Serving Wellesley and Newton, Massachusetts
Please join us for a Mass for the 5th Sunday of Lent, recorded at St. John the Evangelist Church and concelebrated by Fr. Jim and Fr. Robert. The Mass will be available on our website beginning at 4:00pm today, Saturday, March 28, and will continue to be available all weekend. While we must remain physically distant, we can continue to be close spiritually with God, with our parishes, and with each other. Click here to download a worship aid for the Mass.
March 26, 2020 My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Our plans for Lent this year have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 public health crisis. In support of the efforts to limit further transmission of the virus we have all been asked to give up many of the everyday activities we take for granted, including our usual participation in the life of the Church. One of the effects of the current events is uncertainty regarding what food products are available on any given day. At this time, we are called to make the best of what we have at hand or
My dear friends in Christ, Martha and Mary were overcome with grief at the death of their brother Lazarus. Compounding their sorrow was Jesus’ absence at the time they needed him the most. They were not only disciples but also Jesus’ personal friends. He came often to their home in Bethany as a place of rest and renewal. When Jesus finally arrives, the sisters fall at his feet and with great anguish cry out, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Why, at their darkest hour, did he appear to be abandoning them? Death would
We understand that there are very challenging days ahead for many people. We ask that you please continue to support your parish, if at all possible, during these troubling times, as we rely on our weekly Offertory Collections and monthly Special Collections to cover operating expenses (heating and maintaining our buildings, staff salaries and healthcare benefits, etc.) With the extremely generous gifts of 3 parishioners, we were able to get our offertory back on track for the weekend of March 21 & 22. We are very grateful and continue to pray that those who are able to donate during this crisis
The Vatican has recently announced a Plenary Indulgence for the Divine Mercy Chaplet. If this is a devotion that is close to your heart, or one about which you are a complete neophyte – please consider incorporating this into your prayer-life. Click the links for more information, and visit our blog to learn more about St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
In the video below, Fr. John Connelly shares his homily on the Gospel for the 4th Sunday of Lent, on the man born blind (John 9: 1-41). Visit our new pastoral blog, Peace in Uncertainty, for other familiar faces sharing the Liturgy of the Word.
We will remember this Lent as one “in quarantine.” Social distancing the new norm as daily social interactions are suddenly unavailable to us. Schools are closed. We can’t go out to restaurants. Even public Mass has been suspended to curtail any further spread of this coronavirus. Many people feel alone. Many are scared. And people are thirsting for something good. The Lord appoints shepherds to lead his flock, to be beacons of light in darkness, and to be instruments of hope to his people in times of despair. This Virtual Lenten Retreat with Cardinal Seán is a means for our
Please join us for our first virtual Mass! This Mass for the 4th Sunday of Lent was recorded at St. Paul Church and concelebrated by Fr. Jim and Fr. Robert. The Mass will be available on our website beginning at 4:00pm today, Saturday, March 21, and will continue to be available all weekend. While we must remain physically distant, we can continue to be close spiritually with God, with our parishes, and with each other. Click here to download a worship aid for the Mass. Disclaimer: This video was recorded with just the celebrants, four musicians (who also served as lector
My Dear Friends in Christ, As we all experience the unprecedented circumstances of the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health crisis please know of my prayers for you and your loved ones. While striving each day to proceed as safely as possible we remember that our faith means we are never alone, even in the most difficult times. Faith is the foundation of hope, and with hope we can address even the most complex challenges of life without being overcome by them. Our inability to come together as a community for the celebration of the Eucharist, the source and summit of our
The Holy Father has invited the world community to join him by being united spiritually in the recitation of the Rosary today at 4:00pm EST. You are invited to (virtually) join with Kelly Meraw, Director of Collaborative Pastoral Care, as she leads a recitation of the Rosary recorded earlier today: Meditation of the Holy Rosary: Luminous Mysteries. The following is a translation of the pope’s remarks, made last evening, regarding the rosary initiative: Tomorrow (today) we will celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Joseph. In life, work, family, joy and sorrow he always sought and loved the Lord, meriting the praise