Dear Parishioners:
It's hard to believe we had the April Spring School Vacation this past week, and it's already the Fourth Week of the Easter Season. Between an early Easter Sunday and all the rainy weather, the spring has gotten off to a slow start. As Mark Twain famously said: "In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours."
Of course, spring brings with it many events on our parish calendar. The School Play debuts with the Little Mermaid Jr., and the School's Annual Spring Fling Fundraiser kicks off on Kentucky Derby Day. First Holy Communion and Mother's Day are also in early May! Lots of great events to celebrate as a parish and school family.
Mark your calendar for next weekend to see performances of The Little Mermaid Jr. Tickets for the shows are available at the door at the Prout School Theater. There are two performances, a 7:00 pm on Saturday, April 27, and a 2:00 pm matinee on Sunday, April 28. Our theatre troupe has been working hard for months on this production. Come see our talented students sing, dance, and entertain. It's closer and more affordable than Broadway and perhaps even more entertaining!
Then, on May 4, the OLM School Spring Fling takes place at 6:00 pm at the Quidnessett Country Club. This is the most important fundraiser of the year for our school, with all the proceeds going directly to support the excellent education and outstanding teaching of our Church and the world's future saints and scholars. The night will include a Kentucky Derby theme, featuring food and drinks to suit the occasion. The Spring Fling is an event for the whole parish and all the alums and friends of OLM School. So please wear your Derby suit or dress, hat, or bonnet, and join us! And remember to bring your checkbook for the auction!
It is a fun-filled evening that provides crucial financial support for our parish school. There are live and silent auctions of great prizes to bid on, ranging from Dinner with the Priests in the Rectory, MasterChef Fr. Mahoney Cooking Lessons for the Perfect Steak on the Grille, Hi-Lo Jack Night at the Regency Cigar Emporium, In-Home Wine Tasting from the Savory Grape, Vacation Get-Aways, Chef's Tables at local restaurants and much more! Tickets and information are available online at olmspringfling.org.
We look forward to our parish celebration of First Holy Communion on Saturday, May 11, and the May Crowning on Mother's Day, May 12. Fr. Mahoney and I will interview our First Communion candidates and their parents this week. They are entering into the final preparation for the big day.
Please pray for them as they continue preparing to receive Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist for the first time. May they heed the words of Pope Francis speaking to a First Communion Class: "Remember that this is the sacrament of your First Communion, not your last. Remember that Jesus is always waiting for you!"
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. It is the perfect time for us to pray for priests, bishops, and all those who shepherd the Lord's flock. It is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, a day for us to fulfill the Lord's instruction to "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest." While appreciating all vocations, the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life. So please spend some time in prayer today and during this upcoming week to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, especially in the Diocese of Providence. Also, please pray for all the priests, bishops, and seminarians of Providence.
Pope Francis reminds us: "Vocations aren't the result of planning, but an encounter with God that changes your life." If you know a young man who would make a good priest or a young woman who would be a good religious sister, invite them to consider it and pray for them. Help them encounter God, change their lives, and pursue a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life.
At OLM, we are truly blessed to have two priests, four religious sisters, a seminarian, and even a retired Auxiliary Bishop living next door. Pray that every parish in our Diocese may be so blessed with vocations! Be