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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.

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

Kindergarten and first-grade student in the Households of Faith program helped Mr Estaphan plant bulbs in the little flower patch before Mary's statue last week. Their curriculum includes learning about Creation and care of it. It was a great tie-in with our Blessed Mother whom we honor during the month of October. The 3rd and 4th graders came along to say a decade of the rosary and all received a blessing from Fr. Javier. More photos are included in this article.

Last weekend we held our annual Blessing of Animals for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology.   This St. Mary tradition included prayer and the blessing of the animals. To see more pictures, check out the  photo album on the website

Got a light? That used to be the question smokers would ask long ago when they needed help to light a cigarette. Got “the” Light? That might be the question we could ask one another these days in our parish.

The installation of the new console and electronic system for our church organ was completed over the past few weeks. In addition, the pipes were all cleaned and re-voiced and some new ones were added. Now that our adult choir is back in the loft we will bless the new Organ Console during the 11:00 am Mass on Sunday, October 21st.

Parishioners are invited to become involved as Liturgical Ministers.  Opportunities to become involved are available for adults and boys and girls in 5th grade or higher.   If you are interested in becoming a lector, minister of communion, sacristan, or altar server you can register online here on the parish website.

“Why am I Catholic?” Sadly, this question is being asked by many Catholics these days as there is no shortage of stories in the news involving various types of abuse by members of the clergy including bishops.

It has come to our attention that a few parishioners and staff have received fraudulent emails that appear to be from Msgr. Mike. Most of these attacks are originating from Gmail or other free email systems, where someone can pretend to be Msgr. Mike until that account is shut down.

The recent publication of the grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in six dioceses in Pennsylvania along with the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have inaugurated another phase in the sexual abuse crisis in our Church.

SAVE THE DATES NOVEMBER 9 – 12, 2018 Summer is a good time to step back and reflect on the past year. But it’s not too early to look ahead to the Fall. Over 60 St. Mary’s parishioners have participated in one of our Light of the World Retreats.

This Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of another summer season as many of us transition back to school and a busier schedule. Several parishioners asked me this week if I would share with them the comments I made in my homily last weekend relative to the sexual abuse crisis we continue to face in the Church.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming Catholic or if you are a Catholic who would like to complete your initiation through the sacraments of Confirmation and/or Eucharist, the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA) can help. The RCIA forms adults in the Catholic faith and prepares them for the sacraments of initiation. For additional information please call Msgr. Mike at the Pastoral Center at 508-845-6341.

There have been a number of recent news stories from around the country and around the globe revealing reports of sexual abuse of minors by clergy over many decades and how some bishops did not take decisive action to remove them from ministry. That such stories continue to emerge is deeply troubling, to say the least.

Online Volunteer Registration is Open!!! For the St. Mary's Festival to be successful we need hundreds of volunteers to do a little bit of everything before, during, and after the Family Festival. We have over 700 volunteer slots to fill! Volunteer opportunities range from selling tickets to helping kids at the inflatables, and all kinds of things in between.

On Wednesday, August 15th following the 7:00 pm Mass for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, St. Mary's Parishioner Jeffrey Badstubner will share his experiences as a Youth Apostle Missionary in Virginia. Come and hear the experiences of a recent college graduation as he puts his faith into action with young people.

This weekend as we welcome our newly ordained associate pastor, Fr. Javier Julio, I could not help but think how blessed our parish community has been these past 13 years to share in the early years of young priests’ ministry. They have enriched the faith of so many people at St. Mary’s, and we have all played a role in helping them grow in their lives as priests.