Church of the

Assumption

March 26, 2017

29 South Adams Street, Manchester, Connecticut 06040 Website: www.assumptionmanchester.org E-mail: info@assumptionmanchester.org

Pastor Father John E. Pahl

Permanent Deacon

Arthur Dickman Lee LaRocque

Mass Schedule Saturday Vigil Mass - 5 p.m. Sunday Morning - 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 a.m. Daily Mass Schedule Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday - 7 a.m. Saturday - 8 a.m. Holy Days - as published in the bulletin Confessions Saturday 4 p.m. or by appointment Rectory, 860-643-2195 285 West Center Street Office hours: Mon-Fri, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Rosary and Novena Miraculous Medal - Mondays at 7:10 p.m.

Religious Education Program, 860-643-7596 Sr. Colleen Doyle, RSM Religious Education, Grades 1-8 High School Confirmation Preparation RCIA Baptisms All parents desiring the Sacrament of Baptism for their children must participate in a Pre-Baptismal Program. Please con-tact Sister Colleen at 860-643-7596 for fur-ther information. Marriages Couples must make arrangements at least six months prior to wedding date. Bulletin Deadline Monday by 12 noon in writing

CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION MANCHESTER, CT

Please remember to turn off your cellphone during Mass.

TODAY’S READINGS First Reading — As the prophet Samuel anointed David with oil, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David and remained with him from that day forward (1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a). Psalm — The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want (Psalm 23). Second Reading — You who were once darkness are now light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8-14). Gospel — The man who was blind from birth pro-claimed: The one called Jesus made clay with his sa-liva, anointed my eyes with it, and told me to wash. When I washed, I was able to see! (John 9:1-41 [1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38])

TUESDAY EVENING BINGO Join us for a fun evening of Bingo at Assumption Church every Tuesday evening. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and Bingo starts at 6:30 p.m. Coffee and tea are provided. Food and soda available to purchase. Cash prizes. For further information, call Romeo 860-647-9335. PROGRESSIVE PRIZE…………….$400.00

PARISH SUPPORT March 19, 2017 Offertory $5213.00 The second collection next weekend is the regular Monthly Collection.

Thank you for your generosity.

Lenten Worship Opportunities March 1-April 14 Mondays in Lent

6-7 p.m. Reconciliation Little Black Books

Little Black Books are available in the entrances of the church. Please take one to help guide your Lenten prayer time. A $1.00 donation is requested.

Townwide Penance Service Sunday, April 2, 4 p.m., St. James Church

All the churches in the Archdiocese of Hartford will be open for confessions every Monday during Lent from 6-7 p.m. For more information, visit: Lightforyou.today.

Soup & Stations Friday Evenings in Lent 6 p.m. Soup and Stations

Enjoy a light supper of homemade soup in the church hall followed by stations of the cross. Stations begin at 7 p.m.

CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT The future king, David, in today’s first reading, is an example of a type of character present throughout the Hebrew scriptures. He is the child born out of place (not the eldest or most favored) who ends up receiving the promise of the covenant. The spirit of God’s anointing rushes upon him. In this way, he is similar to the man born blind from today’s Gospel. David’s family and the blind man’s community did not expect the miraculous grace of God’s love to work through them. Perhaps they, too, were “blinded” by the expectations and assumptions of those around them. Yet, after being touched by God, they both came to “see” the presence of God’s will for them. Both became messengers of God’s will. That same Spirit of God’s anointing rushed upon us at our baptism; we were given a candle as a sign of our membership in the Body of Christ, the Light from Light. Our vocation, then, is to fulfill that en-lightenment, that anointing, as Ephesians tells us, by living as “children of the light.” Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co., Inc.

Little Purple Books for Children are available at the entrances of the church. These books are specifi-cally designed for children and will help guide them through the season of Lent. Please encourage your children to take a book and use it with them during Lent.

“Lent is a favorable season for opening the doors to all those in need and recognizing in them the fact of Christ.” -Pope Francis, Message for Lent 2017

FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT

MEMORIAL CANDLES March 26, 2017

To request a candle be lit, take an envelope from either Mary’s or Saint Joseph’s Altar, fill in the information and place in the collection basket or deliver to the rectory. You can request more than one candle per envelope by utilizing the space on the back of the envelope. Please do not take more envelopes than you need for the one week. Reminder: The cost for a candle is $7.00.

Are You Being Called? Clear the mud from your eyes and see! The one who heals also calls us to follow. Live your life as a wit-ness to God’s healing, saving touch. If you feel called to priesthood or religious life, call Fr. Jeffrey Gubbiotti, Director of Vocations, Archdiocesan Cen-ter at St. Thomas Seminary, 860-242-5573, visiwww.vocationshartford.org or email vocations @aohct.org.

MARY’S ALTAR Alfred & Jeanne Poncelet Fred & Ellie Dandeneau Leonore Ash Valerie Prakas Roger Lemire Son’s Health Blessed Mary, Jesus, All Saints Nancy Ann Galligan John Mangini, Jr. Norman Poulin

ST. JOSEPH’S ALTAR Special Intention

Record of Contributions for 2016 If you would like to receive a statement of your 2016 contributions to Church of the Assumption, please fill out this form and put it in the collection basket. Please print. Name: _______________________________________ Address: _______________________________________ Envelope Number: ______________________________________ Daytime Phone Number: _______________________________________

Save the Date.. Parish Tag Sale, Saturday, June 10

Volunteers needed. If interested, email Heather at Heatherlaprise96@gmail.com. More information to come.

New Day Bereavement Program Living through grief is not easy and it does not have to be done alone. St. Bridget’s Church in Manches-ter offers New Day, a nine-week program for those who wish to do grief work wit others having the same experience. This program provides a sense of community where support is given and received, and one feels at ease knowing that those attending have also had the pain of loss. New Day is led by trained facilitators and includes prayer, discussion and journaling. It is a faith-based program and all are welcome. The next program be-gins on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the St. Bridget parish office, 80 Main St., Manches-ter. For further information or to register for the pro-gram, please call Dana at 860-883-9822.

Ladies Guild April Meeting Instead of a regular meeting in April, the Ladies Guild will attend Soup and Stations on Friday, April 7. Soup, prepared by Guild members, will be served at 6 p.m. Guild members will then lead Mary’s Way of the Cross beginning at 7 p.m. As usual all are welcome to attend Soup and Stations. Membership in the Guild is not required to partic-ipate in this special Lenten evening devotion.

MARCH 26, 2017

Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the self-less acts they perform for us in our time of need. Give us your peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus now and forever. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Lent Remember the Star Wars

movies, in which the Dark Side was a symbol of evil? In our second reading Paul tells the Christians in Ephesus that they were once dark-ness. Paul uses darkness as a sym-bol of shame. Shame is not just sor-row for sins; it is the fear of being caught in sin, or of telling our weaknesses to another because we think the other will look down on us. Paul was a sinner himself and was blinded when Jesus appeared to him, asking, “Why do you persecute me?” So he knew that the only way to be free of shame is not to hide sins, but to expose them.

Does that mean we have to broadcast our sins on the evening news, or post them all on our social media pages? No; we just need to confess them to God and receive God’s forgiveness. We can do this through the sacrament of reconciliation. The priest shows that God loves sinners, no matter what they have done. If you wreck your car, you take it to the repair shop and tell the mechanics what is broken so they can repair it. In reconciliation we bring our sins to the priest so that we can experience forgiveness.

Sometimes other people try to shame us. In the Gospel, Jesus told the Pharisees that they were the sinners, because they had judged the blind man. So when we know that God forgives us and still loves us, we don’t have to fear what others might think. Let us instead hold our sins up to the light of forgiveness and be free of our shame. Tom Schmidt, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

The Archbishop’s Annual Appeal suppor ts many important ministries and programs. Gifts are allocat-ed towards religious education programs, youth min-istries, local charities, the education of our seminari-ans, our retired clergy, our Catholic schools, and the many ministries provided by the Archdiocese. If you have not made a gift, please prayerfully consider making a pledge or one-time gift.

MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK SATURDAY, MARCH 25 5:00 PM Fannie Milner SUNDAY, MARCH 26 7:30 AM Valerie Prakas (Living) 9:30 AM Daniel J. Connolly-5th Anniversary 11:30 AM Patricia Chasse MONDAY, MARCH 27 7:00 AM Fred Hollis TUESDAY, MARCH 28 7:00 AM Souls in Purgatory WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 No Mass THURSDAY, MARCH 30 7:00 AM Joseph Golas FRIDAY, MARCH 31 7:00 AM Frank Moran SATURDAY, APRIL 1 8:00 AM Helen & Stanley Gnat 5:00 PM Libby & John Zack SUNDAY, APRIL 2 7:30 AM Vocations 9:30 AM Rev. Francis McDonnell, Ed Mason Pat Parlapiano 11:30 AM Anita Daigle—2nd Anniversary

Novena Every Monday evening at 7:10 p.m. Church of the Assumption conducts a Novena to the Blessed Virgin with a Rosary, Exposition, and Benediction. This is a good opportunity for you to spend some time with the Lord and receive a blessing.

Fourth Sunday of Lent The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. —Psalm 23:1

Alar Servers Needed Assumption Church is in need of altar servers. If your child is 4th grade or older, this might be a good way for him or her to begin serving the church. Training will be provided. If interested or if you’d like more information, please call the rectory 860-643-2195.

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