We are a blessed parish. Blessed by the people who bring to life our faith, sharing our own blessings with others in need? As we watch the daily news on TV or listen to the radio or read the newspapers, we hear of the tragedies of our world—from terrorism to war, from hunger to homelessness, from sickness to much more, the news can be depressing. And while there is far too much negative or sad news there are also tremendous amounts of good, positive news happening right—here in St. Catherine of Siena Parish, through many ministries:

The Advent season has a twofold character, for it is a time of preparation for the Solemnities of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ's Second Coming at the end of time. For these two reasons, Advent is a period of devout and expectant delight. Advent begins with First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of the Sunday that falls on or closest to November 30 and it ends before First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of Christmas

Advent begins on November 29th and from that date forward you will see Christmas trees decorated with envelopes on them in the atrium and vestibule as part of our traditional Advent Giving Tree program. As in years past, we will collect financial donations towards three programs: The Knights of Malta Mobile House of Care, Neighbors in Need and Parish Legacy Fund...

This weekend’s first and gospel readings are apocalyptic and are tied to the end of the Church liturgical year, with the New (liturgical) Year (Advent) nearby. Apocalyptic writings are a message of hope, written in symbolic language about Jesus Christ’s victory over sin and evil, and with the Church on earth working out the details, if you will. Apocalyptic writings are not about future—about-to-happen events—but rather are about what has already happened and is now unfolding or taking place around us. Jesus Christ has died and is risen, overcoming sin and evil. This literature teaches us how evil and Christianity “coexists”—and our role in this “battle.”

Today’s gospel hands us a familiar account—the widow who puts two small coins into the treasury while other, more prominent citizens, put in larger sums of money, and yet Jesus lauds the poor widow as generous. He does this in order to highlight how He is disgusted by "hypocrisy."

As I write this Sunday’s bulletin, I am in Stamford (scarily too close to NY Yankee territory) at our Archdiocese of Hartford’s annual Priest Convocation—a meeting of the priests and our Archbishop—to discuss issues of import to the local administration of the Church and for future pastoral planning. Tuesday afternoon’s conference was given by Kerry Robinson, executive director of the Catholic Leadership Foundation, who spoke on the importance of utilizing lay talent

This weekend you will have the opportunity to pre-order Advent (chocolate) Wreath calendars for your family or friends to use in their preparation for the sacred season of Christmas, when Christ entered into humanity and began the Kingdom of God on earth. This will be a fundraiser by the 10 youth of our parish who will travel to Poland to participate in World Youth Day 2016 and to listen to and experience Pope Francis and the wider, universal Catholic Church

November brings us two celebrations in the Catholic Church which I believe require a bit of an explanation to their origin and meaning. Sunday, November 1, All Saints' Day, is a solemn holy day of the Catholic Church celebrated annually. The day is dedicated to the known saints of the Church, that is, all those who have attained heaven, the Beatific Vision, that is those recognized in the canon of the saints by the Catholic Church.