Second Sunday of Lent March 12, 2017 CHURCH & PARISH OFFICES 12 Main St. Pelham, NH 03076 603-635-3525 (office) 603-635-3919 (fax number) Website: www.stpatricks-pelham.com Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30-4:00 Offices located in the school near the carport MASS SCHEDULE Saturday 4PM Sunday 8AM, 10:30AM, 6PM WEEKDAYS MASS SCHEDULE Monday through Thursday 8am Fridays during Lent 6pm First Friday and First Saturday 8am Pastor Rev. Volney J. DeRosia - Ext. 15 Email: fathervon@comcast.net Deacons Deacon John Ross Email: ualdrmflt@comcast.net Deacon Tom Lavallee Email: tl3450@gmail.com Faith Life Director Adam Castor 603-635-1447 Ext. 14 Email: faithlifeformation@comcast.net Business Manager Therese Soucy - Ext. 11 Email: therese42852@comcast.net Secretary Kathleen Jean - Ext. 10 Email: kathy7421@comcast.net Music Ministry Gary Williams 603-635-7669 Jeanne Dyjak 978-394-8894 Email: jeanneld34@gmail.com FORMED To help you grow in your faith go to www.formed.org and sign in with the parish registration code nr3434 (all lowercase). HOLY DAY MASS SCHEDULE Holy Day 8am, 10am & 7pm Wednesday ADORATION 8:30-9:30am 2:00-8:00pm FIRST FRIDAY ROSARY The Knights and the Women s Guild invite everyone to First Friday Rosary at 6pm in the chapel. The Rosary is followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 6:45 PM. RECONCILIATION Saturday 3pm to 3:30pm or by appointment During Lent on Sundays 7:30-7:45am, 10:00-10:15am and 5:30-5:45pm ANOINTING OF THE SICK & COMMUNION TO THE SICK & HOMEBOUND Please contact the Parish Office for arrangements BAPTISM Please contact the Parish Office to schedule a baptism. Parents are required to meet with the pastor and participate in a baptismal catechetical session prior to the celebration of the sacrament. MARRIAGE Arrangements with the parish must be made at least nine months prior to the wedding. Fulfillment of a Diocesan, pre-marriage program is required. Help Souls on their way to Heaven When Fr. Von gets called to anoint people who are dying, he calls on a group of people to pray a KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS Divine Mercy Chaplet for them. Care to join the Knights of Columbus? Please If you would like to join this ministry or want contact Erick Wright at 603-635-8772 or more information, contact Fr. Von at eqwright@comcast.net. More information online: fathervon@comcast.net or (603)-635-3525. http://www.nhknights.org/ 1
MASS INTENTIONS Saturday March 11 4pm Sheila Bedard requested by Uncle Phil & Aunt Jackie Blanchette Sunday March 12 8am Joseph Dias requested by Karen & Kevin Martin 10:30am Patricia Cormier requested by the Parish Staff Barbara Pierga requested by the Hayes family 6pm Kevin DiBona requested by Brian & Christine Templeton Monday March 13 8am Doris Bryant requested by the 8 O Clockers Rev. Albert A. Bellefeville Tuesday March 14 8am Mario Matos requested by his wife Rita Egide Vincent Houndegla requested by his mother Wednesday March 15 8am Linda Bousquet, 8 th Anniversary, requested by her sister Patty Kennedy Thursday March 16 8am For all Souls in Purgatory Moo Young Lee requested by Maureen & David Groff Friday March 17 6pm John Montminy, 3 rd Anniversary, requested by Scott & Flora Montminy & family 7pm Stations of the Cross Saturday March 18 4pm Beverly Philbrick, 3 rd Anniversary, requested by Roland & Therese Irene Hall requested by Anita Hall Sunday March 19 8am Rev. John Sledziona & Theresa Straughan requested by Donna Smith 10:30am Joseph Shama requested by Irene & Dennis Groulx John Viveiros requested by Ron & Pat Nowakowski 6pm Intentions for all our Parishioners 2 PARISH COLLECTIONS In order for the parish to meet its regular expenses, our offertory and other designated parish collections must bring in $8,700 per week. Parish Collections for the following week: Offertory 3/5/17 $7,810 Total funds collected for this week for parish expenses $7,810 Thank you for your faithful & generous support ~Fr. Von~ Capital Improvement collected as of 3/5/17 $1,618.00 Thank you for your generosity! Aid to Eastern Europe collected as of 3/1/17 $2,193 Thank you for your generosity! SECOND ENVELOPES FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEKS Mar. 19 Faith Life Formation This collection helps with expenses for Faith Life. Mar. 26 Catholic Relief Services & Catholic Home Mission Catholic Relief Services provides funding for Catholic Relief Services, USCCB Department of Social Development & World Peace, relief work of the Holy Father, USCCB s Migration & Refugee Services, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. Catholic Home Missions supports the strengthening of the Catholic Church where it s more financially challenged in the United States. Your contributions toward the support of the parish and its ministries are greatly appreciated. Looking for Choirs Members If you or someone you know would like to join the Saturday 4:00 PM choir, please join Jeanne in the Knights of Columbus Hall from 2:45-3:45 PM. Please contact her at jeanneld34@gmail.com or 978-394-8894.
Sunday, March 12 Coffee & Donuts, 11:30 AM, in the K of C Hall Children of Mary, 11:45 AM, in the meeting room Monday, March 13 Adoration, 6:45 PM, in the church Tuesday, March 14 Baptism Class, 6:00 PM, in the meeting room Food Pantry, 6:30-7:30 PM Wednesday, March 15 Men s Morning Group, 6:00-7:00 AM, in the meeting room Adoration, 8:30-9:30 AM and 2:00-8:00 PM Bible Sharing, 9:00 AM, in the school Food Pantry, 1:00-3:00 PM Thursday, March 16 AA, 7:00 PM, in the K of C Hall Praise Band, 7:30 PM, in the church Friday, March 17 Fish Bake, 5:00 PM, in the parish center Stations of the Cross, 7:00 PM, in the church Look on St. Patrick Parish Website for our new links to Facebook and our Parish App. You can find them on the right column of the website homepage. THE WILD GOOSE The Ancient Celts had a name for the Holy Spirit: The Wild Goose Join Fr. Von in this video series by Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR in growing closer to the Holy Spirit Mondays at 7:00 PM in the School Classroom March 20 th & 27 th, April 17 th & 24 th May 8 th, 15 th & 22 nd, June 5 th For more information, call 603-635-3525 Special guest Sr. Agnes Therese Davis, TOR (originally from Keene, NH) will be here to lead the program on April 17 th. For more about Sr. Agnes Therese: www.franciscansisterstor.org/about-us/meetthe-sisters/sister-agnes-therese/ PENNY SALE IS COMING. St. Patrick Women s Guild will be sponsoring their 22 nd Penny Sale on April 22 nd & 23 rd. Proceeds from this sale help to support our various charities such as the Food Pantry, scholarships to graduates, and adopted daughter in Africa, Samaritans Purse, projects at St. Patrick s Church and so much more. If anyone would like to donate items to the Penny Sale, please bring the items to St. Patrick s Office or call Therese at 635-3525 or 635-2117. So don t forget to keep the dates open and join us on April 22 nd & 23 rd. 3 Acts of Mercy How many Spiritual Instruct the uninformed Counsel the doubtful Admonish sinners Comfort the sorrowful Bear wrongs patiently Forgive offenses Pray for the living and the dead How many Corporal Feed the hungry Clothe the naked Give drink to the thirsty Shelter the homeless Comfort the imprisoned Visit the sick Bury the Dead THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS Want to win an IRobot Roomba 980? Want to help the Knights of Columbus fill their Scholarship Fund. You can purchase one chance for $5, or five chances for $20. We will be selling tickets at each of our fish dinner events every Friday until April 7 th. We will be selling tickets after Mass on these two weekend: March 18 th & 19 th and March 25 th & 26 th. The winner will be drawn at 7:00 PM at the final dinner on April 7 th. This is a $900.00 Robotic Vacuum cleaner that will clean an entire floor of the house at the touch of a button, or can be scheduled to do so any time of day and night. It has an app for your smart phone to control settings, schedule, and control cleaning jobs whether you are home, or away. For more information, visit here: http://www.irobot.com/for-the- Home/Vacuuming/Roomba.aspx. The Knights of Columbus thank IRobot for their generous donation.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, Last week I wrote that we can trust God: we are His children; He is our Abba, our Daddy. What a blessing when we truly come to realize this fact! I have spent over twenty years pondering in a deep way this reality of God s divine, intimate Fatherhood for me, and I am constantly awed and amazed in new ways! Today s Gospel of the Transfiguration also speaks about trust in God, but from a different angle. Jesus is transfigured and Moses and Elijah appear and speak with Him (Luke tells us that they were discussing His exodus, meaning His crucifixion, Luke 9:31). One important point of this is that we see how God the Father gives Jesus the Son the strength and courage to step forward toward His death. But I want to focus on the Apostles. Peter, James and John went up the mountain as well. Why did Jesus Transfigure before them? Jesus spent plenty of time in prayer alone, off in deserted places. If the Transfiguration was just for Him, why would these three be with Him? I think it was so that Peter, James and John would be prepared for the trials to come. After seeing Jesus Transfigured, and hearing the voice of the Father from the heavens This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him (Matthew 17:5), there could be no doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, that He was the Son of God. So when the scandal of the Cross happened, these three, at least, would know that they were not mistaken about Jesus, even if they were utterly perplexed by the events of His death. The Transfiguration was so that the Disciples could be strengthened in their faith. Do you see this? God knows all of the trials we have had, we have now, AND WILL HAVE in our lives. He is completely aware of how our lives play out. Sometimes we rail at God, questioning whether He knows or cares about our trials, our suffering, our struggles. The answer is a resounding YES! HE DOES! When we come to Him, when we follow Him, He will give us strength to get through the trials. He IS the giver of courage for our suffering. When life brings us to our knees, we have a choice to get angry at God and turn our back on Him, or to turn to Him and receive all of the love and help from Him that we need to get through our problems. Which will we choose? Do we trust God? You see, God s Plan A was not to have the world in the mess it is in right now. We heard about the Fall last week in the first reading. WE made this mess. But God has a plan for where we are at right now, how to get us to His Heart. It s like when we get lost going someplace. Maybe we shut off our GPS for a while thinking we could do it on our own. Once we realize how helpless we are in finding our way, in an act of humility, we turn the GPS back on. What does it say? Recalculating. God has an infinite number of ways of recalculating our way back to Him, but we have to turn on the God Positioning System and listen to His directions. That s what the voice of the Father said on the mountain: listen to him (Matthew 17:5). Sometimes we can be afraid of what Jesus will say to us, though. What is He going to require of us. What is he going to ask no demand that we give up to follow Him?! St. John Paul II reassured us, and Pope Benedict XVI repeated, If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope [John Paul II] said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ and you will find true life. Amen. (Inauguration Mass of Pope Benedict XVI w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2005/documents/hf_benxvi_hom_20050424_inizio-pontificato.html) The very first words Jesus speaks after the Father speaks are, Rise, and do not be afraid (Matthew 17:7). He calls us to trust Him. He does not want us to run from Him, but into His arms! May we truly come to trust God and His love! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMORIAL PRAYER SERVICE FOR THE UNBORN On the Solemnity of the Annunciation to Mary, March 25, at 1:00pm, we will have a Memorial Prayer Service for the Unborn. The service will be held at the Granite Memorial to the unborn at the "ramp entrance" of the Church, or, in case of inclement weather, we will be inside the Church. For more information, contact Fr. Von at 635-3525 or fathervon@comcast.net 4
FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE What they didn t tell you in Sex Ed. Join us on Sunday, March 26 th at 4:00 PM in the Church for Speaker Vicki Thorn. Vicki Thorn is the foundress of Project Rachel and the executive director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation & Healing located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Additionally she has written and spoken about the sociological changes in society since 1960 and the spiritual and psychological wounds carried by Gen X and Gen Y as a result of those changes. Recently she has been doing presentations to high school groups, college students and adult groups on her recent research on the Biochemistry of Sex or the Biology of the Theology of the Body. PARISH EASTER EGG HUNT On Sunday, April 9 th, following the 10:30 AM Mass, all children of the parish are invited to join us in a Easter Egg Hunt. We will have a short story time about Jesus, the Lamb of God, followed by an egg hunt on the Church grounds. Bring your baskets! A special prize will be awarded to the child who finds the winner egg! Children ages 2-12 are invited to join the hunt. Teen volunteers are welcome to help with the hiding. For more information, or to register your children, please contact Tabatha Desrosiers at desrosiersmom@aol.com SAVE THE DATE! Vacation Bible School Where: St. Patrick School When: July 10 th 14 th Time: 9:00 AM 12:00 PM Ages: 5-12 More details and early registration to follow in the months ahead. Volunteer opportunities available now. If you or your teen would like to help in this wonderful ministry or for more information, please contact Christine Lemieux at christine@lemieuxdesign.net We plan on making, Easter Baskets again this year for children registered at our Food Pantry as well as children living in nearby shelters. More information will be available as we collect information about those in need. You can contact Cheryl at 603-635-3610 or cdbrunelle@comcast.net. Baskets may be dropped off in the chapel between now and Monday, April 3 rd. 5 The Knights of Columbus will be serving fish dinners each Friday through Lent: March 3 rd through April 7 th from 5:00-7:00 PM in the Parish Center. The dinner is a freshly baked piece of haddock with green beans, mashed potato and a roll. The proceeds of these dinners go towards the various charities that the Knights support, including our local food pantry, St. Pat s Bereavement Committee, Seminarians, pro-life support, food for the 5 blood drives held each year and other needs as well. Please help us support these worthy causes by enjoying a delicious fish dinner during Lent. Prices are $11.00 for adults, $10.00 for seniors. BEREAVEMENT PROGRAM Catholic Charities New Hampshire and St. Ann Church will offer a bereavement program for those who have lost a loved one. Through presentations and group discussions, participants will be able to recognize where they are on the grief journey, express their gratitude and frustration with our culture s grief rituals. Speak openly and honestly about what is helpful and what is not helpful to their healing and have the sacred space to tell their story to those who will listen with an open heart and with compassion. The meeting place is St. Ann Church, 26 Emerson Road, Hampstead, NH. The meeting schedule is Thursdays from 1:30-3:00 PM every other week. Registration is necessary. Contact Judy Nelson, Catholic Charities at 893-1971 or at jnelson@nh-cc.org for more information. Current Schedule: March 16 th, 23 rd and April 6 th, 20 th and May 4 th and 18 th.