May 19th 2019| The Fifth Sunday of Easter | (837)

85 Main Street / Ashburnham, Massachusetts 01430

Saint Denis Parish

LORD’S DAY MASSES Saturday — 4:30pm

Sunday — 8:00 & 10:30am

DAILY MASSES Mon. — Wed. 9:00am

RECONCILIATION Saturday 3:30 — 4:00pm

or by appointment

PRIEST ADMINISTRATOR Fr. Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa

Fatherochoa@gmail.com

DEACON Deacon Richard DesJardins

978-343-6367

SECRETARY/OFFICE Andrew W. Gage

StDenis@comcast.net

978-827-5806

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Administrator

Kimberly Brown

978-827-4892

StDenisRE@comcast.net

OFFICE HOURS Monday — Thursday

10:00 — 3:00pm

StDenis@comcast.net

978-827-5806

ST. VINCENT de PAUL

978-790-1923

BAPTISMS Deacon Richard DesJardins

978-343-6367

NOTIFY THE RECTORY Visitation of the sick & elderly

Weddings, Pastoral Care, Funerals, Etc.

ST DENIS CEMETERY Kelton Rd. Ashburnham

Cemetery Director Ron Skaife

978-827-5722

Mark 9:37

www.SaintDenisAshburnham.com

Join Flock Notes: Text “StDenis85” to 84576

Join Formed https://formed.org Use Code 6DF8JG

"My children, I

will be with you

only a little while

longer. I give you

a new

commandment: love

one another. As I

have loved you, so

you also should

love one another.

This is how all

will know that you

are my disciples,

if you have love

for one another.”

John 13:34

Next Week: May 26th, 2019|The Sixth Sunday of Easter| Acts 15: 1-2,22-29, Rev 21:10-14, 22-23, John 14:23-29

Sat 5/18 4:30pm For the eternal rest of Vilma Pimienta

(Fr. Memo’s Grandmother)

Sun 5/19 8:00am

10:30am The Sullivans & Floras

By Gerald & Carol Hamel

Mon 5/20 9:00am

Tues 5/21 9:00am Samuel Morin 30 day Anniversary

By Eileen Wilson

Wed 5/22 9:00am

Sat 5/25 4:30pm

Sun 5/26 8:00am

10:30am

Cake Week! Come buy a cake and help Relay

for Life! May 18th and 19th

after Mass

Come buy a cake and support a good cause. We will be in front of the church under the canopy.

Bring home a treat for your family!

Prayer For Life May 18th and 19th

The Knights of Columbus will be at all Masses to

distribute these cards to all attendees. We encourage

our members to pray the cards below through the

weekend. These cards are a prayer

for all life issues. For the unborn,

for the sick and elderly, for those

who are not valued as they should

be and for all who suffer.

Consecration Of the Holy Family June 1st and 2nd

• We will be handing out cards after the Masses

• We will as members pray this prayer of Consecration to the Holy Family this weekend

Look at this picture. The family is the core structure of civilization. It is the foundation of our faith. It is the first example of the love of God to our children. Let us celebrate this event with the Knights of Columbus to honor the family at a time where the family is under attack from every angle. Where people have forgotten that Christianity is about life itself. The value of life and truth.

As I Have Loved You

In today's Gospel, Jesus gave his disciples and to all

genuine Christians after, a new mandate. "I give you a

new commandment: Love one another. As I have

loved you, so you also should love one another." And

he made this as a sign of his discipleship. "This is how

all will know that you are my disciples if you have a

love for one another." (John 13: 34-35)

What a beautiful although challenging statement.

Jesus tells us that the way everyone neighboring you

would actually know that you follow Christ is by the

manner you manifest love. Jesus is the real face of

Our Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit that binds us

together, yet his fashionable style of love is unlike any

other in the Old Testament or ever recorded at the

time. Yet he is offering out to us; thus, we can

appreciate in others God's masterpiece born out of

love.

What does "Christian love" really mean? Is it a warm

fuzzy feeling for everyone I meet? No, a "warm fuzzy

feeling" is not the only biblical definition for love.

Christ' love is giving to others those things that you

would want them to provide you with if you were in

their situation, it's doing so even if they can't pay you

back. In fact, it's doing so, especially if they can't pay

you back!

Christian love is respect for others as well as

everything created as it's God's creation. It's mercy,

charity, sacrifice, understanding, generosity,

forgiveness…and much more.

Agape is the Bible-Greco-Christian term referring to

love. It's selfless, giving love. God's love is unselfish

and unconditional. It is the thermometer that can

take your spiritual temperature.

I'd like to close with the beautiful prayer attributed

to St. Francis of Assisi. "Lord, grant that I may not so

much seek to be consoled as to console; to be

understood as to understand; to be loved as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive; and it is in

pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying

that we are born to eternal life"

Fr. Memo Ochoa

Events this Weekend!

Cake Week! For Relay for Life Prayer For Life by KofC

Sat 5/18 3:30pm Sacrament of Reconciliation 4:30pm Saturday Mass Sun 5/19 8:00am Sunday Mass 8:00am Men’s Group Bible Study 10:30am Sunday Mass Mon 5/20 9:00am Daily Mass Tues 5/21 9:00am Daily Mass Wed 5/22 9:00am Daily Mass 9:30am Ladies Spiritual Enrichment Group Thur 5/23 6:30am Kerygma Prayer/Bible Study Sat 5/25 3:30pm Sacrament of Reconciliation 4:30pm Saturday Mass Sun 5/26 8:00am Sunday Mass 10:30am Sunday Mass

Special Highlights | Upcoming Events | Offertory Update

Let us honor God with our first fruits rather than the leftovers.

5/12/19 Sunday Offertory: $ 2,271.00 Parish Needs: $ 68.00 5/12/19 Online Donations: $ 390.00

Thank you for your generous support of the parish. Your weekly financial support enables Saint Denis to

provide for the needs of our parish.

Prayer List: Under the ‘Ministries’ tab at http://www.stdenisashburnham.com, click on the ‘Elderly and Homebound,’ and you will find our updated prayer list. Due to lack of weekly space in the bulletin, the sick list will only be posted here periodically. You will always find the current list on our website.

I want to thank the Nolan family for the

donation to St Denis Church of the Holy

Oils Cabinet in loving memory of James P.

Nolan. We’re honored and blessed with

your generosity. Gifts like this make a big difference

beautifying the place we praise to Our Lord and

Savior. The Holy Oils are used in the Church through

centuries to give us spiritual nourishment, to cure our

spiritual ailments, to diffuse the light of grace in our

souls, and to render us healthy and active in the never

-ending conflict with the spirit of evil. The oils blessed

(at chrism mass) are of three kinds; the Oil of

Catechumens, the Chrism and the Oil of the Sick.

Each of them is oil extracted from olives, but the

Chrism is distinguished from the others by having

balm or balsam mixed with it. Each of these is blessed

by the Bishop with a special form of prayer, expressing

the purpose for which it is to be used and its mystical

signification as well.

Fr. Memo

ParishSOFT

• Do you Know we use ParishSOFT software to keep records of the

parish?

• Do you know you can log on and see and edit your own personal

information? (Please call if you have any questions)

• ParishSOFT’s systems meet the highest banking industry

standards for data security.

We used the census to gather the basic information so we can contact

you, but we could help keep track of so much more. You can see your

donations, add your sacramental information, and so much more. Log in

and Create a “New User” account.

https://worcester.parishsoftfamilysuite.com/

Cemetery Report

We have a cemetery that has been joined

to the parish for over 200 years. We have

family and friends buried there and is

the legacy of our parish. Somehow, we have forgotten this

legacy. This weekend, as we prepare to fix up the cemetery

grounds for a special Mass on Memorial Day, we need to

consider improving our financial dedication to our legacy. We

never considered a budget for the needs of our cemetery, the

upkeep, the equipment, the work involved to make it a place we

are proud of. We as a parish, need to fund the basic upkeep for

our loved one’s final resting place.

To do this, we will be adding a new envelope to our

envelope system. This will provide a monthly donation for the

improvement of our cemetery. We also will provide a way to

donate online, either on the main offertory page or on the

cemetery page itself. We need both one-time donations to fix up

the years of non-funding, and more importantly, we need a

commitment from parishioners to donate regularly to provide

for the proper upkeep of the grounds we place our loved ones

in. Parishioners are able to make donations online now.

Special Request for Clothing

Donations

We have been made aware of a single mother

with five children losing their Home to a fire. All their

belongings have been lost, especially clothing. We are

requesting anyone with extra clothes please donate them

to Fr Lacy Hall. Any questions or kids sizes call.

Kim 508-331-0162 or E-mail StDenisRE@comcast.net