Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 4 Issue 11- February 2012
Divine Mercy Parish Mission Statement
“Guided by the Holy Spirit and in communion with the Catholic Church throughout the world, the people of
Divine Mercy Parish of the Diocese of Manchester, seek to create a welcoming and compassionate community
of faith, where we grow in grace and love of Jesus Christ. We strive to understand and proclaim His Gospel,
building up God’s kingdom in our lives, our families and our towns. We provide a joyful home for prayer and
the celebration of the Eucharist and all the sacraments. Through actions and words, we seek to embrace all
those in need, defend the holiness and flourishing of human life and promote peace and justice.”
also served on the Mission Band preaching
missions and retreats throughout the east coast.
Most recently prior to coming to Our Lady of
Florida Fr Jack has for the past four years
served as Vicar at the Monastery and Basilica of
St Ann’s in Scranton, Pa. and also for the past
three years worked in campus ministry at the
University of Scranton.
2012 PARISH MISSION IS COMING!
The Divine Mercy Parish
Mission is March 19-21,
2012. We will be
welcoming Fr. Jack Connor,
CP, who was born in
Scranton, Pa. Son of the late
Anthony and Rose Connor,
he was one of ten children.
He has seven sisters and one
brother; 22 nieces and nephews. At last count,
there were 16 grand nieces and nephews and the
family continues to grow. Fr Jack is a Viet Nam
Veteran and served as a medic in Viet Nam in
1969-70.
The theme for this year’s mission is “Our
Universal Call to Holiness.” The Mission will
begin at7 PM and run for 50 minutes. Each day
of the mission has a special theme: Monday –
“Our Life is a Fifth Gospel;” Tuesday – “Living
in the Christian Community;” Wednesday –
“The Cost and Call of Discipleship.” In
addition there will be opportunities for
Reconciliation and Mass. Watch the bulletin as
we draw closer to the Mission.
Fr Jack graduated from the University of
Scranton with a BS in Sociology and is a
certified Social Studies Teacher. He received
his Masters of Social Work from the University
of Marywood in Scranton and later received his
Accredited Social Work Certificate (ACSW).
He worked in a residential treatment center for
adolescents prior to joining the Passionists in
1978. Fr Jack received his Masters of Divinity
from Catholic Theological Union in 1983 and
was ordained to the priesthood in June of 1984.
THE ORIGIN OF ASH WEDNESDAY
Ash Wednesday entered the
calendar in the early sixth
century when the desire
arose to have forty actual
days of fasting before
Easter. Sundays were never
fast days, so to get to forty,
one had to add four days to the six weeks of
Lent. In the Christian lands along the Rhine
River the devotional practice of imposing ashes
arose as people imitated what they heard in
Bible passages such as 2 Samuel 13:19, Ezekiel
Fr Jack has served in retreat ministry in
Pittsburgh, and Shelter Island N.Y. He also
served as assistant pastor in Baltimore, and
Scranton and also served as pastor in his home
parish of St Ann’s in Scranton, Pa. Fr Jack has
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Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 4 Issue 11 - February 2012
27:30, Job 2:12, and Jonah 3:6. What was once
a private devotion came to be practiced publicly
in the eighth century, and by the year 1000 it
was commonplace in many celebrations at the
beginning of Lent. The distribution of ashes
was formally added to the Missal at Rome in
the thirteenth century and this ancient symbol of
repentance is now widely used among most
Christian denominations at the beginning of
Lent.
The specific target of the meeting held last fall
was our Brown Bag Sunday that collects food
for the Monadnock Area Food Pantry. Sixteen
area communities are served by the MAFP.
They average 70 families totaling 200 clients
per week. The average order weighs 26 lbs. and
includes eggs, cheese, bread, baked beans, mac
& cheese, spaghetti sauce, canned soups, fruits
and vegetables, meat & poultry when available,
peanut butter, jelly, and some toiletries.
© Liturgical Publications Inc
The Food Pantry initiative is focusing on how
to improve our collection method and delivery
of food stuffs to the pantry. It has been learned
that the MAFP is able to purchase food with a
significant discount and thereby stretch their
dollar donations. The Committee has installed
a donation basket under the pamphlet rack as
you enter the church. This basket has preaddressed envelopes parishioners are
encouraged to use. Donations can be placed in
the offertory basket, or mailed directly to the
MAFB.
FOOD PANTRY
PLANNING COMMITTEE
Last autumn a group of concerned
parishioners met to address the issue
of food shortages in our communities.
We, as a parish, are trying to live out
our mission statement “through
actions and words, we seek to
embrace those in need.” Caring for
the poor is one of the corporal
works of mercy.
Danny Thomas has been quoted as saying he
would rather receive one dollar from a million
people than a million dollars from one. In this
spirit, we encourage you to use the envelopes to
give a few dollars, more regularly. This is a
great way to teach stewardship to our young
people. Brown Bag Sunday will continue on the
first Sunday of each month. Forgotten your
food again? Use the food pantry envelopes.
With Lent approaching you might consider
forgoing a favorite food and donating the
money you might have spent to one of the food
pantries.
All the area towns have food pantries that are
open 1-5 days a week. Additionally, several
area churches have weekly or monthly Free
Community Suppers. In Peterborough they are
sponsored by the following churches: Mondays
- 5:30 PM at the Union Congregational Church;
Tuesdays - 5:30 PM at Reynolds Hall;
Wednesdays from 5:30 -6:30 PM at the
Unitarian Universalist Church. Thursday meals
are held once a month: First Thursday at
Francestown Community Church; Second
Thursday at Bennington Pierce School; Third
Thursday at Antrim Presbyterian Church;
Fourth Thursday at Hancock Congregational
Church Vestry.
The Food Pantry Committee welcomes
everyone who is interested in helping to their
next meeting.
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Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 4 Issue 11 - February 2012
The mouse said, "I know it's bad weather for
driving.
But today's just the right kind of day for
onlining!
I know a good website, one that you'll love.
And I call it Social Security dot gov!"
CAT IN THE HAT INSPIRES MOUSE IN
THE HOUSE
The National Education Association's "Read
Across America" celebration is an annual
reading motivation and awareness program that
calls for every child in every community to
celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of
beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.
We logged on the computer and went to the site.
In a matter of minutes, Granny's smile was on
tight!
The mouse said, "Online is the way to apply!"
With a grin on her face, Granny said "Oh my!"
Taking some pointers from The Cat in the Hat,
Social Security's own Mouse in the House has
something for you to read. You may learn a
thing or two...
Granny cheered, "Look, look!" And she shook
with glee.
"I'm done applying! That was so, so easy!
The application was so slick and so fast and so
fun,
Let's go dance in the rain, now that I'm done!"
The sun was not shining. Outside it was wet.
Grandma was whining, all full of regret.
I sat there with Granny, just looking outside.
I asked, "What's wrong?" Then she almost
cried.
Then Grandpa woke up, looking quite down.
His pajamas were frumpy. On his face was a
frown.
His age was rising and so was the water.
"I don't want to go out in that rain, but I
oughter."
She said, "I'm unhappy. You want to know
why?
I turned 66, and it's time to apply!
But outside it's so wet and so slick and so cold,
When the weather gets better, I might be too
old!"
"What will I do," Grandpa asked about later.
"I need to apply, and I'm not a good wader."
Every One here in Oneville, when they reach
the right number,
Applies for Social Security. To forget is to
blunder.
But all we could do was to wait, wait, wait,
wait.
To wait for nice weather. It wasn't so great.
Granny and I did not know what to say.
Should we tell him about what we'd done here
this day?
Should we help him get to Social Security
online?
We did. And now Granny and Grandpa are fine.
And then, something went CLICK!
That click made our hearts tick!
We looked, and remembered what we had in
our house.
We looked and remembered! Our house had a
mouse!
When retirement age comes to someone you
love,
Take them to Social Security dot gov.
©-Liturgical Press Inc.
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Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 4 Issue 11 - February 2012
Our council has an active history of service and
charity. Just a few of our activities will be used
as examples. When Cross International came to
our parish, we learned of the severe need for
housing in areas of Asia. The council had been
saving money to build a home for our meetings.
We decided, however, that the needs of the poor
outweighed our desire for a meeting place, so
we donated the funds to construct a permanent
home for a family in the Philippines. We have
also donated money to construct wells in
Central America through Food for the Poor, and
we also support a child in Brazil.
MONADNOCK COUNCIL 5790
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
by Rich Frechette
The Knights of Columbus in
Divine Mercy Parish have been asked “What
are you?” and “What do you do?” Hopefully,
these brief paragraphs will answer these
questions, and may get you to think about
joining our ranks.
The Knights is a men's organization functioning
within Divine Mercy Parish, but also in concert
with other Councils throughout the nation, and
the world. The Knights of Columbus was
founded in the late 1800's by a parish priest, Fr.
Michael McGivney, in New Haven, CT. In
those days, most Catholics in the US were
immigrants who worked as manual laborers and
in factories. They faced intense anti-Catholic
prejudices and worked long hours under
difficult conditions. Career-ending injuries and
death were commonplace. Fr. McGivney
struggled with these realities within his parish
and prayed hard for a solution. He designed the
Knights as a place of fraternity where Catholic
men could gather, as an organization dedicated
to the care of injured or deceased men and their
families. The concept was unique, and so
successful that the organization spread out of
New Haven and now has councils in nearly
every country on earth.
Locally, our council has made donations to St.
Patrick School, the food bank, local youth
organizations including sports teams, school
clubs and scouts. For the parish, we put on the
St. Patrick's dinner, and sponsor the parish
picnic. In addition, we are on call for Father
whenever he needs some manpower. We have
scraped and painted the church windows,
performed tree work near the rectory, and
cemetery cleanup.
We meet once a month, the second Wednesday,
at 6:30 in the church basement. Most months
we enjoy a meal together, often simply pizza;
however, we have several theme dinners
including a Polish meal, an Italian night, and
whatever else comes to mind. Our meetings are
usually brief, and attendance is not required.
Men come when their schedule allows, and are
not pressured into coming when life is too busy.
The Knights are open to all practicing Catholic
men. Please consider joining us.
The Knights of Columbus is founded on the
principles of unity and charity. The cornerstone
of our organization is service to the parish, the
community and to the needs of our fellow men
and women around the globe. In addition,
patriotism is important to our group. You may
have seen Knights marching in full regalia at
the Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades.
NEWSLETTER STAFF:
Elaine Giacomo - Co-editor
Gail Caron – Co-editor
Jane Meneghini – Staff writer
Linda Kepner – Staff writer
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