March 29th, 2020| The Fifth Sunday of Lent | (820)

85 Main Street / Ashburnham, Massachusetts 01430

Saint Denis Parish

LORD’S DAY MASSES Saturday — 4:30 pm

Sunday — 8:00 & 10:30 am

DAILY MASSES

Monday — Wednesday 9:00 am

RECONCILIATION Saturday 3:30 — 4:00 pm

or by appointment

OFFICE HOURS

Monday — Thursday

10:00 - 3:00pm.

Office 24/7 available

on website:

www.saintdenisashburnham.com

Bulletin requests, Prayer requests

Mass Intentions, Event Tickets

Calendar requests, Join Parish

PRIEST ADMINISTRATOR Fr Richard Reidy

508-981-5993

rreidy@worcesterdiocese.org

DEACON Deacon Richard DesJardins

978-343-6367

SECRETARY/OFFICE Andrew W. Gage

StDenis@comcast.net

978-827-5806

RELIGIOUS ED. OFFICE Administrator of Rel ED

Kimberly Brown

978-827–4892

Cell 508-331-0162

StDenisRE@comcast.net

SAINT VINCENT de PAUL

978-790-1923

BAPTISMS Deacon Richard DesJardins

978-343-6367

NOTIFY THE RECTORY 978-827-5806

Visitation of the sick & elderly

Weddings, Funerals,

Pastoral Care, etc.

St Denis Cemetery Kelton Rd

Ashburnham, MA 01430

978-827-5806

https://saintdenisashburnham.org/cemetery

www.SaintDenisAshburnham.com

Join Flock Notes: Text “StDenis85” to 84576

Join Formed https://formed.org Use Code 6DF8JG

Kerry Volke

Joel Rivera Lucy Lamgolier

Fr Bill Cormier

Tim G. Joshua Dale Watson Madeleine Vinluan

Deepa Sathyan

Resmi Jason

Anand Kumar Michele Rios Fatima Rodrigues Roland Mendonca Jason Allen Alexander Liam Howard

Ellen Duffy Steve Dame Chris Perry Magdelena Lovejoy Bob Mary Regina Carolynn McCarthy-Luescher Michele Rios Bob Bryant Christine Harris Warren Walters Tony Chaves Jr. Katy Westhaver Bill Foss Nancy Rosbury Kathleen Hartzell

The Reinmann Family Davis Jaison Daniel Xavier Huidor Rajender sharma Gary Martines Gail Blanche Sheryl Hall Simone Blanche Julie Main Carol Carmody Henna Motwani Sheryl Hall

Online and TV Sources for Practicing our Faith

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESOURCES

How to watch Mass. As public celebration of the Mass

and the obligation to attend have been suspended, you can

watch the Mass on cable TV or streamed on your comput-

er from the following sources:

Diocesan TV Mass from Saint Paul Cathedral:

Cable:

Spectrum (Charter): Channel 193 at 9 am on week-

days and 10 am and 6 pm on Sundays.

Internet:

https://livestream.com/dioceseofworcester/dailymass

(at any time)

EWTN TV:

Cable:

Spectrum (Charter Cable): TV Channel 18. Mass

shown daily at 8 am, noon, 6:30 pm and midnight.

Comcast: TV Channel 056 and 238

DirectTV: TV Channel 370

Dish: TV Channel 261

Internet:

You can also stream the EWTN Mass on the internet at

the same times at https://www.ewtn.com/tv/watch-live/

united-states.

Other Masses:

Cable:

Catholic TV (from Boston) Spectrum (Charter) Chan-

nel 101; 9:30 am, 12:30 pm, 7 pm and 11:30 pm.

Internet:

https://wordonfire.org/daily-mass/

Radio:

EWTN Daily and Sunday Mass at radio stations

1230AM; 970AM; 101.1 FM; courtesy of Emmanuel

Radio. Other Catholic programming

available 24/7.

Daily Mass Readings

If you would like to read some Scripture each day, the daily

Mass readings are an ideal way to track the Lenten journey

of Our Lord to Calvary. The readings reveal how much God

loves each one of us. We might ask ourselves three ques-

tions when reading the Scriptures: 1) what does this pas-

sage reveal to me about God? 2) what does this passage

reveal about me? 3) what is God asking of me?

You can find the daily readings at USCCB Daily Readings

www.usccb.org along with helpful meditations in the Liv-

ing with Christ booklets.

Stations of the Cross Online

I invite you to join us 6:30 PM every Friday to join us

online, as you would have come to the church and do the

Stations of the Cross with us. This online version is very

moving, and if we do it together will have great impact.

You will need at least 45 Minutes as that is how long it is.

Just Click the link below or copy into

your browser.

You can click the link anytime to check

it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch

reload=9&v=wW1t7M8HKT8&autoplay=1&list=PL58g

24NgWPIz8ajwy88V_FBcJTB61w5Gk

For Our Sick ...

Special Highlights | Information

DRIVE-BY CONFESSIONS

Father Reidy will be available for confessions at the normal time (Saturday 3:30 pm- 4 pm) but not in the normal way. He will be outside in the rear of the Church parking lot. Anyone wanting to go to Confession can approach in their car, lowering the window and make their Confession from their car while maintaining a safe distance. If there is a car ahead of you, please keep a distance back from the car next to Fr. Reidy so that we can assure the confidentiality of the sacrament. If more than one person in a single car wishes to confess, the Church will be open for people to wait their turn so only one person need be in the car at a time. If a non-driver wishes to make a Confession, the driver can pull up, exit the car and return after the Confession is complete. Please note that the confessions will only be face to face.

Online Giving. Fr. Reidy has spoken to Wes Snow, our Parish Council Chair, and Greg Tjamparis, our Finance Committee Chair and all agreed that we will do everything we can to keep our staff employed by the parish during these days of reduced parish activity. During the slowdown, Deacon Rich, who doubles as our part-time janitor, will be doing some special projects like shampooing carpets in the parish center and Church and, when the weather cooperates, shifting to some early Spring outdoor cleanup tasks. Kim Brown will be working to continue remotely the CCD and sacramental preparation for our young people who are at home. Andy Gage, our secretary will be continuing to manage tasks from home. We have good people here and we want to be sure we extend ourselves to help them and their families through this stretch. But in doing that and in maintaining the well-being of our parish, we need your help – to the extent you are able. Some of you may have been laid off or had a reduction in your own hours. We understand that if that is your case, you may not be able to support Saint Denis Parish in the way you would like. For those who are able, we would urge your continued support of our parish through online giving (please see the nearby box) or by dropping your check in the mail to us. Although we are not having public liturgies and assemblies for the moment, our bills for heat, insurance, payroll and the like continue. Thank you for your generous support of Saint Denis Parish.

Saint Vincent de Paul Our parish Saint Vincent de Paul Society helps many

Ashburnham residents in our community throughout the

year with essential needs that they are unable to

meet. During this time of uncertainty and cutbacks, we want

our parishioners who might need help to know that the Saint

Vincent de Paul Society which they have supported in good

times is ready to help them in their need now. If you need

help, please call 978-790-1923.

MANY THANKS

A tip of the hat and thanks from the heart. We are very grateful to Beth and David Wojnas for “

hosting” last weekend’s St Paddy’s Day Dinner. Beth demonstrated not just her culinary skills with a delicious corned beef and cabbage dinner but great

flexibility in changing the sit-down dinner to an entirely take out meal. We are also grateful to those who helped with the distribution of the dinners from the parking lot. In this unsettled time in our country and world may we all have the flexibility to adapt

and accommodate for when we do, in the end,

things can work out just fine.

Online Giving Instructions

Online giving is easier than you think. All you need is a computer or phone and a credit card or even

direct bank transfer. You can do a one time

payment or set up weekly or monthly payments. If

you are not sure try a one time payment to check it

out. Our site is fully secured and private. 1) Go to: www.stdenisashburnham.com

2) Choose “Online Giving” from top bar.

3) Click “Offertory”

4) “Chose A Fund” (i.e. Sunday Mass Offertory)

5) Add Amount and check checkbox to make it a

recurring payment. 6) Follow the prompts to edit payment data

7) Click “Submit”

Online Giving will instruct you how to enter

payment and set up a account if you choose to. By

setting up an account you can change your giving at

any time, check how much you have given, provide a steady income for your church even when you are

away on vacation or worse a pandemic strikes that

disrupts all business. No bounced check fees, and

if you give a small amount every week you do not

even notice it. I also use the Credit Card which provides protection from fraud.

PARTNERS IN CHARITY Just as our parish needs your continued support to maintain its staff and programs, so too, the Diocese needs your continued support for its charitable, educational and pastoral activities. Each year tens of thousands of people throughout Worcester County benefit from the work of 25 diocesan programs that are supported by Partners in Charity. In normal times an in-pew appeal is made during Lent for your support. These are not normal times and the needs are even greater. Instead of a Lenten in-pew appeal, a direct mailing from the Diocese is being made to appeal for your support. As with your support to the parish, we understand that some of you may have lost your jobs or had you hours reduced and may not be in a position at present to make a gift to Partners in Charity. If, however, you are in a position to make a gift to the 2020 Partners in Charity Appeal, we would ask that you either make use of the return envelope in the Diocesan mailing or make an online gift through our parish website or directly with the Diocese at https://partners-charity.net/donate. Please note that Saint Denis Parish will receive credit for your gift even if you make it directly to the Diocese. On behalf of the tens of thousands of people who benefit from Partners in Charity Programs, we thank you for your consideration of this request.

PRAYER IN TIME OF PANDEMIC

O God, whose Only Begotten Son bore

the weight of human suffering for our salvation,

hear the prayers of your Church for our sick brothers

and sisters and deliver us from this time of trial.

Open our ears and our hearts

to the voice of your Son:

Be not afraid, for I am with you always.

Bless all doctors and nurses, researchers

and public servants;

give us the wisdom to do what is right

and the faith to endure this hour,

that we might gather once again to praise your name

in the heart of your Church,

delivered from all distress

and confident in your mercy.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Church Open/Parish Office Closed.

Please note that the Father Lacey Center and the Parish Office will be closed until April 7. The Church will be opened Monday through Friday from 8 am to 8 pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to noon. Please come by to pray in the presence of Our Lord at Saint Denis Church. Please

respect social distancing in the Church as well as a maximum occupancy of 9 at any one time

Spiritual Reflections

While we are not able to assemble together this Lent for Mass, Stations of the Cross and Educational Programs, we can still make this season a time of renewal and deepening of our prayer. Fr. Reidy gave a three night mission at Saint John’s Church in Clinton during the first week of Lent. His talks were on prayer, fasting and almsgiving, the three traditional pillars of Lent. We are printing those talks in our electronic bulletin, beginning today. You might read them either for your spiritual edification or for penance, however they strike you!

Consecration of Our Diocese

This past Wednesday, March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Bishop McManus traveled to six Churches throughout our Diocese—from Saint Paul Cathedral in Worcester, to Saint Cecelia’s in Leominster, to Holy Rosary in Gardner, to Saint John’s in Clinton, to Saint Luke in Westborough to Saint Joseph Basilica in Webster to consecrate our Diocese to Mary’s protection in this time of pandemic. May we all join in prayer for the sick, dying and dead as well as those isolated and struggling and for health care workers.

Keep in touch with what is happening in the church by using

our online version of the Catholic Free Press

www.catholicfreepress.org digital.catholicfreepress.org

The Catholic Free Press

Renew home delivery by using your envelope

or Online Giving on the parish website

If you receive the Catholic Free Press

through the Parish, please donate this

March using Online Giving!

Special Highlights | Information

Special Highlights | Upcoming Events| Offertory Update

Let us honor God with our first fruits rather than the leftovers

During this time of trial where the parish will be closed due to virus concerns. We still need to maintain our church. Please consider donating through Online Giving to keep the parish

strong! You may also mail in your envelopes to: St Denis Parish, 85 Main St., Ashburnham, MA 01430.

3/22/20 Online Giving $ 365.00 Total $ 365.00

Thank you for your generous support of the parish. Your weekly financial support enables

Saint Denis to provide for the community.

Notices for Corona Virus situation

Governor of Massachusetts has ordered all

businesses and organizations closed until at least

April 7th.

Closures:

• No Masses Saturday & Sunday

• No Daily Communion Services

• Religious Ed Closed until further notice

• Knights of Columbus Meetings

• Marriage Matters

• Ladies Spiritual Enhancement Group

• Keygma Prayer Bible Study

• Stations of the Cross

• All Parish meetings

• Parish Business Office Closed (Except phone, online)

Still open:

It is requested that anyone sick or has a sick family member

voluntarily not come to these events, to avoid spread of virus.

• Individual Prayer in the Church

Open 8am– 8pm Daily and 8am—noon Sat & Sunday

Please note Minimum Distance 6+ feet between people

• Confession by Appointment (In parking lot)

• Annointing of the sick, Please Call 978-827-5806

Special Priest assigned to this duty

• Funerals (Immediate Family only)

• Phone, E-mail and Web services

• St Vincent De Paul - 978-790-1923

Having trouble surviving due to the Coronavirus?

St Vincent De Paul may be able to help. Please call us for

Knights of Columbus May Calendar Raffle This may be your only chance to participate in our calendar as we may not

get a chance to sell it after Masses. Help support the Knights and get 31

chances to win. Just click below and use Credit Card or Paypal

http://ash-westkofc.org/donations-oppotunities

This list is for Club 240 tickets.

From Knights of Columbus

Below is the list of names draw

so far for the Club 240 Raffle

that the Knights of Columbus

held recently.

1) Dave Cote 2/01/20 $20

2) Janeen Quintal 2/08/20 $20

3) D. Bourgeois 2/15/20 $20

4) Mike (O'Brien) 2/22/20 $20

5) C. Reitz 2/29/20 $20

6) Dave Cote 3/07/20 $20

7) Mark Lebla 3/14/20 $20

8) Tom O’Toole 3/21/20 $20

9) Harry Bellabarba 3/28/20 $20

More names will be drawn in the coming weeks

as the Coronavirus allows. The final Grand

prizes will be drawn at the Father’s Day

breakfast June 14th 2020. Hopefully, the virus

will have passed by then.

Grand Prize and Top 5 Prizes chosen at

Sponsored by

Council #15972

Knights

Of Columbus

In service to One, in service to all

Next Week: Mar 29th, 2020|The Fifth Sunday of Lent| Ez 37: 12-14, Rom 8: 8-11, John 11: 1-45

Please Pray for the intentions of these people at home and go on

our website to watch Sunday and Daily Masses.

Fr Reidy will be saying mass for these intentions as well.

Sat 3/28 4:30 pm Fr Memo

Happy Birthday Wishes

By Parish Family

Sun 3/29 8:00 am Fr. Memo

By Paula & Ron StPierre

10:30 am The people of St Denis Parish

Fr Reidy’s Reflection

From: Lenten Mission at St. John’s in Clinton - Prayer

First Night 2020

1. At his audience talk on Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis suggested

that Lent is a time to give up useless words, chatter, rumor, gossip,

and to speak directly to God. He also observed that in a world in

which we struggle to distinguish the voice of God, Jesus calls us into

the desert to listen to what matters.

2. “To speak directly to God” and “to listen to what matters” is a

pretty good definition of prayer. Saint Teresa of Avila, Carmelite

mystic, Doctor of the Church, and sure guide in the spiritual life called

prayer “an intimate sharing between friends,” the ultimate goal of

which is union with God. Union with God is the purpose of Lent, it also

is the purpose of life. As a monk at Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer

once said, “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek

him the greatest adventure; to find him, the great human

achievement.”

3. In his Apostolic Exhortation at the beginning of the Millennium,

Pope Saint John Paul the Great wrote that “it would be a contradiction

to settle for a life of mediocrity marked by a minimalist ethic and

shallow religiosity.” Rather, he said, “the time has come to re-propose

wholeheartedly to everyone the high standard of Christian living. The

whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must

be led in this direction.” And what is that direction? What is that

standard of Christian living? Holiness. To know, love, and do God’s will

in every aspect of our lives. To do that John Paul quotes Jesus’

exhortation to Peter, “Duc in altum,” “Put out into the deep.”

4. Lent is the season when we re-orient ourselves more closely to God

and to His will. When we turn from the shores and shoals of our sins

and put into the deep to return to the One who calls us and to whom

by Baptism we belong. To do that Lent gives us three traditional

means, Prayer, Penance, and Almsgiving; each aims at

holiness and furthering union with God. Prayer, Penance,

and Almsgiving will be the topics for the three nights of our

Mission. Tonight, prayer.

5. According to one biographer, one of the most important

moments in the life of young Karol Wojtyla came during the

Nazi occupation of Krakow when the future John Paul II met

a 40 year old tailor. A high-strung former accountant who

lacked formal philosophical or theological training, Jan

Tyranowski was a mystic -- one devoted to deep prayer

who John Paul II would say “lived a very personal

experience of God.” Tyranowski, whose sanctity was deeply

inspiring, became a mentor to Karol Wojtyla, introducing

him to the works of Saint Teresa of Avila and another

Carmelite mystic, Saint John of the Cross. George Weigel

wrote” Karol had always prayed - now he prayed as a

means of entering God’s presence so that that experience

animated every aspect of life, not merely in moments of

contemplation. Weigel also wrote ‘under the tutelage of

the unexpected apostle Jan Tyranowski and amid the

madness of the Nazi occupation, the imitation of Christ

through the complete handing over of every worldly

security to the merciful will of God seized Karol Wojtyla’s

imagination. Over time it would become the defining

characteristic of his own discipleship such that another

eastern block observer called him “a man utterly without

fear.”

6. John Paul II lacked fear because he knew Christ

possessed him and he utterly trusted Him. Such fruits of

prayer, such practical, powerful, and potent fruits are not

just the blessings of the deep prayer of a Polish Pope,

Carmelite mystics, or saints whose statues and images

surround us, but they are the fruits of the deep prayer of an

accountant, tailor and of all the baptized who set out into

the deep, stay the course, and persevere in the universal

call to holiness.

7. John Paul II himself wrote that “it would be wrong to

think that ordinary Christians can be content with a shallow

prayer life that is unable to fill their whole life...Prayer

cannot be taken for granted. If we do, we would become

not only mediocre Christians, but Christians at risk...the

insidious risk of seeing their faith progressively

undermined, perhaps ending up succumbing to the allure of

“substitutes,” accepting alternative proposals, and even

indulging in farfetched superstition.” (Duc in Altum 34, 33).

Rather, we have “a duty to show to what depths the

relationship with Christ can lead. Christian life must be

distinguished above all in the art of prayer.”

8. Of course, there are different types of prayer. Liturgy is the

official public worship of the Church joining together in Christ’s

prayer to the Father in the Holy Spirit. It includes the Mass, the

source and summit of Christian life, the other sacraments, the

Divine Office, other services, wake services, the Liturgy of the

Word. Jesus shows us liturgical prayer when He goes to the

synagogue on the Sabbath and the Temple in Jerusalem for

Passover.

We also have devotions--- prayers, hymns, observances of

times and places, and of relationship to the Faithful, with

divine persons, with the saints. Devotions also include

Benediction, the Rosary, the litanies, prayers for the souls in

purgatory, and vigils. These can be public; “where two or more

gather in my name, I am present.” We also have private prayer,

which Jesus gives us an example of when he “goes off alone”

for the night to pray.

9. We must every Sunday and Holy Day participate in the Mass

coming together as God’s flock. But we also need our daily

devotional prayer, public and or at least private.

10. There are three expressions of prayer identified by the

Catechism.

1) Vocal prayer is prayers and words we recite, preeminently

the Lord ’s Prayer taught by Christ, the Rosary, Litanies,

Chaplets, or words we compose as in a conversation speaking

to God. These frequently include our petitions, asking God for

things we want or need for ourselves, but also intercessory

prayers for others. Petitionary and Intercessory prayers are

good, natural, and pleasing to God, but do not stop there. Even

better, do not start there. Rather, begin with blessing,

adoration, praise and thanksgiving for God’s goodness, love,

gifts, and promises.

2) The second expression of prayer is Meditative Prayer where

we reflect on a passage of Sacred Scripture, a scene from the

Gospel, a mystery of Christ’s life, death and Resurrection, the

words of the Our Father, or the mysteries of the Rosary. Here

we are not reading the Sacred Scripture to finish the Bible or

reflecting on a mystery or to learn theology, rather we use our

reason, imagination, and desire to perhaps ask “what is God

revealing about Himself in this passage?” “what is he asking of

me in it?” “What does it mean for me in the concrete

experience of my life?” Then we come to a practical resolution

to put it into practice and give thanks to God.

3) Lastly there is Contemplative Prayer which can be

understood in a number of ways. Carmelites practice a high

level of contemplative prayer that is given by God. No words,

not even a mental concept, simply a loving, abiding gaze in the

presence of God. Contemplative prayer is exemplified by an

elderly peasant who spent hours on end in the little parish

Church in Ars, France. When asked by the pastor, St. John

Vianney, about his prayer with Jesus, the old man simply

replied “I look at Him and He looks at me.”

11. Before my prolixity indicts me against Jesus warning of

running on with multiplication of words, let me offer a few final

thoughts.

1) When you start to pray, ask God’s help to focus. Clear your

head of the parishioner who cut you off from your parking spot

on the way in, and from your dinner after Mass. Ask for God to

help you...to pray deeply and well.

2) Your mind will wander in prayer, don’t panic, gently bring it

back to God.

3) Like Jesus, seek solitude and silence. It helps to eliminate

distractions and is essential for deep prayer and intimate

conversation.

4) Do not pray primarily to get something, rather pray first to

give something--- yourself, your time, your focus to God.

5) Do not measure the efficacy of your prayer by spine tingling

raptures or personal revelations from God. These are dangers

to humility and can be distractions from the Devil. Rather,

measure your progress in prayer by how well you are living the

Gospel in your life.

12. Do not fear dry spells, they happen to all, including the

greatest saints. Persevere because in continuing on your prayer

is purer. In such times of dryness, you are praying to God for

who He is, not for His gifts and consolations. Do not worry

about methods of prayer, postures, breathing and the like. Pray

daily and deeply with perseverance and as a person that seeks

to give your whole self to God. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you

pray well, live well, and to strengthen you, enlighten you, to

detach yourself from worldly things so that you can know, love,

and do His will in your life. Bring to Him your hopes and

dreams, your fears and failures. Hold nothing back. Seek Him

and you will find Him.

13. In theology, the catechism, CCD, and Bible Study we can

learn about God. In prayer, guided by God’s Revelation, the

Sacred Scripture, Tradition of the Church and Liturgy, we not

only learn about God, we know Him ---- Father, Son and Holy

Spirit.

14. Jesus said, “I come to cast fire upon the earth, and would

that it were already kindled.” My friends, may the discipline of

a good Lent strengthen your faith, and increase your holiness

that our love for God may burn brighter and the light of that

love might give greater glory to God, offer better witness to our

world, and draw us into a deeper union with our Savior.