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Altar Servers

December 17th & 18th 4:00p.m. E. Jinks, G. Jinks, M. Jinks, Staples 7:30a.m. K. McCormack, R. McCormack, S. McCormack 9:00a.m. C. Deko, J. Deko, J. Deko, Sullivan 11:00a.m. Puckhaber, Rochefort, J. Strell, S. Strell 4:00p.m. DeNomme, A. McMahon-Egan, C. McMahon-Egan, Retuya

December 24th & 25th

Check in the Sacristy for the Christmas Mass schedule.

Extraordinary Ministers

December 17th & 18th

4:00p.m. Clark, Elengo, J. Kozaczuk, R. Kozaczuk 7:30a.m. Bernard, Christolini, Rowinski, Saviello 9:00a.m. Cherrone, Ciaburri, J. Ginnetti, Glazewski 11:00a.m. Caldarella, Larkin, Lonergan, Pikulski 4:00p.m. Please consider volunteering

December 24th & 25th Six Extraordinary Ministers needed for each Mass—please

consider volunteering 4:00p.m. (church) Clark, Devine, Elengo, Metz 4:00p.m. (gym) Pikulski, Rowinski 6:00p.m. Lussier, Rowinski 10:00p.m. Caldarella, Lonergan 8:30a.m. Rowinski, Saviello 10:30a.m. Pisani, L. Ricciuti, M. Ricciuti

Readers

December 17th & 18th 4:00 p.m. J. Ginnetti

7:30 a.m. Gomes, 9:00 a.m. Higgins 11:00 a.m. Devine, 4:00 p.m. V. Shemo

December 24th & 25th 4:00 p.m. (church) Tiriolo, 4:00 p.m. (gym) Rapillo

6:00 p.m. J. Ginnetti, 10:00 p.m. S. Centorino 8:30 a.m. Metz, 10:30 a.m. Devine

Eucharistic Adoration Schedule

Friday, December 23rd

1-2pm – Dottie Lines & Erica Sullivan 2-3pm – Ed St. Martin & Maria Cersoli

3-4pm – Nancy Gormley & Mary Alyce Lee Please contact the rectory if you are interested in

par cipa ng in Eucharis c Adora on or you cannot make your scheduled me.

Altar Care December 18th

Joanne Buckheit, Diane Ciancola, Virginia Paulate, Arlla Simisky

Fourth Sunday of Advent December 18, 2016

7:00 a.m. Special Intention

Tuesday December 20th

7:00 a.m. Salvatore & Mary Mascia Requested by Peter & Mary Mongillo

Wednesday December 21st

7:00 a.m. The People of St. Bridget and St. Thomas Becket

Thursday December 22nd

9:00 a.m. Frank Havrilla Requested by Sandy & Bill Walsh

Friday December 23rd

7:00 a.m. Helen P. Snow Requested by Gilman F. Cote 9:00 a.m. School Mass—AnnaLee Riddle Requested by Martha Friar

9:00 a.m. Betty Ryan—In Living Prayer Requested by Your Sister-in-Law, Chris 4:00 p.m. Church—Helen C. Lane Requested by Dorothy Cadden 4:00 p.m. School—The People of the Parish 6:00 p.m. Sue D’Antonio Requested by Judy, Ray, & Mark 10:00 p.m. Edmond & Keith Kubeck—Merry Christmas in Heaven Requested by the Family

8:30 a.m. Marla Perrotti Requested by John & Pat Perrotti 10:30 a.m. The People of the Parish

Sunday December 25th: The Nativity of the Lord

Saturday December 24th

Monday December 19th

9:00 a.m. Special Intention 4:00 p.m. Garry Fuoco Requested by Mr. & Mrs. Fuoco

7:30 a.m. Joseph Daddio Requested by Angela & Marty Krause 9:00 a.m. Peter Barry Requested by Mona & James Downey 11:00 a.m. Neddy B. McPike Requested by Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Minaudo, John McPike, Patricia Drechsler 4:00 p.m. Theresa Pellegrino Requested by Arlene Dottori

Sunday December 18th: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Saturday December 17th

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On-going spiritual nourishment…if you have found the little blue books or the Magnificat helpful to your spir-itual life this Advent season I encourage you to consider joining the Word On Fire Daily Gospel Reflection email list. Simply go to http://dailycatholicgospel.com/get-reflections and sign-up to receive a short daily reflection everyday from Bishop Robert Barron, a renowned theolo-gian and now auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles. Daily re-flection should be part of everyone’s day and this ser-vice that is provided free is a wonderful way to ensure that we are working on our spir-itual lives not only in Advent and Lent but all year long! Our Advent Mission continues with a Penance Ser-vice this coming Tuesday with Father Lenaghan leading us in a short Penance Service at 7PM in Saint Bridget Church and then we will have the opportunity for individ-ual confessions. Please join us! We will have additional priests available for the Sacrament in addition to Father Lenaghan, Father O’Neill, and myself. Please consider receiving this Sacrament of Healing as a way to prepare to celebrate the great Birth of our Savior. Hope to see you there! Reminder that next weekend we celebrate Christmas. Here’s a little encouragement to welcome all who come to worship with us! Pope Francis has called us to “Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven. For

with Christ joy is con-stantly born anew.” While we gather as a parish family next Sunday to celebrate the great gift of God’s own Son, certainly cause for our hope

and joy, let us heed these words of Pope Francis. Let us do what we can to ensure that ALL feel welcomed here at Saint Bridget. You never know what effect a smile, a kind gesture, a sim-ple hello, or a kindness in the parking lot can have in the life of the one to whom you extend this kindness. Many will come to be with us this coming week out of habit, whether they are regular parishioners or those who only come from time to time, we welcome them all. Among those who will join us we will find: Those who come seeking like the wise men… Those who come surprised like the shepherd…

continued…

The candle before our Tabernacle shines this week for

Leo Ayotte Requested by His Wife, Marie

CAN YOUR CHILD BE BAPTIZED? ALL CHILDREN ARE WELCOME TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. It does not matter if the par-ents are single or married outside the Catholic Church. ALL CHILDREN no matter what, are welcome to the baptism of the Lord, as long as they will be raised Catholic. If you need more information, please contact the parish office at 203-272-3531,

Saint Bridget Prayer Line

Requests for prayer may be submitted to the Prayer Line by calling Dell Kasinskas at 203-272-0070 or emailing akasins@sbcglobal.net. There is a need for "pray-ers", that is, people who pray. Please consider offering your time.

...continued Those who come distracted like the innkeeper and his

wife… Those who come kicking and screaming like Herod… Those who are searching for meaning in their lives… Those who are grieving the loss of their spouse, par-

ent or child and are in need of the peace that only Jesus can give…

Those who don’t believe that Jesus is for them… Those who are hurting and in pain, but are here to

give Jesus another shot… Those who are not sure why they are here but they

are… Let us welcome them all, no matter what has brought them among us; they are here and deserve to be wel-comed, and to know the joy, the peace, the hope, the love, and the mercy this Babe of Bethlehem brings into the world. Please make an effort to welcome those around you at the Christmas Masses and let them know that our parish fami-ly is a place where they are welcomed and loved. You never know, your kindness may be the reason they come back next week. Let’s make that our hope and our prayer. As always remember to pray for our parish family and ask God’s blessings as we build His kingdom here. Please know that I am praying for you, and I ask for your prayers for me, that together through the intercession of Saint Bridget, our Patron, and united in the Eucharist, we will reflect the presence of Jesus to the world.

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ALZHEIMER’S CAREGIVERS SUPPORT GROUP Sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association. All are invited to

come Share-Learn-Laugh-Focus: For caregivers and family members with loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and other related dementias. The 2nd Tuesday of

each month from 6pm-7p.m. at the Clelian Adult Day Center, 261 Benham Street, Hamden (on the property of

Sacred Heart Academy) For more information, call 203-288-4151.

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the Master of the harvest to send out laborers for His harvest.” Matthew 9

Advent Discernment Night for young men ages 18-35, Tuesday, December 20, 6-8pm St. Thomas Seminary, 467

Bloomfield Ave., Bloomfield, CT Includes a short talk with prac cal sugges ons for

“discerning” the call, prayer before the Blessed Sacra-ment and a chance to hear a few of our seminarians de-

scribe their stories. There’s even free pizza! Call or email the Voca ons Office by December 16th to reserve your

spot. Contact Fr. Jeff Gubbio , Voca on Director

Phone: 860-761-7457 E-mail: voca ons@aohct.org

www.har ordpriest.com

The weekly offertory for December 11th was $12,782.50. Online giving donations for the week were $2,053.30. The collection for Immaculate Conception

was $2,088.50. The collection for the Retired Religious was $6,162.00. Additional donations for Christmas

Flowers were $426.00

Thank you for your kind generosity! Please go to www.stbridgetcheshire.org to donate online.

Parish Directories are available in the rectory on a first-come first-served basis.

Saint Bridget School “Fostering academic excellence, community awareness and spiritual growth.”

Save the Date

We will be hos ng our annu-al open house on Sunday January 29th, from 10:00am-12:00pm. This is a great op-portunity to visit our school and take a tour, speak with teachers and meet with cur-rent SBS families.

Enrollment at SBS

As a reminder, there is a $500.00 parish grant for each student whose parent/guardian is actually registered, ac vely par ci-pa ng in, and suppor ng the parish through the envelope sys-tem. This is a great opportunity for St. Bridget parishioners.

Please give us a call/email us if you would like more infor-ma on or would like a tour of the school. 203-272-5860 ccum-mings@stbridgetschool.org

FACEBOOK FOR ST. BRIDGET ALUMNI AND FRIENDS

Calling all St. Bridget School Alumni and Friends of St. Bridget School! Be sure to like us on our Facebook Page! Our Face-book pages are St. Bridget School, Cheshire and St. Bridget Alumni, Cheshire.

Religious Education Office Donna Yatcko, Director

Rebecca Flyntz, Admin. Asst. Office hours 8:30am - 1:30pm

203-272-6504

Fourth Sunday

of Advent

IMPORTANT DATES: Kindergarten through 6th grade Sunday 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM, our next class will be December 18th and January 8th. Seventh and Eighth Grades every other Sunday 8:30 AM to 11:15 AM, December 18th and January 8th. Ninth and Tenth Grades every other Sunday 5 PM until 6:30 PM, December 18th and January 8th.

First Grade through Sixth grade, Monday 4 PM to 5 PM and 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, December 19th and January 9th .

Confirmation Program: The next class is on Sunday December 18th. We will meet in St. Bridget School gym at 5 PM.

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Ask Father

We know many of you have questions about our Catholic faith because you ask us in passing all the time. Please submit them so that all the parish can benefit from the answers! Please continue to simply write it down and put it in an envelope clearly marked “Ask Father”, and it will be answered in the order in which it was received. Only one question will be answered each week. We hope this will be a way for us all to grow in our understanding of the faith.

Q. Will Catholics who are not Bap zed see God? It seems these days some Catholics think it is not necessary.

A. To begin with, we should get one thing straight: if someone is not bap zed, that person is not Catholic. Bap-

sm is the entry and welcome into the Church. It is the entry into the life of the Church, the share in the promis-es of Christ, and the beginning of the sacramental life. A person can believe the things that are taught by the Cath-olic Church, but membership demands first entry and then par cipa on.

Now, I presume you are worried that there are couples who are not having their children bap zed. There is, recently, an unse ling trend of people wai ng great lengths of me before arranging Bap sm for their chil-dren. In the past people were much more hurried about it due to fears of infant mortality, these fears are largely nonexistent these days. Regardless, Canon Law states “Parents are obliged to take care that infants are bap-

zed in the first few weeks” (CIC 867). Surely parents want to share their faith with their kids!

The second part of the ques on demands a much longer answer than I can give here. In short, you are ask-ing about salva on outside of the Church. The response of the Church always searches for hope. We hope that someone who has lived well, and tried to always hold themselves to a high morality would be admi ed to Heaven, especially if they had li le encounter with the Faith or opportunity to seek her gi s. But God gave us the Church and the Faith for a reason. No person or child should be inten onally excluded from these gi s. As the Catechism says, “Through Bap sm we are freed from sin and reborn as sons [and daughters] of God” (CCC 1213). Bap sm admits us to the sacramental life and puts us into a posi on to accept the gi s of grace which Jesus bestows on us. No one should be denied these gi s, no one should be excluded from these blessings. To refrain from having one’s child bap zed for any great length of

me is a very serious ma er.

Christmas

Mass

Schedule

Saturday, December 24

Christmas eve

4:00 p.m. - St. bridget church 4:00 p.m. - st. bridget gym

4:00 p.m. - St. Thomas becket

6:00 p.m. - St. bridget church

10:00 p.m. - St. bridget church

Sunday, December 25

Christmas day

8:30 a.m. - St. bridget church

9:00 a.m. - St. Thomas becket

10:30 a.m. - St. bridget church

PLEASE NOTE NO 4PM MASS ON CHRISTMAS DAY!

2017 Pastor’s Dinner Club is set to begin! The Pastor’s Dinner Club will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2017, at the Aqua Turf in the Wagon Room. Registration forms available at the doors of the Church to-

day! Sign-up early for chances to win the weekly gift. The cost of the dinner is $100 per person and this in-cludes a surf and turf dinner and an evening of dancing and fun. If you didn’t come last year ask someone who did, we had a great evening as we grew together in faith.

As soon as you register and pay for the dinner, you will be assigned a number on our registration list. Each week, with assistance of a random number finder, a number is chosen and that individual is given a gift of $25. This occurs weekly until the night of the dinner. At the dinner additional larger gifts are given. Consider being a Table Captain and coordi-nate gathering 8 or 10 of your fellow parishioners, family or friends to join you. Registration forms along with the mon-ies may be mailed to the rectory, placed in the collection in an envelope marked Pastor’s Dinner Club, or dropped off at any time. What a great way to gather together on April 1, 2017, at the Aqua Turf and enjoy an evening of fine food, beverages, and entertainment with fellow parishioners from our two parishes, your family members, and friends.

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ST. BRIDGET PARISH MUSIC MINISTRY “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth

Break into song; sing praise! - - Psalm 98:4

Celebrate the Nativity of the Lord with song!

Children’s Choir: Christmas Eve Mass at 4pm in the church. Parish Choir: Christmas Eve Mass at 10pm in the church. Contemporary Ensemble: Christmas Eve Mass at 4pm in the school gym.

Positions Open at Franciscan Home Care and Hospice Care

Are you looking for a mission-based position in home health care? Franciscan Home Care and Hospice, Meriden, seeks a LPN for an in-house Patient Care Coordi-nator position and a CNA/Home Health Aide to work full-time in its home care program. Join our team of home health care professionals. Call 203 238-1441 and visit our web site at www.franciscanhc.org.

Learning about our Catholic Faith

Did you know? Background to Two Christmas Tradi ons.

Let’s start with the date of Christmas. In all likelihood Jesus was not born on the 25th of December. Remember that in the early days of the Church, Catholicism was really picking up steam in and across the Roman Empire. A very sensible movement was to replace old pagan holi-days with Chris an holidays. The Church has always been open to sacramentalizing what it has at hand. The Romans were in the prac ce of solar fes vals a er the Winter Sols ce (which could happen from Dec. 21-23). Though the date probably does not correspond to the actual date of Jesus’ Birth, it works to symbolize some-thing greater. The Winter Sols ce past, the days begin to grow longer again and we remember too the rising of our own Sun of Jus ce. Jesus, the light of the world was born into the darkness and sca ered the darkness.

And what do you know about the crèche or na vity sce-ne? Did you know that the first one seems to have been done by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223? To show the pov-erty of Christ and to have a visual example for all the ci zens, rich and poor (many of whom were illiterate), Francis erected a manger scene. He did so with the blessing of Pope Honorius III and the help of local friends. The popularity of the scene took off and has been imitated ever since. The origins explain many com-mon features of the scene: We o en see the Holy Family housed in some small wooden dwelling, with a wooden manger or trough for Jesus’ bed; never mind that in Pal-es ne the family was almost certainly in either a cave or the stone ground floor of a house. This space would have been converted into a dwelling for animals, and would have had a stone manger. Our imagery is more o en that of medieval Italy than 1st century Pales ne and the origin of the tradi on reveals why!

Honor Students

Sacred Heart Academy 1st Qtr Honor Roll High Honors

Megan Baker Caroline Kent Alexa Fiala Anne Mackey Madeleine Fusco Elizabeth Mackey Reese Gallagher Katherine Mackey Cathleen Halasinski Caitlyn Napierkowski Samantha Hekeler Sarah Nastri Madeline Hekeler Ashlee Pyne Megan Horvath Klara Schommer Swathi Jacob Adalyn Schommer Maia Jakubowski

Honors Kayla LaPointe Taylor Sarojak

St. Paul Catholic H.S. 1st Qtr Honor Roll First Honors with Dis nc on

Grace Carey

First Honors Eleanor Casner Ashley Moore Catherine Ciampi Timothy Singler Tessa Coleman

Second Honors Amber Aus n Jack Noli Owen Guglielmino Naomi Wells Melissa Gurzenda

Xavier High School 1st Qtr Honor Roll High Honors

Dylan T. Albert Zachary T. Ciampi Donald J. Ciampi William K. Lavoie

Honors Jack A. Argiro Jon A. Parenteau Kian R. McCormack

The 2017 Mass book is available for inten ons. Please call the rectory at 203-272-3531 to schedule a Mass for a living or de-ceased loved one. Daily Mass offerings are $15 and weekend Mass offerings are $25.

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Men’s Over 30 Basketball Sunday at 7:00 p.m. in the School Gym.

Anointing of the Sick If you or your loved one is in the hospital or homebound and would like to arrange for the Anointing of the Sick,

please call the rectory. Ministers of Communion

If you or a loved one is homebound, in a nursing home or convalescing after surgery, call the rectory to arrange for a

communion visit. Parish Visitors

A team of trained volunteers will provide visits to parish-ioners who are homebound or in a nursing home. Call Sr.

Patricia to arrange a visit.

Sister Patricia’s Corner The following programs are being offered through the Pastoral Associate’s office. Please call Sr. Patricia at 203-272-3531 x1312 or e-mail at srcigrand@stbridgetcheshire.org to register or for more information.

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Mee ng Christ In Your Daily Life A six part series on Wednesdays from January 18 to February

22 from 10:00 am to Noon in the St. Bridget Parish Center In this DVD series by Bishop Robert Barron, the first three ses-sions are tled “Untold Blessings” and will focus on the bless-ings that are part and parcel of our journey in the spiritual life. The last three sessions will be Conversion Stories of three Scrip-ture Personali es. Bishop Barron of Los Angeles, CA is a re-nowned speaker, author and producer of the media on “The Word on Fire.” A ending these sessions, will be a wonderful prepara on for Lent. The morning will include a prayer experi-ence, viewing the DVD and discussion me. To register call Sr. Patricia 203-272-3531 ext. 1312.

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Raising Coopera ve and Responsible Teenagers Wednesday, January 25, 2017 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in

St. Bridget Parish Center Presenter: Thomas Finn, Ph.D.

The challenge of raising teenagers in today’s world is no secret. This fun, interac ve workshop will help parents develop knowledge and understanding in helping teens know they are both loved and accountable. Topics will include communica-

on, se ng boundaries, managing emo ons, sexuality, da ng, peer pressure, self-esteem, discipline, and living Catholic val-ues. Opportuni es for ques ons will be provided. Dr. Fin has over 35 years of clinical experience and works as a licensed psy-chologist at the Franciscan Life Center in Meriden, CT. To regis-ter call Sr. Patricia at 203-272-3531 ext. 1312.

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SAVE THE DATE: Friday, May 12, 2017 there will be another exci ng bus trip. Des na on: New York City Sites: 9/11 Memorial, Entertainment Bus – The Ride, and Lunch at Chelsea Market

Watch the bulle n for further informa on.

Our U.S. Military Prayer List Captain Cassandra Andrea USAF Captain J. Michael Andrea USAF

E4 Specialist Cody Allen Baker, US Army Captain David B. Beale, 101 Airborne Division

Sergeant Brian Caouette Captain Leslie Ann Capuano, USMC

LT JG Hollis Ann Capuano, USN Staff Sergeant Edward J. Clark, Jr, USAF

STS-1 Jake Ford, US Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Martin Houston, US Navy

Cdr. Thomas A. Ianucci, USN, Chaplain BUCN Neil P. Kenefick, USN

Lt. Christopher Nguyen, US Army Private 1st Class Eric Normand, US Army

Captain Denis L. O’Reilly, USMC Ensign Jake Patrick Reid, USN

Captain Alexander James Topitzer, 2nd Infantry Division 1st Lt. Matthew Neil Topitzer, 2nd Infantry Division

Captain Ryan Van Wie, US Army PV2 Connor Valinsky, US Army

Airman First Class Joe Villano USAF Corporal Bernard Vitti, Jr. Marine Corps

If you have names to place on our U.S. Military prayer list, please contact Mary Beth in the Rectory at

203-272-3531 or office@stbridgetcheshire.org with the names of family & friends who are on active duty. Please provide name and

branch of service. In this way, our whole parish community can help bring them home safely by our prayers.

Through the grace of God, parishioners con-tinue to be very generous with donations to the Community Food Pantry. The needed items vary, but this week we have a particular need for: Paper towels, Kleenex, canned

fruit, snack packs. Please continue to donate any items you would like to donate. PLEASE DELIVER PERISHABLE GOODS WHEN WE ARE OPEN. The Food Pantry CANNOT ACCEPT EX-PIRED or OPENED items. The Pantry is located at 175 Sandbank Road, Cheshire, CT . Hours are: Monday-Wednesday-Friday mornings, 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00 p.m.– 6:15 p.m. The phone number is 203-699-9226 and the mailing address for any monetary donations you wish to send is: Cheshire Community Food Pantry, P.O. Box 457, Cheshire, Connecticut 06410. Thank you for your continued support

of the Food Pantry and for helping our fellow neighbors!

PARISH BINGO No bingo on

Thursday, December 22nd

Thank you for helping to make the St. Thomas Becket Women’s Club quilt raffle a success! The drawing was held on Sunday, December 4, 2016 and the winner was Michelle Talviste. The money raised will be used toward our annual scholarship, which is awarded in June to a gradua ng high school senior from St. Thomas Becket parish.