Welcome to St. Dorothy and St. Thomas Churches!

On February 1, 2018, the Wilmington Catholic Collaborative became The Parish of The Transfiguration

Parish Office, 11 Harnden Ave., Wilmington, MA 01887, 978-658-4665

Faith Formation Office, 126 Middlesex Ave., Wilmington, MA 01887, 978-658-6040

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

The St. Thomas Giving Tree is up and covered with gift wish tags. Gifts must be returned no later than DECEMBER 9, 2018. All gifts should be returned UNWRAPPED or in gift bags. If you would like to donate a gift but would prefer not to do the shopping, you may bring your donation to the Parish Offices or place an envelope in the Offertory collection marked Christmas Giving Tree! Thank you for your continued support.

The St. Dorothy Heart Beat Giving Tree, in memory of Agnes Romano & Joanne McNeil, is up and covered with gift wish tags. All gifts should be returned UNWRAPPED, with the gift wish tag attached to the bag, no later than DECEMBER 14, 2018.

The Parish will be hosting an Advent Mission starting on Monday, December 10, through Thursday, December 13. It will be held at St. Dorothy Church from 7:00 to 8:30pm each evening. Please check the bulletin for more details.

Epiphany Pageant January 6th 2019 at the 9am Mass at St. Thomas Children Liturgy will be holding the Epiphany Pageant on Sunday January 6^th at the 9am Mass at St. Thomas. Children’s Liturgy is held every other week at the 9am Mass and invites children from preschool to grade 5 to come downstairs after the opening prayers to hear the Readings and the Gospel and separate into age appropriate groups to discuss the Readings and Gospel. Please see the calendar for more information!

A NOTE FROM THE PASTOR

Someone has created a fake email account using my name. The scam is asking the recipient of the email to buy gift cards. If you receive such an email, ignore it. Do not respond. There are a lot of scams going around this time of year. Other parishes in the Archdiocese have also been targeted. Be careful.

Beginning this weekend, December 8^th & 9^th, we will have a parish mission. Fr. Simone Gallagher, OFM Cap. will lead the mission. Fr Gallagher is Director of the Preaching Ministry Office of the Mid-America Province of the Capuchin Order. He conducts retreats, parish development programs, parish missions, and religious education workshops. He was the retreat master on the priests’ retreat I attended several years ago. He was excellent. He will preach at all the Masses that weekend. The parish mission which will run for four nights, Monday – Thursday. Each evening will be held at St. Dorothy’s Church beginning at 7:00 PM He is well known so I am sure when people from other parishes hear that he is leading our parish mission, they will attend the mission too. Save the date. A couple from the Cape called and was asking about the closest hotel. They plan to rent a room for four nights.

On Sunday, December 16^th, the St. Thomas of Villanova Church Choir will present its annual Christmas concert at 3:00 PM in St. Thomas of Villanova Church. This is always an enjoyable time. Come join us.

The Christmas Mass schedule is listed elsewhere in the bulletin and on our website. There are also cards at the front door of each church with the Mass schedule. Take it home for yourself or a friend.

Looking ahead, Fr. Agustin will be flying home to Mexico Christmas morning and will return on the evening of January 9, 2019. While he is away, there will be communion services on Thursday and Friday and there will be no priest available on those days for anointings.

Continue to pray for the Church as it digs itself out of the mess caused by the actions of some bishops and priests. I must admit that I wish the Church would move with greater speed in implementing new protocols to deal with any bishop who is accused of abuse or mishandling an abuse accusation when it reached his desk. More importantly, pray for those who have been harmed by their actions.

ell I guess that is it for now. Until next time, take care.

Fr. Earley