Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Merrimack NH November 4, 2018 ALL MY LOVE

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2 Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Merrimack NH November 4, 2018 ALL MY LOVE SATURDAY, November 3rd Vigil: Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time 4:30PM: Russ Scheider req by Kareen Dunn SUNDAY, November 4th Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:30AM: For Grace Gagne req by Rosemary & Brian Gagne 10:30AM: For Cristobal Lopez Martinez req by Cindy and for all parishioners Monday, November 5th 8:30AM: Joan Jameson req by the Guichard family Tuesday, November 6th 8:30AM: Maureen Kuhlmann req by Merrimack friends Wednesday, November 7th 8:30AM: For deceased priest of the Diocese NO MASS Thursday, November 8th Friday, November 9th The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica 8:30AM: Barbara Camire (1st Anniv) req by Bruce & Janet Angus SATURDAY, November 10th Vigil: Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 4:30PM: Mary Fariz req by the Dwyer family and for all parishioners SUNDAY, November 11th Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:30AM: Donald Olson req by his wife Arlene 10:30AM: Frederick & Grace Savard Lantiegne req by the Lantiegne family According to Jesus, the first (most important) commandment is to love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength. This is usually taken to mean loving God with your whole being. But it wouldn't hurt to look at the modern meanings of those words to see how we can apply them. The heart is the one organ that all others depend on to keep living. It is also a symbol of our desires and love. So to love God with all your heart can mean that you recognize God as the one source of your life. Now, that is easy to say as a philosophical concept. But it also means that you love God above everything and everyone. How many of us can say we would rather spend time with God than with our friends, family, or loved ones? To love God with all your mind can mean that you never stop thinking of God. That is not as difficult as it sounds. You can ask God to help you any time you make a decision, whether it is what to watch next on TV, or what to do for a living. Loving God with your mind can also mean knowing God. The better you know God, the more likely you are to hear God in your decisions. You can get to know God through the scriptures and other spiritual reading. Hearing God may require you to consider the next way to love: with your soul. If the soul is the center of your spiritual life, then loving God with all your soul can remind you to listen to God when you pray. If prayer is a conversation with God, you might remember how annoying it can be to converse with someone who does all the talking. At first it is easy, but eventually you find yourself getting nervous because you have things you would like to say also. Think of that when you pray; give God a chance to put in a few words, too. Finally, to love God with all your strength can mean you put as much energy into loving God as you do with exercising, doing your day-job, cleaning the house, or mowing the lawn. Fortunately, none of those activities has to replace loving God, for you can do each of them as if you were working for the Lord. Just remember that no matter how hard you work for the Lord, God loves you even more than you love Him. Tom Schmidt, Copyright (c) J. S. Paluch Co. PLEASE NOTE: If you have booked a Mass and would like for you or your family to bring up the gifts at that Mass, please let one of the ushers know before Mass begins. Weekend of October 28th: $ Special Relief Collection: $ Thank You!

3 OUR LADY OF MERCY PARISH MERRIMACK, NH Hard to believe but Thanksgiving will soon be upon us. For many in our community with stressed budgets and financial challenges, a Thanksgiving dinner just isn t possible. Your support of our annual Food Drive will help make a fulfilling holiday possible for many families this season and also continue to help throughout the year. Our annual Thanksgiving Drive benefits Our Lady of Mercy and also St. John Neumann Food Pantry. Our ministry to the needy is combined with St. John Neumann to better assist our neighbors in need. Many families have benefitted from your support of this program. This year we again are asking that you contribute gift cards from local supermarkets (Shaws, Market Basket or Hannafords) in any denomination or if you prefer you may purchase one of the non perishable items listed below. Gift cards should be dropped of in the basket on the altar and food items in the boxes at the doors beginning the weekend of October 27 and 28 through the weekend of November 17 and 18th. Non-Perishable Items Needed: Boxed stuffing mix, canned vegetables, instant mashed potatoes, canned fruit (peaches, orange segments no grapefruit), Jelly (all kinds), canned meats such as Dinty Moore stew, spam, tuna, chicken, Progresso soups, pasta and cans or jars of sauce, boxed mixes cakes, cookies, brownies, muffins, etc, GOSPEL OF LUKE Soon a new liturgical year will begin. Can you believe it? In the new liturgical year the gospel readings will be drawn from the Gospel of Luke. Luke is an amazing Gospel; it is the only gospel with a Greek/Gentile author. There are many things unique to this gospel and it reveals many aspects of Jesus and his ministry that are not found in the other gospels. On Tuesday, Nov 13 at 9:15 AM in the Church Hall and on Thursday, Nov 15 at 7 PM in the Parish Center we will have a teaching about this gospel. Like the gospel which it explores, this teaching will be presented in a new way. Please join us. BLOOD DRIVE A decision to donate your blood can save a life, or even several if your blood is separated into its components red cells, platelets and plasma which can be used individually for patients with specific conditions. A Blood Drive will be held here at Our Lady of Mercy on Thursday, November 15th from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the Church Hall. Helping others in need just feels good. Please call or visit redcrossblood.org to schedule an appointment. Appointments are encouraged, but walk ins are always welcome. Week #13: Betty Currier & Lorraine Carle COMMISSIONING OF MINISTERS November 17th & 18th At the weekend Masses on Nov 17 and 18 there will be a commissioning of all of our liturgical ministers. This includes altar servers, readers, Eucharistic ministers, ministers of hospitality, and music ministers. This is an important event because at baptism we take up the life of Jesus, and by taking on these ministries we live out the life of Jesus in the world today. WEDNESDAY PEOPLE On November 7th at 7 PM in the parish center we will discuss the readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. We will explore how we are all called to be stewards of the gifts we have been given. Why not be a Wednesday person this week? The Sanctuary Lamp for the week October 27th through November 2nd is lit in memory of Olive Varrell and Laura Gould. Please call the parish office if your would like the Sanctuary Lamp lit in memory of or for the intentions of a loved one.

4 Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time Congratulations to both Deacon John who was presented with the Companions on the Journey Award, and to Jackson Cote, a young adult member of our parish, who was given the St. Timothy Award. Both these awards are from the National Catholic Federation of Youth Ministry and were presented at a special ceremony at St. Joseph Cathedral this past Sunday. Our parish is so fortunate to have individuals with your commitment and leadership qualities. Thank you for all you do. This year the annual March for Life will be taking place from Thursday, January 17th through Saturday, January 19th. The March for Life is an annual rally protesting abortion, held in Washington, DC on or around the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court s decision legalizing abortion in the case of Roe V. Wade. Our Lady of Mercy is organizing a group that will attend the rally and the cost is $122 for just the bus, Room cost: $ per person for double occupancy, $ for triple and $168 for four. We will be having a meatball fundraiser to help defray the cost of this trip for our parishioners. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Deacon John Castelot: deaconjohn@olmnh.org. MISSION TRIP If you are interested in an experiential, fulfilling shortterm mission trip, we encourage you to consider Project Eden/Adelante in Honduras. We invite you to join us in Olancho for 10 days of hands-on community-based experiences with health, agriculture and education projects. Students age 13 and older are welcome with a parent, young adults are also encouraged to join us. Our dedicated NH board members are happy to meet with you and provide more detailed information. We have open spots on a trip scheduled to leave on 3/27/19, returning on 4/6/2019. For more information, contact Scott or Mary Fitzpatrick at Visit our website LADIES GUILD MEETING We will be having our next monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 20th at 1:00 pm in the Church Hall. All ladies of the parish are welcome. If you are new to the parish and want to learn more about our ministry, please join us or contact guild president, Irene Jenness at

5 Thanksgiving is embedded in our national identity as Americans and what the day celebrates makes it a natural occasion for us to gather to celebrate Eucharist, as we acknowledge God as the source of every grace and blessing. You are invited to bring the bread and wine that you will be serving at Thanksgiving dinner for a blessing at the end of Mass on Thanksgiving Day. Please bring your items in a basket and place them on the altar prior to the beginning of Mass. These items will be blessed at the end of Mass and you may pick them up on your way out. We hope you make every effort to begin Thanksgiving Day by joining us at the 9:00 am Mass. THANKSGIVING INTERFAITH SERVICE Tuesday, November 7:00 PM Hosted by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 110 Concord St, Nashua We invite you to embrace the true intent of Thanksgiving by joining us in solidarity with people of faith. Members of various faith communities will join together at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The guest speaker will be Jason Wells from the NH Council of Churches. This is a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for the amazing support and generosity of neighbor to neighbor in our community and recognizing in the midst of all the ups and downs of life, we have many blessings to share. Light refreshments will follow the service. PARISH BREAKFAST Join us for another parish breakfast sponsored by the Knights of Columbus on Sunday, November 11th after the 8:30 and 10:30 masses. A blood pressure clinic sponsored by our parish nurses will also take place at the same time. Profession of Faith into Catholicism If you were baptized in another faith but would like to become part of the Catholic faith community, please call Marie Dancy at and get started on the road to making a profession of faith into Catholicism.

6 Information Page Acct #: Our Lady of Mercy Parish 16 Baboosic Lake Road Merrimack, NH Contact Person: Kathleen Rush Phone: (603) or (603) Fax: (603) Address: Kathy Bulletin for November 4, 2018