. They are responsible for serving, seconds, busing, and final clean up the facility after the guests leave. Shift Two is finished by 5:00pm.
Some stay for both shifts depending upon the need.
Now that we have a year under our belt and have our systems defined and directed, we found that extra hands each month in one key area would be very helpful.
WHERE WE NEED HELP
As the guests leave each month they are offered a bag with 2 sandwiches and a snack for later in the evening.
- We need teams to prepare at least 40 sandwich bags each month for our duty day.
- It can be done the Wednesday before the second Thursday of the month or the morning of the Second Thursday as long as they are done by noon.
- We need 1 or 2 teams who would take on the responsibility of purchasing the fixings and preparing each month. The parish will reimburse for money spent on fixings.
- The teams need a coordinator and 2-4 helpers for preparation per team.
- The place of preparation is flexible. Presently we are using the basement area of the Rectory which works out fine.
If you are interested in leading a Sandwich support team...
You'll notice on our website under our welcome it says...
 A COMMUNITY OF PRAYER FOCUSING ON THE CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY....
The Casseroles for the Hungry Program, the Morning Glory Program, the Hal Program, the Turkey Drop, the Giving Tree Program and the Second Thursday Dinner Disciples Program are the ways we are fulfilling Jesus' mandate to Feed the Hungry.
Together at St Jospeh Brookfield, we pray in Words and in Deeds!
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AN ANNUAL APPEAL AND A RAFFLE???
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My Irish Catholic Conscience is tweaking me with the guilt of having two fund raisers at the same time - Our Annual Catholic Appeal and the Big Raffle for the end of the 125th Year Celebrations.
This was thought about a lot over the year and it was really the only way to do it. Each one of our four celebrations to mark our 125th Anniversary were of little or no cost to the parishioners by design. We felt that making it all about $$$ would turn people off and disable the reason for our joy which is the great presence SJC has been in Brookfield for 125 years...
That being said, we still absorbed most of the expenses for the San Giuseppe Festival in March,
The Memorial Day Parade in May,
The Picnic in September .. 
and the planned reception with the Bishop at the Candlewood Inn in November... our grand finale.
So, we wanted to have a "fun"-raiser that would raise some capital for the parish to offset some of these expenses. The timing was unavoidable in that our Annual Appeal is always in October and the Finale has to be in November because it is the end of our 125th year...
So the raffle goal is 500 tickets at $100 per ticket and we will have 10 drawings at the Candlewood Inn on November 19 for (10) ten $1250 American Express Gift Cards. That could take care of a lot of Christmas presents :-)
That is why we had to do the raffle at this time and it is our hope that you will see them as two unique and separate needs for the parish.
BUT, the most important part of this whole year is you... its not about anything but those who make the church a home and a family. In whatever way you can participate, we want and need you to come... don't worry about your wallet, just bring your heart and soul. That is what makes us who and Whose we are.
Peace be with you!
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CATHOLIC FAITH FORMATION DIY AT HOME - FORMED.ORG
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ST JOSEPH BROOKFIELD
ACCESS CODE 2BJN6X
PARISH PAYS FOR YOUR ACCT - SIMPLY SIGN IN
"BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD..."
WE RECITE IT EVERY DAY AT MASS,
BUT DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT IT MEANS?
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Let us pray for those in our parish who were recently welcomed through
the Sacrament of Baptism
May their lifetime journey in faith sustain their and light their way.
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FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED
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Let us pray for those in our parish who have entered into their eternal rest...
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
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Let us celebrate with great joy those within our parish who have recently joined hearts and hands in the most sacred union of Holy Matrimony.
May God continue to bless them and keep them in his watchful care for the rest of their lives as the two of them became one in their new seamless union of love.
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JUST A FEW THOUGHTS TO PONDER
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If you were accused of being a Follower of Jesus Christ, would there be any evidence to convict you video?
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Education in the context of Faith is Wisdom
COME AND SEE WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT.....
YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!
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*** NEW ***
ST JOSEPH CHURCH 2016/2017 YEAR END FINANCIAL REPORT
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| Yours in Christ Jesus, 
Rev. George F. O'Neill
Pastor
(please excuse my typos etc...)
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