The Catholic Parishes 

of Stoughton 

Envelopes are available at the doors of both churches for donations for Christmas Flowers in memory of a loved one. The envelopes may be placed in the collection basket or mailed to the parish office.
 
A reminder that while offerings are gratefully accepted and appreciated, there is no  monetary obligation for prayers to be  requested.
 
 Envelopes due Sunday December 15th!

Virtus:  Protecting God’s Children; is an   awareness and educational session that is mandatory for parish staff and all levels of   volunteers in Parish ministry.  Virtus will be offered:                                                                Sunday, November 17, 2019
 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
St. James Parish Hall
560 Page Street,
Stoughton, MA 02072

Reserve a seat at the training by contacting Bridget Horan at bhoran@stoughtoncatholic.org/
781-886-6060.

Peace be with you! 
 

Welcome to the Catholic Parishes of Stoughton. We are a Roman Catholic community of faith, nourished by the Eucharist and committed to living out our faith in service to others. It’s our hope that no matter where you are on your life’s journey, you will find a home here. Please join us as we worship our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the source of all our faith, hope, strength and joy.

              Peace and blessings!
              Fr. Joe Mazzone
              Pastor of St. James & Immaculate Conception 

Around mid-October, running errands in various stores, I was surprised to see that many of them were already decorated for Christmas.  Still three and two weeks away from Halloween, and these  franchises had already determined that it was time to move on to the next holiday.  In these past few weeks as well, the prayers, readings, and liturgy—that is, the public worship—of the Church also points us to “the next.” 
 
Our opening prayers of the last few Sunday Masses have directed us to “Love what You command so as to merit what You promise” (30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time), to “Hasten without stumbling to receive what You have promised” (31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time), to “Unhindered in mind and body, we may pursue in freedom of heart the things that are Yours” (32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time), and today, the 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, to “Grant us the constant gladness of being devoted to You.”
 
In this month dedicated to praying for our beloved dead, these prayers remind us of our mortality—the finitude of our lives here on earth, and that we pray for our dead because there is no guarantee of Heaven in the next life.  If there was, they wouldn’t need our prayers because they would already be saints, and the saints, having reached Heaven, in turn now pray for us who remain. 
 
As we pray for our dead that, hopefully having reached at least Purgatory and no longer able to pray for themselves, that they may be released from there and sprung into Heaven by our prayers where, as saints, they can then pray for us.  And as we recall our own mortality, that we have been  created by God to be with Him in Heaven but that being “let in” is no guarantee, to ask ourselves, “Are we living what is being prayed in the opening prayer each Sunday?”—That, loving what God commands (turning away from sin), we may hasten without stumbling and unhindered in freedom of heart, we may have the constant gladness of being devoted solely to God, so as to receive what He has promised—eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
                                                                ~ Fr. Will
 
 

Congratulations to
 Immaculate  Conception & St. James AGAIN for surpassing
their 2019 Catholic Appeal Goals.
 
All thanks to your incredible commitment and generosity. Thank you for responding to Cardinal Seán’s call to witness more clearly the depths of God’s love for each one of us through this important effort.                                      
 
The Catholic Appeal Masses will be held on Sunday November 17th at 10:30 am Mass at Immaculate Conception. These Masses will be in memory/honor of all of those to whom the appeal was dedicated. 

Each tag  hanging from the branches represents the Christmas wish of a needy child, teen or single parent in our Stoughton community. We ask that the gifts be brought to the church anytime on or before
Sunday, December 15th!
 
 Please attach the tag and leave the gift unwrapped in
a holiday gift bag under the tree. 
 
These bags are later used to distribute the gifts.
 
Monetary contributions are gratefully accepted.
 
Experience the beautiful gift of giving this year! 
Please make this project part of your family’s Advent celebration and let us watch as Christmas joy grows beneath our Parish Giving Tree.