Weekly Bulletin March 7/8
(A PDF version of the bulletin as printed is available here)
Pastoral Planning Community Meetings
The Pastoral Planning Committee is offering community meetings THIS Sun, March 8 and Wed, March 11 to review the work done to date and next steps. This will include more details about the Executive Director position and the structure of the Paulist Center. Jonathan Lewis, the Mission Strategy Officer of the Paulist Fathers, will be facilitating.
This Sunday, March 8 (auditorium):
- 11:15am – 12:15pm: in-person session with lunch provided.
- 7:15 – 8:15pm: in-person session with dinner provided.
Wed, March 11 (virtual):
- Zoom session from 7:30-8:30pm.
Zoom lnk: https://tinyurl.com/ZoomPCC31126
These will all be the same content and you do not need to attend more than one session.
First Communion Gathering
The next First Communion gathering will take place this Sunday in the auditorium from 11:15am to 12:30pm. Please email Susan Rutkowski, susan@paulistcenter.org, with any questions.
Annual Paulist Appeal 2026
One Month In — Building Momentum
To date, 70 donors from the Paulist Center have contributed nearly $18,000. Thank you for helping us build bridges of faith and service. Your generosity strengthens our Boston mission – from deepening young adult engagement and expanding outreach beyond our doors, to preparing to hire a lay Executive Director who will help guide our next chapter.
As a Paulist community, staying informed about how our local mission connects to the national Paulist mission matters. The Appeal makes that shared mission possible.
If you have not yet participated, there is still time.
Every gift helps. Thank you!
Family Religious Education Program
All FREP classes will meet in their usual locations this Sun, March 8.
**Next Sun, March 15 @11:15 am in the auditorium, please join us for a FREP Parent Listening Session. We want to hear your voices especially around re-imagining FREP as one of our goals for the Pastoral Plan. Coffee and refreshments to keep you awake!
Daylight Savings Time
This Sunday, March 8 – Set clocks forward one hour at 2:00a.m. to 3:00 am
Protecting Human Dignity in Prayer and Action: Spotlight on Migration
Tuesdays in Lent on Zoom
All that we do in the service of justice is a form of prayer: march, accompany our neighbors, organize, attend training, write letters to our legislators, carry banners, speak out, or witness – all these activities are prayer in action, working to make real God’s call for justice and mercy.
Join us for – Zoom Prayer in Action – Tuesdays at 7:30pm, March 10 through March 31 to pray and organize around the injustices our immigrant brothers and sisters are facing.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_O5o0KuEQ9C5aoR1BfJ2mw
Live-Streaming
Find all the livestreams and recordings on youtube.com/ThePaulistCenter
At the time of each livestream, the appropriate Order of Worship will be available at paulistcenter.org/order-of-worship.
Please Pray For …
Barbara Dunay, Paulist Center community member and retired bookkeeper, who is facing serious health challenges.
Flower Donations for the Easter Season
Honor your loved ones, living or deceased, by making a donation towards Easter flowers with which we’ll adorn the Chapel throughout the Easter Season. The suggested donation is $10. Contributions can be made:
- at the Front Desk Mon – Fri from 10:30am – 4:30pm;
- by going to Donate Online, and choose “Flower Donation” and note who it is “in honor of”, or “in memory of”; or
- by using the envelopes in the pews.
Please write legibly when notating your loved ones’ names.
WORSHIP MATTERS
March 8, 2026, Issue #19
LITURGICAL YEAR: The Three Pillars of Lent-Part I: Fasting
Rooted in the Gospel of Matthew (6:1–18) and often referred to as the three pillars of Lent, the spiritual practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving lie at the heart of this season of reflection, preparation, and renewal as we move toward Easter. Together they heighten our awareness of our dependence on God, help us recognize the ways we become attached to the things of this world, and call us to deepen our connection to the Body of Christ.
This week our focus is on the practice of fasting, a spiritual discipline found in every major religious tradition. Our Muslim brothers and sisters are currently observing the month of Ramadan, during which fasting is strictly observed—no food or water from dawn until sundown each day. The Christian practice of fasting has its roots in the Jewish tradition, where fasting marked times of repentance, mourning, and communal prayer.
During Lent, the Church asks us to observe this practice in simple but meaningful ways: abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent and limiting ourselves to one full meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Our liturgy continually reminds us of the importance of this discipline. On Ash Wednesday we pray that we may “begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service.” The blessing of ashes encourages us to “follow the Lenten observances.” And on Palm Sunday, before the palms are blessed, we are reminded that throughout Lent we have been preparing our hearts through prayer, penance, and works of charity.
But fasting is about more than what we give up.
At its heart, fasting is about consciously acknowledging those cravings, distractions, and preoccupations that keep us from our truest selves. From attentiveness to the movement of God’s Spirit in and around us, and from our capacity to move beyond ourselves and connect more deeply with others. The point is not “sacrifice,” as though deprivation itself somehow pleases God, but the intentional letting go of attitudes and behaviors that stand in the way – those things that keep us from seeking God, solidarity with others, and honoring our own dignity.
Lenten Service of Reconciliation and Reflection – Wed, March 18
Join us Wednesday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. in the Chapel for this time of healing and reconciliation.
Individual Confession will be available.
43rd Annual Paulist Center Auction
Set Sail Together: A Mediterranean Journey
Saturday, May 2 – 6:15pm
Step aboard and set sail on an unforgettable evening inspired by the beauty and romance of the Mediterranean! We hope you’ll join us for the Paulist Center’s largest annual fundraiser in support of our ministries and operations.
You can help make our Auction a winds-at-our-back triumph!
If you can assist by donating an item, sponsoring, or volunteering your time, please see our 2026 Auction Page. Please contact Auction Co-chairs Maggie Keefe or Jordan Johnson with any questions or ideas at Auction@PaulistCenter.org.
A Lenten Saturday: Prayer Amidst Resistance in Troubled Times
March 21, 9am – 2pm, the Paulist Center
These months are propelling some to activism, prayer, or a stunned and frozen state. Join us for pause and prayer that’s: A time to look inward and bear witness to one another’s experiences. An opportunity to share how you’re called to meet the moment. A time to embrace Lent as we point towards hope together.
$20 donation – if you are able – to cover lunch. Please bring something to share for a morning treat. We’ll have coffee and tea available. Community members Emily Spicer Hankle and Sonia Caus Gleason will facilitate. Contact sonia@soniacausgleason.org with questions. Please use this link to register: https://forms.gle/CJvLnzX6Ye1FraEV6
The Paschal Triduum: Holy Week at the Paulist Center
The word “TRIDUUM,” the celebration of the Lord’s passion, death, and rising, means “three days.” In the biblical keeping of time, great days of celebration begin on the evening before the feast. Thus, the Triduum begins on Holy Thursday evening and ends with the liturgical celebrations on Easter Sunday.
Because the celebration of the Paschal Triduum – in its entirety- is the most important liturgical expression of our common faith, please join us as we celebrate together as a community.
HOLY THURSDAY, April 2
Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
*7:00 pm
GOOD FRIDAY, April 3
Seven Last Words Ecumenical Service
*12 noon
Celebration of the Passion and the Death of the Lord
*3:00 pm
HOLY SATURDAY, April 4
Easter Vigil
*8:00 pm
EASTER SUNDAY, April 5
Mass of the Resurrection
*10:00 am
12:00 pm
Rest In Peace, Jane O’Connor
Longtime Paulist Center member, Jane O’Connor passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 28, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Friday, March 6 at the Church of St. Patrick in Watertown. A link to her obituary and tribute wall can be found here.
Jane’s lifelong commitment to service was honored with the Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice in 2017, recognizing her unwavering dedication to advancing dignity, expanding opportunity, and living her faith through compassionate action. Please remember Jane and her family in your prayers.
Parent Preparation for Infant/Child Baptism
The Paulist Center offers an infant/child baptism preparation session for expecting parents and prospective Godparents. The next session is on Saturday, March 14 from 10am – 12pm in the 3rd Fl Library/Chapel. To register for the session, please contact Fr. Rick at rick@paulistcenter.org
Pastoral Planning Community Meetings – March 8 and March 11
The pastoral planning committee is offering community meetings on Sun, March 8 and Wed, March 11 to review the first draft of a pastoral plan. The committee and staff have worked with Jonathan Lewis, the Mission Strategy Officer of the Paulist Fathers, to compile the information gathered in the fall from the community and draft a plan for the next few years. Sun, March 8: In-person after both the 10am and 6pm Masses. Wed, March 11 at 7:30pm via Zoom.
These will all be the same content, you do not need to attend more than one. We hope you can join us!
Tax Donation Letters
If you gave to the Center in an identifiable way this past calendar year, you will be sent a tax donation letter by the start of February. There is no need to specifically request a letter, unless you don’t receive one by early February. Please note, per the IRS, retired folks who give directly from their retirement accounts receive their tax deductible donation documentation from their retirement plan provider, not from us. If you have any questions, contact Deborah Heimel at deborah@paulistcenter.org
Thank you so much for your generosity to the Center. We are greatly appreciative!
The Creation Care Ministry invites You To
Join us for a Greener Lent
Again, this year, the Creation Care ministry invites you to direct your traditional Lenten practices of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving toward Care of Creation and the Poor, with Greener Lent, a Laudato Si’-inspired Lenten program. Last year more than 20 Paulist Center members joined almost 400 people nationwide committing to:
PRAY – for the poor most affected by the climate crisis,
FAST – choosing one of several options to sacrificially eat more sustainably, and
CONTRIBUTE – any amount (perhaps money saved by eating less beef) to the building of life-giving water wells in two dioceses in sub-Saharan Africa.
Signing up takes only a few minutes; you provide your name, choose how you want to fast, and select Paulist Center as your parish. Participants receive periodic reports on how much carbon footprint has been reduced. Sign up and learn more at greenerlent.org (Note: Scroll down to sign up.)
Parent Preparation for Infant/Child Baptism
The Paulist Center offers an infant/child baptism preparation session for expecting parents and prospective Godparents. The next session is on Saturday, March 14 from 10am – 12pm in the 3rd Fl Library/Chapel.
To register for the session, please contact Fr. Rick at rick@paulistcenter.org
Stewardship
The Paulist Center receives no funding from outside sources. All costs to operate our ministries for both members and the wider Boston community, maintain the building, and pay our staff are supported solely by your financial donations. We are so grateful for your financial support! See paulistcenter.org/give/ways-to-give for a variety of ways to give to the Paulist Center.
Two options include:
Give a one-time or recurring donation using your bank account or credit card by visiting tinyurl.com/DonatePaulistCenter or scanning the QR code on this page outlined in blue. You can use this method for donations for specific programs, too, and, if you are a registered member with us, these donations will be included in a year-end tax statement sent to you for any donations that are tax deductible per IRS regulations. Giving by this method helps us with our budgeting and stewardship efforts.
Use Apple Pay or Google Pay by visiting donorbox.org/paulistcenter, scanning the QR code on the red cards in the pews, or scanning the QR code on this page outlined in red. Please note that these donations will not be included in any year-end giving tax records, and they solely support our general operations.
Community Gift
The Paulist Center gives 5% of our annual offertory to 52 other charitable organizations with missions consonant with our own. These organizations receive an equal amount from our annual offertory.
The weekend of March 7 – 8 we raise up Health Care For All which advocates for health justice in Massachusetts by working to promote health equity and ensure coverage and access for all.
Mass Intentions
Please stop by the reception area during the week, email Sal Whooley at sal@paulistcenter.org, or call 617-742-4460, if you would like to arrange for a Mass and/or purchase a Mass card:
- in memory of someone who has died,
- in honor of a special occasion,
- or for the special intentions of yourself or a loved one
Paulist Center Rosary Circle
All are welcome to the Paulist Center Rosary Circle which meets every Monday at 7:30pm via Zoom. ID: 487 503 158; passcode: 021078.
Do you have a special intention that you would like the Paulist Center Community to pray for? Our weekly Rosary Circle is happy to include your intentions (may be anonymous). Go here for the form.
Low-Gluten Hosts
Low-gluten hosts are available upon request. Please see the presider in the Chapel or Sacristy fifteen minutes before Mass and indicate where you will be seated in the Chapel so the communion minister in that section will have the low-gluten host for you at communion.
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction is an opportunity for one to reflect and share one’s life and prayer experience and be guided in one’s search for God. Spiritual Direction is available at the Center from Sister Kathleen Hagerty, CSJ, or Christopher O’Rourke.
Sister Kathleen can be reached at 617-755-9729.
Christopher can be reached at 617-817-3977.