The focus thus far by Pope Francis on the church’s responsibilities to the poor are certainly not new, and there will continue to be new challenges as his attention encompasses other aspects of Catholic social teaching, suggested Father J. Bryan Hehir in an address to people who work in social ministries.
Category Archives: Important Announcements
Father Hehir: Pope’s focus on poor brings church tradition to forefront
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CLASSES CANCELLED TODAY – Wednesday, February 5
Due to the storm, all Religious Education activities scheduled for today have been cancelled.
The Grade 2 Parent Meeting will be rescheduled.
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Posted in Important Announcements, Religious Education Program
Wednesday, February 26 at 7pm: AFFC Lecture with Prof. Jeff Bloechel – “The Jesus Prayer”
Please join us in the Social Hall on Wednesday, February 26 at 7pm for a lecture on The Jesus Prayer with Jeff Bloechel, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston College. From Prof. Bloechel: “The ‘Jesus Prayer’ is distinguished by its simplicity (in Greek it is only five words long) and by its age (explicit references date to the 5th century). It is generally understood as a prayer by which the mind is taken into the heart, where God’s love touches us most deeply. In modern times, the Prayer was revived in Russia and brought to Mt. Athos, where it has become the center of an entire spirituality for many Greek Orthodox monks. My own encounter with the Prayer was shaped by three visits to Mt. Athos, and so I will include some discussion of the Holy Mountain in my thoughts on the Prayer.”
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Posted in Adult Faith Formation, Important Announcements, Special Events
Attention Young Singers!
Children in grades 1-8 are invited to participate in the St. John’s Easter Youth Choir. The children will sing at the 9:00 AM Family Mass on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014.
Sign up and first rehearsal is on Sunday, March 16 from 10:50-11:50 in the Chapel. Registration closes Sunday, March 23. High School Assistants are welcome. There are 5 rehearsals: March 16, March 23, March 30, April 4, and April 13. All rehearsals are from 10:50-11:50am in the Chapel.
For more information and to register call Maria Wardwell 781-237-2148 or Maria.wardwell@stjohnwellesley.org.
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Posted in Important Announcements, Music, Religious Education Program, Youth Choir
February 2: News and Events from Adult Faith Formation
FAITH MATTERS: Have you ever wondered about ORDINARY TIME? What is Ordinary Time? Why is it different from Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter? What do we celebrate during this time? What is ordinariness and is this a good thing? For the month of February, the Adult Faith Formation Commission is discussing The Specialness of “Ordinary Time”. Please visit our blog page to find reflections written by parishioners as well as links to lots of great information. Choose the “like” option on Facebook to receive regular updates on our monthly theme!
Tuesday, February 4 – Evening for Women
6:30pm, Chapel/Social Hall
This year’s theme – Becoming a Space for God… A Journey Into the Heart of Life – invites us to travel down new avenues of seeing and hearing to experience the grace in everyday life. Through reflection, prayer, sharing, with a fabulous potluck, we’ll travel this road together every first Tuesday evening. Join us at 6:30pm in the Social Hall – bring a favorite winter recipe! All are Welcome! Moderator: Sr. Evelyn Ronan, SND
Thursday, February 26 – Lecture: The Jesus Prayer
7:00pm, Social Hall
Jeff Bloechel, Associate Professor at Boston College
From Prof. Bloechel: “The ‘Jesus Prayer’ is distinguished by its simplicity (in Greek it is only five words long) and by its age (explicit references date to the 5th century). It is generally understood as a prayer by which the mind is taken into the heart, where God’s love touches us most deeply. In modern times, the Prayer was revived in Russia and brought to Mt. Athos, where it has become the center of an entire spirituality for many Greek Orthodox monks. My own encounter with the Prayer was shaped by three visits to Mt. Athos, and so I will include some discussion of the Holy Mountain in my thoughts on the Prayer.”
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Posted in Adult Faith Formation, Important Announcements
FAITH MATTERS: The Specialness of “Ordinary Time”
For most of my life, seeing ‘Ordinary Time’ Sundays between Christmas Season (ending with The Baptism of the Lord) and Ash Wednesday, and then from Trinity Sunday all the way through to Advent, made me feel really dismal. It meant that there was nothing to celebrate or prepare for! I love having a focus to my time and I interpreted ‘Ordinary Time’ as unfocused, lost time. The word ‘ordinary’ sounded dull, lifeless, and boring to me. ‘High days and Holidays’ were the times I felt alive in Church and I enjoyed having a purpose to the days, even if I was ‘giving up’ chocolate for Lent.
So why does the Catholic Church designate so many weeks of the year as ‘Ordinary’? The Episcopal Church celebrates the Advent, Christmas, Lenten and Easter Seasons but also has the Epiphany Season which continues from January 6th through to Ash Wednesday, and the Season after Pentecost which runs from Trinity Sunday to Advent. To my mind that sounded more ‘up-beat’, more celebrating, less ordinary.
Then, the Holy Spirit must have inspired me! I realized that some humility was in order, so I explored what the Catholic Church actually meant by using the word ‘Ordinary’. What I discovered was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Let me explain. To begin, I realized that each occasion upon which Ordinary Time begins it follows a particular revelation of God. The first follows the Season of Epiphany (which includes the Visit of the Magi, the Wedding Feast at Cana, and the Baptism of the Lord) when Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, is revealed to the world. The second follows the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. The full revelation of the Trinity is celebrated on Trinity Sunday and then ‘Ordinary Time’ begins.
Each revealing of a Person of the Trinity takes time for us to accept into our deepest selves; we slowly learn to welcome God into our souls and become aware of ‘God Within’. The Catholic Church gives us Ordinary Time as a time in which to recognize this truth, accept it and choose to say ‘YES’ to God as the Lord of our Life. As a very dear friend of mine (an 80 year old nun) says, ‘It is like inviting God to take over the steering wheel of my life, recognizing that I am now the passenger and willingly accepting whatever happens next!’
In the Gospel of Luke (1:26-38), Mary says ‘YES’ to God after some perplexity, pondering and a moment of questioning; then the Holy Spirit overshadows her and she conceives Jesus, the Son of God. Unfortunately, for most of the rest of us, it takes a lot longer for us to overcome our layers of resistance to handing over our perceived independence (similar to layers of an onion is how I imagine our layering of self protection and fear) so as to rejoice in our dependence on God. We need all the Ordinary Time we can get!
So how do we live our life ‘aglow with the Spirit’ as St. Paul describes our new existence filled with the Spirit? He says, ‘serve the Lord, rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer, contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality, bless those who persecute you, rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, live in harmony with one another, do not be haughty but associate with the lowly, never be conceited, repay no one with evil but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all’ (Romans 12:11-17).
This is a lot to manage, but, God, understanding our fear of losing control, leads us gently into oneness with the Spirit; it is the work of our lifetime. Actually Pierre Teilhard de Chardin describes best what Ordinary Time is all about:
Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you; your ideas mature gradually—let them grow; let them shape themselves, without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Hearts on Fire).
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Posted in Adult Faith Formation, AFFC-blog, Important Announcements
January 26: This Week in Religious Education
This Week: Sunday, January 26
Grades 1 – 6 Class 10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
Grades 7 & 8 Discussion with Kerry Cronin,
Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. in Philbin Hall (see below)
Grades 9 & 10 5:00pm Teen Mass at St. Paul’s – reception for students follows in the Parish Hall.
Next Week: Sunday, February 2
Grades 1 – 6 Class 10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
Grade 2 Parent Meeting/Visit
Wednesday, February 5
Grades 1 – 6 Class 3:30– 4:45 PM
Grade 2 Parent Meeting/Visit
Grade 7 & 8 Discussion: Kerry Cronin, Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, will be speaking to Grade 7 & 8 students today, January 26 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM in lieu of their regular Religious Ed. classes. The discussion will focus on topics, issues, and challenges that our young people may be facing. Parents are welcome to attend this session.
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Posted in Important Announcements, Religious Education Program
Join Us at the 9:00am Family Mass
St. John’s Family Mass is held on Sundays at 9:00 a.m., followed by Donuts and Coffee downstairs in the Social Hall. The Family Mass is a wonderful way for families young and old to participate in prayer and worship together. This Mass supports the Religious Education program with seasonal and grade level liturgies throughout the year. Features of the Family Mass include:
* Music appealing to the children sung by our Family Mass Choir
* Homilies meaningful to both children and adults
* Children serving as gift bearers and other special roles
* Youth Choir during Easter and Christmas
For more information, or to be added to the Family Mass Email List, please visit our Family Mass page.
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Posted in Children, Family Mass, Important Announcements
“Faith in Our Future” Campaign – Please Make Your Pledge This Week
December 14th and 15th was “Commitment Weekend” for our parish capital campaign, Faith in Our Future. Our campaign is off to a great start and we continue to receive many additional pledges each weekend. If you forgot to bring your pledge envelope to Mass, please mail it to the parish office this week or bring it with you to Mass next weekend. Additional brochures and pledge envelopes are available at the entrance to the church. Thank you to the many families that have already supported the campaign. You generosity is greatly appreciated.
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Posted in Capital Campaign, Important Announcements
Helpers Needed on Monday, January 6
Helpers needed to take down the wreaths inside the Church and prepare for storage. Love to have your help! Let’s meet at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, January 6 in the Church Social Hall.
Thank you! – Sr. Evelyn
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Posted in Important Announcements, Volunteers Needed