Dear Parishioners:
Fr. Healey poses with the newly Confirmed and their Sponsors following the Celebration of Confirmation at on Pentecost Sunday.
Last Sunday, we celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation at the 10:30 Pentecost Sunday Mass for four adult parishioners. We congratulate and pray for Michael Michael Aptt, Collin Michael Banno, Collin
Michael Patterson, and Nathan Camillus de Lellis Tellier! Pray for them that they continue to grow in their faith with the guidance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit they received last Sunday.
Father Mahoney is away this weekend, attending the Priestly Ordination Mass in Boston. Eleven men are begin ordained to serve the Archdiocese of Boston on Saturday. Fr. Mahoney studied with them at St. John Seminary, and Fr. Connors taught them all! He will then attend some of the First Masses of Thanksgiving on Sunday at various parishes throughout Boston. Please pray for these newly ordained priests!
Memorial Day is the nation's foremost annual day to mourn and honor our deceased servicemen and women. The Proclamation establishing this national holiday calls for all Americans "to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace."
As Catholics, we should remember those who gave their lives for country and freedom, just as everyone else does on Memorial Day. Remembering them at Mass is the best way to celebrate the day. It's not a sin to be patriotic and to remember the sacrifices made for our freedoms. Gratitude for that sacrifice is our response on Memorial Day. So please join us for Mass on Memorial Day at 8:30 am and pray for our fallen who died serving our nation. At the same time, we can also pray for peace and solutions that will not require war and bloodshed. We can do this on Memorial Day at our final May Devotions as we offer our prayers and the Rosary for world peace. Please join us at 7:00 pm on Monday.
Also, I invite you to watch the Memorial Day Parade here in East Greenwich on Monday morning. I will offer prayers at the World War Two Memorial on Cliff Street. Lt. Colonel Edmund B. Whitman, the Quartermaster during the Civil War, said: "That Nation which respects and honors its dead shall ever be respected and honored itself."
Lastly, we should unite with the poor, who are often the most victimized by war, and also veterans who suffer from wounds and disabilities. Think about what we can do to help those who are victims of war. We should try to support charities that help veterans and serve the victims and refugees of war, such as Catholic Relief Services. And we must pray for them!
Memorial Day is more than a day off work or school. It isn't simply a day to shop for sales, play a round of golf, go to the beach, or have a family cookout. Let's not forget those who sacrificed their lives for our nation and our freedoms so we can enjoy such leisure activities freely. This is the true reason for this important national civic holiday. Remember the words of the great American Poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote following the Civil War: "Your silent tents of green we deck with fragrant flowers; Yours has the suffering been, the memory shall be ours."
Next weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ with great faith and joy, more commonly called Corpus Christi. This feast honors Jesus Christ, really, truly, and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine. This Presence happens through the change which the Church calls transubstantiation ("change of substance") when at the Consecration of the Mass, the priest says the words of consecration which Christ Himself pronounced over bread and wine. The 10:30 am Mass next Sunday will be followed by the traditional Procession of the Eucharist from Church to Mercy Park. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament will be offered at Mercy Park.
At this Mass, we are joined by our OLM School 8th Graders and their families. A great feast day for us to pray for and process with the Eucharistic Lord and these young men and women striving to be saints and scholars. Please pray for our 8th Grade Graduates.
Be well. Do good. God Bless. Happy Memorial Day!