Clothing Drive - Saint Vincent dePaul

Are you cleaning out your closets for winter?

Do you have clothes which your children have outgrown, or which you no longer wear?

Would you like to see them be used for something meaningful and helpful?

Save them and bring them to the Fall Clothing Drive AT CHURCH, on the weekend of October 26-27th.

Representatives will be in the front of the Church to receive donations. Warm clothes, new socks, new underwear and toiletries are needed.
Thank you for your generosity. May our tender God bless you, keep you and fill you with His abundant love. 

Jesus told His disciples, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have only done what we were obliged to do”. Please help the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul to bring the love and mercy of Jesus to those who feel left out and abandoned, for indeed we are only doing “what we are obliged to do".

Catholic Reading Wednesday and Catechesis Tonight!

With many thanks to our awesome curator, Karen Celano, you can delve into a faith-related news article each Wednesday! Karen writes:

On October 17, Mother Antonia Brenner, a Catholic sister and prison minister, passed away at age 86. Mother Brenner was a twice-divorced mother of eight who felt a vocation towards the religious life. The communities that she served encouraged her endeavors, but, because of her age and status as a divorcee, no existing religious order would accept her - so she founded her own order, the Servants of the Eleventh Hour, and had it approved by the local bishop. For decades she worked among prisoners in Tijuana, Mexico, and her life became the subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning biography.

Her remarkable story shows it's never too late to find your vocation. The path to sanctity may be winding, but it is always open, if we remain open to following it.

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Don't forget to join us tonight at 7:00 pm

for our second installment of the Father Barron Catholicism Series!

Weekly Digest

Welcome everyone!
This week at the parish:

• Tuesday - Saint Agnes Playgroup (10:30 am), Ladies' Sodality Banquet (5 pm), Choir Practice and Fatima Apostolate (7 pm)
• Wednesday - Bereavement Meeting and Community Catechesis (7 pm)
• Thursday - Arlington Catholic Women's Club Fundraiser (7:30 pm)
• Saturday - Saint Agnes and Saint Camillus Sacrament of Confirmation (10:30 am)
• Sunday - Saint Vincent DePaul Fall Clothing Drive

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Now that we are in summer mode, we will be holding Tuesday playgroups outdoors at nearby parks. To print a written schedule of our summer playgroup locations, please click here. To see a map of our summer park schedule, please click here.

This Tuesday, October 22nd, we will meet at the Teel Street Playground (71 Teel St., Arlington) at 10:30 am.  This park has a play structure and a basketball court.  It is next to Saint Paul's Cemetery, so please respect the cemetery as a holy place and play in the park area.  Bring a lunch and join us!

**NOTE THAT our outdoor summer schedule is highly dependent on good weather. If the weather seems questionable, please check your email or the blog page before you leave for playgroup. In case of rain, our usual rain location will be at Fidelity House, 25 Medford St., Arlington. Thanks!**

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Fall Clothing Drive - Saint Vincent DePaul Society
Do you have clothes which your children have outgrown, or which you no longer wear?  Would you like to see them be used for something meaningful and helpful?  Save them and bring them to the Fall Clothing Drive AT CHURCH, on the weekend of October 26-27th.

Representatives will be in the front of the Church to receive donations. Warm clothes, new socks, new underwear and toiletries are needed. Thank you for your generosity. May our tender God bless you, keep you and fill you with His abundant love. 

Jesus told His disciples, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have only done what we were obliged to do”. Please help the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul to bring the love and mercy of Jesus to those who feel left out and abandoned, for indeed we are only doing “what we are obliged to do".

Catholic Reading Wednesday

With many thanks to our awesome curator, Karen Celano, you can delve into a faith-related news article each Wednesday! Karen writes:

On October 13, Pope Francis, following the tradition of his predecessors, consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. During the ceremony, he remarked that, "just as Mary gave flesh to the child Jesus, all Christians today are called to 'give Him our flesh'. . . . 'It means giving him our hands. . . our feet. . . . our minds. . . .and especially to offer our hearts.'"

The Holy Father's words echoed those of yesterday's Saint Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church, who wrote: "Christ has no body now but yours; no hands, no feet on earth but yours; yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world."

In his reflection on Mary, Pope Francis emphasized the Blessed Mother's astonishment when God's plan is revealed to her, and the depths of her intimacy with her Son.  Saint Teresa shares these qualities with Mary, as she too was stunned by a revelation from God and dedicated her life to cultivating intimate communion with Jesus. Her writings remind us that we don't have to search far and wide to find God: He dwells within our hearts in intimate friendship. We have only to strip away the layers of sin and self-deception that keep us from finding Him there.

Though Teresa lived a contemplative lifestyle, she understood that prayer must bear fruit in good works. For Teresa, prayer was not meant solely to achieve self-fulfillment or self-actualization; prayer transformed the soul so that the soul could do God's will in the world. In fact, for Teresa, prayer that focused only on oneself was the cheapest kind of prayer. Teresa understood that good works have no firm foundation unless they are built on the friendship we cultivate with God through prayer. In prayer, we open ourselves up to God's astonishing revelation and to establishing an ever-deepening closeness with Him. As this relationship develops, we discover the ability to say "yes" to God and to perform His Will in the world: to be His hands and feet, His eyes and ears, for everyone we meet. In short, it is through prayer that we find the strength to emulate both Saint Teresa and Mary our Mother.

Upon her death, this bookmark was found in Teresa's breviary. The Taize community of prayer has adapted Teresa's prayer into a beautiful meditative song. I hope you find it inspiring in your own prayer lives. If you need some help finding time to pray or motivating yourself to make prayer a regular habit in your life, check out this helpful article from Peter Kreeft.

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Weekly Digest

Welcome everyone!
This week at the parish:

• Tuesday - Saint Agnes Playgroup (10:30 am), Ladies' Sodality Banquet (5 pm), Choir Practice and Fatima Apostolate (7 pm)
• Wednesday - Bereavement Meeting, Pro-Life Meeting, and Arlington Catholic Women's Club (7 pm)
• Thursday - Mom's Night In (7 pm)
• Friday - Jesus in the North End (7 pm)
• Sunday - Saint Agnes School Alumni Breakfast (10:30 am), St. John's Seminary Come & See (5:30 pm)

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Now that we are in summer mode, we will be holding Tuesday playgroups outdoors at nearby parks. To print a written schedule of our summer playgroup locations, please click here. To see a map of our summer park schedule, please click here.

This Tuesday, October 8th, we will meet at Robbins Farm Park (56 Eastern Ave., Arlington) at 10:30 am.  This park has a some play structures, sand to dig in, and a GREAT big hill for kite-flying!  Bring a lunch and join us!

**NOTE THAT our outdoor summer schedule is highly dependent on good weather. If the weather seems questionable, please check your email or the blog page before you leave for playgroup. In case of rain, our usual rain location will be at Fidelity House, 25 Medford St., Arlington. Thanks!**

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Mom's Night - THURSDAY, October 17th - We will get together for a stress-free evening, and play some get-to-know-you games (think: Apples to Apples) . I would rather not publish the hostesses address, so please email me at saintagnesfamilies [at] gmail.com if you plan to come. Please bring a snack or drink to share!  We will kick it off at 7:00 pm.

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Fall Clothing Drive - Saint Vincent DePaul Society
Do you have clothes which your children have outgrown, or which you no longer wear?  Would you like to see them be used for something meaningful and helpful?  Save them and bring them to the Fall Clothing Drive AT CHURCH, on the weekend of October 26-27th.

Representatives will be in the front of the Church to receive donations. Warm clothes, new socks, new underwear and toiletries are needed. Thank you for your generosity. May our tender God bless you, keep you and fill you with His abundant love. 

Jesus told His disciples, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have only done what we were obliged to do”. Please help the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul to bring the love and mercy of Jesus to those who feel left out and abandoned, for indeed we are only doing “what we are obliged to do".

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Need a date with your spouse that honors God as the foundation of your marriage?
Why not hire a sitter, hop on the T, and head down to the North End for a romantic evening of Italian food, Adoring the Lord, confession, and re-commitment together?  Technically, "Jesus in the North End" is not a marriage ministry, but what a great way to renew your marriage and get time away from the kids!!  Jesus in the North End is a wonderful ministry designed for young adult Catholics in Boston.  Come and spend time with the Lord!