Dear Parishioners:

On Friday, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a significant event that holds a special place in our hearts. The entire month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion that dates back to 1673, when Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French nun who belonged to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in France, began to receive profound visions about the Sacred Heart.

Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary over 18 months and revealed ways to venerate his Sacred Heart. He explained his immense love for humanity, appearing with his heart visible outside his chest, on fire, and surrounded by a crown of thorns. He told St. Margaret Mary to promote a feast in honor of his Sacred Heart, telling her, “My Sacred Heart is so intense in its love for men, and for you in particular, that not being able to contain within it the flames of its ardent charity, they must be transmitted through all means.”

For this reason, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is no less worthy and important in our own day than in 17th-century France, the Middle Ages, or at the foot of Calvary. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the perfect antidote to the pride in our hearts. God loves us with a human heart so that we might learn to share in his divine love. As St. Athanasius said: “The Son of God became man so that we might become God.”

In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we discover the humility of God that overwhelms and destroys pride. In his Sacred and Suffering Heart, our hearts are moved to repentance. In His Sacred Heart, our selfishness is burned away in the consuming fire of his love and mercy. In his Sacred Heart, we encounter the love that created, ordered, and sustains all things. In His Sacred Heart, we find the strength and grace to love as he loves. In his Most Sacred Heart, we find refuge and peace even amid the trials and tribulations of our times.

Perhaps during this month, we might offer a Prayer to the Sacred Heart: “O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins, I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me amid danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.”

Fr. Healey carries the Blessed Sacrament in Procession on Corpus Christi Sunday.

Last Sunday, we celebrated Corpus Christi with a Eucharistic Procession at our graduation mass for the 8th grade class of OLM School. It was a special day and a solemn expression of our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist. As Pope Francis said: “The procession with the Blessed Sacrament reminds us that we are called to go out and bring Jesus to others. To go out with enthusiasm, bringing Christ to those we meet in our daily lives.”

The 8th Grade, their families, and our faculty gathered for an Awards Luncheon after the Mass. We recognized the many talents and academic achievements of these future saints and scholars. And on Tuesday, they graduated in a ceremony full of “pomp and circumstance.” Pray for these young students as they enter high school. May they continue to stay close to Christ and grow in their faith.

Friday is the last day of school at OLM School, and summer vacation begins! “Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me, those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language,” said the great American Author, Henry James. Pray for our students and faculty as they begin their summer afternoons! May they return in September, tan, rested, and ready!

Speaking of last days, Fr. Mahoney begins his new appointment as Pastor at St. Pius Church in Westerly on July 1. His last weekend here at OLM will be June 23, and then he will begin his move to his new parish and rectory. On that weekend, he will have two Farewell Receptions at Mercy Park. One will follow the Saturday, June 22, 5:00 PM Mass, and the other will follow the Sunday, June 23, 10:30 AM Mass. So please mark your calendar and join us in saying Farewell and Thank You to Fr. Mahoney.

Be well. Do good. God Bless. Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us!

Have a Heart!