Praying to Our Lady for the Sick & Suffering

Dear Parishioners:    

Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day February 2, 2025

Last Sunday, the world awaited the arrival of the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. He predicted six more weeks of winter after waking up to see his shadow! So, last week's blessing of throats and prayers for the intercession of St. Blaise is very timely. Hopefully, the head colds, flu, and ailments of the throat so common in the winter season will subside as we await the arrival of spring. 

We celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11. It is also the World Day of the Sick, an observation introduced by Saint Pope John Paul II as a way for the faithful to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses. In his Message for the World Day of the Sick, Pope Francis said:

Anointing of the Sick

"We are celebrating the 33rd World Day of the Sick in the Jubilee Year 2025, in which the Church invites us to become 'pilgrims of hope.' The word of God accompanies us and offers us, in the words of Saint Paul, an encouraging message: 'Hope does not   disappoint' (Rom 5:5); indeed, it strengthens us in times of trial."

So on this Tuesday, we are asked to pray for those who are ill, infirm, and their caregivers, to promote kindness and concern for those who are suffering, and to remember the importance of providing physical, emotional, and spiritual support to the sick, and to reflect on caring for those who are sick, and those who provide them care.

Saint Pope John Paul II established this Day of Prayer on May 13, 1992, one year following his diagnosis of Parkinson's. It is celebrated on February 11 with the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, a feast associated with faith, healing, and miracles.

  On February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to a young French girl named Bernadette Soubirous, beginning a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words, "I am the Immaculate Conception."

St. Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes.

Bernadette was a sickly child whose family was very poor. Their practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. When she was interrogated by authorities about the apparition,

Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was "something white in the shape of a girl."  It was "a pretty young girl with a rosary over her arm." A blue girdle encircled her white robe. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand.

The child, Bernadette, was impressed that the lady did not use the informal form of address (tu) but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to this simple, humble girl and treated her with dignity. In 1862, Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions.

St. Bernadette Soubirous became a Sister of Charity and Christian Instruction in 1866. She spent the rest of her life at the Saint Gildard Convent in Nevers, France, as an infirmary assistant and sacristan.

Our Lady of Lourdes said to St. Bernadette Soubirous: “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next.”   Thus,  St. Bernadette lived always for the happiness of heaven. She died on April 16, 1879, in agony, willingly accepting her great sufferings in faithful fulfillment of her "Lady's" request for penance. She was canonized as a saint by Pope Pius XI on December 8, 1933. Her incorruptible body is kept in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the motherhouse in Nevers, France.

Through this humble child, Mother Mary revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people. People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all over the world. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became a universal feast in 1907. And Lourdes continues to be a place of pilgrimage and healing but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more.

Some people doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film The Song of Bernadette: "For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible." Pray for the sick, suffering, and those who care for them, asking Our Lady of Lourdes for her powerful intercession. Be well. Do good. God Bless.

Pilgrims at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, France

The Presentation, A Feast of Faith and Family

Dear Parishioners:    

We had a great celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Our student speakers delivered terrific talks about OLM School at Masses last weekend. They are an example of the outstanding education OLM School provides. We thank them for a great job!                            

The school boiler project is completed. Two new boilers are fully operational and keeping our students and faculty warm! We thank Paul Anderson for overseeing the project and Bob Bolten and Arden Engineering for installing it. The final cost of the project was $180,000. Thankfully, the Grateful for God's Providence Capital Campaign funds covered the cost.

 We also recently had to install new sewer pumps at the school. After a couple of decades of wear and tear, they gave out, causing us to temporarily close one bathroom. But again, Arden Engineering came to our aid, and we now have new sewer pumps working properly! The cost was about $10,000. Thank you for your donations to the Building and Grounds Collection, which help defray the costs of such unforeseen projects. 

Another project we are commencing at OLM School is a more spiritual program. The late Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton, who was known as the Rosary Priest, famously said: "The family that prays together stays together. A world at prayer is a world at peace."

We ask our school families to make "A Pledge to Our Lady."  This pledge commits them to attending Sunday Mass weekly, offering Grace before meals, and praying together once a day.  Those whose families make the pledge spiritually commit to developing their faith lives with these three actions under the guidance of Our Lady of Mercy. As Father Peyton also said: "If families give Our Lady fifteen minutes a day by reciting the Rosary, I assure them that their homes will become, by God's grace, peaceful places."

Those families who make the "pledge" will fill out a pledge card, which will be placed in the sanctuary of our Church, where they will be remembered at Masses. This is a great spiritual and prayerful support for these young families by our entire parish.  As many of our older parishioners know from their experience raising a family, prayer and the Sacraments are central to family life.  And as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us:

"Sunday, the 'Lord's Day,' is the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist. It is the pre-eminent day of the liturgical assembly, the day of the Christian family, and the day of joy and rest from work."

Today, February 2, in the secular world, is Groundhog Day. The fate of Spring hangs in the balance as a burrowing rodent looks for its shadow. However, today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus. It is also known as Candlemas Day since the blessing and procession of candles is included in today's liturgy. The Presentation of the Lord supersedes the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Feasts of the Lord that fall on a Sunday in Ordinary Time and in the Christmas season replace the Sunday liturgy.

Founded by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997, today is also the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. He attached it to "Candlemas Day" because the consecrated men and women are to be the light in the world, imitating Jesus, the Light of the World. So please pray for our good sisters at OLM, Sister Lourdes, Sister Emma, Sister Jane, and Sister Jeanne.

Monday, February 3, is the Feast of St. Blaise, the bishop and martyr of the 4th century.  He is the patron of candle makers and ailments of the throat, as he once saved a young child from choking on a fish bone. We invoke his intercession for throat ailments like the colds and flu making the rounds this winter. In anticipation of this feast, we bless throats at weekend Masses. They are blessed with two candles tied together with a red ribbon to form a cross as we invoke the intercession of St. Blaise. Let us also pray for all those suffering ailments of the throat. 

At OLM, we have much to be grateful for and much to pray for. Let us be grateful and prayerful! Be well. Do good. God Bless. St Blaise, pray for us!

Keeping the Faith Alive! Catholic Schools Week!

Dear Parishioners:    

Catholic Schools Week begins this Sunday.  This annual observance takes place across the country as we pay tribute to the achievements of Catholic Schools and recognize their contribution to the common good of our nation. Catholic schools have been the largest non-public educational system in the United States for over a century, and they are not owned and run by the government. Today, Catholic schools enroll more than 1.6 million students. While in the 226 Catholic colleges and universities, there are another 850,000 students earning degrees.

This is truly a remarkable achievement in light of the history of Catholic Education in the United States. In  17th century  America, there was little toleration of Catholics. In 1790, when the 13 colonies became the 13 states, Catholics numbered only 35,000 in a population of 4 million. By 1820, American Catholics were still no more than 200,000. Bishop John Carroll, the nation's first and only bishop then, sought to establish a teaching order of religious sisters and Catholic schools. Thus, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and her Daughters of Charity became among our nation's first Catholic School teachers.  

Meanwhile, in the 1830s, the civic-minded elites of the U.S. were inventing something new, public schools. These were schools owned and run by the government, funded by taxes, free from tuition, and available to all children. They were called "common schools" because they would instill in pupils the common culture of the nation. Today, we think of a "public school" as a secular institution. However, its inventors did not. They sought to make the schools overtly Protestant with bible studies, prayers, and religion classes at odds with the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Thus, there was a great need to establish Catholic Schools for the growing immigrant Catholic population in 18th-century America. In 1870, the census counted 4.2 million Catholics in a national population of 38 million, making Catholics a group with significant political power. Anti-Catholic sentiments and the Know Nothing political movement dominated the day's politics. They viewed Catholics with suspicion and acted with bigotry and malice against the Church. 

The American River Ganges by Thomas Nast (1871)

The cartoon was a commentary on the idea that American Catholics were not assimilating into American culture and were instead blindly following the Roman pontiff.. The cartoon was part of a larger anti-Catholic movement in the United States.

Among them was the U.S. Senator James G. Blaine of Maine, who in 1874 proposed to amend the U.S. Constitution to have it decree that "no money raised by taxation in any state for the support of public schools, or derived from any public fund therefor, … shall ever be under the control of any religious sect."

His amendment narrowly failed, but its popularity was evident as individual states quickly added the Blaine language to their state constitutions. By 1890, 29 of the 42 states in the Union had adopted the so-called Blaine Amendment, a blatantly bigoted anti-Catholic law. Today, there are Blaine amendments in the constitutions of 37 of our 50 states and they prohibit school choice programs.

So, as we reflect on this history, let's not take our Catholic Schools for granted and give proper thanks for the many founders who worked so hard to establish them. Among those founders are Bishop Carroll and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, who established the first Catholic schools in our nation. Also, St. John Neumann, the Bishop of Philadelphia, who established the first Catholic School System in the 1850s.

Father Brady, the Sisters of Mercy, OLM Parishioners, and the contractor break ground on the site of the new Our Lady of Mercy School.

Here at OLM, we remember with gratitude Fr. Francis P. Brady and Mercy Sister  Helena McNulty, who established our parish school. Some seventy-five years later, we thank them for their legacy, which is our outstanding parish school where the  Catholic faith is studied and lived daily. A school where students are challenged to strive to be saints and scholars. A school where a dedicated administration and faculty provide outstanding academics, arts, and athletics in accord with the Catholic Faith.  

The late Pope 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." Our Lady of Mercy School is such a school! So celebrate Catholic Schools and stop by the Open House at OLM School between 10:00 am and 12 noon on Sunday. Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go OLM Jags!

A Time to Pray for the United States

Dear Parishioners:   

There are some big events taking place this week. On Monday, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the inauguration of President Trump. And, of course, on Monday night, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame take on the Buckeyes of the Ohio State University for the National College Football Championship.    

A famous photo, taken on June 21, 1964, at a civil rights rally in Soldier Field in Chicago, shows Father Hesburgh together with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., singing "We Shall Overcome."

Dr. King led the struggle for civil rights and racial equality for African Americans in our country.  As we remember Dr. King, let us continue to pray and work for an end to the unjust evil of racism in our world.     Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated this week:

“Dr. King’s memorial holiday is a fitting occasion to recall his words from the letter from a Birmingham jail, in which he stated, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ In reflecting on the continuing realities of racial injustice, immigrant families seeking welcome, and economic disparity, these words remind us that we are connected and responsible for each other as we seek to fulfill the dream.”  

On Monday, President-elect Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. In the historic ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, a peaceful power transfer occurs as the new President is sworn into office. Let us pray for our President and our country.     

In 1789, John Carroll was appointed the first Bishop of Baltimore, the first diocese in the new United States. He later became the first Archbishop of the new Archdiocese of Baltimore.  Archbishop Carroll administered the entire U.S. Catholic Church until 1808. General Washington had sent then-Fr. Carroll and Benjamin Franklin on a diplomatic mission to Canada during the Revolutionary War. And the Founding Father’s deep respect for Fr. Carroll played a part in his being named the first Archbishop of Baltimore. Carroll wrote a beautiful prayer for the government that we should pray this week:  

“We pray O God of might, wisdom and justice, through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with your Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness and be eminently useful to your people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality.

  Let the light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.

  We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by your powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.” 

OLM Students praying at Weekly Mass.

As we celebrate these important events for our nation, another important event begins next Sunday: Catholic Schools Week!  Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week has been the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It seeks to highlight the outstanding achievements in academics, the arts, athletics, and faith formation provided by our Catholic Schools across the country.

At OLM, we celebrate with a week of special events. We begin next Sunday with an Open House at OLM School from 10:00 am until Noon.  Stop by and take a tour and meet our excellent faculty and terrific students. OLM School students will be speaking at all Masses next weekend about their experience at our outstanding school. Join us in celebrating OLM School, where we strive daily to become saints and scholars!    

As we celebrate the Presidential Inauguration on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, please pray for our nation, the President, the U.S. Congress, and the R.I. General Assembly. Remember, God and prayer are non-partisan. Be well. Do good. God Bless America! And go Fighting Irish!!

Putting Away Christmas, Putting On Baptismal Promises

Dear Parishioners:   

With the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord this weekend, we mark the end of the Christmas season. This week, the Christmas lights, trees, and Creche will be put away for the year.    Traditionally, Christmas is celebrated until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2.  On this day, many Catholics bring candles to the Church to be blessed. They can then light these candles at home during prayer or difficult times to symbolize Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.

Candlemas is the last day the Alma Redemptoris Mater, the Marian antiphon in the Divine Office, is sung. It is sung from the beginning of Advent through February 2. So, Candlemas was associated with the close of the Christmas season. Now, we enter the Season of Ordinary Time. Christmas Time and Easter Time highlight the central mysteries of the Paschal Mystery, namely, the incarnation, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, C. 1472–1475

On the other hand, the Sundays and weeks of Ordinary Time take us through Christ's life. 'Ordinary' comes from the word ordinal, which means 'counted.' Each week is known by a number, e.g., the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  Ordinary Time is when the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal toward which all of history is directed is represented by the final Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Green vestments are worn during the Season of Ordinary Time.

Ordinary Time is the longest season in the Church's year. The thirty-three weeks of Ordinary Time is divided into two sections; one short and the other very long. The weeks between the Christmas and Lenten seasons are the shorter part of Ordinary Time. In contrast, the weeks between Pentecost and the Advent season form the longer part. Now the bright and festive decorations of Christmas and the gold vestments are put away.  We decorate the Church more simply and wear plain green vestments.  Green, the color of Ordinary Time, tells us much about its significance in the Church's life. It is the rich color of growth and new life.

Ordinary Time deserves to be lived extraordinarily—in the depths of our hearts, families, and the parish community. We need to immerse ourselves deeply in the spirituality of Ordinary Time because it contains the essence of who we are in the 'everydayness' of our Christian lives. The thirty-three weeks of Ordinary Time gives us time to reflect on how we live as Christians. We have thirty-three weeks to examine and 'order' our lives. At the same time, we focus on a particular Gospel and enter it deeply. 

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a good time to begin Ordinary Time.  As we recall Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, we likewise recall our own Baptism.  St. Ambrose said: "The Lord was Baptized, not to be cleansed Himself, but to cleanse the waters, so that those waters, cleansed by the flesh of Christ which knew no sin, might have the power of Baptism.”

A newborn infant is baptized.

On the day of our own Baptism, our parents and godparents made promises on our behalf because, as infants, we could not. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a good time to personally renew with fervor and vigor, living out our Baptismal Promises. Let us again promise to renounce evil, reject Satan and his works, serve God faithfully in the Catholic Church, reject sin, obey Christ, and be ruled by his precepts.

We promise again to believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death, rose again from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and believe in the Holy Spirit. We also promise again to believe in the Holy Catholic Church, in the communion of saints, in the forgiveness of sins, in the resurrection of the body, and in life everlasting.    Today, on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, remember those promises and strive to live them daily in word and deed’

Christmas has ended, so make one final visit to the Christ Child in the Creche this weekend before it is taken down. Be well. Do good. God Bless

The Wise Still Seek Him

Dear Parishioners:    

Adoration of the Magi by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (17th century).

Today, we sing the verse: "We three kings of the Orient are…" Who are these Mystic visitors from the East? Kings? Wise Men? Are they men of science, astronomers who follow stars, astrologers who look for messages in the heavens, holy men, or all of the above? The feast of the Epiphany has a very important history in our faith and universal culture.   The Solemnity of the Epiphany which we celebrate this weekend. commemorates the mysterious visit of the Magi to the Baby Jesus. These Wisemen, pagans from neighboring countries, came bearing gifts to adore the Baby Jesus, the newborn King.

The gifts given to Jesus by the Magi are gold, frankincense, and Myrrh.  They have a special spiritual meaning that represents the mystery of the Incarnation, or the union of God and humanity.   Gold represents Jesus as Christ the King and his kingship on earth. Frankincense represents Jesus as Christ the High Priest and his divinity, as it was used in worship in the Temple.  And Myrrh represents Jesus as Christ the Prophet and his death for the sake of truth, as it was used to anoint dead bodies.  

Christmas gifts are given on the Feast of the Epiphany in Spain and many Latin American countries. Children write letters to the Magi on the feast's eve, requesting presents. Children leave their shoes out overnight to find presents in them the next morning when they awake. While we don't traditionally exchange gifts on the Epiphany, we should be mindful of the gifts we must offer the Lord.  The gifts of our time, talent, and treasure. These gifts are given to the Lord all year and, in fact, all life long as an offering ourselves to Christ.

The Adoration of the Magi by Edward Burne-Jones (1894)

So, as we come before the newborn King truly present in the Eucharist today, we imitate the Wisemen in adoration of the Lord and offer the gift of our life to Jesus.   St John Chrysostom said: "If we approach with faith, we too will see Jesus, for the Eucharistic table takes the place of the crib. Here the Body of the Lord is present, wrapped not in swaddling clothes but in the rays of the Holy Spirit." Many in Europe celebrate "Three Kings Day," where the priest blesses chalk, which the faithful bring home and use to write on their homes: "C-M-B" and the year. C-M-B refers to the names of the Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. The initials also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat, which means "May Christ bless the house."

This parallels the Jewish feast of Passover, where marking the door prevents evil and death from entering the home of the faithful who live there. Instead, the Epiphany blessing is more proactive as it brings life as opposed to preventing death. The Epiphany is not the end of the Christmas Season, as the season continues until next Sunday's Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

While many people have taken down the Christmas lights and trees, put away the creche, and returned some gifts, the Church continues to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord. Also, on Epiphany, the Church has the tradition of announcing the important dates of the Church Year. It is an ancient practice of Mother Church to announce the moveable feasts of the current Church Year.  The text reads:

"Know, dear brethren, that, as we have rejoiced at the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, so by leave of God's mercy we announce to you also the joy of his Resurrection, who is our Savior. On the fifth day of March will fall Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the fast of the most sacred Lenten season. On the twentieth day of April you will celebrate with joy Easter Day, the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the twenty-ninth day of May will be the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the eighth day of June, the feast of Pentecost. On the twenty-second day of June, the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. On the thirtieth day of November, the First Sunday of the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

We thank Mr. John Skeffington, the new owner of the Hill-Skeffington Funeral Home, for continuing to sponsor our parish calendar.  They are beautiful and highlight all the important dates of the Church Year in 2025. Happy Feast of the Epiphany! Remember, Wisemen still seek Him!! Be well. Do good. God Bless.