The CROR
An Anchor 01 the Soul: Sure and Farm-St. Paul
Fall River, Mass., Thursday, Apr,il 11, 1974 Vol. 18, No. 15 © 197.. The Anchor $5.00~~E~~~
Bishop's Easter Message Dearly beloved in Christ. Once again the good Lord has given us the grace to celebrate the R'orious Feast of His Resurrection. Easter Sunday announces to the world the hope and joy that are found in our Christian Faith. Depressed and overwhelmed by sin and death..,-Qnd this
is so well sigryified by our commemoration of the Passion and Death of Jesus on Good Friday-we now find ourselves consoled and hopeful. yes Ewen joyous. as we realize that the Lord. through His death and resurrection. has brought about our salvation and given us confidence in our own future rising with Him. The, sorrows and problems of our lives take on new meaning: The: Second Vatican Council puts it this' way: "Through Christ and in Christ. the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful. Apart from His gospel. they overwhelm us. Christ has risen. destroying death by His death. He has lavished life upon us so that, as sons in the Son. we can cry out in the Spirit: "Abba. Father!"
Our faith in the R.isen Savior gives cause to hope in Him and to the love which we have for Him and for our brothers in Christ. Our Christian lives. made joyful and meaningful by the Lord Jesus. cannot be lived in isolation from Him or our fellowmen; all of us are made by the Creator and included in His salvific will. Rather. we who are Christians. believing in the Lord and hoping in Him. humbly and JOYfully work out our salvation by constantly reconciling our-selves with God and our brothers. This is the logical outgrowth of our faith in Jesus Christ. Contemporary theological writings have identified our Christian faith and hope, looking forward. as they do. to life after death and the world to come, as persuasive motives for action in the world, here and now. We have so many PRESENT opportunities to honor the Creator and Redeemer and to labor for the good of all His children. This is the meaning and message of Easter for us. It is also the theme of the coming Holy Year in 1975 and its preparatory year that we are now engaged in commemorating, namely Renewal and Reconciliation. Life is renewed at Easter by the Resurrection of Jesus. and we are reconciled with God and with our brothers as we participate in His death and rising again. 1t is up to us now. followers of Jesus, as we are. to put this truth into practice in our daily lives in order that the message of Easter m(IY find enthusiastic response, not just on one day. but throughout the year. . May the peace and joy of the Risen Lord be with you all. Devotedly yours in Christ.
Bishop of Fall River
CCA· KickoH Wednesday The opening meeting to launch the 33rd annual Catholic Charities Appeal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River will be held at 8 P.M. Wednesday. April 17, at Bishop Connolly High School auditorium. Fall River. Most Rev. Daniel A. Cronin, S.T.D., Bishop of Fall River, will be the keynote speaker. This is
his fourth year as Appeal chair· man. More than 900 clergy, religious and laity of the diocese will be present. The Special Gift phase of the Appeal will be conducted from April 22 to May 4 and the parish house-to-house campaign is set for Sunday, May 5 from noon to 3 ,P.M. This phase of the Appeal Tum to Page Four
BLESSING PALMS: Most Rev. Daniel A. Cronin, S.T.D., Bishop of Fall River, is pictured as he blessed palms to open· the Holy Week ceremonies at the Cathedral last Saturday afternoon. Assisting the Bishop were (left to right): Rev. Mr. Stephen Salvador, Deacon at St. John of God Parish, Somerset; Very Rev. Thomas J. Harrington, Diocesan Chancellor, and Very Rev. John J. Regan, Rector of the Cathedral, both of whom concelebrated the Mass with the Bishop.
Christians He -Live Holy Week Themes This is family day throughout . ,the Diocese of Fall River and indeed, throughout the world. It is not only when each individual family may express its dynamic unity but when each parish does the same, standing about the "source and center" of all religious ute. The celebration of the Mass of the Lord's Supper is not the simple commemoration of Christ's Last Supper but rather the recognition of the parish as a family of the need for Christ, that food without which we die. It is also the recognition by the parish's clergy of their hear.tfeit ministry to all. in imi,tation of the caring and loving Chr,ist. Where possible, only one Mass ,is to be celebrated so that the unity of the parish family may be better stressed. Added Masses this morning are only to give the opportunity to participate to those parishioners who in no way can take part in the Mass of the Lord's Supper. Because 'of ,its closeness to the sufferings of Good Friday, we cannot fully meditate and appreciate the greatness of Christ's
EASTER
COLLECTiON' To Help Retired Sisters and Brothers
April 13-14
presence in the Mass. Th'at will be left to latE~r, when, during tJhe Feast of. Corpus Christi (Body of Christ), all will be able to focus better on the great gift of the Eu<:harist which the Father has bressed us with. Tonight, it is rather the ,intense love that Christ showed all only hours before He was to die. Knowing the appr,oaching abandonment by all, He still expressed His love and strengthened His disoiples for the critical hours to come. Just as the Apostles were brought closely together during the Last Supper and Christ re-
emphasized 'throughout the ceremony that unity with Christ and with one another was so necessary, so each parisharound the loving Christ-proclaims its need of Him and a loving need for each other. Immediately following the proclamation of the Gospel during which 'Christ speaks of His ministry and the fact that no servant is greater than his master, the liturgy provides a teaching illustrati'On of Christ's message. The Mass celebrant then actually dons an apron-as Christ Turn to Page Two
Catholic School Students Atta in High Achievement in Reading NEW YORK-Students in elementary schools of the New York Catholic archdiocese have shown "outstanding achievement" In 1973 reading test resul,ts, archdiocesan officials said. The average student in the fourth and fifth grades is three and a half months above the national average dn reading accomplishment, the archdiocese said. The average student an the sixth and seventh grades is six months above the national average. Tests in reading, language arts and mathematics were conducted l~st spring by Science Research Associates, Inc., a national testing organization, on all students in the third through the seventh grades in all schools in the 10 counties of the archdiocese. This included three boroughs of New York City and suburban counties upstate.
There was a contrast between students an the suburban counties and those in Manhattan and the Bronx, however. • In six suburban counties. the average seventh grade student is reading on a ninth grade level. In seven suburban counties, the average sixth grade student is Tum to Page Four
Bishop Cronin's Special Easter Mass WTEV Channel 6
Sunday 8:45 a.m.