Preparing for First Communion and Mothers' Day with Faith, Hope and Love!

Dear Parishioners: I wish to thank OLM Parishioner Colin Tierney, a Junior at Bishop Hendricken High School for including the parish in his efforts to help the victims of the Boston Terrorist Attacks. He was at the Boston Marathon and inspired to react.  So he created and designed  wristbands with the Holy Father's words to the City of Boston, “Combat evil with good.”  What a great way to react to the tragedy with faith and hope!  I’m happy to report that he raised $750 selling these wristbands  after Mass at OLM  for the One Boston Fund.  The horrific tragedy in Boston continues to play out in the news media and seems to gain more connections to little Rhode Island everyday.  We can only respond with faith, hope and love.  In a world too full of fear, hate, violence and war, perhaps we might pray for the many victims of violence and hatred as well as their families who suffer with them.  Let us not only pray but let us truly work to “combat evil with good!”

We are looking forward to the celebration of First Communion next weekend.  What a happy day for our parish children as they receive the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist for the very first time.  Let us pray for them as they continue to prepare for this great day in their young lives. Several years ago  Benedict, Pope Emeritus, meet with a group of children who recently made their First Holy Communion.  He reflected about his own First Communion and said: “So on that day I was  really filled with great joy, because Jesus came to me and I realized that a new stage in my life was beginning, I was 9 years old, and that it was henceforth important to stay faithful to that encounter, to that communion. I promised the Lord as best I could: ‘I always want to stay with you’, and I prayed to him, ‘but above all, stay with me’. So I went on living my life like that; thanks be to God, the Lord has always taken me by the hand and guided me, even in difficult situations.”

I too remember my First Communion Day at St. Paul’s in Cranston.  My older brothers served the Mass and I received the Eucharist from Father Raymond Rafferty, then the Assistant Pastor.  Afterwards the whole Healey Family went to IHOP!  It was a great day and I hope and pray that our OLM First Communion Class will also always remember their special day when they receive the Eucharistic Lord for the first time.

Of course, next Sunday is Mothers’ Day, so we will be praying for all mothers, living and deceased.  The First Communion Class will celebrate Mothers’ Day in fine fashion with the May Crowning at next Sunday’s 10:30AM Mass.  What a great way to celebrate Mothers’ Day by crowning Mary ,the Mother of the Church and Queen of the May! Father Shemek and I will remember all  Mothers at the Masses on Mothers’ Day as we call upon the intercession of our Mother, Our Lady of Mercy.

During his reflection at  a recent Wednesday Audience Pope Francis departed from his official text to say, “Mothers, go forth with this witness to the living Christ.” He was referring to the fact that women were the first messengers of the risen Christ when Mary Magdalene took the good news of the resurrection to the disciples.   Pope Francis is urging mothers everywhere to be the messengers of the risen Christ to their families most especially their children.  Let us pray that Mothers continue to bear witness to the living Christ especially to their children!

It’s hard to believe that  year has gone by since  we learned of Monsignor Lolio’s tragic death. Without a doubt  his family, friends and many parishioners continue to grieve the loss of such a fine priest and pastor.   I invite all parishioners to join us for a special First Anniversary Mass in memory of Monsignor Lolio on Monday morning at 9:00AM.  Bishop Evans is to celebrate and preach the Mass that will include the children from our parish school.  As a former Catholic high school teacher Monsignor Lolio was always very dedicated to Catholic Education.  Thanks to his generosity we now have a OLM School Scholarship Fund dedicated to his memory.  Let us continue to pray for the repose of his noble soul.  God Bless.

OLM Wins 6th State Title at Science Olympiad, Congratulations!!!

OLM SCHOOL SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAM CAPTURES SIXTH STATE TITLE

WILL REPRESENT R.I. AT NATIONAL COMPETITION IN DAYTON, OHIO ON MAY 18

East Greenwich, RI -- Our Lady of Mercy School’s Science Olympiad Team, made up of twenty 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, won its sixth RI State Science Olympiad Competition at Rhode Island College on Saturday, April 20.  With 8 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals on the state level, OLM placed fourth or higher in 21 out of 23 events. The team will represent RI in the middle school division at the National competition for the second straight year and the sixth time in eight years, winning four consecutive titles from 2006-2009.  OLM head coach and middle school science teacher Michelle Lewandowski, along with several parent and teacher volunteer coaches, helped prepare the students with weekly meetings and study sessions, beginning in October.  Out of 23 events, which range from building events such as Boomilever and Mission Possible (A Rube Goldberg Device), study events such as Anatomy and Heredity, and Lab events such as Crime Busters and Experimental Design, OLM earned medals in a total of 15 events.

The Gold Medals were earned in Anatomy, Boomilever, Crime Busters,  Helicopters, Mousetrap Vehicle, Road Scholar, Rocks and Minerals and Sounds of Music.   Silver medals were for Forestry, Mission Possible and Invasive Species. OLM’s four bronze medals were earned in Experimental Design, Heredity, Meteorology and Metric Mastery.  Members of the team include the following students: 8th graders: Jake Mueller, Matt Paliotta, Makenna Dacey, Hunter Corbett, Peter Faherty, Michael Cottam, Patrick Petteruti, Daniel Legare, Zach Magiera, Isabelle Lucente, Tim O'Brien.  7th graders: Sean Meehan, Bella Lanna, Alex Lanna, Teddy Hackett, Christina Liberto; 6th grader: Caitlyn Murphy. Support team: Bianca Micolis (8th), Sophia Micolis (7th), Eric Paliotta (6th).  The OLM team will travel to Dayton, Ohio for the National Science Olympiad competition, being held on May 18, at Wright State University.

Cardinal O'Malley's Homily on Boston Tragedy

Sunday April 21, 2013 – Good Shepherd Sunday

Cardinal Seán O’Malley – Cathedral of the Holy Cross

Jesus said “they will strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter”; that is what happened to His disciples after the Crucifixion, as they scattered in fear, doubt and panic.

On Easter the Good Shepherd returns to gather the scattered;  Mary Magdalene in grief, Thomas in doubt, Peter in betrayal.  We too are scattered and need the assurance of the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for us, who comes to gather us in our scattered in our brokenness and pain, scattered by failed marriages, lost employment, estranged children, illness, the death of a loved one, soured relationships, disappointments and frustrations.

This week we are all scattered by the pain and horror of the senseless violence perpetrated on Patriots Day.  Last Sunday at the 11:30 Mass here at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Fr. O’Leary led a special blessing for the many runners who participated in the Mass.  Some people here were among those injured and those who witnessed the terrible events that unfolded at the finish lineof the Marathon, but everyone was profoundly affected by the wanton violence and destruction inflicted upon our community by two young men unknown to all of us.

It is very difficult to understand what was going on in the young men’s minds, what demons were operative, what ideologies or politics or the perversion of their religion.  It was amazing to witness, however, how much goodness and generosity were evidenced in our community as a result of the tragic events they perpetrated.

It reminds me of a passage in Dorothy Day’s autobiography where she speaks about experiencing a serious earthquake in California when she was a young girl.  Suddenly neighbors that never spoke were helping each other, sharing their food and water, caring for children and the elderly.  She was amazed and delighted, but a few weeks later people retreated to their former individualism and indifference.

Dorothy Day spent the rest of her life looking to recapture the spirit of community.  That led her to the Communist Party and eventually it led her into the Catholic Church and to found the Catholic Worker Movement, dedicating herself to the care of the homeless, the drug addict

This past week we have experienced a surge in civic awareness and sense of community.   It has been inspiring to see the generous and at times heroic responses to the Patriots Day violence.  Our challenge is to keep this spirit of community alive going forward.  As people of faith, we must commit ourselves to the task of community building.

Jesus teaches us in the Gospel that we must care for each other, especially the most vulnerable; the hungry, the sick, the homeless, the foreigner; all have a special claim on our love.  We must be a people of reconciliation, not revenge.  The crimes of the two young men must not be the justification for prejudice against Muslims and against immigrants.

The Gospel is the antidote to the “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” mentality.  The parable of the Good Samaritan is the story about helping one’s neighbor when that neighbor was from an enemy tribe, a foreign religion, a hostile group.  The Samaritan cuts through centuries of antipathy by seeing in the Jewish man who had been beaten and left for dead not a stranger or an enemy, but a fellow human being who has a claim of his humanity and compassion.

We know so little about the two young men who perpetrated these heinous acts of violence.  One said he had no friends in this country, the other said his chief interests were money and his career.  People need to be part of a community to lead a fully human life.  As believers one of our tasks is to build community, to value people more than money or things, to recognize in each person a child of God, made in the image and likeness of our Creator.

The individualism and alienation of our age has spawned a culture of death.  Over a million abortions a year is one indication of how human life has been devalued.  Violent entertainment, films and video games have coarsened us and made us more insensitive to the pain and suffering of others.  The inability of the Congress to enact laws that control access to automatic weapons is emblematic of the pathology of our violent culture.

When Pope John Paul II visited Madrid in 2003, addressing one million young people, he told them; “Respond to the blind violence and inhuman hatred with the fascinating power of love.”  We all know that evil has its fascination and attraction but too often we lose sight of the fact that love and goodness also have the power to attract and that virtue is winsome.  Passing on the faith means helping people to lead a good life, a moral life, a just life.  Thus part of our task as believers is to help our people become virtuous.

Plato thought that virtue was knowledge.  As Chain Ginott, the concentration camp survivor, reminds us, doctors, nurses, scientists and soldiers were part of the Holocaust machinery, showing that knowledge is not virtue, and often science and technology have been put at the service of evil.  It is only a culture of life and an ethic of love that can rescue us from the senseless violence that inflicts so much suffering on our society.

Like Christ our Good Shepherd, we who aspire to be Jesus’ disciples and to follow His way of life, we too must work to gather the scattered, to draw people into Christ’s community.  It is in His Gospel that we find the answers to the questions of life and the challenging ideals that are part of discipleship; mercy, forgiveness, self sacrifice, service, justice and truth.

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John Lennon once said, ‘Everything will be OK in the end.  If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.’  Our faith goes beyond that optimism.  Love is stronger than death.  We are going to live forever in the Resurrection Christ won for us on the Cross.   The innocent victims who perished this week; Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, Officer Sean Collier, will live in eternity.  Life is not ended, merely changed – that is the message of Easter.  As Martin Luther King expressed, ‘Death is a comma, not a period at the end of a sentence.’

Although the culture of death looms large, our Good Shepherd rose from the grave on Easter and His light can expel the darkness and illuminate for us a path that leads to life, to a civilization of solidarity and love.  I hope that the events of this past week have taught us how high the stakes are.  We must build a civilization of love, or there will be no civilization at all

Prayers for Boston

We offer our prayers in solidarity of the people of Boston and for all the victims, the injured and their families.  May God be with them all! "In the midst of the darkness of this tragedy we turn to the light of Jesus Christ, the light that was evident in the lives of people who immediately turned to help those in need today. We stand in solidarity with our ecumenical and interfaith colleagues in the commitment to witness the greater power of good in our society and to work together for healing." Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Interfaith Service for Boston

Death and Taxes!

Dear Parishioners: I hope you survived Tax Day on April 15th!  The old adage  that “the only things certain in this life are death and taxes ” came to mind as I filed my Federal and Rhode Island Income Tax Returns last week! The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs us that: “submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes...” (CCC No. 2240)  So while some may bemoan the paying of taxes, we are obligated to pay them for the common good of our state and nation.  In fact, the Catechism instructs us that it is a duty to pay our taxes.  So it seems both God and Caesar want us to pay taxes!

Likewise, the state has obligations to its citizens like providing for the peace, harmony and needs of all citizens especially the disadvantaged.  The Catechism also states: “Political authorities are obliged to respect the fundamental rights of the human person. They will dispense justice humanely by respecting the rights of everyone, especially of families and the disadvantaged.” (CCC No. 2237) So its clear that both citizens and state have duties and responsibilities.  Each are called to provide for justice, solidarity, freedom, and peace. Yes we have a duty to pay our taxes but our government is obligated to provide necessary services like education, healthcare, social services, fire and police services, and upkeep of our infrastructure.

No doubt most of us claimed our charitable deductions on our income tax return.  Giving to the Church and other worthwhile charities isn’t only an important thing to do, it is also tax deductible.  However, there is currently “tax reform” legislation pending in U.S. Congress that would eliminate all charitable deductions from the tax code. This would effect not only Churches but also universities and colleges and every other charity that depends upon voluntary donations.  As you can imagine the charitable community and churches are actively opposing such “reform” as it could have a devastating effect upon financial support of these charities.

There is a common misconception that the Catholic Church pays no taxes.  Some even believe that we priests also do not pay taxes.  Well I can assure you that priests pay income taxes as I sent my return and check to both the U.S. Government and State of Rhode Island last week! While the Catholic Church is tax exempt organization, priests are not.  It is true that the Church pays no property taxes and this is true for all religious and non-profit groups not just the Catholics. This increasingly is a source of animus from many in our society especially atheist and secular humanist groups.  They usually direct their vitriol to the Catholic Church whenever our bishops teach about a moral issue.

The customary cries of “separation of church and state” loudly shouted whenever the Church teaches about the sanctity of life and marriage or the dignity of the human person including even undocumented immigrants. Sadly these folks have misinterpreted the principle of separation of church and state and rather ironically they never seem to attack the many liberal Protestant Ministers who advocate for abortion on demand and the redefinition of marriage.

While the Catholic Church is a tax exempt organization there is no exemption from teaching the truth about human life, marriage and human dignity even in the public square. The separation of church and state is not meant to stifle the Church’s prophetic voice but rather protect the Church from government intervention in their church.

Yes, death and taxes are certainties of every life but our lives are meant to be lived not hidden in fear in an room but alive with the faith and active in our society.  Our Holy Father, Pope Frances reminded us of this in his Easter Message to the World: “Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.” God Bless. Have a great week!

Spring, the Season of Sacraments!!

Dear Parishioners:Last Saturday OLM School hosted its  Spring Fling at Warwick Country Club.  This annual event for our parish school is very important for fundraising.  There was a nice meal, dancing and both a silent and live auction.  I am grateful to the committee who worked so hard to ensure such a terrific evening for all those in attendance.  Also I thank the many generous donors who help support our school.  Channel 12’s own Mike Montecalvo and Danielle North acted as the auctioneers for the live auction.  I thank them for the great job they did in raising the bids! There were a whole host of auction items to bid on from having your child serve as the OLM Principal for a day to luxury box seats for a New England Patriots game next fall.

However, the item that drew the highest bids was a Dinner for Eight cooked by our own resident executive chef, Father Shemek.  It proved to be a popular item and so we had to add a second dinner for eight!  Both dinners sold for $3,000 a piece!  We are grateful for the bidders support as all the proceeds go to directly support our school. Father Shemek promises the dinners won’t be all cabbage and kielbasa! By the way, while I cannot cook like Father Shemek, I am responsible for providing the wines and cigars for the dinners! Bon Appetit!

The Spring Fling was a great way to kick off the season of spring! The better weather and warm sun are arriving just in time for the April School Vacation! I wish all of our students and teachers a great vacation.  Enjoy the week off and we hope you return  all tanned, rested and ready for the final weeks of school! Of course, springtime always brings with it the usual First Communion Celebrations, Confirmations, weddings and Graduations!

It’s hard to believe but we are getting ready for the celebration of  First Communion.  Father Shemek and I are truly looking forward to celebrating First Communion here at OLM for the first time.  Its always a joyful and faith-filled event in the life of the children as well as our parish family. On Saturday, May 11th there will be two First Communion Masses here at OLM, one at 10:00AM for OLM School children and one at Noon for our OLM RE children.  Of course, it will be followed by the May Crowning on Mother’s Day!

Bishop Tobin will be at OLM on Sunday, May 19th to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for our 9th Grade Confirmation Candidates.  The Mass will be celebrated at 1:00PM on Pentecost Sunday, a fitting day to call forth the Holy Spirit upon our young Catholics!  This is to be the last spring confirmation at OLM as we have changed the RE Program so that the Sacrament of Confirmation is now to be celebrated in the fall  as our future 9th graders enter high school.

This serves to remind the candidates that Confirmation is a sacrament of initiation not a “graduation” from Religious Education as it has too often become for many!  Also it gives these young Catholics the many graces of the sacrament when they need it most, just as they begin their high school years! We know that the high school years can present both good and bad opportunities for teenagers. We hope and pray that with the grace of God to help them and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide them, they may always choose the path of Christ!

So going forward Religious Education classes are to be completed at the end of 8th Grade followed by Confirmation at the beginning of 9th grade.  This style of Religious Education program is being adopted by many parishes across the state. We anticipate an October date for Confirmation for our present 8th graders. It’s seems that our spring calendar at OLM is to be very full and includes May Devotions on Mondays and OLM School Graduation in June along with a few weddings too! All signs of the new life we celebrate in this Easter Season!  I am away this week visiting priest friends at the seminary in sunny Miami!  I too hope to return tan, rested and ready! God Bless. Go Sox!!