Dear Parishioners, I forgot to mention in last week’s bulletin that our school email addresses were not working for the months of July and August. Fortunately, the emails are up and running once again (and just in time). We took the opportunity to make the emails slightly easier to remember and type into an email client. The new ending for the emails is now @stspawtucket.com. If you sent an email to any school email address over the summer I apologize that you did not get a response, but that was the reason. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, School is right around the corner. Our first day of school is next Wednesday, August 28th. All summer the faculty, staff, and volunteers of St. Teresa School have been hard at work getting the school ready. The classrooms on the second floor were all painted. New whiteboards and new cork boards replaced aging boards. Floors were polished and skylights cleaned. Curricula were revamped. We have several new teachers (including an additional Pre-K class). The list goes on! A very big thanks goes out to all who helped this summer (particularly in the grueling heat). Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, For the month of August we have been reading from chapter six of St. John’s Gospel. It is one of the main proof texts for the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Eucharist, the Mass, and the Real Presence. If anyone ever doubts the Real Presence, direct them to read John 6. But it also seemed appropriate to speak this weekend not only about the Real Presence, but about what the Eucharist actually does. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners,             I think that by the time you read this at least one hallway will have been completed in the church. As I said last week, in addition to painting the exterior of the church and the rectory, we are also having the main interior entrances of the church painted. It has been several years since Fr. Joe had the church renovated and the wood and the paint in those hallways needed restoration. Once all of these projects are completed I plan to post on our parish Facebook page before and after pictures (I will also have a poster board or two made as well). Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, There is a lot to talk about in this bulletin column! I apologize for the lack of one last week. First, we have two new people on staff. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners,             I do not want to alarm anyone, but this week you will see lots of Pawtucket police cars in our school parking lot. The police department reached out to see if they could use our school building for training. Since this week our students are on vacation, we are able to provide this space for the department to use for their training. So do not worry this week when you see all of the police cars. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners,             The joy of Christ’s resurrection continues this weekend. For the past week the Church throughout the world continued to celebrate Easter. The great news of Christ’s triumph over sin and death cannot be contained to a single day. So this past week the prayers and readings at Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours all focused on the empty tomb and the encounter with the Risen Christ. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners,             Happy Easter! Or in the ancient Greek: Christos Anesti (Christ is Risen). To which we make the response: Alithos Anesti (Truly, He is Risen). Nothing is more important than what we celebrate on Easter. As St. Paul reminds us: If Christ has not been raised, our faith is vain. The Resurrection is central to our faith; sin and death defeated. Please click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Five weeks ago, we stood in the church and received ashes. We were reminded of our mortality, our sinfulness, and our need for penance and prayer. Those ashes were the remnant of Palm Sunday branches from last year. This year we once again receive new palm branches. This symbolizes new growth and rebirth. This begs the question: have we experienced new spiritual growth and rebirth these days of Lent, or are the only things new in our lives the palms in our hands? Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Beginning this weekend on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the last two weeks in the season of Lent are called Passiontide. Now the Church shifts her focus from Christ in the desert (the Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent) to Christ during His Passion. Our Lenten Mission begins this week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 7:00PM. Fr. Jordan Zajac O.P. will teach us how to “Holy Week and a Holier You: Understanding the Sacred Triduum.” In addition, on Monday night at 6:00PM we will have confessions available. Holy Week is all about the Passion account in the Gospels, but what is it? Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Back to regularly scheduled programming. We have the dates for our parish Lenten Mission: March 18th, 19th, and 20th. Each day the mission begins at 7:00pm. On Monday, March 18th at 6:00pm we will have two priests hearing confession prior to the talk. Finally on Wednesday, March 20th in addition to the talk, we will also have Eucharistic Adoration. The theme this year is: “Holy Week and a Holier You: Understanding the Sacred Triduum.” Each night of the mission details a different way we can understand Holy Week. The mission preacher is Fr. Jordan Zajac, O.P. from Providence College. Fr. Zajac is an excellent preacher and devoted follower of Christ. He teaches in the English department at Providence College. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, I would like to pause my usual Lenten reflections to comment on a recent news headline and the corresponding Church teaching. A few weeks ago, an Alabama supreme court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered “extrauterine children.” In other words, embryos, whether inside or outside the womb, are human beings. This ruling came in response to a lawsuit by several parents who used a process known as “in vitro fertilization” or IVF. IVF extracts sperm and egg from a man and a woman, and then those are joined in a lab to conceive an embryo. In this process several embryos are formed. These embryos are then either implanted in the woman, or they are stored using cryogenic freezing. The lawsuit came about because a patient at a hospital with a cryogenic nursery entered the nursery and dropped embryos on the floor, killing them. The parents of those embryos sued. The ruling of the court made a simple claim: “The Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.” Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, As I was listing the announcements last weekend one thought crossed my mind: there is a lot going on! It is a happy reality about our parish (albeit I also understand if some people were thinking: “will these announcements ever end!?”), whether in our growing participation in ministries, our vibrant parish groups (and new ones), or even in the sounds of children crying at Mass. As an aside: hearing crying children at Mass is a good thing because it means our parish has a future. One of our parish groups, the Seniors, recently donated a new microwave oven to the church hall kitchen. I want to thank them for their generosity (the old microwave was more of a hazard than a convenience). Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, You might have noticed a garbage bin outside the parish garage. A few weeks ago during one of the severe storms, tiles from the garage roof were blown clean off. I contacted McKenna Roofing who responded quickly and efficiently to replace the roof. Fortunately, our insurance company was able to cover a small portion of the replacement. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Last Sunday I attended a celebration of St. Thomas Aquinas at Providence College. In attendance were the Dominican priests of the college, the Nashville Dominican Sisters who help at the college and at St. Pius V Parish in Providence, and many diocesan priests. Bishop Henning was also in attendance; once again showing that he is very active in the diocese. The celebration began with Sung Evening Prayer. When Seminarian Joseph Brodeur stayed with us one summer, we had Sung Evening Prayer at the parish. It is a great way to pray, and I hope to bring it back in the future. Following prayer everyone gathered for a nice meal and conversation. As Catholics we have a rich tradition of religious orders and communities and the Dominicans are a great example. We are fortunate that we have them here in the diocese. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Bishop Henning has started a new initiative: each month he will send parishes newsletters to put in our bulletins. These newsletters allow him to speak to us directly, keep us informed, and share important information. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, It’s a new year and already a lot has been happening throughout the parish. The past few storms with heavy winds and rain have taken their toll on the roof of the garage. You may have stepped over a few of the tiles that flew off on your way to church! That roof was already old and showing signs of needing replacement. So, in the next few weeks the roof will be replaced. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope that everyone had a blessed day. Here at the parish we had the Mass at 9:00am. At every Mass we join the Son in His offering of perfect thanks and love to the Father through the Holy Spirit. Hence we call the Mass: Eucharist, which means “Thanksgiving” in Greek. We also had our traditional blessing and distribution of bread for the Thanksgiving table. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, In this week’s bulletin you will find the parish’s Annual Report. This report is a summary of the major expenses and income for the parish that enables us to worship God, come together as a community, and help our neighbors. In our faith lives we strive for holiness, but bound here on earth we also have to deal with concrete realities like snow plowing and electricity. When I was in seminary some of my fellow seminarians would say: “I am not going to be ordained to take care of buildings.” While the essence of the priesthood is the celebration of the Sacraments, the preaching of God’s Word, and the care of God’s people, being a “father” also includes making sure the roof does not cave in. So, to ensure that we can receive the Sacraments in a beautiful space and have the ability to help those in need, finances are a major part of our parish. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, During the entire month of October, I preached about the Mass during the homily. We have another chance to learn more about the Eucharist. Mr. Cole DeSantis will present on “The Eucharist, Salvation and Union with God” on Friday November 17th at 6pm in the church hall. Here is a brief description of his presentation: The Eucharist was described by the Second Vatican Council as the “Source and Summit of the Christian Life.” The Eucharist is rooted in the Sacrificial Death and Resurrection of Christ, and in the Eucharist, Christ becomes present under the appearance of bread and wine. Through receiving the Eucharist, Christ becomes present in the soul in the most direct and intimate way possible this side of heaven, thereby deepening the union with God established in our Baptism. In this presentation, we will explore the nature of the spiritual union between God and creation, and how this union is deepened through the reception of the Eucharist. I hope to see you there. Click the title to read more.