Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 3 Issue 10- October 2011
Divine Mercy Parish Mission Statement
“Guided by the Holy Spirit and in communion with the diocese of Manchester, we, the members of Divine
Mercy Parish, place our trust in God. We devote ourselves to the proclamation of the Gospel according to the
one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We seek to provide a safe and supportive home dedicated to the
vibrant celebration of the Eucharist in Holy Mass and all the Sacraments. Through our acts and our words, we
embrace all those who are in need. We resolve to defend the sanctity of human life and to promote peace,
within our community and throughout the world.”
world peace and the conversion of Russia. The Blue
Army of Our Lady of Fatima, formed in 1946 in the
United States, based on the Fatima message regarding
the Consecration of Russia, has reached several million
members.
THE ROSARY
October has become a month known for its
dedication to the Rosary. The word Rosary means
“Crown- or garland- of Roses.” While scholars disagree
on exactly when and how the Rosary appeared, its
importance as a form of prayer and petition was
established by various Popes who have recommended
praying the Rosary. According to tradition, the Rosary
was given to St. Dominic in an apparition by the Blessed
Virgin Mary in 1214 in the church of Prouille. Other
scholars suggest that the growth of devotion to the
Rosary had more of a gradual, grass roots origin. Pope
Leo XII, given the title Rosary Pope because he issued
twelve encyclicals and five Apostolic Letters on the
Rosary, instituted the Catholic custom of daily rosary
prayer during the month of October.
The fundamental structure of the Rosary has
remained the same:
 A sign of the cross on the Crucifix and then the
Apostles' Creed;
 An Our Father on the first large bead;
 A Hail Mary on each of the three small beads
with the following intentions (the theological
virtues):
1. For the increase of faith
2. For the increase of hope
3. For the increase of charity
 A Glory Be to the Father;
 Announce the mystery
 An "Our Father" on the large bead
 A "Hail Mary" on each of the adjacent ten small
beads;
 A "Glory Be to the Father";
 (The Fatima Prayer is commonly added here, as
a pious addition: "O My Jesus, Forgive us our
sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all
souls to Heaven. Especially those most in need
of thy mercy.")
 Again an Our Father on the next large bead,
followed by ten Hail Marys on the small beads,
the Glory Be to the Father, (and Fatima Prayer)
for each of the following decades;
 In conclusion, Hail Holy Queen and a sign of the
cross.
Countless are the benefits the Church and
individuals have received through the Rosary. As early
as the 15th century, through Saint Dominic and Blessed
Alan de Rupe, the Blessed Virgin Mary made fifteen
specific promises to be present to those who pray the
Rosary, ranging from protection from misfortune to
meriting a high degree of glory in heaven. In 1571,
Pope St. Pius V announced that the Christian fleet had
won a victory in the Gulf of Corinth, attributing it to
every man on the Christian flagship having been given a
Rosary before the battle.
The twentieth century has seen its own
proliferation of devotions to the Holy Rosary,
when other forms of Rosary-based prayers became
popular. The Rosary of the Holy Wounds, which focuses
on the Wounds of Jesus, was introduced by the
Venerable Marie Martha Chambon, a nun in France.
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, another rosary-based
prayer by St. Faustina Kowalsska, has gained significant
following. Our Lady at Lourdes and Fatima called for a
great increase in praying the Rosary as necessary for
In the 16th century, Pope Pius V standardized the
traditional 15 Mysteries, grouped into 3 sets: Glorious,
Joyful and Sorrowful, each repeated 5 times for a total of
150 “Hail Mary’s”; these corresponded to the number
of psalms chanted by the monks in the monasteries,
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Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 3 Issue 10- October 2011
leading to the Rosary being called Mary’s Psalter. In
October of 2002, Pope John Paul II added 5 new
optional mysteries, the Luminous Mysteries.
All Souls Day – November 2 – commemorates
the faithful departed who have not yet been purified
and reached heaven, who may be helped to do so by
prayer and Mass. Although an important day to all
Catholics, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation.
The Rosary is part of the Catholic veneration of
Mary, a vital means to participate in the life of Mary
and to find the way to Christ. It is a Scripture-based
prayer centering on the events of Christ’s life. As a
devotional practice, the Rosary plays an important
role in the spiritual life of Catholics. Its practice of
repetition is intended to lead to restful and
contemplative prayer, helping us to enter into the
silence of our hearts.
BOOK REVIEW(s)
By Linda Tiernan Kepner
How about a Saint and some
angels for this issue’s good reads?
Leslie Charteris’s mystery books featuring The
Saint, alias Simon Templar, have always been favorite
reads for many people, probably because he fights for
justice in little corners where justice is absent
(although he’s quite proud of the crooked methods he
sometimes uses to achieve his ends). The short stories
are especially appealing because watching the Saint
figure out how to beat some con man is like watching
a puzzle master at work. In The Saint to the Rescue, a
collection of short stories from the 1950’s, Simon
puzzles out a greedy wife who has set up her husband
for a messy divorce; he suckers a Florida-land-boom
salesman who has been fleecing other, poorer clients;
he cons a percentage-playing con man who is much
better at math than Simon is; and he does his part
against the national debt, blackmail, and organized
crime. These are feel-good stories designed to make
you think here might be some justice in the world,
after all.
Rosary Novena- The 54-day Rosary Novena is an
uninterrupted series of Rosaries in honor of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. The Novena consists of five
decades of the Rosary each day for twenty-seven days
in petition; then five days for twenty-seven days in
thanksgiving. With the new mysteries of Light, the
succession is: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and
Glorious.
ALL SAINTS-ALL SOULS
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Did the conjunction of these two feast days
confuse you as a child? How does Halloween fit in?
November 1 is the Feast of All Saints, a Holy Day of
Obligation. November 2 is the Feast of All Souls.
In the early days, Christians solemnized the
anniversary of a martyr’s death at the place of
martyrdom. Many of these martyrs became saints by
acclamation. Saints have attained the beatific vision
of Heaven. As the number of saints grew, when a
regular process of canonization was established, it
became expedient to fix the anniversary on one date –
November 1. This was done by Gregory III (731741) when he consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of
St. Peter in Rome, originally confined to the diocese
of Rome. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the
celebration to the entire church.
For those who think “graphic novels” are just
comic books, we beg to differ. Level Up, by Gene
Luen Yang, is definitely not Hot Stuff or Casper. It is
a novel with pictures, with a main character who is
making agonizing decisions. Without violating any
brand names, it’s easy to see what video games
Dennis would rather be playing – but his family and
his conscience are pressuring him strongly to become
a doctor. Then four angels appear in his angst-ridden
life, and start pushing him around. Why are they
chasing him? How can he deal with them, as well as
his memories of his deceased Dad? He finds the
answers, oddly enough, in a well-known video game.
Both books are available at the local library, and also
in the new and used sections of local bookstores.
The vigil of All Saints, October 31, or All
Hallows Eve, was celebrated as a harvest festival in
many cultures prior to some of its customs being
incorporated into popular culture.
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Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 3 Issue 10- October 2011
THE UPS AND DOWNS OF BUILDING A NEW
CHURCH
building; therefore, the building has been transferred
from one non-profit entity (DMP) to another nonprofit entity (Historic Harrisville).
By Father Gerry
St. Patrick Church currently is being offered
for sale to the Town of Bennington. If a purchase and
sales agreement can be reached, the issue should go
before the voters of Bennington in March, 2012. Stay
tuned on this developing story.
I want to take this opportunity to review with
you the status of our plans for building the new Divine
Mercy Church. As of this writing (October, 2011), we
remain stymied in our attempts to find suitable and
sufficient land for the new parish complex. By
suitable, I refer to our attempts to find land that is
centrally located. By sufficient, I mean a minimum of
6 buildable acres.
I am pleased to report that many of the
religious artifacts from St. Denis and St. Patrick
churches are being used in other Catholic churches!
Many of the extra Mass vestments that we had are
now enhancing the liturgies of parishes in Liberia!
Over the past five years, the number of
properties that we have investigated exceeds sixty! I
stopped keeping count about a year ago!
Let me close by reaffirming our intention to
build a new Divine Mercy Church. Those of you who
are involved in one or more of the ministries of this
parish understand the serious shortcomings of our
current facilities. We ask Almighty God’s assistance
in helping us achieve our goal.
At present, we are looking into a parcel of
land on Route 101. One problem is that it is much
more land than we need (approximately 14 acres).
The asking price is also out of our reach! We are
dialoguing with the owners to see if they might
consider subdividing the parcel and selling us six or
seven acres. A second problem is the fact that traffic
would exit directly onto Route 101. We are trying to
obtain a determination from the NH Department of
Transportation as to what modifications they would
require on Route 101 to allow for the safe entry/exit of
church traffic. This has proven to be a very expensive
item for two Catholic churches recently built in New
Hampshire.
POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: GUIDELINES FOR
PARISHES AND SCHOOLS
The Role of the Church
In the Catholic tradition, participation in
political life is a moral obligation rooted in our
baptismal commitment to follow Jesus Christ and bear
Christian witness in all we do. The lay faithful are
shapers of public policy and participate in public life
by voting, running for office, and otherwise
participating in the political process. The role of
Catholic clergy as teachers of the faith is to speak
clearly about moral issues that have a public
dimension. Together, we are called to work for the
transformation of society in ways that make it just.
There is one other land site that we are
investigating. The property is on Route 202. You
probably have noticed the former Laidlaw bus depot is
on the market. While this is certainly a central
location, the parcel is not large enough for our needs
AND some of the acreage is wetlands. We are
looking to see if abutting landowners might consider
selling some of their land.
For reasons that are both theological and legal,
as a religious institution, the Church’s involvement in
public life does not extend to endorsing or opposing
particular candidates or political parties.
In other real estate news…let me review what
has happened to St. Denis Church and St. Patrick
Church.
Legal Restrictions
St. Denis Church was officially signed over to
Historic Harrisville in May, 2010. The intention of
this group is to preserve the historic character of that
building. Since we did not own the land on which St.
Denis Church was built, we were not able to sell the
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code, which applies to the parishes and schools of the
Diocese of Manchester, contains a prohibition, which
has been interpreted as being absolute, against
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Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 3 Issue 10- October 2011
participation or intervention in a political campaign on
behalf of or in opposition to any candidate as a
condition of maintaining federal income tax
exemption. Any amount of participation in a political
campaign, no matter how slight, could put the tax
exempt status of the Church in jeopardy.
Churches and church organizations, including
parishes, Catholic schools, and parish programs, may
not endorse or oppose political candidates, including
publishing or distributing materials that favor one
candidate over another. Moreover, churches and
church organizations may not contribute to political
candidates or parties, even in the form of in-kind
expenditures, such as donations of church facilities,
supplies, or employee time.
In addition to the limitations imposed under
the Internal Revenue Code, the Federal Election
Campaign Act prohibits the Church from working in
concert or cooperation with any federal candidate or
campaign committee in the development or
distribution of campaign materials.
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION GROTTO
Before you call the authorities to report the
theft of the statue of Mary from her grotto next to
St. Patrick Church, you need to know she has been
carefully wrapped and safely stored in the parish
garage at the offices in Peterborough.
Political Activity Guidelines
The Diocese of Manchester established
directives to assist the parishes, schools, and other
organizations of the Diocese of Manchester that are
exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c)
(3) to distinguish activities that are permitted during
election campaigns from activities that are prohibited.
These directives can be found on the diocesan
website:
http://www.catholicnh.org/public-issues/publicpolicy/faithful-citizenship/public-policy-directives/
For further information, please contact Diane Murphy
Quinlan, Chancellor, at 669-3100, Ext. 101 or
dquinlan@rcbm.org.
The Immaculate Conception statue was
sculptured of carrara marble and set in a colorful
fieldstone grotto. The inscription reads: “Gift of
Mrs. Julia M. Cashion in loving memory of her
husband, James M. Cashion, and his deceased
family.”
The publication commemorating fifty years
at St. Patrick Church in Bennington has two photos
of this beautiful grotto. The first is dated 1949
when the grotto was constructed and dedicated, and
the second is 1986. It is the photo from 1986 that is
reproduced in this article.
NEWSLETTER STAFF:
Elaine Giacomo - Co-editor
Gail Caron – Co-editor
Jane Meneghini – Staff writer
Linda Kepner – Staff writer
Over the years Mary and her grotto have
provided the backdrop for family and religious
education class photo opportunities. The hope is
that this statue will find an appropriate spot in the
new Divine Mercy Church.
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Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 3 Issue 10- October 2011
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