St. Francis Xavier Parish The Most Holy Trinity 27 May 2018
F F. W OUR LADY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH A few months ago Pope Francis approved a new feast day, of Mary, Mother of the Church. It will henceforth be celebrated on the day after Pentecost; some of you were at this celebration this past Monday. This new feast helps us to reflect on how our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary ties in with other aspects of our Faith, in particular with our discipleship of Jesus Christ, and of the significance of the Holy Trinity, Whose feast we celebrate this weekend. The Blessed Virgin Mother has been described as the daughter of God the Father, the Mother of God the Son, and the Spouse of God the Holy Spirit. She lived in constant communion with this loving relationship that is God, aware both of her origin in God and her call to respond to His grace in her life. Ss. Marcellinus & Peter; Martyrs And respond she did! And I feel that, in our devotion to her, we must never lose sight of the young woman visited by the Archangel Gabriel so long ago: a young woman with dreams for her own future, with the cares and concerns that every human life has. Before all this, though, she freely chose to place her faithfulness to God, and it is because of this that we call her the Mother of the Church. Each of us is called to see the Blessed Virgin Mary both as an intercessor one who prays for us and as a model an example for us as we live our own lives as disciples. Mary was in as much need of God s grace as any of us; it was her response to this grace that makes her such a great saint. To call Mary the Mother of the Church is to acknowledge both her motherly love for us as followers of her Son, as well as how she is the exemplar for the lives we are called to live since we are, like her, followers of Jesus Christ. Mary points us to Christ: her entire life was centered on hospital, and nursing facilities; and for all the souls in Him, and any true devotion to her always leads us closer to Him. In a very real sense, Mary shows us what the Church and each of us as members of it is called to be: with a constant openness to the will of God; prompt to respond to His will; aware of our dependence on His grace. She is the prototype of all believers; how she lived is how we ought to live; where she is now is where we hope to one day be. As this month of May draws to a close, may we renew our CONFESSIONS devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model as disciples and our advocate before God s throne in Monday: 5:30 to 6:30pm Heaven. I encourage everyone to continue to pray the Saturday: 9:30 to 10:30am Rosary and other Marian prayers, and to live our lives as Saturday: 3:00 to 3:45pm disciples with her example ever before us.
PARISH INFORMATION HELPFUL CONTACTS PARISH OFFICE HOURS Mon-Fri: 9:30am 4:00pm Please make an appointment to meet with Father Williams to schedule a Baptism or Wedding. Religious Education: 508-998-7445 School: 508-995-4313 School Fax: 508-995-0456 ACCESSIBILITY Open for Prayer Every Day Wheelchair Lift Cry-room Fr. Riley J. Williams, Administrator [rjw@sfxparish.com] Deacon David Pepin [dbp@sfxparish.com] Mr. Steven Guillotte, Director of Pastoral Services [sng@sfxparish.com] Mrs. Michelle Russo, Principal [mrusso@sfxacushnet.com] Mrs. Anabela Shaughnessy, Asst. Principal [ashaughnessy@sfxacushnet.com] Mrs. Janine Hammarquist, Rel. Ed. Coordinator [jlh@sfxparish.com] HOLY MASS Monday-Sat 9:00am Third Thursday (Latin/Extraordinary Form) 5:30pm First Friday 9:00am & 6:00pm Saturday Vigil 4:00pm Sunday 8:00am & 10:30am CONFESSIONS Monday 5:30-6:30pm Saturday 9:30-10:00am Saturday 3:00-3:45pm First Fridays 6:45-7:15pm Any Time by Appointment ADORATION Mon - Friday 9:30am-9:00pm Saturday 9:30am-2:45pm VESPERS Monday: Vespers with Benediction Tuesday: Vespers Wednesday: Vespers with Benediction (Vespers begins at 6:30 pm) O C follow swiftly upon that of the Holy Trinity; and that as
C C U: U S S C Baptism of the Eunuch Rembrandt (1626) Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. (Mt 28:19-20) SFX P C
SFX P L Blessed Memorial Day! Remember the Fallen - in Prayer T P: First Friday Masses Catholic Charities Sharing Faith and Hope Please give between May 1st and June 27th Thank You! June 1 st 9 am & 6 pm C C P: O S. V P S: M D: R W M 27, 2018
IDEAS FOR PRAYER BY DOM HUBERT VAN ZELLER O H: PL B C: P R: F P C: Upcoming Events MAY ROSARY: We continue our parish tradition of evening Rosary in May. The last evening will be this Thursday, 31, May at 6:00 pm. PARISH PICNIC - Save the Date! Our 2018 Parish Picnic will be held on Sunday, 5 August at Cathedral Camp in East Freetown. Please mark you calendars for this excellent event of music, food, fun, and fellowship. Hope to see all seasoned and new parishioners there! CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION: As a parish we will once again process with the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate on the Feast of Corpus Christi in Downtown, New Bedford. Please keep 2:00 to 4:00 pm open on Sunday, 3 June. This is a big part of our charism as a Eucharistic parish, so please join us! Call Steve at the parish office with any questions. PANCAKE BREAKFAST: Parishioners and school families are invited to a special breakfast presented by our own parish Men of St. Joseph as a send-off to before she departs to religious postulancy this August. This is the last parish-wide event to be held in Haley s honor. Those attending are invited to bring cards for Haley with financial donations that will assist her as she gives up her employ to serve the Lord. The breakfast will be held on Sunday, 15 July from 9 am to 12:30 pm at the parish school so as to be able to serve both the 8 am and 10:30 am church goers. (The 4:00 pm Saturday attendees are also welcome to join us)! Tickets for the breakfast will be sold beginning this weekend after all the Masses. The ticket price is $7 per person/$25 for a family of 4 or more. All ticket proceeds go to our parish Seminarian/Vocations Fund.