Greetings from Bow and Arrow Streets! You are missed and you are loved! A few things…You’ve probably noticed during my four years at St. Paul’s that I have a hankering for neatness and cleanliness. A blessing and a curse I have inherited from my parents! So you won’t be surprised to hear that one of the silver linings to our stay at home advisory is that I have tackled any number of storage closets here on the property when I need a break from emails, phone calls and a great number of virtual meetings. Anecdotes from many seem to indicate that I am not alone! I’ve told the staff they won’t recognize the place when they return.
And an even better update: two of our Harvard students, who were due to be married this summer, had to re-adjust their plans given all the present turmoil. And so, Mary and Joseph, who met at St. Paul’s church and attended daily Mass together, were married here on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, no less, with just four guests and three priests. Fr. George presided, Fr. Patrick preached, and I offered the nuptial blessing (and we all hummed the
Trumpet Voluntary as they went hand in hand down the aisle at the end!) It may be the only time I have seen the Exchange of Rings accompanied by a bottle of Purell! Please pray for them and for all those engaged to be married in these days.
I have asked Fr. Patrick to take up a huge project. One of the weaker links among all the good things happening at St. Paul’s is our social media and technological outreach, especially for the parish and the Harvard Catholic Center. (The Choir School has given a lot of attention to this side of life over the past year, and it shows. I encourage you to explore their online presence.) Fr. Patrick has grabbed the bull by the horns, and I am very grateful. He is being aided by knowledgeable parishioners and professionals. The immediate upgrade is that we hope to have our Chapel of the Women Doctors of the Church converted into a temporary studio from which we can live stream daily Mass and other prayer opportunities. We have also launched a parish YouTube channel (“
St. Paul’s Harvard Square”) where you can find videos from the priests and, soon, the choir school and Harvard Catholic Center. We will give you an update when things are ready to go. I would encourage you to take advantage of all the Catholic resources available online. So many groups have really stepped up to help us all, and we are grateful.
The staff continues to meet online at least twice a week, and often more. (The Choir School staff many times a week as they continue their tremendous online teaching with the boys.) I am so grateful to everyone for their flexibility and commitment to serve the parish, Choir School and Harvard Catholic Center communities with such creativity and fidelity.
On a more sobering note, you will be hearing from me in a separate communication about the present financial situation at all three of our entities. It will be no surprise, like so many of you, we are suffering terribly on that front. For the time being, please see the instructions noted below, also found in our bulletin, so that you can participate as completely as possible in the financial support of our work here at St. Paul’s.
Online Giving Account may be set up for a one-time donation, continuous giving, or for an anonymous one-time donation
https://app.securegive.com/StPaulParish/dashboard
or SecureGive App on your mobile device
Text Giving ¨ Text “weekly” and donation amount (“weekly 10”) to 617-401-9400
¨ For first time donor, follow reply link to create account and confirm transaction
¨ For return donor, reply “Y” to confirm transaction
Kiosk Giving Swipe your credit card in the vestibule
Sacrifice and surrender touch everything we do these days. I regularly hear from folks how much they miss the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Though not at all easy, it is its own blessing for yearning to be stirred! I would remind you that the church is still open for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and you can make an appointment with one of the priests for confession.
Because of the complications of shopping and preparing food in these days, Cardinal O’Malley has lifted the duty of abstaining from meat on Fridays during the remainder of this Lent. If you can still hold to this abstinence, I would ask you to do it. If not, please find another suitable fasting to offer in its place. We depend on one another for spiritual strength.
God bless you,
Fr. Kelly
PS: I was talking with the proprietor of our good and long-time neighbor, La Paloma Café. It is open for take-out from noon to 5:00pm each day. If you are in the area for a walk or visiting the church, consider dropping by there. We want to support as many locals as we can. Peace!