ST. JEROME CHURCH

23 Half Mile Road Norwalk, CT 06851 ~ 203-847-5349

SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARTY TIME FEBRUARY 19, 2017

SABBATH MASSES

Saturday 4:00 PM E.S.T. & 4:30 PM D.S.T.

Sunday 8:00 AM

9:15 AM Young Children's Mass

11:00 AM

6:00 PM Teen Mass

DAYS OF OBLIGATION

Vigil 7:00 PM

Holy Day 9:00 AM, 7:00 PM

WEEKDAY MASSES

Mon-Sat 9:00 AM

HOW TO FIND US……

Parish Website:

www.stjeromenorwalk.org

Parish Email: norwalkstjerome@cs.com

REACH email: reachstjerome@optonline.net

Parish Facebook:

St. Jerome Norwalk

REACH & TOTAL Facebook:

REACH St.Jerome

Parish Twitter: @StJeromeNorwalk

REACH & TOTAL Twitter:

@REACHstjerome

Instagram:

reach.total.stjerome

PASTORAL STAFF

203-847-5349

Rev. David Blanchfield, Pastor

Rev. Rojin Zacharias K.M., Parochial Vicar

Rev. Michael Hoag, S.J., Weekend Assistant

Deacon Dean Finch • 203-847-6397

deacon.dean.finch@gmail.com

PARISH OFFICE

203-847-5349

Mrs. Pat Florio, Secretary

Office Hours, Mon-Fri 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (REACH)

203-846-2111

Mrs. Kathy Coyne, DRE

Mrs. Natalie Raduazzo

Mrs. Kathy Rohr

YOUTH MINISTRY (TOTAL)

Joe and Daniela OʼCallaghan

203-847-0321

jocallaghan@optonline.net

danielaoc@optonline.net

MUSIC MINISTRY

203-847-5349

Mr. Donald Nelson

Mrs. Joan McFarland

PARISH COUNCIL CHAIRPERSON

Robert Yap • 203-246-7447

FINANCE COUNCIL

Jerry Holdridge • 203-966-3658

ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC SCHOOL

203-847-3881 Pre K—Grade 8

139 West Rocks Road

Norwalk, CT 06851

Mrs. Linda Dunn, Principal

FAITH DIRECT—ONLINE GIVING

866-507-8757 www.faithdirect.net

Sign up using our church code: CT46, or

by mailing a paper enrollment form available in

the parish office. Also available on our website at

www.stjeromenorwalk.org/Faith-Direct-

enrollment.pdf

MISSION STATEMENT

We the people of St. Jerome Parish, a Ro-

man Catholic community, proclaim our

belief in the message and mission of Jesus

Christ. As disciples of Jesus we are called

to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to

work for its values in the local community

and beyond. We are committed to: wor-

ship, religious education, shared faith and

service. We welcome all people with re-

spect, acceptance and support.

Parish Staff

Altar Flowers

Altar Flowers may be memorialized for a donation

of $50. Please call the Parish Office several

months prior to your desired date.

Adoration & Silent Prayer

Every day between 4:00PM and 5:00PM.

Contemplative Prayer

Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM.

Come spend some quiet time with the Lord.

Widows’ Support Group

Meets at 9:30AM on the second Thursday of the

month in the Kevin Eidt Youth Room.

Perpetual Novena

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal takes place

each Monday following morning Mass

Rosary & Divine Mercy Prayers

Monday through Saturday after daily Mass

Baptisms Please call the parish office to

schedule.

Required Pre-Baptism Please contact

Deacon Dean Finch at 203-847-6397 to arrange.

Class is required for the first child baptized at

St. Jerome.

Reconciliation One hour before vigil on

Saturday. Also anytime by appointment.

Marriages Please contact the Rectory at least

six months in advance.

Anointing of the Sick takes place on the first

Wednesday of each month, immediately following the

9:00 AM Mass, in the sanctuary. Anyone with an

ongoing medical condition or who is seriously ill,

anticipating a medical procedure or operation, is

welcome to come.

Gluten Free Hosts are available at all Masses. If

you require a gluten-free host, please see the

officiating priest before Mass.

2/18 9:00 am for our First Responders

VIGIL FOR SUNDAY

4:00 pm Anthony Trombetta

(Abruscato & Trombetta

families)

SEVENTH SUNDAY ON ORDINARY TIME

2/19 8:00 am Paul Sweeney

(Wagner family)

9:15 am Seavelia & Cesar Selema

(daughter & family)

11:00 am Dominick & Lorenzo Santoro

(Granata family)

6:00 pm Sean Sullivan

(Katie Marchese &

Nancy Flaherty)

2/20 9:00 am Bill Tucci (81st Birthday)

(Wife, Esty Tucci)

2/21 9:00 am Rose Marie Lepore

2/22 9:00 am for the People

2/23 9:00 am Dr. & Mrs. Antonio Pesce

(DiCostanzo family))

2/24 9:00 am Josephine LaBua

(Janet & Bob Tomeo)

2/25 9:00 am Matthew Chiappetta

(Alicia Brenn)

VIGIL FOR SUNDAY

4:00 pm Lois Rohr

(Rohr family)

EIGHTH SUNDAY ON ORDINARY TIME

2/26 8:00 am Ethel Cauty

(Ray & Suzie Hilson)

9:15 am Ileane Glica

Janice Glica Chuba

(Chuba family)

11:00 am Vincenzo Iannone, Jr.

(family)

6:00 pm Paul Sweeney

(Florence & Dan Loch)

Beyond Our Comfort

Whether Jesus was teaching about true generosity, a more profound meaning of justice,

or truth of his own identity or mission, he nearly always made someone uncomfortable.

He asked questions that caused discomfort, such as “What were you arguing about?” or

“But who do you say that I am?” He asks those questions still—and we should imagine

his gaze going straight to our hearts. We can be thankful for this grace of discomfort be-

cause it means that Jesus considers us true followers, and he asks a lot of us. He asks

that we search our motives, that we learn from wisdom and example, and that we change

our default attitudes from standard human reactions to kingdom-of-God responses.

- "February 19 - February 25." Sacred Space The Prayer Book 2017. Comp. Irish Jesuits. Chicago: Loyola, 2016. 91. Print.

During Lent, we will have copies of the book Sacred Space for Lent available for you to

take home. This will help make your Lenten experience more prayerful and deepen your

relationship with the Lord.

Sacred Space Prayer

Bless all who worship you, almighty God,

from the rising of the sun to its setting:

from your goodness enrich us,

by your love inspire us,

by your Spirit guide us,

by your power protect us,

in your mercy receive us,

now and always.

THIS WEEK AT ST. JEROME…….

Sunday 2/19 REACH—no classes

TOTAL— no meeting

Monday 2/20 Women’s Scripture Group 9:30 AM

Tuesday 2/21 RCIA 7PM—Resource Room

Wednesday 2/22 Contemplative Prayer 7:00 PM

Women’s Scripture Group 7:30 PM

Thursday 2/23

Friday 2/24

Saturday 2/25 Men’s Ministry 7:00 AM

WEEKLY OFFERTORY SUMMARY

February 12, 2017 $1,774

February total to date $7,308

February offertory budget $37,000

Faith Direct contributions will be reported next week.

As always, thank you for your

generous support of our parish.

Pray for those who bravely serve our country in the

military and those deployed in dangerous locations.

Thank God for those who have returned home safely.

Our service people include:

Spec. Jason Kulik, United States Army

Pvt. First Class Andrew Chimento, United States

Army

If you or a family member are on active duty and would

like to be prayed for, please let the office know (203-

847-5349 or reachstjerome@optonline.net)

SAFE ENVIRONMENTS

******IMPORTANT ******

All volunteers 18 years and over must be in

compliance with the diocesan mandate.

P l e a s e s e e t h e V I R T U S w e b s i t e

(www.virtusonline.org) click “first time registration”,

click “view a list of sessions”, search ‘Bridgeport,

CT (Diocese)”.

Some upcoming training dates:

Catholic Center (Bridgeport) 2/28 at 5:30 PM

St. Aloysius (New Canaan) 3/1 at 7:00PM

LITURGICAL ENVIRONMENT

COMMITTEE

Volunteers are needed to help plan

and design the liturgical space each

week. Two members of the Liturgy

Committee will work with this group to

guide what is needed for each liturgi-

cal season of the year. Volunteers only need to have

an interest in and talent for flowers and design. It may

be possible to plan for several weeks or an entire litur-

gical season (Advent, Lent for example) in one meet-

ing with other volunteers to set up each week. Please

contact Fr David or Suzanne Calnon (203-847-6826)

if you are able to help.

Respect Life Ministry strives to build a culture of life

by upholding and promoting the dignity of human life

from the moment of conception to natural death. The

Diocese works to implement the guidelines of the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Pas-

toral Plan for Pro-Life Activities, in which we are called

upon as church with our resources, our people, our

services and institutions to pursue the cause of life

with renewed energy and commitment.

Through prayer, education, pastoral care, and public

policy advocacy, the Gospel of Life is proclaimed in

our midst throughout all ages and stages of life. By

working together diligently, prayerfully, and coura-

geously in the Lord’s service, we hope to transform

the culture of death that is present in society today.

Ash Wednesday is

March 1st this year. It is

a day of Fast & Absti-

nence. Here is the

schedule for the day:

9:00 AM Mass

12:10 PM Mass

4:30 PM Liturgy of the Word for Children

7:00 PM Mass

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

@Pontifex “Let us never place condi-

tions on God! Entrusting ourselves to

the Lord means entering into his

plans without demanding anything.”

@BishopCaggiano “While we may not be able to

cure a person’s physical disease, our time, atten-

tion and care will let a sick person know they’re not

alone.”

@JameMartinSJ “Gospel: Why do you still seek

God’s Presence? Look around you. That sense of

wonder is one way God is speaking, deep within

you.”

LENTEN REGULATIONS

Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and

Good Friday by all Catholics who are 18 years of

age but not yet 59. Fasting means one full meal.

Two smaller meals are permitted.

Abstinence from meat is to be observed by every-

one 14 years or older on Ash Wednesday, Good Fri-

day and on all Fridays of Lent.

February 19—no classes

February 26 -

• Grades 1-6 meet at the 9:15 Mass followed

by class.

• Grades 7 & 8—meet in the evening

• There is no TOTAL this Sunday due to the

winter break. TOTAL will meet again on

March 5th.

• Next weekend is the last weekend to drop off

donations for the Open Door Shelter. Please

drop off winter gear, shoes, boots, or mone-

tary donations for the shelter in the marked

bins in the hallway.

The 30 Hour Fam-

ine will be held at

St. Philip's next

weekend, February 25 and 26. 19 teens from St.

Jerome will be participating. TOTAL is collecting

donations in the BIG RED BOXES in the back of

the church and in the hallway for Worldvision,

Manna House, and St. Philip (for the meal pack-

ing service project). No donation is too small.

Once again, the walk before the Famine will start

at St. Jerome and end at St. Philip in honor of

Claire Budnik, a long time member of the TOTAL

team who participated in the Famine for many

years. All are welcome to join in the walk to St.

Philip church to honor Claire and to support

our teens as they begin their 30 hour fast on

Saturday morning. We will gather at 9:00am.

****IMPORTANT NOTICE****

New Weekday Severe Weather Policy

We have developed a policy that safe-guards our

parishioners and will allow time for our parish

contractors to clear the property during storms.

When the Norwalk Public Schools are

closed—Daily Mass will be cancelled for the

day.

When the Norwalk Public Schools are de-

layed—we will have Daily Mass but ask that

you please use your judgment and extreme

caution.

Notre Dame High School Fairfield,

the oldest high school in the Diocese of

Bridgeport, will be celebrating its

60th Anniversary with a gala celebra-

tion on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at Sa-

cred Heart University. For information regarding

tickets and sponsorships, please contact the Notre

D a m e A d v a n c e m e n t O f f i c e

at tmarzik@notredame.org or 203-372-6521.

FOOD DRIVE

NEXT WEEKEND

FEBRUARY 25/26

As we face the chal-

lenges of our winter

weather, please lend your support to our Norwalk

neighbors facing the everyday challenge of hav-

ing enough food for their families. The MOST

NEEDED ITEMS this month are jar pasta

sauce, hearty soups, canned pears, pineap-

ple, or fruit cocktail, cereal, and dried beans.

Volunteers will be in the hallway after Masses

selling a variety of these items for a $5.00 dona-

tion. All cash collected will be spent on food for

P2P, The Open Door, and Mid-Fairfield AIDS

Project. Any donation you can give will help pro-

vide nourishment for Norwalk families.

Stamford Lenten Adult Bible Study - The

Scriptural Roots of the Sacraments will be a six-

week Bible Study held at Trinity High School every

Thursday in Lent, starting March 2nd, from 7-

8:30pm. The study, led by Fr. Joseph Gill, will ex-

amine how the Sacraments of our Catholic Faith,

such as the Mass and Confession, are grounded in

the Word of God, both prefigured in the Old Testa-

ment and then coming in fullness in the New. Cost

is free. All adults who want to grow in their faith are

invited to join us! For more information, please con-

tact Fr. Joseph at frjosephgill@gmail.com.

KEEP JESUS WARM

with your

DONATIONS

St. Jerome will be col-

lecting winter scarves,

hats, gloves, jackets,

new underwear and new socks in the

marked bins in the hallway through Febru-

ary. TOTAL will make sure they get to the

Open Door Shelter