The parish pilgrimage to the Holy Land January 20 to 28, 2020.
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
FOR THE XXVIII WORLD DAY OF THE SICK 2020
11 February 2020
“Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened,
and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28)
Dear brothers and sisters,
1. Jesus’ words, “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28) point to the mysterious path of grace that is revealed to the simple and gives new strength to those who are weary and tired. These words of Christ express the solidarity of the Son of Man with all those who are hurt and afflicted. How many people suffer in both body and soul! Jesus urges everyone to draw near to him – “Come to me!” – and he promises them comfort and repose. “When Jesus says this, he has before him the people he meets every day on the streets of Galilee: very many simple people, the poor, the sick, sinners, those who are marginalized by the burden of the law and the oppressive social system... These people always followed him to hear his word, a word that gave hope! Jesus’ words always give hope!” (Angelus, 6 July 2014).
On this XXVIII World Day of the Sick, Jesus repeats these words to the sick, the oppressed, and the poor. For they realize that they depend entirely on God and, beneath the burden of their trials, stand in need of his healing. Jesus does not make demands of those who endure situations of frailty, suffering and weakness, but offers his mercy and his comforting presence. He looks upon a wounded humanity with eyes that gaze into the heart of each person. That gaze is not one of indifference; rather, it embraces people in their entirety, each person in his or her health condition, discarding no one, but rather inviting everyone to share in his life and to experience his tender love.
2. Why does Jesus have these feelings? Because he himself became frail, endured human suffering and received comfort from his Father. Indeed, only those who personally experience suffering are then able to comfort others. There are so many kinds of grave suffering: incurable and chronic diseases, psychological diseases, situations calling for rehabilitation or palliative care, numerous forms of disability, children’s or geriatric diseases… At times human warmth is lacking in our approach to these. What is needed is a personalized approach to the sick, not just of curing but also of caring, in view of an integral human healing. In experiencing illness, individuals not only feel threatened in their physical integrity, but also in the relational, intellectual, affective and spiritual dimensions of their lives. For this reason, in addition to therapy and support, they expect care and attention. In a word, love. At the side of every sick person, there is also a family, which itself suffers and is in need of support and comfort.
3. Dear brothers and sisters who are ill, your sickness makes you in a particular way one of those “who labour and are burdened”, and thus attract the eyes and heart of Jesus. In him, you will find light to brighten your darkest moments and hope to soothe your distress. He urges you: “Come to me”. In him, you will find strength to face all the worries and questions that assail you during this “dark night” of body and soul. Christ did not give us prescriptions, but through his passion, death and resurrection he frees us from the grip of evil.
In your experience of illness, you certainly need a place to find rest. The Church desires to become more and more the “inn” of the Good Samaritan who is Christ (cf. Lk 10:34), that is, a home where you can encounter his grace, which finds expression in closeness, acceptance and relief. In this home, you can meet people who, healed in their frailty by God’s mercy, will help you bear your cross and enable your suffering to give you a new perspective. You will be able to look beyond your illness to a greater horizon of new light and fresh strength for your lives.
A key role in this effort to offer rest and renewal to our sick brothers and sisters is played by healthcare workers: physicians, nurses, medical and administrative professionals, assistants and volunteers. Thanks to their expertise, they can make patients feel the presence of Christ who consoles and cares for the sick, and heals every hurt. Yet they too are men and women with their own frailties and even illnesses. They show how true it is that “once Christ’s comfort and rest is received, we are called in turn to become rest and comfort for our brothers and sisters, with a docile and humble attitude in imitation of the Teacher” (Angelus, 6 July 2014).
4. Dear healthcare professionals, let us always remember that diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic treatments, research, care and rehabilitation are always in the service of the sick person; indeed the noun “person” takes priority over the adjective “sick”. In your work, may you always strive to promote the dignity and life of each person, and reject any compromise in the direction of euthanasia, assisted suicide or suppression of life, even in the case of terminal illness.
When confronted with the limitations and even failures of medical science before increasingly problematic clinical cases and bleak diagnoses, you are called to be open to the transcendent dimension of your profession that reveals its ultimate meaning. Let us remember that life is sacred and belongs to God; hence it is inviolable and no one can claim the right to dispose of it freely (cf. Donum Vitae, 5; Evangelium Vitae, 29-53). Life must be welcomed, protected, respected and served from its beginning to its end: both human reason and faith in God, the author of life, require this. In some cases, conscientious objection becomes a necessary decision if you are to be consistent with your “yes” to life and to the human person. Your professionalism, sustained by Christian charity, will be the best service you can offer for the safeguarding of the truest human right, the right to life. When you can no longer provide a cure, you will still be able to provide care and healing, through gestures and procedures that give comfort and relief to the sick.
Tragically, in some contexts of war and violent conflict, healthcare professionals and the facilities that receive and assist the sick are attacked. In some areas, too, political authorities attempt to manipulate medical care for their own advantage, thus restricting the medical profession’s legitimate autonomy. Yet attacking those who devote themselves to the service of the suffering members of society does not serve the interests of anyone.
5. On this XXVIII World Day of the Sick, I think of our many brothers and sisters throughout the world who have no access to medical care because they live in poverty. For this reason, I urge healthcare institutions and government leaders throughout the world not to neglect social justice out of a preoccupation for financial concerns. It is my hope that, by joining the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, efforts will be made to cooperate in ensuring that everyone has access to suitable treatments for preserving and restoring their health. I offer heartfelt thanks to all those volunteers who serve the sick, often compensating for structural shortcomings, while reflecting the image of Christ, the Good Samaritan, by their acts of tender love and closeness.
To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Health of the Sick, I entrust all those who bear the burden of illness, along with their families and all healthcare workers. With the assurance of a remembrance in my prayers, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 3 January 2020
Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Francis
PRAYER FOR PROTECTION AGAINST THE FLU
Dear Jesus, focus of my life,
I humbly come to You,
seeking Your refuge and protection
for my loved ones and myself
against the ravage of the flu.
Stop the advances of this influenza,
eradicating its power upon mankind.
I ask this through Your Mother,
the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Thank you Jesus;
May Your Name be praised forever!
Amen.
A Student's Prayer
by St. Thomas Aquinas
Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator, true source of light and fountain of wisdom! Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect, dissipate the darkness which covers me, that of sin and of ignorance. Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, a retentive memory, method and ease in learning, the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself. Guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to successful completion. This I ask through Jesus Christ, true God and true man, living and reigning with You and the Father, forever and ever.
Amen.
Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter December 1, 2019 on the meaning and importance of nativity scenes, calling for this “wonderful sign” to be more widely displayed in family homes and public places throughout the world. “The enchanting image of the Christmas crèche, so dear to the Christian people, never ceases to arouse amazement and wonder. The depiction of Jesus’ birth is itself a simple and joyful proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God,” Pope Francis wrote in Admirabile signum, meaning “A wonderful sign” in Latin. Clink the link above to read the entire letter.
Christmas Anticipation Prayer
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold.
In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires,
[here mention your request]
through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen
On Saturday, November 2nd OLM parish and school famlies gathered with the family of the late Todd Youngs to bless the Todd Youngs Memorial Scoreboard in the OLM School Gym. Todd Youngs served as a OLM School teacher, coach, and parent for many years until his untimely death at the age of 53 in January 2018. He was beloved by the OLM Community and by his family as a son, brother, uncle, father and husband. The scoreboard is a fitting tribute to his legacy of service and committment to the OLM Parish and School Family. We are grateful to his wife June and son Ryan and the entire Youngs Family for their generous donation of the new scoreboard.
Litany for the Poor Souls in Purgatory
Each request is answered with MY JESUS MERCY.
O Jesus, Thou suffered and died that all mankind might be saved and brought to eternal happiness. Hear our pleas for further mercy on the souls of:
My dear parents and grandparents,
My brothers and sisters and other near relatives,
My godparents and sponsors of Confirmation,
My spiritual and temporal benefactors,
My friends and neighbors,
All for whom love or duty bids me pray,
Those who have suffered disadvantage or harm through me,
Those who have offended me,
Those whose release is near at hand,
Those who desire most to be united to Thee,
Those who endure the greatest sufferings,
Those whose release is most remote,
Those who are least remembered,
Those who are most deserving on account of their services to the Church,
The rich, who are now the most destitute,
The mighty, who are now powerless,
The once spiritually blind, who now see their folly,
The frivolous, who spent their time in idleness,
The poor who did not seek the treasures of heaven,
The tepid who devoted little time to prayer,
The indolent who neglected to perform good works,
Those of little faith, who neglected the frequent reception of the Sacraments,
The habitual sinners, who owe their salvation to a miracle of grace,
Parents who failed to watch over their children,
Superiors who were not solicitous for the salvation of those entrusted to them,
Those who strove for worldly riches and pleasures,
The worldly minded, who failed to use their wealth and talent for the service of God,
Those who witnessed the death of others, but would not think of their own,
Those who did not provide for the life hereafter,
Those whose sentence is severe because of the great things entrusted to them,
The popes, kings, and rulers,
The bishops and their counselors,
My teachers and spiritual advisors,
The priests and religious of the Catholic Church,
The defenders of the Holy Faith,
Those who died on the battlefield,
Those who fought for their country,
Those who were buried in the sea,
Those who died of stroke,
Those who died of heart attacks,
Those who suffered and died of cancer,
Those who died suddenly in accidents,
Those who died without the Last Rites of the Church,
Those who shall die within the next 24 hours,
My own poor soul when I shall have to appear before Thy judgment seat,
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them: For evermore with Thy Saints, because Thou art gracious.
May the prayer of Thy suppliant people, we beseech Thee, O Lord, benefit the souls of Thy departed servants and handmaids: that Thou mayest both deliver them from all their sins, and make them to be partakers of Thy redemption. Amen.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine on them. Amen.May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
On Saturday, November 2, 2019 the 5:00PM Saturday Evening Mass will fall back to a 4:00PM start time. Confessions on Saturday afternoons will now begin at 3:00PM. Thank you.
On Sunday, October 6th, Bishop John Noonan of Orlando, Florida confirmed 99 young adults from OLM. We congratulate the OLM 2019 Confirmation Class and offer them our prayerful support. We thank Bishop Noonan and all who made our celebration of Confirmation joyous and solemn.
The OLM Feast Week ended with the traditional celebration of Octoberfest! A few hundred parishioners gathered for German food and beer, good fun and festivities!
On Thursday, September 26th the OLM Parish Family gathered for an Act of Mercy, “Socks and Sandwiches for the Homeless.” Dozens of parishioners assembled hundreds of sandwiches and prepared new socks for the hungry and homeless of Rhode Island. We thank all those who participated in this great corporal work of mercy.
On Tuesday, September 24th, the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, the OLM Parish Family gathered to celebrate Mass in honor of our parish patroness. Fr. Bernard A. Healey, Pastor of OLM, celebrated the Mass and newly ordained Fr. Eric Silva served as the homilist Fr. Silva serves as the Associate Pastor of St. Luke’s Church in Barrington and served as a Summer Seminarian at OLM. Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!
We thank all our benefactors, supporters and golfers for making the Annual OLM Saints and Scholars Golf Tournament a great success! A great day of golf and fun was had by all at Quidnessett Country Club on Monday, September 23rd. A great kickoff to our OLM Feast Week!
Mary, Mother of God, I turn to you in all my pressing needs and difficulties as to a most sure refuge. I implore the help of your protection and choose you as my advocate. I entrust my cause to you who are the Mother of Mercy, and I wish to offer you day by day my most reverent love. But that my devotion may be pleasing to you, help me to maintain my soul and body in the spotlessness of your purity, help me to try as best I can to walk in your footsteps, humbly seeking to be like you.
Even if I have committed all possible sins, let me never lose confidence in you, for I know I shall always find your Heart filled with mercy The Son of God has His justice, but you, the Mother, have only your mercy. You desire more to do good to me than I can desire to receive favors from you, for your Heart is all love and mercy.
Mary, My Mother, how shall I stand before my Judge at the day of judgment? How shall I answer for the wasted days and years which God has given me to serve Him alone? I look to you, Mother of Mercy. You are all-merciful that you may obtain for me pardon and mercy. You are kind and loving for you have a mother’s heart, full of pity for the erring. You are a Mother of Mercy to the sinner and the fallen; have pity on me!
Prayerful Congratulations
to Sister Anna Josephine
The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia
We offer our prayerful congratulations OLM Parishioner, Laura Makin, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Makin, who was received to the habit on August 8th, the Feast of St. Dominic, at the St Cecilia Motherhouse, Nashville, TN. Laura has completed her Postulant Year and now enters her Canonical Novice Year. On August 8th she was given her new religious name, Sister Anna Josephine.
Sister Anna Josephine Makin
The Reception of the Habit took place at the Motherhouse in Nashville in the presence of the entire community numbering approximately 300. Mother Anna Grace, OP, the Prioress General, conferred the habit and gave Sister Laura her new religious name. The Postulants submitted 3 name choices that take significance from their chosen Feast Day. Sister Anna Josephine's feast day is the Feast of the Presentation, February 2nd.
Please keep Sister Anna Josephine in your prayers. If you wish to send her best wishes, please send them to Sister Anna Josephine Makin, St. Cecilia Motherhouse, 801 Dominican Drive, Nashville, TN 37228
Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, led the conference this year.
This past weekend the OLM Youth Group was in Lowell, Massachusetts for the annual Steubenville East Youth Conference. We brought eight High Schoolers, three chaperones (including our summer seminarian Daniel Mahoney and our Youth Coordinator Billy Burdier).
Steubenville East
Every year there is a different theme. This year the theme was "Belong" as used in the Scripture passage from 1 John 3:1: "See what love the Father has bestowed on us, that we may be called children of God" Throughout the weekend the kids attended concerts, conferences and talks. The celebration of Mass took place each day. Especially edifying was the practically constant possibility for the youth to go to Confession. It is no exaggeration to say that hundreds of kids went to Confession over the three days of the Conference (I believe that the final count was around 1,000 confessions heard). It was a great weekend for the kids to grow in their faith and to see how God works in their lives. We wish to thank everyone who supported the Youth Group to make this trip possible!
OLM Youth Group at conference.
There was a house fire on High Hawk this past week at the home of the Prosseda family (Eric, Peggy, Dante, Jules, Roman, Luca, Nina and their two dogs). The good news is that they are all safe and temporarily staying in a neighbor's house for the next few days. The bad news is that they lost almost everything. So many in this great community have already helped by donating clothes, shoes, gift cards, etc. and they are SO grateful. Some friends and neighbors believe this GoFundMe Page would be most helpful at this stage in their rebuilding process. Please feel free to share with others that you know would want to help. We continue to offer our prayers and support ot the Prosseda family. If you wish to help, go to the go fund me by clicking to this site.
The Prosseda Family
Consecration to the Sacred Heart
A wonderful devotion encouraged by the Church is devotion to the Sacred Heart, especially by consecrating our families to the Sacred Heart. Here is one version of a consecration.
O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thou didst reveal to the blessed Margaret Mary Thy desire to rule over Christian families; behold, in order to please Thee, we stand before Thee this day, to proclaim Thy full sovereignty over our family. We desire henceforth to live Thy life, we desire that the virtues, to which Thou hast promised peace on earth, may flower in the bosom of our family; we desire to keep far from us the spirit of the world, which Thou hast condemned. Thou art King of our minds by the simplicity of our faith; Thou art King of our hearts by our love of Thee alone, with which our hearts are on fire and whose flame we shall keep alive by frequently receiving the Holy Eucharist. Be pleased, O Sacred Heart, to preside over our gathering together, to bless our spiritual and temporal affairs, to ward off all annoyance from us, to hallow our joys and comfort our sorrows. If any of us has ever been so unhappy as to fall into the misery of displeasing Thee, grant that he may remember, O Heart of Jesus, that Thou art full of goodness and mercy toward the repentant sinner. And when the hour of separation strikes and death enters our family circle, whether we go or whether we stay, we shall all bow humbly before Thine eternal decrees. This shall be our consolation, to remember that the day will come, when our entire family, once more united in heaven, shall be able to sing of Thy glory and Thy goodness forever. May the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the glorious Patriarch St. Joseph vouchsafe to offer Thee this our act of consecration, and to keep the memory thereof alive in us all the days of our lives.
Glory to the Heart of Jesus, our King and Our Father!