I hope everyone had a very enjoyable St. Patrick’s Day. To assist with house cleaning after the celebrations honoring the Patron Saint of Ireland, our Youth Ministry is holding a Bottle and Can Drive this Wednesday March 22nd from 9:30-10:00am and from 5-5:30pm in the usual location. The proceeds from this will go to support our upcoming Appalachian Service Project Trip.
Two important Solemnities are occurring this week. Monday we shall celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, the Patron of the Universal Church. His Feast Day is actually March 19th, but since this falls on a Sunday of Lent, we’ll get to honor St. Joseph this Monday the 20th. Because in St. Agatha’s history many Sisters of St. Joseph served both our parish and our school, it is good for us to remember them in our prayers on the Feast of St. Joseph. The other great solemnity that we’ll celebrate will be on Saturday March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel declared to Mary that Almighty God was asking her to become the mother of His Son, and, thanks be to Mary, for saying, “Yes”! Why celebrate the Annunciation in March, during Lent? The answer is simple biology. March 25th is 9 months before December 25th which of course is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. The usual length of time that a mother is pregnant with her child is, you guessed it, 9 months. So the Annunciation of Mary could also be called the Conception of Jesus. I always enjoy having a brief break from Lent in celebrating these 2 wonderful solemnities in the Church Calendar. After acknowledging our debt of gratitude to Mary this coming Saturday, there will be a 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Fundraiser, the proceeds of which will help defray expenses for the upcoming ASP trip of our Youth Ministry Program.
View the videos below then check out Kathleen's videos of our Centennial Mass and Feast on our Centennial Page HERE
Cardinal O'Malley requested each parish in the archdiocese to distribute information on two deeply troubling bills coming before the Massachusetts State Legislature. For information please click the image below.
O Heavenly Father, who raised Agatha to the dignity of Sainthood,
we implore Your Divine Majesty by her intercession to give us health
of mind, body and soul. Free us from all those things which hold us
bound to this earth, and let our spirit, like hers, rise to your heavenly courts. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, forever. Amen.
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.)