As cold weather approaches, please consider donating to the ANNUAL COAT DRIVE sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

The following new or gently used items are being collected:
coats, jackets, gloves, mittens, & blankets. Coats will be collected until November 5th and can be placed in drop off boxes in the following locations:

• Richmond Memorial Library
• St. John Fisher Church (down in the hall)

There will also be a coat collection on the village green on November 5th from 9 am-midnight.

It’s that time of year again to help our elementary school children with backpacks and school supplies. We will list the items needed on the display on the
church wall beginning the weekend of July 23/24. Please take a tag or two, and return the requested items the weekends of July 30/31 and August 6/7. We will deliver the backpacks with supplies to the school on August 15th.

Many thanks in advance for providing a wonderful start to the new school year for these elementary students and their families!

We all have “to do” or “honey do” lists. We oftentimes check off the list first what’s easiest to do, then gradually, the harder ones. Finally we are left with the hardest or the least attractive, like weeding the garden after letting it go for 6 weeks or cleaning out the garage, a closet, or that junk drawer.

When we ask other people who we are or when describing ourselves, we quite naturally talk about roles we have. For instance, “I’m a spouse.  I’m a father or mother.  I work in the banking, insurance, or manufacturing industry. I work at home, taking care of my family”.

Do we ever add or even think about that we “are children of God in Christ Jesus”?

Why? Why would Jesus go to dine in a Pharisee’s house? He had to know that the Pharisees were looking for excuses to criticize him. They had already complained that he was eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. They had already accused him of letting his disciples break the Sabbath law by picking ears of corn on the Sabbath, a form of work that was strictly forbidden. Why would Jesus go into the lion’s den by eating at the home of a man who considered himself righteous by obeying scrupulously every commandment and tradition of the Law?

And then it happened.

A known sinner, a woman besides, crashes the dinner party, touches Jesus feet with her tears and with her hair, kisses them and anoints them with ointment.

Perfect! Simon was horrified and ecstatic at the same time. He had this so-called prophet right in his crosshairs!

But Jesus turns this breach of etiquette into a lesson of forgiveness and a criticism of Simon’s own lack of hospitality, showing his host is in need of forgiveness and not as righteous as he thought himself.

The Pharisee opened the doors to his home to Jesus. The woman opened the doors of her heart.

What can we learn?

•    First, don’t mess with Jesus.
•    Don’t consider yourself righteous.
•    Don’t judge others harshly.
•    We all are in need of the Lord’s mercy.
•    And when you invite into your life, show him hospitality.

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for providing such a wonderful Sunday evening meal for our guests on April 17th. They enjoyed the delicious meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad, rolls, dessert and lemonade. What a great meal you provided for our guests. They thoroughly enjoyed it!

You will be happy to know that you served 120 meals. We also appreciate the 13 vounteers who did a wonderful job serving and cleaning up afterward. You are all to be commended for a job well done.

Sincerely,
Tracy Thompson
Administrative Assistant/Program Coordinator

Two of the more important discoveries in the history of humankind were learning how to tame fire and how to harness the wind.

We have recently seen the destruction those two elements can cause in the wild fires around and in Fort McMurray in Canada and in the tornadoes that devastated several southern and mid-Western communities.

But fire tamed can cook our food, heat our homes, and boil our water. Wind that is harnessed fills our sails, turns our windmills, and is a source of renewable energy.

Wind and fire also symbolize the coming of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it can seem destructive, upending lives and burning out sin. Sometimes it can be more constructive, propelling us along paths not yet taken with a warming glow in our hearts.

Today which coming of the Holy Spirit do you need:

a purifying, raging fire or a soft candlelight glow;
a whirling tornado or a light gentle breeze?

Homily: 5th Sunday of Easter

It must be in our DNA.  We like our heroes and superheroes to be loners or almost loners: for example, the Lone Ranger, Superman and his ice castle, ...

Homily: 7th Sunday of Easter

An individual's last words usually represent the deepest feelings, hopes and dreams for those being left behind. The prayer of Jesus we heard today is part of his farewell at the Last Supper ...

The Easter season is a time when we are reminded, more than ever, how much God has done for us. In this spirit of gratitude, I thank all those parishioners who helped make the Easter and Triduum celebrations shining examples of God’s Glory: the Worship and Genesis choirs, Altar Servers, Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Greeters, and the Decorating Committee. Thank you, also, to our office volunteers who worked behind the scenes to ensure that our Holy Week liturgies ran smoothly. A final note of thanks to all those who contributed gifts for our Easter flowers.

Our parish truly benefitted from the time, talent, and treasure of our generous volunteers. I am grateful and humbled that you answered God’s call to serve your parish family in such a special way.

I would also like to commend the parishioners for their hospitality on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.

Many thanks,

Father Sas

Imagine you’re outside at night. Further imagine you see a bright light moving at a speed faster than anything you’ve ever seen. It zigzags across the sky, coming closer and then farther away. Suddenly it stops still right in front of you. And then in a flash, it’s gone. You run to tell the people in the house. What is their reaction?

Now imagine you are one of those huddled in the upper room. Suddenly Jesus appears. Thomas isn’t there to behold this marvelous sight and the peace and forgiveness He brought. But when Thomas returns, you excitedly tell him. What is his reaction?

It has been a kidney stone of a year.

The media have certainly featured enough bad news to last a lifetime. It’s not really their fault. There has been a great deal of bad news.

Internationally, there has been the rise of terrorism around the world but especially in Paris and Brussels.

Nationally, unemployment is a reality for many and a fear for many more as companies and corporations downsize, though management calls it “right sizing”. The 1% are getting richer at the expense of the poor and the shrinking middle class. The news more often resembles a police blotter report than anything else. Not to mention the insults, attacks, innuendo, and sometimes outright lies (misspoken of course) that now characterize our politics.

5th Sunday of Lent, Year C, 16

Things are not always as simple as they at first appear to be. Today’s Gospel is a perfect example of a passage that has layers of meaning and application.

On the surface, this is apparently just another confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes with an adulterous woman caught in the crossfire. But, she is only a pawn. The Pharisees and scribes are not really concerned about her or her sin but about Jesus’ answer to their challenge. If he agrees with the Mosaic Law, he is in conflict with the Romans who forbade the Jews to pass or carry out a death sentence, and revealing that his mercy and compassion are limited. If he lets her go unpunished for this capital offense against the Mosaic Law, he will be seen as “soft on crime” and in conflict with his Jewish heritage. It seems to be a “no win” situation. But Jesus turned the tables by making the interpreters and keepers of the Law face their own sinfulness before passing judgment on someone else.

Saturday, November 21st, 7:00—9:00 AM
All the men of the parish are invited to attend this meeting which begins in the Chapel at 7:00 AM. Following prayer and discussion, there will be breakfast in the St. Thomas More Hall.

As cold weather approaches, please consider donating to the ANNUAL COAT DRIVE sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
The following new or gently used items are being collected:
coats, jackets, gloves, mittens, & blankets
Coats will be collected until October 24th and can be placed in drop off boxes in the following locations:

• Marlborough Elementary School
• Richmond Memorial Library
• Marlborough Village Hall
• St. John Fisher Church (down in the hall)

There will also be a coat collection on the village green on October 24th from 9 am-midnight.

As the cold weather approaches and you start pulling out your cold weather clothes, please consider donating any new or gently used coats, jackets, gloves, mittens or blankets that you will not be using or that your children have out grown to the annual coat drive.

This year we have been asked to collect the coats earlier so that they are available for local people in need at the beginning of the cold weather season. Coats will be collected now through October 24th and can be dropped off in boxes at the following locations:

Elmer Thienes- Mary  Hall Marlborough Elementary School
Richmond Memorial Library
Marlborough Village Hall
St. John Fisher Church (Basement}
There will also be a coat collection on the village green on October 24th from 9 a.m. until midnight.

Thank you for your generosity.
Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Council 15734.