Saint Cecilia. Fifth Sunday of Easter. 6 May Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom by Vincent van Gogh, 1890

Transcription

1 Saint Cecilia P A R I S H Fifth Sunday of Easter 6 May 2012 Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom by Vincent van Gogh, 1890

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3 our community news Ministers of the Liturgy Saturday 5:00 p.m. Rev. Peter Grover, OMV, celebrant Laura Tomczik, lector Sunday 8:00 a.m. Rev. George Winchester, SJ, celebrant Bob Mann, lector Sunday 9:30 a.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Pearse Martin, Mary Kane, & Catherine Horsley, lectors special intention Sunday, May 6 9:30 a.m. Emilia Marie Landry, Memorial Sunday, May 6 11:15 a.m. Arthur Joseph O Keefe, Twenty-eighth Anniversary Sunday, May 6 6:00 p.m. Isabelle Plante, Seventh Anniversary Sunday 11:15 a.m. Rev. Arthur Calter, celebrant Rev. John Unni, concelebrant Letitia Howland, Zachary Fehst, & Christopher Loh, lectors Sunday 6:00 p.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Ed Preuss & Monica Lundberg, lectors today s readings Acts 9:26 31 I John 3:18 24 John 15:1 8 next sunday s Readings Acts 10:25 26, 34 35, I John 4:7 10 John 15:9-17 Today s flowers The flowers in front of the altar are given to the Greater Glory of God and in loving memory of Jane C. Brown Costigan on the twenty fourth anniversary of her death by her son, Mark Stephen Brown. 3

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, 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, Susan Shea, Bill Croke, Ettore Bergamaschi, Ryan Delaney, Anita Cipriani, Cecile Finnerty, Manuela Almeida, Ilda Almeida, Joe Farrell, Ethan D Amato, Sophie Gagnon, Earl Meyers, Kathleen A. Meehan, James Ditomassi, and Anne Frenette Handly. For Students Pray for all students as they enter into final exams: that God will give them strength and clarity of mind to manifest all that they have learned this year. The Month of May The Church in the west has long dedicated the month of May in a special way to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Consider some ways you might honor Mary this month. Last Six O clock Mass Today is the last six o clock Mass until September. Since it is also the first Sunday of the month, we will be serving bolitos following the liturgy. All are welcome. Baptisms At this morning s nine thirty liturgy, we baptize Margaret Barbara, daughter of Adam and Andrea Martin and Sofia Judith, daughter of Rob and Erika Wilson. At eleven-fifteen, we baptize Naomi Elise Sia, daughter of Marty and Laurie Guinoo and Claire Irene, daughter of Nathan and Diana Ostberg. The Christian community welcomes you with great joy, Margaret, Sofia, Naomi, and Claire. 4

5 Congratulations to the Class of 2012! Congratulations to the following members of our community who are graduating this month. Frank Ackley will be awarded the doctor of pharmacy degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on May 11. Alana Altmann was awarded the bachelor of science degree in economics from Northeastern University on May 4. Joe Aquilante will be awarded the doctor of pharmacy degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on May 11. Claire Dubuque will graduate from Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart on June 7. Keith Hall was awarded the bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University on May 4. Jennifer Kulakowski was awarded the bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University on May 4. Lauren Landry will be awarded the master of music degree from New England Conservatory on May 20. Christopher Moriarty will be awarded the doctor of dental medicine degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine on May 20. Emily Pakula will be awarded the doctor of dental medicine degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine on May 20. Michael Rambo will be awarded a bachelor s degree from Suffolk University on May 20. Joyce Kristin Salomon was awarded the bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering from Northeastern University on May 4. Davide Ventura will be awarded the doctor of pharmacy degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on May 11. Jason Villarreal will be awarded the master of science in nursing degree from the School of Nursing at the MGH Institute of Health Professions on May 10. Alex Wilkocki will be awarded the doctor of pharmacy degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on May 11. We want to acknowledge and celebrate all our graduates this spring. Please the names of parishioners who are graduating from high school or college to Scott MacDonald at smacdonald@stceciliaboston.org. Please place the word graduate in the subject line. Feel free to include the name of the school and the degree awarded. We are also happy to announce student recitals. 5

6 please donate your spare change to our YNIA During the next couple of months, there will be a water jug in the narthex in which you can donate your spare change to our Young Neighbors in Action participants. High school members of our community will be heading to Washington, D.C. in July for a week of service and learning about Catholic Social Teaching and your contributions will help defray the cost of this trip. If you bring in a container of change and would rather not transfer it into the water jug, please just give it to one of our greeters or a staff person. In prior years, we have been able to raise $1,500 just by donations of change. This is a good cause and we thank you in advance! voices & Visions 2012 The Home for Little Wanderers is a nationally renowned, private, non-profit child and family service agency. It has been part of the Massachusetts landscape for over 200 years, making it the oldest agency of its kind in the nation and one of the largest in New England. The Home s annual signature fundraising event, Voices & Visions 2012, will be held on Wednesday evening, May 23 at seven o clock at the Seaport World Trade Center. This event is the culmination of a year-long arts project throughout their many programs. The theme of this year s art is Heroes. The gala includes a cocktail reception, silent auction, and dinner and tickets are $500. Parishioners active at The Home are looking to put together a table of ten for the event. If interested, please contact Molly Diggins, table captain, at mmdiggins@me.com or Jamille Benson at jbenson@ thehome.org. Rachmaninoff A Mystical Journey into the Russian Soul Coro Allegro, Boston s GLBT classical music chorus, is performing Rachmaninov s setting of the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom on Saturday evening, May 19 at eight o clock at the Church of the Covenant (on the corner of Berkeley and Newbury streets). One of Rachmaninoff s major compositions, Saint John Chrysostom is a setting of the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church, featuring rich, chant-like, unaccompanied singing. The work premiered November 25, 1910 in Moscow. Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical authorities strongly objected to the work s spirit of modernism and refused to sanction it for use during church services. Rachmaninoff did nothing to promote the work himself, and it soon fell into obscurity. The program will be sung in Old Church Slavonic, the language still used during the Divine Liturgy in Slavic Orthodox countries. This prayer is profound, a bridge between the timeless, ancient chants of the Divine Liturgy, with elements of Rachmaninov s twentieth century brought in (to the chagrin of the authorities!). Our friend and nine-thirty choir member, Jason Villarreal, has been selected to sing all the bass solos, the prayers chanted by the deacon in the Orthodox Liturgy. This is Jason s concert solo debut. Tickets are $18/$28/$38, with a $5 discount for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased on the Coro Allegro website ( or by contacting Jason at irish03jgv@gmail.com. 6

7 Done time? Please join us for our Monday Night Gatherings. Men and women who have been incarcerated are invited to join this group which is designed to provide participants with a sense of welcome and support. The meetings are held from six to eight o clock (entrance on Saint Cecilia Street) and begin with a group that provides an opportunity for individuals to talk about their personal experiences, insights and issues in a safe environment. A simple meal is shared after the group. It s fine to just come but if you would like additional information (or if you are interested in helping to host this group) please contact Peg Newman (peg_newman@msn.com; ) or Tom Ash (whatevertp@gmail.com; ). mother s day card sales On Mother s Day, honor a woman you love with a gift to women in need. Parishioners will be selling Mother s Day cards to benefit the Women s Lunch Place after Masses between now and Mother s Day. There is a $25.00 donation for each card and the proceeds enable the Women s Lunch Place (WLP) to provide a safe, comfortable daytime shelter, nutritious food, and services for women who are homeless or poor. The WLP welcomes guests into a loving community each day and joyfully celebrates Mother s Day with a delectable meal, live entertainment, and personal gifts. These women are mothers, daughters, and sisters. If you are interested in helping sell cards at church, to your friends or where you work, please contact Mark Lippolt at mlippolt@hammondre.com. farewell concert KATHERINE DULWEBER IN CONCERT SAINT CECILIA THURSDAY, MAY 10, 6:00 PM Mezzo-soprano Katherine Dulweber, who sings with our Parish Choir, will be presenting her Masters Degree Recital for Boston University. Katherine has accepted a position in Greensboro South Carolina, and we will miss her terribly! Please come show your support and listen to her glorious voice! She will be performing works by Handel, Schumann, Ballif, Britten, Donizetti, and Granados. She will also be performing the world premiere of Richard J. Clark s setting of Psalm 139, You Have Searched Me, Lord. Admission is free. (Continued from page 9) commenters were able to see within the souls of the unfaithful ones.) It s easy to get discouraged about the state of discourse in the church today, especially on the web. (Ironically, I had written about that precise topic the week before, listing the five most common angry responses from Catholic bloggers and comments.) But I have to admit something: even I was taken aback when gratitude was seen as out of bounds, when praise was mistaken for dissent, and when an occasion to support elderly sisters was used as an opportunity to mock women who had given their lives to God. To sum up then, let me say something to the sisters who have meant so much to me, who have given their lives to the church and who have always inspired me. #Thank you. 7

8 By JAMES MARTIN, SJ Last week, on the day when the Vatican released the results of its investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents 80 percent of women s religious orders in this country, I received s from several Catholic sisters. All described themselves as saddened, stunned or demoralized by the Vatican document, which severely criticized the LWCR in a number of areas. SAINT CECILIA PARISH what sisters mean to me Catholic sisters are my heroes. They have been my teachers, spiritual directors, mentors, bosses and friends. I can barely begin to describe the admiration I have for these women, many of them now in their 70s and 80s, and for what that they have done for God, for the church, for what Catholics call the people of God, and for me. When I was a young Jesuit working in Nairobi, Kenya, for example, two elderly Maryknoll sisters patiently listened to my worries about living in the developing world, shared some of their own experiences of years in ministry in remote villages, and encouraged me to push on, as they say in East Africa. When my father was dying of cancer ten years ago, one Religious of Jesus and Mary sister took a four-hour train ride to visit him in the hospital for an hour, stayed overnight at a nearby convent, and the next morning took the train home, for another four-hour journey. When I thanked her, she thanked me for the honor of letting her Father James Martin, SJ, and Sister Mary Johnson, SND, speakers at the Diocese of Springfield s Catholic Women s Conference, April come. And during a difficult spiritual crisis, one Sister of St. Joseph helped me to find God in the midst of my doubts, and was even able to get me to smile. God did all the work, she said, when I thanked her, not me. In the wake of the Vatican document, my sister friends, some nearing the end of their lives, seemed to need a word of gratitude. The very least I could do was to show some support in a small way on Twitter. (Of course I had written about my admiration for them before, but it seemed that it was a particularly good time for praise.) Besides, gratitude is always in season. Having tweeted for a few years now, I thought it would be a good idea to add a hashtag (#), which is a way for people to follow certain topics on Twitter. For example, everyone who tweets about, say, Pope Benedict XVI, might use #PopeBenedict or #Pope, so that other interested readers can follow the various tweets on the subject. So I tweeted Catholic sisters teach me what it means to persevere without the benefit of institutional power. And I added #WhatSistersMeantoMe. Framing things in that way, I thought, meant that people could show their gratitude for sisters, and read other messages of support, without being in

9 any way negative. No need to be anti-vatican or anti-bishop or anti-anything. Just pro-sister. A few people commented that the Vatican s assessment of the LCWR wasn t intended as a critique of all U.S. sisters. Which is true. The LCWR is a kind of professional organization that often issues statements on behalf of the religious orders it represents. But that observation misses the point that the LCWR assessment came on the heels of a lengthy Vatican investigation of all women s religious orders in this country-an Apostolic Visitation, to use the official term, investigating the sisters quality of life. In other words, it wasn t surprising that many sisters felt beleaguered and demoralized. A few hours later I tweeted a question: How have Catholic sisters helped in your life? and a little later, An Ursuline nun taught me as much about Ignatian spirituality as any Jesuit. And what a great director! Soon I started to notice others weighing in, and some of the answers, many of them quite personal, brought a lump to my Poor Clares loved my family through my brother s cancer and death; we wouldn t have made it without The sisters taught me to accept nothing less than the best of myself, and gave me support when I felt I was When we could no longer afford it, a Sister of St. Joseph gave me piano lessons for My spiritual director is a Mercy Sister. Her care for me and my vocation to serve the Church has been Daughters of Charity cared for my Granny as a child after her mother died. They were my Sr. Peg Dolan, RSHM (dec) at LMU was a saint on earth! Touched countless lives. A true gift from She helped me get through middle school when other students made fun of my deaf accent. Within a day, Huffington Post had noticed the tweets and said that they were going to run a little story about my campaign. It wasn t meant to be a campaign, I told them gently, but just a way of supporting the sisters. So I asked them to change campaign to the more neutral drive or initiative. Which they did. Still, the word campaign was used in some other media outlets, and though I didn t like the word, it was a small price to pay for the possibility of expressing gratitude for the contributions that sisters had made in individual lives. Over the next few days, many sisters wrote (or tweeted!) and said how moved they were after reading the tweets. The Huffpo piece also meant that the hashtag went viral. Many now weighed in, sharing their stories and comments. Hooray for social media, I thought: I had found a way for people to be positive without being critical. If you re thinking, This is the web. I ll bet things get ugly, you re right. One morning I noticed that other voices--vindictive, cruel, mocking--suddenly started appearing on under #WhatSistersMeantoMe, egged on by Catholics who were themselves delighted to crackdown on the LCWR and slam those sisters they had decided weren t real These sisters need to pull the habits and veils out of the trash and get to LCWR: Looters in the burned out City of The sisters have been very radical and very uncatholic. They need their house cleaned up. And so on. I ll leave the rest to your imagination. For good measure, they started to attack me, too. Why not, right? It s easy to trash people anonymously. Soon the hashtag meant for personal expressions of gratitude to individual sisters was flooded with snotty comments about who were faithful sisters were and who were not. (Apparently the (Article continues in right column of page 7) 9

10 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, Mark Donohoe, Pastoral Associate for Administration, Scott J. MacDonald, Director of Faith Formation and Leadership Development, Richard J. Clark, Director of Music and Organist, Maureen Sullivan, Administrative Assistant to the Pastor, Genevieve Fiorente, Office Administrative Assistant Assisting Clergy Rev. Thomas Gariepy, CSC Rev. Peter Grover, OMV Rev. James Shaughnessy, SJ Rev. George Winchester, SJ Schedule for Liturgy Wednesdays During Lent 6:00 p.m. 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 Mark Donohoe. 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. 10