Dear Parishioners: Well Fr. Barrow was relieved he had a “Happy Pastor” and a very “Sad Bishop” on Monday morning! A great game by the victorious Patriots over the Steelers resulted in much happiness for many and some sadness for one native of Pittsburgh who lives on the Wampanoag Trail! Now we’re on to Houston!!
This weekend we begin our annual celebration of Catholic Schools Week. We don’t speak much about love in education. Not even in the Church when we speak about Catholic Schools. Instead, we focus on more tangible measures of success: how 99 percent of Catholic school students get their high-school diplomas; how a black or Latino child is 2.5 times more likely to graduate from college if he or she has attended a Catholic high school; how Catholic schools manage to do all this at a fraction of the cost of public schools.
Don’t misunderstand, we are very proud when our OLM School students succeed. When their test scores are high and their academic work superior. In the popular view, Catholic schools succeed because they have greater discipline, higher standards and more committed teachers. But remember that the Latin root for the verb “to discipline” is not “to punish” but “to teach.” It’s a lesson that begins with recognizing the love of God and the God-given dignity of every human being.
In short, the Gospel that commands us to love one another obliges us to treat each person we encounter as we would Christ. That’s not an easy thing to ask of a school, even a Catholic school. Though many might argue that Catholic education, which is still the largest private education system in America and still outperforms most public schools, is about many things but not love. However, I firmly believe that the center of Catholic Education is love.
Philadelphia, known as “The City of Brotherly Love”, is home to the very first parish school, St. Mary’s School founded in 1783 by a parish priest, Fr. Robert Molineux. As pastor he had to raise the funds to build the school, then find the funds to keep it operating and so he preached an annual “Charity Sermon” on behalf of the school so that the parishioners without children in the school might also contribute to its upkeep and operation.
Not much has changed in over 200 years, I still have to do the same each year during Catholic Schools Week. A time when we highlight the contribution of Catholic Education to our Church and society, the excellence of our own parish school and seek your support through today’s second collection, the Saints and Scholars Annual Fund. OLM’s 13th Pastor, the late Fr. Brady, had a tremendous concern for the children of the parish.
With the permission and encouragement of then Bishop Russell J. McVinney, Fr. Brady established OLM School. The Religious Sisters of Mercy staffed the school with Sister Helena serving as Principal. God built the Church and School we’ve inherited through the hard work and sacrifice of the generations of believers who have gone before us. Their generosity and witness made our faith possible and both this wonderful parish and our excellent parish school possible. It’s now our turn to shape the future of this 21st Century with the same zeal and dedication.
The Mission Statement of OLM School reads: Our Mission at Our Lady of Mercy School is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church as we pursue excellence in academics, athletics and the arts. In the midst of a safe and nurturing environment we seek to develop a good moral character built upon the teachings of the Catholic Church. We strive to be Saints and Scholars who serve the evangelical mission of our parish so that Mercy may flourish.
The measure of our success at OLM School is not to be solely found in the great academic achievements, the many athletic victories, the outstanding programs or the artistic accomplishments. After all any student at any school, parochial, private or public, can expertly learn to add and to subtract, to read and to write, to run and to throw or to paint and to sing. Catholic education is not about being “socially useful.” Nor is it only about good “values.” Catholic education is and must be about developing saints by lovingly growing the seeds of the Catholic Faith in the children entrusted to our school. Anything less cheats these children of their dignity as children of God.
So this week please join in and celebrate Catholic Schools Week, pray for OLM School and our budding saints and scholars! Thank your for your generous support of the Saints and Scholar’s Fund. Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats, Go!!!
This Sunday, January 22, 2017 is the 44th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Decision that legalized abortion in the United States. As the U.S. Bishops have stated: “Abortion has become the fundamental human rights issue for all men and women of good will. For us abortion is of overriding concern because it negates two of our most fundamental moral imperatives: respect for innocent life, and preferential concern for the weak and defenseless.”
are asked to pray, advocate and act against abortion. Monday is a National Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn. This important Day of Prayer will be observed at OLM with All-Day Adoration of the Eucharist beginning after the 7:30am Mass. Join us Monday night at 7:00pm as we pray a Rosary for Life and listen to a Reflection on the Sanctity of Life. Our speaker is the Dominican Friar, Father Albert Duggan, OP. He is a graduate of Brown University and currently serves as the University Chaplain there. Even if you cannot attend Adoration or the Rosary, I ask you to please spend some time on Monday praying for the protection of the unborn.
Statehouse on Tuesday and add your voice to the chorus of pro-life people calling for the protection of the unborn. If you cannot make it to the Statehouse then perhaps you might write or call your State Representative or State Senator and urge them to support all pro-life legislation or thank them if they already do support it!
On Friday thousands of pro-lifers from across the nation gather in Washington, DC for the Annual March for Life. The March begins with a rally with thousands of pro-lifers on the National Mall before marching to the Supreme Court. Rally speakers include religious leaders, Members of Congress and also this year the Baltimore Ravens Tight End Benjamin Watson and Abby Johnson, a former Director of Planned Parenthood in Texas.
support group and healing retreats. The Life and Family Ministry Office is always in need of volunteers and financial assistance.
Next Sunday we kickoff the Annual Catholic Schools Week with an Open House at our wonderful OLM School from 10:00am until 12:00pm. Some of our great OLM students will be speaking at Masses next weekend in celebration of this Catholic Schools week.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Last weekend saw the first big snowstorm of the season. A few people called to ask if we were having Mass or would it be cancelled because of the snow? As long as Fr. Barrow and I are in the Rectory there will always be Mass. We don’t have a long commute so the snow doesn’t prevent us from making it to Church. We got a foot of snow on Saturday but a few parishioners still managed to make it to the 4:00pm Mass! Kudos to them!
crew who plowed and shoveled the snow last weekend. The walkways and parking lots were cleared of the slippery snow for Masses. We thank them for their hard work in ensuring the snow is removed in a timely fashion. Enough of the white stuff for now! If you’re praying for snow, aim for weekdays not weekends! This week all the beautiful decorations of Christmas were removed as the season officially ended on Monday with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The crèche from Church and the one from the front lawn were put away for another year.
Ordinary Time is a time for growth and maturation, a time in which the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal, toward which all of history is directed, is represented by the final Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe.”
This Friday, January 20th, is Inauguration Day as Donald J. Trump is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America. Regardless of which candidate we voted for, which party we belong to or whose personality we like or dislike, as a people of Catholic Faith we must pray for our new President and Vice-President. The future of our nation and the free world are now in the hands of our new president and his administration. So please Pray for President Trump and Vice-President Pence that they might be inspired to lead with justice, truth and love for all human life and a deep respect for human dignity. We must pray for all our elected leaders that they may truly serve the common good of our nation.
“We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty."
his fight for justice. Dr. King reminds us: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Let us pray for an end to all injustice, bigotry, racism and hatred. Happy MLK Day! Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats, Go!!!
Did you make a New Year’s resolution? How is it going? I read that gym memberships surge in January due to the amount of people resolved to get in shape. Apparently it is a big money maker for heath clubs as they collect new membership fees and the new members drop out quickly!
What about a spiritual resolution for 2017? Did you make one? Confession once a month? More faithful attendance to Sunday Mass? More time for family and less on career? How about more time for prayer? Perhaps even committing to stopping by Church once a day or once a week for some quiet time of prayer and reflection with the Lord? These are all good spiritual resolutions you can add to the usual resolutions we make like getting in shape and stopping bad habits!
Pray for those you know and those you don’t. Pray for Pope Francis, Bishop Tobin, and Bishop Evans. Pray for the clergy and religious of OLM. Pray for the priests of the Diocese of Providence. Pray that more young men and women might answer God’s call to serve the Church as priest and religious. Pray for Deacon Brian Morris from this parish who is to be ordained a priest of Providence this June.
Pray for world leaders. Pray for peace among nations. Pray for our new President, our new congress, our new General Assembly and all our newly elected leaders. Pray for wisdom and justice, charity. Pray for all refugees, migrants, the many victims of war and violence. Pray for an end to terrorism and hatred of any kind.
Pray for marriages, that they will be strengthened. Pray for families who are struggling and parents who are overwhelmed. Pray for mothers. Pray for unborn children. Pray for fathers. Pray for those who grieve the loss of a loved one.
that more people will come to know Jesus Christ, the hope of the world. Pray that Catholics who have fallen away from the faith might come back to Mass and the Sacraments. Pray that more of us might spread the Gospel of Joy with our words and deeds.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany and the end of the Christmas Season. Epiphany means manifestation. What the Church celebrates today is the manifestation of our Lord to the whole world. Having been made known to the shepherds of Bethlehem, Christ is revealed to the Magi who have come from the East to adore Him. Christian tradition has always seen in the Magi the first fruits of the
Gentiles. They lead in their wake all the peoples of the earth, and thus the Epiphany is an affirmation of universal salvation.
What a grand celebration of Christmas was had at Our Lady of Mercy! Crowds of people coming to worship and praise God for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Beautiful singing and music in the spirit of the season. Reverent and solemn celebrations befitting the King of Kings! Christmas at Our Lady of Mercy was truly terrific. Of course, none of this is possible without the hard work of lots of good people. The OLM Parish Staff and our many wonderful volunteers put lots of time and talent into getting ready for the Birth of our Savior!
Henri St. Louis and the OLM Choir provided beautiful music at Masses. Our OLM Soloist, Deirdre Donovan sang beautifully the great hymns of Christmas! The Children's Choir sounded truly terrific at the 4:00pm Vigil Mass. Their angelic voices add such grace to the Mass! If you couldn’t attend the Midnight Mass then you missed the Choir accompanied by our majestic organ, brass, timpani, and strings! The Concert of Christmas Music prior to Midnight Mass was spectacular. We are so blessed to have such talented and gifted musicians at OLM. If you’ve never been to Midnight Mass, make the effort next year as it is truly an outstanding celebration of Christmas.
We must thank our hard working OLM Sacristans who ensure all the Mass linens, sacred vessels and vestments are cleaned, polished and ready to go for Christmas! We thank also our great Altar Servers for serving God at Holy Mass with dignity, grace and reverence. We give thanks for the Lectors who proclaimed God’s Word so profoundly and the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who ensure that the Body of Christ is distributed with reverence. We are grateful for our many Ushers who offer a warm welcome to visitors and see to the good order of Mass. Yes, God is good and we rightly give Him thanks and praise. We thank Him for the blessings of Our Lady of Mercy Parish. We thank Him for the beautiful celebration of Christmas. We thank Him for the gift of His Son born on Christmas Day!
God. We begin the New Year dedicating our lives and our parish to the protection and guidance of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a great start to the New Year as we give praise to the Mother of God and seek her maternal intercession.
In this New Year of 2017 the world marks the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has proclaimed that the Diocese of Providence is to commemorate this historic anniversary to a special Year dedicated to Mary our Mother. In declaring the Year of Mary, Bishop Tobin stated: “Mary is part of our family and our spiritual family. So we honor her, we love her, we keep mementos of her around us and we turn to her for help whenever we need it. So our devotion to Mary is really a family celebration in our Catholic family .”
Merry Christmas! This year we are blessed to have the great feast of the Nativity of our Lord on a Sunday. This means we’ve had an extra week of Advent prayer and preparation for Christmas. So celebrate the birth of our Savior!
1223. Christmas was coming and St. Francis of Assisi longed to do something to help the people of the small Italian town of Greccio to feel close to the infant Jesus who born for them in a stable in Bethlehem. The Saint knew these good folks would never have a chance to visit the Holy Land so he wanted to make the Nativity a real and personal experience for the faithful.
Christmas Eve, people came from miles around for Midnight Mass, all of them willingly climbing the steep and rocky hillside in the bitter cold.
Mass,he had a vision in which he saw a baby asleep in the manger. As he watched, he saw St. Francis pick the baby up, holding Him very lovingly in his arms. The man understood this to mean that the child Jesus had been forgotten by many people, but through St. Francis, that Christmas night in Greccio, the Baby Jesus came to life in the hearts and minds of all those who saw the crib.
Saint Francis, I invite you to enter on a journey on this
Christmas 2016, a journey to Bethlehem. We may not be able to make the physical pilgrimage to the land of the Savior’s birth, but we can make the journey interiorly, that is, in our hearts, praying before the Nativity sets displayed in our homes and here at Church as spiritually we travel to Bethlehem to adore Him.
journey to Bethlehem to behold the face of God in Jesus Christ, I note that the word Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” The child Jesus came not only to redeem us through His death and resurrection, but to nourish and sustain us with His very Body and Blood, as He does at every Mass we celebrate and each time we worthily receive Him in Holy Communion.