Graduation Season and the Sacred Heart

Dear Parishioners:                                 

Ordination Mass on June 5, 2021.

Last Saturday, Bishop Tobin ordained two men to the priesthood, Fr. Dan Mahoney and Fr. Doan Nguyen.   It was a beautiful and solemn Mass of Ordination and indeed a joyous and hopeful occasion for our Church.  Fr. Mahoney served at OLM as a Summer Seminarian just a couple of years ago.  Bishop Tobin has assigned the newly ordained Fr. Mahoney as the new Associate Pastor at OLM.  In your name, I thank Bishop Tobin for sending  Fr. Mahoney to us.  We are truly grateful for the presence and ministry of another priest at OLM.   Fr. Mahoney begins his priestly ministry at OLM on the First of  July.   

Meanwhile, Fr. Barrow is busy finishing up many projects, getting things ready for Fr. Mahoney, and packing up his belongings.   He is very excited about becoming the Pastor of St. Teresa Church and School in Pawtucket.  I know he will be a dutiful shepherd who lovingly and faithfully serves his flock. 

Next weekend is to be Fr. Barrow's final weekend at OLM!  It is always a bittersweet moment when we have to say "Farewell" to a friend. Father has been an exceptional Associate Pastor for our parish. I am grateful for his zeal for priestly ministry and also his fraternal support and friendship these past five years.  We are appreciative of his many gifts especially his technological genius that has been a tremendous service to our parish and school as our resident "Tech Wizard!"

We have a chance to offer personal and fond "Farewell" and sincere thanks to Fr. Barrow next weekend.  There is a Wine and Cheese Reception in Mercy Park following the 5:00 pm Mass next Saturday night.    Also on Sunday, there is a Coffee'an in Mercy Park after the 10:30 am Mass. It's Father's Day next Sunday.  It is a perfect day to remember and honor all Fathers for their love and support, including such an outstanding Spiritual Father as Fr. Barrow!  So mark your calendars.   

We celebrate with our 8th Grade from OLM School, who are graduating this weekend.  They join us at the 10:30 am Mass as we pray for them as they leave our excellent parish school for high school.  Following the Mass, the 8th Grade Class and their families gather for a Graduation Luncheon to recognize their academic achievements.   On Monday, June 14 at 6:00 pm, the 8th Grade graduate from OLM School at a 6:00 pm ceremony in our Church.  Many of these students have been in our school for eight to nine years. When I arrived at OLM, they were in Kindergarten! The time flies, but it has been a fruitful time for these students who are well prepared.   

At OLM School, they received a first-class Catholic Education from our outstanding faculty.  They are correctly formed in the Catholic Faith, instructed in the teachings of Christ, and instilled with the values of Western Civilization and know the priority of virtuous living. We commend them to Our Lady of Mercy for her continued guidance and protection.   

As we acknowledge the OLM Class of 2021, we also offer prayers for all those OLM Parishioners graduating high school, college, and graduate school this year.  May they use their gifts and talents for the building up of the Kingdom of God.   June is graduation season but also the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We honor Christ's loving and humble heart that calls us to faith, humility, and love. We pray:

"O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen."

I thank the parishioners who have donated to the Catholic Charity Appeal thus far.  We are above last year's amount raised and also the number of parishioners donating. However, we are $40,000 shy of reaching our goal of $190,000.  Many other parishes report going over goal this year, so I am hopeful  OLM can do the same. Please make your pledge or donation today!    Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God bless. Prayerful best wishes to the Class of 2021!

Corpus Christi, Celebrate Christ Truly Present!!

Dear Parishioners:

On Holy Thursday, we celebrate with great devotion and solemnity the day our Lord instituted the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Sacred Priesthood. However, it is also a day we recall the sad and sorrowful memories of the betrayal of Judas, Christ's agony and arrest, Peter's denial.                           

So the Church in Her wisdom has given us today's great Feast of Corpus Christi, the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ. It, too, is a day to be celebrated with great solemnity and devotion but also much joy. We are joyfully rejoicing in so a great a gift as the Eucharist, the very source and summit of our Catholic Faith. 

  In the 13th Century, it was a humble nun in Belgium, Saint Juliana, who first suggested and advocated a special feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament on a day other than Holy Thursday. From her sixteenth year, often in her prayers, she beheld a strange sight: it was as if the full moon appeared to her in brilliant light, while a part of its disc remained black and lightless. Finally, in a vision, Christ showed her the meaning of this picture. The moon represented the Church year; the black spot indicated the lack of a festival in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. She was to announce to the authorities of the Church that God wished to establish such a feast. 

  In 1230 Juliana communicated her secret to a small group of learned theologians. As her message became publicly known, she suffered scorn and ridicule for some years. But the Bishop of Liége, Belgium, and some of his canons eventually lent a willing ear to her appeals. A diocesan synod in 1246 decided in her favor and prescribed such a feast for the churches of Liége.

 One of the men who had supported her efforts in Belgium later became pope. He was Jacques Pantaléon, Archdeacon of Liége. Upon his election to the papal office, he assumed the name of Pope Urban IV (1261-1265). On September 8, 1264, six years after Juliana's death, he established for the whole Church that festival in honor of the Holy Eucharist, which the saintly nun had proclaimed to be willed by God. Today we continue to celebrate and acknowledge the Church doctrine that Jesus is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist. The theological name for this is "transubstantiation."

The Catechism explains: "By the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood."

The First Mass in the Vernacular, March 7, 1965 celebrated by Saint Pope Paul VI

  St. Pope Paul VI reinforced this teaching and forcefully rejected the idea that the Eucharist is a mere symbol. He wrote about it in his encyclical, Mysterium Fidei:

"For the constant teaching that the Catholic Church has passed on to her catechumens, the understanding of the Christian people, the doctrine defined by the Council of Trent, the very words that Christ used when He instituted the Most Holy Eucharist, all require us to profess that 'the Eucharist is the flesh of Our Savior Jesus Christ which suffered for our sins and which the Father in His loving kindness raised again.'" 

  The most significant support of this essential belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the witness of the Twelve Apostles. This evidence is that eleven of the apostles died as martyrs, and the twelfth died in prison.    Is there anyone who believes they would have undergone torture, prison, and even horrible deaths for a mere symbolic Eucharist and not the real presence of Christ? Would we? As the Catholic Author, Flannery O’Connor once famously said: “Well, if (the Eucharist) is just a symbol, then to the hell with it!”

St. Augustine teaches us clearly that: "What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the body of Christ and the chalice is the blood of Christ!" 

So this Corpus Christ celebrate the Eucharist, with a renewed faith, love, devotion, and joy. We offer prayerful congratulations to our new priests, Fr. Dan Mahoney and Fr Doan Nguyen. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. 

Corpus Christi Procession. Carl Emil Doepler.(1824–1905)

June Brings Welcomes & Farewells

Dear Parishioners:

      As Father Barrow announced last weekend, Bishop Tobin has appointed him as the new Pastor of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus Church and School in Pawtucket.  He begins this new assignment on July 1, 2021. Congratulations, Fr. Barrow!  We wish Fr. Barrow all the best in his first pastorate and assure him of our prayers. And we thank him for his five years of zealous priestly ministry here at OLM.  As our Associate Pastor, he has done a tremendous job serving the parish and school.   He is a joy to work and live with, and will be missed by many including myself.   

At this time, Bishop Tobin has not named a replacement for Fr. Barrow.  This year six priests are retiring from active ministry, and just two men are to be ordained.  So please pray for an increase of priestly vocations in the Diocese of Providence.        

Father Barrow's last Sunday at OLM is June 20, 2021.  Appropriately enough, it is also Father's Day!  On that weekend, we shall have a chance to officially say "Thank You" and "Farewell" to Father.  So please mark your calendars.   

It's hard to believe that June begins on Tuesday.  The school year is soon coming to a close, and we celebrate our final OLM School Mass on Friday, June 4.    It is to be the final First Friday Mass for our graduating 8th Grade Class.      Many of these students have spent the last eight to nine years at our parish school striving to be saints and scholars.  We pray for them, in particular at the Mass on Friday. All parishioners and school families are welcome to join us for the Mass.   

 Next weekend, we hope to begin the customary practices of having the ushers take up the collection and the gifts of bread and wine presented by parishioners.  These traditional practices were suspended for safety reasons during the pandemic but are now allowed.   We could always use a few more ushers to help take up the collection, open and close doors, and greet people.  Also, we invite all families who wish to bring forward the gifts to inform the ushers.    

Next weekend we also resume the usual method of distributing Holy Communion.  Our Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are to assist us once again as they did before the pandemic. All the priests and EMHCs are to continue sanitizing their hands before distributing Holy Communion.

The wearing of face masks is optional for those vaccinated.  However, the CDC and the RI Department of Health still insist that the non-vaccinated wear a face mask in church.  I thank you for your cooperation, patience and understanding.  

Next weekend the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass ends. As you know, obeying the Third Commandment to honor the sabbath, we are obliged to attend Sunday Mass every week. It is a grave sin to miss Mass without a good reason. Coming to Sunday Mass also fulfills the interior law inscribed in the human heart to render God visible and public worship as a sign of radical dependence upon Him and as gratitude for all the blessings we have received. We pray many parishioners begin to return to Sunday Mass.    

Next Sunday is the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.  This feast calls us to focus upon the Holy Eucharist. At every Mass, our focus is upon the Eucharist and the Real Presence of Christ in it. But on Corpus Christi, we celebrate the great gift of the Mass and renew our belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.     

A Eucharistic Procession to Mercy Park follows the 10:30 am  Corpus Christi Mass. A beautiful and venerable tradition on this great feast. At Mercy Park, we kneel in adoration and pray with renewed devotion before the Eucharistic Lord.  As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote:

“Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.”

On Saturday, June 6, Bishop Tobin is to ordain two new priests for our Diocese.  Transitional Deacons Dan Mahoney, who served at OLM as a summer seminarian, and Doan V. Nguyen, are the new Priests of Providence.  Please pray for them and their priesthood.
   Happy Memorial Day! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. See you at Devotions!

It's Time To Come Home to Mass

Dear Parishioners:                               

On the Feast of the Ascension, Bishop Tobin issued a letter stating his intention to restore the obligation for Catholics to attend Sunday Mass. He began the letter by saying: “Dear Brothers and sisters, it’s time. It’s time to come home. It’s time to return to Sunday Mass.”     The Bishop went on to state: “It is important to emphasize that, since the pandemic is still lingering in our midst, some individuals are not obliged to attend Sunday Mass, and perhaps should not attend Mass to protect their health and safety, and that of others. And as always, Catholics are dispensed from the Sunday obligation for other grave reasons such as illness, caring for the ill, the unavoidable obligations of their employment, and travel that disrupts their schedules.”    

The obligation for Catholics to attend Sunday Mass resumes on Sunday, June 6, 2021. On this Sunday, we also celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. It is a beautiful time for us as Catholics and a parish family to renew our love and devotion to the Eucharist. A time for us to properly place Sunday Mass at the top of our schedules and return to worship our God at Mass with joyful thanksgiving!

While the numbers attending weekend Masses continue to rise at OLM, there are still some parishioners who have not returned to the regular practice of Sunday Mass. I don’t mean those who are sick, caring for the ill, or those who have to work on Sundays. Many Catholics have fallen into bad habits during the pandemic—keeping busy on Sundays with chores and shopping, ball games and golfing, and not putting Mass on the schedule. To them, I echo Bishop Tobin’s words:  “It’s time. It’s time to come home to OLM. It’s time to return to Sunday Mass!!”  

The CDC has issued new guidelines concerning face masks. These guidelines suggest that fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear a mask either outdoors or indoors. Governor McKee announced Rhode Island would follow this new directive beginning last Tuesday. The Governor also moved up the complete opening of many places of business to May 21. This opening includes houses of worship. Churches are now allowed to have 100% capacity for seating. Also, all those who are vaccinated no longer need to wear a face mask indoors or outdoors while at Church. However, those not yet fully vaccinated must continue to wear a face mask.  If you are not yet vaccinated, I encourage you to get the vaccine. Do it for your own well-being but also for the common good of our parish and community.

This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost, one of the most important feast days of the year that concludes the Easter season and marks the beginning of the Church. Pentecost is the celebration of the person of the Holy Spirit coming upon the Apostles, Blessed Mother Mary, and the first followers of Jesus. They were gathered together in the Upper Room and a “strong, driving” wind filled the room, and tongues of fire came to rest on their heads, allowing them to speak in different languages so that they could understand each other. The Holy Spirit also gave the apostles the other gifts and fruits necessary to fulfill the great commission - to go out and preach the Gospel to all nations. It fulfills the New Testament promise from Christ (Luke 24:46-49) that the Apostles would be “clothed with power” before spreading the Gospel.

For this reason, Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church - Peter, the first Pope, preaches for the first time and converts thousands of new believers. For the first time, the apostles and believers were united by a common language and a common purpose of going and preaching the Gospel. As we mark this important Feast, let us call upon the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our individual lives and the life of our parish. “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.”

We thank the many school families, parishioners, and friends who were so generous in supporting the OLM School Fling Online Auction! Last week’s auction was a great success for our school.

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. See you on Monday night at Devotions!  

Joy & Faith Are Springing Up!

Dear Parishioners:                                                 

Fr. Healey distributes First Holy Communion

It was truly a beautiful day and celebration last Saturday as 43 children of OLM received First Holy Communion. It was a joyful Mass full of faith and hope, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI speaking to children about First Communion, said: 

 “The day of my First Holy Communion was one of the most beautiful days of my life. It is the same for you, isn’t it? And why is that? It’s not only because of our nice clothes or the gifts we receive, nor even because of the parties! It is above all because, that day, we receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time! When I receive Communion, Jesus comes to live in me. I should welcome him with love and listen closely to him. In the depths of my heart.”

Following the Mass, the children crowned the Blessed Mother Mary, the Queen of the May! They presented Mary with a crown and fresh blossoms to signify her queenship as the mother of Christ, the King of the Universe. They also received a Scapular. The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was given by Mother Mary herself to the Carmelite friar, St. Simon Stock.  With special promises to its wearers, the brown scapular is a sign of devotion and personal consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our First Communion Class is now under her mantle of protection and love.

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

— St. Maximilian Kolbe

Let us pray for our First Communion Class and their families. May they grow in love and adoration of the Eucharistic Lord. May they worthily and faithfully receive Our Lord in Holy Communion at Mass every Sunday of their lives!

Our first weekend without some of the COVID restrictions and with 80% seating capacity in the church worked out very well. No ropes on pews is a most welcome sight. It appears that more people are returning to Mass, a great sign of hope! Indeed I saw a few people I haven’t seen in over a year! Welcome back!

It was a joy to fill up the Holy Water fonts again! There are two methods of blessing ourselves with Holy Water, dipping our fingers in the font or using one of the automatic Holy Water dispensers. Either way, it is another welcome return of a beautiful sacramental! Processing into Mass and singing again was also joyous. The hymnals are back in the pews. So pick them up and sing with gusto and joy in praise of the Lord! As St. Augustine reminds us: “To sing is to pray twice!” 

It was wonderful to have our Parish Choir back singing at the 10:30 am Mass last Sunday. Their voices are a tremendous sign of joy and hope. The Choir is always looking for new voices, so if you are interested in singing with praise to the Lord, please contact our Music Director, Henri St. Louis. We still need more ushers to volunteer to serve at weekend Masses. They help greet people, open and close doors, take up and secure the collection, and to see to the good order of the church and congregation. If you are an adult man or woman and are able to help the parish with this critical service, please contact the Parish Office.

OLM Parishioners safely worshipping at Holy Mass

We hope to schedule a training session for ushers and anticipate their return to duty sometime in June. In the meantime, please continue to use the safe in the vestibule for the weekly collection. It works well and allows people to drop off their envelopes and donations conveniently and safely at any time.

Over the last year, many parishioners signed up for online giving.  I encourage you to consider this method of support for the parish as it is very convenient, secure, and safe. You can sign-up or learn more about it on the parish website by clicking the link to Parish Giving.

Lifting the COVID restrictions is a gradual process. And as we return to our usual practices at Mass, I ask for your continued patience. We are required to still continue to wear facemasks while at Mass, sanitize our hands upon entering the Church, and keep a social distance of three feet.  I am grateful for your cooperation. With more people getting vaccinated, we are slowly returning to normal practices., I encourage you to please get vaccinated for your health and well-being but also to serve the common good of our community and parish. 

Join us at  Devotions on Mondays as we pray for an end to the pandemic! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless.

Celebrating First Communion & Motherhood!

First Communion Mass at OLM

Dear Parishioners:                                                 

It's a great weekend of faith and joy, glory, and praise at OLM! Forty-three of our children received First Holy Communion on Saturday. These children have been preparing all year for this special occasion. It is always a great joy to celebrate the First Communion Mass.     

              Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminds us: "The Eucharist is such a great gift. That's why going to Mass is so important—going to Mass not just to pray but to receive Communion, the Bread, and the Body of Christ. It saves us, forgives us, and it makes us one with the Father. How beautiful!" How beautiful indeed!

May Crowing at OLM 2019

We thank the First Communion Class and their parents for living their faith and bringing their children to Christ truly present in the Eucharist. We also offer our gratitude to the teachers who worked so hard in making our First Communion Mass so joyful and beautiful.

We especially thank Mickey St. Jean, who directs the OLM First Communion Program, and Jean Perretta, our OLM School Second Grade Teacher. Following the First Communion Mass, the joy continued with the May Crowning of the Blessed Mother. It is a beautiful ceremony as our First Communion Class crowns Mother Mary and consecrates themselves to her protection and guidance.

As we crown our Blessed Mother, we prayerfully turn to her on this Mother's Day to guide and protect our First Communion Class and our entire parish family. On this Mothers Day, we wish all Mothers, a Happy Mother’s Day! We thank them for their example of love and their tremendous witness to maternal care. Motherhood is a sacred gift from God, and so we celebrate it with great joy and reverence. Mother's Day is a day for us to give thanks to God for Mothers and Motherhood.

As the late Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty, the great Hungarian Churchman stated so well:

"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?"     

On Mothers Day, we are offering Masses for all Mothers, living and deceased. May God bless all Mothers with his abundant and choicest blessings! Let us pray for them and give thanks to God for our Mothers! May all our deceased Mothers pray for us!

Sadly as we honor the dignity of Motherhood, many of our elected officials seek to attack it. A serious effort is underway in Congress to force all taxpayers to pay for abortion. The Hyde Amendment and other similar laws have long protected taxpayers from funding elective abortions.

Now, members of Congress, including our own RI Delegation, seek to eliminate these laws. Laws that prohibit the funding of abortion have always garnered support from both Democrats and Republicans for over 45 years. President Biden was once a supporter of these laws until he ran for President. So I urge you to contact Congressman Langevin and Senators Reed and Whitehouse and tell them not to allow tax dollars for such evil practices as abortion. 

The RI General Assembly is also considering the state funding of abortion. State Senator Valverde is the sponsor of the bill. I urge you to contact Senator Valverde and State Rep. Caldwell and tell them not to support this legislation. Abortion is not healthcare but a wrongful attack on life, as millions of American women and men believe, and it is wrong to use government funds to promote it. The government should better direct federal and state tax dollars to ensure the healthy birth of unborn children and provide quality prenatal care and support for expectant Mothers rather than attack Motherhood and destroy innocent unborn children.   

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. Happy Mother’s Day! Come pray for an end to the pandemic at Monday Devotions!