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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Symbols of Christ Risen are seen amid signs of spring at the recent annual Flower and Garden Show at the Catholic Memorial Home in Fall River.

(Photo by Dave Jolivet) The Anchor - March 18, 2016

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Divine Mercy documentary explores origins of image musician who previously backed such stars as James Taylor, Gloria Estefan and ACUSHNET — In Alison Krauss has been on what has to be one of the a mission to document the more remarkable cases of painting’s clandestine history.

Divine intervention, on the Eight years later, he acvery night that he decided complished just that with to retire from a successful the release of “The Original music career in 2007, singer- Image of Divine Mercy,” a songwriter Daniel diSilva documentary that he wrote was given a firsthand glimpse and directed over a two-year of the original Divine Mercy period. painting.

This amazing documen“I was in Lithuania doing tary film will be screened our last concert and I told exclusively at St. Francis the guys in the band this was Xavier Parish in Acushnet on going to be our last show and Friday, April 1 at 7 p.m. The I needed to make a change film will be shown inside the in my life professionally and parish school’s gymnasium, personally,” diSilva recently located at 223 Main Street in told The Anchor. “During the Acushnet. reception after the show, a Although this marks priest came up to me and diSilva’s first attempt at a said: ‘I want to introduce you feature-length film, he’s to somebody.’ He took me no stranger to Hollywood, to see the original image and having worked for a marketthat’s when this whole thing ing company that promotes started.” movies since leaving behind Since diSilva’s initial his music career. introduction to that iconic “I’ve been watching the image — purported to have process and when you’re so been painted by Eugene close to something like that, Kazimirowski in 1934 at the you start to get the feeling behest of Jesus Himself as that you can handle it — that relayed to St. Faustina — the you can probably do the same thing yourself,” diSilva said. “I had done a few short films, but then when I found out about the Divine Mercy painting and its phenomenal and mysterious history, I decided that this was going to be my first full-length film and I just went for it.”

A team of documentarians, led by diSilva, traveled through Europe and the United States uncovering the Bishop Robert Barron of details of the untold story Los Angeles poses with a of the little-known original reproduction of the “Origi- image of Divine Mercy. In nal Image of Divine Mercy” 1934, St. Faustina and her alongside writer-director confessor, Blessed Father Daniel diSilva, who recent- Michal Sopocko, secretly bely completed a documentagan working with a relatively ry about the iconic image. unknown artist to duplicate The film will be screened on canvas her mystical vision at St. Francis Xavier Parish Turn to page 23 in Acushnet on April 1.

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016

Winners of the 2016 Pro-Life Essay Contest were greeted by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., after the recent diocesan Pro-Life Mass at St. Julie Billiart Parish in Dartmouth.

Pictured with the bishop, from left, are Gabriella Joaquim, eighth-grader at Holy Name School in Fall River (first place, junior high); Juliana DeSimone, junior at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro (first place, high school); Sarah Therese Hamel, junior at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth (second place, high school); and Lydia FittonAlves, seventh-grader at St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School in Hyannis (second place, junior high). The winning essays appear on pages 19 and 20. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

Youths, adult honored at annual diocesan Pro-Life Mass

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Four diocesan youth and one parishioner were all recently honored at the annual Pro-Life Mass celebrated

by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., at St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth.

The yearly celebration, organized by the Pro-Life Apostolate of the Fall River Diocese, is a unique opportunity to recognize those who dedicate their lives to advancing the ProLife cause and promoting the Culture of Life.

“Our faith and our principles tell us that a person in the womb has the same right as a person outside the womb — geographical location does not make or take away the rights of a person — it’s not geography that determines it, it’s who we are, as people of God,”

Bishop da Cunha said in his homily. “Everyone has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — whether born or unborn.”

Despite the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that has since allowed abortions in the United States, Bishop da Cunha likened this “mistake” to the 1857 Dred Scott vs. Sanford ruling which claimed that African-Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be considered U.S. citizens and, therefore, had no rights.

“Would anyone accept today that a black person would have any less dignity, any less value?”

Bishop da Cunha said.

“So we could say that the Supreme Court made a big mistake in 1857 when they declared that Dred Scott had no rights. They made a mistake in 1857 and they made a mistake in 1973.”

“We stand here today with the confident hope that one day, not too far from now, we may look back and say: ‘Is it possible that in 1973 the Supreme Court declared that a person in the womb had no dignity and no rights?’

I hope this day will come,” the bishop added. “But it will come because we are standing here and saying ‘yes’ to life. If we can’t change the law, we can change minds and hearts, and we can change our culture from a culture of death to a Culture of Life.”

Among those attempting to “change minds and hearts” were the four Catholic school students who won the top honors in this year’s Pro-Life essay contest.

“Our essay contest, which is held every year, is based on the Respect Life kit which comes out of the United States ConferTurn to page 14

Dear Friends,

Easter: Time to renew our hope

At the beginning of one of the most important documents of the Second Vatican Council, the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,” we read: “The joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the people of this age, especially of those who are poor or in any way afflicted, are also the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ” (Gaudium et Spes No. 1).

Our world is immersed in so many crises. At times, people might feel discouraged and lose hope for a better world or for a better future for their families. This is when we come together as a Church, as people of faith, as followers of Christ, to bring the light of hope. As we proclaim with the Exsultet on Easter Vigil: “The Sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.”

We must let the light of our faith and our hope shine in the midst of this darkness. We must not allow the prophets of doom to extinguish the light of our hope.

We read in the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” that, “The Holy Spirit teaches us to pray in hope.” The Psalms teach us to fix our hope in God: “I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry.” St. Paul prayed, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rom 15:13).

We are all called to be a sign of hope. In a world influenced by materialism, hedonism and secularism, our presence, which is the presence of Jesus, is a light of hope for the world. Despite our frail humanity or perhaps because of it, the light of Christ shines more brightly. We are urged to show enthusiasm for our faith, to live by it, and share it with others. This is how we are healed. This is how we become instruments of the healing power of God to the world. This healing comes precisely through the wounds of the Crucified One Whose sacrificial life we share. It is, to be sure, a paradoxical hope: Life through death, joy through suffering.

We read in the book of the Prophet Isaiah, “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint” (Is 40:31). Again, with St. Paul we say, “We have set our hope on the living God” (1 Tim 4:10). Yes, we are indeed saved by hope and live with hope.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D. Bishop of Fall River The Anchor - March 18, 2016

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MCAN receives Sister Margaret Cafferty Development of People Award

stated. “We are pleased to recognize their exemplary work with this award.”

DORCHESTER — Under the leadership of its Earlier this year, the Cathofounding director, Lew Finfer, lic Campaign for Human MCAN has been supportDevelopment of the United ing, training, and developing States Catholic Conference leaders at the grassroots level of Bishops awarded the 2016 since 1984. It has developed Sister Margaret Cafferty De- seven faith-based community velopment of People Award improvement organizations to the Massachusetts Comthat work in cities across munities Action Network the state, and one statewide (www.mcan-pico.org). affordable housing organizaMCAN is a statewide tion. MCAN is a network of network of congregationfaith-based community orbased community organizganizations in Massachusetts ing groups in 10 cities across working for economic and Massachusetts. MCAN racial justice. Within MCAN, accepted the award on behalf there are local organizations of each of its local affiliates: in Boston, Brockton, Lynn/ the Essex County CommuNorth Shore, New Bedford, nity Organization, Brockton Fall River, Springfield and Interfaith Community, PioWorcester. MCAN is an afneer Valley Project, Worcester filiate of the PICO National Interfaith, United Interfaith Network (www.piconetwork.

Action, and the Youth Jobs org).

Coalition.

Finfer told The Anchor that Sister Margaret Cafthe Archdiocese of Boston ferty, for whom the award is Catholic Charities nominamed, was an educator, com- nated MCAN for the award, munity organizer and social and that MCAN’s partnerjustice leader who pioneered ship with its affiliates has new models of building sown many positive seeds of community and addressing social justice. That work also poverty. She successfully culti- includes the role that UIA vated partnerships with labor, played in the recent referengovernment, business and the dum in the minimum fair academic community in the wages in Massachusetts. pursuit of justice, while always “UIA played a major role remaining grounded in the in the minimum wage laws communities with whom she and passage of earned sick worked to serve and emtime referendum which power. In that same spirit, the enabled more than 900,000 Sister Margaret Cafferty De- people who didn’t get sick velopment of People Award is days in their job, to get up presented annually to a group to five sick days a year,” said or individual working on the Finfer. margins that has demonThroughout the fall of strated outstanding witness to 2013 and 2014, UIA parCatholic values and action on ticipated in the Raise Me behalf of justice.

Up ballot initiative campaign “MCAN’s organizing to raise the minimum wage and leadership development in Massachusetts and bring work on social justice issues earned sick time to all workin Massachusetts over the ers. In the first stage of the past 30 years exemplifies the campaign, Raise Up Masvalues that Sister Margaret sachusetts gathered more Cafferty stood for,” Ralph than 285,000 signatures, McCloud, CCHD director, surpassing its original goal of

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff beckyaubut@anchornews.org

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016

200,000 signatures. During this time, 36 congregations in the Fall River, New Bedford, and Dartmouth areas gathered approximately 18,000 signatures for the campaign.

In 2016, UIA will be joining MCAN and Raise Up in the Fair Share Amendment Campaign (www.raiseupma. org).

The constitutional amendment would create an additional tax of four percentage points on annual income above $1 million. The new revenue generated by the tax could only be spent on quality public education, affordable public colleges and universities, and for repair and maintenance of roads, bridges, and public transportation. To ensure that the tax continues to apply only to the highestincome residents, the $1 million threshold would be adjusted each year to reflect cost-of-living increases.

“It’s a several-year process; it won’t go to the ballot until 2018. It has to be approved by 50 of 200 legislators this year and next year. It would raise $1.8 billion which would go to our public schools, make state colleges affordable and for transportation work on roads and add to the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority service,” said Finfer.

And while their work is not over, Finfer said that being the lone 2016 recipient of the prestigious award was an overwhelming experience: “I think our members were excited and humbled to receive such an award.

They’ve worked hard for many years for social justice issues and obviously you feel honored that your work is recognized by a group that is looking [at groups] from the whole country, and finding that what UIA and our sistergroups did was worthy of this recognition.”

Diocesan director of Communications selected to USCCB advisory board

FALL RIVER — John E. Kearns Jr., director of Communications for the Fall River Diocese, has been selected to serve as a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Advisory Council for a four-year term.

The National Advisory Council, known informally by its acronym NAC, is a 44-member group that meets two times a year to pray, study, deliberate and offer recommendations to the bishops. Gathering just prior to the semi-annual meetings of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Administrative Committee, NAC reviews proposed Administrative Committee agenda items and gives its advice on them. In addition, NAC members are encouraged to present individual recommendations on matters beyond the agenda for adoption by the entire council and possible consideration by the bishops.

Immediately following the NAC meeting, its chairman presents the recommendations to the Administrative Committee for its reflection and deliberation.

NAC membership is drawn from the laity as well as deacons, priests, religious Sisters and Brothers, and

bishops from around the country representing the 15 geographical regions of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A concerted effort is made to ensure that NAC reflects the diversity

John E. Kearns Jr.

of the Church in the U.S. Candidates for selection to NAC come recommended by their diocesan bishop. (bishop members of NAC are elected by the Administrative Committee.)

Kearns is one of two lay members representing Region One, which comprises New England. He recently returned from his first NAC meeting, held in Baltimore from March 3 to 6.

“It was a busy weekend and at its end, I felt fortunate to have been selected

to serve on NAC,” Kearns told The Anchor. “There is quite a bit of material to read at home prior to going to the meeting, and I now know why. NAC has a very full agenda with many topics to consider and to discuss. NAC leaders use a detailed discussion and voting process at the meeting to make sure things keep moving and all the material is covered.”

The U.S. bishops formed NAC in 1968 to serve, according to its by-laws, “as a continuing instrument of understanding and unity in assisting the bishops of the United States in their apostolic service to Christ’s Church.”

Cardinal John Dearden of Detroit, who led the Bishops’ Conference at the time, explained that, “a functioning advisory council was seen as a hoped for instance of shared responsibility at the national level — a structure that would reflect the total American Church in a way that would help the bishops meet their responsibility to that Church.”

“I found in the other members of NAC a group

of persons deeply dedicated to the Church but coming with a range of perspectives,” Kearns added. “Seeing how some consensus formed among us in the course of the sessions was an interesting part of the weekend.

“I am looking forward to the next NAC meeting, now having one meeting behind me and a better

sense of what is expected of participants.”

Since its formation, NAC has participated in the discussion of numerous topics addressed by the bishops as well as in the development of a number of their initiatives. Many bishops have recognized NAC over the years as a valued and respected resource.

The Anchor - March 18, 2016

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n ecclesiastical Holy Year is meant to influence everything the Church does during that year and therefore the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy ought to mark in a special way the holiest week of the Church’s calendar.

Holy Week is Mercy Week par excellence. The events we celebrate are the culminating expressions of Jesus’ mercy and for that reason mercy provides Holy Week’s profoundest interpretive key. As we prepare to relive these saving events, it’s important to grasp how through them Jesus emphasizes and extends His mercy — and to open ourselves up more deeply than ever to receive and respond to this redeeming power.

On Palm Sunday we first demonstrate our openness to God’s action in our life by welcoming Jesus with palm branches that symbolize victory — in Jesus’ case, triumph over sin and death — shouting, “Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!” The name of God, Pope Francis recently reminded us in a book-length interview, is mercy. But Palm Sunday calls us to persevere in that openness, not allowing our holy “hosanna!”

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Mercy Week

because the rest of our to be transformed into a corrupt “crucify Him!” as body has been already it did for those in ancient been bathed in Baptism.

The second Mystery is Jerusalem. the gift of the EuchaLater, as we proclaim rist in which Jesus gives this year St. Luke’s verus His Body and Blood sion of the Passion, we focus on several elements “for the forgiveness of sins” and remains with of mercy found uniquely in the third Gospel: Jesus’ words of mercy from the Putting Into cross for sinners the Deep in general, “Father, forgive them

By Father for they know not Roger J. Landry what they do,” and then for one sinner in particular, “Tous always until the end day you will be with Me of time. The third is the in paradise,” as well as institution of the minisChrist’s personal prayer terial priesthood through for Peter and for us that our faith may not fail but whom Jesus not only perpetuates His Eucharistic that after we’ve conself-gift but also forgives verted we’ll strengthen us our sins, as He will others. empower the first priests On Holy Thursday, to do in the Upper Room the Church in her Lion Easter Sunday night. turgical rubrics instructs The prayerful Adoration priests to preach on the of the Blessed Sacrament three Mysteries being that takes place until celebrated that night, midnight is an opporall of which feature tunity for us, like Peter, God’s mercy. The first James and John, to pray is the washing of the that we may not undergo feet, which is not just — and fail — the test of an act of humble loving fidelity. service that we’re called Good Friday is the to emulate, but as Pope Day of Mercy par excelBenedict has stressed, a sign of the Sacrament of lence, which shows us Confession: Christ wash- that there is nothing that es our feet — the part of the Lamb of God won’t do to take away our sins. us that has contact with the “dirt” of the world — It’s the day of penitential

The Anchor - March 18, 2016

fasting and abstinence on which we begin the Novena of Divine Mercy.

In the readings for the Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion, Isaiah reminds us that Jesus was “pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins” but “by His stripes we were healed.” The Letter to the Hebrews encourages us “confidently to approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help.”

St. John’s Passion summons us to “behold the One Whom they have pierced” and see the “Blood and water” that flows from Jesus’ pierced side as a fount of mercy for us. The “beloved disciple” also shows us how to live the Passion and experience its merciful fruit together with the Mater Dolorosa, the Mother of Mercy, to whom Jesus out of mercy entrusts us. And we, barefoot, venerate the cross on which hung the Savior, asking that by Christ’s mercy we, too, may be crucified with Christ so that we might rise with Him, glory in His cross and find it in our power and wisdom.

At the Easter Vigil, we celebrate the triumph of God’s mercy, exulting in the Easter Proclamation over the “happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer” and proclaiming that “the sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners.” St. Paul in the Epistle reminds us that through Baptism we have entered into Christ’s

death and Resurrection and therefore we experience by God’s mercy a “newness of life” no longer “in slavery to sin.” We make an existential, and not just verbal, renewal of our baptismal promises — rejecting Satan, his empty promises and evil works and proclaiming of faith in our Triune God of Mercy — and then are sprinkled with the newlyblessed water after praying to God, “You made the water the instrument of Your mercy.” The solemn triple alleluia sung before the Gospel, and the jubilant double alleluia at the dismissal, are both a literal “Praise the Lord!” for the triumph of His merciful love.

Finally on Easter Sunday, as we jubilantly sing in the Psalm refrain, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad,” we chant in the Psalm itself: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever!” And in the beautiful Easter Sequence sung before the Gospel, as we offer our thankful praises to the Paschal Victim, we proclaim, “A Lamb the sheep redeems; Christ, Who only is sinless reconciles sinners to the Father.”

Mercy is the key that unlocks the great depths of the mysteries we celebrate during Holy Week. Let us pray for each other that, by God’s mercy, this upcoming Holy Week during this extraordinary jubilee will be what God wants it to be: the most profound week of our life.

Anchor columnist Father Landry can be contacted at fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

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‘Water, water, everywhere nor any drop to drink’

he title of this column is the well-known lament of the mariner in Samuel T. Coleridge’s 1798 epic poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” where the mariner tells a wedding guest the story of his time at sea. At one point his ship was stuck with no wind and the ocean was all around them but they could not drink any of the water because it was salty. This underscores an important lesson about our world’s water resources.

Although 70 percent of the world’s surface is covered with water, 97.5 percent of the world’s water is salt water, which is not available to us as drinking water, unless we are willing to pay the price to remove the salt. The remaining 2.5 percent is freshwater. Of this water 1.97 percent of this is locked in the polar ice caps and the world’s glaciers, 0.5 percent is underground in groundwater aquifers and 0.03 percent exists in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere.

A sobering thought indeed, when we consider that 7.3 billion people are all seeking to use 0.53 percent of the world’s water. The good news is that water is in constant motion and our supply can be replenished though the Hydrologic Cycle of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration or percolation into aquifers, and surface runoff of water back to the oceans. The bad news is that we have been using water at a faster rate than it can be replenished and we are polluting that small amount of water, in the atmosphere and on the ground, requiring expensive cleanups and treatment to make it safe to drink.

In 1974 the United

States Congress passed the effect on a generation of Safe Drinking Water Act, Flint residents. with a goal of providing all In this country there Americans with safe drink- is even a movement to ing water. This act, together cutback these regulations, with the Clean Water which have protected Act of 1972, has been the us and improved our air backbone legislation which (Clean Air Act of 1970 and has created cleaner waters its amendments) and water for aquatic ecosystems and over the last 40 years, to recreation, and the regulaincrease corporate profits tions to try to ensure that under the guise of increased our water is safe to drink.

Our Unfortunately, as we have seen recently Common in the case of Flint, Home Mich., people are

By Professor sometimes willing to Robert Rak sacrifice the public’s health to save money.

For nearly 50 years, Flint job development. purchased its water from In Laudato Si’, Pope the City of Detroit, which Francis expresses his contreated the water with a cern about the lack of chemical called orthophos- fresh water available to all phate. In Flint, many of peoples, since it is indisthe poor areas (more than pensable to all forms of life, half of Flint) still have lead terrestrial and aquatic. It is service lines which bring vital to public health, public water from the pipes in the safety, agriculture and street into their homes. The industry. The Holy Father orthophosphate coated the states that, “access to safe old lead service pipes to drinking water is a basic prevent the lead from being and universal human right dissolved from the pipes since it is essential to huand entering the drinkman survival and, as such, is ing water. In 2014, to save a condition for the existence money, the city switched of other human rights.” As from the Detroit water you are reading this, accordto the lower quality and ing to the United Nations, highly corrosive Flint River one in nine people worldwater. That was not the wide do not have access to real problem. The problem safe drinking water and one was that they chose not to in three do not have access treat the water according to proper sanitation, such to regulations, which has as toilets and wastewater resulted in the corrosion of treatment. Also, 3.5 million the water mains, releasing people die each year due to iron into the water causinadequate water supply, ing a brownish color, but sanitation and hygiene. even more dangerous is the These are worrisome corrosion of the lead service statistics, especially when, lines releasing the lead, a according to the U.S. neurotoxin known to affect Environmental Protection brain development and Agency, we in the United leading to learning disStates, needlessly waste a orders, into the pipes and total of one trillion galthus into the homes of the lons per year due to leaky people of Flint. Their cost kitchen and bathroom fausavings may have a serious cets, malfunctioning toilets,

errant sprinkler systems, etc.

The pope is also very concerned that even though the quality and quantity of fresh water is diminishing, in some areas of the world there is a growing trend to privatize this most precious of resources and turn it into a commodity which is subject to the laws of the market. In addition to drought and pollution, privatization can make water available only to those who can pay for it despite the desperate need for it.

The United Nations reports that water availability is expected to decrease in many regions, and despite this, agricultural water use, which comprises about 70 percent (as much as 90 percent in some areas) of the global freshwater use, is expected to rise by 19 percent by 2050.

Currently 85 percent of the world’s population lives in the driest half of the planet. Some countries are rich in water while others endure drastic scarcity. Add climate change to this mix and we see, in general, that dry areas are getting drier, with the major deserts expanding, and wet areas are getting wetter, which often exposes people to extreme

conditions of intense storms and floods.

Although we hear a lot of talk about gas, oil and other energy sources, the human species has lived hundreds of thousands of years without them, but we could only last a few days without water. We have to begin to look at our priorities, when it comes to spending, on our water infrastructure. Our grandparents, for the most part, footed the bills to bring us the current water systems that we have today. Our water systems have aged and it is now our time to fix and upgrade these systems to help provide all peoples with this critical resource.

Next month we will look at the science of water, our water resources, and what we can do to conserve them.

Anchor columnist Professor Rak is a Fall River native and a parishioner of St. Mary’s Parish in Fall River.

He has been a professor of Environmental Technology and coordinator of the Environmental Science and Technology Program at Bristol Community College in Fall River for 18 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Holy Cross College in Worcester, and a master’s degree in marine biology from UMass Dartmouth. rrak@verizon.net.

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Anchor Editorial

Admonish sinners

We heard this week about the scandalous screaming of fans of Catholic Memorial High School’s basketball team on March 11. They yelled, “You killed Jesus,” at the fans and team from Newton North High School, a city with a large Jewish population. In part, the CM fans were reacting to taunts about their lack of girls at their all-boys school, but the offense they took at Newton North’s jeers in no way at all justified their stupid antiSemitic attack.

Immediately CM’s administration admonished its students and fans about the uncharitable sin that they had committed and it seems that this terrible incident could be a springboard for growth in understanding amongst Catholic and Jewish youth in their area.

Admonishing sinners is not something which is easy to do, and yet it is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy (not that any of them are really “easy,” if done well and from the heart).

The fact that people associated with a Catholic school would make such taunts would seem to imply that more work needs to be done to root out the sin of anti-Semitism there. This is not to say that efforts had not been made in the past, just that the underlying sin remained.

The same is true for many other sins. We make efforts through our Religious Education programs, Catholic schools, preaching, adult education programs, and Catholic media to spread the faith and our moral teachings, but it is obvious that a lot more needs to be done. Liberals and conservatives can point fingers at each others’ failings (which can also be an occasion of sin); however, we are all sinners (we ALL are guilty of killing Christ through our sins) and are all in need of admonition.

As Jesus said, “Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye” (Mt 7:5).

We need to admonish ourselves first. Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR, has a good article on CatholicCulture.org about this Spiritual Work of Mercy and he explains that this self-examination is essential.

“To admonish others effectively, there are two other points we must keep in mind,” Father Apostoli wrote. “First, we must practice what we preach. In other words, we have to be working at striving for holiness and avoiding sin in our own lives if we expect others to do the same. The second point is to avoid the terrible attitude of self-righteousness with its judgmental view of others. Self-righteousness puts a person into the mindset of the Pharisees who were quick to condemn sin in others but overlooked it in themselves.”

Father Apostoli then mentioned last Sunday’s Gospel about Jesus and the adulteress who was brought before Him: “Then the Gospel tells us He began to write on the ground. Whatever He wrote apparently referred to each individual’s sins because as each one saw what Our Blessed Lord wrote, they dropped their stones and walked away. To carry out this work OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER www.anchornews.org

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Member: Catholic Press Association, Catholic News Service Published bi-weekly by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor@anchornews.org. Subscription price by mail, postpaid $20.00 per year, for U.S. addresses.

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016

of admonishing the sinner, a person must have a sense of compassion for human weakness, and we can only learn that by recognizing our own weaknesses. If we fail to do so, we will be throwing a lot of stones at other people, and this would not be the Gospel attitude.”

What the father wrote brings to mind something often overlooked when hearing that Gospel — Jesus did love the Pharisees and He was lovingly admonishing them while writing on the ground. We focus on the main encounter of the story ( Jesus’ mercy towards the woman), but Jesus’ interaction with the crowd is not irrelevant to our lives, too. Jesus did not make a big speech or verbally point out how terrible the folks in the crowd were. He just did something which spoke to their hearts and they went away. He didn’t use a “Jedi mind trick,” as in “Star Wars,” where the Jedi characters can get other people to do things that they would prefer not to do (mainly letting the Jedi escape). Jesus respected the freedom they had as images of God (they were human) and His action awakened something inside of them.

God promises us rewards if we admonish sinners. In the letter of James we are told, “If anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” ( Jas 5:19-20).

St. Paul tells us, “Even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are Spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted” (Gal 6:1). The Apostle realizes that we need to be on our guard not to fall into the sins of our acquaintances — using the power of prayer and the gift of prudence to do so.

God orders us in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel that for our own Salvation we have to admonish sinners: “When you hear a word from My mouth, you must warn them for Me. When you do not speak up to warn the wicked about their ways, they shall die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their blood. If, however, you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, but they do not, then they shall die in their sins, but you shall save your life” (Ez 33:7-9).

Admonishing sinners takes some planning, prudence and prayer. The officials at CM truly want their students to grow in love for their Jewish neighbors; their goal is not to get people to “go underground,” saying the right things, while holding hatred in their hearts. Our goal in admonishing sinners, be they family, friends or acquaintances, is not to just “check off a box” (“I did it, too bad they rejected what I had to say”), but to walk with them, as a fellow sinner, towards Christ’s gift of mercy.

Please check out the list of churches on page 22 where you can get The Anchor’s special Year of Mercy supplement during the Easter season, while also visiting the Doors of Mercy around the diocese.

Daily Readings March 19 — April 1

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Mar. 19, 2 Sm 7: 4-5a,12-14a,16; Ps 89:2-5,27 and 29; Rom 4:13,16-18,22; Mt 1:16,18-21,24a or Lk 2:41-51a. Sun. Mar. 20, Palm Sunday, Lk 19:28-40, Mass: Is 50:4-7; Ps 22:8-9,17-20,23-24; Phil 2:6-11; Lk 22:14—23:56, or 23:1-49. Mon. Mar. 21, Is 42:1-7; Ps 27:1-3,13-14; Jn 12:1-11. Chrism Mass: Is 61:1-3a,6a,8b-9; Ps 89:21-22,25,27; Rv 1:5-8; Lk 4:16-21.

Tues. Mar. 22, Is 49:1-6; Ps 71:1-6b,15 and 17; Jn 13:21-33,36-38. Wed. Mar. 23, Is 50:4-9a; Ps 69:810,21-22,31 and 33-34; Mt 26:14-25. Thurs. Mar. 24, Holy Thursday, Ex 12:1-8,11-14; Ps 116:1213,15-16bc,17-18; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15. ** Is 61:1-3a,6a,8b-9; Ps 89:21-22,25,27; Rv 1:5-8; Lk 4:16-21. Fri. Mar. 25, Good Friday, Mass is not celebrated today. Celebration of the Lord’s Passion: Is 52:13—53:12; Ps 31:2,6,12-13,15-17, 25; Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9; Jn 18:1—19: 42.

Sat. Mar. 26, Easter Vigil: Gn 1:1—2:2 or 1:1,26-31a; Ps 104:1-2,5-6,10,12-14,24,35 or Ps 33:47,12-13,20-22; Gn 22:1-18 or 22:1-2,9a,10-13,15-18; Ps 16:5,8-11; Ex 14:15—15:1; (Ps)Ex 15:1-6, 17-18; Is 54:5-14; Ps 30:2,4-6,11-13; Is 55:1-11; (Ps)Is 12:2-3,4-6; Bar 3:9-15,32—4:4; Ps 19:8-11; Ez 36:16-28; Ps 42:3,5; 43:3-4 or Is 12:2-6 or Ps 51:12-15,18-19; Rom 6:3-11; Ps 118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Lk 24:1-12. Sun. Mar. 27, Easter Sunday, Acts 10:34a,37-43; Ps 118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6b-8; Jn 20:1-9 or 4: Lk 24:1-12 or at an afternoon or evening Mass, Lk 24:13-35. Mon. Mar. 28, Acts 2:14,22-33; Ps 16:1-2a and 5,7-11; Mt 28:8-15. Tues. Mar. 29, Acts 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-5,18-20 and 22; Jn 20:11-18. Wed. Mar. 30, Acts 3:1-10; Ps 105:1-4,6-9; Lk 24:13-35. Thurs. Mar. 31, Acts 3:11-26; Ps 8:2ab and 5-9; Lk 24:35-48. Fri. Apr. 1, Acts 4:1-12; Ps 118:1-2 and 4,22-27a; Jn 21:1-14.

Four Sisters dead in attack on Missionaries of Charity home in Yemen

Aden, Yemen (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Francis has condemned the “diabolical violence” of the recent deadly attack on a nursing home in Yemen, acknowledging in a special way the four Missionaries of Charity Sisters who were killed during the siege.

“His Holiness Pope Francis was shocked and profoundly saddened to learn of the killing of four Missionaries of Charity and 12 others at a home for the elderly in Aden,” read the telegram, released and signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The pope “sends the assurance of his prayers for the dead and his Spiritual closeness to their families and to all affected from this act of senseless and diabolical violence,” the message read.

“He prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue.”

Pope Francis called for those involved in the nation’s ongoing conflict “to renounce violence, and to renew their commitment to the people of Yemen, particularly those most in

need,” who the Missionaries of Charity and collaborators “sought to serve.”

“Upon everyone suffering from this violence, the Holy Father invokes God’s blessing, and in a special ways he extends to the Missionaries of Charity his prayerful sympathy and solidarity.”

At least 16 people were killed after two gunmen attacked a Missionaries of Charity convent and nursing home for elderly and disabled persons in Aden, the provisional capital of Yemen on March 4.

Four of the victims were Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, the community founded by Blessed Mother Teresa. They have been identified by the apostolic vicariate of Southern Arabia as Sister Anselm from India, Sister Margherite from Rwanda, Sister Reginette from Rwanda, and Sister Judith from Kenya.

A recent statement from the apostolic vicariate of Southern Arabia stated that Bishop Paul Hinder has “expressed his shock at the incident and prayed that the Lord may accept the sacrifice of these Sisters and convert it into a sacrifice for peace.”

The convent’s superior was unhurt and in police

custody, the vicariate stated.

Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Salesian priest from India who had been staying with the Sisters since his church was attacked and burned last September, was abducted from the chapel, a source told CNA. Agenzia Fides reported that he has been missing since the attack.

Other victims of the attack included volunteers at the home, at least five of whom were Ethiopian.

Many were Yemenis. The nursing home had around 80 residents, who were unharmed.

The gunmen gained entry to the Missionaries of Charity home by telling the gatekeeper their mothers were residents, The Associated Press reported.

“On entering inside, (they) immediately shot dead the gatekeeper and started shooting randomly,” Vikas Swarup, the spokes-

man of India’s External Affairs Ministry, told the agency.

Khaled Haidar told the AP that when he arrived on the scene he saw that each victim, including his brother Radwan, had been handcuffed and shot in the head.

The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia said the Missionaries of Charity have been present in Yemen since 1973 after the then-government of North Yemen formally invited them to care for the sick and elderly. The home in Aden has been open since 1992.

Three Missionaries of Charity were killed by a gunman in Al Hudaydah, 280 miles northwest of

Aden, in 1998.

Yemen is in the midst of a civil war that began in March 2015. That month Houthi rebels, who are Shia Muslims, took over portions of Yemen seeking to oust its ­Sunni-led government.

Saudi Arabia, which borders Yemen’s north, has led a coalition backing the government. Both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have set up strongholds in the country amid the power vacuum.

The civil war has killed more than 6,000 people, according to the United Nations.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Missionaries of Charity home.

Survivors of a gun attack at a nursing home in Yemen that left four Missionaries of Charity dead, are seen in the dining hall. (CNS photo/Stringer, Reuters) The Anchor - March 18, 2016

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T

he other day I met a parent of one of my former students. We got to reminiscing. She asked me if I remembered John (not his real name). What came to my mind was the vision of a very angry and inconsolable John sitting across from me in the guidance department.

She told me that he is now in medical school. I smiled as I realized he was back to enjoying his studies.

Later that morning, I reflected upon my memories of John. As a junior, he had taken an advanced placement science class. Though he doubted his abilities as he struggled with the material, John chose to remain in the class. Not surprisingly, as the year progressed, he became more and more discouraged. Even with my extra tutoring, John remained borderline passing. Eventually, a defeated John stopped working. His parents’ request that he drop the class was refused. After all the administrative meetings were over, John was

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On to Galilee

so many disciples fled. As alone at that table in guidJesus suffered and died on ance. I was asked to speak the cross, Mary His mother, with him.

Mary Magdalene, some John was respectful, but very angry. He candidly told other women of Jerusalem along with one or two male me he knew he was going to fail and that failure would disciples remained with Him. Even for those brave ruin the rest of his life. In John’s eyes, there was no way enough to remain, there eventually came the realizapast that failure. tion that there is no human This week as we journey way past the failure of death with Christ, we will travel a similar odyssey.

It is an amazing journey as we begin Wrestling with God our walk with Jesus Holding on for during His triumHis blessing phant entry into Jerusalem on Palm

By Dr. Helen J. Flavin Sunday. Yet, even as we receive the gift of the Eucharist in the Last on the cross.

In the face of such earthly Supper, doubts begin to defeats, the student John, enter our minds. What did Jesus mean by His words, “I the women who went to will not drink of the fruit of Jesus’ tomb, and each one of us stumbles along believing the vine again until I drink it with you in the Kingdom ourselves alone. What we do not realize is the precious of my Father” (Mt 25:29)? gift of God’s love hidden They seem to foreshadow beneath what to us seems death and seem so out of place. Discouragement tugs like defeat. God’s plan utilizes setbacks in order to at our heart with the arrest bring us the gift of Resurof Jesus. In defeat and fear, rection Sunday. The gifts of the Resurrection include: we are forgiven sinners; everything we choose to do for Jesus with our lives matters deeply; and those who have

The Anchor - March 18, 2016

fallen asleep are alive (1 Cor 15:12-20).

At the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were greeted by an angel who told them that Jesus had been raised from the dead and was going ahead of them to Galilee. As they went to share the good news with the disciples, Jesus met them and said, “Do not be afraid. Go tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Mt 28:10). Galilee was where the disciples first recognized Jesus’ call. Pope Francis describes these words of Jesus as an invitation to go back and re-examine things in light of Jesus’ supreme act of love. It is a new beginning with the peace of understanding.

The invitation from Jesus to return to Galilee wasn’t only for the terrified disciples, it was also for each and every one of us.

How do we find Galilee?

Pope Francis says, “Galilee is the experience of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ Who called me to follow Him and to share in His mission. In this sense, returning to Galilee means

treasuring in my heart the living memory of that call, when Jesus passed my way, gazed at me with mercy and asked me to follow Him. To return there means reviving the memory of that moment when His eyes met mine, the moment when He made me realize that He loved me.”

In essence, we are to return to that Sacred space where we experience Jesus’ presence. From there, after we are ready, Jesus will send us forth.

John has mastered the science. Soon he will use his knowledge to help others. Similarly, in our lives, we each go through many cycles of defeat and rebirth.

With each cycle we grow closer to finding and being the person God instilled in us the moment of our creation. In addition, this process allows us to discern, or if we have strayed return to, the path that in His infinite love God has chosen for us.

Let this Easter Sunday find each of us ready and willing to go meet Jesus in Galilee.

Anchor columnist Helen Flavin is a Catholic scientist, educator and writer and a member of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River. biochemwz@hotmail.com.

W

hen Godzilla first stalked Tokyo in 1954 (and several times since), it was a classic example of the clash of differing worlds. Usually when different worlds clash the outcome is not good.

But sometimes it can be quite comical, especially when it comes to the Jolivet Family.

Last week Emilie was on her way to class at UMD on Route 6 near the old Lincoln Park. On the other side of the road she caught a brief glimpse of a group of people clad in robes and carrying sticks.

As any good driver would, Em refused to be distracted by the unusual site and drove on. Yet in her mind she pondered what the gathering was.

As any college-aged student would do, as soon as she got to campus, she shared her tale with friends on Facebook. It should be noted here that Emilie is a “Harry Potter” junkie, having seen each of the 400 films 20 times each.

She told her friends she thinks she

When different worlds meet

played by wizards in training. saw a Harry Potter Quidditch team Her friends found great humor in gathered in Westport. In the HP movies, Quidditch is a sport contested the error. And when she told me, I in that period in which the players are was doubled over in laughter, having done a few stories on the Romeiros for dressed in robes and carry sticks (on The Anchor in the past. which they fly).She was very excited, Emilie adding to interns at her post, “I My View The Anchor a want to be in From couple of days a Quidditch a week, and group.” the Stands the day after Some of

By Dave Jolivet her Harry Em’s FB Potter sightfriends are ing she came Portuguese in the office and told me about it. and were quick to point out that it Within minutes after telling me, wasn’t a Quidditch group, but the Romeiros — a group of faithful Catholics I heard chanting outside my office. who make the sacrifice to travel across I looked and sure enough, it was the Romeiros group. the area singing, praying and visitNot being able to resist, I ran to ing area churches during the Lenten Em’s office and told her the Quidseason to bring awareness of Christ’s ditch team was outside. It happened ultimate sacrifice for us. that the Romeiros actually paused at True to her nature, Emilie was mortified and expressed apologies in case she offended any of her friends, by comparing a holy ritual to a game

a home near her car for prayer and song. She had to leave for school within minutes and looked at me and lamented, “Oh no, they’re following me — they know what I posted!”

Again my laughter glands kicked in full time. I confirmed what her friends had told her and that the group was a wonderful gathering of faithful Catholics.

I told my boss Father Richard Wilson the story, and he too, got a charge out of it. In fact when I was leaving the office that day he called my cell phone and told me to tell Em that the Quidditch team was now crossing the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Somerset. We both had a good laugh.

Emilie, not so much.

If anything, a young woman of French-Canadian heritage learned a tradition of the ancestry of many of her friends. Hardly a Godzilla-Tokyo encounter.

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Change is the only constant Thursday 17 March 2016 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — St. Patrick’s Day oday we celebrate a missionary bishop, the one we call “The Patrician” (Patricus). St. Patrick, as we all know, grew and organized the Church in Ireland.

On this feast of St. Patrick, Evangelizer and Organizer, patron of our parish, I have been reflecting on the growth and organization of the Catholic Church in Falmouth. The Church in your area has its own unique history. It’s important. The past and the present combine to foretell the future.

In the beginning, there was Corpus Christi Church, Sandwich. This wasn’t the first parish in what was to become the Diocese of Fall River. That would be St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford (now called St. Lawrence). Corpus Christi Church was, though, the first to have a resident pastor.

Well, Corpus Christi Church opened a chapel, St. Joseph, in Woods Hole. This chapel eventually became the first Catholic parish in Falmouth. St. Joseph Parish established three chapels: St. Thomas at Falmouth Heights, Immaculate Conception in Megansett Village, and St. Patrick here in Falmouth Village.

Among these three missions, St. Thomas was the first to become a parish of its own (but not for long). St. Patrick was soon named a full parish and St. Thomas reverted to chapel status. The new parish of St. Patrick was not only given responsibility for St. Thomas

T

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016

Chapel but also the mission in Pocasset, which found itself withMegansett. St. Joseph Cemetery out a resident pastor, was placed likewise became the responsibilunder the care of North Falmouth. ity of St. Patrick Parish. Are you Eventually, it was assigned its own following me? resident pastor, as before.

No? Allow me to summarize.

The mother church of FalAt this point, we have St. Joseph mouth, St. Joseph, was demoted to Parish in Woods Hole and St. Pat- a parish without a resident pastor rick Parish in Falmouth Village. and then to a seasonal chapel unSt. Patrick der the care Parish has of North two misFalmouth.

The Ship’s Log sions and a And so Reflections of a cemetery; we come to Parish Priest St. Joseph, the presnone of the ent day.

By Father Tim above.

The oldest Goldrick OK, currentlythen. Let’s operating proceed. In parish in 1972, St. Anthony Parish, formerly Falmouth is St. Patrick. St. Patrick a national parish (Portugueseis responsible for St. Joseph Cemspeaking), became a territorial etery. Other parishes in Falmouth parish (English-speaking). Parish- include St. Elizabeth Seton in ioners of St. Patrick Parish living North Falmouth and St. Anthony in that eastern part of Falmouth in East Falmouth. There are two thereafter belonged to St. Anthony summer chapels — one in Woods Church.

Hole (under the care of St. ElizaThe mission in Megansett, after beth Seton in North Falmouth) reverting to Woods Hole, was and one at Falmouth Heights eventually suppressed. In 1977, a (under the care of St. Patrick brand new entity was constructed Church). St. Anthony has no misin North Falmouth on land forsions but it does have a cemetery merly belonging to St. Joseph on the property.

Parish. It was named in honor of The assigned Catholic ChapSt. Elizabeth Seton lain of Falmouth Hospital was In 1984 a large parish complex most recently the pastor of Woods (Christ the King) was built, not Hole, but now there are two in Falmouth, but in Mashpee. It deacon-chaplains. The four priests was located, though, just down currently assigned to Falmouth the road from St. Elizabeth Seton take turns being on emergency Church. call at the hospital. The priests at Now it gets complicated. The St. Patrick spend the most hours parish of St. John the Evangelist, on emergency hospital duty. They are also responsible for the largest number of nursing home beds. We average 100 emergency Anointings a year, but some years have close to 300.

You know me, dear readers; I am also fascinated by statistics.

Here they are for 2014 (latest statistics available) in our quaint Cape Cod town, according to the 2015-2016 diocesan directory.

Total Baptisms: 105. St. Anthony had 14. St. Elizabeth Seton had 34. St. Patrick had 57.

Total weddings: 168. St. Antho-

ny had nine. St. Elizabeth Seton had 18. St. Patrick had 36.

Total funerals: 163. St. Elizabeth Seton had 34. St. Anthony had 71. St. Patrick had 58.

I hear that the Diocese of Fall River is about to embark on an evaluation of current parish configurations. History and statistics will be critical. A parish selfevaluation tool is being created for use across the diocese. Stay tuned; there’s more to come.

The parishes in Falmouth underscore the philosophy that, as Heraclitus once said, “Change is the only constant.” Multiply this change by all the parishes in the Diocese of Fall River and it would be enough to give good St. Patrick himself a migraine.

Be that as it may, I decided this year to especially honor our patron saint. We have a lovely hand-carved polychromatic wood statue of St. Patrick, but it was difficult to see. I moved it into its own newly-created niche and lit a candle at his shrine. (See photo below) “St. Patrick, Evangelizer and Organizer, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

Anchor columnist Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

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Youths, adult honored at annual diocesan Pro-Life Mass continued from page two

ence of Catholic Bishops,” explained Marian Desrosiers, director of the diocesan Pro-Life office. “Our department orders enough for every school and every parish and this year the theme of the Respect Life kit is ‘Every life is worth living.’”

The second-place winner in the junior high category was Lydia FittonAlves, a seventh-grader at St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School in Hyannis and a parishioner at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee.

Fitton-Alves noted how her birth mother had a life-threatening disease

and doctors had advised her to have an abortion, but she refused.

“I am an honor roll student at St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, but this is not what makes me special,” she wrote.

“My hopes, my dreams, my talents, my love for people: all of these make me special. I plan to be an elementary school teacher when I grow up.

If my birth mother had not understood that ‘every life is worth living,’ and had chosen abortion, these dreams would be lost.”

Junior Sarah Therese Hamel of Bishop Stang High School was the sec-

ond-place essay winner in the high school category.

Hamel wrote about the experience of losing her little sister, Therese Elizabeth Hamel, who died just 16 days after being born on May 20, 1998.

“What did she accomplish? Not much,” Hamel read from her essay. “She never ran a marathon. She did not sway the hearts of millions. She never even spoke a word. Why is she important? She was and is my sister.”

Hamel noted that “every life is a freely-given gift from God” and “every life is worth living because every life has infinite value given to us by our loving God and Father.”

For Hamel, “Every life tells a story. Some are long, some are short, but Continued on page 15

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016

Winners of the 2016 John Cardinal O’Connor Pro-Life Awards were greeted by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., after the recent diocesan Pro-Life Mass at St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth. Pictured with the bishop, from left, are adult recipient Ellen Dovidio of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Orleans and youth recipient Sarah Therese Hamel of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet.

(Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

Portuguese Channel Holy Week programming

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Palm Sunday, March 20, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Msgr. Stephen J. Avila, pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in East Falmouth

Easter Sunday, March 27, Special time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m Celebrant is Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V.

Continued from page 14

each is valuable.”

In the junior high school category, eighthgrader Gabriella Joaquim of Holy Name School in Fall River took the firstplace prize for her essay.

Joaquim found inspiration in Pope Francis’ recent visit to the United States.

“One of the most lasting images to me was how Pope Francis’ love for life emerged, whether he was greeting a small child, an immigrant, an elderly person, a head of state, or a homeless man,” Joaquim wrote. “His actions in every meeting solidified to me very clearly that every life is worth living and is important. Pope Francis reminds us that we should value all people and to never forget the people who are easily forgotten in today’s world.”

Juliana DeSimone, a junior at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro and parishioner at St. Mary’s Parish in Mansfield, earned top honors for her essay in the high school category.

DeSimone recalled how her parents always encouraged her to “stand up (and) stand out.”

“I always interpreted this as embracing both my gifts and my flaws that make me who I am, and not letting anyone depreciate the value of these,” she wrote. “Now I realize that ‘standing up’ and ‘standing out’ requires more than appreciating the blessings of my own life. It means valuing every aspect of life, and sharing the gift of life with others. It means defending the defenseless and giving voice to the voiceless.”

“I’m so happy and proud of our young people

here today, representing so many of our Catholic schools in the diocese, who have participated in this essay contest,” Bishop da Cunha said. “It is because of their participation — that we will change the culture.”

Announcing the 2016 recipients of the John Cardinal O’Connor ProLife Awards, Desrosiers explained how diocesan parishes and schools are invited to nominate an individual every year who “strongly through their life represent the message of the gift of life to our culture today.”

This year’s youth recipient was also one of the essay contest winners: Sarah Therese Hamel, a parishioner of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet.

Nominated by Amanda Tarantelli, campus minister at Bishop Stang High School, Hamel was lauded for her involvement with the Bishop Stang Pro-Life Club, for attending the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., and for her participation the diocesan Pro-Life Boot Camp.

“When you say that someone has a heart for the Pro-Life movement, Sarah is just that person,” Desrosiers said. “While she is not ashamed to stand up for her beliefs, she always has an approach that is compassionate and merciful.”

Although she previously knew about her secondplace essay win, Hamel was caught off-guard with the announcement of the John Cardinal O’Connor Award.

“I’m honestly blown away,” Hamel told The Anchor. “It’s nothing that I did, it’s all through Mary, it’s all through Jesus. I’m

so ineloquent, I just can’t even express what to say.

Getting this award was a complete surprise to me.”

The 2016 Adult John Cardinal O’Connor ProLife Award went to Ellen Dovidio of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Orleans.

Nominated by fellow parishioner Doris Toohill and pastor Father John Kelleher, Dovidio was honored for her work as co-chairman of the parish’s Respect Life Committee, for her work with A Woman’s Concern pregnancy resource center, and for numerous other contributions to the ProLife cause.

“Ellen is tireless in her work for the unborn and for life at all stages,” Desrosiers said. “I quote her pastor’s submission: ‘Ellen deserves the award because she is the essence of what a true Pro-Life person should be: prayerful, gentle, consistent, and unwavering in her belief that life begins at conception and ends at natural death.’”

Dovidio said she was “deeply humbled” to be honored alongside the young essay contest winners.

“These youngsters are just like stars and I’m glad they’re getting a head start,” Dovidio told The Anchor. “When I was their age, it wasn’t happening in the culture. I’m in good company with them and I feel very humble because their presentations were so beautiful.”

She wanted to thank the fellow members of her Respect Life Committee — in particular, Doris Toohill for mentoring her — and her mother, “who has been a ProLifer long before I was so she has set the path for me,” she said.

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Youth Pages

L

Be mercy for the glory of God

et’s continue our talk on being mercy. This article will focus on the Spiritual Works of Mercy and how they show us to help with the Spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters.

Admonish the sinner: This Work of Mercy is tough love and one of the most difficult to practice in our day. It’s not easy to correct someone nor is it easy for us to accept and realize that every once in a while we need to be corrected, as well. We fear too often that correcting others may lead to a loss of friendship.

“Who are you to correct me? You’re no better than I” may be the responses directed back at us. This is tough love! Ask your parents about it, they’re experts at this tough love thing. What this Work of Mercy boils down to is that if you truly love someone and you see him do wrong don’t just sit back and do nothing. Show them what real love is and speak the truth in love. You can show your disapproval for that person’s actions in this way. Object to their use of foul language, but do it gently. Object to their wearing provocative clothing, but do it compassionately.

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Object to their use of porthemselves. Put an end to nography and drugs, but do gossip and walk away. Stand it with courage that comes up for those who are befrom the Spirit. That’s being ing bullied and seek help mercy. for those who bully. Set a Instruct the ignorant: Teach the truth to all who do not know the truth. Being ignorant doesn’t make a person any

By Ozzie Pacheco less than others. It just means they need to learn. Aren’t we all ignorant of something? good example for others.

Of course we are. That’s Be mercy where there is no where God’s gifts come in. mercy!

We share with others our Bear wrongs patiently: gifts and talents so that we Patience, patience, patience! all learn from one another.

What a great virtue, and gift, What about you? Do you to have when someone hurts commit yourself to learnyou and does you wrong. ing about our Catholic faith “Love your enemies, do good and share your gifts and to those who hate you, bless talents with others? If you those who curse you, pray for can do these things and en- those who mistreat you” (Lk. courage others to do them 6:27-28). Be less critical of as well, you are being mercy. others, overlook minor flaws Counsel the doubtful: and give people the benefit Give good advice. I’m sure of the doubt. Remember, there are people in your someone who has hurt you life who ask you for advice may be enduring pain of his on matters of life. The best own. “Be merciful, just as advice you can give is your your Father is merciful” (Lk. own personal witness to 6:36).

Christ as His disciple. Be Forgive wrongs willcourageous, yet compasingly: Let go of grudges! sionate, in calling people to Let go of any desire in your be faithful to Gospel values. heart to seek vengeance.

Intervene in situations Life is too short! Go out of where people are harming your way to be positive with

The Anchor - March 18, 2016

Be Not Afraid

someone you are having a difficult time with. Don’t curse the darkness, rather pray for those in darkness.

This Work of Mercy doesn’t mean to let yourself be victimized.

We must all protect ourselves and others from harm. We are all brothers and sisters, children of God. Father Mike Schmitz, from the Diocese of Duluth, describes this Work of Mercy: “One cannot be merciful unless she knows how much offering mercy will cost her — and still freely chooses to offer mercy. This is what it is to forgive offenses willingly.”

Comfort the sorrowful: This Work of Mercy is all about listening. Listen to those who are sad, troubled, in pain and in sorrow. Allow the Holy Spirit to work His gifts of understanding and counsel in you so you can comfort your troubled friend, or brother or sister.

Be optimistic, offer hope and give your support. Empathize with the person, put yourself in their shoes and feel their pain so you can best know how to deal with it. Above all, be present to them. That alone, even without the spoken word,

can comfort and heal.

Pray for the living and the dead: We need to do more and more praying. We need to pray always. Focus your attention on the needs of others and pray for them.

Become mercy to them and others will be mercy to you.

One of my favorite daily prayers for the living and the dead is “The Fatima Prayer”: “Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls into Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

Amen.” Pray this daily!

The Works of Mercy are all acts of love; the love that brings peace to the world, the love that gives freedom to all people and the love that helps us to become servant to one another. The Works of Mercy show us how to be happy in this life.

Do you want to be happy?

Who doesn’t! Jesus tells us exactly how to do that in the Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Mt. 5:7).

Let us aspire to be mercy to one another, all for the glory of God. God bless!

Anchor columnist Ozzie Pacheco is Faith Formation director at Santo Christo Parish, Fall River.

Youth Pages

Students at St. Mary’s School in Mansfield recently participated once again in the Make a Home Project by raising funds followed by a shopping trip to Target where they purchased items to furnish a variety of rooms in the homes of families in need. All items were donated to My Brother’s Keeper in Easton for distribution.

Sixth-graders from St. James-St John School in New Bedford recently completed a project reinforcing Newton’s Laws of Motion through roller coaster physics.

Second-grade students at Holy Name School in Fall River recently observed the 2016 Chinese New Year — the year of the monkey. Students explored Chinese culture by learning vocabulary, reading stories, making crafts, and sampling foods and recipes.

The National Junior Honor Society from St. Joseph School in Fairhaven is supporting Caps of Love, an organization that raises money through the collection of plastic caps to provide wheelchairs for people who need financial assistance.

From left: Lindsey Leonard, Jennifer Dias, Samantha Silva, Miranda Carson, Cameron Garde, and Grace McGuire.

Fourth-graders and kindergarten “buddies” at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford recently got together to write thank you cards to “heroes” who work in the medical field. The children had a chance to dress as their favorite hero that day as well. The cards of appreciation were delivered to a local hospital, several nursing homes and fire stations, and the walk-in clinics in the area.

The second-graders at St. Mary’s School in Taunton celebrated the 100th day of school by participating in STEM center activities. Students were tasked to create structures using 100 various items such as pattern blocks, linking cubes, cups, etc.

The Anchor - March 18, 2016

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Youth Pages

Four Bishop Connolly High School students were recognized by Fall River’s ChipStrong Foundation for outstanding academic performance in the 2015-2016 school year. Matthew Dias, Brannagh O’Donnell, Arthur Grizotte, and Rebecca Farias attained the highest first-quarter average of their class and received commemorative baseball bats from the Foundation’s Batting for Averages Program. Established in memory of Fall River firefighter Paul “Chip” Chippendale, who lost his battle with a rare form of cancer in 2013, the Batting for Averages Program celebrates the achievements of Fall River area youth who reflect the “ChipStrong” qualities — strength, wisdom, kindness and courage. From left: Father Fred Babiczuk, BCHS chaplain; Jayme Chippendale, representing the ChipStrong Foundation on behalf of her late husband; award recipients Farias, Dias and O’Donnell; and BCHS principal Christopher Myron. Not pictured is award recipient Grizotte.

Eleven incoming members of the Bishop Feehan High School (Attleboro) Class of 2020 were recently awarded Presidential and Principal scholarships, as well as the first-ever Mercy Spirit scholarship at a dinner in their honor. The President’s Scholarships were presented to those students who scored highest on Bishop Feehan’s entrance exam and the Principal’s Scholarship were given to five students who displayed exceptional leadership potential in one or more areas. The Mercy Spirit Scholarship honors the life and memory of Bishop Feehan’s beloved Sister of Mercy Patricia Harrington, and was given to a student “whose life reflects the gifts of dedication, faith and service that Sister Pat exemplified every day of her life.” Some of the recipients were, back row from left: Hannah Kline, Naji Karam, William Redding, Peter Fielding, Benjamin Poirier, Aidan Soliday, and Taylor Spears. Front row from left: Hannah Carnes, Elizabeth Castono, Tori Young, and Audrey Bulger.

“Celebrating Vocations” was one of the Catholic Schools Week themes at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth. Senior Dan Feeley began the day with a prayer asking for blessings on students who may be discerning a vocation as a priest or religious. Vocational speakers visited theology classes throughout the day explaining the process of becoming a “person of the cloth.” Father Victor Silva, Sister Maria Therese, and Bishop Stang teacher Deacon Maurice Ouellette spoke to theology classes about vocations.

The sixth-grade girls basketball teams from St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro and Mercymount Country Day School in Cumberland, R.I. recently gathered for a scrimmage at Mercymount for the third annual Hoops for the Hungry.

The girls asked for a non-perishable food donation in lieu of an admission fee. They collected 10 boxes of food which was split between the Northern Rhode Island Food Pantry and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016

First Place High School

Every single person, from the moment of his or her conception, is an unrepeatable and irreplaceable gift from God. What a truly simple statement: “You are a gift from God.” Many Christians have probably heard this numerous times in their life, to the point that they are likely desensitized to the fullness and the truth that it reveals. You are a gift from God. God, Who is so mighty, so powerful and so beyond human understanding, lovingly chose to create each and every one of us. Every quirk, every gift, every entity that makes each person who they are, is deliberate. Every difficulty in our lives makes us stronger, and every seeming imperfection makes us perfect. We must not falsely mistake the things which constitute our lives as anything but extraordinary. Rather, we should view life as it truly is — a gift.

In the monotony of the day-to-day, it is easy to overlook or even to forget the beautiful gift that is the gift of life. Every person we meet, every sound we hear, every feeling we feel is a blessing. When someone chooses to share his or her own life with someone, he or she gifts unto them yet another blessing. What better way is there to define life than as a series of blessings?

This is why the best gift you can give someone is truly the gift of yourself.

Humans were created out of love, making it an integral part of our nature to love. Thus, it is our duty and our privilege to love one another. There is beauty in sharing our gift of life with someone and having someone share their gift of life with us. In doing this, we truly manifest God’s love for us on earth.

When I was younger, my parents always told me to “Stand Up, Stand Out.” I always interpreted this as embracing both my gifts and my flaws that make me who I am, and not letting anyone depreciate the value of these. Now I have grown older, and I am able to more fully comprehend the difficulty in doing this, but also the immeasurable importance of it. Now I realize that “standing up” and “standing out” requires more than appreciating the blessings of my own life. It means valuing every aspect of life, and sharing the gift of life with others. It means defending the defenseless and giving voice to the voiceless. It means championing the value of all lives, no matter what stage. All children of God, from the unborn to the elderly, from the weak to the broken, and everyone in between, deserve to exercise their humanity and to enjoy the precious gift of life given to them. What a seemingly complex thing, yet what a simple thing. Sharing life, enjoying life, living life. Life is deliberate, life is a gift, and every life is worth living.

Juliana DeSimone Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, Grade 11 St. Mary’s Parish, Mansfield

First Place Junior High

During the Holy Father’s recent visit to the United States, one of the most lasting images to me was how Pope Francis’s love for life emerged, whether he was greeting a small child, an immigrant, an elderly person, a head of state, or a homeless man. His actions in every meeting solidified to me very clearly that every life is worth living and is important.

Pope Francis reminds us that we should value all people and to never forget the people who are easily forgotten in today’s world.

“In many places, quality of life is related primarily to economic means, to ‘well-being,’ to the beauty and enjoyment of the physical, forgetting other more profound dimensions of existence — interpersonal, Spiritual and religious. In fact, in the light of faith and right reason, human life is always Sacred and always ‘of quality.’ There is no human life that is more Sacred than another — every human life is Sacred,” stated Pope Francis in an address on Nov. 15, 2014.

Such a wonderful, profound, and yet basic message is that every life is worth living, from the very beginning of life until the very end of life; we are all very special creations of God. Everyone is created in God’s image and His likeness, for this reason, every single life should be cherished and protected. The unborn child is a precious gift from God that we should all strive to protect and honor. We should also pray to stop all forms of opposing life, from murder, genocide, euthanasia, self-destruction, and, of course, abortion.

God is always with all of His creations every single moment of our lives. We have God’s graces with us at all times, which inspire us to not only live our life, but to embrace it. We should honor and respect life by caring for ourselves, which we can do by living a moral, healthy, and drug-free life. We should also remember the sick, the weak, the mentally challenged, the disabled, and the elderly and assist them when we can.

We can care for them, help them, visit them, call them, and keep them in our thoughts and prayers. We can also just help them whenever possible by reminding them that their lives are worth living and that they are never alone. We should also remember to pray for the important caregivers of the world and support them in their endeavors.

Pope Francis also reminds us in this year of Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy to “Feel mercy — this word changes everything.” The Holy Year is traditionally a year of forgiveness and the importance of Sacrament of Reconciliation. Pope Francis is letting us know that even when we stray from our path, God will always forgive us. What a wonderful example of God’s love at work and a truly wonderful gift from God. In today’s world, we are sometimes forced to face obstacles, challenges, and set-backs and stray off of our path with God. We are often too busy getting through our daily lives that we forget what is truly important, God and His love. As a young person in today’s hectic world, it was so important for me to see Pope Francis demonstrate his love for life and to remind us that every single life is worth living. It is also equally as important for me to know that God is forgiving and full of mercy.

These are wonderful examples of God’s love at work that will help guide me through my path in life. Over the next several years, I will be faced with many choices and decisions. I am more confident than ever that having God’s mercy, kindness, humility, and especially love with me, will keep me on my path with God. Gabriella Joaquim Holy Name School/Parish, Fall River Grade Eight The Anchor - March 18, 2016

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Second Place High School

Each life tells a story. Some are long, some are short, but each is valuable. You determine your own story, but you also influence others’ on their journey. You are the main character, the supporting character, and the strange acquaintance. And every story you are in would never be the same without you.

Every life tells a story. Some span the length of a century; others last less than a year. Some stories cannot be told on earth. Others are spread freely and often. No matter the story, each is worth telling and each is worth living. Every life is valuable; it is given to us by God for a purpose. We were not meant to wander aimlessly on the earth, but to perform a certain mission, the path of which is already known by God. Every story is worth telling because every life has value. We all know many stories, but we tend to appreciate those that are glorious and heroic. This is good, but not everyone can be like St. Joan of Arc or Martin Luther King Jr. With people such as this, the value of their lives is clearly seen, for they changed the world.

But, is life only precious when it is well-known or accomplished much? No. Life cannot be valuable for what it does, it is valuable for what it is.

Mother Teresa once said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Mother Teresa spent her life among the poor, serving them as Christ and loving them individually. In her every action, she sought to comfort the heart of Christ, to satiate the longing of His heart by loving Him in the form of Calcutta’s poor. She experienced extreme Spiritual desolation for years. Yet, she still loved every soul as if they were Christ and cared for each person she encountered. Mother Teresa’s life is clearly important and astounding, though she was hardly a celebrity. But Mother Teresa’s story tells more than just about the value of her life; it also describes and highlights the value of the life in every human being, even the sick, unborn, and dying. They are worth caring for, giving up our life for, and she did just that. One does not dedicate their entire life to something useless or valueless.

St. Therese of the Little Flower is also well-known for her deep love of Christ. She was not known for grand actions, but for her little way. She said, “Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them.” A life lived to the fullest, then, is a life spent loving our Lord with a burning heart, longing to be ever close to Him and loving Him in others. St. Therese was known by very few at her death, but her writing filled with simple love is why she is a saint today and millions look to her for guidance.

One of my favorite stories was very short. Therese Elizabeth Hamel was born on May 20, 1998. She died 16 days later. What did she accomplish? Not much. She never ran a marathon. She did not sway the hearts of millions. She never even spoke a word. Why is she important? She was and is my sister.

Our world is not the end all, be all. We exist body and soul. My sister is in Heaven. She is not here, but she never left me. I hold her name and she is my saint. I pray to her when I need help. Sometimes I just talk to her.

She watches over me and my family and she protects us. I miss her. I miss her a lot, but she will always be there for me.

Her life lasted less than a month, barely two weeks. But she still left her mark on this earth. If life is only valuable for doing great things, then she is among the many useless bodies, but if life is an invaluable gift from God, then she is among the celebrated multitude who lived. We live. If we are alive, then we exist for a purpose. Some simply fulfill theirs sooner than others. Then God calls us home, and we run to Him, He Who stands with open arms waiting to welcome us into His Kingdom and the wedding feast. Our loving God longs for us; He gives our life value, for we are created in His image and likeness. He considers us infinitely valuable, so who is anyone to detract from that? The intrinsic value of a life cannot be diminished, cannot be detracted, cannot be destroyed. The Almighty, ever living, omnipotent God Who loves us with a heart that burns for us, Who suffers when we do not ask for His mercy and love, Who died so that we may live with Him forever, this God has given us dignity and a human life. Who can say that any life has no value, has no meaning, or has no purpose? That was never ours to determine! God does not make mistakes; there are no accidents. Everyone was created for a reason that He knows, and to love Him. This is why the Pro-Life movement exists, because every life is valuable and worth protecting from conception until natural death.

Every life is a freely given gift from God. He created us, cares for us, and holds us in creation by His infinite love for us. He sent His only Son to suffer unimaginable and incredible pain, to die for us, so that we may have life and have life abundantly. He did not suffer and die for some or a few, but for all, whether their lives lasted an instant or a century. We have been redeemed by a God Who longs for us and wants nothing more than to have us love Him back. We do not choose whether or not our life means anything, for that is not up to us to decide but for the One Who created it. And so every life is worth living because every life has infinite value given to us by our loving God and Father. We were made in His image and likeness; we were made to be like Him. He has a plan for every one of us, and so our lives are each great stories that are worth being lived out to their glorious conclusion, their final battle, and into eternal life.

Sarah Therese Hamel Bishop Stang High School, North Dartmouth Grade 11 St. Francis Xavier Parish, Acushnet

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016

Second Place Junior High

The children in my family are fortunate. Each of our birth mothers was poor, young and uneducated. Each was scared to find herself unexpectedly pregnant. So why are we fortunate? Because each of our mothers understood that “every life is worth living.” Our birth mothers understood that every life matters and that everyone has a contribution to make.

Even small contributions can have a huge impact. You do not have to discover a cure for cancer to make a difference in this world. My brother, Nick, graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in flute performance.

He has played at Carnegie Hall. This is not what makes him special. What makes him special is all the good things he does with his gift of music.

When he was in high school, he was asked to play his flute in the convent for a dying nun. The look on her face was more satisfying than the applause of thousands. Last spring, when there were riots in Baltimore, he played a concert for peace with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

If his birth mother had not understood that “every life is worth living,” and had chosen abortion, these contributions would have been lost.

My brother, Tim, is an accountant with State Street Bank. This is not what makes him special.

He and his wife, Aimee, have a special love for children and would like a houseful. They are very excited to be expecting their first child in July. If Tim’s birth mother had not understood that “every life is worth living,” and had chosen abortion, this child would have been lost.

My own birth mother has a life-threatening disease. When doctors advised her to have an abortion, she immediately refused. She talked with social workers and made a plan for me to live with my forever family. I am an honor roll student at St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, but this is not what makes me special. My hopes, my dreams, my talents, my love for people: all of these make me special. I plan to be an elementary school teacher when I grow up. If my birth mother had not understood that “every life is worth living,” and had chosen abortion, these dreams would be lost.

We have different gifts but they all come from the Holy Spirit. Finding our gifts and sharing them means that “every life is worth living.”

Lydia Fitton-Alves St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, Hyannis Grade Seven Christ the King Parish, Mashpee

Pope praises grandparents who transmit the faith

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — A group of elderly persons and the “grandparents of Rome” distributed copies of Luke’s Gospel at the Vatican after Pope Francis delivered a recent Angelus address, which touched on the human dignity of the sinner.

“How deserving grandfathers and grandmothers who transmit the faith to their grandchildren,” the pope said as he introduced the elderly men and women, who were assisted by volunteers of the Vati-

can’s Santa Marta pediatric dispensary.

Delivering his remarks to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square on the fifth Sunday of Lent, the pontiff encouraged those present to read the Gospel daily in order that “the mercy of the Father may dwell in your heart, and you may bring it to everyone you meet.”

“I invite you to take this Gospel, so that the mercy of the Father may do works in you,” he said.

In addition to containing the entire Gospel of Luke,

the booklets include the seven Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

“It would be nice that you learn them by heart,” to make it easier to follow them, the pope added.

It has become a custom of Pope Francis to call on volunteers from a particular group to distribute copies of the Gospel during Lent.

On March 22, 2015, also the fifth Sunday of Lent, a group of homeless persons helped to distribute the Gospels.

Pope Francis centered his pre-Angelus address on that

Sister Evelyn Cahill, OSF

Aston, Penn. — Sister Evelyn Cahill, OSF, 85 (formerly Sister Marie Philomene), died in Assisi House on March 2. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 63 years.

Sister Evelyn was born in Fall River, where she was a member of St. Joseph Parish. She entered the congregation in 1951 and professed her first vows in 1953. Sister Evelyn ministered primarily in domestic work in the convents where she lived and in caring for children in orphanages in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Since 2008 she has served in prayer ministry in Assisi House in Aston, Penn.

Her sister, Sister Ann Cahill, also entered the congregation and currently serves in prayer ministry in St. Ann Convent in Tacoma, Wash.

Sister Evelyn ministered for 35 years in the Diocese of Trenton. From 1958-1964 she cared for the children living at St. Michael Home in Hopewell and from 1989-2008 volunteered at St. Francis Medical Center. Over her years in the diocese, she engaged in domestic work in the convents where she lived: St. Mary of the Lakes in

Medford, St. Rose of Lima in Freehold, and Blessed Sacrament in Trenton.

During Sister Evelyn’s years of ministry in the Diocese of Fall River (1964-1968 and again from 1975-1977), she ministered at St. Mary Children’s Home in New Bedford.

Additional ministry experience took Sister Evelyn to the Archdiocese of Boston where she worked at Our Lady of the Assumption Convent in Lynnfield and Holy Trinity Convent in Boston. In the Diocese of

Camden, N.J., she ministered at St. Nicholas Convent in Egg Harbor.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated March 9 at Assisi House. Burial followed at Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. In addition to Sister Ann Cahill, Sister Evelyn is survived by her sister, Clare Sonnett (Clyde), her nieces and nephews, and by her Franciscan family.

Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 South Convent Road, Aston, Penn. 19014.

Sunday’s Gospel account of Jesus forgiving the woman caught in adultery.

The Scribes and Pharisees “seemed to have had a thirst for blood,” the pope observed.

However, Jesus disarmed them of their intentions, and said: whoever is without sin, cast the first stone.

This prompted them to

walk away in shame.

In off-the-cuff remarks, the pope observed how effectively this scene helps us to be aware of our own sinfulness.

How good it is to “have the courage to drop the stones we have for throwing at others, and to think a little about our sins,” he said.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks March 19 Rev. John J. McQuaide, Assistant, St. Mary, Taunton, 1905 March 20 Rev. Francis A. Mrozinski, Pastor, St. Hedwig, New Bedford, 1951 March 22 Rev. Joseph A. Martins, Assistant, St. John the Baptist, New Bedford, 1940 Rev. James T. Keefe, SS.CC., Chaplain, U.S. Army, 2003 March 23 Rev. James F. Kelley, USN Ret. Archdiocese of Anchorage, Forrner Assistant, St. Mary’s Mansfield, 2002 Rev. Normand J. Boulet, 2015 March 24 Rev. John J. Murphy, C.S.C., 2004 March 25 Rev. John J. Brennan, SS.CC. Retired Founder Holy Redeemer, Chatham, 1991 Deacon Thomas Prevost, 2007 March 27 Rev. James W. Conlin, Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1918 Rev. Msgr. Antonio P. Vieira, Pastor, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New Bedford, 1964 Rev. Richard W. Beaulieu, Former Diocesan Director of Education, Former Pastor, Notre Dame, Fall River, 2007 March 28 Rev. Alfred J. Levesque, Pastor, St. Jacques, Taunton, 1960 Rev. Bernard A. Lavoie, Chaplain, Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River, 1972 Rev. Dieudonne Masse, OFM, Retired, Montreal, Canada, 1983 Rev. Howard A. Waldron, Retired Pastor, St. Thomas More, Somerset, 1985 March 29 Rev. James H. Carr, S.T.L., Assistant, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1923 Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Moriarty, Pastor, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1951 March 30 Rev. Aime Barre, On Sick Leave, Fall River, 1963 Rev. Benoit R. Galland, USN Retired Chaplain, 1985 Rev. Lucio B. Phillipino, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 2002 Rev. Robert F. Kirby, Pastor, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, South Attleboro, 2015 March 31 Rt. Rev. Msgr. George C. Maxwell, Pastor, SS. Peter & Paul, Fall River, 1953 April 1 Rev. George A. Lewin, Pastor, St. Mary, Hebronville, 1958 Rev. Edwin J. Loew, Pastor, St. Joseph, Woods Hole, 1974

The Anchor - March 18, 2016

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Special Anchor Year of Mercy supplement to be available at seven area sites FALL RIVER — The Anchor is publishing a special Year of Mercy supplement on March 21 that will be available only at the six Holy Door churches across the diocese, and the Father Peyton Center at Holy Cross Family Ministries in Easton.

The special 20-page supplement will contain information about each of the six Holy Door churches in the diocese: St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River; St. Mary’s Church in Taunton; The La Salette Shrine Church in Attleboro; Our Lady

of Mount Carmel Church in New Bedford; Holy Trinity Church in West Harwich; and Corpus Christi Church in East Sandwich.

Also included will be homilies by diocesan priests and deacons for Easter Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh Sundays of Easter, Ascension Thursday, and Pentecost Sunday.

Five-hundred copies will be delivered to each of the sites. The supplements will be free while they last.

Around the Diocese St. John Neumann Parish, 157 Middleboro Road in East Freetown, will host another Taizé Service on Palm Sunday, March 20 at 7 p.m. It is a wonderful way to begin Holy Week with the Holy Spirit in quiet reflection and meditation and all are welcome.

Every year on the Wednesday evening of Holy Week in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River, a special prayer service that comes out of the monastic tradition called Tenebrae is celebrated with the bishop presiding. This service of readings and psalms, enhanced by the beauty of the music and the solemnity of the gradually increasing darkness, will be held this year on March 23 at 7:30 p.m. and is one in which the Catholic people of the Diocese of Fall River invite their Christian brothers and sisters of other denominations and their ministers to participate. This is most appropriate during this special week and at this Sacred time when in spite of our differences our common faith calls us to focus on the Salvation that Christ has won by His Passion, death and Resurrection. All are welcome and encouraged to participate in this special service.

The Catholic movement Communion and Liberation will sponsor a Way of the Cross beginning at St. Joseph-St. Therese Church, 1960 Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford, and processing through Brooklawn Park to Ashley Boulevard and Tarkiln Hill Road, on Good Friday, March 25, beginning at 11:00 a.m. All are invited to join this procession. The Way of the Cross will include prayers, readings, and hymns, and will be accompanied by Father Luca Brancolini, FSCB, who will provide brief meditations at various stops during the procession.

The Way of the Cross will conclude at 1:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church on Tarkiln Hill Road. For more information, contact Amanda Sampson at 508-817-7268 or clnewengland2@gmail.com.

The Feast of the Divine Mercy will be celebrated at St. Patrick’s Parish, 82 High Street in Wareham on April 3 at 2:30 p.m. featuring chaplet with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and veneration of the image. Guest will be Artie Boyle, an international speaker and native of Hingham, who was miraculously healed of cancer and authored the book “Six Months to Live.” Food and drinks will be served in the parish hall immediately following and all are welcome.

St. Mary’s Parish of Fairhaven invites all to six Awakening Faith sessions, to be held on Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning April 6, free-of-charge. This six-session series includes topics such as “Spirituality: What’s the Buzz?”; “Can I Accept God’s Mercy?”; “Can the Mass Make My Life Meaningful?” and “The Church and Me.” Attendees can learn and ask questions, all in a friendly and confidential setting with other Catholics. For more information call 508-9927300, visit www.sscc.org/stmaryfhvn or email stmarysfairhaven@comcast.net.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Anthony Parish in East Falmouth will sponsor a Comedy Night on April 9 with Wayne Soares at The Sea Crest Resort, Quaker Road in North Falmouth. Wayne is a nationally known comedian, actor, author and inspirational speaker. Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.

There will be a silent auction and raffle and food and beverages will be available. All proceeds will help the poor and needy of the community. Tickets are available in advance at Eight Cousins Bookstore, 189 Main Street in Falmouth, or by calling Rosita at 508-477-0744 or Mary Ann at 508-457-0085.

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ASSONET — Beginning September 14, St. Bernard’s Parish will have Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the altar at the conclusion of 9 a.m. Mass and the church will be open all day, concluding with evening prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the Adoration Chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. through November 17.

ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly time of Eucharistic Adoration Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church on North Main Street.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 to 8 a.m.; and every first Friday from noon to 8 a.m. on Saturday.

East Freetown — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John Neumann Church every Monday (excluding legal holidays) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady, Mother of All Nations Chapel. (The base of the bell tower).

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — S t . M a r y ’s C h u r c h , M a i n S t . , h a s E u c h a r i s t i c A d o r a t i o n e v e r y Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m.

Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration. Refreshments follow.

Fall River — Espirito Santo Parish, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has continuous Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Saturday.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has Eucharistic Adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

FALL RIVER — Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, has Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel.

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday following the 7 a.m.

Mass, with Benediction at 4:30 p.m.

HYANNIS — St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, 347 South Street, Hyannis, has Eucharistic Adoration from noon to 3 p.m., daily Monday through Friday.

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and Confessions offered during the evening. Please use the side entrance.

NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession.

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel Fridays from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m.

The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

NORTH EASTON — A Holy Hour for Families including Eucharistic Adoration is held every Friday from 3-4 p.m. at The Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street.

ORLEANS — St. Joan of Arc Parish, 61 Canal Road, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday starting after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending with Benediction at 11:45 a.m. The Sacrament of the Sick is also available immediately after the 8 a.m. Mass.

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.

Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church takes place 9 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m.

Friday. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~ East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes. All are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

Divine Mercy documentary explores origins of blessed image continued from page two

of the merciful Jesus.

With Father Sopocko modeling as Christ for many hours, the three unlikely friends came up with the only image of Divine Mercy that St. Faustina ever saw.

But after all the corrections and touch-ups at the insistence of the nun, the violently anti-Catholic Soviet occupation of Vilnius, Lithuania, eventually forced the painting into hiding.

“The film centers on this fascinating story about a painting that really echoes the life of Christ in the way it was made, how it came into the world, and how it was hidden for many years,” diSilva said. “The main reason was because it was painted on the other side of the Soviet Union wall and after it was done it sort of had to be kept a secret. At the time they were destroying churches, they were closing down churches, they were stealing the artwork — anything from gold altar pieces to chalices. Some things were being sold, but amazingly enough, this piece of art was least valued among all those things.”

Thankfully, two humble nuns accepted the “mission impossible” and transported the miraculous painting across the dangerous border between Lithuania and Belarus.

“It really is a great story of them risking their lives to take it back home,” diSilva said.

In 2005, after 75 years of wandering, the painting was finally placed in a permanent home in a beautiful shrine in Vilnius according to the wishes of St. Faustina and Blessed Father Michal Sopocko.

“The truth is the film is only an hour and so many minutes long, so it hardly contains all the fascinating

details about this image,” diSilva added. “When I heard some of these things, I just thought this film had to be done. Someone had to tell this story. And I’m still scratching my head about why no one had done it before.”

Despite the growing popularity of devotion to the Divine Mercy around the world, very few realize that there is only one original image.

“I don’t think St. Faustina even imagined there would be other versions or copies of the painting,” diSilva said.

“This is the only (version) she ever saw. The existence of the other versions is probably one of the most interesting parts of the film, I have to say, so I don’t want to give that away.

But I will say that some of them aren’t really renditions of Divine Mercy, to be honest with you.”

According to diSilva, there are currently three “approved” images of the Divine Mercy: the original 1934 Kazimirowski painting; a version created by a Polish painter named Hyla, which remains popular in Europe and Latin America; and another by an artist named Skemp, which shows the rays from Christ’s breast radiating almost directly at the viewer.

One of the most common renditions of the Divine Mercy — with red and white rays of light emanating from Christ’s chest against a blue background — is actually a revision of the Hyla image credited to artist Kathleen Weber.

“There’s a very interesting story as to why they were approved and why we have more than one,” diSilva said.

“It doesn’t mean that the other images are not good or that you can’t pray with them, it just means that if you’re going to hang an image in

your church, it should be one of these three.”

Among the key personalities interviewed in “The Original Image of Divine Mercy” are Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles (previously known for his Word on Fire ministry and “Catholicism” film series); author and Anchor columnist George Weigel (“Witness to Hope”); comedian Jim Gaffigan (“The Jim Gaffigan Show”), and multiple Grammy and Emmy Award-winning musician Harry Connick Jr. (“American Idol”).

“With Bishop Baron, I felt we couldn’t do the film without him,” diSilva said. “He’s such an intellectual giant and he knows how to put things into words so well.

“It was a little bit of a struggle to get in touch with Harry Connick Jr. and Jim Gaffigan, but once we did they were both very accommodating. We interviewed Connick in the choir loft of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which is a really beautiful setting.

While we were in New York another time, we were able to interview Gaffigan in his home.”

While Gaffigan has been very forthcoming about his Catholic faith, diSilva said people might be surprised to learn about Connick’s religious beliefs.

“He is a Catholic and he knew a lot about the Divine Mercy beforehand,” diSilva said. “There were many times with some of the other interviews we did, we would have to prep people and tell them a bit about the story, but with him we just turned the cameras on and he went.

It was pretty fascinating to see him go so far with it.”

In another bit of Divine providence, diSilva was pleasantly surprised to learn that Pope Francis had called for the Year of Mercy while

they were already in production, which meant it would be released during the jubilee year.

“We started working on this film in January (2015), so it was even before Pope Francis had announced the Year of Mercy,” he said. “It was really shocking to hear the pope make that announcement while we were doing this film.”

Since Ash Wednesday, the documentary has been playing at parishes, schools and conferences all over the world, making it the mustsee film event of the Holy Year of Mercy.

“It’s funny because we premiered the film in Lithuania on February 22, which is the anniversary of the first apparition when Jesus asked St. Faustina to paint the picture,” diSilva said. “That was interesting in and of itself.

But the Lithuanian audience had seen the image so many

times, they simply watched the film and then went home.

“But in the United States, every place that we show the film, people stay afterwards to venerate the image and participate in question-andanswer sessions and everyone is just so fascinated with it. To an American audience, this story is a new and fascinating thing. So the reception here really has been great.”

“The Original Image of Divine Mercy” will be screened in the gymnasium of St. Francis Xavier School, 223 Main Street in Acushnet, on April 1 at 7 p.m.

There is no admission charge, but a freewill offering will be accepted to defray the cost of bringing the movie to the parish.

For more information, visit www.divinemercyfilm. com or www.sfxparish.com/ the-divine-mercy-imagedocumentary/.

The Anchor - March 18, 2016

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The Anchor - March 18, 2016