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ASH WEDNESDAY MASSES: Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, but is an appropriate day to attend Mass and receive ashes as a reminder of repentance. Masses will be at 7am (SJC), 8:30am school Mass (SMC), noon in Portuguese (SMC), and 6:15PM with the Faith Formation Program at St. Joseph.
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION IN LENT: One of the finest Lenten practices is Eucharistic Adoration. The Eucharistic Chapel is open every day at St. Michael Church from 8am to 8pm. Entrance is through the alley between the Church and the School. Deacon Paul has a Holy Hour at St. Joseph every Tuesday starting at 6:30pm. The Holy Hour on the first Tuesday is bi-lingual.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS: Stations of the Cross will be celebrated on the Fridays of Lent at three different times. They will be celebrated in Portuguese following the 9AM Mass at St. Michael, at 1:30pm with St. Michael School, and at 6:00pm at St. Joseph Church in English.
THE WORD AMONG US: The Word Among Us is a publication which containers the daily Mass readings along with a reflection on one of the readings. During the Lenten Season we have made The Word Among Us available at the back of each Church. Even if you can not go to daily Mass you can read and reflect upon the Daily Readings.
DAILY REFLECTIONS ONLINE: For years, Fr. Fred has maintained a daily blog of the readings and reflections. The reflections are taken from from Sacred Space/Living Space which is a site maintained by the Jesuits of Ireland. Starting on Monday, March 3rd, a link to the blog will be found on both websites. This blog will be maintained from the start of Lent onward. Online reflections are helpful for those who do not want to be tied down to a book, and have their phone always with them.
PORTUGUESE MISSION: The Mission in Portuguese will be held from Monday, March 24th to Friday March 28th. Each night will be held in a different Portuguese Church. Closer to the date of the mission the location for each night will be included. St. Michael will sponsor the Mission on Monday, March 24th. The preacher will be Fr. Marco Caldeira. He is from Brazil and works with the Brazilian Community of Cape Cod. Confessions will be held each night at 6pm with the Mission Mass beginning at 7pm. Confessions are also offered at Santo Christo at 11 AM on Friday 3/28.
MINI-COURSE ON THE MASS: During Lent, Fr. Babiczuk will offer a mini-course on the Mass on 3 consecutive Thursday Nights from March 13-27. This is a follow-up to the mini-course on the Eucharist in February. It is highly recommended that you do the Online Mini-Course on the Eucharist in preparation for this mini-course on the Mass. The course will be held in person at 6:30pm at St. Michael School Hall. This is a bigger venue with the hope that more people will attend because it is Lent. For those who can not be in person at this time, the course will also be on Zoom. There will be a link on both websites, and also on Facebook. In the first session on March 13 we will examine the Introductory Rite and the Liturgy of the Word. In the second session on March 20, we will examine the Preparation Rite and the Eucharist Prayer. In the final session on March 27, we will examine the Communion Rite and Dismissal.
LENTEN FOOD DRIVE: During the Lenten Season we will have a Food Drive at both Parishes to restock the Food Pantry at St. Michael. In the past Saint Michael had a Food Pantry with distribution during the monthly Saturday night meal. Once our pantry is restocked we will be returning to this practice. The food will be stored in metal cabinets on wheels which will save space. On a Saturday night when it is time for distribution the cabinets will be pushed into the Hall. This will also keep the food safe from any pests. In addition certain items such as pasta will be stored in plastic bins. As is done for the Thanksgiving food drive, bags will be available for you to use to return your donation. Also each bag will have a list of items that we need. No out of stock items, or they will be thrown out.
LENTEN THEOLOGY UNCORKED: On Tuesday, April 8, as part of Lent at St Michael/Joseph we will have a session of Theology Uncorked at 6:30pm at St. Michael School Hall. Theology Uncorked is new to these two Parishes, but not new to the Church. It is essentially a faith-presentation with wine and cheese (and a little more). Our speaker is Fr. Leonard Kayondo. He is a priest of the diocese of Kabgayi in Rwanda and chaplain at St. Anne’s hospital. He is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide. He will speak about the genocide and forgiveness. He will also speak about his diocese in Africa and how the proceeds of our Lenten Rice bowl can help Catholic Schools. More details to follow closer to the event. Mark your calendars.
DEANERY ENGLISH MISSION: The Deanery Mission in English will be held from March 31st to April 4th in the auditorium at the former Connolly High School. We will have confessions each day at 6pm with the Mission Mass at 7pm. Holding the mission at one location is new which the deanery is going to try because the Eucharistic Congress there was so successful in September of last year. The speaker will be Fr. Stan Fortuna CFR. Fortuna is one of the eight original members of the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, a Franciscan order established by Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor in 1987. Father Stan was ordained as a priest in the Bronx in 1990. He has released over 18 CD in a variety of musical genres. He has been a featured presenter at numerous Franciscan youth conferences like Steubenville, and has numerous appearances to his credit on the EWTN program, Life on the Rock. He frequently performs and lectures in the United States and countries in Europe and Africa. Mark your calendars. More information to follow closer to the date.
ENGLISH BIBLE STUDY: Fr. Paul has a Bible Study of the Sunday readings every Tuesday following the 9am Mass at St. Joseph Religious Education building. Information about the Bible Study is found on the web site under formation/adult formation.
LENTEN BIBLE STUDY IN PORTUGUESE: On the Tuesdays of Lent, Deacon Joseph Medeiros who used to be assigned to St. Michael Parish will have a Bible Study in Portuguese of the Sunday Readings. The study will be held on Tuesday at 11:30pm at St. Joseph Religious Education Building which is located behind the Church. It can not be held at St. Michael because school is in session. We will study the readings for the coming Sunday. The Study will begin on Tuesday March 4th which is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday so that we can study the readings for the first Sunday of lent. The study will be followed by a light lunch of soup, bread, and dessert. The session will be live streamed on the Youtube Channel of Taunton Catholic North with a link on the websites of Saint Michael and Joseph. You can watch the stream on a smartphone, tablet, computer, or TV. Most TVs today have an app for Youtube.
PARISH RICE BOWLS: Lent is a time of fasting and also a time of charity. The Rice Bowl is an excellent way to combine these two Lenten practices. Have one less coffee per week or day and put the money saved into the Rice Bowl. Or have a simple meal on Friday, and put the money saved into the Rice Bowl. Half of the funds raised from the Rice Bowl will be used to buy metal cabinets for the food pantry. The other half will be sent to the diocese of Kabgayi in Rwanda to help build Catholic Schools. This is the diocese of Fr. Leonard Kayondo who will be speaking here on Thursday April 8. See announcement on Theology Uncorked. The Rice Bowl is not actually a bowl, but will be a round plastic take-out container with a hole in the top. They work very well for this purpose.
LENT IN THE HOME FOR FAMILIES: On Wednesday February 12 David Carvalho from the Office of Evangelization gave a presentation to parents as part of Sharing the Faith in which he walked about how to celebrate Lent in the home. He also passed out some resources to help parents celebrate Lent in the home. His presentation was recorded and can be viewed from both web sites along with a link to the handouts. Copies of the handouts are also available at the doors of the Church.