Celebrating Motherhood & the Greatest Generation

The Venerable Jozsef Cardinal Mindszent

Dear Parishioners:             

The Venerable Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty, was the Primate of Hungary. He was imprisoned and persecuted by the Nazis in the Second World War and then after the war by the Communist regime.  He was a Churchman of heroic faith.  Pope Pius XII placed the Cardinal’s hat on his head, saying: “Among the thirty-two, you will be the first to suffer the martyrdom whose symbol this red color is.”

The holy Cardinal  wrote these words about Mothers:

“The Most Important Person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral -a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body. The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?”

Certainly these words  echo our sentiments on this Mothers’ Day. For today, we rejoice at the great gift of Motherhood and give thanks for our own Mothers.  We thank them  for all they mean to us and all  they do and have done for us through their maternal love and guidance.   We offer Holy Mass this Sunday for all Mothers, living and deceased.  May God Bless all Mothers!

Norman Rockwell’s Soldier Returning Home

On Mothers’ Day I lovingly recall my own Mother and all she meant to me.  She died while I was in college but not a day goes by that I don’t pray for her and for her continued guidance in my life. 

On Tuesday, May 8, 1945, President Harry S Truman announced the victory in Europe to the American people and announced that Sunday, May 13—Mother’s Day, appropriately enough—would be a day of prayer in thanksgiving.

In part, his announcement said, “Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band. Let us not forget, my fellow Americans, the sorrow and the heartache which today abide in the homes of so many of our neighbors—neighbors whose most priceless possession has been rendered as a sacrifice to redeem our liberty. We must work to finish the war. Our victory is only half over.”

Truman’s words come to mind as we mark the 75th Anniversary of VE Day and also the reopening of Rhode Island announced by Governor Raimondo.  We too “must work to finish the war” as our victory over the Covid-19 Virus is only half over. 

The VE Anniversary along with the celebration of Mothers’ Day on Sunday, brought to mind my late parents and what they might make of this pandemic.  Like most of their generation they suffered the economic disaster of the Great Depression and would continue sacrificing throughout the Second World War.  Yet they persevered through their trials and hardships with faith and courage, persistence and determination and went on to prosper. 

We might learn from the example offered by America’s Greatest Generation. After all they were a generation who didn’t complain, grumble or whine. Their greatness is to be found in their dutiful service and witnessed in their willing sacrifice.  They did what was asked of them to liberate Europe and the Pacific.                   

My mother, an honors graduate of Classical High School, sacrificed attending college to work at Quonset to help the war effort. My Grandmother who lost her husband, my grandfather, a Providence Police Officer killed in the line of duty, watched as her four daughters entered the workforce while her three sons enlisted to fight a war.   My Father had to finish Providence College in three years and half years in order to graduate early and enlist. He joined the Army and served in the Italian campaign with distinction in the 88th Infantry, “the Fighting Blue Devils.”

My Father, Sgt. Edward Healey, in front of the Duomo in Florence, Italy during Second World War.

My parents and much of the Greatest Generation might be confused if not amused by the complaints about some of the perceived hardships of this pandemic.  Complaints about lines at supermarkets as we suffer the lack of toilet paper and flour or about wearing masks and practicing social distancing, might make them chuckle.  After all as America’s Greatest Generation they lived without complaining during the economic destitution of the Great Depression and then continued on with the restrictions and ration books on the homefront of a nation at war.

My Father when on the few occasions he did speak about his war experience, once told me that he spent two years in combat without the Sacraments as no Catholic Chaplain was available on the frontlines. Instead he prayed his Rosary beads.

Many are frustrated at the suspension of public worship in our churches, synagogues and mosques because of the pandemic. Yet isn’t it precisely because of the willing sacrifice of those who’ve gone before us that we are able to enjoy our religious liberty today and live with the hope that soon the doors of our houses of worship will open again with unrestricted access.

As we consider the hardships and trials of this war on the coronavirus, on May 8th, the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, I give thanks for America’s Greatest Generation and my father’s small part in the liberation of Europe.  On Mothers’ Day I’ll offer thanks for the sacrifices of Motherhood and my late Mother’s role in my life.  As I offer a Mass without a congregation this Sunday, I am certain to offer prayerful thanksgiving for what my parents and their generation taught me, not so much by their words but by their witness.      

Happy Mothers’ Day! Be well. Do Good! Stay safe! God Bless. Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!

Prayer in Pandemic, Pick Up Your Beads!

Dear Parishioners:             

              Pope Francis is encouraging every family to pray the Rosary during the month of May.  He stated: “The month of May is approaching, a time when the People of God express with particular intensity their love and devotion for the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is traditional in this month to pray the Rosary at home within the family.  The restrictions of the pandemic have made us come to appreciate all the more this “family” aspect, also from a spiritual point of view.”

In a Letter for the Month of May, published on the feast of St Mark the Evangelist (25 April), the Holy Father is proposing to everyone to “rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary at home in the month of May”, whether individually or as a group, “making the most of both opportunities”.

In his letter, he assures the faithful that he too will be reciting those prayers throughout the month of May, “in spiritual union with all of you as contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary our Mother will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of trial”.

Pope Francis concludes his letter with the promise that he is praying for all of us “especially those suffering most greatly”; and he asks for our prayers as well. The Holy Father also proposes two new prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which can be recited at the end of the Rosary. The First Prayer is:

“O Mary, You shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.  We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the foot of the cross, were united with Jesus’ suffering, and persevered in your faith.  ‘Protectress of the Roman people’, you know our needs, and we know that you will provide, so that, as at Cana in Galilee, joy and celebration may return after this time of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the will of the Father and to do what Jesus tells us.  For he took upon himself our suffering, and burdened himself with our sorrows to bring us, through the cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen. We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God; Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always
from every danger, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.”

 I invite to heed the words of our Holy Father and pray the Rosary daily during May. If every there was a time for us to pray the Rosary it is now.  Together as families and as individuals let us pray for an end to the pandemic: for those who suffer: for the dying and the dead: and for those who care for them. Let us together turn to our Blessed Mother seeking her aid.

The great spiritual writer   Dom Columba Marmion, once said: “Have you not often met poor old women who are most faithful to the pious recitation of the Rosary? You also must do all that you can to recite it with fervor. Get right down, at the feet of Jesus: it is a good thing to make oneself small in the presence of so great a God.”

Please be sure to join us every Monday night at 7:00PM for the livestreaming of May Devotions. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed as we  devoutly pray the Rosary  as a parish family. So set the time and tune in on Mondays at 7:00PM.  Together as a praish family let  ask our patroness, Our Lady of Mercy, for her powerful intercession for our world and our own intentions.  After all, the family that prays together, stays together even when separated by “social distancing”. 

The great tradition of the Rosary  traces its roots to St. Dominic in the 12th Century when he was distressed  in his preaching in countering the Albigensian heretics. In his desperation, Dominic turned to Mother Mary for help.  She appeared and  urged him to use the mysteries of our salvation as an instrument in combatting the great heresy of his day. Remember that Rosaries are not just decorations. Battles have been won because people prayed the Rosary! Hearts converted, illnesses cured and even  some impossible intentions answered. Life can only be blessed if we start praying the Rosary. So take up your beads, take the time daily and pray the Rosary!

St. Josemaria Escriva teaches us that: “The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.” Pray the Rosary!  Be well. Do Good! Stay safe! God Bless. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

A World Without Public Mass?!

Dear Parishioners:             

As we approach the end the month of April, we also enter into another week of lock down and quarantine.  It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in this state for so many weeks without Public Masses, no school, no socialization and no sports!! It was obvious on this past Sunday when the sun came out and the temperature went up that people were ready to get out. As is my usual Easter custom, I made a pilgrimage to St. Ann Cemetery to visit my parents’ and grandparents ‘graves.  The roads were busy with traffic, the streets full of walkers and bikers, and the cemetery was crowded. 

However, we continue to follow the safety measures including social distancing and gathering only in groups of five people or under.  We hope and pray that we might soon resume some of our normal routines in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, we continue to pray for our world and for an end to the pandemic.  

Fr. Connors has returned to Boston to serve as a special Corvid 19 Chaplain to the sick and dying.  The Cardinal requested young priests who were not assigned to parishes to help with this important ministry. He is to stay at the Seminary of St. John and be available for emergencies and the Anointing of the Sick to those suffering from the corona-virus.   

It has been truly sad to see so many die from this awful virus especially those who die alone without their family and often without the Sacraments of the Church.  As priests it is troubling to us that we are prevented from visiting the sick and praying with the dying.  Local hospitals and nursing homes will not allow us into their facilities.  In addition to this troubling circumstance is the sad reality that we cannot celebrate  Funeral Masses for the deceased.

I hope our civic leaders realize the importance of religious freedom when making their decisions about ending the lock-down status of our state.  The free practice of religion is not only guaranteed by our constitution it is “essential” to the fabric of our society and state. It serves the common good of our community to allow the practice of religious faith unhindered by the government!

This week our Holy Father, Pope Francis, specifically prayed for politicians stating: “We pray today for the men and women who have a vocation to politics; politics is a high form of charity, Also for the political parties of various countries so that, in this moment of pandemic, they may seek together the good of the country and not the good of their own party."

“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”

— St. Maximilian Kolbe

We continue to anticipate what may happen when the lock-down begins to be lifted.  How it impacts our churches remains to be seen.  We hope that in some fashion  we might be able to publicly celebrate Mass with perhaps a limited number of people. We have several candidates for the Sacrament of Initiation and would like to get them the Sacraments. The Easter Vigil is typically when this is done but we were prevented from doing so this year due to the pandemic. We hope we can celebrate their Sacraments soon, so please continue to pray for these candidates.

We are also postponing  our First Communion Mass.  We are uncertain when and how we might be able to celebrate this most important even in the life of our Church and parish..  In the meantime, continue to pray that the First Communion Class and their families continue to practice their faith at home with a deep devotion and faithfully join us for Mass online on Sunday. 

I pray this time  strengthens our love and devotion of the Eucharist. This week a friend told me now he truly understands how much he took Mass for granted.  It was readily available every day in many places and at many times and now public worship is prohibited.

And so, may we who under the ordinary circumstances of our lives enjoy the great privilege of  attending  Holy Mass in peace and freedom never be tempted to use words like “boring” to describe it.  May we never again think of other things as more important than Mass on Sundays, but, rather, may our hearts burn with thanksgiving for the great gift of the Eucharist, of receiving Jesus’ Body and Blood, and to proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes, the death that, at every sacred altar, brings us new life.

St. Maximilian Kolbe who died in Auschwitz deprived of the Mass by his Nazi captors said: "If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion."

Be well. Do Good! Stay safe! God Bless. Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!

Faith, Hope & Charity Alive at OLM!!

Dear Parishioners:             

We continue to celebrate the Easter Season with faith and joy.  We give thanks for the Risen Christ and his victory over sin and death!     Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI states: "Faith in the Resurrection of Jesus says that there is a future for every human being; the cry for unending life which is a part of the person is indeed answered.”      This faith was evident and alive on Easter Sunday.  We had over 3,000 people who viewed our live stream Easter Sunday Mass!  Even though our Churches were empty, our faith was alive!  We rejoice that so many isolated continue to strive to pray and live their Catholic Faith at home!!

I am most grateful to our OLM Music Director and Organist, Henri St. Louis, for the music he provided all of Holy Week and Easter Week. His beautiful music contributed greatly to the solemnity and joy of this unique celebration of Holy Week and Easter. 

We also must thank Erik Carlson who served as our Altar Server for Holy Week and Easter Week.  I am grateful for his dedication to OLM and to serving God at His Holy Altar.  Erik does an outstanding job serving our community especially in this most unique of times.  He does  this great work whilst  studying Physics at URI!!

In the name of Fr. Barrow, Fr. Connors, Bishop Evans and our good sisters, Sister Lourdes, Sister Emma and Sister Jeanne, I also thank the many parishioners who were so generous to us at Easter.  So many cards with well wishes and gifts and so many provided delicious food to celebrate Easter!  We thank you all for your generosity!

I also thank the many parishioners who continue to support the parish financially during this time of hardship.  So many have continued to send in their budget envelopes by mail or by depositing them in the safe in the vestibule and we are grateful.  I urge all parishioners to consider giving directly online at Parish Giving.  The link is located on our parish website.  It is a safe, easy and efficient way to support the parish.

In the name of Doug Green, our OLM Outreach Director, I also thank the many parishioners who have been so generous in donating food, paper goods and financial assistance.  There is a growing need of  food and paper goods in our community as well as increased financial hardship for so many..   Your support is a great witness to the charity alive at OLM.

Throughout Eastertide—starting on Easter Sunday and ending on the Seventh Sunday after Easter, Pentecost Sunday—the Regina Caeli is the Marian antiphon for the Night Prayer of the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours.  In Holy Week, Mary was at the foot of the Cross, her heart pierced by a sword of sorrow as Simeon had foretold at the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. In the Stations of the Cross, she met Jesus on the way to Calvary, and each Station, with verses from the Stabat Mater, reminded us of His suffering and hers, seeing Him suffer. Now Our Lady rejoices as the Alleluia has returned!

Let us pray the Regina Caeli prayer each day: “Queen of Heaven, rejoice. Alleluia. For He, whom thou was worthy to bear. Alleluia. Has risen as He said. Alleluia. Pray for us to God. Alleluia. V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary. Alleluia. R. Because the Lord is truly risen, Alleluia.”

Be well. Do Good! Stay safe! God Bless. Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!

Let Us Easter in Him!!

Dear Parishioners:             

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”  These words of Saint Pope John Paul II certainly speak to us this Easter Sunday.  The ongoing pandemic prevents us from celebrating the great feast of our faith together at Mass. It has prevented the initiation of candidates into the Church at the Easter Vigil.   We won’t be celebrating Easter Dinner with our family and friends this year. Yes, the joy and glory of Easter seem very muted this year. Despite the Coronavirus Pandemic and the tragic suffering and death we have witnessed these past weeks we must not give into despair. For as a people of faith who believe that Christ rose from the dead and destroyed sin and death, we must resist the temptation to lose hope. 

The Psalmist sings on Easter: “This is the day the Lord has made, Let us be glad and rejoice in it!” Yet on that first Easter morning it was neither gladness nor rejoicing that  Mary Magdalene experienced as she went three days after the death and burial of Jesus to visit His place of burial. She was full of fear and uncertainty and no doubt much sadness and despair after the event of Good Friday.  However, on Easter she arrived to find the Lord not in the tomb. And sent for  the apostles to join her.  They run to the burial site and  enter the tomb and see the burial cloths folded neatly. They see the tomb empty.  Their doubt converted into belief! Their despair converted into hope.  “Alleluia! He is risen as He said, Alleluia!”

This Easter Sunday is not just an anniversary of that first Easter morning. Nor, is this Easter  simply a memorial – a remembrance of that first Easter Sunday morning.  Today is Easter.  Today is the Day the Lord has made.  Today, Christ is Risen!  While we must remain safe and isolated in our homes on this Easter Sunday,  we are not simply recalling what happened to Jesus, nor the events of the first Easter. We are not simply spectators watching the reactions of the three disciples – Mary Magdalene, Peter and John.  Rather, as people of faith and hope this Easter Sunday we share in the triumph and victory of God.

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As the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, “Let Him Easter in us.”  We must let the victory and triumph of Easter touch our lives.  Today,  in the safety of our own homes as we celebrate this most  unique of Easter Sundays, we must allow Easter  to refresh and renew us with the joy and the triumph that emanates from Christ whom no tomb could hold in death. An ancient symbol for Christian Hope is the anchor. The anchor steadies the vessel and safely holds it secure. The Risen Christ holds us steady when life gets rough. Christ the anchor secures us closely to God when the waves of life  crash over us.  We are glad and rejoice today because Christ our Hope is Risen! The tomb is empty!!

Easter is the culmination of everything we believe as Christians and the virtue of Easter is hope. Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York says the best definition of hope is this: “Hope is the virtue that keeps us going when we are tempted to think that Jesus is asleep.”  We may be tempted to think the Lord is asleep this Easter given the current crisis and the uncertainty of our future.  We might also be tempted to give in to despair and lose hope.   Easter calls us to resist such temptations. It celebrates that Christ conquers darkness and despair by his resurrection. 

St. Bernard of Clairvaux said: “You can fight with confidence where you are sure of victory. With Christ and for Christ victory is certain!”

Easter reminds us that every Good Friday has an Easter Sunday. With Easter the Risen Christ invites us to share the power of His Resurrection. Each time we love others, we share in the Resurrection.  Each time we forgive a betrayal, we share in the Resurrection.  Each time we continue to hope – even when our hope seems unanswered – we share in the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In short, the message of Easter is that nothing can defeat us – not pain, sin, rejection or death not even a pandemic – because the Risen Christ  conquers all and we too can conquer them if we put our faith and hope in Christ. St. Padre Pio reminds us: “The most beautiful Credo is the one we pronounce in our hour of darkness.”  

Be well. Do Good! Stay safe! God Bless. Alleluia, He is Risen!! A Holy and Happy Easter!

Take Up the Cross This Holy Week

Dear OLM School and Parish Family:

“Why did all this take place?  Once again, it was done for our sake, to serve us.  So that when we have our back to the wall, when we find ourselves at a dead end, with no light and no way of escape, when it seems that God himself is not responding, we should remember that we are not alone.  Jesus experienced total abandonment in a situation he had never before experienced in order to be one with us in everything.  He did it for me, for you, to say to us: ‘Do not be afraid, you are not alone.’”

— Pope Francis

As we begin this Holy Week, I wish to express my deep gratitude to Mr. McNabb and the Faculty of OLM School for their tremendous dedication to ensuring that distance learning is so successful.  I also wish to offer my thanks to you students and your families on the great collaboration and cooperation you have shown these last few weeks. The good work done in such unusual and unprecedented circumstances is a great witness to the excellence our school continues to strive for every day. 

There is to be no distance learning class on Holy Thursday, Good Friday or Easter Monday. However, I would encourage you not take a break from prayer and devotion during the most sacred time of the year.  Join with us in prayer and tune into our online Holy Week Services from OLM Church.  Pray together as family and know that even as we are separated by distance, we are united as the Body of Christ. 

Last week I saw an all too familiar photo of a priest offering prayers several feet away from the casket of a woman who had died of the coronavirus. On the other side of the casket, also standing several feet away, was a lone mourner, the woman’s son, the only person who could be there to bid his mother goodbye. He was one of the fortunate ones.  Many of those who have lost loved ones aren’t allowed to be with them to bid farewell. Sadly many die without the final Sacraments of the Church and many without any funeral prayers. Tragically they die alone without any of their loved ones present.

As we ponder this, the words of our Savior in the Passion proclaimed on Palm Sunday still echo in our hearts. For Jesus cries from the Cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46).  These are profound words spoken as Jesus suffers the abandonment of his own friends and followers, who had fled in fear.  The Savior himself experienced that desolation and isolation so many are experiencing now. The Crucified Christ experienced the utmost abandonment. 

In his homily on Palm Sunday, the Holy Father, Pope Francis reflects upon this abandonment. He says: “Why did all this take place?  Once again, it was done for our sake, to serve us.  So that when we have our back to the wall, when we find ourselves at a dead end, with no light and no way of escape, when it seems that God himself is not responding, we should remember that we are not alone.  Jesus experienced total abandonment in a situation he had never before experienced in order to be one with us in everything.  He did it for me, for you, to say to us: Do not be afraid, you are not alone.’”

This Holy Week perhaps we might take up the cross for others.  I ask you to join me in helping our brothers and sisters across the globe who are experiencing the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual anguish of social distancing and isolation. Let us in our prayer and devotion this Holy Week spiritually place ourselves beside one of the poor unfortunate souls who are dying alone in hospitals all over the world because of this pandemic.

Let us heed the call of God who walks with his people as “a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.”  For God in his immense love sent his Only Begotten Son, to let humanity know of his love through Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. Let us offer our isolation, the occasional feelings of boredom and our cabin fever, anxiety and apprehension about what comes next – as a way of “accompanying” these men and women suffering  in sickness and dying alone. 

This most unusual of Holy Weeks, let us pledge to offer all our prayers and devotion, from the moment we open our eyes in the morning, to the last prayer our lips utter before we retire at night, to “spiritually accompany” the many men and women  suffering on their sick beds. Let us offer our studies and our work that we have been so fortunate enough to still continue through the internet; let us offer our meals that we are so blessed to still be able to have together with our family; let us offer our physical activities – our walk and our runs, our workouts and our sports; let us offer our nightly small gatherings as families which we are still able to have; let us offer the many blessings we continue to enjoy.  Yes, Holy Week 2020 let us offer all that we have at the moment – for the thousands who suffer in sickness, in fear,  loneliness, in solitude, in isolation.

May we offer our very selves to the Lord, so that in His mercy and love, he may make use of our humble gift, to be close to all those who, during these most distressful of times, need that human contact, that human touch, that comforting accompaniment and prayerful presence which, due to their illness and isolation, they are now denied.

Brothers and sisters, as we stand together at the foot of the Cross this Holy Week, may we entrust ourselves to the Mother of Christ and our patroness, Our Lady of Mercy, who accompanied her Son along his way of sorrows and stood beneath the cross at the hour of his death. May Mary our Mother lead our hearts and the hearts of every family through the vast desolation of suffering and death, towards that light which breaks forth from Christ’s resurrection and reveals the victory of love, joy and life over evil, suffering and death.

A Blessed Holy Week!

Father Healey