March 29th, 2020| The Fifth Sunday of Lent | (820) · 29/03/2020 · Confession can approach in...
Transcript of March 29th, 2020| The Fifth Sunday of Lent | (820) · 29/03/2020 · Confession can approach in...
March 29th, 2020| The Fifth Sunday of Lent | (820)
85 Main Street / Ashburnham, Massachusetts 01430
Saint Denis Parish
LORD’S DAY MASSES Saturday — 4:30 pm
Sunday — 8:00 & 10:30 am
DAILY MASSES
Monday — Wednesday 9:00 am
RECONCILIATION Saturday 3:30 — 4:00 pm
or by appointment
OFFICE HOURS
Monday — Thursday
10:00 - 3:00pm.
Office 24/7 available
on website:
www.saintdenisashburnham.com
Bulletin requests, Prayer requests
Mass Intentions, Event Tickets
Calendar requests, Join Parish
PRIEST ADMINISTRATOR Fr Richard Reidy
508-981-5993
DEACON Deacon Richard DesJardins
978-343-6367
SECRETARY/OFFICE Andrew W. Gage
978-827-5806
RELIGIOUS ED. OFFICE Administrator of Rel ED
Kimberly Brown
978-827–4892
Cell 508-331-0162
SAINT VINCENT de PAUL
978-790-1923
BAPTISMS Deacon Richard DesJardins
978-343-6367
NOTIFY THE RECTORY 978-827-5806
Visitation of the sick & elderly
Weddings, Funerals,
Pastoral Care, etc.
St Denis Cemetery Kelton Rd
Ashburnham, MA 01430
978-827-5806
https://saintdenisashburnham.org/cemetery
www.SaintDenisAshburnham.com
Join Flock Notes: Text “StDenis85” to 84576
Join Formed https://formed.org Use Code 6DF8JG
Kerry Volke
Joel Rivera Lucy Lamgolier
Fr Bill Cormier
Tim G. Joshua Dale Watson Madeleine Vinluan
Deepa Sathyan
Resmi Jason
Anand Kumar Michele Rios Fatima Rodrigues Roland Mendonca Jason Allen Alexander Liam Howard
Ellen Duffy Steve Dame Chris Perry Magdelena Lovejoy Bob Mary Regina Carolynn McCarthy-Luescher Michele Rios Bob Bryant Christine Harris Warren Walters Tony Chaves Jr. Katy Westhaver Bill Foss Nancy Rosbury Kathleen Hartzell
The Reinmann Family Davis Jaison Daniel Xavier Huidor Rajender sharma Gary Martines Gail Blanche Sheryl Hall Simone Blanche Julie Main Carol Carmody Henna Motwani Sheryl Hall
Online and TV Sources for Practicing our Faith
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESOURCES
How to watch Mass. As public celebration of the Mass
and the obligation to attend have been suspended, you can
watch the Mass on cable TV or streamed on your comput-
er from the following sources:
Diocesan TV Mass from Saint Paul Cathedral:
Cable:
Spectrum (Charter): Channel 193 at 9 am on week-
days and 10 am and 6 pm on Sundays.
Internet:
https://livestream.com/dioceseofworcester/dailymass
(at any time)
EWTN TV:
Cable:
Spectrum (Charter Cable): TV Channel 18. Mass
shown daily at 8 am, noon, 6:30 pm and midnight.
Comcast: TV Channel 056 and 238
DirectTV: TV Channel 370
Dish: TV Channel 261
Internet:
You can also stream the EWTN Mass on the internet at
the same times at https://www.ewtn.com/tv/watch-live/
united-states.
Other Masses:
Cable:
Catholic TV (from Boston) Spectrum (Charter) Chan-
nel 101; 9:30 am, 12:30 pm, 7 pm and 11:30 pm.
Internet:
https://wordonfire.org/daily-mass/
Radio:
EWTN Daily and Sunday Mass at radio stations
1230AM; 970AM; 101.1 FM; courtesy of Emmanuel
Radio. Other Catholic programming
available 24/7.
Daily Mass Readings
If you would like to read some Scripture each day, the daily
Mass readings are an ideal way to track the Lenten journey
of Our Lord to Calvary. The readings reveal how much God
loves each one of us. We might ask ourselves three ques-
tions when reading the Scriptures: 1) what does this pas-
sage reveal to me about God? 2) what does this passage
reveal about me? 3) what is God asking of me?
You can find the daily readings at USCCB Daily Readings
www.usccb.org along with helpful meditations in the Liv-
ing with Christ booklets.
Stations of the Cross Online
I invite you to join us 6:30 PM every Friday to join us
online, as you would have come to the church and do the
Stations of the Cross with us. This online version is very
moving, and if we do it together will have great impact.
You will need at least 45 Minutes as that is how long it is.
Just Click the link below or copy into
your browser.
You can click the link anytime to check
it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch
reload=9&v=wW1t7M8HKT8&autoplay=1&list=PL58g
24NgWPIz8ajwy88V_FBcJTB61w5Gk
For Our Sick ...
Special Highlights | Information
DRIVE-BY CONFESSIONS
Father Reidy will be available for confessions at the normal time (Saturday 3:30 pm- 4 pm) but not in the normal way. He will be outside in the rear of the Church parking lot. Anyone wanting to go to Confession can approach in their car, lowering the window and make their Confession from their car while maintaining a safe distance. If there is a car ahead of you, please keep a distance back from the car next to Fr. Reidy so that we can assure the confidentiality of the sacrament. If more than one person in a single car wishes to confess, the Church will be open for people to wait their turn so only one person need be in the car at a time. If a non-driver wishes to make a Confession, the driver can pull up, exit the car and return after the Confession is complete. Please note that the confessions will only be face to face.
Online Giving. Fr. Reidy has spoken to Wes Snow, our Parish Council Chair, and Greg Tjamparis, our Finance Committee Chair and all agreed that we will do everything we can to keep our staff employed by the parish during these days of reduced parish activity. During the slowdown, Deacon Rich, who doubles as our part-time janitor, will be doing some special projects like shampooing carpets in the parish center and Church and, when the weather cooperates, shifting to some early Spring outdoor cleanup tasks. Kim Brown will be working to continue remotely the CCD and sacramental preparation for our young people who are at home. Andy Gage, our secretary will be continuing to manage tasks from home. We have good people here and we want to be sure we extend ourselves to help them and their families through this stretch. But in doing that and in maintaining the well-being of our parish, we need your help – to the extent you are able. Some of you may have been laid off or had a reduction in your own hours. We understand that if that is your case, you may not be able to support Saint Denis Parish in the way you would like. For those who are able, we would urge your continued support of our parish through online giving (please see the nearby box) or by dropping your check in the mail to us. Although we are not having public liturgies and assemblies for the moment, our bills for heat, insurance, payroll and the like continue. Thank you for your generous support of Saint Denis Parish.
Saint Vincent de Paul Our parish Saint Vincent de Paul Society helps many
Ashburnham residents in our community throughout the
year with essential needs that they are unable to
meet. During this time of uncertainty and cutbacks, we want
our parishioners who might need help to know that the Saint
Vincent de Paul Society which they have supported in good
times is ready to help them in their need now. If you need
help, please call 978-790-1923.
MANY THANKS
A tip of the hat and thanks from the heart. We are very grateful to Beth and David Wojnas for “
hosting” last weekend’s St Paddy’s Day Dinner. Beth demonstrated not just her culinary skills with a delicious corned beef and cabbage dinner but great
flexibility in changing the sit-down dinner to an entirely take out meal. We are also grateful to those who helped with the distribution of the dinners from the parking lot. In this unsettled time in our country and world may we all have the flexibility to adapt
and accommodate for when we do, in the end,
things can work out just fine.
Online Giving Instructions
Online giving is easier than you think. All you need is a computer or phone and a credit card or even
direct bank transfer. You can do a one time
payment or set up weekly or monthly payments. If
you are not sure try a one time payment to check it
out. Our site is fully secured and private. 1) Go to: www.stdenisashburnham.com
2) Choose “Online Giving” from top bar.
3) Click “Offertory”
4) “Chose A Fund” (i.e. Sunday Mass Offertory)
5) Add Amount and check checkbox to make it a
recurring payment. 6) Follow the prompts to edit payment data
7) Click “Submit”
Online Giving will instruct you how to enter
payment and set up a account if you choose to. By
setting up an account you can change your giving at
any time, check how much you have given, provide a steady income for your church even when you are
away on vacation or worse a pandemic strikes that
disrupts all business. No bounced check fees, and
if you give a small amount every week you do not
even notice it. I also use the Credit Card which provides protection from fraud.
PARTNERS IN CHARITY Just as our parish needs your continued support to maintain its staff and programs, so too, the Diocese needs your continued support for its charitable, educational and pastoral activities. Each year tens of thousands of people throughout Worcester County benefit from the work of 25 diocesan programs that are supported by Partners in Charity. In normal times an in-pew appeal is made during Lent for your support. These are not normal times and the needs are even greater. Instead of a Lenten in-pew appeal, a direct mailing from the Diocese is being made to appeal for your support. As with your support to the parish, we understand that some of you may have lost your jobs or had you hours reduced and may not be in a position at present to make a gift to Partners in Charity. If, however, you are in a position to make a gift to the 2020 Partners in Charity Appeal, we would ask that you either make use of the return envelope in the Diocesan mailing or make an online gift through our parish website or directly with the Diocese at https://partners-charity.net/donate. Please note that Saint Denis Parish will receive credit for your gift even if you make it directly to the Diocese. On behalf of the tens of thousands of people who benefit from Partners in Charity Programs, we thank you for your consideration of this request.
PRAYER IN TIME OF PANDEMIC
O God, whose Only Begotten Son bore
the weight of human suffering for our salvation,
hear the prayers of your Church for our sick brothers
and sisters and deliver us from this time of trial.
Open our ears and our hearts
to the voice of your Son:
Be not afraid, for I am with you always.
Bless all doctors and nurses, researchers
and public servants;
give us the wisdom to do what is right
and the faith to endure this hour,
that we might gather once again to praise your name
in the heart of your Church,
delivered from all distress
and confident in your mercy.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Church Open/Parish Office Closed.
Please note that the Father Lacey Center and the Parish Office will be closed until April 7. The Church will be opened Monday through Friday from 8 am to 8 pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to noon. Please come by to pray in the presence of Our Lord at Saint Denis Church. Please
respect social distancing in the Church as well as a maximum occupancy of 9 at any one time
Spiritual Reflections
While we are not able to assemble together this Lent for Mass, Stations of the Cross and Educational Programs, we can still make this season a time of renewal and deepening of our prayer. Fr. Reidy gave a three night mission at Saint John’s Church in Clinton during the first week of Lent. His talks were on prayer, fasting and almsgiving, the three traditional pillars of Lent. We are printing those talks in our electronic bulletin, beginning today. You might read them either for your spiritual edification or for penance, however they strike you!
Consecration of Our Diocese
This past Wednesday, March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Bishop McManus traveled to six Churches throughout our Diocese—from Saint Paul Cathedral in Worcester, to Saint Cecelia’s in Leominster, to Holy Rosary in Gardner, to Saint John’s in Clinton, to Saint Luke in Westborough to Saint Joseph Basilica in Webster to consecrate our Diocese to Mary’s protection in this time of pandemic. May we all join in prayer for the sick, dying and dead as well as those isolated and struggling and for health care workers.
Keep in touch with what is happening in the church by using
our online version of the Catholic Free Press
www.catholicfreepress.org digital.catholicfreepress.org
The Catholic Free Press
Renew home delivery by using your envelope
or Online Giving on the parish website
If you receive the Catholic Free Press
through the Parish, please donate this
March using Online Giving!
Special Highlights | Information
Special Highlights | Upcoming Events| Offertory Update
Let us honor God with our first fruits rather than the leftovers
During this time of trial where the parish will be closed due to virus concerns. We still need to maintain our church. Please consider donating through Online Giving to keep the parish
strong! You may also mail in your envelopes to: St Denis Parish, 85 Main St., Ashburnham, MA 01430.
3/22/20 Online Giving $ 365.00 Total $ 365.00
Thank you for your generous support of the parish. Your weekly financial support enables
Saint Denis to provide for the community.
Notices for Corona Virus situation
Governor of Massachusetts has ordered all
businesses and organizations closed until at least
April 7th.
Closures:
• No Masses Saturday & Sunday
• No Daily Communion Services
• Religious Ed Closed until further notice
• Knights of Columbus Meetings
• Marriage Matters
• Ladies Spiritual Enhancement Group
• Keygma Prayer Bible Study
• Stations of the Cross
• All Parish meetings
• Parish Business Office Closed (Except phone, online)
Still open:
It is requested that anyone sick or has a sick family member
voluntarily not come to these events, to avoid spread of virus.
• Individual Prayer in the Church
Open 8am– 8pm Daily and 8am—noon Sat & Sunday
Please note Minimum Distance 6+ feet between people
• Confession by Appointment (In parking lot)
• Annointing of the sick, Please Call 978-827-5806
Special Priest assigned to this duty
• Funerals (Immediate Family only)
• Phone, E-mail and Web services
• St Vincent De Paul - 978-790-1923
Having trouble surviving due to the Coronavirus?
St Vincent De Paul may be able to help. Please call us for
Knights of Columbus May Calendar Raffle This may be your only chance to participate in our calendar as we may not
get a chance to sell it after Masses. Help support the Knights and get 31
chances to win. Just click below and use Credit Card or Paypal
http://ash-westkofc.org/donations-oppotunities
This list is for Club 240 tickets.
From Knights of Columbus
Below is the list of names draw
so far for the Club 240 Raffle
that the Knights of Columbus
held recently.
1) Dave Cote 2/01/20 $20
2) Janeen Quintal 2/08/20 $20
3) D. Bourgeois 2/15/20 $20
4) Mike (O'Brien) 2/22/20 $20
5) C. Reitz 2/29/20 $20
6) Dave Cote 3/07/20 $20
7) Mark Lebla 3/14/20 $20
8) Tom O’Toole 3/21/20 $20
9) Harry Bellabarba 3/28/20 $20
More names will be drawn in the coming weeks
as the Coronavirus allows. The final Grand
prizes will be drawn at the Father’s Day
breakfast June 14th 2020. Hopefully, the virus
will have passed by then.
Grand Prize and Top 5 Prizes chosen at
Sponsored by
Council #15972
Knights
Of Columbus
In service to One, in service to all
Next Week: Mar 29th, 2020|The Fifth Sunday of Lent| Ez 37: 12-14, Rom 8: 8-11, John 11: 1-45
Please Pray for the intentions of these people at home and go on
our website to watch Sunday and Daily Masses.
Fr Reidy will be saying mass for these intentions as well.
Sat 3/28 4:30 pm Fr Memo
Happy Birthday Wishes
By Parish Family
Sun 3/29 8:00 am Fr. Memo
By Paula & Ron StPierre
10:30 am The people of St Denis Parish
Fr Reidy’s Reflection
From: Lenten Mission at St. John’s in Clinton - Prayer
First Night 2020
1. At his audience talk on Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis suggested
that Lent is a time to give up useless words, chatter, rumor, gossip,
and to speak directly to God. He also observed that in a world in
which we struggle to distinguish the voice of God, Jesus calls us into
the desert to listen to what matters.
2. “To speak directly to God” and “to listen to what matters” is a
pretty good definition of prayer. Saint Teresa of Avila, Carmelite
mystic, Doctor of the Church, and sure guide in the spiritual life called
prayer “an intimate sharing between friends,” the ultimate goal of
which is union with God. Union with God is the purpose of Lent, it also
is the purpose of life. As a monk at Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer
once said, “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek
him the greatest adventure; to find him, the great human
achievement.”
3. In his Apostolic Exhortation at the beginning of the Millennium,
Pope Saint John Paul the Great wrote that “it would be a contradiction
to settle for a life of mediocrity marked by a minimalist ethic and
shallow religiosity.” Rather, he said, “the time has come to re-propose
wholeheartedly to everyone the high standard of Christian living. The
whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must
be led in this direction.” And what is that direction? What is that
standard of Christian living? Holiness. To know, love, and do God’s will
in every aspect of our lives. To do that John Paul quotes Jesus’
exhortation to Peter, “Duc in altum,” “Put out into the deep.”
4. Lent is the season when we re-orient ourselves more closely to God
and to His will. When we turn from the shores and shoals of our sins
and put into the deep to return to the One who calls us and to whom
by Baptism we belong. To do that Lent gives us three traditional
means, Prayer, Penance, and Almsgiving; each aims at
holiness and furthering union with God. Prayer, Penance,
and Almsgiving will be the topics for the three nights of our
Mission. Tonight, prayer.
5. According to one biographer, one of the most important
moments in the life of young Karol Wojtyla came during the
Nazi occupation of Krakow when the future John Paul II met
a 40 year old tailor. A high-strung former accountant who
lacked formal philosophical or theological training, Jan
Tyranowski was a mystic -- one devoted to deep prayer
who John Paul II would say “lived a very personal
experience of God.” Tyranowski, whose sanctity was deeply
inspiring, became a mentor to Karol Wojtyla, introducing
him to the works of Saint Teresa of Avila and another
Carmelite mystic, Saint John of the Cross. George Weigel
wrote” Karol had always prayed - now he prayed as a
means of entering God’s presence so that that experience
animated every aspect of life, not merely in moments of
contemplation. Weigel also wrote ‘under the tutelage of
the unexpected apostle Jan Tyranowski and amid the
madness of the Nazi occupation, the imitation of Christ
through the complete handing over of every worldly
security to the merciful will of God seized Karol Wojtyla’s
imagination. Over time it would become the defining
characteristic of his own discipleship such that another
eastern block observer called him “a man utterly without
fear.”
6. John Paul II lacked fear because he knew Christ
possessed him and he utterly trusted Him. Such fruits of
prayer, such practical, powerful, and potent fruits are not
just the blessings of the deep prayer of a Polish Pope,
Carmelite mystics, or saints whose statues and images
surround us, but they are the fruits of the deep prayer of an
accountant, tailor and of all the baptized who set out into
the deep, stay the course, and persevere in the universal
call to holiness.
7. John Paul II himself wrote that “it would be wrong to
think that ordinary Christians can be content with a shallow
prayer life that is unable to fill their whole life...Prayer
cannot be taken for granted. If we do, we would become
not only mediocre Christians, but Christians at risk...the
insidious risk of seeing their faith progressively
undermined, perhaps ending up succumbing to the allure of
“substitutes,” accepting alternative proposals, and even
indulging in farfetched superstition.” (Duc in Altum 34, 33).
Rather, we have “a duty to show to what depths the
relationship with Christ can lead. Christian life must be
distinguished above all in the art of prayer.”
8. Of course, there are different types of prayer. Liturgy is the
official public worship of the Church joining together in Christ’s
prayer to the Father in the Holy Spirit. It includes the Mass, the
source and summit of Christian life, the other sacraments, the
Divine Office, other services, wake services, the Liturgy of the
Word. Jesus shows us liturgical prayer when He goes to the
synagogue on the Sabbath and the Temple in Jerusalem for
Passover.
We also have devotions--- prayers, hymns, observances of
times and places, and of relationship to the Faithful, with
divine persons, with the saints. Devotions also include
Benediction, the Rosary, the litanies, prayers for the souls in
purgatory, and vigils. These can be public; “where two or more
gather in my name, I am present.” We also have private prayer,
which Jesus gives us an example of when he “goes off alone”
for the night to pray.
9. We must every Sunday and Holy Day participate in the Mass
coming together as God’s flock. But we also need our daily
devotional prayer, public and or at least private.
10. There are three expressions of prayer identified by the
Catechism.
1) Vocal prayer is prayers and words we recite, preeminently
the Lord ’s Prayer taught by Christ, the Rosary, Litanies,
Chaplets, or words we compose as in a conversation speaking
to God. These frequently include our petitions, asking God for
things we want or need for ourselves, but also intercessory
prayers for others. Petitionary and Intercessory prayers are
good, natural, and pleasing to God, but do not stop there. Even
better, do not start there. Rather, begin with blessing,
adoration, praise and thanksgiving for God’s goodness, love,
gifts, and promises.
2) The second expression of prayer is Meditative Prayer where
we reflect on a passage of Sacred Scripture, a scene from the
Gospel, a mystery of Christ’s life, death and Resurrection, the
words of the Our Father, or the mysteries of the Rosary. Here
we are not reading the Sacred Scripture to finish the Bible or
reflecting on a mystery or to learn theology, rather we use our
reason, imagination, and desire to perhaps ask “what is God
revealing about Himself in this passage?” “what is he asking of
me in it?” “What does it mean for me in the concrete
experience of my life?” Then we come to a practical resolution
to put it into practice and give thanks to God.
3) Lastly there is Contemplative Prayer which can be
understood in a number of ways. Carmelites practice a high
level of contemplative prayer that is given by God. No words,
not even a mental concept, simply a loving, abiding gaze in the
presence of God. Contemplative prayer is exemplified by an
elderly peasant who spent hours on end in the little parish
Church in Ars, France. When asked by the pastor, St. John
Vianney, about his prayer with Jesus, the old man simply
replied “I look at Him and He looks at me.”
11. Before my prolixity indicts me against Jesus warning of
running on with multiplication of words, let me offer a few final
thoughts.
1) When you start to pray, ask God’s help to focus. Clear your
head of the parishioner who cut you off from your parking spot
on the way in, and from your dinner after Mass. Ask for God to
help you...to pray deeply and well.
2) Your mind will wander in prayer, don’t panic, gently bring it
back to God.
3) Like Jesus, seek solitude and silence. It helps to eliminate
distractions and is essential for deep prayer and intimate
conversation.
4) Do not pray primarily to get something, rather pray first to
give something--- yourself, your time, your focus to God.
5) Do not measure the efficacy of your prayer by spine tingling
raptures or personal revelations from God. These are dangers
to humility and can be distractions from the Devil. Rather,
measure your progress in prayer by how well you are living the
Gospel in your life.
12. Do not fear dry spells, they happen to all, including the
greatest saints. Persevere because in continuing on your prayer
is purer. In such times of dryness, you are praying to God for
who He is, not for His gifts and consolations. Do not worry
about methods of prayer, postures, breathing and the like. Pray
daily and deeply with perseverance and as a person that seeks
to give your whole self to God. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you
pray well, live well, and to strengthen you, enlighten you, to
detach yourself from worldly things so that you can know, love,
and do His will in your life. Bring to Him your hopes and
dreams, your fears and failures. Hold nothing back. Seek Him
and you will find Him.
13. In theology, the catechism, CCD, and Bible Study we can
learn about God. In prayer, guided by God’s Revelation, the
Sacred Scripture, Tradition of the Church and Liturgy, we not
only learn about God, we know Him ---- Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
14. Jesus said, “I come to cast fire upon the earth, and would
that it were already kindled.” My friends, may the discipline of
a good Lent strengthen your faith, and increase your holiness
that our love for God may burn brighter and the light of that
love might give greater glory to God, offer better witness to our
world, and draw us into a deeper union with our Savior.