The Pharisee and the tax collector are presented to the worshipping community in this Sunday’s Gospel as models of prayer: the one to be shunned; the other to be emulated. The Pharisee’s …
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10/20/22
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When Martin Luther renounced the Catholic Church’s traditional framework and declared the Bible to be the sole rule of faith, he received a considerable amount of support from the Christian …
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10/13/22
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Mass every Sunday was an integral part of my young life, as was true for most and likely all of my neighborhood friends. The 9 a.m. Sunday Mass was the children’s Mass and all were expected to …
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10/6/22
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In the depths of the lower library at the former Our Lady of Providence Seminary at Warwick Neck was a book entitled, “The Thirteenth: Greatest of Centuries.” The hefty tome was authored …
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9/29/22
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When the Ukrainian invasion by Russia first occurred six months ago, the prayers of many rightfully begged God for a swift and safe resolution to this unhappy conflict. The neighborhood Ukrainian …
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9/22/22
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The Old Testament Book of Tobit is a fanciful tale of Jewish life about two hundred years before Christ. Prayers, psalms, and aphorisms blend a chilling narrative about persecution with a charming …
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9/15/22
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The Catholic people of Rhode Island have annually displayed great generosity toward the retired priests of the diocese. Last year a total of $268,000 was donated by parishioners to the Senior …
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9/8/22
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Sometime ago this e-mail message was received at St. Ambrose Church in Albion where I have been helping with week-end Masses since retirement. The communication reads: “To whom it may concern: …
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8/25/22
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The scriptural commentary on the New Testament found in the authorized New American Bible suggests that the Magnificat, traditionally considered to be Mary’s hymn of praise in response to her …
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8/11/22
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Another servant of God canonized this past Spring was Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916). He was an heir, a soldier, a roué, a geographer, a monk and a hermit. St. Charles is an …
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7/28/22
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According to the First Official Directory and Information Guide for the Diocese of Providence (1953), the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary (PM) staffed St. Ambrose school in Albion, St. Vincent …
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7/14/22
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Josef Ratzinger, later known to the world as Pope Benedict XVI, was born at 4:30am on Holy Saturday, April 28, 1927. Later that same morning, at 8:30am, the future pontiff’s father took the …
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6/30/22
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Worshipers who joyously and gratefully gather at the Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul this coming weekend to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Providence will notice …
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6/23/22
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The taking of the Blessed Cup at a Catholic Mass is just as important to the full meaning of the sacrament as the reception of the Sacred Host. The Body must be eaten and the Blood must be drunk, at …
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6/16/22
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Probably the most often repeated words within the Christian community are: “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Every liturgical celebration and each pious …
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6/9/22
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Little did Adam and Eve think that their initial disobedience would have worldwide repercussions. First, their son Cain sadly follows their bad example and slays his brother Abel out of envy. Then, …
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6/2/22
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Undoubtedly one of the happiest decisions of the Second Vatican Council was the restoration of the diaconate to favorable status within Catholic parish life. The Diocese of Providence recently …
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5/26/22
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Certainly, the longest running feud within the Judaeo-Christian tradition is the struggle between faith and works. The first generation of Christians inherited from their Jewish ancestors a tendency …
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5/19/22
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The most recognizable emblem of Christianity is indeed the Cross. Church steeples, Catholic sanctuaries, and parish graveyards testify to Calvary’s solemn instrument of torture. The Cross holds …
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5/12/22
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From the days of Pope Pius IX, in the mid-nineteenth century, through the brief papacy of Pope St. John XXIII, mid-twentieth century, Roman Catholicism was, indeed, a centralized establishment. Pius …
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5/5/22
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