Dear Friends:   

   In consultation with the Parish Pastoral Council, the parish staff, and individual parishioner feedback, we are altering the Mass schedule for the Parish of the Transfiguration.  You can view the new schedule at the bottom of this page.  For some, like the “4 O’Clockers,” there is no change.  For others, like the “Early Birds,” I hope the change is welcomed since it’s more early.  For still others, I hope the change is easily manageable, but I know for some it will be very difficult, for which I am sorry.

   The driving reason among many for this shift is a major change to the catechesis of our children.  The Archdiocese has just gone through a process of lowering the year of Confirmation from 10th grade to 8th grade.  That gives us the daunting challenge of developing in them a habit of practicing the Faith before they enter high school.  Up until now, the high school kids had Confirmation classes on Sunday evening or during the week due to the conflict with their sports schedule.  Gone are the days when youth sports were not played on the Sabbath and, similarly, the reality that families understood Mass was on Sunday morning and Religious Ed may be a different night of the week.  Many people, as you know, drop their kids off to class at whatever day and time is most convenient, but do not go to church.

   This past year, in an effort to give the Confirmation kids a Mass-based formation, I instituted on a trial basis a 4:00pm Sunday evening Mass (followed by Confirmation class) to see if that would generate interest for younger families and within the parish as a whole.  That did not turn out to be a popular Mass time for the parish as a whole, to put it mildly, during a 3-day weekend or school vacation, when Religious Education was not in session.  If a Sunday evening Mass was popular on its own, that could have been a great opportunity.

   Nonetheless, its failure is also very instructive, because it turns out that 9:00am is a convenient Mass time for young families and there are fewer sports related conflicts on Sunday mornings for Middle Schoolers.  It is also obvious that as a parish we could use morning hospitality (coffee and donuts type of thing) as a community, which is a good use for Villanova Hall while the kids are in their classes.  For all these reasons and more, I hope that this effort to get our youngest families into a groove of Mass, Religious Ed, and community friendship will bear great fruit for our kids as they complete their formal catechesis and for the Parish as a whole as we continue to journey in Faith together.

Fraternally in Christ,

Fr. C

Starting May 30th/31st

4:00pm (Sat)- St. Dorothy

7:30am- St. Thomas

9:00am- St. Thomas

11:00am- St. Dorothy

Celebrating 40 Years of Faithful Service

Join us in celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Deacon Clifford King Ordination to the Diaconate on Saturday May 16th. 

For four decades, Deacon Cliff has served the Church with a generous heart, steadfast faith, and a deep love for the people of God. Through his preaching, his ministry at the altar, and his pastoral care— especially in baptizing over a thousand children and accompanying families in moments of great joy and sorrow—he has truly been a visible sign of Christ the Servant in our midst. 

We will celebrate this special milestone at the 4:00 PM Mass on Saturday, May 16, followed by a gathering where we can come together as a parish family in thanksgiving and celebration in the downstairs of St Dorothy Church for light refreshments. 

To help us plan accordingly, we kindly ask that all who wish to attend RSVP by calling the parish office at 978-658.4665 ext.100 or emailing Patty at parishsecretary@parishofthetransfiguration.org by May 10th. 

May Events

We are excited to announce a FREE Catholic streaming service to our parishioners. 

FORMED is an online platform (available at your favorite app store) that gives you access to hundreds of programs, family/kids videos, eBooks, podcasts, daily devotions and so much more.

No matter where you are in your faith- curious about our beliefs, new to the faith, coming back or looking to expand your love relationship with Jesus, FORMED has everything you’ll need and did we mention it is FREE to all of you.

To sign up:

Visit: signup.formed.org

Enter your parish zip code or parish name

Or

Pick up a FORMED card at the entrance of the church for the QR code.

Click here for 2026 Catholic Appeal

"The Parish of the Transfiguration is looking for people who would like to join a Maintenance Ministry that is focused on "Prayer and Repair" of our Parish. It involves meeting one Saturday a month to do some minor repairs in our parish like painting a room, fixing a door, replacing an outlet, taping sheet rock, do some plumbing, etc.  If you are interested in joining this ministry, please contact Darren at darren_boehm@yahoo.com or come to our first meeting at Villanova Hall on Saturday Jan10th, 2026 at 9:30 AM.  Coffee and donuts will be available."

Click here for letter

The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, or RCIA, is a communal process for formal initiation of new members into the Catholic Church.   

We will begin Classes next Sunday, October 19th at the 4pm Mass at St. Thomas Church.   

Anyone interested or if you know anyone who may be interested in completing their sacraments in the Catholic Church please call the office 978.658.4665 and leave your contact information so  Fr Colarusso can reach out to you.    

SATURDAY MORNING MEN'S PRAYER GROUP MEETING.  Join fellow gentlemen of the Parish of the Transfiguration reading and 

reflecting on Sunday’s Gospel and sharing in personal experiences with Christ and 

prayer in an open and unintimidating, spiritual environment.  We meet in St. Thomas Church, lower level.  Contact Mike Champoux, mchampoux@comcast.net for more information

We’re excited to share that our Youth Ministry Group will be meeting again on Sunday, November 9th at 7 PM at St. Thomas Church!

This week, we’ll explore one of the most powerful stories in Scripture — Luke 15:11–32, The Parable of the Prodigal Son. There’s so much meaning and heart in this passage, and we can’t wait to read, reflect, and talk it through together.

Are you a high school student who’s curious about reading the Bible or growing in your faith? You’re so welcome here! Our evenings are relaxed and meaningful — we’ll watch a short video, read Scripture, jot down our thoughts, and pray together as a YMG family.

Bring a friend and come hang out with us — we’d love to see you!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or catch me after Mass: Dave@theparishofthetransfiguration.org

Next Session: Sunday, November 9

After that our next session will be Nov. 23

ASCENSION OF THE LORD   

HOLY DAY OF OBIGATION

MASS WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY, MAY 14

9am at St. Dorothy Church and 6pm at St Thomas Church  

THERE WILL BE NO ADORATION HELD ON THURSDAY MAY 14

Looking for spiritual help and support from addiction? Click here to learn more.

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/.

FIRST SATURDAY MASS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

9:00AM IN ST. THOMAS CHURCH 

Rosary begins at 8:30am.  Guided meditation and Confession follows Mass. 

To keep the First Saturday Devotion in reparation for the sins and blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart and to receive the graces promised from it, one must attend Mass and receive Holy Communion, pray the rosary, and meditate on a mystery on the Rosary for 15 minutes. All are welcome to join us in this devotion to honor the Blessed Mother

Father in heaven, may the faith you have gifted us in your son Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity kindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom. 

May your grace transform us into diligent cultivators of the evangelical seeds that make humanity and the cosmos rise unto the confident expectation of the new heavens and the new earth when,  with the powers of Evil overcome, your glory shall be manifested eternally. 

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, the yearning for heavenly treasures  and pour over all the earth the joy and peace of our Redeemer.

To you God blessed in eternity, be praise and glory for ever and ever.  

Amen.

A CORI FORM must be completed EVERY YEAR BY ALL VOLUNTEERS,  The new year began July 1, 2025 and will continue through June 30, 2026 

NEW (FY) 25/26 CORI FORMS are available in the sacristy of both churches and at the Parish Office.   

A Code of Conduct will be given to All New volunteers when the Cori is returned to be verified. 

Again all volunteers must complete a CORI background screening prior to beginning ministry and annually after that. 

All  Staff and Volunteers including all those in worship ministry, must complete a Protecting God’s Children VIRTUS TRAINING CLASS . 

The Training class is only needed to be taken once.. 

A Training class will be held: 

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 10:00am -

    Downsairs, St. Dorothy Church

Tuesday, June 17, 2025 at 6:00pm -

    Downstairs, St. Thomas Church

Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 9am -

   Downstairs at St. Thomas Church

Please sign up by going to:
www.VIRTUSonline.org 

Any questions please call Jeanie Pettingill 978-658-6040

Do you like to carve wood?  We create handcrafted ornaments that we sell to provide money to vets and other people in need.  We meet on the first Saturday of every month in the basement of St. Thomas Church from 10AM to 4 PM. For More information, contact:   darren_boehm@yahoo.com

Faith Formation Registration is now open for 2025-2026. Click here for the registration form. We also offer an adaptive faith formation class for students that need more assistance in the classroom. We also offer a heritage faith formation session class for students that have missed 1 or more years of faith formation and would like to return. If you have any question please email jeaniep@parishofthetransfiguration.org or call 978-658-6040.

Click here for more details

Forgive us for the war, Lord. Lord Jesus, son of God, have mercy on us sinners. Lord Jesus, born under the bombs of Kyiv, have mercy on us. Lord Jesus, dead in the arms of a mother in Kharkiv, have mercy on us. Lord Jesus, in the 20-year-olds sent to the frontline, have mercy on us. Lord Jesus, who continues to see hands armed with weapons under the shadow of the cross, forgive us, Lord. Forgive us if, not content with the nails with which we pierced your hand, we continue to drink from the blood of the dead torn apart by weapons. Forgive us if these hands that you had created to protect have been turned into instruments of death. Forgive us, Lord, if we continue to kill our brother. Forgive us, Lord, if we continue to kill our brother, if we continue like Cain to take the stones from our field to kill Abel. Forgive us if we go out of our way to justify cruelty, if, in our pain, we legitimize the cruelty of our actions. Forgive us the war, Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, we implore you to stop the hand of Cain, enlighten our conscience, let not our will be done, do not abandon us to our own doing. Stop us, Lord, stop us, and when you have stopped the hand of Cain, take care of him also. He is our brother. O Lord, stop the violence. Stop us, Lord. Amen.          Pope Francis