People have asked me the source of the text I read at the end of my sermon last Sunday at the 9:30 Solemn Mass. It is the first four verses of a hymn by Charles Wesley, one of the great Christian hymn writers, “Lo! He comes with clouds descending”. We always sing it at St,…
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The Last Sunday of the Year
This Sunday marks the last Sunday in the liturgical year. Advent begins a new year for the Church. This is the feast of Christ the King on the Novus Ordo calendar. We celebrate this feast as the culmination of the Church Year and as the culmination of our faith. It is an affirmation that Christ…
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Month of All Souls
The month of November has traditionally been the month of All Souls, the month in which we focus on prayer for the dead. Most parishes celebrate the Mass on All Souls Day itself and then forget about the dead until next year. This is understandable in a Catholic world in which the color white is…
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Homilía: El Domingo 5 de Noviembre 2017
El último miércoles celebramos la maravillosa fiesta de Todos los Santos. Este es el día en que agradecemos a Dios por las oraciones de los santos en el cielo por nosotros. Estos son los hombres y mujeres que se transformaron en esta vida por la gracia de Dios para llegar a ser santos. Nos dan…
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All Saints and All Souls
I write this on what is known as Halloween, which has become the second most profitable holiday for those who sell things related to this holiday. The popularity of the holiday leaves one wondering why this is so. One thing we do know: that the day has lost any religious significance it once had. Hallowe’en…
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Feast of Christ the King
“We no longer live in Christendom. We really have to accept that it’s a thing of the past.” This was a quote from an article sent to me published by the Washington Post about the decline of the number of Americans who go to church on a regular basis or even at all. The article…
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The Meaning of Vestments
People often wonder why a priest wears vestments at the Mass. The short answer is that this is how he clothes his own self and becomes “just” a priest of Jesus Christ. Mass vestments, like all church vestments, are meant to point away from the person who is wearing them to what that person is…
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Columbus Day
This past week has seen many instances of the “trash Columbus” movement that surfaced about five years ago. One statue of Columbus in Norwalk and two others in adjoining towns were defaced. According to the local newspaper a “radical leftist organization” is claiming responsibility. Historians have never portrayed Columbus as a saint or lauded him…
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The St. Augustine Medal
It is with great pleasure that I let you know that I have nominated Jill and Stuart Chessman for the St. Augustine Medal, given each year by the Diocese of Bridgeport. Each parish is asked to nominate someone who has made a significant contribution to the life of the parish through the years. Stuart and…
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Visit from Bishop Schneider
Saint Mary's will be blessed by a special visit to our parish of Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Kazakhstan. We thank Stuart Chessman and the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny for making this visit possible. Bishop Schneider will be staying at the rectory for two nights and will have the opportunity to see St. Mary's "in action" and…
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