St. John the Evangelist Church

***NEW 5/19/2020: It is with joy and hope that I announce to you that our parish of Saint John the Evangelist will be open for Masses beginning next weekend May 30-31st for the celebration of Pentecost. Please see details in the Pastor's corner section below.

All daily masses are cancelled until further notice.

As of 3/24/2020,  St. John's parish office is closed until further notice. Parishioners can leave messages via email at [email protected] or at the parish phone number 617-547-4880. The messages will be checked remotely.  

Note: Fr. Joe says Mass each day for all of the intentions of our parishioners.  We may not be physically present at church, but that does not mean we are not all connected Spiritually. See how beautiful our Altar was decorated for Easter! Click here.

"If you have difficulty leaving your home at the moment because of kids, poor health, or other restrictions, please email [email protected] and we can pair you with a volunteer from the Young Adult Group who can help you get groceries and run other errands."

The Archdiocese of Boston Corona response team webinars can be found here. 

Fr. GUSTAVE MIRACLE, STL:  Sermon du 7e Dimanche de Pâques

Seventh Sunday of Easter 5/24/2020

Thursday of this week we celebrated the Ascension of the Lord with a 5:00 p.m. Mass in the church which you can view  here

The Ascension is a celebration which announces the Lord’s return to the Father, having left the Church the Holy Spirit for guidance, so that the work of His saving acts of death and Resurrection might be validated. Jesus departs and leaves the disciples with a powerful mandate to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit”. But he does not depart without the promise of His being with the church until the end of the age. What we celebrate in the Ascension is the truth that Jesus has accomplished His defeat of sin and death and that He continues to be present to us always.

The Sunday celebration offered on May 24th is the seventh Sunday of the Easter Season, the final before the wonderful blessing of grace and Spirit which is Pentecost, which brings with it the story of Jesus’ gift of the Spirit to the disciples and to His Church. The gospel selection offered for the seventh Sunday is again taken from John and includes a beautiful and heartfelt prayer offered by Jesus to the Father in which Jesus prays for the glorification of the Father and the Son. Here Jesus is interceding for the disciples with the Father. He speaks first to the Father of how Jesus has revealed the Father’s glory and so His own glory has been revealed. He then turns His attention to the disciples. “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.” It is a reassurance, especially in these difficult times, to return to this beautiful and intimate prayer and know that Jesus is with us, offering us to the Father for our protection and interceding for us on our behalf. The prayer is a gift to us as we close the Easter Season and proceed with confidence in the power and sweetness of the Spirit to guide and protect us.

It is with joy and hope that I announce to you that our parish of Saint John the Evangelist will be open for Masses beginning next weekend May 30-31st for the celebration of Pentecost. While we will proceed with the utmost caution, we will proceed with happiness produced by the Spirit and growing by our generous participation in the celebration of the Eucharist. Guidelines should and will be followed for the safety of every parishioner and will include the following:

1. There will be Mass scheduled for Saturdays at 4:00p.m. and for Sundays at 9:00a.m. and 11:00a.m. There will be, for the foreseeable future, no 6:30a.m. Mass. Logistics do not allow for such at this time.
2. Each Mass will be limited to between 80 and 100 people and the numbers will be regulated by ushering teams inviting those who enter to sit in specific seats with proper social distancing. Each entrant will wear a mask and gloves. Family members may sit together.
3. The Mass Ave doors and the parking lot side doors will be the only ones open for the process and those entries will be guided by proper social distancing. Those using the elevator are asked to use such one person at a time.
4. The front pews will be reserved for those with specific needs.
5. Each pew will be distinctly marked with tape to show the area for seating. The side pews will hold one person each with an empty pew between each entrant. Families are an exception. The middle pews will hold two people each with an empty pew between every two entrants.
6. The floors will be marked with directive markings indicating one direction for Communion. The flow of the Communion line will maintain six feet of separation up to the altar.
7. The “amen” spoken at reception will be replaced by a collective “amen” prayed prior to coming to Communion.
8. There will be a non-verbal no contact sign of peace.
9. Reception of Communion will be under one species offered in the hand with no availability of the cup.
10. There will be no missalettes or bulletins in the pews. A worship aid will be available and must be taken with you when you depart. Departure will proceed civilly with maintenance of proper social distance. Please, if possible, leave coats and other extras in your car.
11. The Collection will be taken up in baskets available for deposit either before or after the Mass. No baskets will be passed.
12. Those who sense they are not ready to return must know that you should stay home and watch Mass on Catholic TV.
13. Gloves and masks and hand sanitizer will be available at church but you are strongly encouraged to bring your own and to leave with them.

Thank you for doing all you can to follow these and other guidelines for safety as we proceed with cautious joy up the altar of God once again.

We continue to urge you to consider ONLINE GIVING as your method of choice for contribution and we thank those who have been so generous during our stay away. Be safe and we will see you soon!

God Bless, Father Joe

  This is John Brennan, the young man from BC High for whom we have been praying for. John with his mom Caroline would like to offer a prayer for us as we struggle together with all of the burdens we face! Click on the link to pray along with John and Caroline. Let us pray.......Prayer of St. Francis

Thank You Message from John....click here

In light of the current situation, the St. John's Young Adult Group are looking for ways to support our local community. If you have difficulty leaving your home at the moment because of kids, poor health, or other restrictions, please email [email protected] and we can pair you with one of our member volunteers who can help you get groceries and run other errands. 

For Young Adult Group members looking to take a break from self-isolation and enjoy socially distanced fun, we are planning a video-conferenced Netflix party. Email [email protected] for more details and let us know which movie or show you would be interested in watching.

Lastly, during this period, we are gathering every Sunday morning at 9:30am over Zoom to go through the readings for the day and pray together. We normally end with some discussion on how everyone is coping. For more information, email [email protected]