FROM FATHER RICK
DEAR FRIENDS,
Palms
Please bring your palm
branches from last year to church next weekend so
that they can be burned for our celebration of Ash
Wednesday this year. There will be a basket in the
Gathering Space.
Confirmation Rite of
Enrollment of Names
Next Saturday, February
2, our 10th Graders, who have been preparing for the
celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation in the
Easter Season, will begin their proximate
preparation with an offsite Day of Recollection.
This day will conclude with a Rite of Enrollment of
Names during the 4:00 pm Mass on that Saturday. This
rite gives the candidates the opportunity to state
before the community that they are taking this step
in their sacramental lives seriously. It calls on us
the community to state that we will support these
young men and women in this journey. Please join us
for this important moment in parish life here at
Saint Robert’s.
Consecrated Life Day
Next Sunday, February 3,
we will celebrate consecrated life at the 11:00 am
Mass, followed by a reception in the Gathering Space
honoring any religious who come as guests to
celebrate with us. If you would like a member of a
religious community (sister, brother or religious
order priest) remembered by name at this Mass,
please submit the name to Irene at the Parish Office
before this Friday, February 1. Please invite any
religious to join us on this day.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is
February 6 this year. Masses will be celebrated at
12:10 pm, 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm. In preparation for
this day we will once again have our “Fat Tuesday”
(Mardi Gras) Lunch on Tuesday, February 5, in the
Gathering Space immediately following the 12:10 pm
Mass. If you’d like to join us, let me know.
Fish Fry
On Friday evening,
February 8, the Knights will sponsor their first
Fish Fry (which is actually a Fish Bake!) Please see
the announcement in this weekend’s bulletin for
details. Please support them in this new effort.
World Marriage Day
On Saturday, February 9,
we will celebrate World Marriage Day at the 4:00 pm
Mass. Once again we will honor in a special way
those celebrating anniversaries of significant
number (5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, etc.). If you
are celebrating such an anniversary this year,
please let us know. There will be a reception
following the 4:00 pm Mass.
Lenten Events
Weekday Mass is
celebrated during Lent on Monday through Friday at
12:10 pm. Evening Prayer is celebrated each Thursday
evening of Lent at 7:00 pm. Please consider joining
us for these two important aspects of our parish
celebration of Lent.
Have a great week,
If you want peace – work
for justice (Pope Paul VI),
Fr. Rick
Imagine being part of an
organization that fills your heart and your mind
with the joy of giving to others and the feeling
that comes with making a difference. Knights are
Catholic men, 18 years of age and older, who are
committed to making their community a better place,
while supporting their Church. Being a Knight is
more than camaraderie; it is being involved with
your community; it is supporting your local Catholic
Church, while enhancing your own faith and setting a
good faith example; it is about protecting and
enhancing your family life. You can volunteer as
much as you like or as little and on your own
schedule. For more information about the parish
council or upcoming events, contact Jim McKain at
978-475-7931 or
Jim_McKain@NLTek.com, or go online to
www.saintroberts.net/kofc.htm.
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, February 6, Driscoll Hall, following the
7:00 PM Ash Wednesday Mass.
Money Matters
On the weekend of January 19/20
The Heart of the
Cross: a Passion Play
Stewardship
Reflection
“He called them, and immediately they left their
boat and their father and followed Him.” Matthew
4:22
Just as He called the
first apostles, Jesus calls each of us to follow
Him, too. We are not expected to leave our
businesses and our families behind, but we are
expected to put our service to Jesus before worldly
endeavors.
Scouting for Food
Once again this year the
parish food drive will be conducted in conjunction
with the Annual National Scouting for Food Program
undertaken by our own Troop & Pack 79. Since 1988,
over 400 million food items have been collected.
Last year our Scouts collected nearly 4500 items.
This year our Scouts would like to exceed that. The
food is distributed to different groups in the area,
such as Neighbors in Need, Bread and Roses and
Lazarus House. Kindly grab a Food Drive bag being
handed out at the back of the church and bring your
donation of non-perishable goods with you to Mass
next weekend and leave them in the bins at the back
of the church. THANK YOU!
Special Collection
This Weekend–Church in Latin America
A contribution to the
Collection for the Church in Latin America is a
tangible way to express your solidarity with your
brothers and sisters throughout Mexico, Central and
South America, and the Caribbean. Donations to the
collection, which will be held on the weekend of
January 26/27, fund pastoral projects that bring
people more fully into the life of the Catholic
Church. Please be generous in your support. For more
information, go to
www.usccb.org/latinamerica.
Fair trade coffee and
cocoa will be available for purchase
in the Gathering Space
after all Masses next weekend, February 2 and 3.
Buying fair trade products
is a tangible way we can put the values of our faith
into action.
It reminds us that there
are people behind all the things we consume.
To learn more about the
CRS Fair Trade Program, go to:
www.crsfairtrade.org.
Mass Schedule and
Intentions
Saturday, January 26,
Vigil, 3rd Ordinary Sunday
4:00 pm: John W. Wynn
Sunday, January 27,
3rd Ordinary Sunday
9:00 am: Robert Sullivan
11:00 am: Heather
Geldart
Tuesday, January 29,
Weekday Mass
12:10 pm
Thursday, January 31,
John Bosco, priest
12:10 pm
Friday, February 1,
Weekday Mass
12:10 pm
Saturday, February 2,
Vigil, 4th Ordinary Sunday
4:00 pm: Confirmation
Rite of Enrollment of Names
Sunday, February 3,
4th Ordinary Sunday
9:00 am: Regina Miriam
Stowe
11:00 am: Consecrated
Life Mass
Prayers requested for
Theresa
Kalhouri, friend of parishioners Robert and Teresa
Enos
Readings for the Week of January 27, 2008
Sunday: Is 8:23-9:3/1 Cor 1:10-13, 17/Mt
4:12-23 or 4:12-17
Monday: 2 Sm 5:1-7, 10/Mk 3:22-30
Tuesday: 2 Sm 6:12b-15, 17-19/Mk 3:31-35
Wednesday: 2 Sm 7:4-17/Mk 4:1-20
Thursday: 2 Sm 7:18-19, 24-29/Mk 4:21-25
Friday: 2 Sm 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17/Mk
4:26-34
Saturday: Mal 3:1-4/Heb 2:14-18/Lk 2:22-40
or 2:22-32
Next
Sunday: Zep 2:3; 3:12-13/1 Cor 1:26-31/Mt 5:1-12a
In Service
Kevin Grace, USA, Lyle
Shackelford, Jaime Ray Seluk, USN, Pvt. Alexander
Sabu, USA, Lt. Col. Paul Severance, USAF, Gen’l. R.
Steve Whitcomb, USA, Lt. Col. Brian P. Bedell, USA,
Capt. Lauren Whitcomb, USA, Col. Patrick J. Donahue,
USA, Col. Brian P. Donahue, USA, Cpt. Michael
McGaffigan, USA, Steve Comstock, Pilot, USN, Lt.
Jesse Salisbury, USAF, Sgt. Maureen Galvin, USA,
SpOps, Lt.J.G. Kevin B. O’Brien, USN, Miko Belonia,
Maj. Tony Hoffman, USA, Maj. Ross Coffman, USA, Maj.
Garth Howe, USA, Chief Warrant Officer II Michael
Morris, USA, Captain Matthew Mancini, USA, Sgt.
Ellen Barnes O’Connor, USA, Pvt. Adam James Mazza,
USA, Pvt. Joseph D. Gagnon, USM, Cpt. Eric Eckberg,
USA, SFC John B. Nicholas, USA, LTCD Chris Stopyra,
USN
Question of the
Week–Third Ordinary Sunday
Question for Adults:
How do you hear Jesus calling you to do what
he wants you to?
Question for Youth:
Jesus has already called you to be his disciple.
What are some things that you are already doing
because you are a disciple of Jesus? What more can
you do?
Question for Children:
How do you hear Jesus calling you to do what
he wants you to?
Ministry Exceptions
Requested
The current liturgical
ministry schedule expires the weekend of February
2/3. The new
schedule will go into effect on the weekend of
February 8/9 and run through May 3/4, with a few
exceptions that were outlined in the email sent
recently to liturgical ministers. Please provide
exceptions to Irene by January 28 so that the new
schedule can be issued in a timely manner.
Please bring your
palm branches from last year to church next weekend
so that they can be
burned for our celebration of Ash Wednesday this
year.
There will be a
basket in the Gathering Space.
This Week in Our
Parish
Monday, January 28
5:00-8:00 PM
Generations of Faith Festival, Driscoll Hall
Tuesday, January 29
12:10 PM Weekday Mass,
Church
Thursday, January 31
12:10 PM Weekday Mass,
Church
5:00 PM Youth Cantor
Practice, Church
5:30 PM Youth Choir
Practice, Church
6:30 PM Scouts,
Driscoll Hall
7:30 PM Adult Choir
Practice, Church
Friday, February 1
10:45 AM Adult
Enrichment, Bellarmine Room
12:10 PM Weekday Mass,
Church
Saturday, February 2
Scouts Annual Food Drive
Collection
Fair Trade Coffee
Available for Purchase in the Gathering Space after
4:00 PM Mass
5:00 PM Spaghetti
Dinner, Driscoll Hall
Sunday, February 3
Scouts Annual Food Drive
Collection
Fair Trade Coffee
Available for Purchase in the Gathering Space after
both Masses
10:00-11:00 AM First
Communion Prep, Driscoll Hall
12:00 PM Consecrated
Life Day Reception, Gathering Space after 11:00 Mass
SPAGHETTI DINNER
Saturday, February 2
Following the 4:00 PM
Mass, Driscoll Hall
$10 Adults; $4
Children 12 and under
Salad–Spaghetti–Meatballs–Dessert–BYOB
Contact the Parish
Office by January 30 at 978-683-8922 or
ibonner@comcast.net to reserve your place!
DON’T MISS OUT –
RESERVE EARLY – YOU CAN PAY AT THE DOOR
Presented by our
parish council of the Knights of Columbus
Write-in Campaign for
CatholicTV Making Progress
FISH DINNER
Friday, February 8
Serving from
5:30-7:00 PM, Driscoll Hall
$10 Adults; $5
Children 12 and under; $30 Family Cap
Chowder–Baked White
Fish–Green Vegetable–Potato–Cole Slaw–Bread–Cheese
Pizza for the Kids
Contact the Parish
Office by February 5 at 978-683-8922 or
ibonner@comcast.net to reserve your place!
Presented by our
parish council of the Knights of Columbus
SCRIPTURE READINGS
FOR NEXT WEEK–FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
A reading from the
Book of the Prophet Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13
Seek the LORD, all you
humble of the earth,
who have observed his
law;
seek justice, seek
humility;
perhaps you may be
sheltered
on the day of the LORD’S
anger.
But I will leave as a
remnant in your midst
a people humble and
lowly,
who shall take refuge in
the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
nor shall there be found
in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
they shall pasture and
couch their flocks
with none to disturb
them.
A reading from the
first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians
1:26-31
Consider your own
calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were
wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not
many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the
foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God
chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and
God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those
who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those
who are something, so that no human being might
boast before God. It is due to him that you are in
Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as
well as righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption, so that, as it is written, “Whoever
boasts, should boast in the Lord.”
+ A reading from the
holy Gospel according to Matthew 5:1-12a
When Jesus saw the
crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had
sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to
teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who
mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will
be satisfied.
Blessed are the
merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of
heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called children of
God.
Blessed are they who are
persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when
they insult you and persecute you and utter every
kind of evil against you falsely
because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for
your reward will be great in heaven.”
Copyright 1970, 1986,
1992, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of Christian
Doctrine, Inc. Washington D.C. All rights reserved.
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