Our Lady of Mercy Parish Merrimack, NH 03054

424-3757

Pastor: Rev. Msgr. Paul Bouchard Deacon: Mr. John Castelot Pastoral Associate: Marie Dancy

Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Merrimack NH December 3, 2017

SATURDAY, December 2nd Vigil: First Sunday of Advent

4:30PM:Alice Pendergrace (20th anniv) req by Bruce & Janet Angus

SUNDAY, December 3rd First Sunday of Advent

8:30AM: Don Olson req by Arlene & family and for all parishioners 10:30AM: Joseph Arcifa req by Rachel Watkins

MONDAY, December 4th St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church

8:10AM: Morning Prayer 8:30AM: Gary Hodge req by the Publicover family

TUESDAY, December 5th 8:10AM: Morning Prayer 8:30AM: Jean Marc Bechard req by his wife

WEDNESDAY, December 6th St. Nicholas, Bishop

8:10AM: Morning Prayer 8:30AM: Ed Decourcy req by his family

THURSDAY, December 7th Anticipated Mass for the Immaculate Conception

7:00PM: Joseph Arcifa req by José Gutierrez

FRIDAY, December 8th Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

8:10AM: Morning Prayer 8:30AM: Roger Bonefant (3rd Anniv) req by his wife

SATURDAY, December 9th Vigil: Second Sunday of Advent

4:30PM: Bette Tylock req by Bruce & Janet Angus

SUNDAY, December 10th Second Sunday of Advent

8:30AM: William Fleming req by the Fleming family 10:30AM: Donna Lewis req by her family and for all parishioners

Watch Out! In Advent, we celebrate our hope that the Lord might come more fully into our lives. The first reading from Isaiah voices the hope of sinners for a redeemer. As sin-ners, we too hope for forgiveness. Unlike Isaiah, we know that God has come to bring us back, when the Fa-ther sent his Son, Jesus, to save us. And God's power was manifest in the raising of Christ from the dead. Our faith in Jesus leads us to a new way of looking at the world. We can see what God is doing as well as remem-bering what God has done. The Gospel reminds us to look constantly for signs of God's work. Jesus says simply, "Watch!" Like the gate-keepers in Jesus' short parable, we need to keep our eyes open for him. Just as we expect people driving cars to turn off their cell phones and keep their eyes on the road, so we can stop looking for whatever makes us comfortable and watch for ways to love others as God loves us. When we only look out for ourselves, we may miss the signs of God's presence around us. Instead of looking at the difficulties of life as obstacles, we can watch for them as opportunities to stretch our faith, to rely on God, or to show God's love to a friend. The recent re-translation of the prayers of the Mass can be an oppor-tunity to stretch our faith and our understanding of the Eucharist. The Corinthians were also watching for the Lord to come. Paul encourages them (and us) by his reminder that we "are not lacking in any spiritual gift" (1 Corin-thians 1:7). The Holy Spirit gives us all we need to help each other prepare for the Lord's coming. They were thinking of Jesus as coming in glory. Though we don't see the full glory of the Lord, part of that glory is his presence in the sacraments. In them we celebrate not just the coming of the Lord, but his working in the world. He shares his life with us in baptism, gives us his Spirit in confirmation and himself in the Eucharist, heals us in reconciliation and the anointing of the sick, and calls us to make him present to others in holy orders and matrimony. You could almost say his second com-ing is taking place now. Watch for it. Tom Schmidt, Copyright (c) J. S. Paluch Co.

Weekend of 11/19: $6362.00 Human Development: $1985.00 Weekend of 11/26: $4938.00 Flower Collection: $2017.00

Week #17: Thaddeus Stephanak & Kathleen Swanson

The Sanctuary Lamp for the week of December 2nd through December 8th is lit in memory of Lena Parker.

OUR LADY OF MERCY PARISH MERRIMACK, NH

Advent (Christmas) Outreach Wreath is located in the main entrance of the

Church

Are you a parish family in need of help this Christmas or do you know of someone in need? Please call the parish office at 424-3757 as soon

as possible. ∗ Take a envelope off the large wreath

∗ Purchase the gift card listed, place the gift card in the envelope and place it in the Gift Card Collection Box beneath the wreath.

∗ Take a snowflake and place it on the wreath.

Gift cards should be returned by the weekend of December 16th and 17th.

Sunday, December 10, 2017 @ 6:30 pm Please join us for an evening of music,

scripture and prayer

Soon we will enter the Season of Advent. On Sunday evening, December 10th at 6:30 pm in the Church we will gather for music and scripture as the parish once again presents Lessons and Carols.

The Festival of Lessons and Carols is a service of scripture and song that dates to the late 19th cen-tury. In this service we listen to nine Scripture lessons which recount the Fall, the promise of a Messiah, the Incarnation, and the Great Commis-sion to preach the Good News. Each lesson is followed by a carol or other song that reflects on the lesson’s message and a brief prayer. Mark your calendars and come and experience the true spirit of Christmas.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception Of the Blessed Virgin Mary A Holy Day of Obligation

The Immaculate Conception refers to the condition that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from Original

Sin from the very moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, St. Anne.

Masses to celebrate this holy day will beheld on Thursday, December 7th at 7:00 pm and on Friday, December 8th at 8:30 AM.

Sunday, December 24, 2017 4:00 PM; 7:00 PM and 12:00 AM (midnight)

Monday, December 25, 2017 10:30AM

Sunday, December 31, 2017 @ 4:00 PM

Monday, January 1, 2018 @ 10:30 AM

Living Rosary

The Life Matter Ministry invites every-one to join us after the Mass of the Im-maculate Conception on December 7th. Mass is at 7:00 pm and the Rosary will begin directly after Mass. The Knights will be there with a giant rosary and they need you to hold a bead and pray with them to the Blessed Mother for peace in our world. What an awesome feeling to join fellow parishioners in praying the rosary, one of the most powerful prayer tools that we have. Please join us.

December 3, 2017

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON’S LECTURE ON “CATHOLICISM”

This week’s Advent session underscores the teachings of Jesus. It was understood that in the person of Jesus, Yah-weh was moving among His people and so people of His day knew that what Jesus said was important. Many were keenly interested in His teachings – they found His teach-ings fascinating, disorientating, sometimes confounding, deeply transformative, and unforgettable.

In this session we will explore the change of heart, the spiritual conversion, that Jesus’ teachings demand of dis-ciples today. Join in the discussion.

An Invitation from the Ladies Guild…

The Ladies Guild invites all ladies of the parish to join them for their Christmas Luncheon at the Homestead Restaurant at 11:30AM on December 19th. This would be a great opportunity to learn what their ministry is all about and to meet other women in the parish. We order off the menu and everyone pays for their own meal. There will also be a Yankee Gift Swap not to exceed $15.00. The item must be wrapped with no name on it. It is not necessary to take part in the swap. A headcount is needed for the restaurant by December 15th. Please call Irene Jenness at 424-2362 if you are interested in attending the luncheon.

Thank you from the Knights of Columbus

The Queen of Peace Council 6725 would like to thank everyone in the parish for their support of our 18th annual craft fair. We thank those who came to the fair to patronize all our vendors and the Ladies Guild penny sale. We’d especially like to thank those who donated baked goods for our bake table and food items for our kitchen. The proceeds of the craft fair go to support our charities and this year’s fair was one of our most success-ful ever! Thanks again to all!

We would like to welcome into our parish community: Benjamin John Gabree, Quinn Ruth Sylvia, Isabella Rae Trill, Kirsten Harper Aylesworth, Sophia Nicole Belanger, Jackson Peter Hannigan.

May your children bring you joy and happiness in the years ahead. Be assured of our support and prayers as you exercise the responsibility of training your child in the practice of faith.

A Deanery Wide Reconciliation Service will take place on Sunday, December 10th at 2:00 pm at Immaculate Conception Parish in Nashua. As we prepare for Advent, come to the Lord and experience the extraordinary grace of His forgiveness.

THE RIBBON PROCESSIONAL POLES

Are you wondering about these poles? We have left Or-dinary Time and entered into the Season of Advent. Ad-vent comes as we approach the darkest time of the year. You will notice that the ribbons are dark blue and purple, with a few slivers of gold and silver. Keep an eye on the poles. As we move toward Christmas the colors will become lighter, and on Christmas...wow!!! We will celebrate the coming of Jesus, the light of the world.

COME JOIN US AND MEET ST. NICHOLAS December 10, 2017

Join us for the 10:30 Mass and then come downstairs as the celebration continues with a special story read by St. Nicholas followed by exciting activities to honor St. Nicholas’ love of children and the needy. If your child would like to make a small donation to Meals on Wheels, they are collecting the follow-ing...socks, gloves, scarves, shampoo, tissues, game books, puzzles, adult coloring books, colored pencils, and goodies such as hard candies, tea and boxed cook-ies. There will be a box downstairs in the Church Hall on for your items.

A Great Big Thank You to Our Parishioners!!

The staff and Fr Paul along with the mem-bers of the St. John Neumann Food Pantry are grateful for the outpouring of your sup-port for those less fortunate. We received approximately $3,000.00 worth of gift cards and cash along with an enormous amount of food in our Thanksgiving Food Drive.

It is truly humbling to witness the continued generosity and kindness of our parishioners. Thank you!!

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 December 3, 2017 Kathy