|
|
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME A
|
Is an act worth the risk?
Every action has a consequence and consequences can help define the morality of the act. In many ways, wisdom is the ability to see the consequences of an act clearly., even if the act has mixed results. If the immediate results are negative, the act might seem foolish to some. But, if the consequence of the act is entry into the Kingdom of God, isn't it worth looking like a fool to obtain it? Isn't the Kingdom worth the risk?
In the reading from
1 Kings, Solomon prayed for wisdom, over long life, power, or wealth. In this reading, Solomon recognized two things: 1) wisdom ultimately comes from God and, 2) with wisdom, all other blessings will flow.
As the longest psalm in the Bible,
Psalm 119 praised God for his Law. A closer look at the hymn's contents equates the Law with God's will. So the singer wanted to go beyond the edicts of the Torah, to its heart. He sought God's will.
What happens when life gets us so down that we can't see beyond our pain, much less God's will? St. Paul wrote the
Church in Rome with an answer to that question. Everything works to the good for those who love God, for God has a specific place for these people in his will.
In
Matthew's gospel, Jesus gave his followers three parables about the Kingdom and the sacrifice necessary to obtain the Kingdom. The Kingdom was a treasure and a pearl so high in value, it was worth everything to obtain it. Those who valued the Kingdom most of all would be judged worthy of God's reign.
|
BR
EAKING OPEN THIS SUNDAY'S READINGS
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
| 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A |
 Click Here for FORMED - Opening This Sunday's Readings
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION ON THIS WEEKEND'S GOSPEL
It has never been so easy to sell anything (or everything) we own. Websites like Trade Me provide the opportunity 24 hours a day every day. They can also be trawled at any hour of the day or night in search of items of value, which can hopefully be purchased for less than their value or cost elsewhere.
Like the Trade Me trawlers the people in Jesus' parable were searchers. The merchant was actively looking for fine pearls and the other person was actively searching for something in the field. Perhaps both had heard rumours or received clues that set them off on their searches.
This parable brings to mind Jesus' words in Matt 7:7: "Seek and you will find". Seeking, having eyes that see and ears that hear, are all refrains in the Scriptures. Searching for God in our lives and in our world involves being alert and active in our spiritual lives, always awake to the possibility that the voice of God or an element of the kingdom of heaven might be found in the events of our everyday lives.
It is easy to lapse into a passive approach to our spiritual lives. If we are waiting for God to break through the thick layer of our routines and priorities it may not happen, or we may simply not notice it when he does.
In the parable one person went digging in a field and the other turned over baskets full of pearls in their search. Their response was dramatic when they found items of value. If we are sometimes reluctant to search for God, is it because we suspect we might have to respond in a similar way in terms of change?
New Zealand Catholic Bishop's Conference
|
|
"NEW" - THE SAINT OF THE WEEK
|
|
Feast of St Joachim and St Anne - July 26
St. Anne and St. Joachim are honored as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They spent their lives worshiping God and doing good. They had one great sorrow, however: for decades they had not been blessed with children. For years and years Anne had begged the Lord to give her a child. She promised to consecrate the baby to him.
When she was already old, God answered her prayer in a far better way than she could ever have dreamed. The child born to St. Joachim and St. Anne was the Immaculate Virgin Mary. This holiest of all women was to become the Mother of God. Anne took tender care of little Mary for a few years. Then she gave her to the service of God, as she had promised she would.
Mary went to live in the holy Temple of Jerusalem. St. Joachim and St. Anne continued their lives of prayer until God called them home to heaven. Christians have always been especially devoted to St. Anne. Many beautiful churches have been built in her honor. Perhaps one of the most famous is the Shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre in Canada. Great crowds go there all year around to ask St. Anne's help in their sufferings.
❦
St. Anne and St. Joachim were the parents of Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. We can ask them to bring us closer to Jesus and Mary.
|
|
WWW.STJOSEPHBROOKFIELD.COM
|
|
We are proud to present our new and improved website!
There are many new features and Catholic content ...
- Static content about the Catholic faith, what Catholics believe, becoming Catholic, the Sacraments and more.
- Daily Meditations: Readings to help parishioners and visitors find a way to set the day in context.
- Faith In Action: Stories about real people and their experiences, plus guides and games for family activities.
- Catholic News and Perspective: Regularly updated news items covering the most pressing Catholic issues.
- Convenient links for electronic contributions applications
- All masses will now be streamed live to the website and Facebook Live and then archived when completed for later viewing
- Link to the Pastor's weekly eNote and a link to the Pastor's blog
- Photo albums from many of the parish events over the past year under the Parish Life Tab
- Parish Calendar of Events
Want a shortcut to your phone, tablet or iPad? Go to the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android) and search stjosephbrookfield for a St Joseph website mobile app for easy access.
Take a look and enjoy...
May God bless your travels through our new site with inspiration and peace!
|
|
Let us pray for those in our parish who were welcomed through
the Sacrament of
Baptism...
(no baptisms last weekend)
May their lifetime journey in faith sustain them and light their way.
|
|
|
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 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.
|
|
FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED
|
|
Let us pray for those in our parish who have entered into their eternal rest,
Pamela Mitchell
Kevin Van Amburg
Eternal rest grant unto them
O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them
May they rest in peace.
|
|
|
EDJE (1-6) & DARE TO BE A DISCIPLE (7-8)
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMS
|
Parents and Guardians,
We hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing summer vacation. We are hard at work planning our program for next year and we are looking forward to another great year.
Registration opened on July15th for all returning families and will remain open until August 31st. After August 31st there will be a late fee for returning families only.
This year all of the registration process is online through our website. From the Home Page of the site at
www.stjospehbrookfield.com use the Parish Life tab and then the Religious Education link which will bring you right to the calendar and 2017/18 program year application. Please complete the application and submit it on line. Once this process is completed, Pat Smith, Program Coordinator, will forward you this year's link to the online work and your child is welcome to begin their sessions immediately.
Peace and be well and enjoy the remainder of the summer vacation!
|
Education in the context of Faith is Wisdom
Happy Summer to St Joseph School!
COME AND SEE WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT.....
YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!
|
ST JOSEPH CHURCH GOES
GREEN
|
St Joseph is going GREEN and the work continues...
This week after finishing up a few loose ends in the ParCtr HVAC, the workers from Green Star Energy Solutions turned their attention to the Rectory as they upgraded the Rectory heating and air conditioning systems to the same system they placed in the ParCtr. There was a lot of work behind the scenes and in the basement and attic however, we were up and running yesterday and it is just as cool, quiet and efficient as the system they installed in the ParCtr.. I told the Tom from Green Star if the heating is as efficient and effective as the A/C we will all be very pleased.
Next week they will turn their attention to the Church systems which is exponentially more nuanced and complex. We had two experts in the engineering field, parishioners Gene Golaszewski (who designed the original system 25 years ago) and Paul Checco meet with the contractors today and they tightened up some of the vague areas of the church project. Once they receive engineer stamped and certified plan for the church we will begin to move ahead. Hopefully, the beginning of next week.
The parking lot will be trenched from the tent area diagonally across the upper lot temporarily one day next week and then patched by the end of the day... possibly Thursday. That day you may need to park in the school lot for any church business.
The solar panels are scheduled to be installed on the gym roof and the flat roof overs the classrooms some time in the next two weeks. That installation should take approximately 1 week.
This is a very exciting time for our parish and it is especially timely in that these upgrades will be completed as we celebrate our 125th Anniversary year of serving the community of Brookfield.
I'll update again next week but feel free to talk to me after Mass or call the office if you have any questions or suggestions.
Thank you and God Bless you!
PROGRAM OVERVIEW (from previous eNotes)
In a nutshell, the Federal Government, in conjunction with the State of Connecticut, the Town of Brookfield, Eversource Utilities, and the Connecticut Green Bank have offered a solar program called - the C-Pace Program.
Early last year the Diocese of Bridgeport reached out to pastors and principals in the Diocese and presented this program to us as a viable way to upgrade our aging infrastructure. The cost of the upgrades is offset with solar credits from solar panels installed on the school building and by the reduction of annual energy costs by upgrading the HVAC systems in our buildings to high efficiency systems while thoroughly upgrading the foundation, walls and roof insulation to maximum R-factor ratings. In effect we use less by maximizing insulation R-values while minimizing overall energy usage through high efficiency HVAC systems thereby reducing energy costs.
|
|
JUST A FEW THOUGHTS TO PONDER
|
|
Bishop Barron reflects on Bob Dylan's
|
|
ST JOSEPH CHURCH 2015/2016 YEAR END FINANCIAL REPORT
|
|
| |
| Yours in Christ Jesus, 
Rev. George F. O'Neill
Pastor
(please excuse my typos etc...)
|
|
|
