THE WEEKLY MISSIVE

February 27, 2026

This Lent, Don't Forget to Breathe

Dear Friends,

“Tis the season” for various illnesses to lay hold of our population. I write to you near noon today having just left my sick room. This is my first bout with acute bronchitis and I must say Mr. Brawn Kitis is a formidable opponent! I’m sorry to have missed the First Sunday in Lent and I pray I’ll be able to get my lungs cleared up in time for this weekend.

I have to say that this illness has given me a much deeper empathy for all who suffer from long-term pulmonary disease such as COPD, asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Spiritual masters from all religious disciplines have long appreciated and meditated upon the act of breathing in and breathing out. Our word inspiration is rooted in the Latin “spirare”, meaning to breathe in. 

The Hebrew word “ruah” refers to physical breath, such as the breath of life God breathed into Adam. Furthermore ruah signifies the Spirit of God, particularly in terms of creation, inspiration, and empowerment.

My novice master, Fr. Tom Stransky offered us a reflection on this ancient Hebrew word. It’s one of onomatopoeia words, where the sound is intended to mimic the sound of a rushing wind, a deep breath, or a forceful gust.



As we continue in this season of Lent, I hope you will join me in having a deeper appreciation for the simple act of breathing. May the Spirit guide us along the way.

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
• 1st Communion Gathering
• Prayer and Action - Economic Justice for All
• Prayer and Action - Spotlight on Migration - Tuesdays in Lent
• Prayer Request
• Worship Matters

• Paulist Center Auction
• Greener Lent
• Prayer Amid Resistance - A Lenten Saturday
• Parent/Godparent prep for infant/child baptism
• Holy Week at the PC
• Stewardship/Community Gift

Family Religious Education Program (FREP) -

this Sunday, March 1

FREP classes will meet in their usual locations this Sunday.

• Kindergarten - 1^st grade: 6^th Fl, Rm 17
• Grades 2 - 3: 2^nd Fl Seminar Rm
• Grades 4 - 6: 6^th Fl, Rm 22
• Jr. & Sr. High Teens: Meet in the 3^rd Fl Library for pizza and conversation

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.

Prayer and Action In Troubled Times:

this Sunday, March 1

Join us this Sunday after the 6pm Mass to hear about the encyclical, Economic Justice for All, a landmark pastoral letter by US Catholic Bishops applying Church teaching to the economy, emphasizing that moral principles - not just market forces - must guide economic life. It calls for protecting the poor, ensuring just wages, and upholding human dignity. 

Raúl E. Zegarra, a community member and Assistant Professor of Roman Catholic Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, will lead the sessions.  

This Sun, March 1 at 7pm in the 3^rd Fl Library.  

Pizza will be served.

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. Whether we march, accompany our neighbors, organize, attend training, write letters to our legislators, carry banners, speak out, or witness – this is prayer in action, working to make real God’s call for justice and mercy.

Join us for six weeks of Lent for - Zoom Prayer in Action - to pray and organize around the injustices our immigrant brothers and sisters are facing. Tuesdays at 7:30pm, Feb 24 through March 31.

We’ll start with an exercise to get to know each other, then provide space for people to share what we have been seeing, what we have been doing, what we have been feeling, and what we wish to happen. Finally, we will share ways to get involved through direct service, advocacy, and our ongoing education. 

In coming together, we may discover others doing the same work or others in our neighborhood wanting to get involved and looking for others to do this together. We’re hoping to experience community, strengthen our relationships, and find encouragement and inspiration to respond to God’s call for justice. 

Zoom link:

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



Please Pray For ...



Stephen Rutkowski,

Susan Rutkowski’s brother, 

who is facing serious health challenges.

The Creation Care Ministry invites You To -

Join us for a Greener Lent



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.

Sign up at greenerlent.org with your name, how you want to fast, and select Paulist Center as your parish. 

Participants receive periodic reports on how much carbon footprint has been reduced.

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 - sometimes all in the same day.

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

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.

Please contact Auction Co-chairs Maggie Keefe or Jordan Johnson

with any questions or ideas at Auction@PaulistCenter.org. 

Thank you! 

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 3^rd 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!

WORSHIP MATTERS

March 1, 2026, Issue #18

LITURGICAL YEAR:

Lent - A Season of Return

By the year 330, the early Church had already embraced a forty-day Lenten season — a sacred period set aside to prepare hearts for the mystery of Easter. From its earliest beginnings, Lent has never been merely about sacrifice or deprivation. Beyond being a time of purification and preparation for those entering the Church through Baptism, it is a season to renew our commitment to living the Resurrection of Jesus in our own time and place.

Considered the three pillars of Lent, the practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are spiritual disciplines that, at their heart, are about relationship — our relationship with God, with ourselves, and with others. Through prayer, we open ourselves to the many ways God is revealed in each moment and encounter. Through fasting, we become more aware of how easily we are driven by distractions and impulses — whether from screens, societal pressures, or personal expectations. Fasting reminds us of our innate capacity to choose. It empowers us to step away from automatic responses and make conscious decisions about our actions and habits. Through almsgiving, or acts of generosity, we recognize our connectedness to others and become more sensitive to their needs, especially those who are marginalized or forgotten.

Across these six weeks, grounded in the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we are also invited to slow down and look inward — to examine our hearts and to ask again who this Jesus is, and what his life, death, and resurrection truly mean for our lives today.

It is a time of re-cognition, or re-knowing — to, in the words of Richard Rohr, “return to the Garden, where our true Center lies in the life of God.” It is a time to discover anew that before fear, before our endless striving for control, before believing we were not enough, we were created whole and free. Lent invites us to rediscover that original blessing — to trust that our identity begins not in failure, but in love.

It is a season of remembrance — or more deeply, re-membering: reconnecting heart and mind to the way of Jesus. To follow him is to “do this in memory of me” — to wash the feet of others, to love without counting the cost, and to recognize that blessedness is found in humility, compassion, and our shared belonging with all creation.

And Lent calls us to awaken: to resist the relentless prodding of the egoic mind and rest in the ever-present power of the Spirit. It is a process of conversion, lived out through daily practice: attentive to God’s presence in this breath, in this moment, and in this encounter.

Lent gently reminds us that renewal begins not by striving harder, but by returning home — to God, to ourselves, and to one another.

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 (starting March 6)
• by using the envelopes in the pews (available starting next weekend, March 7/8).

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 February 28 - March 1 we raise up the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' campaigns to provide grants to pastoral projects in the growing Church in Africa and to rebuild & restore faith communities in the Church in Central & Eastern Europe. 

• 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.