Holy Week, The Week that Changed the World

Dear Parishioners:                               

Fr. Healey and Fr. Mahoney celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Monsignor Seamus Horgan.

Last week, we had two grand celebrations honoring St. Patrick and St. Joseph. Both Masses were joyful and faith-filled, and the receptions were lively and fun. I thank all those who helped make these Parish Feasts a great celebration. I also wish to thank Monsignor Seamus Horgan from the Vatican Embassy and Bishop McManus of Worcester, who celebrated the Masses and delivered outstanding homilies. Their presence at OLM is a great honor for us, and I am grateful for their willingness to come and celebrate with us.

It is Palm Sunday, and thus, Holy Week begins today. It is the final week of Lent and the week before Easter. It begins on Palm Sunday and includes the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil.

On Palm Sunday, the Passion of Our Lord is proclaimed. The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, from the Latin patior meaning "suffer," refers to the sufferings our Lord endured for our redemption, from the agony in the garden until His death on Calvary. The Gospels' Passion Narratives provide the details of our Lord's Passion. It is a powerful and prayerful way to begin Holy Week.

Commenting on the Passion, St. Jose Maria Escriva said, "The tragedy of the Passion brings to fulfillment our own life and the whole of human history. We can't let Holy Week be just a kind of commemoration. It means contemplating the mystery of Jesus Christ as something which continues to work in our souls. The Christian is obliged to be altered—Christus, ipse Christus: another Christ, Christ Himself."

Indeed, every Christian must enter into the profound mysteries and prayerful celebration of Holy Week to be altered into another Christ, Christ Himself. So, I encourage you to join us this Holy Week in prayer and devotion on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.

The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday is at 7:00 pm and includes the washing of the feet. The Blessed Sacrament will be transferred to the Altar of Repose, and adoration will continue until midnight. This Mass recalls the Last Supper and the Lord's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

On Good Friday, the Stations of the Cross are at    3:00 pm, and the Liturgy of the Good Friday is at 7:00 pm with the Veneration of the Cross. As we recall our Lord's suffering upon the Cross, it is a day on which Mass is not celebrated. It is a day of fasting and abstinence and calls for deep prayer and devotion. 

  On Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil, the Mother of All Vigils, will be celebrated after sundown at 7:30 pm. It is the only Mass on Holy Saturday. We will joyfully welcome five new members to the Catholic Church. Please pray for them.

Easter Sunday recalls the glory of our Lord's Resurrection from the dead. We will celebrate with Masses at 7:30 am, 9:00 am, and 10:30 am. There will be no 5:00 pm Mass on Easter Sunday.

During Holy Week, there are also opportunities for Confession. Confession will be available Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 11:45 am before the 12:05 pm Mass. Two priests, including a Dominican Friar, are available on Monday night at 6:00 pm. On Spy Wednesday, there will be two hours of Confession from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm, with four priests available.  We have all these opportunities, including the All-Day Confession this Saturday, to make a good Confession before Easter.

Also, during the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, Solemn Morning Prayer and the Office of Readings will be prayed each morning at 8:00 am. Our Church is open all day, and Holy Week is a good time for all of us to pray with the Lord here in Church.

Holy Week has begun. Indeed, the week that changed the world begins today. I pray you make it a week that changes your world and life. May we enter it with prayer and devotion that we might be altered into "Christus, ipse Christus: another Christ, Christ Himself." Please join us for Holy Week services. Please get to Confession and make your Easter Duty. Let us pray, adore, and rejoice in the great mysteries of our Catholic Faith. A Blessed Holy Week and Holy Easter to all! Be well. Do good. God Bless

Celebrating Our Heritage & Faith on St. Patrick's Day & St. Joseph's Day

Dear Parishioners:                                 

Monsignor Séamus Horgan

We welcome Monsignor Séamus Horgan, a priest of the Diocese of Killaloe, Ireland, to OLM. He will celebrate and preach the St. Patrick's Day Mass at 10:30 am. The Mass features readings and hymns in the Irish Language. A reception of Irish Coffee and Irish Soda Bread follows it.

Monsignor studied at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, Ireland, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 11, 1994. Following six years of parish ministry, he pursued studies in Rome. He received his license degree in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He later earned a Doctorate Degree in Canon Law. He then studied at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome to prepare for the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See.

Monsignor has served in various diplomatic postings across the globe, including Kampala, Uganda, Berne, Switzerland, Manila, the Philippines, and Rome. He is the First Counselor at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, DC. We are honored to have him join us at OLM to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! Welcome Monsignor Horgan!

On Tuesday, we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph with Mass celebrated in Italian at 12:05 pm. Bishop Robert J. McManus, a native son of Providence and now the Bishop of Worcester, is our celebrant and homilist. He is no stranger to OLM, having served as a Deacon here. He was ordained a priest in our Church in May 1978. A reception with Italian Coffee and delicious zeppoles follows the Mass! So please join us for this special celebration!

You don't have to be Irish or Italian to celebrate these two great saints of our Church, but we do so as we celebrate our Catholic faith and the heritage of the Irish and Italians! Happy St. Patrick's Day! Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit! Happy St. Joseph's Day! Buona Festa di San Giuseppe!    

On Friday, the students of OLM Middle School are performing the Living Stations of the Cross in Church at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm. It is a prayerful and powerful recounting of the Way of the Cross. Join us as we prayerfully prepare for Holy Week with the Living Stations.

Next weekend, we celebrate Palm Sunday with the Passion of our Lord as we begin Holy Week. Palm branches will be distributed and blessed at all Masses. There will be a Solemn Procession of Palm Branches from Mercy Park at the 10:30 am Mass. In a Palm Sunday homily, Pope Benedict XVI said: "The procession of the Palms is primarily an expression of joy because we can recognize Jesus because he allows us to be his friends and because he has given us the key to life. This joy, however, which is at the beginning, is also an expression of our 'yes' to Jesus and our willingness to go with him wherever he takes us. The expression 'following of Christ' describes the whole of Christian existence." 

On Palm Sunday, the Second Collection is for the Rice Bowl Collection. CRS Rice Bowl is the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services, the official relief and development agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All the monies collected in your Rice Bowls go directly to purchase and provide food for the hungry and starving of the world. I thank you in advance for your generous support.

Pope Francis making Confession at St. Peter’s Basilica

Next Saturday, from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm, OLM is hosting All Day Confessions. Four priests will be available for the entire time. No lines, no waiting, merciful confessors, and plenty of volunteers to assist you. Come to Confession and bring a friend or family member. There will be Eucharistic Adoration during the Confession hours. Please pray for the Confessors and those coming to Confession. Pope Francis reminds us: "Don't be afraid to go to the Sacrament of Confession, where you will meet Jesus who forgives you." 

We have a busy couple of weeks as Lent ends, and we prepare for Holy Week. The Holy Week Schedule is in the bulletin. We congratulate the OLM School Girls Grammar and Boys Junior teams who won the R.I. Catholic Athletic League Division 1 State Championship games last Sunday! They're off to New Hampshire for the New England Tournament next weekend. We wish them luck! Be well. Do good. God Bless! Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Happy St. Joseph’s Day!

A Time to Rejoice!

Dear Parishioners:                                  

It's Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent. The name Laetare comes from the entrance antiphon from Isaiah: "Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exalt and be satisfied at her consoling breast."  Laetare is the first word meaning "rejoice" in the Latin text. The Church expresses hope and joy amid our Lenten fasts and penances on Laetare Sunday (similarly to the Third Sunday of Advent's Gaudete Sunday). Often called Rose Sunday due to the rose-colored vestments. It indicates a glimpse of the joy that awaits us at Easter, just before we enter the somber days of Passiontide.

The joy of Easter being around the corner is symbolized in a few other interesting liturgical possibilities. During Lent, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal forbids flowers adorning the altar. But on Laetare Sunday (as well as solemnities and feasts within the season), there's a temporary halt to these acts of penance! 

At one time, marriages were generally forbidden during Lent. Still, Laetare Sunday was often associated with a day when marriages could be celebrated during the penitential season. While marriages are now only forbidden on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, Laetare Sunday is still fitting for those wishing to be married before Eastertide.

 Laetare Sunday is the Church's way of giving us a "shot in the arm" as we approach the darkness and horror of the days through Good Friday and Holy Saturday. It's an opportunity to savor and keep in the back of our minds what awaits us on Easter Sunday — the reality that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and that our hearts will always be filled with joy!

  We are filled with joy this Saturday and next Saturday as our OLM First Communion Class will make their first confessions. They, too, will be filled with joy as they receive the grace of God's mercy and forgiveness in Sacramental Confession for the first time. Please pray for them.

Pope Francis said: "I ask you: have you ever thought that every time we go to the confessional, there is joy and celebration in heaven? Have you ever thought about that? It is beautiful and fills us with great hope because there is no sin to which we have stooped from which, by the grace of God, we cannot rise up again. There is no person who is beyond recovery, no one is beyond recovery. Because God never ceases to want what is good for us, even when we sin!"

Have you had a chance to make a good Confession during this Lent? If not, there are ample opportunities. Confession is offered daily at 11:45 am, every Monday at 6:00 pm with two priests, and every Saturday at 3:00 pm.   On Saturday, March 24, there will be All-Day Confessions from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm with four priests available. During Holy Week, additional times and priests will be available for Confession.   As Pope Francis said: "I ask you: have you ever thought that every time we go to the confessional, there is joy and celebration in heaven?" So make heaven celebrate with joy and make a good Confession.

Of course, there is also another occasion of joy at OLM. Next Sunday is St. Patrick's Day, so we rejoice for such a glorious saint. At the 10:30 am Mass, there will be readings in the Irish language and Irish music. And we are truly blessed to have Monsignor Séamus Horgan. Monsignor is a native son of Ireland and priest of the Diocese of Killaloe, established in the 7th Century. The Diocese comprises parts of the counties of Clare, Tipperary, Offaly, Limerick and Laois.

Monsignor is now the First Counsellor of the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to the United States of America. This means he serves as the Holy Father’s personal representative to the U.S., the Papal Nuncio, His Eminence Christophe Cardinal Pierre. Following the 10:30 am Mass, there will be a reception in the vestibule. Enjoy the Mass with its Irish hymns and readings, and join us in rejoicing with some Irish Soda Bread and Irish Coffee in honor of Glorious St. Patrick. It’s sure to be a grand time for all young and old. Remember, you don’t have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day; all are welcome!

   Be well. Do good. God Bless! Pray. Fast. Give Alms. See you at Stations of the Cross on Friday! 

Finishing Lent with Prayer, Fasting & Almsgiving

Dear Parishioners:                                 

We are at the halfway point of Lent. That means we still have three weeks until the Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Some people say that time passes quickly. But often, I hear people say that Lent seems so long.      Lent seems so long for two reasons. The first is completely objective: Lent is, in fact, the longest season of self-denial during the Church’s year. No other season requires sustained fasting from worldly pleasures like Lent. Many people make truly heroic sacrifices for six full weeks (without cheating on Sundays), such as giving up sugar, alcohol, red meat, curse words, gossip, and even cigars! Lent is not for spiritual wimps. It is for spiritual warriors willing to fight to express their devotion to God.

The second reason follows directly from the first. We are often unwilling to endure even the simplest sufferings over an extended period. We don’t like to go without a whole meal for a whole day. We don’t even like to go without snacks between meals for a whole day. Further, we don’t like the daunting task of forming a new and good spiritual habit.   For these dispositions of mind and heart, we must repent. We must allow Christ to teach us His way instead of our own (see Luke 9:23). We must never forget that our life on this earth is the only chance to prove our love for our Lord.

 It is about this time each year, about halfway through the spiritual boot camp and marathon that is Lent, that we should remind ourselves of the purpose of Lent. Recall that Jesus never promised that life as His disciple would be full of daily pleasurable experiences. Rather, He taught that the way to abundant life is through the ongoing death to self that one learns by detaching oneself from worldly cares and associations like food, money, lust, ego, and laziness. We take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow him. 

 The Scriptures remind us that the journey toward communion with Our Blessed Lord is arduous and requires great discipline and unending work. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we are imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly…but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:25-27). Here, the Apostle recognizes that the goal dictates the measures one takes to keep progressing. In the case of Christians, the goal of eternal happiness with God causes us to reject habits and vices that might destroy our souls.

  Another Scripture passage is from the letter to the Hebrews. The author writes to exhort his audience: “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). In this brief moment, the reader understands that heavy things prevent a runner from running quickly and effectively. In our spiritual lives, sin is that weight that keeps us from progressing toward the finish line.

With this heaviness in mind, the author offers encouragement by stating that we run while “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). Indeed, when we see and understand the crown of glory that we will share with Jesus Christ, the sufferings and trials endured along the way seem to vanish. We realize we can endure anything if the reward is so great as heavenly bliss.

Therefore, we should not lose heart during this second half of Lent. Rather, we should encourage one another to continue the effort to gain control over our minds and our bodies for God’s glory. And let’s never forget that this process always and only begins with His divine grace: we can do nothing alone. Any victory over Lent and spiritual death is ultimately His victory. To God belongs the glory, now and forever! Stay the course and continue to run the race of Lent!

I am away this week, preaching the Lenten Mission at St. William’s Parish in Naples, Florida. Please pray for me and the success of the Mission. Be well. Do good. God Bless! 

Make the Lenten Mission!

Dear Parishioners:                                 

We welcome our Lenten Mission Preacher, Father Francis McCarty, OSB, to OLM. He is preaching all the weekend Masses and offering a Mission Talk on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. The title of his Mission is "The Seven Words of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Lessons on Discipleship."             

Fr. Francis McCarty, OSB

Father Francis is a native of Manville, RI, and attended Mt. St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, where he later taught. He studied at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire and encountered the Benedictine Monks. Father entered the St. Anselm Monastery after teaching high school for a few years. He studied for the priesthood at St. John's Seminary in Boston with Fr. Mahoney and was ordained a priest in 2022. He resides at the St. Anselm Abbey and is the Campus Minister at St. Anselm College.

I first met him when he was 15. He was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scout Troop in Albion, where I served as pastor at St. Ambrose. Fr. Francis is an outstanding preacher, and I am sure you will enjoy his Mission. Join us for his Mission Talks on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights at 7 pm. Preceding the Mission Talks each night, four priests will be available for Confessions beginning at 6:00 pm.

It is customary for every parish to invite a priest to preach a Mission during Lent. The special goal of the Mission is threefold: To help fallen-away Catholics return to their faith, to convert tepid souls to fervor, and to encourage pious souls in their good resolutions to serve God. Just as Jesus and His Apostles went from town to town preaching the Kingdom of God, so the missionary comes to our parish to encourage us to give up sin and to practice your Catholic faith better. So make the Mission; it will enlighten your mind with God's Truth, help to detach your heart from sin, and strengthen your will with the love of God. Please pray for the success of our Lenten Mission

On Tuesday last week, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, appointed Fr. James Ruggeri, Pastor of St. Patrick and St. Michael Churches in Providence, as the thirteenth Bishop of Portland, Maine. He will be ordained a bishop on May 7. Bishop-elect James and I were ordained priests together at the Cathedral on June 24, 1995. I know him to be a wise, holy, and zealous priest who will surely be an outstanding bishop.

Bishop-elect James Ruggeri

The Diocese of Portland encompasses the entire state of Maine and is very large in geography. In fact, it has an area of 33,215 square miles and a population of 279,159 Catholics. In addition to its 48 parishes, it has nine elementary schools, one private elementary school, one diocesan high school, and one private high school. It also includes one Catholic college, Saint Joseph's College of Maine. Currently, 35 Diocesan priests and 18 religious order priests serve the Diocese. We offer our sincere best wishes and congratulations to Bishop-elect James and our promise of prayers.

I thank the 113 parishioners who generously pledged their gift to the Catholic Charity Appeal. We are off to a good start toward our parish goal of $190,000. Last year, 480 parish families helped us surpass our goal and raise over $277,000. I hope we do better this year and have 500 families support the Appeal. So please return your pledge envelope and help us surpass our goal. Every parish family must pray for and pledge a gift to the Catholic Charity Appeal to be truly successful.

How is your Lent going? Have you spent more time praying, fasting, and giving alms? If not, there is still time to begin with more enthusiasm and devotion. While Lent is forty days in imitation of our Lord's forty days of fasting and praying in the desert, it is a series of mini-Lents for us to pray, fast, and give alms. So if your Lent began a little unsteady, begin again and take up your cross.

One way is to join us on Friday night for Stations of the Cross at 7:00 pm. Take a fast from Wheel of Fortune and come pray together with Jesus as he walks the Way of the Cross. Another way is to make the Mission. Come out and make the Mission even if you can only make it one night. It will make your Lent and inspire you to pray, fast, and give alms with zeal and fervor!

Be well. Do good. God Bless! Pray. Fast. Give Alms. Hope to see you at the Mission Talks this week and Stations on Friday at 7:00 pm!  

Our Duty to Give Alms

Dear Parishioners:                                

Of the three pillars of Lent — prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — almsgiving is often neglected. And yet, the only place in the Old Testament that brings all three together puts the emphasis firmly on the last: "Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness … It is better to give alms than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life" (Tob 12:8-9).

Why is almsgiving better than prayer and fasting? Because it is prayer and involves fasting. Almsgiving is a form of prayer because it is "giving to God, " not mere philanthropy. It is a form of fasting because it demands sacrificial giving — not just giving something, but giving up something until it hurts. For many, almsgiving means making a sacrificial gift to the Catholic Charity Appeal or another worthwhile charity like CRS Operation Rice Bowl or OLM Outreach.

Pope Benedict XVI said: "Almsgiving is not mere philanthropy; rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross, gave his entire self for us."

Lent allows us to cultivate a sacrificial spirit of generosity and charity. It allows us to share what we have and who we are with other people. It puts us in communion with others and helps us understand that we are all members of the Body of Christ. Keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).

Charity does indeed begin at home, where we daily make a choice to give our time, our attention, and our talent and give generously. But charity does not stop there because, for Catholics, "home" is universal, and our family is as big as the world. St. Pope John Paul II asked us to see and be seen by "the human face of poverty."

Bishop Henning visits residents of Emmanuel House Homeless Shelter with Catholic Charities Director Jim Jahnz. Emmanuel House is funded by the Catholic Charity Appeal.

We have a unique opportunity to see and be seen by "the human face of poverty" this weekend in supporting the Catholic Charity Appeal. This Annual Appeal supports numerous ministries and social programs of the Diocese of Providence, providing charitable, social, educational, and spiritual support to thousands of Rhode Islanders each year. The Catholic Charity Appeal's funded services include social service ministries providing direct support to the poor, the hungry, and the homeless, immigration and refugee services, emergency rent, utilities, prescription, and medical aid and assistance.

In addition, our Church provides social service ministries that assist the sick and elderly, Chaplaincies at State Hospitals and Prisons, child care programs for low-income families, and financial and scholarship aid to students with financial need to attend Rhode Island Catholic schools.

We can be proud as Catholics in Rhode Island that we are the second largest provider of social services after the state government. Our Catholic Charity Appeal funds this vast network of charitable works. We can also be proud as Our Lady of Mercy parishioners that we lead the state in donating to the Catholic Charity Appeal.

I am most grateful to Jerry and Kim O'Connell and Mike and Lee Mita, who once again have generously agreed to serve as the Chairpersons of the CCA here at OLM. I will preach at all Masses about the critical need for your spiritual and financial support of the CCA.

We ask every parish family to prayerfully consider a pledge of $300 payable over the next year. That is $25 per month to enable the good works of our Church to continue to serve the poorest and neediest among us. For those who can afford more, we ask you to please consider the Bishop's Partnership in Charity with a pledge of $1,000 or more. For those who have already pledged their gift, know of my sincere thanks and gratitude. With your prayers and support,

I am confident we can once again surpass our CCA goal of $190,000. Thank you for your generous support and prayers for the success of the CCA! St. Mother Teresa said: “Charity isn’t about pity; it is about love.” Pray, fast, and give alms. See you at Stations of the Cross on Friday. Get ready for the Lenten Mission next weekend. Be well. Do good. God Bless!