Adult Faith Enrichment – Page 11 – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

Daughters of St. Paul Book Fair: October 4-5 at St. John & October 11-12 at St. Paul

The Daughters of St. Paul from the Pauline Book & Media Center in Dedham will be coming to our parishes with a Book Fair in October. They will have Catholic Books for the whole family: Spirituality, Inspiration, Prayerbooks, Bibles, Lives of the Saints and more, plus many children’s books for all ages.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for you to purchase some good books to enrich your faith-life during this Jubilee Year of Hope.

For your convenience, the Sisters accept all forms of payment: cash, credit card, check and through the smartphone.

AFE Wednesday Morning Discussion Group on “The Chosen”

Wednesday Mornings from 10am – 11:30am
October 1, 8, 15, and 22
St. Paul Office – Lower Level Conference Room
Join us for an exploration of the Gospel through the lens of “The Chosen”, a video series about the life and ministry of Jesus, the people he met, and the people who followed him. It is primarily set in the first century and has been viewed by over 300 million people. We will begin with Season One. (We have already completed the first four episodes.)

Friday’s Outdoor Movie Night Is Moving Inside!

Friday, September 26 at 7pm now in St. Paul Hall!
Hosted by Our Young Adult Ministry

To celebrate the first full year of Young Adult Ministry in our Collaborative, the SJSP Young Adults are hosting a movie night for the Collaborative community in thanksgiving for their generous support of this new ministry! Join us for an evening of cinema as we watch the movie Cabrini (PG-13) – we’ll be inside the Parish Hall due to the rain forecast for Thursday-Friday. You can still bring lawn chairs/blankets if you’d like to keep the outdoor vibe, but we’ll have chairs set up as well! The young adults will be popping the popcorn!

RSVP not required but appreciated for planning purposes…

Celebrating the Feast of St. Phoebe!

A beautiful service of scripture, prayer, and song celebrating St. Phoebe!

Kelly Meraw preached on praying for a prophetic voice – “Let this be our prayer. Let us lift our prophetic voices in spaces where doors are open and perhaps even where doors are closed. Because what comes from the Hoy Spirit can and should not be stopped.”

Check out the recording of our Prayer Service below –

October 2-5: Cursillo Weekend for Men

Cursillo, a “short course” in Catholicism, is a joyful three day experience of learning, faith sharing, praying, and having fun. The goal is to deepen your faith and strengthen your ability to bring Christ’s love and grace to the world. Weekends run from Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon and are held at the Notre Dame Spirituality Center in Ipswich. The next weekend, for men, is October 2-5.

For more information visit bostoncursillo.org, check out @bostoncursillo on Instagram or contact Deacon Rick. Registration forms can also be found at the back of both churches…

Our Collaborative Outdoor Mass

Please join us on Sunday, September 28 at 10:30am on the St. Paul Lawn for our annual Collaborative Outdoor Mass and fellowship event! This will be our third time celebrating Mass on the expansive lawn in front of St. Paul Church, recreating what Fr. Jim calls “our own Tanglewood East!”

Our SJSP Society of St. Vincent de Paul chapter is once again sponsoring a cookout after Mass, providing hotdogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers for all! Please plan to bring a side dish/salad to share if you are able!

So that as many members of our community as possible can join together for this special liturgy and fellowship event, there will be a reduced Mass schedule at the parishes on the weekend of September 27-28…

More Young Adult Summer Fun!

Friday, August 22nd, a group from the SJSP Young Adult Ministry gathered at Golf On the Village Green in Natick to share an evening of fun to end the summer. Mastering the art of mini-golf, the group took in the historic sites- hitting balls through Faneuil Hall and discovering that the curve in the green at hole 16 (the Granary Burying Ground) is no joke! Following a full round of golf, the group headed to Truly’s in Wellesley for a celebratory round of ice cream.

Keep an eye out for upcoming Young Adult events (open to ages 21-40) and be sure to sign up for our mailing list at sjspwellesley.org/young-adults so that you never miss a gathering!

Season of Creation: September 1 – October 4, 2025

Looking for ideas to celebrate the Season of Creation?

Observe September 1, World Day of Prayer, by praying for renewal of the face of the earth, spending some prayerful time in nature, or planting some seeds — whether it’s seeds in your garden or seeds of hope.
On September 21, join a pilgrimage sponsored by Boston Interfaith Climate Allies. Catholics will gather at St. Clements in Boston and walk to Boston Common, stopping at houses of worship along the way…

Also, save the date for our own Blessing of the Animals here at the Collaborative on October 5 at 3pm on St. Paul lawn.

The Assumption reminds us our bodies are blessings

This column by Sr. Colleen Gibson, SSJ appeared in Global Sister Report on August 15, 2025

A few weeks ago, my beloved grandmother passed away. At 93 years old, she had lived a full life. Passing the news of her death along to friends, sisters, and colleagues came with a mix of emotions.

I was sad, for sure, and yet the fact that I had her in my life for nearly four decades was a blessing not lost on me.

As a woman I work with passed on her family’s condolences, she also conveyed her teenaged daughter’s amazement. “Sister still had her grandma?!” the girl remarked with shock and awe. The same was true of condolences from my sisters in community, many of whom underscored the blessing of my grandmother’s long presence in my life…

Friday, August 22: More Summer Fun with the Young Adult Ministry!

Join the SJSP Young Adults for some summer fun on Friday, August 22^ndas we enjoy some mini golf & ice cream! We’ll meet at 7:00PM at Golf on the Village Green in Natick for a round of mini golf ($9) and then head to Truly’s in Wellesley for ice cream!

All young adults (age 21-40) from in and around the SJSP Collaborative are invited – bring a friend & we’ll look forward to a great night out! Click here to RSVP and let us know if you need a ride!

Make sure you never miss an event by signing up for the Young Adult text/email list!