St Anthony Church Newsletter |
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The mother in Sunday's Gospel is a model of faith!
How do we learn, then, to be more present each time we pray?
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Listen to yourself breathing - So often, we rush into our times of prayer without properly disposing ourselves for a spiritual encounter. Taking a few minutes to quiet yourself can be a tremendous aid in deepening our prayer life.
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Talk less. Listen more - We live in uncertain times. There’s much to complain or at least converse about. We look for answers. Yet the only answer is Jesus; the only path is towards the Cross and Resurrection. As we learn to listen to ourselves breathing, hopefully, one of the things that will happen is that we learn to listen to that still, small voice hidden in the deepest corner of our hearts. That small voice is so often crowded out by the mechanics of our prayer time and by the constant barrage of distractions in our interior world. If we can become silent, then God’s booming voice can be heard.
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Live in faith - We know that, in the end, Jesus wins! We know that Jesus has already shared his winnings with us because of our Baptism. Yet we approach Jesus in prayer with nonchalantness, doubt or sometimes over-meekness. While there is merit to each of these attitudes, this Canaanite mother gives us an example of the humble boldness of her faith in confessing her need for mercy.
Each situation we find ourselves in can be seen — with eyes of faith — as opportunities to practice the kind of faith exemplified in the mother of today’s Gospel. The prayer of this mother came from her heart to the heart of the only one left for her to ask. It’s as if the depths of her heart was speaking to depths of Jesus’ heart. Jesus always responds to the prayers that come from the depths of our hearts rather than the multiplicity or eloquence of our words!
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The 11:15 Mass will continue to be live-streamed for the time being.
Therefore St Anthony Church will broadcast on Facebook LIVE Sundays at 11:15 am .
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Renovation begins on the interior walls of the Church Basement!
The church hall renovations have begun and one side of the hall walls have been
removed. Once both sides are fully exposed, the building committee will meet again to
review the condition and the best next step. Thank you for your support!
Our building committee consists of Gil Graveline, Nathan Marsili, and John Schieffer.
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Last Tuesday, the Confirmation class gathered safely on our parish grounds for discussion and prayer. |
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Golf Tournament Update
Due to the lack of sign ups to play golf, the tournament scheduled for August 20th has been cancelled.
The Golf Tournament has been rescheduled for June 4, 2021.
Hopefully this event will come to fruition in the next year!
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Guidelines for Attending Mass
While some might feel these guidelines are stringent, it is important that guidelines are followed, that we respect all parishioners and be sure that everyone feels comfortable attending Mass.
- Please bring a face mask to wear, as it is required as you enter, while inside and as you exit. Please be sure to cover your mount and nose with the mask, not just your mouth.
- Pews will be marked off to assist with social distancing. Please use the side aisles to move from the front of the church to the back.
- Please use the center aisle to move from the back of the church towards the sanctuary.
- Singing has been shown to increase the spread of COVID-19. However, please feel free to hum to the music during Mass.
- Hand sanitizer is currently available, please have your own as well.
- We ask that you mark where you sit with a post-it-note, which will be available at the entrances.
- Missalettes will be removed from the pews, if you would like to take one home and bring it back with you each time you come to Mass, you may do that.
- The tape on the seats is not meant to be sat on. Every other pew is marked with either 2 spots in the middle or several spaces on the ends. Please only sit where there is no tape. (See photos below)
- When leaving, please leave in one direction down the side aisles or in one direction up the center aisle, towards the sanctuary, following the arrows. Please leave space between each other, allowing a little extra time to exit.
Collection Procedure:
- One of the guidelines is that we cannot have the ushers passing the basket to receive your offertory envelopes.
- Three collection boxes will be available inside the church and they will be emptied in the presence of 2 ushers, after every Mass, into a secure bag.
- If there is a second collection, please put your donation for that collection into a separate envelope. If it is a plain envelope, please mark it with the specific collection that it is for.
- If you put loose cash in the box, it will be recorded under the weekly offering. Thank you.
Communion Procedure:
- Please use the markers for distancing while in line. Families can stay together.
- Once in front of Father or Deacon, please extend your hands out flat to receive the consecrated host, as you walk away, pause at the X on the floor, lower your mask, consume the host, put your mask back on and return to your pew down the side outside aisle.
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Help Needed
We need help to adhere to the directives of the Archdiocese regarding sanitizing the church after Mass, particularly after the 4:30 and 11:15 Mass.
This is not a long or difficult process and all the supplies and instructions are left in the Utility Sacristy (formerly the Food Pantry).
And if you are able to help and find that others are taking care of it one week, please don't assume that you don't need to check again. Each week different parishioners might be needed.
if you have any questions, please call the parish office.
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St. Anthony Church Meditation Garden Walkway Fundraiser is ongoing.
Thank you to everyone who has already ordered a brick!
Honor someone you love with a beautiful stone in our Meditation Garden Walkway.
Please download the form to order:
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Bingo is cancelled until further notice.
thank you for all who have supported us in the past and we look forward to when we can have a HUGE Jackpot again!
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When shopping Amazon, you can choose to use Amazon Smile* and a percentage of your order will be donated to St. Anthony Church, specifically for the refurbishing of the Church hall.
Click on the photo to get started!
*We encourage supporting local businesses, direct trade and fair trade partners as well as environment considerations when making purchases. If you do choose to use Amazon Smile and you don’t need your item immediately, please don’t choose overnight/rush delivery because this often forces people to work on Sunday.
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Labonnes Cash for Charities Rebate Program
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Please save your Labonne's cash register receipts. (Keep an envelope in you car to easily save them)
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Every couple of months submit them to St. Anthony Church, via the mail or by dropping them off at the parish center. We will receive 1/2% back.
- Thank you to everyone who has been sending in their slips, keep them coming!
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Please consider using online giving for your financial support.
The consistency from online giving is very helpful over vacation periods. You may still use your envelopes and mark “I gave online”.
Thank you and God bless you for all you do for St. Anthony Church!
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St. Anthony Church
4 Union City Road – Prospect, CT 06712
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