There are two added Masses for Easter Sunday. Reminder, no 4:30 Mass on Saturday and no 5 pm Mass on Sunday.
The Great Easter Vigil – 8pm at St. Joseph Church
Easter Sunday Mass – 7:30am at St. Joseph Church
Easter Sunday Mass – 9:30 am at St. Joseph Church
Easter Sunday Mass – 9:30 am at St. Pius X Church (also live streamed)
Easter Sunday Mass – 11am at St. Pius X Church (also live streamed)
We offer these Prayers of the Faithful from the 5th Sunday of Lent (March 25-26, 2023) with the fervent hope that they are helpful to you in your own reflections and prayers this week.
God, through Jesus, you brought Lazarus back from the dead. But Lazarus would die again. In Jesus, you promise us more. Not a reprieve from death but the end of death in eternal life. Take away our fear of death. Let us know the strength of your love and give us the faith to trust you. We pray:
That our faith may be a practical faith, deeply connected to the struggles and fears we experience, a faith that gives us a real hope, we pray to the Lord.
Jesus says we are meant to be his body in the world, his hands and feet and heart. Help us as individuals and as a parish and church to carry God’s love, forgiveness and tender care to all, and especially to comfort the dying, we pray to the Lord.
Jesus did not unbind Lazarus. He told the others there to free Lazarus from the burial cloths. Death comes in many forms. Help us to see where Jesus is inviting us to free people from fears they carry, from the pain done to them by other people or institutions, wounds that can paralyze and kill the spirit. We pray to the Lord.
For Michael, Tyler, Matthew and Jon preparing for the rebirth of Baptism, for Owen preparing for Confirmation and for our young people who will be confirmed and receive Eucharist at Pentecost. May the love of God take root in them through these sacraments, drive out all that limits them or causes them to doubt their own belovedness. May we continue to support them in their journey with Jesus, We pray to the Lord.
The United Nations experts tell us that our planet is in serious danger. Free us from the evil spirit which says,” there is nothing really you can do”. Let us find ways in which we can all make a difference and together, and put pressure on the powers and authorities, companies and governments that can make change happen. We pray to the Lord.
We commend to you our loved ones who have died. You promise not just a short reprieve from death but a life beyond death. At this liturgy we especially remember:
4:30 PM Kerry Festus Joyce
7:30 AM Donald Ingalls
9:30 AM William & Michael Jennings
5:00 PM The People of the Parish both Living & Deceased
We pray to the Lord
God of life and love. Many years ago a great preacher said: “the priority of the Church today is not liturgy…the priority of the Church today is not structure. The top priority for many in the Church is to decide where they really stand.” Help us to stand firmly with you, against all the forces of death and evil, strengthened in our belief and experience that goodness is stronger than evil and life is stronger than death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
On Thursday, April 27th at 7 pm, we’ll gather in the Parish Hall to watch The Letter. After, we’ll enjoy refreshments and talk it over.
What’s it about? It’s a documentary – a reflection and story about frontline leaders traveling to Rome to talk with the Pope about his encyclical on the environment – and the environmental crisis we are in. In May of 2015 – six years ago – Pope Francis issued his encyclical letter, Laudato Si’. He opens his letter about caring for our common home by citing St. Francis of Assisi, whose name he took when he became pope.
“I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians. He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace,” Pope Francis writes.
You can read Laudato Si’ through this link.
See you in April, we hope!
We share these Prayers of the Faithful from the 4th Sunday in Lent ( March 18-19,2023) with the fervent hope that they are helpful to you in your reflections this week.
Our world is a world of light and darkness, clarity of vision and blindness. Help us to know our blindness and turn toward the light. We pray:
This week our Islamic brothers and sisters celebrate the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. May this be a time of blessing for them. May Christians and Muslims grow closer in mutual knowledge and respect as we all worship the One God. We pray to the Lord.
As we celebrate St. Joseph on Monday, we pray for an end to hunger, locally and around the world. Prompt us to find a more equitable distribution of food resources. Inspire in us a stronger commitment not to waste food. We pray to the Lord.
Last week was Pope Francis’ tenth anniversary as our Pope. Bless and protect him as he seeks to lead the church under the guidance of your Holy Spirit and the vision of Vatican II. We pray that those church members and leaders who oppose him, especially here in the United States, may come to a different understanding. We pray to the Lord.
For those who have been hurt, physically, spiritually, psychologically by church officials and employees. For those who are confused and discouraged by the official Church’s response to their pain. We pray to the Lord.
For those among us who are preparing for Baptism this Easter: Tyler, Matthew, Michael; for Owen who will be confirmed and for our young people who will be confirmed and receive First Eucharist at Pentecost, for their families, sponsors and teachers, we pray to the Lord.
For all our deceased loved ones and those who have no one to remember them. At this liturgy we especially ask God’s blessing for:
4:30 PM Barbara Goodwin by Paulette Tidd
7:30 AM The People of the Parish both Living & Deceased
9:30 AM Richard M. Colucci by John & Rita Griffin
5:00 PM John Joyce by Kathleen Joyce
We pray to the Lord
We entrust these prayers and those we carry in our hearts to you, God of love and life. We also ask that like the man in today’s Gospel, our relationship with Jesus may grow. We ask these things in his name. Amen.
As Catholics, we believe that, as we pray the Eucharist prayer during Mass, Christ transforms the bread and wine into his body and blood. This transformation is permanent and cannot be undone. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ” (CCC1377).
Quoting Pope Paul VI, the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the Eucharist “the source and summit of the Christian life.” All of our parish ministries and works are oriented to the Eucharist and bound up in the Eucharist because the Eucharist contains “the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself…” (Catechism 1324). In short, not only the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ in our Eucharistic Celebration but we too, as church, become the body of Christ in the world and are sent forward from the Eucharistic celebration to carry on Jesus’ mission in the world. Therefore, regular reception of the Eucharist in Community serves to strengthen us both physically and spiritually as well as to renew our understanding of ourselves as members of the Body of Christ, the Church.
On Easter Monday, April 10, parishes in Maine will again be permitted to offer Communion under both species at weekday Masses. This permission will be extended to Sunday Masses the weekend of May 6/7. This permission to again offer the cup offers an opportunity to reflect on the Eucharist in our personal and communal spiritual lives, our practices in receiving Communion, and the opportunity to be of service in the parish as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist and other forms of service in the parish. This post is the first in a series of reflections on the importance of Eucharist in our community.
We hope that as we move to restore reception of Communion under both species following Easter this year, our sense of community, our sense of sharing a meal, and sharing in the sacrifice of Christ will all deepen. We continue to look forward to the day when all those who have been joining us by way of the livestream during this pandemic will feel (and be) safe in joining us in person.
Fr. Brian Conley, SJ