Adult Faith Enrichment – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

“Hope for Our Common Home: Catholics Care for Creation” – Please Join Us for an Interactive Community Viewing on Saturday, October 26 at St. John

All our invited to join the SJSP Laudato Si’ Committee for an interactive community viewing of “Hope for our Common Home: Catholics Care for Creation,” a special webinar from the Archdiocese of Boston’s Social Justice Ministry, in collaboration with the Boston Catholic Climate Movement.

Saturday, October 26 at 9:30am
St. John the Evangelist – Powers Hall (Lower Level of the Church)

If you would like to join us for this interactive community viewing at St. John please let us know you are coming below…

Evening for Women: “Speaking of God with Julian of Norwich” – Tuesday, November 12 at 6:00pm at St. John

With guest speaker Anne Mears

Tuesday, November 12 from 6:00 – 8:00pm
St. John the Evangelist Church
(Powers Hall and Lower Chapel)

All women of the Collaborative are warmly invited to come and join us in a space of reflection and inspiration as we explore the powerful and nurturing images of God which come to us through the writings of one of the great women mystics: Julian of Norwich. Anne Mears will guide us as we explore how Julian’s work can enrich our spiritual lives and the life of the Church today.

Stay for our pot-luck supper – bring a dish to share. Invite a friend! To help us plan for the evening, please let us know if you’re coming…

“The synod is far from over”

Below is Sr. Colleen Gibson’s recent article published in the National Catholic Reporter.

A few weeks ago, in the run-up to the opening of the second session of the synod on synodality, the Prayer of the Faithful in our parish offered an intention for the synod and its delegates. Together we prayed: “For the synod: that as delegates gather in Rome this week, they may carry with them the cares and concerns of the communities they represent — speaking freely, listening deeply and engaging prayerfully in their efforts to follow the Spirit’s guidance.”

After Mass, a parishioner stopped me in the church foyer. “Is that still going on?” they asked.

My face clearly revealed I didn’t know what they were talking about…

Saturday, October 26 at 10:00am – “Hope for Our Common Home: Catholics Care for Creation” (Webinar)

Join the Archdiocese of Boston Social Justice Ministry in collaboration with the Boston Catholic Climate Movement for an important webinar: “Hope for Our Common Home: Catholics Care for Creation.”

In Laudato Si’ Pope Francis urges us to listen to the cries of the poor and the cries of the earth. We are called to protect life and preserve all that sustains life on earth. How do we respond?

In this webinar we engage with Social Justice Leaders to contemplate the moral imperatives of caring for God’s creation. Please join us as we discover opportunities to work together in caring for creation.

To register…

Update from the Synod: Day 5 – The Last Day

Today is Sunday, which is supposedly a day of rest. But we were excited to get up and go to Mass at the Jesuit English-speaking Oratory of St. Francis Xavier of Caravita.

Four of us were asked to take part in the liturgy. We foolishly thought that taking a taxi rather than walking a mile with the rest would get us there in plenty of time. We waited and ordered Ubers and taxis that never came. With twenty-five minutes to go, we ran to the church, pushing aside tourists packed around the Trevi Fountain and rushing into the church with one minute to spare. The priests were lined up and, without catching our breath, we were leading the procession!

Update from the Synod: Day 4 – Deacon Day!

On this day we found ourselves in the Saint Lawrence Basilica, built as a diaconiae (not to be confused by that word). A diaconiae started as a simple structure to serve the needs of the poor in the area. Over time it was developed and expanded to include an oratory where deacons could gather in prayer. To this day, this oratory contains the Easter Candle as well as the ambo for the proclamation of the Gospel. Eventually a sanctuary was added to the oratory. This three-part design of the oratory and the sanctuary is a graphic reminder of the deacon’s threefold ministry of the Word (oratory), Sacrament (sanctuary) and Charity (the nave). These three make up one sacred reality! Pope Francis resumed the ancient custom of entrusting a church to a Deacon…

Updates from the Synod: Day 3 – “For every Francis, a Clare.”

Early in the morning we went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The Basilica ties its origins to a miracle that occurred in the fourth century: a snowfall on August 5 in Rome—a sign revealed to Pope Liberius in a dream. To commemorate that event every year on that date a snowfall of white rose petals cascades down over the altar. It felt dreamlike to be here! We had a special opportunity to celebrate Mass in one of the side chapels. Our two priests presided with their backs to us, tucked into that side altar in a church with snowfalls, Bernini statues, marbled mosaics and a relic from the nativity crib!

In the afternoon, Discerning Deacons and CEAMA (Amazonian Ecclesial Conference) hosted a panel in Pope Pius XI Hall…

October’s Evening for Women Program: “Women in Sacred Music”

This past Tuesday, October 1, we gathered at St. John for our first Evening for Women program of the 2024-2025 season. Guest speaker William Endicott, our new Collaborative Director of Music, spoke about the significant contributions of women in sacred music.

From sorting out the myths and facts surrounding St. Cecilia, the official patron saint of music, to a discussion of St. Hildegard of Bingen (c. 1098-1179), composer and Doctor of the Church, to more modern women composers of sacred music, including Florence Price and Theophane Hytrek, SSSF, it was an enlightening evening for all!

Updates from the Synod: Day 2 – St. Phoebe Prayer Service

Our parishioner, Svea Fraser, is in Rome with the Discerning Deacons/CEAMA Pilgrims and will be sending us updates from their journey!

We gathered at the Migrant Statue Angels Unawares for a Visio Divina, a meditation inviting us to enter the lives and struggles of the 150 different people from different eras and parts of the world who are molded in bronze. It is truly a “visual prayer”: a prayer that is not just about migrants, but about all of us and the future of the human family. The Pope called it a reminder of the challenge of welcoming. Rising out of the center of the statue are two huge wings, a reference from Hebrews: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”…

Ministering to the Catholic Community at Wellesley College

Late last spring, a group of Catholic students at Wellesley College reached out to Kelly Meraw, Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, asking for guidance in how they could arrange for Sunday Mass to be celebrated regularly on campus. Kelly and Sr. Colleen Gibson, our Pastoral Care Coordinator, worked with the chaplain at Wellesley College to schedule weekly Confessions and Sunday Mass in Houghton Chapel for the students.

We are so grateful for the presence of Fr. Gabriel, our Parochial Vicar, and our Scholar Priests in Residence, Fr. Lesley and Fr. James, which makes this ministry possible.

The Wellesley College Newman Catholic Student Organization has asked Kelly to serve as their Advisor, and she and Sr. Colleen will continue to work with this group to provide pastoral care and leadership to these young Catholic women residing in our parish…

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