https://www.thebostonpilot.comOfficial newspaper of the Archdiocese of BostonDuring Sisters Week, we honor the extraordinary legacy of consecrated life. But more importantly, we reaffirm the sacred responsibility we carry together -- Sisters, lay leaders, and philanthropic partners -- to ensure that the ministries born of sacrifice and faith do not just survive, but flourish for generations to come. 3/6/2026 9:52:12 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202050https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202050At Austin Preparatory School in Reading, gratitude is not simply spoken. It is lived. The presence of the Daughters of Mary has become a steady source of spiritual guidance, academic leadership, and personal connection. 3/6/2026 9:51:16 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202049https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202049The Sisters of St. Joseph believe that prayer matters. We know that prayer leads us to respond to the needs of the people of God. For generations, we have fasted from what distracts us from keeping God as our center point. Many of us experience the desire to respond to ever-increasing division with a call to love with hearts of contemplation and action. 3/6/2026 9:50:20 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202048https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202048As Mount Alvernia Academy prepares to celebrate its centennial year, our community of faculty, staff, students, and families does so with profound gratitude to the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, whose faith, vision, and devotion gave life to the school. During National Catholic Sisters Week, it is especially fitting to honor these women religious -- founders of the Mount Alvernia Academy community and architects of a legacy that has shaped generations within the Archdiocese of Boston. 3/6/2026 9:49:20 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202047https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202047On Feb. 7, the Poor Clare Monastery in Andover was a place of joy, warmth, and happy smiles as people gathered in the nuns' chapel to celebrate the solemn perpetual profession of Sister Mary Juliana Ojika. Outside the monastery, snow fell silently, blanketing the grounds in white, like a bride's dress, while a young Sister was committing her life to God forever. 3/6/2026 9:47:40 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202046https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202046The celebration of my 50th Jubilee as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur has been a special time to reflect on how the Spirit of our Good God has been at work in my life all these years. I stand in awe and wonder as I recognize the river flowing beneath, a Scriptural image of God's action in our universe. 3/6/2026 9:46:35 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202045https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202045On Feb. 14, 2026, the Daughters of St. Paul in Jamaica Plain celebrated the first profession of vows of novice Catherine Addington. The Mass was celebrated at the chapel at the Daughters' convent in Jamaica Plain by Father Oscar Pratt, the pastor of St. Katharine Drexel Church in Dorchester. Upon making her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience for the first time, Catherine also received the religious habit and a new name: Sister Catherine Lucia Phoebe, FSP. We caught up with Sister Phoebe in the days following her profession to hear about her vocation story and what this milestone means to her. 3/6/2026 9:45:10 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202044https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202044In a joyful celebration, Brother Aloysious Musoke, AA, recently professed his final vows at St. Columbkille Parish in Brighton. He was joined by his religious community, priests, sisters, and many friends. The Liturgy reflected the rich heritage of Brother Aloysious' home country and village in Uganda. The music provided by St. Andrew's African Choir from Worcester filled the church with the jubilant sound of great voices, accompanied by drums and other instruments. 3/6/2026 9:42:37 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202043https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202043BRAINTREE -- "Dios mío, esto son tres cosas maravillosas para celebrar en un solo día." Eso fue lo que pensó Liz Cotrupi, directora de la Oficina de Vida Familiar y Movimientos Eclesiales de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, sobre el concierto de adoración de Adviento de Matt Maher y Sarah Kroger en la Catedral de la Santa Cruz el 8 de diciembre. La fecha del concierto coincidió con el 150 aniversario de la dedicación de la catedral y la Solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción. 3/6/2026 8:50:35 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202040https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202040BRAINTREE -- "Dios mío, esto son tres cosas maravillosas para celebrar en un solo día." Eso fue lo que pensó Liz Cotrupi, directora de la Oficina de Vida Familiar y Movimientos Eclesiales de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, sobre el concierto de adoración de Adviento de Matt Maher y Sarah Kroger en la Catedral de la Santa Cruz el 8 de diciembre. La fecha del concierto coincidió con el 150 aniversario de la dedicación de la catedral y la Solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción. 3/6/2026 8:50:34 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202039https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202039BRAINTREE -- "Dios mío, esto son tres cosas maravillosas para celebrar en un solo día." Eso fue lo que pensó Liz Cotrupi, directora de la Oficina de Vida Familiar y Movimientos Eclesiales de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, sobre el concierto de adoración de Adviento de Matt Maher y Sarah Kroger en la Catedral de la Santa Cruz el 8 de diciembre. La fecha del concierto coincidió con el 150 aniversario de la dedicación de la catedral y la Solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción. 3/6/2026 8:50:34 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202038https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202038ROWLEY -- The history of St. Mary Parish is piled into a small box on a kitchen table. The flakes of white, waxy dust line the cardboard interior like snow lines the roads outside the church. Parishioner Anne Girard uses a knife to scrape old, worn-down candles into the box. The gritty work typically takes two or three hours. Into the box go the impurities, the burnt bits, everything that must be sloughed off for the candles to be melted, molded, and reborn in time for the Easter season. In the flakes, Girard sees "the pain, the injury, the woundedness" of past years. 3/6/2026 8:41:38 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202032https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202032ROCKLAND -- In a long line, hundreds stream out of the doors of Holy Family Parish in Rockland. It is the night of March 1, and the evening Brazilian Mass has just ended. Father Chris Snyder glides between English and Portuguese, greeting parishioners with hugs and high fives. Some families linger in the crowded stairwell to venerate the statue of the Virgin Mary. The sanctuary, once filled with loving voices, is eerily silent as Lorena Araujo, director of Holy Family's Brazilian community choir for 12 years, packs up for the night. You've got to be tough to direct a church choir, she says. 3/6/2026 8:40:21 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202031https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202031BOSTON -- Over 140 seniors from the Archdiocese of Boston's Catholic high schools got a head start with their future careers at the Catholic School Foundation's Celebration of Excellence, held at the PWC building in Boston's Seaport District on Feb. 27. 3/6/2026 8:39:00 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202030https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202030For the past dozen years, I have served as the Appeal coordinator for St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Dedham. When I first offered to step up as the Appeal coordinator, I did so because I wanted to learn more about the Archdiocese of Boston. I had been very active in other capacities within the parish, and I wanted to branch out. The pastor at the time agreed and, with the exception of one particular year, I've been the coordinator ever since! 3/6/2026 8:33:46 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202028https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202028Last week, we saw how the Second Eucharistic Prayer in the Roman Missal started in one format and, by careful editing, ended in the most familiar of the four Eucharistic Prayers. This week, let's take a closer look at the results of that editorial work. 3/6/2026 8:31:31 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202027https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202027Last month, the Vatican announced that they would continue pursuing the canonization of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Archbishop Sheen is remembered for pioneering the use of television to preach to Catholics all over the country, especially through his television series "Life is Worth Living," for which he won an Emmy in 1953. The Venerable Fulton Sheen's example of embracing technology can be seen in the development of Catholic television in our own archdiocese. 3/6/2026 8:29:37 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202026https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202026One point of reflection over the course of my time as superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese of Boston has been to ask myself, "How did I get here?" 3/6/2026 8:27:52 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202025https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202025It's a good thing that God does not treat us the way we treat one another. If we are honest, we human beings are not very patient or forgiving. The Scriptures make clear that the Lord is long-suffering, patient, and forgiving. 3/6/2026 8:26:18 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202024https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202024My Dad was a pacifist. His firm belief in the need for a diplomatic solution to disagreements of all kinds was rock solid. It grew out of his time spent on the front lines of the Korean Conflict, where he earned, among other medals, a Purple Heart. When he passed away in 2010, I found a news clipping from 1980 tucked in a drawer. It was folded, yellowed, and dog-eared. 3/6/2026 8:24:41 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202023https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202023The Israelites' hearts were hardened by their hardships in the desert. Though they saw His mighty deeds, in their thirst they grumbled and put God to the test in today's First Reading -- a crisis point recalled also in today's Psalm. 3/6/2026 8:23:04 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202022https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202022The 17th Annual Social Justice Convocation begins at 8 a.m. on March 14 at Boston College High School. This annual tradition began in 2009 under the leadership of Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, Msgr. Bryan Hehir, the archdiocese's secretary of health and social services, and Pat Dineen, founder of the Social Justice Ministry. The first year's program was titled "In the Footsteps of Christ." This year's goals remain the same as then: educate the faithful on Catholic Social Teaching, celebrate and increase awareness of existing justice work within the archdiocese, and provide concrete ways for parishioners to connect their faith with social action. 3/6/2026 8:21:52 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202021https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202021Ex 17:3-7 Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Rom 5:1-2, 5-8 Jn 4:5-42 Preaching on this story from John's Gospel, I like how St. Augustine put it. Describing the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, he said that the Lord was "little by little finding a way into her heart." 3/4/2026 8:24:23 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202007https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202007If you're like me, you were impressed by the athletes of the Milan-Cortina Olympics. In them, we witnessed both the rewards of hard work and the traumatizing effects of extreme expectation. 3/4/2026 8:23:10 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202006https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202006Not long ago, I was sorting through some of my Dad's old papers and I came across a candy wrapper and a Father's Day card tucked into an envelope that bore a March 2001 postmark from Rome. As soon as I saw it, it brought back happy memories of a sabbatical I spent living and working in Rome for several spring months. 3/4/2026 8:21:55 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202005https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202005Q: In a recent homily, my parish priest suggested that we all "give up prayers of petition for Lent." He said we're not being good friends to God if all we do is ask him for things, and that "you've all said enough prayers of petition, it's time to say some other prayers." But I'm not sure exactly what he meant by this or how I should incorporate this guidance into my prayer life. 3/4/2026 8:20:23 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202004https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=2020043/2/2026 11:50:45 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=202000https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=2020003/2/2026 11:50:27 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=201999https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=2019993/2/2026 11:49:53 AMhttps://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=201996https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=201996