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THE WEEKLY MISSIVE
February 6, 2026
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Update on the Pastoral Planning Process
Dear Friends,
Our Pastoral Planning Process (PPP), launched in June, is steadily taking shape. Throughout the fall, our team has been reviewing the rich input gathered from community meetings and synthesizing the opportunities and needs that will help the Center grow and thrive. We expect to share a first draft of the pastoral plan on Sunday March 8 for further feedback.
As part of this work, the staff has been reviewing job descriptions and overall capacity to ensure our structure aligns with our emerging goals. We also considered the Paulist Fathers’ mission priorities: empowering the laity for leadership and forming missionary disciples to reach out to those on the margins of society and the Church.
This weekend, we welcome our former Director, Fr. John Ardis. John currently serves as the Vice President of the Paulist Fathers and he is here to preach the Annual Paulist Appeal. As a member of Paulist leadership, John is aware of our pastoral planning efforts and has been encouraging the staff as we work toward the implementation of the plan.
Please join me in welcoming Fr. John at all our weekend Masses.
Fr. Rick, on behalf of the Paulist Center Staff
Alvaro, Barbara, Deb, Dorothy, Gus, Liz, Norm, Fr. Rick, Rob, Sal, Susan, and Timmy
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Ash Wednesday - February 18
Lent is just around the corner, starting with
Ash Wednesday on February 18.
Please join us:
8:00 AM – Mass with Distribution of Ashes (no music)
12:00 PM – Mass with Distribution of Ashes (with music)
*5:00 PM – Mass with Distribution of Ashes (with music)
7:00 PM – Service of the Word with Distribution of Ashes (lay
presider and preacher, with music, live streamed)
*The 5:00pm Mass will be Live-streamed. Here is the link.
Visit our YouTube Channel to join us online.
www.youtube.com/thepaulistcenter
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- FREP Community Service Project
- No FREP - 2/15 and 2/22
- Next 1st Communion Gathering
- Annual Paulist Appeal
- Worship Matters
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- Feb 8th Catholic Social Teachings - postponed
- Lenten Faith Sharing Groups
- 100th Black History Month
- CORI forms - TY Volunteers
- Stewardship/Community Gift
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Family Religious Education Program (FREP)
All children and families, and all community members, join us this Sunday, February 8 after the 10am Mass in the auditorium for our
Third Annual FREP Service Project!
Our goal is to make 400 hygiene kits for our migrant brothers and sisters to donate to Catholic Charities.
Please join us!
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NO FREP -
February 15 and
February 22
There are NO Religious Education Classes on Sunday, February 15 or Sunday, February 22 due to the school vacation break.
Have a great break!
Classes resume March 1.
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First Communion Gathering - March 1
The next First Communion gathering will take place on Sun, March 1 in the auditorium from 11:15am to 12:30pm.
Please email Susan Rutkowski,
susan@paulistcenter.org, with any questions.
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We welcome our former Director this weekend, Fr. John Ardis CSP.
John will share what our support does for the Paulists.
We do more than help educate and train future Paulists, and provide care for the senior Paulists. With our mutual efforts, the Paulist Center Community and the Paulists nationwide will help bring our forthcoming pastoral plan to fruition not just here, but, going forward, at other Paulist foundations.
Starting a couple of years ago, the Paulist Fathers have been gifting our local foundations with grants to help us continue our programming. This year, we received three "Mission Impact Grants".
These three "Mission Impact Grants" that we received from the Office of Mission Advancement give us a foretaste of what is to come. The grants will provide seed money for the following initiatives:
¨ a program for spiritual formation and fellowship among college students;
¨ the training of more non-ordained people to lead prayer services;
¨ ministry with those who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious.”
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Please join the Paulist mission again with a gift of any amount.
Complete the reply envelope in the pews -
Please make checks payable to the “Paulist Fathers”.
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Or, scan the QR code to give at paulist.org/apa.
Together we’re building bridges of faith, charity, and hope!
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Lenten Faith Sharing Groups:
Sign Up By February 16
Please join us for this prayerful, community-building opportunity as we again convene small faith sharing groups for five sessions between Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday.
We will use the Ignatian Solidarity Network’s Lenten series,
Stubborn Hope, which provides daily reflections to “nourish our faith to build a more just world.”
Groups will meet weekly at the Center, or via Zoom, as detailed below.
To register for a group, or for questions, email smallgroups@paulistcenter.org.
Saturdays (February 21 - March 21)
In Person 3:15 - 4:45 p.m.
Facilitator: Barbara Lapinskas
Young Adult Ministry: Sundays (February 22 - March 22)
In Person 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Facilitator: Gus Kellerman
Mondays (February 23 - March 23)
Via Zoom 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Facilitator: Mary Sullivan
Thursdays (February 26 - March 26)
Via Zoom 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Facilitator: Jonathan Yu-Phelps
Participants will sign up with ISN to receive brief daily written and audio reflections via email, featuring a wide range of contributors. (There is no charge for the series.)
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Visit Stubborn Hope or scan this QR code to learn more and to receive the reflections.
We hope you will join us!
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WORSHIP MATTERS
February 8, 2026, Issue #16
LITURGY AND JUSTICE:
Part Two:
The Prophetic Word
In this week’s column, we continue with part two of our examination of the connection between liturgy and justice and turn our attention to the Liturgy of the Word.
Radical Hospitality
Each Eucharistic celebration begins with the Introductory Rites, drawing us into communion as the Body of Christ through song and greeting. Almost immediately, the penitential act invites us to confront the sins and omissions that wound that communion and to ask a deeper question: who is not here? From the outset, the liturgy challenges us to embody Christ’s inclusive welcome, calling us to hospitality, justice, and the full dignity of every person—especially those most often excluded.
The Prophetic Word
In a culture saturated with words and unceasing streams of information—through social media, email, and endless commentary—it is easy to miss the depth and transforming power of the proclaimed Word. Yet Scripture is, at its heart, the story of God’s relentless love: a persistent call drawing all whom God has created and named beloved back into the ways of truth, justice, and peace. Through the prophets, God’s voice resounds again and again, affirming human dignity and demanding justice—a theme echoed more than a thousand times throughout Scripture and nearly one hundred and fifty times in the Psalms.1 As noted in the previous column, we are invited not only to listen attentively to the Word, but to profess our faith through our “Thanks be to God,” the sung psalm response, or the acclamation, “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ,” and to affirm our commitment to living the prophetic Word in the world.
In the homily, this prophetic Word is broken open so that we may further discern its meaning for our lives and be challenged to embody God’s justice and peace in the world. In the General Intercessions (Universal Prayer), the Church gives voice to the needs of the world and the local community, lifting before God a broken creation longing for healing and wholeness. When we respond, “hear our prayer,” we do more than ask for God’s intervention; we commit ourselves to solidarity with all who suffer, and to becoming instruments of the very justice, mercy, and peace for which we pray.
In the next and final column on Liturgy and Justice we will examine how the liturgy’s call to justice and the transformation of the world is expressed and embodied in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
1Caruso, Lucio, Liturgy and Justice, Part 2 © 2007 Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, Washington DC 2007, www.fdlc.org
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Happy 100th Birthday,
Black History Month!
2026 marks a milestone of both progress and persistence in the United States, the 100th anniversary of federal recognition for Black Americans.
What began as a singular week of learning and recognition called Negro History Week in 1926, has grown into an overall cultural observance of Black History throughout the month of February.
Our Racial Justice Group will share a poem from a Black artist each week this month, starting with
Amanda Gorman's The Hill We Climb.
Please see bulletin for more information.
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Prayer and Action
In Troubled Times:
Postponed until Feb 22
The February 8th session on Catholic Social Teachings has been postponed until
Sun, Feb 22 at 7pm.
Please join us then 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.
Sun, Feb 22 at 7pm in the 3rd Fl Library. Pizza will be served.
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CORI Forms -
Thank You Volunteers!
We at the Paulist Center want to express our sincere gratitude to all of our volunteers who have completed a CORI form over the past few weeks. We appreciate that we have such dedicated community members who donate their time and energy in various ways every year.
We are wrapping up our CORI collection process for this year, and will no longer have someone collecting the forms before and after Mass.
If you still need to submit a CORI form, please reach out to Liz Framski ( liz@paulistcenter.org ) to schedule a time. Liz works Sundays and throughout the week, and can be somewhat flexible to accommodate people's schedules.
Again, we thank all of you for participating in this process year after year.
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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:
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New membership and
donation software
coming this spring
The Paulist Center is converting our membership directory and donation processing systems to a new online church management software, Realm Connect.
This new system will give us better ways to keep members’ contact information up to date, allow staff to easily access contact information, streamline our donation processing, and offer clarity for members to see their entire giving history.
More information will come this spring but you can visit https://www.acstechnologies.com/realm to get a preview.
Many thanks to ad hoc committee members Amy Logan, Barbara Miller, Julie Sloan, Rob Smyser and Dave Whalen for working with the staff to review options and plan for this transition!
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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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The Community Gift the weekend of February 7 - 8 is the Paulist Fathers and their Annual Paulist Appeal (please see above).
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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! | | | | |
