Synod Update: Big News from the Vatican

Synod Update: Big News from the Vatican

Last month, the Vatican announced that for the first time, lay people – including women – will serve as full members of the Synod of Bishops with voting rights, as part of a broader series of changes to the rules governing these papally convened summits. Under the previous norms, a synod was defined in canon law as a gathering of members, of which “the greater part are bishops” elected by their national bishops’ conference. Other members, usually bishops or male religious, were either appointed by the pope or by their religious institutes.

May Processions at the Family Mass

May Processions at the Family Mass

The month of May is dedicated in a special way to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We will celebrate Mary with May Processions at our 9:00am Family Masses on:

Sunday, May 7 at St. John Church
Sunday, May 14 at St. Paul Church

 
We invite all children to bring a flower and participate in the procession and crowning at the end of Mass.

Sunday, May 7 is the First Sunday of the Month – Family Mass and Youth Mass are at St. John!

Sunday, May 7 is the First Sunday of the Month – Family Mass and Youth Mass are at St. John!

Just a reminder that this Sunday, May 7 is the first Sunday of the month, and that means that the 9:00am Family Mass and the 5:00pm Youth Mass will be celebrated at St. John Church. 

Yes, we were at St. John last Sunday too, but that’s because April had three Sundays and we’re at St. John on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays of the month.

And yes, it’s a little confusing, but luckily it doesn’t happen too often!

Congratulations to Our Newly Confirmed Students!

Congratulations to Our Newly Confirmed Students!

Congratulations to the 77 students from our Collaborative who received this Sacrament of Confirmation this month!

Holy Spirit, strengthen our students with your gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgment, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, and Wonder and Awe.

Fill them with the joy  of your presence and increase in them the fruit of your Spirit. Help them to experience and trust your dwelling within, so that they can count on your guidance today and every day.

Show us the way to help one another become better disciples of Jesus Christ, sharing your love with our world and with each person we meet.

Come, Holy Spirit! Come!

Attention All Volunteers! It is Annual CORI Submission Time!

Attention All Volunteers! It is Annual CORI Submission Time!

Each year in the Spring, all staff and volunteers age 18 and older (including Eucharistic ministers and lectors, choir members and musicians, members of councils and commissions, ushers and counters, other Mass volunteers, etc.) must complete an annual Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) background screening (except for Religious Education volunteers who complete their screening in the early Fall), as mandated by civil and Archdiocese of Boston authorities.

Staff and volunteers will be available after each Mass this weekend, April 29-30, to assist you in completing your annual CORI form…

Evening for Women: Closing Mass on May 9 at 6:30pm at St. John

Evening for Women: Closing Mass on May 9 at 6:30pm at St. John

As the 2022-2023 Evening for Women season celebrating the “Angels Among Us” comes to a close, all women of the Collaborative are warmly invited to join us as Fr. Jim Laughlin celebrates Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church on Tuesday, May 9 at 6:30pm.

Mass will be followed by a pot-luck dinner so dust off those Spring recipes!  If you are unable to attend in person, the Mass will be live-streamed.

Kindly RSVP… 

Adult Faith Enrichment Program: Psalm 23 – “The Good Shepherd”

Adult Faith Enrichment Program: Psalm 23 – “The Good Shepherd”

This is a 4-week program to reflect intently on Psalm 23, which takes us on a journey through the valleys of despair to the peaks of comfort, peace, and hope. Life is full of challenges and how we navigate those challenges shape our journey. Whether it be life changes from personal traumas, the loss of a loved one, facing our aging, or simply a desire to deepen your relationship with God, this psalm insures God’s accompaniment and love.

We will meet on Wednesday mornings at 9:30am in the St. Paul Rectory beginning May 10 – to register…

Adult Faith Enrichment Book Study: “Building a Bridge”

Adult Faith Enrichment Book Study: “Building a Bridge”

Christ came to call everyone, but He had a special devotion to those on the margins. If He were walking the earth today, He would likely have a ministry joyfully dedicated to our LGBT brothers and sisters. Here at the St. John-St. Paul Collaborative, we can be His hands and feet. Join us as we embark on a four-week study of Fr. James Martin, SJ’s essential book, “Building A Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity.” 

Meetings will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm in the Collaborative Boardroom at the St. John Parish Center beginning May 10 – to register please…

May is the Month of Mary – May Crowning at the Family Masses on May 7 and May 14

May is the Month of Mary – May Crowning at the Family Masses on May 7 and May 14

At the Sunday 9:00am Family Mass at St. John on May 7 and the Sunday 9:00am Family Mass at St. Paul on May 14 we will celebrate Mary by having a May Crowning.  We invite all parishioners to bring flowers and participate in a May Procession at the end of Mass. 

One child at each Mass will be selected in a drawing to place a floral crown on Mary’s head.  Children who have made their First Communion (in 2023 and older) are invited to participate in the drawing. Look for the registration forms and drawing box in the lobby of each church starting the weekend of April 15 and running through April 30. We will draw the names on Monday May 1…