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Let us Pray

MQOA is working on a plan for a weekend of volunteering in Salem. We are talking with the Notre Dame Club of Boston to co-host the event.

This week’s readings are a continuation of the Gospel readings from the past few weeks. They remind us that our lives reveal how the love of God can work through us. Throughout the ebb and flow of our lives we should expect and prepare to see God’s presence. We have been given a tremendous number of gifts and they should always be used wisely and carefully; so, that when the Lord appears we can present ourselves to Him and show Him how we used our gifts. He is part of our lives, and we are a part of His.

Celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a bilingual Mass & Pot.

Pay it Forward and sponsor new families as they seek Baptism at MQOA!

Who will you invite? Alpha is back in-person starting in September. Explore faith while building community.

Whew, that was fast! I have said that several times in my priesthood when I suddenly realized large chunks of time  had passed. On August 1, I begin the sixth year of my assignment here. (Normally, pastors are assigned in six-year terms and then renewed once or twice.) We have come a long way from the first days of my arrival, and I feel that we are beginning again. My first Saturday I met with the outgoing Father Bob Connors, got the keys,  and some direction, celebrated a wedding, heard confessions, celebrated the 4:00 PM Mass and went back to the rectory and got ready for the next day. It has been busy ever since that first glorious day. I am so grateful to God for all the blessings I have received, the people I have met and the opportunity to share the Lord and all the grace He has sent here over the years.

As I write this, I am returning from Dallas where I and some of the staff and volunteers attended the Divine Renovation Conference. There were amazing speakers, and we learned what is happening in the Church in our country and around the world. It was an opportunity to hear about some of the successful practices in the Church and learn what people are doing to address the current needs and circumstances of the Church. The biggest takeaway for me was the importance of good leadership and a clear vision for our parish. We are all called to be leaders. In some way, anyone who has led someone to Jesus is a leader. This includes parents, friends, or chance encounters that began with an invitation to our parish that may have led to a conversion or renewal of faith and faith practices. We constantly remind people that we can be prophetic and priestly by sharing the Word and sacrificing. It is the leadership component of Jesus, given to us through our baptism, that we need to highlight for the Church to grow into the future. The practices of the past worked then and worked well, but now we face a different future with declining participation and fewer priests. Our task is to raise up lay leaders who can talk about their faith and lead others to Jesus Christ. We will continue to roll out this vision and work toward raising up those who “will go out to the world and tell the Good News.” (Mt, Mk, Lk)

Love, Serve & Connect is the motto for Catholic Heart Workcamp.

This weekend, I will be away and Father Sean McGillicuddy, a Redemptorist father who serves in the Bronx, will be here for all the Masses. As I mentioned before, the staff and some volunteers will be at a national conference entitled: Divine Renovation. It comes from the title of the first book written by Father James Mallon. We have been using some of the principles that Father Mallon used to renew his parish in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Mass is the center of the Church’s life. At each Mass, all the intentions of all God’s people, both living and dead, are included.

Let's pray Salem! #letspraysalem

Join this year's Alpha Team! We are hosting two Alphas this fall (more in the spring). Daytime and Nightime.

As a parish, we strive to reach out to those who are dis- or un-affiliated with Church and to form our parishioners to be missionary disciples.

This week we welcome young people from around the country to do some volunteer work for us at the parish. Before COVID, we had welcomed a few groups to do some work for us and it always is an opportunity to meet young people who are faith filled and looking to help in parishes and other places in the city. They will do some cleaning and throwing out of broken and no longer usable things we have in the basement of both churches. The young people will be here for four days, and we welcome them.

Let's pray Salem! #letspraysalem

Get Help with Your Home Projects This Summer Catholic Heart Workcamp is returning to Arlington from Monday, July 11 to Thursday, July 14 to help you with your home projects! Our high school students and their adult leaders will provide free labor for the tough projects you have around your home. We provide free landscaping and yard work, interior and exterior painting projects, basement, garage, attic clean-outs, and more (we even clean windows!).

As I write this, the Unites Stated Supreme Court issued an overturning of the 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade. I have always been an opponent of this ruling but also understand how the courts got to where they did back in 1973. While I am opposed to abortion, I have frequently wondered whether it was wise to use the federal and state law systems to promote a decision about life which I believe should always be decided in favor of the child and is always a moral choice, i.e., a choice of the heart. I remember my moral theology professor saying, “You can’t legislate morality and expect it to be successful for all.” It is a complex issue for us as we live in a democracy and have a right to voice our views, but we also recognize that others do not always agree with us.

We begin this week settling into the readings of ordinary time. The readings from the Gospel of Luke continue.  Contained in the readings in the coming weeks are the process of formation that Jesus gives to the Apostles and indirectly to us. The Gospels form us by the word we hear and the lessons we learn. Ordinary time is a good opportunity to teach about the Bible and how the word of God is seen repeating through the experiences of the characters throughout the Bible and the words of Jesus.