Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish January 24, 2021 Third Sunday In Ordinary Time

Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish

January 24, 2021

Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish

22 Plymouth Street, Methuen, MA 01844 Phone: 978-686-3984 Fax: 978-686-8300 Email: olgcmethuen@gmail.com

Web: OLGCParish.com Parish Staff:

Very Rev. Christopher Casey, V.F. Pastor — Ext 25 fatherchriscasey@gmail.com Rev. Mr. Steven J. Murphy Deacon—Ext 10 deaconsteviej@aol.com Mrs. Karen Miller

Business Manager — Ext 17 978-686-0728 OLGCBusiness@gmail.com Mrs. Denise Mundry Parish Office—Ext 10 978-686-3984 OLGCMethuen@gmail.com Lori McLaughlin Coordinator of Music Ministries 603-275-6486 Jimmy Massie Facilities 978-697-4701 olgcfacilities@gmail.com Religious Education Ph: 978-686-3984 Fax: 978-686-8300 Mr. Mark Friedrich Coordinator of Adult Faith Formation

OLGCMethuen@gmail.com Mr. Mark Houle

Coordinator Grades K-8 OLGCMethuen@gmail.com ALL WEEKEND MASSES WILL BE AT ST. THERESA CHURCH UNTIL

FURTHER NOTICE

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Our prayer shawl gatherings are the first Wednesday of the month at 1pm in Duperry Hall.

We welcome new folks at any time to join us in this beautiful, simple ministry. We thank all who have donated yarn or money with which to purchase new yarn.

Remember: Blessed Shawls, Lapghans & Baby Blankets are available in the parish office.

Thank you and God Bless! Questions? call the parish office.

Ellen Gallant Card Ministry

Do you know of someone who is sick, going through difficult times, in the military, or may just need a little note of encouragement? Fill out the forms found in the church and chapel and drop them in the box labeled “The Ellen Gallant Card Ministry” or the weekly collection

basket.

If you’d like to help make someone’s day by join-ing us in this ministry, contact Donna Fawcett @

donnafawcett71@comcast.net Mass Schedule:

Church & Chapel are handicapped accessible (elevator in Church, ramp at Chapel) Sat. 4 pm at St. Theresa Church 22 Plymouth St., Methuen, MA Sun. 8 am at St. Theresa Church Sun. 10:30 am at St. Theresa Church Daily Mass: 8 am Monday — Friday at St. Theresa Church

View via live stream only

Reconciliation:

By appointment only. Call Parish Office

Baptism:

Second Sunday of the month. Previous arrangements necessary

Marriage:

Arrangements must be made at least six months in advance New Parishioners:

Welcome! Please come to the Parish Office

to meet us and to register Lawrence Catholic Academy 101 Parker St. Lawrence, MA 01843 www.lawrencecatholic academy.org 978-683-5822 PARISH OFFICE HOURS Mission Statement

Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish

Lawrence ~ Methuen

Our Lady of Good Counsel is a diverse multi-cultural parish serving the Catholic community of Methuen

and Lawrence. We are committed to building a community of faith intent upon God, in unity of

mind and heart.

We are a family of believers, joined by our Baptism, and nurtured by the Eucharist. As children of God,

we endeavor to bring the love of Christ to all we meet. We are committed to be the Body of Christ,

rooted in the tradition of the Catholic Church. To-gether we worship and praise our God. Guided by

prayer and the counsel of the Blessed Mother, we minister to the community through faith formation, fellowship, and service. With diligence, compassion,

Dear Parishioners,

Last week we heard in our readings about the call to discipleship and considered how God calls each of us into a life of holiness not as its own end, but for a purpose, to make holy the world around us. Holiness does not mean perfection, it means purpose. This week we consider what that purpose requires, which is where we find our motivation to evangelize, or share the good news about Jesus and His salvation. Each reading contributes something to help us in our reflection on Jesus as the Way. From the Book of the Prophet Jonah we hear ‘turn away from your evil ways’; in Psalm 25 we pray for God to teach us His ways; in 1 Corinthians we are reminded that the way of the world is passing away and we hear something of the need for urgency in our response; and finally in the Gospel of Mark we are reminded that the first step in following Jesus on the way is personal repentance, and that faith in Jesus is what enables our urgent response to His call. Perhaps we could sum it all up with “Hurry along the way of your salvation!”

I love the stories of the Bible, and the story of Jonah has always been a favorite. In a book many of us probably had as children, The Little Golden Book of Bible Stories for Children, the focus of the story was the fascinating image of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and spit out on the beach where God wanted him to be. The adult version of that story adds several different layers of complexity to the story. Jonah did not want to go to the City of Nineveh at all. Nineveh was the archenemy of Israel at the time. Nineveh was in Ancient Iraq, right across the Tigris River from the modern-day city of Mosul. Nineveh was a huge city, and was the Capital of Assyria, and in addition to being bitter enemies they did not know or follow God. It was known in its day to be a brutal city and was a symbol for wickedness in the ancient

world. But God sends Jonah there with a mission to pronounce God’s judgment and punishment on the people. In what must have been only a lackluster effort on his part, Jonah, finally if only grudgingly obedient to God, Jonah does what God requires. He wanders through a part of the city proclaiming the message he was given “Forty days more and Nine-veh shall be destroyed”. Much to Jonah’s chagrin the people hear his message and respond immediately. They declare a 40-day fast and everyone from the King on down to the cattle puts on sackcloth and ashes as a sign of their repentance for their evil deeds, and the City of Nineveh is saved.

In the First Book of Samuel, Chapter 2, verses 27-36 an anonymous prophet visits the High Priest Eli and shares with him the devastating news that God is going to take away the priesthood from Eli and his family. His sons were abusing their authority, blaspheming God, and Eli was not taking any action to intervene. The prophet announces that Eli’s sons will die on the same day, and nobody in Eli’s family would ever grow old. It is one of the harshest prophecies in the bi-ble and hangs over priests as a sharp reminder that God has little patience for bad, lazy, or unholy priests. Many are trou-bled by the prophet’s words and find the image of God portrayed as harsh and merciless. But I think a more accurate way to understand the prophecy and what happens to Eli’s family is to recognize that God allows the full weight of the decision to choose sin over grace to fall on those who do not follow him. We see this so often when people get into grave trouble, and their secret sins are found out and are broadcast on the news and in the papers. The shame people feel at those moments is real, and the feeling that they are being punished must be intense. But it is never God’s will. God makes clear what God’s will is… to love God above all else, and to love our neighbor as our self. All sin is basically a rejection of that will. God allows it because God allows us our free will. But the consequences of our choices are ours, and sometimes they are harsh. They are never harsher than when we choose sin over grace. God appeals to us repeatedly to choose the life of grace, and to be conduits of that grace to others. There is urgency in that call today just as there was in Jonah’s day, in Jesus’ day, and in Paul’s day. Our job is to hear that call, to repent, and to believe in the Gospel. God Bless, Fr. Chris

Saturday, January 23

4:00 pm Arthur Thibault ~ Requested by his family

Sunday, January 24 ~ Third Sunday In Ordinary Time

8:00 am Marie Haley ~ Requested by her family

10:30 am Janis Salesi ~ Requested by The Friedrich Family

Helen Gagnon ~ Requested by Jesse and Carol-Ann Ramirez Martha Houle ~ Requested by Robert and Denise Mundry Lena Picarillo ~ Requested by George Beaulieu

All Living Members of the Parish

Monday, January 25 ~ Conversion of Saint Paul

8:00 am Frank Judge ~ Requested by his wife

Tuesday, January 26 ~ Saints Timothy and Titus

8:00 am Arthur Thibault

Wednesday, January 27 ~ Saint Angela Merici

8:00 am =========

Thursday, January 28 ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas

8:00 am =========

Friday, January 29

8:00am =========

Saturday, January 30

4:00 pm John Culpon ~ Birthday Remembrance ~ Requested by his wife, Ruth Kathleen Brennan ~ Anniversary Remembrance ~ Requested by her family Pauline Laplume ~ Requested by Pauline Halloran

Violet Gallant ~ 10th Anniversary ~ Requested by her family All Living Members of the Parish

Sunday, January 31 ~ Fourth Sunday In Ordinary Time

8:00 am Marilyn Haley ~ Requested by her family

10:30 am Dorothy Honohan ~ 1st Anniversary ~ Requested by her children, grandchildren and Tobey

Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day

On the Sea of Galilee, Simon and Andrew were fishing for fish when Jesus walked past, saying, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” changing their lives forever.

We hear stories of calls in the readings today: calls to follow, calls of conversion, calls to repentance, calls to

discipleship.

Let us take this opportunity today to listen closely and discern whether we can hear Jesus calling us to

St. Vincent de Paul Society

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus says:

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” As disciples, we are called to continue God’s work on earth. Taking care of God’s poor is indeed living

gospel values.

This month, through your gifts, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was able to assist needy families by providing food vouchers and assistance with

utility, rent and other bills. My God Bless You!

Thank you for your generosity. Checks may be made payable to SVDP.

Michele Deloge DiBiasio, Darlene Sikeman, Emma Johansen, Roy Beaulieu, Robin

Gonsalves, Phyllis M. White, Marsha Sirignano, Nathan

Scanlon, Robbyn Culpon, Claire Hanlon, Aiden Scanlon, Patrick and Sarah Scanlon, John Dezan, Jose Luis Martinez Sanchez,

Robert P. Nolan, Juliana Rosato, Rose Gaudreau, Eugene Baldi, Joseph Howanski, Jeannette Demers,

Michael Culpon, Mary Jo Daigle, George Henderson, Andrew Champy, David Champy, David Adams, Gary Stachulski, Douglas McKnight,

William Luna, Aiden Sutliff, Ellen Villers, Judith Upham, Benjamin Melo, Ron Simonian, Art Munger, Brad Waters, Mary Conway, Elisabeth Hooper, Matt Kinsley, Bishop Todd Brown, Diane

Castiglione, Fr. Paul Valley, SP, Noah Leary, Joseph Androwas, Cecile Townsend, Ray Boutselis,

Ronald Mullen, Leeann Hanson, Elaine Labrecque, Sheila Hunt, Reina Rodriguez, Jennifer Prugnarola,

Nicholas Norcia, Donna Myers, Anita & Dottie Watson, Gary Dubois, Michael Donovan, Jaykub Parsons, Ava Gagnon, Tom McGuire, Judy Lacroix,

Charlie Carrell, Mariana Rosato, Carrie McNiss, all those on our Parish prayer line, and all the residents

at Woodmill Nursing Home, Nevins Nursing Home, Mary-Immaculate Nursing Home, Berkeley

Nursing Home and Methuen Village. Those who have died: Theresa Levasseur If you have a friend or loved one that you would like us to pray for, please call the parish office and leave the name. If you would like a name put back

on the list, call the office. Thank You.

Prayer Requests for Priests

Eternal Father, we lift up to you these and all priests of the world. Sanctify them, heal and guide them. Mold them into the likeness and holiness of your Son, Jesus,

the Eternal High Priest. May their lives be pleasing to you. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

January 23 Fr. Robert J. Blaney ~ January 24 Fr. Francis O’Brien ~ January 25 All Paulists ~ January 26 Fr. Timothy Butler ~ January 27 Fr. Eric Cadin ~ January 28

Fr. Thomas J. Powers ~ January 29 Fr. Frank Campo

Weekend of January 16/17, 2021 Offertory: $ 3,493.00 Maintenance: $ 73.00 Parish Truck Maintenance: $ 40.00 Grand Annual to Date: $ 1,225.00

Our highest gratitude and appreciation ~ we are so grateful for your support.

Bless your generosity!

This week’s second collection supports various pastoral projects throughout Latin America and the

Caribbean. The Collection for the Church in Latin America funds the work of evangelization, for-mation of laity, religious an seminarians, as well as

youth ministry and catechesis Thank you for your generosity!

A Letter From Fr. Chris . . .

Dear Parishioners,

As we continue to live with this pandemic and all of its restrictions on our lives, we consider how they will impact our observance of the Season of Lent and other feast days that are ap-proaching. We continue to limit our public worship to Sundays only, including the Vigil Mass on Saturday. We will continue to ask you to sign up for Masses and will take names and tem-peratures for as long as we are required being in a “red zone”. We will continue to offer the Daily Mass via live streaming only. Some parishioners have expressed their frustration with these limitations, but the numbers of those infected continue to grow and to be a source of grave concern, so I think it is best to stay the course and minimize the number of activities that bring us together in larger groups.

Our religious education program is small. We have begun having the children meet in the hall, socially distanced and wearing masks, for shorter and fewer sessions. We have also of-fered assistance to parents who wish to home school during the pandemic.

The Blessing of Throats is a popular devotion done the day after the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, or Candlemas, on the Feast Day of St. Blaise Feb-ruary 3rd, or the weekend close to the Feast Day. This year we will offer only the General Form of the blessing, as opposed to the individual blessing using the traditional crossed candles.

During the pandemic we are reminded that we should not be touching our own faces, much less the faces of others. This obviously will im-pact the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday. One recommendation from the Vatican is to distribute ashes by saying the words “Repent and believe in the Gospel” once and then sprinkling the ashes on the top of the head. Many of us have seen on television that this is the norm at the Vatican. Another suggestion is to not distribute ashes but rather emphasize the meaning of them. The ashes are but an outward sign of what we hope is an interior disposition, a commitment to accept the re-sponsibility and express my sorrow for my sins;

to turn away from them and to turn towards the Lord. On Ash Wednesday we will not distrib-ute ashes but will encourage at our live streamed Mass and through the bulletin a day of pray-er and penance, and a sincpray-ere effort to make this year’s Lent a work of the heart and an oppor-tunity for spiritual growth.

We are not permitted to have events with food so the “soup” part of our traditional Soup and Stations on Fridays in Lent cannot happen. In line with our efforts at minimizing group gatherings will not have the Stations either.

With his Apostolic Letter “Patris corde” (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis recalls the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion, the Holy Father has proclaimed a “Year of Saint Joseph” from December 8, 2020, to December 8, 2021. To mark this Year of St. Joseph we will offer a virtual Holy Hour, live streamed only, on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Friday, March 19, 2021 at 7:00 PM. The Holy Hour will include adoration, songs, prayers, and a brief homily.

The same restrictions on distribution of palms as well as materials remain in place this year. You may recall they impacted Palm Sunday last year too. Although we had purchased the palms, we were not allowed to bless them and distribute them. The same is true still, so we will not be distributing palms, our usual “Lenten Giveaway’, or the “Little Books”. There are daily prayer resources available online, at De-Colores Christian Bookstore in Salem, NH, The Magnificat and similar pub-lications, and on apps for a smart phone.

I hate all these restrictions as I am sure many of you do as well. We have

had to sacrifice much because of this pandemic, and I pray for the day when all of this will be behind us. I will be announcing our Holy Week plans as Easter approaches. Perhaps we can all pray and sacrifice during Lent for an end to this virus once and for all, a safe return to life as we know it and love it, and for a safe and effective vaccine for all people.

Cori 2020-2021

Dear OLGC Staff and Volunteers, It’s that time of year again! Cori forms are available in the Parish Office for completion.

Everyone ages 18 and over who serve in the Parish are required to complete these forms annually. If you have served in the past but have

temporarily stopped due to COVID-19 it is recommended that you still complete this form. Forms can be completed at home, however, proper

verification (photo ID) must be done in person. This year there also has been a change to the form

allowing for a notary signature instead of coming to the Parish Office for verification. Please be advised that the notary signature is optional and

not a requirement (this may include a fee). Feel free to contact the Parish Office if you have

any questions at 978-686-3984

The office is open Monday to Thursday from 8am to 3pm and on Fridays from 8am to 12 noon

Thank you!

LECTOR WORKBOOKS Workbook for Lectors and

Proclaimers of the Word 2021 are available in the parish office.

Workbooks will be located in the copy machine room on the desk on the right.

Please sign out the workbook if you take one. Sign On Monday we will celebrate the feast of the

conversion of Saint Paul, whom we hear from today. “I tell you,” he warns, “time is running out” (1 Corinthians 7:29). He pleads with his

audience to immediately do the opposite of whatever they are doing now. Hearing the gospel should turn their lives around 180 degrees, for “this is the time of

fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15).

Jesus Christ is with us now and he completely reorients our lives. We must

Thank you to everyone who purchased our OLGC Christmas Calendar this year. Below you will find the names of our lucky winners!

December 25 ~ Stephen Press ~ $100.00 plus a $100.00 Bob’s Furniture Gift Card December 26 ~ Kathleen Wordell ~ $25.00

December 27 ~ Anne Lemieux ~ $50.00 December 28 ~ Carol Vercauteren ~ $25.00 December 29 ~ Victoria Carter ~ $25.00

December 30 ~ Eileen Bolduc ~ $25.00 plus a $25.00 Costco Gift Card December 31 ~ Betty Small ~ $25.00

January 1 ~ Wendy and Robert Leger ~ $25.00 plus a Napoli Pizza Gift Certificate January 2 ~ Rev. William Waters, OSA ~ $25.00

January 3 ~ Scott Hilse ~ $50.00 January 4 ~ Kellie Quinn ~ $25.00 January 5 ~ Victoria Carter ~ $25.00

January 6 ~ Emanuel Torres-Vega ~ $25.00 plus a $25.00 Mobil Gift Card January 7 ~ Kathleen Cook ~ $25.00

January 8 ~ Megan Baldwin ~ $25.00

January 9 ~ Rosalie Crowley ~ $25.00 Harrows Gift Card January 10 ~ Mary Ellen Diodati ~ $50.00

January 11 ~ Diana Molina ~ $25.00 January 12 ~ Nathan Martineau ~ $25.00

January 13 ~ Lorraine Kowalczyk ~ $25.00 plus a $25.00 Costco Gift Card January 14 ~ Maureen DeAngelis ~ $25.00

January 15 ~ Nick Vogel ~ $25.00 January 16 ~ Anne Lemieux ~ $25.00 January 17 ~ Khanhuhat Nguyen ~ $50.00

January 18 ~ Lena Zielinski ~ $50.00 Market Basket Gift Card January 19 ~ Alexis Martineau ~ $25.00

January 20 ~ Charlene Debenedetto ~ $25.00 plus a $25.00 Costco Gift Card January 21 ~ Jennifer Edgerly ~ $25.00

January 22 ~ Lori McLaughlin ~ $25.00 January 23 ~ Stephanie Jasinski ~ $25.00

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