Honoring Our Dead with Prayer, Respect & Reverence

Dear Parishioners:

As I write this column on Monday morning before I leave for my annual retreat, I hope our new church boiler will be installed by the time I return. I  pray that this project is completed by the end of this week.   

We are grateful to Bob Bolton of Arden Engineering for helping us complete the boiler project. He is a longtime parishioner, and his sons graduated from our school.  In fact, Arden installed the two new boilers in our school in 2024.  The new church boiler is a  Lochinvar high-efficiency boiler.  Pray the weather stays warm until the boiler is up and running!

November is All Souls Month, as we pray for our beloved dead and especially remember the souls in Purgatory. Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen said: “As we enter Heaven, we will see them, so many of them, coming towards us and thanking us. We will ask who they are, and they will say, A poor soul you prayed for in Purgatory.' “ It is also a time to visit cemeteries and pray at the graves of our deceased family and friends. 

Praying for souls in cemeteries who have no one to pray for them is an act of charity.  Our first pastor, Fr. Patrick Lenihan, purchased the land in the 1850s to build St. Patrick's Cemetery.  He died in 1857, and the cemetery was named in his honor. Needless to say, St. Patrick Cemetery has many old graves dating back to the 19th century, including some Civil War Veterans.  Many of these souls have no family left to tend to their graves or pray for them. This November, perhaps we can go to a cemetery, choose an old grave, and pray for the soul resting in St.Patrick’s sacred ground. 

There is a growing trend these days to use cremation when our loved ones die. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to confusion, and sadly, at times the cremated remains are either left on a mantle, made into jewelry, or abandoned at the funeral home.  The Church requires that cremated remains of the body be placed in a respectful vessel and treated in the same way that a family would treat a body in a casket.  Since the human body has an eternal destiny in any form, the Church requires that cremated remains of a body be buried or entombed immediately after the Funeral in the same timely manner as a body.

Cremated remains of a loved one are not to be scattered, kept at home, or divided into other vessels among family members, just as it is clear that these practices would desecrate a body in a casket. The Church allows for burial at sea, provided that the cremated remains of the body are buried in a heavy container and not scattered.

All of these teachings on the treatment of cremated remains of the body correspond with our foundational belief in eternal life—both body and soul—in Jesus Christ among the Communion of Saints.

This week's bulletin includes an invitation from Catholic Cemeteries inviting those with unburied cremains to bury them in the sacred grounds of one of our ten Diocesan Cemeteries.  So if you have a cremated loved one on your mantle, consider properly burying or entombing them.

In making cremation decisions, talk with a priest, your family, and friends. Pray for the gift of wisdom, faith, hope, and love. The Church clearly prefers and urges that the full body be present for the funeral rites. The Catholic funeral rites are sacred acts that help bereaved families through mourning, prayer, consolation, and separation from their deceased loved one.

This past week we had elections across our nation and state. I was on retreat on Election Day, and like Pope Leo, voted early by mail.   The Pope "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so," according to the Vatican.  It stated: "The Holy See Press Office confirms that in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago."  Pope Leo is the first Pope in history to vote in a U.S. election.

We pray for all the newly elected public officials, that they may serve with integrity, protect the sanctity of human life, respect the dignity of all, and serve the common good.  May God guide, protect, and bless them in their public service. God Bless America!

Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!

Remembering All Saints & All Souls

Dear Parishioners:                                      

 As announced at Mass last week, our church boiler died.  Thankfully, temperatures have been fairly mild recently.  But November is here, and the cold weather is coming.  We hope to have a new boiler installed soon. We estimate the cost of a new boiler is about $40,000.   So please dress warmly for Mass until it is up and running!

Proposed bollards for front door of the school.

We are also planning to upgrade some security measures at the school in the coming weeks. Bollards will be installed at the school’s front and back doors.  This was one of many recommendations from the parish and church security review we completed last year.  We have been updating and improving our security procedures and protocols for many months.  Installing bollards is another step in enhancing our security and increasing the safety of our faculty and students.

At the 10:30 am Mass on Sunday, we remember fifty-two of our fellow parishioners who passed away this past year.  Their families will join us at Mass as we remember and pray for the repose of the souls of their beloved dead.  We also pray for the consolation of their grieving families.  

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Today is the Solemnity of All Saints.  It falls on a Sunday this year, so we can especially celebrate all the saints, known and unknown. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops defines saints as “persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.”

The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs, Fra Angelico

When we pray the Apostles’ Creed, we say, “I believe in…the communion of saints.” The communion of saints includes men and women who have placed their hope in Jesus Christ and, through Baptism, are his adopted sons and daughters. It includes the living and the deceased, whether they are with God in heaven or undergoing a purification.

Before his death, Saint Dominic said, “Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death, and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.” In a very special way, on the Solemnity of All Saints, we can pray not only to our favorite saints, but also to our departed brothers and sisters whom we believe are already with God.

All Saints and All Souls make up the two-day celebration of the Communion of Saints: those in heaven with God and those on their way there. On All Saints Day, the Church celebrates those Christians who achieved spiritual maturity. It is a day to venerate all the holy men and women who have been canonized by the Church.

Purgatory by Ludovico Carracci (17th Century)

A day later, on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day), the Church remembers and prays for the faithful departed: our brothers and sisters who have died marked with the sign of faith. Particularly, we pray for all the souls in purgatory.

On Monday, November 2, we will celebrate All Souls Day with Masses at 7:30 am, 9:00 am, and Noon.  Please join us in praying for all souls, especially the poor souls in purgatory.  The 9:00 am Mass is a school Mass, and the Middle School will lead us in procession to St. Patrick Cemetery, where we will pray for all the souls who rest in that sacred ground.  We pray especially for all the souls whose names are inscribed on the All Souls envelopes. Purgatory is necessary so souls can be cleansed and perfected before entering heaven.

Pope Benedict XVI said: “I would go so far as to say that if there were not purgatory, then we would have to invent it. Purgatory basically means that God can put the pieces back together again.”

November is All Souls Month, as we remember the souls in purgatory and also our own beloved dead, the deceased of our parish family, and the dead who have no one to pray for them.  It is time to visit the cemetery and pray at the grave of a loved one, and also pray for all the souls in the cemetery.

I am away on retreat this week at Arnold Hall Retreat Center located in Pembroke, Massachusetts. Please pray for me and also my brother priests on retreat. May it be a fruitful time of renewal.  

Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!!

Log on, Sign up, Tune In!

Dear Parishioners:

Bishop J. Mark Spalding of Nashville

We welcome Bishop Mark Spalding of Nashville to OLM this weekend.  He is here to celebrate our Confirmation Mass and confer the Sacrament upon 45 young adults of our parish.  Please pray for them as they receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and are confirmed in their Catholic Faith.                

Pope Leo, addressing a group of Catholic youths, said: "Dear young people, aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. Then you will see the light of the Gospel grow every day, within you and around you." Wise words for the newly confirmed from our Holy Father.

We continue to pray for our Holy Father as he recovers from surgery and his cancer.  We turn to Our Lady of Consolation, the patroness of the Augustinian Order, and Saint Peregrine, the patron saint of cancer patients, seeking their intercession for healing and strength for Pope Leo.

You may have recently read that the Providence Journal is no longer publishing holiday editions and will likely begin mailing the Sunday paper via the U.S. Postal Service. Most likely Sunday’s paper will arrive Monday or Tuesday!

In a similar fashion, Bishop Lewandowski announced that effective November 1, the Rhode Island Catholic will now be published bi-weekly instead of weekly.  It will be delivered only to paid subscribers for a rate of $40 per year. 

Most RI Catholic subscribers receive it free of charge because they have donated to the Catholic Charity Appeal. However, due to increased costs, all subscriptions must be paid, including priests. You can access the RI Catholic online and subscribe at thericatholic.com.

The diocesan website, dioceseofprovidence.org, also has news and current events about the Diocese of Providence. You can find more information about diocesan agencies and initiatives there.  There is also a sign-up for a weekly email that provides Catholic news, events, informational, and inspirational material. 

I also encourage you to visit our parish website, olmparish.org, to learn more about parish life, events, programs, and links to Catholic educational sites.  We use an email system called Flocknotes to send important information and announcements.  Links to Flocknotes, as well as our Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube accounts, are available.

This bulletin is our primary way of communicating about parish life and events. Please take a copy home after Mass and read it. It is also posted on the parish website.  We continue to announce parish events at weekend Masses.

If you are interested in learning more about the Catholic Church in the United States, I encourage you to visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website, usccb.org.  There, you can learn about the US Bishops' initiatives, as well as their agencies and offices.  They also have an email update you can sign up for to receive important news.

Finally, if you're interested in Pope Leo and the Vatican, visit Vatican News at vaticannews.va/en. They also offer a daily email newsletter you can sign up for to get the latest news.  From that website, you can find links to Papal and Church documents. 

However, none of this will help you get news and important information about the Church, the Diocese of Providence, or Our Lady of Mercy Parish if you do not read the emails, websites, and parish bulletin.  

I often hear parishioners say, “I didn’t know about that!” “Nobody told me!” or “I wish I knew about that event.”  This will continue if people don't use the many ways available to get information and actually read them.

Newspapers like the Providence Journal are quickly disappearing.  For good or bad, modern media is digital and online.  I am sure the weekly parish bulletin will also become obsolete in the future. To paraphrase the Canadian Philosopher Marshall McLuhan, if you want Church and Parish news, "log on, sign up, and tune in!”

Our new Altar Server bootcamp begins this week. Pray for our new servers. We offer our heartfelt congratulations and prayers for our newly Confirmed. May the Holy Spirit guide and protect them!

Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!! !

Building a Culture of Life

Dear Parishioners:

In October, the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month. The month focuses on cherishing, defending, and protecting human life from conception to natural death, at every stage in between.                                   

Last Saturday, OLM parishioner, school alumnus, and Bishop Hendricken student Joseph Ferris received the Human Life Guild Youth Recognition Award at the Human Life Guild Day Mass. We congratulate him and commend him on his efforts to collect much-needed baby items last January for St. Gabriel’s Call.

We continue to collect much-needed baby items, such as diapers, for the Diocese's outreach to pregnant and young mothers.  Please leave them in the Cry Room; we deliver them to St. Gabriel’s Call in Providence once a month. Thank you to the donors for supporting this Respect Life initiative.

In the Cry Room, you will also notice two new rocking chairs.  These rockers are meant to be used by the many young parents with infants and toddlers who may need to be rocked during Mass. Please reserve them for parents with children.  Both beautiful rockers are available for memorialization. If you are interested, please contact me.

While these Respect Life efforts show the many good works being done to build a culture of life, unfortunately there is much more work to be done. Just a few months ago, in Massachusetts, the Governor signed a bill into law, the so-called Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act. It permits abortion throughout pregnancy for any reason up until the day before birth, and it allows these grisly procedures, which are dangerous to mothers and cruel to their unborn children, to be performed in non-hospital settings.  The Massachusetts Bishops rightly condemned this tragic law.

In June, during his Apostolic Visit to Spain, our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV appealed for the defense of human dignity and the protection of life from conception to its natural end. He stated: “Every legislative task ultimately confronts a decisive question: what conception of the human person inspires laws, and what kind of society do those laws build?”

Sadly, Rhode Island already has a similar law. However, some candidates for office continue to advocate to extend an already immoral law to include late-term abortions. Our work of prayer and advocacy on behalf of the unborn must continue, and we must persevere in rejecting the expansion of the culture of death.

The culture of death recently found allies in the Governors of New York and Illinois. Both signed into law so-called “Medical Aid in Dying” bills.  It is a euphemism for assisted suicide by medical personnel that puts to death the sick and terminally ill.  The New York State Bishops stated:  “We must clearly reiterate that it is in direct conflict with Catholic teaching on the sacredness and dignity of all human life from conception until natural death and is a grave moral evil on par with other direct attacks on human life.”

A similar bill will likely move in the next session of the RI General Assembly.  These laws not only attack the sanctity of human life but also assault conscience rights. They do not protect religious objectors who do not want to participate in the killing of medical patients, including doctors, pharmacists, and religious sisters.  The Catholic Church in Illinois and New York has filed suit over this issue in hopes of having Catholic medical personnel and healthcare facilities protected from being forced to kill the sick and suffering.

Pope Leo stated last week that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” In light of the botched attempt at execution in Tennessee and the barbaric decision to televise a public execution by the Trump Administration, his words merit attention, prayer, and serious reflection.

The culture of death must consistently and constantly be opposed with prayer and advocacy. Begin by joining us on Mondays as we pray the Rosary for Respect Life. There is much work to be done in building a culture of life.

Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!!

Encountering Christ in our Parish and World

Parish Assembly on October 1

Dear Parishioners:

Our Parish Assembly drew over 50 people.  It was a constructive evening of discernment and discussion. Each group of parishioners was led by another parishioner. The discussion leader then reported to the larger group.  

Bishop Lewandowski, the Diocesan Office of Family, Youth, and Young Adult, and the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation provided the format and questions for each parish to follow at their assemblies. The questions were: What is our parish doing well?  What needs to be strengthened or improved? What is something we need to begin doing? What is something we need to stop doing? What should the diocesan priorities be at this time? What do you need from your parish or the diocese at this moment?

An earnest discussion ensued, resulting in helpful suggestions and support from many parishioners at the assembly.   We recorded all points raised and will send them to the Diocese for use at the larger Diocesan Assembly on November 14. This assembly will include delegations from every parish, including OLM, and will be held at LaSalle Academy.

At the Parish Assembly, I shared the Bishop’s vision for the event.  He stated in part:   

“My dear brothers and sisters in Christ—clergy and all of the baptized of the Diocese of Providence—I invite you to step forward with courage into this new season of renewal. Three Pathways, One Mission is a spiritual itinerary meant to help align our hearts with the life, ministry, and mission of Jesus Christ.

Renewal is rooted in the Mystery of the Incarnation—God clothing himself in our humanity—so that we might carry his Divine light into our homes, neighborhoods, parishes, and schools. Yet, to live this mission fully, we must also embrace his Passion and Cross, abandoning self-protection, nostalgia, and fear so that Christ’s sacrificial love can heal our wounds.”

I also shared with the group the words of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, delivered at a Diocesan Assembly for the Diocese of Rome, of which he is the Bishop.  Pope Leo stated in part:  

“Brothers and sisters, I am not delivering a new pastoral program to you today. We are not starting from scratch, and nothing of what we have experienced should be consigned to the archives. We listen and discern together, as co-responsible for the one mission. Instead, I propose that we develop a third dimension: pastoral evaluation. To evaluate, in the light of the Holy Spirit, means to pause, revisit what has happened, recognize what has borne fruit, understand what has not worked, and seek the reasons for this together. In a word, it means seeking the truth. 

BEGINNING OF THE NEW PASTORAL YEAR OF THE DIOCESE OF ROME, ADDRESS BY HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV, Basilica of St John Lateran, Friday, 18 September 2026

The Church does not exist for her own sake, but to lead every person to an encounter with the Lord; and so it is not enough to ask whether an activity is well organized, whether it is well attended, or whether it has been running for many years; we must ask whether it truly leads to Christ, whether it brings the Gospel into contact with the real lives of the people.

I would now like to say a few words about the ordained ministry in Rome.  I also know that pastoral service today is more demanding than it was in the past. I urge you not to bear these burdens alone. And I say to you quite clearly that the art of pastoral evaluation does not ask you to do more: on the contrary, it gives you permission to do less and do it better. If pastoral evaluation were to become yet another burden on your shoulders, we would have betrayed its very purpose.”

I thank the parishioners who attended the Parish Assembly, and I am especially grateful to those who led the discussion groups.  A good dialogue took place, and there is certainly much good material to reflect upon as both parish priests and parishioners.  Before we closed the Assembly, I paraphrased President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address.  “Ask not what your parish priest can do for you; rather, ask what you can do for your parish!”       

 Columbus Day is on Monday. A day to celebrate our Catholic Faith and for our Italo-Americans to remember with pride the great Christopher Columbus! Happy Columbus Day! Fr. Brodeur is away on a well-deserved vacation. Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go White Sox (the Pope’s Team)! Go Pats!

The Real Weapon Needed Now! The Holy Rosary!

Dear Parishioners:                                        

Last week’s nor’easter brought lots of rain and cancellations, including our Oktoberfest. It also seems to have kept many people home all weekend, as Masses were not well attended.  Let’s hope the weather improves and we see better Mass attendance this weekend!                                                 

October is dedicated to our Blessed Mother and the Holy Rosary.   This is because we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. This is the month to dust off your Rosary beads and put them to work praying! St. Padre Pio said: "Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today.”    

Pope St. Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (initially called Our Lady of Victory) to thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for a miraculous naval victory by Christian forces over the Ottoman Empire on October 7, 1571. The Christian fleet was heavily outnumbered, and the victory was widely attributed to the faithful praying the Rosary across Europe.

While the celebration began as a single feast day, Pope Leo XIII officially promoted and dedicated the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary in the late 19th century through multiple encyclicals (starting around 1883). He urged the faithful to pray it daily to seek protection and peace for the Church and the world during difficult times.

At the concluding Mass in Lourdes, on the third day of his Apostolic Journey to France, Pope Leo XIV launched an appeal that he said was “particularly close to my heart, here in this place.” Just as the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in the Grotto of Lourdes with a Rosary and guided her in prayer, the Pope said he hopes all Christians will pray the Rosary especially during the month of October. 

He called for them to pray the Rosary “with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict. Let us accompany this prayer with concrete acts of penance and mercy, committing ourselves always to fostering dialogue and reconciliation.”

So please join us every Monday in October for Devotions at 7:00 pm.  We come before our Eucharistic Lord praying for his divine assistance and asking his Mother Mary for her intercession, especially for peace in our world. 

We blessed pets on this past Friday in honor of St. Francis. In January, the Holy Father, Pope Leo, proclaimed a special Jubilee Year of Saint Francis marking the 800th anniversary of his death.  In his decree, he stated: “This Year of Saint Francis should encourage all of us, each according to his or her own possibilities, to imitate the Poor Man of Assisi.” This Sunday, October 4, marks the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death.  This is a day to pray for his powerful intercession and for those who follow in his footsteps in the Franciscan Order.  We especially pray today for our own good Franciscan Apostolic Sisters.  They are gathering with other Franciscan Friars and Sisters in Connecticut for a special celebration.  

The Transitus of St. Francis is celebrated on the evening of October 3rd to commemorate the death and passing of St. Francis of Assisi into eternal life.  "Transitus" is a Latin word meaning "passage" or "crossing over.” St. Francis died on October 4, 1226, at the Portiuncula in Assisi, Italy. He famously referred to death as "Sister Bodily Death," viewing it not with fear, but as a joyful transition to God.

An ancient tradition of fraternal friendship between the Franciscan and Dominican orders includes having a Dominican Friar preach during the Transitus of Saint Francis.  And a Franciscan Friar preaches on the Feast of Saint Dominic on August 8. The Transitus service includes reciting the Canticle of the Creatures composed by Saint Francis. It is a poetic hymn in which he praises God for the beauty of creation. 

In it he writes:  “Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day through whom you bring us light. And he is lovely, shining with great splendor, for he heralds you, Most High. Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars. In heaven you have formed them, lightsome and precious and fair.”

Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox! Go Pats!! St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!