Prepare the Way! Sandy and Elections!!

Our bulletin company asked that we get the weekly bulletin to them early this week due to Hurricane Sandy. So I write this column on Sunday night as our state and much of the East Coast prepare for Sandy’s arrival. Due to the declared State of Emergency we had to cancel all our planned events and close the office on Monday. Rhode Island is preparing for the strong winds and heavy rainfall and I pray that no human life is lost and property damage is minimal. Fr. Shemek and I have battened down the hatches, stocked up on bottled water and non-perishables and like you, hope to sit out the hurricane safely! This Tuesday is Election Day and we will elect leaders for our town, state and nation. Our Church teaches that “responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation." So in order to exercise this virtue we must vote and participate in the election. We are called not simply to vote for anyone but rather to carefully examine each candidate and learn about their positions on the important moral issues that face our own lives and the life of our state and nation. Where candidates stand on issues such as the sanctity of human life especially the unborn, the protection of marriage between one man and one woman, and the dignity of the human person especially the poor and vulnerable should help us determine who we vote for as Catholics.

As Catholics Tuesday’s election offers us a valuable chance to consider how the messages of the Scriptures and the insights of Catholic teaching can be applied to the priority issues of our society. The U.S. Catholic bishops have urged us to recognize the moral and ethical dimensions of the issues and "to see beyond party politics, to analyze campaign rhetoric critically, and to choose political leaders according to principle, not party affiliation or mere self interest.”

I have included a reflection by Archbishop Charles Chaput on Catholic Citizenship in this week’s bulletin for your review before the election. The Archbishop recently encouraged Catholics “minimally to vote, maximally to run for political office, and make sure that they’re Catholic prior to being Democrat or Republican and that they put that into practice politically. We do believe in the separation of church and state, but we don’t believe in the separation of faith from our political life. It’s very important for Catholics to make distinctions when voting that they never support intrinsic evils like abortion, which is evil in all circumstances.” Sound advice for us as we prepare to vote on Tuesday.

So as we prepare to vote in the election, may we also pray for our town, state and nation and for all who hold or seek public office. God Bless. God Bless America!

For All the Saints & Praying for the Dead

Dear Parishioners: The month of October is coming to an end and so we await the celebrations this week of Halloween, the All Saints Holy Day and the Feast of All Souls.   As we turn the calendar to November, we are called by the Church in to pray for our departed brothers and sisters.  November begins with the great feast of All Saints, a holy day of obligation for all Catholics, and a day we recall in faith all those who are known officially as saints and those  saintly people known only to God.  I hope you make  every effort to come to one of the four Holy Day Masses this week.

On Friday, we celebrate the Feast of All Souls, when we recall all our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory. Prayer for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy and it is an essential part of our witness to God’s love and mercy. Prayer for the dead both honors the memory of the dead and expresses our continuing love of them by assisting them to be freed of any temporal punishment due to sin and to reach their lasting home with God.  Let us pledge our prayers for our beloved dead as we recall of the words of Saint John Chrysostom in the 4^th Century:  “Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.”

In a very special way on Friday night at 7:00pm we  gather to pray for our fellow OLM parishioners who have died in the last year.  I invite you to join the families of these good souls as we gather as a parish to pray for all those who grieve and to offer Mass for the repose of the faithful departed of Our Lady of Mercy.  A reception  follows in the OLM School Cafeteria.  If you cannot attend, please remember to pray for them and for all the dead during this All Souls’ Month of November.

On Halloween night I will be giving candy out  to any children from Our Lady of Mercy and from the local neighborhood in costume.  Trick or Treaters are welcome to stop by the Third Street Rectory door from 6:00pm until 8:00pm for an old fashioned, full-size candy bar!  Of course, for those parish children who come to the All Saints Vigil Mass on Tuesday night at 5:00pm, there might just be an extra treat!  So please stop by if you are heading out for tricks or treats on Halloween!

A Day of Adoration and Prayer for Election 2012 is scheduled for this Monday, October 29th.  Eucharistic Adoration  begins after the 7:30am Mass and all throughout the day parishioners are invited to stop by Church and spend some time in prayerful adoration before the Eucharistic Lord.  In a special way we pray for all candidates for public office and for our town, state and nation as we prepare to vote.  We conclude the day with October Devotions including a homily on “Faithful Citizenship” by Father John Codega.  Hope to see you  in Church this week.  Happy Halloween!  Happy All Saints!! God Bless.

Generosity and Grace, Faith and Giving

Dear Parishioners: What a wonderful celebration of Confirmation we had last Sunday.  Nearly 100 of our young parishioners were confirmed in their Catholic Faith by Bishop Evans.  The sun was shining, the choir sang beautifully, the Bishop provided an inspirational message for our Confirmation Class, and the newly confirmed were radiant with the grace of the Sacrament and the power of the Holy Spirit!  I offer my thanks to all who helped prepare for this day and  provided a great celebration and reception.   I ask you to please pray for our Confirmation Class that they may remain close to the Lord and His Church, continue to join us at Mass and put their Catholic Faith into action in their daily lives.  In the coming weeks I will be writing each of them and inviting them to consider serving our parish in one of our various parish ministries.

Enclosed in the bulletin is the Annual Parish Financial Report for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2012.   I encourage you to take it home for  your review of our financial condition.  Let me first thank you for your generous financial support of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, without it we could not operate.  Overall the report is not too bad but there are some concerns with the operating deficits over the last two fiscal years.  This year the deficit was again over $40,000 due partly to a slight decline in weekly giving along with increased operational expenses. Our expenses continue to rise but our revenue is dipping below what it needs to be. While this is an issue of concern, it is not a dramatic problem.

Over the next year the Parish Financial Council and I will study our operational budget to look for areas where savings can be found.  At the same time we need a steady increase of the weekly parish support to overcome this deficit.   Therefore, as you study the  report I ask each of you to  prayerfully reflect upon the amount of your weekly parish giving. Are you giving what you gave last year or five years ago?  As you well know from running your own household budgets, expenses do not remain steady but usually increase. In order to overcome this, we need to increase the level of weekly giving as we cut expenses.  Again thank you for all your generosity, it is truly appreciated and I am grateful for your continued financial support of the parish.

In this Year of Faith as we consider the financial support of our parish, I invite you to reflect on some words of wisdom from our Holy Father.  In speaking about faith and charity, Pope Benedict says: “Faith without charity bears no fruit, while charity without faith would be a sentiment constantly at the mercy of doubt. Faith and charity each require the other, in such a way that each allows the other to set out along its respective path.” God Bless. Go Pats, please!!!

Let the Year of Faith Begin! Making Mass the Center of Our Lives!

Dear Parishioners: The Year of Faith has begun!  What does it mean for us? For our parish? For our families? The Year of Faith  officially began on Thursday, October 11th and is a time for us as a Church and a Parish and as families and individuals to renew our  faith and deepen our  convictions as Catholic disciples.

In announcing the Year of Faith Pope Benedict  stated: “We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist...To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year.”

The Holy Father calls us to not only renew but deepen our faith by bearing witness to it in our daily lives and by intensifying our faithful participation in Mass each week.  The Year of Faith has begun so  we should also begin by reflecting on how well we profess, celebrate, live and pray the Eucharist.  For the Mass  must be the center of our lives as Catholics and the constant source of renewal of our faith.  We are reminded that the Eucharist is indeed the source and summit of our Catholic Faith so perhaps we might begin our reflection on this new Year of Faith with the following:

Is the Mass truly the center of our lives?  How often do we skip Mass for a  trivial reason or personal convenience?  Do we arrive to Mass early to prayerfully prepare  or do we routinely rush in at the last minute or even arrive late?  Do we actively participate in the celebration of Mass by singing and reciting the responses or do we sit silently and passively in our pew as if God doesn’t notice?  Do we dress properly for Mass or  do we dress as if we are going to the gym or for yard work?  Do we come forward to Holy Communion spiritually prepared  or do we fail to confess our serious sins? Do we receive Holy Communion reverently  or  callously as if it weren’t the Body of Christ?  Do we stay until Mass is over or do we rush out after Communion or  try to beat Father Healey or Father Shemek down the aisle?

Certainly some food for thought about food for the soul! This Year of Faith is a serious time for serious reflection about our own faith and how we live it.  I pray it may it lead us all to a deeper commitment to the Lord  and a renewed faith in our lives both as a parish and as individual Catholic disciples.  My congratulations to our Confirmation Candidates as they are confirmed by Bishop Evans this Sunday. We wish them well and hope to see them at Mass each week!! May they truly live everyday the faith they profess every Sunday ! God Bless.

Moving Into the Year of Faith

Dear Parishioners: Father Shemek and I are beginning to move into our rooms this week!  No doubt you’ve seen the dumpster across the street from the Rectory that has been filled these last few weeks.  I am happy to report that the living quarters on the second floor of the Rectory have been renovated and freshened up.  We completely remodeled the bathrooms in our living quarters replacing the original circa 1965 bathrooms as well as updating the lighting,  freshening up the paint, wallpaper and carpeting.  Unpacking our boxes and  settling in at OLM is about to begin!

The renovation continues with a similar freshening up of the priests’ offices, the dining room and the main offices in the Rectory.  I am confident that this work can be completed much quicker and with as little interruption to the good order of the parish offices as possible.  Father Shemek has been a real trooper throughout the entire project as he has been living out of his suitcase since June in the guest rooms above the garage. I commend him for his patience and great attitude throughout it all.  But it certainly is nice to get comfortably settled  in our new home with our personal belonging out of boxes and placed around us.

On Thursday of this week, Pope Benedict will commence the Year of Faith for our Church.  The  Year of Faith is a “summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the One Savior of the world” (Porta Fidei 6). In other words, the Year of Faith is an opportunity for Catholics to experience a conversion – to turn back to Jesus and enter into a deeper relationship with Him. The “door of faith” is opened at one’s baptism, but during this year Catholics are called to open it again, walk through it and rediscover and renew their relationship with Christ and his Church.  I ask you to please pray for a successful Year of Faith, that many of our brother and sisters might return to Christ, come back to His Church and deepen their commitment to their Catholic Faith.

I hope to schedule some events for the Year of Faith in the coming months that might help us experience an authentic renewal during this time.  Keep an eye on the bulletin for announcements and use this Year of Faith for your own time of renewal and conversion.  Our faith is in constant need of renewal and we must continually turn our focus upon Christ  in order to keep the faith alive and authentic.  I return from the wedding in Scranton sometime on Monday night so let me wish you a Happy Columbus Day now!   God Bless. God Bless America! Go Pats.

A Great Picnic and More Events in October

Dear Parishioners: What a day last Sunday! Your prayers for good weather worked as our First Annual Parish Family Picnic saw spectacular weather.  We also saw well over 600 people come together to celebrate as a parish family. Father Shemek reports that his 50 pounds of cabbage and kielbasa went very quickly along with his hundreds of Polish Potato Pancakes.  We served nearly 900 cups of ice cream too!  It truly was a great afternoon of good times, good food and good fun.

Fr. Shemek and his hard working Picnic Committee did a great job getting it all organized and provided us with a wonderful parish event.  In your name, I offer thanks and gratitude for their tremendous job of organizing this great day in less than a month.  Many parishioners asked if we would be doing this again.  Yes, it will be an annual event to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy for our entire parish. The OLM Picnic Committee is meeting soon to review this year’s picnic and plan for next years.  If you would like to help or take part in the planning of next year’s picnic, please let Father Shemek know.

I invite all our Catholic lawyers in the parish and all those who work in the legal community to come to the Annual Red Mass at the Cathedral on Wednesday night at 5:30pm.  Many lawyers and judges will gather to invoke the blessings of the Holy Spirit for the judicial year.  This year’s homilist is my good friend from Brooklyn, New York, Monsignor Kieran Harrington.  It is a great event and I encourage you to attend especially if you are a lawyer.   Also for those parishioners who are physicians and work in the health care field the Annual White Mass is scheduled for Wednesday, October 10th at 7:00PM.  I encourage our many OLM doctors and nurses to go to this special event for Catholics who work in the medical world.

It’s hard to believe that October is upon us already and that autumn is here too!  It is a month dedicated to devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary and so we will continue the tradition of October Devotions on Monday nights at 7:00PM. Why not skip Wheel of Fortune and join us in praying the Rosary and adoring the Eucharistic Lord?  Devotions are a important part of our Catholic tradition and I encourage you to come on Mondays this month.  If you wouldn’t do it for the Mother of God, then who would you do it for?

October is also Respect Life Month and so I ask you to pray for an increase of respect for the sanctity of human life and human dignity.  There is great need of this in our world where there is too much disrespect for human life and too much violence.  Pray for life!  I will be away next weekend to perform a wedding in Scranton, Pennsylvania.   God Bless.  Go Pats!