Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The brief but powerful season of Advent is a time to turn with hope toward the Lord. Indeed, we will hear in the first reading from Isaiah a plea to God to help his people who have wandered far from him to make their way back in faith. The Psalm cries out even more clearly “Lord, make us turn to you. Let us see your face and we shall be saved!” A famous Advent hymn begins with the words “People look East, the time is near!” We are reminded in this season to turn…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola meditates on an earthly king who asks people to follow him. It is the king’s desire to win great victories and for all who go with him to share in these triumphs. The king says to those he meets “Therefore, whoever would like to come with me is to be content to eat as I, and also to drink and dress, etc., as I: likewise he is to labor like me in the day and watch in the night, etc., that so afterwards he may have part…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,  I had a very pleasant time at the Department of Motor Vehicles this week.   Given all that 2020 has been, and the many things that seem plausibly to indicate the coming of Armageddon, a sentence such as the above is, in the best case scenario, an indication that I have had the opportunity to visit bizarro-world, or, in the worst case scenario, a confirmation that the end is, indeed, nigh. While I adhere to the Biblical truth that I can know neither the day nor the hour of our Lord’s second coming, the…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, This week, the state of Connecticut returned to Phase 2 coronavirus protocols. For houses of worship, we will simply have a reduced indoor capacity – we are asked not to exceed 100 persons attending a given Mass. Obviously, we continue to observe social distancing, we continue to wear masks as a precaution, we encourage frequent hand sanitizing, we clean the church regularly, and we encourage those who most at-risk or who are feeling ill to remain home. Our live stream is up and running for every single Mass on both YouTube and Facebook, so…read more