Building & Grounds in the Hot Summer!

  Dear Parishioners:                              

Fr. Mahoney offers his First Priestly Blessing to Bishop Tobin at the Ordination Mass.

I hope you had a joyful celebration on the Fourth of July.  I was able to get up to visit with my sister and her family in Saratoga, NY.  It was the first time in over a year I’ve seen my sister and her family.  It’s hard to believe that so much time passed during the COVID Pandemic   

Fr. Mahoney is settling in very nicely to life as a priest and life at OLM. He is getting very familiar with the schedule and the surroundings.  His new golf clubs arrived this past week, and he’s itching to try them out on the course soon. Many parishioners have welcomed him and received a First Priestly Blessing from him.

There exists a long and venerable tradition of seeking out the first blessing of a newly ordained priest. A special grace ma is gained from receiving a “first blessing” of a newly ordained priest. First blessings are customarily offered when first Masses are celebrated, but they may be given up to a full year after ordination.  So be sure to say “Hello” and “Welcome” to Father Mahoney and ask for his blessing.  

 Just before the Fourth of July, we had a few building emergencies in the Rectory.  A few days before the heatwave, the air condition split units in the kitchen and Fr. Connors’ suite stopped working.  They were the two oldest units in the Rectory and were over twenty years old.  The two new units were installed in just one day by Gem Plumbing.  The new units are much more efficient and also much quieter.  There was some rewiring also done.  The cost of this project was $10,000.   

On the same day, we had the fence on the OLM School Field installed.  A considerable portion of the fence was damaged during the winter by the snowplow.  It took many months to find a fence company that could supply a matching fence and install it.  I am grateful to an OLM Parishioner who got Joe DiBenedetto of First Choice Fence Company to do the job.  They finished the job in a matter of hours, and the cost of this project was $5,000.      

Leaky pipe in OLM Garage

Just when we thought we had finished up these building and grounds projects, a plumbing leak sprung!  The sixty-year-old plumping pipe for the two suites above the garage was leaking in the garage ceiling.  Thankfully Paul Anderson, our hard-working Director of Facilities, was able to find the leak and remove the cracked part of the pipe.  It was an enormous crack that probably has been there for years but just now began to leak.  

In one day, Paul Anderson, with our excellent  OLM maintenance staff, removed the old pipe, installed a new pipe, and sanitized the garage!  We are truly blessed to have such a talented and hard-working maintenance crew.  Now Fr. Connors can rest in the cool of his suite and brush his teeth without worry!!   

Let’s hope that this is the end of emergency maintenance problems for a while.  I am grateful for your generous support of the monthly Building and Grounds Collection.  This collection helps fund these types of projects and the hard work that goes into keeping our Church properties and grounds neat and beautiful.   

We have just begun the bid process for the replacement of the Church doors.  As you know, this parish improvement project is funded by our capital campaign, Grateful for God’s Providence. Our Church doors are old, difficult to open, close, and lock and some are rotting severely.  As we move forward with this critical project, I will keep you apprised of its developments.   

Last week we celebrated a Funeral Mass for one of our oldest OLM Parishioners, Rosalie Ferruccio.  She turned 100 years old on April 24, and many of us, including Bishop Evans, Fr. Connors, and I, were blessed to attend the birthday celebration.   Sadly a few weeks later, Rosalie’s health began to decline, and she entered into eternal life on June 24. A beautiful and solemn Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for her.  In the sermon, I mentioned how much has changed in the 100 years since her birth.  Yet so much stayed the same with Rosalie, especially her devotion to praying for the souls in Purgatory and having Masses offered for the dead as well as her love of the Mass and Priests.  We would all do well to be as dedicated to our faith as Rosalie.  May She rest in eternal peace and may the perpetual light shine upon her.

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox!

Let Freedom Ring for All!

 Dear Parishioners:                              

The Signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 (Edward Hicks, 1845)

 On July 4, 1776, amid the American Revolution, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia boldly declared the thirteen colonies independent from Great Britain. We celebrate that anniversary today as Independence Day! We rejoice today that the shackles of British imperialism are destroyed, and we as, a nation gained our liberty from royal oppression. On Independence Day, 245 years later, we continue to celebrate this Declaration. With all our fellow Americans, we celebrate our freedom and liberty. As Catholics, we especially pray for and celebrate religious freedom and liberty in our nation. 

  Many of the colonists who came to America in the 17th and 18th centuries were fleeing religious persecution. Like the Puritans and Quakers, Catholics also came to America to escape persecution. English and Irish Catholics first settled in Maryland since the first Baron of Baltimore, George Calvert,  was a Catholic and founded Maryland as a haven for persecuted Christians. As a result, Catholics and Protestants lived peacefully side by side in Maryland. The Act of Toleration of 1649 guaranteed religious liberty. But in 1654, when Puritans took over the governance of Maryland, they repealed the act, and Catholics were outlawed.  

Maryland joined the other colonies in enacting the English penal laws that restricted the freedom of Catholics: the denial of the right to vote or to hold public office, the prohibition of public worship, and even the imprisonment of priests. The penal laws against Catholics were in force with different levels of severity in the colonies for over a century. Nevertheless, for over a century, the small number of Catholics in the thirteen colonies clung to their religious faith despite active persecution and denial of their civil rights. They supported the American Revolution hoping that independence from Britain would bring them greater religious liberty in the new republic.

Bishop John Carroll, First Catholic Bishop in the United States.

American Catholics, including the Bishop of Baltimore, John Carroll, who in 1790 was ordained the first Catholic bishop in the United States, and his cousin  Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, rejoice in the newfound liberty. They were especially pleased that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, especially the First Amendment, defined our first freedom: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." 

The First Amendment allowed Catholics the freedom to practice their faith. Yet, it did not eradicate the cultural anti-Catholicism that persisted in sometimes violent form during the following century with the rise of the Know-Nothing Party and other nativist groups. Sadly, this persistent prejudice is still alive today, especially among certain elites in politics, academia, Hollywood, the media, and other influential molders of public opinion.  Today, religious liberty is primarily concerned with a more general anti-religious cultural movement, rooted in secularism and relativism, which seeks to limit the role of religion in public life. This limitation was certainly not the intent of our founding fathers, who recognized the essential role of religion and the virtues it inspires in providing the foundation for the success of a democratic society. 

Little Sisters of the Poor protest government mandates in violation of their religious liberty.

  Our founding fathers believed that religion, virtue, and morality based on the natural law were essential foundations for the success of the American Experiment. In his farewell address to the nation, George Washington declared: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness." 

  On  Independence Day, we pray for the protection of religious freedom in our nation. We pray too for those who are persecuted for their faith across the globe.   May Almighty God, who gave us life and liberty, bless us, our nation, and the world. May freedom ring! Welcome, Fr. Mahoney! Happy Fourth of July! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox! God Bless America!

"My God, What a Life!"

Fr. Healey and Fr. Barrow

Dear Parishioners:                                  

We had a great “Farewell” send-off for Father Barrow last weekend.  After five happy years of priestly ministry at OLM, he leaves us to begin his first pastorate at St. Teresa Parish in Pawtucket. We say farewell and thanks and promise him our prayers.                                

I am grateful to our OLM Staff and volunteers for arranging the fabulous receptions in Fr. Barrow’s honor. Thanks to the quick thinking of Doug Green, the  Saturday night reception wasn’t rained out by the massive thunderstorm but held in the Church vestibule!  Sunday’s reception had beautiful weather and a great turnout of parishioners to wish Father well!  I am grateful to all those who acknowledged his priestly ministry here at OLM with their good wishes!

“My God, what a life, and it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ!”

— Father Henri Lacordaire, O.P. (1802-1861)

Our new Associate Pastor, Father Mahoney, has begun to move his belongings into his rooms.  He begins his duties here at OLM on July 1 and begins celebrating Masses this week at OLM.   

Bishop Tobin ordained Father Mahoney on Saturday, June 5, 2021, at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. He grew up in Wakefield and attended Saint Francis Parish.  His father is a retired Naval Officer,  his mother a retired school teacher, and they now reside in Arizona. He has two brothers who live in Reno, Nevada, and a sister who lives in Rhode Island. 

 He studied for the priesthood at Saint John’s Seminary in Boston, where our own Father Connors taught him.  He is an alumnus of Providence College and South Kingstown High School. And while he roots for the Pats, he is a Green Bay Packer fan as his mother is a native of Wisconsin! I know you will give him a warm welcome as he begins his first priestly assignment.

Father Healey and Father Mahoney.

It is a great privilege and joy to have a newly ordained priest assigned to our parish  I am deeply grateful to Bishop Tobin for sending us Fr. Mahoney.  We look forward to many happy years of faithful and fruitful ministry from him.     

 Over twenty years ago as a newly ordained priest, my first parish assignment was an exciting time.  Finally, I was able to put the years of seminary formation and studies into priestly practice. It was also a privileged time to celebrate Masses, hear confessions, baptize babies, anoint the sick and dying, and celebrate weddings often for the first time.

God has truly blessed my priesthood with fantastic parish assignments. I am truly blessed to be serving at OLM with outstanding young priests such as Fr. Shemek, Fr. Connors, and Fr. Barrow.  Now I look forward to many happy years serving with Father Mahoney.  It is an exciting time for him as a new priest but also for us as a parish.

This week a seminary classmate and long-time friend, Father Ferdi Santos, is visiting. Thirty years ago we studied in the seminary together at the American College in Louvain, Belgium. He is from the Philippines but has been working in the U.S. for the last fourteen years. He spent four years teaching philosophy and theology at Providence College while living with me at St. Ambrose. Then, over the last ten years, he served as a Philosophy Professor and Rector at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, Florida.   

Now Father Santos is returning home to the Philippines to be closer to his parents and family.  He is leaving behind the seminary and academic life to serve as a parish priest. His bishop has assigned him to serve as pastor of a parish located in one of the most impoverished areas of his diocese. Please pray for him.

This past Thursday on my anniversary I offered thanks to God for my twenty-six years of priesthood and offered Mass for your intentions.  I also give thanks for the gift of my brother priests.  I have had the great joy to serve  with great priests and to serve wonderful parishioners. It is a blessing indeed!

In his homily last week, Fr. Barrow quoted “The Priest “ by the French Dominican Father Henri Lacordaire, I do  so again:

La messa al campo, (1938) by Emilio Rizzi.

“To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures; To be a member of each family, yet belonging to none; To share all suffering; to penetrate all secrets; To heal all wounds; to go from men to God and offer Him their prayers; To return from God to men to bring pardon and hope; To teach and to pardon, console and bless always. My God, what a life, and it is yours, O priest of Jesus Christ.”   

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox!

Fond Farewells & Fatherhood

Dear Parishioners:                               

Thursday was the last day of classes at OLM School. Now the students and faculty begin a well-deserved summer vacation. It has been a long year with all the COVID restrictions and policies governing schools. We are grateful to our OLM School Principal, Patrick McNabb, for his tremendous dedication to the students’ well begin and his outstanding leadership throughout the COVID Pandemic.

When he began his administration just two years ago, I am sure he never expected that he would be facing a pandemic! Thanks to his leadership and thanks to our talented and dedicated faculty, OLM School safely opened last September and remained open all year. Our students were happily in their classrooms learning and striving to be saints and scholars. We are grateful to our wonderful students and their parents for their great cooperation and support in this unprecedented pandemic. May they all enjoy the summer and return tan, rested, and ready for school in September!

OLM School 8th Graders get ready to graduate!

We celebrated 8th Grade Graduation last Monday with a joyous ceremony. We say “Farewell” to the Class of 2021. Please keep them in your prayers as they depart our parish school and continue to strive to be saints and scholars at high school!

This weekend, we also say “Farewell” to Father Barrow. After five years serving as the Associate Pastor at OLM, he leaves us to serve as Pastor of St. Teresa Church and School in Pawtucket. We are certainly most grateful for his priestly ministry and dedication. He is a terrific young priest and is sure to be an outstanding Pastor. Be sure to stop by one of the receptions this weekend and wish him well. Also, please pray for him and his new parish. May God bestow his abundant blessings upon him and his priestly ministry in Pawtucket!

Father Healey and Father Barrow

I will certainly miss him as he has been a loyal and hardworking Associate Pastor and a supportive brother priest. We have lived and worked together for five happy years. I wish him well as he becomes a pastor, and I know he is going to be an excellent pastor of souls. St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, once said: “The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. When you see a priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ.” These words bespeak Father Barrow. For he is an exemplary priest who truly loves the heart of Jesus Christ!  Ad multos annos!     

We celebrate Fathers’ Day today. Pope Francis writes about Fatherhood in his apostolic letter for the Year of St. Joseph, Patris Corde (“With a Father’s Heart”). The Holy Father writes: “Fathers are not born, but made. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child. Children today often seem orphans, lacking fathers.”

As of 2019, roughly 16 million American children, about 1 in 4, live without a father in the home. And while this happens for many reasons, the largest reason is family breakdown and the huge rise of births out of wedlock. Today, many think that Fatherhood is neither important nor special. We know better, for we see the inexplicable good that happened when St. Joseph was a faithful, loving father and obedient to God. Fathers can protect and give life to the world, sowing the seeds of  virtue and goodness, beauty, and truth, and making the presence of Jesus felt and experienced in a world sorely in need of direction, strength, love, faith, and hope.

As we commemorate Father’s Day, we also celebrate God’s gift of life and love through the sacred calling of Fatherhood.  On this Father’s Day, I offer my best wishes to all who fulfill the responsibility of Fatherhood. Please join me in praying that all fathers experience the authentic love and joy that comes with raising a child. Let’s pray for God, the Almighty Father, to shower his blessings on all fathers that they may guide, provide for, protect, and love their families following His will. Let’s also pray that God will comfort those whose fathers have gone to their eternal rest and those who do not have a father present in their lives. A Happy Fathers Day to all Fathers!

With deep gratitude and thanksgiving for his time at OLM, I offer a fond Adieu to Fr Barrow.  Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless.  And yes, Go Sox!!!

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)