When Hanover OR Norwell schools are cancelled, there will be no 9AM Daily Mass (or CCD classes). Please stay home where it is safe and warm and watch Mass on Catholic TV!! Morning Bible Study is cancelled for today -Wednesday, March 14. A decision regarding Wednesday Night Confession is yet to me made. We will post here when it is. Thank you!!

Dear parishioners,

I would like to thank you for your patience in the ongoing process of a potential unification of our churches. This past weekend, 2162 parishioners (including absentee voters) cast ballots regarding the potential merger of our parishes. There were 1635 parishioners (76%) who voted “Yes”, supporting the “Collaborative’s effort to continue the process to find and develop a unified worship site,” and 527 parishioners (24%) who voted “No.” We believe 76% is a solid mandate to continue on with the process. As was stated, there is nothing binding about the results of this vote – it simply affirms that the Parish Council and I may continue to move forward toward one worship site. While it is impossible to make everyone happy, I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us in this awesome opportunity.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Chris

Click here to sign up now! Life Teen SMASH is proud to once again be sponsoring the Puttin' On the Hits Lip Sync Contest for those in grades 1 through 8. The show will be held on Friday, March 31 (*Note that an incorrect date was previously posted) at 6:30 p.m. at Saint Mary's Parish Center. The show is limited to 20 acts, so sign up soon to be sure you get in! All registrations should be submitted no later than Friday, March 24 Sunday, March 26. To download the rules and explanation, please click here.

Don't Give up chocolate or dessert this Lent! Instead join a small community group for 6 weeks during Lent for a 40 day spiritual retreat. Groups will meet once a week for 90 minutes using the Matthew Kelly book "Rediscover Jesus" as a guide. Register online by clicking on the title of this article or contact Ellen McDonough with questions at (781) 826-4303 x 233.

The Healing Mass and Prayer Group Meeting scheduled for this evening, Tuesday, January 31 has been cancelled.

Today's 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. CCD classes are cancelled!

If you did not get a Pilot newspaper you can still catch up with the Mercy Sews clothing delivery to Bishop Dennis in the Central Republic of Africa here! Or come to our next meeting, Saturday January 28 at 10:30AM at St. Mary's Parish Center.

When school is cancelled in Hanover OR Norwell, there will be no 9 a.m. daily Mass. In such instances, it is unsafe for parishioners to be on the roads. If there is an intention, it will be moved to the next available daily Mass. CatholicTV televises daily Mass, which makes for a great alternative on these infrequent occasions. Thank you for understanding!

The Grade 2 First Communion Survey is now available by clicking here. First Holy Communion will take place on the following dates/times:

Saturday, April 29 at 10:30 a.m. (St. Mary's Hanover)
Sunday, April 30 at 10 a.m. (St. Helen's Norwell)
Sunday, April 30 at 12 p.m. (St. Mary's Hanover)
Saturday, May 6 at 10:30 a.m. (St. Mary's Hanover)
Sunday, May 7 at 12 p.m. (St. Mary's Hanover)
Regularly scheduled Mass after May 7

Please note that there are a limited number of spots for each date/time. Once a time slot fills up, you will no longer be able to select it.

Thursday, November 3rd at 7:15PM in St. Mary's Parish Center, we will hold a training session for ministry volunteers. It is mandated by the Archdiocese that all ministers see the Protecting God's Children video at least once. Also we need to do a CORI form (background check) every year. If you have already seen the video, please stop at the beginning of the evening and fill out a new CORI form for 2017. If you have any questions, please contact Maura Dowling at mdowling@holymothers.com or call (781) 826-2351. Future daytime training session are planned and will be posted when dates and times are set.

Please click on the title of this article to follow our Pilgrim's progress in Poland for World Youth day. Photos are provided by the Archdiocese of Boston. You can also follow the WYD Services on CatholicTV at http://www.catholictv.com/shows/world-youth-day

Thank you to the over 270 children who participated in Summer CCD these past 2 weeks as well as all the teachers and helpers. It was AWESOME!!

VOTE!! Ballots for the Parish Council Elections will be at all Masses this weekend. Please select 6 nominees from each parish to represent you on the Holy Mothers Collaborative Parish Council.

Classes have started, but you can still sign up. Please click title of this article to be brought to the online registration form. You can also find it under Faith Formation.

2016 vacation Bible Camp registrations are now being accepted online. Camp will run August 15-19 at St. Mary's Parish Center from 9 to Noon each day. This is a 1 week camp for campers age 4 going into Grade 4 (in Sept). Join us for a fun-filled week of bible stories, music, and crafts. Please call the Parish center with questions or email Ellen McDonough at emcdonough@holymothers.com

Due to the illness that has been around town the last few days, it has been decided that the Family Rosary should be canceled for tonight. Thank you for your understanding!

Response to the request for nominations to the Parish Council for the Holy Mothers Collaborative has been very good. We will be publishing information about the nominees shortly and have therefore removed the blank nomination papers from our website. Thank you for your participation and stay tuned!

Our Grade 3-5 Summer Religious Education registration form has been turned off as we have filled the program to capacity including a wait list registrations. We will be confirming current registrations and will notify wait listed families if there is room for your child(ren). We expect to get back to those on the registered wait listed this week. Thank you!

By request of the Cardinal, this weekend we kicked off the Catholic Appeal at all our Masses. Pledge envelopes are available at the back of our churches as well as in our parish office if you did not receive one. You can also learn more or donate by going to www.bostoncatholicappeal.org. Thank you for your generosity!

Lent is a time of renewal - not only a spiritual renewal, but also a physical renewal. The "Walk to Jerusale" program exercises souls and bodies throughout Lent with an “imaginary trip” to Jerusalem, ending this Sunday, March 20 (Palm Sunday). Our goal is to accumulate enough miles collectively to reach Jerusalem by Palm Sunday, March 20. We will collectively travel 14,717 miles to Jerusalem. Four Parishes are joining together to complete our epic journey through North and South America, across the Atlantic Ocean, up Africa and into Jerusalem by Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into the ancient city. Our way points along the trek are Catholic Churches. Participating parishioners log miles in many ways: walking, participating in any physical activity, and dedicated prayer (for those unable to physically exercise). More to come on mileage equivalents and ways to log miles… We will publish weekly prayer cards to Pray and reflect as you walk but you can also find a copy here if you click on the title of this article. For more information contact Judy Nicotera at (617) 827-1908 or djn4@verizon.net