Saint Cecilia. Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. 23 July Young Neighbors in Action Coronado Beach, San Diego

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1 Saint Cecilia P A R I S H Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 23 July 2017 Young Neighbors in Action Coronado Beach, San Diego

2 Welcome! Welcome to Saint Cecilia Parish, a Roman Catholic community that gathers day by day, week by week, to know and make known the grace of God. By means of this abundant grace, we enjoy a diverse and close-knit parish family young, old, rich, poor, of various ethnic origins and differing backgrounds. From our extraordinary music program to a growing children s faith formation program; from the various liturgical ministries to the many opportunities for social outreach that the parish provides, Saint Cecilia is a vibrant community of faith, centered on prayer and worship that tries to keep the Gospel close to heart and to live by Jesus teachings. Saint Cecilia Parish was established in At that time the Back Bay section of Boston along Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street was the residential section of the Yankee aristocracy. The maids ( Irish working out girls ) and coachmen who served these residents had long requested a church of their own. When Archbishop Williams granted their request and carved the parish from the territory of the Cathedral, they built a magnificent church out of their meager earnings. The church was dedicated on April 22, Its architecture is Romanesque, XII Century Norman. The main altar, notable for its massive simplicity, was carved from a single block of white Carrara marble. The painting in the center reredos is a reproduction of da Vinci s The Last Supper, and the dome above is an array of 24K gold rosettes. For the sixtieth anniversary celebration in 1954, a massive renovation project was undertaken. During this renovation, a statue of Pope Saint Pius X (canonized that same year) was imported from Italy and placed on the right side of the sanctuary. Above the statue are paintings from Pius life. On the left side is a statue of Saint Patrick, principal patron of the Archdiocese of Boston, and above it are three scenes from his life. Fourteen circular and sixteen square panels adorn the nave and arches of the church. The square panels are decorated with the symbols of Our Lady taken from the Litany of Loreto and the circular ones with symbols taken from the lives of the apostles. The great window of the Assumption framed by the two oak cases of the organ was installed in 1954 (the Marian Year) in spaces originally designed for windows but not until then used. The original organ of 24 stops was built in 1902 by the Hutchings-Votey Organ Company, Opus 1465, and was rebuilt in 1954 with 32 stops. In 1998, Timothy Smith and Theodore Gilbert began a massive reconstruction of the organ. The current Smith & Gilbert Organ of 4 manuals, 50 ranks, and 2,926 pipes was dedicated on the Feast of Saint Cecilia, November 22, Today we are experiencing something of an awakening within these old walls. We recently completed a major renovation, our numbers are increasing, and we continue to grow in our commitment to issues of peace, justice, and service to our neighbors, both near and far. We ve been right here on Belvidere Street, in the same building for 123 years, but that does not mean that life here is stale, stagnant, or even predictable. We are proud to be entrusted with the legacy of Saint Cecilia Parish, where everything is the same, yet always changing; where we honor tradition while embracing the future; where God s love makes all things new.

3 our community news Ministers of the Liturgy Saturday 5:00 p.m. Rev. Peter Grover, OMV, celebrant Catherine Horsley, lector Special intention Sunday, July 23 11:15 a.m. Manuel Valadao, Tenth Anniversary Sunday 8:00 a.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Caitie Meyer, lector Sunday 9:30 a.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Zach Boutin, Cathy Anderson, & Mary Kane, lectors Sunday 11:15 a.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Natasha Pierre, Jennifer Polley, & Mark Richburg, lectors today s readings Wisdom 12:13, Romans 8:26-27 Matthew 13:24-43 next sunday s readings 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 Romans 8:28-30 Matthew 13:

4 Prayers & Occasions Our Sick Please pray for all our sick and for those who are in need of our prayer, especially Annette Kulas, Rosea Aubrey, Pilar Estrada, Mildred McLaughlin, Brenna Smith, Mark Anderson, Bill Downing, Skyler Stevenson, Silvana Franco, Brian Donnelly, Theresa Wier, Bill Ahern, Lena Bryant, Kenny Borum, George Driscoll, Mary Curley, Bill Pennington, Bryan Thomas, Rachel Fitzgerald, Bob Carroll, John Morris, Mark Edward McHugh, Laura Bellias, Angelo Valente, Eugenia Valente, Betty Sellers, Jack Kacewicz, Daniel Grapski, Nancy Wolterman, Callie Boyce, Mary Chisholm, Brian Burdette, John Pelletier, Mary Maciora, Stephanie Brown, Bob Butler, Mary Dupont, Mary Jacobs, Francesca Stanizzi, Hilary Dillon, Paul Lakschewitz, Pam Phillips, Meredith Deignan, Louise Reohr, Tom O Keefe, Gerard Franchi, Annie Flaherty, Pamela Massey, Mary Sullivan, Lyn Scalfani, Germaine Durette, Mimi Hart, Mei Day, Edris Kelley, Rick Dalby, and Grady Richards. Our Newest Parishioners We are pleased to welcome the following new members of our parish who have recently registered: Sarah Romasanta of Medford, Ronald Beaudoin of Boston, Pascale Nicoleau of Brighton, Lesly Zapata of Boston, Bridget Hogan of Watertown, Christine Hedden of Watertown, Caitlin and Jason Oglesby of Medford, Gustavo Grijalua of East Boston, the Tedesco-Matos Family of Cambridge, Alexandra Haney of Cambridge, David Mooney of Boston, and Luis Sandoval of Boston. If you have not previously registered with the parish, there are forms in the narthex for this purpose or you can register online at Shakespeare on the Common & Parish Picnic Be sure to check out page 5 of the bulletin for more information about this Tuesday s annual parish outing to Boston Common for a picnic and viewing of a live performance of Romeo and Juliet. Welcome Home, Young Neighbors! Father John, Scott MacDonald, Amy Paulin, Libby Boland, Steven Patzke, and eighteen of our high school students returned home last Monday from their week of service and learning in San Diego, CA. We thank God for their safe return and pray that they have grown in their faith and in concern for those in need. May the good works performed by our young men and women continue as they settle back into their lives at home. We pray that they continue to respond to the call to help others recognize their own goodness, dignity, and selfworth. A Shout Out Thank You! Many thanks to our friends at the Symphony, Beacon Hill, and INK Block Whole Foods stores and to Chuck Olivieri, Saint Cecilia parishioner, choir member, and Whole Foods Marketing Manager. Their generosity has enabled us to give donated day-old baked goods and produce to our nonprofit partners at Pine Street Inn and Catholic Charities weekly for eight years now. Bread is not something that can be purchased from The Greater Boston Food Bank so the Whole Foods donations represent one of the few sources that Catholic Charities has for providing their clients with this staple item. Thanks, Chuck! Saint Cecilia Choir at Fenway Park Last Monday, July 17, was Catholic Night at Fenway Park and the Saint Cecilia Choir was invited to sing the National Anthem! If you were not there, take a minute to watch and listen to how extraordinary they were by visiting our website and clicking on Music Ministry and then Recordings Media ( Evening Prayer This Wednesday This Wednesday, July 26, is the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and we will celebrate Evening Prayer at 6:30. 4

5 Wisdom and mature spirituality The July meeting of the Wisdom and Mature Spirituality group will take place today, Sunday, July 23, from 10:00 to 11:00 in the Conference Room of the Parish Pastoral Center. This month marks the one-year anniversary of this ministry and so at the beginning of today s meeting we will reflect on what worked well this past year and what changes we might like to make to ensure the continued growth and development of our group. Rather than having a specific topic, this meeting will provide an opportunity for open conversation and proposals for future topics. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas! As always, we are happy to welcome new members. join us at community servings Join us from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 5 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 homebound 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 5:00 p.m. 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: mark.lippolt@gmail.com. shakespeare on the common & parish picnic! Shakespeare on the Common has become a Saint Cecilia tradition. If you have never joined us for this fun evening under the stars, you should consider doing so this year. The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is presenting the romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. We are going this Tuesday, July 25. The play begins at 8:00 on the Boston Common near the Parkman Bandstand. As we ve done in the past, we will be reserving space (thank you, Jenny Jones!) and will have a potluck picnic beforehand at 6:30. For more information please contact Jenny Jones at jennyinjp@gmail. com or The play is free, though donations to the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company are appreciated and can be made via 5

6 a request from catholic charities Sunset Point Camp, located in Hull, serves as a dream vacation for 300 children each summer. The goal of the camp has always been to provide a free vacation for at-risk, low-income children from the Greater Boston area, without regard for their race, nationality, or religious affiliation. Sunset Point Camp is supervised by our friends at Catholic Charities Yawkey Center in Dorchester. They have mentioned to us that they always need donations of sunscreen for the kids at the camp. So the next time you re at CVS or Walgreens or your local supermarket, please consider picking up an extra tube of sunscreen and dropping it in the plastic bin identified for this purpose in the narthex. We have been told the higher the SPF number, the better. The camp also needs kids flip flops for boys and girls ages 6 to 12. welcoming the stranger While visiting a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos last year, Pope Francis decided to bring twelve Syrian Muslims back to the Vatican with him on the papal plane. The Pope addressed the refugees and said, As people of faith, we wish to join our voices to speak out on your behalf. We hope that the world will heed these scenes of tragic and indeed desperate need, and respond in a way worthy of our common humanity. Inspired by the Pope s words and actions, Saint Cecilia Parish is working with Catholic Charities to assist refugee families who have relocated to the Greater Boston area. With no friends or relatives in the United States, they have a great many needs. The parish has offered to provide them with supermarket gift cards so that they will have food while their applications for political asylum are processed. If you would like to purchase gift cards to Market Basket specifically and no more than $25 per card please feel free to drop them in the offertory basket. If you do not live near a Market Basket and cannot purchase a gift card, you can also help by making a check for $25 or $50 payable to Saint Cecilia Parish and including it in the offertory. Please write Refugee Families in the memo line. PRISON & AFTER MINISTRY altar server training We are looking for new youth altar servers to serve during the summer and also during the next school year. If you have a child who is a rising third grader or older and who would like to serve the parish in this important ministry, please Scott Mac- Donald (smacdonald@stceciliaboston.org) to schedule a training session. We are very flexible with scheduling altar servers so please don t let scheduling challenges be a deterrent! Do you have an interest in joining a group of parishioners on Monday nights who gather in the Parish Pastoral Center to offer support and to create community with men who were, at one time, in prison? If so, please consider joining our Prison & After Ministry. The program is taking a break for the summer to refresh, and will return in the fall, ready to welcome new members. Please call the Parish Office at if you would like to learn more about this meaningful and rewarding ministry. 6

7 By STU GARRARD SAINT CECILIA PARISH Why the Beatitudes Are Still So Revolutionary I m sitting on a hillside overlooking Galilee, where tradition and scholars say that Jesus spoke his Sermon on the Mount. It s my third time here. I love it. Each time, there s a sense of coming home. To my right I can see the city of Tiberius, which was founded by Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, and named after the Roman emperor Tiberius in the year AD 20. Beyond that into the distance is the land known as the West Bank, the Occupied Territories, or simply Palestine. Ahead of me is the Sea of Galilee, and on the horizon, the mouth of the Jordan River. To my left I can see the hills of the Golan Heights, and beyond there is Syria with all its suffering and chaos. If I walk a mile or two down the hillside, I will reach Capernaum, where Peter lived, the scene of so many stories from the Christian Scriptures. I sit here in the Mediterranean sunshine, thinking and meditating and contemplating life with all its interweaving of people and stories and joy and pain. I ve once again been with friends, Israelis and Palestinians, and had a glimpse into their lives, so much that is beautiful and so much that is painful and full of sorrow. In the Beatitudes, this extraordinary upside-down teaching of what the Kingdom of God looks like, Jesus gives us a lens with which to look at the world, and I think to myself that here on this hillside is not just the place where our Teacher walked 2,000 years ago it s one of the places where He would walk and talk if He were here today. JESUS WORDS FROM THE HILL On this hill, our Teacher announces that this Gospel is for all the losers, all the broken, all those who haven t normally been included, but who are now included, because God is reordering the way things work and what the world looks like. For these people: The poor in spirit: the people who don t get it, the impoverished, those whose spirits are crushed, those on the B team, the spiritual zeroes, those who keep stumbling; Those who mourn: the brokenhearted, the devastated, the grief-stricken, those familiar with tears; The meek: the unnoticed, the passed-over, the bullied and marginalized, the discriminated against, (Article continues on page 8) 7

8 (Article continued from page 7) those who lack power and choice; The hungry and thirsty: those haunted by justice, who ache for the shalom of God, for things to be put right, those who feel in their very bones the pain of their own inadequacy to change the way the world works. God meets us in our poverty, sorrow, struggle and lack and announces, I am on your side. We don t have to climb a ladder. We don t have to claw our way to the top. Here at the bottom of the mountain is where the blessing is. THE UNEXPECTED INVITATION If God blesses us at the bottom, in our failure, it changes how we interact with everyone else in the world. If God meets us in our own mess and lack and ache, in our wrestling and in the moments that we keep messing up, then it changes how we see others who are in the middle of their own messy, broken and hurting lives. We can begin to judge less and see ourselves in others who are struggling, and extend the grace we ve received to them. This lets us be in the world in a different way. To begin to show mercy to others. To begin spreading it around. So as we live a little more with mercy, our hearts become a little more whole and a little more pure. And as we offer that to others, we see people how God sees them, and we begin to see God in a new way. As we see the world differently, we can resist the urge to go take sides, even though that s the path of least resistance. When we find ourselves living as peacemakers in the world, this kind of living so easily leads to persecution because we all know the way the world works it wants us to pick a side, and it s not going to go down so well when we don t pick a side and want to see everyone flourish. We have to ask ourselves some hard questions: Who and what am I colluding with? The dominant powers at play in the world or the One who shared the message of the Beatitudes? What am I resisting? Are there situations in everyday life where I m being forced to go with the flow? What would happen if I said no? Who am I speaking out for? The homeless in my town? The woman at work on the receiving end of sexual jibes? The guy at school who s getting bullied? If I speak out if I resist am I willing to suffer for it? Because it might just happen. And the words from the hill are speaking still: You are blessed, God is on your side. The Beatitudes are about receiving the grace that in our own poverty, brokenness, lack of power and ache for justice we can hear the amazing, exuberant, counterintuitive announcement that God is on our side. Maybe we need to do the absolutely necessary internal work of showing ourselves mercy, of lifting our own heads, of not beating ourselves up, of healing our divided hearts, of receiving the gift of peace on the inside. Because when we do, I believe the prophetic call to action to love God with all our heart and soul and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, will follow. God is on your side. Stu Gerrard is the author of, Words From The Hill, which was inspired by his 2013 trip to the Holy Land. This book was conceived while sitting upon the very mount Jesus gave his famous sermon in Matthew 5. Stu contemplated the paradox of Christ s blessing of the poor, the mournful, the meek, the hungry and thirsty, which directly contrasts the world s standard of success. Stu saw that these Gospel virtues could fuel a prophetic movement within the Church, where believers would be holy ambassadors of divine mercy, purity of heart, and peace. 8

9 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 Rev. John J. Unni, Pastor Mary Kaye, Pastoral Director of Operations, Mark Donohoe, Pastoral Associate for Administration, Scott J. MacDonald, Director of Faith Formation and Parish Visibility, Jeanne Bruno, Chaplain, Pastoral Associate, Coordinator of Pastoral Outreach, Richard J. Clark, Director of Music and Organist, Lisa Pickering, Events and Facilities Manager, Assisting Clergy Rev. Erick Berrelleza, SJ Rev. Peter Grover, OMV Rev. Peter Gyves, SJ Rev. James Shaughnessy, SJ Schedule for Liturgy Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday 8:00 a.m. Lord s Day Sat 5:00 p.m.; Sun 8:00, 9:30, and 11:15 a.m. Holy Days 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Reconciliation The sacrament of reconciliation is available by appointment. Please call the Parish Office. 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. Baptism for Infants Infant baptism is celebrated on the first Sunday of the month. For more information, please contact Mark Donohoe in the Parish Office. 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 oofice. 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), Maria Roche (maria.roche15@gmail.com), Letitia Howland (l_howland@hotmail. com), or Erin Young (erin.t.young@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 Both the church and Parish Pastoral Center are accessible by elevator. Parking There is redued rater parking for $11.00 at the Hynes Auditorium Garage located on Dalton Street on Sundays until 3:00 p.m. and every evening after 4:00 p.m. Please be sure to ask one of our greeters for a parking validation ticket before leaving the church. There is also reduced-rate parking on Sundays only at the Prudential Center South Garage (enter at Huntington Avenue or Dalton Street); up to 4 hours: $14.00, up to 5 hours: $ 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 narthex.. No matter what your background, please know that you are always welcome at Saint Cecilia. 9