March 28, 2010
Palm Sunday

Weekend Mass Intentions
Saturday, March 13
    6:00 PM For Yvette Lamontagne By Jean Stubbard
Sunday,  March 14
    9:30 AM  For Parishioners of St. Paul
Saturday, April 3
    8:00 PM Easter Vigil at St. Peter
Sunday,  April 4  Easter
    8:00 AM For Parishioners of St. Paul
    9:30 PM  For Florence & Rene Nault By Lorette Nault

Reconciliation During Lent: Confessions will be heard each Monday from March 8 – 29 at 6:30 pm at St. Peter Church in Auburn.  There will be two priests in attendance.

Parish News and Notes

Parish office hours
    Our parish office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM. The Pastoral Associate is in most afternoons until 4:00 PM.  If you need to come in the PM please give us a call to make sure someone is here. Messages can always be left on the answering machine. 

Are you registered?
     Are you new to our parish?   If you are, please pick up a registration form in the vestibule of the church. Registration is very important.  Just drop it in the basket or mail it to our office.  Thanks!  We are always happy to receive new parishioners.  We welcome you and pray you will be happy here with us.

Please use church envelopes 
    Envelope users provide the bedrock of our financial support.  Please consider using them.  New packets of envelopes are mailed every three months. If you would like to receive some but you are not yet on the mailing list, please call Jeannine to give her your name and address. Thank you!

Envelope Request Form ____ I want to support our parish on a regular basis. Please add me to the envelope list. Name ______________________________ Address___________________________ Town ________________,NH Zip ________

Christian Formation News

All children from k – 10 must register for Religious Education each year.  The registration does not roll over from one year to the next.  We will be mailing a registration form through e-mail in the near future.  If you have not received a form by mid-August it is because we do not have your e-mail address or perhaps you are not yet registered in the parish so we do not have any pertinent information related to you family.  You can call the office between Monday –Thursday at 483-8481 to update your e-mail info or you can pick up a registration in the entrance of the church. Grades K- 3  The children in grades K – 3 attend classes during the weekend liturgies.  We use a Lectionary Catechesis which is based on the Gospel of the week.  Kindergarten students are not obliged to attend regularly. However beginning with grade 1, students must attend classes on a weekly basis during the Mass, as the program for 1st Communion is a two year program.  The program for the school year 2009-2010 will begin on the weekend of September 19th and 20th.  Classes are held during both weekend Masses. We would need some volunteers to help out as monitors during the classes.  Please contact the office if you can do this. Grades 4 – 10 +, Generation of Faith     This program is designed for both parents and children.  Parents who have children in grades  4 - 10 are asked to attend these monthly sessions. The adult session gives them an opportunity to refresh their memory on important matters of the faith as well as giving them the chance to share with other adults on pertinent issues of faith.  All GoF classes are held on Sundays from 4 – 6 pm.  Our next class will be held on April 18th. Confirmation Program:      The Confirmation students will begin their two year program on Sunday, September 27, 2009.  Our next class is scheduled for March 7, 2010.  Second year students must have completed year one in full, i.e., two classes per month from September through April.  Attendance at Generation of Faith only does not satisfy the requirements for Confirmation.  All students are also asked to attend Mass on a weekly basis.                        Schedule of Classes

Question of the Week
Palm Sunday
Theme:  (The Passion & Death of Christ)
Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 (I Shall Not be Put to Shame)
Reading II: Philippians. 2: 6-11(Christ Humbled Himself)
Gospel: Luke  22:14-23:56 (The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ)

Question for Adults:  How does the personal forgiveness of sins, extended to me by Jesus, fill me with a deep sense of the mercy of God? The ability to forgive is indeed Divine?  Only when we learn about God’s willingness to forgive us do we really begin to understand what love really is.  The mandate to forgive those who offend us is probably the most difficult of all mandates in our faith tradition. It is true that some things and some people are easy enough to forgive but others are nearly impossible.  It is with this in mind that we must look at God’s mercy and be grateful for the gift he gives us on a daily basis.  When we take the time to reflect on our own failings we see that God’s forgiveness is limitless.  God is infinitely good and compassionate.  Do we really believe this?  Are we grateful or do we take this gift for granted as we do so many other gifts we receive? 

Question for Children:  How do I know that Jesus forgives my sins?  We know that God forgives us because we know that He loves us.  It is the great ability to love that enables him to forgive.  We know he loves us because we know that he gave us his only Son to teach us the way.  Jesus died for us.  There is not greater love than to die for someone we love.  Love and forgiveness go hand in hand.  Take some time this week to think of the people you love.  Would you forgive them if they hurt you and if they were sorry they did it?

Community News

Our Food Pantry If you would like to help our food pantry during this Lenten season, we especially need Canned Soup, Tuna,  Instant Potatoes, canned Pastas and Spaghetti sauce.  We can always use cereal.  Thank you so much for your generosity.  You have no idea how appreciative people are when they come and we have something to offer. 

CRS: Today we hear the call of Moses to lead his people from oppression to freedom.  God promises to be with them as they journey to a new life.  Our participation in CRS’ Rice Bowl project unites us in prayer, fasting, and giving with the millions of people throughout the world who suffer from poverty, injustice, ware disease or lack of education.

A Look at Upcoming Events

Pilgrimage to Canada.   August 3 – 6, 2010 (4 days, 3 nights) for just $369.  Visit the Shrines of Montreal and Quebec which includes St. Anne-de-Beaupre, St. Joseph Oratory and more.  Cost includes two meals a day, coach bus transportation and accommodations. Departing from Holy Angels Parish, Plaistow, Manchester, and St. Mary Parish, Claremont.  For a flyer or more information, contact Juanita Sweet at 603-826-4486 or email: juanitajoy@comcast.net

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Rome  Bishop McCormack is inviting NH Catholics to join him on a pilgrimage to Rome and other Italian holy sites from October 15-25 in celebration of the canonization of Blessed Brother Andre Bessette.  Pope Benedict XVI recently announced that Blessed Brother Andre will be formally declared a saint at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 17, 2010.  The pilgrimage will be organized by Canterbury Tours of Bedford, NH.  It will include visits to sites in Rome, Assisi, and Siena. 
    Rooted in his devotion to St. Joseph, and motivated by his compassion, Brother Andre Bessette dedicated his life to comforting those in greatest need.  During his lifetime he became popularly known for encouraging the sick and infirm to pray to St. Joseph to intervene on their behalf.  Many claimed they were cured thanks to these prayers.  Brother Andre died in 1937, at the age of 91.  Many NH Catholics have taken pilgrimages to St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, a shrine built under the guidance of Brother Andre beginning in 1904 and continuing after his death until its completion in 1967.  Today, it is the most popular shrine to St. Joseph in the world. 
    Those interested in attending the pilgrimage may contact Canterbury Tours at 800-653-0017 or Fr. Jason Jalbert at 603-669-31—or jjalbert@rcbm.org

The NH Knights of Columbus Pro-Life Seminar will be held on Sunday April 18, 2010 at St. Joseph Cathedral curch hall on Pine St. in Manchester from noon to 4:00 PM.  Our guest speaker is Karen Testerman, known author, speaker, activist and advocate of family values.  The topic of her presentation is “Promoting Faith and Family in NH.”  All are welcome to this even.  For more info e-mail rddistasio@comcast.net.  Deadline is 4/13/10.


Spring Hospice Volunteer Program
    VNA of Manchester will start a free Hospice Volunteer Training Program on Saturday, April 17, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and then continuing every Thursday evening from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. through June 10, 2010.  Some of the topics to be covered are hospice philosophy, compassion through active listening, medical aspects, grief and bereavement.  Trained volunteers will work with the hospice team of health care professionals to provide services that help patients stay at home with dignity during a terminal illness.  Any interested member of the community including homemakers, retirees, college students, businessmen and women are encouraged to explore hospice volunteering.  Pre-registration is required and class size is limited.  Please contact Linda Krisch, Volunteer Coordinator, at 603-663-4008 or e-mail lkrisch@elliot-hs.org

Shhhh! It’s a Secret!  Rev. Michael Kerper will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his priesthood in May.  There is a surprise celebration being planned for him at Corpus Christi Parish in Portsmouth.  We would like to extend an invitation to parishioners from his previous assignments in Franklin and Candia to come and celebrate with us. The celebration is schedules for May 23, 2010.   It will begin with Mass at 4:00 PM followed by a Pot Luck Dinner. This will take place at St. James Church on Rte. 1 in Portsmouth.    If anyone has (copies of) photos of Fr. Kerper they would like to share with us for the celebration, we would appreciate them!  Also, Fr. Kerper has a collection of political buttons and we plan to collect some (old & new, all parties) to make a display, so if you have any, those would be welcome too!  Please send photos/buttons to:
Attn:  Brenda
Corpus Christi Parish
2075 Lafayette Rd.,   Portsmouth, NH 03801

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land  Take this wonderful journey from Nov. 8 – 17, 2010 that will immerse you into the sights and sounds of the Holy Land with Father Michael Gendron from All Saints Parish in Charlestown, NH. The cost is $2775 excluding taxes & tips.   For a flyer or more information, contact Rita and Lew Goody at 800-332-4659 or randlgoody@unitours.com  

CURRENT PRAYER REQUESTS Please remember the following people and intentions in your daily prayers: Our sick parishioners and friends…    Please pray for the following people:  Josephine Stout, Cecile Gendron, Kimberly Mirolo, Rita Sullivan, Kathy Gauthier, Ethel Thomas, Jean Swindler, Roger Plante, Joseph Gesel, Jacob Desrocher, Cindy Huard, Deborah McGovern, Gordon Gladden and Carol Sheperd. For peace in the world, especially in the Middle East… For those serving in the armed forces... For families experiencing stress due to financial, emotional or relational problems For our sister parish in Haiti... For vocations to full-time ministry, especially the priesthood, the deaconate, religious life lay ministry...     If you would like to add a person or intention, please let us know. If people on the sick list are no longer in need of prayers, please let us know.