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The Salem Board of Heath recently recommended that residents consider wearing masks when gathering indoors. We want to be part of the solution in lowering the cases of Covid in our community.

Join the MQOA community in Discovering what Gifts God has given to you and what gifts God is calling you to use at this moment.

After reflection, investigation, and experimentation, I have decided that we will move confessions and adoration to Monday nights. A parishioner has volunteered to come and offer intercessory prayer for the parish, and I want to encourage all to come.

This month, we have been celebrating first Communions and this weekend we will be having the sacrament of confirmation. And, we have been baptizing many babies and young children this past year. It is a blessing so many families are coming to these wonderful moments in the lives of their children.

Happy Mother’s Day to all those who are mothers, have been nurtured by a mother figure and who are remembering their mothers. I have many memories of my own mother, some of them fond, some of them comical and other moments that were filled with “Mom wisdom”.

The last beatitude in both the Gospel of Luke and Matthew anticipates the experience of the Apostles in the first reading. “Blessed are you when the insult you and  hate you and utter every kind of falsehood against you because of me”. (MT 4:11-12) (Lk 9:22). The Pharisees still do not see what has been happening before their eyes. What has always impressed me is that the Apostles are okay with the mistreatment. Why? Their reaction can only come after having an experience so profound that suddenly their good name does not matter. They were the first to understand that death, while real, is not the same as annihilation. There is something after this life and the resurrected Jesus shows us this. There is another lesson too.

Alpha has a rich history in Salem, first starting in the early 2000s and brought back by Margo in 2016. We hosted the Alpha series for Adults, in English & Spanish, Youth, Young Adults, and Families, especially those preparing for Confirmation. It has been the heartline through the collaborative, closing and merging, and creation of MQOA Parish and recently the pandemic. Through it all, there jas been a space for guests to explore faith, ask questions and create a community.

A few years ago, I had an opportunity to go to Rome for Holy Week! My friend Susan and I were tagging along with our friend’s touring company, which was taking a parish from the mid-west to Rome. I was excited to be in Italy for the first time; it was like I was going back to the fatherland of life and faith. My father was born in Italy; and did I mention Rome? During Holy Week!

Calling all Alpha Guests!!

Dear Parishioners, I write to inform you of the sad news that due to budget constraints and financial concerns we are ending the role of the pastoral minister. Sadly, this means that Margo is leaving the parish staff. It is a very difficult decision and comes after prayer and discussion with the archdiocesan financial services office, the human resources department, and consultation with priests and administrators across the archdiocese who are also facing budget concerns this year. 

Palm Sunday!! It seems wrong, somehow, to be at Palm Sunday; if you’re like me, Lent has gone by like a flash and at the same time felt like an eternity. Well, here we are, ready or not, entering the final (but not final) week of Jesus’ extraordinary story. This is one of those Gospels that is told differently by each Gospel writer, so you may notice some intriguing differences between what you remember and what you hear. It’s also a reading that lends itself so well to what St. Ignatius called “imaginative prayer;” using our imagination to be in the scene, noticing what we feel, hear, see, smell, and notice. You can use this technique in the context of Beta’ inviting your guests to close their eyes while the Gospel is being read, either by a group member or with the audio link at the top of the lesson. One more note: there are two Gospels proclaimed this week, one at the very beginning of the Mass, and one at the usual time. The mid-Mass reading is the account of the Passion; in this week’s Beta, we’ll look at the first (shorter!) Gospel reading. -Margo

Walk with Jesus

Weekly bulletin column from our pastor, Fr. Bob Murray

We’re side-stepping into the Gospel of John for this Sunday, but still, we are in familiar territory. Check out how your copy of the Bible titles this story; mine (NRSV) calls it “Woman Caught in Adultery” and if that isn’t a mistitle for this story, I don’t know what is. Maybe it could be “Men judging a woman” or “Where’s the other party in this scandal? Is he all set then?” or “the mystery of the sand-writing” or “the moral of this story is for all of us.” I don’t have the power to retitle Bible translations, but I think it’s important to notice them, and what the titles do to draw our attention to some details in the story, and away from others.

Weekly column from our Pastoral Associate, Margo Morin

Weekly bulletin column from our pastor, Fr. Bob Murray

After last week’s confusing (or was that just me?) Gospel reading,* we’re back on familiar territory. This week’s reading, about the Prodigal Son, is a long one but full of images and characters and points to ponder, and sometimes our attention is drawn to one part of the story one year, and to another altogether, on a different year. So pay attention to where God is drawing your eye this time around. **If you’re still a bit baffled about last week’s Gospel, be sure to check out last week’s MQOA Sunday podcast!