Honoring the Mother of our Redeemer

Dear Parishioners:  

Immaculate Conception by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1767–1768)

 This year, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9, due to the precedence of the Second Sunday of Advent on December 8. In the United States, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, our national patronal feast day, remains a holy day of obligation regardless of when its celebration falls on the liturgical calendar.

All Holy Day Masses are on Monday, December 9, as the Sunday Evening 5:00 p.m. Mass is for the Second Sunday of Advent, not the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception. On Monday, there are three Masses for the Holy Day: 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m. School Mass, and 7:00 p.m. While there is no Vigil Mass, there is still ample opportunity to get to Mass.

Since the beginning of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been regarded as the holiest and the most blessed of all disciples. The celebration of the Immaculate Conception began in the 7th century under the title "Conception of Mary by Saint Anne." It was changed to "Immaculate Conception" with the definition of the doctrine in 1854.

The Blessed Mother's Immaculate Conception was the beginning of our salvation and is now one of the central doctrines of our faith. Because of this, we celebrate this Feast Day to highlight our Lady's significant place in salvation history. This Feast is so essential that the Church has raised it to the rank of a Holy Day of Obligation.

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort teaches: "Since she is the sure means, the direct and immaculate way to Jesus and the perfect guide to him, it is through her that souls who are to shine forth in sanctity must find him. He who finds Mary finds life, that is, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life." Immaculate Mary, pray for us!  

Alma Redemptoris Mater window at Abbey Church of Saint Gilles du Gard, Avignon, France.

As we celebrate the great Feast of our Lady, we also sing the beautiful Marian Antiphon Alma Redemptoris Mater at Mass during Advent and the Christmas season as a post-communion meditation. It is sung throughout these seasons until the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord on February 2.

This antiphon is quite ancient, as most scholars agree that the words were written in the 11th century by the German Monk Hermanus Contractus. Its popularity grew and became so well-known that by the 15th century, the antiphon appeared in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

When this antiphon is translated, "alma" is usually translated as "sweet" or "loving." "Alma" is often derived from the Latin verb alere, which means to nourish, feed, rear, nurse, suckle, cherish, support, develop, or foster. These terms speak of the ideal love of a mother who nurses, cherishes, and protects her child with abundant love. The Oxford English dictionary defines "alma mater" as "bounteous mother." An alma mater would be more likely to be a nourishing mother than a sweet or holy one.

The great scholar Dom Prosper Gueranger wrote about the role of the Alma Redemptoris:  "It is twofold: it is joy, which the whole Church feels at the coming of the divine Word in the Flesh; and it is admiration of that glorious Virgin, who was made the True Mother of God. There is scarcely a prayer or a rite in the Liturgy of this glad Season, which does not imply these two grand Mysteries: an Infant-God and a Virgin-Mother. Honoring the Son in the Mother testifies to Her holy joy during this season."

The Alma Redemptoris Mater is an excellent prayer for us to pray and reflect upon during Advent and the Christmas Season. It is traditionally recited or sung after night prayer before going to sleep. It invites us to meditate and celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The lyrics read:      

 "Loving mother of the Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea, assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again, To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator, yet remained a virgin after as before, You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting, have pity on us poor sinners."   

This week, I am away in Washington, DC, to attend a State Catholic Conference Directors meeting at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. I return on Sunday evening. Be well. Do good. God Bless. A Blessed Advent! See you at Mass on the Immaculate Conception Holy Day! Mother Mary, pray for us!

Navigating Worldly Traffic During Advent

Dear Parishioners:    

Christmas music now begins after Halloween!

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving celebration.  Mine was excellent as I visited my sister and her family in Saratoga,  New York.  The meal was outstanding, the company terrific, and the football fantastic.  Thanks be to God for the blessing and bounty we enjoy.  

On the drive home to Rhode Island, the radio played nothing but Christmas music.  I like Christmas music as much as anybody, but we are just starting Advent!  It calls us to wait for Christmas and consider how well we await Christ’s coming.  

Practically and spiritually speaking, Advent is a season of waiting. As we enter the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we eagerly count down the days to Christmas. Those days are usually filled with shopping, cooking, partying, and planning — all in preparation for the impending celebration.

There are two ways we can approach this period of preparation, which could also be called a period of joyful anticipation. One is with excitement and eagerness — excitement for the family to come into town, excitement to see the kids’ faces on Christmas morning, and the excitement of the season in general.   The other is one of dread and trepidation. Dread about all the cooking and chores that need to be done, dread about hosting in-laws, and an overall sense of wanting the season to be over before it’s even started.

The Journey To Bethlehem by Adolf Joseph Weidlichh, 1865

Spiritually, we can also encounter these same feelings. We constantly pray and present our petitions to the Lord, waiting for him to answer. Sometimes, we’re excited about what he has in store for us. Sometimes, we’re not. It’s that period of waiting in anticipation for him that can, at times, be the most excruciating.

Praying and lighting the Advent Wreath at home with family.

St. Augustine says about this waiting period: “If God seems slow in responding. It is because He is preparing a better gift. He will not deny us. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. He wants you to have a lively desire for His greatest gifts. That is to say, pray always and do not lose heart.”

There are lessons to be learned from St. Augustine. The first is that waiting is not something to be dreaded. In this age of instant gratification, where we can answer emails on our smartphones and have literally anything shipped to our front door in days, waiting has become an annoyance and an inconvenience for many people.  

What has been lost is that waiting is a form of suffering. As Christians, we are called to unite our sufferings to Christ, no matter how minuscule that suffering may seem. Waiting in your car in holiday shopping traffic? Don’t pull out your phone. Instead, bask in the moment, turn on music, pray the Rosary, and thank God for another day.

The second lesson is that we are not in control; God is! Why do we teach children the concept of patience? Despite all our efforts to eradicate it, we know that waiting is an inherent and necessary part of life.   God does not deny us, nor does he let us down. He wants us to desire his gifts, and sometimes, in order for that desire to come to fruition, it means having to wait. Waiting may be hard sometimes, but with prayer and patience, we better appreciate and rejoice in fulfilling those desires.    

The Pre-Christmas hustle and bustle of shopping for gifts.

When we wait and prepare during Advent, we need to make intentional acts of prayer and devotion such as the Rosary, Mass, Confession, spiritual reading, and reflection on the Scriptures of the season.

We should make conscious efforts to slow down, all while actively anticipating the coming of Christ. It balances a spiritual sense of joyful anticipation and expectant waiting with the “busyness” of shopping, baking, and cleaning. This helps open our hearts to the true meaning of Christmas.  

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in an Advent Sermon, suggests: “We should celebrate this season of Advent with all possible devotion, rejoicing in so great a consolation, inflamed with love by so great a manifestation of charity, But let us not think of that Advent only whereby the Son of man has ‘come to seek and to save that which was lost,’ but also of that other by which He will come again and take us to Himself. Keep these two Advents in your meditation, pondering in your hearts how much we have received by the first, how much we are promised at the second!”

Be well. Do good. God Bless. A Blessed Advent!

A Day to Give Proper Thanks to God

Freedom From Want by Norman Rockwell

Dear Parishioners:   

St. Ambrose, the great Bishop and Doctor of the Church of the 4th Century, said: “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”  And that’s what we do this Thursday on Thanksgiving Day.  We gather with our family and friends and as a people of faith to thank God for our many blessings and great bounty.                 

Thanksgiving is one of the most American national holidays that we celebrate. When Abraham Lincoln instituted the national holiday, he called on his “fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”  

Our country has celebrated Thanksgiving as a national holiday since 1863. Though President Lincoln began the national tradition, it followed a long tradition of setting aside a Thursday to thank God, which George Washington began in 1789. The practice of stopping to give thanks to God as a people is part of the earliest traditions of the nation. We recall that the First Thanksgiving in 1619  was celebrated by those “Pilgrims” who landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was a celebration of gratitude to God for their blessings.

Following a harsh winter, during which much of its population perished from scurvy and inadequate shelter, these Plymouth settlers were able to grow enough crops to provide for the colony. After the abundant harvest, the fifty remaining settlers spent three days feasting and giving thanks to God for his blessings. The colonists who survived the winter were joined by ninety Wampanoags, who had been instrumental in helping them survive the tough conditions of that first winter.

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 1914

Thanksgiving Day is a great opportunity for us as Catholics to witness the need to thank the Father for his bountiful gifts. We must also unite ourselves with the greatest act of Thanksgiving we can make as a Church, the Eucharist. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us: “Eucharist is an action of thanksgiving to God.”  In fact, the Greek word for Eucharist means Thanksgiving. One of the earliest Catholic texts on the Sacraments is the Didache, written around the beginning of the second century. The author of the text encourages us, after having been filled with the Eucharist, to thank the Father for his bountiful love.

I invite you to join us at Mass on Thanksgiving Day at 9:00 am as we give thanks to the Father for his bountiful love. It is a national holiday but not a holy day of obligation. Yet, I cannot think of a better way to celebrate this day than to begin by giving thanks through Christ Jesus in his offering to the Father at Holy Mass. And while we need to remember to be thankful for the many blessings in our lives, we should be all the more thankful for the sacrifice Christ offered on our behalf on the Cross on Calvary.  St. Thérèse of Lisieux said: “Jesus does not demand great action from us but simply surrender and gratitude.”   

We completed training for eleven of our newest OLM Altar Servers this week.  They join the many servers who faithfully and dutifully serve Mass at OLM. We are grateful for their willingness to serve our parish. St. Peter Julian Eymard said:  “Know, O Christian, that the Mass is the holiest act of religion. You cannot do anything to glorify God more, nor profit your soul more, than by devoutly assisting at it and assisting as often as possible.”   Pray for our  OLM Altar Servers.

Today, we celebrate the last Sunday of the Church Year,  the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. Established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 to counter the growing secularism and atheism of communism and fascism taking root in Europe to underscore the truth that Jesus Christ is King, and his Kingdom embraces all of heaven and earth. Pope Pius XI declared, “When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace, and harmony.”

I wish you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving! Let us: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever!” Be well. Do good. God Bless.  Go Pats!

Church Year Ending and the Four Last Things

Dear Parishioners:    

 Autumn has arrived. The leaves are falling, and the temperature is dropping; the Church Year is ending, and our readings are focused on the Four Last Things. The Church encourages us to meditate upon these Things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. The doctrine of the last things is called eschatology, from a Greek word that means outcomes or ends.

Death is inevitable for all of us; nobody gets out of this world alive. Our challenge throughout our lives is to be ready for what comes next. Death is the end of the first phase of human life. And that first phase—all we have done in our lifetime—determines all that is to come.

The Church teaches that we will undergo two judgments after death: the particular judgment, which happens immediately after death, and the general judgment at the end of the world. In the particular judgment, our soul will be presented before God, and we will be judged on how we have used the talents God gave us and conducted our lives.

The Crucifixion and Last Judgement from Jan van Eyck’s (c. 14420)

The final or general judgment will occur after our souls are reunited with our bodies at the resurrection of the dead. We believe this when we recite the Creed and say that Jesus "will come to judge the living and the dead" and when we say, "We believe in the resurrection of the body."  We don't know how our decayed bodies will rise again.

Still, the Church teaches that Christ will change our lowly body into a "spiritual body." Jesus told us what the general judgment would be like. In the 25th chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, he says that he will judge us according to how well we fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked,  visited the sick, and welcomed the stranger.  After the final judgment, we will go either to heaven or to hell for all eternity.

Heaven is the state of being in which all are united in love with one another and with God, where those who, having attained salvation, are in glory with God and enjoy the beatific vision—knowledge of God as he is. The bliss of heaven will consist of both the vision and love of God and the knowledge and love of all others in God. Therefore, we will be reunited with our family, friends, and saints from past and future generations.

That brings us to hell. Yes, the Church teaches that there really is a hell. There are too many references to hell in Scripture to pretend that it doesn't exist. It's a place of eternal damnation for those who use the freedom God has given to them to reject God's love. It's the state of persons who die in mortal sin in a condition of self-alienation from God.   The essence of hell is the final exclusion from communion with God because of one's own fault. The fires of hell we see in many cartoons and movies are a metaphor for the pain of eternal separation from God, which must be the most horrifying pain of all.  

And who is in hell? The Church has said infallibly, through canonization, that certain people are in heaven. We call them saints. However,  the Church has never said that certain people are in hell. Yet Jesus' parables about heaven and hell lean toward the fact that some people are in hell. For instance, the 25th chapter of Matthew says that those who don't feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, etc., "will go off to eternal punishment." His parable of Lazarus and the rich man indicates that the rich man is in hell.

As we contemplate the Four Last Things, the Church Year celebrates next Sunday the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  In Dom Prosper Guéranger’s The Liturgical Year, he suggests the Last Sunday of the liturgical year, we reflect on how this end of the year is our opportunity to look back at the previous year, see the work God has done in us, and ask God to take us deeper into the spiritual life in the next year.

The project around the Sacred Heart statue in Mercy Park is also coming to a conclusion.  We hope to finish up in the coming weeks with some seasonal plantings around the statue and the installation of benches in Mercy Park.  We thank former OLM Altar Server Alexis Jagminas and Robbie Paulsen of RK Industries for their work on this project and for this beautiful addition to our parish plant.

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

Prayer and Remembrance on November Feasts

Dear Parishioners:    

As I sit at my desk to write this column on Monday morning, after the Patriots' disappointing loss, all the news seems to be about the election. Polls and predictions are plentiful, and every expert has an opinion about the likely outcome.  The loud talking heads dominate the airwaves as partisan apparatchiks try to advance their candidates.  Add to that the plethora of political advertisements, and it's hard to escape the election.  I've decided to tune it out until I vote on Tuesday morning.

Instead, I plan to pray for our country and all political candidates. Of course, we should also pray that the rancor and division that seems to dominate our politics might subside after the election.  We hope and pray our nation will be a peaceful place where all elected officials seek unity and serve the common good of all.  There is a Prayer for After An Election in the bulletin. Please use it as you pray for our nation.

Monsignor Albert A. Kenney, Diocesan Administrator of Providence.

Last Friday,  the College of Consultors of the Diocese of Providence met as required by the Code of Canon Law and elected a diocesan administrator, Monsignor Albert A. Kenney, who has been serving as the Vicar-General of the Diocese. We offer our congratulations and promise of prayers.

Canon Law required the Diocese to elect an administrator after Archbishop Henning's installation as Archbishop of Boston, officially leaving Providence without a bishop. Monsignor Kenney remains as the Diocesan Administrator until the Holy Father names a new Bishop of Providence, and he takes possession of the Diocese.   A diocesan administrator governs with many of the same powers as the diocesan bishop but with certain limitations. The administrator's primary duty is to ensure the continued smooth operation of our Diocese and its many good works and ministries. Let us pray for our Diocese as we await the Holy Father's appointment of our next Bishop of Providence.

Monday, November 11, is Veterans Day.  It makes sense, as November is a month of remembrance. A month that starts with All Saints Day. On the first day of the month, we remember all those in heaven and contemplate how to emulate them. The next day is All Souls Day, as we remember all souls in Purgatory.  Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day.  It marked the Armistice that ended the First World War on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It was renamed Veterans Day after the Second World War and the Korean War. 

Saint Martin of Tours

November 11 was St. Martin's feast day long before it became Armistice Day. Many people prayed for St. Martin's intercession to end the war, and they saw the hand of God in signing the Armistice on this special day. Traditionally, in Western Europe, November 11 served as a day to sign peace treaties in honor of Saint Martin.

St. Martin was a fourth-century Christian Roman soldier. He served for many years in a cavalry unit in France. One day, he told his commander: "I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ." He remained a soldier for a few years more but ultimately got his wish. St. Martin, who started service as a soldier, became an outstanding priest and bishop.

Remember this Catholic connection on Veteran's Day and the rest of the month. Thank our veterans, but also pray for them. I will pray that they learn to be like this soldier and bishop of the 4th Century. I pray that we all grow in the desire to live entirely for God like St. Martin. Join us in thanking and praying for all Veterans on the holiday at the 8:30 am Mass. Afterward, attend the Veterans Day Parade at 10:00 am on First Avenue.  Many veterans march in the parade, including  OLM Usher, John Romano. He served as a  Navy Fighter Pilot in the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War!  At 101 years of age, he deserves our thanks and gratitude. Thank you, veterans!

  During this All Souls month, there is a beautiful tradition of visiting cemeteries and praying for our beloved dead. They rest in sacred ground where they are to be remembered and reverenced. Cemeteries are places where the faithful await the return of Christ and the resurrection of their bodies. With hope of the resurrection, let us commend the dead to the mercy of God. Be well. Do good. God Bless. Happy Veterans Day and St. Martin's Day! Go Pats!???

Study, Pray, & Vote! And Then Pray Again!!!

Dear Parishioners:    

This Tuesday, November 5, is a significant day for our nation, Election Day.  Voting is not just a right but a civic duty for all Americans. As Pope Francis has reminded us, each of us has a 'vocation as a citizen,' and for Catholics, this means voting also carries a moral dimension. Every vote counts, and our Catholic Faith teaches us that  'responsible citizenship is a virtue and participation in political life is a moral obligation.' So, let's exercise our civic duty and moral responsibility by voting on Election Day.

Some may have voted early. If you haven't, I urge you to vote on Tuesday. The best thing to do both before and after Election Day is pray. Pray for all candidates and our state and nation. Pray before you enter the voting booth to cast a ballot. Spend time praying and reading Scripture, and ask God to help guide your conscience as you decide for whom to vote.  

Also, study the Church's teachings on the important issues facing our state and nation. We must study how the teachings about the human person, human dignity, justice, and peace apply to the relevant issues of the day—issues ranging from how we treat innocent unborn life to how we handle newcomers at our borders, from how we protect religious freedom to how we steward our natural resources, from how we factor the poor into our economic policies to the vision of family life we promote.

We cannot ignore Church teachings on these issues as we form our consciences to vote. The Church warns against dismissing some teachings as "optional concerns." The Church's moral principles are never negotiable. With such clear moral teaching in mind, study the positions held by candidates on these important issues. 

There is no perfect candidate for any office. After all, they are politicians chiefly concerned with getting elected or re-elected.  A growing number of candidates and elected officials, especially in Rhode Island, hold positions that are gravely immoral and against Church teaching on the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the human person.  These extreme positions held by candidates must also be considered when voting for a particular person for higher office. Sometimes, this leaves seemingly no one we can vote with a clear conscience.  It is the dilemma of our current political landscape.

As we carefully consider candidates, it is important to differentiate between inherent moral principles and prudential judgments. Prudential judgment determines how to act in situations with room for flexibility. At the same time, inherently moral issues are actions considered evil by their very nature.    For instance,  abortion is a fundamentally different moral issue than an objectionable immigration policy.  Abortion always takes an innocent human life and is, therefore, inherently evil. Immigration policies are a matter of prudential judgment.

Because of the positions of certain candidates, many inside and outside the Church demand bishops and priests publicly support or oppose a particular candidate. However, the Church cannot and should not endorse any candidate or political party. It is not only illegal, but it is not the proper role of the Church to be partisan.

Rather, the Church provides a clear moral teaching that should inform our conscience and guide us as faithful Catholics.  We should vote as Catholics who consider the common good of all people, not just our own political, economic, or personal self-interest.   

Before we vote, we must properly form our conscience with the teachings of the Church, pray for insight, and act on this formation process. Voting with a well-formed conscience, one based upon the teachings and moral values of the Church, is part of living out a life of faithful discipleship in Christ.

Pray before you vote. Pray for our country. Pray for all the candidates, not just the ones you may support.  Pray that there will be peace and harmony no matter the election outcome. The bulletin has a Prayer Before An Election for your use in prayer.

As we begin this All Souls Month, we pray for the gentle repose of the souls of our fellow parishioners who died this past year. Their names are listed in the bulletin. May they Rest in Peace. Study, pray, and vote! And then pray again!

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