Reflection from Fr. Joseph

This is our SEVENTH installment on our Eucharistic Revival Campaign!

           We’ve all been there – we are lost in prayer, totally drawing close to God. We are about to enter the seventh mystical mansion of St. Teresa of Avila’s “Interior Castle”; our souls is about to be mystically united to God as we are lost in the abyss of contemplation and devotion. Joy and peace and love shower down upon us, and we feel like we are on the very threshold of Heaven.

           And then someone’s cell phone rings in church.

           The moment is lost, our contemplation is broken, and suddenly we’re transported back from Heaven to a hard pew at 707 Monroe Turnpike – all because of a cell phone!

           Church etiquette is important! In a church that is as diverse as ours, it is important to observe a few simple rules to make sure that everyone finds St. Jude’s as a prayerful, peaceful place. Nothing is more annoying than interrupted prayer or needless distractions. So, my fellow church-goers, here is a (tongue-in-cheek) guide to church etiquette at St. Jude’s Church!

            Number one: silence your cell phone! I promise that it’s not God calling you on your iPhone 15! Now, all of us make mistakes and forget to silence it (it’s happened to me a couple times when celebrating Mass) but for Heaven’s sake (literally), don’t let it ring forever – no one wants to hear all four verses of Taylor Swift’s latest hit before it finally goes to voicemail!

            Number two: don’t answer your cell phone! Sadly, I have had this happen regularly – not sure when that ever became acceptable church behavior!

            Number three: as quietly as you think you’re whispering, someone can still hear you. Whether we’re whispering our Hail Mary’s or trying to whisper to a friend, it’s still distracting.

            Number four: consider other people’s sight-lines. If there are only three people in the church, don’t come in and plop down in the pew right in front of them so that they can’t see the altar!

            Number five: as Aquinas said, “Virtue is in the middle!” We’ve all seen those aisle-huggers who refuse to scoot to the middle, meaning that latecomers have to crawl over them. Just a little scoot goes a long way to welcoming our neighbors! And, no one here has reserved seats…if someone’s sitting in your usual spot, feel free to explore new territory!

            Number six: don’t sleep (or at least don’t snore). Hey, even saints fell asleep in the chapel (Bl. Fulton Sheen once conked out completely for a Holy Hour, and when he awoke he asked the Lord if it was pleasing to Him – the Lord replied to him, “I forgive you…but don’t do it again!”). It happens – but it should only happen by accident and not on purpose (unless you’re under seven years old…). And make sure you don’t snore!

            Number seven: no gum! What is fine at the mall or the baseball field just doesn’t cut it for the King of Kings. This also goes for coffee…drink it at home, don’t bring it to church.

            Number eight: don’t leave Mass early (without an absolutely urgent reason). Remember – the first person to leave Mass early was Judas. And no, being the first in line at Dunkin does not count as an urgent reason.

            Number nine: tears are good – tissues are gross. St. Augustine wrote, after the death of his mother, “I allowed the tears which I had been holding back to fall, making them a pillow for my heart, and my heart rested on them.” Whether in grief or joy, God grants us tears as a healing release. But once the tears have dried up, please take your used tissues with you – every weekend we find them crumpled on the pews!

            Number ten: let the little children come unto Me…within reason. I love the fact that our church has so many little kids – thank you for bringing them to Mass! But there comes a time in every kid’s tantrum that it just gets distracting, and little Johnny could use a small visit to the vestibule of the church so he can calm down. No shame in that!

           Hopefully this was a little bit helpful (and humorous) – we have a wonderful church and a wide variety of people from all backgrounds and walks of life. Respect and consideration are two virtues that can help St. Jude’s be the best it can be!

FLORAL MINISTRY

On July 14^th, Msgr Sabia will celebrate the 11:30am mass at St. Jude’s. In thanksgiving for his spiritual direction, counseling, leadership and support for 36 years to the parishioners at St. Jude, the Floral Ministry has chosen apricot and white flowers for the arrangements that will be placed in front of the altar. Our choice of flowers is always prayerfully made based on the liturgical season, special feasts, and special reasons. In this case, we have been led to apricot roses and white flowers to symbolize gratitude, genuineness, sincerity and purity.

Parish News

Italian Festival News

ST JUDE ITALIAN FESTIVAL

707 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe CT 06468

August 21-24, 2024

Dear business neighbors,

It’s that time of year and the Italian Festival is back!  St Jude parish is delighted to invite you to join the business sponsor program for our 34th annual Italian Festival held this year from August 21st through the 24^th. Thousands of people will be attending the festival to enjoy rides, games, raffles, nightly entertainment and of lots of great food.

For our business sponsors, we offer a display of a professionally made sign (18” x 24”) for your business throughout the festival.  As a bonus, a complete list of all the sponsors will be added to the weekly newsletter following the festival. Please complete the form below and mail into St Jude Parish by August 12^th. Please make your checks payable to St Jude Parish (707 Monroe Turnpike) or call the parish office at 203-261-6404 to pay by credit card or if you have any questions.

Business Name _____________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________

Contact Person ________________________   Phone No ____________________

Check One Option

_______ One Sign ($150)                              ________ Two Signs ($250)

Family News and Updates

The July Issue of Rooted Magazine is in!

Hard copies can be found at the Family Ministry Table

Camp Adore Charitable Fundraiser results are in!



Inspired by our patron Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's generosity to those in need, we raised $300 to help build an orphanage in Uganda and $1,000 for Hopeline Pregnancy Center with the help of an anonymous donor who more than matched our camp collection of over $400. We also collected ~75 pairs of socks for the homeless in our area.

In case you missed the links in last week's newsletter, see below to listen to the beautiful voices of the children singing to Our Lord in Adoration:

Video 1

Video 2

Summer Events - Save the Dates

Sunday, July 14 - Parish Softball Game - 2pm Wolfe Park Field 4

Sunday, July 28 - Backyard Family Adoration

Monday, August 26 - Backyard Family Adoration

Friday, August 30 - End of Summer Music Festival

Youth Encounters

All of our young people grades 6-12 are invited to join us for our Youth Encounters! These nights of games, food, fun, prayer, fellowship, and honest conversation about our Catholic Faith have been awesome...come and join us this summer!

Please click on the image to view the flyer.

Mom's Group Announcements

INVITING ALL PARENTS (mothers and fathers) to our 2024 weekly Zoom Rosaries on Wednesdays at 9 pm. Please email Jessica Iannotta for more information. To submit prayer intentions for our monthly Rosaries, click here.

If you are interested in participating in a summer book club, email Jessica for more information

Knights of Columbus News

Hopeline Pregnancy Center has a continued need for disposable diapers. They are currently low on all sizes from Newborn to size 6, wipes, as well as bottles and pacifiers. They have also requested baby formula such as “Similac 360 Total Care”. Should you wish to help you can leave the diapers, etc. in the outer vestibule of the church. Monetary donations, with checks made out to the Hopeline Pregnancy Center, as well as gift cards from Amazon, Target and grocery stores are most welcome. As always, your continued support is greatly appreciated by Hopeline and our Knights of Columbus Council.

Food Pantry Update

With school in recess the summer now upon us our pantry needs shift a bit to with the season. Current items in greatest need are jarred pasta sauce, beans, children’s snacks and boxed cereal. Please keep checking the newsletter for additional information regarding the Knights of Columbus upcoming CHRISTMAS IN JULY food drive to be conducted at Stop & Shop the week of July 27-28. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

Please remember in your daily prayers:

David Nicolett, Maria Bertone, Vincent Daniello, Joe Pinto, Zoey Frigo, Daniel Louis Bianco, Max, Hung Vu, Dr. John Kezel, Francisca Testa & family, Catherine Belanger, Manny Cambra, Cambra, Bennett Gulyas, Tom Pleva, James Buturla, John Sansone, Paul Verespej, Patti F. , Anne DeVita, Anna Harper, Jack Lane, Frank Kerekes, Marian Nanchy, Antonia Tedeschi, Mary McDonald, Douglas Stanley, Jenn Katz, Judy Thomas, Barbara Tranchese, Mary Lopresti, Lou DiMartino, Lor C., Viola Cleo Bradshaw, Susan W. and Janet C, Larry Pisani, Vincent Pisani, Greg, Kaiti and Cameron Kessler, Michael Merola & Family, Martha Mencseli, Mildred Blasko, Father Krzysztof, and Baby Henry Taylor, Garren Kiett, Becky M., Flo Guite, Michael J. Russell, Mary Ann Voytek, Michael, and Donna, Evan Tedesco, Darryl Patterson, Michael, Debra and Mike Patten, Louise Noll, Chrystal Archuletta and Alice Gumpert, Diane Cummings, Chloe Capra

Please join us in praying our Monthly Parish Intention.

Our Petition for July is:  NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL PILGRIMAGE

May the graces and fruits of this Holy Spirit-

inspired Pilgrimage be a source of healing, conversion and increased devotion to the Blessed Sacrament in our hearts, our Diocese and our Country...  

       We pray to the Lord

Mass Intentions for  July 6 – July 14

Sat    July 6         8:30am       Todd Romagna

Sat   July 6         4:30pm       Isabel Dantas Teixeira and Lucinda Dantas

Sun  July 7         7:30am       St Jude Parishioners

Sun   July 7         9:30am       Maximino Monteiro

Sun  July 7         11:30am     Carmen Bocchino

Mon  July 8         9:00am       Barbara, George and David King

Tue   July 9         9:00am       Joseph Jackowski

Wed  July 10       9:00am      Mary Charlotte Braccio

Thu   July 11       9:00am      Jason Fedanick

Sat   July 13       4:30pm       Pietro Michele Guerrera

Sun  July 14       7:30am       St Jude Parishioners

Sun   July 14       9:30am      Joe Buturla, Jr

Sun  July 14       11:30am      Enzo and Alda Melissano

Tabernacle Candle: July: Blessings during the 1^st wedding anniversary

                                       month for Marianne and John Hagendorf

Weekday Masses (Monday thru Thursday) will be in the main Church at 9 am and live streamed.

The Weekend Masses inside the Church are Saturday at 4:30 pm and Sunday at 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30. Only the Saturday Mass at 4:30 pm and the Sunday 7:30 am and 9:30 Masses are live streamed and may be viewed at https://www.stjuderc.org/view-masses

Men’s Bible Study

The Men’s Bible Study will meet Saturday mornings at 8:00 AM, in the school building. Each week we will take up the readings for that weekend. All men of the parish are welcome. For more information, contact Bob Lux at mjrob08@gmail.com.

Saturday Rosary Sign up.

We have a wonderful way to prepare for Saturday Mass and that is to say the Rosary before Mass starts. We start 30 minutes before Mass so we start at 4:00 every Saturday.

Please join us as we pray. Also, please prayerfully consider joining this ministry.

If you would like to join you can sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aa8ad2fa6fccf8-saturday#/

We look forward to you joining us as we pray the Rosary together.

First Friday

Eucharistic Adoration

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. Matthew 11:28-30



The time that we spend with Jesus in front of the Blessed Sacrament is the best time we will spend on earth. Please join us on the first Friday of every month from 7:00 to 8:00 PM.

Flame of Love Rosary

Thursday mornings after 9 am Mass

"Spread the effect of grace of thy Flame of Love over all of humanity"

flameoflove.us



Divine Mercy Chaplet

Wednesdays at 3 pm in the Church

"Jesus we Trust in You"

thedivinemercy.org

St. Jude Religious Gift Shop is located downstairs in the Msgr. Sabia Social Hall. Fr. Joseph's Books and CD's are available in the Gift Shop. Also new items: Communion Gifts and cards, statues, rosaries and more.



Come in and browse. Call Fran Cambra 203-261-2573 or Parish Office 203-261-6404.

Confession Hours



Confessions on Saturday afternoon will be in the day chapel at 3:30 to 4:15 pm on Saturdays. Come take advantage of God's great mercy by coming to the Sacrament of Confession.

Confessions are also by appointment, please call 203-261-6404, to set up an appointment or email the office.