A Prayer for September 11th

The Prayer of Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI at Ground Zero

Below is the prayer Pope Benedict XVI delivered on April 20, 2008, during his visit to the site of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

O God of love, compassion, and healing look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions, who gather today at this site, the scene of incredible violence and pain.

We ask you in your goodness to give eternal light and peace to all who died here—the heroic first-responders: our firefighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel, along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy simply because their work or service brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to those who, because of their presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness. Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Give them the strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well of those who suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth. Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events. Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain.

Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all.

Amen

Sunday 5:00pm Mass Not To Resume

In September, we usually resume our Sunday 5:00 PM Mass. However, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, we are postponing the resumption of this Mass until further notice.  We presently have three Masses every weekend, and attendance is not increasing. There seems no need to add an additional fourth Mass at present. Many parishioners are not attending Mass each week. We hope and pray Mass attendance increases as the summer ends.     The sanitizing of the  Church building occurs before and after every public celebration of Mass. It involves a considerable amount of time and work by our maintenance team/ We do this to ensure the proper sanitization of the Church.  This cleaning and sanitizing is a costly expense and also very time-consuming. Our maintenance crew is not readily available to work on Sunday nights in order to clean and sanitize the Church properly. Therefore, it is prudent to postpone the  5:00 PM Sunday Evening Mass from our weekly schedule until further notice.

Those who have reserved Mass intentions for the 5:00 PM Sunday Mass, please know those intentions are to be satisfied at one of the three weekend Masses celebrated every week. Although this is not the customary practice at OLM, multiple Mass intentions at Mass are allowed. Therefore, one Mass a weekend is to be offered for two intentions in order to satisfy all previously booked intentions.  Please understand that all booked Mass intentions are going to be offered.  If you have any questions or concerns about a Mass you've reserved for a particular intention, please contact the OLM Parish Office.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in these difficult days.   

A Prayer for Catholic Schools

A Prayer for Catholic Schools

O Christ, our Lord and Teacher,

OLM School student

You invite Your faithful people to make disciples in Your name and to announce good news to the poor.  We thank You for the gift of Catholic schools, where the message of Your life, death, and resurrection is proclaimed, the Catholic Faith is lived out daily, good works to our brothers and sisters are modeled, and worship and praise of You is celebrated in the Sacraments and Devotional Prayer.

Increase our zeal for ensuring that all children and families can benefit from an excellent Catholic education and that Catholic schools grow in their ability to nurture the soul of our nation and Church.

We ask this through the intercession of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom and Mother of Catholic Schools.  Amen.

See You In September Raffle

We are happy to announce the "See You in September" Raffle! Only 600 tickets are for sale for $100 apiece. The $10,000 in raffle prizes includes a Grand Prize of $5,000 with additional prizes of $2,500, 2 prizes of $1,000 and $500. The tickets are on sale this week, and the Raffle Drawing is to be live-streamed on Thursday, September 24th, the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy! It will be an exciting way to celebrate our Parish Feast.  

The proceeds of this raffle ($50,000) will help us with the increased costs of our many needed COVID-19 school maintenance and educational projects. We traditionally have raised nearly $100,000 from our Annual Spring Fling and about $25,000 from the Annual Saints and Scholars Golf Tournament. So you can see the raffle is much needed and helps us toward partially funding the future of our outstanding parish school. 

You have always generously supported the mission of Our Lady of Mercy School in the past and we are confident of your continued generosity. In order to obtain your ticket or tickets, please send a check for $100 per ticket payable to “OLM” to Our Lady of Mercy, “See You in September” Raffle at 65 3rd Street, East Greenwich, RI 02818 or call the Parish Office at 401-884-4968 to reserve your ticket today!  There is no limit on the number of tickets you may wish to purchase and the more you buy the better the odds of winning!!!

Help us today support our OLM Saints and Scholars of tomorrow! Your odds of winning are better than Powerball and certainly much better than betting on the Red Sox!! Put your money on the OLM Saints and Scholars!!

Prayer to Overcome Racism

A Prayer for America

Prayer for Our Government 
by Archbishop John Carroll (1791)

We pray, O almighty and eternal God, who through Jesus Christ has revealed thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of your name.

We pray Thee, who alone are good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, the pope, the vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, all other bishops, prelates and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise among us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct your people into the ways of salvation.

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.

We recommend likewise, to your unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of your most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

Finally, we pray to you, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of your servants departed, who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech you, a place of refreshment, light and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Pope Pius VI named John Carroll the first bishop of the United States of America in 1789.  His cousin, Charles Carroll, was one of America's Founding Fathers and the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. Bishop John Carroll would go on to become America's first archbishop when the Diocese of Baltimore, Maryland— the mother diocese of the United States—was elevated to the status of archdiocese. Archbishop Carroll was also the founder of America's first Catholic university—Georgetown. These interesting facts are a testament that Catholics played a significant role in the founding of our nation. Archbishop Carroll wrote the prayer above for our newly formed government on November 10, 1791, to be recited in parishes throughout his diocese.

The Truth About St. Junipero Serra

In the following letter, Archbishop José H. Gomez addresses recent controversies surrounding public monuments to St. Junípero Serra and asks the faithful of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to invoke the saint’s “intercession for this nation that he helped to found.” Ahead of the saint's July 1 feast day, he urges prayers especially for “an end to racial prejudice and a new awareness of what it means that all men and women are created equal as children of God.” Archbishop Gomez also offers an original spiritual meditation that he composed almost entirely from words drawn from St. Junípero’s sermons and letters. 

A statue of St. Junipero Serra defaced and torn down by militant protesters at Father Serra Park in Downtown Los Angeles Saturday, June 20.

Congratulations and Thanks to OLM Senior Servers

In Thanks of our OLM Senior Servers

We offer our sincere congratulations and prayerful best wishes to OLM Senior Servers, John Curran (Boston College), David Delbonis (St. Joseph College, Philadelphia) Jack Devine (Northeastern University), and Matthew Simonetti (Xavier University, Ohio) as they graduate high school. These young men have served Church and Parish at God's Holy Altar for many years, and we thank them for their reverent and dedicated service to God and Church. Ad multos annos!

L to R: Matthew Simonetti, David Delboinis, John Curran and Jack Devine.

Blessing of the Fleet at EGYC

Mass of Thanksgiving for Fr. Healey's 25th Anniversary, Sunday, June 21 at 10:30am

Join us for a live stream
Mass of Thanksgiving for Fr. Healey’s 25th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination
on Sunday, June 21 at 10:30am.

Congratulations to Father Hiep Van Nguyen, Ordained June 6, 2020

We offer our heartfelt prayers and best wishes to Father Hiep Van Nguyen who was ordained a priest of Providence by Bishop Tobin on Saturday, June 6, 2020, at the Cathedral. Father Hiep served as a Summer Seminarian at OLM two years ago. May God bless him and his priesthood with much fruitful ministry and holiness!

Newly ordained Fr. Hiep Van Nguyen poses with Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence following the Mass of Ordination at the Cathedral on Saturday, June 6, 2020.

Fr. Connors Featured in NY Times

Read this great article on Catholic Priests serving as Covid 19 Chaplains. Fr. Connors is featured in the article.

Bishop Tobin's Statement on Current Social Unrest

Statement from Bishop Tobin on
Behalf of the Diocese of Providence

June 2, 2020

Resorting to violence does not honor the memory of George Floyd whose tragic death in Minneapolis is morally offensive and repugnant to all. Nor does it promote the just cause of civil rights. For decades, the Catholic Church, in its teaching and actions, has been at the forefront in opposing every expression of racism, and we renew that commitment today.
 
It is very clear that there are pressing issues in our society that urgently need to be addressed and corrected – including racism, inequality, and discrimination – whenever, wherever they occur. The Catholic Church fully supports those who are promoting these values in legitimate and peaceful ways.
 
The Diocese of Providence also stands in solidarity with public officials and law enforcement officers as they seek to ensure the safety and security of our community. We recognize that their public service is often difficult and dangerous. The recent incidents of planned violence here and elsewhere cannot be encouraged or accepted. These events simply cause division in our community and result in additional suffering and pain to many good and innocent people.
 
As we pledge to renew our fraternal efforts to build a just and peaceful society, may all people of goodwill lift their hearts and minds to God in prayer to seek his divine intervention in these troubled times.

What to Expect When Returning to Mass

Please watch this video from the Diocese of Providence about what to expect when returning to Mass next weekend.

Bishop Tobin's Message as Churches Prepare to Reopen

Watch Bishop Tobin’s address to the Catholic Faithful as our Churches prepare to reopen for public Mass.

Watch the new OLM School Video

Take a look at the newly released OLM School promotional video! Register your child or grandchild today for next year at olmschool.org

Striving to be Saints and Scholars!

Memorial Day Livestream Mass at 8:30am

Join us in praying for all those who died in service to our nation and the cause of liberty and freedom.

Memorial Day Mass
Monday, May 25, 2020

LIvestream at 8:30am