Scroll through this week's Flocknote for our Mass Schedule, Gospel Reflection, Announcements and more.

Mass Schedule/Intentions this Week

If you are unable to join us in person you may connect to the livestream Mass via our Facebook page or our website. The Daily 8:30A.M. and Sunday 9:30A.M. Masses are livestreamed. You can view the recording anytime.

Saturday, July 24

+Ronald Morzillo

Req. by The Cocchi Family

Sunday, July 25

8:00am

+Mary Jennings

Req. by The Byrnes Family

9:30am - Livestream

+Nancy Sorgie

Req. by Al and Kathryn Guido

11:30

+Daniel Tracy

Req. by The Lionetti and Gannon Families

Monday, July 26

8:30am - Livestream

+Peter Gausti - 1 year

Req. by Tony and Anne Guasti and Family

Tuesday, July 27

8:30am - Livestream

+Jim O'Grady

Req. by The Byrnes Family

Wednesday, July 28

8:30am - Livestream

+Robert Belanger

Req. by Mia and Brooke Belanger

Thursday, July 29

8:30am - Livestream

+Donna Montoro

Req. by Ursula Acuri

Friday, July 30

8:30am - Livestream

Eugene Byrnes - Healing

Req. by The Byrnes Family

Saturday, July 31

+Bart Gannon

Req. by The Gannon and Lionetti Families

Sunday, August 1

8:00am

+Betty Payne

Req. by Bob and Mary Young

9:30am - Livestream

+Theresa Stabile

Req. by Al and Marie Trebing

11:30

+Nancy McGovern

Req. by Tom McGovern and Family

Announcements

Save the Dates:

Monday, September 27th - Annual Golf Outing

Sunday, October 24th - Father Prince's Jubilee Ordination Anniversary Celebration

Saturday, November 13th - Annual Raffle and Silent Auction

Ministry Highlight

Our Day of Service at Dorothy Day Hospitality House

Our parish has been supporting the poor at Dorothy Day for over 35 years. Our day of service is the second Sunday of every month. This month, our parish team was able to feed over 150 people, and the ongoing need is great. Three parishioners have already volunteered to help in August. We could use at least two more helpers. Please sign up in the vestibule if you are able to help. The sign up sheet can be found on the bulletin board. In addition, we need more volunteers going forward. Please consider this ministry and If you are able to help in a future month, please reach out to Gladys Gannon 203-438-2521.

Confession

The Sacrament of Confession is offered every Saturday at 3:30pm in the Church Vestry. To read a personal and theological reflection about the meaning and importance of the Sacrament please click here. This reflection was authored by Mrs. Anna Bendiksen who is a convert to the Catholic faith.

In and Around the Diocese

HUGS

Hope Understanding Guidance and Support.

On Friday August 27th, 2021 at 6:30 P.M., a special prayer service for family members and friends of victims of child sexual abuse by clergy and by others will be held at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Church, 138 Candlewood Lake Rd, Brookfield, CT 06804. The prayer service is being coordinated by family members of victims together with a community of survivors and the Office of Safe Environment of the Diocese of Bridgeport. Father Shawn Jordan, Father Larry Carew and Deacon Joseph Cann will lead our prayer service. The Service is open to family members of victims and all those who have been impacted by sexual abuse as a minor by clergy and by others. Our community of family members is called HUGS which stands for Hope Understanding Guidance and Support. Click here for more information.

14th Annual CT Catholic Men's Conference

Men of the parish, please save the date for September 25th and plan to attend the Annual Men's Conference to be held at the New Britain Stadium. Please visit www.ctcatholicmen.org or click here to see the flyer for more details.

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Wedding Jubilee Mass

Save the Date: The wedding jubilee Mass will be held at St. Matthew Parish on September 25, 2021 at 10:30am and 1:00pm. Registration information will follow in the near future.

Byzantine Iconography Workshop

Learn to write/paint an icon according to the ancient techniques using contemporary mediums such as gouache and acrylic paint. This is a 5 day workshop to be held July 26-30th. Click here for more details.

Are you a Vendor or a Crafter?

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Parish's 29th Annual Fall Festival will be held on Saturday, November 6th, 9 am-4 pm. Vendor Applications are now available at stmarguerite.org under “Breaking News”. Questions? Email fallfestival@stmarguerite.org or call 203-775-5117, x215. St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Parish is located at 138 Candlewood Lake Road in Brookfield.

News and Views

For more Diocesan News and Events visit the Diocesan Website
To receive daily Catholic news you can subscribe to the National Catholic Register
If you would like to see what's happening in Rome visit: News from the Vatican - News about the Church - Vatican News
Rather listen? Tune in to Veritas, our local Catholic Radio Station, during your day at 1350 on your AM dial.
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Father Prince's Weekly Reflection

Reflection for the 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Many years ago, a middle-aged woman, living moderately comfortable life, was terribly disturbed by poverty, ignorance and illness that plagued the people of that city where she lived. She saw the tragic situation and said to herself, “Something’s got to be done.” She took all the money she had and rented an old building with a dirt floor. The building wasn’t much, but it would do. The next day, the woman went around the neighborhood and offered to teach the children. She used the old building as her classroom. She had no desks, no chairs, and no table. Her chalkboard was the dirt floor. She rubbed it smooth with an old rag and wrote on it with a stick. That was the way the woman fought back against ignorance, poverty and illness. It was a pathetic response, but it was the best she could do at that time.

Whatever happened to that woman and her very courageous undertaking though small! She is no more, but her work continues on. Today there are more than 150 fully equipped schools, more than 500 mobile dispensaries, over a hundred homes for abandoned children, and many thousand volunteers worldwide, carrying out her mission and vision that started with a humble beginning. You guessed her name! Mother Theresa of Calcutta.

I can’t think of a better story to illustrate the point of today’s first reading and the gospel story. The lad in the gospel story had five loaves and two fish. Jesus asked him for them to feed the crowd. The lad gave them to Jesus and Jesus did the rest. He fed over 5,000 people. That’s what Mother Theresa did also. She gave Jesus her “loaves and fish,” and Jesus did the rest. He multiplied them way beyond her dreams. Pope John Paul II, during a visit to Scotland in 1992 speaking to the young people in Edinburgh reiterated this message. He said, “The lad in the gospel gave all that was available, and Jesus miraculously fed those 5,000 people and still had enough left over. It’s exactly the same with your lives. Left alone to face the difficult challenges of life today, you feel conscious of your own inadequacy and afraid of what the future may hold for you. But what I say to you is this. Place your lives in the hands of Jesus. He will accept you and bless you, and he will make use of your lives in a way that exceeds your greatest expectation.”

Jesus invites us to cooperate with him in working miracles not unlike those he worked in Biblical times. Whatever we offer him, he will use in a way that will exceed our greatest expectations. Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola can summarize this for us. “Take Lord, Take my liberty, take my memory. Take my understanding and my entire will. Take whatever I am and have. You have given it all to me. Now I give it all back to you. Do with it whatever you wish. Give me only your love and your grace. With these I am rich enough and desire nothing more.”

Catechism Corner

Catechism of the Catholic Church

321. What are the sacraments at the service of communion and mission?

Two sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony, confer a special grace for a particular mission in the Church to serve and build up the People of God. These sacraments contribute in a special way to ecclesial communion and to the salvation of others.

Further reading: CCC 1533-1535

322. What is the sacrament of Holy Orders?

It is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time.

Further reading: CCC 1536

323. Why is this sacrament called Holy Orders?

Orders designates an ecclesial body into which one enters by means of a special consecration (ordination). Through a special gift of the Holy Spirit, this sacrament enables the ordained to exercise a sacred power in the name and with the authority of Christ for the service of the People of God.

Further reading: CCC 1537-1538

Respect Life

A Well-Formed Conscience The Church equips its members to address political and social questions by helping them to develop a well-formed conscience. Catholics have a serious and lifelong obligation to form their consciences in accord with human reason and the teaching of the Church. Conscience is not something that allows us to justify doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere “feeling” about what we should or should not do. Rather, conscience is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil. Conscience always requires serious attempts to make sound moral judgments based on the truths of our faith. As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Conscience is a judgement of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right”. USCCB Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship

Thank You!

We wish to thank all of our parishioners who have been mailing in or dropping off their donations, and those who have signed up for Online Giving. We appreciate your generosity and desire to continue to support the parish.

Please note that we have upgraded our Online Giving Platform. It is very user friendly. If you shop or do your banking on-line please consider this format for your donations. You have the option to make a one time gift or set up a recurring cycle that suits your timing and budget You can visit the site by clicking the button below.

Online Giving

If you would like to make a one time donation to our Sunday Collection, please click on the button below.

Sunday Offertory

Act of Spiritual Communion

My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.

“Arise”, the 2021 Annual Catholic Appeal calls us to renewed hope and a deepened commitment to serve our neighbor. The call to “Arise” challenges us to put our personal faith into action and provide for the needs of our sisters and brothers, no matter who they may be.

Your gift enables the diocese to continue works of charity, formation in faith, education and catechesis. It provides programs and ministries that feed the hungry and counsel the homeless who live among us; help youth develop their minds and grow in faith; sustain our priests, active and retired; prepare men for the diaconate and the priesthood; provide Catholic education through scholarships; and much more.

Catholic Charities of Fairfield County continues to be a clear leader in providing social services serving our neighbors in need during the crisis began. Catholic Charities programs have remained open providing a broad array of essential services to the most vulnerable members of our community. Catholic Charities is a leading provider of critical food resources throughout the County serving over 1.3 million meals since the COVID crisis began to the homeless, the homebound elderly, and individuals who lost jobs due to the pandemic via our soup kitchens, food pantries, Meals on Wheels program, as well as our Room to Grow pre-school. Your Gift will truly change lives. Joe, a homeless US ARMY veteran who lives in his car and receives breakfast and lunch every day at the Thomas Merton Center said: “If it wasn’t for the Thomas Merton Center I don’t know how I would survive. I feel so welcome and valued here” However, Catholic Charities cannot do it alone. Your gift to the Annual Catholic Appeal will help Catholic Charities continue to do the incredible work that it does for our most vulnerable neighbors in Fairfield County. Thank you for your gift.

Thus far, Saint Elizabeth Seton parish has raised 212 gifts worth $84,285 from 171 donors bringing the parish up to 93.13% of our $90,500 goal.

Thank you for your generosity and support.

Printable Pledge Form, Click Here

Printable Pledge Payment Form, Click Here

ACA ARISE VIDEO

Mass Intentions

If you would like to schedule a Mass intention for a loved one. Please send an email to the office: stsetonparish@comcast.net, or call 203-438-7292.

Prayer Requests

If you have a prayer request, please send an email to the St. Elizabeth Seton prayer tree. SESPrayertree@gmail.com

Church Hours

The Church is open daily 6:30am-4:30pm for private prayer. Daily Mass is offered Monday through Friday at 8:30am and is limited to 100 people.

Parish Office

The Parish Office is open daily Monday through Friday 9am to 1pm.