Lent is Coming! Get Ready to Pray, Fast & Give Alms!

Dear Parishioners:

In Her wisdom Holy Mother the Church each year gives us the Holy Season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday this week we “begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.”                          

Over the last two years, Lent has been observed during the pandemic. During this time of the pandemic, we were vigilant in fighting the virus with social distancing, mask-wearing, hand washing, and other health and safety precautions. This year we begin a Lent with the virus subsided and masks mandates ended. And so we begin the return to a “normal” way of life.

Lent calls us to be vigilant against “spiritual evils” especially those that have spread during the pandemic. Namely, sin and selfishness, spiritual apathy and indifference, sloth, and laziness especially in our faith lives and religious obligations!  Now is the time to be ever more vigilant in faithfully attending Holy Mass on Sundays as God has commanded us. Now is the time to be more vigilant in more frequently seeking out God’s mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession. Now is the time to be more vigilant in making sacrifices, being more charitable to the poor, and practicing self-denial as we take up the cross and follow Christ. 

The campaign of Lent begins this Wednesday with ashes on our foreheads. We take up the clarion call of Lent: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”     It is a time for more prayer and reflection in our daily lives. We are distributing a small book of Lenten Gospel Reflections by Bishop Robert Barron, one of the leading evangelists of our day. It is a great source of prayer and reflection. Additionally, there are many other books available on the book rack in the Church vestibule. Consider taking a break from the busy daily routine to add some time for spiritual reading, prayer, and reflection.  

Join us daily for one of our Lenten Masses at 7:30 am and 12:05 pm. Also, make this year’s  Parish Lenten Mission with Monsignor Kieran E. Harrington. He is preaching to us on a timely topic, “The Corona19 Virus Pandemic: Curse or Moment of Grace?”  Monsignor is a very talented priest and dynamic preacher. He begins our Annual Lenten Mission next weekend at all Masses. I hope you take the time to make the Mission. A full Mission schedule is in the bulletin this week. 

The Fridays of Lent are a day of penance and prayer as we loyally keep the sacrificial fast and abstain from meat in honor of our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross. Our Lenten fast from food and certain drinks and other comforts and pleasures helps us to conform to God’s will. We take up fasting by giving up some pleasure or comfort in our lives for forty days. In giving up such things as chocolate and sweets, beer or Bourbon, technology like cell phones, internet, Netflix or  even cigars, helps us answer the call to fast, self-denial and sacrifice, as did our Savior in the desert.

On the Fridays of Lent  we pray the Stations of the Cross at 7:00pm.  This venerable devotion draws us closer to the Crucified Christ as we prayerfully follow his footsteps to Cavalry.     Confession is offered daily Monday through Friday at 11:45 am just before the Lenten 12:05 Mass. Each Monday night at 6:00pm during Lent, an extra guest Confessor joins us. All Day Confessions take place on Saturday, March 26th! Also, four priests are hearing Confessions each night before the Mission Talks at 6:00 pm!

We give more alms in Lent through Operation Rice Bowl, so please take a rice bowl home.  The monies collected buy food for the hungry of the world.  We are also asked   to support OLM Outreach and the Catholic Charity Appeal during this sacrificial season.

  Pope Francis’ Message for Lent reminds us: “The call to experience Lent as a journey of conversion, prayer, and sharing of our goods helps us – as communities and as individuals – to revive the faith that comes from the living Christ, the hope inspired by the breath of the Holy Spirit and the love flowing from the merciful heart of the Father.”

  May the self-restraint and spiritual combat  of Lent  be a time of conversion to Christ. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless! Lent is coming. Get ready! Pray, fast and give alms!

At the Corner of Church & State

Dear Parishioners:                                 
That sound of silence you hear is the Annual February Winter Break! Students and teachers are off this week for a well-deserved winter vacation. We wish them well and pray for their safe travels and return to OLM School. I hope it will be a relaxing time of renewal for them. 

Monday, we celebrate President's Day. It is a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. It was originally established in 1885 to recognize President George Washington's birthday on February 22. In 1968 the birth of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on February 12 was added as part of the holiday. The holiday became popularly known as Presidents' Day in 1971 to create more three-day weekends for the nation's workers. Presidents' Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents, past and present. 

In an age when statues of past Presidents of our nation are removed and their character questioned by contemporary standards and virtue signaling, it is important to stop and acknowledge all of our Presidents and their service to the nation. We remember and honor them with prayer, gratitude, and thanksgiving.

President George Washington, the Father of the Nation, said: "It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supporters. Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." 

Sadly, many of our government officials and elected politicians do not accept his words. They wish to remove morality and religion from the debate in public policy. Religion is a quaint social custom, and morality is all relative. Their understanding of political prosperity is far from President Washington's.

Hence, today we live in a nation with abortion on demand up until birth, assisted suicide and euthanasia for the terminally ill and suffering, neglect of the poor and homeless, the false notion of gender, and the continued undermining of family and marriage. Washington was right to be cautious to "indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion." 

Our Catholic faith and our Church's vast social teaching should inform our understanding of public policy issues. Without the truth of Christ and His teaching, we will be doomed to believe anything popular, convenient, and trendy as true. Without the truth of Christ and His Church, children are but a choice to exterminate and not the children of God to be welcomed and cherished. The sick and the suffering are nothing more than an emotional and financial burden to be lifted through assisted suicide or euthanasia. The poor and needy are nothing more than freeloaders who drain the public expenditures rather than brothers and sisters deserving dignity, support, and assistance.    

Catholic social teaching is a central and essential element of our faith. Its roots are in the prophets who announced God's special love for the poor and called God's people to a covenant of love and justice. It is a teaching founded on the life and words of Jesus Christ, who came "to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind." Christ identified himself with "the least of these," the hungry and the stranger. Our social teaching is built on a commitment to the poor, the oppressed, the suffering, and the marginalized.    

Catholic social teaching is inseparable from our understanding of human life and human dignity. Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family. From the moment of conception to natural death, every person has inherent dignity and a right to life consistent with that dignity. Human dignity comes from God, not from any human quality or merely human institution. Pray for our President and elected officials. May they, as Washington did, embrace those indispensable supports of religion and morality. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless! God Bless America!   

Praying & Anointing the Sick, A Work of Mercy

Dear Parishioners:

Last Friday was World Day of the Sick which always falls on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Pope Francis writes: “The supreme witness of the Father’s merciful love for the sick is his only-begotten Son. How often do the Gospels relate Jesus’ encounters with people suffering from various diseases! We do well to ask ourselves why Jesus showed such great concern for the sick, so much so that he made it paramount in the mission of the apostles, who were sent by the Master to proclaim the Gospel and to heal the sick.”    

This is a good opportunity to pray for the sick and those who care for them. Also, to understand more about the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Suffering and illness affect us in body and spirit. If one member suffers in the Body of Christ, the Church, all the members suffer with that member. In times of frailty, sickness, medical treatment, or surgeries, the parish family assures the infirmed of our care and support through our prayer, personal visits, and the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. 

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is for all who face a serious illness or surgery or are impaired by infirmity. This Sacrament confers a special grace that unites the sick person more intimately to the Passion of Christ. This is for their good and for the good of all the Church. It gives comfort, peace, courage, strength, and even the forgiveness of sins if the sick person cannot make a confession. Sometimes, if it is the will of God, this sacrament even brings about the restoration of physical health. In any case, this Anointing prepares the sick person for the journey to the Father’s House. 

Yet all too often, families and loved ones wait until someone is near death and unconscious to call the priest. They should call while the person is alive and conscious although suffering in sickness. It is a healing Sacrament that brings the power of Christ to the sick. It is distinct from what many call “Last Rites,” or Viaticum. When the Church offers Holy Communion as food for the journey to eternal life. Suppose you know you will be hospitalized for a planned surgery. In that case, you should contact the parish before you enter the hospital to arrange a time to celebrate the Sacrament. Often the Sacrament of Anointing can be celebrated after Mass. Call the Parish Office to make an arrangement for the Sacrament.

  If someone is in the hospital, simply notify the Catholic Chaplain. They will make arrangements for the Sacrament of the Sick to be offered. If someone is in the hospital, please realize the parish priests are no longer notified by the hospital staff as it is against privacy laws. So if you or a loved one is in the hospital, please let the parish know.    

Bishop Evans, Fr. Mahoney, and I and all the area parish priests serve Kent Hospital once or twice a month for a twenty-four-hour period. We continue our regular parish duties, but we make ourselves available for emergencies and for those nearing death who need the sacraments.    

We also continue to offer Mass at the local nursing home facilities monthly. In addition, every Sunday at the 9:00 am Mass, our OLM Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the Sick bring Communion to the nursing homes and to all those shut-in at home due to illness or infirmity. Fr. Mahoney and I are available to visit the sick, administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, Confession, or arrange for regular reception of Holy Communion for those shut-in. If you, a member of your family, or a parishioner you know require visits or the Sacraments, please let us know.

We are often the last to find out someone was in the hospital or sick for a while. Sometimes it’s a matter of privacy, but sometimes it’s because a family member neglects to tell us. Some parishioners move away to nursing facilities far from the parish, and we are not informed. Sadly we don’t find out until they’ve died and a funeral has to be arranged.      

The Sacrament of the Sick is for both the living and the dying. Please do not hesitate to call for the Catholic Hospital Chaplain, a local priest, or your own parish priest when you or your loved ones need the Sacraments. Pray for the sick and caregivers.

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless 

Snowstorms and Sunday Masses!

Dear Parishioners:
Kenan, the Blizzard of 2022, has come and gone! What a snowstorm! Last Saturday, it shut down the state with its high winds, never-ending snow, and cold temperatures! In light of the severe winter weather, Bishop Tobin granted a dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass for the Diocese.

However, Mass at OLM went on as scheduled! After all, Fr. Mahoney and I only have to walk down the hall to get to Mass!! In fact, besides Father Mahony, myself, and our good Franciscan Sisters, three brave souls trudged through the wicked weather to be at the 4:00 pm Mass on Saturday. It was certainly nice to have a Lector, an Altar Server, and one lone parishioner in the pews at Mass! Kudos to them for braving the Blizzard to worship God and attend Mass!

Sunday Masses saw few parishioners in attendance as many were snowed in from the storm. Sunday evening, the 5:00 pm Mass attendance was also very light. Either people were snowed in or perhaps at home watching NFL Football in the warmth of their homes!  

In any case, please know that Masses at OLM are never canceled, and we offer Masses during blizzards, hurricanes, and beautiful weather! In addition, our Sunday Masses are typically intentioned for deceased loved ones of parishioners, so we ensure that those souls are prayed for during Holy Mass. After all, as Padre Pio said: "It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass!"  

I want to commend our excellent OLM Maintenance Staff for the great work during the Blizzard of '22! They plowed, shoveled, and sanded for almost thirty hours! They worked all night and day with occasional breaks for naps and nourishment. The storm was never-ending as the wind caused snowdrifts. They kept covering over what had been already shoveled and plowed. So if you see them around OLM, please be sure to say thank you.   

The walkways and parking lots were clear for Sunday Masses, and the School was ready for Monday classes! But, of course, the maintenance problems only seem to increase with such a large amount of snow and frigid temperatures. The School had some leaks due to snow build-up, and the flat roof above the Church Boiler Room had to be shoveled too!    

Maintenance is a daily endeavor at OLM, whether it's shoveling snow, fixing leaks, or keeping the buildings and property neat and clean. We are lucky to have such a talented and hard-working staff who take great pride in their work.    

Of course, such maintenance is also a costly endeavor, and we are grateful for your generous support of the Monthly Building and Grounds Collection that helps defray maintenance costs. This vital second collection is taken up on the first weekend of every month, and I thank you for your support. 

We postponed our Catholic Schools Week Open House at OLM School last week with the bad weather. It takes place this Sunday from 10:00 am until Noon. I encourage you to stop by for a visit and meet our budding saints and scholars.

Have you read the new monthly bulletin column by Fr.  Mahoney? Each month, he profiles a Saint and offers a recipe to celebrate the Saint's feast day. As you may know, Fr. Mahoney was a Professional Chef for several years before entering the seminary to pursue his priestly vocation.     

It is a very new experience in the OLM Rectory to have an Associate  Pastor who can cook! While Fr. Connors and Fr. Barrow have many talents, cooking is certainly not one of them. And I confess I can barely boil an egg!

So during the Blizzard, it was especially nice to have Fr. Mahoney here! On the cold and snowy Saturday, he made a delicious pot of Chili complete with homemade cornbread. It was a great source of comfort during the cold and snowy weather! So be sure to read his column and follow his recipes. He knows what he's doing!   

On Friday, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Church marks World Day of the Sick. In a special way, we pray for all the sick especially the ill and infirm of our parish.  We also pray for all healthcare workers and caretakers. We turn to Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Mercy, to intercede for them. May they experience the Lord’s healing, consolation, and compassion.

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. 

Discover the OLM School Advantage! Celebrate Catholic Schools Week!!

Dear Parishioners:

This weekend we kick off Catholic Schools Week. It is an annual event where we highlight Catholic Education across the country and here at OLM School. Many events are planned, including the Open House at OLM School, students speaking at all Masses, a different event each day this week, and a Mass on Friday.              

The good news about Catholic Education is that our schools are open and teaching and did throughout the pandemic. I commend Principal McNabb and our faculty for their incredible sacrifices to ensure our children were in the classroom learning over these last two years. I am grateful to our school parents for their great cooperation and support. And, of course, our outstanding students who continue to learn and excel! It hasn't been easy or inexpensive to keep our school open, and our children learning.

Dealing with the ever-changing bureaucratic dictates of the RI Department of Health and the RI Department of Education has been frustrating. The cost of COVID prevention and precautions is high but well worth it for the well-being and safety of our students, faculty, and staff.

Like most Catholic Schools across the country, OLM School has demonstrated its outstanding commitment to students' academic learning and faith formation during this pandemic. When parents drop off their children at a school, they do so based on an underlying promise from educators: Your children are safe with us!

OLM School reaffirmed that promise to parents back when we reopened our doors — full-time, five days a week. Our students and their families weren't immune from the hardships caused by growing isolation and shrinking opportunity. Few of us had anticipated a global pandemic, much less how severely it would throw our world off-balance. 

But OLM School stood by our families through these troubles. Generations of families have relied on the consistency of Catholic schools to help students thrive in the face of the challenges from the world around them. I'm proud of our OLM School Principal and Faculty and their heroic service to ensure our school is still the safest, healthiest place for our students to succeed.

During this entire pandemic, we made every effort imaginable, often despite external bureaucratic roadblocks, to keep our promise to parents. We provide first-class, in-person education, complete with activities and sports programs, daily prayer, various acts of charity, and weekly Mass. Our students strive daily to be saints and scholars! 

  We've had many new families enroll and stay with OLM over the last two years. They discovered the OLM Advantage of academic excellence, complete with a lively and active Catholic Faith. Our students learn from an amazing group of teachers who are among the most dedicated and committed I've ever encountered. Teaching can be tough at times, but education can be very tough during a pandemic. Nevertheless, our faculty have excelled, and I am tremendously proud and grateful! Pope Francis said: "Let us thank all those who teach in Catholic schools. Educating is an act of love; it is like giving life."

When parents send their children to OLM School, they want a first-class education centered on faith, moral truth, and virtue. They want their kids to grow up to be well-rounded adults in constant pursuit of truth, growing in their Catholic faith and serving their neighbors. The pandemic hasn't changed that aspiration, nor our promise to parents and their children. So far, we have received nearly a hundred inquiries about our school, and our classes are filling up.

If you want a first-class education, a foundation in Catholic moral truth, and the pursuit of excellence for a child or grandchild, then apply today. Come to the OLM School Open House and discover the OLM Advantage! You'll meet our budding saints and scholars, and they'll impress you and convince you to choose OLM School!

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said: "A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints," OLM School is such a school, so come and discover the OLM Advantage!  

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless.

Windy Winter Days and Catholic School Days!

Dear Parishioners:

Well, what a wind storm we had last Sunday night! The winds were so strong they knocked down the beautiful statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that stands out in front of our Church. The wind broke off the statue's head, and other parts were damaged. We hope it might be repaired and restored, but it may have to be replaced.                                                 

The winds also wreaked havoc with those traveling! Flights were grounded and canceled across the country. Sister Lourdes had two flights canceled from Chicago and was later diverted to Newark. She was able to get a flight to Providence and is safely home! We thank God for guiding her home safe and sound! Welcome back, Sister Lourdes!!

Fr. Mahoney flew out on Monday to spend some time with his parents, who have retired to Phoenix, Arizona. He's taking some well-deserved time off and celebrating Christmas with his folks. However, he did bring his golf clubs and all his Green Bay Packer gear! His Mother is a native of Wisconsin, so all of his family are Packer fans! All that is but his Father, who hails from San Francisco and is a fan of the Forty-Niners! The Green Bay vs. San Francisco Game today should be a lot of fun for Father and his folks!!

Fr. Mahoney is returning later this week just in time for the annual celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week has been the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week, which in 2022 is January 30 – February 5. The theme for National Catholic Schools Week 2022 is "Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service." Next weekend, it kicks off with OLM School students speaking at all Masses and an Open House at OLM School on Sunday and ends with a First Friday Mass on February 4.    With these events, we highlight the value that Catholic education provides and the contributions to our Church, our communities, and our nation that Catholic Education makes.  

During the COVID Pandemic, millions of students could not set foot in a classroom as many schools shut down. This is an unimaginable disruption that has deeply affected the lives of our youngest generation. It has profoundly affected their learning and emotional and phycological well-being.   In some places in the nation, public school systems continue to educate remotely. Yet Catholic schools, such as our outstanding parish school, continued to maintain in-person instruction and learning during the Pandemic. It continues to be done with great sacrifice and little spread of COVID.

Catholic schools serve families and students with just a fraction of public schools' finances and resources. For generations, our Catholic schools shaped countless lives with little financial resources. Their legacy of academic excellence, committed service, sacrifice, and lively faith continues on today.

Vast sums of money have been given  to public school districts including some whose doors were shut until recently. In some areas, low-income parents have few options for their child’s education. Real and robust school choice programs that help parents afford to choose the right school for their kids are truly needed.

Keeping OLM school open for in-person classes throughout the Pandemic has required great determination and tremendous sacrifice by our outstanding Principal, Mr. McNabb, our dedicated faculty and staff, our supportive parents, and of course, our terrific students. I thank and commend them for their commitment, service, sacrifice, and faith. Amidst the social and economic upheaval that the COVID Pandemic unleashed for these two years, OLM School stood strong!   

Learn more about the terrific things at OLM School, when our bright and talented students speak about the school at all Masses next week. An Open House on Sunday begins at 10:00 AM. All prospective students and their families and all parishioners are invited to tour the school. Come  experience the OLM Advantage!

Finally, please support our parish school with generous financial donations to the Saints and Scholars Collection next week. It directly supports OLM School with tuition assistance and in defraying expenses, especially the rising costs due to the Pandemic. 

Be well. Do good. God Bless.