Saint Agnes Parish Arlington, MA

04/12/2021

Record your message for Fr. Robert!
We are making a group video for Fr. Robert, please add your own message, it's quick & easy! http://ow.ly/hhNw50Elaw7

03/02/2021

Blessed Lent to you all! If you haven’t started anything for Lent, start today! Lent is the perfect time for us to restart, to look at all the bad habits we may have, whatever sins we may struggle with, and how much more we can grow in our love for God and how much more we can know God's love for us. Some tips for a good Lent:
- Pray a decade of the rosary each day (takes less than 4 minutes)
- Fast from gossip or slander against others
- Give extra time to help your family members with small tasks
We love you all and hope to see you soon!

02/23/2021

We are having technical difficulties with our WIFI and phones - they have been down since yesterday afternoon. We hope to back online this afternoon. Thank you for your patience.

02/19/2021

Join us in praying this traditional devotion lead by Deacon Peter and read by the young people of the collaborative. Photographs of the stations are from St....

01/25/2021

Practical resources and effective teaching strategies for religion educators in schools and parishes.

01/18/2021

PRAYER
You call us from our settled ways, O God,
out of old habits and rutted traditions.
You call us into the land of promise,
to new life and new possibilities.
Make us strong to travel the road ahead.
Deliver us from false security and comfort,
desire for ease and uninvolved days.
Let your Word and Spirit dwell in us
that your will may be fulfilled in us
for the well-being and shalom of all.
Amen.

—Mozarabic Prayer 700 C.E

01/15/2021

BREAKING THROUGH OBSTACLES
What obstacles are standing in your way right now? What grace(s) do you need from God to break through them and let the light in?
—Gretchen Crowder

PRAYER
I beg of you, my Lord,
to remove anything which separates
me from you, and you from me.
Remove anything that makes me unworthy
of your sight, your control, your reprehension;
of your speech and conversation,
of your benevolence and love.

Cast from me every evil
that stands in the way of my seeing you,
hearing, tasting, savoring, and touching you;
fearing and being mindful of you;
knowing, trusting, loving, and possessing you;
being conscious of your presence.

And, as far as may be, enjoying you.
This is what I ask for myself
and earnestly desire from you. Amen
—St. Peter Faber, SJ

01/13/2021

01/12/2021

DO WE TAKE JESUS SERIOUSLY?
It is not sufficient for us simply to know who Jesus is. Even the unclean spirits know this. In today’s Gospel reading (https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading), the unclean spirit proclaims, correctly, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Holy One of God. If we decide to follow Jesus and claim the identity of Christians, then our response must include more than stating who he is, the Son of God.

If we decide to follow Jesus, we must take to heart both his teachings and his actions. When we do this, we are sure to be astounded, for Jesus proclaims a radical love that defies the expectations of the world. “Blessed are the poor,” “Love your enemies,” and “Forgive those who have wronged you,” are but a few of the difficult teachings that Jesus unhesitatingly both taught and lived.

So we should ask ourselves: do we take Jesus seriously enough to let his teachings astound us?

How might he be calling you to engage some of his more challenging teachings more fully?

—Justin Prom, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.

PRAYER
Jesus, teacher and model of love, give me courage to embrace all that you taught with an open heart. Help me to trust in your authority and to love others with the same humble, compassionate love that you demonstrated in word and deed.

I ask this in your most Holy Name. Amen.

—Justin Prom, SJ

01/11/2021

PRAYER
He Comes to Us as One Unknown

He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside. He came to those who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same words: "Follow thou me!" and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.

—Albert Schweitzer, in The Quest of the Historical Jesus

01/07/2021

CARDINAL O'MALLEY STATEMENT FOLLOWING VIOLENCE IN WASHINGTON DC
BostonCatholic.org
January 7, 2020
"The beginning of the Prayer of St. Francis is familiar to most of us: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace”. And it is peace we need in our nation today, united by the common good of our people. The violence witnessed in our nation’s capital yesterday serves only to inflame our divisions and pit citizen against citizen at a time we need to be united. We reject all forms of violence including the acts of those who stormed our Capitol. We pray for those who lost their lives and for their loved ones and for the injured. We live in a divided nation and the challenges our nation faces are significant.
Our recovery from yesterday’s assault will require the best talents of our civic leaders. Very soon President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will be sworn in to lead our country. In the spirit of what makes America a beacon of light and democracy for the entire world we must set aside our divisions and together go about the work of helping to lift people out of poverty, healing the sick, welcoming the immigrant and address systemic racism, and many other tasks.
Let us heed the words of St. Francis’ simple prayer: “where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.”