New Study Reveals that the Happiest People Are Found in Church!! Live the Gospel of Joy!

Dear Parishioners: I recently read about a new study that found that the secret to sustained happiness is to be found in the regular participation in religion. The researchers examined four areas: volunteering with a charity, taking educational courses, participating in religious organizations and participating in political and community organizations. They found that participation in a religious organization was the only social activity associated with sustained happiness. Now the study also suggests that going to church plays an important role in coping with depression and illness. It also found that joining political or community groups lost their benefits over time because they were not overly fulfilling. The research seems to suggest that the happiness expressed in those who go to church was found in “the sense of belonging and not being socially isolated.”

I am not sure how exhaustive the study is but it does point to something positive about religion. It can bring happiness and fulfillment to one’s life. So often people fall into the trap of seeking their happiness in worldly things like money, power, or sexual promiscuity. Sadly they are usually left very empty by such worldly pursuits. True happiness is found in a deep and devout relationship with the Lord and His Church. This happiness we might properly call the joy of the Gospel. It is as Pope Francis has said: ““Without joy that person is not a true believer.”

Yet we all know people who go to Church and even receive the Eucharist daily who seem less than joyful! People who don’t say hello to a neighbor, people who hold a grudge against someone, people who delight in other’s mistakes and misfortunes, people who cannot wait to share some juicy gossip, people who like to ridicule and harshly judge others, and people who seem just plain miserable. Where’s the joy? Why is it that the joy of the Gospel and the happiness found in practicing religion escape even those who come to Church? Perhaps it’s because of a burden they bear or a mistake they’ve made in life. Maybe they’ve been hurt and betrayed by someone in their life. Or it could be they cannot escape from the cynicism and despair in our world.

Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta once said: “Joy is a net of love by which we catch souls. “ So we might ask ourselves how joyful are we? When we leave Mass are we joyful that we have shared in the Body of Christ and received the Bread of Life? Do people around us recognize the joy of the Gospel in us, in our words and actions? We all know there are many things in our world and sometimes in our own lives that are less than joyful. War, famine, poverty, sickness, unemployment, death and violence are but just a few to be found in our world and in our own lives. Yet Jesus Christ calls us to share our joy in knowing and loving Him despite the sinfulness and brokenness of our world. It may be difficult at times to overcome the sadness and cynicism of our world.

We need only listen to the Lord to realize we can overcome this. Jesus Christ tells us: “Do not let your hearts be troubled”; “Do not be afraid”; “I am with you always” and “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete!” So if “joy is the net of love by which we catch souls,” how are we doing? When is the last time we invited a friend, family member or neighbor to come to Mass with us to experience and share the joy of the Gospel? When is the last time someone asked us why we seem so happy and joyful in our lives despite perhaps our own hardships or burdens? How joyful are we of the many blessings God has bestowed upon us? If joy is the mark of “a true believer” and scientific studies demonstrate that those who go to church are genuinely happy, why not share the Good News? After all, the great hymn of joy reminds us: “Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of Love, Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!” Be well. Do good. Have a great week. Be joyful! God Bless.

Storms and Sidewalks at OLM, Defunding Planned Parenthood Everywhere!!

Dear Parishioners: I wrote too soon about the sidewalks last week. Due to the big storm on Tuesday, the work on the sidewalks was delayed. The Town was busy cleaning up all the down trees and limbs and couldn’t complete the sidewalks as planned. It was quite a storm last week that brought down trees, limbs, and electric wires. We lost power here at OLM for most of the day on Tuesday. Thankfully it came back on late Tuesday evening. I hope you and your homes weren’t too severely impacted by the storm. And now we look forward to seeing completed sidewalks this week.

The storm surrounding Planned Parenthood continues unfold. Every new video released further demonstrates the depth of depravity of that organization. Sadly the efforts to defund Planned Parenthood went down in defeat in the U.S. Senate last Monday. Unfortunately our two U.S. Senators voted against defunding Planned Parenthood and have thus far even failed to condemn the group’s gravely immoral and depraved actions. I urge you to speak up in defense of life and contact your elected officials in support of life. It is not simply a political issue but a moral issue and so we must continue to speak out in defense of life. The innocent unborn need our voice.

Defunding Planned Parenthood is one step in ending this grave moral evil in our nation. The respect of human life, most especially the innocent unborn children, should be a priority for us and for our elected officials. Pray for an end to abortion and for the increased respect of human life.

Cardinal O’Malley of Boston rightly described Planned Parenthood’s harvesting of body parts as part of our “throw-away culture.” Indeed it is! Without our voices and without our commitment to pray and action, the voiceless unborn continue to be treated as just another commodity to be bought and sold. Our Holy Father, PopeFrancis, has also lamented the throw-away culture. He stated: “The victims of such a culture are precisely the weakest and most fragile human beings – the unborn, the poorest people, sick elderly people, gravely disabled people… who are in danger of being ‘thrown out,’ expelled from a machine that must be efficient at all costs.”

On a happier note, you can read in this weekend’s bulletin about Brother Brian Bennett. He is from Our Lady of Mercy and his parents Dudley and Kathy are active parishioners. Last Saturday on the Feast of Saint Dominic he formally entered the Novitiate of the Order of Preachers (Dominican Friars). He received his Dominican habit as he begins the process of prayer and study with his fellow Dominican Novices. We offer congratulations to Brother Brian. Let us pray for him and his novice class, may their time be fruitful as they prepare to serve the Church as Dominican Friars.

Next Sunday night at 4:00pm we invite all our OLM high school aged young adults to come to a Kick-off Cookout. It takes place on the OLM School field and should be a great time to get together and discuss the upcoming year. Our OLM Youth Ministry Coordinator, Michael LaChimia, is organizing the event for our parish youth. If you or a member of your family is in high school we invite you to stop by for some good food and good times.

Finally a word of warning to all parishioners. It has come to our attention that a couple of people are “pan-handling” outside Church. This has occurred before and after daily mass and also during some Church meetings. We ask that you not give these individuals anything and certainly do not give cash. Instead ask them to see the parish priests or OLM Outreach Director, Doug Green, at Mercy House. We are always ready to help those in true need. The generous support you give to the monthly Outreach Collection is designated to help such people in need. If you are approached, please let us know so we are aware of it. Thank you for your cooperation in dealing with his sensitive issue. Have a great week. Be well. Do good. God Bless.

Fixing things, Preparing for School, Celebrating Mercy and Welcoming the Holy Father!!

Dear Parishioners: As I look out my window on this Monday morning I see the Public Works Crew working on the sidewalks. Many of the sidewalks and curbs around OLM have been deteriorating over the years. Last winter’s particularly harsh weather also contributed to their further deterioration. The corners of the sidewalks were redesigned for handicapped accessibility. The new sidewalks and curbs were sorely needed. I hope as you read this column they are all firmly in place.  I am grateful to the East Greenwich Public Works Crew for their great work. Also I thank EG Town Manager Tom Coyle, EG Public Works Director Joe Duarte and EG Town Councilwoman Sue Cienki for helping to make this important project possible. We are grateful for their efforts ensuring access to our Church is easy and safe for all!

The work on the sidewalks is not the only work taking place at OLM. At OLM School our maintenance crew under the direction of Paul Anderson is working hard on several school improvement projects. They have removed all the carpeting from the walls of the corridors. The walls are freshly plastered and painted and now brightening up the hallways! They have also been painting classrooms and hope to completely renovate two classrooms with new paint, new flooring, and new furniture. It is an expensive but worthwhile endeavor to keep the classrooms in good condition. We are also in the process of updating our technology and internet services in the school. This too is a time consuming and costly project but well worth it to keep our parish school up to date.

You may see our teachers coming and going from the school over these next few weeks as they prepare their classrooms for the new year. The first day of school is scheduled for September 1st! I know it’s hard to believe during these beautiful days of summer but school is coming in September! Speaking of September, its time to mark your calendars for some upcoming special events. Of course, there is the fist day of school with all its fanfare but also the opening Mass of the Holy Spirit is to be celebrated on Friday, September 4th. Our Annual Parish Picnic is scheduled for Sunday, September 20th!

The Parish Picnic is the kick-off of a week of Mercy Events in honor of the Patronal Feast of Our Lady of Mercy on September 24th. These events include a special Mercy Event for Families in conjunction with the World Meeting of Families with Pope Francis in Philadelphia. Also we plan a Concert of Mercy, a Work of Mercy Event and the Feast Day Mass on Thursday, September 24th.

Fr. Connors is the Spiritual Director for the Diocesan Pilgrimage from Providence to the World Meeting of Families. He is to lead over 500 pilgrims from Rhode Island to the many events at the meeting and with Pope Francis. There are several families from OLM going along too. Keep them all in your prayers as they prepare for this wonderful pilgrimage of faith. Pope Francis is to make an Apostolic Visit the United States in September. His trip includes visits to Washington, DC, New York and Philadelphia. He is to visit the White House, address Congress and the UN, celebrate several Masses and canonize Blessed Father Juniperro Serra a Saint at the National Shrine in DC. He is to also visit a prison and meet with prisoners and deliver a major address on religious liberty at Independence Hall. In addition he is to visit a Catholic elementary school in Harlem and also offer prayers at the World Trade Center.

Let us pray for our Holy Father and for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. May the visit and the meeting be successful in strengthening family life and marriage in our nation. May it lead to an increased respect for human life and dignity in our nation. May the Holy Father’s wisdom and pastoral leadership lead to a renewed zeal for the faith and the life of the Church. They say “time flies” but please enjoy the summer sun during the rest of this month of August. September is coming ! Be well. Do good. God Bless

Praying and Acting in Defense of Human Life, A Call for All Catholics!!

Dear Parishioners: We are grateful to Fr. Roy Shea from the Missionhurst Missionaries for sharing his experience in the missions with us last weekend. The Annual Mission Co-op enables us to spiritually and financially support the missions. It also reminds us that we are part of large and universal Church and that we are called to evangelize the world both near and far. Let us continue to pray for the many missionaries of our Church who bring the faith to the remotest and poorest places across the globe!

I hope you had a chance to say “Farewell” to our Summer Seminarian Eric Silva last weekend. We are grateful to Fr. Carl Fisette, Diocesan Vocation Director, for sending us a seminarian as part of the summer program of the Diocese. OLM is blessed to part of their formation for priesthood. We continue to pray for Eric and all our seminarians as they move forward in their preparation for priestly ordination.

I was blessed last week to attend a meeting of State Catholic Conference Directors. Nearly forty directors from across the country gathered together in Michigan to discuss legislative strategies, public policy initiatives, and Church teaching. We had presentations from legal experts about threats to religious liberty. In particular how the Religious Freedom Restoration Act effects the Church nationally and locally.

We also examined some of the national legislative initiatives to address the growing problem of poverty in our nation. Presentations offered by the staff of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities USA were very helpful. We also received updates on the progress of immigration reform and criminal justice reform.

We were updated on the growing movement across the nation to legalize Physician Assisted Suicide . In fact, such a bill was introduced and received committee hearings at the RI General Assembly this past spring. Thankfully these bills were held for further study but the fight to ensure the dignity of the terminally ill and handicapped goes on here and across the Untied States.

Another topic discussed at the meeting was the recent revelation about Planned Parenthood’s selling of body parts of aborted babies. This shocking news about such a depraved practice by the nation’s largest provider of abortion on demand only reinforces our Church’s commitment to call for the protection of innocent human life in our nation. Bishop Tobin issued a statement about this tragic news last week, stating:

“If there was any doubt about the evil agenda of Planned Parenthood, that doubt has been dispelled by the recent video showing the sale of body parts of aborted babies. This disgusting and depraved practice should be condemned by everyone with a conscience, everyone committed to the defense of human life and dignity. It is time for political leaders to renounce their association with Planned Parenthood. And once again I call upon the Rhode Island Congressional delegation to end the public funding of Planned Parenthood. Our taxes should not be used to end the life of children and then market their bodies.”

As Catholics we must make our concerns known to our elected officials both nationally and locally. If we are to turn the tide of the culture of death that continues to debase our nation we must not only pray but also act. So I encourage you to pray for our nation and also to act in defense of human life. I am reminded of the words of Pope Francis in his recent encyclical, Laudato Si. The Holy Father states:

“A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings. It is clearly inconsistent to combat trafficking in endangered species while remaining completely indifferent to human trafficking, unconcerned about the poor, or undertaking to destroy another human being deemed unwanted.”

Pray and act in defense of life! Be well. Do good. God Bless.

Marriage, The Supreme Court, Religious Liberty and More!

Dear Parishioners: In your name I offer a warm welcome to Our Lady of Mercy to Father Roy Shea, a member of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Missionhurst). Fr. Shea is here this weekend to preach at all the Masses about the important work the Missionhurst Missionaries. It is our Annual Mission Co-op Weekend at OLM where we commit our prayers and financial support to the missionaries of our Church. Missionhurst was founded in Belgium in 1862 by Father Theophile Verbist for the conversion of China. Their missionary work was originally centered on the area of Inner Mongolia. Later they would go to the Congo and then across the globe.

There are at present over 800 members of the congregation working in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Their mission work includes working in parishes and schools in some of the poorest places in the world. Their good works help to establish hospitals, schools, and churches. I ask for your prayers for the Missionhurst Missionaries and their good works on behalf of the Church. Also the second collection this weekend is solely dedicated to the Missionhurst Missions and I ask for your support and thank you for your generous response.

I hope you are able to offer your best wishes to Summer Seminarian Eric Silva at a “Farewell Reception” at Mercy Park after the 10:30am Mass on this Sunday. Eric’s ten weeks here at OLM have come to an end. It was great to have him with us at OLM. In your name I wish him all the best in his theological studies this fall at St. John’s Seminary in Boston. Pray for Eric as he continues to prepare for the priesthood.

This weekend there is an insert in the bulletin regarding the recent decision by the US Supreme Court on same-sex marriage. On June 26th the Court ruled that the 14th Amendment requires states to issue marriage licenses to two persons of the same-sex and to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. This decision now sets the teaching about marriage of our Church and many others in direct opposition to the law of the land. Changing the legal term “marriage” is not simply one change in the law, but rather amounts to thousands of changes at once. The term “marriage” can be found in family law, employment law, trusts and estates, healthcare law, tax law, property law, and many others. These laws affect and regulate religious institutions, such as churches, religiously affiliated schools, hospitals, and families.

Without a doubt this is going to lead to conflicts between the state and religious institutions and individuals of conscience and faith. Religious liberty for such institutions and individuals is likely to be threaten very soon. While religious liberty is protected in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and in federal and state laws. Religious liberty includes more than our ability to freely go to Mass on Sundays or pray the Rosary at home. It also encompasses our ability to contribute freely to the common good of society with our many charitable works and institutions, our educational and healthcare institutions. Our freedom to offer such good works and also follow the teaching of our Church is under threat.  As Catholics we must be concerned about such threats.

We must always be joyful witness of the truth of our Church’s teaching on marriage and life. We must not compromise our convictions about moral truths because of political or societal pressure. Instead we must advocate for religious freedom for all religious institutions and conscience protections for all people of faith. We must pray and act for the truths of our faith.

I am away this week at a national meeting of State Catholic Conference Directors in Michigan. We are meeting with experts about the looming threats to religious freedom. We are to discuss strategies for advocating on behalf of the Church’s teachings on religious liberty, marriage, human life, immigration, assisted-suicide and poverty. It is certainly a timely meeting. Do good. Be well. God Bless.

Welcoming the Missionary and Saying Farewell to the Seminarian!

Dear Parishioners: A few parishioners have asked if we are using a new chalice at Sunday Masses. The answer is no as the chalice has been used for years at OLM. It was recently refinished and that explains the “new look.” The chalice is Father Francis Brady’s who served as Pastor of OLM for twenty-three years from 1947 until his retirement in 1970. The chalice was given to Fr. Brady by his aunt at his ordination in 1920. After the recent refinishing it now looks as it did in 1920. We continue to use this chalice at Sunday Masses and other special parish celebrations.

Next weekend we welcome Missionhurst Missionary Father Roy Shea, CICM to OLM. Father Shea is coming to preach all the Masses next weekend on behalf of the good works done by the Missionhurst Missionaries across the globe. Each year a missionary comes to our parish as part of the Mission Co-op Program for the Diocese of Providence. It is our time to offer our prayers and financial support of the missions. There is more about the work of the Missionhurst Missions in the bulletin. The Second Collection next weekend is dedicated to supporting the Missionhurst Missions. There is no envelope for this special collection so I ask you to be pleased be prepared in advance for it. Any check you write should be made payable to OLM. The entire second collection is then sent to the Diocesan Finance Office who then disburse the collection directly to the Missionhurst Headquarters. I thank you in advance for your support and encourage you to please pray for Fr. Shea and all the Missionhurst Missionaries throughout the world.

This is the last week for our Summer Seminarian Eric Silva. It’s hard to believe that he has been here ten weeks already! On Monday night he leads a Bible Study in the OLM School Library on the Letters of St. Paul. I hope you can make time to attend as I am sure it will be time well spent for you and for Eric. Next weekend is to be Eric’s last weekend here at OLM. He leaves on Monday, July 27th to spend some vacation time with his family and reports to St. John’s Seminary in Boston in mid August to begin his studies for the priesthood as a First Theologian. I invite you to wish him well after Masses next weekend and also to join us in Mercy Park following the 10:30AM Mass for a “Farewell Reception” for him. Please keep Eric in your prayers as prepares for the priesthood. It was wonderful having Eric with us for these ten weeks. He was a joy to live and work with during his time here. He was a great help teaching at OLM School, helping at the OLM Bible Camp, serving Masses, visiting our shut-ins and working along side me and Fr. Connors. I know he enjoyed his time here and the experience of living and working at the parish. I know I speak for Fr. Connors and Deacon Dowd when I offer thanks to Eric for his presence and ministry here at OLM.

In this week’s bulletin there is an insert announcing the 2nd Annual Wild Harvest Open House and Food Drive. On both Saturday and Sunday the Open House includes a “Bistro Night” with great food and live music. The food is being prepared by their terrific Chef Erica Maddalena. All donations go to support the work of OLM Outreach as well as the RI Food Bank. Wild Harvest has long supported OLM Outreach with their sponsorship of OLM's Lunch on the Hill at Saint Luke's every first Wednesday of each month. We are grateful to OLM parishioners, Chef Erica Maddalena and Mike Balsamo, for their generous support of our OLM Outreach Ministry. The event next weekend is a great way to enjoy a summer afternoon or evening eating great food, listening to great music and helping a great cause. The event takes place at the Wild Harvest Log Cabin on Route 2. I hope you can stop by and say thanks and offer some support. More details are on the flyer in the bulletin this weekend.

It may be summer but there’s plenty going on here at OLM! Remember the Missions next weekend! Be well. Do good. Enjoy the summer! God Bless.