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There will be no Wondrous Stories at the morning Masses on Sunday, October 13th.

This month we are getting ready to welcome LOTS of people to our city. We already had an open church event this past weekend and over 300 people passed through our doors and were welcomed to our church. Amazingly, we also have people who have lived here all their lives and have never entered the church. It is a reminder that we are situated in this place for a reason. Since 1826 the Church’s presence in Salem has been for the purpose of evangelizing this area. The parish boundaries originally stretched across present-day Topsfield, Middleton, Peabody, and Danvers. Now we are within the city limits with still a lot of work left to do.

As we come to the end of the month of September, we should be mindful of the fact that we are celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15). It is a month in which special events and days are set apart to remember the great gifts, contributions, and joy the Latino community has brought to the United States. Their migration here, like the migrations of the past Irish, Italian, Polish etc., have enriched our community, city, and nation. While some decry any recent immigration as an “invasion”, the Latino migrations, born out of similar circumstances that prompted other European and Asian migrations, primarily seek more opportunities and a better life. My experience in my own family is that some came knowing that there was no going back, others came hoping to one day return, but all have wanted to remember in some part, culture, food, and music.

The Alpha program has moved into the next phase, and we are now settled in with our guests and hope that once again the Holy Spirit comes and works through the team and on the hearts and minds of all the guests. I am pleased that once again we have people from both parts of the community and that there are tables of people discussing the videos and coming to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. Please pray for the team and guests, that the Lord will help them see Him in their lives.

It is hard to believe that I am finishing my seventh year here at the parish. Looking back, I remember being overwhelmed when I recognized the challenge of what the Cardinal had asked me to do. There were (are) three things to address: rebuild the community, restore the buildings, and retire the debts.

Join us for a 12 day Catholic pilgrimage which includes Lisbon, Fatima, Santiago de Compostella, Burgos, Loyola, Lourdes, Montserrat and Barcelona.

Today’s theme in the scriptures points us toward one of my favorite themes from the Bible, i.e., who and when gets chosen to bring God’s message and power to people. It starts with Exodus, the unlikely character of Moses, and then those who are given part of his spirit in the camp as they are in the desert (EX. 16:14-20). This is what happens to the prophets and certainly to the prophet Amos, who recognizes that he is not a learned man, but it is the Spirit of God in him that will speak. The Pentecost moment is the beginning of the Church and gives the vision that we are sharers in the Spirit of God.

This week we celebrated the founding of the country. In my seventh year here, I have come to appreciate the fanfare and the events that the city uses to celebrate the courage of the founders and the first citizens. In some ways, they deserved the description of “radical people”. Their ideas were about freedom and the desire to rule themselves using a democratic process of governance by qualified elected people. The final lines of the Declaration of Independence come to my mind when I think of what the founders were hoping for and prepared to do for one another. It reads, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

As I return from a month away from the parish for various reasons, (vacation, conference, and retreat) I am reflecting on the various ways I have encountered the church.

Due to the success of the Open Church at IC last fall, we decided to test out having St. James church open for prayer too this summer.  The church will be open Tuesday evenings 4pm to 7pm. The idea is to welcome commuters and walkers into a peaceful place at the end of their day. 

Immediately following 9:00 AM mass on 5.26.2024, we will be doing a Memorial Day blessing on the Greenway. Everyone is welcome to join us directly after the mass.

This week we gather to celebrate the Feast of the Pentecost, celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised and to mark the beginning (officially) of the Church. It is a moment to remember that God has a big plan and that we have been included in it as participants and recipients.

Join MQOA for a retreat! Get away from the busyness of everyday life so you can connect with each other and connect with God. The day includes music, food, laughs, videos, small group discussions, and prayer ministry. 

This past week I, Stephen, and some members of the parish traveled to Hamden Connecticut to join with other parishes that are actively engaging in parish renewal using the Divine Renovation Model. This model was developed by a priest in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

My work took me away from home a lot last fall, and so I was at a different Catholic parish every weekend. All the same Catholic Mass—and, depressingly, the same experience of being the unwelcomed stranger in a strangely familiar land. Many of the parishes had a greeter smiling at the front door with a bulletin in hand. There was often an invitation from the pulpit for all visitors to stand and be welcomed. At one parish, I even received a shiny little gift bag with a ballpoint pen and a coffee cup, both bearing the name of the parish.

As we serve at Sunday, Daily, and Holy Day Masses in our roles from Altar Server and Lector to Eucharist Minister, we are all called to be welcoming to our guests, visitors, and parishioners. It is part of our mission here at MQOA to welcome everyone who walks through our doors and into a holy, peaceful, and healing space. We want to get to know them over time, build trust, and invite them into a relationship with Jesus. This takes time but it starts with a simple hello and a smile.

One of the truths about our faith is that at the basis of it is a work of gratitude to God. The Greek root of the word Eucharist means thanks. The word liturgy implies a “public work.” So Every time we come to celebrate Mass, we are taking on the “work” of thanking God for the gift of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a ongoing grace to be called into this work and we are blessed to have this knowledge, that Jesus the Christ has been sent by the Father for each of us.

Celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a bilingual Mass & Pot.

You want to stay connected to MQOA when you are away . . .

Our Welcome Desk located at the side entrance at IC is open for Memorial Mass, Online Giving and etc.