Fourth Sunday of Lentmarch 15, 2015

Fourth Sunday of LentMarch 15, 2015

At Easter, we honor and celebrate our priests. The Clergy Health and Retirement Trust helps care for the health and well-being of our628 priests, ensuring an appropriate level of care and quality of life for the men who have dedicated their lives in service to our Archdiocese of Boston. Remember the priests who were there for you and your loved ones in times of need, and consider honoring them with a generous gift (*see following page). Thank you in advance for helping to ensure the continuing care for all our priests.

Fifth Sunday of LentMarch 22, 2015

At Easter, we honor and celebrate our priests. Our priests have dedicated their lives to serving the Catholic faithful here in the Archdiocese of Boston; now, it is our turn to fulfill the promises made to care for them in their time of need. Please give generously to the Easter collection, which will directly benefit the 628 active and senior diocesan priests whose health and well-being are cared for through the Clergy Health and Retirement Trust (*see following page). Thank you in advance for your support of this critical effort.

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the LordMarch 29, 2015

Next week’s Easter collection is for our priests. The Clergy Health and Retirement Trust helps care for the health and well-being of our628 priests, ensuring an appropriate level of care and quality of life for the men who have dedicated their lives in service to our Archdiocese of Boston. Our priests have been there for us. Now, it is our turn to care for them in their time of need (*see following page). Thank you in advance for your prayers and support to ensure the continuing care for all our priests.

Easter SundayApril 5, 2015

The Easter collection is for our 628 active and senior priests who have dedicated their lives in faithful service to God and His Church. Remember priests such as [PASTOR NAME; SENIOR PRIEST NAME(S)] who have made a meaningful difference in your life, and consider honoring him/them with a generous gift to the Clergy Health and Retirement Trust (*see following page). Our priests have dedicated their lives to serving the Catholic faithful here in the Archdiocese of Boston; now, it is our turn to care for them in their time of need. Thank you for your prayers and support of this critical effort.

OR

At Easter, we honor and thank our 628 priests of the Archdiocese of Boston. Our priests celebrate our joys, comfort us in times of crisis or sorrow, and are there during the ordinary and extraordinary moments of life. Together, they represent thousands of years of dedicated service to Christ and to all of us. Remember priests such as [INSERT YOUR PASTOR/ SENIOR PRIEST NAME(S) HERE] who have made a meaningful difference in your life, and consider honoring him/them with a generous gift to the collection this Easter. On behalf of the priests who have devoted their lives to serving the Church, thank you for your prayers and generous support.

Prayer of the Faithful

At Easter, we remember the priests who make it possible for us to celebrate our Catholic faith—we pray that God will continue to guide and protect them in their daily ministry, and bestow His abundant blessings on all who care for them.

We also remember in a special way our priests of the Archdiocese of Boston who have gone home to the Lord this past year. May our good and loving God grant them an eternal resting place in Heaven.

Divine Mercy SundayApril 12, 2015

The Easter collection for the Clergy Health and Retirement Trust supported the health and well-being of our 628 active and senior diocesan priests. Thanks to your generosity, our parish raised <Amount> in support of all of our priests who faithfully serve our Catholic family in the Archdiocese of Boston. Our parish contribution will have a significant impact on the care we are able to provide for our priests. If you were out of town this past weekend, or did not have the opportunity to participate, all are welcome to make a donation online at On behalf of all our priests, thank you for your generous support of the Clergy Health and Retirement Trust.

*If your parish offers electronic giving, please insert the following at the asterisks above:
If you are enrolled in our parish electronic giving program, please visit to participate in this effort.

All high school aged youth are invited to attend this youth conference that is coming to the Archdiocese of Boston for the first time this summer! Join Cardinal Seån, a team of national speakers and musicians and thousands of other Catholic teens from the North East for this amazing opportunity. There is still availability through the Faith Formation of Youth & Young Adults Ministry. For more information please email Kathy Stebbins at

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, American Heritage Girls and Campfire

All Scouts, Campfire and American Heritage members are invited to join us for Scout Sunday at the Seminary on Sunday, March 15th for a tour of St. John Seminary, Brighton, Mass and Brunch with the Seminarians. We are meeting at St. John Seminary, 127 Lake St., Brighton at 9:30am. We will begin with a tour of the Seminary at 9:45am. Please contact Kathy Stebbins by March 10th to reserve spaces: 617-746-5811.

All Scouts, American Heritage Girls and Campfire (grades 6 – 12)

Catholic Committee on Scouting is hosting the Annual Catholic Scout Retreat on Saturday, March 21st from 8:30am – 5:00pm at the RCAB Pastoral Center, 66 Brooks Drive, Braintree. Fee is $15 and includes: light breakfast, lunch, snacks and all retreat materials. Retreat will conclude with 4:00pm Mass. For more information and registration go to: or call Trisha Carlson (617)755-8014 or Kathy Stebbins (617)746-5811.

All Young Adults and College Students are invited to join us on Friday, March 20th @ 7:30pm for our monthly “Jesus in Boston” event. We will be at St. Leonard’s Parish in the North End for Eucharistic Adoration followed by Holy Mass and then a social gathering afterwards. It’s a great way to meet new people and strengthen your interior life. For more information please go to or email Mike Drahos at .

Fiat is a discernment group for women in the Archdiocese of Boston who are considering a vocation to religious life. Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Sisters of St. Joseph, 637 Cambridge St., Brighton. We will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation with the theme of the evening: “Living Our Fiat.” If you are interested in attending, please contact Sister Marian Batho, CSJ, Delegate for Religious, or call 617-746-5637.

March 15 ~ Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Think about this. Pray every word. It is truly awesome. How do you respond?

March 15 ~ Second Scrutiny, Cycle A

There are different kinds of blindness – physical, metaphorical, spiritual. This lengthy Gospel seems to touch on all of them. The protagonist doesn’t want to get involved in any theological controversy. To him, it’s quite simple: “One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
As our Elect prepare to be baptized into the Light of Christ, we are all invited to reflect on the blindness in our lives. Blind to the poor around us? Blind to acknowledging our dependence on God? Blind to our responsibility to spread the Gospel? Grace, amazing grace, is real. Be open to it.

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March 22 ~ Fifth Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

Here it is again, the recurring theme in the readings this Lent: Covenant. “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer. 31) Does it get any better than this? This is unearned, gratis, unconditional love. But there is an invitation that Jesus articulates in today’s Gospel: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.The Father will honor whoever serves me.” How do you serve and follow Jesus? What difference does it make in your daily life that you are here at Mass today?

March 22 ~ Third Scrutiny, Cycle A

“The teacher is here and is asking for you.” (“Magister adest et vocat te”) Every week, every day, the Teacher is here and is waiting for each of us, and longing for the return of those who have drifted away. What are you doing about this?
Our elect are entering into a period of intense prayer leading up to Baptism at the Easter Vigil. Pray with them and for them that they always will be aware that the Teacher is here.

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March 29 ~ Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday. It begins – the most solemn week of the year. We know how the story ends but still, it’s almost too much to bear, remembering the wood of the manger as we look at the wood of the Cross. Saint Ignatius encouraged followers to pray with scripture to “place ourselves fully within a story from the Gospels….become onlooker-participants”. Try to do this with the Holy Week readings. Today, where are you in the crowd? Did you put palm branches on the road? Are you in the thick of the crowd or on the outskirts? Are you cheering as Jesus rides in? And where do you go after the procession passes by? Do you give any further thought to this man?

For bulletin announcements related to the Special Collection, please see

BostonCatholic.org > Search for “Special Collection”