First Communion Mass at OLM
Dear Parishioners:
It's a great weekend of faith and joy, glory, and praise at OLM! Forty-three of our children received First Holy Communion on Saturday. These children have been preparing all year for this special occasion. It is always a great joy to celebrate the First Communion Mass.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminds us: "The Eucharist is such a great gift. That's why going to Mass is so important—going to Mass not just to pray but to receive Communion, the Bread, and the Body of Christ. It saves us, forgives us, and it makes us one with the Father. How beautiful!" How beautiful indeed!
May Crowing at OLM 2019
We thank the First Communion Class and their parents for living their faith and bringing their children to Christ truly present in the Eucharist. We also offer our gratitude to the teachers who worked so hard in making our First Communion Mass so joyful and beautiful.
We especially thank Mickey St. Jean, who directs the OLM First Communion Program, and Jean Perretta, our OLM School Second Grade Teacher. Following the First Communion Mass, the joy continued with the May Crowning of the Blessed Mother. It is a beautiful ceremony as our First Communion Class crowns Mother Mary and consecrates themselves to her protection and guidance.
As we crown our Blessed Mother, we prayerfully turn to her on this Mother's Day to guide and protect our First Communion Class and our entire parish family. On this Mothers Day, we wish all Mothers, a Happy Mother’s Day! We thank them for their example of love and their tremendous witness to maternal care. Motherhood is a sacred gift from God, and so we celebrate it with great joy and reverence. Mother's Day is a day for us to give thanks to God for Mothers and Motherhood.
As the late Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty, the great Hungarian Churchman stated so well:
"The Most Important Person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral - a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body. The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. What on God's good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?"
On Mothers Day, we are offering Masses for all Mothers, living and deceased. May God bless all Mothers with his abundant and choicest blessings! Let us pray for them and give thanks to God for our Mothers! May all our deceased Mothers pray for us!
Sadly as we honor the dignity of Motherhood, many of our elected officials seek to attack it. A serious effort is underway in Congress to force all taxpayers to pay for abortion. The Hyde Amendment and other similar laws have long protected taxpayers from funding elective abortions.
Now, members of Congress, including our own RI Delegation, seek to eliminate these laws. Laws that prohibit the funding of abortion have always garnered support from both Democrats and Republicans for over 45 years. President Biden was once a supporter of these laws until he ran for President. So I urge you to contact Congressman Langevin and Senators Reed and Whitehouse and tell them not to allow tax dollars for such evil practices as abortion.
The RI General Assembly is also considering the state funding of abortion. State Senator Valverde is the sponsor of the bill. I urge you to contact Senator Valverde and State Rep. Caldwell and tell them not to support this legislation. Abortion is not healthcare but a wrongful attack on life, as millions of American women and men believe, and it is wrong to use government funds to promote it. The government should better direct federal and state tax dollars to ensure the healthy birth of unborn children and provide quality prenatal care and support for expectant Mothers rather than attack Motherhood and destroy innocent unborn children.
Be well. Stay safe. Do good. Happy Mother’s Day! Come pray for an end to the pandemic at Monday Devotions!