In
this Sunday’s gospe
l, we hear Jesus preparing His followers for the eventuality of His leaving them. His mission on earth is nearing completion and soon He will ascend into heaven to assume His place with the Father. With the hindsight and benefit of 2000 years of understanding we know what the series of events will be to get to this point - His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Imagine, however, how this may have been received by His followers at the time. Those on the edge of belief may have written Him off as a lunatic upon hearing these words, but those who believed He was the Messiah, would have been confused and frightened by them. In this passage, He assures them that He is not abandoning them “I will not leave you orphans” (Jn 14:18) but is sending an “Advocate”, a spirit of Truth which will dwell within their hearts (v. 17). Our ability to love Him and keep His commandments is explicitly connected to the presence of the Holy Spirit Who takes up His place within our own hearts through the Sacramental life of the Church. By cooperating with the graces we receive from this indwelling, we, like the Apostles and early Christians, have the ability to do the work of building up the Kingdom of heaven here on earth, by loving and obeying Him and by sharing the good news of the gospel by the example of our lives. For reflection this week: How can I take better advantage of the priceless gift of the Holy Spirit?
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This Thursday, May 21st we celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord which occurs 40 days after Easter and is the final act of our redemption which Christ began on Good Friday. On this day, the risen Christ, in the sight of His Apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven.
Mass, presided by Fr. Peter, will be available online at our parish website beginning at 10 AM
. A link will also be sent out via email when the Mass is available.
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This Sunday, May 17, at 11 AM,
CatholicTV
will air a special Baccalaureate Mass celebrated by Cardinal Seán O’Malley at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in recognition of the thousands of Catholic high school seniors who are graduating this year but are unable to gather due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Read more in our weekly bulletin
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A special thank you to our sponsors who support us with an ad in the bulletin!!
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The Pregnancy Care Center (PCC) offers, loving, confidential support to those facing an unplanned pregnancy. The goal of the PCC is to journey alongside women to let them know they are not alone. They also provide sexual-integrity education, post-abortion counseling and material assistance in the form of baby items and food. The services are free, thanks to support from individuals and local churches. The PCC has locations in Haverhill, Lawrence and Lowell. One of our biggest fundraisers is the annual Baby Bottle Campaign, which will be conducted virtually this year. Check out the
details and information at this link
and please consider donating to help women and babies in need by clicking on the link below. Thank you for support!
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St. Augustine Church remains open from 8 AM - 5 PM every day for private reflection. Though the parish center is closed, our clergy and staff are working remotely and are eager to minister to you. Please don't hesitate to contact us at 978-475-0050 or info@staugustineparish.org.
Additional staff contact info...
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The upkeep of our facilities and the salaries paid to our staff are dependent upon your generous donations to the regular offertory. While Mass is suspended, we are still working to serve you. There are 3 different ways to donate electronically - please
visit our stewardship page
for info. Your offertory can also be sent in by mail to St. Augustine Parish, 35 Essex St., Andover, MA 01810 Attn:Offertory. Thank you, as always, for your generous support!
You have received this email because you are a member of St Augustine Parish and/or you signed up for it. If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, please use the unsubscribe link below.
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