When we hear our Holy Father, Pope Leo speak about issues impacting members of the human family, he speaks not as a political pundit, but as a spiritual leader who seeks to highlight those Gospel values that apply to moral concerns our world faces today. One Church teaching that lies at the foundation of his remarks is the fundamental principle of the dignity of the human person. Both personal and collective actions must be judged according to whether they promote this dignity and not just one’s own self-interest, and they must also take into consideration the common good.

Lay Catholic evangelist and speaker, Chris Stefanick, shares about a letter he received recently that touched him deeply. He writes, “A man had made a donation in honor of his recently passed mom, because she loved our ministry so much. He described the joy she kept in the midst of so much pain during the last years of her life. She had lost her husband of many years who died. Not long after that she lost most of her possessions in a fire. Then she lost her best friend to cancer. Her faith never wavered. Nor did her joy.

As I shared with our parish community on the weekend of April 12 in my Pastor’s Corner in the bulletin and Mass announcements, I have made the difficult decision to discontinue our Wednesday morning 8:15 Mass beginning May 6. This is because Fr. Mark Storey, who has made it possible for me to take needed time off by celebrating that Mass, will no longer be able to continue because of declining health; and, there are no other senior priests available to celebrate that Mass.

This year, the Archdiocese of Boston has seen a significant increase in the number of adults who were baptized Catholic at Easter. Out of the 680 people baptized this Easter (up from 438 last year), we had two people baptized here at Holy Family Parish: Ross Philbeck and Julie Mann. In addition, we had two Protestants who were received into full communion of the Catholic Church: Kat Mallea and Marcella Sullivan (not pictured).

Since Fr. Bill Williams, our former Senior Assistant, moved to the residence for retired Archdiocesan priests in Boston, Regina Cleri, for about a year now, we’ve been blessed to have retired priest, Fr. Mark Storey available to allow me to take needed time off by celebrating the Wednesday 8:15 am Mass. However, Fr. Mark has notified me that because of declining health, he will be unable to celebrate the Wednesday morning Mass starting in May.

Happy Easter!

It’s wonderful you have come to celebrate this special feast day of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. It’s the greatest celebration of our Church! Jesus gives us reason for hope having overcome evil and death itself! He shares His divine life with us!

If you have questions about Holy Family, are interested in joining our parish, or want to reconnect with your Catholic Faith, we’d love to hear from you!