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THE WEEKLY MISSIVE
May 15, 2026
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As We Await the End of the Age
Dear Friends,
Happy Ascension week to you all! I’ve been lucky enough this year to have the cup of the missive reflection pass to me on Ascension Thursday – on which day I now write this to you. You may, as I did, expect this writing of this week’s reflection to be particularly straightforward. With the Ascension constituting such an important holiday in the liturgical calendar, one would expect to glean no shortage of wisdom from its associated scriptural passages. However, it doesn’t feel right to simply say, “Remember that Jesus will come again!” and move on.
The Ascension is an extraordinarily significant, yet confusing moment. In temporal terms, our spiritual leader has abandoned us, leaving us to fend for ourselves. Some might say this is a fantastic moment to do whatever we want! No repercussions. Our leader’s not around! Others might try to tell you to be afraid. “We’ve been abandoned to a hopeless world of temptation and sin!” they might say. In my view the Ascension is neither of these things. Rather, it is immensely hopeful and empowering!
From the Gospel reading from this week, is this passage from Matthew 28 – verse 20, “behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” I am curious – what exactly (or when exactly) is the end of the age?
The astute observer might recognize these final words from the Gospel of Matthew as a callback to a moment from four chapters earlier when, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus’ disciples asked, “what sign will there be of your coming, and at the end of the age?” (Mt. 24:3). In paraphrase, Jesus responded – lots of people are going to claim to be me, or to speak in my name. Nations will go to war, the world will be beset by natural disasters, and you will be persecuted and betrayed. The one who will be saved in the end (presumably at this end of the age) is the one who perseveres despite it all.
This sort of apocalyptic language has been taken at face value by many, and, especially alongside the Book of Revelation, has caused some individuals and communities to adopt a literalistic millenarian view of ‘the Second Coming.’ In this line of thinking, the apocalypse seems imminent! Surely the rapture must happen at any moment! Surely the end of the world will come with trumpets, fire, brimstone, and people on horseback!
With this interpretation of the ‘end of the age’ I have long taken issue. Why would an eternal, loving God establish a period of prosperity for a mere ‘thousand’ years? Why would the ‘end of the age,’ after which an eternal kindom would persist, occur in any form that we’d be able to recognize with our limited physical senses? Instead, do not fret. These ‘signs of the times’ are not indicators of an imminent end; they are merely representations of the struggles of life. Since we are called to live in the image of The Christ, we too can overcome these struggles, trusting that, if we persist and love each other as we are called, until the ‘end of our ages,’ then we will be just fine.
See you around,
Gus, on behalf of the Paulist Center Staff
Alvaro, Deb, Dorothy, Gus, Norm, Fr. Rick, Rob, Sal, Susan, and Timmy
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- First Communion - 5/17
- 1st Communion Reception & End-of-year FREP party- 5/17
- Catholic Social Teachings - 5/17
- Creation Care ministry - MA environmental legislation
- Families Planting Trees - 5/30
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- PC's IAG - Prayer & Action on behalf of migrants
- Worship Matters - Ascension to Pentecost
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PC Auction - photos!
- All Are Welcome Mass - 6/5
- Summer Bulletin schedule
- Stewardship/Community Gift
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Family Religious Education Program (FREP)
The First Holy Communion sacrament will take place this Sunday, May 17, at our 10am Mass.
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First Communion Reception &
End-Of-Year FREP Party
This Sunday, May 17 there will be a
First Communion Reception and
end-of-year FREP party!
Please join us at 11:15am in the auditorium.
All are welcome!
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Lessons from Catholic Social Teachings -
Last Session
The last session of our Catholic Social Teaching series is scheduled for this Sunday, May 17 at 7 pm.
It will be led by the talented Dr. Raúl E. Zegarra, Community member and Asst. Prof. of Roman Catholic Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School.
Dr. Zegarra will focus on Dilexi te: I Have Loved You (Leo, 2025) for our final gathering.
We will meet in the 3rd Fl Library - pizza will be served.
Please join us!
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Right Here, Right Now
If our faith has you concerned about Creation Care and environmental justice in Massachusetts, this month is a great time to send a few emails / make a few calls.
The Paulist Center’s Creation Care ministry is sharing an easy to use template to follow, in the next two weeks when the Senate and House are deliberating environmental legislation.
If you would like to receive tips on ‘who and what’ for brief emails, contact us at:
paulistcentercreationcare@gmail.com
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Spirit and Solidarity:
A Monthly Moment of Prayer and Action on Behalf of Migrants
Seasons of Faithful Witness - Boston
A meeting was held last Tuesday (May 12) at BC High School and welcomed people to join the following workstreams:
1) Responding to direct needs in our communities: This group will support the direct needs of heavily migrant Catholic parishes whose members have been detained or risk detention by ICE by coalescing the anonymized stories to call for solidarity and explore direct support including financial and legal resources.
2) Public Witness on Corpus Christi: Corpus Christi, the feast celebrating the body of Christ and that we are the body of Christ, takes place on Sun, June 7. This group will coordinate a Catholic coalition at Bearing Witness for Corpus Christi.
IAG Thursday Monthly Gathering - theme is partnering with Seasons of Faithful Witness - Boston
Join the Paulist Center’s Immigration Advocacy Group by Zoom on Thurs, May 21 from 7 - 8:00pm.
We will start with a prayer, review the May 12th meeting and as a group consider our partnership with this effort.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83054229759?pwd=NJbToCyu4ULpR8phxN9284Q9B6z8bP.1
Meeting ID: 830 5422 9759
Passcode: 245183
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Families Planting Trees! Saturday, May 30
Sign up here!
https://forms.gle/KjJksVicWxJ6Dupo8
Our very last Family Religious Education activity is planned as an intergenerational session with our Creation Care Ministry team on Saturday, May 30 from 10 AM to 2 PM.
Together, with Catholic Climate Covenant, the Catholic Cemetery Association, and along with Speak for the Trees, Boston, we will help plant 10 trees in Roslindale and Mattapan.
This is an activity for all ages! We need strong teens and adults to dig and plant and we need smaller children to fill holes and help spread mulch. Speak for the Trees, Boston is designing specific child friendly activities for the day.
We hope you’ll join us by planting, preserving and advocating for trees in under canopied, underserved neighborhoods to combat climate change and address environmental justice.
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The 43rd Paulist Center Auction -
A Success!
We've been tallying up the receipts and expenses for our 43rd Annual Auction and it would appear from the early results that we have broken some records with this year's event!
Details to follow!!!
Meanwhile, we had a busy photographer in the room and have put a number of pictures on the Auction 2026 webpage: https://www.paulistcenter.org/auction2026/
Thank you ALL so much for making this a great FUN and FUND raiser!!
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WORSHIP MATTERS
May 17, 2026, Issue #25
ASCENSION TO PENTECOST:
Getting Down to the Mission Part
We’re familiar with the scene when Jesus sends the disciples out, two by two, on a mission. He instructs them to travel throughout Judea and beyond, to heal the sick, cast out unclean spirits, and proclaim the reign of God. And if that wasn’t challenging enough, Jesus tells them to take nothing with them but a walking stick—no bread, no bag, no money, not even a second tunic (Mark 6:8).
In Two by Two, an episode from the TV series The Chosen, the creators vividly depict the disciples’ shock and resistance to Jesus’ command. We witness their barrage of protests and questions: “Rabbi, we are not you, how are we supposed to heal?” “What are we supposed to eat?” “They will kill us in that region.” “How can we do this without you?” Unphased, Jesus firmly but gently tells them to trust him and believe that God’s Spirit will be with them. Then he departs alone.
In the first reading for the Solemnity of the Ascension—celebrated this past Thursday—we encounter a similar scene. A moment of shock and confusion for the disciples that no doubt elicited more questions: “Is he really gone?” “What are we supposed to do now?” One can imagine how unprepared and disoriented they must have felt.
In Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians from that same liturgy, we hear the prayer: “May the God of our Lord…give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened that you may know the hope that belongs to his call.” What a prayer for reluctant, confused disciples! And yet, these are precisely the gifts both the disciples and all of us need to move forward—to get down to the mission part.
Author and educator, Mary McGlone, CSJ, equates our circumstances with that of the disciples immediately after the Ascension: “Like them, we must face the very real dispiriting events of our times, the circumstances that cannot and should not be ignored. We may share their desire to simply stand looking heavenward for a solution, but we will also hear the promptings of angels and prophets who remind us that prayer is only part of the equation.”
As we journey towards the celebration of Pentecost, may we have the courage to pray for the blessings of wisdom, awareness, and enlightened hearts. That through our prayer we will be impelled to “get down to the mission part” and act together, strengthened and encouraged in the knowledge that Christ, who sends us forth to preach the good news, will be with us for all eternity.
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Come Celebrate the Seventh Sunday of Easter
with Us!
We hope to see you at Mass in person, but if you can't make it through the big red doors,
we welcome you to join us online:
| Remember: all of our live streams are available in real time on our YouTube channel & available there afterwards as recordings. | |
7th Sunday of Easter
10am, Sunday, May 17
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Summer Bulletin Deadlines
Plan ahead!
We are returning to a once-every-two-weeks bulletin for the summer.
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All Are Welcome Mass
Paulist Center will host a Mass at 6:30pm on Friday night June 5th as part of Pride weekend in Boston.
The Paulist Center is a member of the Greater Boston LGBTQIA Catholic Collective and we invite everyone to come worship with us on the 5th.
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Ongoing Opportunities/Needs & Notes
The most comprehensive listing of what's going on at the
Paulist Center is in the bulletin. Check it out!
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Encouragement to sustain our vibrant liturgies and our mission of healing, reconciliation, & justice through your financial investment in the Paulist Center. We prefer that you donate electronically through our website, but you can also use Apple Pay or Google Pay to donate via DonorBox if you do not require an annual tax donation statement. More info in the bulletin.
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For the Community Gift the weekend of May 16 - 17 we raise up New Ways Ministry, a Catholic outreach that educates and advocates for equity, inclusion, and justice for LGBTQ+ persons, equipping leaders to build bridges of dialogue within the Church and civil society.
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How can the Paulist Center Community accompany you on your faith journey?
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Mass Cards - Please stop by the Front Office 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.
| | | | Attentive to the Holy Spirit and nourished by vibrant liturgy, we are a Catholic community that welcomes all, fosters healing and reconciliation, and acts for justice. | | Follow us on social media, and please share our posts with others! | | | | |
