Category: From the Pastor’s Desk (Page 3 of 61)

Dear Parishioners and Visitors,

As we embark upon the month   of November, Bishop Libasci calls our attention to the significance of Catholic funeral rites and Catholic cemeteries.

The month of November is traditionally a time in which the Catholic community remembers those who have died. It is related to the fact that the end of November is the end of the Liturgical Year with a new year starting the First Sunday of Advent – the four-week period of preparation before Christmas. The Church, then, uses this end-of-the-year period as a time to think of the end of life and the end of all things and the great hope that our earthly end is transition into a new life in God’s heavenly reality. We remember and give thanks for those who have gone before us, and we look with prayer and hope to their new life in heaven and our desire to join them there one day.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to read more about Catholic funerals and Catholic cemeteries as outlined on the enclosed flyer. There are additional pastoral guidelines and canonical regulation available for your review at the Diocese’s website, www.catholicnh.org under the tab “Funerals and Christian Burials.”

With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney

Dear Parishioners,

The Diocese of Manchester, a Corporation Sole and legal owner of St. Joseph Church and all its temporal goods, has received from the Town of Lincoln’s Planning & Zoning Department a notice of hearing with respect to a request for “a special exception for a free-standing, off-premise, electronic message board sign in the village residential district,” meaning that the Town’s library wishes to erect on its front lawn at 22 Church Street a scrolling, electronic sign for advertising purposes, and to do so in a residential neighborhood.

What do you think?

While I am interested in learning your thoughts, please email me at stjlincoln@gmail. com. Additionally, please consider attending an in-person hearing at 6:00 P.M. on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, at the Town Hall Building, 148 Main Street in Lincoln, or join the meeting virtually using these connection options:
See the town website: www.lincolnnh.org
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81700766161?pwd=WUFKR2N1Zk9xSzllbVFP
RWVzbyt4UT09
Meeting ID: 817 0076 6161

Passcode: 179696

With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney

The Pontifical Mission Societies has designated       this Sunday as World Mission Sunday, where we    join the Church throughout the world in fulfilling    our evangelical mission to “go and invite everyone    to the banquet.” The Society for the Propagation of the Faith coordinates programs for evangelization  and catechesis throughout the world.                    

Thank you for your generous donation!

Dear Parishioners and Visitors,

While thanking our favorite two skiers who work all summer long to beautify the triangular gardens on the periphery of the church parking lot, I add a special word of thanks to Pam Holmlund for her recent contribution of reconfiguring the design of the gardens in front of the church. Pam has reclaimed all the nutrient-depleted garden soil, moved into prominence the waterfall feature, and enhanced the design of the St. Francis prayer garden (donated in fond memory of Sandy Crisp). In addition to the Astilbe, the “Hope Springs Eternal” hostas, small butterfly bushes, sedum, coneflowers and phlox, Pam has added plantings with Biblical themes:

Hyssop – a plant that symbolizes cleansing, healing, and forgiveness, used to offer wine to Jesus on the cross on Good Friday.

Carnations – associated with a mother’s love, from an early Christian legend that these flowers grew from the Blessed Mother’s tears shed while watching Jesus carry his cross.

Columbine – the tri-partite leaves are symbols of the Blessed Trinity with seven-fold flowers that symbolize the seven gifts  of the Holy Spirit.

Cedar – considered in the Book of Kings as the first of trees      (I Kings 4:33) and known to be strong and durable (Isaiah 9:10), graceful and beautiful (Ps. 80:10), high and tall (Amos 2:9), fragrant (Song of Songs 4:11), and spreading wide (Ps. 80:10).

Please say hello and thank you to our volunteer gardeners when you see them weeding, watering, and fertilizing with loving care the beauty of God’s creation in the parish gardens here in the magnificent White Mountains!

With prayerful best wishes,

Fr. John Mahoney

The Lord God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air.

Following the 10:00 A.M. Mass on Sunday, October 6, we will gather in the church parking lot for the annual blessing of pets to commemorate the Feast of St. Francis    of Assisi, which is October 4.

Psalm 147:9 tells us that God is concerned for all His creation, including the animals He created.  We can take from Scripture that if   God takes care of animals, then so should we. Many parents introduce a pet into their home to teach their children responsibility and other positive qualities, such as unconditional love, forgiveness, and steady companionship. That’s why pets are taken to hospitals and nursing homes to interact with people in need. They help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.  We can learn an incredible deal from animals.

Good St. Francis, patron of animals, you loved all of God’s creatures. To you they were your brothers and sisters. Help us to follow your example of treating every living thing with kindness. Watch over our pets. Keep them – and their human companions – safe, healthy, and always in God’s loving care.

With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney