Adult Faith Enrichment – Page 8 – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

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!

Wednesday, September 3, 2025: Feast of St. Phoebe Celebration

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

St. John the Evangelist Church

7:00PM: Evening Prayer (Upper Church)

8:00PM: Virtual Feast of St. Phoebe Celebration with Discerning Deacons (Powers Hall)

All are welcome for our second-annual Feast of St. Phoebe celebration!

We will be joined by students and faculty of Clough School of Theology at Boston College and parishioners of St. Ignatius Parish.

Prayer in Honor of the Queenship of Mary

A Reflection by Sr. Colleen Gibson, Coordinator of Pastoral Care, from the August issue of Give Us This Day

Soon after graduating from college, I found myself immersed as a yearlong volunteer in a trilingual parish. Dedicated to the Visitation, the parish brought together new immigrants and well-established neighbors to worship side by side. While each language group had their own Sunday liturgies, our shared celebrations were an amalgamation of Vietnamese, Spanish, and English. At daily Mass, a simple prompt to recite the Hail Mary would bring forth a symphony of praise as tongues as varied as the faces in the pews filled the packed basement chapel…

Good Samaritan

A Reflection by Kelly Meraw, Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, from the Build the Faith blog

Our Catholic lectionary recently brought us to this familiar dusty spot, on a hot and dangerous stretch of road. While the story itself is familiar and its message unequivocal, we see irrefutable evidence all around us that the Christian community still struggles with the concept of Love of Neighbor.

It seems clear, doesn’t it? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, being, strength and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself…

Young Adult Summer Events

The SJSP Young Adult community had a beautiful evening for their summer cookout last weekend following the 4:00PM Mass at St. Paul. Over a dozen young adults, age 21-40, enjoyed a night of grilled goodies and fun lawn games with the priests-in-residence at St. Paul Rectory and our pastor, Fr. Jim. Sister Colleen made sure everyone was well fed with her barbecuing talents and Fathers Gabriel and Lesley learned how to play a game new to them: cornhole!

We also discovered that Fr. Gabriel is an ace at calling his shots and the passing traffic on Washington Street took in the view of a heated match of bocce on the church’s front lawn. Between rounds of catch and paddle ball, everyone delighted in fresh watermelon and a batch of cannoli provided by participants.

Our next event – a summer outing for mini-golf and ice cream – will be later this month for all Young Adults in the Collaborative! Keep your eyes peeled for details coming soon and be sure to sign-up for Young Adult Ministry text and e-mail reminders so that you never miss an event!

New Mass For The Care of Creation

The Vatican recently announced that a new formulary of prayers and biblical readings for the Mass will be added to the Roman Missal “for the care of creation.”

In his homily, the pope called for ecological conversion while drawing from the legacy of Pope Francis and his encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.”

“We must pray for the conversion of many people, inside and outside of the church, who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home,” Pope Leo XIV said while celebrating the new formulary of the Mass earlier this week in the gardens of the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, the traditional summer residence of the popes some 15 miles southeast of Rome.