2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time B21

There’s something strange going on. Did you notice? After spending some time last week going over various aspects of Mark’s Gospel and by stating that his Gospel will be read in Ordinary Time during Year B, the Gospel of this 2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time is according to John! Regardless, this is a vocation story of the first followers of Jesus and for us.

The 1^st words that the Gospel has Jesus speak are a fundamental question that every person must answer: “What are you looking for”.

Mass ~ 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ January 17, 2021

May we be reminded of Dr. King’s words on agape something we need today more than ever.  This  definition reminds us what is involved in creating God’s beloved community here on earth:

“Agape means understanding, redeeming good will for all men. It is an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. It is not set in motion by any quality or function of its object…

Join thousands of Catholics nationwide in the annual Respect Life novena, 9 Days ƒor Liƒe,Thursday, January 21 − Friday, January 29. Get daily intentions, brief reflections, and more. Sign up at 9daysforlife.com!

Going through closets and bringing some items to Goodwill? Be sure to stop by the church to pick up a Goodwill Donation Card to bring with you.

Head to any of the 26 Goodwill drop off locations on the back of the card with the clothing and donation card. Drop the clothing in the appropriate boxes and give the card to an attendant.  Goodwill Industries sends St. Vincent de Paul Middletown VOUCHERS for free clothing based on the total donations received using the donation card that you just used. We make those vouchers available to social service agencies across our community.  Families needing clothing no longer have to go door to door, church to church to see if they have a warm coat, shoes or other apparel.

A month after announcing that Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare are in discussions to merge as one statewide organization, the two food banks announced the launch of three new food distributions in New London, Norwich and Norwalk replicating Foodshare’s emergency drive-thru food distribution at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? If not, there's still time, and Pope Francis has some ideas for you.

These are the ten things that he called upon Vatican employees to do:

1. “Take care of your spiritual life, your relationship with God, because this is the backbone of everything we do and everything we are.”
2. “Take care of your family life, giving your children and loved ones not just money, but most of all your time, attention and love.” 
3. “Take care of your relationships with others, transforming your faith into life and your words into good works, especially on behalf of the needy.” 

Baptism of the Lord B21

Year B Gospel readings in Ordinary Time are taken from Mark. The first thing you’ll notice there’s no account of Jesus’ birth and no mention that John the Baptist and Jesus were related.  A second aspect of Mark’s Gospel is how often he uses the phrase “at once” or “immediately”, a total of 31 times (I counted!). It seems as Jesus was in a hurry, driven to act, teach and heal. A third characteristic is what is called “the Messianic Secret”. Mark has only demons (and those who read his Gospel) recognize Jesus for who he is. When Peter finally says in Chapter 8 “You are the Christ”, Jesus gave him and the rest of the disciples a strict order not to tell anyone about him. Jesus said the same thing to Peter, James, and John after the Transfiguration. And the women who went to the tomb and noticed the stone rolled away from the entrance and saw a young man in a white robe who addressed them saying that Jesus has risen, ran away frightened, as one translation has it, out of their wits and said nothing to anyone. It’s almost as if Mark is telling us to make up our own minds about Jesus. Is he the Christ, or not?

The Baptism of the Lord ~ January 10, 2021

Food Share will be distributing food at Rentschler Field beginning Tuesday, January 12, with an end date TBD.  Winter hours will be 9:30am -1pm 

The address is: 615 Silver Lane. East Hartford, CT
Please use the Silver Lane entrance; gates will close at 1pm.
For more information on Food Share, please visit: www.foodshare.org/help

Please join us as we continue our Webinar Series January 13, 2021 at 7:00 PM "Race and Human Trafficking".   Presented by: Yvette Young Associate Vice President of Programs and Advocacy at the Village for Families & Children
For more information and to register go to: http://www.catholicsocialjustice.org/

Of the 210 children referred to the Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families in 2018 for highrisk or confirmed human trafficking, 73% were children of color. Race plays a role in every part of the exploitation of children; and in effort to combat human trafficking, our conversations and solutions must be racially inclusive.

Men’s Day Retreat at Holy Family
Saturday, January 16, 2021 ~ 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ~ Holy Family Retreat Team
During these months of isolation and separation, we have felt a longing to gather together as a community.Many of us are struggling with loneliness and mourning a sense of normalcy in our lives. Join us as we come together to process this experience on our journey of reconnection. Together We Rise as a community of Christ’s followers and as interdependent human beings.  This program will be offered online via the Zoom platform. Information on how to access the program will be provided to participants in their registration confirmation email. Registration information can be found at holy family retreat center website at: https://www.holyfamilyretreat.org/calendar/men-03-04

Our Lady of Calvary
Is that you God? Ignatian Discernment a multi-week series exploring living an empowered life in the Spirit.  Register at their website: https://www.ourladyofcalvary.net/event/is-that-you-god-ignatian%03discernment-for-our-day-on-zoom/2021-01-06/

Epiphany 21

We heard these words spoken to Abraham last weekend on the Feast of the Holy Family: “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.”^[1]

This weekend we meet the Magi following a star. These stargazers interpreted the stars as telling them a “king of the Jews” had been born. Could it have been the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn which some of us witnessed recently on December 21^st? Maybe. Regardless, they trekked to Jerusalem, and asked the reigning king, Herod, for information. He asked the chief priests and the scribes of the people who informed him and the Magi that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of a ruler who would shepherd Israel. So, they continued their journey, following the star which stopped over the house where they saw the child and his mother, Mary. Having been warned in a dream (dreams were important in Matthew’s Infancy Narrrative), they went home by another way, thus spoiling Herod’s plan to make them co-conspirators.

Mass ~ The Epiphany of the Lord, January 3, 2021

Join woman throughout the diocese on January 6, 2021 for an evening exploring Ignition Contemplation.

Workshop: Journey with Jesus in 2021presented by Debra Federico