This coming weekend we begin a new liturgical year, the first Sunday of Advent! Just as Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph, patiently and joyfully awaited the birth of their baby boy thousands of years ago, we are a people waiting in joyful anticipation for the arrival of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Listed below are a few ways to help us prepare our hearts as we wait, to make ready and to receive Jesus this Christmas.
Wishing you and your families a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day. We began our Thanksgiving Day at St. Mary's by giving God thanks around the Table of the Eucharist and received again the gift of God’s love and abundant blessings. Thank you to all who brought a bag of nonperishable food with you to Mass.
This past summer, St. Mary parishioners Nancy Hughes, Jack Collins, and Cecile and Jerry Cote participated in a humanitarian trip to Uganda where they delivered feminine hygiene kits. The kits were then distributed to girls through the program Raising Up Hope for Uganda (RUHU.). Read more in this article from the Community Advocate Newspaper.
St. Mary’s Parish held its third Light of the World Retreat November 9 - 12 . A sincere THANKS to the Light of the World team who led the retreat and many others who helped out over the weekend.
A Vatican-requested delay in adopting practices that are expected to boost accountability among U.S. bishops in their response to clergy sex abuse will not be voted on during the bishops' fall general assembly going on now. “I was disappointed, but not surprised,” Bishop McManus said Monday. “The laity are looking for the bishops to be held to the same accountability as the priests.
In early November as we celebrate the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls and turn back our clocks, we mark the transition into a new season of the year. It is November and Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. The shorter days and longer nights are with us again.
Twenty-two years ago the Diocese of Worcester established a covenant with the Diocese of Les Cayes in Haiti. A relationship of friendship, prayer and support began, especially between “twinning” parishes in both dioceses which helped to enrich the lives and faith of people in the U.S. and Haiti. The original covenant would “encourage the faithful of each Diocese to visit each other whenever possible and offer their gifts, talents, service and love to one another.”
Training dates for new Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers and Altar Servers have been scheduled for November. Eucharistic Ministers—Wednesday, November 7 at 7:00 pm in the church, Altar Servers—Friday, November 9 at 4:00 pm in the church and Lectors—Wednesday, November 28 at 7:00 pm in the church