What Do You Give Back to God?
A poor man did not have anything at all so God gave him 10 apples. First God gave him 3 for food, so the man ate them. Next, God gave him another 3 apples to trade for shelter, so the man traded them for shelter from the sun and rain. Next God gave him another 3 apples for clothing, so the man traded these to cover himself and keep him warm. Finally, God gave him the tenth apple so that he would have something to give back to God, in gratitude for the other nine. The man held up the 10th apple to take a closer look at it. He knew that this was the apple that God expected him to use as gift of thanks for the other nine, but this apple looked so good- better than the other nine. He thought, “God has all the apples in the world, he won’t miss this one.” So the man ate the 10th apple and gave the core back to God.
Lent is the time to ask ourselves, “What do I give back to God?” Ultimately all that is good, all we have comes from God. So what do we give back to Him? Do we give back only “our cores” or our “leftovers”? If you think about it, in our story God only wanted back 1/10 of what he gave to the man (1 out of 10 apples), and the man couldn’t do it. Can we give back 1/10 to God? Can we spend 1/10 of our day in prayer, sacrifice and service to others? Nothing is more important in our lives on earth than what we give back to God. Let us not just give back our “cores” to God, but the best that we have and are.
God Loves You,
Fr. Dunn
Lenten Schedule 2021
Good Friday and All Fridays in Lent are days of fast and abstinence
Stations of the Cross: Every Friday at 6 PM with the exception of Good Friday at 7 PM
Confessions: Every Saturday from 3-3:45 PM (except Holy Saturday)
And Sunday’s in Lent 11-11:45 AM
Confessions will also be heard Monday March 29th from 3-9 PM at
St. Josephs in Brookfield, St. Peters in Danbury and St. Edwards in New Fairfield
Theology on Tap: Tuesday March 9th at 7 PM in the Church Hall
Holy Week Schedule and Easter Mass Schedule
Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord’s Supper Thursday April 1st at 7:30 PM
Good Friday Service, Friday April 2nd at 3 PM
And Stations of the Cross, at 7 PM
Easter Vigil Mass, Saturday April 3rd at 8PM
Easter Sunday Masses, April 4th at 8 and 10 AM and 12 PM
*Sunday, February 21st at 11 AM and Tuesday February 23rd at 7 PM - Catechesis on the Creed
*Sunday, March 21st at 11 AM and Tuesday March 23rd at 7 PM – Catechesis on St. Joseph
Catholic Charities
Providing HELP · Creating HOPE · Serving ALL
YOU can transform lives with your Lenten offering!
There are two ways to make your Loaves & Fishes donation today:
ONLINE: Give directly to Loaves & Fishes at www.ccfairfield.org/donate
Select Loaves & Fishes when you make your donation.
CHECK BY MAIL: Make your check payable to "Catholic Charities" and mail to Catholic Charities Finance; ATT: Loaves & Fishes
238 Jewett Avenue Bridgeport, CT 06606
Adoration Every Friday after Mass!
Something that is very important to both Fr. Ford and I, is Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We both are deeply devoted to Jesus in the Eucharist. Prayer, especially in front of the real presence of Our Lord, is what supports and blesses the work we do at St. Gregory. Without regular and devout prayer in the presence of Our Lord, a Parish will truly suffer. Therefore, we will offer Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for one hour (from immediately after the 8 AM Mass to 9:30 AM). Going forward this will continue every Friday. I encourage you to help bring blessings to both our Parish and your personal life by joining us for this Holy Hour.
Thank you ahead of time for your interest and prayers!
Weekly Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy!
The theme for our Parish and school this year will be, “Jesus I trust in You!”
These are the words found at the bottom of paintings of the Divine Mercy of Jesus.
In thanksgiving to Jesus and asking for His and Mary’s continued blessings and
protection this year, we’re adding two weekly devotions to our Parish Calendar. First, we will recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every Friday at 3 PM with the Blessed Sacrament exposed.
Second, we will pray the rosary every Monday at 9:30 AM, asking for our heavenly
Mother’s intercession. The children of our school will livestream and participate from our school (others may do so as well), and parishioners are encouraged and most welcome to attend. I truly believe in the power of prayer and that these additions will bring many blessings to our Parish and School!
No School, No Mass
Please note when our school is closed due to inclement weather, there will be no weekday 8 AM Mass as well. If the roads are considered too dangerous for children to come to school, they are dangerous for people to come to Mass. If there is a school delay only, Mass will still take place at the regular 8 AM time.
This applies to weekday Masses only.
A private Mass will still be said for any scheduled intention sometime that day.
Also, any parishioner who scheduled an intention for a cancelled Mass, is welcomed to schedule another Mass at no cost. Weekend Masses are never cancelled, but please use caution in inclement weather. Call the office if you have any questions.
The Women of St. Gregory
The Women of St. Gregory meet the 2nd
Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room.
New members are always welcome!
Women’s Sewing and Craft/Weaving Group meet Monday at 12:00 p.m. and
Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the Community room.
Questions, contact Isabel King
at 203 –512-7307 or
Evelyn De Felice at 203-792-0824
Walking with Purpose
This year’s study is
John’s Gospel
“Touching the Divine”
In person and virtual sessions are being offered on Wednesdays in the morning and evening.
For more information, contact Suzanne
scurra@diobpt.org or Rene 203-417-9865
PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY
Starting in October the Prayer Shawl Ministry will meet every first and third Saturday of the month at 9:30. a.m. in the Parish Community Room.
Please join us with your yarn and needles.
Contact Stephanie Martin at stephaniemartin@outlook.com
for additional information.
Immaculate High School
Placement Test
(9th grade applicants only)
Wednesday, February 24 @ 8 am
If you apply to IHS, your application fee includes the exam taken at Immaculate.
The HSPT is a one-time test and is offered online, proctored from home.
Registration Deadline is Tuesday,
February 23 at 6 pm.
Visit: https://www.immaculatehs.org/admissions/apply/hspt-registration
Leadership Institute of The Diocese of Bridgeport
Sunday Family Rosary
Join other families
in the Diocese in saying the Rosary every Sunday at 7:30 pm.
Visit www.formationreimagined.org
and click on the praying hands.
If you have any questions, please email Rosary@diobpt.org
St. Gregory the Great School is Hiring!
Part Time Technology Teacher
Part Time Spanish Teacher
These are immediate openings.
Resumes should be sent to Suzanne Curra at sgs.curra@sgtgs.org
Faith Formation
If You Have Not Registered
Your Child for our Faith Formation Program,
Please Call the Office at
203-797-0222
·Sunday, February 21 @11:00am: Catechesis on the Creed Session 1
·Tuesday, February 23 @7:00pm: Catechesis on the Creed Session 2
·Friday, February 26 @ 6:00pm: Stations of the Cross
McGivney Council #29 is the Knights of Columbus chapter for much of Danbury, including St. Gregory The Great parish. Men (18+) are welcome and encouraged to join. In addition to numerous other charitable efforts, our Council has a focus on supporting Catholic education, Youth programs, and assisting the needy with our Coats for Kids and food donation programs.
Please visit our website at www.KoC29.org or our
facebook page at facebook.com/kofc29 for additional information.
Our Council can also be contacted via email at
KofC29@gmail.com or by voicemail at 203-744-9562
PARISH PRAYER LIST
Irene Anderson, Tommie DeSantis, Patti Skok, Robert
Carolan, Linda Salvador, Robin Brundage, Jr., Vicki Denicola, Dave Sutton, Joe Vick, Isiah Matthew, Arlene Kuderna, Valerie Geerer, Ellen Boyle, Kenneth Towery, Dr. John Famigletti, Barbara Janseen, Brigid Guertin, Mark Cefaloni, Susan Gallagher, John Muro, Carol Gershkowitz, Dr. Ephram Rebong, Michael Jaber, Doris Ryan, Sharon Tharas, Mary Ann Petronio and David and Darlene Collins
BIRTHRIGHT NEEDS VOLUNTEERS!
Birthright is an emergency pregnancy service offering free pregnancy
tests, friendship counseling, and practical support. Our guiding principle: It is the RIGHT of every pregnant woman to give BIRTH and the RIGHT of every child to be BORN. Birthright has served in Connecticut since 1972 and helped thousands of mothers and babies. There are 8 Birthright locations in our state. Please call 1-800-550-4900 for the Birthright nearest you. Training is provided. Spanish speaking volunteers are especially needed. If you have gently worn MATERNITY or BABY CLOTHING please call to arrange a drop off! Thank you!!!
We Stand with Christ
A campaign such as We Stand with Christ does not simply end when all the pledges are collected. Now is the time when we start to see the wonderful effects of our effort. As a reminder, our parish will receive over $300,000 to help complete our new parish hall and offices. With your compliance, St. Gregory the Great will be able to realize the funds necessary to complete our projects. Please be sure to send your pledge payments in by mail to the Campaign Office or sign up for online payments at www.givecentral.org/wswc.
Offertory
February 7, 2021
$4,634.25