Week of May 22, 2016 The Most Holy Trinity The Pastor s Musings The Week at a Glance Dear Family in the Lord, As you read this, I am in the middle of a personal pilgrimage that I am making to Italy for this Jubilee Year of Mercy. I consider it a great grace and blessing to have been able to carve out this time for prayer in the midst of this extra-ordinary year of grace. I will be passing through the Holy Doors of the four major Basilicas of Rome: St. Peter's, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, and St. Paul Outside the Walls. As I do so, I will be offering thanks for the ministry of mercy that I have been privileged to offer for the past thirty one years of priesthood, an experience that continues to humble me and call me to deeper conversion in my own life. Additionally, I will be making special intercession, as I pass through the doors and in all the holy places I visit, for a growing appreciation of the Sacrament of Penance in our parish and for the grace of many hearts and lives healed and brought home to our Catholic faith through our outreach and evangelization efforts. Please unite with me in prayer for these intentions in these days. I began the journey on Monday the 16th and will be returning on Thursday evening of this week, the 26th. Know that I carry all of you, your intentions and your needs, in my heart and to the altar each day. Upon arrival last Tuesday, I was able to offer Holy Mass in Rome's Church of Divine Mercy the Parish of the Holy Spirit, just three blocks away from St. Peter's. On Wednesday, May 18th, I celebrated the 31st anniversary of my Ordination to the Priesthood and, after attending a Papal Audience in the morning, had the privilege of offering Mass on the altar where St. Maximilian Kolbe, one of my inspirations in my vocation, offered his first Mass, in 1918. It was at an altar upon which our Lady miraculously appeared in St. Andrea delle Fratte Church in 1842 to convert the Jewish atheist Ratisbonne. What an awesome privilege that was as I renewed the consecration of my priesthood and pastorate here to Our Lady. On Thursday, I offered Mass in the tiny Clementine chapel, deep beneath the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica, at an altar that faces the tomb of Peter, upon which three basilicas have been built over time. On Friday, Mass was in the catacombs, where Christians gathered in the times when one could be put to death for being present at the celebration of the Eucharist. I focus particularly in praying for all who are persecuted for their faith now as I have this awesome privilege. Saturday, the day in honor of our Lady, brought a very special blessing as I was able to celebrate Holy Mass on the altar in which St. John Paul II is buried! This was a very special day to pray for vocations through his intercession, for all in formation and all discerning among us. On this Sunday, I will be once again offering Holy Mass at St. Peter's Basilica and then heading off to San Giovanni Rotondo, the place of St. Padre Pio. En route we will stop at the monastery St. Benedict established at Monte Cassino. On Monday morning I will be able to offer Mass on the altar of the old church where Padre Pio celebrated, in the church that contains the crucifix from which he received the stigmata. From there, traveling along the coast, and stopping at Lanciano, the site of a Eucharistic miracle, we will head to Assisi and I will offer Mass in the Basilica where St. Francis is buried on Tuesday, then in the little Portiuncula chapel, which he built with his own hands, on Wednesday. I love the quiet beauty of Assisi and look forward to a couple of days in this ancient town that was home to St. Francis and St. Claire. Finally, on Thursday morning, before heading home, I will offer Mass at the altar in front of the relics of the manger from Bethlehem, that are enshrined in the confession chapel beneath the high altar in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Know that you, our parish, and its future, will all be lifted up each day! I am grateful to Fr. Kelley for celebrating the Liturgies during my time away and to our staff for handling the day-to-day operation of the parish. I look forward to our parish hosting Fr. Kelley's 50th anniversary celebration next Sunday and hope you'll be able to join us as we celebrate this special event on our Patronal Feastday the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. See you next weekend! In His Love, Monday, May 23 CERS Group Meeting 7:00 PM (NH LL) Tuesday, May 24 Televised Parish Mass 7 PM, Channel 98 Wednesday, May 25 Contemplative Prayer 9:00 AM (EDPC) Prayer Cenacle 2:00 PM (SC C) K of C Mtg 6:30 PM (IC H) Thursday, May 26 Exposition/Adoration 8:30AM-7:00PM (SC) No School Mass this week Contemp Choir Rehearsal 7:00 PM (IC LL) Televised Parish Mass 7 PM, Channel 98 Friday, May 27 Breakfast Group 8:30 AM (SC H) Wedding Rehearsal 4:00 PM (SC C) Italian Class 7:00 PM (EDPC LL) SPS presents Annie 7:00PM, St. Thomas HS Saturday, May 28 SPS presents Annie 10AM, St. Thomas HS Baptism 1:00 PM (IC C) Wedding Liturgy 2:00 PM (SC C) Rosary 3:30 PM (IC C) Corpus Christi Procession after 4PM Mass Sunday, May 29 Televised Parish Mass 10 AM, Channel 98 Mass of Thanksgiving Fr. Kelley s 50 th Anniversary of Ordination 10:30AM (IC) Music Ministry Rehearsal 11:45AM (IC C) Choir Practice Spanish Mass 1:30 PM (SC) Spanish Mass 2:00 PM (SC C) Sanctuary Lamps The sanctuary lamp at St. Catherine Church will burn in memory of Alice Feeney Buckley this week, as requested by Becky Wylie. At Immaculate Conception Church, the votives at the Mary altar will burn for Steve Pizz, requested by Deva MacDonald and family. The votives at the St. Joseph altar will burn in memory of Arthur Laroche, requested by his wife Lorraine. Traveling Vocation Icon This week, Annie Osborn will receive the Icon of Jesus Knocking at the Door into her home and intercede in a special way for Sr. Jacinta Pio, Joe, and all in formation, for those discerning, and for many vocations to rise up from our community.
Intentions For Holy Mass Monday MAY 23 Feria (weekday) 8:00AM SC Joseph Parmentola, by his wife Anne & Family Tuesday MAY 24 Feria 8:00AM SC Robert Ornellas (2 nd anniversary), by his Family Wednesday MAY 25 St. Bede the Venerable 8:00AM SC Annie Lajoie, by Bernie & Theresa Lajoie Thursday MAY 26 St. Philip Neri 8:00AM SC In Thanksgiving for the 50 th anniversary of ordination of Rev. Edward Kelley Friday MAY 27 St. Augustine of Canterbury 8:00AM SC James Sheridan, by Helen & Holly Saturday MAY 28 Feria 8:00AM SC Pro Populo (For Our Parish Family) Vigil Solemnity of Corpus Christi 4:00PM IC The 26 Deceased Crew Members of the USS Squalus, by Betty Ricci Sunday MAY 29 Solemnity of Corpus Christi 8:30AM IC Gerald Brown, by his Wife & Family 10:30AM IC Father Kelley s parents and family, 2:00PM SC in Spanish Celebrant s Intention 4:30PM IC Billy Scritchfield (2 nd anniversary), by Barbara Wheatcraft To schedule Mass intentions, please call Marilyn Chavez at the St. Catherine office, 436-0344. Morning Prayer All are invited to join the community gathered before the daily Mass, Monday through Saturday, as they pray Lauds (Morning Prayer) from the Liturgy of the Hours at 7:40 AM at our St. Catherine Church. Our reflection of God s generosity to us! Weekend of Mary 14/15, 2016 Envelopes/EFT $ 10,378.50 Loose $ 2,004.88 Total $ 12,383.38 Last weekend 260 envelope/32 Online Giving users contributed 84 % of our income. Poor Box Donations $ 1,104.36 20/20 WINNER$ $25 Winners ~ Week 14 # 150 Jim & Jackie Casey # 70 Claire Leary Maintenance to Mission Meeting With the news of the school recently announced, we would like to have an opportunity to gather for an open parish meeting to look at the other aspects of Maintenance to Mission, present what our findings have been, and let you know what steps we have taken and what we are now looking at and looking into. The committee, Parish Council, and Staff have contributed much to helping us have a clear understanding of our needs for the future and helped to sort out options. We invite you to get updated, ask questions, and share insights at an informal gathering to be held at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, June 15th, upstairs in our St. James Church. Hope to see you there! Memorial Day Mass at Calvary Cemetery Looking ahead, we remind you to save the date/time (Monday, May 30, at 10:00 AM) to join us in our parish Calvary Cemetery for the annual Mass offered for all those who are interred there and in the older St. Mary Cemetery. A beautiful way to start your day, lift up our departed to the mercy of God, and remember those who gave their lives in the cause of freedom and peace. Plan to bring your own lawn chair and join us in the area in front of the little chapel there for this outdoor Mass (will be moved inside to Immaculate Conception Church if there s inclement weather). Please note: There will be no 8:00 AM Mass at St. Catherine that day. Calvary Cemetery Rules & Regulations Flowers and urns on extended bases of monuments are allowed during the summer months. Other floral arrangements may be placed at graves up to two weeks before and may remain for two weeks after Memorial Day. A carry in/carry out policy should be observed. Only veterans organizations may place flags on veterans graves; no other flags/banners are authorized. Seasonal displays not removed within two weeks after Memorial Day will be disposed of.
Parish News NEW! Poor Box Challenge Success! On behalf of all in need who will benefit from our outreach ministry of Portsmouth Catholic SHARE, we want to thank all who made extra-generous offerings via the poor box during the Easter Season. We are so thankful to the parish family who offered the Easter Season poor box challenge and promised to match dollar for dollar the amount given, up to $12,000.00. The total offered was $12,583.66, matched by $12,000.00, for a total support for the SHARE ministry of $24,583.66!!! NEW! St. Patrick School Play! All are invited to attend St. Patrick School s spring musical production of Annie next weekend. The curtain goes up at 7:00 PM on Friday, May 27 th, and also at 10:00 AM on Saturday, May 28 th, at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover. Don t miss it! NEW! Catholic Charities Appeal Thanks to all who have made pledges or one-time donations to this year's appeal! Envelopes and flyers are still at the entrance of IC for those who have yet to do so and could help support the many works of mercy, outreach, and charity that count on NH Catholic Charities to continue. Simply drop the completed envelope in the collection basket at Mass. NEW! Weekly Adoration Day The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for adoration as usual from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM in our St. Catherine Church. Because Fr. Gary is away, there will simply be reposition at the end of the day without devotions or Benediction. Beginning the following week, Thursday, June 2, we go to summer adoration hours each Thursday from 8:30 AM to 12:00 Noon. We thank those who committed to be scheduled adorers, enabling us to continue to offer adoration opportunity all through the summer. Solemn Feast of Corpus Christi Next weekend we will celebrate the patronal feast of our Parish the Solemnity of Corpus Christi the feast honoring the presence of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Two events will mark the weekend celebration: ~ PROCESSION at the end of 4:00 PM Mass next Saturday will carry the Blessed Sacrament to outside of the church for Benediction to be imparted on the grounds at our Lady's outdoor shrine. ~ SOLEMN MASS celebrating 50 years of Priesthood will be offered by Fr. Edward Kelley at 10:30 AM. The beautiful masthead of our weekly bulletin cover reminds us of the awesome gift of the Body and Blood of Christ, the great mystery from which our parish gets its name! Fr. Kelley's Anniversary Next Sunday, May 29, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, we will welcome Fr. Edward Kelley, former pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, before the merger, as celebrant of a Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving in honor of his Golden Jubilee of Ordination. His 50 years of priestly ministry included parish ministry in both the Archdiocese of Boston and the Diocese of Manchester, and, in addition, he gave 25 years of service as chaplain in the US Navy. All are invited to come together to give thanks and celebrate the gift of the priesthood with Fr. Kelley at the 10:30 AM Mass that morning. A reception will be held on the church plaza following the Mass. NEW! Wedding Bells! Next Saturday, Rebecca Murphy & Steven Shackford will pledge life and love in the sacrament of Marriage in our St. Catherine Church. We extend our congratulations and prayerful best wishes to them! May He who brought you together bless you in abundance in the years ahead as you live out this wonderful vocation. NEW! Casino Trip Corpus Christi Parish will sponsor a bus trip to Foxwood Casino in Connecticut on Friday, June 10 th. To sign up, please call Marilyn Chavez at 603-436-0344. The cost is just $35.00 per person and includes a surprise package when you arrive. Call soon to reserve your spot! NEW! Ordinations Coming Please keep three men in our Diocese in your prayers as they prepare for the Sacrament of Holy Orders. David Harris and Matthew Schultz will be ordained transitional deacons on May 28 th, and Michael Sartori will be ordained to the Priesthood on June 4 th. Both celebrations begin at 10:00 AM in our St. Joseph Cathedral in Manchester and all are invited. (Fr. Gary will be vesting the new priest and concelebrating his first Mass. Soon to be Father Mike Sartori discerned his vocation in Fr. Gary's former parish, served at the altar there, and was involved in parish life since his freshman year of high school.) Pray the Lord's abundant graces and blessings for them and for those they will be sent to serve! NEW! Ordination Anniversaries Let us join Fr. Gary and Deacon Jim in giving thanks to God and seeking His continued grace and blessings for their ministry as they celebrate their anniversaries of ordination this month along with Fr. Kelley. Fr. Gary was ordained a priest on May 18, 1985, and Deacon Jim was ordained a Deacon on May 24, 2014. NEW! Women s Summer Reading Book Club Join us for a 33-day journey to Marian consecration with four giants of Marian spirituality: St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and St. John Paul II. Beginning the week of June 12, and running through August 14 watch upcoming bulletins for details!
St. Patrick School Facing an Exciting Future! As you know by now, I'm sure, May 11th was an exciting day for us as plans were announced for a future full of hope and promise for Catholic school education here in Portsmouth. The coming academic year (2016-2017) will be the last for our parish school in the current facility, which was the new school built in 1904, after Catholic education was established here in 1868! Thanks to partnering with the newly-established Hope for Tomorrow Foundation, a new school and a new model of governance is on our horizon! The Foundation purchased 8 acres of land on the beautiful Community Campus off of Lafayette Road here in Portsmouth and is now in the permitting/approval process with the city to begin construction, which will be funded entirely by the Foundation funding. Once the new state-of-the art school is complete, our parish school will transition into an independent Catholic school, with governance and full fiduciary responsibility overseen by the Foundation. The school will be known as St. Patrick Academy as it continues in its new home. Watch for future updates and exciting ways you can be part of helping with this exciting new effort of building for tomorrow! A year ago at this time, financial constraints and the condition and inadequacies of the building were seemingly pointing toward the end of Catholic education in Ports-mouth in the near future. All felt the great work and spirit of the school had to go on, but none of us could see how that realistically could happen. This whole process has been continually lifted up in prayer to Jesus, through Mary, to whom our parish and school are consecrated. Then, just a few months ago, as always, God provided us with a great surprise! We placed it all in His hands! Those who had the ability, wherewithal and expertise also had the faith, consecrated to our Lady, to heed her Cana advice: Do whatever He tells you. We all bring what little we have to Jesus, our water... He touches it as only He can, and here we stand with new wine! We are most grateful to Bishop Libasci and Fr. John Fortin, Diocesan School Superintendent, for having been most supportive with this process, along with their staff, and to our parish Pastoral Council and Maintenance to Mission Committee. Bishop Libasci was recently quoted as saying: I am happy to be working collaboratively with Fr. Gary, our Diocesan offices, and the Hope for Tomorrow Foundation to convert St. Patrick School to this new model of school governance, which truly empowers the great capabilities of lay leaders in Catholic education. The foundation's leaders are passionate about Catholic education and its value for the wider public and I am most grateful that they have stepped up to support Catholic school students so generously with this new and vastly improved facility and the strong positive vision of formation in the practice of our Catholic faith, knowledge of our Catholic doctrine, and superior academic achievement that this enterprise has promised. Join us in praising God, echoing Mary's words: The Almighty has done great things for us and holy is His name! Yours in His Love, Fr Gary (a very excited pastor!) St. Patrick School is raffling off a brand new Toyota Rav4! A huge thank you to Jim Boyle of Toyota of Portsmouth for partnering with us for our second car raffle. Tickets are $100 each and we are only selling 500!! Buy your tickets at St. Patrick School s front office (125 Austin Street, 603-436-0739), or at Toyota of Portsmouth. Don't miss your chance to win a new car! Winner will be drawn on the last day of school, June 14 th. Baby Shower/Carnations Thank You! This special Year of Mercy project was a tremendous success, thanks to your overwhelming response both in donation of needed items and the offerings through the baby bottles! Over $7,000.00 in cash plus numerous baby items were received! Many mothers in need and their babies will be served thanks to you through the efforts of New Generation in Greenland and Birthright here in Portsmouth (their responses included below). Your offerings for the carnations on Mother's Day further helped the efforts of Birthright in our community. Thank you!!! From New Generation: It was a wonderful Mother s Day for the residents of New Generation, thanks to Corpus Christi Parish! We are so grateful for your donations of diapers, clothes, a high chair, baby products, a baby carrier, gift cards, and other thoughtful gifts! Your donations made a big difference in the lives of our residents who are working hard to find employment, finish their schooling, and become nurturing parents. To learn more about New Generation, please visit www.newgennh.org or call us at (603) 570-2456. Thank you again from all of us! From Birthright: Seacoast Birthright thanks you for your generous support of our annual Mother s Day Flower Sale. We also thank everyone who donated their time and effort in assisting us. Your generous contributions will enable us to continue ministering to mothers and babies in their time of need.
Vacation Bible School Pope Quote Excerpts from Pope Francis Encyclical, The Joy of the Gospel Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own. AUGUST 1-5 St. James Hall 9 a.m. 12 p.m. for Children ages 4-10 Deep Bible Quests Kid Video Imagination Cavern Sing & Play Rock Games and more! Check your mail for the Registration Form! Registration forms were mailed to past participants and parish families last week. Return your completed forms by putting them in the collection basket at a weekend Mass, drop them by the parish office, or mail them to Corpus Christi Parish, 2075 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth. If you did not receive a form, or for additional forms, visit our parish website at www.corpuschristinh.org. Registration Fee of $40.00 per camper includes Cave Quest t-shirt. (Make checks payable to Corpus Christi Parish.) During the week of June 6th we will begin working on our art and environment designs painting, cutting, crafty things to enhance our Cave Quest experience. Creative types or good at following directions, we can use your help! Help a little or help a lot, as your time allows! To volunteer, please contact Brenda Stinson at 603-436-4555 CONVINCED! If you didn't join us May 10th for DVD & Dessert, you have another opportunity... and won't want to miss it! This outstanding heart and eye opening documentary is something you won't want to miss! Donald Johnson put this 70-minute work together after traveling all over the US to find out the answer to his question, a question that was leading him to consider the Catholic Church: Why would intelligent, successful people give up their careers, alienate some of their friends, and even cause havoc in their families, to become Catholic? Whether you've been Catholic all your life, think you know all the stuff, or aren't sure of the why behind a lot, or, you are not Catholic but thinking about it, or were brought up Catholic but don't practice now... this is for you, for your family, your friends! Come! Invite them! You have two options on Sunday, June 12th: Join us for a cookout at 5:30 PM on the grounds of St. Catherine (no fee, free-will offering basket will be out). We just need you to let us know you're coming so we have a dinner count, so, RSVP to Roxanne, Office of Evangelization, at 436-4555 or evangelize.ccnh@gmail.com. (We will go into the hall for DVD and dessert at 6:30 PM.) ~ OR ~ If you can't make burgers & dogs, just come to the hall for DVD & Dessert at 6:30 PM. Who can you invite?? You won't be sorry!