THE WEEKLY MISSIVE

March 13, 2026

New Chapter at the Paulist Center

Dear Friends,

Thank you to everyone who attended the community meetings this past week! The slides that were shared at the meetings can be found on the pastoral planning page of our website. We discussed the future staffing structure of the Paulist Center and the draft of our pastoral plan, including strategic anchors and priorities for the Paulist Center. If you attended one of the meetings, you can provide feedback through this Google form or email Jonathan Lewis, Paulist Fathers' Mission Strategy Officer, at jlewis@paulist.org. Please review the draft plan and send any questions or comments to Fr. Rick Walsh at rick@paulistcenter.org.

We are excited to begin the hiring process for a lay Executive Director and have posted the job in numerous locations. The job description can be found on our website. The role is summarized as: 

The Executive Director will serve as The Paulist Center’s first lay leader, driving operational excellence as we deepen our identity as a center of mission and outreach rooted in meaningful prayer and liturgy. This role requires a strategic leader who can develop and execute plans that amplify our impact, working alongside an experienced, collaborative staff to strengthen programs, steward resources, and build organizational capacity. The ideal candidate brings both management expertise and a commitment to Catholic social teaching, capable of translating theological values into operational decisions that advance our mission. 

Thank you for your support for this new chapter at the Paulist Center. 

Fr. Rick, on behalf of the Paulist Center Staff

Alvaro, Barbara, Deb, Dorothy, Gus, Liz, Norm, Fr. Rick, Rob, Sal, Susan, and Timmy

In This Week's Bulletin

• FREP
• FREP Parent Listening Session
• Lenten Service of Reconciliation
• Prayer and Action - Spotlight on Migration - Tuesdays in Lent
• Prayer Amid Resistance - A Lenten Saturday
• Paulist Center Rosary Circle
• Easter Flower donations

• Worship Matters
• Paulist Center Auction
• Adult Confirmation Classes
• Immigrants' Day at the State House - March 18
• Pastoral Planning Community Meetings - Feedback
• "No Kings" - March 28
• Holy Week at the PC
• Stewardship/Community Gift

Family Religious Education Program (FREP)

All FREP classes will meet in their usual locations this Sunday, March 15. 

**Parents: 

At the same time this Sunday @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! 

Lenten Service of Reconciliation and Reflection -

Wednesday, March 18

Join us this Wednesday, March 18 at 7:00pm in the Chapel for this time of healing and reconciliation.

Individual Confession will be available.

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 – to pray and organize around the injustices our immigrant brothers and sisters are facing.

Tuesdays at 7:30pm: March 17, March 24, and March 31.  

Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_O5o0KuEQ9C5aoR1BfJ2mw

A Lenten Saturday:

Prayer Amidst Resistance in Troubled Times

March 21, 9am - 2pm

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, and to embrace Lent as we point towards hope together. We will meet in the auditorium and in the 3rd Fl Library.



$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 click this link to register: https://forms.gle/CJvLnzX6Ye1FraEV6

Paulist Center Rosary Circle

In this Lenten Season, when our nation subjects other nations to the violence of war, and we search for answers and can't find any, communal prayer allows us to gather with others, and offer our fears, frustrations, and longings.

The Rosary is a form of meditative prayer through the repetition of prayers. 

Frequently associated with a more backward looking spirituality, the rosary is just as much a spiritual tool for those engaged in social justice, and solidarity with the marginalized. 

The Paulist Center Rosary Circle meets via Zoom every Monday at 7:30pm. 

Zoom Link. ID: 487 503 158; passcode: 021078.

We are a welcoming group who believe in the power of prayer to restore us, to help grow bounds of fellowship, and to effect change in the world. 

This Lent, please consider joining us in prayer.  

Immigrants’ Day at the State House –

Wednesday, March 18

Join the Paulist Center Immigration Advocacy Group for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition’s (MIRA) 30^th annual Immigrants’ Day at the State House!

We’ll meet at the Center at 9:00am and walk the half-block up to the State House together.

We will be advocating for the PROTECT Act and other policies that ensure our neighbors can live in dignity and without fear. In 2025 we had 12 people attend - we'd like to double that this year.

RSVP at paulistcenterimmigration@gmail.com

43^rd 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 or visit

tinyurl.com/donatepaulistauction26.

Starting this weekend - March 14/15 - after Mass, in the elevator lobby, you can register for Admission to the Auction with a $50 payment and completing the registration form. 

Please contact Auction Co-chairs Maggie Keefe or Jordan Johnson with any questions or ideas at Auction@PaulistCenter.org

Thank you! 

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.

Thank you!

Contributions can be made:

• by going to Donate Online, and choose “Flower Donation” and note who it is “in honor of”, or  “in memory of”
• at the Front Desk, Mon - Fri from 10:30am - 4:30pm
• by using the envelopes in the pews

Please write legibly when notating your loved ones’ names.

Adult Confirmation Classes

Adult Confirmation classes with Fr. Rick Walsh will begin on Thurs, March 26, 7pm - 8:30pm and

continue for 4 consecutive Wednesdays: April 1 - April 22



Please register in advance here.

"No Kings" - Prayer Gathering and Protest 

Sat, March 28 @ 11:45AM

The next "No Kings" protest in Boston is scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 1-4pm.

The Paulist Center community will be joining our friends at the Cathedral Church of St Paul for prayer at 12:00pm on Sat, March 28.

We will gather at 11:45 at the Paulist Center for anyone who wants to walk over to the Cathedral together. 

The church is just a few blocks away at 138 Tremont Street. Please join us!

WORSHIP MATTERS

March 15, 2026, Issue #20

LITURGICAL YEAR:

The Three Pillars of Lent-Part II: Prayer

This week we continue our journey through the three pillars of Lent by turning our attention to prayer. Lent does invite us to pray more often, but perhaps its deeper invitation is to rediscover what prayer truly is.

Prayer is the foundation of the Christian life. It is through prayer that we grow in intimacy with God, seek God’s guidance, and intercede for the needs of the world. Again and again, the Church reminds us that Lent is a season of intensified prayer—a time to draw closer to God in repentance and renewal.

But prayer is not only words spoken or devotions practiced. Spiritual writer Stephen Mitchell once described prayer simply as a “quality of attention.” Prayer, in this sense, is the gentle turning of our awareness toward God.

The Desert Mothers and Fathers understood this well. Taking Paul’s invitation to “pray without ceasing” to heart, they embraced what is known as the Jesus Prayer—“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” They repeated this prayer quietly throughout the day, some even attempting to pray it with every breath, until the rhythm of prayer became the rhythm of their lives.

Perhaps this is why Lent can feel like a school of prayer. The season offers many opportunities—Mass, communal prayer, moments of reflection—but its deeper purpose is to help us cultivate a posture of attentiveness. Prayer begins to emerge not only in quiet moments, but in the ordinary encounters of the day: in conversation, in struggle, in moments of unexpected grace.

Slowly, prayer becomes less something we simply do and more something we become—a way of living with an awareness that God is present and near.

Prayer also invites honesty. Beyond quieting the mind, it calls us to stand before God without pretense, speaking as we would to a trusted friend.

Spiritual writer Adam Bucko recounts advice given by a rabbi who ministers among the poor on the streets of New York: “When you pray, the rabbi said, speak to God as you would to your closest friend. Tell God everything—your worries, your wounds, your struggles. Take off the mask and simply speak. Some days there will be tears, and that is a grace.

Then, when the words are finished, rest quietly in God’s presence, letting God hold you.

And for the rest of the day, walk with joy and hope—remembering that you are God’s beloved, and that you carry a sacred gift within your heart.”

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.

Come Celebrate 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.

Ongoing Opportunities/Needs & Notes



The most comprehensive listing of what's going on at the

Paulist Center is in the bulletin. Check it out!

• 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.

• For the Community Gift the weekend of March 14 - 15 we raise up New Entry Food Hub which helps beginning, immigrant, and refugee farmers in eastern Massachusetts successfully sell their produce, and to expand access to healthy foods in underserved areas through production of locally grown foods. 

• Young adults (ages 18-39), whether or not Catholic, are welcome to schedule a one-on-one conversation with our Young Adult Minister, Gus Kellerman.

How can the Paulist Center Community accompany you on your faith journey?

• Our Rosary Circle meets 7:30pm via Zoom on Mondays.

ID: 487 503 158; passcode: 021078. 

Submit a prayer request.

• 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.