St. Agatha Parish 

 A sincere thank you to those of you who donate to our parish through online giving and to those of you who have been so thoughtful and generous in dropping off your weekly collection envelopes at our rectory.  Certainly many of our parish activities have been suspended or postponed given the government’s and Archdiocese’s directives to avoid group gatherings and to maintain “social distance.”  But know that our parish still has expenses needing to be met.  In particular, our employees need to be compensated, our utility bills need to be paid, my brother priests and I need to be fed (even during Lent!), and our weekly offertory provides the income needed for us to pay our bills.  You will find here a link to a letter written yesterday (March 20^th) by Cardinal O’Malley in which he encourages parishioners to continue to support their local parish.  I am very grateful for the generosity that you have shown our parish in the 3 ½ years I have been your pastor, for example, going back to your enabling us to install new boilers in our church after some of the former ones gave up the ghost in early December 2016, and in your support of our recent 2019 Grand Annual Collection.  I know that many of you may be laid off from your employment at this time, and others might be feeling the effects of the Stock Market plunge, but I respectfully request those of you who are able to continue supporting the financial needs of our parish during this unsettling period affecting us all.  Again, know that even though we do not have public Masses or other opportunities together, we priests and all our parish staff members are remembering you and your loved ones in our prayers.  I am so very grateful for your support and am honored to be your pastor.

Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. William Palardy

Fr. Jay Makos has a special invitation to those in Recovery. For further information, please contact jmakos@stagathaparish.org

www.gethelpgivehelp.info (for those who know people struggling with addition or are in recovery.

www.intherooms.com is a website and app that enables people in need of a virtual 12-step meeting to gain quick and confidential access to the support of others dealing with a similar addiction. This can be particularly helpful to those unable to leave their premises to gather for local, in-person meetings. 

My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. ... I adore Thee in the Sacrament of Thy love, the ineffable Eucharist.



 

Pope Francis’s Prayer to Mary during Coronavirus Pandemic

O Mary, you always shine on our path as a sign of salvation and of hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm.

You, Salvation of Your People, know what we need, and we are sure you will provide so that, as in Cana of Galilee, we may return to joy and to feasting after this time of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform to the will of the Father and to do as we are told by Jesus, who has taken upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows to lead us, through the cross, to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

(Adapted from Vatican News.)

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday of Holy Week, we will be livestreaming Morning Prayer each day at 9:00AM. You may download a Liturgy aid so that you may follow along at home.

Click on each link to open the Liturday aid

Holy Thursday Morning Prayer
Good Friday Morning Prayer
Holy Saturday Morning Prayer

Our priests and pastoral staff are here for you.  Please note our Parish Schedule during these times of isolation.  Presently, we are live streaming on Vimeo and Facebook:

• Daily Mass M- S at 9:00 AM and
• Sunday Mass at 11:00 AM 

On Wednesday, April 1st  Fr. Jay and Lisa Gulino will be live, 12:00 noon, in conversation about the importance of "virtual" spirituality and will give some ideas as to ways to continue to deepen our spirituality.

Wednesday, April 1st  there will be a virtual Holy Hour @ 12:30 PM.

On Thursday, at 10 AM, Lisa Gulino will interview Fr. Jay about the important work he is doing online for those in Recovery.

On Fridays from 10 AM until 11:00 AM Lisa Gulino wlll host a Zoom Bereavement Group. If you have lost someone over the last few years and would like to work through your grief, please join. All are welcome--if you have been in one of our Bereavement Groups prior--please feel free to join in. Email Lisa at lgulinostagathaparish@gmail.com and she will send you the ZOOM invite.  

On Friday, 3:00 PM there will be a "Watch Party" on the Stations of the Cross

Sunday--Palm Sunday Mass--11:00 AM

Monday, April 6th, after the 9:00 AM Mass, Lisa Gulino will interview Fr. Palardy about the rich meanings of Holy Week.

Also on Monday at 7 PM Helen Waring, Youth Ministry will do a virtual Pizza and Prayer. Please email Helen at hbornhorst@stagathaparish.org to learn how to connect. 

In accordance with Gov. Baker's stay at home rule, St Agatha Church, Chapel and Parish Offices will be closed until further notice.  

If an emergency exists, please call the Rectory, and one of the priests will make appropriate arrangements.  Please read below concerning Pope Francis' gift of special Indulgence.

Our priests will be celebrating Mass daily in our Chapel and it will be posted here and on Facebook.  

Under the serious circumstances, it is important for you to know that the Church and her ministers are still indeed present for you. Please reach out to us by email and we will be very pleased to phone you back. 

Fr. William Palardy, Pastor:    pastor@stagathaparish.org
Fr. Jay Makos, Parochial Vicar:   jmakos@stagathaparish.org
Priests can be reached by the Rectory Phone number

Dr. Lisa M. Gulino,  Pastoral Associate:  lgulinostagathaparish@gmail.com at 774 766 7465. 

Please see Staff Directory under "About Us" for contact information for other staff members.

We, the entire staff, pray for you and your loved ones during this serious time in which we must all stay put to do our part in protecting the most vulnerable among us.  

 

Because of these difficult times, Pope Francis has offered "The gift of special Indulgences is granted to the faithful suffering from COVID-19 disease as well as to health care workers, family members and all those who in any capacity, including through prayer, care for them.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Rom 12: 12). The words written by Saint Paul to the Church of Rome resonate throughout the entire history of the Church and guide the judgment of the faithful in the face of all suffering, sickness and calamity.

The present moment in which the whole of humanity, threatened by an invisible and insidious disease, which for some time now has become part of all our lives, is marked day after day by anguished fears, new uncertainties and above all widespread physical and moral suffering.

The Church, following the example of her Divine Master, has always had the care of the sick at heart. As Saint John Paul II points out, the value of human suffering is twofold: “It is supernatural because it is rooted in the divine mystery of the Redemption of the world, and it is likewise deeply human, because in it the person discovers himself, his own humanity, his own dignity, his own mission” (Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris, 31)."

How to receive the Plenary Indulgence:

• with a spirit detached from any sin,
• they unite spiritually through the media to the celebration of Holy Mass,
• Reading of Sacred Scripture for at least a  half hour
• the recitation of the Holy Rosary,
• the Chaplet of Divine Mercy,
• to the pious practice of the Way of the Cross or
• other forms of devotion, or
• if at least they will recite the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and a pious invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary,
• offering this trial in a spirit of faith in God and charity towards their brothers and sisters, with the will to fulfil the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the Holy Father's intentions), as soon as possible.

Health care workers, family members and all those who, following the example of the Good Samaritan, exposing themselves to the risk of contagion, care for the sick of Coronavirus according to the words of the divine Redeemer: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15: 13), will obtain the same gift of the Plenary Indulgence under the same conditions.  See Decree https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2020/03/20/200320c.html

* What is a Plenary Indulgence:
"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1471)