Our Archdiocese encompasses a vibrant region filled with an extraordinary group of people. We are blessed with more than 530,000 faith-filled, industrious, and committed Catholics of all ages from Litchfield, Hartford, and New Haven counties who represent the diversity of God’s human family and our greater Church. We are here to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, to offer sacrifice and praise, and to reach out to those in need

This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost: the coming of the Holy Spirit sent by the Father to continue, fulfill and extend the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ through you and me—all of us—in the way we accept the Holy Spirit into our lives and allow God to dwell within us and transform us into Disciples of Christ. And today’s account of the first Pentecost lays it all out for us.

At the Vatican in Rome last February, at the request of Archbishop Leonard Blair, Pope Francis conferred Papal Honors on fourteen people from the Archdiocese of Hartford, in recognition of their service to the Church . These papal honors were bestowed by the Holy Father on the occasion and in recognition of the 175th anniversary of the creation of the (Arch)Diocese of Hartford. Mr. Robert J. O’Hara and Mr. Jean-Pierre van Rooy, both from Saint Catherine of Siena Parish, were two of the fourteen honorees upon whom the Holy Father bestowed these papal honors, both received the Knighthood of the Order of St. Gregory the Great.

Stenciled on the back sanctuary walls of Saint Catherine of Siena church are the Beatitudes—which are considered the blueprint for the Christian life. In fact, they represent the spiritual and corporal works of mercy that each one of us, as baptized believers, are called to support and promote in-and-through our daily lives of discipleship. One of those ongoing humanitarian aspects of the Catholic Church here in Hartford is the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal (AAA) which provides financial resources to Catholics and non-Catholics alike

As pastor I am reaching out to all our Mass attendees and I am asking for your assistance. Our parish is in need of additional ushers and lead ushers at our Masses. What does a Lead usher do? A lead usher arrives early before the Mass begins and organizers those who will help take up the collection, locates and confirms the family who will bring up the bread and wine in the offertory as well as welcomes people to Mass and offers them assistance to a pew 

A growing trend among some Roman Catholic families is to not have a funeral Mass for their deceased family members. Rather, they choose to have a “service” at the funeral home – sometimes with a priest and prayers, sometimes without. What is the cause of this growing trend? I am sure there are many answers to that question. However, one unsettling trend appears to be the feeling that the death of an individual and their religious preferences are less about the deceased and more about the remaining family members of the deceased

The Triduum—Holy Week—in the explanation of the Passion, death and Resurrection of Christ was all about the unconditional love of God for all of us, through His Son Jesus. Today we hear of Christ’s focus on love once again—but this love, which is again meant for us all, comes in a restoring act of Peter through God’s mercy. Today’s gospel has some pretty interesting parts to it—parts that are meant to make us ponder what Christ is asking of us and how we are going to respond to being both loved and challenged in our own faith lives…if we truly wish to be Christ’s disciples.

Our Youth Ministry is working on another mission trip. This time instead of urban Boston they will travel to upstate New York and work with people in rural setting. There will be yard work, house repairs and other manual labor. They will have opportunities to see how it feels to be of service to another. Christ gave us the perfect example of caring: He encountered the poor and the sick and the disadvantaged and He did not remove them from His sight but rather engaged them and entered into their lives.

The world was in the midst of the Great Depression in 1931 and the memories of World War I were still very much alive in the minds of Europeans when in Poland a sister of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), is said to have been personally visited by Jesus. According to her diary, which was listed on the Index of Forbidden Books for more than 20 years, an image was revealed to her of the risen Lord, from whose heart shone two rays, one red (representing blood) and the other “pale” (symbolizing water), with the words “Jesus, I trust in you” at the bottom. Faustina wrote in her diary that Jesus told her, “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish.”

A happy and blessed Easter to everyone here at Saint Catherine of Siena parish—our parishioners and all our visitors who are joining us for the celebration of the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ! It is our collective prayer—and that of the whole Church—that your Easter Season be filled with the divine and unconditional Love of God; that He who created you out of Love, and then called you to Eternal Life with Him in heaven, now blesses you with His Sacramental Graces as His Mystical Body in the life of the Church.

Alleiuia! Christ is risen from the dead, and in Him we too are born to a new and indestructible life. To Him be glory and praise foreverl During this Easter season, we are called to recognize the depth of God’s love and mercy revealed in Christ‘s sacrifice on the Cross and poured out for us in the sacramental life of the Church, especially in Baptism and the Hoiy Eucharist.

The Easter Triduum is a period (of three days) in the calendar of the Catholic Church that spans from Holy Thursday through to Glorious Easter Saturday. These are the three days that immediately proceeds Easter Sunday, when the Church erupts with celebration over Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. There is great celebration as the Church remembers this event in the history of mankind because it is the realization of God’s plan of salvation for us all. It means that through the blood of Jesus, through His resurrection from the dead, God has made a way for us all to fulfil the real purpose for our existence; that is to live with Him forever.

As the Faith Formation year heads to a close, I want to express my sincere thanks to aeveryone who makes our program such a success—the parents, the students and the teachers. We are blessed at Saint Catherine of Siena with a large and growing Faith Formation program: dedicated and committed parents—that is not always the case in every parish, with more than 650 students who are active and involved, and of course a dedicated group of catechists (more than 60 volunteers). Kathi Bonner, our director of Faith Formation, puts her heart and soul into this program and your children’s successes.

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”(v.11) In today’s Gospel of John, 8:1-11, unfortunately we hear a consistent message of forgiveness and Truth that often times is received or heard superficially which leads some to go into the “weeds” of the scriptures meaning, viewing this reading’s meaning in a confused or conflated way. There is an adage in communications that says: Communications is less of what’s said and more of what’s heard. That (mis)understanding can be applicable to today’s parable too.

The Gospel on this Laetare Sunday Today’s Prodigal Son parable is only told in the Lukan Gospel, chapter 15. And scripture scholars have noted that if a “story” is told in a gospel, the concern or problem of that parable was probably happening in the local church at that time.

On March 29 th a movie was released nation- wide entitled “Unplanned.” The movie tells the true story of Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood clinic director who left the nation’s largest abortion provider in 2009 after a conversion experience (she witnessed an abortion at her clinic for the first time). Ashley Bratcher, the actress staring in the role of Abby John- son, was herself nearly aborted by her mother when she was 19 years old, but her mom changed her mind and left the procedure room at the clinic

Thanks to the generosity of our parishioners, our monthly collection for the Repair & Refurbishment fund enables us to take timely care of our facilities—from heating and air conditioning concerns to electrical, building safety and regular repairs. CLICK TO READ THE DETAILS!

Archbishop Leonard Blair awards the medal at the Cathedral in the month of March, and this year on March 31st, the Archbishop will bestow on Lorraine Cosgrove the honor of the Saint Joseph Medal of Appreciation. The medal is named after the patron Saint of our Archdiocese, who happens to also be the patron saint of the Universal Church, St. Joseph the foster father of Jesus Christ.