Children entering grades K-6 are invited to join us on a Jungle Safari as we SWING through summer and have a ROARING good time, learning more about the REAL KING of the Jungle! St. John Fisher is thrilled to be offering our annual Vacation Bible Camp, but this year due to state and health guidelines, it will look a little different! 

DATE: Monday July 27- Thursday July 30
TIME: 9:30 a.m.-10:15 a.m. for Outdoor Activities at Church. After 10:15, an Activity Pack—with virtual activities, craft and science kits, reading material, game packs, family prayer suggestions, and more—will be sent home each day for children to enjoy. 

This week marks the resumption of weekend Masses in the Hartford Archdiocese. Our Masses on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday at 9:30 a.m. will require pre-registration using a link on this website under "Mass Attendance Reservations" or on our Facebook page.  Registration is needed to stay within our maximum attendance of 44 parishioners. Once you register, an email confirmation will be sent to you. This confirmation should either be printed or shown via your phone to the greeter at the main entrance who is responsible for keeping the attendance to 44 and communicating the use of masks and social distancing. 

Father Sas will also be offering online Mass, Sunday, July 5, the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Thank you to Gil Thompson and Nancy Aniolek for recording, Paulette Adams for reading, and Kathleen Filosa, Carolyn Henderson, and Janice Reska for providing music. The Mass will be available on our parish website on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

We continue to share articles and resources on racism and racial justice in America, as it is critical for our community to examine these difficult issues as we pray for and work towards a more just society.

• Black in America: I am tired
• I can't breathe because God can't breathe

St. John Fisher Website
St. John Fisher Facebook Page
Archdiocese of Hartford Website
Marlborough Food Bank
ORTV Daily Televised Mass
EWTN Daily TV Schedule
AHM Youth & Family Services

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.

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.

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. 

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."

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."

Thank you for helping us show our support to our healthcare heroes at Marlborough Health and Rehabilitation Center. We have assisted them in purchasing 45 "Superhero" t-shirts for the staff. Our goal is to purchase another 85 so all 130 members of the staff will receive a t-shirt and will know how much we appreciate them. According to Mark Merritt's daily Marlborough Facebook post, 58 positive COVID cases (of the 85 cases in Marlborough) were within the nursing facility. This has truly hit the nursing home industry so very hard. Please consider showing how much we care by ordering a t-shirt (or 2 or more) for a staff member. You can do this by calling Carrey at Professional Promotions, 860-282-1991. The cost of a t-shirt is $10. Let her know how many you would like to purchase for the staff at MHRC. You can pay by credit card.

Join Kurt Filosa and Jen O'Neill as they lead the Rosary,
for a community prayer experience

Sign-up at by clicking this link or on the bible above

You will be send the link for the gathering prior to the 29th.

Download "How to recite the Holy Rosary" by clicking here.

Easy, onscreen instructions on how to join for those unfamiliar with online meetings.
You can join voice only, without video ability.

Father Sas will be offering online Mass, Sunday, June 7, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Thank you to Gil Thompson and Nancy Aniolek for recording, Cathy Castellani for reading, and Kathleen Filosa, Carolyn Henderson, and Janice Reska for providing music. The Mass will be available on our parish 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. We are looking for volunteers to serve as greeters and readers. Greeters will be asked to count the attendees and help ensure parishioners are wearing masks. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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