Dear Parishioners:
The OLM Feast Week begins on Monday with the Saints and Scholars Open. Around 130 golfers will tee off at Quidnessett Country Club for a day of fun, fellowship, and golf. Among the golfers are Fr. Brodeur, Fr. Mahoney, Fr. Brian Morris, an OLM School Alum and the new Pastor of St. Gregory the Great, Fr. Dave Cavanagh, uncle to OLM students, and Fr. John Soares, Pastor of St. John Vianney Church in Cumberland. It should be a great day of golf, but which priest will shoot the best score?
Wednesday is our Holy Hour of Mercy with Fr. Barrow. On Thursday, we celebrate the Patronal Feast Day Mass with Fr. Jack Unsworth as our homilist. On Thursday night, we perform our Act of Mercy by filling backpacks for the residents of Emmanuel House Shelter.
Friday, of course, we wind up our Feast Week with the fantastic celebration of our Oktoberfest. Join us under the tent for delicious German food, beer, and music! A fun night for the whole family. We also draw the winners of the See You in September Raffle, so get your ticket soon!
As we prepare for our Patronal Feast and this week’s activities, we're also getting ready for two important upcoming events. Next week we take up the Annual Parish Collection at all Masses. This important collection helps finance the many challenges of maintaining and preserving such an old and large physical plant. This includes planned projects and also the many unforeseen expenses which occur as time takes a toll on our facilities and properties.
Over the years, so many good parishioners have always been most generous in their support of the Annual Parish Collection, and I am confident it will continue this year. I thank you in advance for your generous support.
Also upcoming is our Parish Assembly on Thursday, October 1 at 6:30 pm in the OLM School Cafeteria. These Assemblies have been taking place across the Diocese at every parish. Bishop Lewandowski has called for these Assemblies as an opportunity for the faithful to come together to discuss parish life and ministry.
The Assembly will begin with prayer, followed by small group discussions. Each group will have a facilitator to help lead the discussion. Each person in the small group will have a chance to speak briefly about the discussion questions. At the conclusion of the discussion, the group facilitators will each report what fruitful insights their group provided. All the discussion reports will then be submitted to the Diocese and will be the focus of the Diocesan Assembly in November.
To prepare for our Parish Assembly, participants must register in advance. We encourage all adult parishioners to register. Our good Franciscan Sisters will be available to babysit for those families with young children. This week’s bulletin includes an insert with the various ways to register for the Parish Assembly.
The Bishop initiated these Assemblies to provide input for the pastoral planning of our Diocese. They are not meant to discuss changing Church teachings, liturgical practices, or a time of complaint and criticism. Rather, they are meant to allow the Holy Spirit to help each person, parish, and then the Diocese to discern the next steps in renewing our parish and diocesan life and ministry.
The Assemblies have been taking place across the Diocese since July, and reports say they have been helpful, insightful, and fruitful. So we look forward to our Assembly as we pray, discern, and discuss our life and ministry as a parish in the Diocese of Providence. May the Holy Spirit guide us!
The words from an address to the Clergy of the Diocese of Rome, by Pope Leo XIV, offer us some wisdom as we prepare for our Parish Assembly. He said: “We are called to collaborate with God’s work. In this regard, the words that the Apostle Paul addresses to Timothy are enlightening: ‘I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you.’ These words are addressed not only to the individual but also to the community, and today we can hear them addressed to us: remember to rekindle the gift of God!”
OLM Feast Week is upon us! Celebrate with faith, fellowship, and fun! Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox! Go Pats!! Happy Feast Day!