Reflection from Fr. Joseph

Last weekend we just celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, drawing the story of Salvation History to a close. But what happened next to those chosen Twelve Apostles? Where did they go, and what happened to them? It’s a fascinating history of these great men (and those holy women!).



St. Peter traveled first to Alexandria, Egypt with Mark (who wrote his Gospel mostly on St. Peter’s recollections). After a while, he made his way to Rome to preach. According to tradition, when Nero threatened persecution, Peter was leaving Rome to save his own life, when he encountered a vision of Jesus heading back into Rome. Peter famously asked, “Domine, quo vadis?” (Lord, where are you going?). Jesus answered, “I am going back to be crucified again.” Peter got the hint and overcame his cowardice, going to Rome to suffer death for his fate. His executioners wanted to crucify him, but he asked to be crucified upside-down, saying that he was unworthy to die in the same manner of his Lord. His bones are buried beneath the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

St. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, preached in the Black Sea area, eventually making it to Constantinople. He died being crucified on an X-shaped cross. Although he never made it there, he is particularly venerated in Scotland.

St. Matthew wrote the first Gospel, originally in Hebrew but then later in Greek. He traveled to Ethiopia and was slain while celebrating Mass after rebuking the local leader for wanting to take a nun as his bride.

St. Philip was the only Apostle with a Greek name. He had been married and had three daughters before he left to follow Christ. After Pentecost, he preached in Greece, and scholars debate whether he was beheaded or crucified.

St. Bartholomew suffered the cruelest fate – he was skinned alive after having preached in Armenia and Mesopotamia. He, along with St. Jude, were responsible for the conversion of Armenia, which was the first entire country to embrace the Gospel. Jude himself was clubbed to death in Armenia and died as a martyr.

St. James the Greater was the first Apostle to be martyred as he suffered beheading at the hands of King Herod Agrippa. His relics miraculously ended up in Spain, where the famous pilgrimage trail of Santiago di Compostella leads to his shrine.

St. James the Less – called so because he was shorter or younger than James the Greater, not because of importance – was a relative of Our Lord, perhaps a cousin. He wrote the Book of James in the Bible, and served as the first Bishop of Jerusalem. According to tradition, the Pharisees threw him off the pinnacle of the Temple to his death, and then beat him with clubs.

St. Simon – not Simon Peter, but Simon the Zealot – a member of the political party of Jews who wanted to use military means to overthrow the Romans. There are many disparate traditions of his later life and death, but according to one, he was sawn in half in Persia after preaching there.

St. Thomas was sent to India, the furthest reaches of the known world. It is fitting that he who denied the Resurrection was sent to a people who denied the existence of reality (in some Buddhist traditions). He established a still-thriving Christian community in Kerala, India. Some traditions, more dubious, have him preaching in China and Paraguay. He was killed with a spear in India.

St. Matthias was the one to take the place of Judas Iscariot. He was stoned to death by the Pharisees in Israel.

St. John the Beloved Disciple lived quite an interesting life after Pentecost. He wrote five books of the New Testament (his Gospel, three letters, and the Book of Revelation). Having been given the task of taking care of Our Lady, he brought her to Ephesus where they lived until her Assumption, when he then preached in that region and led the church there. Roman authorities tried to have him martyred by boiling him in oil (he survived) and then poisoning a goblet of wine (he made the sign of the Cross over it, and a snake crawled out). He then was exiled to the Island of Patmos off of Greece, where he led the Christian community there until his death – he was the only Apostle to die of natural causes.

St. Mary Magdalene spent the rest of her life as a hermit, traveling to southern France and living in a cave in prayer and intercession.



Fascinating to know where these great saints ended up as they carried out Christ’s message to the ends of the earth!

PSA - Prayer Cards In Church

Many of our well-meaning parishioners have been leaving copious amounts of prayer cards in the back of church, of various types, in the hopes of distributing them to parishioners. Although the intention is very good, please do not leave prayer cards or other Catholic literature in the vestibule of the church without prior approval from Fr. Joseph. Thank you very much!

The recent blood drive at St. Judes' was considered a success as 50 blood items were collected. This was the goal. So, for the Knights of Columbus and the Columbiettes, we thank you for your contribution and support. The next drive will be held at IBEW on Rte. 25 on Saturday, July 18th. You can search for our drive on www.redcrossblood.org and select a time to donate.

Healing Shawl and Feed my People Ministries



The Healing Shawl Ministry has donated about 1055 shawls, most of them to parishioners requesting the prayers and comfort of a shawl for a loved one. Shawls are also given to charitable organizations, most recently to Missionaries of Charity in Bridgeport, founded by St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta. 

Since 2009, St. Jude’s, Feed My People Ministry, has been delivering bread and other food donated by a few local businesses, 7 days a week, to many places in Bridgeport, including The Missionaries of Charity. A Healing Shawl member rode along one day and asked the Sister in charge if they could use Healing Shawls and the quick response was ‘OF COURSE’. Since that time, periodically Healing Shawls are delivered to the sisters who give them to those whom they visit. 

Each Healing Shawl is packaged with a Miraculous Medal, and a copy of the St. Jude Novena. Pictured is one of the Sisters with 15 Healing Shawls that were recently delivered to the Missionaries of Charity. 

Family News and Events

End-of-the-Year Youth Appeal

​Dear families,

It has been an amazing year in Youth Encounters! From our first-ever overnight retreats to our dynamic Youth Encounter nights to our St Jude Youth TikTok channel going viral (one video with over 5 million views!), we're excited at what God is doing in our youth here in Monroe.

We have always made Youth Encounters free, no-cost, and no-sign-up. The Gospel should never come at a cost! At the same time, it does cost money to run Youth Encounters: supplies and food are getting more expensive (and the kids are getting hungrier!), and many of our trips and activities are heavily subsidized. We offer significant Camp Veritas scholarships, too, which drain our resources.

We are asking families to contribute to an End-of-the-Year Youth Encounter Appeal in the hopes of raising $1,000 for our youth programs here at St. Jude's. This will allow us to continue our strong youth program without taking money away from the other vital ministries at our parish.

Would you consider donating? If so, you can find the link here: https://www.osvhub.com/st-jude-church-monroe/giving/funds/youth-encounter-kid-s-club-appeal  or the QR code to donate is here below:

June Rooted Magazine



Here is the link for June's Rooted Magazine with a link to past issues here.

It is full inspiration for the the month of The Most Sacred Heart!

Printed copies will be available at the family ministry table.

Saint Jude Moms Group

Next Meeting Date:

Thursday 6/4 after 9:30 AM Mass in social hall

Email saintjudemomsgroup@gmail.com for more information!

Knights of Columbus News

The Knights of Columbus, Rev James McCarten Assembly 119, will be hosting a Patriotic Rosary on Tuesday, June 16th at 6PM . Please join us at the Madonna statue for prayer. If you wish, you may bring chairs. 

th Sunday Family Rosary after the 11:30 AM Mass. Sunday May 31. All are welcome. 

Pope Leo Monthly intentions:

That everyone might have food.

Sponsored by Knights of Columbus

Council 5987

Rosary at Marion Heights

The Knights of Columbus, Council 5987, will sponsor a Rosary at Marion Heights at 2:00 PM on Saturday June 6^th. 

May God Bless!

Hopeline Pregnancy Center has a continued need for disposable diapers, etc. They are currently low on sizes Newborn,3, 5, & 6, wipes and jars of baby food as well as gently used Baby clothes (boys and girls, up to 18 months), Baby blankets, crib sheets, Onesies, socks, strollers, bottles and pacifiers, strollers, baby toys and baby monitors. 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.

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 , Darryl Patterson, Dr. John Kezel, Francisca Testa & Family, Catherine Belanger, Tom Pleva, James Buturla, Patti F, Anne DeVita, Anna Harper, Frank Kerekes, Antonia Tedeschi, Mary McDonald, Douglas Stanley, Jenn Katz, Susan W, Barbara Tranchese, Mary Lopresti, Lor C, Janet C, Larry Pisani, Becky M, Vincent Pisani, Greg, Kaiti and Cameron Kessler, Mildred Blasko, Michael Merola & Family, Father Krzysztof, Baby Henry Taylor, Garren Kiett, Viola Cleo Bradshaw, Alice Gumpert, Michael, Donna, Chrystal Archuletta, Lucy Hanson, Jesse Hurst & Family, Maryann Lapinski, Andrea Paddock, Nadine Alusik, Margarida Andrade, John, Jimmy Forno, Matthew Van der Wielen, George N., Milenka Gospic, Benjamin Gray, Chris McCarthy, Leo B., Edward Isales, MaryAnn Voytek, Sal Guerrera, Anne Gulia, Raymond Gosselin, Nancy Czupkowski, Jean Paul, Virginia LaQuesse, Ed Marencik, Dan Mongillo, Lawrence Cofone, Mary Witkowsky, John Rizzitelli, Marissa S. , Dan Hermansson, Allison H.

Please join us in praying our Monthly Parish Intention..



Our Petitions for June are: Honoring St. Joseph and our own Fathers

As we honor St. Joseph and celebrate the gift of our own Fathers, may we pray for our priests, Fr. Joseph and Fr. Jozef, our Spiritual Fathers, that they may be filled with wisdom, understanding and strength to follow in the footsteps of St. Joseph...

         We pray to The Lord

 Mass Intentions for May 30 – June 7

Sat      May 30           4:30pm           Paul Reynolds

    Sun     May 31           7:30am            Loretta Delmastro

Sun     May 31            9:30am            Ivan Gospic

Sun     May 31            11:30am          St Jude Parishioners

                                                           Bernath Family

                                                           Florence Schaefer

Mon    June 1             9:00am           John Genchur

Tue     June 2             9:00am            Larry Pline                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Wed    June 3             9:00am           George Stowe

Thu     June 4             9:00 am          Larry Pline

Fri       June 5             9:00am           The Yash and Pekar families

Sat      June 6             9:00am           In honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sat      June 6             4:30pm           Joseph Farrugia

     Sun     June 7            7:30am            Nicholas Boland

Sun     June 7             9:30am           Maria Silva

Sun     June 7             11:30am          St Jude Parishioners

                                                           Loretta Delmastro

                                                           Ginny Yehle

Tabernacle Candle(May) In memory of Renee Freer and Stephen Misencik

                           (June) In memory of Margaret Ann Tranzillo

Adoration Candles(May) In memory of Luis and Elvira Ferreira and Jennifer

Cannon

Wine and Hosts(June) In memory of Lucinda Dantas     

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

There will be a once/month Sunday evening Solemn High Mass on the Fourth Sunday of every month, starting February 22, at 5:30pm. It is scheduled through May.

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

We are adding an additional Confession time starting February 1, through Easter (at least - if it is popular we will keep it). Monday nights from 8-9pm (the last hour of Adoration). 

Confessions will now be on Saturdays from 3:30-4:30pm and on Monday nights from 8-9pm. 

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

Parish Office Hours

THE OFFICE HOURS ARE:

MONDAY - THURSDAY 9:00 – 3:00

Please call (203-261-6404) or e-mail (ParishOffice@stjuderc.org) before coming to the office. Much can be accomplished through a phone call or email, such as requesting masses/mass cards; sacramental records; registering for Baptism; etc.