Dear Parishioners and Visitors,

     The practice of requesting a Mass to be celebrated in memory of a loved one, living or deceased, or for a designated cause consistent with Church teaching, is a beautiful and meaningful part of our Catholic tradition.  The 1983 Code of Canon Law (cc. 945-958) and other Church legislative entities, regulate strictly the offerings and intentions that may be celebrated within a calendar year (January-December).  Mass intentions may not be scheduled for more than one year in advance, based on a rolling calendar, are limited to fifteen (15) Mass intentions per household per year, and are subject to change of date for due cause.  For more information, please see the “Saint Joseph Parish Mass Intentions Policy” on the parish’s website:   www.stjosephlincoln.org.

     Whereas supply-chain problems delayed delivery of the 2023 Mass Intentions calendar, I am happy to announce that the new calendar is now prepared and intentions are being accepted at the parish office, according to the terms of the Policy, at a rate of $10 per Mass, as set by the Bishops of the Boston Metropolitan of Catholic Churches.

With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney

Dear Parishioners and Visitors,

And the people begged Jesus that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed (Mark 5:56).

For some, the weeks of Lent are a time of preparation for baptism; for all it is a time for preparation to renew baptismal promises with conviction. Time in prayer, self-scrutiny, celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a careful and thoughtful way can make the questions “Do you believe in God?” and “Do you reject sin?” not only words of a ceremony but the sign of a fresh commitment.  To say that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not widely celebrated today is an understatement, but it is not an overstatement to say that it is more needed than ever.  Reconciliation is as much a matter of having your sins forgiven as it is the experience of opening yourself to the healing of God through Christ in the Sacrament.  Of what would you like to be healed? 

With prayerful best wishes,

Fr. John Mahoney