Saint Cecilia. Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. 19 February 2012

Transcription

1 Saint Cecilia P A R I S H Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 19 February 2012 Christ Heals the Paralaytic Sixth Century Mosaic from The Basilica di Sant Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna

2 Lent 2012 Liturgy of the Hours Evening Prayer on Thursdays February 23, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 6:30 p.m. Morning Prayer for the Feast of Saint Patrick Saturday, March 9:00 a.m. Followed by tea and Irish soda bread Evening Prayer for the Feast of Saint Joseph Monday, March 6:30 p.m. Evening Prayer for the Feast of the Annunciation Monday, March 6:30 p.m. Please join us All are welcome!

3 our community news Ministers of the Liturgy Saturday 5:00 p.m. Rev. Peter Grover, OMV, celebrant Fred Bachofner, lector Sunday 8:00 a.m. Rev. George Winchester, SJ, celebrant Bob Mann, lector Sunday 9:30 a.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Tim Pratt, Victoria Maria Klyce, & Rosaria Salerno, lectors Sunday 11:15 a.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Rev. Arthur Calter, concelebrant Cole Young, Letitia Howland, & Erin Young, lectors Sunday 6:00 p.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Susan Lysaght & Greg Salgado, lectors Special intentions Sunday, February 19 11:15 a.m. Rosa María Morales Sarduy, Salvador Casas Lombillo, & Teresa Valdes, Memorial Sunday, February 19 6:00 p.m. Jeff Monroe, Memorial Words of Wisdom for Lent Don't carry on a futile battle against yourself, don't divide yourself into good and evil. Resist the temptation to analyze yourself - turn your attention to the Lord instead, and be deeply receptive. Accept yourself in God's light and concentrate on the mission you have to accomplish. from the Rule for a New Brother today s readings Isaiah 43:18 19, 21 22, Corinthians 1:18 22 Mark 2:1 12 next sunday s readings Genesis 9:8 15 I Peter 3:18 22 Mark 1:

4 Prayers & Occasions Our Sick Please pray for all our sick and for those who are in need of our prayer, especially Josephine Parker, John Saulenas, K. Champoux, Patricia Hoggard, Jennifer Serpico, Christine St. Pierre, Jessica Coviello, Harold Williamson, Jessica Rivieccio, Earl Chilcote, Colonel Robert C. Tashjian, Roseanne Borgioli, Rosemary Messina, Kim Murray, Heather LoRe, Rudy Kikel, Herbert Simmons, Peggy Furey, Janice Mascia, Winnie Dyer, Jane Cox, Pamela D Ambra, Sue Lucas, Suki Coughlin, Roberta Keenan, Bridget Spence, Annette Kulas, Sam Gowan, Rhea Richard, Pil-Yun Son, Mary Yanez, Larry Buckley, M. Frances Driscoll, Father Harry Giroux, Ed Langlais, Bob McLaughlin, Steven Whitkens, Diana Slaton, Leo Garcia, Jean Marino, Joe Ford, Danny Cotter, Natalia Chilcote, Amy Sweetland, Jim Keyes, Michael Zawikowski, Cheryl Proctor, Patricia Macdonald, Elvera Dowsky, Frank Ackley, Fred Haslee, Lorraine Haslee, Robert Menson, Paul Flaherty, William Louttit, Lucie Kelly, Bro. Adam Zielonka, O.C.S.O., Amy Duarte, Karen & Rick, Phyllis Porras, Jim Linderman, Mark Amerault, Sr. Nuala Cotter, R.A., Kristen DeFranco Martinez, Michele Crowley Tippens, Sara Lima Santos, Joseph Driscoll, Pete Huttlinger, Anthony Simboli, Lisa Caputo, Edward Gill, Darlene McLendon, Jeanne Tibbs, Debbie Pace, Peter Schwahn, Deidre Sullivan, Roosevelt Brown, Mary O Donnell, Ginny L Abbe, Steve Chamberlain, Matt Penchuk, Carrie Penchuk, Christy Cosgrove, Jacques Romberger, John Scaife, Maureen Sullivan, Alyce Haley, Joe Capizzi, David Walsh, Joe Huenke, Kaylin Marcotte, Avito Pacifici, Charlotte Egan, James Noone, Keith Plaster, Frederick Flather, David & Paula Fillion, Fred Maglero, Sarah Sweeney, Jeanne Boger, Susan Shea, Bill Croke, Ettore Bergamaschi, Ryan Delaney, Anita Cipriani, Cecile Finnerty, Pauline Perry, Manuela Almeida, and Ilda Almeida. Special Collection Next Sunday Next week's special collection supports the Church in Africa and in Central and Eastern Europe. These collections help the Church spread the Gospel and train Church leaders of tomorrow, help needy families materially and spiritually, rebuild churches that have fallen, and support our sisters and brothers who have suffered for the faith. Last Year's Palms If you brought last year's palms with you today, there are baskets in the narthex where you may leave them. We will burn these palms to make ashes to be imposed on Ash Wednesday. Happy Mardi Gras! The Lenten Fast begins this week. Now it is Mardi Gras season, the last few days for making spiritual resolutions and adopting the practices that have the potential of yielding a joyous Easter. Do something fun these next few days. Carnival feasting allows for good Lenten fasting. Happy Mardi Gras! Ash Wednesday The season of Lent begins this Wednesday and Mass will be celebrated at six thirty in the evening. Please note that this is the only time ashes will be distributed at Saint Cecilia. Evening Prayer This Thursday Please join us for Evening Prayer this Thursday at six thirty. Coming to Evening Prayer during Lent is a great way to prepare for Easter. 4

5 "Raise the glad strain, alleluia!" A LOOK AT MARDI GRAS AND THE CUSTOM OF BURYING THE ALLELUIA The Hebrew word, וללה,הי or Hallelujah, is a word of unsurpassed joy. It is an acclamation of praise, thanksgiving and victory. Hallelujah is really a two word phrase meaning Praise Yah. It is a joyous and unabashed song of praise to God and appears many times in the Book of Psalms, most prominently in Psalms and Untranslated by the early Christians, we have adopted the Hebrew word Hallelujah as our own. Using it again and again, most notably during Eastertide, we joyfully sing our praises for Christ s triumph and victory over sin and death. Christ s Sacrifice has become our Paschal meal. The tomb is empty. Alleluia! Alleluia! However, this Sunday, we sing our final Alleluias as we prepare to begin our Lenten journey towards the Easter celebration of Christ's glorious Resurrection. The practice of fasting from singing or saying the word Alleluia began during the Middle Ages. The popular practice of burying the Alleluia had its beginnings in a lay-led ritual which included a solemn procession to the church cemetery with a scroll or even a coffin inscribed with the word Alleluia. The Alleluia was literally buried in the cemetery, leaving the people with the hope and anticipation of its Easter Sunday resurrection. our last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season. Just as on Mardi Gras we savor one final taste of indulgent sumptuousness, today, let us savor these last Alleluias as we would a last joyous meal with friends, confidants, family, and dear loved ones. Sing out and delight in this final sumptuous exuberance of God s praise. Let its memory sustain us through the balance of this bleak winter; let its power strengthen us as we carry our own burdens and shoulder our particular crosses. At this morning's liturgies, we will sing music full of "Alleluias" beginning our celebration with Alleluia, Alleluia! Sing a New Song to the Lord; at communion we'll listen to the hauntingly beautiful a cappella choral masterpiece, Alleluia by Randall Thompson; and our recessional song will be the uplifting, Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones with it's multitude of "Alleluias." After today, our Alleluia is buried for the next six Sundays, not to be sung again until the Great Vigil of Easter when we stay awake and keep watch for the Resurrection of our Savior, Christ the Lord. Richard J. Clark Where does that leave us this coming week during Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday? Affectionately known as Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras is not just one day, but a carnival season ending just before Ash Wednesday. Fat Tuesday is 5

6 Ash Wednesday 2. Everyone 18 years of age and under 59 years of age is bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (the obligation of fasting ceases with the celebration of one s 59 th birthday). 3. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, only one full meatless meal is allowed. Two other smaller meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one s needs, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted on these two days, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices, are allowed. When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige. Ash Wednesday begins our forty days of joyful renewal in preparation for the celebration of Easter! Those who are mindful of the call to hear the Gospel more fully, receive ashes as a sign of repentance. The ashes we use are the burnt palms from last year s celebration of Passion (Palm) Sunday. We will distribute ashes on Wednesday evening at the six thirty Mass. Ash Wednesday is a day of universal fast and abstinence. In addition to whatever personal penitential practices you might take up during Lent, Catholics are also asked to observe the practices of fast and abstinence during the forty day period. The Lenten Fast and Abstinence Regulations are as follows: 4. Catholics should not lightly excuse themselves from these prescribed penitential practices. By the threefold discipline of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the Church keeps Lent from Ash Wednesday until the evening of Holy Thursday. All of the faithful and the catechumens are encouraged to undertake the practice of these three Lenten practices. Fasting and abstinence, along with prayer and almsgiving, are the foundations of a good and holy Lent. 1. Everyone 14 years of age and older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent. 6

7 lent approaches! As winter Ordinary Time draws to a close, we look towards Lent, the Church s annual retreat. Lent is a time of renewal and preparation for the feast of Easter and is marked by the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Taking some time to get ready for Lent will ensure that we aren t going to miss the first week or two, because we are just getting started. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, but we want to be ready to really take off on that day, rather than just beginning to think about it. Part of what makes a vacation or a significant anniversary so special is the build up to it. It doesn t take a lot of time to prepare for the beginning of Lent. It just takes desire and focus; God can do so much with that. By beginning to establish some simple patterns, we create a bit of space in our busy lives, where God is able to touch our hearts. Lent is a season that calls us... to fast from discontent and to feast on gratitude; to fast from anger and to feast on patience; to fast from lust and to feast on respect; to fast from prejudice and to feast on understanding; to fast from resentment and to feast on reconciliation; to fast from lies and to feast on the truth; to fast from wasted time and to feast on honest work; to fast from grimness and to feast on joy; to fast from suspicion and to feast on trust; to fast from idle talk and to feast on prayer and silence; to fast from guilt and to feast on the mercy of God. (Based on a version often attributed to William Arthur Ward, American author, teacher and pastor, ) to fast from bitterness and to feast on forgiveness; to fast from self-concern and to feast on compassion; to fast from discouragement and to feast on hope; to fast from laziness and to feast on commitment; to fast from complaining and to feast on acceptance; 7

8 thomas merton on Sacrifice & Fasting In his book, The Climate of Monastic Prayer, spiritual writer, Thomas Merton, has the following to say about sacrifice and fasting: "Such exercises as fasting cannot have their proper effect unless our motives for practicing them spring from personal meditation. We have to think of what we are doing, and the reasons for our actions must spring from the depths of our freedom and be enlivened by the transforming power of Christian love. Otherwise, our self-imposed sacrifices are likely to be pretenses, symbolic gestures without real interior meaning. Sacrifices made in this formalistic spirit tend to be mere acts of external routine performed in order to exorcise interior anxiety and not for the sake of love. In that case, however, our attention will tend to fix itself upon the insignificant suffering which we have piously elected to undergo, and to exaggerate it in one way or another, either to make it seem unbearable or else to make it seem more heroic than it actually is. Sacrifices made in this fashion would be better left unmade. It would be more sincere as well as more religious to eat a full dinner in a spirit of gratitude than to make some minor sacrifice a part of it, with the feeling that one is suffering martyrdom." operation rice bowl In every bulletin this weekend, there is a Rice Bowl from Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Operation Rice Bowl is a Lenten discipline for the entire parish. Sometimes it gets mistaken as a children's project. In solidarity with the poor, participants are encouraged to eat more sparingly during Lent and to donate the money saved to CRS. Each of us can make sacrifices: ordering lower on the menu at Starbucks, skipping a snack, having a meatless meal, forgoing wine with dinner or fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The money saved goes into the Rice Bowl and will then go to help the poor. On Holy Thursday we will have a procession with gifts for the poor at the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper a good time for you to return your Rice Bowl. If you can't participate in this liturgy, you may bring your Rice Bowl back on any Sunday during Eastertide and we will send all of the money we collect to CRS. Let's all connect our Lenten fasting to almsgiving through the superb work of Catholic Relief Services. For more information, please visit little black books In the back of the church there are little black books for you to use during Lent. The goal is to find six minutes of quiet time every day for the next 50 days and to walk through the book one page at a time. The right hand page walks through the Sunday Gospels for this Lent, a few verses at a time, with explanations and reflections along the way. The left hand page has a variety of quotes, information, and timely thoughts. The book begins today, Sunday, February 19. This is a great way to "keep Lent" and prepare for our celebration of Easter. 8

9 lenten speakers series Saint Cecilia Parish's Rainbow Ministry is once again hosting our Lenten Speaker Series. The Series will consist of presentations held in the Parish Hall beginning at seven o'clock on three Thursday evenings in March: March 8 Thomas H. Groome, Ph.D. March 15 Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM, Ph.D. March 22 John Lance, Ph.D. Our first speaker is Thomas H. Groome, Boston College professor and Chair of its Departement of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry. The title of Professor Groome's talk is: "How Does God Love Us: How About Jesus!" and will focus on the first chapter of his recently published Will There Be Faith?: A New Vision for Educating and Growing Disciples. Copies of Professor Groome's book will be available in the narthex after the Sunday liturgies prior to March 8 and at the evening itself. This free event and the post-event reception are hosted by the Saint Cecilia Parish Rainbow Ministry. All are welcome! greeters wanted still! confessions during lent "THE LIGHT IS ON FOR YOU" On all the Wednesdays of Lent, from six thirty to eight o'clock in the evening, Saint Cecilia and all the parishes and chapels of the Archdiocese of Boston will be open for individual confessions. Inviting Catholics to experience Christ's healing love through the Sacrament of Reconciliation continues to be one of the major initiatives of Cardinal Seán and the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese has designed a website, to help you prepare. This website has videos on the Sacrament of Reconciliation, information on how to make a good confession, answers to frequently asked questions, and more. Please consider coming on Lenten Wednesdays (February 29, March 7, 14, 21, 28, & April 4) and help us spread the word about this special outreach of God's mercy. lenten prayer on the net There is a great resource for prayer, no further than your desk. The 'Sacred Prayer' prayer site of the Irish Jesuits invites you to spend ten minutes each day, praying as you sit at your computer, with the help of on screen guidance and scripture passages chosen especially for the day. Give it a try! We are trying to expand our small team of Greeters and need your help. Your committment as a Greeter would involve arriving thirty minutes early at one Sunday liturgy of your choosing, one time per month. If you can help with this important "Ministry of Welcoming," please contact Ann Faldetta at anntenfour@ yahoo.com. Thank you. 9

10 Lenten Meditation Concert THE WAY OF THE CROSS Friday, March 2, :00 p.m. Denise Morency Gannon with vocal meditations sung by Martha Gannon Composer, author, and pastoral musician, Denise Morency Gannon is currently the Director of Music at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA. She writes monthly for Ministry & Liturgy Magazine and was selected by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to receive an award in its popular music category, which includes gospel and contemporary Christian music. The award was based on her original compositions and concert performances entitled "Walk With Me." Come to Saint Cecilia on Friday, March 2 to hear and experience the story of one man and the story of every person, reflected in word and song. boston archdiocesan choir school open auditions The Boston Archdiocesan Choir School is now holding open auditions for boys in grades 3, 4, & 5 at the Choir School, 29 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge. The Boston Archdiocesan Choir School, the only Roman Catholic day school for choir boys in the country, has a rigorous academic curriculum, with small class sizes, for grades four through eight. No prior musical training is necessary. For more information contact the Director of Music, Mr. John Robinson, at (617) or e mail bostonboychoir@comcast.net. richard clark in concert TWO UPCOMING ORGAN PERFORMANCES FEATURING RICHARD J. CLARK Our Music Director and Organist, Richard J. Clark, will be featured in concert today and next Sunday. At two o'clock this afternoon (February 19), Richard is one of six artists performing in a concert at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. He will perform works by Jehan Alain and his own "Saint Cecilia Day Variations" on the historic 1876 E. & G. G. Hook and Hastings Gallery Organ. Following this concert there will be a reception to which everyone is invited. Next Sunday afternoon, February 26, at three o'clock, Richard will be the featured artist at Saint Paul Church, Harvard Square, as part of their Sunday Afternoon Organ Recital Series. Saint Paul Church is home to the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School. At this concert, Richard will premiere a new work with his wife, clarinetist, Kara Clark. In addition, he will perform works by Couperin, Buxtehude, and Alain. Admission is free for both events. For more information on the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, visit and for Saint Paul Parish, 10

11 parish operating statement We are pleased to present the Parish Operating Statement (page 12) for the six months ending December 31, 2011 and wish to point out a few things. First, thank you all for your increased offertory giving. We are almost $50,000 ahead of the amount we received for the same period the previous year. It is only through sustained and predictable giving that we can continue to plan for the future of Saint Cecilia, so we continue to request that every parishioner join our Offertory Commitment Program, which will assist us in this planning. We have experienced a modest surplus of $35,000 for the first six months of this fiscal year. This is attributable to seasonal factors which we experience every year at this time. At present, we anticipate that Saint Cecilia will end the fiscal year close to the break-even forecasted in our budget. As always, we thank you for your support as we strive to further the mission of our parish. help us care for the poor At least a few times each week, struggling men and women come to the parish office or approach a staff member after Mass looking for something to eat or a donation. While we do sometimes give out small amounts of money, we prefer to offer people a gift card to a local supermarket or restaurant. You have always responded generously to our appeal for gift cards, but once again, we are in need of having our supply replenished. If you are interested in helping out in this way, simply purchase a gift card and drop it in the collection basket at Mass or give the card to a staff person. We are very appreciative of your assistance as we attempt to offer aid to the less fortunate in our midst. nativity spirit award dinner As you may have seen recently in the bulletin, Saint Cecilia parishioners have begun volunteering at Nativity Prep School in Jamaica Plain. Nativity is a tuition-free middle school dedicated to providing a quality education to boys of all faiths from low-income families residing in Boston's inner-city neighborhoods. We would also like to support Nativity by putting together a Saint Cecilia table for their annual fundraiser, thenativity Spirit Service Award Dinner. The event will be held at B.C. High School on Wednesday, March 7, with cocktails at 6:00 and dinner at 6:45. Individual tickets are $150 each. If you are interested in the event, please contact Mark Lippolt at mlippolt@hammondre.com. join us at community servings Join us from 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. next Saturday, February 25 when we volunteer in the kitchens of Community Servings. We are looking for volunteers to assist in preparing and packaging nutritious meals for those who are home-bound with life-threatening illnesses throughout Eastern Massachusetts. No culinary skills are required, but volunteers need to be at least thirteen years of age. Please feel free to join us even if you can't be there until a bit later than 10:00. Community Servings is conveniently located next to the Stony Brook T Station in Jamaica Plain. To volunteer or for more information, please contact Mark Lippolt at: mlippolt@hammondre.com. 11

12 quarterly report Saint Cecilia Parish Operating Statement FY July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 Checking Account as of 12/31/11 $278, Savings Account as of 12/31/11 $421, Berklee Lease Payments Account as of 12/31/11 $503, Renovation Loan Account as of 12/31/11 ($1,318,952.96) Income Offertory 111, OCP Offertory 220, Shrines, Candles, & Flowers 2, Sacramental Offerings 36, Gifts & Bequests 22, Religious Education 9, Lease/Rental Income Interest and Dividend Income 9, Other Income 13, Shelter Meals Fundraising Activities 23, Total Income 450, Expense Salaries Exempt & Non Exempt 119, Staff Benefits 24, All Clergy: Assigned and Unassigned Including Benefits 27, Data Processing Fees, Bank Service Charges 2, Professional Fees 9, Office Supplies, Postage, Printing 7, Telephone & Internet 5, Office Equipment Repair & Contracts 5, Books, Pamphlets, Dues, Subscriptions, Missalettes, Wkly. Envelopes 7, Household 2, Utilities, Heat, Water & Sewer 32, Building Insurance 15, Maintenance 51, Pastoral/Liturgical 45, Meetings & Workshops Acquisitions/Improvements Furniture, Equipment 24, Interest Payments Revolving Loan 16, The Pilot Parish Hospital Chaplaincy Tax 3, Cathedraticum 12, School Tax 0 Miscellaneous 1, Total Expense 415, Net Operating Income 35,449.14

13 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 FOURTH STREET NE WASHINGTON DC FAX BULLETIN INSERT Conscience Rights, Religious Liberty Violated by Sweeping HHS Contraceptive Mandate On January 20, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reaffirmed a rule that virtually all private health care plans must cover sterilization, abortifacients, and contraception. The exemption provided for "religious employers" is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities, and service organizations that help millions every year. Ironically, not even Jesus & his disciples would have qualified, because of their commitment to serve others. President Obama s February 10 offer of a limited and unclear compromise does not change the urgent need for legislation to correct such threats to religious liberty and conscience rights. The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act has been introduced in Congress (H.R. 1179, S. 1467) to ensure that those who participate in the health care system retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions. It is more important than ever that Members of Congress be urged to co-sponsor this measure or thanked if they are already co-sponsoring the bill. For the list of current co-sponsors, please check H.R and S at: thomas.loc.gov. ACTION: Contact your U.S. Representative by , phone, or FAX letter: Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: , or call your Members local offices. Send your to congress through Additional contact info can be found on Members web sites at: and MESSAGE: "Please co-sponsor the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179, S. 1467) and help enact it into law. The Obama administration s decision to require even religious institutions to provide coverage of sterilization and contraceptives, including drugs that can cause an abortion, makes passage of this measure especially urgent. Please ensure that the rights of conscience of all participants in our nation s health care system are respected. WHEN: Now is the time to build cosponsors. Please act today! Thanks! For more background information, go to

14 donations for catholic charities food pantry While we look to our Faith Formation families to remember our commitment to Catholic Charities' food pantry in Dorchester when the children bring up our offertory gifts at our nine thirty liturgies, we hope that all parishioners will participate in this important ministry. The local economy might have improved for some of us, but the working poor and unemployed continue to face enormous challenges. Saint Cecilia has committed to providing these items to the Catholic Charities' food pantry: Cheerios or cornflakes, peanut butter, white flour pasta and spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, canned tuna fish, canned chicken breast, and tomato sauce. While any canned or shelf items are appreciated, it is particularly helpful when parishioners can help with the staples listed above. Because food is delivered only twice a month to the Catholic Charities' food pantry, we cannot accept donations of baked items or produce in the narthex. Free films on friday! At six-thirty on Friday, March 2, we will begin an occasional film series at Saint Cecilia, presenting films with a spiritual dimension, films that grapple with life's big questions, and films presenting stories that exemplify lives lived in concert with the teachings of the Gospel. Our first film is Of Gods and Men, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, and is based on a true story. 'In 1996, seven French Trappist Monks in Algeria were kidnapped by Islamic extremists and brutally murdered. Prior to their abduction, the monks are well aware of the danger they're in despite having lived for a decade or more in harmony with their Islamic neighbors. Before the monks can decide as a community to leave Algeria or stay, each man must first decide for himself and the film provides its viewers a window into the struggle of each individual monk' [adapted from the EW review of March 11, 2011]. This film is rated PG-13. The screening will be in a classroom in the Parish Pastoral Center and will begin promptly at six thirty. Future films scheduled for the Saint Cecilia Film Series include: The Nun's Story, Black Narcissus, Up, Sophie Scholl, and The Tree of Life. triduum music invitation It's that time of year again! New singers and instrumentalists are invited to join our Palm Sunday and Easter Triduum choir for the liturgies of Holy Week: April 1 8. This is a short term commitment. Rehearsals are on Thursday evenings at seven o'clock, beginning this Thursday, February 23. For more information, please contact Richard Clark at (617) , or e mail him at rclark@stceciliaboston.org. We look forward to hearing from you! 14

15 thank you! Last Monday s Pine Street Women s Inn dinner was a great success thanks to the delicious chicken dinner prepared and served by Deb Favreau and Dan Penrice and their daughters, Maria and Louisa; Ming Kuan and Stephen Rauch and their children, Sebastian, Alistaire and Arianna; and Patricia and Philip Dubuque and their daughters, Emily and Julia. Thanks also to the generosity of several Saint Cecilia parishioners, the evening was very festive. Following dinner, all of the young servers distributed Valentine cake, cookies, cupcakes and lollipops made by Saint Cecilia parishioners. Special thanks to Catherine Horsley, Marianne Hickey, Sheila Manning and several anonymous donors who contributed special treats or made monetary contributions. The next Faith Formation/Pine Street Women s Inn dinner will be Monday, March 12. The Saint Cecilia Food Group will collect donations of fresh fruit, desserts, or, contributions of money, on Sunday, March 11 between the morning liturgies. Please look for the Faith Formation/Pine Street Women s Inn poster and donation baskets in the narthex. can you contribute items for el salvador? The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry's (STM) 2012 El Salvador Immersion Trip Team is teaming up with Boston's El Salvador Consulate to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the peace accords that ended the Salvadoran Civil War. The STM Team is collecting health care related items which the Consulate will ship to El Salvador. If you have any health care related items (Band-Aids, gauze, bandages, Advil, crutches, wheelchairs, etc.), please contact Joe Lemme (lemmej@bc.edu) this week. Thank you for your support! spring training with the boston red sox Join the Red Sox at Fenway Park South for some baseball and sun! You and a guest will fly Jet Blue round-trip to Fort Myers, FL, pick up your convertible rental car from Hertz and stay at the Courtyard Fort Myers Marriott or Sanibel Harbor Marriott Resort and Spa. Package includes two Jet Blue round-trip tickets, two Spring Training tickets for any date of your choosing, a $500 gift certificate to Marriott, and $150 in rental car vouchers. Raffle tickets are $75 each or two for $100 and can be purchased on our website or by asking George in the narthex. The drawing will occur this Wednesday, February 22. For the Boston Red Sox Spring Training Schedule, visit www. springtrainingonline.com/teams/boston-redsox-3.htm prison & After committee OUR NEXT MEETING IS NEXT SUNDAY The Prison & After Committee will be meeting next Sunday, February 26, following the eleven fifteen liturgy. The Prison & After Committee is always eager for new members to join the group as they work on developing a program to support men and women as they are released from prison and begin adjusting to new challenges in the community. If you would like additional information, please contact Peg Newman at peg_newman@msn.com. 15

16 ash wednesday & the value of tradition By CHRISTOPHER COCCA Wednesday marks the beginning of the fortyday Christian liturgical season known as Lent, a time of reflection, contemplation, and perhaps even sacrifice in preparation for the coming of the Holy Week that culminates in the celebration of Christ's Easter resurrection. Throughout the world on Wednesday, Christians from across denominations and traditions will make themselves known through the imposition of ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads, small but conspicuous statements about their spiritual identities and, I suspect, their most pressing hopes. We know from Tolkien that not all who wander are lost. The inverse, of course, is also true. Not all who find themselves moved to religious ritual are finished seeking. Most aren't, even as many of us wander in and through various religious orbits, spiritual practices, and times of communion and estrangement from God and from each other. Those who will bear the mark of Christ's cross on Ash Wednesday do so for different, even disparate reasons. Some will wear it as a proud (and I don't mean prideful) badge, a faithful, even kerygmatic public statement. Some receive the ashes and the Wednesday blessing because of the long pull of tradition. Others are compelled to it by a desire for that same pull and the hope that God might meet us in it. Not all, and perhaps not even many, who wander are lost. Not all who wear ashes are cradle Christians or Christian converts. Not all who take pause on Ash Wednesday will go on to observe a Christian Lent. Not all who hope for Easter's promise necessarily believe it. Not all who want to feel able. But I do believe, somehow, that all who seek God will find. I've never been much of an Ash-wearer, but I became one last year when confronted with the thousands-fold witness of marked heads on the subway. It was not so much the numbers themselves, but the odd occurrences: every other person in the long corridors beneath Time Square, every fourth or fifth on the 3, a small group walking towards me as I surfaced to street level. If a sacrament is, as theologians are fond of saying, a visible sign of an 16

17 invisible truth, these pilgrims were sacraments for me. Their willingness to be marked as believers or seekers, and, in either case, people needing something, made me willing, too. Going up the wrong flight of stairs at 14th Street Station and hitting the street at the Church of the Village meant I was greeted with a sign proclaiming Imposition. So then there I was, and there, it seemed, was God. I received ashes and a blessing, a charge to repent, believe, and live. In short, I was moved, felt something, lost my bearings. I didn't know which way to walk when I came back out to the street. I believe I had a profound, even mystical experience, not because I succumbed to a ritual I'd never valued, but because I believe God uses what God can to meet us where we are. For me, a provisional-at-best Christian, a seminary grad burned out on church and religion, it was the totally new experience of ashes, of anointing prayer and blessing. It was whatever God said to my spirit while the bishop spoke to me. Over the past year, I've found myself much more interested in the mystical Christian traditions than ever before, and needing them. I've felt more at home around ritual and process so long as I approach them from humility and from the recognition that God is always bigger than the things we do and that when God meets us in those things, it's because God is God, not because we've done religious work God deems cosmically essential. But it's also true that our drive to meet God in places carved out by tradition echos something cosmically essential: an understanding that we want and need the mystical, the holy; a hope that God will meet us wherever it is we seek to find. This Ash Wednesday, I am reminded that Christian ritual[s] like our stories, are opportunities to embrace the basic Christian claim: the in-breaking of God at every turn, the furious longing on God's part for time and eternity with us. WHAT FAITH IS NOT By JOAN CHITTISTER Faith is not about understanding the ways of God. It is not about maneuvering God into a position of human subjugation, making a God who is a benign deity who exists to see life as we do. Faith, in fact, is not about understanding at all. It is about awe in the face of the God of all. And it is awe that inspires an alleluia to the human soul. Faith is about reverencing precisely what we do not understand the mystery of the Life Force that generates life for us all. It is about grounding ourselves in a universe so intelligent, so logical, so clearly loving that only a God in love with life could possibly account for it completely. When we center our power outside ourselves, which is of the essence of faith, we have faith in something greater than our smallness. We take our very lack of control as a sign of God s presence in the world. It is precisely because of our smallness that we can come to see and trust the greatness of God that surrounds us. It is only then that we can really come to see the face of God in the face of the other. Faith in what we cannot control, do not see, cannot understand destroys the idol that is ourselves. It is only the deep-down belief that we are not the be-all and end-all of the universe that can save us from ourselves. It is the awareness of being part of something vast and intelligent and well-intentioned that gives purpose to life, that leads us to seek beyond the horizons of our smallness to the hope that tomorrow, warped as we may be today, we can all be better. Faith in God is the only ground we have for faith in ourselves, in humanity, in life. Then we may care enough about others, about the purpose of God for all human life, to go beyond the kind of religion that turns God into a local deity and life into a zero-sum game in which winner takes all and losers abound. 17

18 Parish RESOURCES Parish Office & Mailing Address 18 Belvidere Street, Boston, MA Hours Monday Friday, 9:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Phone Fax Website Parish Staff Richard J. Clark, Director of Music and Organist, Mark Donohoe, Pastoral Associate for Administration, Genevieve Fiorente, Office Administrative Assistant Scott J. MacDonald, Director of Faith Formation and Leadership Development, Maureen Sullivan, Administrative Assistant to the Pastor, Rev. John J. Unni, Pastor, Assisting Clergy Rev. Thomas Gariepy, CSC Rev. Peter Grover, OMV Rev. James Shaughnessy, SJ Rev. George Winchester, SJ Schedule for Liturgy Thursday & Friday 8:00 a.m. Lord s Day Sat 5:00 p.m.; Sun 8:00, 9:30, 11:15, and 6:00 p.m. Holy Days 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Reconciliation By appointment at any time and Wednesday evenings from 6:30 8:00 during Lent. Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is the communal process through which non-baptized men and women become members of the Catholic Church. It is also suitable for those baptized in different faith traditions who are interested in becoming Catholic, or, for those who were baptized Catholic, but have yet to receive the sacraments of eucharist and confirmation. For more information, please contact Scott MacDonald. Baptism for Infants Infant baptism is celebrated on the first Sunday of the month. For more information, please contact Mark Donohoe. Faith Formation for Children To register your child for our Faith Formation Program, please contact Scott MacDonald in the parish office. Marriage Couples who wish to prepare for marriage should contact Mark Donohoe in the parish office at least six months in advance. Care of the Sick To arrange for the Sacrament of the Sick, for Holy Communion to be brought to those unable to attend the Sunday celebration, or for Viaticum for the Dying (Holy Communion for those in danger of death), please contact the parish office. It is always possible to anoint the sick during regularly scheduled liturgies. Order of Christian Funerals The parish is prepared to celebrate the Vigil (wake) in the church. Please contact the parish office for more information. Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Team The CAP Team is responsible for training all parish staff and volunteers in mandated reporting laws and the Protecting God s Children program (VIRTUS). They also provide consultation and support to anyone in the parish who has concerns about reporting child abuse and neglect. Please contact Lois Flaherty (loisflaherty@gmail.com), Ginny DiSanto (gin250boston@gmail.com) or Peg Quilty (nursempeg@gmail.com) if you have any questions or concerns. The Archdiocese of Boston has in place a vigorous program to protect children from harm and to educate its ministers and faithful about the nature of abuse, with a goal of increasing knowledge, creating a safe environment for children, and recognizing and reporting potentially dangerous situations. The full text of the policy is also available in the narthex and parish office, as well as on our website. For Those with Celiac Disease If you have celiac disease, please let us know. We have a supply of low-gluten altar bread available for those who cannot tolerate gluten. Hearing Assistance in Church The church is equipped with an FM listening device. Small receivers are available for anyone who may have trouble hearing the sound system. Simply request a receiver from any one of our greeters before Mass. Access for the Disabled The church is accessible by elevator. Parking Reduced-rate parking (maximum of three hours) is available Sundays at the Prudential Center parking garage, LAZ Parking (53 Belvidere Street), and at the Hilton Boston Back Bay. Please bring your parking ticket to church for validation before returning to the garage. Joining Our Community We re happy that you re with us! Our community offers a warm, spiritual home for a diverse group of Catholics. We come from many neighborhoods in and around Boston but also have parishioners from as far afield as Marlborough, Newburyport, and Stow. Please introduce yourself to a staff member, drop in for coffee on Sunday, or fill out a new parishioner form in the gathering space. No matter what your background, please know that you are always welcome at Saint Cecilia. 18