Once again, the Sunday Scriptures speak of forgiveness. Many of us believe the act of forgiving someone is one of the toughest things we must do. If we have experienced mercy and forgiveness ourselves, why is it so difficult to extend mercy and forgiveness to others? If I entered the confessional a miserable sinner but left the same confessional forgiven and glowing in grace and reveling in Christ’s mercy, why can’t I let go of the anger and hurt and just forgive? Here’s the answer: we don’t know Jesus well enough. If we took the time to contemplate his unconditional

Sacred Memory: 25 Years Later On Friday, September 11 we will mark 25 years since the attacks that changed everything. That day of fear and tragedy touched our community directly and while healing has taken place, many still grieve. We will gather on September 11 to pray for family and friends who lost their lives, for all who are grieving, and for a true and lasting peace in our world. Special Masses will be held at 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm. I hope you can join us to honor the sacred memory of our brothers and sisters with our prayers

As summer winds down, we are preparing for a busy pastoral year. I am happy to give you a glimpse of what’s ahead and share some good news with you. Christine Otis, our gifted youth minister, has received the Saint John Paul II Parish Leadership Award from the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. The award recognizes Chris’s extraordinary work with teens at Saint Aloysius where she facilitates an encounter with Christ. You can read more about this honor for Chris in the latest issue of Fairfield County Catholic. Please Click Here. Saint Aloysius Catholic Preschool is open! The State

Thanks to everyone who participated in last Sunday’s celebration. We welcomed Deacon Michael to ministry, we prayed with our bishop at Mass, and enjoyed each other’s company after the education and faith center blessing. The parish green looked spectacular and a good time was had by all. Special thanks to our readers, servers, greeters, choir and instrumentalists. Thanks also to Jeffrey Taveras for coordinating our festivities and bringing the musicians, ice cream truck, and games to our new landscape. Our Knights of Columbus and Chef Joe Laviola made the food and beverage experience a delight. Thanks be to God and

This weekend we welcome Deacon Michael Crane to the staff of Saint Aloysius Parish. Michael will join Deacon Bill in the important ministry that deacons provide to our parish family. Deacons assist at Mass, witness marriages, baptize, and provide pastoral accompaniment. We have a thriving diaconal ministry in our diocese, and we are blessed with two gifted deacons here at Saint Aloysius. In addition to his parish responsibilities, Deacon Michael will serve as Vice Chancellor of the Diocese of Bridgeport. In that office, he will assist the Diocesan Tribunal in the processing of various cases and serve as a special

Feast of Saint Aloysius The Feast of Saint Aloysius is June 21 on the Roman Church Calendar. This year, the 21st is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, and therefore the saint’s feast would normally be skipped in deference to the Sunday; however, as a parish family, we will celebrate our patron, Aloysius Gonzaga. We will welcome Bishop Caggiano on that day who will celebrate a special Mass at Noon followed by the blessing of our new Education and Faith Center. Aloysius was a friend and selfless servant to the sick during the time of a devastating plague. Foregoing a

The column this week is taken largely from a reflection on the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ from the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association. I loved its straightforward approach and helpful teaching, so I thought I’d share it with you. Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is something like the joyous bookend to Holy Thursday. At the end of Lent on Holy Thursday, we recalled the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist by promising us his presence in bread and wine. That meal foreshadowed his suffering and death. Anticipating

Nearly every preacher approaches the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity with some trepidation, and I’m one of them. Lately I’ve come to a more meaningful embrace of the Father, Son, and Spirit, so permit me to share some of what I’ve come to understand. The teaching of the Trinity has its share of complexities: “one God, three Persons,” an “everlasting unity,” and so forth. The truth defies logic, but the beauty of it paints the story of our Christian lives: to know God as Father, Son, and Spirit is to live in the landscape of an undying and pervasive

The feast of Pentecost brings us to that moment when the Holy Spirit descended on those gathered in the upper room. The apostles and Mary, the mother of Jesus, are transformed by the wind of fire of the Holy Spirit. The fear that brought them to the locked room turns to a Spirit-filled relief and peace because they know that Jesus will always be with them. The Holy Spirit breaks into our lives just at the right time: when we are lonely, lost, fearful, despairing, and uncertain. The Spirit prompts us to respond with confidence in God’s providence to the

I am happy to announce that Bishop Caggiano has assigned Michael Crane to serve as a deacon at Saint Aloysius parish. Michael and his wife Alycia are already a part of our Saint Aloysius family, and you will recognize Michael from his leadership in Stephen Ministry, Men’s Bible Study and the Men’s Spirituality ministry. Since he was installed as an acolyte (the last step before ordination to the diaconate), Michael has served in the sanctuary and as an ordinary minister of Holy Communion. A recently retired attorney, Michael also works as a colleague of mine in the bishop’s office where

In his 2014 homily on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Pope Francis said this of Mary: Mary is so closely united to Jesus because she received from Him the knowledge of the heart, the knowledge of faith, nourished by her experience as a mother and by her close relationship with her Son. The Blessed Virgin is the woman of faith who made room for God in her heart and in her plans; she is the believer capable of perceiving in the gift of her Son the coming of that ‘fullness of time’ in which God, by choosing the

It’s been a while since I provided a report on our construction progress, and I am happy to share the news that the Education and Faith Center, the St. Carlo Acutis Chapel, and the “Parish Green” will be completed by May 31st! More than 600 families shared their treasure to realize the transformation of our campus and create beautiful space for worship, learning, recreation, and fellowship. Each of you will receive my personal thanks in a matter of days. Here’s a detailed report on the project: The Education and Faith Center will be home to the Saint Aloysius Catholic Preschool,

This Sunday the Church invites us to consider that we are called by God to live out our discipleship in a particular way. World Day of Prayer for Vocations places us with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who desires that we “have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) God who is Shepherd gently leads us to the “safe pastures,” near “restful waters,” and out of the “dark valley” to a place of “goodness and kindness.” (Psalm 23) God’s plans for us are exquisite: “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you…plans for your welfare and

Did you ever feel like you were heading in the wrong direction? I’m not talking about taking the wrong road when you decide to ditch your GPS and rely on that inner sense of direction you thought you had. I’m referring to that feeling of fear that an idea, a choice, or a relationship was not going where you thought it would go. The sense of impending failure sparks self-doubt and hopelessness. The remedy for this kind of flawed navigation is to re-set, re-group, and check-in with the ones who can show us the better way – the people we

In this Sunday’s second reading, Peter reminds us of the great gift of mercy given to us by God through the Risen Christ: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time. The meaning of “mercy” is rich

As I write this message on Palm Sunday, war is raging in the Middle East and the processions with palms that would normally take place near the near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher were not held out of precaution. In other parts of the world, places of worship are targets of attackers, and anxiety grows as the effects of world conflict spread beyond the battle fronts. Amid the unrest, Holy Week happens and the paschal mystery unfolds before us: the suffering, dying, and rising of Jesus. Scourging moves to crucifixion and death, but God’s power over death breaks through

Dear Friends, Holy Week (March 29 – April 5, 2026) is the holiest time of the year. More than a remembrance of past events, it is a living encounter with Jesus Christ, who invites each of us into deeper intimacy with Him. In these sacred days, we walk with Him, from the Upper Room, to Calvary, to the silence of the tomb, and ultimately to the joy of the Resurrection. I warmly encourage you to take advantage of Reconciliation Monday (March 30, 2026), a beautiful opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this sacrament, Christ Himself meets us with

One of the many beautiful features of Saint Aloysius church is the larger-than-life crucifix that hangs in our sanctuary. So many have remarked about how much that wonderfully imposing cross means to them: how it helps them pray, how it gives them peace, how it reminds them of God’s love made manifest in the suffering and dying of His Son. In my own reflection on the Cross of Christ, I have always been struck by a verse from the Liturgy of the Hours: “See how the Cross of Christ becomes the tree of life.” It makes sense: the suffering and

When Jesus heals, he not only restores sight, cures leprosy, or raises up the suffering from their sickbeds. He does something truly life-giving: he brings the healed ones back into the community. In this Sunday’s Gospel, blind Bartimeus and his family are ostracized from society because it is thought that some sin caused the blindness. Jesus spends a great amount of time explaining to the crowd that sin didn’t cause the blindness, and that God’s desire is that Bartimeus and his family have their dignity and rightful place in the community restored. We are made for relationship, and when we

I am amazed at the plethora of options for drinking water available these days, and I will confess that I have been trying out different brands in an attempt to find the one that will truly satisfy my taste and achieve a healthy hydration. I’ve ventured into the world of flavored, fruit-infused, ultra-filtered, straight-from-the-mountain-spring, sparkling, lightly-sweetened, distilled, purified, alkaline, and more. I’ve tried to balance my desire for flavor with the plain necessity of plain old H20 in order to live. To contextualize this in the current season of Lent, I can fast from food, but I must have water