Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

News and Notes: 

Priestly Vocation Update... Please pray for Father Patrick Grode, our deacon intern in the Collaborative for the past year.  He was ordained to the priesthood on Friday, May 25 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  I have invited Father Patrick to come back and celebrate Mass in each of our parishes within the coming year.   Also, continue to keep Deacon Francis Pham in your prayers.  Because his US Religious Workers Visa expires in July, he needs to leave our country for a year before he can come back to the Archdiocese of Boston, hopefully to be ordained as one of our diocesan priests.  In the coming year, Deacon Francis will be serving as a transitional deacon at St. Marguerite Bourgoeys Parish, Nova Scotia, Canada.  May Christ, our Great High Priest, guide and bless all those who are preparing to serve the Church in the ministerial priesthood!

On the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and the Need for a Kidney Donor... Just a reminder about the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick: this sacrament is for those who are seriously ill or facing surgery or simply weakened by the effects of aging.  One can receive this sacrament multiple times if his or her declining health warrants it. If someone is in the final stages of life, the best time to request a priest to anoint the individual is when Hospice care begins, preferably when the patient is conscious, alert and able to participate in the ritual.  Please do not wait until the very end of life to call the priest for this sacrament.  With the shortage of priests now becoming more acute, the priest may not be able to respond to that call in a timely fashion. 

One of our parishioners in the Collaborative who has been on dialysis for three years has recently been approved for a kidney transplant.  If anyone is willing to donate one of their kidneys to this individual, please contact me, and I will give you the person’s contact information.  This parishioner’s Insurance policy will pay for this transplant and any blood type can be accepted.  Any prospective donor will be thoroughly screened before any decision about a transplant is made.  It is important to know that we can live a long healthy life with just one properly functioning kidney.   Please consider being a kidney organ donor, and give the gift of a healthy life to your fellow parishioner.

Once again, I want to invite current or former Military or Law Enforcement parishioners to join a new Safety Committee we are planning to establish in our Collaborative.  All other parishioners are also welcome to assist us in the important work of ensuring a safe environment for our churches and school.  If any adult parishioner is interested, please contact me, Donna Delahanty (OLA) or Donna Hegan (SMG).

 A Prayer for our Dads on Father’s Day:  

God our Father, in your wisdom and love you made all things.  Bless these men, that they may be strengthened as Christian fathers.  Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.   Grant that we, their sons and daughters, may honor them always with a spirit of profound respect.  Grant this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Happy Father’s Day to all our dads…and blessings to all of you in the week ahead!