Let Freedom Ring...

Dear Parishioners: Happy Fourth of July! I hope you had a wonderful  Independence Day with family and friends.  This Fourth of July weekend I thought I’d share with you some recent comments from  Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York on freedom and faith.  His eminence writes:

“Standing in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty is one of our most beloved  landmarks, both as New Yorkers and as Americans.  So many of our ancestors fondly recalled  seeing Lady Liberty, their first  vision of a new homeland.  Many of them told the story of seeing her for the first time, and not a few of them had to pause in  retelling it because of a lump in their throat or a tear in their eye. 

Even those of us who were born in America cherish the Statue of Liberty, and, even more importantly, what it stands for.  Who indeed can fail to be moved by the line from Emma Lazarus’ famous poem: ‘Give me your tired, your poor, Your   huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’

That atmosphere of liberty is so much a part of the American experience and heritage.  Of course, most of us did not have to travel far and suffer hardship to glimpse the torch of the Statue, and to embrace her promise of freedom.  Most newcomers today do not come by ship, and so  never set eyes upon her.  We New Yorkers, frequently in a rush to our next destination, don’t even look out into the Harbor very often.

So it would be easy for us to take the Statue of Liberty for granted, as just another landmark for tourists to visit.  And it would be all too easy to forget how  precious — and fragile — is that breath of freedom that our  forerunners yearned for so ardently.  This desire for freedom was written into the human heart by God, and exalted in God’s word in the Bible.  It is expressed so powerfully in the founding documents of our nation, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  It is the ideal to which all our national institutions aspire, and which they are bound to protect and respect.  It is for freedom that so many of our brothers and sisters have been willing to sacrifice their lives to defend.

I don’t wish to push this analogy too far, but in recent years it has become a bit more difficult to ‘breathe free’ as  deeply as we would like.  The  atmosphere is not quite so clear and mild any more.  Our liberty — like clean air — isn’t something we can take for granted...the US Bishops...encourage action on a number of the current challenges to religious liberty.  These include:

• The HHS mandate, which  presumes to intrude upon the very definition of faith and ministry, and could cause believers to violate their consciences.
• Impending Supreme Court rulings that could redefine  marriage, which will present a host of difficulties to institutions and people who stand on their faith-based understanding of authentic marriage as between one man and one woman
• Proposed legislation at the national and state levels that would expand abortion rights, legalize assisted suicide, restrict immigrants from full participation in society, and limit the ability of Church agencies to provide  humanitarian services.
• Government intrusion into the rights and duties of parents  regarding their children.  Overt persecution of believers in many countries of the world.

My brother bishops and I are encouraging people to offer  prayers to God, the source of our freedom, that we may fully enjoy the liberty that was sought by those who came to our shores.

We must never forget the power of the American promise, which was passed on to us by our ancestors, and which we hold in trust for generations to come.  And, like Lady Liberty, may we always be proud to lift high the torch of freedom and hope to those who yearn for it today.”

We welcome Fr. Connors to Our Lady of Mercy as he begins his priestly service here this weekend. Now that he is here please be sure to welcome him and greet him after Masses.   Happy Independence Day! May God Bless America! Have a great week.  God Bless.

Saying Goodbye and Hello!

Dear Parishioners: What a nice farewell send-off we had for Father Shemek last weekend.  The weather was great and there was a good turn out of parishioners for his Farewell Reception at Mercy Park.  I am grateful to Doug Green and the Reception Committee for providing a wonderful reception for Father Shemek.  We say farewell to Father Shemek and wish him well as moves to his new assignment in Tiverton.

This weekend we are offer our thanks to God  for the ministry of Sister Rose and Sister Lucy here at Our Lady of Mercy.  These good and holy sisters have served our parish with dedication and faith these many years and we offer our thanks and gratitude to them as they retire from pastoral ministry. Later this summer they will be moving on to their new homes at convents in New Jersey and Bristol, Rhode Island.   I hope you can join us following the 10:30AM Mass for a Farewell Reception for the Sisters at Mercy Park.

Also this is Brother Roger’s last weekend as our Music Director at Our Lady of Mercy.  After many years serving our parish  Brother is moving on to new endeavors.  We thank him for his years of service and wish him all the best for the future.

Goodbyes can always be challenging as the ending of a relationship means having to say farewell.  But we trust that the next step on the journey will be good, because the people we say goodbye to are in good hands, in God's hands, and He'll always be there for them. A spiritual writer once suggested: “Goodbyes, when reflected upon in faith, can draw us to a greater reliance upon the God of love, our most significant other. With God we can learn to live in hope, with greater meaning, and deeper joy.  We all need to learn how to say goodbye, to acknowledge the pain that is there for us so that we can eventually move on to another hello. When we learn how to say goodbye we truly learn how to say to ourselves and to others: ‘Go, God be with you. I entrust you to God. The God of strength, courage, comfort, hope, and love, is with you. The God who promises to wipe away all tears will hold you close and will fill your emptiness. Let go and be free to move on. Do not keep yourself from another step in your journey. May the blessing of the God be with you.’ ”

Parish life, I've come to discover more and more, involves a lot of 'hellos' and 'goodbyes', in an endless cycle—because those we meet, those we care for, those we serve, those we love, are never really ours to keep. They merely pass through our hands, through our lives, and then we let go. And that's alright. Because in the end, that's what a  parish is meant to be. It is not the final destination, only a path, a bridge, a road, one that ends not in ourselves, but in God alone whose work we all strive, however imperfectly, to do every day.

Next weekend we get to say “Hello” not “Farewell” as our new Associate Pastor, Father Ryan Connors, begins his priestly ministry at Our Lady of Mercy. Father returned from Rome last week shortly after his trunks arrived at the Rectory from Italy.  He stopped by the Rectory to say “Hello” and get familiar with his new home at Our Lady of Mercy.  Father Connors is very excited about serving here at OLM and beginning his first parish assignment. Father has been slowly moving into his rooms and unpacking.  He will be at all the Masses next weekend and you will have a chance to meet and greet him after Mass.  So  get ready to say, “Welcome, Father Connors!” and give him your usual warm Our Lady of Mercy welcome.

It was seventeen years ago I arrived at my first parish assignment at St. Augustine’s Church in Providence.  I spent seven happy years there working with Monsignor Connerton and the good people of that parish.  It seems like just yesterday I was unpacking my trunks!  I hope the time doesn’t fly as fast for Father Connors.  Keep him you prayers as he comes to serve our parish and begin his priestly ministry with and for us.   Have a Happy Fourth of July!  Summer is here!  Enjoy it while it lasts!  God Bless.

Farewell Fr. Shemek, Hello Summer!!

Dear Parishioners: This weekend we offer a “Fond Farewell” to Father Shemek.  There will be a Reception for him Sunday following the 10:30AM Mass.  He  offers his last Mass here at OLM on Tuesday at 7:30AM and then will take some time to pack up and move on to his new assignment in Tiverton.  As you know Bishop Tobin appointed Father Shemek the new Pastor at Saint Christopher’s Church and Saint Theresa’s Church in Tiverton in May.  He begins his new assignment on July 1st.

While he has only been year for a year  I know he will be truly missed.  His priestly ministry at Our Lady of Mercy has been full of joy and faith which he has willingly shared with all of us.  I too shall miss Father Shemek as he has been a great Associate Pastor to work with and a great joy to live with here at OLM.  Also he is also a great cook and I freely admit I’ll miss that too!! Saturday night dinners just won’t be the same!!  I am quite sure he will excel in his new assignment as a first time Pastor of two parishes.  His friendly demeanor and deep faith are no doubt to serve him well as he pastors the good people of Tiverton.  Father Shemek is a kind and compassionate priest who lives his faith with great joy.  He truly has lived the words of St. Paul to the Ephesians:  “Never have grudges against others, or lose your temper, or raise your voice to anybody, or call each other names, or allow any sort of  spitefulness. Be friends with one another, and kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.”   I am truly grateful to God for allowing me to serve with such a fine priest as Father Shemek.  So in your name I say “Farewell  and Thank You Father Shemek! ” Dear Father Shemek please know you are always welcome back home to OLM and we truly look forward to seeing you again soon.  Ad multos annos!

Last Friday was the last day of school at OLM and other schools while many  schools  finished up this past week.   Friday, June 21st, was the first official day of the summer season.  It’s hard to believe that summer has arrived and the Fourth of July is around the corner.  Where did the time go?! Despite all the rain we’ve had recently summer always means warm weather and sunny days !  It also means that many parishioners go to their summer homes and travel away on vacations with family and friends.  Summer is a time to rest and relax from the usual schedule and routine.

I’ve been reading  a new book entitled “Pope Francis: His Life in His Own Words.”  It is a book of conversations with the man who was then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.  It offers some great insight into what kind of person the Holy Father is and how he thinks about all kinds of things concerning faith, life and death. Responding to the question, “Do we need to rediscover the meaning of leisure?” Pope Francis replies: “Together with a culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure as gratification. To put it another way: people who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen to music, play a sport. But this is being destroyed, in large part, by the elimination of the Sabbath rest day. More and more people work on Sundays as a consequence of the competitiveness imposed by a consumer society.” In such cases, he concludes, “work ends up  dehumanizing people.”

The Holy Father is on to something here especially for us as Americans.  Our culture has become frantic with work all day and all week.  Stores open seven days a week for twenty-four hours a day including holidays!  I hope we can all listen to the wisdom of Pope Francis and take some time away from work this summer.  Spending time with friends, reading a good book, going to one of Rhode Island’s beautiful beaches or just sitting in the backyard contemplating life  serve us well.  May we enjoy the summer while it lasts! I hope you  join us next Sunday at the 10:30 Mass of Thanksgiving for Sister Lucy and Sister Rose.  A reception follows the Mass as we offer our gratitude to the good sisters for their ministry at OLM.  God Bless. Have a great week!

Happy Fathers Day and Congratulations to Class of 2013!!!

Dear Parishioners: Happy Fathers Day! This day has an important place in American life and while it is not on the Church’s liturgical calendar we still recognize the importance of Fatherhood.  So let us remember all Fathers today both the living and deceased and give God thanks for the gift of Fatherhood.

I recently finished reading a book given to me by a friend entitled “A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver.”  Sargent Shriver is well known to many as the brother-in-law of President Kennedy who founded  the Peace Corps and an outspoken advocate for the Special Olympics which was founded by his wife Eunice Kennedy.  He also served as the founder the Job Corp, Head Start and was the architect of President Johnson’s War on Poverty and  served as US Ambassador to France.  Sargent Shriver was also an unsuccessful candidate for Vice-President and President.

However, it is not any of these roles that are recounted in the book by his son, Mark Shriver.  Rather the book recounts the much more important role of Father that Sargent Shriver lived out with love and faith.  Sargent Shriver was a devout Catholic who attended Mass daily his entire life.  His son tells the story of man who while busy with a very distinguished career always had time for his wife and children as well as his faith and God.  It is quite a poignant story of the relationship between a  Father and his son.

Mark Shriver’s book is an excellent read and it tells of his attempt to understand the lessons of his  Father’s life including Sargent Shriver’s final struggle with Alzheimer's Disease.  These lessons speak of the durability of faith, the endurance of hope, and the steadfastness of love.

On this Fathers’ Day  perhaps we might take a moment to recall our own Fathers in prayer.  For those Fathers who have gone before us, we might offer a prayer of thanksgiving for their love and for their gift of  Fatherhood.  For our Fathers still living, we might pray that they continue to offer a strong  example of faith, hope and love for their children.   Fatherhood should be celebrated as it is one of the most important roles lived out in life.  Happy Fathers Day to all our Fathers of Our Lady of Mercy, may God continue to bless and guide you!

This past Thursday night we celebrated the Graduation Mass for the Our Lady of Mercy School Eighth Grade Class.  The class of 2013 now moves on to high school in the fall.  We thank them for their presence in our school and for their commitment to academic excellence and the Catholic values that so distinguish our parish school.  We also thank their parents for their support and sacrifice in ensuring their children a first-class Catholic education at OLM.   Finally we thank the dedicated administration and faculty at OLM for guiding and teaching these young men and women not only wisdom but also the important lessons of faith, hope and love. May God continue to bless our OLM School alumni with wisdom and mercy as well as guide them to always be men and women of faith, hope and love.  Congratulations OLM Class of 2013!

Next weekend will be Father Shemek’s last week serving at Our Lady of Mercy.   In the year he has been here he has brought tremendous energy, faith and joy to our community.  He is a fine priest and I know he will be missed by many including me.  As he leaves our parish and moves on to his new position as Pastor in Tiverton, keep him in your prayers.  You will have a chance to thank him for his ministry and say farewell next weekend after the 10:30AM Mass at a Farewell Reception in Mercy Park.

While we celebrate Fatherhood and also say Farewell to our OLM Class of 2013 and soon to our own Father Shemek, I reminded of the words of St. Francis de Sales who tells us : “Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and everyday. Either he will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.”  Happy Fathers Day! God Bless.

Father Connors, Graduation and more...

Dear Parishioners: It was a beautiful day on Corpus  Christi last Sunday.  On the great feast of the Eucharist two of our OLM young parishioners received First Holy Communion at the 10:30AM Mass.  The Mass ended with a solemn Procession of the Blessed Sacrament to Mercy Park.  At Mercy Park there was  a beautiful altar and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was offered.  A good number of parishioners joined the solemn procession and gathered at Mercy Park to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. In your name,  I offer congratulations to Ryan and Catherine Caffery who received their Frist Holy Communion.

Last week Bishop Evans called to inform me that Bishop Tobin has assigned Father Ryan Connors as the new Assistant Pastor at Our Lady of Mercy Parish.  Father Connors is presently studying in Rome and returns in late June to begin his ministry here at OLM on July 1, 2013.  We should be most grateful to the Bishop for sending another priest to replace Father Shemek who is leaving us to become a Pastor.  Many parishes are not as blessed and have been reduced to just one priest.  I offer my personal thanks to Bishop Tobin for assigning Father Connors to serve at our parish.

Father Connors is a native of the Riverside section of East Providence where he attended  St. Brendan’s Parish.  He is the only child of Joseph and Lisa.  Father is a graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School and also graduated from Boston College in 2005.  He worked in Washington, DC for a couple of years before taking up studies for the priesthood at Our Lady of Providence Seminary.  Father Connors attended the North American College in Rome for his priestly formation and theological studies before being ordained last June by Bishop Tobin at the Cathedral in Providence.   He spent last summer after his ordination serving at St. Elizabeth’s Parish in Bristol before returning to Rome for further theological studies.  Over this last year he has been studying at the Angelicum University in Rome where he recently completed an S.T.L. Degree in Moral Theology. He writes a column in the Rhode Island Catholic and is also known to be a very good juggler!

We look forward to welcoming Father Connors to Our Lady of Mercy in July. I’ve known him for a  few years having first met him when he was  a young seminarian.  I know him to be  an outstanding young man and a very talented priest and I know he will serve our  parish well.  I truly look forward to working with him in building up the Kingdom of God at Our Lady of Mercy. Please keep Father  Connors in your prayers and thoughts as he prepares to leave Rome to take up his priestly  ministry at Our Lady of Mercy. I know he is excited about sharing the joy of friendship with Jesus Christ found in the Church with all of you. Welcome to OLM Father Connors!

You may have notice some work being done on the sidewalks on the Fourth Street side of the Church.  The Town is putting in a handicap accessible curb close to the side door and plan on adding some handicap parking spots on that side of the Church.  This is being done for those parishioners who need better access to the Church door.  I ask you to please be mindful those parishioners who need to park closer to the doors because of sickness or frail health.    Thank you for your consideration and kindness.

This week our 8th Graders at OLM School  graduate to go on to high school.   Graduation Mass is to be celebrated on Thursday, June 13th at 6:00PM and you are most welcome to join the celebration. Please pray for these graduates that they may continue to grow in wisdom, faith and love  We congratulate these young men and women and their families. OLM School will end the school year on Friday, June 14th. We wish administration, faculty, staff and students a healthy and happy summer.  We look forward to their return in the fall.

I am away this weekend attending the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops  Spring Meeting where I serve as a consultant to a committee.   God Bless.

Celebrating Corpus Christi at OLM

Below is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily from the Corpus Christi Mass,translated by Vatican Radio.

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the Gospel we have just heard, there is an expression of Jesus that always strikes me: “Give you them to eat. (Lk 9:13)” Starting from this sentence, I let myself be guided by three words: discipleship, fellowship and sharing.

1. First of all: who are those to whom we are to give to eat? The answer is found at the beginning of the Gospel: it is the crowd, the multitude. Jesus is in the midst of the people: He welcomes them, talks to them, He cures them, He shows them the mercy of God. In their midst, he chooses the twelve Apostles to be with Him, and like Him, to immerse themselves in the concrete situations of the world. People follow Him, listen to Him, because Jesus speaks and acts in a new way, with the authority of someone who is authentic and consistent, who speaks and acts with truth, who gives the hope that comes from God, who is revelation of the face of a God who is love - and the people with joy, bless God.

This evening we are the crowd of [which] the Gospel [tells]: let us also strive to follow Jesus to listen to him, to enter into communion with Him in the Eucharist, to accompany Him and in order that He accompany us. Let us ask ourselves: how do I follow Jesus? Jesus speaks in silence in the Mystery of the Eucharist and every time reminds us that to follow Him means to come out of ourselves and make of our own lives, not a possession, but a gift to Him and to others.

2. Let us take a step forward: whence is born the invitation that Jesus makes to his disciples to feed the multitude themselves? It is born from two elements: first, the crowd, having followed Jesus, now finds itself in the open, away from inhabited areas, as evening falls, and then, because of the concern of the disciples, who asked Jesus to dismiss the crowd, that they might seek food and lodging in the nearby towns (cf. Lk 9:12). Faced with the neediness of the crowd, the solution of the disciples is that every man should take care of himself: “Dismiss the crowd!” [the disciples say]. How many times do we Christians have this temptation! We do not care for the needs of others, dismissing them with a pitiful, “God help you.” Jesus’ solution, on the other hand, goes in another direction, a direction that surprises the disciples: [He says], “You give them something to eat.”

But how is it that we are to feed a multitude? “We have only five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” But Jesus is not discouraged. He asks the disciples to seat people in communities of fifty people, He raises his eyes to heaven, recites the blessing, breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples for distribution.

It is a moment of profound communion: the crowd, whose thirst has been quenched by the word of the Lord, is now nourished by His bread of life – and they all ate their fill, the Evangelist tells us.

This evening, we too are gathered around the Lord’s table, the table of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, in which He gives us once again His body, makes present the one sacrifice of the Cross. It is in listening to his Word, in nourishing ourselves with his Body and his Blood, that He makes us go from being a multitude to being a community, from [being strangers] to being [in] communion. The Eucharist is the sacrament of communion, which brings us out from individualism to live together our journey in His footsteps, our faith in Him. We ought, therefore, to ask ourselves before the Lord: How do I live the Eucharist? Do I live it anonymously or as a moment of true communion with the Lord, [and] also with many brothers and sisters who share this same table? How are our Eucharistic celebrations?

3. A final element: whence is born the multiplication of the loaves? The answer lies in the invitation of Jesus to his disciples: “You yourselves give [to them]...,” “give,” share. What do the disciples share? What little they have: five loaves and two fishes. But it is precisely those loaves and fishes that in God’s hands feed the whole crowd.

And it is the disciples, bewildered by the inability of their means, by the poverty of what they have at their disposal, who invite the people to sit down, and – trusting the Word of Jesus – distribute the loaves and fishes that feed the crowd. This tells us that in the Church, but also in society, a keyword that we need not fear is “solidarity,” that is, knowing how to place what we have at God’s disposal: our humble abilities, because [it is] only in the sharing, in the giving of them, that our lives will be fecund, will bear fruit. Solidarity: a word upon which the spirit of the world looks unkindly!

Tonight, once again, the Lord distributes for us the bread which is His body, He makes a gift of Himself. We, too, are experiencing the “solidarity of God” with man, a solidarity that never runs out, a solidarity that never ceases to amaze us: God draws near to us; in the sacrifice of the Cross He lowers Himself, entering into the darkness of death in order to give us His life, which overcomes evil, selfishness, death.

Jesus this evening gives Himself to us in the Eucharist, shares our same journey – indeed, He becomes food, real food that sustains our life even at times when the going is rough, when obstacles slow down our steps. The Lord in the Eucharist makes us follow His path, that of service, of sharing, of giving – and what little we have, what little we are, if shared, becomes wealth, because the power of God, which is that of love, descends into our poverty to transform it.

Let us ask ourselves this evening, adoring the Christ truly present in the Eucharist: do I let myself be transformed by Him? Do I let the Lord who gives Himself to me, guide me to come out more and more from my little fence, to get out and be not afraid to give, to share, to love Him and others?

Discipleship, communion and sharing. Let us pray that participation in the Eucharist move us always to follow the Lord every day, to be instruments of communion, to share with Him and with our neighbor who we are. Then our lives will be truly fruitful. Amen.