The weekend mass schedule is:
Saturday – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday – 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
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Our 4:00 pm Saturday sabbath mass will be live-streamed and available on our Facebook and YouTube pages beginning at 4:00. It will be posted here on our home page usually by 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening and available on all three throughout the weekend.
The readings for this week’s mass can be found by clicking on this link.
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The 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 31, 2025
Please give or sign up today – your donation is now more important than ever – Thank you!
To signup please click on “On-Line Giving Button” on our website or by clicking this link, https://www.osvhub.com/olgstratford/funds.
For customer assistance please call 1-800-348-2886 and choose option 1.
Pastor's Message
Dear Friends,The Parish Council met on Saturday August 23rd. We are beginning a process to fill 3 positions that are open on the Council. The Council meets seven times a year and in an advisory role to the pastor. The Council has met and discussed many topics since re-organization in 2023. You will find in the coming weeks the contact information for the Council representative to contact for further information.
What is a parish council?
A Catholic parish council is a representative body that advises the parish pastor in pastoral matters by helping to foster parish activity, identify needs, develop pastoral plans, and coordinate ministries, ultimately uniting the pastor and parishioners to fulfill the Church’s mission. Established after the Second Vatican Council, these councils provide a framework for the laity to share in the responsibility of pastoral care and offer input to the pastor, who remains the final decision-maker.
Peace,
Msgr. Ryan
Mass Times & Reconciliation
SABBATH MASSES
Saturday – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday Masses are at 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
We invite parishioners to present the Offertory Gifts! Our 4:00 p.m. Saturday sabbath mass will be live-streamed. The mass will continue to be available on our Facebook and YouTube pages beginning at 4:00pm on Saturday and throughout the weekend! It will be available usually by 6:00 p.m on Saturday on the homepage of our website.
.DAILY MASS
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday at 9:00 a.m.
Holy Day of Obligation
Friday August 15th is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother. It is a Holyday of obligation. Masses will be: a vigil mass on Thursday August 14th at 5:30 pm and masses on the Holy Day will be 9am and Noon.
ADORATION
Wednesday mornings, Deacon John Piatak will hold a prayer service at 9:30 a.m. to begin Eucharistic Adoration. Please come and join us for prayer and adoration weekly from 9:30 a.m.-Noon.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
The Stations of the Cross will be prayed every Friday during Lent.
HOLY DAY MASS SCHEDULE
The mass schedule will be posted prior to each Holy Day.
.PARISH ROSARY
Why be a Member of the Parish? Not a registered member of OLG! Many parishioners seek Mass cards, sacramental certificates, and/or sponsor certificates. We invite you to become a parishioner filling out the Become A Parishioner form found in the bulletin and emailed as attachment to MLopez@olgstratford.com dropped in the Drop Box by the rectory or by using the on-line registration link. If you prefer NOT to register online call the Parish Office at 203-377-0928 x 113.
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
Are you or do you know someone who is looking for personal growth in their Catholic Faith?
If you are an adult who has never been baptized
If you are an adult who has been baptized in a non-Catholic community
If you are an adult who has been baptized in the Catholic Church but never received Eucharist or Confirmation
If you are an adult interested in finding out more about the Catholic Faith, RCIA may be for you. For further information or questions you may call Linda Skowronski at 203-375-8992
2025 Mass Book
MASS BOOK 2026
We are preparing the parish mass book for 2026. We plan to open the book to your requests on Tuesday, September 2nd. Thank you for your patience
You may schedule your mass intentions by phone (203-377-0928 x 113) or in person the rectory M-F 9-3. We ask that you schedule no more than 6 weekend masses at this time. The stipend for weekday masses remain at $10 and $20 for weekends.
Please consider having a Sanctuary Lamp lit for your intentions. The stipend is $10.00 per Lamp. Mass cards can be picked up in the Parish Office during office hours. Parish Memorial Books – When you wish to remember a special someone, remember that Our Lady of Grace Parish has a Memorial Program. The purpose of the Memorial Program is to provide the funding of small projects within the parish. For example, vestments, ritual books, and other liturgical needs. This is a wonderful way to acknowledge someone living or deceased or in thanksgiving for a prayer answered. The Memorial Books are displayed in the Chapel area by the Tabernacle. For information on the OLG Memorial Program or to make a donation please call Cathy at the Parish Office (203) 377-0928 x 113.
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The Diocese of Bridgeport has asked us to pray for our priests. They publish a monthly list of priests to pray that month. It can be found on the Pray for Our Priests page of our website with the names of the priests bring prayed for during the month. Each week on our home page we will list the names of the priests to be prayed for that week. The priests we are asked to pray for this week are: August 24 – Msgr. John Cullen; August 25 – – Msgr. Joseph Cuneo; August 26– Fr. David Daigle.; August 27 – Fr. Martin deMayo; August 28 – Fr. Gerald-Frantz Desruisseaux; August 29 – Msgr. Alan Detscher; August 30 – Fr. Daniel Devore; August 31 -Msgr.
Stephen DiGi9ovanni; September 1 – ; September 2 – .
Welcome!
Parish Happenings
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We are hopeful that 100% of our registered households will respond to the 2025 Bishop’s Appeal. While the level of sacrifice will differ from parishioner to parishioner, an Appeal gift this year is within the reach of the majority of our people. Please prayerfully consider supporting the Bishop’s Appeal with a pledge or one-time gift as your means allow. Your support is much needed and will be greatly appreciated! To learn more please visit: https://www.2025BishopsAppeal.org Thank you for your support.
We are 8% short of our goal. We need your assistance in making our goal. You will find a flyer in the pew on ways to make your donation. The Appeal supports many Diocesan programs that serve you. We have sent 125 letters to parishioners this week. Can we count on you!!
Thank you for your continued support and generosity. To make a gift, or for more information, please visit us at 2025BishopsAppeal.org, or call (203)416-1470.
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St. Michael’s Lent
St. Michael’s Lent is a 40-day period of fasting and prayer, observed in the Catholic Church, beginning on August 15th (the Feast of the Assumption) and ending on September 29th (the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel). It is a time to seek spiritual renewal and deepen one’s relationship with God, often incorporating practices like fasting, prayer, and reflection. May we accompany each other in Faith and Prayer! For more information and weekly updagtes and suggestions click here!
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Weekly Gospel Stories
We encourage everyone to pick up the Weekly Gospel Stories & Living Gods Word flyers found in entrances in church, highlighting stories from this week’s Gospel.
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Eucharistic Ministers
Will you answer the Lord’s call to ministry? The parish is in need of your assistance. We are asking you to join our Eucharistic Ministry. There will be training. This call to ministry will help us renew ministers and add a Communion Station at our larger attended masses. For further information, please contact Cathy Nucera at 203-377-0928 x113.
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Perpetual Adoration
As part of Bishop’s Frank’s vision for “The One” Each Deanery is to have a place for “Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist. For the Stratford Catholic Community, Perpetual Adoration is held at St. Mark Parish.
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“Women of Grace”
The Daily Prayer group was begun by the “Women of Grace”. If you have a prayer intention or are in need of prayer, we ask you to call our prayer line. You can call our daily prayer line at 203-377-0928 x117. Please leave your prayer request and our parish group will be praying for your intention.
Rosary prayer group meets each Wednesday at 6:30pm in the Church. The Rosary is prayed, and scriptural readings are shared. The Rosary Prayer group welcomes women and men of the parish to join in prayer.
Thank you for attending the “Women of Grace” meeting on August 19. There was a good discussion and a process of setting goals for the program year are underway.
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Hospital and Nursing Home
Please let the Parish Office know if you are currently in the hospital or Nursing Home. We will keep you in our daily prayers.
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Liturgical Volunteers
Do you attend one of our parish masses each weekend? Would you like to join our ministry to welcome people to our parish? We are in need for Leaders, Greeters, and ushers. If interested please contact Cathy Nucera at 203-377-0928×113.
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Question of the Week has been moved to Our Spiritual Life page!
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We would like to thank our on–line donors for their support of our parish. We would like to ask our donors to check their accounts. We have noticed that your credit card may have expired or you have changed account numbers. Your financial support to our parish are important! Please call (203) 377–0928 x113.
.Click on “On-Line Giving Button” on our website or by clicking this link, https://www.osvhub.com/olgstratford/funds. For customer assistance please call 1-800-348-2886 choose option 1 or the Parish Office at (203) 377-0928 x113. To insure the proper date for your donation, we will be announcing each month the second collections and their dates: September 6/7 – Capital Improvement; September 13/14 – Catholic University
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CallingPost – Please watch for our calls each Friday night at 7pm. If you wish to receive our parish CallingPost call 203–377–0928 X113.
Thank you for receiving our CallingPost message on Friday evening at 7pm. Did you know 86.6% of our parishioners are receiving our CallingPost message? Please listen to our message during Lent!
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Our Lady of Grace Social Media – You can view Sunday mass on the website, Facebook or YouTube!
Please Like and Follow Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church Stratford CT on Facebook!
Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church Stratford CT. Please subscribe to our channel.
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Ministry to the Sick and Shut-in
We are seeing an increasing number of calls from our parishioners who are homebound. They would like to receive “Friendly Visits” and “Visits with Holy Communion.” Prior to the pandemic Our Lady of Grace parish had a large number of ministers visiting the homebound. If you would be interested in more information, please contact Msgr. Ryan (msgrryan@olgstratford.com) or Cathy Nucera at 203- 377-0928 x113.
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