The crime and tragedy of George Floyd's death has once again revealed the painful reality of injustice in our country. As Cardinal O'Malley has noted, it is "a narrative which has been repeated often and in multiple locations...but the African American community lives with the experience and memories of these deaths in an entirely different way." Our hearts are heavy for the suffering and outrage so many experience.
More recently, rioters have subjected others of our fellow-citizens to unjust suffering. We mourn for these victims, too. As Pope Francis reflected to Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles, “the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost.”
Here at St. Paul's in Harvard Square, our community is composed of people of many countries, races, backgrounds, and languages. We aim to live as one body with many parts, each treasured and respected for the gift each is.
As we mourn together, we also pray together. And we commit ourselves once again to follow the two great commandments proclaimed at Mass this Thursday from St. Mark's Gospel: "The first is this : You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
In these days of challenge and uncertainty, we pray the famous words: “Lord, make me a channel of your peace.”
On a happier note, reflecting all the good still happening, we were delighted to learn that Tara Lauriat, the faithful coordinator and leader of our St. Paul’s Food Pantry, was recently awarded the 2020 Dean’s Community Service Staff Award, given by the Harvard Medical School. The Pantry will receive a $1,000 donation in Tara’s honor. We are grateful for her commitment and leadership, and also thank the team and donors who do so much to make the good work of the Pantry possible.
We also had a tremendous celebration welcoming 16 of our 25 RCIA candidates into the full life of the Church. It was the first large celebration in our church in over two months, and a worthy one! Please continue to pray for these fine men and women, many of whom will remain as our parishioners. A special thank you to Fr. Patrick and RCIA Coordinator Ashlan Musante for their great work all year long.
I want to mention again our good opening for Masses last weekend. Thanks to all for your cooperation and flexibility as we enter these somewhat new waters. I am particularly grateful to the volunteers who did such admirable work assisting with the usher and cleaning duties.
That said, we are still in need of volunteers for both those posts, especially for the 5:00 PM Mass on Saturday and the 7:30 AM on Sunday. (We need four or five to clean at both Masses and three or four ushers at both.) Help at all the Masses will take some commitment and perseverance, but it is essential to our being open that we have the proper workforce in place. If we get enough volunteers, we can begin to put a rotation into place and also plan for times when folks may be able to get away! Please contact Nancy at nnicol@stpaulparish.org to sign up.
Things went smoothly enough that we will keep the regular weekend Mass schedule, all in the church. Daily Mass will be in DiGiovanni Hall at 12:10 PM Monday-Friday and at 9:00 AM on Saturday. No reservation needed.
Important update regarding registration for Sunday Masses. Things went well!
A few reminders: please arrive for your assigned Mass 15 minutes early so that we can help people be in place for an on time start to Mass. When you are waiting to enter the church, like boarding a plane, please have your printed registration form ready, or have it visible on your phone.
Couples/Families/Households: You are welcome to sit together. In order to maximize available space in the church, when you are registering as a couple, you need only reserve ONE seat.
If you are coming as a family/household of two to five people, you would need only reserve TWO spots.
If you have registered for a seat at a Mass but your plans change, please be sure to cancel your reservation.
Confessions during the month of June will take place on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 PM -8:00 PM in the sacristy in the church. You are also most welcome to make an appointment with any of the priests (by email is best.)
As I mentioned on Sunday, preliminary construction work in the sanctuary of the church will begin this week. You will see a lot of scaffolding by June 14. The work will last until early August.
Finally, I want to thank those who contributed to the Offertory baskets on their way in or out of the church this weekend. I would remind everyone that electronic giving is the best way to go, but any method that is comfortable for you is much appreciated. Next weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (The Body and Blood of Christ.) Though our bigger plans have been re-scheduled, we will have a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration form 4:00 PM-5:00 PM in the church. Seminarian Bobby Leblanc will offer a reflection.
We celebrate the deep love of the Most Holy Trinity this week. Might it be for us a source of strength and inspiration.