Dear Parishioners:
I hope you had an enjoyable Independence Day celebration with family and friends. However, it is still hard to believe the Fourth of July has already passed. The summer is moving too quickly for me! Pope Francis has said: "During summer time, let us learn how to take a break, turn off the mobile phone to gaze into the eyes of others, cultivate silence, contemplate nature, regenerate ourselves in dialogue with God." Very good advice for us during these summer days.
“During summertime, let us learn how to take a break, turn off the mobile phone to gaze into the eyes of others, cultivate silence, contemplate nature, and regenerate ourselves in dialogue with God.”
Last week I was lucky enough to visit New York and spend some time with my sister and her family, even my N.Y. Yankee loving brother-in-law! It was a relaxing time with family, and I was able to read a couple of books. What are you reading this summer?
I finished reading a new book entitled "We Don't Know Ourselves" by Fintan O'Toole. It is a memoir-style look at the history of Modern Ireland. O'Toole is a writer for the Irish Times. His recollections of Ireland from his childhood to the present day, are an absorbing and entertaining read. I think even those without Irish roots would enjoy it!
Of course, my summer reading always includes a Bruno the Detective novel by Martin Walker. If you're unfamiliar with Bruno the Detective, it is a mystery series set in France's Périgord region. Bruno is a small village Chief of Police and former soldier who solves murders. He is also a passionate cook who manages to solve crimes in between cooking fabulous French meals! The books are quick and easy to read, but usually make me hungry!
Robert Cardinal Sarah
I am finishing up "At the Service of the Truth" by Robert Cardinal Sarah for spiritual summer reading. The Cardinal is a native of Guinea, a former French colony, who converted to the Catholic Faith as a child. He served as a bishop in his native land, was named a Cardinal by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, and served in the Vatican as the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
The book is drawn from a retreat he led for priests. He writes with his trademark clarity and directness confronting some of the most burning issues facing the priesthood and Catholic Church today. His writings always provide a challenging reflection. I also hope to read the new edition of the biography of St. Charles de Foucauld by the French journalist, Jean-Jacques Antier. St. Charles was canonized by Pope Francis this past May. The Pope said the French Saint's spirituality "did me so much good when I was studying theology and helped me so much to overcome crises."
St. Charles de Foucault
When local bandits killed him in Algeria in 1916, the French aristocrat who became a monk was virtually unknown to the world. Over a century later, however, the spirituality of St. Charles Foucauld's hidden life has spread wide and far across the globe.
Born in 1858 into a French aristocratic family and educated in Paris. He would serve as a Cavalry Officer in the French Army, become an explorer, and a noted geographer during his adventurous life. After a conversion at age twenty-eight, this future Saint was filled with a desire to surrender himself completely to God. In his journal, he wrote, "My Father, I put myself in your hands. Whatever you make of me, I thank you, I am ready for everything, I accept everything, I thank you for everything."
This desire to surrender to God would lead him to become a priest and eventually to a life of prayer and simplicity as a monk. He would live as a hermit in the Algerian desert, devoting himself to prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. His later work and writings as a monk led to the founding of the Congregation of the Little Brothers of Jesus. St. Charles de Foucault, pray for us!
Next weekend we take up our Annual Mission Co-op Collection to support the work of Catholic missionaries. Once a year, every parish in the Diocese of Providence is called to assist the work of our Catholic missionaries with prayer and financial support. This year we welcome the Missionhurst Missionary Fathers who are preaching at all the Masses next weekend. And the Second Collection next weekend is in direct support of their missionary work. There is no envelope for this collection. Thank you for your generous support of Missionhurst!
Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox!!!!!