Dear Parishioners and Friends,
As we celebrate the Feast of our Holy Father Francis of Assisi this week, let us keep in mind all the participants of the Synod on Synodality which will be held in Rome beginning this week. The Church’s massive synodal process has already undergone diocesan, national, and continental stages. It will culminate in two global assemblies at the Vatican. The first will take place October 4–28 and the second in October 2024 to advise the pope on the topic “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.”
There is much hope for this particular synod especially because everyone in the Church was invited to take part in it. At St. Patrick-St. Anthony a special committee held numerous listening sessions which included many parishioners. Their discussions were distilled into a report which was submitted to the commission charged with organizing the global synod. The Instrumentum Laboris document guiding the discussions at the synod assembly includes topics such as including women deacons, priestly celibacy, and LGBTQ outreach. So let us pray that the Holy Spirit will guide all those who will be gathered in Rome this coming month, and that their deliberations will bear much good fruit for the future of our Catholic Church.
I hope you will join us for the celebrations of the Feast of St. Francis this week, including the beautiful Transitus service on Tuesday evening, October 3, at 7:00 PM. The story of the final hours and death of St. Francis will be told, and our choir will sing some beautiful music, including works by Hutmacher, Friedell and Rutter, as well as my own setting of Psalm 142. On Wednesday, October 4, our Masses at 7:30 and 12:05 will be the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi.
On Monday, October 9, our new Coadjutor Archbishop, Christopher J. Coyne, will be officially welcomed to Hartford at a Mass which will be celebrated at St. Joseph Cathedral beginning at 2:00 PM. Archbishop Blair has asked me to extend an invitation to all our parishioners to attend the Mass and the reception afterwards in Aetna’s auditorium. Parking will be available in the Aetna parking garage on Sigourney Street. There will be Knights of Columbus and signage to direct both auto and foot traffic to the Cathedral. Limited handicap parking will be available in the Cathedral parking lot on Asylum Street.
Finally, as we look ahead to the celebration of Christmas (yes, it will be here before you know it!), I invite all our parishioners to become an ornament for our parish Christmas Tree in the church. The idea is to create ornaments with photos of individuals, couples or families to hang on the tree. Each photo will be mounted on either gold or red card stock and hung on the tree. Here is a sample I made:
You can email a digital file to [email protected] or you can bring a photo to the parish office which will be scanned. Each photo will be printed with your name as you see in the photo here. Please include the names of the individuals in the photo. We would like to get this project started now because it gets very busy here as Christmas draws closer. Pick your favorite pose and send it in!
Blessings on your week ahead!
Fr. Tim Shreenan, O.F.M.Pastor
Blessing of Animals will now be in the garage (like last year) due to the rain expected for Saturday morning.
