Welcome to St. Dorothy and St. Thomas Churches!

Join us in the celebration of Word and Sacrament as we continue to grow in our Catholic faith and as a faith community. We welcome all to join us as we seek to follow Christ, to come alive in His Spirit, and to share His love with one another.

Parish Office: 11 Harnden St., Wilmington 978-658-4665
Faith Formation Office: 126 Middlesex Ave., Wilmington 978-658-6040

We continue to encourage ALL parishioners and visitors to our parish buildings to wear masks when attending daily Masses, Communion Services, and weekend Masses, as well as attendance at other parish events. We have a supply of masks available at both churches. We hope you'll support our emphasis on masks as one that makes the most pastoral and practical sense for this faith community. Should you have any questions and/or concerns, please feel free to reach me directly at 508-344-4387. BLESSINGS! Tom Griffin, Pastoral Associate

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO DONATED TO OUR NEW MISSAL FUNDRAISER! WE HAVE REACHED THE GOAL AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT WHEN THE NEW MISSALS WILL BE UTILIZED

We would like to remind families that our Faith Formation classes started on Sunday October 3. Please contact the office at 978-658-6040 with any questions or if you have not registered your child. We are looking forward to the upcoming year.

For the Month of October the Parish Women’s Club will be collecting new socks for Helpis (Help me help someone, Inc.). HMHS is a social Network that promotes and encourages kind and charitable deeds. One of the many different things they do is to collect socks for the homeless, children in hospitals and shelters, veterans etc, the list is endless. They are in need of all size socks for both male and female. Any way you could help support this organization would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you in advance. There will be boxes at the back of each church and the CCD office where you will be able to leave the socks. If you have any questions please feel free to call Kathy Catanzano @ 978-658-9189 or Diane Ward 978-658-5697.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO BROUGHT AN ITEM FOR OUR FOOD PANTRY AND THE THANKSGIVING MEALS WE ARE PROVIDING TO THOSE IN NEED IN OUR PARISH. WE WILL CONTINUE COLLECTING FOOD THROUGH OCTOBER. PLEASE BRING TO THE FAITH FORMATION OFFICE.

A “Rosary Rally”will be held on Saturday, October 16, 2021 at Noon at the Town Gazebo. This public recitation of the rosary is one of 20,613 rallies that will take place on that day. We’ll be gathering to pray for the Town of Wilmington and all our beautiful Faith Communities, that we live together in peace, harmony and love of our neighbor. Everyone must follow all Pandemic guidelines. This is a Public religious community event - NOT- a political rally. All are welcome. Come and pray the rosary with us!

A NOTE FROM FR. COYNE

Friends,

I’d like to write about baptism and how our understanding of this sacrament has changed over the years. Obviously, in the early years of the Church (following Christ’s death) those who chose to follow his message and wanted to become Christian were baptized as adults. As the centuries passed, entire families would choose to become baptized together and eventually young families who were already Christian and had another child would want that child baptized as an infant. So, you can see the progression that took place from adult baptism to infant baptism. Over recent centuries we have only known infant baptism as the norm and exceptionally baptize teenagers and adults. Our understanding of all the sacraments can and will evolve as we do.

In our time the reason for baptism has also changed as our concept of God has expanded. Private baptism was predominant prior to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Shortly after birth a family brought their child to the church and very quietly a priest baptized their son/daughter. The motivation was fear of the child dying with original sin on its soul before being baptized and therefore not being able to go to heaven but spending eternity in Limbo. This fear was evident in parents’ unwillingness to take the child anywhere prior to the baptism because they were afraid it may become ill. In many cases, the mother was not present at the baptism because she was recuperating. At that time, it was not so much a celebration of baptism but a ritual to be performed. Fear of God was very prevalent. By the way, the Catholic Church declared since Vatican II that there is no such place as “Limbo”. They said it was not a doctrine or dogma but a “theological construct”. As we have become enlightened and educated in our Theology, our reasons for baptizing our children have become more positive, centered in love rather than fear.

The Church is a community and is instrumental in our understanding and celebration of God’s presence in our lives. Today, parents choose to have their children baptized not out of fear of what happens if they are not baptized but because they want them to belong to a faith community that will invite them to experience God’s unconditional love and challenge them to be all God has created them to be as they receive the other sacraments.

The average family today has their child baptized anywhere from 3 months old to a year. It is a celebration and those who play or will play a positive role in our child’s life are invited to celebrate with us at Church and a reception. Private baptisms are discouraged because the child is becoming a member of a community. The baptism is not between one family and God, it is meant to make us aware of our participation in the larger church. This is very evident when we celebrate group baptisms with many families welcoming our children into the church together.

I believe God’s Spirit is present in every human being. The Catholic Church celebrates that presence at baptism. Each family then has the privilege and responsibility of encouraging their children to recognize that Spirit as they grow and mature as Catholics.

I know how disappointed and heartbroken many parents and grandparents are when they are told that their children or grandchildren are not having their children baptized. This is a huge loss to our Church, and I believe it is also a major loss to many families. Unfortunately, the Church is not the priority it used to be. Younger parents, in many cases, don’t believe they are going to follow through with the religious education of their children if it is no longer a priority in their own lives and so they don’t begin the process by having their children baptized.

The Christian faith and the Catholic Church have truly contributed in positive ways in making us who we are today, and it all began when our family brought us to Church to celebrate our baptism. How blessed are we!

Enjoy life!
Fr. Coyne

SACRAMENTAL EMERGENCY 781-229-5283

CATHOLIC TV DAILY AND SUNDAY MASS

Cardinal Seán encourages Catholics to participate in the daily and Sunday Masses broadcast from the CatholicTV chapel.

Daily Mass airs live at 9:30am and is rebroadcast at 7pm and 11:30pm.

Sunday Masses air throughout the day at 10am, 4pm, 7pm, and 11:30pm.

The Sunday Spanish Mass airs live at 8am and is rebroadcast at 5:30pm and 10pm.

Viewers can watch these Masses on demand at any time at www.WatchtheMass.com. For more information about CatholicTV and where you can watch it, visit http://www.catholictv.org/.

FINANCIAL REPORT 2018-2019

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