VOL. 49, NO.5¡ Friday, February 4, 2005
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FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year
~ Lenten Station Churches will focus
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; on Mass and eucharistic adoration ~
Forty parishes will hold daylong adoration and two daily Masses. By DEACON JAMES N.
DUNBAR
FALL RIVER - Taking a page from Church history, day-long eucharistic adoration will be held each Lenten weekday in one of 40 different parishes _~/ across the Fall River diocese, which will also offer a Mass each morning and another in the e v e n i n g . ' "Lenten Station Churches is modeled on an idea that Pope Gregory the Great came up with, as he would visit the churches of his city throughout Lent," said Father Rodney E. Thibault, who suggested the practice in this diocese. "This tradition goes back to the Fourth Century, and having lived and st~died in Rome for five years, I was part ont for that time," he told The Anchor. "I thought because our diocese was not too large geographically we could get from church to church easily, especially in our cities where we have so many of them." "And in this Year ofthe Eucharist proclaimed by
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Rules for Lent Wednesday, February 9 Is Ash Wednesday. The Church's regulations for the Lenten season follow: abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays during Lent and Good FrIday for those aged 14 and older; Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are to be observed as days of fasting for those aged 18 to 59. Fasting is defined as eating only one full meal nod two light meals during the day. Bating between meals Is not permitted; however, liquids are permitted.
Pope John Paul II since last October and to extend to next October, what unites us better than celebrating Mass and the Eucharist as our source and summit?" he said. At a time when the diocese is facing pastoral planning and the possibility of parish mergers and closing, "what's a more unifying way than to let -. . people know it's the same Eucharist at Cor"\. pus Christ Parish in East Sandwich as it \ is at Notre Dame Parish in Fall River?" \ Father Thibault noted. "It is not a difi ferent Jesus but the same one. It is he ! who unites us." He said the idea of the Lenten days / of adoration in a different church each day "seemed a good idea and I passed it along to Msgr. Stephen J. Avila, diocesan director of the Office of Worship, and he brought it to the Year of the Eucharist Committee, which he chairs. It was approved by Bishop George W. Coleman and here were are." Msgr. Avila, who also lived the Rome experience, called Station Churches "a wonderful initiative for unification right here in our dioTum to page 13 - Churches
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In Lenten message, pope says families must help the elderly By CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
VATICAN CITY - Advances in science and medicine have allowed people to live longer, but families and governments must help the elderly live those added years in a full and dignified manner, said Pope John Paul II. The 84-year-old pontiff dedicated his 2005 Lenten message to the gift of longevity. The pope told people to always "remain open and welcoming" toward older people, especially those who are weak, sick or suffering. "The care of the elderly, above all when they pass through difficult moments, must be of great concern to all the faithful," especially in Western countries where older people often struggle to find a place in society, the pope said in his written message, released January 27 at the Vatican. "Human life is a precious gift to be loved and defended in each
of its stages," he said. The commandment "You shall not kill" applies to life's very beginning at conception and to its natural end, said the message. Even "in the presence of illness and when physical weakness reduces the person's ability to be self-reliant," the life of a human being is precious and represents a gift from God, said the pope, who suffers from a neurological disorder and has not walked in public for more than a year. Archbishop Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum, " the Vatican's charity promotion and coordinating agency, said that the elderly today are under threat in a variety of ways. Ensuring the safety and health of older people takes time, effort and money, which for those who must care for them can seem to be an insurmountable burden, the archbishop said as he released the Tum to page 13 - Pope
IN A NEARBY abandoned school last Saturday, part of the overflow crowd watches a monitor showing Bishop George W. Coleman celebrate a special Mass for the parishioners of St. Peter the Apostle Church in Provincetown. A local cable television station, and a local lighting and sound designer volunteered their services to broadcast the Mass. Despite the recent blizzard, more than 300 people attended the Mass. (Photo courtesy of Vincent Guadazno, Provincetown Banner)
Bishop tells St. Peter's faithful 'parish will build new church' ~
Bishop Coleman comforts Provincetown parishioners after devastating fire
PROVINCETOWN - Four days after seeing their vintage church go up in flames, parishio-
ners of St. Peter's Church stood up and applauded during the homily by Bishop George W. Coleman when he announced that a new house of worship would be built. On Saturday afternoon, January 29, Bishop Coleman celebrated a Mass in the parish hall
attended by 300 people comforting and assuring them that the devastating morning ftre of January 25 was not the end of their parish on the tip of Cape Cod. Mter Mass he attended a reception with parishioners and Tum to page three - New