LENT 2025
at Sacred Heart and Our Lady's
to Lent in our Collaborative
We warmly welcome you as we journey together this Lenten Season of repentance, renewal, and preparation.
The ashes we receive on Ash Wednesday are a sign of repentance and of our willingness to change by praying, fasting, and almsgiving. Know that we are journeying with you throughout this sacred season. CRS
Rice Bowl
Scholarships for Honduran Children
Help a Neighbor in Need
Catholic Charities Boston
Easter Flower Donations
Religious Ed Toiletry & Sock Drive
Egg Tree Outreach
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.
For members of our Roman Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59, with exceptions for reasons of illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of our Roman Catholic Church from age 14 onwards, with exceptions as stated above (illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding).
Soup & Stations
Friday, March 7
at Sacred Heart
6 PM Simple Supper
7 PM Stations of the Cross
Thank you to all who attended and made this such a wonderful event.
There will be another Soup and Stations at Our Lady's on April 11 (see details below)You are Chosen - Called by Name
This Lent, we invite you to join a special 6-week faith-sharing initiative inspired by Season 1 of The Chosen, a TV series about the life of Christ. Through viewing The Chosen and coming together to reflect and share in small groups each week, we hope to deepen our love for Jesus and each other, making this a truly meaningful and fruitful Lent.
In the words of the program's creator, Dallas Jenkins, "We believe that if you can see Jesus through the eyes of those who met him, you can be changed and impacted in the same way they were. If we can connect you with their burdens and struggles and questions, then ideally, we can connect you to the solution, to the answer to those questions."
In the first episode of The Chosen, Jesus calls Mary Magdala by name - and that made all the difference. This Lent, we call you by name, for we are all The Chosen. We invite you to be a part of this powerful Lenten experience.
Will you join us for an hour to 90 minutes on this journey each week? Please email [email protected] with interest and questions.
Friday, March 21
5:30 - 8:00 PM
at Sacred Heart's
MacKenzie Center
Cost: $15 (adults); $5 (kids 12 and under)
Menu: Homemade Fish & Chips, Mac & Cheese, Salad.
Please feel free to bring a finger-food dessert to share
Cash Bar! Bingo!
All proceeds to benefit Workcamp.
Back to FAST
Saturday, April 26
from 10 am to 4:00 pm
What does Easter mean to you?
Join us on a moderate trek on the beautiful Blue Hills Reservation. Bring your packed lunch and your adventurous spirit. It's totally free!
Scan the QR code to join or email Leslee for further details
If you are a young adult seeking a welcoming Christian community and desiring to nourish your relationship with God, come and join us!
Please contact Leslee Ambrosio
The collection taken up on Ash Wednesday supports the work of Catholic Charities Boston. Click HERE to donate online. Thank you.
Friday, April 11
at Our Lady's
6 PM Simple Supper
7 PM Stations of the Cross
Donate directly to CRS online at https://www.crsricebowl.org/donate-to-crs-rice-bowl |
Jesus, Bread of Life,
As we encounter you in the Eucharist this Lent,
nourish us with your love,
unite us in communion with our sisters and brothers,
showing us how we are connected.
Transform our hearts, that we may be moved to
share bread for life with our global family
and work for a world where all can thrive. AMEN.
Lenten Reflection from the Archdiocese of Boston
As the ice begins to thaw and the sun gets a little higher in the sky, we know that Spring is just around the corner, and the world begins to wake up from its winter slumber. What a perfect metaphor for Lent, where the Church calls us to wake up from our spiritual clumber and return to the Lord with repentant and open hearts, full of love for God and one another. It's a time for the "spring cleaning" of our souls, as we clean out all the daily distractions of our lives and make room for the coming of Christ at Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
So this Lent, make it a goal to take a few moments each day to pause, give thanks to the Lord for the many blessings in our lives, most especially the infinite love God has for each one of us, and ask the Lord to help us be a blessing to others in His name. If we do that, we will experience a joy this Easter beyond our wildest imaginings.
As we prepare for our most holy day, we are planning to offer Easter outreach to our neighbors in need once again, this time by providing grocery gift cards.
Please consider helping us support approximately 85 families in need by donating food cards. Donors are asked to purchase Stop & Shop food cards, depending on how large a family they’d like to support, and to return them to one of the parish offices no later than Monday, April 7.
If you are willing to assist, please visit our Sign-Up Genius page by:
Follow this link: SIGNUP, scanning the QR code below, or email [email protected] for the link to be sent to you directly. If you have any questions or need help, please contact Kristina by phone at 617-527-7560 ext.216.
We are grateful for your help in making life a bit easier for families as we celebrate our greatest feast at Easter. Thank you for your willingness to share your resources with our neighbors in need!
This outreach is being coordinated and provided by the parishes, in conjunction with the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Scholarships for Honduran Children: Our Lenten Alms
Since 2011, Our Lady’s has been supporting children of our sister parish, San Marcos in Honduras, with scholarships. This support enables about 50 young people from very poor families to have necessities for school—shoes, supplies, uniforms, transportation, even food or medicine if needed. A committee in San Marcos selects the students based on their life circumstances and their commitment to go to school and study diligently. Over the years, we have heard from hundreds of children about their gratitude and prayers for us, their motivation to learn, and their faith in God’s love for them. It’s clear that our love and support for them helps them feel valued and inspired to do their best. During Lent, in the bulletin, we will be sharing some of the messages we have received, as well as descriptions of some of the young people.Reflection for March 9:
First Sunday of Lent
It is significant that, on this First Sunday of Lent, we hear of the temptations of Jesus. They are often interpreted as representing the broader human struggles we have with desires of the flesh, the desire for signs and proofs, and the lure of worldly power and success. Those desires have a way of creeping into our lives and damaging our relationship both with God and those we love. Lent gives us the opportunity to reorder our lives, to step away from those things that alienate us from God, and to focus our attention on the essentials of our faith.
St. Paul challenges us today: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This Lent, take time at the end of each day to consider where temptations might have arisen but where, instead, you relied on the power of God’s grace to guide you.
Reflection for March 16:
Second Sunday of Lent
In Luke’s account of the Transfiguration, Peter and the disciples were overcome with sleep, but “becoming fully awake, they saw his glory” and recognized this as a special moment with Jesus and exclaimed: “Master, it is good that we are here.” Our minds are often asleep or distracted, and so we don’t see the various ways that Jesus reveals himself to us.
Where is Jesus inviting us to notice his presence? Is it in the scripture we have heard or in the Communion we received? Do we see him in those preparing to be baptized at Easter? Do we recognize him in the face of the homeless person we see each day?
Look at those around you and hear what God said, not just to the Apostles, but also to each of us: “This is my chosen Son, listen to Him” – notice him and respond!
Reflection for March 23: Third Sunday of Lent
In today’s gospel, Jesus is urging the people to repent of their political ambitions and their rebelliousness, warning the Jewish nation that if they kept on seeking the ways of an earthly kingdom and rejecting the ways of the kingdom of God, destruction would come.
What about us – are we seeking God’s Kingdom? Jesus then tells the parable of the fig tree. God, our gardener, is full of mercy and patience and infinitely kind to anyone who falls and rises again.
Actively nurturing and strengthening our discipleship takes effort. If we fall, do we get up and try again of do we just give up?
Scriptures give us two witnesses in St. Peter and St. Paul - who had struggles and failures at being disciples, but never gave up. They sought out God’s mercy and kept on building God’s kingdom. So go ahead, take advantage of the many “second chances” we’re being given to grow in our discipleship!
Reflection for March 30: The Fourth Sunday of Lent
“A man had two sons…” So begins today’s Gospel parable. Who might you be in this story?Are you the younger son or daughter, who was eager to break loose and get away from home but later realized that home is where you are loved unconditionally? Are you the unhappy resentful older sibling, who does things out of obligation and never acknowledges or notices how well you have been provided for? Are you the parent, who looked out every day, hoping for the return of your child, willing to forgive their shortcomings?
This parable highlights the importance of forgiveness of self and of others, and most importantly reveals who God is and wants to be for us --a merciful, forgiving and loving God.
The question for us is how will we respond to the prodigal/ extravagant love God has for us?
Easter Flower Donations
If you would like to make a donation toward the cost of the flowers that will decorate the altar for Easter, in memory of a deceased relative or friend, please print the names clearly and bring them to the parish office with your donation or place them in the collection basket. All names will be remembered and printed in a booklet to be distributed on Easter Sunday.
Donations will be accepted through 12:00 pm on Tuesday, April 15. Donations received after April 15 will be acknowledged at a later date.
Religious Education:
Toiletry & Sock Drive
Our Collaborative Religious Ed program is sponsoring a Lenten toiletry and sock drive, benefiting St. Ambrose Family Shelter. St. Ambrose serves families who are experiencing homelessness and is sponsored by Catholic Charities.
We are collecting NEW shampoo, lotion, body wash, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc. and NEW socks for men, women, and children of all ages and sizes.
—At Sacred Heart: drop off in the upper church entrance or to the rectory/office front porch (N.B. location change!)
—At Our Lady’s: drop in the bin outside the McPherson Room of the church (in-person students can also bring items directly to class)
Thank you for your support of this drive!
Return Items April 5-6
This weekend, you’ll find the Egg Tree at Our Lay's church, along with baskets at the side entrances. Please take an egg or two and return with the requested donation of candy, a basket, tea, soap, hand cream, or other item, so that Easter baskets can be assembled and delivered to those parishioners who are no longer able to join us in church. Cash donations will go to Catholic Charities in support of their good work around the Archdiocese. Many of you have added this to your Lenten practices in past years; thank you for remembering!
Reflection for April 6: The Fifth Sunday of Lent
In our first reading from Isaiah we hear, “See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
As the last days of Lent draw closer, what fruit or good do you see “springing forth” because of your Lenten practices? Reflect on the ways your Lenten practices may have made a difference in your prayer. Are you aware of any positive changes in yourself, or toward others?
There are still two weeks left to consider the difference this Lent is making on your discipleship. Take to heart the words of St. Paul who reminds the Philippians and us of our goal: “I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus”.
Pray for the grace to remain attentive to living a life rooted in Christ.
Bake and Bloom
Sunday, April 13 at 10:30 AM
On Palm Sunday, following the 9:30 am Mass at Sacred Heart, the Guild of St. Francis hosts their annual Bake and Bloom Sale. This is a festive sale of Easter baked goods and spring blooming flowers, as well as a myriad of wonderful Easter trinkets! Stop by and shop!
In the MacKenzie Center.
Racial Justice Ministry Lenten Reflection
Based on the Lenten Reflection series at St. Katharine Drexel Parish on
THE CROSS AND THE LYNCHING TREE
Reverend Dr James H. Cone, a Black theologian, writes that black faith emerged out of black people's wrestling with African American suffering, the struggle to make sense out of their senseless situation, as they related their own predicament to similar stories in the Bible. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and "black death", the cross symbolized divine power and "black life" - God overcoming the power of sin and death. (18)
In the mystery of God's revelation, black Christians believe that just knowing that Jesus went through an experience of suffering in a manner similar to theirs gave them faith that God was with them, even in suffering on lynching trees, just as God was present with Jesus on the cross. (21)
Jesus's life and teachings are important for the black church community to understand his meaning, especially seeing him in complete solidarity with the oppressed. (25)
It was Jesus's cross that sent people protesting in the streets, seeking to change the social structure of oppression. (28) Hate and white supremacy lead to violence and alienation, while love and the cross lead to non-violence and reconciliation. (71)
That is what Jesus's life, teaching, and death were about - God's protest against the weak by the strong. (115)
Peg Morrison (SHOL Racial Justice Ministry)
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, the weekend of April 12 & 13, with a regular weekend Mass schedule. As usual, we plan to have special processions at the Sacred Heart 9:30 am Mass and at the Our Lady’s 10:00 am Mass (weather-permitting for OL).
7:30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Sacred Heart, followed by Eucharistic Adoration
7:30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Our Lady’s, followed by Eucharistic Adoration
12:00 pm Stations of the Cross
at Sacred Heart (USCCB Stations: Overcoming Racism)
3:00 pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at Our Lady’s (adapted especially for children)
7:30 pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at Sacred Heart
7:30 pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at Our Lady’s
7:30 pm Solemn Vigil of Easter at Sacred Heart
7:30 pm Solemn Vigil of Easter at Our Lady’s
8:00 am Easter Mass at Our Lady’s
9:30 am Easter Mass at Sacred Heart, followed by Egg Hunt
10:00 am Easter Mass at Our Lady’s
11:30 am Easter Mass at Sacred Heart
12:00pm Easter Mass at Our Lady’s
(no 6:00 pm Mass at Our Lady’s on Easter)