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!

Our Hope for the Future! Catholic Schools Week!

Dear Parishioners:                                

Our Lady of Mercy School

We sincerely apologize for the late arrival of your weekly offering envelopes. Due to unexpected issues with the production equipment at the Cathedral Corporation, they experienced an unavoidable delay in sending the budget envelopes.  Please know we greatly appreciate your patience and understanding.                            

By the time this column is printed, I hope you have received your budget envelopes. However, it is a good time to consider utilizing online giving.  It is called Parish Giving, and a link to it is on the parish website.  It is very easy to use and also extremely safe and secure.  It is also more efficient and avoids delays like the one we are experiencing, and also the many delays of the U. S. Postal System.  So consider supporting us online with Parish Giving.

This week, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week.  It is a national event to highlight the success of Catholic Education in our nation.  This year, Catholic Schools Week is very special as OLM School celebrates its 75th Anniversary, and our theme is “A People of Hope."   We celebrate with hope as we remember with great thanksgiving the late  Fr. Francis Brady. He had a tremendous concern for the youth of OLM parish, and the building of a school was his priority.

OLM Pastor Father Francis Brady, the Sisters of Mercy, Parish Trustees, and Builders gather for the groundbreaking of OLM School in 1951.

Fr. Brady purchased a home on First Avenue for use as a convent and invited the Sisters of Mercy to staff the new school.   Under the direction of the first principal, Sister of Mercy Sr. Helena McNulty, the student population grew rapidly.  In the summer of 1951, Fr. Brady then purchased three acres of land on Fourth Avenue and began construction of a new school building.   Additional grades were added each year until there were eight grades in all.  The school population grew so rapidly that two new wings were added in 1955.  In the 1990s, with the resurgence of the demand for Catholic education, Msgr. John Lolio began a campaign to reopen the 7th and 8th grades.  He implemented the construction of a new Middle School wing at our school.

Both Father Brady and Monsignor Lolio had great hope for OLM School's success. That success in education at OLM School continues today.  You will be able to hear about the outstanding education offered at OLM School from students this weekend. They will be sharing their love for OLM School at all Masses.   Also, join us at the OLM School Open House today from 10:00 am until Noon. You will be able to meet our outstanding and dedicated administration, faculty,  and staff. Students will be offering tours of our 75-year-old school!

OLM School is well known for its academic excellence, fun activities, great athletics, and wonderful arts and music. We have an exceptional and dedicated principal, faculty, and incredible students who strive daily to be saints and scholars.  We have generous and supportive parents, as well as many accomplished alumni. We have a school where God is not only invited but welcomed daily.  Where Jesus is not some historical figure like Napoleon to be studied in class, but the living God and the center of our school.  Where the Gospel is not merely a piece of literature to be read along with Shakespeare, but rather it is proclaimed in word and deed.

OLM students with Fr. Healey at a OLM School First Friday Mass.

At OLM School, students know their God through daily prayer, devotions, the Rosary, and the Stations of the Cross. OLM students love and worship their God at weekly Mass and frequent Confession. Our students serve their God through acts of mercy and charity, helping the poor and needy, not because it makes them feel good about themselves, but because Christ compels them to do so.  

Pope Benedict XVI said, “A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints.”  OLM School is that “good Catholic school” that helps our students to strive to be saints and scholars.

Next weekend, we kick off the Catholic Charity Appeal. Last year, we raised $276,000 from 449 donors.  This year, our goal is $199,500. I am hopeful we can once again surpass the goal.  I thank Mike and Lee Mita, Jerry and Kim O'Connell, who are serving again as the Chairs of the Catholic Charity Appeal. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless! Go Pats! Bust those Broncos!!!!!

Ordinary Time for Extraordinary Things

Dear Parishioners:

As you can see around the church, Christmas is over!  The trees, the creche, and the decorations are all put away for another year.  Some suggest that Christmas really ends on Candlemas, or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, on February 2.          

Candlemas is the last day that the Alma Redemptoris Mater, the Marian antiphon, is sung or recited.  The Alma Redemptoris Mater is used from the beginning of Advent through February 2, and so Candlemas has come to be associated with the close of the Christmas season. However, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states that the liturgical season of Christmas concludes with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. We are now in the Season of Ordinary Time.

The ordinary here does not refer to a season of dull routine but rather the listing of ordinal, or sequential, numbers. This is what is meant by the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, etc. Interestingly, there is no First Sunday in Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar, because the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord replaces it.

Rather than making a statement about degrees of importance, the term Ordinary Time refers to the order of Sundays in the church year that do not fall into the major liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter.   It is the longest liturgical season, lasting 33 or 34 weeks each year and ending with the Solemnity of Christ the King.

While it is “ordinary time”, there are plenty of extraordinary things happening at OLM. Next Sunday, we kick off Catholic Schools Week. Fr. Brodeur, a graduate of the former St. Pius X School in Westerly, will preach at Masses on Catholic Education, and OLM students will also speak at Masses.

Also, next Sunday, OLM School is hosting an Open House from 10:00 am until Noon.  If you’ve never visited the school, the Open House is a great opportunity to learn about the many extraordinary things that take place in our classrooms.

 Our outstanding Principal, Mr. Patrick McNabb, along with our exceptional faculty and staff, will be there, along with many of our great students.  So take some time next Sunday and stop by the Open House.

Also, next weekend we will host a Baby Shower Collection for Gabriel’s Call, a ministry of the Diocese of Providence that serves pregnant women in need of assistance.  It assists them during pregnancy and beyond by meeting material needs, providing friendship, and offering guidance through a difficult time.  I am very grateful to OLM Parishioner and Bishop Hendricken student Joseph Ferris, who is leading this important project.   A list of needed items is in the bulletin. Please leave all donated items in the blue bins in the Church's vestibule.

 I appreciate your support. This project in support of Gabriel’s Call comes as we make the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on Thursday, January 22.  The over 60 million abortions since the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade reflect the  heartbreaking magnitude of the evil of abortion

The Holy Father, Pope Leo, in a recent address to the Vatican Diplomatic Corps to the Holy See, said:

“We categorically reject any practice that denies or exploits the origin of life and its development.  Among these is abortion, which cuts short a growing life and refuses to welcome the gift of life.”

We are reminded time and again in Scripture to seek the Lord’s help, and as people of faith, we believe that our prayers are heard.  And while, on June 24, 2022, the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, right now, state and federal laws, in many instances, are still hostile to unborn children. So, great prayer is still very needed.

In our own State of Rhode Island, the law allows for the abortion of an unborn child up until the time of birth.  A truly horrific practice. So I encourage you to pray for the unborn, especially on Thursday.  Pray for the unborn and their mothers, as they very much need our prayers.  As we pray for life, we also support the Gabriels’ Call Baby Shower Collection next weekend.  Thank you for your support of the sanctity of human life.

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless! Go Pats!! We hope Houston has a problem!

When Were You Baptized?

Dear Parishioners:                                 

The Baptism of Christ, 1723 by Francesco Trevisan

This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, marking Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. This event revealed Jesus’ divine nature as God's beloved Son and launched his public ministry.  It also marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Ordinary Time.  

On this Feast of the Baptism, we need to reflect on our own baptism and how well we are living out the promises of Baptism to love God and neighbor.   Baptism is that “gateway” or “door” to new life in Christ and is extremely significant. All the other sacraments depend on that first sacrament of Baptism. However, as important as our Baptism is, how many of us know and celebrate the day of our entrance into the Church?

During his pontificate, the late Pope Francis continually challenged us to celebrate our Baptism day. He said in a General Audience in 2014, “Many of us have no memory of the celebration of this Sacrament, and it is obvious why, if we were baptized soon after birth. I have asked this question two or three times already, here, in this square: who among you knows the date of your Baptism, raise your hands. It is important to know the day on which I was immersed in that current of Jesus’ salvation.

And I will allow myself to give you some advice, but more than advice, a task for today. Today, go home, look, ask about the date of your baptism, and that way you will keep in mind that most beautiful day of Baptism. To know the date of our Baptism is to know a blessed day.” Similarly, when asked what the most important day of his life was, St. John Paul II answered: “The day I was baptized.”

I encourage you to find your baptism date and place it on your calendar as a day to celebrate with faith, hope, and love.  Take a moment on that special anniversary to remember and pray.  Pray for your parents and godparents, as well as the priest who baptized you into the faith.  After a celebration of faith and prayer, have a special dessert with a candle to mark the occasion!   It is the “rebirth” day as you entered the Church and the doors of grace were opened, leading to life eternal.

Today, we are overjoyed to baptize two children at the 10:30 am Mass. What a glorious feast day to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism!  Please keep these children, their parents, and godparents in your prayers.  We hope and pray that as they are reborn in the waters of baptism and filled with the Holy Spirit, these children of God may grow fully in faith, hope, and love.   Congratulations and prayerful best wishes!

With the Baptism of the Lord, we begin the Season of Ordinary Time.  The beautiful Christmas creche, trees, lights, and decorations will soon be put away.   So take a final look at the beauty of Christmas at Our Lady of Mercy, make your final visit to the creche to pray for the Holy Family’s intercession, and give thanks to God for the gift of his Son born on Christmas Day.  

Pictured left to right:  Seminarian Luke Simms, Fr. Healey, Fr. Brodeur, and Seminarian David Del Bonis.  Luke and David, parishioners of OLM, are in priestly formation at the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence and are studying philosophy at Providence College.   Pray for them!

We received good news from Bishop Lewandowski at Christmas.  He has accepted Luke Simms, an OLM parishioner, into the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence as a seminarian for the Diocese of Providence. Luke’s grandparents and family are longtime parishioners of OLM. He graduated from our parish school and then LaSalle Academy.  He has been studying at Texas A & M University, but has now transferred to Providence College.  At OLP, he joins our other native OLM Seminarian, David Del Bonis, who is currently a senior at PC.

There are currently 27 collegiate seminarians living at OLP. These seminarians are from various dioceses, including Boston,  Fall River, Springfield, Worcester, Syracuse, Brooklyn, Manchester, Hartford, and Rochester. Only two, Luke and David, are from the Diocese of Providence. In addition, 10 seminarians at the major seminary are studying for the priesthood in the Diocese of Providence.  They study at St. John’s Seminary in Boston and the  North American College in Rome.  Pray for all seminarians, especially David and Luke.  May they persevere in their priestly vocations. Also, pray for more vocations to the priesthood in the Diocese of Providence.

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless! Go Pats!!!! Beat LA!!!!!

2026! New Beginnings of Faith, Hope, & Charity

Dear Parishioners:                                  

Pope Leo Urbi et Orbi Chritmas 2025

I hope you and your families had a very Happy New Year’s Day!  On New Year’s Day, the Church celebrated the 59th World Day of Peace.  Each New Year, the Holy Father offers a Message to the world, calling for peace among all nations and peoples.  The World Day of Peace was established by Saint Pope Paul VI in 1967 and first observed on January 1, 1968, to promote peace, human rights, and justice, particularly during the Cold War and the Vietnam War. The Saintly Pope stated, "If you want peace, work for justice.”

In his first Message for World Day of Peace, Pope Leo XIV stated: “Saint Augustine urged Christians to forge an unbreakable bond with peace, so that by cherishing it deeply in their hearts, they would be able to radiate its luminous warmth around them. Addressing his community, he wrote: ‘If you wish to draw others to peace, first have it yourselves; be steadfast in peace yourselves. To inflame others, you must have the flame burning within.’ Dear brothers and sisters, whether we have the gift of faith or feel we lack it, let us open ourselves to peace!”

Saint Francis in prayer. Cigoli (Ludovico Cardi) Castello di Cigoli, 1559 – Rome, 1613

In a world with too many wars, too much conflict and violence, let us heed the Holy Father’s call to pray for peace. Let the Prayer of St. Francis be our prayer:  "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy."

Did you make a New Year's resolution this year?  Losing weight, eating healthier foods, exercising more regularly, getting more sleep, or quitting bad habits such as smoking and swearing are often the top New Year's resolutions. As Catholics, we might consider making some spiritual resolutions in 2026.

Focusing on physical health and well-being is a great resolution, but what about our spiritual health? The Catholic writer, G.K. Chesterton, said: "The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul."

So, in 2026, resolve to work on your soul. Consider beginning and ending every day with prayer. Resolve to stay close to Christ by clinging to the Sacraments. Make a concrete resolution to live a more Sacramental life. Strive never to miss Sunday Mass; make a good Sacramental Confession at least once a month; add daily Mass to your schedule; attend Marian Devotions and First Friday Adoration; and spend more time praying in Church before the Eucharistic Lord, truly present in the tabernacle.

Resolve to read the Sacred Scriptures more and seek out good Catholic spiritual books. They help us gain a greater knowledge of the Word of God and a deeper spirituality. St. John Bosco said, "Only God knows the good that can come by reading one good Catholic book."

We can make many other resolutions as Catholics in 2026. Grace before meals at home and at the restaurant; acts of penance and sacrifice such as fasting, praying the Rosary, praying the Stations of the Cross, and being more generous and charitable with our time, talent, and treasure. Perhaps try making a pilgrimage to a local shrine or taking a retreat. Speaking of retreats, please keep Father Brodeur in your prayers as he makes his Annual Retreat this week.   He will be at the Marywood Retreat Center in St. Johns, Florida.

On Tuesday, January 6, the RI General Assembly resume their legislative session. And I resume my lobbying duties for the Diocese. Please pray for me and also our elected officials that they may truly serve the common good, defend the poor, work for true justice, promote human dignity, and protect the sanctity of human life.

Join us for a screening of the film, “The Star of Bethlehem.” It is a 2007 documentary by Rick Larson about his search for the Star of Bethlehem. As we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany today, let’s continue to celebrate it next Saturday, January 10, at 5:15 pm in the OLM School Gym.  As Pope Francis said: “Follow the ‘Bright Star of Jesus.’"

Fr. Brodeur and I wish you a Holy, Healthy, and Happy New Year and many blessings in 2026. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!