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November 14, 2021Dear Parishioners,
This past week we celebrated as a nation Veterans Day. On November 11, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called upon all citizens of the United States to observe that day as Veterans Day. In his proclamation he told us: “On [this] day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting and enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.” Veterans Day gives us an opportunity to offer grateful thanks to the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend and protect our precious liberties. We give thanks to our military service men and woman who make it possible for us to gather in peace every day. We remember those who have served, those who continue to serve our country whether at home or abroad, those still suffering the effects of their generous response in times of national need, those families who’s loved ones are away on deployment, and those who gave their lives in the line of duty.
This past week I had the opportunity on Tuesday evening to join many other priests from the Diocese of Providence for our Biannual Priest Convocation. Every two years the diocese organizes three days of continuing education and fraternity for the priests. This year Bishop Robert Reed, auxiliary Bishop of Boston, presented on how the parts of our ministry mediate an awareness of the presence of God. In particular, he showed how all the parts of our priesthood connect to, and find full expression in the Mass. As we hear from Vatican II: “the Mass is the source and summit of the Christian life.” Bishop Reed explained the significance of those words for the daily life of a priest. This convocation and others help my brother priests and I stay focused on our ministry. It also enriches our knowledge and understanding. For that I am grateful.
This upcoming week we begin altar server training. The altar server has a wonderful role: to help parishioners and priests worship God. This role also teaches self-discipline, responsibility, etiquette, posture, teamwork, and leadership skills. Finally, this is a concrete way to build treasure in heaven and offer thanksgiving back to God for the gifts and talents that a person has received. Training takes four days to ensure that the servers know all the parts of the Mass. Day one begins with vocabulary, posture, and recognizing the important parts in the church. Servers will learn words such as “chalice,” “paten,” “sanctuary,” and “cruet.” They will learn how to stand, sit, and kneel. Day two and three training includes the parts of the Mass from holding the book, ringing the bells, and setting up the altar. The final day of training is a dress rehearsal. The servers vest in altar server garb and serve an entire Mass. There are many rules when it comes to serving Mass. The most important rule I tell servers, however, is “do not distract the congregation.” Mistakes will happen, parts forgotten, but a server must not distract those trying to worship God. We give thanks to God for our servers and their families.
You may have noticed bushes and vegetation missing on the north side of the church. In addition to cleaning up our bushes and trees for the season, our landscaping company removed the dead shrubs and bushes along that side of the church. We plan on redoing that area and beautifying it some time in the future.
As you can probably tell in the bulletin, we have many outreach programs and activities this month. Whether at the local nursing homes or food pantries, we can be proud of our parish’s commitment to helping others.
God bless,
Fr. Barrow
