Author: Fr. Mahoney (Page 32 of 74)

If the readings at Mass sound better these days, it’s because we have a new            Lectionary! When Paula Strickon spotted the broken binder and crumbled pages of our old Lectionary, she donated a brand new one. It makes a difference!          Thank you, Paula!

Elizabeth Beaudin
Committal Service on Saturday, November 4, 2023
at 11:00 A.M. at Riverside Cemetery

Do you merely “watch” Holy Mass when you come to church? Or do you worship God in Spirit and truth as He wishes – by your full, conscious, and active participation?

As Catholics, we worship God principally by following the command that Jesus gave us at the Last Supper, to “Do this in memory of me.” In other words, God Himself has taught us how He wishes us to worship Him.

Church teaching instructs that the Catholic Faithful worship God by participating at Holy Mass as a right and duty by reason of their baptism, and that they  do so by their “full, conscious, and active participation” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14).  This means that one’s heart, mind, and soul are awake, alert, and engaged at the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, as opposed to merely attending or “watching” from the church pews without responding as the Church asks.

The liturgical directives in the General Instruction to the Roman Missal stress the importance of the Catholic  Faithful engaging “dialogically” at Holy Mass with the

Priest-Celebrant. There are certain acclamations and  responses that belong solely to the Faithful. These include the singing or recitation of the Mystery of Faith, the Great Amen, the conclusion of the Our Father (“…for the Kingdom the power and the glory …), and the Lamb of God. The Priest-Celebrant is directed to sing or recite with the Faithful the Holy, Holy, Holy (the Sanctus) and the “Lord I am not worthy…”.  Because there are acclamations and responses at Holy Mass that belong to the people, for the priest to say or sing them as well diminishes the dialogical and shared responsibility intended by the Sacred Liturgy.

In order to ensure that you have obeyed fully and  fruitfully the meaning of the Third Commandment by worshiping God in Spirit and in truth, please bring your best gift to the altar with your full, conscious, and active participation at Holy Mass.

With prayerful best wishes,

Fr. John Mahoney

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