Please read the attached letter from our pastor, Fr. Scarmozzino, by clicking on the link below. 

July 3, 2022 Updates

A closing Mass of Thanksgiving will be offered at St. Matthew’s Chapel on Saturday, July 2nd at 9:00 am. All are warmly invited to come and offer praise and homage to God in thanksgiving for the many happy years of this chapel. The Mass will be offered for the repose of the souls of Fr. Richard Tinney and Mr. Tim Doran.
 

Wednesday, June 15th, is the third anniversary of Fr. Chalifoux's ordination to the holy priesthood. Please join him and the Knights of Columbus at Our Lady of Seven Dolors for an hour of Eucharistic Adoration, beginning at 6:00 pm, including a brief reflection and the Rosary, and concluding with Benediction at 7:00 pm. Afterwards, you are most welcome to the rectory for some light refreshments and merriment. 

Dear Parishioners,

   Due to the serious illness of his dear friend, Fr. Scarmozzino had to leave town on rather short notice. Due to difficulties in finding coverage for all the Masses, the 4:00 pm Mass at St. John the Baptist in Castleton for Saturday, June 4th, has been canceled. Fr. Chalifoux will be saying the 4:00 pm Mass in Poultney, which you are most welcome to attend. On Sunday morning, there is also the 8:00 am Mass in Middletown Springs, the 9:00 am Mass in Fair Haven, and the 10:00 am Mass in Poultney. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but we thank you sincerely for your patience and understanding. Please help us by notifying your friends and family of this change in this weekend's schedule. 

With an assurance of our prayers,
Fr. Steven Scarmozzino
Fr. Kevin Chalifoux

Please join us at St. Raphael's Church in Poultney for Solemn Vespers on Pentecost Sunday, June 5th, at 5:00 pm, as we celebrate the graduating seniors from Poultney High School. Refreshments to follow in the parish hall. 

Please note there will not be Vespers in Fair Haven on that day.

• Will There Be Beer in Heaven? Come join us for dinner, drinks, and a discussion about the resurrected and glorified body at Scotch Hill Brewery in Fair Haven. Easter Wednesday, 4/20/22, 6:00 pm. Dinner is covered, drinks are on you. Sign-up sheets are in the back.
• Short Stories, Poems, and Community- on the rectory porch after Sunday Vespers. Begins Easter Sunday. Bring whatever snacks you'd like to share. We'll start with Oscar Wilde's story "The Happy Prince."
• Please note the daily Mass schedule during the Octave of Easter- Mass on Monday morning is in the evening and there is also an evening Mass on Wednesday. 

Palm Sunday - normal Sunday schedule
Holy Monday - 8:00 am SJB
Holy Tuesday - 8:00 am OLSD/ Chrism Mass in Burlington at 11:00 am
Spy Wednesday - 8:00 am SJB

Maundy Thursday (4/14) - 
Solemn Mass of the Lord's Supper, 6:00 pm at OLSD
Stripping of the Altars
Adoration at the Altar of Repose until Midnight
Compline at 11:45 pm

Good Friday (4/15) - 
Morning Prayers at 7:00 am
Solemn Liturgy of the Lord's Passion - 2:00 pm at OLSD
Stations of the Cross - 6:00 pm at OLSD

Holy Saturday (4/16) - 
Morning Prayers at 7:00 am
Solemn Easter Vigil - 8:00 pm at OLSD

Easter Sunday (4/17) - 
9:00 am Mass at SJB
11:00 am Mass at SP

Ash Wednesday (March 2nd):
Holy Mass with Distribution of Ashes: St. John the Baptist at 8:00 am
Distribution of Ashes Services: Our Lady of Seven Dolors at 7:00 am
                                                    St. Paul's at 6:00 pm

Stations of the Cross- All Fridays of Lent:
St. Paul's- 6:00 pm, confessions at 5:00 pm
Castleton/Fair Haven- 7:30 pm, confessions following

Lenten Mission:
Fr. Peter Gautsch of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) will be preaching a Lenten Mission for our parishes from Sunday, March 6th - Wednesday, March 9th at the Church of Our Lady of Seven Dolors. The four conferences will be preached at 7:00 pm. Holy Mass will be offered beforehand at 6:30 pm. Adoration and Confessions will follow each conference. 

Night Prayer (Compline) by Candlelight:
Wednesdays of Lent at Our Lady of Seven Dolors.
Compline at 8:00 pm, confessions available afterwards

Saturday Morning Mass- 8:00 am at Our Lady of Seven Dolors, all Saturdays of Lent

 

- Wednesday, February 2nd- The Feast of the Presentation of our Lord- 8:00 am Mass at Our Lady of Seven Dolors, beginning with a blessing of candles and candlelit procession. Feel free to bring candles to have blessed.

-Thursday, February 3rd- The Feast of St. Blaise- blessing of throats after the 8:00 am Mass at Our Lady of Seven Dolors. This blessing will also be available upon request all day!

-There are no daily Masses from Monday, February 7th through Friday, February 11th, as Fr. Chalifoux will be away on retreat, returning Friday evening. 

- Epiphany House Blessings and Chalking of Doors- please call the rectory to schedule a time for Fr. Chalifoux to come and bless your home for the new year.

-Epiphany Water, blessed on the vigil of Epiphany, is available in the back of our churches. You are most welcome to take some home for your private devotional use.

-Catecheses resume on Tuesday the 11th and Thursday the 13th. 

-Religious Education classes resume on Saturday the 14th at 5:15 pm.  

-There will be no public Mass on Tuesday, January 18th.

-Fr. Chalifoux will be away on retreat at the beginning of February. There will be no public daily Masses on February 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11. Fr. will be back for the weekend Masses of February 12th and 13th. 

 

Wednesday, December 29th-
Vespers at OLSD, in honor of St. Thomas Becket who was martyred during Vespers on this date in 1162, followed by Christmas Caroling in the town green. Please dress warmly!

Friday, December 31st-
Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament from 10:00 pm until 12:30 am at OLSD
The Te Deum will be chanted at 11:30 pm
The Veni, Creator Spiritus will be chanted at 12:15 am
A plenary indulgence is attached to both of those prayers, under the usual conditions
Light refreshments will be available in the rectory after Benediction at 12:30

Saturday, January 1st- Mary, Mother of God
Holy Mass at 8:00 am at Our Lady of Seven Dolors, Fair Haven

Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service- St. Paul's, Orwell; Tuesday, November 23rd; 7:00 pm

St. John the Baptist Altar Society Bazaar- Saturday, November 20th, 9 am - 2 pm, bake sale and tag sale

Our Lady of Seven Dolors Christmas Bazaar- Friday, December 3rd, 12pm-7pm; Saturday, December 4th, 10am-2pm 

OLSD Thrift Store will be closing for the season after the Christmas Bazaar.

St. Paul's Christmas Basket Raffle- tickets are available for purchase in the back of the Church




 

Christmas Eve:
4:00 pm Mass at St. John the Baptist, Castleton
preceded by a Christmas Pageant at 3:30 pm

Midnight Mass- St. Raphael's, Poultney

Christmas Morning:
8:00 am Mass at St Paul's, Orwell
10:00 am Mass at Our Lady of Seven Dolors, Fair Haven

Sunday, December 26th: The Holy Family
9:00 am Mass at Our Lady of Seven Dolors, Fair Haven
11:00 am Mass at St. Paul's, Orwell
5:30 pm Mass at St. John the Baptist, Castleton

Please note the following additions to our schedule during Advent:

• 6:30 am candlelit Mass at OLSD on Saturdays, December 4th, 11th, and 18th. Feel free to bring your own candle!

• Extra Confessions, Friday evenings, 7:00 - 8:00 pm OLSD, December 3rd, 10th, and 17th

All ladies of the parishes are invited to a Walking With Purpose Bible Study entitled "Opening Your Heart." We meet on Tuesday evenings from 7 pm to 8:15 pm at St. Mary's School. The substantial study book is discounted to $20. Please call Mary Alice Patten at 785-456-5258 or 802-265-8385 to order a book as soon as possible and with any questions. Please also invite a friend! For more info: walkingwithpurpose.com

Bottle Drive
Please remember that the bottle drive to raise funds for the foundation work at the Church continues at Liberty Street Market. We thank Dawn O'Neil for her generous assistance. This is a wonderful way to contribute to this important cause and we sincerely thank all those who participate!

Quilt Raffle
Mrs. Pat Dollar is generously raffling off a beautiful homemade bear paw quilt to raise funds for the fuel collection at Our Lady of Seven Dolors. Tickets are $1 or six tickets for $5. The drawing will take place on December 4, 2021. 
 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, SHELBURNE

How's your prayer life? Sister Barbara Cline, of the Fransciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, will share how prayer brings us into closer relationship with God and the different forms of prayer. As there will be a limited number of attendees, the deadline for registration is November 6, with a $30 payment. For the registration link, please contact Terri McCormack at tmccormack@vermontcatholic.org or (802) 658-6110, Ext. 1451. Learn more: vermontcatholic.org/event/womens-retreat

In honor of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the St. Maximilian Kolbe Fraternity of Secular Franciscans are sponsoring the annual blessing of pets. Fr. Chalifoux will be happy to bless your animals on Sunday, October 3rd in the yard in front of the rectory. The blessing will be at 2:00 pm. 

Please note that audio recordings of Fr. Chalifoux's homilies are now available on the parish website. Simply click on the "Homilies" link at the top of the page to find them. 

In the back of each Church, Holy Water is available in the large dispensers. There are also small bottles available there, so you are always welcome to take some Holy Water home with you. 

"From long experience I have learned that there is nothing like holy water to put devils to flight and prevent them from coming back again... I often reflect on the great importance of everything ordained by the Church and it makes me very happy to find that those words of the Church are so powerful that they impart their power to the water and make it so very different from water which has not been blessed."
~St. Teresa of Avila

Please note the following regarding September 15th, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows:

-There will be a quiet Mass at 8:00 am at Our Lady of Seven Dolors.

-In the evening, there will be a solemn sung Mass at 5:30 pm at Our Lady of Seven Dolors followed by a Marian Procession around the Village Green. 

-After the procession, there will be a potluck dinner in the parish hall, where the drawing for the Raffle will take place.

-There is a plenary indulgence offered, under the usual conditions, to all those who visit the Church of Our Lady of Seven Dolors on Wednesday, September 15th, and recite the Creed and the Our Father. The usual conditons to gain an indulgence are sacramental Confession within one week, reception of Holy Communion within one week, detachment from all sin, and prayers for the Pope's intentions.

Please note that the practice of taking up a collection during the Offertory will resume the weekend of Sunday, July 18th. We are most grateful for your generous support of our parishes!

Beginning this Sunday, July 18th, Vespers of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be prayed in the Church of Our Lady of Seven Dolors every Sunday at 4:00 pm. It will conclude with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Come, join us in prayer, and learn more about this beautiful part of the Church's liturgy!

Please note that henceforth, there will be no publicly scheduled Mass on Wednesdays. Fr. Chalifoux will be offering Mass privately on that day. 

Beginning the week of Sunday, July 18th, all daily Masses will be offered at 8:00 am, both in Fair Haven and in Castleton. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we also hope this will prove helpful to those who might like to go to Mass before getting to work. 

Holy Mass will be offered on the first Saturdays of every month, beginning in August, at 8:00 am at the Church of Our Lady of Seven Dolors.