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Saturday of the Third Week of Lent


March 13, 2010 

 

On the Cross, Christ is both priest and victim; he fulfills Isaiah's description of him as the suffering servant. And the whole of his teaching is to make us ready to live our sacramental life in his spirit of sacrifice. He impressed on us that we must match the outward sign of his sacraments in our lives. When we became other Christs in Baptism, we became other Christs in Baptisms, we became sharers in the priesthood of the Lord. We gained the ability and the responsibility of combining our inward obedience with every outward act of sacrifice that we make as priests and victims. In every Mass, then, we agree to offer our obedience to atone for, to correct the disobedience of sin. On his part, Christ agrees to renew his sacrifice of atonement and obedience, in which we join; and to nourish us on the victim, his flesh and blood, the covenant food....more


Year For Priests

 

Making Space for God in a Communication World

 

A Daily Plan for Being a Man of the Spirit

 

Purpose of the Church

Church News   

  • Bishop Cote's Vocation 
        Message  - New!! 
  •     "The Mother Church of The Norwich Diocese" 





    Click here to see our other gifts featuring the antique sacred art stained glass windows in our historic church 

     

    Saint John School 

    Grades K - 8

    5 St. John Sq.

    Middletown, CT 06457

     





      

     Latin Audio Proverb of the Day


     

     

     

     

     

     Mass Schedule

     

    Saturday Vigil Mass: 4:00 PM 

    Sunday Mass:          8:00 AM and 10:00 AM

     

    Eucharistic Adoration begins in the chapel at 9AM after morning Mass on the 1st Friday of each month and ends at 6PM, in

    observance of the 6:30 Stations of the Cross, with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and a Benediction

     

          Monday Night:   Miraculous Medal Novena in the
                                  Chapel
     

          Thursday Night: 7PM Prayer Group in the Chapel

          First Fridays:     8AM Mass and Devotions to the

                                   Sacred Heart

         First Saturdays:  8AM Mass and Holy Rosary

         Confession:        Heard Saturdays, 3:00-3:30PM




     

    Pastor

          Rev. Father Michael Phillippino

    Deacon 

          Rev. Mr. John R. Hancock 

    Deacon 

          Rev. Steve Paradis

    Principal  

          Mrs. Kathleen King

          Email:  KathleenOKing@comcast.net
    Directors of Religious Education 

          Lyn Willard and Kathryn Connolly  
    Parish Administrative Secretary  
          Ms. Megan Furtado 
          Email:   StJohnSecretary@comcast.net
     

    Parish Bookeeper

          Ms. Patty Holmes

          Email:   StJohnBook@comcast.net

    Sexton

          Michael Keleher    

            Email:   StJohnSexton@comcast.net

    Choir Director  

          Bryan Cosham

     

    Parish Office Hours
    Monday, Wednesday, Friday
    8AM to 1PM
    Tuesdays and Thursdays
    9AM to 2PM
    Closed weekends, holidays & holy days

     

     Parish Council
    Meets every 3rd Thursday of the month
    at 7 PM in the Rectory; all parishioners
    are welcome to attend


     

         

       

    CHRISTUS, Petrus

    The Virgin of the Dry Tree

    c. 1460

    Oil on panel, 17 x 12 cm

    Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

    The month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph. The entire month of March falls during the liturgical season known as Lent which is represented by the liturgical color purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart.

    Preparing for the Mass - March 14, 2010

    Fourth Sunday of Lent

    Reading I: Joshua 5:9a, 10-12
    Responsorial Psalm: 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
    Reading II: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
    Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

     

    Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn   New!!!

    For adults: The website, The Center for Liturgywill help you prepare for Mass.  For children: the website, Sadler, will help our kids get ready for Sunday readings.

    Lenten Fasting or Feasting?

    Is Lent about fasting or feasting?  Maybe the two are related, says this commentary on the story of the barren fig tree from the gospel of Luke chapter 13.  Prayer.  Fasting.  Almsgiving.  Three inter-related fertilizers for Roman Catholics and all Christians which help barren fig trees bear fruit.

     

    Some think Lent is a time for fasting.  I see it as a time of feasting.

     

    I come to this conclusion based on the story of the fig tree in Luke 13.  Three years without bearing fruit.  What could be the problem?  The owner figures that it is simply a dud and wants to cut it down.  The vinedresser, a little more in touch with nature, comes to a different conclusion.   Maybe all that is needed to turn things around is a bit of fertilizer.    ...more

    12 Claims Every Catholic Should Be Able To Answer

    Freedom of speech is a great thing. Unfortunately, it comes at an unavoidable price: When citizens are free to say what they want, they’ll sometimes use that freedom to say some pretty silly things. And that’s the case with the 12 claims we’re about to cover.

     

    Some of them are made over and over, others are rare. Either way, while the proponents of these errors are free to promote them, we as Catholics have a duty to respond.    ...more

    The Curé of Ars - On The Sacrament of Confession

    Saint John Vianney's Catechism on Confession is too important not to be shared here in its entirety.

     

    My children, as soon as ever you have a little spot upon your soul, you must do like a person who has a fine globe of glass, which he keeps very carefully. If this globe has a little dust on it, he wipes it with a sponge the moment he perceives it, and there is the globe clear and brilliant. In the same way, as soon as you perceive a little stain on your soul, take some holy water with respect, do one of those good works to which the remission of venial sins is attached – an alms, a genuflection to the Blessed Sacrament, hearing a Mass. My children, it is like a person who has a slight illness; he need not go and see a doctor, he may cure himself without ...more

    The Need to Bear Fruit

    The Gospel passage for this second Sunday of Lent focuses upon the parable of the fig tree that had borne no fruit but was allowed to remain another year so that it might produce a harvest. Like all of our Lord’s parables, the metaphor for the fig tree would have been especially meaningful for His hearers, even as it teaches us important lessons about the time each of us is given in this life to become saints.

     

    The first lesson that can be culled from this parable is that those who only take and don’t give eventually collapse upon themselves and die. The fig tree drew the ire of the person who planted it when he noticed that it had not borne fruit but only exhausted the soil. The same can be true of those who do not bear fruit for the kingdom of God because they only take away from it but do not invest of  ...more

    Vatican Commission to Probe Medjugorje?

    Pope Benedict XVI has set up a special commission to weigh the authenticity of the reported apparitions by the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, according to Italian media reports.

     

    The commission will reportedly be chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the retired vicar of Rome, who has been a trusted ally of the Pope. The investigation would be carried out under the auspices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

     

    Bishop Ratko Peric of the Mostar diocese in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Medjugorje is located, has strongly discouraged pilgrimages and warned the faithful against accepting the reality of the reported apparitions. Bishop Peric was openly  ...more

    The Nine Levels of Prayer, Part V

    The Illuminative Way

    Fifth in a seven-part series

    (Previous posts in this series: Part I,  Part II,  Part III,  Part IV)

     

    With the fifth level of prayer, we have moved through the Dark Night of Senses and into the illuminative way of prayer. We have moved from prayer that is initiated by man to prayer initiated by God. We have moved from meditation to contemplation.

     

    Level 5: Infused Contemplation

    One of the most important things to note about this level of prayer is this: every Christian is called to infused contemplation. It is a common belief that only contemplative nuns or monks are called to infused contemplation, but one ...more

    The Infant of Prague and Childhood Innocence

    It was my privilege today to visit the National Shrine of the Infant of Prague in Prague, Oklahoma. (They pronounce it Prage). This was a very interesting stop because the pastor of the parish is a convert from Episcopalianism. Also, it was intriguing because I have to admit that the devotion to the Infant of Prague is not something which is, errr, shall we say,  immediately accessible to the male Evangelical convert to Catholicism.

     

    In the end I bought an image of the Infant of Prague for my little chapel and learned to appreciate this not immediately winsome devotion. I felt happy about this: I like the Infant of Prague now! I guess that means I'm really a Catholic at last...  ...more

    Virtual Tour of St. John Lateran

    Ever wanted to visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran but just never could get to Rome? 

     

    Now you can, thanks to a breathtaking virtual tour created by Villanova University in Pennsylvania. The tour also includes the baptistry and cloister.    ... more