Celebrating Parish Life and Preparing for Funerals! It's November at OLM

Dear Parishioners: What a weekend we had last week! It started with the Pat’s big win over the hapless Miami Dolphins on Thursday night! On Friday the OLM School community gathered for the “Trunk or Treat” celebration of Halloween. It was a great time for our school families decorated cars trunks, lots of candy, hot chocolate and hot dogs, and hay rides for the whole family! Kids from every grade were in great costumes and happily collecting all kinds of goodies. The car trunks were all very creatively decorated. It was a really fun and safe night for all. My thanks to the OLM PTG for organizing such a family fun event! Fun family events is what makes our parish school such a great place.

On Sunday Bishop Tobin celebrated Confirmation at the 5:00pm Mass for 101 of our OLM young adults. It was truly a joyful and faith-filled event for our parish. Each candidate was sealed with the Holy Spirit and took on a Saint’s name as their role model in faith. It was a prayerful and wonderful way to mark the great Solemnity of All Saints. I offer my thanks to the newly Confirmed and their families for staying the course in their faith. They are a true and joyful blessing to our community. We also thank Bishop Tobin for conferring the Sacrament upon our young adults.

The music for the Mass was excellent and so I thank Henri St. Louis, Deirdre Donovan, the OLM Choir and the musicians for sharing their talents with us! I must also thank Doug Green who directs our Confirmation Program for his hard work and commitment to the Confirmation Class. He is ably aided by Mickey St. Jean, Maryanne Weaver, Kathy Hall and also an excellent Reception Committee.  We thank them for ensuring that Confirmation is a truly memorable and meaningful event in the life of our parish.

All Souls Day was Monday and this is the one day of the liturgical year that priests are given the great privilege to celebrate three Masses in one day. These three Masses are offered for the faithful departed especially those souls in Purgatory. We continue to remember all our beloved dead throughout November. We also prayed for the OLM parishioners who have died since last All Souls Day. At OLM there were 64 souls who went on to their eternal reward during that time. We commend them to the mercy of God and keep their grieving families in our payers. May they rest in eternal peace.

I received two interesting letters from the Chancery Office this week. One was a request to update my funeral plans! Yes, every priest is asked to plan their own Funeral Mass in advance and send it to be put on file in the Chancery until the time of death. We must select the readings, the music, and even name who the homilist is to be for our own Funeral Mass. We must also provide the details about the cemetery and graves, and any pre-arrangements we have made with a funeral director.  Now I know that some people view planning for their own funeral a rather unpleasant thought. However, after twenty years of priesthood and hundreds of funerals I think prior planning is not such a bad idea. It is often very difficult for family members to make decisions about funeral details during a time of grief. I know this myself from helping with the funerals in my own family.

I also received a letter from the Catholic Foundation of RI asking me to include my parish in my funeral planning! Not sure if the timing of these two letters was planned or just coincidence. I’ve already made OLM the designated charity for my memorial gifts at the time of my death. My plans have always included the parish where I serve as the recipient of any memorial gifts at the time of my death. This was a very common practice among faithful Catholics in the past but in recent times seems to have fallen off. Perhaps the best way to prepare for our own death is to lead a faithful and moral Catholic life! As for planning the funeral details in advance, that’s not such a bad idea either. Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!!!

Welcome Bishop Tobin! Celebrating Confirmation and All Saints! Praying for Our Dead on All Souls

Dear Parishioners: We welcome Bishop Thomas J. Tobin to Our Lady of Mercy this weekend. He is here to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday at the 5:00PM Mass. Over one hundred young men and women having been preparing for this milestone in their young lives. In the name of the parish I offer a warm welcome to Bishop Tobin and also offer our prayerful congratulations to the 2015 OLM Confirmation Class. We rejoice in this great day for these young people and our parish. They are the future of our Church and so we commend them to Almighty God as we pray:“All powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life. Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide. Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence. ”

Today the Church across the globe rejoices as we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. In an All Saints Day homily last year, Pope Francis suggested that the saints are not “supermen” who are “born perfect,” but rather are ordinary people who followed God “with all their heart.”

The Holy Father stated: “They are like us, they are like each of us, they are people who before reaching the glory of heaven lived a normal life, with joys and grief, struggles and hopes. Each saint changed his or her life when they recognized the love of God, they followed him with all their heart, without conditions and hypocrisies. They spent their lives in the service of others, they endured suffering and adversity without hatred and responded to evil with good, spreading joy and peace. The saints give us a message. They tell us: be faithful to the Lord, because the Lord does not disappoint!”

All Saints Day is followed the next day by the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, more commonly known as All Souls Day. All Souls Day is a day set aside for honoring and praying for the dead. This celebration of All Souls stems from the Catholic doctrine that the souls of the faithful departed who at their death have not been cleansed from the temporal punishment due to their venial sins and from attachment to their mortal sins. They cannot immediately attain the beatific vision in heaven and so are in a state of purification which we know as Purgatory.

Our Catholic Faith teaches us that our beloved dead are aided by our many prayers and by the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In other words, when they died, they had not yet attained full sanctification and moral perfection, a requirement for entrance into Heaven. This sanctification is carried out posthumously in Purgatory. The Masses we offer aid not only the living but also the dead. This is why there is such a venerable tradition of remembering our loved ones who have died with Masses on anniversaries or Month’s Mind.

All Souls Days Masses are at 7:30am, 9am and 12:05pm. All Souls Day is not a holy day of obligation but I encourage you to come to Mass and pray for the souls in Purgatory. If you cannot make it to Mass on Monday, please offer prayers for the dead especially your beloved dead and those souls who have no one to pray for them.

In a special way we will remember the souls of the faithful departed who rest in our parish cemetery, St. Patrick’s. The OLM School students will process to St. Patrick’s Cemetery following the 9am All Souls School Mass. You are most welcome to join with them as we pray and process for the faithful departed of our parish family. Cemeteries are not “spooky” places but rather they are signs of faith and hope for the resurrection of those buried there. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May all the souls of the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Happy All Saints Day! A Prayerful All Souls Day! Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!!

For All the Saints, A Celebration of Sanctity and the Sacrament of Confirmation

Dear Parishioners:At Mass last Sunday in St. Peter’s Square Pope Francis canonized the Blesseds Vincenzo Grossi, Maria dell'Immacolata Concezione,  and Ludovico Martin and Maria Azelia Guérin as new Saints of our Church. Saint Vincent Grossi was a an Italian parish priest who served the poor and the young. Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception was an Italian Religious Sister and the foundress of the Sisters, Expiatory Victims of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, who dedicated her life to teaching and serving the poor.

Husband and wife, Ludovico Martin and Maria Azelia Guérin, were devout lay French Catholics and also the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux. They were well known for their deep faith and had nine children. Only five of their daughters survived to childhood but each of the five would become a cloistered nun including their youngest, the Little Flower, St. Therese. In his homily at the Mass of Canonization Pope Francis suggested: "The radiant witness of these new saints inspires us to persevere in joyful service to our brothers and sisters, trusting in the help of God and the maternal protection of Mary. From heaven may they now watch over us and sustain us by their powerful intercession.”

What fitting words for us to reflect upon as we prepare to celebrate the great Solemnity of All Saints next Sunday. November First falls on a Sunday this year thus we celebrate the feast at all our Masses next weekend. This feast honors all saints both the known and the unknown. Like the three new saints we celebrate those saints known the world over but also those unknown to the world. These unknown saints might be the many good parish priests, dedicated religious sisters, loving parents and grandparents, or wise teachers who have gone before us in faith. May all the saints intercede for us!

The Solemnity of All Saints is made even more special at Our Lady of Mercy as we celebrate Confirmation next Sunday at the 5:00pm Mass. Bishop Tobin is coming to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation upon 101 young adults of our parish. We pray for these young people as they prepare for the life changing event of receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. May they strive to be saints in the City of Man!

In anticipation of All Saints Day, the American custom is to celebrate on All Hallows Eve. More commonly called Halloween, this traditional holiday includes children dressing in costume and going door to door collecting candy. I have my own fond memories of going door to door on Halloween in a clown costume made by my older sister. Way back then there were no mini-bars just the full sized candy bars! However, the times change along with the size of candy bars on Halloween! Fr. Connors and I are truly looking forward to celebrating Halloween this year with the children of OLM School.

This coming Friday night we celebrate Halloween in totally new manner called “Trunk or Treat.” This is a new and really a great way to celebrate Halloween Along with dozens of our school families we gather in the school parking lot for “Trunk or Treat.” Cars are decorated and kids make their way around the parking lot going from car trunk to car trunk filling their bags with treats and candy. It’s a very fun and safe way to celebrate the holiday. I am grateful for the OLM School PTG for once again bringing such a great family event to our school.

As October draws to a close we prepare for Halloween and All Saints. November is also a month for All Souls. At 10:30AM Mass next Sunday we remember in prayer and with deep faith all the deceased souls of our parish who have died over the past year. Their families are invited to attend as we pray as a parish family for the repose their loved ones’ souls. On Monday, November 2nd there are three Masses for al the faithful departed. We ask you to please return your All Souls envelopes before November 2nd. Pray for the young people who are to be confirmed in the faith next Sunday Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!!

Who is the real Christopher Columbus!?

Dear Parishioners: The Columbus Day Holiday was beautiful with the sun shining and the temperatures near 70 degrees. There was a weekend of festivities and a parade on Providence’s Federal Hill. In New York nearly a million people attended the Columbus Day Parade. Many celebrated a day off and many others celebrated the memory of Christopher Columbus.

However, in Rhode Island at Brown University where they have removed Columbus Day from their calendar and now call it Fall Weekend Holiday, they had a protest against Columbus and his holiday! These Ivy League critics of Christopher Columbus brand him as being an invader of a land that belonged to the gentle inhabitants of the New World, an enslaver of the indigenous people who, until then, were living in blissful freedom with one another and finally accuse him of being a cruel oppressor of people who, until then, had been living in prosperous harmony and concord.  It easy to criticize someone who lived in the 15th Century in the cultural context of the 21st Century. What is more difficult is to truly consider a much fuller historical image of Columbus and the times in which he lived. Certainly there are legitimate criticism to be offered about him and anyone is free to offer them. However, too often such criticism is simply political correctness run a muck.

The Providence Journal featured two op-eds on honoring Columbus in their holiday edition. One commentary written by a left-wing college professor suggested eliminating the holiday and instead calling it a Day of Solidarity. The other written by retired RI Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams offered a much broader interpretation of the holiday and the man, he suggests: “When you judge characters from the past, try doing so within the context of the times in which they lived and acted. All of us, like Columbus, have multilayered personalities — the good, the bad and the ugly. So, we should be discerning when we judge another individual by recognizing that almost each of us has the opportunity for doing good and, like the person we commemorate on Oct. 12, has, in fact, performed good deeds that contribute to our culture.”

I also believe that some of the animosity against Columbus is the fact that he brought the Catholic faith to the New World. Columbus believed he was specially chosen by God to bring the Gospel to a people who were living in darkness and the shadow of death. He was a devout Catholic attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion regularly. He was a Franciscan Tertiary who believed, like St. Francis, that the world should be converted to Christ by prayer, preaching and peaceful means.

His Journal from August 3 to October 12, 1492 is a daily record of the historic voyage from Spain to the New World. In it he often refers to Jesus and the need for divine help. He is always asking Our Lord for the light and strength he needs to realize what God had entrusted him to do – the mission of bringing the knowledge and love of Jesus to those who had not heard the Good News of salvation.  This is clearly an image of Christopher Columbus rejected by his critics at Brown. It might help them gain a fuller understanding of the man. After all, the motto of Brown University’s founders is: “In deo speramus” (In God we hope)!

At Devotions on Monday Fr. Chris Murphy, Chaplain at Bishop Hendricken High, is to offer a reflection.  Following devotions the confessions of our Confirmation candidates and their sponsors are to be heard. I ask you to please keep these young people in your prayers as they prepare to receive the Sacrament on Sunday, November 1st at the 5PM Mass from Bishop Tobin. Next weekend we are to conduct the October Mass Count. We are required annually to count the number of people attending Masses here at OLM. Every parish does the same and the results are sent to the Bishop and then on to the Vatican. So if you see our ushers counting heads during Mass next weekend now you know why! Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!!

New Sisters, St. Francis, Rosary and Respect Life! October is here!

Dear Parishioners: Sister Emma and Sister Lourdes are settling in at OLM. My thanks to the parishioners who gave them such a warm welcome. Many parishioners stopped by the Franciscan Convent with well wishes and gifts on the day the Sisters moved in to their new home. Many more parishioners officially welcomed the good Sisters at 10:30am Mass last Sunday. On behalf of the OLM Parish and School, the Sisters were given statues of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of their religious community, and Our Lady, the patroness of our parish. These two images are symbolic of the Sisters service to our parish and also of their Franciscan tradition. They have now begun their ministry here at OLM and you are likely to see them around town, please be sure to stop and say hello!

Of course, we marked the Feast of St. Francis with the traditional blessing of pet and animals last Saturday morning. Although it was a little damp and cold there was a nice crowd assembled to have their dogs blessed. Yes, it was all dogs! Not a single cat, lizard, fish, donkey or cow to be found! My thanks to Ginny Belanger for providing the music and leading the song for this special occasion. Maybe next year a cat or a horse might show up!!

October is Respect Life Month, a time for us to pray and reflect upon the need for more respect for life in our nation and in our world. Pope Francis reminds us in his Respect Life Message: “All life has inestimable value even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.”

The recent revelations of the gruesome practices at the abortion mills of Planned Parenthood demonstrate that human life continues to be degraded in our culture. All too often human life is treated as mere commodity by many in our “throw away” society. There is a great need for prayer for an increase in the respect for human life. Let us use this Respect Life to commit to prayer for life and in defense of life.

One of the best ways to pray for the respect for human life is with the Rosary. Whether you are at work, at home or at school the Rosary offers us a great chance for prayer. Saint Pope John Paul II, whose Feast Day we look forward to on October 22nd, commenting on the Rosary said: “The rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christ-centered prayer. It has all the depth of the gospel message in its entirety. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb.... It can be said that the rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter that discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church.”

October is also a month dedicated to Our Blessed Mother Mary so in honor of her each Monday night at 7:00pm we gather for Marian Devotions during the Month . It is truly a wonderful way to pray together as a faith community before the Eucharistic Lord and with our Lady’s intercession. Join us this Monday and every Monday in October! It will be the best 20 minutes you have all week!

In the bulletin this week you will find the last call for the OLM Pilgrimage to the Divine Mercy Shrine on October 22nd. Last year a large group from OLM made the spiritual pilgrimage to the beautiful and prayerful shrine. It is a great way to prepare to celebrate the upcoming Year of Mercy! There are still openings on the bus and details for sign-up are in the bulletin.

I offer my sincerest thanks to the parishioners who have donated to the Annual Collection. Their support is truly appreciated and I am deeply grateful. We are still waiting to hear from many other OLM parishioners who have not yet responded. Thank you in advance for your generosity! Be well. Do Good. Go Pats. God Bless.

What a Week with Our Holy Father! A Mission of Love!!

Dear Parishioners: What a week for our nation and our Church. Pope Francis’ Apostolic Visit to the United States dominated the headlines and filled the airwaves. From his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base to his departure from Philadelphia, the Holy Father showed the whole country his humility, his faith and his love. Millions of people came out to see him and be with him at the large Masses and at his visits to schools, convents, seminaries, prisons, and homeless shelters. His was truly a “Mission of Love” which provided inspiration for many people and much food for thought for all us. His simple message to us was very challenging and provocative.

Of course there are those complainers and cynics both in and outside the Church who like to find fault with Pope Francis’ style or with his words. Yet Pope Francis simply asked us to answer the call to serve the poor, work for economic opportunity for all people, be good stewards of the earth, protect religious minorities from persecution, promote religious freedom everywhere, defend human life at all stages and welcome the stranger, the immigrant and the refugee.

In Philadelphia, Pope Francis said: “Most of you know the story of Saint Katharine Drexel, one of the great saints raised up by this local Church. When she spoke to Pope Leo XIII of the needs of the missions, the Pope – he was a very wise Pope! – asked her pointedly: ‘What about you? What are you going to do?’. Those words changed Katharine’s life, because they reminded her that, in the end, every Christian man and woman, by virtue of baptism, has received a mission. Each one of us has to respond, as best we can, to the Lord’s call to build up his Body, the Church."  Pope Francis went on to suggest: “One of the great challenges facing the Church in this generation is to foster in all the faithful a sense of personal responsibility for the Church’s mission, and to enable them to fulfill that responsibility as missionary disciples, as a leaven of the Gospel in our world.”Pope Francis is asking each one of us, priest and laity, old and young, rich and poor, “what about you?” What are you going to do to serve the Lord and His Church?

The Franciscan Apostolic Sisters offer us a great witness of service to the Church as we welcome them to Our Lady of Mercy Parish. Sister Lourdes and Sister Emma moved into their new home this past week. We officially welcome them to OLM at the 10:30AM Mass this Sunday. The Sisters are excited to be living and working at our parish. They hope to help out in our parish school, with our RE Program, visit the sick and home-bound, and most importantly pray for our parish and us everyday! Welcome to OLM Sr. Emma and Sr. Lourdes!

We install our Religious Education teachers this weekend. These men and women volunteer much of their free time to ensuring that the children of our parish learn about Jesus and his teachings. We thank all of our RE teachers and aides who provide a great witness of the faith and answer the call to serve the Church.   We thank Mickey St. Jean and Doug Green who direct this important part of the life and ministry of our parish. We give thanks to God for the families who participate faithfully in it, the teachers and aides who volunteer so willingly to serve it, and the children who are so open to learning more about their Catholic Faith.

Fr. Connors is in Rome attending the ordination of Seminarian Nathan Ricci. Nathan is from Warwick, a graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School and also Providence College. He and fifty of his classmates are to be ordained Transitional Deacons by Cardinal Dolan at St. Peter’s Basilica. In June 2016 Nathan is to be ordained a priest for service in the Diocese of Providence. Prayerful congratulations to Nathan and his classmates!

I offer my sincere thanks and deep gratitude to the many parishioners who have thus far generously donated to the Annual Collection. It is a great start to this critical collection and I am always so grateful for your support and generosity toward the parish. Be well. Do Good. Go Pats. God Bless.