Hello and Happy Friday!
Here’s what is going on at St. Mark as we prepare to celebrate the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.
THERE IS ONE COLLECTION THIS WEEKEND: Stewardship.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL SUPPLIES NEEDED! Our Knights of Columbus are collecting back-to-school supplies to make sure that local kids have everything they need for a great school year. Especially needed: backpacks, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, notebooks, and glue sticks. A collection box has been placed in the Upper Room. Thank you for your generosity!
ST. MARK SCHOOL STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL NEXT WEEK! If you are attending the 8:00 a.m. daily Mass, please enter the campus via the driveway across from the farm and park in the main church lot near the concrete slab. School traffic will follow the same route as last year with all traffic moving in one direction. The Nemergut Road driveway, next to the playground, will be for exit only in the morning. Please watch for pedestrians, especially little ones, and be mindful of your speed.
SAVE THE DATE for the St. Mark Parish Cookout Sunday, September 13th the cost is $10 per person, children 4 and under are free. The cookout will feature hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage and peppers, veggie burgers and all the fixings, assorted salads catered by Lasses’s, beverages, homemade desserts, Jim’s Valley Ice Cream Truck, games, Raffle, Crafts and a live DJ. Please see the attached flyer and registration form.
TEAM SOCIAL is sponsoring a Pilgrimage to The Shrine of Lourdes in Litchfield on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The cost is $65 per person and includes transportation, donation to the shrine, and tip for the bus driver. Please see the attached poster for all details. THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 27TH.
PARISH “SAFE FOOD HANDLING” TRAINING COMING IN AUGUST: Two sessions will be offered: Thursday, August 27th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Saturday, August 29th from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
In advance of our parish cookout in September, Team Social is hosting safe food handling training, led by Maureen K. Whalen, REHS, Environmental Health Supervisor, with the Town of Stratford Health Department. Learn the essentials of food safety to keep yourself and others safe. The training will include personal hygiene (handwashing), time/temperature controls, cross-contamination prevention, proper storage and more. This is especially helpful for those in ministries that serve food and/or sell food for fundraisers, but all interested parishioners are welcome.
Please see the attached poster for sign-up instructions.
DONATIONS NEEDED FOR THE MISSIONS: There will be a collection box in the Upper Room for Rosaries, Prayer Cards, Small Religious Books and Scapulars during August and the first two weeks of September.
There is a great need for these items in all the Missions around the world. Please donate what you can. Whatever we send now, will reach the Missions by Christmas. Blessings to one and all.
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THE COLUMBIETTES! The Columbiettes are an international Catholic women's organization affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, dedicated to faith, charity, and community service. Induction for our Auxiliary at St. Mark will be held in September. We have 40 parish women signed up, but we are holding a space for you! Please email Chris Duffy, cthyse@yahoo.com or call the church office for more information.
THE ST. MARK SCHOOL GOLF CLASSIC has been rescheduled for Tuesday, September 15, 2026. There is still room for a few more golfers. Please see the attached poster for registration details.
2026 WEDDING JUBILEE MASS: Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano, Bishop of Bridgeport will celebrate the Annual Diocesan Wedding Jubilee Mass on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Augustine in Bridgeport.
Couples celebrating their 25th, 40th, 45th, 50th, and more years of marriage are eligible to attend. All couples who are recognized at the Mass will receive a commemorative certificate in recognition of this important milestone in their married life in addition to pictures with the Bishop.
Couples celebrating their 10th, 15th, 20th, 30th and 35th wedding anniversaries are invited to attend the 11:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mark on Sunday, October 4, 2026. Fr. Reggie will recognize the anniversary couples and offer them a special blessing.
To register for either of these Masses, please email lrobertson@stmarkstfd.org, or call the church office at 203 377 0444.
THE SCOUTS ARE HOLDING TWO OPEN HOUSES FEATURING LEGO DERBYS on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, and Wednesday, September 30, 2026, both from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the church hall. Create and race a car! Supplies will be provided. Please see details on the attached poster.
MEN’S MINISTRY THROUGH HALLOW: Looking for a simple way to grow deeper in your faith and connect with other Catholic men?
Join our new Men’s Ministry group through the Hallow app! There are no in-person meetings to attend. Simply download the Hallow app, listen to the assigned podcast or content, and participate in the group discussion by sharing your thoughts and reflections online.
All materials and content are provided directly through the app, making it easy to participate on your own schedule wherever you are. A link to join the group will be provided soon. Our own Brother Knight will be hosting and facilitating the discussions as we grow together in faith, prayer, and brotherhood.
Come be part of a community of men striving to strengthen their relationship with Christ and one another. Our goal is to be better men, husbands, fathers and friends. Please join us.
Join the St. Mark Men Pray community on Hallow: https://hallow.app.link/vptViscIf3b
NEMERGUT FENCE PROJECT: HELP US REACH THE FINISH LINE!
Thanks to your generosity, we have reached 90.2% of our goal! We are very grateful!
If you have already contributed, thank you. If you have not yet had the opportunity, please consider making a gift to help us close the final gap and bring this important project to completion. Please send your contribution in the mail or by the Sunday collection and note: "Fence" in the memo field.
Together, we can finish this effort and continue providing a safe and welcoming place for our children and families.
Thank you for your continued generosity and support.
BIBLE STUDY is held on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm in the Upper Room. Newcomers are always welcome. Please email Laura (Lrobertson@stmarkstfd.org) to register. If we have your email address, we can send you the readings in advance and notify you of any last-minute meeting changes. Thank you!
ASK THE PASTOR!
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR FR. REGGIE ABOUT OUR FAITH? Write it down and drop it in the “Ask your Pastor a Question” box, there’s one by each entrance of the church. Fr. Reggie will answer your questions in the weekly Flocknote. Here’s what came in this week:
When you die your soul leaves your body and you go to one of three places: heaven, hell or purgatory but at the end of time , the dead will be raised and will be judged for what they have done. Who is being judged at that time and are you judged twice
Yes—this is an important distinction in Catholic teaching. You are not judged twice in the sense of receiving two separate, contradictory verdicts. Rather, Catholic theology speaks of two judgments: the particular judgment at the moment of death and the Last Judgment at the end of time.
1. What happens immediately after death?
When a person dies, the body and soul are separated. The soul does not simply cease to exist.
At that moment, the person undergoes what the Church calls the particular judgment.
The Catechism explains:
“Each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith.”
The soul’s eternal destiny is determined:
- Heaven — if the person dies in God’s grace and is ready for the fullness of God’s presence.
- Purgatory — if the person dies in God’s friendship but still needs purification.
- Hell — if the person definitively dies separated from God through grave sin and rejection of His mercy.
So, the person doesn’t wait until the end of time to discover whether he or she is saved.
2. Then what happens at the end of time?
This is where the resurrection of the body comes in.
Jesus teaches:
“All who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out.”
At the end of time, the dead will be raised. Their souls will be reunited with their bodies.
This is why we profess in the Creed:
“I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.”
The human person is not merely a soul. We are body and soul. Therefore, God’s plan of salvation ultimately includes the resurrection and glorification of the body.
3. So who is being judged at the Last Judgment?
The whole human person is manifested before Christ: the person whose soul has already undergone particular judgment and whose body is now resurrected.
The Last Judgment is not God saying:
“Let me decide now whether you go to heaven or hell.”
That decision has already been made at the particular judgment.
Instead, the Last Judgment is the public and definitive manifestation of God’s justice and mercy before all creation.
Jesus describes this in Matthew 25:31–46, when the Son of Man comes in glory and separates the sheep from the goats.
4. Why have a Last Judgment if we’ve already been judged?
This is probably the heart of your question.
Think of the distinction this way:
Particular Judgment:
“What is the eternal state of this person before God?”
“What is the eternal state of this person before God?”
Last Judgment:
“Let the truth about this person’s life, choices, faith, love, and relationship with God be revealed before all humanity and all creation.”
“Let the truth about this person’s life, choices, faith, love, and relationship with God be revealed before all humanity and all creation.”
The Last Judgment reveals the consequences of our lives.
For example, suppose someone lived a life of extraordinary charity and brought hundreds of people closer to Christ. At the particular judgment, that person is judged personally.
But at the Last Judgment, the full story of that person’s life—including the good that continued through the people he or she influenced—is revealed.
Likewise, evil that someone committed and the harm that flowed from it will be revealed.
Jesus says:
“Nothing is covered that will not be revealed.”
5. Does that mean we can change our destiny after death?
No.
This is another important Catholic distinction.
After death, there is no opportunity to change one’s fundamental eternal destiny.
The Last Judgment doesn’t give someone another opportunity to repent.
Rather:
Death → Particular Judgment → Heaven/Purgatory/Hell
Then, at the end of time:
Resurrection of the body → Last Judgment → eternal state fully revealed and consummated.
For those in heaven, the resurrection means the glorification of the body.
For those in hell, the resurrected body participates in the person’s definitive separation from God.
And Purgatory is temporary. It does not continue after the Last Judgment. Those being purified will ultimately enter heaven.
One important way to explain it
You could explain it to a Bible study class like this:
We are not judged twice; we experience two aspects of one definitive judgment. At death, God judges the individual person, and the soul enters heaven, purgatory, or hell. At the end of time, the dead are raised, body and soul are reunited, and Christ’s judgment is revealed publicly before all creation. The Last Judgment does not change God’s decision—it reveals and completes it.
And there is a beautiful reason for this: God created us as body-and-soul persons. Salvation is therefore not ultimately about escaping the body. Christianity ends not with disembodied souls floating in heaven, but with the resurrection of the body and the renewal of creation.
ARE YOU BEING CALLED TO A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING Of the Faith and Truth? Do you think you might want to be a Lay Dominican? Come follow in the footsteps of Saint Dominic through prayer, study, community and apostolate. Our Lady of Fatima, Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic is growing! Please join us for our annual Open House/ Inquiry on Monday, September 21 @ 7 PM, St. Theresa School Gym, 55 Rosemond Terrace Trumbull, CT. For more information about the Lay Dominicans please call, text or email our Formation Director, Mrs. Michelle Rowe, OP., @ 203-218-6882; orapronobis20@gmail.com. Please see the attached poster.
2026 LOURDES RETREAT: Please join us for a Special Day of Hope and Healing with Bishop Frank Caggiano on Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM, St. Mary Church 566 Elm St, Stamford, CT. The retreat will feature Rosary, Procession, Lourdes Water and Courageous Witness from members of the Diocesan Committee for Healing. Refreshments immediately following. All are welcome. Information and Registration: Erin Neil, Director of Safe Environment (203)416 1406 or Valeria Jarrin, Safe Environment Training and Compliance Assistant (203)4161407.
ST. CATHERINE CENTER FOR SPECIAL NEEDS presents the Joy & Gratitude Annual Gala on Sunday, September 27, 2026 from 5:00-9:00 p.m. at The Inn at Longshore, Westport Connecticut. The evening will feature cocktails, dinner, and live and silent auctions. All proceeds will benefit the mission of Saint Catherine Center. Please see the attached poster for details and registration information.
DIOCESAN NOVENA IN HONOR OF ST. PADRE PIO: This year will mark the inauguration of an annual diocesan novena in honor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, known as Padre Pio, which will take place from Wednesday, September 23 to October 1, 2026.
Mass will be celebrated each evening at 7:00PM followed by the Litany of St. Pio, and then the veneration of his relics. The following relics will be available for veneration: Saint Pio's brown glove, a lock of his hair, Saint Pio's handkerchief used during the Mass to wipe his tears, crusts of his wounds, and a piece of Saint Pio's mantle.
9/23/26 The Basilica of St. John the Evangelist, 279 Atlantic Street, Stamford
9/24/26 Church of the Holy Spirit, 403 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford
9/25/2026 St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, 1719 Post Road, Fairfield
9/26/2026 St. Augustine Cathedral, 399 Washington Avenue, Bridgeport
9/27/2026 St. Catherine of Siena Parish, 220 Shelton Road, Trumbull
9/28/2026 St. Jude Parish, 707 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe
9/29/2026 St. Patrick Parish, 169 Black Rock Turnpike, Redding
9/30/2026 St. Philip Church, 1 Father Conlon Place, Norwalk
10/1/2026 Church of St. Cecilia, 1184 Newfield Avenue, Stamford
Books and other materials will also be available for purchase. We are grateful to the Saint Pio of Pietrelcina Foundation for helping us organize this novena and making the veneration of his relics possible to the faithful of our diocese.
CONNECTICUT CATHOLIC MEN’S CONFERENCE – OCTOBER 10, 2026
Men of the parish are invited to attend the 2026 Connecticut Catholic Men's Conference on Saturday, October 10 at Holy Cross Catholic High School in Waterbury. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. and the program begins at 8:30 a.m.
This inspiring day of faith and fellowship features nationally known Catholic speakers:
Dr. Karlo Broussard, Fr. Dan Reehil, Jeanne Mancini, and Fr. Declan Gibson, along with opportunities for Confession, Eucharistic fellowship, Catholic exhibits and ministries, and concludes with Vigil Mass celebrated by Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne.
Lunch is included. Tickets are $45 for adults and $30 for students. Deacons and seminarians attend free.
Whether you have attended before or are considering coming for the first time, this is an outstanding opportunity to deepen your Catholic faith, strengthen your relationship with Christ, and share a memorable day with men from throughout Connecticut. Register today at: CTCatholicMen.org
ST. MARK SCHOOL AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM STAFF: HELP WANTED!
5 days a week 2:00pm-6:00PM
St. Mark Catholic School - Stratford, CT
Job Description
The St. Mark School After-School Program provides a safe, dependable, convenient place for children after dismissal. The program aims to reinforce the values of school and enrich the lives of the students.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The description below is illustrative of tasks and responsibilities. It is not meant to be all inclusive of every task or responsibility.
After-school Staff:
1. Reports to the School Principal and After School Coordinator.
2. Ensures that all after school activities reflect the mission of St. Mark School and the Diocese of Bridgeport.
3. Ensures that the guidelines, policies and expectations of St. Mark School and that of the Diocese of Bridgeport are followed.
4. Ensures a safe and engaging environment for all students by:
5 days a week 2:00pm-6:00PM
St. Mark Catholic School - Stratford, CT
Job Description
The St. Mark School After-School Program provides a safe, dependable, convenient place for children after dismissal. The program aims to reinforce the values of school and enrich the lives of the students.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The description below is illustrative of tasks and responsibilities. It is not meant to be all inclusive of every task or responsibility.
After-school Staff:
1. Reports to the School Principal and After School Coordinator.
2. Ensures that all after school activities reflect the mission of St. Mark School and the Diocese of Bridgeport.
3. Ensures that the guidelines, policies and expectations of St. Mark School and that of the Diocese of Bridgeport are followed.
4. Ensures a safe and engaging environment for all students by:
- Supporting a program that keeps children safe and busy from dismissal until pick-up
- Providing homework support
- Signing out students with pick-up adult, verifying correct pick-up consents
- Verifying children are properly supervised
- Properly handling discipline problems as they arise
- Treating injuries properly if they occur
Scheduled Hours: Monday - Friday when school is in session, from 2:00pm – 6:00pm.
Preference Given to availability on Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays.
Early Dismissal Days extended from 11:30am – 6:00pm.
Qualifications:
Early Dismissal Days extended from 11:30am – 6:00pm.
Qualifications:
- Minimum of a High school Diploma or GED - Associate’s Degree or higher in Education Preferred
- Background clearance
Physical/Mental Requirements:
Requires coordination and manual dexterity. Usual and customary methods of performing job's functions require: lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling; stooping, kneeling, crouching, and/or crawling; walking, standing, sitting.
Travel Requirements:
Travel to school building.
Requires coordination and manual dexterity. Usual and customary methods of performing job's functions require: lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling; stooping, kneeling, crouching, and/or crawling; walking, standing, sitting.
Travel Requirements:
Travel to school building.
At St. Mark School, we are committed to providing an outstanding early childhood program that encourages the social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual growth of every child. Jesus is at the heart of all that we do. The teachers, staff, parents, and students in our faith community are called to be the face of Christ, the hands of Christ and most importantly the heart of Christ to others through our words and actions. Consider joining our school community and advancing the mission of Catholic education! For more information and to apply, email Principal Melissa Warner at principal@stmarkschool.org
PILGRIMAGE TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
Accompany Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano and Chris McMahon on a 4-day pilgrimage to Mexico City.
This life-changing pilgrimage will take place from Friday, October 9- Monday, October 12, 2026. Experience the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe- the most visited Marian shrine in the world. See the miraculous tilma of St. Juan Diego (an image created by God) and attend a pilgrim Holy Mass with the Bishop at the Basilica. Go to Tepeyac Hill where the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Juan Diego and see so much more. Next, travel to the Sisters of Mary at the World Villages for Children (WVC) Girlstown in Chalco, Mexico, to witness how the Sisters are transforming the lives of impoverished children in the most desperate circumstances through education, faith formation and vocational training.
Act Fast! Limited Space Is Available.
DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT VIRTUS SAFE ENVIRONMENT: The Diocese of Bridgeport is committed to the safety and welfare of our children! As all volunteers are aware, an updated background check and five-year renewal training session is imperative to keeping our children and community safe. For your information, you may visit the St. Mark website, click on “links,” click on “Diocese of Bridgeport” tab, click on “Safe Environment,” and read and review the most current data regarding safety for our children, and elderly, in the community. For those who are volunteers, please make sure you are updated in VIRTUS by visiting your existing account at www.VIRTUSonline.org. Or you may phone the Office of Safe Environment: 203-416-1407.
Additional resources are available and free to all parents at our parish. These resources include articles on human trafficking, youth protection, and care for vulnerable adults. Please visit the Virtus website Resources page for information:
The Diocese of Bridgeport also offers all parents the opportunity to attend Safe Environment training to supplement the Safe Environment training your child receives in public school. Please visit the Diocese of Bridgeport website to learn more and to sign up for this free and valuable training: https://www.bridgeportdiocese.org/safe-environments/home/.
Enjoy the Weekend!
Laura and Dana
