A blessed thank-you to all our parishioners for your active participation in our Christmas Masses. The 4 pm Vigil on Christmas Eve, the children’s liturgy, was packed and actually was at per-Covid numbers. Amen! To our ushers, lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, altar servers, decorators and more—THANK YOU for all your faith and for all that it leads you to be and do here at St. Catherine of Siena Parish. Amen!

St. Francis Hospital in Hartford is—and must be—a gem in the Crown of the Archdiocese of Hartford—as a Catholic institution was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery in 1897, continuing today the healing ministry of Christ, it is the largest Catholic hospital in New England with 617-acute care beds and 65 bassinets. Today St. Francis Hospital is owned by Trinity Health New England, a Catholic healthcare corporation and still works closely with the archdiocese and the Catholic traditions of caring for everyone.

On the third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word meaning “Rejoice,” is the first word of the introit of this day’s Mass proclaiming the theme of this weekend, one of hope-filled joy calling us to sing aloud the proclamation of Jesus Christ. The Introit (Introitus) of the Mass is the fragment of a psalm with its antiphon sung while the celebrant and ministers enter the church and approach the altar.

Dear Friends in Christ, In the coming weeks, our parishes will take up the annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious. This campaign is crucial, benefiting more than 24,000 elderly sisters, brothers, and religious order priests who have been faithful servants within the Church, devoting their lives to service. Since 1988, the collection has raised over $1 billion. In the Archdiocese of Hartford, five communities totaling 280 women religious benefited from last year’s collection.

The Who and the Why: Once again, our parish will see our Advent Giving Trees in the vestibule and the atrium, complete with white lights and envelopes hanging on the branches. And,once again, we are seeking support for two important and worthwhile charities. The Who: First, our Neighbors in Need Fund (NIN) and The second “who” are the Knights of Malta House of Care