The Light is On For You is a 6 week celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation throughout all the parishes and chapels of the Archdiocese of Boston. It will take place on Wednesday evenings in Lent from 6:30-8:00p.m.

The dates are: February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31.

For more information please visit: TheLightIsOnForYou.org

The apostolate was inaugurated on Priesthood Sunday 2009 and will run until Priesthood Sunday 2010 (Oct 31, 2010). Already we have heard very positive and wonderful feedback from both priests and Adopters with regards to this apostolate.

We are certain that the fervent, daily prayerful support of so many committed souls on behalf of the priests of the Archdiocese of Boston will bear much good fruit, especially during this Year of the Priest.

Thanks to everyone who has adopted a priest.  Please keep praying for and supporting our priests!

The Boston Pilot reports:

As Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley often says: “Vocations are everybody’s business.” At St. Bridget Parish in Framingham, Francis and Mary Jesch have taken that call to heart. Four years ago, the couple became the parish’s Vocation Awareness Program coordinators.

In order to create a community of people all praying for an increase in vocations, the Jesches have set up posters inviting everyone to pray for vocations. The parish has also recently celebrated Priesthood Appreciation Sunday, where parishioners were given prayer cards and spiritual bouquets for the Year for Priests.

Read the full article, which contains several other ideas for promoting the priesthood, at: Boston Pilot: Living the Faith: Francis and Mary Jesch

Everyone at the Serra Club of Boston is very proud of Mary and Francis, and grateful to all they do for the club and to promote vocations in the Archdiocese of Boston.

The Boston Pilot reports:

With the Christmas collections, one of the major sources of income for the Priest Pension and Healthcare Funds just weeks away, a new website has been launched that aims to spotlight the invaluable work of the archdiocese priests.

The new web site is directed to pastors, parish staff, and all parishioners throughout the archdiocese.

“CareForSeniorPriests.org is focused on sharing information about our priests and the significant contributions they make in our lives and those of our loved ones,” remarked Joseph D’Arrigo, Executive Director of the Funds. “We hope this website will educate the Catholic community about the Priest Pension and Healthcare Funds and encourage them to be generous in support of our priests.”

Read the full Pilot coverage at: Boston Pilot: New website provides information on Priest Pension and Healthcare Funds

• Men entering the seminary and current seminarians always require prayer. Fr. Dan Hennessey (Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Boston) said that men entering the seminary are extremely serious and knowledgeable about their vocation, and are the “cream of the crop” from MIT, Harvard, and Ivy League and state schools.  Prayers are requested for these men, who seem to be able to see beyond the current issues facing the church to a revitalized church in the future.
• Please pray for Marie Lucci, a young woman who entered the Fraternidad of Reparation to the Heart of Jesus the Priest.  We pray for Marie as she continues to discern her vocation to religious life.
• Please pray for the purchase a statue of St. John Vianney for the St. Leonard of Port Maurice in the North End.   While scouting locations for the upcoming Eucharistic Congress 2010, Fr. Dan Hennessey noted that the current statue garden does not have a statue of this priest who was so devoted to vocations.

As always, please pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.  May God grant peace and wisdom to all those who are currently discerning their vocations!

At our most recent meeting in Waltham, Mary and Francis Jesch noted that when they asked a woman in their parish if she would adopt a priest, she said “Yes – but how much will it cost?”  She was amazed to find that spiritual adoption was free and that she could receive a booklet with a specific priest’s name at no cost.

Our goal is to have every priest in the Archdiocese of Boston adopted by the end of the year.  Please adopt a priest today, and let others know of this worthwhile apostolate!

Serrans helped greet guests, distribute altar server certificates, and even scoop ice cream. The ice cream was sticky and required some extra muscle, but it was well worth it to help reward the altar servers of the Archdiocese of Boston!

Photos of the ice cream social can be seen in the slideshow below.

You can see photos of this event and other Serra Club events at our Flickr site: www.flickr.com/serraboston

Thanks to the Archdiocese of Boston Vocations Office for organizing this event!

We are inviting all members of the archdiocese to pray and sacrifice for our priests in a more personal and committed manner by “spiritually adopting” a priest for one year. Serra Boston has prepared prayer folders for each of the current 751 diocesan priests and will distribute them randomly on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information on this new apostolate, please visit our page on the Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate at the link below:

Learn more about the Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate

You can also read the Boston Pilot’s press release on this new apostolate at: Boston Pilot: Serra Boston initiates Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate

Photos of the cake can be seen in the slideshow below:

Happy birthday Fr. Dan, and thank you for your continued service to the Archdiocese of Boston!

“Father McKnight brings extraordinary background to the position,” Monsignor David Malloy, general-secretary of the episcopal conference, said. “In addition to parish work, his experience includes years in seminary formation, education of deacons, college chaplaincy and membership on his diocesan presbyteral council. I am grateful that Bishop Michael Jackels of Wichita is permitting him to serve the U.S. bishops in this national position.”

Read the full press release at: ZENIT – US Bishops Name Leader for Vocations Secretariat