The gospel today (Matthew 22:15-21) speaks about taxes.  In response to the Herodian sympathizers who came to Jesus to ask if it were lawful to pay the tax to a foreign government, Jesus replied: “…give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but give to God what is God’s.”

Speaking about money in church is taboo (except for the two times a year we present to our people a financial report of income and expenses).  That we don’t talk about money does not mean we do not worry about it, though.  In fact most Americans worry about it constantly.  Are we saving enough?  Will Social Security or our pensions be there for us when we are old?  Will the nursing home costs for our aging parents clean us out just in time to prevent us from sending our children to college?  And now, how will the mortgage lending crisis and the sharp declines in stock values affect us and our family?

If we are concerned with having enough money to care for others or ourselves, or with meeting payments, one ought to discuss this with spouse or friends and family.  We need to have someone listen to our fears.  The real root of our fears is not the money issue, it is something deeper.  Are we worried about Social Security or pension, or is it about growing old?  Will I keep my independence, my friends, my mental capacities?  Underneath the concerns for college tuitions is a real concern for the welfare of one’s children. Will they be happy?  Will they choose important and satisfying work?  Will they be able to get by without parental protection?

Each week I speak to people who tell me about the loss of income and the fear of layoffs.  I also listen to their real concerns.  They know that their worth comes from God and not from money—not from money earned, hoarded, spent to purchase things, or to exercise power.  From this vantage point they can see all that they have going for them, for they are blessed with opportunities for love and service with and for one another.  The people of God know the presence of a loving Father in their lives.  God has blessed them in so many ways.  He will not abandon them in these times. They will increase in love and understanding of God and love toward neighbor.

May the people of the Catholic Community in Lexington stand with one another in faith to speak with and listen to each other so that our community may become a place where the abundant gifts of God to the people of God become known and celebrated.

 

St. Brigid Church
9:00am	Tuesday October 21st	Michael Ash
9:00am	Thursday October 23rd	The Daly Family
8:00am	Saturday October 25th	Dorothy, Jack Michael & Hannah Quinlan
Sacred Heart Church
9:00am	Friday October 24th	James J. Carney
9:00am	Saturday October 25th	Eleanor & Tom DiSilva and Sandy Caldarella

 

Please pray for all who are in need of our prayers that God’s healing and comforting presence may be with them, especially Father William Smith, Vincent Hayes, the Aprile Family, Tom Coakley, Brianna Cimino and Marisol O’Brien.  Please also remember all of our deceased relatives and friends.

In Service For Their Country

Lt. John Schiavi, Sgt. Christopher Considine, Timothy Dunbar, Richard Rigley, Timothy Busa, Chris Cullen, Caitlin R. Battell, Robert McLaughlin, Sean Maddigan, Elizabeth Leyne, Rev. Paul Passamonti, Airman Jason Cunha, Mark Zarnecki, Patrick J. Nordahl, Scott and Michael Donahue, Lt. Brian Casey, and 1st Lt. Brian Geary.

Lord Jesus, watch over our sons and daughters in the service of their country.  Give them the courage to serve their country with honor and dignity and grant that when their service is finished they may return to us, sound in mind, body and soul.

Lexington Food Pantry Collection
St. Brigid And Sacred Heart

The weekend of Oct. 18th and 19th is the collection of non-perishable food items at St. Brigid and Sacred Heart.  Items may be placed in the food bins at each entrance of the Church. Please check the expiration dates.  Cash, supermarket gift cards, and checks made out to the Lexington Food Pantry may be placed in the offertory basket or brought to the office in an envelope marked Lexington Food Pantry.  We thank you for your continued support in this endeavor.

Men's Clothing Needed For St. Francis House

We invite all parishioners to join in our 25th annual men’s clothing drive for St. Francis House in Boston.  Warm men’s clothing is desperately needed for the upcoming winter.  The following clothing items have been requested: jeans, casual pants, flannel shirts, dress shirts and dark dress pants for job interviews, dress shoes, sweaters, sweatshirts (really need size XXL or larger), winter hats, gloves, scarves, belts, winter work boots, NEW white tube socks, and NEW underwear.  Thermal long underwear would also be greatly appreciated.  The clothing will be collected in the St. Brigid lower Parish Center Hall between Noon and 6pm on Saturday, November 1st and between 10 am and 4 pm on Sunday November 2nd.   Collection boxes will also be at the doors of Sacred Heart Church on the weekend of November 1st and 2nd or you could bring the clothing to Keilty Hall the evening of Mary’s Party, November 1st.  If you have any questions, contact Mary Harvell, 781-862-0794 or email mharvell "at" ix "dot" netcom "dot" com.

All Saints Party!

Come to the Halloween/ All Saints Party Saturday October 25 6-8pm in Keilty Hall at St. Brigid. Wear your costume. There will be a potluck dinner, games and prizes for the children, legos, beads, and a toddler play area. Contact Janet Fraser at jfraser "at" alum "dot" mit "dot" edu  or 781-862-6853 for more information.

Two More Virtus Sessions Scheduled!

All new volunteers in Sacred Heart and St. Brigid ministries are required to attend the VIRTUS training session, Protecting God’s Children. This program, presented by the parishes’ Child Abuse Prevention or CAP Team, educates and trains adults – clergy, staff, lay ministers, teachers, volunteers and other interested adults in the faith community – about the dangers of child abuse, the warning signs of abuse, ways to prevent abuse, and the methods for properly reporting suspicions of abuse. Two training sessions are scheduled in the upcoming weeks:

October 29 (Wednesday), 7:00-9:30pm
November 5 (Wednesday), 7:00-9:30pm

All sessions will be held in the Library in St. Brigid Parish Center. Please call the Sacred Heart/St. Brigid Parish Office 781-862-4646/0335 or the Religious Education Office 781-862-8724 to register.

St. Brigid
Offertory for October 11th & 12th	$  7,355.00
Envelope Offerings	$  6,431.00
Loose Cash	$     924.00

Out of the 548 envelopes we sent to St. Brigid parishioners, 258 have used their envelopes.

Sacred Heart
Offertory for October 11th & 12th	$  5,278.00
Envelope Offerings	$  4,501.00
Loose Cash	$     777.00
St. Katharine Drexel	$     149.00

Of the 265 envelopes we sent to Sacred Heart parishioners, 121 parishioners have used their envelopes this week.

Thank you to all who so generously contribute to our parishes each week!

—Fr. Colletti

Fair Trade Fair
Gifts With a Difference

An array of handcrafted and fair trade items from various countries will be for sale at our annual Fair Trade Fair.  Linens, greeting cards, knitted caps and mittens, colorful fabric bags, fair trade coffee, oil from the Holy Land, and more, including small items suitable as stocking stuffers will be available.  The sale will take place after all the Masses.

The fair will be held at Sacred Heart Parish Center the weekend of October 25th & 26th and at St. Brigid Kielty Hall the weekend of November 8th & 9th.

Sacred Heart Fundraiser For The Music Ministry

On Friday, November 14th from 6:00-8:00pm the Sacred Heart Choir will sponsor and host a Turkey Dinner at the Parish Center to kick off a week long benefit for the new organ.  Please contact Claire to make a reservation, 781-862-4646.  The week will end with a concert on Saturday, November 22nd at 7:00pm to be held at Sacred Heart Church,  followed by a dessert and champagne reception.  Save the dates!

Life Snipits

If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.

Blankets for Pine Ridge

Pine Ridge Reservation, the home of 40,000 Lakota Sioux, is one of the poorest areas of the U.S.  Fierce winters leave many cold when their propane runs out.  Each year we send blankets to several agencies at Pine Ridge; in 2007, we sent 89 blankets.  Please bring NEW blankets (preferably washable).  Collection boxes will be at the doors of both churches, during the first weekends of October.  We will send blankets to the reservation after Columbus Day Weekend (considered by many native people to be a time of mourning).   If there are any questions, please contact Bernadette Zagarella at 781-862-8126. Additional information about donation to the reservation is available at http://www.friendsofpineridgereservation.org/.

The 13Th Annual Genesis Battlegreen Run

The 13th annual Genesis Battlegreen Run will be held on Sunday, November 2nd.  You are invited to join us for one of the finest road races in New England.  For more information, or if you would like to enter, you may do so on-line at www.genesis-cos.com or www.coolrunning.com.  If you would like to help, we need volunteers!  Many are needed to direct runners, assist at the water stations and serve food.  Proceeds from the event benefit Habitat for Humanity, The Pauline Briggs Memorial Scholarship and the Genesis Community Fund, plus many others. 

High School Open Houses

MOUNT ALVERNIA H.S. GRADES 7-12 open house will be on Sunday, November 2nd from 1:30 to 4:00, 790 Center St., Newton.  For more information, please call 617-969-2260 x46.

ARLINGTON CATHOLIC H.S. GRADES 9-12 the open house is Sunday, November 9th from 1:00 to 3:00pm, 16 Medford St., Arlington.  For more information please call 781-646-8255.

All children are invited to join in the Children’s Liturgy of the Word, a special weekly presentation and discussion of the day’s scripture readings. After a blessing and dismissal by the priest before the first reading during St. Brigid’s 9:00am Mass, the children proceed downstairs to Keilty Hall to participate in this program. They rejoin the Mass after the homily.

Megan Chenaille, Director of Youth Ministry
E-mail: Megan Chenaille
781-862-8724

Confirmation Classes

Please make sure to sign up for 9th and 10th grade Confirmation Classes!!  If you have not received registration forms in the mail, please call the Religious Education Office at (781) 862-8724.  Classes are either Monday nights (at St. Brigid) OR Tuesday nights (at Sacred Heart), 7:15-8:30pm.

Our NEXT Youth Mass
is
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sacred Heart Church
6pm
Hope you can join us!!

Movie Night!!!
(for High School Youth Only)

Will take place on Sunday, November 2, 2008, directly after the Youth Mass.  We will be watching a COMEDY and having fun, movie snacks.  Bring a friend and stop by!! We will have a raffle drawing for all who are there.
 (You must be present to win)

 

Please do not hesitate to call or e-mail with any questions or concerns. 

The Trains are Coming!!

The HUB Division will display and operate HO model trains in the Parish Center on the weekend of November 1st & 2nd-from 10AM to 5PM each day. All are welcome to this family event! Fun for the young and the young at heart!

An Invitation from our Third Graders!

Our parishes’ Third Graders cordially invite you to join them at their grade-level Mass next Sunday, October 26, at St. Brigid Church at 9:00am and at the Hospitality in Keilty Hall following the Mass.

Classes are held as follows:

Sunday at Sacred Heart: 11:15 – 12:15 – Gr. 1 – 7
Tuesday at St. Brigid: 3:45 - 4:45pm – Gr. 1 - 6
Tuesday at St. Brigid: 5:30 – 6:30pm – Gr. 7
(Grade 7 begins October 21st)
Wednesday at St. Brigid: 3:45 - 4:45pm – Gr. 1 - 6
Wednesday at St. Brigid: 5:30 – 6:30pm – Gr. 8
(Grade 8 begins October 22nd)

Holy Humor

To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students... here is something to make you chuckle.  Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.  And the first thing he said was “DON'T!” Don't what?  Adam replied.  “Don't eat the forbidden fruit!”, God said.  “Forbidden fruit?”  We have forbidden fruit?  Hey Eve we have forbidden fruit.  “No Way!”  “Yes way!” '”Do NOT eat the fruit”, said God.  “Why?”  “Because I am your Father and I said so!”God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants.  A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked.   “Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?”  God asked.  “Uh huh.” Adam replied.  “Then why did you?”, said the Father.  “I don't know,” said Eve.  “She started it!”  Adam said.  “Did not!”  “Did too!”  “DID NOT!”  Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own.  Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

Helping Hands

Helping Hands for October is
Kathleen Hintlian - 781-862-1314 .