TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME + SEPTEMBER 20, 2009
On the Way....Several of you have asked me questions about the upcoming re-translation of the parts of the Mass. One way to try to understand this is to remember that we use two books at Mass: the Lectionary and the Sacramentary. The Lectionary contains the readings from the Old and New Testaments, the Psalms used at Mass and the Alleluia verse. The Lectionary has already been translated, and the version we use at Mass has been approved by the Bishops of the United States as well as the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship. The Bible you have at home is not affected! The second volume is the Sacramentary, which contains all of the prayers for the Mass; the Opening Prayer, Prayer over the Gifts, Closing Prayer, Prefaces and Eucharistic Prayers, as well as the dialogues between the priest and people. The Vatican has asked all English-speaking countries of the world to use the same translation. At the initial translation from the Latin some 40 years ago there were different translations in the different countries of the world. The Vatican Congregation and the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) have been working for nearly a decade to perform this task. The final version is now finally on its way to Rome for final review, publication and printing. It should be ready and available and effective at the end of 2010 or the very beginning of 2011. Those of you who would like a preview of these translations can do so easily. You can go to the parish website, www.stpeteraub.org , click the icon for the USCCB, click the "Departments" on the top bar, then the bullet "Liturgy". You will find there the "Roman Missal". Or you can go to www.catholicnh.org , go to "Offices and Ministries", to "Worship" where you will see the "Roman Missal Catechesis". I am always available to answer any particular questions you may have.
PARISH NURSE: Friday from 7:30-10:00 am.
WEEKLY OFFERTORY: $5,216
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: $553 to date
NEXT WEEKEND is the annual Collection for Retired Diocesan Priests. The Retirement Fund for Religious that has been taken up over the past 15 years is not for diocesan priests, but for women and men religious (nuns who taught in Catholic school and worked in hospitals, brothers who taught at Catholic high schools, monks, etc). The Diocesan Retired Priests Trust Fund is administered by the Diocese with the assistance of several lay and clergy trustees. None of the funds are used for the support of priests who are restricted from ministry. Because of the salary Diocesan priests receive, most of them are not able to set aside sufficient funds for their basic needs. Each retired priest of the diocese receives a monthly stipend of $1,300 plus health and automobile insurance coverage. The diocese does not provide housing for retired priests. Many live in a private home or apartment and several (such as Msgr. Molan and Fr. Babineau) live in local rectories and pay board and room to the local parish. Diocesan priests who are no longer able to live independently are provided with assisted living and nursing home care on an as-needed basis. Please take time to read the bulletin insert, and consider the number of priests who have served our diocese, many of who you have known, as you make your donation.
LITURGY COMMITTEE MEETING: Tuesday, September 22, at 6:30 pm, in the Rectory Conference Room.
SACRIFICIAL GIVING: Today’s second reading warns that a heart consumed with avarice and envy leads to jealousy, strife, conflicts and disputes. A giving heart, in contrast, can sing instead with the Psalmist, "Freely will I offer you sacrifice; I will praise your name, O Lord, for its goodness."
GROUP WORK CAMP 2010: Any adults interested in being a chaperone or helping to organize and plan our Group Work Camp for next summer are asked to attend a meeting on Sunday, September 20, at 7:00 pm in the parish hall. Any questions, please call Laura Lambert at 483-5125.
ST. PETER CHURCH WOMEN’S GUILD: The first meeting of the 2009-10 year is on Tuesday, September 22, at 7 pm in the Parish Hall Conference Room. All women of the parish 18 and older are cordially invited to become members and enjoy a few pleasant hours with other Guild members every month. It is a time for socialization, outings, prayer, a "night out" in good company. Please come and bring a friend. You may contact Dot Zube at 434-7921 if you have any questions. See you there!
MASS INTENTIONS: All the scheduled weekend Mass Intentions through the first weekend of March are posted on the bulletin board (next to the posted weekly bulletin). If you are having a Mass said for a loved one and would like to present the gifts at the offertory, please sign up on the schedule. If the Mass Intentions is "For all parishioners of St. Peter Church", anyone may sign up to present the gifts.
CHRISTIAN FORMATION NEWS
K-3 DISMISSALS: Next weekend, Sept. 26 and 27, we begin our weekly dismissals during Mass for grades K-3. Children who have registered will meet at the entryway of church before Mass, and Fr. Dumont will bless them and dismiss them to go downstairs with their teachers. They will return following the collection.
CONFIRMATION I & II AND PARENTS: Students and parents are asked to attend the 11:00 Mass on Sunday, October 4. The students and parents will stay in church following Mass, and after a brief overview by Fr. Dumont, the parents will proceed to the Parish Hall with Jake Linxweiler, our Christian Formation Coordinator, to receive detailed information on our Confirmation program. Students will remain in church until 1:00 pm for Class with Fr. Dumont. If you are unable to make this meeting, please call Jake at 669-5134.
TEACHERS NEEDED: Parents of children in Grades K-3 who attend the 11:00 am Mass are asked to seriously consider volunteering as a teacher or an aide. It is a very simple task and does not require much preparation, nor does the session last very long. EVERY parent should take their turn.
There will be a meeting on Monday, Sept. 21, at 7:00 pm, Parish Hall, for K-3 teachers.
The first Generations of Faith session for Grades 4-10 and parents is Sunday, October 18, from 4-6 pm in church. GOF schedules can be found at the entryways to church, along with registration forms.
40 Days for Life - Manchester!!!!
40 Days for Life will be in Manchester, NH, along with over 200 other cities this Fall, from September 23 through November 1. Please join us in our campaign to end abortion with prayer, fasting and peaceful witness at Planned Parenthood, 24 Pennacook Street. The ministry has raised awareness in our community. Before 40 Days, there were only a handful of people praying at the abortion clinic. Many people didn’t even know there was an abortion clinic in Manchester. Now more people come to pray at the clinic, especially on the day they do the surgical abortions. Catholics and Protestants have prayed together, people have stepped forward to help those in crisis pregnancy, and 3 lives THAT WE KNOW OF were saved. If anyone goes to that clinic, feeling alone and desperate, and wondering where the Christians are to help them, some one is there at least an hour each day, Thanks be to God. We do need more people though. Planned Parenthood is open about 47 hours each week. We hope to get enough people to have a presence there 12 hours a day, from 7 am to 7 pm, during the 40 Days. Come to the Kick-off Rally, Tues, Sept 22, 6:30 pm, 24 Pennacook Street.
RCIA - Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults: The Rite of Christian Initiation takes place yearly at the Easter Vigil - Holy Saturday. This is the time when adults who have never been baptized in the Christian faith are baptized. It is also the time when baptized Christians of other Christian denominations are welcomed into the Catholic Church as they make a public profession of faith. This rite is also offered to baptized Catholics who were not fully initiated into the Church (never made their First Communion or Confirmation). As a general rule, this rite is not for adults who have received their First Communion, but never been confirmed. If Confirmation is the only sacrament they have not received, there will be a special course given for them during the year and an adult Confirmation will be held at the Cathedral on a later time in the year. If you or someone you know is a candidate for the Rite of Initiation or if someone is interested in finding out more about what is entailed in the preparation or for adult confirmation, please call Jake Linxweiler at 483-5571. The program will begin in the Fall.
MASS INTENTIONS
Sept. 21, Mon. 7:00 am Intention of the celebrant
Sept. 22, Tue. 7:00 am Walter and Jeanne Champagne by Marcel and Deb Champagne
Sept. 23, Wed. 7:00 am Intention of the celebrant
Sept. 26, Sat. 4:00 pm Victor and Delia Briand by the family
Sept. 27, Sun. 8:00 am Odilon Proulx (13th Ann.) by his family
Sept. 27, Sun. 11:00 am For all parishioners of St. Peter Church
REFLECTION OF THE WEEK
First Reading: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
Second Reading: James 3:16-4:3
Gospel: Mark 9:30-37
Today we hear the second prediction of the passion in the Gospel of Mark. As with the first, Jesus does not use the word "Messiah" when He speaks about Himself in the third person singular. Rather, He calls Himself the "Son of Man". This title is drawn from the Book of Daniel where the Son of Man receives power and authority, but it is also derived from the Songs of the Suffering Servant in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The disciples, who did not understand the first prediction of the passion, do not understand what Jesus tells them that whoever serves a child is doing His will. (This is not the passage where Jesus tells His disciples to become like little children). Children cannot pay us back for what we are doing for them, so serving a child (or those who are powerless and who have no influence in society) is to serve Christ himself.
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