Dear Parishioners:
OLM Class of 2022 celebrates Graduation Day!
Catholic Schools Week was a great celebration at Our Lady of Mercy. I hope you enjoyed our outstanding OLM School students who spoke at Masses last weekend. It is clear from listening to them that they are happy and enjoy going to their school.
We had many new and prospective families tour the school last Sunday during the Open House. It is a great sign of hope for the future but also a result of our principal and faculty's great work and dedication in making OLM School one of the best in the state. One parent told me after Mass that her decision to send her son to OLM School was the best decision she made about her children's education! This is why we have a waitlist for admission!
A few parishioners have asked about the installation of the new doors. Thus far, we have installed two doors. One is the exit door from the Choir loft on Mercy Park, and the other is the exit door from the Sacristy. Each door takes a while to install and adjust, and we are moving slowly but steadily with the project. We plan to install two doors to the Rectory basement and the front door to the Rectory in the next weeks. Once the weather is warmer, we will begin to put the new doors at each entrance of the Church. Two will be electric doors to help the handicapped gain entry easier. And we will also replace the interior door to the Candle Room.
Next Saturday, February 11, is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of the Sick. Saint Pope John Paul II first introduced it as a way for believers to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses. Our Lady of Lourdes is a powerful intercession for the sick, as the many miraculous cures in Lourdes have attested to throughout the years. In his message for the World Day of the Sick,
Pope Francis states: "On February 11, 2023, let us turn our thoughts to the Shrine of Lourdes, a prophetic lesson entrusted to the Church for our modern times. It is not only what functions well or those who are productive that matters. Sick people, in fact, are at the center of God's people, and the Church advances together with them as a sign of a humanity in which everyone is precious, and no one should be discarded or left behind."
I ask you to please pray for the sick, especially those OLM parishioners suffering from sickness. Fr. Mahoney and I are routinely called to local nursing homes or parishioners' homes to administer the Sacrament of the Sick. We also cover Kent Hospital for all emergencies twice a month, along with the other priests in the area. We are not always informed that parishioners are in the hospital or even sometimes that they have moved into a nursing home.
If you know of someone or you need to receive the Anointing of the Sick due to illness, surgery, or because someone is near death, please call the Rectory and let us know. We are happy to bring the Sacraments to those who need them. If someone you know is dying and in need of the Sacraments, please do not wait; call us immediately. May Our Lady of Lourdes intercede for the sick!
As we consider the sick in our prayers, I remind you of the good work done daily by our hospital chaplains. These dedicated priests and their hospital ministry are funded by the Catholic Charity Appeal (CCA). The Appeal also funds the many good works of our local Church in assisting the poor, the elderly, immigrants, refugees, Catholic school students in need, and women in crisis pregnancies. All these charitable works funded by the CCA serve thousands of disadvantaged and often marginalized people in our state.
Each year we are asked to prayerfully and financially support the CCA. I am grateful to Jerry and Kim O'Connell for serving as our General Chairpersons of the Appeal at OLM. Also, we thank Mike and Lee Mita, who are serving as the Chairs of the Bishop's Partnership in Charity for those who donate $1,000 or more to the CCA. Next weekend we begin the CCA here at OLM with the in-pew solicitation at all Masses. We ask every parish family to prayerfully consider pledging a gift of $350 made payable over ten months for $35 per month. Whatever the size of your gift, please know it is appreciated. Please pray for the success of the CCA!
Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!