GOSPEL MEDITATION - ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE

August 16, 2026

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 15:21-28

Does God ignore or act a bit rough with you? Jesus crosses the border into the pagan region of Tyre and Sidon, the territory long outside the covenant. There, a Canaanite woman calls out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David.” At first, he is silent. Then he rebuffs her. “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” But the Church Fathers saw this not as an insult but as an initiation. Christ draws out of her heart a deeper faith.

She presses on. “Please, Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Jesus’ silence and response solidify her humility and trust. She thus becomes a model for prayer for centuries of Christians. St. Augustine said she shows how sinners come to grace by moving from silence to humility to perseverance.

This woman is the Church. She is you and me. She is every soul who dares to cry out from the margins, who endures divine silence until it turns to compassion. When Jesus says, “O woman, great is your faith,” it is the joyful cry of God discovering faith where the world least expects it. Even the smallest crumb of Your mercy, Lord, is enough to heal the soul. Do we have the courage to show faith like that?

— Father John Muir


FAITH FORMATION CLASSES WILL BE STARTING SOON

  • North American Martyrs Parish - Colebrook, W. Stewartstown & Errol 
  • Catechesis Sunday: There will be ONLY Eight in-person sessions from September 2026 through April 2027. Parents and youth are expected to attend the Sunday 10:00 am Mass at St Brendon Church (or another parish Mass time, regularly) and stay for faith formation in the lower church hall from 11:00 am to about 12:30 pm. As this is family faith formation a parent or grandparent is to attend the 8 sessions with the child and ensure the take home reading is accomplished each month. There are only 8 in-person class sessions, so I ask that you mark your calendars and make these dates a priority.
    Spiritual activities and/or Liturgical Events: Throughout the year our families are invited to be active in parish events, outreach, and liturgical celebrations. 
  • registration 
  • A: Returning family/student from last year please us the brief re-registration https://berlingorhamcatholics.org/returning-families-registration
  • B: New family/student Registration please do so https://berlingorhamcatholics.org/returning-families-registration


VIRTUES, EXPLAINED! – CONNECT WITH TRADITION AND GROW YOUR FAITH

Virtues, Explained! Chastity


Chastity, Explained!

All human beings have a body, just as all human beings have a soul. Since mankind fractured his relationship with the divine, the inclinations of the body are often at odds with the well-being of the soul.

Through the virtue of chastity, these inclinations become once again integrated.

In the Catechism, we read that chastity “includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom” (CCC 2339). True freedom is impossible when a person is subject to any of his or her passions.

The sins of lust, pornography, and prostitution are principal offenses against the virtue of chastity, because these things undermine the integrity, or wholeness, of the human person’s physical and spiritual dimensions.

All people are called to chastity, even those who are not called to celibacy, because all people have a physical self. Chastity is one of the twelve gifts of the Holy Spirit, which sustains moral life.




Patron Saints

St. Pius X


Biography St. Pius X (1835 – 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was from the Austrian Empire in what is now modern-day Veneto, Italy. He was the 257th Pope and served from 1903 until his death in 1914. St. Pius X's love for the Eucharist was evident from a young age and he carried this devotion throughout his life. As Pope, he emphasized the importance of fostering a personal relationship with Jesus through the Sacrament, advocating for its accessibility to all Catholics, regardless of social status.

One of St. Pius X's most significant contributions to the Church was the role he played in lowering the age of eligibility for First Communion. Recognizing the significance of early spiritual formation, he sought to enable children to receive the Eucharist as soon as they reached seven years old. He believed that children could experience the profound graces of the Eucharist, grow in their faith at an early age, and that the reception of Holy Communion regularly in a child’s life would set the foundation for a lifetime of spiritual growth.

His papacy was also marked by his efforts to combat the rising tide of modernism — a movement that challenged traditional Catholic teachings. He wrote an encyclical entitled "Pascendi Dominici Gregis," subtitled “On the Doctrines of the Modernists," condemning modernist errors and safeguarding the integrity of Church doctrine. His commitment to preserving the traditional scope of Catholicism, especially the teachings of Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist, earned him the epithet "Pope of the Eucharist.”

Despite his rejection of modernism, St. Pius X was the first Pope to use a typewriter for his encyclicals, signaling an embrace of modern technology during his time as Pope. St. Pius X, Pope of the Eucharist, pray for us!


Looking for God

What do we think when we see Jesus coming to save us?

The first thing the Apostles scream is “Ghost!” when they catch sight of Jesus walking towards them on water. That always makes me laugh. After all they have witnessed thus far as the companions of the Messiah, they see someone walking on water and they still react like extras in a bad episode of Scooby-Doo.

We are always more quick to believe a bad thing than a good thing. We can easily believe gossip and hearsay about a friend, but we fear being taken for a fool when it comes to faith. We would rather look cynical than stupid.

“Save me, God, for the waters have reached my neck,” reads Psalm 69. “My eyes fail, from looking for my God.”

I think back on my life, on all the various ways that God has rescued me from slipping beneath the surface. Rarely did it ever occur to me, in the midst of it, that I was being rescued. In fact, I usually thought I was being held underwater. Did I hear His voice directing me, or did I only hear my own despairing? “Save me, God.” Was I looking for Him, or were my eyes shut in fear? “My eyes fail, from looking for my God.”

It’s never until after the fact — sometimes years after, or decades — that we see things clearly. That we see Christ in the situation, making his way toward us, hand outstretched.




St. Rita of Cascia


Biography

St. Rita of Cascia (1381 – 1457) had the opportunity to live her life as a wife, mother, widow, and eventually, a member of a religious community. Born in central Italy, St. Rita felt the calling to become a nun but was pressured at a young age into marriage. During her 18-year marriage to a cruel man, she raised two sons. When her husband was killed in a brawl and her sons died, St. Rita decided to go back to her first love and attempted to join the Augustinian nuns in Cascia. Her status as a widow caused some complications in her entering, but she eventually succeeded in professing vows.

Throughout her lifetime, St. Rita of Cascia was known for her prayerfulness and charity. She also experienced stigmata on her forehead, meditated frequently on Christ’s passion, and cared for the nuns of her religious community and those in the lay community who came to her for counsel.

St. Rita of Cascia, pray for us!



WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO NORTH AMERICAN MARTYRS PARISH

Our Mission Statement:

We, the North American Martyrs Parish, a strong community of faith, Nourished by the Holy Eucharist, Guided by the Holy Spirit and Trusting in the grace of God, Dedicate ourselves to live God’s Word and Let the light of Christ shine through our Community. We strive to provide sound religious formation for people of all ages; To care for the spiritual, social well-being of one another With particular attention to the stranger and the poor in our midst.

 

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ John 20:21

Upcoming Events

ASSUMPTION OF MARY

MASS AUG. 14TH

6PM ST ALBERT

Mass Intention

for

People of Our Parish


ST ALBERT'S SUMMER RAFFLE / BAKESALE AT PITTSBURGS OLD HOME DAY

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15TH DRAWINGS WILL BE THAT DAY

NO NEED TO BE PRESENT WE WILL CALL YOU IF YOU WIN


MAKE PLANS TO JOIN US AT ONE OF OUR CEMETERIES ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1st AT 6PM AS WE PRAY FOR THE

REPOSE OF THE SOULS OF OUR LOST LOVED ONES.

ST ALBERT ------ ST BRENDAN ------ ST PIUS X

Fr Cheney's new address:  Fr. Craig Cheney

                                                Room #124

                                               St. Vincent de Paul Home

                                                29 Providence Ave

               Berlin, NH 03570