Mary, Queen of

Martyrs Parish News

Biweekly Date: January 5, 2025 / Issue 142

"'Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.'"

Faith Formation News

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

January 5, 2025

Grades 1-5 8:15 AM St Peter

Grades 1-5 8:45 AM OLOL

Edge Grades 6-8 4:30 PM St Peter

Youth Mass 5:30 PM St Peter

Confirmation 6:30 PM St Peter

January 6, 2025

Grades 1-5 4:45 PM St Peter

January 11, 2025

Reconciliation Retreat with Parent

1:00 PM OLOL

January 12, 2025

Grades 1-5 8:15 AM St Peter

Grades 1-5 8:45 AM OLOL

First Communion Prep I Parent Meeting 11:30 AM St Kateri

Edge Grades 6-8 4:30 PM St Peter

Confirmation I 6:30 PM St Peter

January 13, 2025

Grades 1-5 4:45 PM St Peter

January 14, 2025

First Communion Prep I Parent Meeting 5:30 PM St Kateri

YOUTH MASS

All are welcome to join us for the Youth Mass on January 5, 2025 at 5:30pm. Middle School will meet for class before Mass and High School Confirmation will meet after Mass and have pasta and meatballs for dinner.

RECONCILIATION RETREAT

All children preparing for First Reconciliation have an afternoon retreat on January 11, 2025 from 1:00 pm-4:00 pm at Our Lady of Lourdes with a parent. We will be reviewing how to go to Confession, play games, spend time in prayer, and have several activities on the parable of the lost sheep and the prodigal son.

FIRST COMMUNION PREP I

PARENT MEETING

At least one parent should plan on attending one of the upcoming meetings as we go over the God Loves Me Retreat, registration for next year, VBS, and so much more.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Sunday, January 12, 2025 at 11:30 am

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 5:30 pm

Patsy Gillespie

Director of Faith Formation

Mary, Queen of Martyrs Parish

(508) 746 - 0663 ext. 206

faithform@maryqueenofmartyrs.org

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me" (Jeremiah 29:11-14).

Spotlight on Activities

Lots of Epiphany Crafts and Ideas!!

For All That Shall Be—Thanks!

December 31, 2024

Bruce Epperly

Reflect

Former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold penned the following words in his journal, Markings: “For all that has been—thanks! For all that shall be—yes!” These are apt words for the New Year. Let us give thanks for the blessings of the past year, and let us look forward with hope to the year ahead, knowing that we can be the great yes for our family, friends, and the world.

Pray

Facing the rising sun of the new year,

Let me give thanks for the blessings of the year gone by.

Let me share my gratitude with those

who have supported me and with my loved ones.

Let my voice be one of affirmation.

Let me open the door to the future,

Taking responsibility for my life

And supporting the well-being of others.

Let the year ahead be a great yes for me

And the world I touch.

Amen.

Act

Spend today joining hope and gratitude. Take time to say thanks to God and those who have supported you this year. Reach out in gratitude through a text message, phone call, email, or visit. Take time to imagine ways to do something beautiful for God and this good earth in the year ahead. Do one thing that says yes to God and the world today.

DeCOLORES ALL!

Our next Ultreya is at:

Mary, Queen of Martyrs Parish

Saint Kateri Church

126 South Meadow Road

Plymouth, MA

Sunday, January 19, 2025 at

5:00 PM

Celebrant: Fr Joe Raeke assisted by Deacon Jim

Witness: Brian Pusateri from Broken Door Ministries

Brian is a Catholic Lay Evangelist, Author and Founder of Broken Door Ministries

All are welcome to a very special evening of faith, friends and growing closer to Christ. This month's Ultreya offers a unique opportunity to hear from national speaker, Brian Pusateri. Brian has been deeply inspired by his own Cursillo experience. He travels the country sharing his story and how Christ called him to create space for you and I to grow in faith.

This month's service project wil be a good-will offering for Brian's ministry.

BROKENDOORMINISTRIES.COM

Please bring a snack to share & spread the word. Come join together with us to celebrate this wonderful Community of faith & to thank God for all of our Blessings!

(Any questions call Patti & John at 617-678-4306. Also, please rsvp any help with food to be offered if possible. God bless & thanks to all!)

Holy Cross Retreat House Cursillos

January 30-February 2, 2025 Men's

February 20-23, 2025 Women's

March 20-23, 2025 Men's

April 24-27, 2025 Women's

MQM Ultreya's

January 19, 2025-Saint Kateri

February 16, 2025-Saint Kateri

March 9, 2025-Saint Kateri

April 6, 2025-Saint Kateri

May 18, 2025 - OLOL

Change of Heart Key to Holy Year Indulgence, Latin Patriarch Says in Nazareth

Judith Sudilovsky, OSV News

World

Tuesday 31st of December 2024

NAZARETH, Israel (OSV News) -- An indulgence granted during the Jubilee Year is not just an occasion to "get something" but rather is a sign of the Holy Year, of the moment where the faithful must put themselves in front of God to discover the reality of oneself and see the need for forgiveness, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem said Dec. 29 at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa's heartfelt message came as he was at the basilica to preside over a Mass inaugurating the Jubilee Year in the Holy Land.

"With the indulgence we get this privilege, this moment from God where we can get full forgiveness of all our sins but it is not something we can get by money, but it is something we can get by a conversion: Without a change of our heart, an indulgence of this year" has no meaning, the cardinal said. "On this occasion the intercession by Our Lady the Virgin Mary … starts this year as a new beginning for ourselves and our families."

Standing in front of the Grotto of the Annunciation, which is below the basilica and what Christian tradition holds is the site of the Angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary, the patriarch led the rite of the commemoration of the baptism.

Then, together with Melkite Catholic Archbishop Youssef Matta of Akka, Israel, he sprinkled the concelebrants and the people gathered around the site with the blessed water. The procession then moved to the basilica, preceded by the Gospel book and the adorned cross created in the Byzantine style for the Jubilee Year by Spanish Sister Maria Ruiz Rodriguez.

During the Jubilee Year, which is to focus on hope, indulgences can be obtained primarily through pilgrimages, including to the Holy Land, where pilgrims must visit at least one of three basilicas: the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Church (Basilica) of the Nativity in Bethlehem or the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

The decree prepared by Apostolic Penitentiary and issued May 13 by the Holy See also states that pilgrims should devoutly participate in holy Mass or a celebration of the Word of God, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Way of the Cross, the Marian rosary, the recitation of the Akathist hymn or a penitential celebration that concludes with individual confessions.

"It is a great grace and a very special blessing to be here," said Sister Isabel Arreola Gopar, superior of Missionary Sisters of the Evangelization in the Holy Land from Capernaum. "We did everything we could to be here today. It is a wonderful event that God gives us this grace, not only for me but for all people."

The region has been embroiled in over a year of war, sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught by Hamas from the Gaza Strip on southern Israel communities. These attacks led to an Israeli military invasion into Gaza, followed by Hezbollah missile attacks on northern Israel and Israeli reprisal attacks on southern Lebanon.

Normally filled with pilgrims and tourists, the streets of Nazareth were quiet and almost eerily empty as the morning rain gave way to tentative sunshine, and most of those attending the ceremony were local Christians, religious and diplomats.

Alejandro Bonilla, 22, from Bogotá, Colombia, whose uncle works at the Colombian Embassy, said he felt grateful and privileged to be able to participate in the ceremony which strengthened his faith in a place of the foundations of his faith.

"I feel joy, I feel grateful and happy to be having this different experience," he told OSV News. "For some young people this may not be their idea for a vacation, but not many young people can have this experience. But I come for something different, I come for things I need for my faith."

Local resident Amir Shahadi, 17, called it an honor to be from the city of Nazareth at this moment, and in his first Jubilee Year, he said, he felt the need to pray for peace in the world and for forgiveness.

Having come all the way from Jerusalem, Armenian Christians Michael Sahagian, 32, and his cousin Maya, 17, said the inauguration of the Jubilee Year of the Catholic Church was important to them as Christians as a way of connecting with God and made them feel hopeful and proud.

In addition, said Michael Sahagian, he would be praying to God for peace for all people: Jews, Christians and Muslims.

"We should stop this conflict," he said. "I (hope) 2025 will give us peace and health, everything we need in this country. We don't know how long we will live, but this land will always be here, and we should just live our lives and not get into conflict."

Though it is difficult to speak of hope in a time and place enveloped by war and violence where there seems to be little hope, it is still the "the driving force and foundation of every initiative," Cardinal Pizzaballa said in his homily.

"It is indeed very difficult to speak of hope, to believe that there is hope, when everything around us speaks of war, violence, poverty and harshness of life ... especially in this last year," he said.

"In this terrible war, there are not only so many prisoners on all sides who need to see the light of freedom again. If we broaden our view to include all of us, I think we are all prisoners of this war and its aftermath in one way or another. Hatred, resentment and fear keep us trapped in our relationships and in our trust in each other. We are imprisoned, trapped in our fears, which do not allow us any courage, no trusting view and therefore no hope in others and in the future. In God as the one who is able to bring life, even where everything seems dead and finished," he added.

Indeed, he said, hope requires faith, foremost faith in God.

"It is not about knowing the creed by heart, but about being aware of God's presence in our own lives," he told the local faithful, who filled the sanctuary to standing-room only capacity.

"Faith in God leads us to look beyond ourselves, to believe in the work of God, who is not distant or immutable, but on the contrary acts in the life of the world and of man," he continued. "Believing in God means relying not only on our own actions and abilities, which often show their limitations. It means sharing and entrusting one's life and passion to God, knowing that this life and passion will become brighter and more complete in this divine friendship."

But hope also needs patience, the patriarch said, and knowing how to wait in a time when everything must be immediate.

"We want peace right now. We want an end to pain now. We want the solution to our problems now, and we do not resign ourselves to the idea that we should wait instead, patiently but without resignation," he said.

"Hope also requires knowing how to entrust the fruits of one's labor to others with time and patience," he added, reminding the faithful that hope can "illuminate" that expectation for peace with action and urging them not to use the current difficulties as an excuse for not taking action and "building something beautiful" and contributing to the construction of "friendship, solidarity and love."

- - - Judith Sudilovsky writes for OSV News from Jerusalem.

The Song of Bernadette

Every Catholic should be truly devoted to our patron saints, not just knowing facts about them, but learning to love them in their spiritual care for us, and the example of their lives. I went to Lourdes last April in order to learn about new patrons of mine, the Lady of the Grotto and St. Bernadette Soubirous, and want to bring what I’ve come to love about these women to our parish. I will lead a group reading the historical novel, The Song of Bernadette, after the Tues. 9am daily Mass in Carver from Tues. 11/12/24 until the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on Tues. 2/11/25. Franz Werfel wrote the novel as fulfillment of a vow made to God to sing Bernadette’s story to the world after he learned about the apparitions in the remote Pyrenean village while hiding from the Nazis there as a Jew during WWII. Immediately it became a bestseller and award winning movie. Please leave me a message by voicemail or email if you would like a book. If you may come to the group, or read along on your own. If there is interest I could also meet after my Sunday OLOL Masses every 3 weeks for those who cannot come on Tuesdays.– Fr. Paul

A 12-Step Program Based in the Upcoming Sunday Scriptures

All Are Welcome

Mary, Queen of Martyrs Parish

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Church

126 South Meadow Road

Plymouth, MA 02360

Weekly meetings on

Wednesdays

6:30 PM—7:30 PM

Please contact Deacon Jim Greer for more information at 617-645-7915

Catholic in Recovery is a nonprofit organization that seeks to serve those suffering from addictions and unhealthy attachments (including alcoholism, drug addiction, pornography addiction, sex and relationship addiction, compulsive overeating and food addiction, gambling addiction, codependency and the impact on family, and general fear,

control, and anxiety).

Spotlight on Food Pantries

St. Vincent de Paul at St. Peter’s

The SVdP Food Pantry is held every Friday from 2:30-4:00 PM at the St. Peter Parish Center, 10 Memorial Drive. Thank you to our friends and parishioners who have so kindly remembered the Society, and those we serve, through your generous private gifts, and donations left in the church donation boxes, located at each door of the church. Your kindness helps many.

We are currently in need of: Beef Stew, Chili, Pasta Sauce, Baked Beans, Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, Apple Juice, Cranberry Juice, Coffee, Pancake Mix, & Pop Tarts. Donations may be dropped off at the Parish Center or at the church.

If you are in need, please call the office at 508-746-0663 Ext. 307 and leave a message. We can help with resources and aid. You may also call us at this number if you are interested in volunteering for SVdP.

The Saint Kateri Food Pantry

Tuesdays from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

The Food Pantry is always in need of any non perishable food items such as canned soups, pasta and sauce products, baking goods, cereals, canned tuna or chicken, boxed meals such as Hamburger & Tuna Helpers, canned vegetables and canned fruit and fruit juice. Liquid dish detergent, Kleenex, paper towels, toilet paper and cleaning products are very much needed. Personal hygiene products, such as deodorant, body wash/soap and shampoos are staples in every household and always appreciated!!

Thank you for your continued support of the food pantry!

Mary, Queen of Martyrs Parishioners, we need your help! On the 3rd Tuesday of each month, we receive a large order of food delivered from the Boston Food Bank. This delivery is generally about 3,000 lbs. Our staff is older and unloading this amount of products is difficult for the small group of people who usually help.

PLEASE consider taking an hour of your time to come by the church around 8:30 AM that day to help unload. We meet every third Tuesday of the month!

“THE THRIFTY LILY” News

We welcome your donations of new or gently used goods to sell, but can only take them during the hours we are open!

Please, do not leave any items at the door outside of our business hours.

Every Monday 2PM to 5PM

Every Wednesday 10AM to 2PM

Every Thursday 10AM to 2PM

First Saturday of every month

from 10 AM to 2PM

If you like to bake, please consider baking some of your delicious recipes for our bake sale.

EVERYONE IS INVITED!!!

Sunday, January 12, 2025 at 11:30 a.m.

To the Celebration of the Eucharist and Luncheon

Mary, Queen of Martyrs

All are Welcome Ministry

Come join Fr. Joe for Mass at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 12, 2025, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, as we celebrate God’s great love for each and every one of us. Our All are Welcome ministry includes members, family, and friends of the LGBTQ+ community and is committed to making all feel valued, respected, and loved. We’ll also enjoy a potluck luncheon reception after Mass, so please join us for prayer, food, fellowship, and fun - we hope to see you there!

This Mass will also be livestreamed on Mary, Queen of Martyrs Facebook page

Start the new year off right by reducing your fall risk! Come join us for a FREE workshop with Dr. Sam Rosenbach, DPT, who will be teaching and demonstrating ways to improve your environment (including your household) and stability.

The workshop will take place on

Sunday, January 5, 2025

11:00 am

Saint Kateri Function Hall.

Bonus fall risk test to be performed after to asses your risk. Please sign up at the back of the church or call Patti DeAngelo at 617-678-4306.

Thank you to Archbishop Richard Henning for coming to Plymouth and celebrating the 11:30 AM Mass at St. Peter’s Church.

Happy New Year!

May God bless you with a safe, healthy, and joyous New Year!

From Fr. Joe, Fr. Paul,

Deacon Jim, Deacon Dick, Deacon Dan and the Parish Staff!

The Weekly Gospel

Matthew 2:1-12

"They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way."

Scripture Reflection for Jan. 5, 2025, The Epiphany of the Lord

Deacon Greg Kandra

Tuesday 31st of December 2024

If we haven't gotten enough of Christmas lights already this season -- on houses, trees, bushes, department stores -- this Sunday we are absolutely festooned with them. The reading, from Isaiah announces in the very first line: "Your light has come!"

And it keeps on coming.

"Nations shall walk by your light," the prophet continues, and the Scriptures go on to speak of "shining radiance," "light" and, in Matthew's memorable gospel, the star that guided the magi to Bethlehem. We are positively blinded by illumination.

On this feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the most prominent epiphany (or "revelation") may well be that light has at last come to the world. We might consider it the very fulfillment of God's first words in all of Scripture: "Let there be light."

This glorious feast is the perfect moment to remember that command -- and to cherish what those words really mean. With the birth of Christ, God taking on flesh and entering human history as a baby in a humble stable, the world is made whole. Something new is beginning, another Genesis starts to unfold.

But that leaves us to wonder: What are we going to do about it? How will we make this moment count in the days to come?

A lot of us have made resolutions for the new year -- and a few of us, I suspect, have already broken them. (Admit it: That diet disappeared with the last tin of Christmas cookies and the final box of Whitman's chocolates.) But all is not lost. When you think about it, today is really the best time to resolve to start anew. It is the perfect moment to soak up the light that is radiating around us, redirect it into our hearts, and scatter the darkness. Now is the time to start fresh.

The light of this day points the magi to Jesus, but they aren't the only ones. It leads us to that encounter in Bethlehem, too. It calls us to the manger, to the unlikely throne of a newborn king, where we kneel and reflect and pray, and then open our own gifts, our own "treasures," before the Lord. It invites us to see Christ in his astonishing humility -- even, incredibly, his helplessness -- and coaxes us to say, with a sense of wonder and hope, "Here I am. This is what I have to offer you. Help me to be of use."

That may be one of the best gifts we can give the Lord right now -- ourselves, in all our frailty and imperfection, but filled with possibility. The psalmist knew what he was writing about. "Here I am. I come to do your will." At the dawn of a new year, on a day dazzling with light, we come before God with a sense of surrender and new purpose.

With the light of Christ in our hearts, how can we make the days ahead brighter in places so often overcome by shadows? How can we be light in the world?

This Gospel passage offers one compelling answer -- and a sense of direction -- in what may be one of my favorite lines in all of scripture: "They departed for their country by another way."

After the magi had greeted the newborn king and encountered the savior of the world, things had to change. They couldn't follow a familiar route. They couldn't go back by the old way they had traveled before. There had to be another way.

If you're looking for a good resolution to keep in this new year, there it is. Resolve to go "by another way."

Need some help? Here's an Epiphany prayer for the new year:

God, make my journey one of faith, with love as my fuel and compassion as my map.

Direct me down narrow paths that lead me always to you, despite whatever obstacles, roadblocks and detours I might have to take.

And like the magi, when the way becomes dark and the road uncertain, and I fear I have lost my way, help me remember you are near.

Let me always be guided by your light.

Amen.

- Deacon Greg Kandra is an award-winning author and journalist, and creator of the blog, "The Deacon's Bench."

Spotlight on Mass

Mass Streaming

streaming St Peter Sunday 11:30AM

streaming Our Lady of Lourdes Sunday 10AM

Mary, Queen of Martyrs Facebook Page

9:00 am Weekday Mass Schedule is as Follows:

Mondays & Thursdays at

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Tuesdays & Fridays at

Our Lady of Lourdes

Wednesdays & Saturdays at

Saint Peter’s

Mary, Queen of Martyrs Bulletin

Our bulletin is now available on the new website at

maryqueenofmartyrs.org

Click Here

Weekly Eucharistic Adoration

and Confessions

Please join Fr. Paul for a Holy Hour with Confessions every Tuesday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM at St. Peter's Church (upstairs church and sacristy).

Fr Paul will also lead the Holy Rosary

(15 decades) after the Holy Hour from

7:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the upstairs church. All are welcomed to attend.

Email adoration@maryqueenofmartyrs.org to receive occasional updates about this Holy Hour, in event of cancellation, etc.

Bible Study Anyone?

Fr. Joe’s Monthly Bible Study meets once a month for 9 months from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM at St. Peter’s Parish Center (lunch is included). The next session will be on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Please contact Kathy at 508-746-0663 ext. 401 if you would like to register for these sessions.

The Children's Liturgy of the Word has resumed and all children are welcome to participate during the 9:30 am Mass at St. Peter.

After the opening prayer, the priest will invite the children to come forward and they will be led to the lower church for the Liturgy of the Word. They will hear the same readings and will have a discussion about the Gospel at their level.

Parents are welcome to accompany young children and those who are nervous.

The children will return upstairs around the time of the offertory and return directly to you.

Parishioners and Friends of Mary, Queen of Martyrs Parish can now make a one-time or a recurring gift directly on our parish website. Stop worrying about weekly envelopes or mailing in special donations or ministry program fees. Instead, give a gift at any time (from any device that connects to the internet) using a current email and checking account/credit card. It’s simple and secure. You can even turn your tithe into an automatic gift that gives when and how often you’d like with your own online donor account. Visit https://maryqueenofmartyrs.org/online-giving to see how easy it is.

For those parishioners who use our online giving system for their collections and feel like they need to put something in the collection baskets, we now have laminated cards available that you can put into the basket. These will be available at the front of all our churches each week.

For those parishioners who write paper checks, please remember to write all donation checks out to Mary, Queen of Martyrs Parish, not the individual church name. Thank you and God Bless!

SOCIAL JUSTICE MINISTRY CORNER

We are people of faith, called to live the Gospel!

DIAPER PANTRY

MARY, QUEEN OF MARTYRS DIAPER PANTRY

Amy Norris, Kate Sweeney, Mary Quilty, Jeanne Barreta, Lori Connelly, Kathy Pesanelli, Christine Cumming, Donna Krobock, Kelle Charpentier. Not shown – Susanne Conley.

The Diaper Pantry Volunteer Team extend their gratitude for your continued support to this important ministry. We wish you all the Joy and Peace of this Christmas Season and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Our mission is to provide supplemental support to families in need of baby diapers and your generosity has made it possible to assist an average of 20 families at each pantry. There are now two ways to give!

If you would like to make a monetary donation, you’ll find ‘Diaper Pantry’ envelopes at the church entrances. You may put these either in the offering basket, the St. Vincent de Paul donation box, or drop them off at one of the church offices.

If you would rather donate diapers directly, they can be dropped off at the entrances of our three churches before or after Mass, or at the church offices during open hours (St. Kateri on Monday and Thursday from 8:30am – 12:30pm, Our Lady of Lourdes on Tuesday and Friday from 8:30am – 12:30pm, St Peter on Monday through Friday from 9:00am – 12:30pm.

Diaper size needed this week:

Size 2T, 3T & 6

For questions contact Jeanne at 508 – 591- 3510 or PCCDiaperPantry@yahoo.com

Thank you for your generosity!

Note: Our latest Diaper Pantry Update and Report to Parishioners is now available! To view the report, please click below, visit our parish website, see the parish newsletter, or pick up a hard copy at our church entrances.

Diaper Pantry Hours

The 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of the Month (held on the same day as the food pantry, so our clients can have easy access to both vital services)

9:30am–11:00 am at

Saint Kateri Parish Office

Click Here for the Diaper Pantry Update and Report

AN INVITATION TO PUT YOUR LOVE OF CHRIST INTO ACTION

The Southeast Massachusetts People Organized to Welcome Immigrants and Refugees (POWIR) team assists immigrants and refugees in their resettlement journey. POWIR teams are formed under the guidance of Catholic Charities & The Archdiocese of Boston, to provide the welcoming community support so essential to successful resettlement in the USA. The teams manifest Christ’s love on earth by befriending and helping those displaced, abused, and forgotten families, who have fled from conditions unimaginable to us. The teams help build lives that are safe, have normalcy, and most of all provide a sense of being loved and valued in their new community.

Parishioners at Mary, Queen of Martyrs Parish can assist in many ways from simply donating, to providing transportation or teaching English, to becoming a guiding and comforting presence in someone’s life. It is an opportunity to encounter Christ as you live his words “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” If you would like to join the POWIR Team, please contact Steve Schrader at 703-389-2497 or email pigpenf16@aol.com.

“Being part of this effort to welcome a refugee family has been like touching the hem of Jesus’ garment.” —POWIR volunteer, Catholic Charities of Boston

Our Parish Prays for Life on

Sunday, January 19, 2025

A Holy Hour for Life, Forgiveness and Healing will be held on Sunday, January 19, 2025, from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM at St. Peter Church as part of the Archdiocesan observance of the National Day of Prayer and Penance. Led by Deacon Dan O’Toole, we will pray together for respect for the dignity of human life from conception to natural death; for those who have been wounded by abortion; for those facing death; and for increased holiness in the Church.

The Holy Hour for Life, Forgiveness and Healing is organized by Boston Deacons for Life in collaboration with the Office of Diaconal Life and Ministry & the Pro-Life Office of the Archdiocese of Boston.

Also, as part of January’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we will also pray for all victims of trafficking and for an end to this scourge.

Please join us! All are welcome!

Our Gentle Blessings Singers Celebrated the 2^nd Annual Christmas Concert at Newfield House!

MQOM Gentle Blessings Singers visited a local nursing home, Newfield House, on December 18^th for the joyous singing of treasured Christmas Carols! The singers gathered around the piano with residents of the nursing home and together entertained a room-full of residents, family, friends and staff. Joy filled the room!

Prayer Requests

There is a link on our Mary, Queen of Martyrs website available for prayer requests. Please click on the link and you may write out your request.

There is also a Book of Intentions available at each of our churches. You may write your prayer intention directly in the book.

There are prayer angels in our parish community praying for all the intentions and ALL intentions are remembered at all the Masses in our parish community!

The Prayer Life Team

Click Here to Request Prayers

As a Parish We Pray for:

Click To Read the Names of All Who We Pray for Today

Spotlight on Vocations

Click Here for Vocations Boston

Join Dynamic Catholic

This Week on FORMED

Join Taylor and Ben each week as they walk you through amazing content on FORMED! You'll discover all kinds of videos and audio to accompany you during the weekly liturgical calendar, Saint feast days and world events taking place.

This Week on Formed

Mary Queen of Martyrs Knights of Columbus Council 9822 meets every 2nd Thursday of the month at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Hall at 7:00 PM.

Secular Franciscans meet at St. Mary's Parish Center, 327 Court St. in North Plymouth at 7 p.m., the first Tuesday of every month. If you think you might have a vocation to be Secular Franciscan (a person who strives to live the Gospel by following a rule of life written by St. Francis and approved by the Church) or would like to know more about the Secular Franciscan way of life call Ellen McDermott (774-216-9671) or stop by on our meeting night. We would love to see you.

If anyone is interested in joining Our Lady of Lourdes Choir or St. Peter’s Choir for the Sunday morning Masses, please call the parish office at 508-746-0663, ext 401.

THE PRAYER AND LIFE WORKSHOP DAY RETREAT

With a one-day retreat called “Desert”, the Prayer and Life Workshop (PLW) at Holy Family Church in Duxbury came to its end on December 7^th, 2024.

VIEWS From Participants!

· This program came at a perfect time. I have incorporated prayer time in my daily life and feel closer to God.

· Being disciplined about praying. Taking the time to pray - not sacrificing my time but taking in God's time.

· I read the Bible - was always scared to do this. I feel reading the Bible has opened my eyes and heart to the Word of the Lord.

· Thinking about Jesus in everything I do. Putting Jesus first

· I now know God has a plan for me and am listening and waiting for the nudge to do what God has planned for me.

· I can find time now to pray each day. I trust in God to talk to me and listen to me. He has my back.

· I have become a better person, more tolerant of those that hurt or offend me. I have become more familiar with the Bible.

· It has helped me in being better able and confident in sharing the Good News of the Gospel to my family.

PRAYER AND LIFE WORKSHOP

Learning to pray to learn to live

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

Are any of these in your New Year’s resolutions for 2025?

· Learn new ways to pray

· Experience a more intimate relationship with the Lord

· Overcome sadness, fears and anxiety, and achieve inner peace

· Become a more patient, understanding, and forgiving person

Come to the New Prayer and Life Workshop and make prayer a part of your daily life. Let yourself be transformed by Jesus.

Where: St. Joseph’s Parish (Our Lady's Hall), 272 Main St, Kingston

When: Every Thursday. Choose your preferred time!

Morning: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or

Evening: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Duration: 15 Weeks (15 Sessions)

Orientation Session: Thursday, January 23, 2025

Start Date: Thursday, January 30, 2025

No Registration Fee – Only pay for materials

Don’t miss this opportunity. Jesus is calling YOU!

To register, or for more information, please contact the Guide, Mary Crespo.

Phone: (413) 478-5141 or

email: crespomdtov@gmail.com

ONE-DAY SPIRITUAL RETREAT

FOR GRIEVING PARENTS

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2025

Losing a child under any circumstance is devastating. Focusing on the spirituality of the grieving process can help.

The Emmaus Ministry is for parents whose children of any age, have died by any cause, no matter how long ago. The purpose of this retreat is to give yourself the gift of time on your spiritual journey.

Please join Fr. Joe and other parent companions at

Our Lady of Lourdes

130 Main St. Carver, MA

9:30am-6:30pm

Registration is required

Detailed information and registration to follow

Learn about other Emmaus Ministry for Grieving Parents retreats at

www.emfgp.org

All Are Welcome!

Do you know you are loved by God?

You belong to Jesus Christ and

you belong with us.

Regardless of:

Your present status in the Catholic Church,

Your current family or marital situation, or personal history, Your age, ability, income, or background,

Your gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity or spirituality, Your own self-image of holiness or virtue.

You are invited, accepted, and respected here at Mary, Queen of Martyrs Parish. We want to share our Roman Catholic way of faith and life in Christ with you.