ST. JAMES’ - GROTON ☩ ST. JOSEPH’S - PEPPERELL ☩ ST. JOHN’S - TOWNSEND
St. J’s Collaborative Our Lady Of Grace & St. John The Evangelist Parishes Glorifying The Lord In The Towns Of Ashby, Dunstable,
Groton, Pepperell & Townsend In The Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Boston
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Sunday Masses 9:00 a.m. - St. John the Evangelist, Townsend 12:00 p.m. - St. Joseph's, Pepperell 3:00 p.m. - St. James, Groton
Daily Masses 7:10 a.m. except Thursday Monday & Friday - St. Joseph’s, Pepperell Tuesday & Saturday - St. James, Groton Wednesday - St. John’s, Townsend
Staff Rev. Jeremy St. Martin - Pastor/Administrator [email protected] Rev. Mr. Charles Kelley - Deacon [email protected] David Flournoy - Faith Formation & Finance [email protected] Cotty Reid - Administrative Assistant [email protected] St. Joseph’s and St. James’: 978-433-5737 St. John’s: 978-597-2291 Katie Leger - Youth Ministry [email protected] Sue Ann Woolfrey - Parish Facilities at St. John’s 978-597-2291 Marc DeMille - Music Coordinator [email protected] Ed Kelly - RCIA (for adult Baptism help) 978-597-2291 Rena Mendel - Baptism Ministry Leader [email protected] Joseph Viel - Cemetery Manager 978-208-0266
St. James’ Church - 13 St. James Ave., Groton, MA 01450 ☩ St. Joseph’s Rectory and Church - 28 Tarbell St., Pepperell, MA
01463 ☩ St. John’s Church - 1 School St., Townsend, MA 01469 ☩ Cemetery - Jersey St., Pepperell, MA 01463
Intentions Offered at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Saturday January 16 St. James 7:10 a.m. Maureen Ripley
Sunday, January 17 St. John’s 9:00 a.m. Michelle Mackie - living St. Joseph’s 12:00 p.m. Danny Gray St. James’ 3:00 p.m. Aaron - living
Monday January 18 St. Joseph’s 7:10 a.m Michell St. Martin - living
Tuesday January 19 St. James’ 7:10 a.m. Philip Diana
Wednesday January 20 St. John’s 7:10 a.m. John Nicole - 4 year anniversary
Friday January 22 St. Joseph’s 7:10 a.m. Fr. Paul Curran
Saturday January 23 St. James 7:10 a.m Walter D. Barrick
Sunday, January 24 St. John’s 9:00 a.m. Noel Babin - living, and Daniel D. Gilligan and Walter D. Barrick St. Joseph’s 12:00 p.m. Grace Joyce and Anna Cuzzupe St. James’ 3:00 p.m. Carol Anderson
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Requiem Aeternam Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the family and friends of Paul E. King. Through the mercy of God, may he rest in peace, Amen. ~Fr. St. Martin on behalf of the staff and collaborative
Rosary Tuesdays - St. Joseph's - Pepperell Every Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. Reciting of the Rosary and Divine Mercy.
Rosary and Adoration - Tuesdays - St. John’s - Townsend Every Tuesday 10 a.m.- 11a.m.
Knights of Columbus Council Sr. Lydia Longley Madeleine #13140 [email protected] Monthly Council Meeting & Social Third Thursday 7:30 – 9:00pm Fourth Degree Assembly: #396 Bishop Beaven
Knights of Columbus Council #14842 In service to One. In service to all. Members of St. John the Evangelist Council Meet in Fr. Mealey Hall on the Second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Catholic men over 18 interested in joining Contact Grand Knight, Nick Joy Visit www.townsendkofc.org
Matrimony Contact the rectory.
Daughters of Isabella Mother Teresa Circle UNITY, FRIENDSHIP and CHARITY Attention all Catholic women 16 years and above. Membership meeting is once a month on a Thursday evening. There are information packets at the main entrance to the Church. Join today. Email: [email protected]
Legion of Mary Wednesdays 1:30 PM - St. Joseph’s Rectory (covid suspension of meeting for now.)
Pro-Life News! Rosary for Life Rosary for Life will be held on Saturday, January 23rd at Noon, in the parking lot next to Saint Joseph’s Rectory. Holy Hour for Life! On January 23rd, there will be a Holy Hour for Life at St. John the Evangelist in Townsend from 7:00 - 8:00pm with Solemn Vespers (Evening Prayer) Events with Cardinal Sean and Catholic TV: Sunday, January 24th Culture of Life Mass with Cardinal Sean will air on WLVI-TV at 8:00am and on CatholicTV at 12:30pm, 7pm, and 11:30pm Friday, January 29th Holy Hour for Life from the Cathedral with Cardinal Sean from 7-8am (leading into Closing Mass for the National Prayer Vigil for Life from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC) Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life will air on CatholicTV at 11am and rebroadcast at 8:30pm Every Friday in January at 11:00am A special block of programing affirming the dignity of human life ~Deacon Chuck
Confession Confession is available before and after Mass. Also, call to set up an appointment. We are having confessions every Tuesday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. as well, in the parking lot at St. John’s in Townsend. I sit in my car and when you pull up in yours. I will keep my eyes closed to provide anonymity if you would like. ~Fr. St. Martin
Prayer Line [email protected]
St. James’ Church - 13 St. James Ave., Groton, MA 01450 ☩ St. Joseph’s Rectory and Church - 28 Tarbell St., Pepperell, MA
01463 ☩ St. John’s Church - 1 School St., Townsend, MA 01469 ☩ Cemetery - Jersey St., Pepperell, MA 01463
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Sunday Reading Reflection God comes in the silence. We have to translate this. As we see in the Gospel, God wants us to do that work of translation in our lives. When do we need silence? A lot of times it is when things don’t seem to work out. It seems at times that our plans and our prayers are not fulfilled. We feel as though God has gone silent. It is of course not true. It is we who are distracted.
Adoration and the liturgies of the mass and the devotions of the rosary and the stations of the cross are all things that create silence, i.e. recollection.
We need that peace, that calm, that quiet, that silence, for it is in that that God answers our prayers. If we don’t have the liturgies and the devotions, if we don’t have that in our homes, or get ourselves to the church that is all set up for that silence, we will just be guessing.
The chatter of the airways will only help us to be ever more distracted. I caution everyone to realize this more and moreand to translate into your lives the importance of prayer, the liturgies, devotions in the home and church, as the way to get in touch with the true and living God. He comes in the silence.
Without that we are just guessing at God’s will and plan, or worse, this or that person is pretending to know God’s plan and in our unwitting desperation we are being led down a rabbit hole.
Politics, medical questions, religious questions, social, family, and the list goes on, are all pressing on us.
What will happen? What are we to do? Who is right? Who is wrong? Who is the winner? Who is the loser?
If we don’t pull back in silence and tune in to God we will be swept away and lost - divided. God comes in the silence. Silence is in his Church. At least visit the churches and even sit in the car outside them in silence and online. God comes and then we are free.
Other Notes The meetings and plans are complicated. Patience is what we need in ourselves and in others. It will take about a year before there are any changes in the overall state of affairs as far as I know. I am well supported now and back to full time work. Four instances of Last Rites this week and many more pastoral encounters. It is good busy. God is good.
In Christ, ~Fr. St. Martin
January 24th is “Word of God Sunday” Next week (January 24th) will be the Third Sunday inOrdinary Time & back in September of 2019, Pope Francis
wrote his Apostolic Letter"APERUIT ILLIS", (literallytranslated as "He opened to them"),which is taken from Luke 24:45,where the Evangelist describes howthe Risen Jesus appeared to twodisciples on the road to Emmaus,and “He opened their minds tounderstand the Scriptures”.In this letter, our Pope declares that"the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
is to be “devoted to the celebration, study and disseminationof the word of God."... The best way to respond to this calland draw closer to the Word of God, is to take a "BreakingBread" book home with you! In this resource, you will havethe readings for each Sunday and Holy Day of obligations,plus prayers and other resources to help us "grasp the beautyof God’s word and to see it applied to our daily lives."~Deacon Chuck
February 2nd is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and... Candlemas Day! Our church candles (and candles used for the blessing ofthroats} may be those blessed on this day
Candlemas Day is another name for theFeast of the Presentation of the Lord. Forty days after hisbirth, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for the
St. James’ Church - 13 St. James Ave., Groton, MA 01450 ☩ St. Joseph’s Rectory and Church - 28 Tarbell St., Pepperell, MA 01463 ☩ St. John’s Church - 1 School St., Townsend, MA 01469 ☩ Cemetery - Jersey St., Pepperell, MA 01463
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rites of purification and dedication. In many Eastern European countries, the Feast of the Presentation officially closes the celebration of Christmas. For this reason, Blessed John Paul II began the custom of keeping the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s square until Feb. 2. Bring your candles to be blessed to the daily mass (7:10am on Tuesday Feb. 2nd) at Saint James in West Groton). ~Deacon Chuck
Religious Education - Sacraments 2021 Why should you never trust an atom?
(Read below for the answer…)
Scheduled sacraments for 2021: Confirmations at St. John’s, Townsend Saturday, May 2nd, 2021 6-7pm First Communion Masses at both Our Lady of Grace and St. John’s will be scheduled soon for the spring/summer of 2021. And Confirmations at Our Lady of Grace will be scheduled soon for the fall of 2021. Keep your eye out for the announcements with these dates!
Because they make up everything!
Yes, they do! There’s some practical wisdom from our grade school science class. It’s good for us to remember these things from time to time, lest we start going off and confiding in atoms right and left. Gotta treat those atoms with a grain of salt! If you’ve ever been misled by an atom or a grain of salt, tell me about it at [email protected]. ~David Flournoy
It’s always a good time for a Vocation! Each year, the Vocation Office of the Archdiocese of Boston organizes Discernment Retreats for men interested in learning more about the vocation to the priesthood. From Friday, February 19th through Sunday February 21st, our Archbishop, Cardinal Sean O’Malley will lead a Discernment Retreat at Betania II Spiritual Life & Marian Center in Medway and St. John’s Seminary in Brighton MA
for men ages 18-30 years of age. On Friday, February 19th to Saturday February 20th, a Discernment Retreat will also be held at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary for men ages 30 and older. If you are interested in these retreats, please contact Fr. Jeremy St. Martin. Please pray for those who are being called to a vocation to the Priesthood, Diaconate and Religious Life. ~Deacon Chuck Kelley
Thanks to all the Knights and others that showed up to lend a hand January 9. St. James Team: Daryl Eli, Brian Flanagan, Tom Pistorino Took down and stored away the crèche St. Joe's Team: Mike Sheedy, Tony Caruso (plus daughters Lauren & Giulianna ) , Ben Krywucki, Chris Cifra, Deacon Chuck, Father Jeremy and Mary Genova to help direct Rich Marton (coffee and doughnuts) Removed trash from area near boiler room of church; took down and discarded ceiling tiles from two rooms in rectory; removed and discarded trash from basement of rectory; discarded trash and unused crèche from garage; took down and stored away good crèche; swept up, cleaned and rearranged garage to make room for two cars. A 30-yard dumpster was filled and another will be requested. Transported more than 4-dozen 4' fluorescent lights to the transfer station, two were lost in transport. There is more to be cleaned up in the basement of the church as well as in the Blue Room, this is what the next 30-yard dumpster is for. The kitchen has to be gone through and out-of-date food stuffs discarded. There will be another request for Knights to show up to help out. Exact weekend will depend on availability of dumpster.
St. James’ Church - 13 St. James Ave., Groton, MA 01450 ☩ St. Joseph’s Rectory and Church - 28 Tarbell St., Pepperell, MA
01463 ☩ St. John’s Church - 1 School St., Townsend, MA 01469 ☩ Cemetery - Jersey St., Pepperell, MA 01463
Page 6 ☩ January 17, 2021 ☩ Baptism of the Lord ☩ www.stjs.page
All Team members: if I've missed anything that was done please inform the group. There was a lot of good work done at both churches. I want that work to be recognized. There is a small box of hay in front of St. Joe's church near where the crèche was set up, if anyone has a need for it, it's yours. ~Rich Marton, GK
Missing Painting From OLOG Office We have had many wonderful people helping Fr. Jeremy clean the rectory, garage and egress areas in Pepperell, trying
to make it all clean and safe. In doing so, a beautiful wooden framed painting of the Blessed Mother from Cotty’s office was misplaced. If anyone who was cleaning knows where it was put, it would be greatly appreciated if it would be returned. It has huge sentimental value. The painting looks very similar to the above picture. Thank you! ~Cotty Reid
St. James’ Church - 13 St. James Ave., Groton, MA 01450 ☩ St. Joseph’s Rectory and Church - 28 Tarbell St., Pepperell, MA
01463 ☩ St. John’s Church - 1 School St., Townsend, MA 01469 ☩ Cemetery - Jersey St., Pepperell, MA 01463
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