Celebrating Our Grandparents

Dear Parishioners:             

The Meeting of Joachim and Anne outside the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, by Filippino Lippi (1497)

This Friday, July 26, we celebrate the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus and the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Their lives are honored​ and revered in the Catholic tradition.  Saint Anne is the patron of grandparents, couples without children, women in labor, and women unable to conceive. Similarly, Saint Joachim is considered the patron of grandfathers, fathers, and grandparents.

As we reflect on the legacy of Saints Anne and Joachim, let us also reflect on the vital role all grandparents play in family life and nurturing the faith of future generations. Grandparents have a vital part in the training of their grandchildren, teaching them to love the ways of the Lord and honor his commandments. Saints Anne and Joachim cultivated in the young Mary a love for God, preparing her for her role in the story of divine redemption.

Pope Francis said: "In their home, Mary came into the world, accompanied by the extraordinary mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Mary grew up in the home of Joachim and Anne; she was surrounded by their love and faith; in their home, she learned to listen to the Lord and to follow his will. Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of God in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us. How precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith!"

Grandparents' roles in imparting wisdom and tradition are vital. Their experience in faith and life has enriched their judgment, rendering them invaluable counsels for the generations that follow. They remember the heritage of the family and share it with future generations. I only knew my Father's parents, as my Mother's parents died well before I was born.  My Grandparents were an important part of our lives as children. I   have very happy memories of spending vacations with them during the summers of the 1970s.  Indeed, they played an important role in my faith and learning about our family history and traditions.

In 2021, Pope Francis established an annual celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and Elderly on the fourth Sunday of July, near the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne. He said of grandparents: "Grandparents are like the wisdom of the family; they are the wisdom of a people. And a people that does listen to grandparents is one that dies! Listen to your grandparents. Mary and Joseph are the family, sanctified by the presence of Jesus who is the fulfilment of all God's promises."    

So please pray for your grandparents this week.  And if your grandparents are alive, call them or visit them.  Spending time with grandparents is an important part of any child's life.  Their role is essential in family life not only because of their wisdom, experience, and faith but also for their practical help in raising children. 

I head to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the  Annual Summer Meeting of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors this Sunday night. About 35  state directors gather to review legislative efforts and public policy issues affecting the Church and the common good.  I return late on Wednesday night.  

Pilgrims on route to the Eucharistic Congress

This past week, Indianapolis hosted the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years!  Bishop Henning led a pilgrimage of the faithful from the Diocese of Providence to the Congress. They joined with thousands of Catholics from across the country, celebrating the Eucharist as the source and summit of our faith lives.

Since early May, Catholics have been on a pilgrimage to the Congress from New Haven, Connecticut, Brownsville, Texas, San Francisco, California, and Northern Minnesota. These pilgrim routes were traveled by several young adult pilgrims accompanied by priest chaplains and seminarians.  These groups processed to Indianapolis with the Holy Eucharist in a monstrance specially designed for the pilgrimage.  

Pray that the Eucharistic Congress bears much spiritual fruit and leads to a renewal of Eucharistic Life in the Church in our nation. Be well. Do good. God Bless.  Go Sox!!! 

"The Harvest is Abundant but the Laborers are Few."

Dear Parishioners:             

 In the name of Fr. Rocco Puopolo and the Xaverian Missionaries, I extend their heartfelt gratitude for your warm welcome and generous support during last weekend's Mission Appeal. Your contributions directly fuel the Xaverian Missionaries' noble efforts in charity and evangelization, making a significant impact on their work.

We are fortunate to have Fr. Connors, a few retired priests, and the Dominican Friars from Providence College occasionally assisting with Masses this summer. Your continued support and understanding are crucial now that we are a parish with only one priest.

We may have to adjust the schedule.  It might require moving the start time of Saturday Confessions back a half hour so I can properly prepare before the Mass on Saturday evening. Monday Confessions will remain in place at 6:00 pm.

I do not anticipate eliminating Masses from the schedule, as Masses at OLM are always well-attended. The Sunday 5:00 pm Mass should continue as the Dominican Friars are generous in helping cover that Mass.  In the fall, I hope to announce any time changes to our schedule.

Canon 905 in the Code of Canon Law provides that a priest is permitted to celebrate Mass only once a day in normal circumstances. However, that same canon also says, "If there is a shortage of priests, the local ordinary can allow priests to celebrate twice a day for a just cause, or if pastoral necessity requires it, even three times on Sundays or holy days of obligation."            

The schedule at OLM  occasionally requires that I celebrate three or more Masses on a Saturday due to the daily Mass, funerals, weddings, and the Evening Mass. There are some Sundays when no priest is available to help cover, and I will celebrate all three Sunday Masses.

Celebrating three Masses or more is not ideal for any priest but is a reality in the Church today. With the shortage of priests, one-priest parishes are now the norm.  In fact, many priests have combined parishes with two or three churches they serve alone. 

Only three parishes in the Diocese of Providence currently have an Associate Pastor: St. Philip in Greenville, St. Charles and St Michael in Providence, and Saints John and Paul in Coventry.  Please pray earnestly for increased vocations to the priesthood in the Diocese of Providence.

Pope Francis commented on the decline of priestly vocations: "The problem of vocations is a serious problem. There is also another problem. The problem of the birthrate. If there are no young men, there can be no priests. Without priestly vocations, the Church is weakened."          

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”

— Mark 9:38

OLM is responsible for four nursing and assisted living facilities in town. In addition, the priests of the area, including myself, provide emergency coverage at Kent Hospital regularly. Our coverage at Kent is usually twice a month, but it may increase as three priests from the area retired and one transferred out of the area.  

I intend to work my hardest to be readily available for emergencies and all other matters, but there may be occasions when I am unavailable, such as during my day off and vacations. On those occasions, I appreciate your patience and understanding.  All will be fine working together in faith, hope, and charity, relying on prayer and patience. For in God, we trust!  

It is the first time in many years that I have lived alone and without priestly fraternity in a Rectory. As a newly ordained priest, I lived with four priests at St. Augustine. At St. Ambrose, a resident priest lived with me for a few years. In my twelve years here at OLM, I have always lived with a brother priest. The rectory is rather empty and quiet, and I now understand how empty nesters feel!  

Sister Lourdes, Sister Emma, and Sister Jane, our good Franciscan Apostolic Sisters, depart this week for their Annual Retreat and Chapter Meeting of their religious community. This year, they will drive to Peoria, Illinois, for their Retreat, which will be led by a Bishop from the Philippines. Please pray for them and all the sisters of their community that the Retreat is fruitful. Pray for their safe travel and happy return to OLM in early August.

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

"Summertime and the livin is easy."

Dear Parishioners,

I hope you enjoyed the Fourth of July Holiday with family and friends.  I spent it at my sister's home in Saratoga, NY. It was a great family get-together and celebration.                  

Summer is in full swing, and as Gershwin lyrically says, "Summertime and the livin is easy." Yes, it's summertime, and it's time to travel, vacation, go to the beach, golf, or boat, spend time with family and friends, enjoy the weather, and generally rest from the regular routine. 

Summer seems to move quickly after the Fourth of July, so schedule some rest.  Pope Francis reminds us:  "Rest is so necessary for the health of our minds and bodies, and often so difficult to achieve due to the many demands placed on us. But rest is also essential for our spiritual health so that we can hear God's voice and understand what he asks of us."

I hope you can get some rest, even if it's sitting under a tree out back or just on the porch or patio in the summer sun.  Of course, summer is also a time to do a little more reading and catch up on the reading we've been too busy to do all year!   I read various lists of recommendations for Summer Reading every spring.   I find a few books that sound good and are very good, while others aren't always finished, as they aren't too good.   So this summer, I've compiled a list I hope to read on the patio or the beach with a good cigar!    

Two books I recently finished and highly recommended to parents, grandparents, and educators are Family-Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be by Timothy P. Carney and The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt.

Carny, a father of six, contends that today's culture is unfriendly to good parenting and offers advice for better parenting. He suggests giving kids space to fail and succeed, having more adventures, enjoying unscheduled time, strengthening community ties, and having more fun.  It is truly a thought-provoking book that every parent should read.

Haidt suggests that there should be no smartphones before high school, no social media before age sixteen, phone-free schools, more unsupervised play, and childhood independence.  It, too, is a book well worth reading.

Another good read is a new book, Character Matters: And Other Life Lessons from George H. W. Bush, by Jean Becker. It is a series of inspirational reflections by those who knew and worked with the late President Bush and offers insight into good character.

For my historical reading this summer, I am reading two books.  No Bullet Got Me Yet: The Relentless Faith of Father Kapaun by John Stansifer. It tells the true story of Fr. Emil Kapaun, the most decorated chaplain in U.S. military history, who was awarded a Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Legion of Merit. 

Fr. Kapaun distinguished himself in combat by helping medics rescue and treat wounded soldiers and administering last rites. During lulls in the fighting, he also ministered to the troops' spiritual needs. He died in the hands of the Chinese as a Prisoner of War in a North Korean Prison Camp. 

In light of our bitterly divided nation, I am reading Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate by the historian of the U.S. Senate. It examines the turbulent 1960s with its battles over civil rights and the Vietnam War, an era where bipartisanship often prevailed. It was an era when Congress actually got things done thanks to men like Mansfield and Dirksen. I recommend every member of Congress read it!

I also recommend God Is Ever New: Meditations on Life, Love, and Freedom by Pope Benedict XVI for a spiritual read. Drawn from talks, lectures, speeches, homilies, and writings throughout Benedict's papacy, it provides powerful insights into daily Christian living.   A good read for the summer as we listen for God’s voice.

It’s summertime! Turn off the TV, silence the cell phone, and switch off the computer and iPad.  Take some time with God and rest. Perhaps sit on the beach or the patio. Read and rest in the summer sun. Shakespeare said: "Summer's lease hath all too short a date." So enjoy the summer while it lasts!

Thank you for your generous support of the Xaverian Missionaries. Be well. Do good. God Bless. 

A time to Say Farewell and Welcome! A Time to Celebrate!

Dear Parishioners:

 We said a Final Farewell and Thank You to Father Mahoney last weekend.  He officially begins his Pastorate at St. Pius X Church on Monday, July 1.  Over the last week, he has moved his belongings to his new Rectory.  We wish him all the best and offer our promise of prayer.                                             

Priestly Ordination Mass at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Providence. RI.

One of the newly ordained Priests of Providence, Father Joseph Brodeur, is from Father Mahoney's new parish.  They are good friends, and Fr. Mahoney vested Fr. Brodeur at the Ordination Mass.  Please pray for Fr. Brodeur and Father Jairon Olmos, who was also ordained yesterday. We wish them continued blessings as they begin their priestly ministry. Ad multos annos!             

The Catholic Charity Appeal has ended for this year.  I thank the over 400 parish families who supported us in surpassing our parish goal of $190,000.  This year, we had 460 families pledge gifts totaling $257,827. Although our total was $20,000 less than last year's final total, and we had twenty fewer donors, OLM still had the highest parish total in the Diocese. 

In the name of the poor and needy who benefit from the Catholic Charity Appeal, I thank you for your generous support.  I also thank our Charity Appeal Chairs, Michael and Lee Mita and Jerry and Kim O'Connell, for their tremendous leadership of the Appeal here at OLM. If you have not yet made a pledge, there is still time to do so.

Next weekend, we welcome   Father Rocco Puopolo to OLM for the Annual Mission Appeal.  He will preach at all Masses on behalf of the good work of the Xaverian Missionaries. Fr. Rocco is the Director at Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Holliston, MA, and was ordained in 1977. He served in Sierra Leone, West Africa, for 12 years.   I know you will give your usual warm welcome to Fr. Rocco. The  Second Collection next weekend is for  Xaverian Missionaries. There is no envelope, so please be prepared to support the Second Collection with a check payable to OLM and write "Mission Appeal" in the memo.   

Xavierian Missionaries serve in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Catholic missionaries have been traveling the globe for centuries, preaching the Gospel, educating other cultures about the Catholic faith, and assisting the poorest of the poor with great support.  Missionaries go into the world's most remote and poorest regions and make Christ and His Church known.

Pope Francis has said: "Every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness to Christ. And the Church, the community of Christ's disciples, has no other mission than to bring the Gospel to the world by bearing witness to Christ. To evangelize is the very identity of the Church."

Thus, each of us is called to be a missionary in our local communities and support the missionaries in other lands. We must evangelize locally with our families, coworkers, and neighbors. Likewise, we must aid the men and women who serve the missions throughout the world.  Each year across the Diocese, missionaries go to every parish to preach about the good work of evangelization in foreign missions. It is an opportunity for us to recognize and support missionaries. So, I urge you to please be generous to the Xavierian Missionaries next weekend. And I thank you in advance for your generosity.

This coming Thursday, we celebrate Independence Day! It is a day to celebrate our freedom and liberty from the shackles of British Imperialist oppression. A day we proudly remember our founding fathers who fought to free us from the tyranny of the King of England. As American Catholics, we should be mindful of the debt we owe our country as we mark the day the Second Continental Congress declared our independence from Britain.

Please join us for Mass on July 4th at 8:30 am. We celebrate our religious freedom and offer prayers specifically for the United States. We pray that our nation might be sanctified through conversion to a deeper love of God and neighbor. We pray for a deeper knowledge and understanding of moral truths and more dedication to virtuous living in our nation. St. Pope John Paul II said: "Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought."   

 I wish you and your family a Happy Fourth of July! God Bless America! Be well. Do good. God Bless

Farewell & Thank You, Father Mahoney

Dear Parishioners:                                       

Father Mahoney celebrates the Easter Vigil at OLM on March 30, 2024

The great American Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said: “Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.” Alas, we come to the end of Father Mahoney’s time here at Our Lady of Mercy. Still, it is also the beginning of the next chapter of his priestly life and ministry.  On July 1, he officially begins his new assignment as the Pastor of St. Pius X Church in Westerly.

I hope you can join us in celebrating his new assignment and wishing him well at the Farewell Receptions this weekend. It is hard to believe, but this is his final weekend at Our Lady of Mercy!  We are sad to see him go, yet happy for him as he begins this new and exciting chapter in his life.  On behalf of our parish family, I thank him for his years of ministry and service here at OLM.  He is a hard-working and dedicated young priest, and we are thankful for his time with us.  He will certainly be missed by many parishioners, especially the students at our school who he taught, coached, and ministered over the years.   

I, too, shall miss him greatly, not only because he is a tremendous chef but rather because he is truly a fine brother priest who I consider a good friend.   He has been a joy to live and work with, and I am grateful to Bishop Tobin for assigning him to be our Associate Pastor three years ago.

Father Healey and Father Mahoney at his First Mass of Thanksgiving at St Francis of Assisi Church, Wakefield.

It is always difficult for a priest to leave his first priestly assignment. However, Fr. Mahoney has many happy memories, good friends, fine recipes, and great stories to take with him. I ask you to please keep him in your prayers.

He will undoubtedly make an outstanding Pastor at St. Pius and serve his parishioners with the same zeal, enthusiasm, and holiness as he has shown during his time at OLM.  St. John Vianney, the patron of parish priests, once said: “The Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.”  Fr. Mahoney truly loves the heart of Jesus and is an exemplary priest. 

We wish him all the best and say Goodbye!  The original meaning of Goodbye is that God be with you! So we say God be with you, Fr. Mahoney, and may He continue to bless your priesthood with many years of happiness, healthiness, and holiness.

As we say Farewell to  Fr. Mahoney, we welcome two new priests for the Diocese of Providence, Reverend Mr. Joseph Brodeur from St. Pius X in Westerly and Reverend Mr. Jairon Olmos-Rivera from St. Charles Parish in Providence. These two young men will be ordained priests by Bishop Henning on Saturday, June 29, at the Cathedral  at 10:00 am. The Ordination is always a beautiful and joyful ceremony.

Also, you are invited to a Prayer Vigil for Vocations to the Priesthood on Friday, June 28, at 7:00 p.m. at the Cathedral. Bishop Henning will preside, and Father Chris Murphy, the outgoing Rector of the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence, will be the homilist. Please join in praying for those to be ordained and for more vocations to the priesthood.

Encourage young men and your sons,  grandsons, nephews, students, and friends to consider the priesthood.  God is calling more young men to be priests, but the call is often not heard in this noisy, busy, and secular world. Pray for more vocations to the priesthood in the Diocese of Providence.

Finally, as Fr. Mahoney departs OLM, please pray for me. It is never easy to say Farwell to a fine priest collaborator and a good friend. Also pray for our parish family as we begin a new chapter in our parish life. 

The great 19th Century French Dominican Friar, Father Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, O.P., wrote this poem entitled A Priest:

  “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 have a heart of fire for Charity, and a heart of bronze for Chastity; To teach and to pardon, console and bless always. My God, what a life, and it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ.”      

On Monday, I mark my twenty-eighth anniversary of priestly ordination and thank God for the gift of my priestly vocation and brother priests like Fr. Mahoney. Indeed, what a life is ours! Be well. Do good. God Bless.  Farewell and thank you, Fr. Mahoney!

Farwell and thank you, Fr. Mahoney!

The Gift & Need of Fatherhood

Dear Parishioners:                  

This weekend, we celebrate Father's Day and the great gift of Fatherhood. Sonora Smart Dodd, born in 1882, is recognized as the founder of Father's Day. She was raised by a twice-married, twice-widowed Civil War veteran with 14 children. She desired to honor the "loving service" of Fathers.    After hearing a Mother's Day sermon, she was inspired to establish a day celebrating Fathers. She petitioned the Spokane Ministerial Alliance to recognize "the courage and devotion of all Fathers" like her Father. The local clergy liked the idea of a special Father's Day service and settled for the third Sunday in June.  And so, Father's Day has become an annual day to honor Fathers that continues on in the twenty-first century.

Sadly, today, in our country, studies indicate there are approximately 18.3 million children who live without a father in the home, comprising about one in four U.S. children.  Fathers are important for children and for our culture.  Fathers help children develop emotionally and improve their overall well-being. Studies show that children with involved Fathers have higher self-esteem, better social skills, and more confidence and resilience. Pope Francis has said: "Every family needs a father."

Our Catholic Faith recognizes the central role of Fathers in family life.  Like St. Joseph, Fathers are called to be protectors, humble, strong, and courageous. They are also responsible for nurturing their children's vocations, teaching them about the Faith, and setting an example for married life.  As the American Author H. Jackson Browne  said: "Life doesn't come with an instruction book — that's why we have Fathers."

Thus, good Catholic Fathers pray frequently for their family's protection and salvation and pray with their children.  Such a Father is a role model of Faith and virtuous living.  A Father offers a good example with simple things like offering grace before meals at home and in public, teaching prayers, offering good moral guidance, and faithfully attending Mass with their family.  With such an example, a Father shows his children how to live and love the Christian life. 

A Father also supports his wife and lives the Sacrament of Marriage with fidelity, sacrifice, and love.  Offering their love, respect,  and support for their spouse, especially during difficult times. Yet it isn't always easy to be a Father in our contemporary culture, with its rising secularism and growing critical skepticism of traditional roles.  A high rate of divorce and absentee Fathers, along with the confusion and many distractions offered by our secular, materialistic, and consumerist culture,  contribute to the diminishment of Fatherhood and the breakdown of family life.

These factors are a continuing challenge for any Catholic Family. Therefore, a Catholic Father must root himself and his family in Faith through a moral life supported by prayer and the Sacraments. St. John Paul II taught: "A Father's love for his wife as mother of their children and love for the children themselves are for the man the natural way of understanding and fulfilling his own Fatherhood. Efforts must be made to restore socially the conviction that the place and task of the father in and for the family is of unique and irreplaceable importance."  So let us celebrate Father's Day this weekend and Fatherhood's unique and irreplaceable importance.  Fr. Mahoney and I are offering our Masses on Father's Day for all Fathers, both the living and the dead.   We wish Fathers a Happy Father's Day. May God bless them as they care for their families.

Schools are out, and summer vacation has begun! We wish teachers and students a happy and healthy summer!  OLM School ended the year with another Catholic Athletic League State Championship!  Our undefeated (9-0) Co-Ed Soccer Team defeated St. Pius V School on June 7! Congratulations to all our student-athletes for a fantastic year on the field and in the classroom! 

Next weekend is to be Father Mahoney's final weekend at OLM.  Be sure to say farewell and thank him for his priestly ministry with us. Please stop by the Farewell reception and wish him well in person!

Be well. Do good. God Bless. A very Happy Father's Day to all Fathers!