Reflection from Fr. Joseph

Tomorrow is our third and final Heart-to-Heart Adoration here at St. Jude’s. If you’ve never been, I urge you to come – it can be a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ through music, dynamic preaching, Confessions, and healing prayer teams.

I’d like to explain a bit about the last one, though, because healing prayer is often viewed with a certain skepticism in today’s world. Perhaps it conjures up images of charlatans and people “fainting” at the slightest touch of the hand. Maybe we acknowledge that healings happened in Jesus’ day, but apart from the wild stories from the Lives of the Saints, maybe we don’t believe it can still happen today.

There are two types of gifts of the Holy Spirit, though. There are the seven ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit – these are the ones you learned about in Confirmation class: wisdom, counsel, knowledge, understanding, piety, fortitude, and fear of the Lord. Everyone receives these gifts in seminal form at their Baptism and they are stirred up anew at their Confirmation – but these gifts are for everyone.

However, there are another set of gifts of the Holy Spirit: the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, also known as charisms. St. Paul gives a list of them in Romans 12 (gifts such as prophesy, service, teaching, giving, leadership, acts of mercy) and in 1 Corinthians 12 (gifts such as a “word of knowledge” [knowing something supernaturally], prophesy, healing, miracles, extraordinary faith, speaking in tongues, discernment of spirits [which is where someone knows whether a person or place is being led by the Holy Spirit, a human spirit, or an evil spirit]). There are more charisms than these – author Sherry Weddell has identified 24 charisms that Christians can have (see her fantastic book “Fruitful Discipleship” or this website: https://stmichael.catholic.sg/faith-formation/what-are-your-charisms/). These charisms are NOT given to everyone equally – but everyone who is a serious disciple has at least one or two charisms.

Charisms are not just natural talents. Rather, they are gifts of the Holy Spirit given to build up the Body of Christ. Some seem plain – for example, the charism of teaching – while some seem truly supernatural like miracles or speaking in tongues. But all of them are supernatural and used in a different way to minister to souls.

So are the charisms, such as healing or prophecy, still present in the Church today? YES! Unequivocally YES. But charisms need to be activated by faith – and, honestly, I wonder how deep our faith is in our modern technocratic world. Do we really believe that God can heal, speak words to us, do miracles? And do we really believe that God can – and will! – use US to accomplish this task?

I have seen miracles happen through prayer teams. One woman told me the she was cured of 20 years of back problems by coming to Heart-to-Heart Adoration last year and being “prayed over”. I know of several others, too. These charisms areabsolutely still alive in the Church today, because we receive the same Holy Spirit as the Apostles did. Like the Apostles, we too are called to face a pagan world and bring it to Christ; hence, I believe God is raising up ever more remarkable charisms in the Church today.

If you are interested in a deeper dive into the charisms you may possess, I recommend two things. First, check out the Encounter School of Ministry – they are a national school teaching courses about how to unleash the power of the Holy Spirit in your life today. Our local campus is at St. Emery’s Parish in Fairfield, CT, run by Fr. Sean Kulacz, one of our outstanding and on-fire diocesan priests (https://encounterschool.org/). The second is the St. Catherine of Siena Institute (https://siena.org/), led by the aforementioned Sherry Weddell, who can help you discover and put into practice the charisms that God has given you.



If you are still struggling to believe that these supernatural gifts are alive in the Church today, I urge you to come to Heart-to-Heart Adoration and see for yourself. Come and experience “being prayed over” by our prayer teams. Bring your doubts to our Eucharistic Lord and cry out to Him, “Lord, I believe…help my unbelief!” Ask the Holy Spirit to unleash His gifts in your own life. Once the Spirit of God takes possession of you, we are forever changed!

NEXT STATIONS & SUPPER: FRIDAY 4/4!

Friendly Visitor Ministry

If you, or a loved one, would like a visit once a month by a parishioner to chat, take a walk, play a game or maybe be of some help to you by doing a small chore or an errand; please contact Elizabeth Lynch 203-270-9072.   Also, if you would like to participate as a volunteer to help with this ministry, we would love to have your help, it is quite rewarding!

We are privileged to have the Diocesan Carlo Acutis Exhibit of Eucharistic Miracles at St. Jude from March 21 through March 31. 

Thank you for volunteers who picked up the Exhibit at the Catholic Center and setup the Exhibit in the Social Hall. 

Help is needed to take down on April 1st starting at 9:30 and returned to the Catholic Center at 3:30 on April 2nd.

If you can help please sign up at the link below or contact Betty Henn at ehennsr@gmail.com

A Lenten Book Roundtable

April 5, 2025 - Following the First Saturday Mass

St. Jude Parish - Monroe, Connecticut

A guided book chat on selections from Padre Pio: Man of Hope by the St. Pio expert and enthusiast Renzo Allegri. Whether you know a lot or a little Padre Pio, one thing is certain: he was a saint who spent much of his life in the desert, the same place we find ourselves during this Season of Lent. His joy was immense, all the while his pain was ever-present, the spiritual, emotional, and physical. We will discuss selections from Allegri’s bestselling book, learn more about this amazing mystic and saint, and how, through the deserts of Pio’s life, we are able to survive those of our own. Reproduced selections from the book will be provided at no cost to you. Please join us for prayer, interactive group discussion, and further opportunities on this title.

The discussion will be led by Mr. Lou Vollono, Jr., who currently serves as the Music Director & Organist at St. Jude Parish. When not playing and singing, Lou has led book discussions at public libraries and secondary schools throughout Connecticut on a variety of topics for a variety of audiences.

Sponsored By:

The Padre Pio Prayer Group of Fairfield County Connecticut

How do we discover God’s will for us? 

How do we hear His voice? 

How does He speak to us? 

If you have ever pondered these questions and are interested in exploring them with other women of faith, we invite you to a 7 week study of Matthew Kelly’s book The Three Ordinary Voices of God.



April 9 – May 21 Wednesday evenings from 6 – 7:30 in the SJ Social Hall.

Books will be provided.

To sign up, or get more information, contact:

Annette Bonomo at abonomo200@earthlink.net   203-895-9978, or

Regina Schwartz at regschwartz@gmail.com  203-414-9440

Confirmation Prayer

Join us in prayer for our confirmands who will be confirmed on April 2

Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch

the hearts of all people,

so that they may believe in You and

in Jesus whom You sent.

Look kindly on our candidates for

Confirmation as they listen to Your voice.

Open their hearts to Your Spirit and

bring to fulfillment the good work

that You have begun in them.

As we prepare and pray for these

Confirmation candidates, make each of us an

instrument of Your love.

Teach them to appreciate what is holy in others,

and to be patient with what

they do not understand.

Deepen their faith in the Gospel

and help them to pass it on by their example.

We pray that You will continue to

guide them and sustain them.

Through Christ our Lord,

Amen.

Pickup a laminated prayer card this weekend after Masses if you would like to commit to prayer for a confirmation candidate this Lent

Family News and Updates

Moms Group Coffee Chat

Join us tomorrow morning, 3/22 at 7 am for a relaxed coffee chat and discussion of "The Prayer Book for Tired Parents" for Lent. All moms are welcome! (No book required)

Email Jessica for the zoom link

Camp Adore 2025 Registration

June 23-27 from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm

for children entering grades 1-6

REGISTER HERE



Email Jessica for more information or if you are an adult or teen interested in volunteering

Knights of Columbus News

Food Pantry update

Our gratitude for your continued generosity. At this time the items in greatest need are: Mac and Cheese, canned tuna, and canned soup. 

Hopeline Pregnancy Center has a continued need for disposable diapers. They are currently low on Newborn size, wipes and jars of baby food as well as Baby clothes, Baby blankets, crib sheets, Onesies, socks, strollers, 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. They may be mailed to: Hopeline Pregnancy Center, PO Box 110658, Trumbull, CT 06611. As always, your continued support is greatly appreciated by Hopeline and our Knights of Columbus Council.

They have a current need for funds to pay for the annual ultrasound service fee. The annual cost is $5,400. Any amount you can donate would be appreciated. Statistics show that more than 70% of the women undecided choose life when they see their baby’s heartbeat for the first time on an ultrasound screen. Checks may be mailed to the address listed above. Please add “ultrasound service to the Memo section. Thank you.

Please contact Bob Lux at mjrob08@gmail.com with any questions you may have.

Please remember in your daily prayers:

David Nicolett, Vincent Daniello, Joe Pinto, Zoey Frigo, Daniel Louis Bianco, Max, Hung Vu, Dr. John Kezel, Francisca Testa & family, Catherine Belanger, Tom Pleva, James Buturla, Patti F., Anne DeVita, Anna Harper, Jack Lane, Frank Kerekes, Antonia Tedeschi, Mary McDonald, Douglas Stanley, Jenn Katz, Barbara Tranchese, Mary Lopresti, Lor C., Viola Cleo Bradshaw, Susan W. and Janet C, Larry Pisani, Vincent Pisani, Greg, Kaiti and Cameron Kessler, Michael Merola & Family, Mildred Blasko, Father Krzysztof, and Baby Henry Taylor, Garren Kiett, Becky M., Michael, and Donna, Darryl Patterson, Louise Noll, Chrystal Archuletta and Alice Gumpert, Chloe Capra, Lucy Hanson, Mia, Jesse Hurst & Family, Hav Tweedy, Andrea Paddock, Joseph Laveneziana, Debbie Dragonetti, Nadine Alusik, Doug Stevens, Margarida Andrade, John

Please join us in praying our Monthly Parish Intention.

Our Petition for March is: for the HARTFORD MARCH FOR LIFE

We pray for the safety of all those Marching to end the evil of abortion, especially our own State's abomination of abortion up to

the full nine months of pregnancy....

     We pray to the Lord

Mass Intentions for  March 22 – March 30

Sat     Mar 22            4:30pm           Antonio R. Silva

Sun     Mar 23           7:30am           Shirley Knecht

Sun     Mar 23           9:30am           John and Olga Saad

Sun     Mar 23           11:30am         St Jude Parishioners

                                                           Laura Donovan

                                                           Pauline Schulte

Mon    Mar 24           9:00am           Maria Emilia Monteiro

Tue     Mar 25           9:00am           Rosa Muscarella

Wed    Mar 26           9:00am          Lou DiMartino

Thu     Mar 27           9:00am           Isabel Dupont

Fri      Mar 28           9:00am           Emanuel Cambra

Sat     Mar 29            4:30pm           Theresa Dyer

Sun     Mar 30           7:30am           St Jude Parishioners

Sun     Mar 30           9:30am           Nicholas Piciw, Sr

Sun     Mar 30           11:30am         Raymond Ferrara

                                                          Antonio Camacho

                                                          Cletus Roh                                                  

Tabernacle Candle: In memory of Emanuel Cambra

Adoration Candles: In memory of Margaret Tranzillo

Hosts and Wine: In memory of Mr and Mrs Wren J. Harper, Sr      

Weekday Masses (Monday thru Friday) 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

The Men's Bible Study will resume on Saturday, January 18th at 8:00 AM, in the Parish Social Hall. Each week we will study and discuss the Mass 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

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.