A Joyful Welcome

Dear Parishioners:                  

Next Sunday at the 10:30am Mass we  celebrate our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). The RCIA is a program of study for adults who are in need of the Sacraments.  Candidates usually include baptized Catholics who need to make First Communion and/or Confirmation, baptized non-Catholics who are received into the Church and also unbaptized Adults who are baptized and confirmed. Since last fall the OLM RCIA Candidates have been preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation. Normally we celebrate this Rite with great joy and solemnity at the Easter Vigil Mass but due to the COVID-19 lockdown we had to postpone it.

This year seven adults   candidates are prepared for the reception of First Communion, conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation and Reception into the Catholic Church.   One candidate is being fully received into the Catholic Church, four  receive First Holy Communion and Confirmation and two others  the Sacrament of Confirmation. I offer my sincere thanks to Fr. Barrow and his RCIA Team of dedicated parishioners who   prepared these candidates for this solemn occasion.  Each Sunday they gathered to study and learn more about the Catholic Faith.  It is a joyous day to celebrate as we  welcome these candidates into our parish family as fully initiated Catholics. Pray for them as they make their final preparation for this joyful occasion in their faith lives. 

May God bless them and continue to lead them to deeper faith,  greater hope and more profound love. We also ask your prayers for our OLM School Principal and Faculty.  On Tuesday they  gather for a retreat here at OLM.  Normally the Faculty Retreat is held at the beautiful St. Edmund Retreat Center on Enders Island in Mystic, CT.  However, because of COVID-19 restrictions that is not possible this year. The Faculty Retreat is a time of spiritual renewal and refocus for our faculty especially after a rather challenging year. 

Father Jordon Zajac, OP

Our Retreat Master this year is Dominican Friar, Father Jordon Zajac, O.P, who teaches English at Providence College. Father Jordon was ordained this past spring and is a graduate of PC who went on to earn a Ph.D. in English specializing in Shakespearean Drama at  the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  He is an intelligent, talented and dynamic young priest and we are grateful he is able to lead our faculty on this important spiritual retreat.

Our dedicated faculty are to be commended for the outstanding job they did with distance learning during the COVID lockdown.  Such excellence required lots of hard work and true dedication and we are grateful for the many sacrifices they make to ensure the high standards of academic excellence and dynamic Catholic Faith at OLM School.  Please pray for them as they gather for retreat. The faculty is also meeting this week for professional development days. This is a time to  focus upon distance learning, teaching techniques and implementing the health and safety protocols for our school this year.

Our faculty remain committed to ensuring academic excellence and the strong Catholic identity in our outstanding school.  Their sacrifice and dedication ensures OLM School is a safe, happy and virtuous place to learn. While some schools are opting not to reopen for in person education, OLM School remains fully committed to reopening our school for all-day in person learning. Thus far the RI Department of Health has indicated it is  completely safe to do so. 

Our Lady of Mercy School

The first week of school this year is a time of orientation for our OLM School families, students and faculty as they learn more about our safe environment practices and get accustomed to the many new health and safety policies and procedures.  Our Principal, faculty and maintenance staff are working tirelessly at ensuring our school’s reopening and ensuring it  is safe and our school ready.  We want our little saints and scholars back happily and safely learning and praying!

You can add to this happy and safe reopening by buying a “See You in September” Raffle ticket.  The proceeds go directly to funding the many needs of our parish school in response to the COVID crisis.  I commend those who have been so generous in their support in our time of need and thank you for your support.

Stay safe. Be Well. Do Good! God Bless.

Supporting Our OLM Saints & Scholars

Dear Parishioners:

Many Catholic schools in the U.S. are facing a crisis as over 130 have already announced permanent closure. A recent survey of U.S. Catholic school principals showed that currently, 10% are uncertain about their ability to open in the fall; this equals hundreds of Catholic schools and thousands of families in turmoil.   

 At OLM School, we continue to advance toward the reopening of our parish school! Our plan is up on the school webpage. Our students and faculty are excited about coming back together in the classroom to learn and teach once again!  It will be a happy day when our little saints and scholars are back in our outstanding school again!!

I wish to commend and thank our dedicated OLM School Principal, Patrick McNabb, for his hard work in developing the plan. He has been tireless throughout the entire summer in ensuring our school can reopen safely and happily for our students this fall. We also thank our dedicated faculty who have been a tremendous help in ensuring our school reopens as planned.

As you can imagine, we have done considerable cleaning and maintenance work on the school building over these last months. This includes the installation of all new locks on classroom doors, installation of new fire detectors, installation of new ceiling tiles in the gymnasium, and the painting of rooms. In addition, to these “typical” summer maintenance projects, we have been working to make our school as safe and clean as possible for our students during this time of COVID-19. Here’s what we’ve done to date to ensure the safe and productive return of our students:

·    Hired a Registered Nurse to serve as our OLM School Nurse

·    Renovated the School Nurse Office ($2,500)

·    Created a hygienic isolation room for sick students ($2,500)

·    Placed HEPA Air Purifiers in every classroom ($7,500)

·    Purchased Electrostatic Sanitizing Sprayer & Supplies ($5,000)

·    Installed automatic faucets and automatic toilets in all bathroom ($10,000)       

·    Purchased webcams for every classroom ($2,500)

·    Purchased 25 new Chromebooks ($5,000)

We have hired additional maintenance staff for cleaning and sanitizing. They are reorganizing classrooms to ensure safe distance for students and faculty. The school building will be cleaned and sanitized daily and bathrooms hourly, using electrostatic sanitizing spraying. This work requires much time and diligence by our maintenance staff to ensure the safety of all. It also requires increased costs for personnel, supplies and materials.       

 I am truly grateful for the hard work and dedication of our maintenance staff in keeping OLM safe, clean and beautiful. They do all this plus maintain the entire physical plant, including the Church, Rectory, Mercy House, Mercy Convent, Franciscan Convent, and St. Patrick's Cemetery. If you see them around working, stop, and say thanks!   

Of course, all these much-needed projects come at a considerable expense for our school. Unfortunately, our Annual Spring Fling School Fundraiser in April was canceled due to the COVID-19 Lockdown. And we've also had to cancel our Annual Saints and Scholars Open OLM School Golf Tournament scheduled for this September. These are the two largest fundraisers for our parish school and help to fund the many maintenance and educational projects for the school year.    

Because we cannot gather in person for either the Golf Tournament or for a Spring Fling, we are happy to announce the "See You in September" Raffle! Only 600 tickets are for sale for $100 apiece. The $10,000 in raffle prizes includes a Grand Prize of $5,000 with additional prizes of $2,500, 2 prizes of $1,000 and $500. The tickets are on sale this week, and the Raffle Drawing is to be live-streamed on Thursday, September 24th, the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy! It will be an exciting way to celebrate our Parish Feast.  

The proceeds of this raffle ($50,000) will help us with the increased costs of our many needed COVID-19 school maintenance and educational projects. We traditionally have raised nearly $100,000 from our Annual Spring Fling and about $25,000 from the Annual Saints and Scholars Golf Tournament. So you can see the raffle is much needed and helps us toward partially funding the future of our outstanding parish school. 

You have always generously supported the mission of Our Lady of Mercy School in the past and we are confident of your continued generosity. In order to obtain your ticket or tickets, please send a check for $100 per ticket payable to “OLM” to Our Lady of Mercy, “See You in September” Raffle at 65 3rd Street, East Greenwich, RI 02818. There is no limit on the number of tickets you may wish to purchase and the more you buy the better the odds of winning!!!

Help us today support our OLM Saints and Scholars of tomorrow! Your odds of winning are better than Powerball and certainly much better than betting on the Red Sox!! Put your money on the OLM Saints and Scholars!!

Gratefully in Christ,

Fr. Healey

Religious Education Begins at Home!

Dear Parishioners:                 

The First Communion (La première communion), by Elizabeth Nourse (1859–1938)

We are happy to report that we have rescheduled our First Holy Communion Masses postponed earlier in the spring. We are spreading them out over three Saturdays in September to keep the groups small, about 20 candidates at each class. Our OLM School First Communion Class will celebrate together while our OLM RE Classes are separated in two. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, only their parents and immediate family are allowed to attend the Masses. However, it will be live-streamed so that relatives and friends might watch and pray for the First Communicants. We are thrilled that this important celebration in the life of our parish is happening! We thank all the First Communion Families for their patience and understanding during these unprecedented times. Please pray for these children as they continue to prepare for the reception of First Holy Communion.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once gave a talk to a First Communion Class. He said:

  “Of course, I remember my First Communion day very well. It was a lovely Sunday in March 1936. It was a sunny day, and the Church looked very beautiful, there was music. There were so many beautiful things that I remember. But at the heart of my joyful and beautiful memories is this one - I understood that Jesus had entered my heart, he had actually visited me. And with Jesus, God himself was with me. And I realized that this is a gift of love that is truly worth more than all the other things that life can give.”

Confirmation Mass is scheduled for Sunday, October 25th, at 5:00 PM with Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester, NY as our celebrant. We are keeping this date and time and expect that Bishop Matano is still able to join us. We have over 80 candidates for Confirmation and anticipate restricting attendance at the Mass to the candidates and their parents and sponsors. The Mass is to be live-streamed for relatives and friends. Pray for these young men and women as they prepare to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Catechism Lesson by Jules-Alexis Muenier [1890)

We are also finalizing our plans for the OLM Religious Education Program for the coming year. We will be unable to have in-person classes due to the COVID-19 restrictions. These restrictions mean that our RE families are going to have to homeschool their children in the faith. Of course, we provide the needed materials and necessary guidance for this home study. We hope for some limited in-person instruction for the RE Students preparing for First Communion and Confirmation in 2021. We are still developing a plan that is feasible and safe for all concerned. Sacramental Preparation needs some in-person instruction, and this is most likely to be done in the Church itself.

It is important to remember that our RE Program is only an additional aid and guide for parents in the teaching of the faith to their children. They are the primary teachers of the faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

“Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. Education in the faith by the parents should begin in the child’s earliest years. This already happens when family members help one another to grow in faith by the witness of a Christian life in keeping with the Gospel. Family catechesis precedes, accompanies, and enriches other forms of instruction in the faith. Parents have the mission of teaching their children to pray and to discover their vocation as children of God.”    

We encourage students and families to register now for Religious Education. Knowing the number of students enrolled in our RE program this fall helps us plan correctly. Registration is online at the parish website. Pray for our OLM RE Families! Our goal is first and foremost, the healthy and safe return of students to RE and Church. Of course, all these plans are subject to change as the pandemic health and safety restrictions evolve. Please pray for an end of COVID-19 and the health, well being and safety of all! Stay safe. Be Well. Do Good! God Bless

The Blessings of Religious Liberty Enjoyed at OLM

Dear Parishioners:                 

The Confession (1838) by Giuseppe Molteni

"The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works," said St. Augustine. Some parishioners have asked about Confessions at OLM. As you know, we have had to suspend Confessions on Saturday afternoons to clean and sanitize the Church for 5:00 pm Mass. This change is to continue until the COVID-19 Crisis is over. However, we continue to offer Confessions on Monday evenings at 6: 00 pm. We usually have two priests available on Mondays as well. If Monday nights are not a convenient day and time for you to get to Confession, please know you can always make an appointment with the parish priests. Just contact Fr. Barrow, Fr. Connors, or myself to arrange for Confession.

Also, a few parishioners have asked if outside Confessors might be available on Monday Evening Confessions. I hope in the coming weeks to have the Dominican Friars from Providence College join us at least once a month for Confessions on Monday evenings. This Monday at 6:00 pm, Dominican Father James Mary Sullivan, OP, the Pastor of St. Pius V Church in Providence, is joining us for Confessions.

What a blessing we've had at OLM as Confessions continued throughout the COVID-19 Crisis. Even during the lockdown, we had many people coming to seek God's forgiveness and mercy. Confessions remain every Monday evening, no matter the weather. So if you haven't made a good Confession in a while, now is the time.

Mass in a Connemara Cabin (1875) by Aloysius O’Kelly depicts a priest celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in a private home during penal times when the Catholic Faith was ruthlessly suppressed and unjustly oppressed in Ireland.

We also enjoy the blessing of celebrating Mass together as a parish family. The number of parishioners attending Sunday Masses continues to rise each week. We intend to keep the present Mass Schedule of three weekend Masses for the remainder of the summer. Come September, if the number of parishioners attending Sunday Masses increases, we might add another Sunday Mass to the schedule. However, before we do change the schedule, there are several factors to consider. The cleaning and sanitizing of the Church, the need for the Mass, and the number of parishioners who attend are essential considerations.

We will announce any changes to the Mass Schedule in advance. However, for the foreseeable future, we continue to offer the 5:00 pm Mass of Anticipation on Saturdays, and the 7:30 am, and 10:30 am on Sundays. This current schedule is working and allows for ample time for our maintenance team to clean and sanitize. I genuinely appreciate your support, understanding, and patience as we continue to worship and practice our faith during this unprecedented time. 

 Many other places in the country are no so blessed. In some states, Church services face severe restrictions, and other states have stopped public worship services altogether. This past week the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to reject a Nevada church's plea to suspend state public-health orders limiting attendance at worship services.

The Governor of Nevada issued an order that allowed casinos and other secular businesses greater leeway than houses of worship, which were capped at 50 people for indoor services. His order allowed casinos to admit up to 50% of their capacity. A Nevada Protestant Church sued over the order claiming it was a violation of religious liberty and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It claimed that the order treated church services differently than other large gatherings such as casinos, gyms, and restaurants.  

Freedom to Worship (1943) by Norman Rockwell

The majority decision denied the Church's argument without comment. However, Justice Gorsuch's one paragraph dissent is rather clear. He states: "In Nevada, it seems, it is better to be in entertainment than religion. Maybe that is nothing new. But the First Amendment prohibits such obvious discrimination against the exercise of religion. The world we inhabit today, with a pandemic upon us, poses unusual challenges. But there is no world in which the Constitution permits Nevada to favor Caesars Palace over Calvary Chapel."  

Let's never take Sunday Mass for granted. Instead, let's renew our fidelity and love of the Eucharistic Lord. Stay safe. Be Well. Do Good! God Bless.  Go Sox!!???

See You in September at OLM?

Dear Parishioners:                                

This week, many public school districts have begun sharing outlines of reopening plans, including provisions for students to attend school only on certain days and part-time. Our OLM School Principal, Patrick McNabb, working with the faculty and the Catholic School Office and with the guidelines of the RI Department of Education (RIDE) and the Department of Health (RIDOH) have also been working on the plan to reopen our excellent parish school.   

OLM School is planning a full in-person reopening for all students in Grades PK-8, beginning August 31. That, of course, involves many details of classroom arrangements, daily schedules, increased cleaning, and all of the elements that will ensure our students are safe and healthy in our building, with the guidance that we have received and continue to receive from RIDE and RIDOH.     The goal in planning this reopening is that our students are in the school and safely and happily learning.

OLM School did an excellent job with the “distance learning” during the COVID-19 Crisis lockdown.  They are now building on an outstanding foundation of vibrant faith faith-filled Catholic Education that instills values and teaches virtues while maintaining rigorous academic excellence.    Our OLM School Faculty is a group of excellent professionals dedicated to their mission. Our students are a great group of budding saints and scholars. And the tremendous support and involvement our parents continue to make our school an outstanding in every regard. 

If you know of anyone interested in attending an excellent school all day and in person this fall, tell them to apply to OLM School.  We are getting  many new applicants for admission, and our number of placements is limited.  Anyone interested in more information or in applying should contact  OLM School at 884-1618 or go online to the school webpage at olmschool.org and discover the OLM advantage!  

We have also been planning the resumption of our OLM Religious Education Program for the fall.  Fr. Barrow and I, along with our RE Directors, Mickey St. Jean, and Doug Green, are working on plans that  include  “distance learning” along with some in-person Catechesis.  We also hope to schedule the celebration of our First Communion Masses in the fall.  Confirmation Mass is  Sunday, October 25.  We hope that we can have that joyous celebration of the Holy Spirit as expected.  In the next weeks, we hope to finalize all our plans for reopening school and resuming RE at OLM.    

 Of course, all of our projects, like everyone else’s plans these days are subject to change due to the nature of the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Sadly across the country, lots of schools are not planning on reopening for an in-person class, and many others are preparing just partial reopening of in-person courses.    

However, we are committed to reopening our parish school as safely as possible so that our students can learn in-person for the entire school day.  So please pray for our OLM Principal and Faculty as they continue to prepare for the reopening on August 31.  And continue to pray for our OLM School young saints and scholars, that their summer vacation is a fruitful time of preparation for school this fall.   

This year over 100 Catholic schools permanently closed due to the financial stress of the COVID-19 Crisis.  A sad reality of the times we presently are living. Many of these schools were in urban areas that offered an educational choice for economically deprived families.      University of Notre Dame Law Professor, Nicole Stelle Garnett, recently wrote an excellent article entitled, “Why We Still Need Catholic Schools.” In the article, she makes an exceptional case for Catholic Education. She states:  “Catholic school students are more likely to finish high school, attend college and graduate, maintain steady employment, and earn higher wages than similar students attending other types of schools.”

Pray for  our OLM School family and for all Catholic Schools May God bless the excellent education in faith and wisdom at our schools with a safe return this fall. Stay safe. Be Well. Do Good! God Bless.  Go Sox!!???

OLM, PPP & The Know-Nothings

Dear Parishioners:                               

On Monday morning, I was surprised to read about myself and Our Lady of Mercy in the Providence Journal.  In the Political Scene column by reporter Katherine Gregg,  a listing of lobbyists and elected officials who received loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) included me and OLM.    

The PPP was enacted by the Trump Administration and Congress to protect jobs.  The recipients of the program include all kinds of businesses, non-profits, and other institutions, including many in the Catholic Church.   It is a program to keep people working and paid during the unprecedented crisis of the Covid-19 Pandemic.  The PPP’s purpose is to sustain the economy and ensure workers stay employed.   The amount of each loan is based upon the number of employees and the cost of salaries and benefits.  

Our Lady of Mercy Church benefited from the program, and it is a matter of public record.  OLM employs 44 full and part-time employees in both our parish and school.  We received a PPP loan of $400,000 to cover the costs of our employees’ salaries, healthcare, and pension benefits for two months.   As a result of the closing of Churches and schools, we had a sharp decline in income.  This program enabled us to keep our employees paid and working. None of our OLM employees were furloughed or laid off. 

Our biggest OLM School fundraiser, “the Spring Fling,” was canceled due to the pandemic.  Many of our school families faced financial hardship during the pandemic, and tuition payments had to be suspended.  Also, our weekly church collection continues to decline due to the crisis.  However, our outstanding OLM School teachers worked overtime during the height of the pandemic with the distance learning classes. I was grateful they could be paid.     Also, as a result of the PPP, our OLM Outreach efforts to the poor, especially in time of crisis, continues. So does the increased maintenance work by our staff to sanitize and make our plant safe and hygienic.        

The Catholic Church overall is one of the largest employers in the State of Rhode Island. The Diocese of Providence also benefited from the PPP.  The annual Catholic Charity Appeal began as the pandemic broke out.  As a result, it raised little toward the annual goal of $7 Million.      The CCA helps to fund the many employees who provide the daily support and charitable work the Catholic Church to the poor, the sick, the aged, the migrants, the refugees and the needy of our state.   It provides critical services and assistance to the vulnerable and needy.

Following some national news stories on the Catholic Church receiving PPP loans, Archbishop Coakley, Chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic  Justice, offered a response and it is in this week’s bulletin. He says in part: “The Catholic Church is the largest non-governmental supplier of social services in the United States. The novel coronavirus only intensified the needs of the people we serve and the demand for our ministries. The loans we applied for enabled our essential ministries to continue to function in a time of national emergency.”     

I admit that I was genuinely perplexed at the purpose of Ms. Gregg’s column last Monday particularly the mention of me as Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church. After all, the column offered no indication that illegal or unethical behavior transpired in the PPP loans by those named in the article. Is it newsworthy that faith groups also benefited from a program designed to help them and others in times of national crisis?  Once again we are left wondering what is the point of this kind of “journalism”. Could it be the resentment of those who successfully and legally applied for the loans and received critical funds to keep people employed? More likely it is yet another sly attempt to imply political wrongdoing and dishonest shenanigans where none are to be found.

So let’s be clear about what really did happen with the PPP. Many diverse groups and businesses including many non-profits and local faith communities directly benefited from a program designed precisely to help them at a critical time. It is a national program that has the full backing and support of the President and Congress of the United States and seems to have successfully achieved its goal across the country in a short amount of time.   It’s really that simple and not as salaciously nefarious as some journalist seem to imply.

Anti-Catholic Political cartoon circa 1840s

I am genuinely grateful that the PPP is available to aid many businesses, non-profit groups, and faith communities.   However, many people didn’t want church groups, especially the Catholic Church, to benefit from this program. This is hardly surprising in our increasingly secular society with its growing hostility toward organized religion. Some of the voices of opposition and resentment are a clear reminder that the Anti-Catholic Know-Nothings of the 19th Century still exist today.  

Thankfully both the Administration and the U.S. Congress know the critical need and clearly understand the value of faith communities to the common good of our nation. We are certainly most grateful they do and I thank them!  

Stay safe. Be Well. Do Good! God Bless.