Today we begin our Triduum of Prayer for the Feast of our Patroness, St. Therese of Lisieux. The Triduum will be based on the theme of three convictions of St. Therese. First, Fr. Felix will begin with a homily on the importance of Sacred Scripture in Christian, and especially Carmelite, Spirituality. Then on the second day Fr. Mario was speak on St. Therese's conviction that communty life is the setting for loving and serving God. And on Thursday, the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, Fr. Herbert will speak on her conviction that to be Church we must be in mission. On the Feast Day artificial roses will be distributed to everyone as a reminder of her promise to "spend her heaven doing good upon earth and to let fall a shower of roses". I hope that you will be able to join us for the Triduum

Hi, Please say a special prayer. We are looking for a place where we can offer Mass during the renovations (which should take about nine weeks) because it is just going to be financially impossible to keep the Chapel open during the renovations. It would take six weeks longer and cost $48,000 more to do the work in two phases!! So we are despeately looking for some place to go during the renovation. Please pray and ask our patroness, St. Therese, to help us find a place before her Feast Day on October lst.

Hi folks,
Last night I went over the proposed prices for the renovations in the chapel with a nephew who has his own small contracting company in Methuen. He said that they all seem to be more or less what is to be expected. We'll know better when everything is put out for bids. Please keep this project in your prayers. Riught now it looks as though we will be starting in January. I wouldn't want to be disturbing the Chapel during Advent and Christmas. The job is estimated to take 9 weeks.

Ooooh, I'm getting a little nervous. We had a meeting with the architect for the renovation of the Chapel and the Director of the Mall on Friday, and there are a few hidden costs that we hadn't planned on. Since we are doing a major renovation, we have to bring some of the items up to code (e.g., the fire sprinkler and the smoke alarm systems). We have to speak witht the Fire Department and see just what is required here in Peabody. Say a prayer that this won't throw us too much over budget.

Greetings to all.
We recently published the photos of the architect's drawings for the 50th anniversary renovation of the Chapel. So far, all comments have been very positive.
I had been overly optimistic, hoping that we would be able to start the work in October. However, in order to avoid disrupting the Chapel during the Advent season, we will not begin the construction til January. It is estimated that the work will take between 60 and 90 days. The Chapel will remain open during the renovation, but the Blessed Sacrament will not be exposed.
The actual 50th anniversary of the first Mass and the dedication of the Chapel to St. Therese of Lisieux is January 28th.
I hope every one will remember to write down their e-mail address at the entrance of the Chapel so that we can keep everyone up-to-date with anything happening in the Chapel. So far we have an e-mail list of about 70 names.

Fr. Felix and I attended the "Priests Appreciation Night" at the Convention Center in Boston last night. It was really a great night. Over 1600 people enjoyed a great meal with some very thoughtful presentations, among them former Ambassador to the Vatican, Ambassador Flynn, William Bulger, Fr. John MacInnis of St. John's in Peabody, and Cardinal Sean. Fr. Felix and I were the guests of James Shea and his wife from St Thomas the Apostle Parish in Peabody.