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LENT 2026
at Sacred Heart and Our Lady's
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to Lent in our Collaborative
We warmly welcome you as we journey together this Lenten Season of repentance, renewal, and preparation.
The ashes we receive on Ash Wednesday are a sign of repentance and of our willingness to change by praying, fasting, and almsgiving. Know that we are journeying with you throughout this sacred season.
Blessings,
The SHOL Newton Staff
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Ash Wednesday Services
Soup and Stations, Feb 27 at SH
Faith Sharing - The Chosen
Eucharistic Adoration, Mar 6 at SH
Lenten Retreat- March 21
Young Adults Lenten Activities
Soup and Stations, Mar 27 at OL
Lenten Reflections Little Lenten Books from the Diocese of Saginaw
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Stations of the Cross
Palm Sunday, Triduum, and Easter Schedule
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CRS Rice Bowl Rice Bowl Collection for worldwide needs, sponsored by Catholic Relief Services
Sock & Toiletry Drive benefiting St. Ambrose Family Shelter in Dorchester
Scholarships for San Marcos Children
Easter Grocery Outreach support local families in need with gifts of grocery store gift cards.
Easter Flower Donations
Personal acts of mercy, charity, and justice.
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The collection taken up on Ash Wednesday supports the work of Catholic Charities Boston. Click HERE to donate online. Thank you.
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Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.
For members of our Roman Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59, with exceptions for reasons of illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.
The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of our Roman Catholic Church from age 14 onwards, with exceptions as stated above (illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding).
Back to FAST
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Soup & Stations
Friday, February 27
at Sacred Heart
6 PM Simple Supper
7 PM Stations of the CrossThank you to all our volunteers and to everyone who helped make this such a great event.
Back to PRAY
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You are Chosen - Called by Name!
This Lent, we invite you to join a special 6-week faith-sharing initiative inspired by Season 2 of The Chosen, a TV series about the life of Christ. Through viewing The Chosen and coming together to reflect and share in small groups each week, we hope to deepen our love for Jesus and each other, making this a truly meaningful and fruitful Lent.
In the words of the program's creator, Dallas Jenkins, "We believe that if you can see Jesus through the eyes of those who met him, you can be changed and impacted in the same way they were. If we can connect you with their burdens and struggles and questions, then ideally, we can connect you to the solution, to the answer to those questions."
We will be creating small groups for you to join; however, if you are currently part of a faith-sharing group, we invite you to adopt this program over Lent. Perhaps you will reconvene with the group you were part of last year for Season !
This Lent, we call you by name, for we are all "the chosen". We invite you to be part of this powerful Lenten experience. We look forward to walking this Lenten journey with you!
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Will you join us for an hour to 90 minutes on this journey each week? Please email [email protected] with interest and questions.
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Living as Ministers of God's Reconciling Love
Saturday, March 21
9:30am-3:45pm
at Our Lady's
(Lower Church Hall)Join us for a meaningful day
of prayer and reflection this Lent,presented by Fr. Isaac Demase, S.J. sponsored by Walking with Purpose Women’s Bible Study
Back to PRAY
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As we approach the Lenten season, young adults are invited to spend some quiet time in prayer. On Saturday, March 21, 9 am - 5 pm, we will have a Lenten Retreat at St. Joseph Retreat House in Milton. We will reflect on the theme "United in Passion: Meditations on the Passion of Christ". Our speaker will be Conan Rainwater, S.J., a deacon and graduate student from Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry.
Limited slots available.
Please contact Leslee Ambrosio
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Young Adult Lenten Activities
March Faith Fellowships:
If you are a young adult (18-39 years
old) seeking a welcoming Christian community and desiring to nourish your relationship with God, join us in our Faith Fellowship in March,
Thursdays 7:30-8:30pm
at Sacred Heart Parish Office
We can’t wait to meet you!
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Friday, March 27
at Our Lady's
6 PM Simple Supper
7 PM Stations of the Cross
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CRS Rice Bowls
Donate directly to CRS online at https://www.crsricebowl.org/donate-to-crs-rice-bowl
The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl is celebrating 50 years of giving!
Rice bowls are available at the doors of the church (Religious Education will be handing them out to enrolled families).
CRS Rice Bowl is the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services, the official relief and development agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). CRS invites Catholics to encounter God and our global family throughout Lent by practicing the pillars of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Lenten alms donated through the CRS Rice Bowl support the work of CRS in more than 120 different countries each year. -
Lenten Reflections from the Archdiocese of Boston
February 22: First Sunday of Lent
The first Sunday of Lent always begins with the reminder that Jesus was tempted, just as we are. Rather than giving in to the temptations, Jesus recognized that there could be no compromise in the message he needed to preach and in the faith he demanded. The readings on this first Sunday in Lent invite us to take time to look at our own lives and to consider the temptations we confront and that threaten to draw us away from God and from the light of Christ. Every prayer we offer, every fast we undertake, and every small sacrifice we make this Lent will lead us to the cross, the cross of victory over death. Spend time this Lent with Jesus, asking for help to overcome temptation and recognize the power of Jesus’ resurrection.March 1 ~ Second Sunday in Lent
In today’s gospel, the story of the Transfiguration, we are given a glimpse of divine glory. The instruction given to the disciples and each of us is meant to give us hope of what awaits us, life with God. Eternal life is what we strive for and why we give time and energy during Lent for fasting, prayer and acts of charity. When we actively observe these practices, we experience a spiritual transfiguration that aids us when faced with struggles or temptations in our daily lives. We listen to Christ’s voice and follow him, so that we may be courageous messengers of God’s love and of the life that awaits us in heaven.
Back to PRAY
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Pray With Us:
Jesus, Bread of Life,
As we encounter you in the Eucharist this Lent,
nourish us with your love,
unite us in communion with our sisters and brothers,
showing us how we are connected.
Transform our hearts, that we may be moved to share bread for life with our global family and work for a world where all can thrive.
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Scholarships for Honduran Children
Support San Marcos Children with Scholarships
The parish of San Marcos Evangelista in Honduras extends from the city of San Marcos to about 53 hamlets in the mountains. Children go
to public school and often must walk for miles, up and down the mountainside. Many come from extremely poor families, with difficult hardships. 15 years ago, when parishioners of San Marcos were asked what they most wanted to have funded by us, their sister parish, they said they wanted a way to help educate poor children of the parish. Education is the way out of poverty; it gives children and their families hope that life can be better, that the future holds promise.
So for 15 years, Our Lady’s has been raising funds each Lent to enable 40-50 children to go to school with what they need to succeed, whether it is shoes, books, uniforms, food, or even medicine. This academic year (February-November), 43 children in grade and high school will have scholarships raised by Our Lady’s, and ten other people with special cases of need will receive help. The grants are for $350 each for the school year. The students and their families pictured here have already met with the committee of parishioners who administer the program, and they are eagerly starting the school year. Part of Lenten practice is giving alms to the poor. We welcome
contributions in any amount to help San Marcos students get an education. If you want to contribute, please make a check out to Our Lady’s with “Honduras” in the memo. Drop in the collection or mail to the parish office (573 Washington St, Newton 02458).
The students and their families are deeply grateful!
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If you would like to make a donation toward the cost of the flowers that will decorate the altar for Easter, in memory of a deceased relative or friend, please print the names clearly and bring them to the parish office with your donation or place them in the collection basket. All names will be remembered and printed in a booklet to be distributed on Easter Sunday.
Donations received after March 31st will be acknowledged at a later date.
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Little Lenten Books
From the Diocese of Saginaw, a daily Lenten prayer book for adults are available at the doors of the churches. Daily prayer books for children were distributed through the Religious Education program.
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Saturdays, 2:45-3:30 pm
March at OL Lower Church
April at Sacred Heart
Back to PRAY
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Stations of the Cross
In addition to our Soup and Stations events, please come to pray the stations on Good Friday (April 3) at Sacred Heart at 12 Noon. Deacon Bill Koffel will lead "The Stations of the Cross: For Migrants and Immigrants".
You can also watch the Stations from previous years on our YouTube Channel (follow the links below):
Stations of the Cross at Our Lady's 2020
Stations of the Cross at Sacred Heart 2021
Back to PRAY
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Palm Sunday, The Triduum, and Easter
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Palm Sunday, March 28-29Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, the weekend of March 28-29, with a regular weekend Mass schedule. As usual, we will have special processions at the Sacred Heart 9:30 am Mass and at the Our Lady’s 10:00 am Mass (weather-permitting for OL).
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Holy Thursday, April 27:30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Sacred Heart, followed by Eucharistic Adoration
7:30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Our Lady’s, followed by Eucharistic Adoration
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Good Friday, April 312:00 pm Stations of the Cross
at Sacred Heart (for Migrants and Immigrants)3:00 pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at Our Lady’s (adapted especially for children)
7:30 pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at Sacred Heart
7:30 pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at Our Lady’s
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Easter Vigil, April 47:30 pm Solemn Vigil of Easter at Sacred Heart
7:30 pm Solemn Vigil of Easter at Our Lady’s
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Easter Sunday, April 5
8:00 am Easter Mass at Our Lady’s
9:30 am Easter Mass at Sacred Heart, followed by Egg Hunt
10:00 am Easter Mass at Our Lady’s
11:30 am Easter Mass at Sacred Heart
12:00pm Easter Mass at Our Lady’s
(no 6:00 pm Mass at Our Lady’s on Easter)
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Soup & Stations
Easter Flower Donations 
