Dear Friends,
This Friday, June 29, the Solemnity of SS. Peter & Paul, Apostles, marks the first anniversary of the founding of Precious Blood Parish. Our new parish, formed from two venerable parishes, St. Mary and St. Agnes, in these past twelve months, has come together in many ways. We have had several social opportunities for the people of the parish to mingle and meet. Our new parish council and finance council have been formed and have met several times. The fruits of these meetings included the new Mass schedule, approved overwhelmingly by the people of the parish, a parish mission statement, and discussion of future plans and actions that will bind the parish closer together. Already I have noticed with pleasure that none too few of you are willing to go to either church for weekend or daily Masses. This is to be encouraged as the new Mass schedule goes into effect next January.
In reflecting on the past year, I am pleased with the progress that has been made. You, the people of the parish, by and large, have been most cooperative and supportive, even if there was some initial unhappiness. As we move forward, we will be working on bringing similar ministries from both churches together in a way that eliminates duplications and at the same time enhances possibilities. These ministries include the Ladies Guilds, the social outreach programs, as well as religious education and faith formation. May we keep our new parish foremost in our prayers this week as we mark this milestone, asking God to bless us in our efforts to be effective witnesses to the Gospel as the Catholic Church in central and eastern Milford.
Archbishop Blair has announced that he will convene a Synod for the Archdiocese of Hartford, which will be celebrated in 2020. Between now and then, there will be an intense period of preparation and discernment in which all of the people as well as the clergy of the Archdiocese will be involved. The purpose of the Synod is to take a good, long and hard look at how we as God’s people in the Archdiocese of Hartford are doing in responding to our call to be witnesses to Christ and missionary disciples, as Pope Francis call us to be. As we move into the summer months, we will be sponsoring a listening session to which all the people of the parish are invited. The session, the date and place for which will be announced in the next several weeks, will focus on three questions:
- What is the Archdiocese of Hartford doing well?
- What is the Archdiocese of Hartford not doing well?
- What is the Archdiocese of Hartford not doing which should be done?
Note that the focus of the questions is not on our own parish but on the Archdiocese as a whole.
A word on Father Callahan is in order. Last Sunday night, he fell in his room at the rectory on Merwin Avenue. He was taken to St. Raphael’s Hospital in New Haven, where he spent several days being evaluated. Happily, he seemed to suffer no serious injuries. As of this writing, he is in residence at the Milford Health and Rehabilitation Center on Platt Street. Should you wish to drop a card or a note in the mail to him, the address is 195 Platt Street here in Milford, the ZIP code being 06460. I will keep you posted on how he is doing.
Finally, there is a letter from the Catholic Bishops of Connecticut regarding Education Savings Accounts. You are urged to read it and get behind this initiative. A copy of the letter is available on the parish website. Check the bulletin cover for how to access the website.
Have a good week!
