Finding Signs of Hope

Dear Parishioners:                   

Father Patrick Ryan celebrates Mass at OLM.

It was a beautiful Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by Father Patrick Ryan last Sunday. What a great joy to celebrate the ordination of this fine young priest and also the graces received by his First Priestly Blessings. As the poem entitled The Beautiful Hands of a Priest reminds us:  

            "We need them in life's early morning; we need them again at its close; We feel their warm clasp of friendship; we seek them when tasting life's woes. At the altar each day, we behold them, and the hands of a king on his throne are not equal to them in their greatness; their dignity stands all alone, and when we are tempted and wander to pathways of shame and sin, it's the hand of a priest that will absolve us----not once, but again and again. And when we take life's partner, other hands may prepare us a feast, but the hand that will bless and unite us is the beautiful hand of a priest. God bless them and keep them all holy. For the Host which their fingers caress; When can a poor sinner do better than to ask Him to guide thee and bless? When the hour of death comes upon us, may our courage and strength be increased. By seeing raised over us in anointing the beautiful hands of a priest!"     

We thank Fr. Ryan for celebrating with us last Sunday. And I also thank all those who helped with the Mass and reception. May God continue to bless Father Ryan and his priesthood. Let us continue to pray for him and for an increase of vocations to the priesthood in the Diocese of Providence.

Next Sunday, we will welcome our new OLM School Families at the 10:30 am Mass. Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but the first day of school is near. In fact, it's Wednesday, August 30th!! We welcome and thank these new families who have chosen to make the sacrifice to send their children to our outstanding parish school.

OLM Students at weekly Mass

We anticipate about 240 students enrolled in the school, and we have a waitlist in most of our classes. Our Middle School (Grades 6-8) has some room, so I encourage families with middle schoolers to consider OLM School. It offers strong and rigorous academics along with outstanding arts and athletics. But most importantly, for Catholics living in a culture replete with moral confusion, the teaching of falsehoods about human life and love, and a growing secular humanism, OLM School is countercultural.

Her core mission is to instill moral goodness and virtuous living, civility, and discipline, and nurture a respect for human dignity, the sanctity of human life, God, and country. We teach the beauty of Western Civilization and the truth of our Catholic Faith to our budding saints and scholars as we educate them for eternity. 

 I thank our dedicated School Principal, Mr. Patrick McNabb, and fantastic faculty and staff for making our school outstanding. Please pray for them and all our school students and families. We look forward to welcoming our new families and beginning another excellent school year of growing in wisdom, faith, and mercy.

Last week we watched with shock the tragic wildfire in Hawaii. Seeing people flee into the ocean to escape the raging fire was truly horrific. The fire burned the historic town of Lahaina to the ground, many people were killed, and thousands were evacuated. Most residents lost everything they own and are now living in temporary shelters.

Fire rages in Maui, Hawaii.

 However, one building survived the devastating fire, the Maria Lanakila Catholic Church. Parishioners are calling it a miracle and a sign that Lahaina will rebuild. The parish was founded in 1846 when the first Catholic missionaries arrived in Maui. 'Maria Lanakila' is a Hawaiian phrase that translates to 'Victorious Mary' or 'Our Lady of Victory" in English. Let us pray to Our Lady of Victory for all those suffering from the fires.

Catholic Charities Hawaii is appealing to Catholics for financial support to help them meet the needs for housing, food, and shelter of the many victims. You can make donations directly to Catholic Charities Hawaii at catholiccharitieshawaii.org/maui-relief/. 

Also, you can donate directly to OLM Outreach, and we will forward all donations. Make a check payable to OLM Outreach, write "Maui Relief" in the memo, and drop it in the basket, the safe in the vestibule, or the mail. Thank you for your prayers and generous support of the victims of the Hawaiian Fire.

Do good. Be well. God Bless. 

War & Peace, Still a Concern for Catholics

   Dear Parishioners:                    

The Fat Man Atomic Bomb.

The new movie, "Oppenheimer," has sparked greater interest in a moral examination of U.S. nuclear weapons policies, especially the suffering and death the August 1945 atomic bombs caused in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  A danger of modern warfare is that it allows those who possess modern scientific weapons—especially nuclear, atomic, biological, or chemical weapons—to commit war crimes. We have seen this happen in Syria. Both North Korea and Russia have threatened to use nuclear weapons.

 Under the Catholic understanding of just war, not only must the cause of war be just, but the acts of war used in combat must also be just. Using weapons to destroy civilian populations, such as the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is an unjust act of war. Terrorizing the civilian populations to force surrender was part of the U.S. strategy in dropping the atomic bomb in Japan. It is considered an unjust act of war. It is very problematic for  Catholics to try to justify the U.S. decision.   

 In dropping the atomic bombs on Japan, the second atomic attack was a near-direct hit on Asia's largest cathedral in Japan's renowned Catholic settlement, Urakami. It was a residential district of Nagasaki located significantly north of the city's commercial center and shipyard. 

The ruins of Catholic Cathedral in Nagasaki

Nagasaki and the Catholic Church have deep historical roots. St. Francis Xavier arrived in the West of Japan in the 1540s and traveled through Nagasaki. A Japanese lord donated land in the area to Jesuit missionaries from Portugal in 1580. The Catholic Faith spread so quickly that it was outlawed as a threat to local rulers. Twenty-six martyrs were crucified in the city's hills in 1597. Nagasaki, the only port continuously open to foreign trade, was a stronghold of secret faith during Japan's two-hundred-fifty-year suppression of the faith.

The atomic bomb, "Fat Man," detonated over Urakami, killing 40,000 people instantly and another 40,000 by the end of the year. It decimated 70 percent of the Catholic community, many descendants of the Kakure Kirishitans, the "Hidden Christians," who concealed their Catholic faith in fear of persecution.

Offering Mass at the ruins of the Catholic Cathedral in Naga ski.

Dr. Takashi Nagai, a Catholic lay leader in Nagasaki known as "the Saint of Urakami," wrote "The Bells of Nagasaki.'" It vividly describes his experiences as a survivor of the bombing. The title refers to the bells of Urakami Cathedral. At the destroyed Cathedral, Dr. Nagai called the bombing an act of divine providence: the sacrifice of innocent blood atoned for the sins of a world at war. This reassured Christian survivors of the bombing but also had a silencing effect—reinforcing the self-suppression of the faith they practiced for 250 years.

Tomorrow is V.J. Day which commemorates the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War. My late Father was a World War II combat veteran who served in Italy and always observed this holiday. He told me that as the Second World War in Europe ended, he believed that he and his comrades in arms would have to invade Japan. Such an invasion never happened because President Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs, which led to the Japanese surrender.

Saint Maximillian Kolbe

Tomorrow is also the Feast of St. Maximillian Kolbe, known as "the Saint of Auschwitz." He was a Polish Franciscan Friar who the Nazis took prisoner. He was killed in Auschwitz after volunteering to replace another man, one of ten condemned to die in the starvation bunker as punishment for a presumed escape. In the 1930s, St. Maximilian Kolbe lived and worked as a missionary in Japan and founded a monastery on the outskirts of Nagasaki. Four years after his martyrdom, on August 9, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, but the monastery the saint founded miraculously survived. 

  Pope St. John Paul II declared him "a martyr of charity" who represents light in the darkness of the evil of World War II and hope amidst the despair of the Holocaust and other unjust war crimes. Come to Mass on VJ Day and pray for the intercession of St. Maximillian Kolbe. May he inspire world leaders to work to end all wars, reduce nuclear weapons and strive to establish a just and lasting peace among all nations and peoples.  

  Do good. Be well. God Bless. Go, Sox!!     

Transfiguring Our Lives to Christ

Dear Parishioners:                   

The Transfiguration by Raphael (1516)

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord as Sunday falls on August 6. Normally we don't get to celebrate this important feast on Sundays, only during the week at Daily Mass. The Feast of the Transfiguration foretells the glory of the Lord as God and his Ascension into heaven. It anticipates the glory of heaven, where we shall see God face to face. Through grace, we already share in the divine promise of eternal life.

In the Transfiguration, Christ enjoyed for a short while that glorified state, which was to be permanent his after His Resurrection on Easter Sunday. The splendor of His inward Divinity and the Beatific Vision of His soul overflowed on His body. It permeated His garments, so Christ stood before Peter, James, and John in a snow-white light.  

 The purpose of the Transfiguration was to encourage and strengthen the Apostles who were depressed by their Master's prediction of His own Passion and Death. The Apostles were made to understand that His redeeming work has two phases: the Cross and Glory—that we shall be glorified with Him only if we first suffer with Him.  

Pope Benedict XVI preached on the Transfiguration and said: "Today at Mass, we recall the Transfiguration of the Lord and how it prepared the Apostles for the coming scandal of the Cross. Strengthened by our faith in Jesus, true God, and true man, may we be inspired, not scandalized, by the Cross given to our Savior and to our fellow Christians who suffer with him throughout the world." 

As we reflect upon Pope Benedict's words, let us consider the plight of those who suffer from want of food, shelter, security, education, healthcare, and so many material things we take for granted. Let us pray for them and all who suffer from poverty, injustice, famine, war, violence, hatred, terrorism, oppression, grief, sickness, and addiction.

Students at play at St. Patrick Academy in Providence, RI.

This week I spoke with my classmate Fr. James Ruggeri, the Pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Smith Hill and St. Michael Parish in South Providence. He asked if OLM would help him collect back-to-school supplies for his St. Patrick Academy students. In 2009, Fr. James transformed the old St. Patrick Elementary School into an affordable Catholic High School for low-income students.

The school serves those students who desire a good and solid Catholic, college-preparatory high school education but cannot enroll in any other area Catholic high school for financial or other reasons. There is no set tuition, and families pay only what they can afford to pay. No student is ever turned away because the family cannot afford tuition.

The St. Patrick Academy students are from diverse backgrounds, and many are first-generation immigrants from Africa, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Guatemala, Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The Academy has a 100% college acceptance rate!   

 Over the next few weeks, please deposit your donations in the blue bins in the vestibule. A complete list of needed supplies is in the bulletin today. We have plenty of backpacks, so please donate only the needed supplies. If you would rather donate with financial assistance, please make a check payable to OLM Outreach and write "Back to School Drive" in the memo. In the name of Fr. James and the students of St. Patrick Academy, I thank you for your generosity and support of this effort.    

Fr. Patrick Ryan poses with Fr. Healey and Fr. Ruggeri following his ordination at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence on June 24, 2023. Fr. Healey and Fr. Ruggeri were also ordained on June 24, 1995.

Next Sunday, join us as we welcome Fr. Patrick Ryan to OLM. He will celebrate and preach at the 10:30 am Mass. Father was ordained this past June by Bishop Henning. He currently serves at St. Theresa Church in Pawtucket with Fr. Barrow. Father returns to Rome in the fall to complete his graduate theological studies. He returns to RI for a parish assignment next June.   

After his Mass of Thanksgiving, come congratulate Father at the reception in Mercy Park, where he is to offer his First Priestly Blessings. Pray for Father Ryan and all priests and for an increase of vocations to the priesthood. The new grass on our OLM School Field is growing nicely. We thank all who made it possible especially Yardworks for their fine job and Paul Anderson, who ensures the grass continues to grow and stay green! And no, as I had to tell  Fr. Mahoney, you can't hit golf balls on the new grass.  Do good. Be well. God Bless. Go Sox!

Projects and Patience in Parish Life

Dear Parishioners:                    

The project on our OLM School Field began last week. What little crabgrass and weeds that were growing on the field were removed. It is now being prepared for the placement of new sod. Thankfully we already have a sprinkler system installed in the field, so the new sod can be properly watered. In September, the students will run and play at recess and Gym Class on new, thick green grass! We are grateful to all who make this project possible.    

Our organ project is ongoing and progressing quite well. I spoke with Anthony Peragallo of the organ company this week. He assures me that the organ parts will be fully restored and returned to OLM in late August. In the meantime, the temporary organ provided by the Peragallo Organ Company is working nicely. However, its sound is less majestic than the sound of our organ.

We hope to hear our organ's majestic sounds at our Annual Patronal Feast Day Mass on Sunday, September 24, at 10:30am. This Mass kickoffs our OLM Feast Week. Bishop Henning is celebrating the Mass. We hope and pray he can also bless our new Church doors! Mark your calendar for the Feast Week Mass and all the events of that week.     

The Annual OLM Saints and Scholars Golf Tournament at Quidnessett Country Club is Monday, September 25. Our Holy Hour of Mercy is on Wednesday, September 27, and Thursday, September 28, we have our Work of Mercy. And on Friday, September 29, we have our Annual OLM Oktoberfest!      

As for the church doors, as I write this column on Monday morning, our contractor for the project, Dave Chirico, informs me that he is installing the stained glass in the doors. Once this is done, the doors are ready for installation. Say a few prayers!! 

We have been patiently awaiting our doors for a long while. There is an adage that says Patience is a virtue. My mother always told me this as a child because I tended to rush things or insist that things were done when I wanted them done. "Patience is a virtue," those words would return to me when I asked for the hundredth time, "Well, when will it be done? When will it happen?" 

  No person in the world could say they do not need the virtue of Patience. Jesus said: "By your patience, you will save your soul." Given that this virtue is universal and not easy to attain,  In his book, the Three Ages of the Interior Life, the great French Dominican Theologian, Father Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, says:

"Patience is an exercise of the cardinal virtue of fortitude. Patience, says St. Thomas, is a virtue attached to the virtue of fortitude, which hinders a man from departing from right reason illumined by faith by yielding to difficulties and to sadness. It makes him bear the evils of life with equanimity of soul, says St. Augustine, without allowing himself to be troubled by vexations." 

Of course, Patience is a critical virtue in the spiritual life but also for life in general. St. Paul's description of the many characteristics of love – the first thing he says about love is that it is patient. The next thing he says is that it is kind (1. Cor. 13:4). May God give us the grace to be patient and kind and help us grow in charity!   

On Sunday, August 13, Father Patrick Ryan, just ordained on June 24, is coming to OLM to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at 10:30am. You may remember him from the summer he served at OLM as a Summer Seminarian about four years ago. His benevolent Pastor, Fr. Barrow, has permitted him to return to OLM to celebrate and preach Mass. Following the Mass, you can greet and congratulate Father Ryan. He will also offer First Priestly Blessings after the Mass. 

A special grace may be gained from receiving a "first blessing" of a newly ordained priest. First blessings are customarily given when the first Masses are celebrated. Still, they may be given up to a full year after ordination. After receiving the blessing, the faithful may kiss the palms of the newly ordained priest in recognition of the sacred character of his priesthood and the hands that now hold the Eucharist and confer the sacraments. Let us pray for Father Ryan and also for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, especially in the Diocese of Providence. Do good. Be well. God Bless. Go Sox!

For What It's Worth, An Appreciation

Dear Parishioners:                    

Last week the long-time Providence Journal columnist Bill Reynolds died. He was a great sports writer. His basketball coverage, especially local high school basketball,  was exceptional. His many books about basketball were equally as good. I always looked forward to his weekly Saturday column "For What It's Worth." It was humorous, insightful, and always contained a quiz and a notable quote. So in honor of this outstanding columnist, here's my feeble attempt at "For What It Worth." 

•Who would have thought the Red Sox are only two games behind in the Wild Card?

 •Major League Baseball games are much quicker now, thanks to the new pitch clock. However, I miss those five-hour games between the Red Sox and the Yankees!

•Before you set a clock on Sunday Mass, remember the Mass perpetuates the Paschal Mystery in time; it follows that it stands outside of time. So no "Pitch Clock" for Holy Mass!

•Nobody complained last weekend that it was too cold at Mass.

• Air-conditioned movie theaters are usually very cool places in the summer. I haven't seen a movie at a movie theatre since before the Pandemic. 

 •Fr. Mahoney tells me that the theaters now have big comfy chairs and serve cocktails too! I don't remember that!

•These movies might bring me back: Sound of Freedom, The Miracle Club, Oppenheimer, and coming this fall, Napolean!

Portuguese Man of War

 • There's nothing like a great epic on the big screen! Jaws was one of the best summer movies! Speaking of Jaws, several Portuguese Man of War were spotted at R.I. beaches!

•They are named after the sailing warship, the Portuguese Man of War! Maybe they can prevent access to private beaches!

•Quiz of the Week: Who was the last pitcher to record more than 20 complete games in a season for the Red Sox?

•Did you know smoking cigars on R.I. beaches is prohibited? But I'm sure you can smoke marijuana. They seem to smoke it everywhere else now that it's legalized!

•I haven't gone to the beach yet! I hear the water is in the 70s!!!

•Fr. Mahoney is an avid soccer fan, he hasn't converted me yet, but Messi in Miami seems interesting, and I may even watch a game! 

•Pray for our FAS Sisters on retreat!

Carlos Alcaraz, Wimbledon Champion.

•Congrats to Carlos Alcaraz on his first Wimbledon title. It was an amazing five-hour tennis match against Novak Djokovic. I think we'll see more of Alcaraz. 

•The Providence Journal isn't what it used to be! Not much of paper anymore. Where have you gone, John Hanlon, Jack Major, Jack White, and John Hackett?  

 •The Journal regularly ran anti-Catholic editorials during the 19th Century. Some things don't change, Bunky! Last week's Sunday Journal ran a column full of the old anti-Catholic bigotry of the 19th Century. Famed historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. called anti‐​Catholicism “the deepest bias in the history of the American people.”

 •I often find those who advocate for tolerance don't usually have much tolerance for Catholics. From his vantage point atop the statehouse, the Independent Man might agree. 

Phil Rivers with his wife and nine children

 •LINE OF THE WEEK: Retired NFL Quarterback Phil Rivers, now a high school football coach at St. Michael Catholic H.S. in Fairhope, Alabama, has nine children, seven girls, and two boys. His wife Tiffany is expecting their tenth child. The new addition is breaking a family tradition. Tiffany is one of nine, as is her own father. Rivers said: "We thought we would be the third generation of nine, but we decided to go double-digits — or I should say we didn't decide. God decided."

•As the ninth of nine children myself, I always thought eight wasn't enough, but nine!

•Soon, we'll be watching NFL football games on Sundays again! The Chiefs are the current favorite to win the NFL Super Bowl. What are the odds the Pats will even make the playoffs?

•What are the odds that our new Church doors will be installed before the football season begins!?

•Quiz answer: El Tiante, Louis Tiant with 25 in 1974! He makes a fine cigar now, aptly called El Tiante! In the 70s, I remember a picture of him smoking a cigar in the shower after a  Sox game. I bet he smokes them on the beach too!

  Well, that's for what it's worth this week at OLM, with due thanks and deep respect to the late, great Bill Reynolds. Rest in Peace, Bill.  Do good. Be well. God Bless. Go Sox!

The Good News! Hear it and Spread it!

Dear Parishioners:                    

Last Sunday, I read the New York Times weekly column by Tish Harrison Warren, a priest in the Anglican Church in North America, entitled "Why We Shouldn't Lose Faith in Organized Religion." In it, she interviewed Eboo Patel, an American Muslim and founder and president of Interfaith America, which promotes cooperation across religious differences. I found the column and his comments very uplifting and interesting. He said:

"Particularly in the areas of America where people have higher levels of education...It is considered sophisticated and educated to know only the bad stuff about religion. Of course, that's ironic because to only know the bad stuff is to not actually be educated. So that is discouraging.

    I'll tell you what I find encouraging. Catholic sisters just keep on doing what Catholic sisters do, which is taking care of poor people. Our society relies on religious communities to take care of people, to do addiction counseling, to do job training, to do hunger and homelessness work, to do refugee resettlement. We just don't often tell the story of them doing that work. And I think that that's a big problem. " 

Here's some good news to report at OLM. This weekend we welcome the Superior of the Franciscan Apostolic Sisters, Mother Aida, who is visiting from the Philippines. While here, she will visit the Franciscan Convent at OLM and the FAS Convent at St. Philip Church in Greenville. Mother Aida is also meeting with Bishop Henning this week.   Please pray for her.       

On Wednesday, Mother and the FAS Sisters from Rhode Island depart for Peoria, Illinois, for their Annual Retreat. Please pray for their safe travel as they will be driving to Peoria. And pray their time of retreat is fruitful.   Sister Lourdes and Sister Emma return to OLM during the first week of August. However, they are not returning alone. Mother Aida informed me that Sr. Jane Molitas, FAS, has been assigned to serve at OLM.

Sister Jane comes to us from Nebraska, where she has served at the Seminary of St. Gregory the Great over the last few years. Some of you may remember her from her time at the old Scalabrini Villa Nursing Home several years ago. She joins Sister Lourdes and Sister Emma, living at the Franciscan Convent here at OLM, and working with them at OLM Church and School.

We are very grateful to Mother Aida for this good news and her generosity in assigning Sister Jane to OLM. Sister Jane just celebrated her 25th Anniversary of Religious Profession in June. She is a humble, joyful, and holy sister. Welcome to OLM, Sister Jane! Please pray for more vocations to the consecrated life.

 In the name of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, thank you for your warm welcome to Sister Barbara and Sister Veronica last weekend.  Their witness to the work of the FMM Missions serving the poor and needy across the globe is good news. I also thank you for your generous financial support of the Missions. It, too, is good news!

If you could not donate last week, please forward a check payable to OLM with "Mission Co-op" in the memo line. Please put it in the weekly collection basket, deposit it in the safe in the vestibule, or mail it to the Parish Office. Your donations go directly to supporting the Missions.  Thank you for your support.

More good news! OLM exceeded our Catholic Charity Appeal goal of $190,000, raising over $275,000! Your generous support and great charity made it possible. I offer my deep gratitude on behalf of the poor and needy who benefit from the Appeal. We are grateful to the 480 parishioners who donated so generously.

I  thank Jerry and Kim O'Connell and Mike and Lee Mita, Chairs of the Appeal at OLM, for their help in surpassing our parish goal. Over $7 million was raised in parishes across the Diocese.  This funds the good works and charitable agencies of our local Church across the state. This is good news too!

 That's only some of the good news about our parish and Church. And while we sometimes hear about the good news,  too often, the media and many in our society largely concentrate on the bad news about religion and the Catholic Church. Mr. Patel is right! Let's enjoy the good news and spread it with joy! Do good. Be well. God Bless. Go, Sox!???