Dear Parishioners:
April Showers bring May flowers! Let’s hope that the rain we had this past week does indeed bring some spring blossoms! April is ending and the Month of May is upon us already! Where did the time go?
Of course, May is a month dedicated to Our Blessed Mother, Mary. We will have May Devotions every Monday night during the month. This May we also recognize that Bishop Tobin has declared a Year of Mary in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Virgin Mary’s appearance at Fatima. To celebrate this, join us on Mondays in May to discover the various titles given to Our Blessed Mother.
We start with our own patroness, Our Lady of Mercy, tomorrow night with Deacon John Dowd. Next Monday Fr. Joseph Briody, a native of Ireland and Professor of Sacred Scripture at St. John Seminary join us to discover Our Lady of Knock. On Monday, May 15th, Fr. Jorge Rocha, a native of Portugal and Associate Pastor at St. Francis Xavier Church, joins us in seeking the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima. Father Chris Murphy from the OLP Seminary joins us May22ndfor devotions to Our Lady of Providence, the patroness of our Diocese.
On May 29th, the last Monday of the month, Deacon Brian Morris, a native son of OLM, joins us for devotions in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes. He spent a summer working at Lourdes helping the many sick and infirm pilgrims who journey there seeking Our Lady’s powerful intercession. Deacon Morris is to be ordained a priest of our diocese on Saturday, June 3rd! Leading us in devotions is to be one of his last duties as a Deacon!
Each of these special Monday Nights in Mayfeatures Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, recitation of the Rosary, a talk on Our Lady’s title and some beautiful and meditative hymns in honor of the Blessed Mother. So mark your calendars and join us in celebrating the Year of Mary at Our Lady of Mercy!
We hope to continue the celebration of the Blessed Mother on Saturday, May 13th, the 100th Anniversary of the Apparitions at Fatima, Portugal. A special celebration is planned at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence. It begins with a huge outdoor procession as hundreds of the faithful from across the diocese walk in procession with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
Every parish has been asked to send a delegation for the procession and the members of our Legion of Mary and Our Lady’s Rosary Makers are to represent OLM. The 11:00AM outdoor procession is followed by a multi-lingual recitation of the Rosary and Confessions. Following the Rosary, a Mass in honor of Our Lady of Fatima is to be offered by Bishop Tobin. It is the highlight of this Year of Mary, our year long re-dedication to the Blessed Mother as a local Church. May the Blessed Virgin Mary intercede for us!
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is to travel to Fatima on the anniversary as well. He is to lead the Rosary and offer a Mass for the thousands of pilgrims there to celebrate the great day. It was also just announced that Pope Francis, while he is in Fatima, is to canonize two of the visionaries of the Marian apparitions there. Now the young shepherds Jacinta and Francisco Marto, are to become Saints of our Church!
We are also celebrating First Holy Communion for our OLM School Children and the children of the OLM Religious Education Program on Saturday, May 13th. What a great day for the children to receive Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist for the first time. May Our Lady of Fatima and Saints Jacinta and Francisco intercede for them on this most important day in their young lives.
Pope Francis recently spoke of Our Lady of Fatima. He stated: “She asks us to never offend God again. She forewarns all humanity about the necessity of abandoning oneself to God, the source of love and mercy. Following the example of St. John Paul II, a great devotee of Our Lady of Fatima, let us listen attentively to the Mother of God and ask for peace for the world.”
So let the May flowers come and celebrate with great joy and a renewed vigor Mary Most Holy! Be sure to pick up your Rosary beads and join us for May Devotions this month. Be well. Do good. God Bless! Our Lady of Mercy and Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!