Blessed Pentecost to you all. The church is always being recreated anew, so we follow the Spirit’s lead! This weekend, we welcome parishioners back to St. Paul’s on Sunday, May 31 at 7:30 AM, 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM. We look forward to a reverent, patient, and safe re-opening of our Masses so that all may be served. Things will be very much changed in the next few months, at least, maybe even week by week, so we thank you for your flexibility. Thanks for helping us to do this well!

Please join us in supporting the Class of 2020 gift to the Harvard Catholic Center. Our collective gift will add a sign to the Arrow Street entrance. We've made our gift and we hope you will too. Thank you and God bless you. Ify Ogu, Sam Hand, Kevin Kearns.

As we know, life these days is changed, but not ended! Here is a list of things that you can expect when you return to St. Paul’s for Mass. We are so happy to have you back at Bow and Arrow Streets! As you will hear many times, we are grateful for your patience and flexibility as we find what works best (it may take at least a few weeks.) This could include requests for more volunteers, adjustments of communion procedures, entrance and exit practices, and may-be even change of Mass times and locations. The Archdiocese has made a video available with general norms, and I will offer one for Mass at St. Paul’s as well.

The Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Boston, Bishop Peter Uglietto (a Choir School graduate!), sent a letter to all pastors this week. In it, he reminded all of us that the sacramental and pastoral care of our people are of utmost concern, and that to do that effectively for the long run, we are committed also to following the guidelines of the civil authorities. Realistically, he noted, given the complexities and many decisions that have to be made regarding safe Mass attendance on the diocesan and local levels, it will probably not be an immediate return. The diocese has provided a useful outline of things that parishes should be thinking about, which we have begun to do with our staff.

The Harvard Catholic Center co-sponsors this Zoom event with the Lumen Christi Institute, Tuesday, May 19, 5:00 pm., CDT. This event is free and pre-registration is required. Click on the photo for more details.

On June 3, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm, join the Collegium Institute's Ars Vivendi Arts Initiative for a dynamic evening conversation via Zoom exploring Flannery O’Connor on the imagination, solitude, and the glorious oddities of life. This event is being Co-Sponsored by the Harvard Catholic Center and is free to the public. Click on the photo to register.

A collection of thoughts and photos of the Spring 2020 Undergraduate retreat with Sr. Ann Kateri (AB '99)

This week, we had a Finance Committee Meeting. Though we are always just keeping our head above water here, as compared to many, we have held our own in these hard days. A lot of this is due to many changing over to Electronic Giving. I can’t emphasize enough how helpful this is for now and for the future. Please make the step via the easy process on our website. I am also grateful to the handful of parishioners who have sent generous checks to help us over the hump, and to those who participated in the 90 Days Now initiative. These have all been hugely beneficial!