103 Walker Street, Manchester, NH 03102

OFFICE HOURS

Monday—Friday 9am to 12 pm; 1:30 to 4pm

WWW.ST-RAPHAEL-PARISH.ORG

Saint Raphael Parish

Welcome to the Benedictine Catholic Community of

PARISH OFFICE 603.623.2604

PASTORAL TEAM & SUPPORT STAFF

Rev. Jerome Joseph Day, O.S.B., Ph.D., Pastor

Kerri Stanley, Parish Secretary, Director of Liturgy Nina Lukens, Coordinator of Religious Education

Therese Dame, Religious Education Consultant

Dorene Turner, Director of Food Pantry & Hope Chest

Ray Clement, Director of Facilities Don Provencher, Facilities Assistant

Lyle Hamel, Director of Choir & Principal Organist

Jonathan Cote, Gerry LeBlond, Organists

Tom Larson et al., Catholic Basics Choir;

Amber Byron, Judy Costigan, Erin McCahon, Caresse Mailloux, Melanie

Noonan, Cantors

@SaintRaphaelParish

saint_raphael_parish_nh @SaintRaphaelManch

Founded in 1888, Saint Raphael is a Roman Catholic parish, confided to the care of the Benedictine monks of Saint Anselm Abbey, in the Diocese of Manchester. The first Benedictine foundation in New England, the parish is a tithing community, endeavoring to return to the Lord in time, treasure and talent some of the blessings He bestows upon us. The parish strives to return 10 percent, the biblical standard, of gifts it receives to

outside charities.

DAILY LITURGY SCHEDULE

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 12 noon

Thursday: 8:30am

Friday: 6pm

WEEKEND LITURGY SCHEDULE

Saturday: 4pm (Vigil)

Sunday: 7:30am, 9:30am, 5pm

RECONCILIATION

‘CONFESSION ON THE PORCH’

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4 — 5pm.

Ring bell of front door rectory and take a seat on

the bench to the left.

Saint Raphael Parish

Manchester NH

August 9, 2020

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The sanctuary candle burns this

week for John Santo

Smedile.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Saint Benedict Academy (Pre-K—6): Brandy Houle, principal 603.669.3932 85 Third St., Manchester, NH 03102

Saint Joseph Regional Catholic School (7—8): Dawn Florino, principal 603.624.4811 148 Belmont St., Manchester, NH 03103

Holy Family Academy (7-12): Mark Gillis, head of school 603.644.7247 281 Cartier St., Manchester, NH 03102

Trinity High School (9-12): Steven F. Gadecki, principal 603.668.2910 581 Bridge St., Manchester, NH 03104

Monday: 2 Cor 9:6-10; Ps 112:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9; Jn 12:24-26 Tuesday: Ez 2:8—3:4; Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131; Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 Wednesday: Ez 9:1-7; 10:18-22; Ps 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Mt 18:15-20 Thursday: Ez 12:1-12; Ps 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62; Mt 18:21 — 19:1 Friday: Ez 16:1-15, 60, 63 or Ez 16:59-63; Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6; Mt 19:3-12 Saturday: Vigil: 1 Chr 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2; Ps 132:6-7, 9-10, 13-14; 1 Cor 15:54b-57; Lk 11:27-28; Day: Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Ps 45:10-12, 16; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Lk 1:39-56 Sunday: Is 56:1, 6-7; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Rom 11:13-15, 29-32; Mt 15:21-28

On Monday, August 3, the food pantry served 15 fami-lies and gave out 38 bags of groceries. At this time, we

are unable to take clothing donations. We are in need of: bar soap, Tuna Helper, laundry detergent, canned fruit, jar of marshmallow fluff, baked beans. We also need Hannaford to Go paper bags. Thank

of August 9, 2020

Year A

Saturday August 8 Saint Dominic

4:00 PM Susan Canty by Jack & Colleen Byrne

Sunday August 9 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

7:30 AM ❖Our Parish Family

9:30 AM Judy Ouellette by Dorene & Tony Turner

5:00 PM Available intention

Monday August 10 Saint Lawrence

12:00 PM Mary Duval by the Gosselin family

Tuesday August 11 Saint Claire

12:00 PM Fred Duff by Irene Duff

Wednesday August 12 Saint Jane Francis de Chantal

12:00 PM Thomas & Betsy Ross McGuire by Marc & Mary Lussier

Thursday August 13 Saints Pontian & Hippolytus

8:30 AM Bert Campbell by Nathan & Kathy Campbell

Friday August 14 Saint Maximilian Kolbe & Priests

6:00 PM Joseph Handy & deceased of the Handy & Brunelle

families by Greg Handy

Saturday August 15 The Assumption of the B.V.M.

4:00 PM William Canty, Sr., by Jack & Colleen Byrne

Sunday August 16 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

7:30 AM Frank Colby by Margaret-Ann Moran

9:30 AM Ann Eibe by Paul Savel

5:00 PM ❖Our Parish Family

eGiving ... Our par-ishes is still operat-ing yet experiencing a noticeable decrease of our weekly offer-

tory. Please consider donating more to your parish during this time if you can or signing up for our online giving ser-vice. Go to our website (www.st-raphael-parish.org) and click on the Giving button. In a few minutes, you can be sure that your gift will work every day of the year to help your parish.

Weekend of August 2, 2020 Regular Offertory $ 9,622.00 Loose Offertory 385.00 Online Offertory Prev Week 1,189.00 Mailed Envelopes 1,036.00 Total Offertory $12,232.00

Stewardship Make up $ 77.00 Holy Day Make up $ 40.00

Food Pantry $ 250.00

Thank you to all who have continued to

support our parish. We are grateful!

Last Year Weekend of August 4, 2019 Total Regular Offertory $ 4,239.20

Our 9:30am Sunday mass is livestreamed via our YouTube channel and

Facebook page.

August 9, 2020

WSR P News in Granite Square! Check out

WSRP News on our YouTube channel, including our

latest 6th Edition. Reaching Rome! Ireland and the

U.K.! California! Chicago! Boynton Street! Pinardville! All segments

of the show can be found on our YouTube channel.

Per diocesan directive, all parishioners MUST wear a face mask in order to attend mass. We regret the in-convenience this may cause some people. If you are unable to comply, we are still live streaming our Sun-day 9:30am Mass, which can be accessed via our YouTube channel and Facebook page. The face mask

is an act of prudence and charity!

All of the sick and/or medically fragile

in our parish family and throughout

our communities, our healthcare per-

sonnel, first responders and essential

workers, Paul Barnes, Sue Beauche-

min, Lillie Duquette, Kathleen & Har-

old Eagan, Eric Featherman, Bertha

Ladieu, Lou Marcello, Christine

McMillan, Max Mendez, Kathy St.

Pierre, Marcia Santos, Marie Sullivan,

Vincent & Maddie Traynor.

If you or a loved one would like your

name on the prayer list, please call Kerri

Stanley at 623.2604, or email admin@st-

raphael-parish.org. Please call each

month to have the name put back on the

list. Thank you!

SUMMER HOURS The parish office will be closed on Fridays

during the months of July and August.

Catholic Charities NH was the recipient of the 2020 Nonprofit of the Decade Award by Business NH Magazine and the NH Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

To be recognized among all of the amazing nonprofits across the state – each doing their own incredible work – is truly humbling. Most importantly, it is a testament to our entire community – including YOU and your parishioners – whose continued faith and support allow us, on a daily basis, to carry out the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and continually build on our mission of providing heal-ing, comfort and empowerment to those who need it most. Without YOU, this would not be possible, nor would we be in a position to make a positive impact on thousands of lives each year.

The past decade was one of many successes and one of change, of adaptation, and most importantly, of growth. To highlight a few: the New Hampshire Food Bank moved into a new building 4x larger than their previous location; we started a new healthcare staffing agency; we acquired Warde Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (Windham); St. Charles Children’s Home in Rochester morphed into St. Charles School to serve chil-dren with severe behavioral needs; we expanded the Our Place pregnancy and parenting education program to Nashua; we overhauled our social services support to put more focus on case management and “Life Plan” development; and finally, we deepened our commitment to serving the changing faces of vulnerable popula-tions statewide through the recent acquisitions of CareGivers, Liberty House and Monadnock at Home. Our work is not motivated by compulsion or obligation; it is motivated by love.

We are honored and grateful, and eagerly look forward to further collaborating with you as we continue to bring God’s great works to those in need into the next decade and beyond.

Tom Blonski

President & CEO

Catholic Charities NH

Saint Raphael Parish Goal: $30,000

Raised: $10,765

Balance: $19,235

Holy Water If you would like a

bottle of holy water, please call

the office at 623.2604. An offering

of $2 per bottle is appreciated.

Suicide Prevention Lifeline If you or someone you know strug-gles with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Pre-vention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK

(8255) any time of day or night.

Please pray for the re-pose of the soul of Elizabeth Charpen-tier, who died August 3

and whose funeral service was held last week. Please keep her and her family in prayer.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading I: I Kings 19: 9a, 11-13a The Lord orders Elijah to act as His servant. Then the Lord teaches the prophet that He comes in a “tiny whisper,” and not in the expected ways of wind, earthquake and fire that Elijah might expect.

Reading II: Romans 9: 1-5 Paul laments that the Jews, his own brothers and kinsmen, have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Therefore, they have not entered into the new Covenant with Christ.

The Gospel: Matthew 14: 22-33 Jesus’ solitary prayer models something for us, namely taking time out for silent solitary prayer each day. Then we hear of Jesus’ famous walk on the water, prompting an impulsive Peter to jump in to greet his Lord, only to weaken through doubt. Jesus offers him a helping hand with a smile.

“Get hold of yourselves! It is I. Do not be afraid!” Uncertainty

can sometimes bring fear along with God’s call to consecrated

life or priesthood. If the Lord is truly calling you, what is needed

is trust. If you are discerning your vocation, call Father Matthew

Mason 663-0132, or write: mmason@rcbm.org.

Save the date! In light of the Corona Virus public health situation, it was necessary to postpone our Confirmation scheduled to take place on March 25. The bishop is granting the faculty to administer the Sacrament of Confir-mation to pastors. Here at Saint Raphael, the

Sacrament of Confirmation and First Eucharist will take place on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020 at 10am. Families of candidates will be receiving further information from our religious education coordinators.

DID YOU MISS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN BECOMING FULLY INITIATED INTO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH? If you have never received the sacrament of Confirmation and would like to do this, please call the rectory at 623.2604 or email admin@st-raphael-parish.org on how to begin this pro-cess.

We are very appreciative to all those who have volunteered to clean the pews following each mass. If you can help out, we would be very grateful. We need assistance at all Masses. Many hands make light work. We will provide the supplies and instructions for safe volunteering. Thank you!

CATHOLIC CITIZENSHIP NEWS Are you looking for an easy way to stay informed about public issues in New Hampshire? The Diocese of Manchester offers an e-mail newsletter with updates on important public policy matters facing our elected officials. For more information, please register at catholicnh.org/ccn.

We welcome produce from your gar-

dens to give to clients of the SRP

Food Pantry on Monday evenings. If

you have vegetables to share, please

drop them off at the rectory Mondays

before 4 PM. Thank you!

I am David Houle. Father Je-rome asked me to tell you my story about how tragedy change me and my family and brought us closer to God. As some of you know, I lost the vision in my left eye this past winter because of an acci-dent. As an avid paintball player, my parents bought me a paintball gun for Christmas. By far one of the best gifts I ever got. It was something I wanted more than anything. Two days later I was target practicing with a friend in the back yard when some-thing unimaginable happened. It mis-fired. Somehow the gun fired without me pulling the trigger. The ball curved upward. It was a direct shot to my eye. In an instant I did not know what happened. Stunned all I knew was I needed my dad. The rest was a blur. My parents tell me that my eye bled and I was transported to Con-cord Hospital. Later they would de-scribe what happened to my eye. It sounded unbelievable. I do not re-member much of that day. My mom sat with me, while my dad waited for my aunt and uncle to come and get my brother and sister. He later met us at the hospital. She prayed the ro-sary and held my hand for hours. Originally, they wanted to med flight me to the hospital in Boston for emergency surgery. They were una-ble to do the surgery that night, so we took an ambulance instead. My dad is a Paramedic Manager. When he found out we were going to Mass Eye and Ear, he was able to get his friend and son to transport me and my mom to Boston. His friend is Catholic and faithful. He let my mom cry on his shoulder and held her hand. He also reminded her of God’s gift and how he watches of us. Looking back my parent say that was a good thing. The surgeon was the head of emergency surgery. Early

the next morning I went to the oper-ating room. My parents were told the sur-gery would take up to 2 hours. I was in there for 6

hours. My mother tells me she wore out her rosary beads that day. My parent prayed a lot that day. They waited to hear news of what was going on. They did not pray for my vision. As it was something that they could not necessarily get. In-stead they prayed for strength, courage and that everything all right. The idea of “all right” at that time meant different things to all the well-wishers calling us. In the end, this was what was al-right for us. There are a couple things that some people may overlook. Six-ty stitches held my eye together. Many of them are still there right now. I still have an eye. It looks dif-ferent than the other, but it is mine and it is there. That itself is a blessing. My mom and dad say that 10 years ago I would have lost my eye. Ten years from now they could have something to fix it. Medi-cine and science are always chang-ing. I cannot give up hope. I do have a fake eye that fits over my real eye. It has full movement so it is really hard to tell it’s not real. The second blessing is since the injury I have learned a lot about myself. Not everything is as bad as it seems. Things can get better. My parents’ prayer made me feel bet-

ter. I knew I was never alone, and I am never going to be alone. We have hope and faith that medicine will evolve. I may have lost my vision, however, I gained believing in my-self. A lot of teens and adults can never say this. I am never alone or empty. There was never despair, just calm. God has a plan for me; no need to complain. Finally, through this whole jour-ney I did not lose myself. My doc-tors think this is amazing. I risk de-pression and PTSD. They have said at visits they have learned so much from me. My parent made sure I picked up the gun again. Paintball still makes me happy. I still play eve-ry Thursday and Saturday. Being scarred was never something I felt. I am still a joker. The laughter I bring to the table makes me heal while making others happy. My mom al-ways says love is a gift and the strongest magic on earth. Laughter is my expression of love. My faith in myself and in God has helped me. I have never once felt de-pressed, upset about the injury, or felt sorry for myself. It is what it is. Yes, it is a bummer. No one would deny otherwise. I am alive and well. Be-sides I have a great story to tell oth-ers. I know there is a bigger plan. I

just do not know what it is yet. What I do know is that if I trust in love and faith in myself and others, I will find my path. I may stumble and fall off it once and a while. However, all roads lead

somewhere. It is just a matter of what we get from the journey it-self. Also making your fake eye fall off during a zoom class is hilarious. Just make it look like an accident or you will get a call from the princi-pal’s office otherwise. Do not ask me how know. ◄© David Houle

From David Houle, parishioner

Finding blessings in unexpected tragedy

L—R: Eric Houle, David Houle and P. Jerome