The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass… which is a communal celebration of praise and thanksgiving to God for all He has done for humanity calls for the full participation of the laity. In years preceding Vatican Council II, many people did not fell that they fully participated in the Mass but simply attended and received Holy Eucharist. In some cultures, especially the Irish and the Italian, the Rosary was often recited privately while the priest celebrated the Mass in private prayers and with his back to the people (actually, he was supposed to be facing East in unison with the people toward the rising Son). With Vatican II and its introduction of the vernacular language of the locale—and with different, more inclusive prayers—the laity are called to full participation…from hearing (and proclaiming) the Word of God, to serving at the Altar as acolytes (altar servers) and as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, in singing, and with responsorial prayers…the Mass has become a dialogue between man and God, with the priest as the mediator.
While the priest and the lectors use a microphone to be heard, the people/congregation are called to respond in together clearly to specific parts of the Mass, e.g., the Great Amen, the responsorial psalm, the Our Father, “The Lord be with you…and also with you…” to name a few specific places. (Our) posture is also a form of prayer and most specifically at certain times during the Mass. For example, during the Consecration, we kneel, if possible, and remain in adoration of what is actually taking place…the act by God Himself of Transubstantiation. This is a most holy time in the Mass where our attention and adoration should be directed toward God and not toward other conversations with our neighbors (I am not talking here about infants or little children but rather about other adults or older children). What we do—our actions—actually say more about what we, as individuals and as Church, really believe than any words we could ever declare. I say this just to remind us of what we—the Church—proclaims as taking place at Mass…the gift of God’s Eternal love, made present in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
In the weeks ahead I hope to use this space in the bulletin to talk in more detail about the specific parts of the Mass and what we believe, as a Church, is really taking place…what exactly are we doing at certain times of the Mass so that we all share a greater understanding of God’s great love for us, and thus, of our hoped-for response to Him and His gift. As a people we are participating in something very special and unique at Mass, some-thing beyond our human self, and we do so as a Church, the One Body of Christ, united in His love.
Youth Ministry…our very active Youth Ministry, under the wonderful and very enthusiastic leadership of Judy Pluta, is taking upon themselves a missionary ministry in March. As you remember, two years ago a devoted group of five (5) youths went to San Francisco to work with the poor and marginalized. It was a great experience for them and for our parish as a whole. This year, 20 individuals (16 youths and four adults) will stay closer to home and go to Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Charlestown, Massachusetts (they are working with Boston Urban Outreach) which puts together an entire program of ministries and projects for them to work on. It is very organized and will keep our youth extremely busy in a number of outreach programs—from young children to the homeless, the sick, the elderly, and the imprisoned.
Our youth will spend three nights sleeping in the Church basement—experiencing the life of someone who is very poor, if not homeless. It will be an eye-opening experience for sure. Some may ask, “Aren’t there any pockets of poverty in Connecticut?” The answer, obviously, is yes. However, we need to be in an organized program with easy, SAFE and central access to a variety of ministries so that our youth can experience the fullness of the human condition. Also, teens are more responsive to take on projects that distance themselves from the local area in which they live…the most important return on this investment is a solid and long-lasting formation of faith that they will experience and then bring that understanding back home in many different applicable ways.
After the Masses this weekend our youth will hold a bake sale and blanket raffle (favorite sports team blankets which they made…I hope the Red Sox blanket brings in the highest amount!). They have also kicked-in some of their own personal money to cover their costs of this trip so that they have a real sense of ownership of this event. I will also ask you for your support. At this weekend’s Masses we will have a voluntary second collection to help defray the costs. If you are unable to put in a few dollars this weekend for them, you can certainly make a do-nation next weekend (use an envelope marked “YOUTH MISSION” or send it to the parish office). I want to express my sincere thanks to all who will assist our youth in this great project both with financial support and your prayers. This is also voluntary for them, no one pushed them or required them to participate, and no one gets any Confirmation hours for their work. They are going because they want to. They are going because of the faith that they see being lived by you and our parishioners in many different ways, and they want to be part of the Call to make a difference. We pray they will, in this life and the next!
Brief Parish Facilities Update…as I mentioned at Mass a few weeks ago, there were eleven (11) leaks in the roof/ceiling in the rear of the Church, where the old Church meets the new Atrium. A commercial roofer, who fixed the leak issues in the front of the Church a few months ago, has reviewed the area and is working on the replacement tiles and repair work. The bill will not be inexpensive but it has to be done. This is the start of a longer process to fix multiple leaks in different areas of the roof. We are working also with our insurance company, Catholic Mutual, and the Archdiocese to investigate the potential of contacting those who did the original work. We will see where that leads us. I want to thank Tony Drapelick and the entire Building & Grounds Committee for their assistance in this matter. On another matter, the heating system in the new addition: the heat has been up-and-running of late, thanks to the actions of Dr. Phil DePasqaule and Mike Doyle. They had a “second opinion” given on the issues at hand and we are having some of the less expensive repairs made first, hoping that that will suffice. We are looking into the original installation of the boiler system and hopefully will rectify the situation in the most efficient and correct manner. I will keep you appraised of what we find out and which plan of action we will take. Thank you for all your support.
Peace,
Fr. Michael
