Helping the Homeless, Celebrating New Deacons and Corpus Christi

Dear Parishioners: In the name of the Junior Legion of Mary, I wish to thank the many parishioners who generously donated to their Toiletries Drive for the Homeless.  The response was excellent and I know that the young men and women of the Jr. Legion were overjoyed with the support they received.  All the donated items are to be distributed to the homeless who gather on Friday nights at the Cathedral for the weekly outreach ministry there and  to the Woonsocket Women’s Shelter where there is also great need. I thank Angela Toljan who coordinates the Jr. Legion for all her hard work and commitment to this project and so many other good things the Jr. Legion does for our parish and Church. Thank You Junior Legion of Mary!

You might have noticed the grounds around the convents are missing their old hedges and a few trees.  Thanks to the hard work of Paul Anderson and his crew as well East Greenwich Tree Service, we have begun the landscaping renovation at the parish convents.  Soon we hope to remove all the stumps, plant new grass, flowers and plants and provide some privacy for the good sisters on their patios.  Keep your eyes on the project as we hope to complete it soon.

Next Saturday at 10:00am at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Bishop Evans is to ordain three young men as Transitional Deacons for the Diocese of Providence.  These three young men have been preparing and studying for the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary in Boston.  One of the young men, Brian Morris, is from Our Lady of Mercy Church.  His parents, John and Marybeth, are active parishioners here and Brian and his brothers are graduates of  OLM School.   So not only is it truly a great day for the Church of Providence but also for OLM!

The Transitional Diaconate is part of the process in becoming a priest.  These new Transitional Deacons serve as Deacons in parishes while continuing their theological studies and priestly formation for a year until they are ordained priests next June. Deacon John Dowd, our Parish Deacon, is a Permanent Deacon ordained for life as a Deacon.  Permanent Deacons are usually married men and they too serve in parishes.  All Deacons, both Transitional and Permanent, are able to baptize, preside at weddings and funerals without a Mass, and preach a homily at Mass.

We are so privileged that on the great Solemnity of Corpus Christi next Sunday our new,  young Deacon, Brian Morris, will be preaching for the very first time at Mass.   Please plan on coming to the 10:30am Mass on May 29th to listen to Brian preach and lead our Corpus Christi Eucharistic  Procession at the conclusion of Mass. The Corpus Christi Procession will make its way to Mercy Park where Brian is to offer Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament for us.   Following the celebrations of Corpus Christi, we will have a reception in Mercy Park for Brian.  So please stop by following 10:30am Mass next Sunday to congratulate Brian and his family on this great milestone in his journey to priesthood.  It will truly be a day to celebrate at OLM!

There are some other upcoming dates at OLM to mark in your calendar.  On Saturday, June 4 at the 5:00pm Mass we celebrate Mass with our OLM School 8th Grade and the graduation ceremony marking this great occasion is to take place on Tuesday, June 7 at 6:00Pm in OLM Church.  Keep these students in your prayers as they prepare to embark to high school

Also we await our Summer Seminarian, Billy Burdier, who is schedule to arrive in early June to begin his ministry with us.  Be sure to give him your usual warm welcome when he arrives.  And also mark your calendars for the weekend of June 18/19 as that is to be Fr. Connors final weekend here at OLM.  We are to honor him and thank him as a parish with a reception in Mercy Park on Sunday, June 19 following 10:30am Mass.  Please be sure to come!

No news yet on who is to coming to replace Fr. Connors.  Say some prayers that we find out soon! Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Sox!

O Come Holy Spirit, Proclaiming the Good News at Pentecost

Dear Parishioners: Mother Nature was kind to us for last Saturday’s celebration of First Communion. No rain showers to dampen the day.  The sixty-five children were well prepared and eager to receive the Eucharistic Lord for the very first time. The Church was decorated beautifully, the music was superb, the children angelic and the First Communion Masses truly a celebration of faith, hope and love.  I offer thanks to all who helped to make the day so meaningful and beautiful especially our First Communion Class teachers, aides and volunteers. Also, we thank the parents and families of these children for bringing them to the Altar of God to receive Jesus Christ sacramentally for the first of many times.

These First Communicants are the future of our parish and Church, so please continue to pray for them. Pray that they and their families might continue to stay close to Christ and His Church.  We hope that they might always find the meaning and direction in their lives by nourishing and strengthening themselves on the Sacraments.   I recall the words that Pope Emeritus Benedict spoke to a First Communion Class meeting with him.

He said: “The Mass centers life. We live amid so many things. And the people who do not go to church, do not know that it is precisely Jesus they lack. But they feel that something is missing in their lives. If God is absent from my life, if Jesus is absent from my life, a guide, an essential friend is missing, even an important joy for life, the strength to grow as a man, to overcome my vices and mature as a human being. With the passing of the weeks and years, we feel more and more keenly the absence of God, the absence of Jesus. It is a fundamental and destructive incompleteness. I could easily speak of countries where atheism has prevailed for years: how souls are destroyed, but also the earth. In this way we can see that it is important, and I would say fundamental, to be nourished by Jesus in Communion. It is he who gives us enlightenment, offers us guidance for our lives, a guidance that we need.”

The Church and grounds are looking good and I thank our hard working OLM Maintenance Staff of Paul Anderson,  Jeff Franzone and Dave Belanger for getting everything ready for First Communion Day.  They worked in the rain and cold to ensure      everything was clean and neat for this special day for our parish.  If you see them around be sure to thank them for all their hard work for our parish. The weather this past week cooperated so they could continue their  work on the grounds at the Franciscan and Mercy Convents.  Trees were cut down and some shrubs are to be removed. New plantings and flowers to be planted around the convents.  Our good Sisters are excited about this project so keep an eye out in the coming weeks.

Today we celebrate the great Solemnity of Pentecost which celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church fifty days after Easter.  In the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary.  They were able to speak their native Galilean dialect but were understood by people of many different languages and nations. It is considered as the birthday of the Church because from that point on the Apostles carried the Good News of Christ to the whole world. Pentecost is probably one of the most important days on the Church calendar, but it often gets overlooked by Catholics.  The same Holy Spirit who filled the apostles on Pentecost comes down upon our Church of OLM. We call upon the Holy Spirit to fill us with tongues of fire, so that with passion, love and great courage, we might bring the Gospel out to our world which so desperately needs to embrace it.

Come, Holy Spirit, Fill the Hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love! Don’t forget our OLM May Devotions every Monday night at 7:00pm! Try it, you might like it!  Prayerful congratulations to our First Communion Class! Happy Pentecost! Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Sox!

Giving Thanks for Our First Communion Class and for Our Mothers!

Dear Parishioners: “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.”   This is the Psalm we sang at our First Communion Masses on Saturday.  We rejoice and give thanks for such a joyful and faith-filled celebration.  Sixty-five of our parish children came forth for the first time in their young lives to receive Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist! It is a great day for these children, their families and for our entire parish family.  We offer them our prayers and our heartfelt  congratulations.  As the name implies, it is their First not their only nor is it their last Communion.   Each Sunday we have the great privilege to come together as a parish family to worship God at Mass and to worthily receive Christ in Holy Communion.

This past week I read about an Iraqi priest named Father Ragheed Ganni.   He celebrated Sunday Mass for his parish community every week despite the constant threat of terrorism. He prepared the children of his parish for First Communion in a basement for fear that  Islamic jihadists might kill them if they did it openly.  Sadly Father Ganni would be killed by terrorists for being a Catholic Priest. A year before he was killed by terrorists, he wrote these profound words: “Without the Sunday Eucharist we cannot live.  The terrorists might think they can kill our bodies or our spirit by frightening us, but, on Sundays, churches are always full. They may try to take our life, but the Eucharist gives it back. When I hold the host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, challenging the terrorists and keeping us united in his boundless love.”

As we  rejoice in the celebration of First Holy Communion that took place yesterday, let us  truly give thanks for the gift of our Catholic Faith and also for the gift of being able to go to Sunday Mass each week free from  any fear or terror.  With great joy and hope we pray that the First Communion received by our parish children on Saturday might be just the beginning of a lifetime of weekly Communions.   St. Maximilian Kolbe once said: "If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion."

The First Communion Class gathers on Sunday morning at the 10:30am Mass for the May Crowning Ceremony.  This beautiful ceremony takes place appropriately enough on Mother’s Day.  We sing beautiful Marian Hymns as the children process with fresh gladiolas and a crown to place upon the Blessed Mother May.  They crown her Queen of Heaven and Queen of the May!  Of course, we wish all our OLM Mothers and Grandmothers a happy and holy Mother’s Day.  May God bestow his abundant blessings upon you and your families! O sweet and lovely, Virgin May, Holy Mother of God, Queen of all Mothers, pray for our Mothers!

In his 1995 Letter to Women, Saint Pope John Paul II said: “Thank you, women who are mothers! You have sheltered  human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God's own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child's first steps, who helps it to grow and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life. “  We echo his words in thanking all Mothers, living and deceased, on this Mother’s Day!

The Month of May is quickly underway!  We had a decent crowd for May Devotions on Monday.  Do you have thirty minutes to spend in prayer and reflection on Monday nights?   Join us on Mondays at 7:00pm as we adore Jesus truly present in the Eucharist, pray the Rosary, listen to meditative music, and receive Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.  It’s a great way to start the week and God knows we need more prayer in our lives and for our broken world.  In the name of the poor who benefit so greatly, I offer my thanks to the parishioners who helped us surpass our parish goal for the Catholic Charity Appeal.   Hope to see you at May Devotions! Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Sox!

Honoring Mary , Celebrating the Ascension and First Communion, its May!!!

Dear Parishioners: The Month of May is here! We begin this month dedicated to Our Blessed Mother Mary with May Devotions this Monday at 7:00PM.  We gather together in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and pray the Rosary. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament will be offered.  So please join us every Monday night at 7:00PM for May Devotions.  It is a great chance to pray together, adore the Eucharistic Lord, and venerate the Blessed Mother.

Of course, the arrival of May also means that our OLM Religious Education Program ends after another fruitful year of formation and education in the Catholic Faith for the children of our parish.  We offer our thanks to Mickey St. Jean and Doug Green who lead our excellent program.  We are grateful to our many volunteer teachers and aides who donate so much time and talent teaching our children.  And we thank the many families who so faithfully participate in our excellent program.

Next week is one of the highlights of the year at Our Lady of Mercy.  First Communion Mass is to be celebrated next Saturday.  The children of our RE Program celebrate Frist Communion at 10:00am and the OLM School First Communion Mass at Noon.  On next Sunday, Mother’s Day, the entire Frist Communion Class celebrates the May Crowning at the 10:30am Mass.   I ask you to please continue to pray for the First Communion Class as they celebrate this great occasion of faith and joy, receiving Jesus Christ for the very first time. First Communion is a great day for our children and their families but also for our Parish Family too.  These 64 children will experience the power and the glory of the Eucharistic Lord in their lives for the very first time.

Pope Francis instructed a First Communion Class in Rome, suggesting: "The Eucharist is such a great gift. That's why going to Mass is so important. Going to Mass not just to pray, but to receive Communion, the Bread and Body of Christ. It saves us, forgives us and it makes us one with the Father. How beautiful!”

This week we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord on Thursday. It is a holyday of obligation and therefore all Catholics are obligated to attend Mass on the Ascension.  We offer four Masses for the holyday.  The Vigil of the Ascension is on Wednesday at 5:00pm and on the holyday itself there is a 7:30am Mass, 9:00am School Mass and 7:00pm.  Certainly ample opportunity for us to get to Mass.

St. Leo the Great preaches on the Ancension:  “Accordingly, dearly-beloved, throughout this time which elapsed between the Lord's Resurrection and Ascension, God's Providence had this in view, to teach and impress upon both the eyes and hearts of His own people that the Lord   Jesus Christ might be acknowledged to have as truly risen, as He was truly born, suffered, and died. And hence the most blessed Apostles and all the disciples, who had been both bewildered at His death on the cross and backward in believing His Resurrection, were so strengthened by the clearness of the truth that when the Lord  entered the heights of heaven, not only were they affected with no sadness, but were even filled with great joy. And truly great and unspeakable was their cause for joy, when in the sight of the holy multitude, above the dignity of all heavenly creatures, the Nature of mankind went up, to pass above the angels' ranks and to rise beyond the archangels' heights, and to have Its uplifting limited by no elevation until, received to sit with the Eternal Father .”

Father Connors and I are headed to New Jersey this week for the ordination of the Most Reverend James Checchio as the Bishop of Meutchen.  Bishop-elect Checchio served as the Rector of the  North American College in Rome where Fr. Connors completed his seminary studies. He has been a friend of mine for many years.  He is one of the youngest bishops in the country, having just turned 50.  The ordination is on Tuesday and we return on Wednesday in time for the holy day! Please pray for the Bishop-elect. Remember May is for Mary!  Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Sox!

Pope Francis and The Joy of Love

Dear Parishioners: Last week our Holy Father Pope Francis released an apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia—The Joy of Love. This document is the fruit of two synods or gatherings of bishops in Rome to discuss the pastoral care of the family.  Marriage and family are such important topics for the Church today. I am so glad that our parish has a vibrant Young Families Group that meet  monthly to discuss issues of marriage and Catholic parenting. The future of the Church depends on strong Catholic families! Weekly attendance at Holy Mass, regular Confession, and family prayer are the important building blocks of any Catholic family.

This week I include some excerpts from the Pope’s exhortation The Joy of Love.  Pope Francis explains: “This Exhortation is especially timely in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. First, because it represents an invitation to Christian families to value the gifts of marriage and the family, and to persevere in a love strengthened by the virtues of generosity, commitment, fidelity and patience. Second, because it seeks to encourage everyone to be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy.”

Later, the Pope says: “Love always gives life. Conjugal love “does not end with the couple... The couple, in giving themselves to one another, give not just themselves but also the reality of children, who are a living reflection of their love, a permanent sign of their conjugal unity and a living and inseparable synthesis of their being a father and a mother”. The family is the setting in which a new life is not only born but also welcomed as a gift of God. Each new life “allows us to appreciate the utterly gratuitous dimension of love, which never ceases to amaze us. It is the beauty of being loved first: children are loved even before they arrive”. Here we see a reflection of the primacy of the love of God, who always takes the initiative, for children “are loved before having done anything to deserve it”

Referring to the expense of many weddings today, the Pope explains: “Short-term preparations for marriage tend to be concentrated on invitations, clothes, the party and any number of other details that tend to drain not only the budget but energy and joy as well. The spouses come to the wedding ceremony exhausted and harried, rather than focused and ready for the great step that they are about to take. The same kind of  preoccupation with a big celebration also affects certain de facto unions; because of the expenses involved, the couple, instead of being concerned above all with their love and solemnizing it in the presence of others, never get married. Here let me say a word to fiancés. Have the courage to be different. Don’t let yourselves get swallowed up by a society of  consumption and empty appearances. What is important is the love you share, strengthened and sanctified by grace. You are capable of opting for a more modest and simple celebration in which love takes precedence over everything else. Pastoral workers and the entire community can help make this priority the norm rather than the exception.”

I encourage to read the document for yourselves. The Holy Father has rightly turned our attention to the family—the domestic Church. He wants us to do more for families, more to support marriage, and more to reach out anyone who feels marginalized. No teaching of the Church has changed—contrary to many media reports and no pastoral practice has been altered. But the Pope wants us all to do more for families, more to support marriage and more to live our faith in the world today. One thing we can all do is to pray for our families and pray for strengthening of married and family life in our parish.  Perhaps we might take up praying the Rosary as a family.  As the late Father Peyton always said: “The family that prays together, stays together!” Join us every Monday in May as we pray the Rosary before the Eucharistic Lord.  May Devotions are a great way to pray together, please join us.  Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Sox!

Good Shepherd Sunday, Praying for Vocations and Celebrating Excellence!!

  Dear Parishioners:

This week April School Vacation begins for our students and teachers.   These school vacations continue to be reexamined and some communities have opted out of February and April vacations for a longer break in March. East Greenwich continues the traditional vacation periods.  So this week OLM School and public schools are closed.

Last weekend the OLM School’s Science Olympiad Team, made up of nineteen 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, placed second in the middle school division at the RI State Science Olympiad Competition. Certainly the OLM School Middle School Scholars earned their time off.  After a two year hiatus from the competition, OLM’s Science Scholars proved they remain a force to be reckoned with, tallying 4 gold medals and 3 bronze. Out of 23 teams, OLM finished in the top 10 or higher in 19 of the 22 events. Points are awarded based on the teams’ finish in each of the 22 events.

We truly congratulate our Science Olympiad Team on this great achievement.  They took on some of the best schools in the state. They bested the blue-ribbon team from Archie Cole Middle School and the new middle-schools recently established at three of our local Catholic High Schools.   We thank our many parents who volunteered considerable time and talent to working with the students to properly prepare for the big competition. The OLM Olympiad Team proved that old-fashion hard work, deeply committed parent volunteers and a zeal for scholarship still prove to be the winning formula. Congratulations one and all! Your Pastor, your Principal and your Parish are very proud of you!!

A great event on the    horizon is the Annual OLM School Play. If their past performances are any indication this should be another great event for our    community.  The last two shows, the Wizard of Oz and the Lion King, were spectacular and quite entertaining. This year the OLM School Drama Club is planning a production of the Little Mermaid, Jr.  We are grateful to the RI Youth Theater program for producing the play.   Our talented students from almost every grade participate in this great opportunity for fun and drama.   I hope you might come out for a performance and watch the students display their talent for all to see.   The Little Mermaid, Jr. is to have two showings.  One on Saturday, June 11, at 7:00pm, and the second on Sunday, June 12, at 4:00pm.  Both performances are to be held in the East Greenwich High School Auditorium.   Mark you calendar to come watch a Broadway style show!

In the name of the OLM School community I wish to publically thank Mr. Frank Mattos, a school parent and OLM parishioner, for his recent generous donation of 22 IPads to our school. We are grateful for his generous spirit in giving to OLM School these great devices from his company, ServPro of Providence.  Our excellent Technology Teacher, Mrs. Bea Lukens, is already putting them to good educational use! Thank you Frank and family for your generous support of OLM School. Implementing the use of these IPads in our school’s curriculum is another step in moving forward technologically.  OLM School now has complete  Wi-Fi for our faculty and students and these IPads are an excellent addition to enhancing our technology at the school. Just another great thing about our excellent school to be proud of as a parish.

This weekend we mark Good Shepherd Sunday which is also the Annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Please take some time to pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.  Pope Francis suggests: “Dear young friends, how wonderful it is to be surprised by God’s call, to embrace his word, and to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in adoration of the divine mystery and in generous service to our neighbors! ” A continued Happy and Holy Easter Season! Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Sox!