Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church

         LENTEN SCHEDULE 2025

                    Ash Wednesday Mass: Mar. 5^th 8:00 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.

                                                                                         Confessions:  Mar. 10^th– Apr. 14^th 

                              Every Monday During Lent:  6:30 p.m.

          Every Friday during Lent: Stations of the Cross: Mar. 7^th– Apr. 11^th at 7 p.m.

                 Divine Mercy Chaplet: Sun., Apr. 27^th at 3:00 p.m.
                              Confessions After Chaplet is Finished

              The Passion of the LORD: Easter Mass Schedules:

                           Apr. 12^th: Vigil for Palm Sunday at 4 p.m.

                          Apr. 13^th: Palm Sunday: 8:30 a.m.; 10:30 a.m.

                    Apr. 17^th: Holy Thursday:  The Lord’s Supper at 7 p.m.

                           Apr. 18^th: Good Friday Service at 3 p.m.

                              The Resurrection of the LORD!

                             Apr. 19^th: Easter Vigil at 8 p.m.
                 

                      Apr. 20^th: Easter Sunday: At 8:30 a.m.; 10:30 a.m.

        How To Improve Your Confessions!

When you enter the confessional, please indicate your “state of life“ that means are you single, married, widowed, separated, consecrated religious, clergy, third order, religious, teenager, etc.

When you confess your sins, to the best of your ability, you need to confess not only the sin, but also the quantity. If you are not exactly sure, is it a daily thing? Is it something that just happens when you are stressed? Is it something that happens every weekend? Etc. etc.

Each night make an examination of conscience and say an active contrition. It will help you do better remember things for your next confession. We need to go to confession more frequently if we are not there at least when we are in mortal sin and aiming for at least once each season (spring, summer, fall, winter). It is good for our soul every time if we make a complete and sincere confession. We do not have to wait for a mortal sin.

Always confess those things that are hardest for you to break from so that the grace of God may be given a better opportunity to work on them for you.

                                 Praise be Christ Jesus now and forever
                                               Rev. M. David Dawson

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                                   MARCH FOR LIFE

Why “March for Life” at the Capitol Building on March19, 2025?

Because abortion is a silent holocaust, and marching draws attention to the atrocities. There is power and strength in numbers. 

Because of the connections and unity, you will find. You are with like-minded people.

Because the nation is dying. Millions of babies are killed through abortion.

Because a true feminist attitude is a pro-life attitude. A real woman protects her young — whether by raising her child or by letting another adopt her child.

Because justice matters. Justice in the courts and justice in the womb.

Because the old song and cliché are correct: children are the future. What future do we have when babies are killed at will? 

Because of the civil rights movement. Abortion is a civil rights issue. 

Because for every 1,000 babies conceived. More than 200 babies are killed by abortion. 

Because you can “March for Life.” In Hartford MARCH 19, 2025.

Because every life is really a gift. Help to end abortion MARCH.

                    March for Life March 16, 2025 Itinerary                                   

10:45 am - Vehicle Onsite at Our Lady of Mercy Parish Center,19 S. Canal St.,PLV.

11:00 am - Bus will depart from Our Lady of Mercy Parish Center

11:45 am - Bus will arrive at Connecticut State Capitol, 210 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT 

                  Bag Lunches will be distributed

12:00 pm – Rally with various speakers (Bring your signs)

1:00 pm – March around Bushnell Park

2:30 pm - Bus will depart from Connecticut State Capitol, 210 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT

3:00pm - Bus will arrive at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 19 S. Canal St, Plainville, CT

Bus transportation and  lunch provided courtesy of Our Lady of Mercy Parish

Sign up at the Gathering Area in the church. Maximum capacity for the bus is 50 seats.
 

Our Lady of Mercy Retreat
for Men & Women
Franciscan Life Center
Saturday, March 22, 2025
9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

A day of reflection on the gift of the Eucharist. As Catholics, how do we grow in appreciation in our daily lives of this profound gift. The day includes prayer, presentations, and discussions.
 

Deadline to Register is March 14, 2025

To register in advance, contact:

Our Lady of Mercy Parish Office at 860-747-6825

(Price per person is $30 and can be paid the day of the retreat. Checks made out to Franciscan Life Center.)

Location: Franciscan Life Center

Chiara Center Building

275 Finch Ave., Meriden, CT 06451

                                      Little Things Can Mean A Lot

      There are things about Holy Mass that a lot of people lose sight of over time. There are times a person perhaps never even knew some things about Mass after a lifetime of attendance. Here are a few tidbits for you to ponder. 

¨      Did you know that every Catholic is required to fast for at least an hour prior to Mass/communion? Unless you have something medical (low blood sugar or the like) only water and medicine are otherwise permissible. What about cough drops? Are they medically NEEDED to prevent coughing of course would qualify? Coffee? only if you are skipping communion. Not too long ago, historically speaking, the fast used to be from twelve midnight the night before.

¨           Did you know that once the Eucharistic Prayer has begun, the priest has to continue no matter what happens? If there is an emergency in the Church, the priest and the Mass are to continue. You would be surprised things that have happened and we needed to continue.

¨           There is a maximum to the number of Masses a priest may celebrate in a day, by Canon Law. There are multiple reasons for this, but a priest is only to do one ordinary single Mass on a weekday but an extra can done for "pastoral necessity" (ie. Funeral or retirement home or VERY special occasion.) For a Sunday/holy day up to one Mass and one extra for pastoral necessity.

        A person may request to be dispensed from their obligation to Holy Mass by their pastor, for a particular important and rare occasion. (Ie. We want to go on a cruise for our 25th anniversary. Or something on that level.)
                                   Praise be Christ Jesus now and forever.

                                                  Rev. M. David Dawson

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           2025 -  Jubilee Year In The Church

2025 has been declared a Jubilee year in the Church. This usually happens every 25 years. These go back to the time of the Old Testament. It is meant to be a time of celebration and remembrance. It starts the first day of Advent. The archdiocese of Hartford and the Vatican have not yet stipulated how this will come impact the diocesan or parish level yet.
 

Here is a definition from Catholic Encyclopedia: 
 For the Israelites (see HEBREW YEAR OF JUBILEE), the year of Jubilee was in any case preeminently a time of joy, the year of remission or universal pardon. "Thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year," we read in Leviticus 25:10, "and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee."

 Every seventh year, like every seventh day, was always accounted holy and set aside for rest, but the year which followed seven complete cycles was to be kept as a sabbatical year of special solemnity. The Talmudists and others afterwards disputed whether the Jubilee Year was the forty-ninth or the fiftieth year, the difficulty being that in the latter case two sabbatical years must have been observed in succession.

 Further, there are historical data which seem to show that in the age of the Maccabees the Jubilee of the fiftieth year could not have been kept, for 164-163 B.C. and 38-37 B.C. were both certainly sabbatical years, which they could not have been if two sabbatical years had been intercalated in the interval. However, the text of Leviticus (25:8-55) leaves no room for ambiguity that the fiftieth year was intended, and the institution evidently bore a close analogy with the feast of Pentecost, which was the closing day after seven weeks of harvest. 

In any case it is certain that the Jubilee period, as it was generally understood and adopted afterwards in the Christian Church, meant fifty and not forty-nine years; but at the same time the number fifty was not originally arrived at because it represented half a century, but because it was the number that followed seven cycles of seven.
 Praise be Christ Jesus now and forever
 Rev. M. David Dawson

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                ********   Inclement Weather   ******** 

               Whether you love it or loathe it, it is a fact. This always leads to questions like:  “If there is bad weather do I still need to go to Mass?” That is a fair question. Here are some things to consider when reaching a decision. Can I confidently get to Mass and back home safely?  Would I be willing to go to the Superbowl or anywhere else in this weather? Christ is more important than even Superbowl tickets!  With my health is it prudent to go to Mass in these conditions?  A related question: Will there still be Mass when there is bad weather? I live across the street from the Church. By God’s holy grace I do not have another church to get to, so its pretty easy for me to be here. If the weather were so very bad, that I cannot get there,  you probably should not be considering it. 

Attached is the kids' bulletin for the week of August 25, 2024. Please print it and share with your children and grandchildren. Enjoy!
 Click on this link to open: Kids' Bulletin
*A printed copy will be available at all Masses.* 

Find out how much Jesus loves us when we go to Mass and receive the Eucharist in this inspiring video!         

We, the people of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Plainville, Connecticut are committed to journey together as a community of faith, hope, and love within the Catholic tradition.  We are called to witness to the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives through sharing and celebration of faith and a life of Christian Service.

Dear Padre,

My neighbor is a fundamentalist Christian. He said I won't be "saved" unless I accept Jesus as my personal savior.  Didn't Jesus become my savior when I was baptized?

Your neighbor is probably referring to John 3:7, when Jesus told Nicodemus, "You must be born anew."  Jesus is talking about a spiritual rebirth; we must have a spiritual birth in order to be saved.

As you have correctly noted, Catholics believe this happens at baptism. In John 3:5, Jesus says, "No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit."

We are saved by the waters of baptism. But for Catholics, it's not merely a one-time event.  We continue to accept or reject the salvation offered us by the decisions we make every day.

Your neighbor used the words "personal savior."  Catholic Christians go even deeper through the sacraments.  We develop and nurture a very personal relationship with Jesus by regularly receiving the Eucharist.  In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we admit we have sinned and ask Jesus to forgive us.  And in the Sacrament of Confirmation, our relationship is "sealed" with the gifts of the Spirit.  

Many Catholics also celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage. The couple's personal relationship with Jesus is deepened through the love the couple shares.

So tell your neighbor you are indeed saved by Jesus.  And because you are saved, you deepen that relationship with Jesus by living a sacramental life.

Fr. Patrick Keyes, CSSR

       Weekend Masses

             Sunday 
 8:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. 

 Liturgy of the Word         for Children is            celebrated at the         10:30 a.m. Mass

   Monday   6:00 p.m.          starting 10/14/24. 

   Tuesday- Saturday
            8:00 a.m.

         Wednesday
           NO Mass

      Friday: 8:30 a.m.              Exposition of the              Blessed Sacrament                   followed by               Adoration & Benediction

*************************       CONFESSIONS

       Confessions are celebrated each week at 12:00 p.m. on Saturdays
For an Examination of Conscience go here. 

 

The Office is Located at:
19 South Canal Street,
Plainville, CT 06062
Office Hours are 
Monday - Thursday:
     9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., afternoons by appointment only


 
Phone:  860-747-6825
Fax:  860-747-5407
Email: Administration@olmct.org