Prayer is the primary means of obtaining and nourishing a personal relationship with God. Praying the Rosary is one of the best ways to enter into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is in this contemplative prayer that we can nourish hope for our families, church and world. The Blessed Mother has promised that abundant graces will be poured out on souls who way this prayer. Join us before each Mass as we pray the Rosary and prepare for the gift of the Eucharist. Father Jamie has and will be offering up the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Through the use of facebook we are able to participate with him at home. Go the parish facebook page to participate. https://www.facebook.com/SFODJ/ Kindly keep this weeks bulletin handy for all Holy Week Mass Schedule

Welcome to Saint Francis of Assisi Parish. Our parish was formed on July of 2013 with a merger of two faith communities, St. Thomas À Becket and St. Joseph Catholic Churches. We chose as our patron, Saint Francis of Assisi –a saint known for his love and devotion to Jesus Christ and founder of the Franciscan Order. Your visit to our website is sincerely appreciated and we hope that you find the information on our site helpful. So please, take your time and make yourself at home; scroll through the various windows to learn more about our parish family and discover who we are as a Catholic faith Community. Finally, when you leave our website, may you go with the blessing and peace of Christ. Fr. Jamie Bishop McManus letter in regards to precautionary measures to be taken with respect to COVID-19 virus   Read More    Hope in Time of Pandemic   FAQ'S   Hand out Prayer https://www.worcesterdiocese.org/news/churches-will-suspend-public-masses-beginning-tuesday https://www.worcesterdiocese.org/news/diocese-of-worcester-to-expand-masses-on-channel-193

Mass Schedule St. Joseph Chapel: Sunday 8:00 am St.Thomas-a-Becket Church: Saturday: 4:15 pm Sunday: 10:30 am Weekday: M-W 9 am All Cancelled Until Futher Notice

St. Joseph Chapel will be open Tuesday 8:30am-7:30pm Mary's Garden: Tuesday 1:30pm-5:30pm Eucharistic Exposition: Tuesday 6:00pm-7:00pm Thursday 6:00am-6:00pm All Cancelled Until Futher Notice

Knights of Columbus Council meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the St.Thomas-a-Becket church hall. Our next meeting is ..........

Have a Prayer Request ? The Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Prayer Line You may call Dolly Thorng @ 978-355-4201 or Vicky King @ 978-355-4830

Barre Food Bank 2nd Wednesday of each month at the Barre Congregational Church, Park Street, on the Common Donations may be brought to both St Thomas & St Joseph Churches. Non-perishable food items and PERSONAL CARE items needed….Thank You	HOMEBOUND?… if you would like visits from your St Francis Parish family. For more information, call the Church Office at 978-355-2228. Homebound parishioners may be enrolled in the HomeTouch Program Receive a weekly inspirational mailing including our Church Bulletin! Call Priscilla @ 508-882-3128 HUGS to all~! Be well & Be blessed
HELP! FAMILIES IN CRISIS. We are accepting contributions to the St. Francis of Assisi Emergency Fund. Donations can be placed in an envelope marked Emergency Fund in the basket with the offertory envelopes. For more information please contact the parish office. Thank you for your generosity.	Visiting the Homebound at Grandview Terrace Great news! Fr. Jamie is holding Mass at Grandvie Terrace on the last Tuesday of the month! The next Mass will be Tuesday......  at 1:00pm All are welcome! You don't have to reside at Grandview Terrance to attend. Join us for worship, fellowship and refreshments. Need transportation call  978-355-6659 We will find you a ride.
Lectio Divina It is a latin term which means " divine reading" and describes a way of reading Scriptures whereby we gradully let go of out own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. A group within the parish has been gathering monthly to learn this practice. We are extending an open invitation to all parishoners to come and join us. We meet the third Thursday of the month at 4:00 pm in St. Thomas hall. Our next meeting will be............ . If you want to join us call the parish office @ 978-355-2228 so we will have supplies for you. Questions call Jan @ 978-355-2228 or Paula @ 978-434-1246.	Retreat Opportunities at Mary House in Spencer Mary House in it's 50th year is a comfortable countryside farmhouse with it's own chapel located at 186 N. Spencer Road. It's now open to men and women seeking a place for prayer and quite. Located about one mile from St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer. For inquiries or reservations call Joyce at 508-885-5450 or visit www.maryhousema.com
Worldwide Marriage Encounter For more information call Stephen or Michelle O'Leary 800-710-9963    or visit  https://wwmema.org/        Upcoming Weekends:  March 13-15-2020 Duxbury, Ma. April 18-19-2020 Brewster, Ma.

PRAYER TO HEAL OUR LAND Lord, who are we as a people, having been given blessings in portions as no other nation before us? What has become of us, Father? We have spoiled your spacious skies with buildings and cities breathing with sin. The amber waves of grain are no longer viewed as our blessing but as our due. The awe and reverence due You when we gaze upon the purple mountains and their majesty is no longer held; rather, how much pleasure they can give us. Father, we have spurned You. We’ve blamed our problems on those who promote darkness, but You gave us time with Your Mother. Now our eyes have been opened by Her. Our lack of holiness, our not being light has allowed darkness to prevail. Indeed, our sins which we wrongly view as small have allowed those in darkness to commit great sins without shame. We now realize it’s because of our failings as Christians. Father, Samuel told your people, “It is true you have committed all this evil, still you must not turn from the Lord, but worship Him with your whole heart. For the sake of His own great name, the Lord will not abandon his own people.” Father, we come before You with our whole hearts and ask You to grant Our Lady Her intentions. Mary, we do not deserve to even be heard, yet we know Your Son’s passion merits that we are. Mary, we call You as You have called us. Please, intercede before God to forgive us, to heal us, to heal our families, and to heal our nation. Father, grant Mary’s intentions and hear Her pleas for us. We know you are justly irritated with us but we beg and plead for forgiveness through our repentance from our hearts. We realize our nation is headed toward disaster by so many signs You have given us. Holy, Holy, Holy God, grant Mary Her requests that we may again be your people, not a nation above God but one nation humbled and under God. Amen.

Photo's of St. Joesph & St.Thomas Becket courtesy of https://statues.vanderkrogt.net Church of St.Thomas-a-Becket and St. Joseph Chapel Are Wheelchair Accessible Diocese of Worcester ©Copyright St.Francis of Assisi Parish 2013-2019. All rights reserved.