Dear Parishioners, This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving. I hope that everyone had a blessed day. Here at the parish we had the Mass at 9:00am. After the Mass we had our traditional blessing and handing out of bread for families. We purchased the bread from Bachini’s bakery. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Our parish bazaar was a big success. Vendors, shoppers, parishioners, volunteers, and families came in great numbers Saturday and Sunday last weekend. It was good to see so many people come together not simply to buy goods, but also to simply come together. As you can imagine such an event does not happen on its own. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Nicole Latendresse, our bazaar coordinator, and her many volunteers from our St. Teresa Cheerleaders. The bazaar would not have happened without her. She was not alone. Thank you to Al Hervieux for planning and coordinating. Likewise, I want to thank John Bianchi who provided the delicious food throughout the weekend and his kitchen and cleaning crew. I think we had a lot of fun serving up clam cakes, chowder, chicken tenders, and chili cheese fries (a late favorite). I also want to thank Kathy Sowa and her crew of volunteers at the Penny Social and 50/50 raffle. This involved a lot of work organizing the gifts, calling the numbers, taking names and everything else needed. Thank you so much to everyone who donated goods, baskets, gifts, and items (they were all very popular!). Thank you to our Seniors, Knitters, and Sewers Group who provided and ran a parish table of knitted goods to support the parish. There were many impressive pieces for sale. Finally, thank you to the Scouts who helped set up the hall for the event (especially hauling the chairs out of the hall to give us more space). In a word, thank you to everyone who helped make this a success. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, As I write this column it looks like former President Donald Trump will be reelected as the 47th president of the United States. Regardless of the outcome, Jesus Christ is still king. He has conquered sin and death. So no matter how an election turns out, or how the political winds turn either for or against us, the victory is ultimately ours. I have to say that election day here at St. Teresa went very smoothly (as far as I could tell). People and pollsters were cordial in the church hall. There were supporters of candidates set up at various parts near the church and so the day was filled with honks from car horns of support as people would drive by. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, I apologize for the lack of a column last week. We had so many ads and events going on that I wanted to make sure that we had enough space to include all of them in the bulletin. Just this past week in fact we had a blood drive, a presentation on Medicare enrollment, and a presentation on Catholic Principles in Politics. This week we prepare for our parish bazaar during the weekend of November 9th and 10th. I hope to see you there! You might even see me working the kitchen. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, A few weeks ago we heard Christ’s striking words: “Therefore what God has joined together human beings must not separate.” He was talking about the unbreakable bond of sacramental marriage. In the homily that weekend I explained that the Church does not have divorce because of this unbreakable bond. Of course I can only fit so much in a homily (unless many would like me to go longer; just let me know), and so more questions need answering, especially since we do not live in a perfect world. Many enter marriage with the best of intentions only to find a completely different situation later on. So I would like to provide some answers to questions surrounding annulments, divorce, and remarriage in the weeks to follow. Click the link to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Last weekend we celebrated our patroness St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. In addition to talking about her love of the Eucharist I would also like to explore her life as a religious in more detail. Entrance into religious life is a unique vocation. One finds in the document “Essential Elements in the Church’s teaching on Religious Life” that this is rooted in the gift of baptism, yet it is not given to all of the baptized. It is freely given and unmerited, and those who accept this invitation enjoy a special gift of grace in the Church, and thereby contribute to the saving mission of Christ in a particular way. It is marked by the essential elements of 1) consecration by public vows, 2) communion in community, 3) evangelical mission, 4) prayer, 5) ascetism, 6) public witness, 7) relation to the Church, and 8) formation. Click the title to read more.

Dear 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. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, The lift is back! As the painting project continues, you will notice a lift in the parking lot. This is needed to reach the higher areas of the church and rectory such as the two crosses on the church and the tops of the columns. I am happy to say that work is going well. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Last week we celebrated Labor Day. The Church’s mission entails the good of humanity. Work is an essential part of human life. So, the Church’s social teaching necessarily discusses and elaborates on the dignity of work. From the beginning work was a part the very fabric of creation. “On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken” (Genesis 2:2). In God’s original plan, mankind was meant to participate in the work of God; caring for creation. This past May Pope Francis elaborated on this participation. He said: “Human labor is the vocation that mankind received from God ever since the creation of the universe. It is work that makes us similar to God, because through work men and women act as creators, and are capable of creating many things, even of creating a family.” Even the Son of God worked during his time here on earth as the crowd asked: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” Click the title to read more.

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.