Essential and Holy

Dear Parishioners:            

We continue to live a new way of life as a result of the Cornavirus Pandemic.  We don’t socialize the way we once did instead we now text, call, email or Zoom!  Zoom is a way for many people to talk live together online.  It is being used by our OLM School Faculty for the new way we teach school children now with distance learning.      We don’t shop the way we once did as now we keep “social distance” and those over 60 have special hours.  We don’t drive the way we once did as now we only go out for the basics and watch  New Yorkers being  pulled over  and told to quarantine. 

The government has now deemed many businesses and activities as non-essential. The list of essential and critical businesses seems to be a reflection perhaps of what our society truly values.  Among the critical businesses are gun shops, liquor stores,  and marijuana centers.  They along with hospitals, grocery stores,  and pharmacies are essential to surviving the pandemic!  Sadly missing from the list of essentials is the worship of God. 

Yes the Church wishes to comply with public safety concerns and seeks not to spread the virus. Prayer, however,   is essential! Thus OLM Church is open every day for private prayer.  Confessions are still heard so sinners might be forgiven! This certainly is not an irresponsible act of defiance but rather because we know God is truly essential and quite critical in these days despite what any elected official or government bureaucrat decides!

Daily the priests of OLM offer Mass for you and your intentions. Daily the good sisters of OLM pray before the Eucharistic Lord for your well being and for an end to this pandemic. Daily individuals make their way into OLM to kneel before God and offer prayers.  This is  critical and essential and must continue!

On this Palm Sunday we begin the holiest week of the year.  It is perhaps the strangest of Holy Weeks  any of us may ever experience.  The glorious and solemn ceremonies of the Triduum now to be celebrated with  simplicity in empty churches.  The RCIA candidates are not be baptized and confirmed at the Easter Vigil.    A strange Holy Week lay ahead of us!  However, it does not mean  we must not celebrate it with prayerfulness and holiness even if from a distance.  The Holy Week Services at OLM are available online so that all our parishioners can and should participate from home. 

We must prepare for this Holy Week by ensuring we set aside the proper time and space in our homes to watch and pray together.  While we are not physically together in the same building, we are truly united as the Body of Christ in faith, hope and love.  So mark your calendar for Holy Week, and take the time needed to prayerfully enter into the great mysteries of our faith.

In many ways this Holy  Week each one of us is on retreat in a monastery  albeit one with all the comforts of home!  While it is comfortable for us we must strive all the more to make it more prayerful and holy! It has been said that the contemplative life of the monastery is the highest form of life that a Christian may live. For in responding to God’s call to holiness, a contemplative monk or nun fulfills an important role in the Church: they visibly witnesses by a  life of prayer and contemplation to the absolute priority of God. It is often called “the angelic life,” because the contemplation of God continues in heaven and throughout all eternity. The life of the monastery is already a foretaste of what is to come as we contemplate our great and loving God.

This Holy Week make your home a monastery for contemplation and prayer.  Turn off the computer and cell phone. Disconnect from the worldly distractions! Prayerfully enter into the contemplation of the mysteries of the Sacred Triduum. On Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter stop to contemplate in prayer and worship the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

St. Benedict said the monastery is “the family of love.”  Make your home that monastery this Holy Week, worship with us online, and pray for an increase of faith, hope and love in our world.  Lift up your hearts and give thanks to the Lord our God.  For it isn't only right and just it is truly essential! Be well. Do Good! Stay safe. God Bless. Oremus pro invicem! A Blessed Holy Week!

Pray, Hope, Don't Worry

Dear Parishioners:             

Pope Francis in his morning homily on Monday reminds us of the importance of prayer during this global crisis. He said: “Faith, perseverance and courage. In these days, it’s necessary to pray more. Imagine if we were to pray like this. With faith – that the Lord can intervene; with perseverance and with courage. The Lord never deceives. He makes us wait. He takes His time. But he never deceives. Faith, perseverance and courage.”

We called to be people of faith, perseverance and courage  as Catholic disciples. In many ways this time of isolation and quarantine is a time of renewal of our faith.  It is a Lent within a Lent, a time we are forced to refocus the priorities of our lives.  It is time for us to focus on what is truly important and essential, the health and well being of ourselves, our family, friends and our community.  The health and well being not only in the physical  and financial sense but also in the spiritual sense.

While being in a comfortable and secure location, all of us might be tempted to reduce this  time of lock-down into an opportunity to catch up on sleep, reading, or even our hobbies. We must  fight these temptations and choose instead to renew our commitments to prayer, sacrifices and worship. There are many opportunities to support these efforts available  online. We can reflect upon the Word of God and the truths of the Faith.

At the OLM parish webpage (olmparish.org) you will find links to resources to help you with prayer and worship while at home.  These include Word on Fire with Bishop Barron, Magnificat which is offering free access and Formed which offers informative ways to be formed in the Catholic Faith. We are expecting  to install a new live-streaming system at OLM. We hope this will help us as a parish family as we are able to live-stream Mass at OLM.  More information about this is available on the parish webpage (olmparish.org). 

Also we are signing up for a  new communication system for parishioners called Flock Notes.  This will enable us to email or text parishioners updates and invitations on a regular basis.  It is easy and efficient and we hope to launch it this week. In the meantime, I encourage you to read the bulletin online at the parish webpage.  We have a limited number of bulletins being printed but it will be posted weekly on the webpage along with any updates or messages, please check our parish website daily.

I must thank Fr. Barrow for his technological genius and help with all these matters.  Much of this is new to me as I expect it is to many of us of  a certain age and generation.  However, it is the best way for us to stay connected in these strange times of separation.  Fr. Connors has returned to OLM as St. John Seminary has closed. He is living with us and teaching his classes via the internet much like our dedicated faculty at OLM School. It’s good to have him home with us!

I commend our OLM School Principal, Patrick McNabb, and our faculty for the great job of implementing the distance learning for our parish school students. The teachers are teaching and the students are learning!  We are grateful for the hard work, dedication and cooperation of our school family!

OLM Outreach continues to supply food and assistance to those in need on a daily basis.  If you are in need or know someone who is, please contact Doug Green at 401-884-4410 or    reach him via email at outreach@olmparish.org

As your parish priests, we are truly heartsick that we cannot minister directly to our flock. However, Fr. Barrow, Fr. Connors and I offer Mass privately everyday for you and your intentions. We are joined by our good sisters who daily pray for you.  Please continue to pray for us.

I ask you to please mail in  your budget envelopes or put them in the newly installed depository in the vestibule. I ask all parishioners to please consider giving online sign up at Parish Giving at olmparish.org.  We need your continued financial support in this  time of crisis as we still have employees and bills to pay.  I thank you for your  continued support.

St. Padre Pio reminds us: "Pray, hope, don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayers."  Be well. Do Good! Stay safe. God Bless. Oremus pro invicem!

Change and Preparation at OLM

Dear Parishioners:             

The life of our parish has changed as have our own lives.  The state of emergency we are now living in as result of the Covaid 19 Pandemic has changed our daily lives and the life of our Church.                                     

Bishop Tobin has mandated that the public celebration of Holy Mass be suspended until further notice.  It is a difficult time and as Bishop Tobin acknowledged it was one of the most painful decisions he has ever made as a bishop. I ask you to please pray for our  Bishop as I know he is praying for you and all the Catholics of our Diocese. Fr. Barrow and I continue to privately celebrate Mass daily for you and your intentions. You continue to be in our prayers and was ask for your prayers for us.

With such an unprecedented  situation of the suspension of all Public Masses, the Church recommends to us an ancient practice of “spiritual communion.” It essentially consists of relating to God your desire to receive him in Holy Communion, spiritually uniting yourself to him in an intimate and personal way.   Those who make a spiritual communion can receive many spiritual graces from God, strengthening them in their time of trial.

St. John Paul II praised such a practice in his encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia. He writes: “It is good to cultivate in our hearts a constant desire for the sacrament of the Eucharist. This was the origin of the practice of ‘spiritual communion,’ which has happily been established in the Church for centuries and recommended by saints who were masters of the spiritual life. Saint Teresa of Jesus wrote: ‘When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you.’ ”

During these unprecedented times in our world. Many think it is all hype and hysteria, but I urge you to pray and to  please prepare for the worst and hope for the best. No country in the world can sustain the burden of a large outbreak of this disease, so please continue to pray.

Across the globe many face possible illness and pain, possible suffering and death and loss and grief. We face restriction on our freedoms, economic hardship and probable loss of access to the sacraments for some period of time. We all watched the sufferings of China, and Wuhan in particular. Now we see what has happened to Europe, and in particular to our brothers and sisters in Italy. The  Pandemic continues to move elsewhere including here in RI.

On St. Patrick’s Day morning, I was praying and reading the reflections and prayers of Father Willie Doyle, SJ.  He was an Irish Jesuit Priest  who was a famous preacher, confessor and spiritual director in the early part of the 20th Century.  He was known to have a special gift to hunt out the most hardened and neglected sinners and to bring them back with him to the church for confession. He would serve as a Military Chaplain in World War I until he was killed in the Battle of Ypres  in 1917.  It was reported that he was killed after having run “all day hither and thither over the battlefield like an angel of mercy.” This good shepherd truly gave his life for his sheep.

What would Fr Doyle say to us if he were to speak to us today? I think he would base his advice to us on this prayer he wrote during the war: “God sometimes seems to ask the impossible, a sorrow, a cross. Oh! it would crush me! How can this be! How? Lord, I do not know, but You do. I will trust you always,”

Fr Doyle lived through the terror and tragedy of  the First World War. He lived with death day after day. He too had to be without the sacraments. Through it all he remained strong and faithful, serene and peaceful. Soldiers flocked to him, as he was a source of reassurance. Whenever he wrote about troubles he always wrote about trusting in God, and abandoning ourselves into His loving arms. God is our loving Father, and we can trust in Him.

To trust in God we must get to know God, and to do this we must pray. If we have spent more time preparing physically, by gathering food and supplies, than we have by preparing spiritually through prayer and “stockpiling” grace, we may need to reorient ourselves a little.

Prepare with prayer! Keep the faith! Trust in God!! Be well. Do Good! God Bless.

St. Joseph Day Message

The Solemnity of St. Joseph
March 19, 2020

 

Dear OLM Family:

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the patron of the Universal Church.  Plagues have a long history in Europe, and when Christians were in the midst of such a crisis, they often turned to St. Joseph.  Beyond asking for his powerful intercession, many Christians would make personal consecrations to St. Joseph, offering to him their entire lives in hopes that they and their families would be spared from the plague. While proper medical attention should always be sought, as well as following instructions given by our government authorities, Christians throughout the centuries highlight the need for prayer to be included in our response to the current pandemic.

 St. Joseph teaches us to trust God in all circumstances and place our lives in his hands. Joseph must have realized that he too had a special part to play in the history of Salvation. He obeyed without hesitation, and with joy. Joseph let go of his own plans and put himself entirely at the service of Jesus and Mary. No spoken word of his is mentioned in the Gospel only mention of him being a kind, hardworking, just and generous man.

 On 19th March 2013, in a homily he gave during the Mass inaugurating his Petrine ministry, Pope Francis said that “Joseph is a ‘protector’ because he is able to hear God’s voice and be guided by his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the people entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, and he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to God’s call, readily and willingly.”

 This morning Fr. Barrow and I celebrated Mass in the Franciscan Convent Chapel with our good sisters.  We offered Holy Mass for you and your families asking for the powerful intercession of St. Joseph, the Protector of the Holy Family.  On this feast day, I was reminded of the words of St. Joseph of Marello, an Italian bishop of the 19th century who founded the Oblates of St. Joseph. The good saint tells us:  “Be in good spirits under the fatherly mantle of St. Joseph, a place of safest refuge in trials and tribulations.”

 How can we remain in “good spirits” in such a time of uncertainty and anxiety?

 Well aside from the fact that we were able to get some zeppoles from LaSalle Bakery today, there is much that might keep us in good spirits.  First and foremost, the cause my “good spirits” is the tremendous response by our OLM Parish  and School Staff to the current crisis.  Their commitment, professionalism and hard work are to be highly commended.  Also the great cooperation of all our RE  and school families now living under the new reality of distance learning is a source of “good spirits.”

 My “good spirits” are also supported by daily prayer and the daily celebration of the Mass.  In these times, we must respond with faith not fear as we choose prayer over panic. Let us remain firm in our faith, hope and love of God and our neighbor.

 Many of our school and parish families have contacted me  asking how they might help especially with our elderly and shut-in parishioners.  We are organizing outreach efforts to ensure those who need food supplies or medicines are able to get them.  We provide food at our OLM Food Pantry to those who need food. We looking for volunteers to help make grocery store and pharmacy runs and deliveries for those who cannot leave their homes.

 What can you do to help?

 First, pray daily! Pray the Rosary as a family daily.  Make a Spiritual Communion daily.  Pray for the many who are sick and suffering and for the many healthcare workers who serve them.  OLM Church remains open for private prayer for most of the day into the evening, we encourage you and your family to stop by and spend some time in private prayer. We just ask that while in the church people maintain safe distance (6 ft.) from one another.

 Secondly, if you have any extra non-perishable food items please place them in the OLM Food Pantry bins located in vestibule of the Church and on the front porch of Mercy House.  We are running low on food as donations have fallen off over the last few weeks. If you would like to directly donate financially to OLM Outreach so we might purchase more food and assist with rental, utility and medical costs for those in need, I ask that you please do so online through Parish Giving. This can be done by clicking the Parish Giving link on the parish website (www.olmparish.org).

 If you are under the age of 60 and  would like to volunteer to deliver food to those who cannot leave their homes or to shop for those who cannot leave home, please contact Doug Green, OLM Outreach Director, at outreach@olmparish.org or by phone at 401-884-4410.

 I ask that you also please check on your elderly family, friends and neighbors with phone calls. Many are living in isolation and no doubt a heighten sense of fear and loneliness. A phone call or a visit (at least 6 feet away) greatly aids the lonely and isolated.  I check on my elderly neighbors, Sister Jeanne and Bishop Evans daily! They are doing very well!

 If you have any neighbors or family members who are in need of food or other items, please let Mr. Green know how OLM Outreach can assist them. We have a supply of Stop and Shop gift cards to help those who are in need of assistance in addition to the food in the OLM Food Pantry.

 The Coronavirus Pandemic has led to incredible financial hardship for many people and businesses.  If you are able, I encourage you to order take-out or delivery from our local East Greenwich restaurants.  Over the years many of these local businesses have been very generous in their support of OLM Parish and if you can help them in their time of need, I urge to please do so.

 If you or your family are suffering any financial hardship due to the current economic crisis, please contact us at the OLM Parish Office. I know that many business are laying off employees and small businesses are closing.  If we can assist you with any financial concerns, please let me know.

 At OLM School and Parish we continue to pay all our employees their normal salary during the crisis.  Our school faculty and parish staff continue to work on a daily basis. Our OLM Maintenance Staff are working overtime to ensure the school and church are thoroughly cleaned and remain hygienic.  I thank them all for their continued dedication to our school and parish community.

 This is truly a unique Lent for all of us. Like our Lord we are in the desert and like him we are learning to hunger for our neighbors, our families, and most especially for the Eucharist. Please be assured of our prayers for your safety and health.

 Here at OLM we have been moving swiftly to try and adopt to our current situation and to ensure that parishioners are served materially and spiritually.  We are in the process of equipping the church with live streaming so we can post the Mass online on our website or through another suitable program (e.g. Facebook Live, Youtube, etc.).

 Fr. Barrow, Fr. Connors and I are readily available for Sacramental emergencies, to talk with anyone in crisis or to hear Confessions.  We have been responding to those who are gravely ill with the Sacrament of the Sick and are hearing Confessions at the regularly scheduled times or anytime by appointment.  If you need to speak with anyone of us, please call us at the Parish Office at 401-884-4968.

 In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tell us, “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid!” (Mark 6:50).  Like  those who have gone before us in faith, the apostles, martyrs, and saints we are all called to boldly lead not only in response to people’s material  needs, but to care for their even more important spiritual needs. With our prayers, let us remain in solidarity with all our brothers and sisters who are suffering and sick and for those who care for them.

 Please know of my continued prayers for you and your families as I humbly ask for yours.  With joyful anticipation, I look forward to the day when once again we can be joined together at God’s Holy Altar as a family of faith to celebrate Holy Mass.  What a joyous and glorious celebration it will truly be!

 I leave you with these beautiful words from Pope Francis in response to the Coronavirus. I found great hope and comfort in them, and I think you will too.  Our Holy Father said:

 “Tonight before falling asleep think about when we will return to the street. When we will hug again, when all the shopping together will seem like a party. Let us think about when the coffees will return to the bar, the small talk, the photos close to each other. We think about when it will be all a memory but normality will seem an unexpected and beautiful gift. We will love everything that has so far seemed futile to us. Every second will be precious. Swims at the sea, the sun until late, sunsets, toasts, laughter. We will go back to laughing together. Strength and courage!"

 

Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!

Father Healey

OLM Response to Crisis

Dear Parishioners,

This is truly a unique Lent for all of us. Like our Lord we are in the desert and like him we are learning to hunger for our neighbors, our families, and most especially for the Eucharist. Please be assured of our prayers for your safety and health.

Here at OLM we have been moving swiftly to try and adopt to our current situation and to ensure that parishioners stay are served materially and spiritually.

Here are some of the projects we anticipate launching in the next few days.

• Currently Fr. Barrow and I are celebrating private Masses to ensure that the Mass intentions are offered. We also use it as an opportunity to pray for your personal intentions.

• Fr. Barrow and I continue to hear confessions at the regular Lenten and normal hours.

• We are in the process of equipping the church with live streaming so we can post the Mass online on our website or through another suitable program (e.g. Facebook Live, Youtube, etc.).

• We are organizing our OLM Outreach efforts to serve the community, especially for those who are elderly or homebound. We may reach out to parishioners to volunteer their time to deliver food and supplies.

• We are in the process of setting up “Flocknote” which is an email and text platform to quickly send out updates and information to the entire parish.

• The church remains open for private prayer. We just ask that people maintain safe distance (6 ft.) from one another.

• Our maintenance crew are thoroughly cleaning the church and school on a regular basis.

• Our RE team is providing resources for home instruction

• Our OLM School faculty and students have begun online classes

These are just some of the efforts we are enacting as we adapt to these times. We remain in solidarity with all our brothers and sisters who are suffering and sick and for those who care for them.

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tell us, “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid!” (Mark 6:50). Like those who have gone before us in faith, the apostles, martyrs, and saints we are all called to boldly lead not only in response to people’s material needs, but to care for their even more important spiritual needs.

Please know of our continued prayers for you and your families.

Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!

In Christ,

Fr. Healey

Cancellation of Masses at OLM

Dear Parishioners,

I am sad to tell you that we will not be having public Mass this weekend at Our Lady of Mercy (March 14th and March 15th) and until further notice for the week of March 16th. This decision comes after much prayer, consultation, and thought. We do not make it lightly. It comes after the Governor's and Health Director's request. We will still have confessions today, March 14th at 3:00pm and on Monday March 16th at 6:00pm. The Church will be open March 15th at noon for private prayer and throughout the week. Please spread the word. 

Spiritually we train ourselves to desire Christ in the Eucharist. Yet, there may come a time in our lives when we cannot attend Mass (whether due to sickness, age, political turmoil, and so on). Our Lord warned us that the bridegroom may be taken away from us. We call to mind that the Mass and the Eucharist are a supreme gift from God that we should not take for granted. At times like these we look forward to the day when we can once again go to Mass and receive our Lord. Until then, we ask our Lord to increase our desire for Him and not to let this be a time when our devotion decreases. We pray like the Psalmist in Psalm 63: "O God, you are my God—it is you I seek! For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts; like a dry, weary land without water." (http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/63). As St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans: "What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us."

We encourage the faithful to watch the Mass, continue one's prayers, and to make an "Act of Spiritual Communion." Please be assured of our prayers for your health and safety.  

In Christ,

Fr. Healey and Fr. Barrow