"He who created us without our help, will not save us without our consent." ~ St. Augustine
In this Sunday’s gospel , Jesus shares two parables which express the joy inherent in obtaining the kingdom of heaven. Though we have heard the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price many times, in order to understand the impact on Jesus’ original audience, it helps to understand that, given the turbulent setting of the Middle East in the first century, finding a buried treasure was a much more likely scenario than it is in modern times. These first listeners would have been instantly drawn in to the drama of the story and would appreciate the great joy of the “everyman” who finds buried treasure without seeking it as well as the joy of the merchant whose effort of actively seeking a treasure results in a very valuable pearl. Both protagonists understand that selling all they possess is worth the joy of what they have found! So it is, Jesus tells us, that the cost of the kingdom, while very expensive, is worth it for the joy of discipleship overpowers every worldly hindrance! While we often focus on the cost of discipleship, take some time to reflect on the joy it brings now and promises to bring in the kingdom of heaven.
Join us for Virtual Adoration! For more than 4 months, many of the faithful have been unable to partake of the Eucharist. In recognition of this and of the Year of the Eucharist, we offer to you this 15 minute experience of virtual adoration, which we hope and pray will help bring our community closer together until the day when we all feel safe enough to gather as one at the table of the Lord. Many thanks to those who participated in putting this video together, especially Elizabeth Germino who volunteered many hours in filming and editing.
Live-Stream of Masses
To facilitate ease of participating in Mass remotely, we have added a page to our parish's website dedicated to the live-stream of Masses at StAugustineParish.org/live-stream . Mass will be live-streamed on Sundays at 8 AM and 10 AM. Daily Mass will be live-streamed most days but not on a fixed schedule. Please be sure to bookmark this page and check the schedule each week.
Read more in our weekly bulletin
Visit our website at  www.staugustineparish.org

The upkeep of our facilities, the support of our many ministries and the salaries paid to our staff are dependent upon your generous donations to the regular offertory. Even though Masses have resumed, many are participating in Mass virtually - please remember the offertory. For your convenience, 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!

This e-news is written and prepared by Danette Morris, Communications Associate. For info/comments please reply or use bulletin@staugustineparish.org .

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