Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

HARTFORD – Members of numerous faith communities will hold a “Freedom to Live” candlelight rally Wednesday April 7th starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Minuteman Park, adjacent to the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

The rally, which is open to the public, will feature speakers on various issues concerning the attacks on free speech, religious freedom, and the freedom to live. The event is sponsored by the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference (CCPAC) and the Family Institute of Connecticut (FIC).

“This is a critical moment when people who treasure life take a stand against the culture of death,” said Christopher Healy, Executive Director of the CCPAC. “We hope our elected leaders hear the truth that life is not something to be legislated away.”

Speakers will be addressing opposition to Aid in Dying House Bill 6425 – which allows those who are given an arbitrary prognosis the ability to receive deadly drugs to take their lives – and Senate Bill 835 – An Act Concerning Pregnancy Care Centers – which allows the state to effectively close its operations.

“Doctors should not prescribe suicide as a treatment and the legislature should not grant legal immunity to people who help you kill yourself,” said Peter Wolfgang, Executive Director of FIC. “Nor should it legislate viewpoint discrimination against pregnancy centers.”

Those who attend are asked to wear masks and follow social distancing during the duration of the rally.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Chris Healy (860) 966-8468
Peter Wolfgang (860) 548-0066
April 2, 2021

BRIDGEPORT—”The world calls love by many names, many faces, many forms, but that love is not what brings us here,” Bishop Caggiano said on Good Friday, the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.

“It’s the love of the Savior who teaches us that love is an act of the will for the good of another even to the point of emptying ourselves completely for that good. That is what He did today,” the bishop said in a live-streamed liturgy from St Augustine Cathedral.

“On this day that we call ‘Good’ for your salvation and mine, we come here to gaze upon the crucified Christ and to re-learn what the face of love really means. For the one who was sinless took it upon himself the many sins of the entire world and he bore then in atonement– he who was the free and sinless victim.”

The bishop said that God loves us in a way that the world cannot image with a love “that does not seek self-gratification or self-fulfillment, a love that is pure gift and can conquer death itself,” even if we are not worthy of it.

More than 150 attended the 3 pm service in person, wearing masks and seated in pews marked for socially distanced worship. The liturgy began when the bishop, deacons and seminarians processed in and lay prostrate on the marble floor in front of the main altar.

Transitional Deacon Guy Dormevil of Norwalk read the passion account from the Gospel of John, led the prayer of the faithful, and also held the Cross before the altar as the faithful came forward to venerate it.

Cathedral parishioners of all ages—some carrying young children in their arms and others elderly and supported by a cane—genuflected before the Cross and blessed themselves in somber silence. Most were wearing heavy coats on a day that had turned suddenly cold and wintry.

After venerating the cross, the faithful processed down the center aisle a second time to receive Holy Communion.

In his homily the bishop said by dying for us, Christ willed our good unto eternal life, and he asks us to live our own discipleship focused on the “only love that ultimately brings life and glory.”

Photos by Amy Mortensen

“You and I cannot live that love without his help. And when we come tomorrow night to this space shrouded in darkness and see an empty tomb, we will have what we need,” he said, anticipating the Easter Vigil.

Bishop Caggiano said we gather on Good Friday “to remind ourselves not only what love really is, but who love really is.”

“We live in a world that wants us to believe that love has other faces. It was true in Jesus’s time as well as it is in our own,” he said urging the faithful to reject worldly forms of love and to see to love the way Christ did.

The bishop said if you consider the faces of those who surrounded Jesus during his passion, you would see a “grasping, greedy love” for thirty pieces of silver, a love of self-preservation as seen when Peter and the apostles fled for their own safety and security, and a bystander love like those at the foot of the cross who were mildly interested but wouldn’t act to save another.

“I ask you, What did you and I come to see here today? We came to looks upon a crucified savior, we came to look upon the face of love. Let us not forget that face when the world points us to love the way it wants,” he said.

“The world’s way will leave us on calvary. The Lord’s way will lead us to eternal life.”

DANBURY—A symbolic act of service and a reminder to not only follow the example of the Lord but to call on Him and trust Him, was the message at the Holy Thursday Mass at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Danbury.

“What our Lord did that evening was very powerful and meaningful. He wanted to do something the apostles would not forget,” said Pastor Father Michael Dunn during his homily about the Last Supper.

“The Son of God chose to take the role of a servant,” Father Dunn said. “Our Lord wants to take that role in our lives too. What we are to understand is that our Lord loves us so much, he wants to serve us and like the apostles, we are to allow Him,” Father Dunn said.

Father Dunn explained in Jesus’ time it was a job for the slave, servant or children of a household, not the master of the house, to wash the feet of a visitor as an act of hospitality. Since the apostles called Jesus master it was hard for them to grasp why he would want to wash their feet. The reenactment of the washing of the feet, imitates the humility and selfless love of Jesus, who washed the feet of the Twelve Apostles at the Last Supper, the night before his Crucifixion.

“I am so humbled and honored to be able to follow the example the Lord has given to us,” Father Dunn said before he washed the feet of six schoolteachers, assisted by parochial vicar, Father Christopher Ford.

Father Dunn said when asked to participate most people are either honored, surprised or uncomfortable, much like St. Peter who at first did not want the Lord to wash his feet. But when he understood the significance of the act, a spiritual cleansing and gift of love, he readily agreed.

Father Dunn said teachers from St. Gregory the Great School were chosen for the foot washing reenactment because of their service to the community during the pandemic.

“They have gone above and beyond the call of duty during COVID-19,” he said. “I couldn’t think of anymore more deserving to have their feet washed.”

The teachers reflected the sentiment of the homily.

“It was very humbling to be recognized in such a special way,” said Joya Timmel, a kindergarten teacher and one of the six people who had their foot washed.

Fellow teacher, Amanda Delaney, who teaches pre-K students, said at first she was hesitant to participate because she felt she should be doing an act of service but then realized, like St. Peter, it is just as important to accept and receive acts of love.

“What an amazing experience,” she said. “I felt privileged. How lucky was I to be chosen out of everyone here? It was a great honor.”

Father Dunn said there are many lessons to be learned and actions to be taken to live our faith.

“We are to perform humble charitable acts for others but at the same time we are to be open to a God that wants to serve us,” said Father Dunn, adding that we should be dependent on God.

“We are to go to him for everything and trust He will always do what is in our best interest,” Father Dunn said.

Father Dunn said he is happy to see more and more familiar faces in the pews as COVID-19 restrictions are slowly being relaxed while the church continues to maintain sanitization and social distancing practices.

“We want people to come back to church. It’s time to stop denying what the Mass and God can do when we come together and receive the Eucharist,” he said. “It’s time to come back home.”

BRIDGEPORT—In washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus illustrates what the meaning of the Eucharist is in our lives, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano said at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, last night.

The bishop said that at the Last Supper the Lord gave us the example of getting on our hands and knees and “washing the feet of others for their sake and for our salvation.”

“As he does on this most sacred night, the Lord Jesus invites you and me into the Upper Room to share in the great mystery he left his apostles that reveals to the world the depth of God’s gracious love,” he said to begin his homily.

In a Mass that was live-streamed from St. Augustine Cathedral, the bishop said the deeper meaning behind the washing of the feet is the need “to go out into the world and empty ourselves for others,” just as Christ has done in giving his life for us.

Humbling ourselves in such as way is not easy, but it is made possible through the “great gift of the Eucharist,” he said to the nearly 200 who attended the evening Mass in person.

On the night in which he himself washed the feet of diocesan seminarians who attended him at Mass, the bishop said that “in the quiet intimacy of the Upper Room, Jesus shows us his love for man and he shows us how to continue his mission.”

While the bishop quietly performed the moving ritual of washing and drying the feet, the silence of the Church was punctuated by the sound of the pouring of water and an infant vocalizing in a distant pew.

On Holy Thursday, Jesus “took the familiar element of the Passover meal—unleavened bread and the choices of wines and allowed them to be the medium through we receive his sacred body and blood, soul and divinity,” the bishop said.

Just as we are washed clean and nourished through baptism, the  Eucharist is “a free gift cannot be earned or merited. So much does the savior love us that he has given you and me his very life,” he said.

The bishop said that during the Last Supper, the Lord baffled his disciples by leaving the table and doing what was customarily done by slaves.

“It is on this same night in such a sublime and beautiful moment that the Lord goes on to do something that may seem odd, almost provocative, something the apostles wouldn’t have immediately understood—washing the feet of those who were his guests.”

“What is the Lord trying to teach us?” bishop asked, adding that it is summarized in three familiar words heard at the end of Mass, “Go in peace.”

However, going in peace requires us to be prepared for the “great challenge” of washing the feet of all those we meet, particularly those whom we have shunned and others who have tried to do us harm, he said.

Most of us would be willing to wash the feet of those we love—our children, spouses, parents and friends, particularly when they are in need, the bishop said “because they have a hold on our hearts.”

“But are we willing to wash the feet of  complete strangers when we don’t even know their names, those who come to us to ask for help—and there are many.”

“I ask you further, who in this church is willing to strip himself of comfort and pride and get on our hands and knees to wash the feet of those who have betrayed us, hurt us, sinned against us, maligned, mocked and slapped us—who would be willing to do that?”

The bishop quoted St Augustine who said, “We receive the Body of Christ to become the Body of Christ.”

“That challenge is a lofty one. Left to ourselves, we won’t be able to do it, but have no fear,” the bishop said because the Christ who dwells in us through the Eucharist will give us strength.

“I ask you tonight as you sit before the Eucharistic Lord, whose feet have you refused to wash? Whose feet have I refused to wash?”

STAMFORD—On Tuesday, March 30, sixth graders at The Catholic Academy of Stamford prepared thank you cards and small care packages for the employees at Grade A market on Newfield Avenue. Each student assembled and personalized bags that contain mints, tissues, tea bags, chapsticks, pretzels, granola bars and other goodies along with a note from the students.

The classroom mom spoke to the manager at Grade A and said the employees were very appreciative and thankful that the students want to acknowledge and thank the employees for their hard work while we all stayed home during last year’s lockdown and during this year’s continued restrictions. It can be a thankless job sometimes. Grade A is located right down the road from The Catholic Academy of Stamford so many families are patrons at Grade A and wanted to say thank you. Grade A employs many town locals who have made a career there and Grade A currently has 126 employees.

The classroom mother will deliver the bags to Grade A market on Thursday, April 1.

In his passion, Jesus’ sufferings were unequaled. For the Son of God offered himself as a sacrifice for all. No one, not even the saintliest person, can take on the sins of all people in every time and place. Only God can, and did.

Pictured: This is a detail of a painting by Matthias Grunewald entitled “The Small Crucifixion.” Christ’s emaciated face and bowed head evoke his unbearable agony. Under a piercing crown of thorns, the scarred face of Jesus bleeds. (CNS photo/Samuel H. Kress Collection via National Gallery of Art)

It is this gift of faith, at the heart of our Lenten journeys, that Matthias Grunewald, master German painter, brings to life in a vivid painting titled “The Small Crucifixion.” We are invited to reflect not only on the historical event of the Lord’s crucifixion, but the redemptive meaning of Jesus’ suffering love, poured out for all humanity and for each of us.

Grunewald’s image is particularly poignant in these challenging pandemic days as we walk the via crucis, the path of Jesus’ paschal journey from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

Grunewald’s best-known masterpiece, the “Isenheim Altarpiece,” was commissioned for the high altar of the church of the Monastery of St. Anthony in Alsace. There, patients suffering from the plague were treated.

In that large altarpiece, Grunewald depicts a crucified Christ whose body is scourged with plague-type sores. Patients bearing the pain of their physical afflictions found spiritual comfort as they gazed on the crucified Jesus and found consolation in the mystery of his suffering.

“The Small Crucifixion” was, most likely, a personal devotional image, intended either for a domestic setting or a private chapel. Here we are drawn into the reality of Jesus’ passion. Color, line, form and composition convey, with remarkable expressive power, the depths of Jesus’ abandonment and the extreme physical suffering of a crucifixion.

His gaunt body is racked with scars of torture. His emaciated face and bowed head evoke his unbearable agony. Under a piercing crown of thorns, the scarred face of Jesus bleeds. His tattered loincloth gives evidence of the depravity of his tormentors. Few artists have conveyed the scene of the crucifixion with the intense realism that Grunewald brings to his composition.

Jesus’ crucifixion is set in a bare landscape painted in an unusual greenish blue color, evoking the Gospel detail that, at the hour of his passing, the sun darkened and creation itself groaned.

Visitors who stand in front of this painting in its museum setting cannot help but notice that the small panel bends outward into the viewers’ space. Grunewald leaves no room for one to remain a passive bystander or objective onlooker in the face of Jesus’ sufferings.

From the center radiates the Lord’s outstretched arms with twisted hands and contorted feet stretched over the cross. His hands and feet convey the divine anguish over human alienation from God. Obedient even to death on a cross, Jesus’ self-offering rises as a perfect oblation through his gnarled fingers that strain upward to the heavens.

His ankles, twisting beneath the brute force of the nail that pierces his feet, evoke the chains of human alienation. The crossbeam strains downward not only under the mass of his wounded body but from the full weight of divine mercy that takes the form of crucified love.

On either side of the cross are Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the beloved disciple, St. John the Evangelist. Mary’s robed head is bowed with her hands clasped in prayer, as she shares uniquely in her son’s suffering. John conveys the agony of this faithful disciple. Kneeling in anguished meditation at the foot of the cross is St. Mary Magdalene.

Their perspective is meant to be ours as we contemplate Jesus’ passion. Grunewald’s vision allows us to glimpse the relentless mercy of God as it takes the form of suffering love on the cross. We are invited to receive the gift of divine crucified love poured out on the world and on each one of us.

Good Friday is good news in that death no longer has the final word on the human condition. As we enter into the mystery of Jesus’ passion and death on the cross, we are filled with hope in the victorious power of God who will raise him from the dead.

And as we journey from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, Grunewald’s image evokes our vocation to live the new life of the risen Christ.

We know and believe in faith that the horror of Jesus’ crucifixion will most certainly give way to the radiant glory of his, and our own, resurrection. And so we pray, “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”

– – –

Jem Sullivan, educator and author, contributes a Scripture column to Catholic News Service and is the author of “Believe, Celebrate, Live, Pray: A Weekly Retreat with the Catechism.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A Christian life should be filled with amazement — astonishment at the son of God suffering and dying for humanity and awe at realizing how precious and loved people are in his eyes, Pope Francis said.

“Can we still be moved by God’s love? Have we lost the ability to be amazed by him?” the pope asked in his homily during Palm Sunday Mass, marking the start of Holy Week.

“Let us be amazed by Jesus so that we can start living again, for the grandeur of life lies not in possessions and promotions, but in realizing that we are loved and in experiencing the beauty of loving others,” he said at the Mass March 28.

Palm Sunday Mass, the liturgy that begins with a commemoration of Jesus entering Jerusalem among a jubilant crowd, began with a small procession toward the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica with a few dozen concelebrating cardinals and bishops walking ahead of Pope Francis.

Dressed in red vestments, the color of the Passion, they held large woven palm fronds while the reduced congregation of faithful were sitting distanced in the pews, wearing facemasks and holding small olive branches. Due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions, Holy Week and Easter celebrations at the Vatican were to be celebrated primarily in the basilica with a very small congregation.

Broadcast and livestreamed over a wide range of media, the pope preached in his homily about Holy Week marking an important time to be amazed by Jesus, who completely overturned people’s expectations.

Instead of being “a powerful liberator at Passover,” he arrives on a lowly donkey “to bring the Passover to fulfillment by sacrificing himself” and, instead of triumphing over the Romans by the sword, “Jesus comes to celebrate God’s triumph through the cross,” the pope said.

What is amazing, he said, “is the fact that he achieves glory through humiliation. He triumphs by accepting suffering and death, things that we, in our quest for admiration and success, would rather avoid.”

And even more astonishing is that he endures all this pain and humiliation “for us, to plumb the depths of our human experience, our entire existence, all our evil. To draw near to us and not abandon us in our suffering and our death. To redeem us, to save us,” the pope said.

With his love, sacrifice and salvation, “now we know that we are not alone: God is at our side in every affliction, in every fear; no evil, no sin will ever have the final word,” he said.

“Let us ask for the grace to be amazed,” he said, because not only is a Christian life without amazement “drab and dreary,” how can people proclaim “the joy of meeting Jesus, unless we are daily astonished and amazed by his love, which brings us forgiveness and the possibility of a new beginning?”

Pope Francis asked that people begin Holy Week with this sense of amazement, by gazing upon Jesus on the cross, and saying to him, “Lord, how much you love me! How precious I am to you!”

“With the grace of amazement we come to realize that in welcoming the dismissed and discarded, in drawing close to those ill-treated by life, we are loving Jesus. For that is where he is, in the least of our brothers and sisters, in the rejected and discarded,” the pope said.

After the Mass and before praying the Angelus, Pope Francis recalled this was the second Holy Week celebrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. While last year was experienced more as a shock, this year “it is more trying for us” and the economic crisis has become very burdensome.

The devil “is taking advantage of the crisis to disseminate distrust, desperation and discord,” he said, but Jesus is taking up the cross, taking “on the evil that this situation entails, the physical and psychological evil, and, above all, the spiritual evil.”

“What should we do?” he asked.

People should be like Mary, the mother of Jesus, and follow her son, he said.

“She took upon herself her own portion of suffering, of darkness, of confusion, and she walked the way of the Passion keeping the lamp of faith lit in her heart. With God’s grace, we too can make that journey,” the pope said.

The pope also asked that people pray for all victims of violence, “especially those of this morning’s attack in Indonesia, in front of the cathedral of Makassar.”

At least 14 people were wounded in what police suspect was a suicide bomb attack outside the cathedral. As of March 28, no group had claimed responsibility for the bombing.

By Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service

BRIDGEPORT— “I feel fortunate that our parish can open a door for people to get vaccinated,” said Father Juan Gabriel Acosta, newly named pastor of the Cathedral Parish in Bridgeport.

Yesterday, more than 100 parishioners took advantage of the opportunity in the St. Augustine Academy school building located behind the historic Bridgeport cathedral on the corner of Pequonnock Street and Washington Avenue, overlooking downtown Bridgeport.

Throughout the day individuals and couples entered the school’s cheerful all-purpose-room to receive the Moderna vaccine.

Father Acosta said he was grateful to the Diocese of Bridgeport and St. Vincent’s/Hartford Health Care for making it possible to bring the vaccine to the parish.

Bill Hoey, vice president of mission integration at St. Vincent’s Medical Center/Hartford HealthCare Fairfield Region, said that the Cathedral Parish was the second to participate in the mobile vaccination program. Last Thursday, more than 100 parishioners of St. Charles Borromeo Parish were vaccinated by Hartford Health.

“We are eager to bring the vaccine to parishioners of Catholic churches located in areas of Bridgeport that have disproportionately low rates of vaccination,” he said.

Hoey said the event, and others like it sponsored by Hartford Health, is part of a concerted effort to eliminate barriers to access and achieve more equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Father Acosta dropped in to say hello to parishioners at the temporary clinic site before preparing to celebrate the 12:10 pm Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral.

“So many of our parishioners have had a tough and difficult time in the past year. They’ve lost loved ones and had other hardships,” he says.

The positive reception to the vaccination on the part of parishioners has made him feel happy that the parish can make things easier for parishioners. “It’s something the parish and the diocese have been able to do for the people.”

Father Acosta, who has been pastor of the Cathedral Parish for only a month and a half, said the vaccine has brought hope to people and he has noticed a gradual increase each Sunday in the numbers of people who are attending Mass. It has given him the opportunity to meet some of the parishioners who have been unable to attend Mass during the pandemic.

On Palm Sunday, the parish saw the largest gathering in months, and he took advantage of it to promote vaccinations before the end of Mass.

Some people came forward with questions, and Father Acosta took the opportunity to reassure them that they’re doing the right thing by getting vaccinated. He believes the vaccine is a gift from God as well as a scientific achievement.

Starting Monday, March 29, Bridgeport residents can schedule an appointment (preferred) or walk in and receive a one-dose-only Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

(To learn more contact HartfordHealthCare.org/vaccine or call Hartford HealthCare’s dedicated Bridgeport Resident Community Care Center 860.827.7400.)

Click here to view the FEMA flyer in Spanish and English

BRIDGEPORT– A total of 26 parishes will offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation today from 3-9 pm, so that the lay faithful may experience God’s mercy as Holy Week begins.
In his Pastoral Exhortation, “Let us Enter the Upper Room with the Lord,” Bishop Caggiano urged all to take advantage of Reconciliation Monday to fully prepare for the gifts of Holy Week.

“On Monday, March 29th, we will hold our annual observance of Reconciliation Monday. As you may know, on this day, Confessions will be heard in many parishes throughout the Diocese, both in the afternoon and evenings, so that everyone who wishes to receive the sacrament can do so before the Easter Triduum. I ask you to consider participating in this unique opportunity to receive the gift of forgiveness that only Christ can give. My friends, the Lord wishes to free each of us from the burden of our sins. Should we not then use this time to shed the baggage of our sins and accept His freedom with joy?”

The invitation to participate in “Reconciliation Monday” was created in the joyful spirit of Pope Francis who said, “Now is the time to be reconciled with God. Staying on the path of evil is only a source of sadness.”

According to Msgr. Thomas Powers, vicar general of the diocese, because of the ongoing pandemic host parishes may offer Confessions in a variety of venues, which would include confessionals, church bodies, parish centers or outdoor parking lots.

Bishop Frank J. Caggiano has asked that penitents have the option of confessing anonymously or face-to-face and that a distance of six feet (as recommended by the CDC) is maintained between the priest and penitent.

“Reconciliation Monday” will be hosted from 3-9 pm at the following parishes:

Deanery A (Queen of Peace)

1. St. Andrew Parish: 435 Anton Street, Bridgeport
2. St. Ann Parish: 481 Brewster Street, Bridgeport
3. St. Augustine Cathedral: 359 Washington Avenue, Bridgeport

Deanery B (Mystical Rose)

1. St. James Parish: 2070 Main Street, Stratford
2. St. Lawrence Parish: 505 Shelton Avenue, Shelton
3. St. Mark Parish: 500 Wigwam Lane, Stratford

Deanery C (Queen of Martyrs)

1. St. Theresa Parish: 5301 Main Street, Trumbull
2. St. Rose of Lima Parish: 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown

Deanery D (Our Lady, Queen of Confessors)

1. St. Peter Parish: 104 Main Street, Danbury
2. St. Edward the Confessor Parish: 21 Brush Hill Road, New Fairfield
3. St. Joseph Parish: 163 Whisconier Road, Brookfield

Deanery E (Seat of Wisdom)

1. St. Mary School Hall, 183 High Ridge Road, Ridgefield
2. Our Lady of Fatima, 229 Danbury Road, Wilton

Deanery F (Queen Assumed into Heaven)

1. Our Lady of the Assumption Parish: 545 Stratfield Road, Fairfield
2. St. Pius X Parish: 834 Brookside Drive, Fairfield

Deanery G (Mother of Divine Grace)

1. St. Aloysius Parish: 21 Cherry Street, New Canaan
2. St. Thomas More Parish: 374 Middlesex Road, Darien
3. St. Matthew Parish: 216 Scribner Avenue, Norwalk

Deanery H (Cause of Our Joy)

1. The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel: 1184 Newfield Avenue, Stamford
2. Holy Spirit Parish, 403 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford
3. Sacred Heart Parish: 37 Schuyler Avenue, Stamford

Deanery I (Mary, Mother of the Church)

1. The Parish of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes: 4 Riverside Avenue, Greenwich*
2. St. Mary Parish: 178 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich
3. St. Michael the Archangel Parish: 469 North Street, Greenwich

** Confessions heard from 5-7:30 pm
(To find a deanery near you, and for a full Confession and Eucharistic Adoration schedule from around the diocese visit: www.bridgeportdiocese.org/call-to-renewal.)

FARFIELD— Holy Week invites us to see Jesus not with the eyes of the world but through the eyes of faith, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano said in his homily for the Mass for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.

The bishop celebrated his weekly online Mass from St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Fairfield. He was assisted by Fr. Victor Martin, Pastor and Fr Larry Larson, Parochial Vicar.

“Perhaps you and I at times look at our life, our circumstances, and our work through the eyes of the world, and this week is meant for us to clear that vision. To remember through whose eyes we should live, move, see, and have our being. It is easy to fall prey to voices around us, to live life in a way other than what Christ asks us,” the bishop said.

In addition to “celebrating anew the great mystery of our redemption,” Palm Sunday offers an opportunity to better understand what Christ is asking of us as his followers, he said.

After reading the account of the Passion in the Gospel of Mark (15:1-39), Bishop Caggiano explained that in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus was given a welcome that was reserved for Caesar, who had “conquered nations and subjected people.”

The strewing of palms was a symbol of Caesar’s earthly power and authority.

Those who welcomed Jesus with palms judged him “with the eyes of the world,” because they mistakenly expected Jesus to overthrow civil authority. They believed that “conquest and brutality should be meet with military conquest and more brutality. Violence begets violence,” the bishop said.

“That is not why Jesus came to Jerusalem. He came to bring another form of power that meets conquest and brutality with forgiveness and mercy, and allows the world a better way, a divine way to live,” he said.

Holy Week extends the same challenge to us as it did in the time of Jesus. He does not promise earthly victory, but asks us to accompany him to Calvary and not to run away as the apostles did.

“The path is not easy. We cannot escape suffering. Whoever dares to love must dare to be willing to suffer. It is the only path that leads to the empty tomb and that leads us to eternal life.”

The bishop said Holy Week invites us to reenact the great mysteries of our faith, and to remember that “what was begun in the Upper Room” is the same sacrifice Jesus offers his believers today.

The bishop concluded his homily by noting that each year the palms blessed today that are unused palms will be gathered and burned to make the ashes of next Lent “as a sign of our faith and the promises that truly matter, and they are not the promise and ways of the world.”

“And when the smoke clears we see life as it is truly meant to be seen. We have that opportunity again during these days of our redemption. Let us use them well so that when the risen Lord appears in our midst. We will be able to see him, follow him and give him honor and glory now and forever.”

Bishop’s Holy Week Schedule

BRIDGEPORT– For the second year in a row, the bishop’s Masses and liturgies throughout Holy Week will be live-streamed from the St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport.

This year’s Masses will also permit in-person attendance. However, registration is advance is required for all those who wish to attend, and seating remains limited as a result of Covd-19 safety restrictions.

Bishop’s Live-Streamed Holy Week Masses:

Palm Sunday—March 28
Online (only) Mass—8 am

Holy Thursday—April 1
Chrism Mass—10 am
Mass of the Lord’s Supper—7 pm

Good Friday—April 2
Celebration of the Passion of the Lord
3 pm

Easter Vigil Mass—April 3
Mass—8 pm

St. Augustine Cathedral is located at 399 Washington Avenue in Bridgeport. Anyone interested in attending in person must register on the Cathedral website: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/cathedralparish. The Chrism Mass is using a tiered registration system, open to priests, then deacons followed by the curia.

For online viewing, visit the diocese website: www.bridgeportdiocese.com

Fr. Philip Brady will turn 103 this year and during his lifetime, he’s developed a lot of steady habits. He says Mass every day, he prays his breviary, and he still sends his check to the Annual Catholic Appeal.

Father, who lives in a senior community outside Buffalo, served for many years in the Diocese of Bridgeport until retiring in 1995 as pastor from St. Margaret Mary Church in Shelton after 27 years. Since that time, he has been sending his annual check of $1100 to help the parish reach its goal in the appeal.

Throughout his priesthood he contributed and continues to do so because of his love for St. Margaret Mary.

“I have a great feeling for the parish,” he said in a phone interview. “And I want to help them get by. I was very friendly with everybody, and the parishioners continue to call me.”

When he first arrived as pastor in 1968, the parish was facing serious financial challenges.

“It was a really difficult situation,” he recalls. “It took me quite a long time to straighten things out, but when I retired in 1995, they had a new church and rectory. All the bills were paid, and there was $100,000 in the bank. We had a lot of food festivals, sing-alongs, Bingo and carnivals.”

One person who is especially appreciative to Father Brady for his participation in the appeal is Pamela S. Rittman, Director of the Annual Catholic Appeal. Twelve years ago, when he called to make his donation, she discovered he was from the town in upstate New York where she grew up.

“We immediately hit it off as friends and talked about local restaurants and the cold Western New York weather,” Rittman said. “He was there when I needed him and presided over the funeral of a family member and blessed our home in upstate New York.

Rittman says that when she visits her family in New York, she tries to stop in to see him and see him and share the news of the diocese.

Rittman said the “Arise” theme along with the hopefulness of this year’s ACA campaign is something Fr. Brady can relate to in his long and productive life. Filled with faith and with a love for people, he puts his trust in the Holy Spirit and keeps on going. And he understands the importance of making goal!

“We always met our goal for the appeal when I was pastor,” Father says. “I still participate in it because it is a good thing for the diocese, and I want to help St. Margaret Mary. Those 27 years I was there were very happy years. I love the people and I miss them all.”

Father, who was ordained on December 18 has been a priest for 77 years and will turn 103 on September 16.

He continues to celebrate daily Mass at Orchard Glen Residence in Orchard Park, NY. Because of COVID restrictions, which he said “are kind of a drag,” he has to celebrate Mass alone in his room instead of in the Father Brady Chapel, which the community built for him. Before COVID, Sunday Mass was held in the common room for the 35 Catholics who are residents.

Looking back on his life, he said, “I’ve been very happy in my 77 years as a priest. I never considered being anything else.”

The middle child of five, with two older brothers and two younger sisters, Fr. Brady entered St. Mark’s Elementary School in Buffalo in 1924.

“I can still remember Father Shea coming into our third-grade classroom,” he said. “He asked, ‘How many boys want to become a priest?’ I raised my hand immediately and from then on, that was my vocation. No other profession attracted me. I was determined to become a priest.”

Of course, Father had help from his mother, Dorothy, whose prayers and encouragement led him forward in the pursuit of his calling. As a young woman at St. Cecilia Church in Harlem, she visited the convent and told Mother Superior that she wanted to become a nun.

“The nun told her, ‘No, you’re not going into the convent. You’re going to become the mother of a priest,” Father recalled. So every day at Mass, Dorothy prayed that one of her sons would enter the priesthood. And her youngest did.

After eighth grade, Father was accepted at the Little Seminary of St. Joseph and the Little Flower, but his family had to move to New York City because his father needed to find work during the Depression.

They lived in The Bronx, and he attended Cathedral College, a preparatory seminary across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. However, they returned to Buffalo a year later, and he resumed his studies at the Little Seminary. He later entered the Columban Fathers order because he wanted to be a missionary priest and take the Gospel message to foreign countries, and on December 18, 1943, he was ordained with 13 other men at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo.

“I wanted to go to China, but China was closed and they were kicking priests out,” he recalled. “The war was on and they couldn’t give us assignments in the missions so we were loaned to different dioceses.”

His first assignment was at St. Joachim Church in Buffalo, until he became vocations director at a seminary the Columban Fathers opened in Milton, Massachusetts. For 17 years, he toured the country, looking for young men who had a calling to the priesthood.

When his younger sister, who was a nurse in Buffalo, needed care, he volunteered because he was teaching nearby at the Columban Fathers’ Silver Creek Seminary.

“I was the only one available who could help her,” he recalled.

With her treatment came financial responsibilities, but he had no money because missionary priests did not receive a salary, so he asked to be assigned to the Diocese of Buffalo. Since there were no openings, his superior suggested that he apply to the newly formed Diocese of Bridgeport.

The response was immediate. “Send him down and I’ll put him to work,” Bishop Lawrence Shehan told the superior, and in 1960 Fr. Brady arrived at St. Mary’s in Greenwich, where he taught religion at the parish high school. He was later transferred to St. Paul’s in Glenville. Then, in 1968 during the fourth week of Lent, he was named pastor at St. Margaret Mary’s in Shelton.

Another of his trademarks is “Father Brady’s Holy Fudge,” which was sold in Vermont and New Hampshire at roadside stands and country stores. Father still makes batches of his fudge from his personal recipe, and sends them to Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, Archbishop William Lori, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, and many others, including Pam Rittman.

(Please participate in this year’s, Arise, Annual Catholic Appeal by giving as generously as your means allow. You may mail your gift in the enclosed envelope in this issue, make a donation online at www.2021ACABridgeport.com or text the word APPEAL to 475.241.7849. Donations of whatever amount will help us to help those in need.)

By Joe Pisani