Dear Parishioners:
First, let me offer my thanks in the name of Fr. Ruggeri and the families of St. Patrick’s Parish in Providence, as well as the families served by the East Greenwich Housing Authority, for your generous response to the Backpack Drive. Your tremendous support of this work of charity was truly overwhelming! Thank you!
This week is a week of celebration for our parish family. It is our Feast Week at OLM! We are so grateful that we can once again gather together at Mass and socially in celebration of our Parish Patroness, Our Lady of Mercy. The Feast of Our Lady of Mercy is Friday, Sept. 24, but we begin celebrating on Monday. Over 100 golfers join us for the Saints and Scholars Open at Quidnessett Country Club for our annual golf tournament. It will be a fun day of golf and fellowship. Father Mahoney assures me that he has assembled a foursome that is sure to win the day!
On Wednesday night, we gather for a Holy Hour of Mercy at 7:00 pm. Join us in praying the Rosary before the Eucharistic Lord as we call upon our patroness to intercede for our parish and our intentions. Father Eric Silva, the Associate Pastor at St. Luke Church in Barrington, joins us to offer a reflection on Mary, the Mother of Mercy.
On Thursday at 6:00 pm in OLM School Field, we gather for an Act of Mercy. We are assembly “Sacks of Mercy” for the homeless. It is an event for all parish families to join in as we assemble bags with socks, hygiene items, food, and drink for the homeless at Emmanuel House, our Diocesan Homeless Shelter. Parishioners of all ages are welcome to do this Act of Mercy. Just show up at 6 pm at the OLM School Field.
On Friday, our Parish Feast Day, we begin with a Solemn Mass in honor of Our Lady of Mercy at 9:00 am. Bishop Evans, our Auxiliary Bishop, is our celebrant, and Dominican Father James Sullivan, OP, Pastor of St. Pius V Church in Providence, our homilist. You may remember Fr. Sullivan from the excellent Lenten Mission at OLM he led last spring.
Our school children are joining us at the Feast Mass, and we invite all parishioners to join with us as we celebrate Our Lady of Mercy, our patroness, and protectress. We call upon her intercession to guide and protect our parish family during these turbulent times for our world, nation, and state. May, Our Lady of Mercy, lead us to be ever more faithful, hopeful, joyful, merciful, and loving disciples of her Son.
On Friday night, we are celebrating the OLM Oktoberfest from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm. Oktoberfest is the annual two week festival in Munich, Germany, ending on the first Sunday in October. It began as a wedding celebration more than 200 years ago when Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxony in 1810. The wedding party lasted for days and then became an annual celebration. We gather to celebrate with German music and food, and beer in the Beer Tent. It is a fantastic and fun way to celebrate our feast! So put on your lederhosen and grab a beer stein, and join with fellow parishioners, neighbors, and friends as we celebrate being Our Lady of Mercy Parish!!
We celebrate Our Lady of Mercy on the last Friday of September with gatherings of faith and fun. It won’t last for two weeks, but it will be a fun evening to gather together as a parish family. Join us to see old friends and meet new ones. It is a fitting way to end our Parish Feast and welcome the month of October, a month dedicated to Our Lady! We have much to celebrate and give thanks for as a parish. We are grateful for our Catholic faith, our parish family, and the gentle guidance of Our Lady! So let’s make the most of this week of faith, mercy, and fun too! Plan to join us in prayer and worship, acting with mercy, and for a fun-filled evening at Oktoberfest in honor of Our Lady!
I am grateful for your generous support of the Priest’s Retirement Fun Collection this weekend. With your support and prayers, I look forward to collecting a simple pension in twenty years and Fr. Mahoney looks forward to his in forty years!! So thank you for helping us in the future, we are very grateful! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats and Go Sox! Come celebrate Mercy this Feast Week!!!