13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time A20

What we hear in today’s Gospel comes at the end of a section in Matthew in which Jesus is preparing the 12 for their 1^st missionary journey. He seems to be asking them, “Are you ready for this?” They are not going on an adventure or a sales trip. It would be different: they going out on their own to share what they believed was really good news. Were they convinced enough and dedicated enough to do that? Jesus is being frank with them, telling them that they would experience both welcome and rejection. Jesus is demanding them to make him 1^st in their lives. Nothing, no relationship nor any desire, even life itself, can be more important than what they are about to do.

By now most of you have heard that the Archdiocese will be resuming weekend Masses starting July 4th and 5th. We are required to follow the Archdiocesan procedures and to respect the current limits set by Governor Ned Lamont on social distancing and disinfecting the church after each service.

To fulfill the mandates, the following will be implemented:

• Weekend Masses will be celebrated on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Be aware of the Sunday time change. This provides time to clean the church properly.
• The downstairs bathrooms will be unavailable. This makes cleaning easier. If someone absolutely has to use a restroom, the one upstairs will be open. Signs will point the way through the sacristy.
• Only one door, the main front door, will available to enter the church. If someone has to use the side door for accessibility reasons, please send someone into church and ask that it be opened for you.
• The church has been set up to ensure 6 feet social distancing at all times. In doing so, we have 44 seats available although families can sit together in one pew. This will require a reservation system on which we are presently working. Once it is finished, you will be notified. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT MASKS MUST BE WORN! Also, the congregation will NOT SING. It’s been shown that singing spreads the virus farther and wider even with the wearing of masks.

Father Sas will be offering online Mass, Sunday, June 28, the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our Mass intention is for our St. John Fisher Parish Family. Thank you to Gil Thompson and Nancy Aniolek for recording, Julie Groene for reading, and Kathleen Filosa, Carolyn Henderson, and Janice Reska for providing music. The Mass will be available today (June 27) at 4:00 p.m.

St. John Fisher is offering Daily Mass every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Appropriate social distancing, disinfecting and use of masks will be in place. The pews are marked as to social distancing, with a maximum attendance of 44 parishioners available. To help us keep the church clean between Tuesday/Thursday Masses in accordance with CDC guidelines, the church will no longer be open for individual prayer during the week. 

Sunday Adoration continues from 4:00-4:45 p.m. Social distancing, use of masks and proper disinfecting will all occur. 

We continue to be grateful to the generous and talented mask-maker-elves who leave their creations in our church vestibule. Beautiful, colorful and expertly sewn masks are so welcomed and are being gratefully donated and used to help many stay well. If you happen to be in need of a cotton, washable mask please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Join Kurt Filosa and Jen O'Neill on Monday, June 29 at 5:30 p.m. as they lead the rosary for a virtual community prayer experience. Sign up by clicking here and you will be sent the link for the gathering.

We are beginning a book club this summer with the first book being chosen by Father Sas: The Passion and the Cross, by Ronald Rolheiser. For those interested, we will meet on Tuesday, June 30  from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and Father asks that we read the introduction and Chapter 1 prior to our first meeting. We will meet outside at church; please bring your book and an outdoor chair. 

• Prayer Line (Day) - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at 860-798-9010
• Prayer Line (Night) - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at 860-267-8877

In addition, you can email a prayer request to our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and it will be forwarded to the Prayer Line.

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We encourage you to remember the businesses that support St. John Fisher through their bulletin advertisements. Click HERE or on the image. Both St. John Fisher and the advertisers thank you for your patronage of these businesses.

My God, I offer You all the actions of this day in union with the intentions and glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I wish to sanctify each and every heartbeat, every thought, every simple little action, by joining them to His infinite merits; and I desire to make reparation for my sins by casting them into the furnace of His merciful love.

O my God! For myself and for all my dear ones, I implore the grace to perfectly fulfill Your holy will and to accept for love of You all the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that one day we may be united in Heaven for all eternity.

Amen.

-St. Therese of Lisieux

Religious Freedom Week 2020: For the Good of All

Join us, June 22 - June 29, as we pray, reflect, and take action on religious liberty, both here in this country and abroad.

This is a link to a prayer to St. Thomas More.

http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/St-Thomas-More-English.pdf

As we return to Ordinary Time in our liturgical calendar, these days still remain anything but "ordinary." We face continued uncertainty with the coronavirus pandemic, while at the same time coming to terms with a world deeply wounded by racial violence and inequality. The realities of our world are frightening, but we cannot ignore them. In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus calls for courage: "What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops" (Matthew 10:27). 

We are called to bear witness to and proclaim the transforming power of God's love to the world. We are called to speak out against injustice and advocate for those in need. Through the Gospel, we receive God's truth. In the words of St. Ignatius Loyola, "God’s love calls us to move beyond fear. We ask God for the courage to abandon ourselves unreservedly, so that we might be molded by God’s grace, even as we cannot see where that path may lead us."

Father Sas will be offering online Mass, Sunday, June 21, the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our Mass intention is for our St. John Fisher Parish Family. In honor of Father's Day, there will be a special prayer for all fathers. Thank you to Gil Thompson for recording, Cindy Bryan for reading, and Kathleen Filosa, Carolyn Henderson, and Janice Reska for providing music. The Mass will be available on this website on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

St. John Fisher is offering Daily Mass every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Appropriate social distancing, disinfecting and use of masks will be in place. The pews are marked as to social distancing, with a maximum attendance of 44 parishioners available. To help us keep the church clean between Tuesday/Thursday Masses in accordance with CDC guidelines, the church will no longer be open for individual prayer during the week. 

Sunday Adoration continues from 4:00-4:45 p.m. Social distancing, use of masks and proper disinfecting will all occur.  

Sandwich collection for St. Vincent de Paul in Middletown is this Thursday, June 25. Sandwiches may be dropped off during the day (in the downstairs refrigerator) between 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. or in the evening between 7:00-7:30 p.m. in front of the church. Ham and cheese or turkey and cheese sandwiches, no mayo but mustard is okay. We are also collecting pre-packaged snacks like peanut butter crackers.

Fr. Bryan N. Massingale, a theology professor at Fordham University, describes racism as a "soul sickness" that goes beyond political and social issues. He encourages us to confront our own assumptions, even when it feels uncomfortable. He writes, "This soul sickness can only be healed by deep prayer. Yes, we need social reforms. We need equal educational opportunities, changed police practices, equitable access to health care, an end to employment and housing discrimination. But only an invasion of divine love will shatter the small images of God that enable us to live undisturbed by the racism that benefits some and terrorizes so many."