Dear Parishioners:
Bishop Matano at Confirmation at OLM in 2017.
On Sunday evening at the 5:00 PM Mass, Bishop Salvatore R. Matano, the Bishop of Rochester, NY, celebrates the Sacrament of Confirmation for 72 young adults from OLM. It is a grand celebration for our parish family as these young people receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and confirm their Catholic faith. We thank Bishop Matano for traveling to OLM for our parish's special celebration of faith and joy. He is a native son of Providence and served as a priest and pastor for many years in Rhode Island. I had the great pleasure of living with him at St. Augustine Church in Providence when I was newly ordained, and he was, at the time, the Vicar –General of the Diocese of Providence. In your name, I welcome him and thank him for celebrating Confirmation at OLM.
We also thank the parents of these young men and women who have guided them and taught them the faith. These candidates for Confirmation have also been preparing for this day as part of our Religious Education Program. We are grateful to Mr. Doug Green, who so ably leads our Confirmation Preparation Program, and the many teachers who helped the candidates learn the faith along the way. In addition, we thank their chosen Confirmation sponsors, who provide such a bold witness of the Catholic Faith for these young adults.
We offer our sincere congratulations to the candidates for deciding to be Confirmed. They receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit sacramentally from Bishop Matano on Sunday night. With the grace of the Sacrament, they are ready to face the world, May they remember the wise words of St. Catherine of Siena, "Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire," May they continue to grow in faith as they are nourished in the Eucharist at Sunday Mass. They are the future of our parish and our Church. St. Ambrose reminds them:
"Remember, then, that you received a spiritual seal, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of knowledge and reverence, the Spirit of holy fear. Keep safe what you receive. God the Father sealed you, Christ the Lord strengthened you and sent the Spirit into your hearts as the pledge of what is to come."
We celebrate this great event in the lives of these young people, their families, and our parish family with tremendous joy. Unfortunately, we couldn't do so with the glorious sound of our church bells ringing to announce our joy. As you may know, the Carillion bell system stopped working several weeks ago. So the bells have been silenced! The good news is that we are replacing the old bell system with a brand new system. The same manufacturer, Verdin, makes a new, improved, and more modern system.
We have ordered the New Supreme Touch Carillon, which includes a 9" touch color screen, nine different bell sounds, nine different size toll bells, seven different swinging bells, and nine different chimes. It also comes with a new 240-watt amplifier and a 61 note touch-sensitive keyboard. It has a catalog of 10,000 hymns and the ability to add more Catholic hymns. We do not have to replace the bell tower speakers as they are fully functional.
The new bell system, including delivery, installation, and training, costs $20,000. Thankfully your generous financial support helps cover the cost of this unforeseen expense. It takes about six weeks to manufacture and deliver the system. Once installed, Verdin provides training to operate it and program it. So we hope to hear the joyful sound of bells soon! As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said: "For bells are the voice of the church; They have tones that touch and search the hearts of young and old."
We are finishing up the bid process for the new doors to our church plant. This project is funded by the Grateful for God's Providence Capital Campaign. Thanks to your generous support of the campaign and the continued payment of pledges, we raised $1.9 million to fund various parish projects. $535,000 of the proceeds are earmarked for the Diocese of Providence for their share. We hope to have the final plans for the doors soon.
We offer our promise of prayers and best wishes to the Confirmation Class! Join us for the Rosary at 7:00 PM on Monday. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats! Go Sox!?