We are in the thick of October and that means that there will be a considerable amount of Oktoberfest celebrations! While it is always a great time to celebrate all things German, some of the often-consumed foods have Catholic roots.
Perhaps most associated with Oktoberfest is beer, one of the oldest and most popular drinks. Beer was around well before Catholicism, but it was Catholic monks who perfected and popularized the drink in several ways:
- The addition of hops (to preserve the beer and add its classically bitter taste) was an invention of abbots. It is first mentioned in the ninth century by an abbot under Charlemagne, and also by St. Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century abbess and mystic.
- Monasteries were the first to mass-produce and distribute beer. There are records of brewing beer in monasteries as far back as the fifth century. At one point over 600 Catholic monasteries in Europe were producing beer. Monks would sell their brew to provide for the material needs of the monastery, and since Benedictine monasteries in particular emphasized the virtues of hospitality, their own beer was offered to guests and travelers who stopped by.
- Monks were also responsible for the development of dark beer. During Lent and other periods of fasting, the monks would often survive on meager rations, which included beer. To increase the caloric content of beer, they would throw in honey, bread, and fruit. The resulting brews were often very popular.
- There are even patron saints of beer! St. Arnulf (Arnold) of Metz, who once said, “From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world” – he was known to do miracles related to beer. Once, when a plague struck his town, he placed a crucifix in a vat of beer and urged the townspeople to drink. Those who did so were cured of the plague (the antibacterial properties of the alcohol could have helped…). And according to legend, after his death, his friends were carrying his coffin to its final resting place when they grew tired and went inside of a tavern to have a drink (must’ve been quite some funeral procession!). The tavern owner told them there was only one mug of beer left. They prayed to St. Arnulf, and began to pass around the stein – which miraculously kept refilling itself so that every man had plenty to drink.
- Of course who could forget the great Catholic thinker GK Chesterton’s love for beer! He once said, “Catholicism is the only religion that sees no contradiction between a pint, a pipe, and the Cross.” But he also said, “I love beer so much that I don’t drink too much of it” – recognizing that even good things must be enjoyed in moderation. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Drink to the point of hilarity, and no further!”
What goes best with beer? Pretzels, which also have Catholic roots. According to Snyder’s of Hanover (one of the biggest Pretzel manufacturers in America), the pretzel was founded in the early 600s when a monk, needing to bake something during Lent that would fit with the penitential theme of the season, rolled salted dough into the shape of arms crossed across the chest, which was a popular position for prayer. It was both a food of fasting and a reminder to pray, all in one!
The name “pretzel” had two religious etymologies. One story says that it comes from the Latin “bracelle”, meaning “little arms”. The other story says that these baked treats were given out to children when they had learned their prayers. The Latin word for “little reward” is “pretiola”, from which we might get “pretzel”.
This October, enjoy Oktoberfest and all things German…in moderation, of course!
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St. Jude Parish-wide Consecration to Jesus Through Mary
In preparation to consecrate St. Jude Parish to Mary on Wednesday, December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we will be encouraging everyone to join us in following Fr. Michael Gaitley’s Marian Consecration, 33 Days to Morning Glory.
This “retreat” walks through the teachings of four great Marian Saints. Not only will we be reading a short entry each day for 33 days, but we will ponder in our hearts inspiring teachings on Marian Consecration. Fr. Gaitley’s book makes it easy to understand the important role that Mary plays in salvation history and how crucial it is as Catholics to turn to her.
At the Masses on the weekend of October 30/31, there will be magazine copies of the book available for free. We ask that you take one per family. And if you already have the book, please use that and leave the magazine for someone who needs it.
The Consecration will begin on November 5th. It will be very powerful knowing that other people in the parish are following along together. The reading should only take a few minutes each day.
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PRO-LIFE PRAYER VIGILS
Please join our Parish Pro-life Ministry at a Prayer Vigil to save our precious babies in front of Planned Parenthood on Sunday October 24th from 2:00-4:00 P.M.
For add'l information please contact Parish Pro-life Coordinator:
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Saint Jude Novena
Come and join us for our annual St. Jude's Novena - a time to pray, celebrate, and join our parish family. We have special guest preachers at the following Masses (all at 7pm):
Friday, Oct 22 - Fr. Skip
Monday, Oct 25 - Fr. Kuczynski
Tuesday, Oct 26 - Fr. Ford
Wednesday, Oct 27 - Fr. Perrella
Thursday, Oct 28 - Fr. Gill
All are welcome to join us for Mass at 7pm followed by hospitality!
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FR. HENRY'S MASS & RECEPTION
October 31st at 11:30 MASS
Followed by Reception in Social Hall
Please join us as we thank Fr. Henry for his eight years of dedicated Priestly service to our Parish family! A light lunch and refreshments will be available. If you are planning to attend and stay for lunch, please sign up as soon as possible at the link below as capacity is limited to 200 people.
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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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Announcement
St. Jude’s Rosary makers will not meet on October 21 and 28.
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Appalachian Christmas Drive
We will be having our annual Christmas Drive on October 16 thru 30th.
The church foyer will be set up with bulletin boards as in the past. There will be a box to collect your donations.
We are asking for Gift Cards to Kohl’s or Walmart or monetary donations.
Due to the high cost of shipping this is more economical and beneficial for the Children.
Thank you for your continued generosity.
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Breakfast and A Book with Father Joseph!
All are invited to a discussion and Q & A with Father Joseph on his first book, “Days of Grace”, on Saturday, November 6. We will start with a light breakfast at about 9 am, which will be after the First Saturday Mass for those attending. And for planning purposes (so we have enough goodies!) please sign up using Signup genius (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a054ba5ae2ea20-breakfast) or by calling the parish office. The event is free for all.
Please bring your comments and questions for Father Joseph. If you still need a book, one can be purchased for $10 in the parish office or from Fran Cambra at the gift shop.
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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5th Sunday Rosary
October 31th at 11:00 AM in the church
Please Join Us
Pope Francis October Intention
Missionary Disciples
“We pray that every baptized person may be engaged in evangelization, available to this mission, by being witnesses of a life that has the flavor of the gospel”.
This is a New Program to help bring parishioners to gather in a spiritual activity and promote devotion to Mary. St. John XXIII Council will be participating in this program throughout our Fraternal Year.
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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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The Silver Rose Prayer Service was held by the Knights of Columbus at St. Jude Church.
This Service shared the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe and to promote respect for life.
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The Knights of Columbus are sponsoring a Needs/Food, clothing, furniture, & diapers on Saturday October 30th from 8AM to 10:30AM. Please try to honor these times and please do not leave donated items at the Social Hall after 10:30. All donated items will be distributed to the St Jude Pantry, Bridgeport Rescue Mission, Blessed Sacrament parish, Change Ministry, & Hopeline.
Although the Coronavirus has lessened since our last drive, we still have certain limitations on items being collected so please review the attached flyer ( click on image on the right!). To minimize contact & make distribution easier, we ask that you place labelled items for the above organizations in bags or boxes which can be placed in your vehicle and unloaded by our volunteers. Furniture items... we are hoping that most parishioners can bring these items directly to St Jude's on the day of the drive & we can assist with the unloading. If furniture transportation is not possible to St Jude's, we will make a limited amount of pickups on the day of the drive only. As we did last time, we want to minimize risks for parishioners & our volunteers by asking that donated items be located in the garage or driveway for pickup on the day of the drive. Questions, please contact Rocky Scali, 203-767-6053 or Frank Flynn, 203-556-5016.
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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., Bennett Gulyas, Vincent Daniello, Armando Aversa, Dyana vander Wielen, David Bath, Martha Zenobia, Joe Pinto, Ray Schwartz, Daniel Louis Bianco, Zoey Frigo, Koswenda Family, Max, Hung Vu
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 October is:
May we ask Mary's intercession, as Our Lady of the Rosary, to protect our precious babies as we offer Rosaries to end abortion,
We pray to the Lord.
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Upcoming Mass Intentions
Fri Oct 22 7:00pm All praying the Novena
Sat Oct 23 4:00pm The Pacelli Family
Sun Oct 24 7:30am St. Jude Parishioners
Sun Oct 24 9:30am Domingos Branco
Sun Oct 24 11:30am Deceased members of the
Tranzillo family
Mon Oct 25 7:00pm All praying the Novena
Tue Oct 26 7:00pm All praying the Novena
Wed Oct 27 7:00pm All praying the Novena
Thu Oct 28 7:00pm All praying the Novena
Sat Oct 30 4:00pm Louis and Paquita Regina, Sr.
Sun Oct 31 7:30am Deceased members of the Willett and
Izzo families
Sun Oct 31 9:30am St. Jude Parishioners
Sun Oct 31 11:30am Dorothy Saracino
The Tabernacle Candle will burn in loving memory of Jose Dantas and Isabel-Dantas Teixeira for the month of October
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 religious gifts after the Novena - Oct. 20 - 28 including Advent Wreaths, Candles and Calendars. Come and browse, shop early.
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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