May 13 to May 22: Pentecost Novena to the Holy Spirit

Please join us in prayer by clicking on the link below for the
Pentecost Novena to the Holy Spirit
with reflections from Pope Francis

Worship Schedule Update

Deacon Robert Henrey's Presentation Series: How the West came to Encounter the East

Deacon Robert Henrey presents a new Spring series via Zoom

How the West came to Encounter the East

In his latest series of illustrated presentations, Robert’s goal is to share his interest in Asian cultures, their histories, religious traditions and languages– an interest stimulated thanks to several years living and working in South East Asia and to ongoing opportunities for professional contacts, travel and study. He describes the process whereby adventurers, traders and scholarly missionaries brought back home a growing awareness of the richness they had encountered. Each session is designed to stimulate discussion. The process of mutual understanding and discovery is far from over!                                                

Join us at 5:00 PM for these engaging events on this Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91648902276

April 28 - Part One:  Early Days: from Ancient World Traders and Medieval Adventures to the Age of Sail     

--Click here to view April 28 recording.

May 12 - Part Two:  India prior to the Arrival of the Portuguese: a rich religious and linguistic inheritance with Hindus, Arabs and Persians at the crossroads

--Click here to view May 12 recording.

May 26 - Part Three:  The Portuguese Century of Discovery, early Missions and the aftermath of cutthroat competition among European Traders

June 2 - Part Four:  The Rise and Fall of the Mughals and how rival Europeans stepped into the void, and in the process became aware of India’s great cultural richness

The Fall Series will continue with the story of how the Portuguese made early inroads into both Japan and China thanks in large part to the remarkable achievements of Jesuit missionaries – with dramatically different and unforeseen outcomes. The presentations will also address how East and West gradually became aware of their each other’s cultures leading to our increasingly interconnected world. 

Food & Essentials Drive-- the Need Continues!

  Food & Essentials Drive for Neighbor to Neighbor Continues!           

Due to the huge and constant need, the Social Justice Committee of the Parish of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes is continuing to help Neighbor to Neighbor by collecting food and other living essentials in a no contact format.  Until further notice, there will be a car or SUV with an open trunk in the parking lot across from St. Catherine’s church on Tuesdays from 9:00 to 11:00 AM.  Please drop your bagged grocery donations in the trunk, and we will take them to Neighbor to Neighbor.  Donations may also be left in the Church vestibules at the times of all Masses.

Food Items Needed:
Peanut Butter and Jelly, Oatmeal
Canned Meats (Chicken, Chili, Vienna Sausages, Chef Boyardi Ravioli)
Tuna Canned Fruit Black or red kidney beans (dried or canned), Cereal. Rice. Soup

Non-Food Items Needed (which cannot be purchased with food stamps):
Brown paper grocery bags, toilet paper, paper towels,sanitary products, cleaning products, etc.

Please Note:
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 100 Riverside Ave, also collects these items for Neighbor to Neighbor on Thursdays, from 10:00 -11:30 AM in their parking area.

Thank you to ALL for your ongoing dedication to this critical mission!

PARISH Partners offers Hotline & Daily Prayer

Offering You:

PARISH PARTNERS HOTLINE

ALL PARISHIONERS IF YOU NEED TO TALK, CONTACT PARISH PARTNERS HOTLINE:

203-637-3661 EXT 375

MESSAGES CHECKED DAILY

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PARISH PARTNERS IN PRAYER

LET US ALL JOIN IN PRAYER. . . WE ARE PRAYING NOW SILENTLY, WHEREVER WE ARE

8:00 AM and 8:00 PM

Mass Scheduling and Safety Procedures During the Pandemic

There have been questions about why our Mass schedule is as it is and why it changes at times.  Unlike many public places, including some churches, we are thorough and meticulous in sanitizing--it takes us 1 ½ hours between each of the services.  We sanitize from top to bottom - including bathrooms and door handles.  We are sorry if the Mass schedule changes are a temporary inconvenience, but Fr. Platt’s major concern since the beginning of this pandemic has been his parishioners’ safety.  Our parish was the first to begin to cancel Masses and functions (Confirmation), even before a national or diocesan mandate.  Fr. Platt has seen people die from COVID-19 before their time, and it’s a terrible way to die.  He is committed to not have one of his parishioners die in that manner if he can help it.  Please pardon the temporary inconvenience of changes in the Mass schedule.  

Our goal is that we can all worship in a safe environment.  Thank you for your patience with our reduced Mass schedule and for your understanding and support.

Some helpful information from the CDC website:

• The virus that causes COVID-19 most commonly spreads between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet, or 2 arm lengths).
• It spreads through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes.
  • These particles can be inhaled into the nose, mouth, airways, and lungs and cause infection.  This is thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
  • Droplets can also land on surfaces and objects and be transferred by touch. A person may get COVID-19 by touching the surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes. Spread from touching surfaces is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
• It is possible that COVID-19 may spread through the droplets and airborne particles that are formed when a person who has COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes.  There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes). In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk.

COVID-19 seems to be spreading easily and sustainably in the community (“community spread”) in many affected geographic areas.  Community spread means people have been infected with the virus in an area, including some who are not sure how or where they became infected.

Virtual Music Celebrations: View Recordings Here

“Virtual Choir” Premiere:
Gabriel Faure, Requiem,VI. Libera Me, Domine

Click here to enjoy the virtual recording.

Click Here to enjoy our (July 2020) Traditional "Quarantine" Choir & Flute Virtual Recording:

 Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, J. S. Bach

Find the Livestream (December 13, 2020) recording here and the Worship Aid here.

Find the Livestream (December 8, 2020) recording here and the Worship Aid here.

Deacon Robert Henrey's Presentation Series--The Ancient Near East: Land of Babel

In this series of presentations, Robert Henrey shared his interest in the highly diverse historical and cultural environments that characterized the Ancient Mesopotamian and Mediterranean world.  He set out to give an overview of the events that made it possible for narratives and traditions to develop, especially those underlying the scriptures, and be eventually recorded thereby ensuring their transmission down the generations.  It’s a fascinating story and one that is relevant to our contemporary world as we cope with our overarching need to communicate with each other, and at the same time, balance the pursuit for national identity with the forces of globalization.  Despite their complexity, Robert attempted to present the events as straightforwardly and engagingly as possible, with each presentation fully illustrated with on-screen, relative graphics.

November 18:
Part 4:  The challenge of Transmitting Tradition to Posterity:  The rise of Roman power; Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew at the crossroads and the saga of how the Hebrew and Christian scriptures eventually came to be recorded

--Click here to view November 18 recording

November 11:
Part 3: Conflicts between Identity and competing World Views:  Cyrus’ Persian Empire, the post-Exilic quest for identity, Alexander the Great’s universal dream and the adaptation of the Hebrew scriptures to a Hellenized world

--Click here to view November 11 recording

October 18- Part 2: Empires, Alphabets and Exile:  The rise of Mesopotamian Empires, the powerful innovation of alphabetic writing, and the spread of Aramaic up to the Jewish Exile

--Click here to view October 18 recording

October 4- Part 1: The Origins of Writing and Narrative:
The development of writing from its Mesopotamian cuneiform origins to a medium fit for transmitting codes of conduct and pre-Biblical narratives
—Click here to view October 4 recording

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