Dear Parishioners:
Summer is flying by! August arrives this Friday as we say good-bye to July! As August arrives we also say good-bye to our Summer Seminarian, Nick Robyenhymer, who finishes his time at OLM next weekend. His twelve weeks at OLM went quickly and now he prepares to go on to theological studies at St. John’s Major Seminary in Boston. So next weekend please be sure to say farewell to Nick. We will have a small reception for him after the 10:30AM Mass next Sunday where you can officially wish him well. Keep Nick and all our seminarians in your prayers as they discern and study for the priesthood. Pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life for as the Lord reminds us: “ The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Next weekend we will also take up the Peter’s Pence Collection at all Masses. The Peter's Pence Collection derives its name from an ancient custom. In ninth-century England. King Alfred the Great collected money, a "pence," from landowners as financial support for the Pope. Today, the Peter's Pence Collection supports the Pope's philanthropy by giving the Holy Father the means to provide emergency assistance to those in need because of natural disaster, war, oppression, and disease. I hope you can
generously support this very important collection that helps aid the poorest and neediest in the world. I wish to thank you for your generous support of last week’s Missionary Co-op Collection for the Maryknoll Lay Missions. Your support of this missionary effort to proclaim the Gospel across the globe is admirable and I know that Erik Cambrier was very grateful for the warm welcome and great support he received.
As summer rolls on we continue to prepare for the coming school year. Our new Principal, Scott Fuller, has been busy getting ready for a new school year and learning “the ins and outs” of OLM School. Also, our maintenance staff continue to work on cleaning and painting the classrooms, remodeling the entry way and installing a new security system. It has been a busy time over at OLM School even though its summer! There are other maintenance projects we anticipate this summer including the redesigning of the landscaping surrounding the Church and School. It has been
designed by the same landscape designer, Kyle Alfred, who did the front of the Church and should look truly as beautiful. We are grateful to OLM Parishioner John Pontarelli of Pro-Scape Landscaping for his generous donation of the work. We hope to get this project underway in the coming weeks. Sister Jeanne is now residing full-time in the Mercy Convent here at OLM. We welcome her to the neighborhood and look forward to her continued presence in our parish community. So be sure to say “Hi Neighbor” next time you see her around the parish.
Last weekend Fr. Connors, Seminarian Nick, and a small group of OLM Youth attended the Annual Steubenville East Conference held on the URI Campus. Thousands of Catholic young people from across New England gathered to pray, sing, interact and learn more about their Catholic faith. It
is a life changing event for many of these young Catholics and I am so happy Fr. Connors was able to take some kids from our parish. The Steubenville East Event (named after the University of Steubenville where it first started) is held every summer with the hopes of strengthening and inspiring teens in their faith journeys to Christ and His Church. Evangelistic in nature, these weekend conferences are both a great “introduction” to the Gospel message for new and younger teens, while offering deep and moving experiences of prayer and fellowship for those veterans who have attended in the past. This annual event continues to grow and we hope to get even more of our OLM youth to attend next summer. Have a great week! Get ready for August and enjoy the summer while its here! Don’t forget to say “Farewell” to Nick next week. God Bless.