Dear Parishioners:
We had a wonderful celebration of Confirmation last Sunday. The newly confirmed were well prepared and prayerful, the music was outstanding, the servers were superb, and Bishop Matano offered a great message to the conformandi. In your name, I thank the many people who helped to make this important day in the life our parish such a great occasion of faith, hope and joy.
We especially thank Mr. Doug Green who so faithfully and ably leads our Confirmation
Program and the many good people who help him in this important work. We also thank OLM Organist and Choir Director, Henri St. Louis, OLM Soloist, Deirdre Donovan and our OLM Choir for their great gift of music. We must thank the many ushers who helped to see the Mass went so smoothly along with the sacristans, Altar Servers, Reception and Decorating Committees, and the many other volunteers who helped make it a great occasion.
I would be remiss if we didn’t thank Paul Anderson and the great work by our maintenance staff. They ensured the grounds and the inside of Church was neat and clean. They also recently finished up the landscaping work around the parish convents. I hope you notice how nice the new plantings and grass around the Mercy Convent and the Franciscan Convent look.
This also includes a new driveway and walkway the Franciscan Convent, the repair of the driveway at the Mercy Convent, the addition of more parking behind Mercy House in the main parking lot and the addition of a curb on the Convent side of Third Street. They worked hard in completing these projects and we are truly grateful for their dedication to our 
parish.
We also must thank OLM Parishioner David Lynch and the J.H. Lynch & Sons Company for donating the asphalt and paving of these projects. Mr. Lynch was most generous, helpful and supportive of the project and we are deeply grateful. Sister Jean, Sister Lourdes and Sister Emma are all delighted with their new and beautiful surroundings.
We also finished enhancing the grounds surrounding Mercy House which houses the OLM Religious Education and Outreach Offices. We thank you for your generous financial support of these projects through the Annual Collection. Only 300 families have thus far contributed to our Annual Collection. If you have not yet contributed I urge you to please do so today. We need all OLM families to support the Annual Collection to be truly successful.
We celebrate All Saints Day on Tuesday and it is a holy day of obligation for all Catholics. Please plan on attending one of the four Masses offered for the holy-day as together we celebrate All the Saints.
On Wednesday we mark All Souls Day as we remember all the faithful departed. There are three Masses
so please join us in praying for All Souls. Next Sunday at the 10:30am Mass we remember our fellow OLM Parishioners who have died this past year. Their names are listed in this week’s bulletin, please keep them and their families in your prayers. May the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
I encourage you to please read the bulletin insert on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. It helps us to better understand which issues to consider when voting.
In 
particular, the U.S. bishops stress that “Catholic teaching challenges voters and candidates, citizens and elected officials, to consider the moral and ethical dimensions of public policy issues.” The bishops also remind us that: “Not all issues are equal.”
We must look at various issues of different moral weight and urgency and be mindful that “some involve intrinsically evil acts, which can never be
approved,” such as the grave attacks on human life presented by abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide.
This insert is meant to help guide all of us to better reflect on what we are reading and hearing about issues and candidates. Much of the media has its own partisan or secular agenda. Being vigilant about the fundamental issues such as the sanctity of all human life is another way we practice fruitful engagement in public life.
On Monday night come pray for the nation at Devotions. God knows we need it. Be well. Do good. Go Pats! God Bless.
In their statement on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, the U.S. Catholic bishops remind Catholics about the call to participate in political life. "In the Catholic tradition," they write, "responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation." Yes, we have a moral obligation as faithful Catholics to vote in elections. We are called to bring our Catholic principles to our political choices and our Catholic values to our votes.
Over the next few weekends before Election Day on November 8th, there will be bulletin inserts on “Faithful Citizenship.” These are meant to be a guide for you as you pray and reflect about your vote. I hope it also provides some insight as to what it means to vote with a Catholic conscience.
Last Sunday morning shortly after 6:00am I received a text message from our erstwhile Associate Pastor, Fr. Connors. It simply said: “Tobin named Cardinal!” I admit that I was perplexed but soon enough Father clarified it by adding “from Indy!” So our own Bishop Tobin was not named Cardinal after all!
Piazza he heard the news about Pope Francis naming new Cardinals and calling a Papal Consistory in November. The Holy Father has named three new Cardinals from the Untied States: Archbishop Blasé Cupich of Chicago, Archbishop Kevin Farrell from Dallas, the Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery of Laity, Family and Life, and Archbishop Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis. These three bishops along with fourteen other bishops from across the globe make up the new members of the College of Cardinals.
elevated to the College of Cardinals in Rome on November 19th. The College of Cardinals is a group of bishops who advise the Holy Father on Church matters. All Cardinals under the age of 80 also participate in the election of a new Pope. They play an important role in the life and mission of the Church. Please keep them and our Holy Father in your prayers.
We are to have our own celebration next weekend. We have a visiting Bishop coming to OLM for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Eighty-eight of our young adults from OLM are to be confirmed by Bishop Salvatore R. Matano of Rochester, NY next Sunday at the 5:00pm Mass. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to prepare for the reception of the Sacrament. Bishop Matano is no stranger to OLM as he has visited many times and celebrated Confirmation here on numerous occasions.
with our late OLM Pastor, Monsignor Lolio. The Bishop served as the Vicar-General of our Diocese and the Pastor of St. Sebastian Church in Providence for many years before being named the Bishop of Burlington, VT. A few years ago he was named the new Bishop of Rochester, NY. Over twenty years ago when I was a newly ordained priest, I was privileged enough to live with Bishop Matano when he was the resident priest at St. Augustine Church in Providence. I am truly grateful that he accepted the invitation to be with us at OLM and celebrate this special day for our young adults.
But please take heed that next week at the Sunday night 5:00PM Mass the Sacrament of Confirmation is to be celebrated. This means that the eighty-eight Confirmation Candidates, their sponsors, families and friends are to be in Church! You are most welcome to attend and celebrate this great occasion with them but if you’d like a guaranteed seat in Church I’d advise you to go to another Sunday Mass next week.
Church and deserve our prayers and support. So please come to October Devotions on this Monday and pray with and for the Confirmation candidates. After October Devotions on Monday, the Confirmation candidates, their sponsors, parents and family member are invited to continue the preparation by receiving the grace of a good Confession. Several area priests along with Fr. Barrow and myself will be available to hear these Confessions. All are welcome to come to Confession on Monday and experience God’s love, forgiveness and mercy.
us.” God offers his gift of mercy to each and every one of us, no matter what. But we have to decide to receive that gift—whether or not to turn away from sin and turn, instead, toward him. We have to decide whether we want God.
call to prayer is to pick up your Rosary and use it! We had a good crowd for October Devotions last Monday but there was plenty of room for more. I urge you to take some time out of your busy schedule and join us in praying the Rosary for life as we adore Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist. It will be a better half-hour than The Wheel of Fortune! Hope to see you there!
God and our Parish. I ask you to encourage your child or grandchild to join the few, the proud the OLM Altar Servers! They will learn discipline and duty, commitment and reverence and truly serve God and Parish.
they too were Altar Servers at their parish. One Sunday before Mass they had a fight in the Sacristy. One of the boys cracked a brass candlestick on the other boy's head causing him to bleed. Their parish priest was quite naturally upset, but kept calm, reprimanded them but gave them another chance to serve Mass. Thankfully they were given another chance to serve! It turns out this was a good thing as later on in their lives, della Genga would become Pope Leo XII who reigned as Pope between 1823 and 1829. And his friend, Castiglioni would follow him as Pope Pius VIII. Discipline and duty, commitment and reverence are great skills for life! Yes, Altar Serving can lead to great things!
It’s good to be home! As you know I was hospitalized over a week ago due to a serious infection and fever. I received intravenous antibiotics to treat the infection and spent a few days at Roger Williams General Hospital. Thankfully I am home and on the mend now. I am grateful for the terrific treatment I received at the hospital. The nursing and medical staff were caring, compassionate and professional. The infection is still being treated by antibiotics but I am happy to be home heading to a full recovery.
featuring our talented OLM organist, soloist and choirs was beautiful. A large crowd of all ages showed up to make lunches for the homeless and pack them with socks. This Socks and Sandwiches is a true Work of Mercy and provides much needed support to the homeless at Emmanuel House in Providence. I offer thanks to all who participated in this Work of Mercy.
Mass last Saturday. Bishop McManus is no stranger to OLM having lived and ministered here as a Transitional Deacon. He also was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Providence right here at OLM.
Our Annual Parish Collection looks to be off to a good start. My thanks to the many parishioners who have contributed thus far. However, we are a parish of over 2,000 families and to truly make the collection a success we need all parishioners to support the Annual Collection. We are asking each parish family to consider a contribution of $300. If you have not yet made a contribution to the Annual Collection, please do so today. My thanks for your continued generosity and support of this wonderful parish.
Francis has reminded us: “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.”
October is also a month dedicated to the Holy Rosary. According to an account by fifteenth-century Dominican Friar, Alan de la Roch, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic in 1206 after he had been praying and doing severe penances because of his lack of success in combating the Albigensian heresy. The Blessed Virgin Mary praised him for his valiant fight against the heretics and then gave him the Rosary as a mighty weapon, explained its uses and efficacy, and told him to preach it to others.
We recall this weekend and remember in prayer the tragic events of September 11, 2001. It is a day we all know precisely where we were as we watched in horror and disbelief the senseless attacks upon our nation. This Sunday on the Fifteenth Anniversary we remember the thousands of innocent who died that day and those who grieve the loss of loved ones. We pray for them especially at Mass.
Sacrifice of the Mass, at these very moments when bells are ringing throughout the United States, when people are united in their parishes, their churches, their synagogues, and their mosques, their heads bowed in reverent silence, recalling –recalling with somberness,recalling with gratitude and recalling with prayers — the events of 10 years ago today at these very moments when the second of the Twin Towers was attacked. 
we see outside. 
innocent people perished, as valiant rescuers rushed to their aid, as families were fractured, and as a nation seemed on the ground. 
Next weekend’s Second Collection is for the Senior Priests’ Retirement Fund. I hope you can be generous in aiding the Senior Priests who serve so faithfully even after retirement. By the way, Fr. Barrow retires in 48 years and I hope to retire in the year 2040. So we won’t benefit from this collection for some time!! Thanks for your support.