Giving Thanks for Blessings Bestowed

Dear Parishioners:                               

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas with your family and friends. Our celebration of the Nativity of the Lord at Our Lady of Mercy was solemn, prayerful, and joyful. Our parish and school staff deserve thanks for all their work over Christmas and over the past year. Their service to our parish and school is exemplary, and we are blessed to have such good people. I thank them for their dedication.

Paul Anderson and our OLM Maintenance Crew worked hard preparing for Christmas. They set up trees and creches, hung wreaths, strung lights, moved boxes, polished floors, and ensured the entire church's physical plant was ready for the birth of our Savior. Our Church, from the creche to the choir loft, was so stunningly beautiful for the birth of the Savior at Christmas!

We thank the band of decorators who joyfully work so hard to bring the beauty of Christmas to life in our Church. Our good Franciscan Sisters and Sacristans prepared all the sacred vessels, altar cloths, altar server garments, and vestments. They cleaned, polished, starched, ironed, and pressed with joy. We thank them for their dedication to our parish and devotion to the Lord.

We thank our Music Director, Henri St. Louis, the OLM Choir, and the guest musicians who provided majestic music for Christmas, especially at the Midnight Mass. We also thank Shirley Medici and the OLM Children's Choir for their joyful music at the Christmas Vigil Mass.

Our Altar Servers served reverently at all the Masses on Christmas. Some stayed up beyond their bedtime to serve the beautiful Mass at Midnight. Others awakened very early to serve at 7:30 am Mass on Christmas Day. We also had a team of veteran Altar Servers who had returned from college and served expertly. In your name, I thank them, especially our OLM Master of Ceremonies, Erik Carlson, and our OLM Seminarian, David DelBonis, joined by veteran Luke Simms, who made everything run smoothly, reverently, and solemnly.

We thank our many Lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and Ushers for their devoted service to our parish at Christmas and throughout the year. They helped our Christmas worship of the Christ Child and deserve our thanks and praise.

Finally, I thank you, OLM's good and faithful parishioners, for your abundant charity, support, kindness, and generosity. Your faith in the Lord is an inspirational witness and a sign of our parish's vibrant life and living faith. I offer my deep gratitude to you. And offer my praise and gratitude to Almighty God for the unique privilege and abundant joy of serving as your parish priest.

Father Brodeur and I thank the many parishioners who were so generous to us, the parish, and especially the poor and needy this Christmas. We also offer our thanks for the many beautiful cards and sincere greetings, delicious food and tasty treats, and the most generous and thoughtful personal gifts given at Christmas. Be assured of our gratitude and continued prayers.

The great spiritual mystic Meister Eckhart once said: “What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if He is not born in our hearts now?”  I hope that Christmas kindled your hearts with the flame of faith and renewed your lives with a deeper love of Christ.  May the Christ Child born on Christmas be born again and again in your hearts.  

New Year’s Day on Thursday is also the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. There is a Vigil Mass at 4:00 pm on New Year’s Eve and Masses at 7:30 am and 10:30 am on New Year's Day.  It is a Holy Day of Obligation.  I can think of no better way to begin a New Year than coming to Holy Mass and offering our gratitude, hopes, and resolutions to Jesus, who is truly present in the Eucharist!

As we welcome a new year and say farewell to the old year, we thank God. A Catholic Tradition is to sing or pray the Te Deum hymn in thanksgiving to God for his blessings for the past year.  The name comes from the hymn's first words in the original Latin: Te Deum laudamus ("You are God, we praise you"). Let us praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Fr. Brodeur and I wish you a Happy, Healthy, and Holy New Year in 2026! Be well. Do good. God Bless! Happy New Year!  Go Pats!!!

Do We Truly Need Christ to Come This Christmas?

Dear Parishioners:                                 

Our OLM School Saints and Scholars are looking forward to their Christmas Break, which began on Friday.  A week ago, they regaled the school community with a beautiful Christmas Pageant and Living Nativity.  It was a great night of song and prayer as we prepared to welcome our Savior.  

Bethlehem Christmas Tree lighting.

The joy of the season also returned to the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ last week as Bethlehem Bank lit up a Christmas tree for the first time since the war in Gaza began over two years ago.  Covered in red and gold baubles, the Christmas tree stands feet away from the Church of the Nativity on Manger Square, the site of our Savior's birth.  It has become a symbol of hope for the people of that city scarred by violence, terrorism, and war.

The world from East Greenwich to Bethlehem prepares to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace with faith, hope, and joy. We turn to the Babe of Bethlehem and ask him to give us the grace we need to experience his peace and joy in our hearts and in our own lives so that we truly celebrate an authentic Christmas.

Saint Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of El Salvador who extremists murdered for his prophetic preaching in defense of the poor, once said of Christmas: "No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor. Only the poor, the hungry, those who need someone to come on their behalf, will have that someone. That someone is God, Emmanuel, God-with-us."

We are all poor beggars before a generous and loving God.  We need the Savior to come into our world, our community, our homes, and our hearts.   He can only come if we are humble enough to admit that we need the Prince of Peace. Such a need is born of a poverty of spirit.  To be "poor in spirit" means recognizing our spiritual dependence on God and acknowledging a spiritual emptiness, not a lack of wealth.

 It involves humility, a lack of self-sufficiency, and detachment of the heart from worldly possessions and reputation to find fulfillment in God and God alone. Such an attitude makes us open to receiving God's grace and blessings as the Kingdom of God is ours!  Such an attitude allows us to celebrate Christmas with meaningful joy and not cheap sentiment.

In his book "The School of Christian Perfection", Saint Alphonsus Liguori says: "The poor of this world do not possess poverty of spirit from the mere fact that they suffer the want of the goods of this life. Poverty of spirit consists in the desire to possess nothing but God. 'I meet a poor man," says St. Augustine, "and yet I find he is not poor'; that is to say: Many are poor in reality, few in spirit and desire. The truly virtuous poor desire nothing but God, and for that very reason, they are immensely rich. Of them, St. Paul speaks when he says: 'Having nothing, they possess all things.'"

As we begin the final days of Advent and anticipate the great Feast of Faith that is Christmas, let us take up a spirit of poverty.  Make room for Christ to fill in our lives and hearts.  Remove the obstacles that block his coming fully into our lives.  We become poor in spirit so the abundance of God can fill our souls. Begin this Monday by coming to Confession. 

There will be six priests, including Dominican Friars from the Providence College Priory, available from 6:00 pm on Monday until 8:00 pm, or later if needed.  So take the opportunity to clean the manger of your soul from the dirt and debris of sin.  Become filled with the mercy, love, and grace that a good Sacramental Confession gives. Pope Francis said, "Confession is the sacrament of the tenderness of God, his way of embracing us."  

On Christmas, join us as we celebrate the Nativity of the Lord with great solemnity, beautiful music, much joy, and deep faith.  The Christmas Mass schedule is in the bulletin.  Come and give glory to God on Christmas.  Please invite your family, friends, and neighbors who we don't see too often.  They are truly welcome, and Christ will be overjoyed if they come!

Fr. Brodeur and I wish you a Happy and Holy Christmas. You and your family are remembered during our Christmas Masses. Prayerful best wishes for a blessed Christmas Season and a Holy New Year in 2026.  May the blessings of the Christ Child be yours now and forever.  Merry Christmas!

Late Advent! O Come, O Come Emmanuel!

Dear Parishioners:                                

I hope you got one of the beautiful Parish Calendars last weekend.  We are grateful to Mr. John Skeffington of the Hill Skeffington Funeral Home for once again generously sponsoring the calendar.  I hope your calendar is hanging in your home.                                              

You may also wish to clip out the Christmas Mass schedule from this week's bulletin.  Our Christmas celebration begins on Monday, December 22, with Advent Confessions.  There will be six priests, including a few Friars from Providence College, available for Confession from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm.  A great way to prepare for Christmas, and the best gift you'll receive is God's mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

Our Christmas Mass schedule begins with the Vigil Mass at 4:00 pm on Christmas Eve. It's typically very crowded, so arrive early!  At Midnight, we celebrate the Mass of Christmas Night.   Both the Vigil and the Midnight Mass are preceded by a concert of Christmas Carols by our Children's and Adult Choirs. On Christmas Day, there are Masses at 7:30 am and 10:30 am. Please note there is no 9:00 am Mass on Christmas Day. 

Advent is moving swiftly this year, as we had a late start on November 30.  On Wednesday, December 17, we move into what is called. "Late Advent." This marks the beginning of the final days of the Advent season, through December 24. This period marks a shift in focus, intensifying the preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord.

While the earlier part of Advent, from the First Sunday of Advent to December 16, reflects on both the First Coming of Christ and His Second Coming at the end of time, the late Advent weekdays concentrate more directly on preparing for the immediate celebration of Jesus' birth.

Late Advent is notably marked by the singing or recitation of the ancient "O Antiphons" during Vespers each day.  Father Brodeur's column this week contains an excellent explanation of the "O Antiphons."

In some cultures, specific devotions are practiced during Late Advent. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, the tradition of Las Posadas is practiced. It was brought to Mexico from Spain in the 1500s by Catholic Missionaries.  Las Posadas recalls Mary and Joseph's difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of a place for the Christ Child to be born. In Spanish, the word means lodging. 

The Posadas begin on December 16 and continue for nine evenings, culminating with the Posada on December 24 at Midnight.  The Posada begins with the recitation of the Holy Rosary. The group then proceeds from the church to the local neighborhood. The Posada is led by a small group carrying a manger scene. Some are quite elaborate and feature a live donkey and parishioners dressed as Mary and Joseph.

Families in the neighborhood have already been selected to participate in the Posada. The participants process in the neighborhood, stopping to stand before the door of pre-selected homes. They sing a Spanish song requesting entry.  A small group inside the home tells them that there is no room.  At the final home of the night, they share a meal, and then end with the smashing of a piñata.

The seven corners of the piñata represent the Seven Deadly Sins.  The beating of the piñata symbolizes the mortification and penance that Christians practice to overcome personal sin.  The candy within the piñata characterizes the sweetness of God's grace made available to us through the birth of Jesus. 

In the Philippines, they celebrate Simbang Gabi, which is Tagalog (Filipino) for "Night Mass" from December 16 to 24. The Masses are celebrated from 2:30 am to 5:00 am each night. Originally intended as a practical compromise for farmers who began working in the fields before sunrise, this traditional Advent Devotion remains widely practiced.

We don't have such wonderful Advent customs and traditions in the United States. They teach lessons of faith and hospitality. As we enter Late Advent, you and your family might take up a devotion of your own, such as attending Daily Mass, praying the Rosary, or lighting the Advent Wreath with prayer and song.  Perhaps invite friends and neighbors to join you.

Late Advent reminds us that Christmas is coming. Prepare the way! Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!

Avoid the Christmas Rush!

Dear Parishioners:                                                   

The Advent Season is well underway. It is the season to prepare prayerfully and joyfully anticipate the coming of Christ.  How is your Advent going? Are you already seemingly too busy to slow down and prepare the way for the Lord's coming?                                                                    

Hugo van der Goes depicted the journey to Bethlehem in his masterpiece, the Portinari Altarpiece (c. 1475)

All too often in Advent, the prayerful silence and the deliberate slowing down are on the list, but we don't get to them. We have too much shopping to do. Too many cookies to bake. Too many parties, lunches, and dinners to attend. Too many cards to write. It seems "Tis the Season to be Busy!!"   

For many of us, this is one of our busiest times of the year. If you have kids, you're swamped with pre-Christmas concerts, school activities, and shopping. If you're a teacher, classrooms are filled with students who are desperate for the holidays. If you're a college student, you can barely see Christmas through the thick fog of papers and exams.   

Even if none of these apply, the season is still packed with office parties, gatherings with friends, shopping, and decorating. Even in our parish and school, this is a busy time of year with gatherings, festivities, and concerts.    

La Inmaculada Concepción, by Francisco Rizi, Museo del Prado, 17th-century, oil on canvas

We start this week with the Immaculate Conception Holy Day on Monday.  It is a Holy Day of Obligation. Holy Day Masses for this important celebration are 7:30 am, the School Mass at 9:00 am, and 7:00 pm.  Confessions will be heard at 6:00 pm on Monday.  

On Tuesday, we invite all adult men of the parish to a Recollection for Men at 6:00 pm. This prayerful and fraternal time includes Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary, Prayer, Confession, Meditations, and a time of fraternity afterwards.  It is a great way to take up the prayerful silence and reflection we are called to take up during Advent.   

Also, this week we are preparing for the OLM School Christmas Pageant on Friday at 6:00 pm.  It is always a outstanding evening of Sacred Christmas Music, and a living Nativity is also performed.    With 271 students, this year's Pageant will be very joyous and most likely crowded.  So please join us as we celebrate this Season of Advent with beautiful music.  If you're coming, arrive early. 

Also on this Friday, in Westerly, the OLM Adult Choir, under the direction of Mr. Henri St. Louis, will perform at a Concert to benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Westerly entitled "Christmas in Song".   It begins at 5:30 pm at the Watch Hill Chapel. So if you're looking for a way to celebrate the season and help the poor, then make your way to Westerly on Friday.  

It is a busy season in all kinds of ways. Such busyness begs the question: How do we slow down?  While the world around us gears up for the secular Christmas with an overabundance of celebrations, shopping, and partying, how do we as Catholic disciples slow down?    

We can slow down in many ways.  Begin with more prayer and read the scriptures. Make a great effort to attend Sunday Mass, and consider attending Daily Mass. Go to Confession.  Strive to be more generous, charitable, kind, and patient.    

As we busy ourselves with other forms of preparation, we may feel we have no time for extra prayer or reflection on the real reason of the season. Too often, Advent preparation is too inconvenient, yet the Christmas story shows that Jesus doesn't come when it's convenient. Think of His mother! She was betrothed to be married, and becoming pregnant put her in immense danger. Think of the Wise Men! They had to travel for months to catch a glimpse of Jesus!

The truth is, we always have busy lives. Jesus won't wait. He came to earth when it was inconvenient, and He comes into our lives and hearts in the same way.    His grace comes into our lives in the middle of the chores, the busyness, and the obligations of living in the modern world.  Advent calls us to awaken to the Lord’s presence in our lives. Let’s prepare for Christ’s coming with an expectant hush, rather than a last-minute rush.

 I am away at the Winter Meeting of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC. It’s Advent, slow down, be silent, and pray!  Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Pats!

Enter Into the Season of Hope

Dear Parishioners:                               

The Holy Season of Advent begins this week with our celebration of the First Sunday of Advent and the Blessing of the Advent Wreath.  Advent has a dual focus on Jesus’s coming, both in his first coming among us as a man and his coming at the end of time.                                                      

This twofold approach to the season allows Advent to teach us about God’s presence among us. In Advent, we learn that God is the basis of hope, and that such hope is the basis for increasing our love of this life.  During this Jubilee Year of Hope, we are called to be a people of hope.

So often we reduce hope to wishful thinking: “I hope I win the lottery” or “I hope the Patriots go to the Super Bowl.” This type of reduction of hope has removed the virtue’s central character. Hope without a guarantee is just wishful thinking.

Hope needs some guarantee if it is to be truly hope. If eternity is present already in Christ, then hope finds its guarantee in him. We have hope because we already see the effects of Jesus in our lives and in the life of the Church. Hope gives us the ability to see Christ in all, to encounter him in prayer and the sacraments, and in the Scriptures.

All this gives our lives an enduring character. Christian hope says life is not fleeting but enduring because it is united to Jesus’s own life. Advent is the training ground of hope — of recognizing God’s presence as saving — in the face of whatever is fleeting and passing.

Advent is the season of hope. Pope Benedict XVI said: “Advent is par excellence the season of hope in which believers in Christ are invited to remain in watchful and active waiting, nourished by prayer and by the effective commitment to love. May the approaching Nativity of Christ fill the hearts of all Christians with joy, serenity, and peace!”   

If we are to be the people of hope that Advent calls us to be, we must commit to practical and spiritual Advent preparation. First, begin with more personal prayer time. Take up some spiritual reading and reflection.  Advent reading materials are available in the vestibule to assist with this. 

Secondly, seek Christ in the Sacraments, especially Mass and Confession.  Faithfully attend Sunday Mass during Advent, pray with the Sunday Gospels, consider coming to Daily Mass, and make a good Confession.

Finally, strive to be more charitable during Advent. In a world that reduces the birth of the Son of God to crass commercialism,  consumerism, and materialism, take the time to remember Christ in the poor and needy.  Be generous toward a good Catholic Charity, visit a relative, friend, or neighbor who is lonely or sick, send a card or note to the neglected out-of-state friend or relative, and be more patient and kind with your words and deeds.

Such Advent preparation is truly a sign of hope and prepares us for the coming of Christ. While the world around us goes crazy for the secular celebration of Christmas, let’s strive to be a people of Advent. 

As Saint Padre Pio says, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.” 

Hopefully, the new hymnals are in the pews this weekend, as they were scheduled to arrive on time! The old Worship Hymnals are over 12 years old, the bindings are loosening, and the selection of hymns is not very good.  We have purchased 600 St. Michael Hymnals for a cost of $11,000.  The Worship Hymnals cost $12,000 when purchased 12 years ago! 

Our Music Director, Mr. Henri St. Louis, recommended the St. Michael Hymnal as it is used at the Our Lady of Providence Seminary, where he also directs the music. This is the latest edition and includes a wide selection of traditional and well-known hymns. 

The new hymnal does not include the readings, so more missalettes are available in the pews. The old hymnals will be donated to a church or institution that needs them. So open up the hymnal and sing with gusto!  As St. Augustine said: “When we sing, we pray twice!”   

We congratulate and thank our 14 new OLM Altar Servers who begin their service this week!  A Blessed Advent! Prepare the Way of the Lord! Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Pats!

A Day to Give Thanks to God

 Dear Parishioners:

This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  It is the final Sunday of the liturgical church year; the Holy Season of Advent begins next Sunday. It is a relatively recent feast, instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, emphasizing Christ's sovereignty and reign over all creation. 

As Saint Pope Paul VI reminds us, "Jesus Christ, You have heard Him spoken of, indeed the greater part of you are already His – you are Christians.  So, to you Christians I repeat His name, to everyone I proclaim Him –Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. He is the king of the new world. He is the secret of history. He is the key to our destiny." "

On this Thursday, we celebrate the most American of holidays, Thanksgiving Day!  It is a day when we, as a nation, gather with family and friends to give thanks to God for the year's bounty.  With great thanksgiving, we express our gratitude for freedom, family, and food. 

When President Abraham Lincoln instituted the national holiday, he called on his ""fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." "

Our country has continued to celebrate the day as a national holiday since 1863. Though President Lincoln began the national tradition 162 years ago, his declaration followed a long tradition of setting aside a Thursday to give thanks to God, begun by President George Washington in 1789.

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe's 1925 portrait, Thanksgiving at Plymouth, is now on display at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

The oldest and most iconic story of Thanksgiving is that of the passengers and crew of the Mayflower, who landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in November 1620. Following a harsh winter, during which much of its population perished from scurvy and inadequate shelter, these "Pilgrim" settlers at Plymouth were able to grow enough crops to provide for the colony.

After the abundant harvest, the fifty remaining settlers spent three days feasting and giving thanks to God for his blessings. These remaining colonists were also joined by ninety Wampanoags, who had been instrumental in helping the settlers survive the tough conditions of that first winter.

The story of the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower isn't just a national folktale. But it serves as a reminder to our nation and our families. In addition to watching football, eating a delicious family meal, and revisiting the story of the Pilgrims, I believe it is important to remember that the holiday is first and foremost meant as a day of giving thanks to God.

As American Catholics, Thanksgiving has an even deeper meaning for us. The best way to begin Thanksgiving Day is with Holy Mass.  "Eucharist" comes from the Greek word eukharistia, which literally means "thanksgiving". The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists several names for this Sacrament. Still, the first is "Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. "

One of the earliest Catholic texts on the Sacraments is the Didache, written around the beginning of the second century. The author of the text exhorts us, after having been filled with the Eucharist, to give thanks to the Father for his bountiful love.

Why go to Mass on Thanksgiving Day, since it is a national holiday and not a holy day of obligation? I cannot think of a better way to celebrate this day than to begin it by giving thanks through Christ Jesus in his offering to the Father. And while we need to remember to be thankful for the little things in our lives, we should be all the more thankful for the sacrifice Christ offered on our behalf! Further, Jesus gives us a way to participate in his very sacrifice through the Eucharist.  

So start your Thanksgiving Day with Holy Mass and join us on Thursday at 9:00 am.  Bishop Evans is our celebrant, and Father Brodeur is our preacher. St. Teresa of Avila said, "In all created things discern the providence and wisdom of God, and in all things give Him thanks."  

Fr. Brodeur and I wish you a Happy and Holy Thanksgiving! He will join his family in Westerly on Thanksgiving Day, and I will head north to my sister's home in Saratoga, New York. Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Pats!