Given the craziness of our world, it is easy to forget to see the gift’s God has placed in our path. God has blessed us with gifts too numerous to count. As we begin to approach the holiday season, take this month to thank God every day for all the blessings.

Go to the family formation section on our Faith Formation website (https://stjffaithformation.org) for some suggestions on how you and your family can focus on giving thanks to God this holiday season.

“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.”
Psalms 106:1

We are excited to offer another Virtual Parent Informaion Session on December 3rd at 5:30 pm. To preregister for the session, please go to: echs.com/Visit_ECHS. The month of November will bring you the Department Highlights Series. Please inquire at: https://www.echs.com/Admissions-Process and you will receive the information about the admissions process, as well as invitations to our ZOOM sessions.

Mass ~ 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ November 8, 2020
Available as of November 7, 2020, 4:00 PM

32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time A20

The Thessalonians had a problem. As did many other converts to the faith, they believed that Jesus, “with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven”. But the members of their faith community were “falling asleep”. What would happen to them when Jesus reappeared in his glory? Would they be left behind? Paul sought to reassure them by telling them: “No”. The dead would be the first to rise, and those alive at the coming of the Lord will join them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Wednesday, November 11 Being Made New: An Evening of Reflection for Young Adults with Valerie Kisselback from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. We may want to shut out the world and wait until everything “returns to normal,” but if we take the time to pay attention, there are precious gifts to receive and lessons to learn through this messy and uncomfortable pandemic experience. This evening of reflection will examine images of creation and offer suggestions for praying from a place of disorientation. This program is online offered via Zoom. Visit www.holyfamilyretreat.org calendar for more info and to register.

The Confirmation class will be collecting leftover Halloween candy. All candy may be left in the baskets at the church entrances for one final week.

ALL SAINTS

Have you ever met someone who was considered a celebrity? Years ago while still in the seminary I and 3 of my classmates provided music at 2 of the Masses at a local parish. One Sunday, we were in the sacristy before Mass when in walked Carroll O’Connor, better known at the time as Archie Bunker. He was taller than he appeared on TV, soft-spoken and a very gentle man. As he talked with us he had no airs about him, coming across as a “regular” person, not like a Hollywood and TV star. He was not at all what one might have expected

Mass ~ All Saints Day ~ November 1, 2020
Available on October 31, 2020, at 4:00 PM

Wednesdays With Women

The experience of the Women's Conference will take place in an extended virtual format, running from November 2020 to May 2021 (when registration will open for the 2021 conference). Instead of a full-day event, a chance to "attend" a workshop and prayer experience will be available monthly. These virtual events will take place on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. The evening will be a little taste of the Women's Conference experience: a workshop followed by a unique prayer experience. 

CLICK FOR DETAILS: https://catholicedaohct.org/programs/archdiocesan-women-s-conference

Please keep our 10th Grade Confirmation community in your prayers as they take the final steps in their initiation as Catholics and are Confirmed by Father Sas next weekend.  Join us in congratulating them as they more fully live out their call to discipleship

Mass ~ 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ October 25, 2020
Available as of October 24, 2020, 4:00 PM

30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

“What do I have to do?”

That question reveals an all too common human tendency to discover what is really important and, usually, how little work, effort or energy need be invested. And so, at school we count carefully the number of words in an essay wondering if “the” or “a” counts. In cleaning, we may give a lick and a promise. At work, we make sure at least to cover the bases, believing like Woody Allen that 80% of success is just showing up.

with Rev. Thomas Lynch & Barbara Marconda, Wednesday, October 28th, 2020

At some point, all of us will be faced with suffering. How can we deal with the challenges that we are confronted with as we walk this path of suffering together? Father Thomas Lynch and Barbara Marconda lead this session in which they'll explore what this "path of suffering" entails and how the way in which we choose to walk it can radically change the experience.

Learn more: https://www.endersisland.org/events/transforming-your-suffering

The Confirmation class will once again be collecting leftover Halloween candy this year. All candy may be left in the baskets at the church entrances after October 31st