Dear Parishioners:

Fr. Healey greets students for the First Day of School last year.

“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date,” wrote William Shakespeare. Sadly for students and teachers, summer is coming to an end this week. On Wednesday, classes begin again, and another school year commences. It’s hard to believe it’s already here, but it is!

While the fall season officially begins on September 22, summer ends for many when school begins! But of course, the beginning of a new school year brings the joy of being with school friends again and the hope of a fruitful year of study. Yes, the joyous sound of our school children coming and going from school and playing on the school parking lot and field begins again this week. Our hope and prayer are for a fruitful year of happy, healthy, and holy education! Pray for all teachers, students, and their families for a safe and productive school year.

In a very special way, I ask you to pray for the Faculty of Our Lady of Mercy School. They begin the new school year with a retreat on Monday. This year the Retreat Director is Father David Barnes from the Archdiocese of Boston. He is the Spiritual Director at St. John’s Seminary in Boston and was the Chaplain at Boston University for many years. He is an outstanding priest and fine preacher. I am certain our faculty will benefit from his spiritual insights. Please pray for him and a fruitful retreat for our school faculty.

We invite you to pray for the new school year at Mass this Friday at 9:00 AM. The Opening Mass of the Holy Spirit is to be celebrated by Bishop Evans. We call upon the Holy Spirit to guide our principal, faculty, staff, students, and families at this Mass. We will also install our faculty, including our new teachers. Join us for this important Mass and pray for our school community. Also, join us for the reception to follow the Mass in the OLM School Cafeteria. It’s the first reception since before the pandemic! Mass and the reception are a great way to begin the new school year!

Friday is also important for Bishop Evans as he will turn 75! We wish him a Happy Birthday. On a bishop’s 75th Birthday, he must send a retirement letter to Pope Francis and await its acceptance by the Holy Father. So as we celebrate Bishop Evan’s 75th Birthday, we also give thanks for his service to the Church as both priest and bishop. For forty-nine years as a priest and thirteen years as a bishop, he has faithfully served the Church of Providence. We are grateful for his priestly service and continued presence at Our Lady of Mercy. Happy Birthday Bishop, and assurances of prayer for a happy, healthy, and holy retirement!

Also, on Friday, we celebrate Sister Jeanne’s sixty-fifth Profession of Vows as a Religious Sister of Mercy. On September 2, 1957, at eighteen, she solemnly professed the sacred vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. For sixty-five years, she has faithfully lived them out serving the Church.

Sister Jeanne has followed the example of Mother Catherine McCauley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, as well as countless Sisters of Mercy. Since 1831 they have served the poor, the uneducated, and the needy with faith, love, and mercy. We thank Sister Jeanne for her service to God and Church! Next Saturday, Sister Jeanne is celebrating her Birthday, so please wish her well.

Please pray for Sister and offer the Suscipe of Mother McAuley:

“My God, I am yours for time and eternity. Teach me to cast myself entirely into the arms of your loving Providence with a lively, unlimited confidence in your compassionate, tender pity. Grant, O most merciful Redeemer, that whatever you ordain or permit may be acceptable to me. Take from my heart all painful anxiety; let nothing sadden me but sin, nothing delight me but the hope of coming to the possession of You my God and my all, in your everlasting kingdom. Amen.”

God is good, and his blessings are bountiful. We thank Almighty God for the many blessings bestowed upon our parish, especially this week, the blessing of our parish school, Sister Jeanne and Bishop Evans! We are truly blessed at Our Lady of Mercy by such people and their witness to faith, hope, and joy! Let us give thanks to God for these gifts! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Get your “See You in September” raffle tickets today! Go Sox! Go Pats!

Summer's Ending Soon as School Begins!