Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

The People of God will soon celebrate the Ordination of candidates to the Sacred Order of Deacon (both transitional and permanent in rank). How blessed is the Church to have these men respond so generously to the Lord’s call to serve the faithful in their ministries of word, altar and charity.

Pope St. John Paul II especially noted the varied diaconal ministries in his speech to the deacons of the United States on September 19, 1987 in Detroit, Michigan. He said: “With the whole Church, I give thanks to God for the call you have received and for your generous response…. In the midst of the human condition it is a great source of satisfaction to learn that so many permanent deacons in the United States are involved in direct service to the needy: to the ill, the abused and battered, the young and old, the dying and bereaved, the deaf, blind and disabled…and many others.

Some years later, Walter Cardinal Kasper (2003) articulated major diaconal concerns in his book, “Leadership in the Church: How Traditional roles can serve the Christian Community Today.” His Eminence stated, “Even the simple observation that the diaconate is a fundamental and essential ministry in our church today is enough to provoke heated emotional debates.”

Today, some two decades later, we do have a better understanding of the person “deacon,” but there remains a need to clarify the theological understanding of the deacon and his ministerial role in the modern Church.

Being a deacon for the past 36 years, I have a great love for this ministry and have a great desire to help others understand the deacon’s identity and ministerial role in the church today.

To shed light on the role and ministry of the deacon, I refer to an article written by His Excellency Bishop Howard Hubbard, entitled The Vision of a Ministering Church in which His Excellency shared a few personal observations and reflections on the nature of the diaconate and its ministry in the church today.

In this article, Bishop Hubbard points out that there are three major principles that underlie the ministry and identity of the deacon (transitional or permanent). They are: (1) The deacon’s mission is intimately rooted in the mission of Jesus by his proclamation of the Good News of God’s saving love for humanity;  (2) The deacon’s vocation is an authentic ministry of service, wherein deacons are called in a public fashion to apply their unique gifts and talents to the struggle for peace, justice, freedom, human rights, and human dignity both within and outside of the Church.; (3) The focal point of the deacons’ mission and ministry is the human person who has been created by God with a dignity that is unique, sacred and inviolable.

The Church recently acknowledged the 50^th anniversary of the restoration of the diaconate since the Second Vatican Council. CARA (The Center for Applied Research) reported that there are 36,000 deacons worldwide and approximately 19,000 deacons serving almost every (Arch)dioceses in our country. The diaconal ministry is alive and well, even though the number of men responding to the call of the Lord has dwindled.

Unfortunately, today’s culture promotes rationalism and atheism in a very violent and turbulent world,  The deacon, however, stands in the midst of this chaos as a dedicated, religious-minded cleric to give witness to the gospel values and to evangelize those who are seeking the Lord in their lives.

May the saintly deacons of our church: St. Stephen, St. Philip, St. Vincent, St. Francis, St. Ephraim, St. Lawrence become role models of service, selfless love, and evangelization to our newly ordained deacons as they go about their ministry to the widow, orphans and all those in need of Christ’s love and mercy.

(Deacon Anthony P. Cassaneto, Ph.D., is currently serving as a deacon at St. Lawrence Parish in Shelton and is former director of the diaconate office of the Diocese of Bridgeport.)

The stars and stripes were just where I’d left them, flat and undisturbed since Veterans Day of last year. Delicate at 80 years old and only displayed on the most patriotic days, this flag is not one to hang outside the front door but instead on a gold chain around my neck. Before any picnics, parades, or concerts began this Memorial Day, I fastened it securely, this heirloom from my grandmother.

A first-generation American, she was a woman of great faith and staunch patriotism. As a child, I remember going to church with her and my grandfather, squeezed between them in the pew with my brothers. Though she’d be the first to admit she could not carry a tune, that did not stop her from singing the hymns, and she did so the loudest whenever a patriotic song ended Mass. I asked her once why the choir chose “America the Beautiful,” not thinking, ten years old, that it was a “church” song. “Listen to the words,” my grandmother said, reminding me that we always needed God to shed His grace on thee. How true that is – then and now.

When my grandfather left home to serve during World War II, he gave her the necklace that I now wear. She often joked later in life that it might only have 48 stars, though they are too small to count and I admired it too much to care. She fastened it securely each Memorial Day and July 4^th, and likely many other days for which I was never aware. As time went on, I came to understand why she wore it – the proud wife and mother of veterans. And I also came to understand the reasons for singing “America the Beautiful” as a “church” song and the reasons why she teared up at its words – whether at Mass, a baseball game, or a summer concert. Through song, we were praying for God’s grace which we all needed, wherever we were.

Even as she aged and for as long as she could, my grandmother stood each time a patriotic song was played. And after she died 16 years ago, I asked my dad for her flag necklace. It had already been set aside for me, he said. Though I’ll remember her for so many reasons, faith and patriotism are what best define her, the finest attributes reflected in this tiny flag, this inheritance that I can only hope to wear as proudly as she did.

We sat outside at a concert on the green this weekend, enjoying the music before the parade began. The musicians had to cut a few songs, but the conductor said, “There’s time for just one more. Please stand for ‘America the Beautiful’.” Like my grandmother, I cannot carry a tune, but like my grandmother, I sang anyway, praying through song for God to “shed His grace” on us all.

By Emily Clark | Collecting Moments

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

Most of us here in this church are familiar with St. Teresa of Calcutta, who was one of the saintliest women in modern times. In establishing the Missionaries of Charity, she attended to the poorest of the poor, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, cared for the disabled, and visited those in prison. However, the Church in the recent past has discovered that Mother Teresa experienced intense sufferings through the dark night of the soul. Despite all her exemplary works and her heroically fulfilling the two great of the commandments: love of God and love neighbor, she was apparently deprived of all consolations from God, for over 50 years. Now, although her mystical experience is something rare and reserved for a select few, we can imitate her trust in God, and that God remains faithful to his promises

“My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

You and I can imagine that these words did not fall easily on Mother Teresa’s ears as she persevered through her sufferings because of the spiritual challenges she had. Mother Teresa’s heart and life reveal the proper way to embrace today’s Gospel. God’s word is clear, and He is calling us to enter in a deep intimacy with Him by living out the commandments and turning away from sin. To love Christ means to keep the commandments. Mother Teresa’s example shows us true and authentic love is not a feeling but that it is self-sacrificial in nature. No greater love has any man, Jesus said, than to lay down his life for his friends. My dear friends in Christ, let us recall that God first loved us and gave His only Son Jesus Christ who offered His life on the cross for us, while were still sinners. This is His sheer gift to us, and we are called to respond in gratitude to Him by obeying His commandments.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

The Lord raises an implicit question to you and me today: What price are we willing to pay in order to live out the Gospel, what price are we willing to pay to enter into that intimacy and union between Christ and the Father? Mother Teresa embraced love of God and neighbor, but she also embraced self-denial; she remained a humble instrument in the hands of God and remained faithful to the commandments, even when she did not feel God’s presence. As Saint Paul would say: “the Love of Christ compels us.” In other words, although the Church urges to receive God’s love, she begins with the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, who seeks to transform us and work through our weakness. The supernatural life first comes from the Spirit and not from human effort, although we have our role to play in the love story. Finally, we must allow the Holy Spirit, the comforter, to imbue His love in our hearts, enabling us to cry out “Abba, Father,” as beloved sons and daughters of the Father. Our love for Jesus Christ must be stronger than our love for all worldly goods or any attachment to sin, because these things can distract us from our final end, our eternal dwelling with the Father.

As we approach the altar to receive Our Lord today in the Eucharist, let us ask Him to purify our hearts of all disordered affections so that we may not find the commandments burdensome. Rather, in being captured by His love, we may come to realize that living out the commandments begins with a relationship with the person, Jesus Christ, true God and true man, and who hung upon a cross for us, and now… calls us to union with him and to imitate him, as we lay down our lives for one another. So… what is it that Mother Teresa teaches us? She shows us that despite all of her spiritual challenges, God remained faithful to His promises as she remained faithful in her love for God and trust in Him. For her, “obeying the commandments” came from a place of deep love for Christ. She loved God and neighbor, and nothing distracted her from that, and that is why she is such a WONDERFUL example for us. God bless you.

—

Deacon Férry Galbert was one of six seminarians ordained to the transitional diaconate on Saturday by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano. It is the last step before being ordained to the priesthood next year. Deacon Galbert delivered his first homily on Sunday at the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford. The bishop has assigned him to serve at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Nichols in preparation for his ordination next Spring. Deacon Galbert was born in Haiti and moved to the United States as a child. He grew up in Stamford and has been a parishioner at the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, where he also served as an MC, for many years. A Registered Nurse, Deacon Galbert worked for some years at Stamford Hospital before entering seminary. He studied at the St. John Fisher Seminary Residence, and more recently at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., where Deacon Colin Lomnitzer also studies.

(This is the first homily delivered by newly ordained Deacon Férry Galbert at the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford on Sunday.)

DANBURY – Blessings were bestowed on Easter food baskets at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church honoring an age-old Easter tradition.

“The annual Blessing of the Food is a Polish custom,” said Pastor Fr. Norm Guilbert, to more than two dozen families participating in the noon-time service. “It’s a simple tradition that is very special that gathers people together,” he said.

As families entered the little church on the hill, they placed Easter baskets decorated with embroidered linens, lace and ribbons and filled with food including eggs, butter, bread and Kielbasa, at the foot of the altar.

“These meals will be going on to your Easter table, so we should share in the blessing,” he said, likening it to a communal meal and encouraging the congregation to reflect on the meaning of community during their Easter feast.

The Slavic tradition, where baskets containing a sampling of Easter foods are brought to church to be blessed on Holy Saturday, is very important to many people in this parish, which was established as a church for the Polish community in 1925.

Cynthia Rozanski, who used to attend the service with her parents before their death more than three years ago, continues to make the 40-minute drive from Stamford to her parents’ home parish for the Blessing of the Food, in honor of them.

Parishioner Anthony Scalzo greeted the families as they entered the church.

“The blessing of the food means a lot because it’s something that has been done for years,” said Scalzo, who has been a member of the parish for more than four decades.

Scalzo recalled that in the early years of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, priests would go to the houses of parishioners to bless the food.

Fellow parishioner, 92-year-old Loretta Kunicki, who was baptized at the church, said she remembers priests visiting her childhood home to bless the food at Easter. On this day, she brought a basket of eggs to be blessed. She said Kielbasa is her favorite and she was looking forward to sharing the Easter meal with her family in New Fairfield.

“It means the beginning of life, that’s why we have our food blessed,” she said.

The Easter Bread symbolizes Christ the Living Bread to feed us on our journey through life, the Easter Ham, Kielbasa and meats are a symbol of sacrificial animals of the Old Testament and Easter Eggs are a symbol of new life, abundance, and prosperity. All food that is blessed must be consumed and not thrown away.

At the conclusion of the service, Fr. Guilbert was gifted a spectacularly decorated egg and a chocolate bunny. He told those gathered, “I wish you all a very, very happy Easter and a delicious meal to go along with it.”

BRIDGEPORT — More and more Catholics are beginning to stand against abortion as the Supreme Court considers a ruling that could weaken or overturn the Roe v. Wade decision, which since 1973 has led to 63.5 million abortions in America, according to Maureen Ciardiello, Coordinator of Respect Life & Project Rachel for the Diocese of Bridgeport.

“The diocese is coming together with the ‘respect life’ people, especially in cities like Stamford, Danbury and Bridgeport,” she said, where they have stood in peaceful and prayerful witness outside abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood facilities.

Following the success of the 49th annual national March for Life on January 21, which brought tens of thousands of people to Washington DC, there will be the First Connecticut March for Life on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at the State Capitol in Hartford.

“There is a strong hope that the court will either overturn Roe or send the issue back to the states, which is a good thing because many states are already passing pro-life laws to protect the unborn,” said Ciardiello.

She cited a recent Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll that showed 71 percent of Americans support legal limits on abortion and a majority of Americans — 54% — oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. The poll also found that 81 percent of Americans believe laws can protect both the mother and her unborn child.

Among the sponsors of the Connecticut March for Life are the Connecticut Catholic Conference, March for Life Education and Defense Fund, the Family Institute of Connecticut, and the Connecticut Pregnancy Care Coalition. For more information, go to www.CTMarchforLife.org.

The itinerary is as follows:

9:30 a.m. — The doors open for a pre-march program, tentatively at Bushnell Theater at 166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford.

10 a.m.—A short pre-march program begins at the Bushnell until 11 a.m.
11:15 a.m.—The Connecticut March for Life begins at the Bushnell.

Noon—The rally begins at the State Capitol.

Ciardiello said it is important for Catholics to pray and make their voices heard because later this year the Supreme Court will announce its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, an appeal by Mississippi to remove a lower court’s injunction on a law that bans most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

She praised the efforts of a pro-life group in Danbury. The contingent of 55 people came from area parishes, including St. Edward the Confessor and St. Joseph, to take part in the Pro-Life Rosary Rally in front of Planned Parenthood in Danbury on January 22, the 49th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. The rally was organized by Eric Huff and Don Mallozzi of the Respect Life Ministry of St. Edward the Confessor in New Fairfield.

“It has taken quite a few years for people to get out and pray,” she said. “Now they have some really phenomenal people there, and a lot of positive things are happening. They are being peaceful and trying to help women and assist them with their needs.“

“The Sidewalk Advocates for Life are doing training,” Ciardiello added. “One or two counselors try to engage with the women and determine what they can do to help them so they will reconsider the decision to have an abortion.”

She praised the faithful who conduct vigils at the abortion clinics in Bridgeport, Stamford and Danbury. There are chapters of Sidewalk Advocates for Life in Stamford and Danbury, and she urged people to get involved in their counseling ministry, whose goal is to provide “a peaceful, prayerful, loving and law-abiding sidewalk outreach” to women and staff outside abortion facilities so they can pursue “life-affirming alternatives.”

Anyone interested in training (virtually or otherwise), with or without joining the Danbury chapter, or in the work of the group should contact Tom at tai32@gmail.com and visit the Sidewalk Advocates for Life website for further information.

Even though they could not attend the Washington march, Catholics throughout the diocese attended prayer services on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, Ciardiello said.

Parishioners from St. Theresa Parish in Trumbull had Mass and Eucharistic adoration, and people prayed in front of Planned Parenthood on Main Street, Bridgeport. They were joined by Fr. Elio Sosa, pastor of St. Ann Church in Bridgeport.

The Parish of St. Catherine of Siena in Trumbull held its annual Holy Hour for Life. During Eucharistic Adoration, they prayed a Pro-Life Scriptural Rosary, concluding with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

In Stamford, at St. Bridget of Ireland Church, a large group, which included young adults and youth, did a rosary procession to Planned Parenthood and then returned to the parish, she said.

“People are getting out there peacefully and prayerfully,” Ciardiello said. “More and more people are recognizing the importance of speaking up in a prayerful response. It is important legislatively to express our opinions, but we must also have a prayerful response to what is going on and to continue to encourage people. Some are very intimidated, and we want to encourage them to reach out to local groups. They can also reach out to me.”

She praised the pro-life efforts at St. Theresa in Trumbull, St. Catherine of Siena in Trumbull, St. Aloysius in New Canaan, St. Rose of Lima in Newtown, the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, and St. Edward the Confessor in New Fairfield.

“It is so important that we persevere in prayer and make our voices heard in opposition to abortion to protect the lives of babies and to help mothers who are faced with the decision,” said Ciardiello. “Prayer goes a long way, and I hope more parishes start to do Holy Hours for Life. People should continue praying for an end to abortion even if they can’t get to a Holy Hour. Pray a rosary, fast, do some penance or offer up good works.”

Ciardiello also coordinates Project Rachel, a ministry of the Catholic Church that offers a program to help post-abortive women in the healing process. For more information, contact Ciardiello by phone at (203) 416-1445 or email at mciardiello@diobpt.org

Early in the month of February, Bishop Caggiano wrote a post on Facebook reflecting on a talk he had given at a high school where a teacher respectfully challenged His Excellency on his word choice around racial justice. Bishop Caggiano concluded this post by saying that there is much he has to learn on the best ways to celebrate our unity as Catholics while still acknowledging our differences in a respectful and meaningful manner.

I applaud His Excellency for his vulnerability and humility in this post. It was not long ago that Catholics were discriminated against in this nation, yet there are many among us who still face discrimination and oppression due to their race and ethnic heritage. We have a duty as Catholics to stand for social justice, for it is through loving one another that we can do our part to end the cowardice of racism, which is all too prevalent in our nation today.

It is one thing to say we as Catholics stand against racism, and quite another to actually do so.

As Bishop Caggiano demonstrated in his post, it takes courage and vulnerability to admit when we may have said or done something that hurt someone else. But without courage and vulnerability we won’t make real change.

In a January Facebook post, His Excellency spoke of a conversation he had with a Black woman in our diocese whose family was denied membership in one of our parishes due to their race. Such a violent and sinful act on the part of this parish challenges us, as Catholics in good faith, to loudly and justly condemn such hatred. It is not always easy to be the first one to do so, but it is our obligation as followers of Jesus Christ to face these challenges with grace, love, and a sense of justice. When we find the courage to be the first one to stand up against racism, we will find others willing to take the stand with us.

Our challenge this Lent is to become a church that makes it clear that racism does not have a home here. Not only should we atone for instances of racism in our own pasts, both as individuals and as a church, we should also be proactive in educating ourselves so that we do not make these same choices again. Therefore, I have created a list of ways we can educate ourselves on racism through a Catholic lens. All materials listed here are created by and for Catholics. I hope that you may find it useful this Lenten season.

Emily Ciancimino is a parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena in Trumbull as well as a student in the Master of Social Work program at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. In one of her courses she was challenged to reach out to my community in some way to talk about racism.  She was inspired by recent Facebook posts of Bishop Caggiano, addressing racism through a Catholic lens.

5 Films to Watch

1. Heart Challenges Hate: Let’s Talk about Race, a panel available on Sacred Heart University’s YouTube channel
2. Enduring Faith: The Story of Native American Catholics, a documentary available on The Knights of Columbus’ website (as well as the newspaper Indian Country Today’s criticism of the documentary, available on their website)
3. Anti-Racism, the Catholic Church, and the Sin of White Supremacy, a discussion available on Dominican University’s website
4. The Black Church: This is our Story, This is our Song, a 4-part documentary available on PBS’ website
5. Teach in Tuesday: American Indian Boarding Schools, the Catholic Church, and St. Thomas, a lecture available on the University of St Thomas Minnesota’s YouTube channel

5 Texts to Read

1. Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle by Shannen Dee Williams
2. 16 Black Saints & Advocates for Racial Justice edited by Mary Lenora Wilson, FSP
3. Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity by Robert Chao Romero
4. The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice: A Month of Meditations with Ignatius of Loyola by Patrick Saint-Jean, S.J.
5. A White Catholic’s Guide to Racism and Privilege by Daniel P. Horan, OFM

5 Prayers to Pray

1. Novena for National Unity and an End to Racism, available on The Knights of Columbus’ website
2. Prayer for Racial Healing, available on Catholic Charities USA’s website
3. Prayer to Address the Sin of Racism, Prayers of the Faithful against Racism, and Prayer to Overcome Racism, available on USCCB’s website
4. Prayer to Saint Martin de Porres, the patron saint of racial harmony
5. Prayer to St. Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint of human trafficking

5 Places to Check Out on Social Media

1. The hashtag #BlackHistoryisCatholicHistory on Twitter
2. Bishop Caggiano’s episode Race and the Church on his podcast Let me be Frank
3. Black Catholic Messenger, created by Black Catholic laypeople and religious, an online publication available via their website, Instagram, Twitter, and Spotify, covering modern day issues through a Black Catholic perspective
4. Follow Sister Norma Seni Pimentel, MJ, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, on Twitter and Instagram, where she serves migrants on the U.S./Mexico border
5. Follow Catholics United for Black Lives on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

An elderly parishioner eloquently read Saint Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (long version) this past Sunday with clarity and an authentic sense of understanding. The message was crystal clear: God has created each of us as integral members of the Body of Christ, his church.

A thought crossed my mind, “Do I really know the other members of Christ’s Mystical Body?” I had seen this lector before but didn’t even know his name nor have any understanding of his life, background or spiritual life. After Mass, I thanked him for his beautiful reading.

Later, that Sunday while “listening” to a Synod on Synodality virtual session, this gentleman expressed that he felt the sharing of personal faith experiences would allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish conversion in others. He, then, shared how after losing his mother at the age of nine, he developed a serious stuttering problem. Recounting the challenge, he told of a professor at Fordham who was teaching a class on public speaking. The professor invited him to take the class and young student told him that he had a speech impediment. The instructor persuaded him to enroll. At the first class, the teacher explained to the class that they would need to be patient with this student, as he had a speech impediment.

Now, years later, this former stutterer, now a seasoned adult, was speaking from his heart to thirteen people at our Synod “listening session” about how he surmounting his stuttering challenge. He attributed the transformation to God, who works through everyone – each member of the Body of Christ. The man called this transformation, a miracle.

This Synod on Synodality, our collective journey of faith is comprised of all of the individual members working as integral parts of this Body of Christ. I have been asked if the information from this Synod will make a difference and actually reach the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and be an instrument of change.  I can assure them that by the ever-present grace of God, inspired change and new life in our church will occur. The eternal Father, creator of all things, through Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, will unite the church from the bottom up, just as God did through the first Apostles.

We are the church, the beloved bride of Christ. With 1.3 billion Catholics and nearly 8 billion people on this earth, we have the opportunity to share what God has done for each of us. Imagine if each person had one new conversation with another, where our input was nothing more than listening to their story with our heart – the heart that God gave us in His image. We could be united by the One who came to make us whole.

My heart, mind, soul and strength were set aflame by listening to a virtual stranger, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Through listening and learning I am now in greater communion with another member of the Body of Christ and motivated to share this communion.

A kind and gentle listener will empower a courageous speaker. And the Holy Spirit will bestow the gifts and fruits that bind them together and draw others to the simple flame that spreads like an ocean of fire.

Deacon Stephen Hodson is Diocesan Delegate to the global Synod on Synodality office and also a member of the pastoral ministry team of St. Luke Parish in Westport. He is leading the listening process in the Diocese in response to the call of Pope Francis to “journey together” to unify the Church as the Body of Christ.

Though usually healthy and active, I recently found myself in the hospital with an unexplained medical condition that threw my whole life into disarray. As doctors drew blood, ordered MRIs, and arranged for tests, I lay in bed, bewildered by what was happening but comforted by the expertise of these professionals and the many prayers surrounding me. On my second day in the hospital, I received an extra dose of comfort in a very unlikely form – a roommate who seemed Heaven-sent.

Along with the late-night temperature checks and painful needle pricks, among other hospital absolutes, you never know who your roommate may be. Rarely does a relationship form. Marion, however, was just what I needed. From the start, we bonded over clunky IV machines and tangled wires. We watched the news together in the morning over Raisin Bran and scrambled eggs. We played “Family Feud” right along with the contestants in the evening, laughing at our answers as well as theirs. We shared stories of our families, our illnesses, our desires to return to the lives we loved. We prayed for each other and for those who prayed for us. We became fast friends in the most unusual way – without ever seeing each other. Marion was always behind that privacy curtain and so was I. Ever present but unseen.

During my hospital stay, I deeply missed my family and friends, my students and colleagues, and all those whose regular contact was absent, however temporarily. Marion filled a little bit of that for me with her soothing voice and calm demeanor. After learning she was Catholic, we shared the feeling of emptiness at not attending Sunday Mass for several weeks. But again, it was sight unseen. “Stay strong, Miss Emily,” she would say at my low points. “God will take care of you.”

Yes, of course, I agreed, knowing that God was there, caring for me, for Marion, for the doctors who cared for us. Even though I couldn’t see Him, God was there, not unlike that voice of comfort on the other side of the curtain.

Marion was discharged several days before I was, just as I received my diagnosis and began to get stronger. I happened to be talking to a nurse when the attendant wheeled her out. “Goodbye, my friend!” she called, leaving me with just a quick smile and a brief glimpse of this very special woman. Her stories, her kindness, her laugh, her compassion – these I will remember. Unlike the doctors, nurses, and therapists who worked so hard to help me, Marion played no part in my physical healing, but her comfort and friendship were necessary too, coming to me simply as a voice, an unconditional support system that sustained me as well.

By Emily Clark

Msgr. Thomas Powers, Vicar General of the Diocese of Bridgeport, and pastor of St. John Parish, Darien, delivered this beautiful reflection on today’s gospel this morning at the general staff meeting for Catholic Center employees.  “This season is an invitation for us allow the mystery of Christ to penetrate more deeply into our hearts and recognize that much of our faith is lived out in the “ordinary,” even mundane activities of life,” Msgr. Powers writes. His thoughts are an invitation into deeper holiness and gratitude for the ordinary:

The Christmas season is over and all the decorations are down. Easter is still three months away. Since last Monday, we now find ourselves in what is called “Ordinary Time” in the Church’s liturgical calendar. “Ordinary Time” is a period when we ponder deeply the earthly life and ministry of Christ. It is during this liturgical season that we hear the Gospel stories that we have come to know and love, including the miracles, the parables, the Sermon on the Mount and the Bread of Life Discourse.

We should not confuse the word “Ordinary” in this context, however, to mean plain, unimpressive or unexciting. (In fact, the root word “ordinal” suggests that this season is “ordered” according to the life of Jesus and also refers to the ongoing and rhythmical nature of everyday life.) And really, since the moment of the Incarnation, everything is “extraordinary!”

This season is an invitation for us allow the mystery of Christ to penetrate more deeply into our hearts and recognize that much of our faith is lived out in the “ordinary,” even mundane activities of life. The green vestments that are worn signify growth and maturation, which, as in both the natural and spiritual life, are often unseen but are occurring nonetheless. The green is also a sign of hope. Just as green plants grow in unseen ways, the green during this time reminds us that we can be growing in holiness every day.

If we are waiting for martyrdom to publicly demonstrate our faith, we may be waiting a long time; if we are focusing on converting the entire world, we may miss the people right in front of us; if we think that an act of faith should be a big and significant moment, we may inadvertently ignore the small opportunities to grow in holiness that present themselves to us every day.

I invite each one of us to make a concerted effort as we begin this liturgical period to find Jesus in the daily occurrences of life and to seek Him and His holy will in the midst of them. Along with finding the Lord in our worship at Mass and in our prayer, may we also find Him by simply fulfilling our duties at home, work or school, by practicing virtue when no one is watching, by offering any suffering or inconvenience for the intention of others, or maybe just by smiling charitably to the stranger on the street. Very ordinary situations, yes, but when approached with the mind, heart and will of Christ, we can expect extraordinary things.

Everyone has their favorite Christmas decoration—from the heirloom ornament to the old-fashioned Santa to the treasured Nativity scene. For my daughter, it’s a 12-inch St. Nicholas figure she received when she was seven months old, not from her grandparents, godmother, or favorite uncle but from someone she never knew. Our beloved priest.

Like many new parents, we spent more than a few Sunday Masses in the vestibule of the church when the girls were babies. On one particularly difficult morning, my husband took Abigail, just a few months old, to the back and started up a conversation with a newly-arrived priest who we had not met. He didn’t mind Abigail’s crying at all, even telling Patrick that he’d rather have parents bring fussy babies to church than not bring them at all. Over the next few months, we came to know him well, and he always enjoyed seeing Abigail, especially when those cries became smiles. His name was Msgr. Peter Dora.

Early that December, when I stopped into the rectory one day, Msgr. Dora said he had something for Abigail and emerged with a long white box. Inside was the St. Nicholas figure, complete with his staff, red robe, and long white beard. It was exquisite, and I was in awe, not just because of the gift itself, but as to why he would give it to her. He explained that over the years he had collected many likenesses of St. Nicholas and had recently decided to start giving some away to one child each Christmas. This year, he said, he chose Abigail.

Msgr. Dora only remained at our church for several years, so Abigail has no memory of him. Nevertheless, now at 17, she still treasures this piece like no other, always placing it on its own shelf in the living room, adjusting the robe just so, and making sure the staff is straight. As the story goes, the fourth-century St. Nicholas was known for his benevolence, helping others, and giving gifts, often in secret. Abigail’s St. Nicholas though came as a gift itself, from one who wanted only to share something special with a child.

For so many years, Msgr. Dora’s figure has sat on our shelf, a symbol of every gift given with love. Abigail informed us, though, that this might be its last. She’s already making plans to bring it to college with her next year and place it in her dorm room before Christmas. I’ll miss its presence, but it will go where Msgr. Dora intended it to: with her, that gift of St. Nicholas which has always meant so much more than just a figure on a shelf.

By Emily Clark

After the morning rosary, my first thoughts were fixed on 9/11/01, twenty years ago to the day. I prayed to Jesus and Mary for the souls who perished, the families and loved ones who continue to grieve, and for the cessation of the kind of evil that caused 911 and evil that continues to cause similar events to this day.

I woke up that beautiful sunny September morning twenty years ago today and took an early train from Bernardsville, NJ to Penn Station and crossed the street to 5 Penn Plaza for another workday at my job as a producer at CNN. I was just about the first at one the office at 7:30 am and I focused on the guests and stories that would be presented on-air for the day. As I started my research and assembled the material, one of my colleagues loudly exclaimed, “come to the window and look downtown! It looks like a little plane went into a building!”

Those of us in the newsroom gathered at the large window on the south side of our office on the 20th floor where Lou Dobbs and his assistant had their desks. What I saw was a stream of smoke wafting from one of the Trade Towers as it looked as if the plane hit from the north side, our vantage point. At this time, we had no idea the size of the plane, the scope of the damage, or the magnitude of what was to come next. We all stood there motionless, speechless, holding our collective gaze at the scene a few dozen blocks south of us. Then, we soon learned the horrifying truth as another commercial airliner jet approached from the north, low and slow, and slammed into the other tower, right before our eyes! We were under attack! The managing editor started shouting, but we didn’t really know what to do or who to call so we all just lingered at the window… stunned and fixated on this tragic scene.

Then, we witnessed live – the first tower crumbling like a sandcastle right in front of us and my first thoughts were: “The humanity! Lives lost at this very second!” But why wasn’t I more outraged and sobbing at the course of events unfolding right before my eyes? Because it was surreal. It just didn’t seem real, this couldn’t be happening! I was shocked, and that fact alone of being in shock prevented me from feeling the appropriate emotions that channeled in slowly over the next minutes and hours as what really happened sunk in. The violent images we see on TV, movies, and the internet have programmed us not to feel effect because, “it’s just only a movie.” BUT THIS WAS REAL! Everyone at the window was still silent, except for one lone voice that merely dropped one word: the F-bomb. We then witnessed the second tower collapse.

At this point, I called all my family members…My husband doing business in Charleston SC…My Mother in Manhasset…My four daughters, three at college, the oldest at work. I was able to tell them to turn on the TV and that I was OK in Manhattan. Then, the phone lines went down, there was nothing we could do. I always have to do something to help in a case like this. I proceeded to walk 22 blocks to St Vincent’s Hospital on W12th St in the West Village where I was born 46 years earlier and requested that they accept my blood donation, as I have rare negative A type~~~~The sad part is the hospital was already with the gurneys, on the street even, but nobody came…victims either walked away or died.

Our country, our world, all of us, had reached the point of no return. The world changed permanently that fateful day. Many of our freedoms were lost, the world became more skeptical, guarded, and cynical because we had to protect ourselves. That single event ushered in the era of security checks and scanning machines in airports, everywhere.

Now we have covid. We got vaccinated and hoped it was over. Now the evil thing just keeps mutating, and more freedoms are lost. We can no longer travel as freely as we once did because again, we have to protect ourselves.

As we keep our loved ones close, and do the best we can, we are grimly aware that this life holds no guarantees. All we can do is consciously live WWJD lives…and pray, as prayer is our best weapon…and His Faithful will be with Him in Paradise, our next life.

-Paula Flaherty, St. Mary Parishioner

Editor’s Note: On Friday, August 27, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano hosted a reception at his Trumbull residence honoring Al and Gina Barber and Denis and Britta Nayden for their contributions to the diocesan charitable mission. We are pleased to share the following remarks from Mike Donoghue, executive director of Catholic Charities, who offered praise during the evening to both couples who have done so much to serve others in our diocese.

—

It’s an honor and privilege to be here to recognize the Barbers and the Naydens.

Let me start with Gina because I know that any success Al has had would not have happened without Gina by his side. Al and I share one very important thing in common—we both married way overheads and are blessed with spouses who live and breathe the mission and work of Catholic Charities. Gina—you are an incredible partner who has supported Al every step of the way. I know this will be addressed later but in addition to her support for CCFC I have seen Gina’s work at St. Catherine’s and through her creativity, energy, and unique style she has been able to reach so many individuals with special needs and to improve so many lives!

Al—I am blessed to have become friends with Al many years ago through The Order of Malta. He quickly became a role model for me with his very interesting career path. We know that Al had a very successful business career at GE but he chose to embark on a second career to give back to his community. Al could have retired to do some part-time consulting and spend time with his grandkids but instead, he chose to dig in to lead and manage one of if not the largest social service organization in Fairfield County. Tonight, it’s important for us to celebrate the impact Catholic Charities has made on our community under Al’s leadership. I’m a bit of a numbers guy and these are rough estimates but…. Over the past 16 years under Al’s Leadership, CCFC has provided critical services to well over 150,000 individuals in need, served more than 15 million meals to alleviate hunger and food insecurity, provided emergency relief services to thousands of victims of Hurricane Sandy, and the list goes on and on. What a legacy and what an impact! The hard part for me is that I literally and figuratively have extremely large shoes to fill…and Al handed me the reins right before a global pandemic.

Denis and Britta—So Al provided his time and leadership but the aforementioned impact would not have been possible without the enormous generosity, advice and guidance of you and many others here today. CCFC doesn’t exist without the time talent and treasure of so many of you here today. Denis, I wish you and Britta could see the faces and the gratitude of all the people you have assisted. I know this tent certainly wouldn’t be large enough. Others will talk more about you later but please know that We are enormously grateful for all your help and support over the years.

The next thing I’m going to say should make you all happy! Tonight is not a fundraiser but it’s a celebration of an outstanding legacy we want and need to continue. Today we are launching the Catholic Charities Fund within Foundations in Charity to help us continue the legacy Barbers and the Naydens have built.

I am going to spend a very short time speaking about the future of CCFC. We have two main goals:

1. We provide critical basic services to fill in gaps in the safety net. Services such as our feeding programs, behavioral health counseling, affordable pre-school education for hard-working low-income families, housing assistance, financial education and low-interest loans for working families, affordable legal services to help immigrants get green cards. I’m proud of the fact that every one of our programs stayed open during the pandemic and in most cases, we saw a doubling or tripling in demand especially in the area of food where we are a county-wide leader. We serve anyone in need regardless or race religion or ability to pay.
2. Our focus over the next several years will be to bring all these resources together with some partner agencies to help our clients move from crisis or poverty towards a life of self-sufficiency. We will work one client at a time to help our clients build a better life. I have been able to see firsthand how most government handouts don’t work. We will be the agency of “hand-ups” not hand-outs. We have several new programs focused on self-sufficiency which I would be happy to discuss at a later date.

To that end, we expect over the next 1-3 years to provide our services through Catholic Charities Family Centers in all four major urban areas of the county: Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford. These Catholic Charities Family Centers will provide intensive case management to provide a host of services to help our clients attain self-sufficiency. We intend to provide services such as food, behavioral health counseling, medical assistance (with a partner), ESL, housing assistance, job training, etc. We have plans to move into a new facility for the Thomas Merton Center hopefully by year-end which will bring all of our Bridgeport-based services together in one location focused on moving our clients to a more stable, self-sufficient life. We are very excited about the prospects for this new Thomas Merton Family Center and others around the county.

So, my time is up but I will leave you with this. Fairfield County is #1 in the US in income inequality and the COVID -19 pandemic has widened that gap as so many service workers lost their jobs. The massive increase in housing costs has only made things worse. Imagine trying to make ends meet for your family if you earn minimum wage in this county. I am happy to talk with any of you in more detail about the work YOU are doing through your tax-deductible investment in Catholic Charities. To honor the outstanding legacy of the Barbers and the Naydens, they have asked that you please consider a gift to the Catholic Charities of Fairfield Fund. Thank You!

All of us know many people who, either through passive neglect or through an active, intentional decision, no longer practice their Catholic faith.  They don’t come to Mass anymore, don’t go to confession anymore, don’t think with the Church anymore; they are folks who no longer are Catholic in any meaningful sense of the term.

As you read these words, you are probably calling to mind such people in your own life.  Having children or grandchildren, neighbors or friends who were raised Catholic, but who no longer practice the Faith is truly one of the heaviest crosses carried by people who do know the Lord, and how good He is, and how beautiful it is to live a life in Christ, and that this life is short, and the life to come is eternal.

Some have drifted away because the busyness of life has gotten in the way, and a brief drift away from the sacraments has hardened into a habit of many years.  Others may never have received a sound formation in the faith, to begin with, and they misunderstand what the Church teaches about various matters, especially matters of sexuality. (Remember the wise words of St. Gregory the Great: “Anyone who does not love the truth has not yet come to know it.”) Others have been disaffected by the scandals which have plagued the life of the Church in recent years.  For others, it’s a combination or some other reason.  Whatever the reason, we haven’t seen them at Mass in a long, long time, and we miss them.  We worry for them because we love them and care about them.

And this brings up a story that St. Augustine recounts in his autobiography, the Confessions.  The young Augustine grew up in North Africa and, by the time he was a young man, he already had a reputation for being extremely intelligent and a very gifted speaker.  But faith was not important to him at all; he had not yet authentically discovered Jesus Christ.  And he decided to leave Africa and set sail for Italy, where he could embark upon an even brighter future and make even more of a name for himself.

His mother was St. Monica, and she thought that going to Italy would be extremely dangerous for her son both physically and morally.  She had been praying so fervently, for many years, that Augustine would be given the gifts of faith and virtue, and that he would come to know and love Jesus Christ.

There is a very moving scene in the Confessions, in which Monica stands at the dock, pleading with God to prevent Augustine from going to Italy.  As the boat carrying her son sails off, she remains behind, standing on the dock, weeping.

Once Augustine arrived in Italy, all the dangers Monica anticipated were waiting for him, and more.  But even more importantly, when he made his way up to Milan, he met somebody there who was just as intelligent as he, and who demonstrated to him that faith in Christ is fully reasonable and that authentic joy is not only possible through faith and virtue — but that authentic joy is only possible through faith and virtue because Jesus Christ fully reveals to us what it means to be human, and what it means to love.  So it was through this saintly Bishop, St. Ambrose, that Augustine became a disciple of Jesus Christ, was baptized, was converted to a life of faith, and virtue, and joy, and became one of the greatest saints in the history of the Church.  And it wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t left North Africa and if his mother’s prayer at the dock to stop him from going there had been answered right at that time.

When Augustine looked back on all of it as he wrote the Confessions, he thought back to his mother, weeping at the dock, who had asked God to stop him from going to Italy.  And he wrote, “O Lord, you did not do what she was at that moment asking so that you could do what she was always asking.”

The point of the story is this: it was the constancy of St. Monica’s prayer for her son Augustine – prayer for 30 years – which obtained the grace of his conversion and Baptism.  She could have given up after 10 years, or 20 years, or 29 years, but she didn’t.  God heard her prayer and rewarded her constancy.  And He answered her prayer in a way and at a time she never could have anticipated.  St. Ambrose himself said to her, “It is not possible that the son of so many tears should be lost forever.”

In Milan, at the Duomo, you can see today the excavated ruins of the octagonal baptistery in which St. Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose at the Easter Vigil Mass on April 24, in the year 387.   “It is not possible that the son of so many tears should be lost forever.”

Many years ago I happened upon a prayer to St. Monica that was published in a Catholic newspaper.  I clipped it out, and I keep it in my breviary even today. I pray regularly for people I know who have fallen away from the active practice of the Faith. It goes like this:

Eternal and merciful Father, I give you thanks for the gift of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, who offered His life on the Cross for all mankind. I thank you also for the gift of the Catholic faith in which I share.  Help me to grow in faithfulness to You by prayer, by works of charity and penance, and by regular participation in the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist.

You gave Saint Monica a spirit of selfless love, manifested in her constant prayer for the conversion of her son, Augustine. Inspired by boundless confidence in Your power to move hearts, and by the success of her prayer, I ask for the grace to imitate her constancy in my prayer for (N.).  

In Your mercy and kindness, O Lord, grant that (he/she/they) may be open to the promptings of Your Holy Spirit to return to Your love and mercy, in the communion of Your Church. Grant also that my prayer be ever hopeful, and that my witness be ever joyful.  And grant me, O Lord, the grace never to judge the motives of another person, for You alone can read what is in our hearts.  I ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

This is a beautiful prayer with which each of us can hold up to the Lord people we know and love who have fallen away from a life of closeness to the Lord, and who maybe even no longer believe in Him.  No one is beyond the reach of God’s love and mercy.

As you do that, remember this: Mother Teresa used say, “Joy is the net that catches souls.” St. Francis de Sales famously said, “A spoonful of honey gets more flies than a barrel full of vinegar.”

And let this be between you and God.  Oftentimes, directly addressing this matter with people, especially relatives, is counter-productive.  Needless to say, guilt trips and negativity just push people away.  A life of joyful fidelity to Christ, coupled with fervent prayer, is the very best testimony to the goodness, and truth, and beauty of our faith.

Here’s one last point: sometimes we think, “If this problem went away in my life, or if I were less busy, or if I were more settled – or whatever – then I could be joyful.”  But that’s exactly backward, because:

Rest comes not when our schedules lighten up,

but when we place everything squarely in the hands of God.

Peace and joy come not when troubles evaporate,

but when we intentionally place our trust in the Father, as Jesus did.

Fear is dissipated not when the future suddenly becomes clear and all uncertainties go away, but when we return to the truth that everything is always resolved in God’s love and that nothing escapes His watchful providence.

And remember: you and I alone cannot open people’s hearts.  Only the Holy Spirit can open people’s hearts.  God loves the people for whom we pray, even more than we do.  We may not see tangible results today or tomorrow, or even in our lifetimes.  But seeing results isn’t up to us.  Praying with trust and perseverance, as St. Monica did, is up to us.

The rest is in the hands of God.  And there is no better or safer place to be than in the hands of the God who is love.

By Father Joseph Marcello | Pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Trumbull