Due to the forecast for snow and ice and hazardous travel, all Collaborative Offices will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, February 28.
In addition, the 7:00pm Confessions at St. Paul on Tuesday evening are cancelled.
Confessions have been rescheduled to Wednesday, March 1 at 7:00pm at St. Paul.
As always, these decisions are made with the safety of our parishioners, staff, and clergy always at the forefront of our minds. Please stay safe!
This weekend, March 4-5, the 2023 Catholic Appeal will officially launch here in our parishes and across the Archdiocese. One of the most meaningful ways that we witness the presence of Christ and deepen the impact of our Church’s ministries is by supporting the Catholic Appeal.
As your pastor, I invite you to prayerfully consider extending your generosity to this year’s appeal. Many of you have already done so and I am deeply grateful. When our parishes reach their goals, a portion of the additional funds received will be returned to us for use in our parishes.
To make a gift online…
City of Goodness is a social service and support center that was originally established to care for women and children fleeing domestic violence. With the onset of the war, City of Goodness has become a shelter for women with children, families (with their pets!) and elderly people from all over Ukraine. They settle them, feed them, provide medical treatment, and try to make this time a little less traumatic for the little ones. They have also taken in evacuees from three orphanages from the South of Ukraine – children from birth to 7 years – and are constructing additional buildings (with bomb shelters) so they can accommodate another two hundred evacuee children.
Our gift will help with construction costs and the constant need for food, medicine, hygiene items, pillows, baby food and formula, and clothing…
Can you recall a hurt that has taken hold of you, one that you can’t seem to let go? Have you noticed how it can drain your energy and attention? How it can turn you into the sort of person that you really don’t want to be? As you mediate on the words of Jesus this week, consider how he invites you to follow his example.
Here are some thoughts and questions for your consideration during this week:
Imagine this gospel scene. Speak to Jesus about his forgiveness for those who have hurt him.
How does this prayer of Jesus influence the way in which Jesus dies?
Last June 2, when I came to consciousness on the pavement after having been hit by a car at high velocity, I truly saw my life flash before me. Somehow, in that moment of shock, pain, and disorientation, I knew that Jesus was with me. Over the next many months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, I had a lot of time to reflect on my experience. I could easily have died on that pavement and yet God spared my life. I have a renewed sense that I am here on this earth for a purpose. And I firmly believe that this is true not only for me but for each one of us. You are in this world for a purpose, one which only you can fulfill. God loves you profoundly and has called you… in your family, your profession, your relationships… to bring His light into the world. I see the fruits of your call every day…
9:00am Mass at St. Paul
12:30pm Mass at St. John
5:30pm Mass at St. John
7:00pm Mass at St. Paul
All Masses on Ash Wednesday will be live streamed.
Make a real difference this Lenten Season by helping families struggling to pay bills and put food on the table.
This Ash Wednesday, a special collection will be taken up in every parish across the Archdiocese of Boston in support of Catholic Charities Boston. Catholic Charities helps thousands of families across Eastern Massachusetts, providing food, shelter, utilities assistance, childcare and youth programming, refugee and immigrant services, and adult education with a mission of moving people toward self-sufficiency.
For what do you thirst? Can you be attentive to the words of Jesus as they reveal your own thirst?
Here are some thoughts and questions for your consideration during this week:
Recall your own experiences of thirst. How do they help you to relate to this scene of Jesus on the cross? In your prayer, express to him how you feel.
Consider the people around the world who suffer because of the poor quality or the inadequate supply of water. Remember them to Jesus in prayer. Imagine the face of Jesus.
For what do you thirst this Lenten season? Can you name it? Can you ask for it? How is Jesus the living water for you?
The images coming out of Turkey and Syria following the February 6, 7.8 magnitude earthquake, are showing the world that the people there are experiencing immense suffering, destruction, and death. Recognizing the growing need for assistance, Cardinal Seán has asked that a special collection be taken the weekend of February 18-19 in all parishes in the Archdiocese.
Contributions may be made during the special second collection at all Masses on the weekend of February 19-20. Please make checks payable to your parish (St. John Parish or St. Paul Parish) with “Turkey/Syria Earthquake Relief” noted in the memo. (Checks may also be mailed/dropped to either parish office.)
Donations may also be made online by visiting either parish’s Online Giving page…
This Lent we are invited to truly walk with Jesus and journey through the Gospels as we pray simply over one phrase each week spoken by our dying Lord.
The “Seven Last Words” that Jesus spoke from the cross are not really words, but sentences. No single Gospel account contains all seven last sentences; rather, they are compiled from the four Gospels and they capture the experience of the dying Jesus.
All groups will be facilitated by the author, Sr. Mary Sweeney, SC
Thursday Evenings – Beginning February 16 at 7:00pm on ZOOM
Friday Mornings – Beginning February 17 at 9:30am at the St. Paul Rectory
Privately – Beginning February 19 Meditate on the seven last words each week in a dedicated section of our Lenten bulletins and on our website.
To learn more and register…