...Throughout the pandemic, as we have become aware, we need more and more of that "oil" called ‘patience, understanding, thinking of others, and compassion,’ especially with those we rub elbows with, that is, we spend more time with than before.

In each present moment we are invited to renew our “Yes,” individually and together, to the One who called us to follow in his footsteps and to carry on his mission today: reaching out to the ends of the earth so “to make of humanity one family.” And by doing so He’ll be risen, present, and alive anew in each of us and in our midst.

Rome, April 3rd, 2021

To celebrate the Lord’s Paschal solemnity is one of the greatest gifts we receive from God. Discovering and rediscovering the fact that Life won over death changes the existential orientation of the one who experiences such discovery. This is what happened to the first disciples and the same holds true for anyone who is trustfully open to the novelty of God in human history.

The Gospels describe the Lord’s resurrection as the central event in the life of the disciples. Despite having forsaken Him at the moment of His passion and death, they are now gathered in the Cenacle, recounting how the Lord showed Himself to them. “I have seen the Lord”, “We have seen the Lord”, “My Lord and my God.” The Church, yeast of God’s Reign within humanity, was born out of this Paschal encounter... Read more of the Easter message of Fr. Fernando Garcia SX.

The Xaverian Missionaries are mentioned in a Washington Post article, "In another locked down, disrupted Easter, a tired Italy can’t escape the virus."

..."We all have experienced frailty. This is a fact,” said the Rev. Gabriele Cimarelli, a missionary priest in the city of Parma. The community of Xaverian missionaries where Cimarelli lives was particularly devastated. Last year, during the initial wave, 18 members — around one-third of the religious community — died. Cimarelli got sick and survived, but only after experiencing oxygen deprivation and delirium. This year, shortly before Easter, Cimarelli said, the surviving missionaries held a memorial Mass. Their intention had been to invite family members of the dead, but coronavirus restrictions made it impossible." Read more.

Please help our confrere, Fr. Thierry Kamga SX, provide for African refugees in Thailand. Go to the Support page on our website. Thank you for your generosity.

We are wishing you a very holy and fruitful Easter Season. It was so good seeing many of you this past weekend at Easter. There were almost 200 who joined us for our first outdoor Mass. Weather permitting we will have many more Sunday Masses outdoors.

Many who have joined us are long standing friends here at the Shrine, but we have noticed that many recent attendees are new to us. We invite you all, old and new, to consider keeping up to date with many of the opportunities that are part of our mission ministry.  Here we coordinate the Metro West Interfaith Dialogue Project. There is a local chapter of Pax Christi Massachusetts. We also host retreats and other Marian events throughout the year. Whether it is special events held here at the Shrine or news items from our Xaverian Ministry in Africa, Asia and Latin America, you will find them announced through our monthly E-newsletter called, "Xaverian Factor." 

We encourage you to go online and sign up for the free monthly newsletter.

For those who use Facebook, there is also a page for Our Lady of Fatima Shrine where we also announce events and programs.

We also thank you for your continued financial support that allows us to provide this wonderful place of peace for many to enjoy.

May the blessings of this Easter Season continue to touch each one of you.

Sincerely yours,

Our Mass and Confession schedule is posted below. Register for Mass online. Registration is required weekly. Thanks so much.

ONE CURRENT

To the left, the spring

Runs a winding ways

It passes beneath a bridge

And then has its say,

The birds sing together as one,

They proclaim the joy of the day,

While squirrels have fun

In a world of their own at play,

In my own words I silently pray,

Lord, let me be grateful,

Not hateful,

Lord, let me be humble,

Not grumble;

To the righ of the bridge

The water appears different

Or so it would seem,

for passing beneath the bridge

Creates not a new stream,

It is all one current

In God's greater scheme.

Cuando la luz del sol es ya poniente,

gracias, Señor, es nuestra melodía;

recibe, como ofrenda, amablemente,

nuestro dolor, trabajo y alegría.

Si poco fue el amor en nuestro empeño

de darle vida al día que fenece,

convierta en realidad lo que fue un sueño

tu gran amor que todo lo engrandece.

Tu cruz, Señor, redime nuestra suerte

de pecadora en justa, e ilumina

la senda de la vida y de la muerte

del hombre que en la fe lucha y camina.

Jesús, Hijo del Padre, cuando avanza

la noche oscura sobre nuestro día,

concédenos la paz y la esperanza

de esperar cada noche tu gran día.

When sunlight is already set,

thank you, Lord, is our melody;

receive, as an offering, kindly,

our pain, work and joy.

If little was love in our endeavor

to give life to the day that fenece,

become reality what was a dream

your great love that makes everything great.

Your cross, Lord, redeems our luck

sinner in righteousness, and enlightens

the path of life and death

of the man who in faith fights and walks.

Jesus, Son of the Father, as he advances

the dark night upon our day,

grant us peace and hope

to wait every night for your big day.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines has chosen Easter Sunday, 4 April, to formally inaugurate the year-long celebration of the 5th centenary (1521). Various programs and celebrations are being organized to celebrate the important event, with a single purpose, proclaimed by the Church. “Being grateful to God for the gift of faith that has been cultivated over the past five centuries from one generation to the next”. This concept, which is the center of the celebrations, will be lived, celebrated and announced at Easter and the Easter season.

Catholic Bishops have chosen the theme “Gifted to Give” to celebrate 500 years of faith in the country. The Church has planned to inaugurate the Jubilee celebration on Easter Sunday, April 4, with the opening of the “Holy Doors” of churches across the country: more than one hundred churches in all dioceses have been designated as “Jubilee Churches." Learn more.

Watch the overnight celebration of Resurrection at Saint Francis Xavier Parish, Diocese of Novaliches, Philippines here.

This year’s Earth Day program theme is “Restore Our Common Home," a theme that addresses how as people of faith we must urgently act to not only protect but restore God’s beautiful gift of creation. The one-hour educational and prayer program is the perfect way for our families, parishes, schools, and religious communities to prepare for the Vatican’s launch of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform in May 2021 (during Laudato Si' Week) The program contains prayers, readings, discussion questions, a short video, and suggested activities. Click here to access the program from Catholic Climate Covenant.

Did you know that Caring for Creation is part of our Catholic Social Teaching?

We invite everyone to join us for a Catholics and Creation Care webinar with our very own Dr. Catherine Wright, who has recently published a practical guide on Pope Francis’s second encyclical writing, Laudato Si': On Care of Our Common Home. In this introductory webinar you will learn why Creation Care is so important to Pope Francis and the life of the church.

Walk with other Catholics as we learn, pray, and take action for environmental justice.

In his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis invites all people to act on behalf of creation. This call to action is grounded in the principle of integral ecology—the idea that environmental, social, political, and economic systems are interwoven—and sustained by a sense of wonder before the interconnected nature of all life. The environmental justice movement similarly asks us to view the world as interconnected and prophetically calls us to change the systems that create the unjust distribution of environmental hazards. Learn more.

Learn how we are "Called to be a Blessing" to each other. "Look for God in Everything" with the Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary. "Envision the Future" of Consecrated Life and appreciate the work of Lay Xaverians. Learn about the Black Nazarene celebration in the Philippines and see the latest news of the US Province of the Xaverian Missionaries. Read it here.

St. Guido Maria Conforti, founder of the Xaverian Missionaries. Our "missionary to the world" became a saint on World Mission Sunday, October 23, 2011. Learn all about him here. 

Mother Celestina Bottego, founder of the Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary. Read about her here. Read the latest about her in The National Catholic Register.