Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Merrimack NH November 11, 2018

SATURDAY, November 10th Vigil: Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

4:30PM: Mary Far iz 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 Ar lene 10:30AM: Freder ick & Grace Savard & Eloi Lantiegne req by the Lantiegne family

Monday, November 12th NO MASS

Tuesday, November 13th St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, Virgin

8:10AM: Morning Prayer 8:30AM: Candice St.Andre req by a fr iend

Wednesday, November 14th 8:10AM: Morning Prayer 8:30AM: For deceased pr iest of the Diocese

Thursday, November 15th NO MASS

Friday, November 16th NO MASS

SATURDAY, November 17th

Vigil: Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 4:30PM: For the intentions of Rosemary & Isabella Clougherty req by their family

SUNDAY, November 18th Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

8:30AM: Teresa Fleming req by the Fleming family 10:30AM: Al Iannacone req by his wife & family and for all parishioners

A Lot of Nerve

I always thought it took a lot of nerve for Eli-jah to beg that poor woman for a meal. Even though, during a long drought, she has only a bit of her food to give to her son, he still asks her to make a little cake for himself. It would be easier to understand if we heard the verse before this reading begins: God tells the prophet that he has “commanded a widow…to feed you.” (1Kgs 17:9)

Now the widow was not aware of this com-mand. But she does as Elijah asked. That took even more faith than Elijah showed. She was afraid for her-self and the boy. But she had enough faith to risk the last of her food to help someone else. She shows us that we are obeying God’s commands when we trust him. Most of those commands come not from a vision, but from someone’s cry for help.

I wonder how many good people have passed up a chance to do God’s will because they didn’t hear directly from God what to do. When you hear that a tornado destroyed a nearby neighborhood, do you hear God asking you to help? Do you hear God’s voice when you read in the bulletin that the food pantry is running low? When a storm knocks out the power on your block, do you think God is asking you to check on the elderly widow next door?

And if you do hear God calling in these exam-ples, how do you respond? You can be like the rich people in the gospel and just give your ten percent. Or do you have the faith of the woman whose few cents were all that she had. It takes a lot of courage to trust God completely. Do you have what it takes? Tom Schmidt, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

PRAYER GROUP

The Our Lady of Mercy Prayer Group will not be meeting during the month of November. We will resume meeting beginning on December 3, 2018. The Prayer Group meets every Monday from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Please joins us begin-ning in December whenever you are able.

All Saints’ Day: $1256.00 All Souls’ Day: $820.00 Weekend of November 4, 2018: $5642.00

Week #14: Theresa Collins & Pamela Coppinger Congratulations !!!

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.

OUR LADY OF MERCY PARISH MERRIMACK, NH

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.

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 sup-port of our annual Food Drive will help make a fulfilling holiday possible for many families this season and also con-tinue 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 benefit-ted 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,

BLOOD DRIVE

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 1-800-733-2767 or visit redcrossblood.org to schedule an appointment. Appointments are encouraged, but walk ins are always welcome.

The Sanctuary Lamp for the week November 10th through November 16th is lit in memory of deceased members of our parish. Please call the parish office if your would like the Sanctuary Lamp lit in memory of or for the intentions of a loved one.

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 Gos-pel; it is the only gospel with a Greek/Gentile au-thor. 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.

CHRISTMAS WREATH PROGRAM St. Louis, St. Francis Xavier & St Stanislaus cemeteries

Nashua, NH

If you would like to have a beautiful balsam Christmas wreath placed on the lot of your family members this Holy Christmas season, the cemetery is now taking orders for wreaths. The price of a wreath is $38.00. Wreaths will be placed by the first week of December, the start of Advent. If you wish to purchase a wreath, please place your or-der by November 23rd. All Chr istmas décor will be re-moved by the cemetery staff beginning after Epiphany, as weather permits. If you have any questions, or would like additional infor-mation, please call the Cemetery Office at 886-1302 for St Louis, St. Francis Xavier and St Stanislaus cemeteries.

Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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 anni-versary 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: $195.00 per person for double occupancy, $178.00 for triple and $168 for four. We will be having a meatball fundraiser to help defray the cost of this trip for our pa-rishioners. If you have any questions or would like more infor-mation, please contact Deacon John Castelot: deacon-john@olmnh.org.

The Vaping Epidemic

SADD (students against Destructive Decisions) will be offering an informational seminar to members of the Merrimack community regarding the vaping epidemic.

When: November 14th—6 to 8 pm Where: Merr imack High School Little Theatre Who: Guest speakers include police officers, health professionals, and a speaker from the New England Poison Control Center

It is our hope that this will raise community awareness and the dangers of vaping. If you have any questions, please email Mallory.Higgins @sau26.org.

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 424-2362.

Thank You From the Ladies Guild

The Ladies Guild would like to thank all who made the Chinese auction a success at the Knights of Columbus Craft Fair. We thank those who donated gift cards, made baskets and to local merchants who generously donated items. We would also like to thank the ladies who sold raffle tickets, baked and supported the fair in all areas. A special thank you goes to the Knights who helped us set up and called the ticket numbers. All proceeds from the Chinese auction is given back for the needs of the parish.

Thank you from the K of C

The Knights of Columbus Council 6725 would like to thank everyone in the parish for your support of our 19th annual Craft Fair. We thank everyone who came to the fair to support all our vendors and the Ladies Guild’s auction as well as all the people that worked at the event to make it successful. We’d especially like to thank everyone who donated baked goods for our bake table and food items for our kitchen. The proceeds of the craft fair go directly to support chari-ties. We could not achieve success without the help of so many generous people in our faith community.

Thanksgiving is embedded in our nation-al 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 20th @ 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.

Information Page

Acct #: 694750 Our Lady of Mercy Parish 16 Baboosic Lake Road Merrimack, NH 03054 Contact Person: Kathleen Rush Phone: (603) 424-4477 or (603) 424-3757 Fax: (603) 424-1780 Email Address: kjrush1@olmnh.org

Bulletin for November 11, 2018 Kathy