As the days grow shorter and the leaves continue their earthward descent, November is the month in which we consider the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
Purgatory is not much spoken of in the Church today, but it still exists – and probably most of us will end up there! According to an alleged apparition of Mary at Garabandal, Spain, “Most souls go to Purgatory upon death; then the second-most go to Hell; and very few go directly to Heaven.” (The alleged apparitions at Garabandal have not been approved or disapproved by the Church, so it is not required for Christians to believe them).
Purgatory is a place of cleansing before entrance into Heaven. For those who have died in the state of grace (with no mortal sins on our soul) but are still not spiritually pure – perhaps we have venial sins, or perhaps we are still too overly attached to the things of this earth – we will have to be “purged” of them in the afterlife. The good news is that you can’t “fail” purgatory – if you are there, you know you are saved – but the cleansing may take a while, depending on how imperfectly we yet love God!
Purgatory makes sense, when we think about it. To be in the presence of the all-holy God, not even the slightest stain of sin could cling to us, lest we spend eternity ashamed and dirty. As CS Lewis puts it, “Our souls demand Purgatory. Would it not break the heart if God said to us, ‘It is true, my son, that your breath smells and your rags drip with mud and slime, but we are charitable here and no one will upbraid you with these things, nor draw away from you. Enter into joy’?” We would indeed want to clean up if we are to spend eternity with the All-Holy, All-Pure God! Interesting to note that Lewis was not a Catholic; he was still Anglican (Church of England) and yet he had the very Catholic intuition of the necessity of Purgatory!
So, is purgatory painful? Yes – because learning to love perfectly demands sacrifice and suffering. It’s much like this – when we are baptized, the perfect Image of Christ is within our souls. Imagine that this image is like a bronze statue of Jesus in our souls. But as we go through life, that Image of Christ gets chipped, or rusted, or stained, or dinged and dented. Thus, to fix the Image of Christ, we must have it re-fashioned. To re-fashion a bronze statue requires sanding off the rust, banging out the dents, and heating up the metal to be able to shape it like the original Image. In the same way, to bring our souls back to their original holiness, it takes suffering and sacrifice. Purgatory will not be pleasant – but it will prepare us for the perfect joy of Heaven.
This month is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory – to the souls of our deceased loved ones. Sadly, our modern world believes that pretty much everyone goes to Heaven when they die, unless they’re basically Hitler. But that simply isn’t the case. As Pope John Paul II wrote, “Every trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of the soul corrected. Purification must be complete.” The vast majority of souls spend some time in Purgatory.
And the souls in purgatory can only be helped…by our prayers! We can pray for them, and we can ask the saints and the Blessed Mother to intercede for them. When someone dies, ask to have a Mass offered for the repose of their soul. Pray very much for their soul. It is a dangerous error to say to someone at a funeral, “Oh, well, we know they’re in Heaven now.” We don’t know that! – and to assume they’re in Heaven means that we’re depriving them of much-needed prayers if they are in Purgatory! As St. Padre Pio declared, “Let us empty Purgatory with our prayers!”
More on Purgatory next week…
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St. Jude Parish-wide Consecration to
Jesus Through Mary
Friday, November 5th
We begin our Consecration by reading the Introduction in 33 Days to Morning Glory and Day 1. Then we will continue with Day 2, Day 3, etc. Copies of the magazine are in the vestibule of the church, or call Mary Beth Rauser at 203-516-1821.
This week we will learn more about what Marian Consecration is. We are introduced to the first of four Marian Saints we will learn about during the next 33 days: St. Louis de Montfort, the first great prophet of Marian Consecration. We will learn about his life and then we’ll ponder the essential aspects of his Marian teaching.
Let’s pray for each other and our Parish as we begin this preparation
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Here is updated Fr Gaitley link for week 1
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Join us every Wednesday at 3pm in the church to pray
The Divine Mercy Chaplet together
The world needs our prayers! No experience necessary!
The Chaplet takes about 10 minutes to pray.
We will begin on Wednesday, November 10th.
We are looking for volunteers to lead us each week. We are hoping to get enough volunteers that each person would only have to commit to being there once every month or two. If you are interested, please contact Mary Beth Rauser at 203-516-1821 or mbrauser@hotmail.com
The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion
The message of The Divine Mercy is simple. It is that God loves us – all of us. And, He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy.
The Divine Mercy message is one we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC:
A - Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.
B - Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.
C - Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that all the graces of His mercy can only be received by our trust. The more we open the door of our hearts and lives to Him with trust, the more we can receive.
This message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread.
For more information, please visit:
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Important: Does Your Parish Profile Need to be Updated?
Have you moved but are still attending St. Jude?
Did you stop using a land line as your main phone?
Do you have an email which you use for communication and information?
If you answered yes to any of the questions, your parish profile probably needs to be revised.
If you have info that needs to be changed or simply want to check on your profile, contact the office by phone 203-261-6404 or email parish.office@stjuderc.com
Thank you
Parish Office Staff
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Eucharistic Visits to the Homebound - Although the pandemic is starting to wane, we still have many of our older parishioners who are sick or homebound and unable to attend Mass. We want them to receive Holy Communion on a regular basis - and we need YOUR help! Please consider volunteering to bring Holy Communion to our shut-ins, either on a weekly or biweekly basis. We will train you for the task - and it is a beautiful and practical way to bring Jesus to those in need! If you are interested and available to help, please contact Fr. Joseph at frgill@diobpt.org .
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FR. HENRY'S FAREWELL MASS & RECEPTION
More photos may be viewed at
https://saintjude.smugmug.com/2021/Fr-Henry-Farewell-Mass-and-Reception/
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All young people grades 6-12 are invited to
ENCOUNTER
A time to encounter God and one another through games, food, prayer, conversation, and fun.
Friday, November 12th
Friday, December 10th
From 7-9pm
No cost – no sign-ups – just show up!
Virtus-trained parents welcome to come and chaperone. For more information, contact Fr. Joseph at frgill@diobpt.org.
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Food Pantry Information
Our Thanksgiving distribution is right around corner. Sixteen families will benefit from your continued generosity. With this in mind, we are currently in need of the following items: boxed oatmeal, coffee/tea/hot cocoa, jarred pasta sauce and children’s cereal.
Thank you again for your continued support of this ministry.
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St Charles Christmas Drive
Part of our role as Christians is to help our brothers and sisters in need. The Columbiettes are sponsoring a collection for families at St Charles Parish in Bridgeport. The collection will run from November 20 through November 28. There will be a donation box in the Church foyer.
We are asking for Gift Cards to Kohl’s or Target, or monetary donations.
We thank you for your generosity.
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Last call for our Breakfast and Book morning with Father Joseph on Saturday Nov. 6!
As a reminder, we will gather in the Social Hall after first Saturday Mass. (If you want to join us after Mass, please plan on arriving shortly after 9.) A light breakfast will be served before our discussion with Father on his novel, Days of Grace. For planning purposes (so we have enough goodies!) please sign up using the Signup genius. The event is free for all.
We look forward to discovering who inspired his characters, what inspired the plot, and discussing the various themes of faith in his fast paced, Catholic novel. If you have any questions, please contact Regina Schwartz (203-414-9440). See you on the 6th!
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Exploring Our Faith
Our Catholic Faith is so rich with meaning that we can always learn more. We will be holding a monthly session to dig deeper into the meaning of our faith.
Our next session will be held on Saturday November 13 starting at 9 am. The session will run one hour and be held in the Social Hall
The topic will be a Virtual Church Tour
There are many items of faith and symbols and plaques in our Church. This session will explain them and their meaning to our faith.No matter how many times we have been in Church there is a lot we can learn about our Church.
To preserve the reverence of the Church this session will be held in the Social Hall
I look forward to seeing you at this session
Deacon John
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STOP THE BLEED
Please join us for this important First Aid Training Program on November 6th, 2021
at 11:00 a.m. in our Social Hall.
Class size is limited to 25 people so please be sure to register by Nov. 1st by email contacting:
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Knights of Columbus Needs/Food Drive
Another successful Fall Needs/Food/Furniture/Diaper drive took place this past Saturday despite a rainy, gloomy day! We collected 1380 pounds of clothing/bedding etc. for Bridgeport Rescue Mission & a few hundred pounds of additional clothing & food for Blessed Sacrament parish. Also, we were able to add non perishable foods to our St Jude pantry & collected a respectable amount of diapers for Hopeline. We also collected & distributed couches, tables, chairs, & other miscellaneous furniture to Time for a Change Ministry in Bridgeport. All of these organizations expressed their gratitude for the generosity our parish provided & we should all be proud to be part of St Jude's.
Want to thank everyone who participated & donated because the reason it was so successful is due to all of your efforts. Also want to thank Father Joseph for allowing us to use the Social Hall & the parish grounds for the drive.
Wishing you all a safe, Blessed & Happy Holiday season. Our next drive will be in the April timeframe.
Thanks & May God Bless...
The Knights of Columbus Saint Pope John XXIII Council 5987
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Parish Center available!
We are still marketing our parish center (former school building) with the hope of offsetting operation costs. Please contact the parish office for more information.
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Please remember in your daily prayers:
Marge Tranzillo, Judy-Beth Raine, Maria Bertone, Deacon Ronnie Bicknell, Marie Micholovich, Joseph Bisignano, Sr., Vincent Daniello, Dyana vander Wielen, David Bath, Martha Zenobia, Joe Pinto, Ray Schwartz, Daniel Louis Bianco, Zoey Frigo, Koswenda Family, Max, Hung Vu, Jamie Addesa
Also remember all healthcare workers, first responders, caregivers and the men and women of the parish who are in the military.
If you have anyone that you would like to add to the list, please call the office or email with the name to be added.
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Please join us in praying our Monthly Parish Intention.
Our Petition for November is:
May we be thankful for all our blessings, most especially, the gift of the Eucharist, which itself means Thanksgiving...
We pray to the Lord
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Upcoming Mass Intentions
Sat Nov 6 4:00pm Jose Dantas and Isabel Dantas-
Teixeira
Sun Nov 7 7:30am Dominick D. DellaRocco
Sun Nov 7 9:30am Robert Koch and Fred Capozzi
Sun Nov 7 11:30am All Veterans
Mon Nov 8 9:00am Patty Eng
Tue Nov 9 9:00am Andrew Mollo
Wed Nov 10 9:00am James Tierney, Sr.
Thu Nov 11 9:00am Judith Roberge
Sat Nov 13 4:00pm Enrico Marini
Sun Nov 14 7:30am St. Jude Parishioners
Sun Nov 14 9:30am Ivan Gospic
Sun Nov 14 11:30am Peter and Lorraine Bendlak-Miller
The Tabernacle Candle will burn in loving memory of Domingo Arribas during the month of November
If the 9:00 am Weekday mass is not listed, an intention has not been requested. Also, there are no public Masses on Friday mornings.
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Monday through Thursday Weekday Masses will be in the main Church at 9 am and live streamed.
The Weekend Masses inside the Church are Saturday at 4:00 pm and Sunday at 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30. Only the Saturday Mass at 4:00 pm and the Sunday 7:30 am Mass are live streamed.
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People can call the parish office to arrange to be added to the sick bound and home communion call list, for a clergy to bring them communion at their homes beginning in July. |
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First Friday Eucharistic Adoration
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. Matthew 11:28-30
The time that we spend with Jesus in front of the Blessed Sacrament is the best time we will spend on earth. Please join us on the first Friday of every month from 7:00 to 8:00 PM.
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St. Jude Religious Gift Shop
Gift Shop will be selling Christmas items, ornaments, cards and more, including Advent Wreaths, Candles and Calendars after Masses on weekend 11/20 & 11/21st and after Thanksgiving Mass 11/25.
St. Jude Religious Gift Shop is located downstairs in the Msgr. Sabia Social Hall. Many new items for all occasions. Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, Rosaries, Bibles, Statues, Medals & more. Variety of cards: Graduation, Birthday, Weddings, Get Well, Sympathy, etc. Come down & browse and find the perfect gift. For more info call: Parish Office - 203-261-6404 or call Fran Cambra - 203-261-2573.
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Confession Hours
Confessions on Saturday afternoon will be in the day chapel at 3:00 pm on Saturdays. Confessions are also by appointment, please call 203-261-6404, to set up and appointment or emailing.
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Parish Office Hours
THE OFFICE HOURS ARE:
MONDAY - THURSDAY 9:00 – 3:00
Please call (203-261-6404) or e-mail (parish.office@stjuderc.com) before coming to the office. Much can be accomplished through a phone call or email, such as requesting masses/mass cards; sacramental records; registering for Baptism; etc.
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St Jude Parish
707 Monroe Tpke
Monroe, CT 06468
203-261-6404
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