Dear Parishioners:
Bishop Richard Henning
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, named the Most Reverend Richard G. Henning, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, as the Co-Adjutor Bishop of Providence. The difference between a coadjutor bishop and an auxiliary bishop is the coadjutor bishop enjoys the right to assume leadership of the diocese when the current Bishop resigns his office to retire. So Bishop Henning is to become the Bishop of Providence when he succeeds Bishop Tobin. Bishop Tobin will turn 75 years old on April 1, 2023, and must send a letter of resignation to the Pope. When Pope Francis accepts the letter is not yet known.
Bishop Henning has a stellar reputation among the priests and people of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. He is known to be a very kind and pastoral priest and Bishop, as well as very hard-working and highly intelligent. Bishop Henning holds a Doctorate in Theology and speaks fluent Spanish and Italian. In his priestly ministry, he has served as a parish priest, a seminary professor, and a rector and worked extensively with Hispanic immigrants in Long Island. The Bishop will be formally received into the Diocese of Providence on January 26, 2023, at a Mass of Reception at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence. Please pray for him as he prepares to begin his ministry among us.
Bishop Robert C. Evans
On the same day, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, accepted Bishop Evans’ letter of resignation, which he sent on his 75th Birthday on September 3, 2022. We thank Bishop Evans for his 49 years of priestly ministry and 13 years as our Auxiliary Bishop. We pray for his health and happiness during his well-deserved retirement. Ad multos annos!
Also, I hope you noticed the new statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been placed in Mercy Park. We are very grateful to the Ponte Family, who generously donated the beautiful statue. It was hand carved by a well-known Mexican sculptor of Catholic statuary. The beautiful statue stands over 5 feet tall and weighs nearly 900 pounds. The stand the statue rests upon weighs almost 400 pounds and is 3 feet tall. We are grateful to the former OLM Altar Server, now a Landscape Architect Aleksus Jagminas, and his partner, Robbie Paulsen, of R.K. Industries for their work placing the statue in Mercy Park.
We celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary this Thursday. It is a holy day of obligation. There is a Mass on Wednesday at 5:00 pm and also Masses on the holy day at 7:30 am, 9:00 am, and 7:00 pm. Plenty of opportunities to get to Mass for the holy day.
Through the centuries, the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”
The Immaculate Conception by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1767–1768)
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception places Our Lady before us as an example of what God can do and what we can do if, like Mary, we put ourselves in God’s hands and at God’s service, always open to what God asks and always seeking to fulfill God’s will. The dogma also encourages us to do our best to remain free from sin.
Although we are all born with original sin and, through the grace of Baptism, are freed from sin, in the course of our life, because of human weakness, we fail and sin. The feast of the Immaculate Conception reminds us that if we cooperate with God‘s grace, as did the Blessed Virgin Mary, we can lead a life as free from sin as is humanly possible.
I hope your Advent days are prayerful as we continue to prepare for the coming of Christ. Take some time for prayer and reflection in these busy days before Christmas. Stop by the Church and visit with our Lord. He’s waiting for you! Pray and practice patience in this season of joyful anticipation. Get to Confession and receive his mercy, love, and forgiveness. It’s Advent, prepare the way and make straight his paths!
Be well. Stay safe. God Bless. Go Pats!