SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT CHURCH A Catholic Community of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter March 7 th, 2016 Dear Members and Friends of Saint Gregory the Great, As we come to the Pasch, the holiest season of the Christian year, there is much happening in our community s life: ç HOLY WEEK First, and most important, are the liturgies of Holy Week. A full schedule is attached to this letter please note all these services in your calendar. There is no more profound spiritual experience than entering the fullness of these liturgies, the oldest in the Church. The Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (otherwise Low Sunday) I will be away and Father Bradford will celebrate Mass for us. This will be the last time he will do so; after more than a year he is finding the additional stress on his own Sunday schedule too much, which is entirely understandable. His pastoral care towards our community at considerable personal cost has made the past year very di^erent for us than it would likely have been otherwise. Although he will not be able to linger after Mass, please do show him our gratitude and keep him, and his flock, in your prayers. Beginning April 10 th, the Third Sunday of Easter, a number of important changes: ç NEW ORGANIST On April 3 rd we will say farewell to our organist Jim Reedy. When Jim joined us, the plan was for him to fill in for a few weeks; now we have blessed by his presence among us for almost a year. We hope we will remain a friend of our community and that we may expect to see and hear! him from time to time. Please do let him know how much his music and presence among us has beautified our worship. The following week, April 10 th, we will welcome Michael Zadig as our new organist. Michael is a long-time personal friend and an excellent church musician. At Saint Patrick s Parish f Nine Pomeworth Street f Stoneham Massachusetts 02180
Page 2 of 3 ç NEW MASS TIME Of special note: please mark your calendars! We will be moving our Sunday morning Mass to 11:15 on April 10 th. You will remember we had moved our Mass time to 9:00 to accommodate Father Bradford and Jim Reedy, who needed to leave in time for Saint Athanasius Mass; this change is primarily to accommodate Michael Zadig s Sunday schedule, although we hope the later time will also be better for some of our folk; and we will see if it helps draw new worshipers. ç ANNUAL PARISH RETREAT Our second annual parish retreat, devoted to planning our community s future, will take place the weekend of June 4 6 at the Benedictine Abbey in Spencer Massachusetts. Further details and registration materials will be provided after Easter but please reserve the dates now! ç BISHOP S ANNUAL APPEAL I am attaching a letter from Bishop Lopes which invites all members of the Ordinariate to give generously to an annual appeal; I encourage you to consider the Bishop s words and hope our parish will make a good showing, thereby encouraging Bishop Lopes and helping provide the financial resources necessary for his ambitious and visionary leadership. I will be appointing a chair to coordinate this appeal; further materials, including pledge cards, will be forthcoming. ç MASS AT GORDON COLLEGE Our parish outreach at Gordon College continues; our next Mass will be celebrated on Monday March 14 th at 7:30 PM at Gordon s Tavilla Hall in Wenham; the location is number 3 on the main campus map here. Please do join me and a growing number of our parishioners in supporting Gordon s Catholic students. ç LENTEN SATURDAY MORNING PRAYER Saturdays during Lent (including Holy Saturday) This is again proving a great success. Morning Prayer, one of the great jewels of the Anglican Patrimony, consists of Psalms, Readings, and Canticles; it is almost entirely Scriptural and non-eucharistic, so it is a wonderful vehicle for worshiping with non-catholics bring your Episcopal and Anglican friends, or those Evangelicals who have not yet been exposed to liturgical worship! Co^ee, doughnuts and fellowship follow. If there is su~cient interest we may continue through Eastertide. Saint Patrick s lower church; 10 10:30 am.
Page 3 of 3 ç BIBLE STUDY FELLOWSHIP Since September a group of about a dozen people has been gathering at the McDermott s home in Groveland under the leadership of John Covert and Corrine Paige for study and fellowship. The current series, which is examining di^erent liturgical issues with John and studying the Servant Songs in Isaiah with Corrine, will run through March 18 th. The sessions are on Friday, beginning at 7 and ending at 8:30; full details can be found on our website s calendar page. As you can see, there is much happening in our communal life; may our Blessed Lady and Saint Gregory continue to pray for us as we move forward together. Please make a special note that Saint Gregory s Easter Mass will be the Great Vigil; we will not have a Mass on Easter Sunday. I will be celebrating a Novus Ordo Mass at 10 o clock on Easter morning for Saint Patrick s in Our Lady of Providence Hall if any of you are unable to join us for the Great Vigil. May our Risen Lord bless us and prosper us, JWVL/kmd encl: Holy Week Schedule Letter from Bishop Lopes Jürgen Liias
SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT CHURCH A Catholic Community of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter SCHEDULE FOR PASSION-TIDE AND HOLY WEEK 2016 ç PASSION SUNDAY Sunday March 13 th Mass, 9 am lower church with the Great Litany in Procession ç PALM SUNDAY Sunday March 20 th Mass, 9 am lower church with Liturgy of the Palms, Procession, and Reading of the Passion ç CHRISM MASS (ARCHDIOCESAN) Tuesday March 22 nd 11 am Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston all clergy gather to renew their Ordination vows. Father Liias will also attend and encourages St. Gregory s members to experience this powerful liturgy, which includes the Blessing of Oils. Cardinal O Malley will o~ciate and preach. ç SERVICE OF TENEBRÆ Wednesday March 23 rd 7:30 pm upper church candlelight service of chanted psalms and lections ç THE TRIDUUM MAUNDY THURSDAY Thursday March 24 th 7:30 pm lower church Mass of the Lord s Supper, Footwashing, Procession to the Altar of Repose, and Stripping of the Altar ç THE TRIDUUM GOOD FRIDAY Friday March 25 th 7:30 pm lower church liturgy of the Veneration of the Cross and Mass of the Presanctified ç THE TRIDUUM HOLY SATURDAY Saturday March 26 th 8:00 pm lower church the Great Vigil of Easter, with the Blessing of the New Fire, Exsultet, Nine Lessons and Psalms, Litany of the Saints, Blessing of the Font and Water, Renewal of Baptismal Promises, and Mass of the Resurrection. Bring a bell to ring at the Gloria! You are invited to an Easter party at Father Liias home afterwards; please bring a food to share; beverages will be provided: 208 Melrose Street, Melrose [PLEASE NOTE: Saint Gregory will NOT have a Mass on Easter Sunday. Father Liias will be celebrating a Novus Ordo Mass at Saint Patrick s, which will be in Our Lady of Providence Hall at 10 o clock AM] At Saint Patrick s Parish f Nine Pomeworth Street f Stoneham Massachusetts 02180
Great are the works of the Lord Psalm 111 The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter Office of the Bishop Feb. 19, 2016 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Magna Opera Domini! Great are the works of the Lord! I chose as my motto these words, taken from Psalm 111: I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who take pleasure in them. As I reflect on the witness of faith and the vitality that each of you brings to the Church, I am in awe of the remarkable work of communion now manifest in the Ordinariate. It is the Lord who has accomplished this great work in us, and great are the works of the Lord! We are entering a new stage in the life of the Ordinariate, and there is a bright future ahead of us. Here in the Chancery, miles away from most of you, we are working to provide the much-needed pastoral and administrative support to grow your parishes and communities. We are wide-spread, but we share in one mission: to show the world that Christian discipleship is indeed joyful and that the communion of the Church is worth committing our lives to! This Lent, I am establishing an annual appeal to support this mission of evangelization. The Bishop s Appeal will contribute to a number of essential Chancery-based services to meet the escalating needs of our rapidly expanding Ordinariate, including: Formation opportunities for your pastors and deacons; Tuition expenses for our current and future seminarians; Communications outreach to our members through traditional and new media; My transportation to visit the parishes and people of the Ordinariate; Administrative support for my full-time ministry; And so much more! Please join me and your pastors in giving to this mission-critical campaign. Your support for the Bishop s Appeal will help us move forward in building up the Ordinariate and bringing the gifts we have been given to full flower. Thank you for your generous, sacrificial commitment to our shared service to our Lord. Avanti! Go forward in the confidence that great are the works of the Lord! With prayerful best wishes, I remain Your faithful Shepherd, Most Rev. Steven J. Lopes Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter The Bishop s Appeal Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter P.O. Box 55206, Houston TX 77255 346.247.2208