Dear Parishioners:
You have noticed that some work is being done in the Rectory. After over a dozen years, the carpeting in the Rectory offices is being replaced. It was quite dirty and worn out. The installers from Ruggeri Carpet arrived last Monday and began tearing up the old carpets. As I write this column, I hope that the new carpets will be completely installed. The cost is about $10,000. The new carpeting also led us to reorganize the Parish Office. We have created a new filing room with some new fireproof file cabinets and moved our Parish Business Manager, Dave Cote, to a new office. File and storage space in our Rectory is at a premium, so this will help us.
Easter is early this year, on April 5, and it’s approaching, but there are still more days left in Lent for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Pope Leo, in his Lenten Message, reminds us: “Dear friends, let us ask for the grace of a Lent that leads us to greater attentiveness to God and to the least among us. Let us ask for the strength that comes from the type of fasting that also extends to our use of language, so that hurtful words may diminish and give way to a greater space for the voice of others.”
Saint Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland
Of course, in the middle of Lent, we take time to celebrate two important Feasts. The Feast of Saint Patrick on Tuesday, March 17, and the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on Thursday, March 19. On these days, we traditionally celebrate Irish and Italian culture and heritage as we recall our immigrant ancestors who came to the US. I hope you can join us in these special celebrations this week.
On Saint Patrick’s Day, we will celebrate Mass at 12:05 with Irish hymns and readings in the Irish language. The Mass is followed by a reception in the vestibule with Irish soda bread and Irish Coffee!
We are grateful to Mrs. Sinead Campion, who always does a outstanding job of reading in Irish. Our homilist this year is Father Patrick O’Connor. He is a priest of Boston who serves on the faculty of Our Lady of Providence Seminary and as a Chaplain at LaSalle Academy. I hope you can join in celebrating the Irish!
On St. Joseph’s Day, we will celebrate Mass at 12:05 with the Mass celebrated in Italian, including readings and hymns in Italian. We are grateful to Dr. Rocky Ruggerio and Dr. Anthony Bruzzese for once again reading in Italian. Our celebrant and homilist for the Mass is our own Father Brodeur. After five years of study in Rome, he assures me he can celebrate Mass in Italian like Pope Leo!! A reception follows in the vestibule, featuring tasty zeppoles and Italian coffee. See you there as we celebrate the heritage and faith of our Italian brothers and sisters.
Saint Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the Patron Saint of the Universal Church.
If your conscience is bowed down in anticipation of breaking your Lenten fast on St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day. Not to worry, I am happy to grant you dispensation for these most important Holy Days so that we can all celebrate joyfully with an Irish or Italian coffee and some sweets!
In the name of the poor and needy, I offer my deep gratitude to the 289 parish families who made a gift to the Catholic Charity Appeal. We have gone over our goal of $199,500. Our total pledged to the Appeal thus far is $207,634. Last year, we raised a total of $274,848 from 449 families. We’ve got a ways to go to reach that total!
We hope that all 1,200 registered families at OLM will support the Catholic Charity Appeal, as it is an important charity. All Catholics should generously support the Church's good works and charity. If you have not yet made your pledge, please do so today. It is a great way to give alms this Lent. As Saint Angela Merici said, “We must give alms. Charity wins souls and draws them to virtue.”
The Holy Week Schedule at Our Lady of Mercy is in this week’s bulletin. Please note that during Holy Week, the Monday Confessions have been moved to Spy Wednesday due to the Chrism Mass. On Wednesday, April 1, we will have two hours of Confession with six priests. Also note that the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday begins at 8:00 pm as we welcome 17 people into the Church.
See you at Stations of the Cross on Friday. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day and Happy Saint Joseph’s Day