Dear Fellow Parishioners, Lent is a time to “slow down” and deepen our relationship with God. These forty days are an invitation to give yourself the gift of attention to what is happening in your heart and your being. Putting aside the distractions and the temptations is such a blessing, and doing so is such a gift to our busy selves and busy lives.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, One of the most powerful Lenten experiences I had was in Haiti when our Catholic Lenten journey overlapped with the Muslim celebration of Ramadan. At that time, I had a nurse from Canada who volunteered to work with us at our mission house. Shaheena was and is Muslim and we decided to fast and pray together and share the insights of our faith. Each day we agreed that we would take time to engage in self-reflection with our relationship with God. We reminded each other to be alert to the ways God was speaking to our hearts throughout the day. It was sort of like “our moment closest to God.”

Dear Fellow Parishioners, I have a “fitbit” that keeps track of my steps, heartrate, sleep, and overall health. I know many of you are keeping track of your health using such a device. When I am at Zumba I always like to check my heart rate, and it is good to see that at times it is over 130! I wish there were some type of spiritual “fitbit” we could wear especially during the Lenten Season to help us keep track of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Especially since this year we will be challenged to “Listen with your Heart!” In Matthew 6:21 we read “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I am encouraging us all to treasure this Season of Lent as a time to pay attention to our relationship to Jesus and His desire to teach us how to live.  Christ desires to have a living relationship with each of us who take the time to listen to and with your heart.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs29:18) These words from the wisdom literature found in the Old Testament are why we have a vision statement for our parish: “Enabling all to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ!” To make a vision a reality we need to listen to the urgings and the direction of the Holy Spirit. I have asked the members of our Vision Team to share with you why they are eager to serve on the vision team. Their hopes and dreams are found on page two. Please take the time to listen to their stories and pray for us as Diahne Goodwin from Divine Renovation coaches us over the next two months.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, We don't have hurricanes, we don't have earthquakes, we don't have alligators. We don't have hurricanes, we don't have earthquakes, and we don't have alligators! BUT....in New England we do have a little snow every now and then. The unpredictability of New England weather brings with it a lot of unpredictability for all of us.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Being able to come into the church on a daily basis to have a quiet place to pray is appreciated, especially in our hectic, noisy and wild world. Each morning Larry Ghelli opens the church so that people have that opportunity to have a quiet place to slow down, pray, and breath in the presence of God. How lucky we are to have the dedication of people like Larry offering his gift of time each day so we can get a break.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, The wisdom, enthusiasm and leadership shared by all the members of our Pastoral Planning Team is greatly appreciated. There are many moving parts to operating our campus and community life. There are also many members of the community sharing their gifts, skills and talents behind the scenes working quietly making sure that everything works for the good. Even on a weekend with surprise ice underfoot, individuals rise to the occasion and make sure we can all enter safely.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Who reminds you to “Do whatever HE tells you”, as Mary told the waiters at the wedding of Cana? Who is it that assists you in not only being a good person, but a “Godly” person? Who loves you enough to want you to become the person God wants you to be? 

Dear Fellow Parishioners, The words from Mark 9:23 come to mind as our solar project begins to be installed: “Everything is possible for him who believes.” In December of 2019 I was visited by Jake Clough of Team Solar regarding Solar panels on our campus. Little did I know that seed planted six years ago would not sprout for another six years. Patience is a virtue; endurance is a must. During that time Kevin Maldarelli and I became Laudato Si animators. We studied the encyclical written by Pope Francis, on the care of our common home. The Pope’s aim was to lead Catholics and all the people around the world to take action to reduce human impact on the environment and preserve our common home for present and future generations. With the glue and inspiration of Pope Francis we received the virtue of patience and the endurance necessary to see this project through.

Dear Parish Family, The Christmas Season ends this weekend with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Although the magic of the season comes to a close, as we take down our Christmas Trees and put away the Mangers, the “grace encounters” are just beginning for 2025.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Merry Christmas everyone! It is the Christmas Season, and we are celebrating The Epiphany of the Lord. Epiphany is a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand or suddenly become conscious of something that is especially important to you such as a powerful religious experience. This is the experience of the Magi when then finally made their journey to the manger and found the Christ Child.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Many of us (especially people my age) remember the television series “The Waltons” that came out in the early 70’s. It was a heartwarming show about a family that looked after each other, prayed at every meal, and reminded us of how important we are to each other. Many who watched it dreamed to have such a close-knit family.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, During this Advent Season we have been making our Journey to the Manger. Now we get ready to move from Advent to the Christmas Season.  For many, we are feeling relieved that “we made it” to Christmas. However, Christmas season is not over with Christmas Day – it’s only the beginning. 

Dear Fellow Parishioners, First, sincere thanks to Pam for writing the last two bulletin letters while I walked with my family as we prayed our goodbyes to Marie. This gave me an opportunity to be present with Marie, my family and my own sadness and grief as I prayed farewell to a woman who entered our family 62 years ago. I served our Diocese as a missionary in Haiti for seven years. Each month during that time Marie wrote to me twice a month. What wonderful support she provided me when I was away from home, without electricity, speaking a different language, making the journey with people in misery, helping them to move to the level of poverty with dignity. Her support and visits helped me to focus on the ministry God called me to.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, It’s already the Second Sunday of Advent. The Church gives us a whole season to prepare for Christmas. Advent can be a wonderful experience, especially when we don’t overly complicate it, BUT we need to prepare intentionally. Here are my “Do’s and “Don’ts” for your consideration:

Last week, we celebrated funerals for five parishioners and Fr. Bill will be celebrating the funeral of his sister-in-law Marie this Tuesday. As we head into the holiday season, I wanted to share my thoughts on grief and the holidays.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, What a wonderful time I had at the parish fair last Saturday. I was just amazed at all those who were attending the fair, those who came to shop, the vendors and all those who volunteered weeks in advance, the day of and the cleanup crew that all worked so well together. It wasn’t just a fund raiser, it was a “fun” raiser and a community builder.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Our Fall Alpha Journey came to a close on Monday evening. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and so our journey is just the beginning. There are all sorts of possibilities that lie ahead for each of us who made the journey. We don’t know where the Holy Spirit is leading us, but I feel we have a better idea of how to listen to the urgings of the Spirit. We want to respond to the movement of the Spirit in our personal lives as well for the future of our parish.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, In December of 2022 I reported to you that the radiant heating system pipes in the cement floor began leaking in several places. The system served us well for fifty-seven years. It was ideal because it only provided heat eight feet from the floor, and we weren’t heating the air into the rafters. We needed to seek a temporary heating system until a permanent system could be designed.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, In the seminary we had a disciplined schedule of prayer, work and study. Our lives were dictated by the bells that told us when we were to change classes, go to the chapel for morning prayer, Mass, evening prayer, holy hour, meals and even recreation. Sort of like boot camp for those familiar with military training.