Father Bradford preached this sermon at Mass on The Third Sunday of Lent, March 7, 2021 at St Lawrence Church. 

As Father said, “Never forget that we too, … can cause that joyful smile on the face of the Blessed Lord, as He sees the first small steps of faith, and counts the harvest certain.”

Father Bradford’s sermons back to 2014 are here.

In Lent 2021 pandemic protocols are still in place. Some of these impose limits on our public worship. No congregational singing is allowed, and processions are limited to the priest/officiant. With these restrictions in place, we are not offering a series of Friday evening Stations and Benediction this year.

This little booklet contains a group of meditations given at Stations & Benediction in previous years. They were preached after Stations and before Benediction. Also included are two other offerings on some aspect of our Lenten observance. Please consider using these selections as a companion piece to your praying the Stations of the Cross at home during this special season.

You have my blessings and best wishes for all good things. And as always, I am grateful for a remembrance in your prayers.

Faithfully yours in Christ,
Father Richard S. Bradford

View Father’s Lenten booklet here.

My Dear People,

When St Lawrence Church was reopened for Sunday Mass (June 14, 2020) we placed some health protocols on our websites. Those directions for pubic worship were updated on November 23, 2020. Time will tell if the increasingly widespread inoculation of the general population with vaccines will begin to mitigate the spread, and danger, of the extremely-contagious Covid-19 virus. But in light of developments, there are some changes in the protocols issued by the Archdiocese of Boston. Some of what follows repeats our earlier notices, while some instructions are new. Please read carefully.

Mass is inherently a high-risk activity, given that it involves people gathering together indoors for an extended period of time. Volunteers and money spent are making churches as safe as possible, but it is still safer to stay home. We will respect anyone’s decision to stay home. Remember the obligation for Sunday Mass remains dispensed indefinitely in the Archdiocese of Boston. (The dispensation, however, has been lifted in the Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter.) Many thanks to our members who have, and continue to, contribute to the cost of cleaning supplies and the air purifier equipment in the effort to keep St Lawrence church safe. Contributions should be clearly marked “cleaning fund.”

If you are 60 years of age or older, or have ongoing health conditions, you should consider avoiding Mass for the foreseeable future. And if you are not feeling well or have been in contact with someone who has Covid-19, you must stay at home. If after attending Mass you become ill with Covid symptoms, it is your responsibility to notify us so we may report the incident, (but not the name of any person who is ill) on our websites and to the local department of health. We have an obligation to support contact tracing.

If you decide to attend Mass, please do not arrive early, or enter the Church while cleaning is in progress. Entering early will delay or compromise the cleaning being done after the 9am Mass. Bring your own hand sanitizer/wipes. (Bringing your own disinfectant materials is a recommended extra precaution.) Face masks are required as absolutely necessary at all events on the properties of the Archdiocese of Boston, including parish grounds. These masks must be worn at all times (covering the mouth and nose) except when removed temporarily for reception of the Blessed Sacrament. Communion on the tongue is still not permitted. (Prior to administering Communion the priest disinfects his hands and assumes a face mask. (You should know that a temperature check of the priest and those assisting him at Mass is no longer required.)  Enter the church from the parking lot using the left side doors (nearest the rectory). After Mass exit the right side doors into the parking lot. Maintain at least six feet of social distancing, and have two empty pews between you and the next worshippers. (The pews have been roped off accordingly.) Family members living in a common household may sit together. Congregational singing is still not permitted. Indoor spaces should be ventilated to the greatest extent possible, so please dress warmly. (You might consider sitting near one of the floor registers. The heat will be on!) Indoor non-worship gatherings are now permitted but limited to ten persons. Outdoor non-worship gatherings are limited to twenty-five persons. 

These rules are to be reiterated at each gathering, (and at each Mass a specific protocol is given just prior to the administration of Communion.) Local law enforcement has the ability to levy fines for non-compliance of Commonwealth regulations. The Archdiocese of Boston also has authority to temporarily close one of its buildings should a deep cleaning become necessary. (This would involve extra expense and also possibly make the church unavailable for our use for a period of time.)

There is no indication the country is going to disengage from the various protocols in any kind of lock step coordination. We must all do our best to live with this state of confusion which may last for many months. While the protocols may be inconvenient and exasperating, we are grateful that while this extraordinarily dangerous pandemic continues, we still have the opportunity to offer Mass in corporate worship. 

Faithfully yours in Christ,
Father Richard S. Bradford

Father Bradford preached this sermon at Mass on The Second Sunday of Lent, February 28, 2021 at St Lawrence Church. 

As Father said, “Like Peter and the rest, we will find satisfaction in the remainder of our days, knowing that Christ is also encountered in our fidelity and conformity to His will each and every day. But we will never again call any day ordinary after having once experienced the glory of the Lord.”

Father Bradford’s sermons back to 2014 are here.

Father Bradford preached this sermon at Mass on The Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, February 22, 2021 at St Lawrence Church. 

As Father said, “This is the principle see of the Church, guided and guarded by the same Holy Ghost Who descended upon Our Blessed Lord at His Baptism and Who was breathed upon the apostles by Our Lord at Easter. The Chair of St Peter at Rome is a visible link in the salvation history of God’s people.”

Father Bradford’s sermons back to 2014 are here.

If you signed up to receive Contra Mundum by mail, you should receive your March 2021 issue soon. You can also read it here on our website as well as all of the back issues.

Our parish paper provides updates on upcoming events and news for our our combined congregation and community. It also contains sermons and articles by Father Bradford, and articles and writings by contemporary and classic authors:

• “Two Schools of Thought” by Father Bradford
• “The Living Tradition” by Pope Francis
• “The Channel of Joy” by George Every
• “Sunday Dinner,” a children’s sermon by Father Bradford
• “The One Sacrifice Pleasing to God” by Saint John Fisher
• “Trustworthy Guardian” by Saint Bernardino of Siena
• “Holy Unction” by Father Bradford

Father Bradford preached this sermon at Mass on The First Sunday of Lent, February 21, 2021 at St Lawrence Church. 

As Father said, “Lent invites us to focus on the fact self-love is always coming at us in some way. The only way to defeat it is to be quite straight with ourselves, and quite straight with God. We learn to see clearly only through penitence and prayer. That enables us to pull down the disguises from the false prophet of our self-love and send it packing. When we do, we won’t go out exactly as we came in. Following the directions given the prophet of the Lord, we will go home by a different way.”

Father Bradford’s sermons back to 2014 are here.

Father Bradford preached this sermon at Mass on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at St Lawrence Church. 

As Father said, “And that is in response to His great invitation, ‘Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for my yoke is easy, and My burden light, and you will find rest for your souls.’ The gospel is quite clear about this. We will find our rest in Jesus Christ and in no place else.”

Father Bradford’s sermons back to 2014 are here.

Abstinence — Catholics over 14 years of age are bound to the obligation of abstinence. Abstinence is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays of Lent. On days of abstinence, meat may not be used at all.

Fast — Catholics over 18 and up to the beginning of their 60th year are bound to the obligation of fasting.  Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the days of fasting. On these days only one full meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength. may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together, they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices are allowed.

Regarding other weekdays of Lent, participation in daily Mass and the voluntary observance of fasting is recommended. Commendable, particularly during Lent, is generosity to local, national, and world programs of sharing our abundance, the traditional Lenten Devotions, and all the self-denial summed up in the Christian concept of “mortification.”

A PDF of these Lenten regulations is here.

Father Bradford preached this sermon at Mass on Quinquagesima Sunday, February 14, 2021 at St Lawrence Church. 

As Father said, “… after we have received mercy, we are to follow Jesus’ commands. And we are to resort to prayer often, as Jesus did, in order to seek the Father’s will in all things.“

Father Bradford’s sermons back to 2014 are here.