St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Parish

Roman Catholic Church 138 Candlewood Lake Road, Brookfield, CT 06804

(203) 775-5117 · www.stmarguerite.org

January 21, 2018 — Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Pastor’s Page

This Monday marks the disgraceful anniversary of one of the worst judgements handed down by the Supreme Court (22 January 1973) which legalized abortion as a “right.” Although Thomas Jefferson got most everything wrong in his career, he did manage to get the Declaration of Independence correct with its fundamental basis that all men are endowed with inalienable rights including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The United States, and indeed most of the Western countries, currently lives in a schizophrenic state. On the one hand, the county allows the legal murder of its most innocent persons—unborn children. On the other hand, the country has an endless gaggle of false champions of so-called “children’s advocates” who pretend to crusade for children, but interestingly, many of these same people turn right around and support abortion because it is now the left-wing religion of liberal America. Liberals want promiscuous sexual relations culturally advanced in all forms with no consequences. However, what happens when there are consequences? Their solution is to have an abortion and “get on with your life.” No liberal is ever allowed to speak against the god of abortion “rights” if they want a career or reputation. No one is allowed to tamper with or to question abortion if a person wants to be seen as educated, intelligent, and sophisticated within liberal circles—including Catholic ones. This false, fraudulent concern for women and children would be laughable if it weren’t so readily accepted by so many people—including Catholics who are at the head of that line. Politicians and Hollywood actors know well that it pays to advocate staunchly for abortion as long as in their next breath, they plaintively moan about how hard they work in advocating for children; what they mean apparently is that they only support children who actually make it out of the womb in one piece because the last person who disastrously and embarrassingly occupied the Presidency for eight years thought that it was fine to commit partial-birth abortions and who also sued the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide contraception access for their workers because liberals love artificial contraception second only to abortion (with the two actually being intertwined). Distressingly, the cultural promoters of abortion very often are baptized Catholics. What are the practical consequences for advocating abortion as far as the current crop of the Church’s leaders are concerned? Nothing. There are no practical consequences to speak of (except in very rare cases) for actively working against the Church’s moral teachings, including the most

fundamental such as defending life. In fact, it is probably a person’s quickest way to gain an award from a Catholic institution or to book a speaking engagement in the name of “tolerance,” “inclusiveness,” “social justice,” and “multiculturalism” the more a person works against the Church. As usual, the Church in the last fifty years sadly is following the culture instead of shaping it for the better. Moral degeneration becomes more of the norm daily. The persons who have paid the price for this weakness have been the millions of unborn who have never gotten to experience Life, Liberty, or the Pursuit of Happiness in this world. What are the consequences to a nation when it creates a false “right” of abortion? Every evil has to be masked in charity. Otherwise, people would not justify it so easily. A nation that allows the death of its most innocent by definition becomes coarse and hardened. Life becomes a commodity or if a person is inconvenient, then that person now is easily expendable. Violence against the innocent proliferates because it becomes more acceptable culturally over time; if a country sanctions the killing of its youngest, what then prevents that country from killing its oldest when they become “inconvenient”? The real reason, of course, that Planned Parenthood wants abortion kept legal and easily accessible is for one purpose only: money. That organization may talk about women’s health all day long, but the only reason it exists is to make millions of dollars. The politicians who advocate for abortion do not do it out of the supposed goodness of their hearts. They want money. St. Paul was correct when he stated that the “love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Timothy 6:10). Lingering consequences live long after the abortion procedure, also. What are the pains involved with abortion? No one who advocates for it talks about the lasting effects—sometimes immediate, sometimes years afterward—of ending the life of an innocent, unborn child. Everyone knows that this is a human person and not some anonymous, abstract group of cells. The psychological, spiritual, emotional, and even physical effects last long after the procedure is over. No one involved in taking an innocent life is the same afterwards. To the rabid, loud, aggressive abortion advocates, it is always a question of how many abortions they have experienced directly because it is not normal—in fact, it is Luciferian and demonic—to be so aggressive in maintaining and advancing abortion. Their

“I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Your Parish Office Is Open: Monday-Thursday: 8:30am-3pm

Friday: 8:30am-12noon 203.775.5117 · www.stmarguerite.org

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Pastor: Rev. Shawn William Cutler Deacon: Anthony J. Detje

Mass Schedule Public Morning Prayer: 8:20am

Monday-Friday: 8:31am - Chapel Saturday: 8:31am - Chapel; 4:31pm Vigil Mass Sunday: 9:01am, 11:01am, 5:01pm (Low Mass)

Latin Low Mass: 1st Sunday of the month at 4:01pm

Confessions Daily in the Chapel Sacristy before 8:20am prayer;

Saturdays 3:30-4:15pm or by appointment.

Daily Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel 9:00am to 5:00pm

The Church & Chapel are open daily by 7:30am.

Mon, Jan 22 8:30 +Walter Wetmore by Debbie Detmer Tues, Jan 23: St. Marianne Cope, St. Vincent 8:30 +Margaret O’Hara by Bacich family Wed, Jan 24: St. Francis de Sales 8:30 +Yvonne Rousseau by Lilianne and Rejean Blais Thurs, Jan 25: The Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle 8:30 +Susan Davis by Rod Hamar and Lil Gustilo Fri, Jan 26: St. Timothy and St. Titus 8:30 +Marie Bartley by Madden family

Sat, Jan 27: St. Angela Merici 8:30 +Dr. Robert Fischl by Aberin family 4:30 +Gilda Nazzaro by Linda Corona Sun, Jan 28: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 9:00 +Joseph Cann, Jr. by family 11:00 +Jean McCabe by family 5:00 +Sylvia Pelak by Fr. Shawn W. Cutler

Offering for: Monday-Saturday 8:30am Masses-$10; Saturday Vigil, Sunday Masses, and Holy Days-$15; Altar Candles-$20; Sanctuary Candle-$10; Hosts-$15; Sacramental Wine-$10.

Weekly Offertory Jan 13/14: $6,350.00 includes Online Giving. Thank you for your generous contributions! We request all parishioners use their weekly envelopes or Online Giving for donations to the parish at stmarguerite.org. Sign up for Online Giving at stmarguerite.org and click on “Donate” for the Online Giving link.

This Week in Your Parish Tues, Jan 23: 10am, Rm 1, Prayer Shawl Ministry Sat, Jan 27: 9:30am, Rm 1, Legion of Mary Our Cover: Hans Speckaert’s “Conversion of St Paul on the Road to Damascus”. Source: wga.hu.

LAST WEEK! Our Baby Shower for Good Counsel/Malta House ends January 28. A list of needed items is available in the narthex and at stmarguerite.org under “Breaking News”. Help support the mission of this Catholic charity in supporting

mothers and children of all faiths. Collection boxes are in the narthex. We thank all who have already contributed to this worthy cause!

2017 Tax Contribution Forms are now available in the narthex. Please contact Linda at 203.775.5117, x212 with questions.

Mass Intentions

Immaculate High School Scholarship Opportunity: St. Marguerite Parish is offering a $4000 scholarship to at least one student entering Immaculate High this fall whose family is a registered, contributing member of the parish. Additional criteria are available on our application form

which is available in the parish office or on the parish website. The deadline for applications is 1 March 2018. January 22nd is a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. As individuals, we are called to observe this day through the penitential practices of prayer, fasting and/or giving alms. Another way to take part is through participating in special events to observe the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Confessions at St. Joseph’s every Tuesday, 7-8pm.

Week of Jan 21:

Sanctuary Candle (Chapel) is in loving memory of Susana Perez

requested by Ostermayer family

political rage often masks a severe guilty conscience. Other women experience sincere and profound guilt, depression, and regret that is turned inward. The scars may not be visible, but those scars are often much deeper to treat than physical ones. In addition, the doctors and nurses involved in the procedure become hardened morally, as testimony from health professionals who left the abortion industry often talk about how they would detach from themselves, so to speak, while they were performing the abortion. God has created us to advance and protect innocent human life and to speak the truth without compromise about what is evil and what is good. There is no actual charity unless it is wedded to truth. Authentic healing, forgiveness, and peace for all persons involved in past abortions is then possible. The life of grace and conversion is always available with Jesus because with Him, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven in order to open up a future filled with a new hope in God, who is always the Lord and Giver of Life. May you have a most blessed and holy week! Fr. Shawn William Cutler

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