My dear friends,
 Well, it wasn’t the way the day was supposed to go. A week ago on Friday, I was walking around
at Southington Country Club. They were hosting Southington Catholic School’s annual golf
tournament. I went to meet the players and get some photographs. As the announcement was
being made for golfers to head to their carts, my phone rang. It was my mother. She informed
me that my father had driven himself to the local urgent care clinic and was quite ill. So I made
my excuses and headed off to get my mother.
 

I picked Mom up at home and drove her to the clinic. We were walked to the room where my father was. The nurse practitioner greeted us with news that he was dehydrated, in atrial fibrillation, and he had Covid. As he was being taken to the hospital, we had to wait to have Covid tests ourselves. The wait was more than an hour. They sent us home and promised to call with the results. After three hours of waiting with no call, I drove back to ask the results. My mother and I were both negative. Great! So I left Mom with my sister at home and I drove to see my father at the hospital.
 

When I arrived, the emergency room was overflowing. He had already been there fourhours waiting in a hallway. Because he was not in a room, I could not see him. If he had Covid,  I could not see him. So he waited and I had to leave. He eventual was briefly checked and discharged after 10:00 PM. I headed back to the parish to catch up on other work I should have been doing all day long. It was not how I planned the day.
 

Things don’t always go as we plan. Sometimes changes come for which we can plan, and others come
with no warning. We could try to pretend there’s no issue, but that isn’t helpful. Sometimes, we need to
change to meet the needs of the situation. Our plans may fall to pieces, but we don’t have to do that. We
can face the challenge and deal with the reality and where it takes us. That is a more productive way to go
through life.
 

As we move toward the merger of parishes, I’m sure it’s not what anyone had ever planned for the parishes
of Southington. We can complain or try to hide from the reality, but that isn’t helpful. We are asked to see
the situation, respond as calmly and rationally as we can, and meet the task to be faced. It requires setting
aside other plans or ideas and meeting the new reality head on. It can be a challenge, but one we can meet. If we do this well, we should be fine. It is time to see what needs to be done and do it.

Hopefully yours in Christ, Fr. Joe

My Dear Friends,
Last Sunday, I was able to get home to celebrate Mothers’ Day with my Mom and Dad. Many family members popped in throughout the day to see them and chat. It was a good time. We had nice talks and ate good food. Monday was my birthday, and also that of my brother-in-law, Steve. The family had a call line and text chain going all morning long. I heard from family and friends on Facebook, email, texts, calls, and pop in visits. I appreciated the many good birthday messages. It was all very enjoyable.

There’s something good about connections to the people we love. We know they are in our lives
and the power of those connections, but it’s good to reconnect to that. In the daily grind of work
and tasks, we can become lost in the routine. It’s easy to lose track of the last time we really spoke
to that friend or saw our cousin, because we know they love us and they are always there.
We still need to make time to keep the bonds of love and affection alive. That’s why it’s good to
move past the chaos and reconnect with loved ones. We need times like holidays, birthdays,
and anniversaries to make us put in the effort to really make contact.


We love the family and friends we have, and those special moments are there to remind us of how much they mean to us. They are great moments to connect and share memories, laugh, and just enjoy the company of people who know us inside and out. They are moments that make life so much better and easier to face when things get crazy. These should be times to treasure and nourish our souls.


We need those special times with God as well. The Church sets aside solemnities and seasons to help us
reconnect to that most basic relationship, the God who made us and loves us. We’re still in the Easter season, rejoicing in the Resurrection. We are preparing from Ascension next week and Pentecost ten days later. We also have Sundays, the Lord’s Day, as a time to slow down and just speak to our God. We gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ to reunite as a family. Take these sacred moments of rest, comfort, and peace to build the bonds of love. Let these times be set aside to reconnect. It can all be very enjoyable!