Saint Stephen Parish

 

January 23rd through January 30th

 

Saturday, January 22

   4:00 P.M.       Special Intention

Sunday, January 23

   7:00 A.M.       Michael Capobianco, 6th Anniversary

   9:00 A.M.       For Our Living and Deceased Parishioners

  11:00 A.M.       Rafael Antonio Abelar, Memorial              

                        Esther Martinez, Memorial

                        Myrna Torres, Memorial

                        Berman and Damiron Parada, Memorial

Monday, January 24

   8:00 A.M.       Kathy Trificanti, Healing

Tuesday, January 25

   8:00 A.M.       Leo and Anna Leveille, Memorial

Wednesday, January 26

   8:00 A.M.       Intention of the McRae family

   7:00 P.M.       Elisa Villamil, Memorial

Thursday, January 27

8:00 A.M.         Intention of the Wasilewski family

Friday, January 28

   8:00 A.M.       Edward Casey, Memorial

Saturday, January 29

8:00 A.M.         Special Intention

 

A ROSE FOR LIFE

IN OUR SANCTUARY

The roses this week are sponsored in memory of John Glesner by Helen Gee, in memory of Jennie Schipani by the Cardarelli family, and in memory of Bob Gaines by his wife Gilda Gaines.

 

SERVANTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT PRAYER GROUP: We invite you to be part of our weekly prayer meetings every Monday night at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Paul Room. This Monday, January 24th, Jim Drummey will share a special teaching with us on the "Role of the Catholic Church in History."

 

Mass Offerings Reduced to $10 ‑

Effective immediately, the suggested offering for memorial Masses or Masses for healing or special intentions will be $10. We hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity by having Masses celebrated for deceased loved ones, who may need our prayers to get to Heaven.

 

Pennies for the Unborn

The Catholic Daughters of the Americas are holding their annual Pennies for the Unborn drive after all the Masses this weekend, which is the eve of the March for Life in Washington. All monies collected by the state CDA go for the Pro-Life activities of the Archdiocese of Boston.

 

THE PILGRIM STATUE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA

 

 

Hour of Prayer for Life

 

The Boston Deacons for Life are sponsoring a Holy Hour for Life today (Sunday), January 23rd, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Church. The holy hour will be prayed simultaneously at parishes, college campuses, hospitals, convents, and on the buses that are carrying our teens and seminarians to the March for Life in Washington, D.C.

The date has been chosen to mark the horrific Supreme Court decision of 1973 that has led to the deaths from abortion of more than 50 million unborn babies in the United States. All those faithful to the inherent dignity of all human life from the moment of conception until natural death are invited to participate in this holy hour.

Booklets will be distributed to those in attendance with special prayers for life. The holy hour will be led by our deacons ‑ Guy Spiri, Pedro Torres, and Freddy Nieves. Please plan to take part in this important service.

 

New CDs for Adult Formation

Please take advantage of the CDs we are offering in the front lobby of the Church to enhance your understanding of your Faith. A donation of $3 is expected for each CD that you take, and here is a list of the new selections:

 

*"The Battle for Souls" by Fr. John Corapi, S.O.L.T.

*"Unlocking the Book of Revelation" by Michael Barber

*"There Is Life in the Womb" by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

*"Why Is There Hell and What Do We Know About It?"

by Dr. Scott Hahn

*"The Virgin Mary Revealed Through Scripture"

by Dr. Scott Hahn

 

Looking for a New Ministry? Jesus once said: "What you did for the least of my brothers, you did it for ME!" If you are looking for a very fulfilling ministry, and a way to put your Christian values into practice, consider joining our St. Vincent de Paul Society. For more information, please, speak to one of the priests or to Mr. Ed Convery.

 

 

 

"The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen." From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."                                         -Mt 4:16-17

 

 

TODAY IS EVANGELIZATION SUNDAY

 

Just as Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James and John, Jesus calls each one of us to be fishers of men and women, to be evangelizers. We all know people who are distant from the life of the Catholic Church. The new outreach of the Archdiocese of Boston ‑ Catholics Come Home ‑ gives every one of us a great opportunity to be a minister of welcome, reconciliation, and understanding for those people who are our brothers and sisters.

Each of us has stories of faith, of being blessed and helped by God as we have lived our Catholic Faith. These stories of God's goodness will help others. Like Peter and Andrew, James and John, let's "go fishing" so that we might draw others to God and to the amazing life with God in the Catholic Church.

Let's all get ready now to participate, individually and as a parish, in Catholics Come Home. For more information, please visit www.catholicscomehome.org. When you watch the TV commercials that have been produced, perhaps you can share these uplifting messages with someone who is away from the Church.

Today's second collection will support this evangelization and outreach initiative. All proceeds will fund the purchase of TV and radio ads to welcome home to our Catholic family those who have been away for any reason. The Catholics Come Home campaign has been extremely effective in other dioceses and, with your help, it can be successful here, too.

 

Women's Rosary Breakfast ‑ Join women from around the area for a morning full of hope and inspiration at St. Anne's Parish Center, 130 Boston Turnpike Road, in Shrewsbury, next Saturday, January 29th, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. For $20, you can enjoy a full Victorian breakfast and join in a prayerful rosary, followed by inspirational sharing. To sign up for the breakfast, please call Marge Oliveri at (508) 320-3498 or email Faithful1111@aol.com.

 

Pope John Paul II to Be Beatified

Pope Benedict XVI announced the good news last week that, on May 1st, he will declare his predecessor Blessed John Paul II. Benedict had waived the typical five-year waiting period before the process toward sainthood could begin shortly after the death of the widely beloved Pontiff in 2005. The extensive investigation into the late Pope's life and teachings was ended last year with the conclusion that he had lived a life of heroic holiness.

The next step was to seek confirmation from God through a miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul. The decree of a miracle came after doctors certified that a French nun had been cured of Parkinson's disease after praying to John Paul. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre said that after praying to the late Holy Father, who also had suffered from Parkinson's, she was cured of the disease that had made walking, writing, and driving virtually impossible.

 

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

January 18th to January 25th

 

Every January for the past 100 years, Christian churches worldwide have offered special prayers for the healing of past wounds to Church unity. The Gospel tells us that Jesus prayed for all His disciples to be one, as He and the Father are one, and to come together to worship the Father in spirit and truth. We continue that prayer and intensify it, calling upon the Holy Spirit to bring together into deeper unity all those who know Jesus as Lord. Some of the families in our own congregation are religiously diverse in their membership. May this ecumenical prayer offer us hope that our Parish will also experience healing and spiritual growth in the coming year.

 

Pregnancy Help, a program of the Archdiocese of Boston, has a MetroWest office at 5 Wilson Street in Natick, opposite St. Patrick Church. The telephone number is (508) 651-1900. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It offers pregnancy testing, counseling, referrals, and ongoing support and material assistance to women with unplanned or crisis pregnancies. These free and confidential services are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to women of any denomination or faith.

 

Living as we do in what Pope John Paul called a “Culture of Death,” women facing crisis pregnancies today need our help and prayers more than ever in order for them to choose life for their child.