Pastor's Message
Dear Friends, Important – Please read – EMAIL SCAM
The Diocese of Bridgeport sent every parish a flyer about an email scam. No one from Our Lady of Grace is seeking contributions of iTunes gift cards. Please disregard any email from the Office or from a “parishioner” that asks for gift cards.
Lent upon us, I invite you to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will continue to have confessions at our regular times. The Saturday time is best for the Church. It is quiet and prayerful and allows you a time for prayer and reflection.
We will also have a Parish Penance Service on Wednesday April 8th at 7pm. We are a parish with one priest, so please join us during the scheduled times!
Ash Wednesday Schedule: 7:30 am Prayer Service, 9:00 am Mass,3:30 pm Prayer Service, 5:30 pm Mass, and 7:30 pm Prayer Service.
Stations of the Cross during Lent on Fridays at 12:00 (Noon).
The guidelines for Lenten Fasting and Abstinence during Lent are:
The rules for fasting and abstinence in the United States are: Every person 14 years or older must abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent. Every person between the age of 18 and 59 (beginning of 60th year) must fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting is one full meal and two smaller meals and fast between meals.
Diocesan White Mass – Medical Professionals Please save the date Sunday March 22, 2020 for the Annual White Mass. More Information to follow!
On Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 3:00 pm at St Theresa Parish in Trumbull, Bishop Caggiano will be celebrating the 2020 Wedding Jubilee Mass. This Mass is for couples celebrating their 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50+ year wedding anniversaries. The Mass will be immediately followed by a concert by the Diocesan Choir 4 Youth. To register, please contact the parish office or go to www.bridgeportdiocese.org/jubileemass to register directly. There is no cost to attend. Space is limited, so please RSVP by April 16, 2020.
Msgr. Ryan
Mass Times & Reconciliation
SABBATH MASSES
Saturday – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday – 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m.
DAILY MASS
Monday – Friday at 9:00 a.m.
ANOINTING OF THE SICK
Friday mornings at the 9:00 a.m. mass
CONFESSION
Friday 8:30 a.m.–8:50 a.m. Saturday 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m.
The church is open from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. for those who wish to stop in to pray in front of the Tabernacle or the Marion icon.
HOLY DAY MASS SCHEDULE
Vigil Mass – 7:00 p.m.
Holy Day Masses – 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon
Ash Wednesday Schedule
7:30 a.m. Prayer Service
9:00 a.m. Mass
12:00 p.m.(Noon) Prayer Service
3:30 p.m. Prayer Service
5:30 p.m. Mass
7:30 p.m. Prayer Service
Stations of the Cross – Lenten Fridays at 12:00 (Noon)
We have developed a policy that safe-guards our parishioners and will allow time for our parish contractors to clear the property during storms.
Weekdays: When the schools are closed or delayed or the Town or State has advised against travel, Daily Mass will be cancelled for that day. The parish will notify channel 8, channel 3 and the radio stations of the cancellation.
Weekends: When severe weather occurs during weekend Mass times, please check the local TV and Radio stations and our parish website for cancellations. It becomes very difficult to keep the sidewalks, driveways, and parking area clear if it snows during Mass time.
Your safety is important to us!
Any Mass intention affected by the cancellation will be said during the next week.
Handicapped Parking
The four spaces directly in front of the Church on Second Hill Lane are handicapped parking spaces. These spaces are for our parishioners who have a handicap parking sticker.
Wheelchair Seating
We invite you to be seated in the front area of the church. You and your family can be seated. Communion will be brought to you at the beginning of Communion time!
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 or email Denise at denisebartelson@olgstratford.com
Bishop Caggiano's Corner
Welcome!
Join us to pray, smile, listen, encourage, and invite others to come home.
Be Still and Know that I am God – Psalm 46:10
On-line Giving Program
We would like to thank those who have joined our on-line giving program. We are finding that parishioners are having difficulty in making a donation to the second collection. For customer assistance please call 1-800-348-2886 choose option 1. To insure the proper date for your donation, we will be announcing each month the second collections and their dates. (Hope for the Future Collection Feb 23, and Ash Wednesday Feb 26th.)
To signup please click on “On-Line Giving Button” on our website or by clicking this link, https://www.osvhub.com/olgstratford/funds. Click on Give Now and you will be prompted through signing up and creating an account.
PARISH REGISTRATION
Why register? Through your participation as a “Parish Steward”, you continue to help a community of faith grow. You gain services when you need them, such as Baptism, Visitation of the Sick, Sponsorship Certificates and a place for a Funeral. You will also receive updated information regarding the parish by email or by our auto-call system.
To register, stop by the Parish Office or fill out the Become A Parishioner form and drop it in the offertory basket during mass
Office hours: M–F, 9:00am – 3:00pm
No Faith Formation Classes on February 12th, 15th or 16th.
No RCIA Class on February 12th.
February 15 -Saturday – 5:00 – 7:00 p.m – Valentine’s Day Knight Pasta Dinner! Click here for more information.
February 24th – Our volunteers will be serving meals at the Lord’s Kitchen. They need our help in providing for the needs of the people they serve. Click here for more information.
Dates of second collections for the month of February –Capital Improvement Feb 2, Hope for the Future Collection Feb 23, and Ash Wednesday Feb 26th
Parish News
Publicity Person
Msgr. Ryan is seeking a volunteer to assist the Parish Team in creating articles, news announcements, and public announcements of our parish programs. If God has gifted you please give us a call! Contact Msgr. Ryan at msgrryan@olgstratford.com or 203-377-0928 x12.
Hey Daddy…..Hey Mommy Did you know??
The month of February is dedicated to The Holy Family, let’s celebrate by………. *spending the day together doing family activities, playing games, watching a movie etc….
Valentine’s Day is February 14…. Saint Valentine is the patron Saint of Love, Young People and Happy Marriages. Saint Valentine was a kindhearted Roman priest, he aided young Christians from persecution. While in prison Saint Valentine converted many guards to Christianity. In hon-or of Saint Valentine.
*Send a Valentine to a neighbor or family mem-ber who might otherwise not receive one.
HELP NEEDED Our Lady of Grace Bingo!
On Tuesdays at Our Lady of Grace under the direction of Bill Soisson and many dedicated volunteers Bingo is held in our gym. Bingo is a great asset to our parish. Currently, we are reaching out to our parishioners to get more volunteers. Bingo runs from 6:30 – 9:00 pm. You would not have to volunteer every week, any help you could give would be appreciated. If you think you would like to volunteer, please call Bill Soisson at 203-375-2851 to discuss further.
CRS Rice Bowls
This year we invite our households to work and pray to care for the hungry throughout the world! During Lent our community will participate in CRS Rice Bowls, a faith-in-action program that invites us to reflect on the challenges of global hunger and our responsibility to respond to the needs of our global human family.
Please consider these suggestions in your family’s Lenten plan:
*Use your CRS Rice Bowl and Lenten Calendar daily to guide your prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
*Visit crsricebowl.org to watch videos of the people and communities you support through your Lenten gifts to CRS Rice Bowl.
World Day of Prayer for the Sick
On February 11th we will join with the Churches around the world to pray for the sick person. Our Lady of Grace parish will have a notebook available on the weekend of February 8/9 for the names of people you wish to remember on February 11th!
AARP Tax Preparation for Seniors every Monday and Tuesday from February 10th – April 14th from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Madonna Hall
Calling Post
For the past 7 years we have used a robo-call service called “Calling Post”. The service has helped the parish to keep you informed. In a recent Calling Post to parishioners, we had 200 calls “intercepted”, which means you have blocked us from reaching you! When this occurs, it also creates “pastoral questions” for the parish. Are you still residing in the parish? Has your status changed (illness, etc.)? We ask you to contact the Parish Office if you have blocked our robo-calls so that we can remove your name from our calling-post list!
Faith Formation invites everyone to join them on their Prayer Walk!
THE FRIEND OF JESUS PRAYER
Don’t walk behind me because I may not want to lead. Don’t walk ahead of me I may not want to follow. Walk aside me and be my friend!
Prayer is a powerful tool and I am sure many of you can witness to that, but if you have not been one to turn to prayer this will be a good place to start. A few months ago at a Family Mass we talked about the importance of prayer. We talked about starting a Prayer Walk and asked families to sign up to be part of our Prayer Walk. With the Prayer Walk we send you an email when we receive special prayer intentions. We have about 35 parishioners at this time signed up. If you would like to participate in this Prayer Walk you can sign up by sending us your name and email to denisebartelson@olgstratford.com. We send out an email about once a month to everyone who signs up and we ask you to pray when we receive special prayer intentions.
Hope you will join us on our Prayer Walk!
Be sure to check out the Our Spiritual Life tab on this website for resources to help deepen our faith.
Virtus Training and Background Checks – Creating a Safe Environment for our Parish. We need all of our parish volunteers to be Virtus Trained, and to take a Background Check!
If you are a new volunteer or are considering becoming a volunteer contact George Zamary at 203-377-0928 X9 for further information.
Parish Finances
Parish Finances
Hope for the Future Collection
We ask your assistance in building the future of the parish. Your donations in the Hope for the Future Envelope on February 22/23, will keep us current with our bills!
Because the Parish Offertory is falling behind and the winter weather and the holidays are upon us, may I ask you to make up your envelopes when you are not able to be with us.
2020 Mass Book
Remembering Someone Special
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 Stacey at the Parish Office (203) 377-0928 x13.
The 2020 Mass Book is available for your Mass intentions. Masses can be said for either “living” or “deceased”. Mass stipends are $10.00 for Masses said during the week and $20.00 for weekend Masses. If a specific day is unavailable, please consider having a Sanctuary Lamp lit for your intentions. The stipend is $10.00 per Lamp.
Event Calendar
Click an upcoming event below for more details or visit our full Event Calendar.