Category: From the Pastor’s Desk (Page 15 of 76)

For centuries, the Memorial of Saint Blaise has been celebrated with crossed candles held under the throat of the Christian faithful and the invocation pronounced,

“Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Saint Blaise’s life is known primarily through legend written some 400 years after his death, yet the tradition of seeking his intercession and blessing throats lives on in countless parishes today. It is a good time to remember that when you come to God or seek the prayers of a saint or a blessing of some kind, you are not practicing magic or being superstitious: you are acting out your faith in God’s love and care.

See in the story of Saint Blaise an occasion to commit yourself again into God’s hands.

With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney

Lovely Lady dressed in blue,
Teach me how to pray.
God was just your little boy,
When you taught him the way.

The words of this prayer by Mary Dixon Thayer to the Blessed Mother were popularized by Archbishop Fulton Sheen on his famous television show in the 1950s.  Beginning with the first weekend of February 2025, the “Pilgrim Virgin Home Visitation Program” will begin here at St. Joseph’s Parish.  This initiative, sponsored by the Delaney Council of the Knights of Columbus, has taken root in over 40 Catholic parishes so far in New Hampshire.  When families welcome these traveling statues into their home, reportedly, they begin to experience an increase in peace among their families, and sometimes even miracles begin to happen.  

The Pilgrim Virgin Statue is available for individuals and families to take home on a month-by-month    basis, and is easily picked up and dropped off at the church to facilitate transfer from one family to the next.  It comes in a portable case, along with rosary beads and an instruction booklet to help increase prayer and devotion to the Blessed Mother.  

If you are interested, please contact Mary Pieroni at 603-745-7428 to schedule a home visit from the    Pilgrim Virgin Statue.  

With prayerful best wishes,

Fr. John Mahoney 

Thank you to everyone for your generous support of furnishing the church with Christmas flowers! 

General Donors: Barbara Vitale, Susan Whitman, Donald Landry, Peggy & Fred Mehrmann, Nancy Bujeaud

In Memoriam Donors:

Herman & Helen Cadorette, Claire Ward, by Janet Peltier.
Anna Stewart, George Stewart, Michael Stewart, John Indelicato, Nana Indelicato, by Letita Stewart
Jeremiah T. McCarthy, by JoAnn McCarthy
Deceased members of the Wolowski, Jedrzedewski, Zdrojewski, Golik and Horosz Families, by Jan and Gracie Wolowski
F. Hamdan, MD, Patricia Yagielowicz, by Patricia Hamdan
Eric Johnson, Barbara Eiserlo, Clough Family, Macedo Family, The Perron Family, by Rae Perron.
Robert Henderson Sr. Ron Riley, John Zito, Clarleglio Family, Henderson Family, by RoseMarie Henderson.
Sam Boyle, by Quentin & Judy Boyle.
Erving & Helena Haynes, Joseph & Mabel Lahoullier,  Patty Papio, Jack & Peggy Timbury, by Nina & Nathan Haynes.
Mary & Michael Iarocci, Sr., Celia & Albert Pieroni, Eugenio & Nicolena Muscatelli, Luigi & Lena Iarocci, Angelo Pezzo, Amato & Emma Iadicola, Octavio & Pauline Pieroni, Thomas & Michelina Muscatelli, Marguerite Lemieux, Isabelle Rafferty, by Mary Pieroni.
McGovern Family, by John McGovern
Joseph W. Laufenberg Jr., by Laura Laufenberg.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Please take home one of the calendars available at the church doors. Fr. Leo Burchel terms the new year  “a gift from God and a special year of prayer.”  What a gift we have as Catholics in the liturgical calendar!  Mother Church proposes for us times and seasons in which we attune our sentiments to the sentiments of Christ: repentance and expectation during Advent, humility and joy at Christmas, penance and mercy in Lent, and a grand celebration during the Easter season.  We can thus walk step in step with the Church,    living the principal mysteries of our faith throughout the year in an atmosphere of communion and solidarity with our fellow Christians.  Through the liturgical seasons – and our faith-filled living of them – hearts are united, the Church is built up, and charity increases.

Abundant blessings to all of you in the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025!

Fr. John Mahoney

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

With deep joy and gratitude, I extend to you – parishioners and visitors alike – my prayerful best wishes for a holy and blessed Christmas Season and New Year!

Several years ago, I received a Christmas card with this message: “This Christmas, I wish you Jesus.” On the inside it read: “Isn’t it nice to have everything!” Miracles come to us in all shapes and sizes during the Advent Season, but the perfect  gift is always the miracle found in the manger on that first Christmas morning – a perfect gift because it keeps on giving and giving and giving.

The Christmas Season has a way of bringing back to church individuals and families who, for various reasons, have not been to Mass for a while. What a wonderful and grace-filled opportunity to put aside past differences and old habits and to begin anew into 2024 that prayerful relationship with the Lord. Over the year to come – and amid all our current challenges and concerns – may we grow together in strength and grace to know and celebrate God’s presence in our lives.

May our Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, bless you, your families and loved ones at this holy time of hope and grace, and may Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, watch over you always.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Fr. John Mahoney