103 Walker Street, Manchester, NH 03102
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
12 noon
8:30 am
6 pm
DAILY LITURGY SCHEDULE
Wednesday, 11:30 am; Friday, 5:30 pm;
Saturday, 3:30 pm; Sunday, 4:30 pm
CONFESSION & RECONCILIATION
WEEKEND LITURGY SCHEDULE
Saturday:
Sunday:
4 pm (Vigil)
7:30 am, 9:30 am, 5 pm
CONTINUING DEVOTIONS
Novena to the Archangels: Fridays, 6:45 pm, unless Adoration Adoration of Blessed Sacrament: 1st Friday of each month, 6:45 pm Rosary: Months of May & October, Saturdays at 3:35 pm; Wednesdays at 12:35 pm
OFFICE HOURS
Monday—Friday 9 am to 12 pm; 1:30 to 4 pm
WWW.ST-RAPHAEL-PARISH.ORG
Saint Raphael Parish
Welcome to the Benedictine Catholic Community of
PARISH OFFICE 603.623.2604
PASTORAL TEAM & SUPPORT STAFF
Rev. Jerome Joseph Day, O.S.B., Ph.D., Pastor
Kerri Stanley, Parish Secretary, Director of Liturgy Nina Lukens, Catechetical Coordinator
Therese Dame, Religious Education Consultant
Dorene Turner, Director of Food Pantry & Hope Chest
Ray Clement, Director of Facilities Don Provencher, Facilities Assistant
Lyle Hamel, Director of Choir & Principal Organist
Scott Bergendahl, Jonathan Cote, Gerry LeBlond, Organists
Tom Larson et al., Catholic Basics Choir;
Amber Byron, Judy Costigan, Erin McCahon, Caresse Mailloux, Melanie
Noonan, Cantors
@SaintRaphaelParish
saint_raphael_parish_nh
@SaintRaphaelManch
Founded in 1888, Saint Raphael is a Roman Catholic parish, confided to the care of the Bene-dictine monks of Saint Anselm Abbey, in the Dio-cese of Manchester. The first Benedictine foun-dation in New England, the parish is a tithing community, endeavoring to return to the Lord in time, treasure and talent some of the blessings He bestows upon us. The parish strives to return 10 percent, the biblical standard, of gifts it receives
March 22, 2020
Fourth (Laetare) Sunday of Lent
The sanctuary candle burns this week
for Maurice Doucet and Eileen
Doucet Audet by Lionel & Lillian
Coulon.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Saint Benedict Academy (Pre-K—6): Brandy Houle, principal 603.669.3932 85 Third St., Manchester, NH 03102
Saint Joseph Regional Catholic School (7—8): Dawn Florino, principal 603.624.4811 148 Belmont St., Manchester, NH 03103
Holy Family Academy (7-12): Mark Gillis, head of school 603.644.7247 281 Cartier St., Manchester, NH 03102
Trinity High School (9-12): Steven F. Gadecki, principal 603.668.2910 581 Bridge St., Manchester, NH 03104
Monday: Is 65:17-21; Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b; Jn 4:43-54 Tuesday: Ez 47:1-9, 12; Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9; Jn 5:1-16 Wednesday: Is 7:10-14; 8:10; Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38 Thursday: Ex 32:7-14; Ps 106:19-20, 21-22, 23; Jn 5:31-47 Friday: Wis 2:1a, 12-22; Ps 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23; Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Saturday: Jer 11:18-20; Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12; Jn 7:40-53 Sunday: Ez 37:12-14; Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; Rom 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45 or Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
On Monday, Mar. 16, the food pantry served 17 families and gave out 30 bags of groceries. The need for our Lenten Food Col-lection for the Food Pantry is ongoing. Items requested for this week are as follows: Bar of soap, Tuna Helper, laundry detergent, canned fruit, jar of
marshmallow fluff, baked beans/ If you shop Hannaford-to-Go, we can really put the bags to good use as well as any paper and/or plastic shopping bags! If you would like to drop off on the rectory side porch, your donation would be greatly appreciated!
of March 22, 2020
eGiving ... Did you know you can use your credit card or elec-tronic check to support the mis-sion of Saint Raphael Parish?
This is especially helpful during this period when Masses have been suspended. Go to our website (www.st-raphael-parish.org) and click on the Giving button. In a few minutes, you can be sure that your gift will work every day of the year to help your parish.
Weekend of March 15, 2020 Regular Offertory $2,460.00 Loose Offertory 406.15 Online Offertory Prev Week 642.00 Total Offertory $3,508.15
Stewardship make up $ 384.00
Food Pantry $ 20.00
Last Year Weekend of March 17, 2019 Total Offertory $ $4,258.30
Saturday March 21
12:00 PM Patricia Proulx (30th anniv) by her family
Sunday March 22 Fourth Sunday of Lent
10:30 AM Helen & Edward Sullivan by Christine Sullivan-McCann Linda Paris (15th anniv) by Bill Paris ❖Our Parish Family
Monday March 23 Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo
12:00 PM The Helpers by Mary McGuire Lussier
Tuesday March 24 Saint Oscar Romero
12:00 PM Available intention
Wednesday March 25 The Annunciation of the Lord
12:00 PM Annunciation of the Lord Mass for Our Parish Family
Thursday March 26
12:00 PM Available intention
Friday March 27
12:00 PM Available intention
Saturday March 28
Intention moved to Sunday
Sunday March 29 Fourth Sunday of Lent
10:30 AM Charles & Simone Richard by a friend ❖Our Parish Family Edward Bolton by Diane Bolton
Amy Allard by Jack & Colleen Byrne
Year A
Masses will be celebrated each day, despite the
fact that they are closed to the general public.
Please call the office at 623.2604 if you’d like
to take any of the available intentions.
Saint Raphael Parish will live stream daily
Masses Monday through Friday at noon from
our Facebook page and YouTube channel:
Saint Raphael Parish Manchester NH. Sunday
Mass will be at 10:30 AM. You can also take
advantage of other programming options,
such as Boston Catholic TV, which can be ac-
cessed in NH on cable channel 268, and
EWTN.
Until further notice, Tues-day’s Parish Nurse pro-gram is canceled.
March 22, 2020
Paul Barnes, Sue Beauchemin, T. Michael Collins, Jimmy Couture, Lil-
lie Duquette, Eric Featherman, Kim Mailloux, Mikki Margaritis, Chris-
tine McMillan, Max Mendez, Marcia Santos, Marie Sullivan and Ger-
maine Yergeau.
If you or a loved one would like your name on the prayer list, please call
Kerri Stanley at 623.2604, or email [email protected]. Please
call each month to have the name put back on the list. Thank you!
We regret cancellation of our Saint Patrick’s Dinner last Saturday, March 14, 2020. We appreciate the un-derstanding and support of all. Because the corned beef was a special order and was being cooked when the decision was made, we were obligated to pay the caterer. In an effort to avoid a financial loss, we had 100 corned beef meals made and offered them to parishioners last weekend. Our thanks to all who purchased a
meal and supported these efforts. We sold out! In the end, we came out ahead by $212.76. Not the fundraiser we’d expected, but not a loss either! It is our hope to hold a fundraising fellowship event in the near future. Maybe May, but perhaps in September, a “Halfway to Saint Patrick’s Day” event? Donated raffle items will be held for this event or at another SRP fundraising activity. Unless the pastor finds the hoverboard and starts jetting around Granite Square!
“The Lord looks on the
heart.” Are you being
called to do the deeds
of Christ as a priest or
in the consecrated life,
proclaiming the reign
of the loving mercy of
God our Father? Call
Father Matthew Mason
663-0132, or write:
Upcoming Events for Middle and High School Youth Ministry.
Cleaning Saint Raphael for Holy Week
Seder with both Sr. & Jr. High groups
Middle school group only
HOLIDAY & VACATION WEEK
Sr. High middle school group
Middle school group only
Last class Sr. High and middle school
groups
Saturday, Apr. 4, 9 am - 12 pm
Monday, Apr. 13, 6:30 - 8 pm
Monday, Apr. 20, 6:30 - 8 pm
Monday, Apr. 27—NO CLASS
Monday, May 4, 6:30 - 8 pm
Monday, May 11, 6:30 - 8 pm
Monday, May 18, 6:30 - 8 pm
card. Purple pamphlets with names and
As things evolve, we will update the schedule should any
events beyond March need to be canceled.
Reading I: I Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a God chooses David, Jesse’s youngest son, to be His anointed one, and Samuel complies. This story also contains an element of fear of Saul. Reading II: Ephesians 5: 8-14 There is a clear contrast made between Christian and pagan life, in terms of light and darkness. The Gospel: John 9: 1-41 The essence of the “sixth sign” is not simply that a man’s sight is restored, but that light is given to one who has never had it. The Pharisees ironically illustrate true blindness, not of the eyes but of the heart.
Lenten Prayer: Help me be patient on
my Lenten journey and open to the grace
that will help me recognize opportunities to
reach out to others, especially during this
critical period in which we are living.
Nursing Home and Homebound greetings Remember
our SRP parishioners and friends in nursing homes or homebound. Send an Easter greeting card. Call the office to have the list emailed to you, or go to our website to
download the pamphlet.
The meeting sched-
uled for Tuesday,
March 24, at 6:30
PM has been canceled. Information will be
forthcoming for a reschedule date.
From the Pastor: Fr. Jerome Joseph Day, O.S.B.
Disciplines of Lent can teach us how to cope with disruption, fear of Covid-19
More than 17 centuries ago, Saint Jerome
looked upon refugees streaming into his mon-
astery in Bethlehem, the birthplace of the
Savior he had served so fully and nobly all his
life, with horror. He welcomed them, of
course, as brothers and sisters in the Lord who
needed assistance, protection and encourage-
ment, but his horror came from the fear in
their voices and on their faces. They had fled
from Rome, and brought news of the unthink-
able: the imperial capital, the city that was
queen of the world had fallen to barbarians.
Despite his worries, Saint Jerome, the man
who translated the biblical Word of God into
the language of Roman power and law, Latin,
went to work translating the circumstances of
the new residents of Bethlehem into order,
security and compassion. He figured out how
to feed, clothe, house, heal and console his
brothers and sisters – and he recognized that
the cross of Christ comes in many forms and
shapes. Ever the realist, Jerome recognized
the challenges he faced, including the uncer-
tain prospect of barbarian violence even in the
land of Israel. But as a man of faith and love,
he realized that God was giving him an oppor-
tunity to embrace the cross – and in so doing
experience the transformation of spirit at the
heart of Christian life.
The relentless spread of the novel corona-
virus, the health problem we Americans face,
confronts nations around the world. That sum-
mons us to look for a global
solution even as we tend to
the immediate needs in our
own communities and na-
tions. At this writing, Friday,
March 20, 2020, the number
of reported cases is moving
toward 250,000, a quarter
million, worldwide, with
14,250 here in the U.S. The
number of deaths now ex-
ceeds 10,000 globally, with
205 here at home. The na-
tional state of emergency declared by Presi-
dent Trump is designed to facilitate health
policy, financial assistance and federal re-
sources to assist communities and states in
need. Likewise, his declaration helps focus
national attention on the seriousness of the
problem.
Ironically, and yet appropriately in many
respects, this challenge occurs during Lent,
the Christian season of prayer and penitence.
It is a time when we confront our own sin and
failure, seek to grown in humility and contri-
tion, and make efforts to deepen our prayer,
enhance our self-discipline and enlarge our
generosity. Could there be a more appropriate
time for us at Saint Raphael, and indeed for
the whole American Catholic
community, to place our response
to Covid-19 within a Lenten
framework? As our petitions at
Mass for the past several weeks
have said: “We pray for all those
claimed by or suffering from the
novel coronavirus, and for all
those caring for patients, re-
searching remedies and organiz-
ing public policy at home and
abroad, we pray to the Lord.”
To that end, let us endeavor to
do some of the following:
►Recognize that this disease is
real and can have deadly conse-
quences for those within high-risk
groups. Those with compromised
respiratory and immune systems,
those over age 60, and those with-
out access to adequate medical
care need our attention, care and
support. We need to stop acting
and thinking this is a hoax, the
consequence of an unhinged me-
dia or a political plot, even though
there are some who still exagger-
ate, distort and dissemble for eco-
nomic or partisan gain. To reject
the truth has moral and health
consequences.
►Cooperate as best we can with the recom-
mendations, and in now,
orders of public authorities
following the recommenda-
tions of health officials. Re-
strictions on our freedom of
association and movement
are difficult, but they are
frequently necessary, some-
times vitally so. The sooner
American society is able to
“flatten out” the statistical
curve of infection transmis-
sion through testing, identifi-
cation, restricted access and even quarantine,
the sooner the rate of infections will fall. The
quicker infections fall, the safer at-risk groups
will be and the sooner we will be able to re-
sume normal activities.
►Be sensible in provisioning the home.
Hoarding will create the very crisis those
stockpiling beyond reason fear. Strive to be
generous. Avoid blaming Covid-19 on any
particular group; we are all vulnerable in an
interconnected world.
►Reach out to those who may be or may feel
isolated and alone, encourage those who are
vulnerable and fearful and discover the many
ways of showing love and friendship that do
not require physical contact.
Lent is a time of discipline. “Ascetical” is
not an adjective our culture much employs,
because ascetics is not a practice it much en-
joys. The ancient Christian tradition of self-
denial, that is, refusing good things for the
sake of even better things, is not far from
what health authorities want us to undertake.
We give up shaking hands, embracing friends
and sharing food and drink from the same
containers so that we can stop infection in its
tracks – and protect ourselves and those we
love.
►Obtain our news from legitimate news or-
ganizations and health authorities, not from
social media, hearsay or partisan shills. Ru-
mor-mongering or know-it-all dismissals can
lead to panic on one hand and apathy on the
other; neither does much to help protect those
at risk and prevent the spread of infection.
Saint Jerome, my monastic patron, was some-
thing of a lion when the truth was at stake. He
knew that only be standing in the truth of
God’s love and the realities we confront could
a prudent response to danger and disruption
be a means to compassion. May we learn from
him as we address the novel coronavirus pan-
demic with prayer and good sense.
© Rev. Jerome Joseph Day, O.S.B.