Prayers, Peace, Picnics and more...

Dear Parishioners: We had a pretty good crowd last Sunday night for our new 5:00PM Mass.  Given that it was a rainy night and also Labor Day Weekend it was great to see so many turn out for it.  I think we might see more as the word gets out and folks return from summer homes and vacations.  In the meantime please tell your neighbors, friends and family members that they now have a fifth chance to get to Mass on Sunday!

Next Sunday is National Catechetical  Sunday in the US. It is a day that we celebrate the religious education and formation of our parish children.  I invite you to join us at the 10:30AM Mass next Sunday as we recognize the men and women who have volunteered to teach the Catholic Faith in our Religious Education Program. This year we begin with changes in our Religious Education Program including moving all our classes to Sunday.  All children in Grades 1-5 will attend classes following the 9:00AM Family Mass (10:00AM-11:00AM) and our students in Grades 6-8 will attend following the 5:00PM Sunday Mass from 6:00PM until 7:00PM.  I thank the volunteer teachers for coming forth to share the faith and teach the children about  Jesus and His Church.  Pray for them as they begin this good work of faith formation and evangelization.  Also pray for the many children and their families of our RE Program, may it be a great year of faith and wisdom for them all! I  ask also for your prayers for our 9th Grade Confirmation Candidates.  They are on Retreat this weekend and on September 22nd.  They are to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday, October 6th at the 5:00PM Mass.  As they continue to prepare to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, may they also continue to grow in their faith.

On Friday we invoked the Holy Spirit upon the faculty, staff and students of our OLM School.  The Mass for Holy Spirit for the Opening of the School year is traditionally celebrated this time of year.  In fact this coming week Father Connors and I will concelebrate  Masses at the Prout School and Bishop Hendricken with the school chaplains and other local clergy.  May it be a year of growing and learning for all students.

I ask you to mark your calendars for the OLM Parish Picnic on Sunday, September 22nd from 1:00PM until 4:00PM.  Once again  we look forward to gathering and celebrating as a Parish Family in anticipation of the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy on September 24th.  We are hoping for a beautiful day of weather (say some prayers!) and a great turnout once again this year. You are welcome to join us and bring your own picnic food, a chair and a beverage of your choice.  We will provide the tent, condiments, paper-goods,  music, cold water, grills for grilling, games for children and adults, pony rides for kids, and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream for all!  We are always in need of volunteers to help with set-up, running things the day of the picnic and clean-up.   If you can help in anyway just contact the Parish Office at 884-4968 or via email at parish@olmparish.org  Hope to see you there!

Following on Pope Francis’s call to pray for peace this weekend, I ask you to please pray for peace and for a resolution to the conflicts in the Middle East especially in Syria.  Pope Francis stated: “All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace. I make a forceful and urgent call to the entire Catholic Church, and also to every Christian of other confessions, as well as to followers of every religion and to those brothers and sisters who do not believe: peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs to all of humanity!”  May the Queen of Peace, the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose birth we celebrate today, truly guide our world into the ways of peace.   We thank Senior Priest, Fr. Nick Smith for preaching to us this weekend about the Priests Retirement Fund Collection.  This important collection is to be taken up next weekend.  Your generosity is always appreciated as is your prayers for our Senior Priests.  Have a great week!  God Bless! Go Sox!  Go Pats!

A Prayer for the People of Syria

A Prayer for the People of Syria Almighty eternal God, source of all compassion, the promise of your mercy and saving help fills our hearts with hope. Hear the cries of the people of Syria; bring healing to those suffering from the violence, and comfort to those mourning the dead. Empower and encourage Syria’s neighbors in their care and welcome for refugees. Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms, and strengthen the resolve of those committed to peace.

O God of hope and Father of mercy, your Holy Spirit inspires us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs. Inspire leaders to choose peace over violence and to seek reconciliation with enemies. Inspire the Church around the world with compassion for the people of Syria, and fill us with hope for a future of peace built on justice for all. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace and Light of the World, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen.

Praying for Peace on Saturday, Please Join Us!

Our Lady of Mercy Responds to Pope’s Call of Global Prayer Vigil for Peace

       “There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming. For this reason, brothers and sisters, I have decided to call for a vigil for the whole Church…a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, in the Middle East, and throughout the world.  Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear the words of hope and peace. All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace.”—Pope Francis

The Holy Father has asked for Catholics and all people of good will to pray for peace on Saturday, September 7^th, which is the Vigil of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Peace.  Please join us at Our Lady of Mercy Church on Saturday, September 7, 2013 for a Mass for Peace at 8:30AM followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Rosary with a Litany of Peace

We can pray to other Mother in Heaven, Mary, Queen of Peace as our Holy Father said on Sunday: “Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children! Help us, Mary, to overcome this most difficult moment and to dedicate ourselves each day to building in every situation an authentic culture of encounter and peace.”

Here is a prayer to Mary, Immaculate Queen of Peace, you can use on Saturday:

Most holy and immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our loving Mother, being his Mother, you shared in his universal kingship. The prophets and angels proclaimed him King of peace. With loving fervor in our hearts we salute and honor you as Queen of peace.

We pray that your intercession may protect us and all people from hated and discord, and direct our hearts into the ways of peace and justice which your Son taught and exemplified. We ask your maternal care for our Holy Father who works to reconcile the nations in peace. We seek your guidance for our President and other leaders as they strive for world peace.

Glorious Queen of peace, grant us peace in our hearts, harmony in our families and concord throughout the world. Immaculate Mother, as patroness of our beloved country, watch over us and protect us with your motherly love. Amen.

A Prayer for Labor Day

Prayer for Labor Day On this weekend, when we rest from our usual labors, loving Father, we pray for all who shoulder the tasks of human labor—in the marketplace, in factories and offices, in the professions, and in family living.

We thank you, Lord, for the gift and opportunity of work; may our efforts always be pure of heart, for the good of others and the glory of your name.

We lift up to you all who long for just employment and those who work to defend the rights and needs of workers everywhere.

May those of us who are now retired always remember that we still make a valuable contribution to our Church and our world by our prayers and deeds of charity.

May our working and our resting all give praise to you until the day we share together in eternal rest with all our departed in your Kingdom as you live and reign Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

—Prayer courtesy of Archdiocese of Detroit

Resting with the Lord on Labor Day...

Dear Parishioners: We welcomed our OLM students, staff and faculty back this past Wednesday.  The First Day of School was a great beginning of the new academic year complete with great excitement and energy.  What a blessing our school is for our parish and community.  In a recent column on Catholic Education Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, observed that “the children attending Catholic schools along city streets, suburban neighborhoods and in the rural countryside come from all backgrounds, and through challenging academic programs rooted in Catholic values learn to be the future leaders of our church, our communities, our nation and our world.” This Friday at 9:00AM we formally mark the opening of the school year with a Mass of the Holy Spirit.  I invite all parishioners to join with our students, faculty, staff and school families as we call upon the Holy Spirit to guide us during the school year.  What a great way to celebrate our Catholic Faith as it is lived out and taught in our school on a daily basis.   If you cannot attend the Mass, then please remember to pray for our students, staff and faculty.

This weekend we kick-off the new 5:00PM Sunday Evening Mass at OLM.  This  addition of a fifth Mass to our weekend schedule should afford those at OLM and in the area yet another opportunity to get to Sunday Mass. In the past OLM parishioners who sought an evening Mass on Sundays would often attend the 5:30PM Sunday Mass at nearby St. Francis de Sales Church in North Kingstown.  However, Fr. Procaccini, the new pastor at St. Francis, recently announced changes in their Weekend Mass schedule which includes eliminating the 5:30PM Mass. So I urge you to invite your friends and neighbors to join us at Mass on Sundays.  Perhaps you might make a special effort to invite someone who has fallen away from the Church or routinely skips Mass to come join us.  Pope Francis reminds us: “Where does Jesus send us? There are no borders, no limits: he sends us to everyone. The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some. It is not only for those who seem closer to us, more receptive, more welcoming. It is for everyone. Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indifferent. The Lord seeks all, he wants everyone to feel the warmth of his mercy and his love.”

Next weekend we welcome to OLM, Father Nicholas Smith who will be preaching at all Masses.  Father Smith is one of our Senior Priests who served many years as Chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Pastor at St. Francis de Sales in North Kingstown and later at St. Francis of Assisi in South Kingstown.  He comes to us next weekend to speak about the Senior Priests’ Collection which is scheduled for the weekend of September 14th and 15th. This important collection helps fund the pension fund for Senior Priests in Providence.  I’m sure you will give him your usual warm Our Lady of Mercy welcome! This

Monday we mark the “unofficial” end of summer as the nation celebrates Labor Day.   Each year the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issues a Labor Day Statement.  This year they write: “Labor Day is an opportunity to take stock of the ways workers are honored and respected. Unfortunately, millions of workers today are denied this honor and respect as a result of unemployment, underemployment, unjust wages, wage theft, abuse, and exploitation.”  As we celebrate Labor Day with picnics, golfing, boating or at the beach, let us take time to pray for the gift of work that gives each us human dignity.  May we also remember all those who are unemployed and seeking work.  Labor Day is a day to rest from work but also a day to remember in prayer workers and rejoice in the dignity that work bestows upon us.  Have a great week. Keep praying for our students returning to school. Let’s hope we have a crowd at Sunday Mass at 5PM! Enjoy the holiday and Happy Labor Day!

Prayers for the First Day of School

 

Prayers to Begin a School Year

God of wisdom and might, we praise you for the wonder of our being, for mind, body and spirit. Be with our children as they begin a new school year. Bless them and their teachers and staff. Give the strength and grace as their bodies grow; wisdom and knowledge to their minds as they search for understanding; and peace and zeal to their hearts. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Students Lord our God, in your wisdom and love you surround us with the mysteries of the universe. Send your spirit upon these students and fill them with your wisdom and blessings. Grant that they may devote themselves to their studies and draw ever closer to you, the source of all knowledge. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Teachers Lord God, your spirit of wisdom fills the earth and teaches us in your ways. Look upon these teachers. Let them strive to share their knowledge with gentle patience and endeavor always to bring the truth to eager minds. Grant that we may follow Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life, forever and ever. Amen.