19th Sunday in Ordinary Time B18 

Elijah had just shown God’s power over the prophets of Baal. And then he killed them, all 450! This didn’t sit well with Jezebel, the Queen of Israel, since she worshipped Baal. So she threatened to do the same to Elijah, i.e., kill him. Elijah had had it with this prophesying stuff. He was doing all the right things for God and felt that God was hanging him out to dry. He ran away to the desert and prayed for death. God heard his prayer and answered differently. Instead God offered him nourishment, called him to walk further to Horeb, a.k.a. Mount Sinai, where God would appear to him; and, after choosing Elisha to be his successor taking him up to heaven in a fiery chariot. “According to the story, the one thing God did not do for Elijah was allow him to die.”

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, B18

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks who went for a walk in the forest. Pretty soon she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered she walked right in. At the table there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the 1st bowl and exclaimed “This porridge is too hot!” She next tasted the porridge from the 2nd bowl and said “This is too cold.” She finally tasted the porridge from the 3rd bowl and happily said “This is just right.” After eating she felt tired. So she walked into the living room where she saw 3 chairs. She sat in the 1st and exclaimed “This chair is too big.” She went to the 2nd, sat down and said “This is too big too.” Finally she sat in the smallest chair and sighed “This is just right.” But as soon as sat down, it broke!!! She was feeling very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the bedroom. She lay down in this 1st bed but it was too hard. She tried the 2nd and it was too soft. Then she lay down in the 3rd bed and it was just right. If you want to read the end of the story, go to the library.

17th Sunday Ordinary Time B18

All four Gospels relate an episode of Jesus feeding a crowd but only John sets it as being near the feast of Passover, has a different role for Phillip and Andrew, and the designation of the loaves as being barley, reminiscent of the story of Elisha we heard in the first reading.

Imagine being the unnamed boy in today’s Gospel. What was he doing with 5 loaves of bread and two fish? Is he returning from the market with them for his master? Or does his mother expect him at home with food for the rest of the family? Is he just passing through or is he part of the large crowd? What happened to attract Andrew’s attention? Did the boy willingly hand them over to Jesus or did he argue, not wanting to part with them because he knew his master or mother would punish him for showing up empty handed? In any case the boy provided the means of a miracle, feeding 5,000 men reclining on the ground (instead of “reclining”, I would say they were “loafing”), having an abundance of food with leftovers besides.

All high school sophomores, juniors and seniors are invited to fill out an application to join the Teen Emmaus Leadership Team. Help plan our monthly teen nights as well as additional activities for your peers. Applications can be found on the parish web page as well as at the entrances to the church. All applications should be dropped off at the church by September 9th. Please contact the church office or our Youth Minister, Mrs. Jen O’Neill, with any questions.

Lord Jesus, help me as I begin this new school year.

Help me to use the gifts you have given me to the best of my ability.

Open my eyes to the new challenges and opportunities that this new school year may bring.

Help me to face these challenges and opportunities with excitement and enthusiasm, knowing that with your help I will succeed.

Open my heart and mind to new friends and new teachers.

Jesus, Help me to pay attention to stay focused, do my best, to be kind to my friends and to have a great year.

The presenter for our Confirmation retreat, Tony Belizzi, is in need of rosary beads for his ministry to teens. If you have extra sets and would like to donate them, please drop them off in the basket on the tables marked “Rosary Beads” near the entrance. Each year Tony distributes thousands of rosary beads to teens across the country and during his trips to South America. Any donations to help him in his ministry would be greatly appreciated.

There is a container in the vestibule of the church for anyone whishing to donate items from their garden to area food pantries receiving the harvest from our community garden. Put those extra cucumbers and squash into the hands of people who would love them!

Here are some wonderful saints to help guide you in the coming school year. Offer up a prayer to one or all every morning for guidance, strength and success!

St. Thomas Aquinas – the patron saint of scholars

St. Scholastica – the patron saint of students

St. Gregory the Great – the patron saint of teachers (they need our prayers too!)

St. John the Apostle – patron saint of friendship

St. John Berchmans – invoke him against gossip – including those talking about you and you talking about others.

If you would like to hear the stories behind this incredible people you can check out resources in our parish library or check out these web pages and search saints www.ewtn.com;  www.catholic.org;  www.usccb.org

The church garden is bursting with great produce! Here are some photos from last night’s harvest. We picked and donated 38lbs of vegetables to be offered to the Marlborough Food Bank. Over 120 lbs. has been donated so far this season. A big thank you to all of the great volunteers who come on Monday nights and to Robin, our church secretary for being a wonderful help in watering this summer!   Peg Filloramo

{gallery}Garden Harvest 2018{/gallery}

Please see Archbishop Blair’s statement regarding recent sexual abuse scandals. This letter will be inserted in parish bulletins this weekend.

Letter of Archbishop Blair in English

Letter of Archbishop Blair in Spanish

Letter of Archbishop Blair in Polish

Please see Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo’s statement:

Statement of Cardinal DiNardo, President of USCCB

Archdiocese of Hartford website

A huge thank you to all the families, children and volunteers who made our St. John Fisher Bible Camp a big success!

Our parish is blessed to have such a wonderful, devoted group of teens who made every day fun:

Lea, Madison, Theresa, Grace, Kyle, Carissa, Jenna, Rachel, Caroline, Brendan, Ellie, Jacob, Shannon & Ava

Also, thanks to the Girard/Johnson,Orzech, Sena/Delesio and Meyer familiesfor all their help!