From the Pastor

Isn’t it just like the Lord to invite me to put all my dreams in His hands?
Forever releasing the grip that once held them, forever surrendering my plans.
And then when He’s certain it’s not born of men, He calls for the fire to rekindle again,
and He asks me to know in my heart what’s not seen with my eyes, so the dream never dies.

from When the Dream Never Dies, written by Stormy Omartian

This is a season of unexpected visitations, proclamations, and challenges- a time to stay awake and never take for granted the opportunities God grants us to make world more just, more loving. We’re called to arrive at our Advent journey to be better Catholics, better Christians, better people. There is still time to make this a season of change, like Scrooge, or the Grinch, if you will, to see the blessing in our midst and recommitting ourselves to live out our baptismal calling to transform ourselves, our world.
We will rediscover that fire within us to shine to others, to proclaim the coming of Christ by the words we choose, by the lives we lead. Now is the fitting time. Let’s get to it.

The Breakfast with Santa celebration at Bishop Lawton Hall at St. Francis last Sunday was a smashing success in so many ways, and I am so grateful to Sandy Taylor, Pauline O’Brien, Bunker Hill Associates, Kim & the Warren Tavern, Starbucks, City of Boston Credit Union, Muffin Town, Our DJ Smokey, the Big Guy (Santa), Donors, Volunteers & the KP staff and so many who made it all Merry and Bright! We’re hoping to build from this tremendous event to make St. Francis vibrant in every way! Look up. Look ahead.

This weekend we pull the winner of our St. Francis’ Bruins raffle, and after raising over $5000, I say a special
thank you to Maria Leahy, who was the driving force in this endeavor! Thanks to Shaun Fisher, Plumbers Union #25, Paul Dodd, and our old friend and my classmate and great friend Fr. Paul Coughlin! Coming soon there are stirrings about more hockey raffles involving signed hockey sweaters and maybe more in the spring…
stay tuned!

Thanks very much to the Carr family and Carr Funeral Home, who donated the beautiful and helpful calendars that will walk us through a very busy 2024!

On Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 6:30 pm, join us at Bishop Lawton Hall as we welcome Collette Tours (as seen on
Wheel of Fortune- they’re based right down Rte. 95 in Rhode Island) and learn all about the incredible trip to Italy we’re planning in October 2024! I’ve taken this trip two times before, and it’s a tremendous adventure!

Thanks very much to John and Lee and Shawn and everyone who helped us host the beautiful concert last Sunday at St. Mary’s by the Spectrum Singers! Though the weather outside seemed like March, the inside was happily Christmas-like! The generous donations to Harvest on Vine were appreciated and added to the joyful atmosphere!

Coming in March… two very special evenings with a dynamic actor and dedicated Catholic who will light up St. Mary’s Church with three presentations:
Monday evening, March 21: Signs! The Gospel of John and
Tuesday evening, March 22: The Sermon on the Mount and
Hollywood vs. Faith!
Take everyone to this special evening with TV and film star Frank Runyeon, and be inspired, encouraged, and spellbound! Admission is a free will offering.
Mark these dates on your shiny new calendar and join us!

And I’ll show you what it means to love like this…
to love like you don’t even care about the hurry and the hustle…
like you are unaware December comes with so much trouble.
‘Cause you believe a baby came, not in paintings or in plays,
but every minute, every hour, every day… to be real.

From Real, written by Nichole Nordeman

This second Sunday of Advent we are introduced to someone who took real to a new plane- the great John the Baptist. John challenged people then and us today to transform our lives. He dressed strangely, ate an unusual diet, but it was the truth of his words that was the point. John calls us today to conform our lives, not to the slavish desires of this world, but to the freedom of Jesus Christ. No wonder Herod was fascinated by him- the brightness of truth eventually cuts through the foolishness and clamor and darkness of this world.
During this season of waiting, may we be lights of challenge and hope to those in our midst. May we point others, by our words, by our actions, by our very lives to Jesus Christ, John’s cousin.

Light a candle for the homeless and the hungry;
a little shelter from the cold.
Light a candle for the broken and forgotten;
may the season warm their souls.
Can we open our hearts to shine through the dark?
And in this special time of year may peace on earth surround us here,
and teach us there’s a better way to live.
Oh, and with every flame that burns, we must somehow learn
that love’s the greatest gift that we could ever give.

From Light a Candle, by Avalon

About a year ago, I arrived in the Town and hit the ground running, and as we light the first Advent candle and begin a new year in the Church this weekend, it’s a great opportunity to thank the incredible staffs, councils and so many volunteers who serve our parishes with such enthusiasm and love- it’s been quite a year, but we’ve remained focused on what Christ is calling us to- I pray that this season may both comfort and challenge us- as we light our churches and our homes, that the light of Christ may warm us and ignite renewal and new hope in all of us.
A new season begins, and a light shines- follow that star.

Over the next weeks, we’re rolling out the Grand Annual in both parishes, and your help this year is timely and very, very important. After 40 years of service, the boiler has died in the offices- it’s been rather nippy at 46 Winthrop, and the work to replace it has begun. There are great signs of new life and hope at St. Francis, but still challenges hover. Your generosity will help us to take on the challenges and opens the door to new opportunities to serve.
Please give generously.

Advent Prayer and Reconciliation Service
Thursday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m. at St Francis de Sales Church

This year as part of the Advent speaker series, let’s come together as a community of faith and pray for peace. Let’s give
ourselves the gift of time to slow down and ponder the many ways in which God blesses and sustains each of us in our daily lives, and longs to grow closer to each of us with unconditional love.
At the conclusion of the Service, if you choose, you may receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation privately with a priest.
We hope you will join us for this extraordinary time of prayer.

Some days, we forget to look around us.
Some days, we can’t see the joy that surrounds us.
So caught up inside ourselves… we take when we should give.
So for tonight we pray… for what we know can be,
and on this day… we hope for what we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change, and even though we all can still do more…
There’s so much to be thankful for

From Thankful, written by Bayer Sager, Foster, Page

When I watch the heart wrenching news reports from the aftermath of a tornado that has destroyed a town out in the middle of our nation, it seems that all I hear from the survivors, standing in the midst of such devastation are words of thanks for what was saved- the people they loved- where all that mattered when all seemed lost around them, and in their faith and courage, they will find the strength to start over again. It certainly puts it all in perspective.

Thanksgiving, the feast of Christ the King, the season of Advent, and Christmas are perfect times to find ways rediscover that perspective; to express our thanks to God not just for the many resources and gifts we have, but even more, for the families, friends, and all the loved ones He has blessed us with. During this happy season of hope, please prayerfully and happily give that those around us so others may experience the presence of God’s blessing in peace, joy, and hope.

Whether you give to our parishes, St. Vincent de Paul, our Harvest of Hope food pantry, the Giving Trees, and so many other ways, you are giving more than your resources- you are sharing the gifts you have received. Let’s make this year we give beyond! There is so much to be thankful for.

And all I ever have to be is what You’ve made me.
Any more or less would be a step out of Your plan.
As You daily recreate me, help me always keep in mind
that I only have to do what I can find,
and all I ever have to be… is what You’ve made me.
From All I ever have to be written by Gary Chapman

Sometimes we take for granted what each of us gives to the world or has the capacity to. It’s so easy for us to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others who might have gifts or skills that seem to be more attractive, more valuable, or more helpful. As adults we’re even harder on ourselves, as we see others excel in A or B and we seem to fail, though we may excel in C or D.

St. Paul understood that tendency when he writes about the parts of the body in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12:14–26) and Jesus illustrates it perfectly in today’s Gospel in the story of the talents (He uses the term in two ways, because a talent was also considered a monetary term). God has given us gifts- differently, not more or less to make something extraordinary come about, and it may seem so simple, but maybe that’s the point behind it all. I love how St. Paul writes how the Church is comprised of living stones and we build each other up- we need one another. It’s not always the quantity, it’s the quality that’s the point.

There are so many out there who may think they are not worthy or have nothing to give, but the truth is it is God who gives us what we need and makes us worthy, not any of us or this world. May we rejoice in a God who loves us as we are and calls us to develop and share His gifts with one another and the world. The world needs you.

Lord, we thank you for the goodness of our people and for the spirit of justice that fills this nation. We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the land and the challenge of the cities. We thank y for our rest, for one another, and for our homes. We thank you, Lord; accept our thanksgiving on this day. We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer taken from the Catholic Household Blessings, Revised Edition, Copyright 2007, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

I won’t look too far ahead… It’s too much for me to take.
But break it down to this next breath… This next step… This next choice is one that I can make.
So I’ll walk through this night… Stumbling blindly toward the light and do the next right thing.
And with the dawn, what comes then, when it’s clear that everything will never be the same again?
Then I’ll make the choice to hear that voice and do the next right thing.

From The Next Right Thing, written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson- Lopez

As we make our way through November and recall Saints and Souls, the Masses of Remembrance we’ve offered, and the fact that for many of us, with Thanksgiving around the corner and Christmas not far away, this special season has changed forever with the losses of those we hold dear, the world can feel plunged into the darkness of the short days and long nights around us- for many of us, it’s hard to find and hold onto the light.

In the Gospel, Jesus calls us to keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts, to tend it and spread it- and of
course that light is not in this world, it is the light of Christ that burns within us, the wisdom that is referred to in the first reading. It’s that light gives us warmth and hope as we look up and look ahead. It is not easy, and it can take a long time, but Christ awaits- and calls us to keep going, to take the next step, to do the next right thing.

I hope we start seeing forever, instead of what we can gain in a day.
I hope we start seeing each other, because don’t we all bleed the same?
I really hope someone can hear me, that a child doesn’t bear the weight of a gun.
I find the voice within me to scream at the top of my lungs.

From Hope, written by Emeli Sande

November is my favorite month, a time to remember our beloved dead, the souls and saints who teach us by their extraordinary lives and love what this is all about, through our remembrance of the courage and grace of the heroes in our midst on Veteran’s Day, to gathering in thanks for all that we’ve been given, celebrating the King of Peace, Christ our Lord and looking forward to the beginning of our journey to Bethlehem.

Our hearts are heavy with worries of violence and war across our world and around us, and we bring them to Christ. The powers of this world, as awesome as they can seem, bow, trembling before God. May we find courage, surrounded by the whispers and rumors around us, in the truth that we hold deeply in our hearts and speak out boldly for truth, justice, and mercy.

Introducing Gospel Delights!

Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings from Fr. Britto (Dhinakaran Savariyar)! I am extremely happy to introduce Gospel Delights (gospeldelights.com), which is my new blog page to share my reflections on everyday gospel text, including solemnities and feasts. The blog has the picture of four evangelists as its featured image. By God’s grace, I would like to continue this new ministry I have taken up.

Kindly pray for me and get back to me with your helpful comments and feedback.
I thank Fr. John for his generous initiative to introduce my blog page to you.
Let us be united in the love of Christ!

I want to leave a legacy; how will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to you enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering- a child of mercy and grace,
who blessed your name unapologetically… and leave that kind of legacy.

From Legacy, written by Nichole Nordeman

It’s interesting that it seems when anyone meets someone famous, one of the first things they tell others is what a “regular person” he or she is, they say that the star is kind or down-to-earth, or something like that, that it’s amazing, somehow. In reality, we’re all called to be that way to others- always. Muhammad Ali once said that when he was at a restaurant with someone: “I don’t trust anyone who’s nice to me but rude to the waiter, because they would treat me the same way if I were in that position.” It’s refreshing to encounter someone quite naturally kind, patient, and understanding with everyone, and I hope we all try to be that way.

That’s what Jesus is calling each of us to be in today’s Gospel, to put God, and the presence He is in everyone first, and ignore what the world tells us to think- He calls out the best in each of us to everyone in every way, not just when it’s convenient or because when we’re supposed to, but so it becomes second nature and without any reservation. May we be reflections of God’s presence in our world, putting Him first. He will change us- through us, person by person, He will change our world.

Nov. 1st is Feast of All Saints, a holy day of obligation. Masses will be offered on Wednesday at 9 am at St. Francis de Sales Church and at 6 pm at St. Mary’s Church. Please join us!

As we walk into the giving season, there are so many ways we can give our time, talent, and treasure- listen to your heart and hear God’s voice to give generously. Anne Frank wrote that “no one ever became poor by giving.” Let’s give!

Please encourage someone you love to join you for Mass. We miss all those who are away and wait in joyful hope for them to come home. You can help. All you need to do is pray for them and ask them. You may be surprised at the answer.

Cold is the morning, warm is the dream… chasing the answers ‘til I can’t sleep.
Will I be stronger, or will I be weak when you’re not with me?
Who am I without my armor, standing in my father’s shoes?
All I know is that it’s harder to be loyal, brave, and true

From Loyal, Brave, and True written by Crabtree, Hartman, Golan, Gregson

In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to focus on who we belong to, the world or to God. We can be so easily seduced by our culture, our society, and our world to give into the temptation to turn away from what our conscience knows what is right- we can show indifference to the call for each of us, by our words and actions, to be instruments of peace, we can ignore the plight of the poor and the struggling in our midst, we can turn our eyes and our ears from the cry that each human life is sacred and has dignity, from the moment of conception to natural death, we can turn away from our calling as Christians, and particularly as Catholics, to be make a difference in this world.

Beyond our citizenship in this country and our world is our membership- by our baptism- in the Body of Christ, and our Lord makes this truth crystal clear. We are blessed to live in this free land, with all our rights and responsibilities. Jesus doesn’t deny the importance of governance in this world, but He, as we celebrate later next month, is our true King, calls us to something greater than this world can ever give, and ever know. Our King is calling us today and every day, in every moment, to be loyal, brave, and true to Him- in every way. May we hear the clarion call- may we find the courage to follow it- and live it.

Wandering the road of desperate life… aimlessly, beneath the barren sky.
Leave it to Me, I’ll lead you home.
So afraid that you will not be found… it won’t be long before your sun goes down.
Just leave it to Me, I’ll lead you home.
So let it go and turn it over to the One Who chose to give His life for you.
Just leave it to Me, I’ll lead you home. Leave it to Me, I’ll lead you home.

from I’ll lead you home, by Michael W. Smith

Today’s Gospel is such a revelation- something that we all need to hear, about a King who wants so much to share his generosity with all of us, and how many people reject this invitation to the feast. I’m sure all can feel the sadness and frustration of the King as he sees how so many folks turn away from his invitation- especially when we see empty pews in our churches. As Catholics,
we have a responsibility to spread the Good News of Christ, and reach out to the lost sheep in our midst and bring them in.

So many people- family members, friends, do not join us at Mass- folks that we love so deeply who for one sad reason or another choose not to receive the Word of God, the Body of Christ, the community of his faithful. We need to address this sad circumstance and address it NOW please join me and encourage someone you care about- a family member, friend, coworker- this week, to come to Mass with you. Your invitation may be the very words they need to hear. You don’t have be an expert to do this- be yourself. The Holy Spirit will give you the words you need.

As we begin now to look up and look ahead at a season of change and renewal, this is a perfect
time to personally take your baptismal calling and proclaim the Good News- it may seem awkward
at first, but the change that will take place will be worth the effort- be the one who leads them
home to the feast!