Church guide

We're down to the last week! The St. Raphael's "Moonlight in Vermont" dance will be held this Saturday June 15th from 7 to 10 pm at St. Raphael's parish hall at 21 East Main St, Poultney VT. This event is a fundraiser for the roof replacement project at St. Raphael's church. Built in 1902, the original slate roof is failing and replacement is now the only option. The fundraising committee is working diligently to raise the funds necessary to move forward with the replacement project. This dance features Enerjazz Big Band, a local 17 piece band from Rutland County, Vermont. For this gig they are concentrating on playing the songs that made the big band era famous. Enerjazz has musicians who hail from Essex Junction, Monkton, Danby, Chittenden, Proctor, Poultney, Brandon, Rutland, Middlebury, Castleton and Hampton, NY. They come from these and other far-away locations in Vermont and New York to make sure you can still experience this exceptional music form. Many younger people have never heard a "live" big band and don't know what they are missing. It is truly an experience not to be missed. At the dance there will be finger foods, a raffle for a 43" TV, a raffle for a maple basket and a 50/50. This is a BYOB dance, please bring your favorite beverage. For tickets please call Rusty Wescott 802-287-5185 or Deacon Vince Meyers at 802-645-0954. Tickets are available up until the day of the dance for the advance price of $50 per couple. At the door the cost will be $60 per couple. Singles are also available. If you'd like to contribute but can't attend the dance, donations are also welcome and can be offered in memory of a loved one. Contact Rusty at the number listed above for more details. Everyone is welcome at this event. Please consider joining us for this great evening of music from a bygone era and help St. Raphael's move one step closer to their fundraising goal. Rusty Wescott - St. Raphael's Fundraising Committee

MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH JOHN 19:25-34 Friends, today we celebrate the new Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. We hear in today’s Gospel that, as he was dying on the cross, Jesus looked to his mother and the disciple whom he loved, and he said to Mary, "Woman, behold, your son," and then to John, "Behold, your mother." We are told that "from that hour the disciple took her into his home." If Mary is the one through whom Christ was born, and if the Church is indeed Christ’s Mystical Body, then she must be, in a very real sense, the mother of the Church. She is the one through whom Jesus continues to be born in the hearts of those who believe. This is not to confuse her with the Savior, but it is to insist on her mission as mediator and intercessor. At the close of the great "Hail Mary" prayer, we Catholics ask Mary to pray for us "now and at the hour of our death," signaling that throughout one’s life Mary is the privileged channel through which the grace of Christ flows into the Mystical Body. God delights in drawing secondary causes into the dense complexity of his providential plan, granting to them the honor of cooperating with him and his designs. The handmaid of the Lord, who is the mother of the Church, is the humblest of these humble instruments—and therefore the most effective. -Bishop Robert Barron

St. Raphael's was built in 1902 and the original slate roof on the church has deteriorated and is need of replacement. The slate has become so brittle after all these years that it is crumbling every time the wind blows. Temporary repairs are no longer an option. So on June 15th we are holding a "Moonlight in Vermont" dance to raise money for our roof replacement project. The dance will feature Enerjazz, the local 17 piece big band and will take place from 7 to 10 pm on Saturday, June 15th. Light food and refreshments will be provided by the church and you are asked to bring your own beverage. Raffles will be held during the evening for a number of items, including a 43" HDTV and a collection of Vermont Maple goodies. 50/50 tickets will also be available at the event. Ticket prices are $50 per couple in advance or $60 at the door. Singles are available too. For more information or for advance ticket purchases you can call 802-287-5185. We hope to see you there! 😇

TUESDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER JOHN 16:5-11 Friends, once again in today’s Gospel Jesus promises to send us the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the fuel of the Church, the energy and life force of the Body of Christ. And we can’t get him through heroic effort. We can only get him by asking for him. That’s why, for the past two thousand years, the Church has begged for this power from on high. Jesus told us that the Father would never refuse someone who asked for the Holy Spirit. So ask! And ask again! Realize that every liturgy is a begging for the Holy Spirit. Fr. Hesburgh of Notre Dame once commented that the one prayer that is always appropriate—whether one is experiencing success or failure, whether one is confident or afraid, whether one is young or old— is "Come, Holy Spirit!" He’s right, for this is the fundamental prayer of the Church. Mind you, we pray it, as the first Apostles did, in the presence of Mary and with her support. In the Hail Mary, we say, "Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death." What are we asking her to pray for but the Holy Spirit? -Bishop Robert Barron

Tomorrow, May 21st, 7pm @ St. Peter’s in Rutland 😇