Dear Parishioners:
I thank you for you fond farewell to our Summer Seminarian Dan Mahoney last weekend. He spent ten weeks working here at OLM and now he heads back to St. John Seminary in Boston for his Third Year of Theology. Next spring Dan is to be ordained a Transitional Deacon and then a Priest of Providence in 2021! Thank you for your support of Dan, please continue to pray for him and his vocation to the priesthood.
The newly ordained Priests of Pittsburgh including Fr. Tim Deely pose with Bishop Zubik.
Next Sunday Father Tim Deely who was ordained on June 29th as a Priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is to celebrate the 10:30am Mass here at OLM. Father Deely was a frequent guest at OLM over the last few years. He is a classmate of Fr. Connors from Boston College and then went on to teach at Bishop Hendricken High School for many years. Fr. Deely currently serves as an Associate Pastor in a parish in the Pittsburgh area. I know you will give Fr. Deely a warm welcome as he celebrates a Mass of Thanksgiving. This is a great occasion for his many friends and former students in the Rhode Island area to join in celebrating his recent ordination. Fr. Deely will offer First Priestly Blessings after the 10:30AM Mass on Sunday, August 18th. We look forward to this celebration as we offer thanks to God for this newly ordained Priest. Please pray for him. Ad multos annos, Father Deely!
The Solemnity of the Assumption is this coming Thursday, August 15th. It is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics and there are three Masses. A Vigil Mass on Wednesday, August 14th at 5:00pm and two Masses on August 15th, 7:30AM and 7:00PM. I hope to see you at the Holy Day Mass!
St. Bernard of Clairvaux teaches about this important Solemnity and states:
“And with regard to ourselves, how deservedly do we keep the feast of the Assumption with all solemnity. What reasons for rejoicing, what motives for exultation have we on this most beautiful day! The presence of Mary illumines the entire world so that even the holy city above has now a more dazzling splendor from the light of this virginal Lamp. With good reason thanksgiving and the voice of praise resound today throughout the courts of Heaven…let us not complain for here we do not have a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come, the same which the blessed Mary entered today.”
We continue to pray for the victims of the recent attacks in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. We pray for the repose the victims’ souls and for the healing and consolation of their families and for both those communities. Sadly these types of violent and senseless attacks are all too common in our world today. Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso in reflecting on the horrific attack in his Diocese stated:
Catholics gather in prayer in El Paso following the tragic shootings at Walmart.
“It was precisely to confront this diabolic evil that God sent his Son into the world. It was to enter into the midst of this and to experience its full force that the innocent one, Jesus, experienced his passion and cross. Just when it appeared that evil had won the day Christ rose victorious! This is my hope for all who have suffered this violence today and for our community. The Christ who suffered is in our midst. He is our companion. We trust he will raise up the fallen, bring healing to the victims and console our broken community.”
Let us pray that Mary the Mother of Sorrows bring solace and consolation to all who grieve and that the Prince of Peace restore a sense of safety and bring love to our world. Perhaps we might offer special prayers for this intention on the Solemnity of the Assumption this week. May the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, hear our pleas and intercede for us.
I still serve as the Temporary Administrator at St. Vincent De Paul Church and Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Coventry and will until at least until October. Please understand that I am still the Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy and I continue to reside and work at OLM! I am grateful to Fr. Barrow and other local priests who continue to assist in covering Masses, Funerals, Baptisms, Confessions and Weddings at the Coventry parishes. I also wish to thank you for your patience during this time as both Fr. Barrow and I continue our duties here at OLM and assist the good people of St. Vincent De Paul and OLC.
Be well. Do Good. God Bless! Oremus pro invicem!