FROM FATHER RICK
DEAR FRIENDS,
ARISE UPDATE
Please continue to reflect and pray about your
involvement in the ARISE Program which begins in
October. The formal Sign Up weekend will take
place on September 13/14. There will also be
ARISE Team members available at Generations of
Faith registration dates as well. These dates
are listed elsewhere in the bulletin. You will
also be able to sign up in advance of the formal
weekend in the Gathering Space beginning next
weekend.
Thus far we have 13
Small Group Leaders: “THANK YOU”. Each is
meeting at a different time during the week for
the six week period of the First Season. We
still need at least seven Leaders to reach our
goal of 20 small communities. As I have
mentioned before this ministry requires one
training session sponsored by the archdiocese
and for each of the sessions materials are
provided. Please consider this ministry. If you
have any questions you can ask any of the ARISE
Team members who are wearing their ARISE badges
on their St Robert’s name tag.
ARCHDIOCESAN
BICENTENNIAL VICARIATE CELEBRATION
On Sunday, September 7, there will be a family
picnic and Bicentennial Celebration at Saint
Michael’s in North Andover. The celebration
begins with a Noon Mass in the church and then a
family picnic from 1:00–4:00. Tickets for the
picnic are on sale after all weekend Masses—$5
for an individual $15 for a family of 4 or more.
GENERATIONS OF
FAITH
By now you should have received the Faith
Formation Newsletter. It is full of information
about Generations of Faith as well as our
Sacramental Preparation Programs. Please read
these carefully as there have been some changes.
If you have not
participated in Generations of Faith as yet,
PLEASE REMEMBER this is a program for the whole
parish—all generations and all life situations.
Take a look at the schedule of dates and topics
in the Newsletter and try one that might
interest you.
NATIONAL
ELECTIONS
After what seems to be about four years of
campaigning, we now move into the Convention
Stage of our national elections. At the
conclusion of the two conventions we will hold a
presentation on the Catholic Bishop’s document
Faithful Citizenship. Bernie Swain will be the
presenter.
In order
to make it available to more folks, it will be
held on Tuesday, September 16, at 7:00 in the
evening in Driscoll Hall, and the same
presentation will be held on Wednesday,
September 17, immediately following the 12:10
Mass, in the Bellarmine Room. If you plan to
attend please call the Parish Office so that we
may make preparations.
PARISH OFFICE
The Parish Office will be closed Friday, August
29, and Monday, September 1, for the Labor Day
Weekend.
I wish you peace,
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, contact Jim
McKain at 978-475-7931 or
Jim_McKain@NLTek.com,
or go online to
www.saintroberts.net/kofc.htm.
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, September 3, 7:30 pm, Driscoll Hall
Money Matters
On the weekend of
August 16/17
Stewardship
Reflection
“Or who has given
the Lord anything that he may be repaid?” Romans
11:35
St. Paul reminds us
of a central fact of stewardship. We cannot give
the Lord anything, because God already owns it
all. God made everything. All that we can do is
return a portion of God’s many gifts back to
Him. The good steward does this with gratitude.
WE NEED YOU!
This summer we have
been sharing with you several benefits of
participating in the ARISE
process. None of these benefits, however, are
possible without you. Please consider how much
your faith and doubts, your successes and
failures, your wisdom and questions, all you
have to share, will be valued by other
participants. The ARISE reflection groups
will be greatly enriched by your presence.
For more information, please visit us online
at
www.saintroberts.net/Arise.htm.
Presentation and
discussion
of the U.S.
Catholic Bishops’ Faithful Citizenship Statement
Tuesday, Sept.
16, 7:00 pm
Driscoll Hall
Wednesday, Sept.
17, 12:45 pm
Bellarmine Room
During these
sessions, Dr. Bernard F. Swain will be here to
present the current Faithful Citizenship
document for your consideration prior to the
national election in November. Both sessions are
the same, one in the evening and one in the
daytime for your convenience. RSVP to Irene in
the Parish Office if you plan to join us for
either session.
For more
information, including an excerpt of Dr. Swain’s
Cross Currents article on the topic, see
the article in the most recent issue of the
Parish Newsletter. If you did not receive the
newsletter in the mail, check with the parish
office to make sure that your contact
information is up to date. The newsletter is
also available on our website under the
Parish Newsletter link. Full text of the
Faithful Citizenship Statement is online at
http://www.usccb.org/bishops/FCStatement.pdf.
Love to garden?
Don’t forget to
contact the Parish Office if you are interested
in
helping out with
the parish weeding/gardening initiatives!
Saturday, August
23, Vigil, 21st Ordinary Sunday
4:00 pm: Louis
Peront
Sunday, August
24, 21st Ordinary Sunday
8:00 am: People of
the Parish
10:30 am: Roger
LaFitte
Saturday, August
30, Vigil, 22nd Ordinary Sunday
4:00 pm: Michael
Noel Ryan and his 48 companions killed in the
Comair flight 5191 plane crash in Lexington, KY
Sunday, August
31, 22nd Ordinary Sunday
8:00 am: People of
the Parish
10:30 am: Herb
Murray
Readings for the
Week of August 24, 2008
Sunday:
Is 22:19-23/Rom 11:33-36/Mt 16:13-20
Monday: 2
Thes 1:1-5, 11-12/Mt 23:13-22
Tuesday: 2
Thes 2:1-3a, 14-17/Mt 23:23-26
Wednesday: 2
Thes 3:6-10, 16-18/Mt 23:27-32
Thursday: 1
Cor 1:1-9/Mt 24:42-51
Friday:
1 Cor 1:17-25/Mk 6:17-29
Saturday: 1
Cor 1:26-31/Mt 25:14-30
Next Sunday: Jer
20:7-9/Rom 12:1-2/Mt 16:21-27
We Need Your
Help!
Are you a stay at
home parent? Are you interested in a volunteer
opportunity to which you can bring you child/ren?
We are looking for volunteers who are available
approximately one Friday morning a month to set
up for our Generations of Faith Festivals. You
don't have to be participating in the program to
volunteer. The set up involves some light
furniture moving (e.g. moving and setting up
tables & chairs) and several trips up and down
stairs and around the church and hall—so you'll
even be getting a light workout free of charge!
Please contact Amanda (amroberts@comcast.net)
or Meg (meg_green5@comcast.net)
at the Parish Office if you are interested or
would like more information.
Reminder:
Ministry Exceptions Requested
New schedule begins
September 6/7. Please provide exceptions to
Irene at
ibonner@comcast.net or 978-683-8922 as soon
as possible so that the new schedule can be
issued in a timely manner.
Question of the
Week
Twenty-First
Ordinary Sunday
Reading I:
Isaiah 22:19-23 (The Key of the House of
David)
Reading II:
Romans 11:33-36 (How Unsearchable His Ways)
Gospel:
Matthew 16:13-20 (Who Do You Say That I Am?)
Question for Adults:
If Jesus turned and asked you the same
question, who would you say he is? How would you
describe Jesus to someone who did not know him?
Question for Youth:
Today’s Gospel is about identity—the
revealing of Jesus’ true self. How difficult is
it to you to reveal your true self? What holds
you back from being who God created you to be?
Question for Children:
What are three things you know about
Jesus?
Striving to
learn, live, and share our faith
The latest Faith
Formation Newsletter is out! Learn more about
faith formation at St. Robert’s, including
Sacramental Preparation, the Children & Youth
Safety Program, and Generations of Faith
information. If you did not receive your
newsletter in the mail, please check with the
Parish Office to make sure that your contact
information is up to date. The newsletter is
also available on the
Faith Formation page of our website.
Questions about faith formation? Contact Amanda
in the Parish Office at
amroberts@comcast.net or 978-683-8922.
In Service
Lt. Col. James
Coffey, USAF, 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, LTCD Chris Stopyra, USN
Registration
Starts This Week!
Thursday, August 28,
4:00-7:00 pm
Wednesday, September
3, 4:00-7:00 pm
Saturday, September
6, after 4:00 pm Mass
Sunday, September 7,
after 9:00 & 11:00 am Masses
All registrations
will take place in Driscoll Hall
For registration,
you will need: your calendar, picture ID,
checkbook or cash for registration payment,
1st & 2nd choice for
festival dates, & choice of volunteer
opportunity.
Volunteer Needs
Before you come to
registration, please consider in what capacity
you will volunteer in the program. Here are some
options:
·
Festival set up team (Friday morning, Sunday
after 11:00 am Mass, Monday early afternoon)
·
Meal
team
·
Activity Leader, Co-leader, Assistant Activity
Leader
·
Break
down team
·
Home
Kit Assembly team
·
Registration team
Check out your Faith
Formation Newsletter for further information on
all these volunteer opportunities (as well as
the GOF calendar and topics, and details about
registration).
What is
Generations of Faith?
If you are new to
the parish or just new to GOF and have
questions, check out the
FAQ on our website (bottom of the homepage
or under Faith Formation) or contact Amanda at
amroberts@comcast.net or 978-683-8922 for
more information.
Project Rachel
Do you know someone
who is carrying grief and sorrow over past
abortions? Project Rachel is the post-abortion
ministry of the Catholic Church to help those
dealing with the pain of abortion. Project
Rachel will offer three “Come to the Waters”
post abortion healing retreats this fall:
Saturday, September 6, October 18, or November
15, 2008. For more information and
registration for the date of your choice,
contact Project Rachel at 508-651-3100 or
help@projectrachelboston.com.
Summer Mass
Schedule Ends Soon!!
On the weekend of
September 6/7, we will resume our regular
weekend Mass schedule:
Saturday at 4:00
pm
Sunday at 9:00 &
11:00 am
Retrouvaille…a
Lifeline
Rediscover a loving
marriage with a Retrouvaille (pronounced re-tro-vy)
weekend. If your marriage is tearing the two of
you apart, if there is little or no meaningful
communication, if you are considering separation
or divorce, Retrouvaille may be able to help.
Find more information on the web at
www.helpourmarriage.com or call
1-800-470-2230. The next Retrouvaille marriage
renewal weekends will be held September
12-14, 2008 and in January 2009.
Volunteer because
God has plans for her…
Without you the door
may go unanswered for a woman or man in a crisis
pregnancy or a scared woman may take a pregnancy
test alone or with someone encouraging an
abortion. Three hours a week can make a
difference in someone else’s whole lifetime. The
next peer counseling training is planned for
September 16, 17, 23, 24 in the Haverhill
center. Contact Joy in Amesbury @ 978-388-7960
or Carol in Haverhill @ 978-373-5700 for more
information.
Pregnancy Care
Center
www.pccnortheast.org
Attention
UMass-Amherst Students & Parents
As you begin to
prepare for your return to school this fall, the
Newman Catholic Center at UMass-Amherst would
like you to know that they are available to you
and that their staff is eager to help in any way
that they can. The Center has extensive
spiritual, service, and social programs and
offers a home-away-from-home environment where
students can pray, study, relax, and meet other
students. Visit them online at
www.newmanumass.org to register and to learn
more about their programs.
SCRIPTURE
READINGS FOR NEXT WEEK–TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN
ORDINARY TIME
A reading from
the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 20:7-9
You duped me, O
LORD, and I let myself be duped; you were too
strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day I
am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.
Whenever I speak, I
must cry out, violence and outrage is my
message; the word of the LORD has brought me
derision and reproach all the day.
I say to myself, I
will not mention him, I will speak in his name
no more. But then it becomes like fire burning
in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow
weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.
A reading from
the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans 12:1-2
I urge you, brothers
and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not
conform yourselves to this age but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that
you may discern what is the will of God, what is
good and pleasing and perfect.
+ A reading from
the holy Gospel according to Matthew 16:21-27
Jesus began to show
his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and
suffer greatly from the elders, the chief
priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on
the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus
aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid,
Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me,
Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are
thinking not as God does, but as human beings
do.”
Then Jesus said to
his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me
must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow
me. For whoever wishes to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake
will find it. What profit would there be for one
to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or
what can one give in exchange for his life? For
the Son of Man will come with his angels in his
Father’s glory, and then he will repay all
according to his conduct.”
Copyright 1970,
1986, 1992, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of
Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington D.C. All
rights reserved. No part of this work may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including
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storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the copyright owner.
