Pope Benedict's Final Homily as Pope

Venerable Brothers,Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin a new Lenten journey, a journey that extends over forty days and leads us towards the joy of Easter, to victory of Life over death. Following the ancient Roman tradition of Lenten stations, we are gathered for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The tradition says that the first statio took place in the Basilica of Saint Sabina on the Aventine Hill. Circumstances suggested we gather in St. Peter's Basilica. Tonight there are many of us gathered around the tomb of the Apostle Peter, to also ask him to pray for the path of the Church going forward at this particular moment in time, to renew our faith in the Supreme Pastor, Christ the Lord. For me it is also a good opportunity to thank everyone, especially the faithful of the Diocese of Rome, as I prepare to conclude the Petrine ministry, and I ask you for a special remembrance in your prayer.

The readings that have just been proclaimed offer us ideas which, by the grace of God, we are called to transform into a concrete attitude and behaviour during Lent. First of all the Church proposes the powerful appeal which the prophet Joel addresses to the people of Israel, "Thus says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning" (2.12). Please note the phrase "with all your heart," which means from the very core of our thoughts and feelings, from the roots of our decisions, choices and actions, with a gesture of total and radical freedom. But is this return to God possible? Yes, because there is a force that does not reside in our hearts, but that emanates from the heart of God and the power of His mercy. The prophet says: "return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment" (v. 13). It is possible to return to the Lord, it is a 'grace', because it is the work of God and the fruit of faith that we entrust to His mercy. But this return to God becomes a reality in our lives only when the grace of God penetrates and moves our innermost core, gifting us the power that "rends the heart". Once again the prophet proclaims these words from God: "Rend your hearts and not your garments" (v. 13). Today, in fact, many are ready to "rend their garments" over scandals and injustices – which are of course caused by others - but few seem willing to act according to their own "heart", their own conscience and their own intentions, by allowing the Lord transform, renew and convert them.

This "return to me with all your heart," then, is a reminder that not only involves the individual but the entire community. Again we heard in the first reading: "Blow the horn in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly! Gather the people, sanctify the congregation; Assemble the elderly; gather the children, even infants nursing at the breast; Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her bridal tent (vv.15-16). The community dimension is an essential element in faith and Christian life. Christ came "to gather the children of God who are scattered into one" (Jn 11:52). The "we" of the Church is the community in which Jesus brings us together (cf. Jn 12:32), faith is necessarily ecclesial. And it is important to remember and to live this during Lent: each person must be aware that the penitential journey cannot be faced alone, but together with many brothers and sisters in the Church.

Finally, the prophet focuses on the prayers of priests, who, with tears in their eyes, turn to God, saying: " Between the porch and the altar let the priests weep, let the ministers of the LORD weep and say: “Spare your people, Lord! Do not let your heritage become a disgrace, a byword among the nations! Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’"(V.17). This prayer leads us to reflect on the importance of witnessing to faith and Christian life, for each of us and our community, so that we can reveal the face of the Church and how this face is, at times, disfigured. I am thinking in particular of the sins against the unity of the Church, of the divisions in the body of the Church. Living Lent in a more intense and evident ecclesial communion, overcoming individualism and rivalry is a humble and precious sign for those who have distanced themselves from the faith or who are indifferent.

"Well, now is the favourable time, this is the day of salvation" (2 Cor 6:2). The words of the Apostle Paul to the Christians of Corinth resonate for us with an urgency that does not permit absences or inertia. The term "now" is repeated and can not be missed, it is offered to us as a unique opportunity. And the Apostle's gaze focuses on sharing with which Christ chose to characterize his life, taking on everything human to the point of taking on all of man’s sins. The words of St. Paul are very strong: "God made him sin for our sake." Jesus, the innocent, the Holy One, "He who knew no sin" (2 Cor 5:21), bears the burden of sin sharing the outcome of death, and death of the Cross with humanity. The reconciliation we are offered came at a very high price, that of the Cross raised on Golgotha, on which the Son of God made man was hung. In this, in God’s immersion in human suffering and the abyss of evil, is the root of our justification. The "return to God with all your heart" in our Lenten journey passes through the Cross, in following Christ on the road to Calvary, to the total gift of self. It is a journey on which each and every day we learn to leave behind our selfishness and our being closed in on ourselves, to make room for God who opens and transforms our hearts. And as St. Paul reminds us, the proclamation of the Cross resonates within us thanks to the preaching of the Word, of which the Apostle himself is an ambassador. It is a call to us so that this Lenten journey be characterized by a more careful and assiduous listening to the Word of God, the light that illuminates our steps.

In the Gospel passage according of Matthew, to whom belongs to the so-called Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to three fundamental practices required by the Mosaic Law: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. These are also traditional indications on the Lenten journey to respond to the invitation to «return to God with all your heart." But he points out that both the quality and the truth of our relationship with God is what qualifies the authenticity of every religious act. For this reason he denounces religious hypocrisy, a behaviour that seeks applause and approval. The true disciple does not serve himself or the "public", but his Lord, in simplicity and generosity: "And your Father who sees everything in secret will reward you" (Mt 6,4.6.18). Our fitness will always be more effective the less we seek our own glory and the more we are aware that the reward of the righteous is God Himself, to be united to Him, here, on a journey of faith, and at the end of life, in the peace light of coming face to face with Him forever (cf. 1 Cor 13:12).

Dear brothers and sisters, we begin our Lenten journey with trust and joy. May the invitation to conversion , to "return to God with all our heart", resonate strongly in us, accepting His grace that makes us new men and women, with the surprising news that is participating in the very life of Jesus. May none of us, therefore, be deaf to this appeal, also addressed in the austere rite, so simple and yet so beautiful, of the imposition of ashes, which we will shortly carry out. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and model of every true disciple of the Lord accompany us in this time. Amen!

The Vatican's English translation of Joseph Ratzinger's final homily as Pope Benedict XVI, bishop of Rome, the 264th successor of St Peter. Ash Wednesday, February 13, 2012

Lent is coming! What are you doing about it??

Dear Parishioners: Last Saturday, Bishop Tobin ordained twenty-one men as Permanent Deacons for the Diocese of Providence.   These twenty-one men began their formation program in January of 2009, attending classes in Theology, Scripture, Homiletics, Canon Law and Liturgy and participating in weekend retreats as well as practical training for their ministry. The classes were conducted by the Diocese under the guidance  several the priests and deacons of the diocese and in cooperation with the Theology Department at Providence College.

Permanent Deacons are men, usually married, ordained to service in the Catholic Church. They serve in parishes, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons or other areas of ministry as needed. Additionally, they may lead classes for Baptismal and Marriage preparation, as well as Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults programs.  Permanent Deacons also officiate at Weddings, Baptisms, Wakes, and Burial Rites. They also serve at Mass and are to proclaim the Gospel and preach.  While Transitional Deacons go on to be ordained Priests, Permanent Deacons do not.  I was a Transitional Deacon for several months before I was ordained a Priest in 1995. While I know several priests served here as Transitional Deacons, I am not sure that Our Lady of Mercy has ever been assigned a Permanent Deacon.

Well, this week Bishop Tobin notified me that one of the newly ordained Permanent Deacons, John Dowd, has been assigned to Our Lady of Mercy.  In your name, I offer my congratulations and a warm welcome to him! Deacon John Dowd has been married for thirty-seven years to his wife, Cathleen  He is the Father of three children, ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild.  Two of his daughters, Cristen and Caite, both graduated from OLM School.  He lives with his wife in North Kingstown and  runs his own financial services  business here in East Greenwich.  Some of you may recognize him as he frequently attends Daily Mass here at OLM.  It is a very exciting opportunity for us to have a  Permanent Deacon serving our parish and I am looking forward to Deacon John’s ministry here at OLM.

Over the years Deacon John has been involved in many ministries in his home parish of St. Francis in Wakefield.  In the coming weeks you will have chance to welcome him personally as he begins his Diaconal Ministry here at OLM.  In the meantime, please keep Deacon John, his wife and family in your prayers.

The forty days of Lent begin this Wednesday with the arrival of Ash Wednesday.  A complete schedule of Masses and Lenten Devotions is in the bulletin.  This season of prayer and penance calls us to refocus our lives on Christ and renew our Catholic Faith.  In his annual   Lenten Message, this year Pope Benedict tells us:  The celebration of Lent, in the context of the Year of Faith, offers us a valuable opportunity to meditate on the relationship between faith and charity:   between believing in God – the God of Jesus Christ – and love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and which guides us on the path of devotion to God and others.”                                                               

Lent is all about the Three Ps! Prayer, Penance and the Poor!  We are called to a more intense prayer life, take up penitential practices and server the poor.   Perhaps we might come to Daily Mass, Weekly Stations of the Cross, read the Scriptures daily, or pray the Rosary daily.  Perhaps we might give something up, take on some penitential practice or go to Confession more often.  Perhaps we might make sure we put our extra change in the Rice Bowls, sacrifice some luxury in our life and give the cost of it to the OLM Outreach efforts or simply volunteer to help at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.

Lent calls us to recommit to Christ and His Church and bear witness to our faith.  “Remember you are dust and to dust you will return.” Lent will soon be here, what are you doing about it? God Bless. Welcome, Deacon John!

Getting Lent On Our Schedule!

Dear Parishioners: February is here already! It’s hard to believe but Lent begins in just over a week on February 13th!  It comes early this year as does Easter Sunday which is on March 31st.  In order to prepare for this season of renewal and repentance I have included in the bulletin a schedule of Lenten Activities.   These  Lenten activities  include an additional Daily Mass at 12:05 PM,  Confessions twice a week on Mondays and Saturdays, Stations of the Cross on Fridays and a Lenten Mission in March.  Also there will be an Adult Education Series on the Mondays of Lent that will begin on February 18th.  More information on the series will be coming soon.  But  please make room in your calendar now for these important activities as Lent will soon be upon us! 

If you have any old blessed palm branches from last year’s Palm Sunday Celebration, please bring them to Church next weekend.  We will be collecting your old palm branches so we can make new ashes for Ash Wednesday.  There will be a box in the vestibule to place your palm branches before and after Masses.

This Sunday the Church marks the Feast of St. Blaise with the traditional blessing of throats.  We know that Bishop Blaise was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea, Armenia, in 316.   He was a good bishop, working hard to encourage the spiritual and physical health of his people. Persecution of Christians still raged in Armenia and Blaise was forced to flee.  He lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer. One day a group of hunters stumbled upon Blaise’s cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. As the hunters hauled Blaise off to prison, the legend has it, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command the child was able to cough up the bone.  The local pagan Governor tried to persuade Blaise to make sacrifices to pagan idols but the brave bishop refused and was beaten. The next time he was asked and refused, St. Blaise was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs. Finally, he was beheaded and martyred for the faith.  He is invoked as the patron of throat ailments and so we will bless throats  after all Masses this weekend. May St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, intercede for us and our parish!

Also this weekend we celebrated First Confessions for our RE First Communion Class.  It is always a great joy to hear Confessions and reconcile sinners with God especially for the first time!  It was a great celebration for the Class and their families as not only the students but also their parents and families were able to come forward for Confession.   Please  pray for these students and their families as they continue to prepare to receive Christ in First Holy Communion.

Father Shemek is very excited that his sister and her family are coming for a visit from Poland next week.  They will be spending sometime here in Rhode Island and at Our Lady of Mercy.  He doesn’t get to see his family too often, so it will be a great reunion for them.    I guess I will have to brush up on my Polish in the coming days so I know what he is telling them about us!

Finally, last week the RI House of Representatives voted 51 to 19 to pass a bill that will  legalize same-sex marriage in our state.  The bill now moves to the State Senate for consideration and debate.  I encourage you to contact your State Senator today and urge them to oppose the bill. You can find out more about the issue and how to contact your elected officials at www.faithfulcitizenri.org I wish to publically offer my thanks and commend Rhode Island State Representatives Antonio Giarrusso from East Greenwich and Doreen Costa from North Kingstown for voting against the bill to legalize same-sex marriage.  Despite strong lobbying by a small, well-financed special interest group  and  intense political pressure from the leadership of the House to vote for the bill, they stayed true to their convictions that marriage is between a man and a woman. I am grateful for their courage and steadfastness in their beliefs. God Bless.

Celebrating Catholic Schools Week at OLM!

Dear Parishioners:Well unless your last name was Harbaugh, there wasn’t much to celebrate in New England last Sunday night!  Tom Brady and the Patriots are headed to the golf course while the Baltimore Ravens head to New Orleans for the Superbowl. I was also rooting for the Atlanta Falcons as I am a big fan of their quarterback, Matt Ryan, so it was a doubly disappointing Sunday as they lost to the San Francisco Forty-Niners! Oh well, pitchers and catchers report to Red Sox Spring Training on February 10th! Go Sox!

However, there is much to celebrate this week as we mark Catholic Schools Week across the nation.  This annual week celebrating Catholic Education brings with it celebrations such as the Open House this Sunday at OLM School.  This special week will also be highlighted at the Rhode Island State House this Thursday afternoon.   The Catholic School Parents Federation is hosting an event for the members of the RI General Assembly in which several award-winning Catholic School students from across the state will be honored for their achievements and excellence in academics, athletics and community service.

The week will be celebrated here at Our Lady of Mercy with this weekend’s Open House, a Wednesday classroom visit for prospective students, and a Special Mass on Friday at 9:00AM.  We invite all of our parishioners to join us for the Mass as we unite ourselves in prayer for Catholic Education in our nation and for the students, families, faculty and staff of Our Lady of Mercy School.

Last year the Wall Street Journal  ran column by  Peter Beinart, entitled The Jewish Case for School Vouchers.  He very effectively made the point that, if Jews in the United States are worried about their children and grandchildren keeping the faith the best course of action is to support Jewish grade and high schools.  Mr. Beinart convincingly shows that Jewish children who attend Hebrew private schools are statistically much more likely, as adults, to practice their Jewish faith, attend synagogue, marry a Jewish spouse, and pass on the faith of Israel to their own children.  He remarks that American Judaism is at a crisis, with more and more Jews leaving their faith, and not raising their own children as faithful Jews. A strong Jewish school system, argues the author, will correct that.

We Catholics have known this for years: there is no more tried-and-true way of passing on our Catholic faith to our kids than by sacrificing to put them in a Catholic school. In our nation’s history, Catholic schools had two goals: to educate excellently, and to form children in the faith. Both are essential.  More than ever am I convinced of the irreplaceable value of our Catholic schools.

Statistics show that alumni of Catholic grade schools, high schools, and colleges pray better and more often; know, accept, and practice the teachings of the faith better; are more committed to pro-life and social justice causes; are more likely to consider a vocation to the priesthood or religious life; support the Church more generously; volunteer more often; are more faithful to Sunday Mass; and have happier marriages. Not bad!

In full disclosure, I am a product of the Cranston Public School system.  However, all eight of my brothers and sisters went to St. Paul’s school. I remember my mother ironing  uniforms and making  lunches for them. The sacrifice my parents made to ensure a Catholic Education for my brothers and sisters was immeasurable.  I also see firsthand how the parents at Our Lady of Mercy School make the sacrifice  for Catholic education for their children.

I believe we can enhance our financial stewardship  of the school not just with tuition hikes, fees and fundraising but by creating true sense of stewardship of our school and its future for all our parishioners, our community at large and our alumni.  I hope we can further our efforts for tuition assistance for those who struggle to afford Catholic Education. Finally, as we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, just remember: it’s all worth it! God Bless!

Raise Your Voice in Support of Marriage Today!

Dear Parishioners: If you have been following the news you would see that the RI House of Representatives is poised to pass legislation that will redefine marriage.   Testimony for and against the legislation was heard this past week by the House Judiciary Committee.  It appears likely that for the first time there are enough votes to pass the bill out of committee and have the entire House of Representatives vote on the measure very soon. Unfortunately, while Rhode Island continues to struggle with high unemployment and rising homelessness, leaders in the State House of Representatives have decided that they will focus their energy on the very divisive issue of redefining marriage and threatening religious freedom.

The Catholic definition of marriage is simple. Marriage is a partnership of one man and one woman who are joined together for their own mutual good and for the procreation and education of children. At a time when family life is under significant stress, the principled defense of marriage is an urgent necessity for the well-being of children and families, and for the common good of society. 

Neither two men or two women can possibly form a marriage. Our law would be wrong if it said that they could.   The basic structure of marriage as the exclusive and lasting relationship of a man and a  woman, committed to a life with the potential of having children, is given to us in human nature, and thus by nature’s God. Some have said that this bill would simply extend marriage to some people who have long been arbitrarily excluded from it. They are wrong. The pending bill would not expand the eligibility roster for marriage. It would radically redefine what marriage is for everybody.

It would enshrine in our law – and thus in public opinion, public policy and practice – three harmful ideas:  that  marriage is only a romantic-emotional union,  children do not need both a mother and a father and the main purpose of marriage is adult satisfactions.  This proposed legislation will also have long term consequences because laws teach; they tell us what is socially acceptable and what is not, and most people conform to the dictates of their respective society.

Therefore, those who believe that marriage can only truly exist between one man and one woman would now be treated as bigots.  Thus, those who follow the dictates of their conscience and religious faith would be subject to charges of discrimination and intolerance because marriage is redefined to appease a powerful special interest group and accommodate a small percentage of our society.

There is also another  important question of religious freedom.  The Church engages in various ministries through our institutions and employees, and we serve everyone who comes to us especially the poor and marginalized because that is what Christ showed us to do.  However, the law redefining marriage can be used in ways that violate religious liberty.

Some claim that as long as religious ministers are not forced to preside over same sex “marriages” the principle of religious freedom is protected.  This is not true.  The notion that the exercise of religious freedom is confined to the interior of churches, synagogues, temples or mosques or what one does on Holy Days is incorrect. The freedom of religion also extends to the many ministries of religious  organizations and the individual conscience.  So if marriage is redefined in civil law, without proper conscience protections, individuals and religious organizations – regardless of deeply held beliefs – will be compelled to treat same sex unions as the equivalent of marriage in their lives, ministries and operations.

I urge you to contact your State Representative and State Senator and ask them to defend marriage not redefine it.  Call them today and email  them by going to www.faithfulcitizenri.org and clicking the link to defend marriage.   The future of marriage can only be protected if we speak up now!  God Bless.

A New Year with New Ways of Church Support!

Dear Parishioners: Many parishioners have commented to me about the new budget envelopes.  We changed budget envelope companies beginning this January and you will notice a new style envelope in your package.  This new envelope is little more attractive and much easier for the counters to read.      Also you will now find an Outreach envelope in your budget packets each month. This envelope has no specific date and can be put in the basket at anytime.  The purpose of this envelope is to provide a regular funding source for all of our OLM Outreach efforts for the poor and needy.

Your financial support of the OLM Outreach through this envelope isn’t meant to replace the food items that are regularly collected but rather to further enhance our efforts in helping and supporting the good works for the poor and homeless.  Using the Outreach envelope eliminates the need to place cans in the back of Church or have extra collections after Masses as people leave Church.  It is my hope that your regular financial support of OLM Outreach will provide the necessary support to fund such charities.

The generous support of the poor and  needy like McAuley House, Emmanuel House and House of Hope has always been a hallmark of Our Lady of Mercy Parish.  This also provides us a steady source of funds to help local people who find themselves in need of assistance with food, heat, prescriptions or utilities.  Unfortunately in these tough economic times, their number continues to grow.  The Outreach funds collected through the monthly envelope will only be used to support outreach efforts and not for the operational needs of the parish.  It really is the modern version of the Poor Box that so many Churches have traditionally used to help the needy.  I am hopeful that your generous  assistance to the poor and needy will continue with this new avenue of support.  In their name,  I offer my thanks and gratitude.

Also this month we have launched a new way to financially support the parish through online giving.  The Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) enables you to have your contribution automatically debited from your checking account or credit card through secure transactions over the Internet.  Parish Giving provides the online support for this safe and secure way to regularly contribute to the support of the parish.  There is no fee for using EFT and it is a more convenient way for many parishioners to regularly contribute to OLM.  There is a link on the parish website where you can directly sign-up or you can go directly to the Parish Giving webpage (www.parishgiving.org) and sign up under Our Lady of Mercy Parish.

Many other parishes in Rhode Island and across the country use EFT and it has proved to be helpful for those who regularly pay their bills and conduct their financial affairs online.   This is not meant to replace the budget envelopes but serves only as another option for those who would like to use online giving.  You can designate the amount of your support, the regularity of it and can also designate which second collections you would like to support.  There will be more information coming in the weeks ahead.  But I assure this is a great way to financially support the parish, I know because I was the first to sign-up for EFT at Our Lady of Mercy!

I also wish to announce that our longtime Parish Accountant, David Cote, will now serve as the part-time Business Manager of Our Lady of Mercy Parish and School.  David has a vast amount of  experience in parish administration and great professional background in both parish accounting and finance.  In his new role he will help us in the financial administration of our parish and school operations.

Again let me thank you for your generous financial support of OLM. Your ongoing support is  truly appreciated and I am grateful for your generosity. Have a great week!  God Bless.  Go Pats!! Let’s hope they have more luck than the Irish did on Monday!!!