Dear Parishioners:

We welcome our Lenten Mission Preacher, Father Francis McCarty, OSB, to OLM. He is preaching all the weekend Masses and offering a Mission Talk on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. The title of his Mission is "The Seven Words of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Lessons on Discipleship."

Father Francis is a native of Manville, RI, and attended Mt. St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, where he later taught. He studied at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire and encountered the Benedictine Monks. Father entered the St. Anselm Monastery after teaching high school for a few years. He studied for the priesthood at St. John's Seminary in Boston with Fr. Mahoney and was ordained a priest in 2022. He resides at the St. Anselm Abbey and is the Campus Minister at St. Anselm College.

I first met him when he was 15. He was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scout Troop in Albion, where I served as pastor at St. Ambrose. Fr. Francis is an outstanding preacher, and I am sure you will enjoy his Mission. Join us for his Mission Talks on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights at 7 pm. Preceding the Mission Talks each night, four priests will be available for Confessions beginning at 6:00 pm.

It is customary for every parish to invite a priest to preach a Mission during Lent. The special goal of the Mission is threefold: To help fallen-away Catholics return to their faith, to convert tepid souls to fervor, and to encourage pious souls in their good resolutions to serve God. Just as Jesus and His Apostles went from town to town preaching the Kingdom of God, so the missionary comes to our parish to encourage us to give up sin and to practice your Catholic faith better. So make the Mission; it will enlighten your mind with God's Truth, help to detach your heart from sin, and strengthen your will with the love of God. Please pray for the success of our Lenten Mission

On Tuesday last week, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, appointed Fr. James Ruggeri, Pastor of St. Patrick and St. Michael Churches in Providence, as the thirteenth Bishop of Portland, Maine. He will be ordained a bishop on May 7. Bishop-elect James and I were ordained priests together at the Cathedral on June 24, 1995. I know him to be a wise, holy, and zealous priest who will surely be an outstanding bishop.

The Diocese of Portland encompasses the entire state of Maine and is very large in geography. In fact, it has an area of 33,215 square miles and a population of 279,159 Catholics. In addition to its 48 parishes, it has nine elementary schools, one private elementary school, one diocesan high school, and one private high school. It also includes one Catholic college, Saint Joseph's College of Maine. Currently, 35 Diocesan priests and 18 religious order priests serve the Diocese. We offer our sincere best wishes and congratulations to Bishop-elect James and our promise of prayers.

I thank the 113 parishioners who generously pledged their gift to the Catholic Charity Appeal. We are off to a good start toward our parish goal of $190,000. Last year, 480 parish families helped us surpass our goal and raise over $277,000. I hope we do better this year and have 500 families support the Appeal. So please return your pledge envelope and help us surpass our goal. Every parish family must pray for and pledge a gift to the Catholic Charity Appeal to be truly successful.

How is your Lent going? Have you spent more time praying, fasting, and giving alms? If not, there is still time to begin with more enthusiasm and devotion. While Lent is forty days in imitation of our Lord's forty days of fasting and praying in the desert, it is a series of mini-Lents for us to pray, fast, and give alms. So if your Lent began a little unsteady, begin again and take up your cross.

One way is to join us on Friday night for Stations of the Cross at 7:00 pm. Take a fast from Wheel of Fortune and come pray together with Jesus as he walks the Way of the Cross. Another way is to make the Mission. Come out and make the Mission even if you can only make it one night. It will make your Lent and inspire you to pray, fast, and give alms with zeal and fervor!

Be well. Do good. God Bless! Pray. Fast. Give Alms. Hope to see you at the Mission Talks this week and Stations on Friday at 7:00 pm!

Make the Lenten Mission!