To ensure the parish continues to serve the needs of parishioners, a parishioner-led team is   developing a three-year plan.  The plan will guide us on how to best use the resources and energy of the parish.  While Our Lady of Sorrows is spiritually and fiscally strong, it is important to     understand what matters to you. Help shape our parish plan.

Lay participation has always been critical to OLOS’s identity. It is even more important today. Tell us what is working. Tell us what you care about. If you are in any way a part of our community, even if you’re not a registered parishioner, we need to hear from you. We encourage everyone from high school and up to participate, one survey per person. Surveys need to be submitted by October 21st.  Click the link to begin : SURVEY 

As part of the process of developing the plan we will be holding focus groups to explore themes that emerge through this survey. If  you would like to participate in a focus group, please reach out to anyone on the Pastoral Plan Writing Team or leave your name at the rectory. You also have the option of providing your name and contact information at the end of the survey

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RESPECT LIFE
Every October begins a yearly program of emphasis on respecting life from conception to
natural death. As I mentioned, I have been taking a course on Vatican II and I find this idea, this value expressed in multiple places. For example the document on Religious Freedom is called “Dignitatis Humanae” or “Human Dignity.” The highest teaching authority in our church stresses human dignity. In another place in the document “Verbum Dei” or “The Word of God,” in the opening paragraphs, we find this: “…the invisible God addresses men and women as his friends and lives among them in order to invite and receive them into his own company.”
Thus in the most controversial issue of abortion, the Church takes the argument out of the
context of individual rights and places it in the context of universal rights, those rights which
American polity calls “inalienable.” Recently, the Holy Father ordered a change in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to express complete opposition always and everywhere to capital punishment. In the only instance of its kind that I know, Pope St. John Paul II sent a Cardinal Legate to Washington to plead with President George W, Bush, not to embark on a preemptive war against Iraq.
This value for us has widespread application. For we are all made in the “image and likeness
of God” and called to be siblings of the Savior.
CHILDREN’S MASS
Last Sunday’s 8:45 AM Mass was a
celebration where we welcomed children in a
special way. Jesus showed a special affection
for children when he told us that “…of such is
the Kingdom of Heaven.” Last Sunday, all of
our children offered us reason to reflect on
that saying. The children’s choir and violin soloist enhanced the celebration by giving to us in a
special way a gift that only they can give.
~ Fr. Frank

Registration for our PreK-Grade 5, Middle School and Confirmation programs is now open.  Click here to register electonically, or print a paper registration form to mail in to the parish office.  Faith Formation orientations and classes will begin at the end of September.  Visit the PreK-Grade 5, Middle School, and Confirmation pages of the parish website for complete calendars.  

Join us for an Adult Faith Formation Coffee Hour presentation on Sunday, October 14th from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in O’Connell Hall.

Parishioners Richard Martin and Ann Marie Rosa will guide us in looking back on OLOS’s history (many old photographs of the church and her people will be included!) and looking forward to our future.  Where have we been? Where would we like to go? How can our past values guide our vision going forward?

Come to learn more about your parish and to contribute your voice to the conversation!

The OLOS Book Group will resume meeting on Sunday, October 14th from 2-3:00 p.m. in the Bullock Center.  All are welcome.  We will be discussing My Life with the Saints, by James Martin, S.J..  Please come ready to discuss the book.  If you have any questions, be in touch with Teresa Coda or Monica LaFond.

About the book: My Life with the Saints is James Martin’s story of how his life has been shaped by some surprising friends—the saints of the Catholic Church. In his modern classic memoir, Martin introduces us to saints throughout history—from St. Peter to Dorothy Day, St. Francis of Assisi to Mother Teresa—and chronicles his lifelong friendships with them. Filled with fascinating tales, Martin’s funny, vibrant, and stirring book invites readers to discover how saints guide us throughout our earthly journeys and how they help each of us find holiness in our own lives.

If your child has made their First Communion and is interested in serving in this special ministry please come to the Altar Server Training on Saturday, November  3rd at 3-4 PM in the Church. Please RSVP by October 27th. If you have any questions please contact Lynn Jacobs  or by phone: 781-784-2265 OR Monica LaFond  or by phone: 617-909-9258. 

Thank you to everyone who has donated to support the Salmeron Family, refugees from El Salvador who are here waiting for their asylum case to move forward.  They found housing in Norwood; between donations from the OLOS community and others involved in Sharon Interfaith Action we have worked together to furnish their apartment! We continue to seek monetary donations to help support the family.  Thank you to those who have already contributed. To date we have raised $610 and $625 in gift cards.  Contributions may be made out to OLOS with Salmeron Family on the memo line and dropped in the basket or sent to the Parish Office. 

On August 19, instead of preaching on the daily readings at Mass, Fr. Daly read excerpts of Cardinal Sean’s statement regarding the most recent exposure of clergy abuse through the PA Grand Jury report released on Tuesday, August 14 and spoke about it in the context of OLOS.  Following the Mass, parishioners gathered to share in fruitful discussion about the statement, the trifecta of abuse current scandals in the church (McCarrick, St. John’s Seminary, PA Grand Jury Report) and the appropriate response of the laity.  Click here for notes from the homily and the conversation.