Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,
When we look at life these days, when we look at the lives of the people we care about most, when we look at everything that is happening in our country and world, what are our deepest hopes?
When I ask this profound question, I am not simply asking for what we want to happen or wish to happen. Rather, what are those things that we would work for and do everything we can to make things happen? What kind of hopes get a hold of us and will not let us go, the longings that drive our lives, the prayer that never goes away? I am asking about the things in which we would invest all that we are and all that we have---our life, energy, effort, money, time, or love.
During the next week or month, try to articulate those hopes and name them. My guess is that we will all name things about relationships, a quality of life, love, well-being, wholeness, meaning, profound joy, deep peace, forgiveness, justice.
Whatever you name, that hope carries the seeds of life. It is asking something deep and profound from each of us. It is a seed, and an insistent call to plant that seed and give it existence…to give it life.
More than ever, the lives of others, our brothers, and sisters, need a sower with seeds of new life. Our country needs a sower with seeds of new life. The world needs a sower with seeds of new life. We are the sowers and our hopes carry those seeds of new life. The seeds are best rooted in the vision of the Savior: the way, the truth, and the life…and nothing less.
Peace and Blessings,
Fr George Couturier
|
|
The Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 4, 2020
Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish will livestream the 9:00 AM & 11:00 AM Sunday Mass using Facebook Live. The livestream of the Mass can also be viewed on the front page of our website. The recordings remain available afterward on the Parish Facebook page. Join us for Sunday Mass online!
|
|
Sunday Mass Schedule
Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at St. James capacity of 80 people
Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Seton capacity of 50 people
Sunday at 11:00 a.m. at St. James capacity 80 people
Reservations are required!
We have a limited seating capacity & we need a written record
of attendees for contact tracing.
There are two options for making your reservations:
Online
Sign up online at www.saintjosephinebakhita.org for the upcoming weekend starting Tuesday morning. Reservations will close by Thursday evening or before if we reach capacity. We need to close the reservations by Thursday evening so that we can prepare for the weekend Masses. When you make your reservation, enter the # (quantity) of people attending from each household. We will set up the reservation system one week at a time.
By Phone
If you have no access to internet, call 860-529-8655 and our office staff will assist you with reservations. Please call only on Tuesday or Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. You will need to call each week for the upcoming weekend. Do not leave a voicemail, there will be no guarantee to reserve a seat by voicemail.
Read the Guidelines for attending Sunday Mass - Click Here.
|
|
Sunday, October 4
after the 11 Mass
on the Plaza between St. James Church and the Parish Center
This custom is conducted in remembrance of Saint Francis of Assisi’s love for all creatures. Francis, whose feast day is October 4, loved the larks flying about his hilltop town. He and his early brothers, staying in a small hovel, allowed themselves to be displaced by a donkey. Francis wrote a Canticle of the Creatures, an ode to God’s living things. “All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures.” And there was testimony in the cause for Saint Clare of Assisi’s canonization that referred to her little cat!
|
|
|
Facemasked Humans: please join us with a leashed or caged pet to receive a special blessing for your pet, and to socially distanced mingle with your fellow animal lovers.
|
|
Week 3: Option for the Poor & Vulnerable
Scripture reminds us that some people’s needs are so urgent and so great that their needs come first. Therefore, while everyone is important, those whose voice in our society is ignored, those whose human rights are violated, those whose dignity is not recognized, must take our first priority. When we enter into the lives and the struggles of the poor and vulnerable, we experience Jesus’ presence in a real and powerful way. The Church does not pit one social group against another but instead follows the example of Jesus, who identified with the poor and vulnerable. The prime purpose of this special commitment to the poor is to enable all persons to share in and contribute to the common good. Explore deeper, Click Here.
|
|
2021 Mass Intention Scheduling
It is time to schedule your Mass intentions but due to Covid-19 we will be doing it differently this year.
Here’s what you need to do:
1) Call the office anytime NOW between 10:00 am - 2:00 pm and we will make a phone appointment for you on one of the following dates:
Sept. 24, Oct. 1, Oct. 8
Scheduled times will be between 10:00 am & 2:00 pm
2) On your scheduled day and time YOU will call the office and we will put your requests in the book. Limit of 3.
3) Payment will be due within 2 weeks of your appointment to hold your dates. You can mail a check to the office or leave your payment in an envelope by using the slot in the Rectory office door.
Office Phone: 860-529-8655
Thanks!
Carrie & Pam
|
|
Car Caravan to Homebound Members of
St. Josephine Bakhita
On Saturday, October 3 at 10:00 am, the Parish Visiting Team will be leading a car caravan to visit homebound members of our community. Our first caravan in May was a huge success with both those visited and those in the caravan feeling greatly uplifted. The visiting team regularly brings the Eucharist to parishioners who are not able to attend Mass. We are currently unable to enter these homes, so we will be stopping in front of the homes to wave and bring them cards and flowers from our community. If you are able to join our caravan, email Joy@sjbrh.org, and meet us in your decorated car at the St. James Church parking area on October 3 at 9:45 am. If you are unable to join our caravan but would like to help, consider making inspirational cards or small gifts and drop them off in a basket in the St. James foyer (open from 9-1 am), as well as continuing to pray for our homebound friends.
|
|
Celebrating the Fifth Anniversary of Laudato Si'
This May we celebrated the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si' - Care for Creation. The year from May 2020 to May 2021 has been declared the Laudato Si' Anniversary Year. To emphasize the Anniversary, we have added a Care for Creation page to the parish web page. We have recently added new content and links. To explore the page, Click Here.
|
|
Complete this simple online form to update your contact information for our parish. |
|
St. Josephine Bakhita Parish
767 Elm Street
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
|
|
Follow Us at Saint Josephine Bakhita Facebook |
|
|
|
|
|
|
