| Spring 2002 |
| Our Lady's Sodality |
| by Terry Curran |
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| On the third Monday of each month, from September to June, a group of women meet in the Sacred Heart Convent chapel at 7:15pm to say the Rosary and attend Mass. They are the members of Our Lady's Sodality. Ranging in age from forty to eighty, they share a common bond that ties them together, namely their devotion to Mary.
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| Each month's Mass is usually followed by a guest speaker. Past speakers have included Roslindale's own George Pagliuca who gave the group an art lesson, a nurse from the Faulker who provided health tips, members of Sacred Heart's and St. Andrew's Pastoral Councils, various pastors and priests formerly stationed at Sacred Heart, and our own Monsignor Francis H. Kelley who showed a film and spoke about the Pine Street Inn.
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| Sodality, however, is more than just meetings in the Convent. This October found the members taking to the open road. Around 9:00 a.m., a group of about thirty boarded a bus and took off for a day of prayer, leaf-peeping and more.
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| The first stop was Smith's Country Cheese in Winchendon, Massachusetts. Here the group entered the plant and headed for a quick tour of the aging room. Standing among some very large wheels of gouda, Bob Smith, the owner, gave us a brief explanation of how cheese is made. After a quick taste of the wares, and some browsing in the country store, we took a gander out back to view the Holstein dairy cows and then, boarded the bus to continue our journey.
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| Our next stop was for lunch at the Fitzwilliam Inn in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. We found out that longtime Sodality member, Joan Matulis, grew up in nearby Bellows Falls, Vermont and comes back often for family reunions.
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| As we headed to our next destination our driver instructed us that if the foliage was on the left, we should say 'ahhhh,' if on the right, the exclamation would be 'oooooo,' and if it were straight ahead of us, it would be 'wooowwww.' Necessary instructions, as the hillsides were in full bloom on this glorious day.
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| Our next stop was The Golden Pineapple, a renowned gift shop stop in Henniker, New Hampshire. We then headed south and stopped at the top of a ridge at the Gould Hill Orchards. Across the street we could see the orchards where the apples had been freshly picked that morning.
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| We continued heading south into Nashua, New Hampshire where we stopped at New England Country Pies. Here they had 'mile-high' apple pies and all types of other tasty treats available for the upcoming Thanksgiving feast. As the sun began to set, we climbed back on our bus for the ride home.
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| At our November meeting, Monsignor Kelley celebrated Mass. He then adjourned to the dining room with us to give us a presentation on the Pine Street Inn. Father showed us a new video on the Inn and answered our questions.
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| Each year the Sodality puts together gift packages for someone in need. Inspired by Father's talk, we decided that this year we would make the packages for the Women's Inn.
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| The December meeting is our annual holiday get-together. All members bring either an appetizer or a dessert and it is a truly social evening, providing a chance for us to get to know each other better.
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| Due to inclement weather in past years, we have no meetings in January or February. March brings us together to plan spring retreats or our end-of-the-year celebration. Last year's final meeting featured a beautiful Mass, celebrated by Monsignor Kelley, with music by Matty Henry. We then gathered at the Olde Irish Ale House in Dedham where Matty and a friend continued to entertain us. Father opened the dinner with a prayer and a story. A delightful evening was had by all.
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| As you can see, Sodality is more than just meeting to say the Rosary. New members are always welcome, so please consider joining us.
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