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October 3, 2021Dear Parishioners,
Our parish feast day is here! On October 1st the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, also known as St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Even though October 1st falls on a weekday this year, the Church allows us to celebrate St. Teresa during the weekend Masses as a solemnity. We distinguish three different types of celebrations: Memorials, feasts, and solemnities. Each have different liturgical elements (for instance, we pray the Gloria and Creed on a solemnity, but only the Gloria on a feast day). As our patroness, we celebrate St. Teresa as a solemnity, decorate her statue, and ask for her intercession this weekend.
This Sunday, October 3rd we restart our Children’s Liturgy of the Word. A very big thank you to our volunteers for giving their time and example to evangelize the children of the parish through scripture. Instructing others about the Bible is one of the corporeal works of mercy. St. Ignatius reminds us: “ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” How blessed we are to know the scriptures, know Christ, and pass on that knowledge to the next generation.
On Monday, September 27th I celebrated Mass at Pawtucket Falls Nursing Home. The staff and activities directors helped organize the liturgy and bring some of the residents to the Mass. Our fellow Catholics there had not participated in the Mass for at least a year due to Covid. It was good to bring our Lord to them to nourish them spiritually during these times. We learn an important lesson: never take the ability to go to Mass for granted. There may come a point in our lives when we will not be able to receive Christ in the Eucharist due to illness, age, or other reason. We treasure the opportunities we have now. We pray for those who go without Him, or for those whose love for Christ in the Mass has grown cold.
We dedicate the month of October to Mary. This is in honor of Our Lady’s constant intercession and protection. We also celebrate Mary under her title: Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th. This Feast commemorates the miraculous victory of Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Before the battle Pope St. Pius V instructed the faithful to pray the rosary for deliverance. After the victory he instituted the feast; attributing the victory to the “arms” of the Rosary. We will have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the recitation of the rosary and benediction every Monday in October. Our prayers directed to Christ through Mary can have a tremendous impact in our families, our communities and the world.
The parish has a new phone system. For those who call the parish, the experience should largely remain the same. The emergency line for the Sacrament of Anointing remains as well. The new system runs on VoIP technology. That means that calls to and from the parish happen over the internet rather than over a traditional land line. While saving us money, the system also seems to be working great.
Finally, the parish website received a little update. It is still a work in progress, but you can now find a listing of “upcoming events,” “pastor’s column” and easier access (hopefully) to the bulletins, schedules and sacramental information.
God bless,
Fr. Barrow
