The Winds of Blizzards & War

Dear Parishioners:                                 

OLM Maintenance Director Paul Anderson and crew clearing snow at OLM.

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks.  First, we had the storm of the century with the Blizzard of 2026! And then we awoke last Saturday to the news that we are at war with Iran.  If ever there was a time to take up the Lenten practice of prayer more fervently, it's now.  The blizzard was as big as predicted, and people abided by the travel ban.  In fact, the emergency alert announcing the travel ban went off during the 5:00 pm Sunday Mass. Suddenly, hundreds of phones beeped, including mine. It was louder than the organ! And then, as predicted, the storm came with a fury.

I again wish to thank Paul Anderson and the maintenance crew who went to work right away.  They spent hours and days shoveling, plowing, and pushing the three feet of snow.  They worked in the dark, the snow, and the cold, and did a tremendous job of clearing the OLM physical plant of snow and keeping it safe for parishioners and students. You may have noticed the traffic cones in front of the Church.  The stones have risen due to frost, so we ask that you be extra careful as you come in, as there is a risk of tripping.   We hope that the stones will settle back in place once the warmer weather arrives.

Our school reopened last Monday with smiling parents and eager students returning after two weeks away. The blizzard arrived on a Sunday night, always a delight for schoolchildren, so the February Winter Break was extended by an extra week.  But now our students and faculty are back in the classroom, striving to be saints and scholars. Of course, the blizzard pales in comparison to the war being waged in the Middle East.  Attacks and bombings in Iran and other countries have caused many casualties and much destruction. We pray for the U.S. soldiers who were killed and for the protection of our troops and innocent civilians. Let us also pray for the end of oppression in Iran, and for peace throughout the world, especially in the Middle East.

Pope Leo XIV delivering his weekly Sunday Angelus Address in Rome.

Our Holy Father, Pope Leo, commented on the war during his Angelus Address last Sunday, saying:  “I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran during this tumultuous time. Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue.

Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm. May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace.”

I hope you had a chance to attend the Lenten Mission last week. Our Mission Preacher, Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, was outstanding.  We thank him for traveling from Rome to be with us and preach the Mission.  He is a talented young priest who does great work for the Dominican Friars, the Order of Preachers. Hopefully, our Mission produced much spiritual fruit for our parish and helped each of us to grow in faith, hope, and charity.

Seminarians pray at Eucharistic Adoration in the Our Lady of Providence Seminary Chapel.

Fr. Brodeur is leading a Discernment Retreat at Our Lady of Providence Seminary this weekend.  Twenty-five young men, high school seniors and college-aged, are expected to attend. Please pray for Father and for young men discerning a call to the priesthood.   As you know, we have two seminarians from OLM currently in formation at OLP Seminary, David Del Bonis and Luke Simms. David is currently a senior at Providence College and has just been assigned by Bishop Bruce Lewandowski to continue his theological studies next year at St. John’s Seminary in Boston.  Luke will return to OLP Seminary and continue his philosophy studies at PC next year.  Pray for them and all seminarians that they persevere in their vocation.

I hope you’re keeping the Lenten call to pray, fast, and give alms. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow the Lord.  As St. Catherine of Siena said: "Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring." Lenten Fridays are for fish and Stations of the Cross! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!

       .

Rising with Christ When We Fall

Dear Parishioners,

I hope your Lent is going well so far.  Sometimes the forty days of Lent seem like a tall challenge to keep faithful to our good resolutions to pray, fast, and give alms.  If you’ve failed to keep your Lenten resolutions fast from some comfort, pleasure, or vice, or even if you forgot to abstain from meat on Friday, don’t fear!  St. Francis de Sales said, "Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself."  

Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary by
Raphael (1514-1516)

Jesus fell three times carrying the cross. His falling three times on the way to Calvary should inspire us to get up by demonstrating that persistent, repeated rising—not perfection—defines victory over suffering. His falls represent total exhaustion and human weakness, yet He continues, showing that grace meets us in our failures and urges us to rise with renewed resolve.

The three falls symbolize the often multiple stumbles in our lives, but his continued, determined rising proves that we can always start again, regardless of how often we fall. Jesus' falls mean He understands our deepest, repeated failures (physical, emotional, spiritual), comforting us that He is with us in our lowest moments.

Jesus first falls because the Cross is heavy. He is tired, wounded, and in pain. This shows us something important: Jesus truly became human. He felt weakness. He felt exhaustion. He felt pain. This fall tells us that God understands human weakness. He knows what it feels like to struggle.

The second fall shows more than physical pain. It represents the weight of the sins of the world: pride, hatred, violence, betrayal, and injustice. Jesus is not just carrying wood. He is carrying our brokenness, our failures, and our sins. This fall teaches us that Sin is heavy. It crushes the soul. But Jesus carries it anyway, for love of us.

The third fall is the deepest. It shows complete surrender. Jesus is almost broken, yet He still gets up. Not by strength alone, but by obedience, love, and purpose. This fall teaches us that even when everything feels finished, love still stands. Faith can still rise. Hope can still breathe.

Jesus Falling Beneath the Cross by Gustave Dore (1832-1883)

It’s good to reflect upon our Lord’s three falls, especially when we fall ourselves.   In Scripture, three means fullness and completeness.  So the three falls show the full weight of suffering: physical, spiritual, and emotional.  Jesus carried all of it. Perhaps the “Hidden Message” in this teaching is that Jesus didn’t fall to stay down.  He fell and rose again, each time.

 So the message is simple: You may fall. You may fail. You may break. You may feel finished.  But in Christ: Falling is not the end. Weakness is not defeat. Struggle is not shame. Jesus fell three times to teach us that rising is holy. Not because we are strong, but because His love lifts us. Pope Francis said, "Progress in holiness does not consist in never falling, but in rising up each time we fall and moving forward.”

So if you’ve slipped this Lent in keeping up self-denial, penance, prayer, fasting, and alms giving, get up and try again. Lent is forty days, and there’s more time to renew, refocus, and become more resolute.  Lent can often be a series of small Lents as we strive to deny ourselves, carry our cross, and follow Christ.

This weekend, we welcome Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP, who is preaching our Lenten Mission.  Join us this week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights at 7:00 pm for the Mission.  Bring your spouse, children, friends, and neighbors.  It is a great time of prayer, reflection, and renewal.

Catechumens from Our Lady of Mercy pose with Bishop Lewandowski and Father Brodeur at the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on Sunday, February 22, 2026

We congratulate the 6 catechumens and 11 candidates from Our Lady of Mercy who celebrated the Rite of Election with the Bishop last Sunday. Their names are in the bulletin. Please pray for them as they continue to prepare for full entry into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.   They are among the hundreds of catechumens and candidates coming into the Church in the Diocese of Providence this year.

Record numbers are coming into the Church this Easter.  Including in secular Netherlands, Belgium, France, Ireland, and England.  Also in one diocese in  Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, over 2,100 people will become Catholic at this year’s Easter Vigil. Pray for them all!    

Get up and pray, fast, and give alms. Make the Mission! Remember that Fridays are for fish and Stations! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!

Repent & Believe in the Gospel

Dear Parishioners:                               

“Remember You are Dust and to Dust You Shall Return.”

Lent began on Ash Wednesday as our foreheads were smeared with ashes and we were reminded to “Repent and believe the Gospel.”    It is our annual opportunity to refocus on Christ in our lives and convert our hearts more fully to Him. The Venerable  Fulton J. Sheen said, “We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good seeds. Which is better is clear, for the Christian ideal is always positive rather than negative.” These are wise words to guide us as we begin the forty days of Lent.

Lent is a penitential season. It is a time to focus on repenting from our sins and renewing our faith. Making a good Confession is the best way to cleanse ourselves from sin and start fresh with a renewed focus on Christ before celebrating the glory of Easter. There are ample opportunities for Confession at OLM. Every day at 11:45 am, before the 12:05 Lenten Mass, Confession is offered. Also on Mondays at 6:00 pm, two priests, including a guest priest, will be available for Confession.  There is Confession also on Saturdays at 3:00 pm.

Next Saturday, we will have All-Day Confessions here at OLM.  There will be four merciful priests available from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Eucharistic Adoration will take place during the hours of Confession.  It is a great opportunity to get a fresh start this Lent with the forgiveness of sins and the grace of the Sacrament of Penance.   I ask that in your charity, you please pray that many people will come to Confession, especially the reluctant and those who have been away from the sacrament for years. Pray for the Confessors who will spend hours in the confessionals forgiving sins!  

At the beginning of her classic memoir, “The Long Loneliness,” the Servant of God, Dorothy Day, writes about what it is like to go to confession.  She sets the stage: “Incense in the air, the smell of burning candles…the noise of the streets coming in to emphasize the stillness.” But then she gets to the point of it all. How hard it is.  Going to confession is hard, she writes, likening it to writing. Writing a book is hard, she explains, because you are “giving yourself away.”  But she adds, “If you love, you want to give it yourself.”

If you want to know what these 40 days of Lent are all about, that’s it.  If you love, you want to give love. This Lent, give your love to Christ, go to Confession to be reconciled, go to Mass to be strengthened, and make the Stations of the Cross to contemplate Christ’s love.  

Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP with his latest book, Witness: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

Next week, our Annual Lenten Mission begins. This year, we are blessed to have Dominican Friar, Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP, as our Mission Preacher. He is the promoter general for social communication for the Order of Preachers (The Dominicans) and resides in Rome. A sought-after preacher and speaker, Father is the author of a new book, Witness: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation. His Mission, entitled “Witness,” is inspired by his new book.  

Fr. Patrick earned a licentiate in moral theology degree from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. Following his ordination, he served as a chaplain and theology instructor at Providence College and as a parish priest at St. Pius V Church in Providence. He is a fine priest and an outstanding preacher, so I encourage you to make the Mission.  Father Patrick has visited OLM many times and resided here for a few weeks in the summer of 2024. We look forward to welcoming him back!
It is a long tradition for parishes to invite a guest priest to preach a Mission, especially during Lent. The goal of the Mission is to help lukewarm Catholics renew their faith, convert tepid souls to greater fervor, and encourage pious souls in their good resolutions to serve God. Just as Jesus and His Apostles went from town to town preaching the Kingdom of God, so a preacher comes to our parish to encourage us to repent and renew our Catholic faith.

Fr. Brodeur is away this weekend preaching a Lenten Mission at  Mount Carmel and Saint Mary Parishes in Bristol. Pray for him and the success of the Mission.  Fridays are for fish and Stations! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!

Lent is Coming! Are You Ready to Fast, Pray, & Give Alms!

Dear Parishioners:

It is School Winter Break this week, and our parish school is closed. It is hard to believe that the Season of Ordinary Time is ending this week, as Lent begins this coming Ash Wednesday.  In Her wisdom, Holy Mother the Church gives us the Holy Season of Lent each year. And so we "begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of      self-restraint."

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence. All Catholics aged 18 to 59 are required to fast unless they are ill or infirm. Fasting is limiting oneself to one full meal and two smaller meals. Abstinence is required of all Catholics age 14 and older. This means we must abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent.

As Catholics, we fast and abstain during Lent to imitate Jesus' 40 days in the desert, practicing penance, self-discipline, and spiritual reflection to prepare for Easter. These practices help us detach from worldly comforts, strengthen self-control, and foster a deeper reliance on God through prayer and charity.

Lent calls us to be vigilant against "spiritual evils," especially those we struggle with daily. Namely, sin, pride, selfishness, spiritual sloth and apathy, acedia, and laziness. We must be armed with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, which are our "weapons of self-restraint."

We must be more vigilant in faithfully attending Holy Mass on Sundays as God has commanded us. We must be more vigilant in seeking God's mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession. We must be more vigilant in making sacrifices, being more generous and charitable to the poor, and practicing penances and self-denial as we take up the cross and follow Christ for forty days.

Our spiritual campaign of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, with three Masses: 7:30 am, 12:05 pm, and 7:00 pm. Ashes will be imposed at all three. Confession is available on Ash Wednesday at 11:45 am and 6:00 pm. As our foreheads are smeared with ashes, we take up the clarion call of Lent: "Repent and believe in the Gospel." Lent is a time for more prayer, penance, and the poor. We have many opportunities for prayer at OLM. We have Lenten Masses at 7:30 am and 12:05 pm Monday through Friday. Stations of the Cross every Friday at 7:00 pm. Put prayer at Daily Mass and the Stations on your schedule. Pope Leo XIV says, "Time spent in prayer is the most fruitful investment of one's life. Those who do not speak enough with God cannot speak of God.”

Confession in Lent is offered daily, Monday through Friday, at 11:45 am, just before the Lenten 12:05 Mass. On Monday nights at 6:00 pm during Lent, an additional guest Confessor joins us each week. All-day confessions are scheduled for Saturday, February 28. Ample opportunity to confess our sins and receive the mercy and grace of God.

Christ in the Desert or Christ in the Wilderness[ is a 1872 painting by Russian artist Ivan Kramskoi

Many Lenten books, booklets, and pamphlets are available in the vestibule and the bookrack to help strengthen your spiritual life. Take a break from your daily routine to engage in spiritual reading, prayer, Mass, and reflection during Lent.

Our Lenten fast from certain foods, drinks, and other comforts and pleasures helps us conform to God's will. For forty days, we take up fasting by giving up some selfish pleasure or creature comforts like candy or sweets, perhaps beer or Bourbon, or even cigars! We should moderate our use of technology, such as cell phones, the internet, and social media.

The Venerable Fulton J. Sheen said, "Lenten practices of giving up pleasures are good reminders that the purpose of life is not pleasure. The purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth, and undying ecstatic love, which is the definition of God. In pursuing that goal, we find happiness."

We give more alms to the poor during Lent. We can do this through Operation Rice Bowl, OLM Outreach, and the Catholic Charity Appeal. Please take home a rice bowl. The monies collected buy food for the hungry of the world. St. Augustine said, "Do you wish your prayer to fly toward God? Make for it two wings: fasting and almsgiving.”

A blessed Lent! Pray, fast, and give alms! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!

Searching for the Light of Christ Amid the Darkness

Dear Parishioners:                                  

David E. Belanger

April 3, 1962 — January 27, 2026

Last week, Dave Belanger, the Maintenance and Building Director at OLM School, died suddenly and unexpectedly.  Dave worked at OLM for over a decade and previously worked with me when I served as Pastor of St. Ambrose Church. His death was a shock to our parish and school staff as well as to our students. His Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Thursday.  Our faculty, staff, and students continue to grieve his loss, as he was beloved by all of us.  

Dave was hard-working and dedicated to serving our community, and was a source of kindness and thoughtfulness as well as great humor and joy.  I kindly ask for your continued prayers for his gentle repose and for the consolation of his family and our OLM community.  May he rest in peace.

We learned earlier this week, as I write this column, that the release of the RI Attorney General’s report on his six-and-a-half-year review of clergy sexual abuse in Rhode Island dating back to 1950 is expected sometime this week. The report is the result of the diocese’s agreement for a voluntary review entered into in 2019.   I have not seen the report and do not know what it contains.  However, Bishop Lewandowski has indicated that “it does not contain any new cases of abuse and much of its content has already been widely publicized in the media over the decades.”  

The report is certain to be a difficult and painful retelling of historical cases of abuse in our diocese, including the abuse that took place at OLM in the late 1960’s. This is a painful reminder of the abuse that took place in the past and is sure to evoke sadness, sorrow, anger, and misunderstanding. What do we say in the face of such sad and scandalous revelations?

It should first off make us remember anyone who was ever harmed. We should pray earnestly for them and for their families. We must also pray for our own community of OLM, for the victims of abuse that occurred here, and for their families. We should pray for those whose faith has been weakened that they can once again find their way to encounter Christ in His Church.

If our own faith is shaken by these revelations, turn to Christ in prayer and ask for his guidance and understanding. He knows our pain, doubt, and righteous anger.  Christ shares in the pain and suffering because of such sin and scandal.

We should pray for those accused as well. For a Christian, the most fundamental response to sin is mercy. Mercy, of course, does not preclude justice. In fact, it demands it. But it means that sin never has the last word. There is a limit to sin, and it is God’s mercy.

Like you, I too am deeply saddened to read of sin and, at times, an inadequate response to it. But I am also heartened to know that it is not the Church today. I am heartened, too, to recall that the promise of Jesus to His Church remains. Sin can never obscure the truth that Christ is risen from the dead.

Lastly, I ask for your prayers for the many good priests who have served with fidelity and dedication.  These revelations are deeply painful for priests, as we are embarrassed and ashamed.  Pray especially for our young priests like Fr. Brodeur, who wasn’t even born when these acts transpired. And pray, too, for our seminarians that they remain steadfast in their chosen vocation.  

It has been a very long and sad week at OLM and now for our entire Diocese. I have experienced such sadness before in my own life. It is the same sadness I experienced over 25 years ago as a young, newly ordained priest when so many of the reports of clerical sex abuse were first revealed.   Such pain and sadness never heal completely but instead remind us to strive to be a people of faith, hope, and love.

 As we ponder such evil and darkness with sadness and shame, we must strive to see the light of Christ. As the late Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said: "The experience of the dark night of the soul, though painful, serves as a test intended to purify and deepen one’s faith.”                            

I thank all who helped with the Mass and collation for Dave Belanger this week.  It was a fitting tribute for a good man. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. Keep the faith! God Bless! I am away this week on a previously scheduled vacation. Go Pats!!!

Snow, Schools, Social Services, & Super Bowls!!

Dear Parishioners:                                 

I hope you survived Winter Storm Fern last Sunday. This massive, historic storm impacted 34 states and over 220 million people.  Here at OLM, we had a very large crowd at the 4:00 pm Mass on Saturday and good crowds at morning Masses, but not one soul other than Father Brodeur at the Sunday 5:00 pm Mass.   

Monday morning was a different story altogether.  After the big win by the Super Bowl-bound Patriots, we had six hearty parishioners, our three good Franciscan Sisters, and two loyal altar servers at the 7:30 am Mass! All of us offered thanksgiving to God for surviving the storm and for the Pat’s victory!!  

Unfortunately, the storm affected our OLM School Open House, which was scheduled for last Sunday.  We had to postpone it to Sunday, February 8, Super Bowl Sunday, from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm.  We thank the OLM School students who spoke at Masses last week. They did an outstanding job, and I hope they encouraged you to support our school.  If so, stop by the Open House next Sunday.

I want to commend Paul Anderson, our OLM Physical Plant Director, and our OLM maintenance staff for the incredible job they did during the storm.  All day and night Sunday and Monday, they were out in the cold and snow, working incredibly hard plowing the lots, shoveling the sidewalks, and using snowblowers to clear the snow.  They deserve our thanks and praise, so please thank them when you see them.  

The cold temperatures and snowstorm should remind us of the many people in our state who lack a warm shelter.  We must not only pray for them but also offer our charity.  We are blessed that Emmanuel House, our Diocesan Homeless Shelter in Providence, was open all day and night as a warming center.  

Emmanuel House is one of the many charitable works of the Church supported by the Catholic Charity Appeal.   The Emmanuel House Shelter operates 365 days a year, housing men and women who have no food or shelter.  In addition, the Martin de Porres  Center in Providence feeds over 800 impoverished families a month. In fact, our local Catholic Social Services recorded well over 200,000 acts of charity last year, an increase of over 10,000! These acts include responding to requests for assistance with housing, food, clothing, prescriptions, rent, and heat.

With budget cuts for social safety nets both at a national and state levels, the Catholic Church continues to be the second largest non-governmental provider of such services in the nation and state.  The  Catholic Charity Appeal funds these social services along with other important ministries, including Youth Ministry, Seminarian Education, ministries at state and federal prisons and local hospitals, nursing home facilities, and many other vital ministries of our Diocese.  

This year, the overall goal of the Catholic Charity Appeal is $7,700,000.   Our OLM Parish goal this year is $199,500, an increase of 5% from last year.  Thanks to your generous support last year, we raised $276,000 from 449 parish families. This year, we are once again asking every parish family to prayerfully consider a pledge of $300 in support of the CCA.  This monthly pledge of just $30  helps our Church feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the lonely, serve the imprisoned, and heal the sick.  

This weekend, we begin with the parish in-pew portion of the CCA.  I thank Mike Mita and Jerry O’Connell, the Chairmen of the OLM CCA, for their leadership.  They are speaking at all Masses, asking for your support.  We are a parish of over 1,200 families, and we hope every parish household will pledge a gift of at least $300.  In the name of the poor and needy, I thank you for your support of the 2026 CCA.

I also thank the many parishioners who supported the Baby Shower Collection for St. Gabriel’s Call.  We received many donations, and we are grateful.   This collection for needed baby items continues in the coming weeks, so please leave donations in the blue bins in the vestibule. We thank OLM parishioner Joe Ferris for spearheading the collection.

Pray for the success of the Catholic Charity Appeal. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless! Go Pats!!! Let’s stop those Seahawks from flying!