July 29, 2020
Parish Online Newsletter Issue #0020
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WHAT TO DO?
In the middle of this summertime as the nation continues to struggle to make peace with COVID, there appear to be more questions about what we ought to do than there are answers. Or maybe it is the other way around! It is dizzying to consider all of the challenges we face from children returning to school, questions about day care, huge issues in the economy, the injustice of racism, to the day-to-day stressors of trying to navigate life in a safe way.
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As you know we had to cancel our annual Fund Raiser due to COVID-19. Last year we raised $40,000 from tickets sales, raffle baskets, and auction items to support Harvest on Vine Emergency Food Pantry. Not surprisingly, due to an increase in unemployment we have seen an increase in need at the pantry. Although we won't be gathering in person you can still join in and help us support Harvest on Vine Food Pantry by participating in our online auction which will run from
noon on August 5th until 8:00 pm on August 6th.
We have three terrific auction items:
- “A Taste of Charlestown” package comprised of $100 gift certificates to five (5) of Charlestown’s best restaurants: Warren Tavern, Monument Restaurant & Bar, Brewer’s Fork, Blackmoor Bar & Kitchen, and Pier 6. Value - $500
- A one-week stay (9/13-20) in a 3 BR/2 Bath waterfront cottage at award winning Dennis Seashores. This cottage sits directly on beautiful Nantucket Sound, and has all the amenities including a private beach. https://dennisseashores.com/ Value- $2,150
- Celebrity Dinner- A Dinner for 10 in your home prepared & served by chef Paul Wahlberg. Paul will come to your home with all the food & wine, dishes, etc. Cooks & serves a meal for you & 9 of your friends and cleans up at the end of a great night. Each of the 6 courses is paired with a different wine. The timing is as mutually agreed on a Monday -Thursday night. Value- Priceless
For a donation of only $25 you’ll be able to bid on all these wonderful items.
Click Here for Auction
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Dennis Seashores waterfront cottage
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Message from Chef Paul Wahlberg
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We are pleased to announce that the Chapel is open for Daily Mass
We have returned to the schedule we had before the closure. Mass will be at 8am, with the recitation of the Holy Rosary at 7:40am. On Saturdays and holidays, Mass will be at 9am.
Seating is limited because of the rule of social distancing issued by state, local, and Archdiocesan officials, and all present are required to wear a mask. We look forward to welcoming you!
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Intaya and Nick celebrate their wedding, the first in these New Normal times.
Congratulations!
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BAPTISMS RESUME IN OUR PARISH
A child’s birth is a miraculous blessing, evoking feelings of love like none other within and between the child’s parents and in the extended family.
For Christans, baptism is the first of other sacraments through which God grants the child the many graces needed to grow in Christian faith and to secure a loving relationship with God, neighbor, and self. The child becomes a precious member of the family of God and the Church is also greatly blessed by this new member of the family.
We are pleased to announce that baptisms are resuming in our Parish. If you are seeking to have your child baptized, please contact Sr. Nancy at ncitro@stmarystcatherine.org or 617-242-4664.
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Year of the Eucharist Continues
Excerpt from “A PRIMAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE EUCHARIST" by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI
Christian de Cherge, the Trappist Abbott who was martyred in Algeria in 1996, tells this story of his first communion. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family in France and on the day of his first communion he said to his mother: “I don’t understand what I’m doing.” She answered simply: “It’s okay, you don’t have to understand it now, later you will understand.”
Jesus, no doubt, must have given his disciples the exact same advice at the Last Supper, at their first communion. When he offered them bread and said, “This is my body”, and then offered them wine and said, “This is my blood”, they would not have understood. There would have been considerable confusion and bewilderment: How are we supposed to understand this? What does it mean to eat someone’s body and drink someone’s blood? I suspect that in the face of their non-understanding, like Christian de Cherge’s mother, Jesus would have also said: You don’t have to understand it now, later you will understand.
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Our Stewardship Prayer
Heavenly Father, instill in our hearts a spirit of love and compassion. May we foster a welcoming parish community with acceptance and respect for all. Inspire us to make a difference by being generous with our time and talents. Please send your Holy Spirit among us to remind us to follow Jesus and his teachings in all aspects of our lives. May we go forth and spread goodwill among our neighbors, friends, and fellow parishioners. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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As always, we are truly grateful for all who have continued to support our Parish Community financially and with their prayers and acts of service. Our Parish remains active and vibrant because of our community's involvement in making it so. We appreciate your continued support in all ways so that we may continue our mission as a Parish Community. Financial contributions may be made through our website, online banking, via mail or in our offertory collection at Mass.
Support our Parish Community
If you feel safe and are able to volunteer, please contact Sr. Nancy at ncitro@stmarystcatherine.org or 617-242-4664. Let us continue to pray for our country and our world, and especially for our entire Parish and Charlestown Community.
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HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH THE PARISH?
Email us to share your story or learn more about being involved in our Church community. mailto: newsletter@stmarystcatherine.org
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