Wishing God’s blessing on all mothers, living and deceased, on this Mother’s Day.
Lincoln, New Hampshire
Wishing God’s blessing on all mothers, living and deceased, on this Mother’s Day.
Dear Parishioners and Visitors,
Last summer, the Building & Grounds Committee determined that the rectory porch was structurally unsound. When the contractors opened the floor boards, they discovered extensive insect and water damage to the infrastructure. A few months later, the parish elevator failed inspection when the NH State inspector discovered that a few years ago a leak in the hydraulic pipes in the elevator shaft had been repaired with glue and electrical tape — needless to say, this constituted the potential for a quite dangerous eventuality. In late January of this year, some of the memorial stained-glass windows in the narthex and the nave began to collapse, which our stained-glass expert attributes to age, gravity, and some questionable repair methods and materials used during past restorations. At this point, the estimate for repairing the memorial windows is $22,800.
With these concerns in mind, I consulted recently with the Parish Finance Council and the Parish Pastoral Council to hear their thoughts about a strategic plan for addressing overall repair needs. It was agreed that rather than taking a band-aid approach to fixing problems haphazardly as they arise, resources would be better invested by conducting a comprehensive structural engineering study of the parish property.
Over the next few weeks, you may spot engineers poking around the parish campus. They are from Alba Architects, LLP, of No. Woodstock, and it’s project partner, Team Engineering. They are conducting a review of the parish’s buildings with respect to architectural and structural integrity. In addition, they will be reviewing the current status of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, life safety/fire protections systems, accessibility and energy efficiency systems, to help us understand better the strengths and deficiencies of the church property. When completed, the engineers will identify and prioritize structural issues that need to be addressed, and will provide an estimate of probable costs with respect to proposed construction needs. Their work product will help the parish to plan, as may be needed, any ongoing maintenance, repair, and upgrades; their report will assist the parish to apportion future expenditures in an informed and fiscally-sound manner.
Finally, I am grateful to Alba Architects for their willingness to conduct this study at a generous and modest “at-cost” offer that will be a considerable savings to the parish. St. Joseph’s Parish has stood as a beacon of Catholicity in the White Mountains since 1902 only by the hard work, spiritual, and financial investment of many parishioners who have gone before us. It is our responsibility to preserve the patrimony left to us in their memory.
With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney
We are very grateful to those who contributed to provide such beautiful flowers during our Easter celebrations. May they, and those memorialized, be remembered in our prayers of gratitude.
Donors : In Memory/Honor of
P & C Walsh: Family & friends, Sven, Kai, Evelyn & Hazel Walsh, all the people in the Ukraine and Russia.
Patricia Hamdan: Dr. Lee Ann Stewart, Dr. F. Hamdan, Patricia Yagielowicz, Wanda Hamdan, Placido Arango, Lupita Hamdan, Blessed Holy Mother Mary,St. Jude,St. Paragrine,St. Michael,St. Anthony,St. Therese of the Roses,Prayers – Novenas granted.
Doug & Margaret Sweeney: Robert & Marianne Loranger, John & Lillian Sweeney, Mary Moniz, Mark Rosier, deceased members of the Loranger/Grady Family.
Quentin Boyle: Sam Boyle,Laura & Quent Boyle, Alice Burke.
Rose Marie Henderson: Henderson Family, Clarleglio Family
Letitia Stewart: Anna M. Stewart,George B. Stewart,Dr. Michael A. Stewart, Dr. Patricia M. Hamdan, Gus Ferrera
Ray & Jane Maki: Chris Maki, Raymond and Edith Morris, Paul & Phil Hajjar, Sol & Betty Hajjar, Jack Lynch, Edla & Martin Maki, Carol & Ralph Maki, Katherine Emerson
Janet Peltier: Herman & Helen Cadorette, Claire Ward
Mary Pieroni: Michael Sr. & Mary Iarocci, Albert Pieroni, Cecilia Pieroni, Eugenio & Nicolena Muscatelli,Luigi & Lena Iarocci, Angelo Pezzo,Octavio & Pauline Pieroni, Amato & Emma Iodicola, Michelina Muscatelli, Isabelle Rafferty, Marguerite Lemieux
Barbara Vitale: Margurite & Millard Young, Michael Vitale, Roger Libby
Urania Perron: Aime Perron & Perron Family, Clough Family, Macedo & Paiva Family, Eric Johnson, Barbara Eiserlo
Lee Latham: Matthew & Mary Driscoll
Joseph & Laura Laufenberg: Joseph W. Laufenberg, Jr.
Bill Burdin: William C. & Eleanor Burdin, Joseph R. & Anna T. Redgrift, Richard W. Burdin
Susan Whitman: Dale Whitman, Whitman Family, Boyle Family, Robert, Shirley & Michael Leclerc, Ray, Sandra & Randy Borgnis
Nathan Haynes: Joseph & Mabel Lehouillier, Irving & Helena Haynes
Michael Iarocci: Michael & Mary Iarocci, Mary DeCubellis, Teresa Russo, Muscatelli Family, Ann Tarzi
Jan & Grazyna Wolowski: Wolowski Family, Jedrzejewski Family, Golik Family, Zdrojewski Family, Barbara Rochnowsko, Kazimierz Scislowski, Jan Nowak, Bronia Kazmierczak, Wojtek Kurpiewski
Continued blessings of the Easter Season to all,
Fr. John Mahoney
Dear Parishioners and Visitors,
He is risen!
He is risen, indeed!
We learned many lessons about covenants during the 40 days of Lent this year. And now we exult in the most important covenant – that God so loved the world that He sent His only son so that we who follow him might have eternal life. God loves us. God is merciful toward us. And God wants us to live forever with Him in His Kingdom. This is the essential meaning of our Easter celebrations.
Throughout the Easter Season, we continue our works of charity and mercy. Pope Francis called mercy the “beating heart of the gospel.” Mercy and compassionate treatment of the distressed and undeserved is another term for God’s charity. Consider showing devotion to it by reciting the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a rosary-based prayer that was received by Saint Faustina, a Polish nun in the 1930s, through visions of Jesus. Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated the week after Easter, but many make the Chaplet part of their regular prayer and devotion by reciting it every day at 3 p.m. (the traditional hour of Christ’s death).
Wishing you all the blessings, charity, and mercy of the Holy Season of Easter,
Fr. John Mahoney
Dear Parishioners and Visitors,
“Now the Passover of the Jews was near.” As Christians prepare for Palm Sunday and Holy Week, followers of the Jewish faith tradition prepare for the beginning of Passover at sundown on Friday, April 15. There are many traditions that led to the Jewish use of unleavened bread, or matzah, during this feast. One of the most interesting is the usage of the Hebrew term “the bread of poverty” for matzah. This hard, flat bread is said to remind Jews of what it was like to be poor captives in Egypt and to promote humility and a greater appreciation of the gift of freedom. Food for thought for one and all—and for gratitude!
Here is more food for thought: Although the term, “the Jews” as it is used in the Gospels may be interpreted by some disparagingly, the Church’s unique relationship with the Jewish people is grounded in a shared heritage, making it unlike any other dialogue with another religious tradition. It cannot be forgotten that Jesus himself, as well as the earliest apostles, were Jewish. The Second Vatican Council relied on the Apostle Paul’s imagery to describe the familial bond: “Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles” (Nostra Aetate, 4).
The Church recognizes that God’s covenant with the Jewish people continues to be valid. Recently, the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews has even stated, “That the Jews are participants in God’s salvation is theologically unquestionable, but how that can be possible without confessing Christ explicitly, is and remains an unfathomable divine mystery” (“The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable”, 36).
Wishing you the blessings of Holy Week and a deeper understanding of our “shared heritage” with all of God’s children,
Fr. John Mahoney
© 2022 St Joseph's Church