05.03.19

Diocese of Fall River, Mass. † Friday, May 3, 2019

The senior class at Bishop Connolly High School has been volunteering at St. Mathieu’s Residence in Fall River as part of its Senior Service Project.

During Lent, students spent two days painting bedrooms at the women’s residence.

(Photo courtesy of Martha Reed)

May 3, 2019 †

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Connolly seniors adopt St. Mathieu’s Residence for community service

By Kenneth J. Souza Editor

kensouza@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — For the past four months, members of the class of 2019 at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River have adopted the St. Mathieu’s Residence on Wellington Street in the city as their Senior Service Project.

St. Mathieu’s Residence is one of several residential homes operated under the auspices of the diocesan Catholic Social Services office.

According to Susan Mazzarella, CEO of CSS, the seeds of this unique partnership were planted when Mary Kennedy became manager at St. Mathieu’s Residence.

“Mary came to St. Mathieu’s from St. Joseph’s Shelter in Hyannis, and Marion Desrosiers transitioned from the Pro-Life Apostolate to Bishop Connolly High School,” Mazzarella told The Anchor. ‘‘Mary and Marion were professional acquaintances in different roles, so this current venture is the fruit of that relationship, collaboration, and commitment to mission.”

The students devoted one hour at least once or twice a week to come to the home to help clean and provide routine maintenance. They also interacted directly with the residents and often provided some much-needed comfort and Spiritual sup-

port to the women living there.

“The kids were so wonderful,” said Kennedy, director at St. Mathieu’s Residence. “They come here in groups of 30 or more. They are always so prayerful and so respectful when they come here.

Before they begin, we all form a circle and we meditate and pray together.”

According to Kennedy, what’s even more impressive is that the students genuinely enjoy working at the residence. “They even came in on Good Friday, which was a day off from school,” she said.

“They really like doing it.”

Student Matthew Dias has been involved with the Senior Service Project at St. Mathieu’s since March.

“Most of our work involved cleaning parts of the residence; for example, I worked in the living room and all the stairwells,” Dias said.

“Our most recent — and largest — work in April also doubled as our senior retreat. Our class was divided into groups that worked on painting and furnishing rooms, painting the enclosed three-season porch, moving furniture, and removing trash created during the process. Three of my classmates and I served as site supervisors because we were among the students who participated most often in service at St. Mathieu’s. Our additional work included selecting paint and anything else needed.”

Senior Emily Borges was also among the first

group of students to visit St. Mathieu’s.

“I believe the first visits date back to the beginning of March, and I continue to go still,” Borges said. “Most of the work depended on the day you went. Most days consisted of cleaning around the house or in specific rooms. Other times were very specific such as fixing a DVD player, taking out the trash, moving a resident out of her room, and even painting and furnishing some of the older rooms.”

Senior Amber Ferreira’s involvement dates back even further to the end of February.

“We started just by helping out around the home, cleaning areas that the women there had some trouble cleaning themselves,” Ferreira said. “It started out as just me and two other girls going from my class, and then more people began to come and help. We were able to clean common areas.”

As a special gesture of almsgiving during Lent, the class recently spent two days painting nine of the residents’ rooms at the facility.

“Our project with painting the rooms came about when we saw how colorless some of the rooms were,” Ferreira said. “I suggested that we take a day out of our April break to go and volunteer, and we instead took two school days to go and paint the rooms bright and vibrant colors so that the women would be able to be in a much happier and home-like environment.”

While the residents may have benefitted from the students’ handiwork, 8 Turn to page 13

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D iocese of F all R iver † OFFICIAL A ppointments , T ransfers and R etirements His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, announces the following appointments and transfers: Reverend Brian E. Albino, Pastor of Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in Fall River to Parochial Vicar of Saint John of God Parish in Somerset, Saint Francis of Assisi Parish and Saint Dominic Parish in Swansea, with residence at St. John of God rectory in Somerset; Reverend Monsignor Stephen J. Avila, V.F., Pastor of Saint Patrick Parish in Falmouth and Saint Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth, while remaining Pastor of Saint Anthony’s Parish in East Falmouth; Reverend Paul Bernier, Pastor of Saint Patrick Parish in Somerset to Pastor of Saint George Parish in Westport; Reverend Jason Brilhante, Administrator of Saint John of God Parish in Somerset to Parochial Vicar of Saint Stanislaus Parish, Good Shepherd Parish, Saint Anthony of Padua Parish and the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in Fall River, with residence at the Cathedral rectory, Fall River; Reverend Michael A. Ciryak, Pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Swansea to Parochial Vicar of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Saint Lawrence Martyr Parish and Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in New Bedford; Reverend David A. Costa, Pastor of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish and Sacred Heart Parish in North Attleboro and Saint Mark’s Parish in Attleboro Falls to Pastor of Saint Louis de France Parish in Swansea, Saint Thomas More Parish and Saint Patrick Parish in Somerset; Reverend James M. Fitzpatrick, Administrator of Saint Louis de France Parish in Swansea to Pastor of Saint Bernard Parish in Assonet; Reverend David C. Frederici, Pastor of Saint George Parish in Westport to Pastor of Saint Mary’s Parish in Dartmouth; Reverend Philip N. Hamel, Pastor of Saint Joseph-Saint Therese Parish in New Bedford to Pastor of Saint John of God Parish in Somerset and Saint Dominic Parish and Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Swansea; Reverend Dariusz Kalinowski, Pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Westport to Pastor of Saint John the Evangelist Parish and Saint Vincent de Paul Parish in Attleboro; Very Reverend Daniel W. Lacroix, V.F., Pastor of Saint Joseph-Saint Therese Parish in New Bedford, while remaining Pastor of Saint Mary’s Parish in New Bedford; Reverend Robert A. Oliveira, Pastor of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish and Administrator of Saint Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford to Pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River; Reverend Christopher M. Peschel, Administrator of Saint John the Evangelist Parish and Saint Vincent de Paul Parish in Attleboro to Administrator of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Westport; Reverend Michael S. Racine, Pastor of Saint Bernard Parish in Assonet to Pastor of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish and Saint Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford and Administrator of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in New Bedford; Reverend Rodney E. Thibault, J.C.L., Pastor of Saint Mary’s Parish in Dartmouth to Pastor of Saint Mark Parish in Attleboro Falls, Sacred Heart Parish and Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in North Attleboro; Reverend Thomas Washburn, O.F.M., Pastor of Saint Anthony of Padua Parish, Pastor of Saint Stanislaus Parish and Good Shepherd Parish, while remaining Rector of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River; Reverend Riley J. Williams, Administrator of Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet to Pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet.

Effective June 26, 2019 ††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, has accepted the request to retire of: Reverend Monsignor Edmund J. Fitzgerald, Pastor of Saint Thomas More Parish in Somerset; Reverend Timothy J. Goldrick, Pastor of Saint Patrick Parish in Falmouth; Reverend Kevin J. Harrington (will begin a six-month sabbatical on June 26, 2019, and retire on December 26, 2019); Reverend Arnold R. Medeiros, Pastor of Saint Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth; Reverend Bruce M. Neylon, Pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River; Reverend Joseph F. Viveiros, Pastor of Saint Dominic Parish in Swansea.

Effective June 26, 2019 ††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, announces the following appointments: Very Reverend Gregory A. Mathias, Vicar General to Director of Continuing Education and Formation of Clergy, while remaining Pastor of Saint John Neumann Parish in East Freetown; Very Reverend Richard D. Wilson, J.C.L., Director of Continuing Education and Formation of Clergy to Vicar General, while remaining Pastor of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton and Minister to the Hispanic Community of Taunton.

Effective June 26, 2019 May 3, 2019 †

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Ninth diocesan class of permanent deacons share excitement, nervousness, hope as its May 18 ordination date approaches

By Dave Jolivet

JolivetDB@comcast.net

FALL RIVER — In 1968, near the conclusion of Vatican II, St. Paul VI approved the restoration of the permanent diaconate in the Catholic Church after a long absence. And the Fall River Diocese warmly embraced the ministry when thenBishop Daniel A. Cronin instituted the diocesan Office of the Permanent Diaconate in 1970.

Since that time eight groups of candidates studying to become permanent deacons have been ordained.

Currently the diocese is on the cusp of having its ninth class join the ranks. On May 18 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River, nine men are scheduled to be ordained as permanent deacons during a Mass beginning at 11 a.m. by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. The nine are: Richard Bisson, Keith Caldwell, Gary Donahue, Kevin Gingras, David Harum, George Hults, Tony Pimental, Paul Spearin, and Matt Sweeney.

Their journey to the diaconate began nearly five years ago when they entered the Aspirancy stage, a time when men interested in the permanent diaconate are introduced to the ministry and what it involves, and then begin a discernment process to determine if this is what they feel they are being called to.

The men and their wives, if such is the case, attended classes twice weekly for four years. During this period the candidates are admitted to Candidacy when they have reached maturity of purpose and have demonstrated other necessary qualifications along with the completion of the required preparatory steps. During this rite they publicly expressed their 4

desire to be ordained and the bishop accepted their declaration.

Through this their studies continued. They next are installed as Readers, a rite at which they receive their albs and their call is not only a call to proclaim the Word of God as ordinary ministers, but they will have the grace to instruct others in the faith to prepare for the Sacraments and to bring the message of Salvation to those who have not heard it.

One year later the men were installed as Acolytes, the second and final ministry these candidates received and exercised as part of their preparation before their upcoming ordination as permanent deacons. As an acolyte, deacons-to-be can serve at the altar and assist the priest during the Liturgy. In particular, it is their responsibility to prepare the altar and the Sacred vessels and, when necessary, serve as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.

Four years of hard work and dedication have led the men and their families to the upcoming ordination on May 18.

“After almost five years of personal, theological and pastoral training, the Diocese of Fall River will be ordaining nine men to the permanent diaconate,” Father Robert A. Oliveira, co-director of the diocesan Permanent Diaconate Office told The Anchor. “Each of the candidates, and their

† May 3, 2019

families, has been a great blessing to me. Seeing how each of the men have grown so richly in faith and in their desire to serve in the name of the Church and in the Lord’s name, is a cause of great hope and joy.”

The Anchor reached out to each the candidates for some thoughts on their formation and what their hopes are moving forward.

Richard Bisson is from Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich.

He has a wife, Rosie, and two adult children. He is a self-employed electrician, and his uncle, Father Joseph Bisson, S.D.V., has been his Spiritual director and inspiration.

“The Lord in adoration lead me to this call to serve others, especially the sick, the elderly, handicapped, imprisoned, and home-bound. My wife Rosie and I spent two years, six days a week, one hour each day meditating with our Lord in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. And I kept hearing an inner quiet voice, ‘I need more from you,’” Bisson told The Anchor.

“This warm embrace opened my heart and I felt total peace, like I’ve never experienced before. All my inner thoughts, every need, worry, completely disappeared, and from that moment on I knew I would serve Jesus for the rest of this life and worship

Him forever in our Heavenly home with the Father, Our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and all the angels and saints for eternity.

“In 2002 my older sister Janey was found dead in her New Jersey home, my three sisters and I were devastated, especially my mom and dad.

My dad asked me to pray three Hail Marys each day for Janey’s soul, I did this for many years because of my love for my dad and mom and especially my big sister Janey. I believe Our Blessed Mother led me right to her Son.” At the time, Bisson wasn’t even going to church except Easter and Christmas. “Our Lord transformed my heart and filled it with His love and this love for service has only increased 100-fold since my vocation to serve began,” he said.

“This journey to ordination has been the most difficult, rewarding experience of my entire life. I’ve become a better husband, son, dad, brother, nephew, friend and have been completely filled with God’s transforming grace.

“The studies were very

challenging, I’ve learned so much about myself, I realize that it is our Blessed Lord Jesus Who is the answer to my every heart’s desire. I absolutely love and enjoy listening and meeting people wherever they’re at, and it is invigorating to see the tremendous faith in others that my faith has only gotten stronger, and keeps growing.

“My hope is that all my brothers and I will be instruments of God’s love, peace, understanding, and lead souls to our Lord, Jesus Christ.

“I want to be the hands of the Lord to do the nitty gritty work to help others, to be the feet of Our Lord to travel to the hearts of all I meet, the ears of God’s patience, the voice of God’s reason, the heart to love everyone I encounter, these are my hopes for myself at this moment.”

A member of Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, Keith Caldwell is married to 8 Turn to page nine

Bishop da Cunha addresses priest transfers, reassignments Stresses the need for change is essential for ‘future of our diocese’ FALL RIVER — In announcing the transfer and reassignment of 17 diocesan priests last weekend, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., took another important step in his “Rebuilding in Faith and Hope” strategic planning initiative for the Diocese of Fall River.

While many faithful parishioners were understandably upset at the prospect of losing their beloved pastors and priests, the bishop felt it was important to explain the process to them and to share why so many changes were needed at this time.

To that end, the following is a question-and-answer transcript of an interview The Anchor conducted with the bishop on April 30.

Anchor: Bishop da Cunha, thank you for taking time to discuss the recent transfers and reassignments.

Bishop: I wanted to address the issue of transfers, especially this year with the uniqueness of the transfers within the context of the strategic planning (in the diocese), and the collaboratives that we are establishing, and the priests going into new leadership (roles) and new assignments that require skills that were not necessarily required before.

Anchor: Why are so many pastors being transferred and what was the reasoning behind moving certain pastors to certain parishes?

Bishop: The main focus of our need to do that is really the good of the Church as a whole and the success of our strategic planning and the future of our diocese. With the collaboratives that we have established, some special skills and leadership were necessary to move these collaboratives forward. Therefore, we had to tap into the priests that we know can handle it, (and) to match the gifts and talents of the priests to the needs of the Church.

Having our limited resources of priests, we had to move some of the priests that were doing a great job, and were very successful in their ministries, and were loved by the people (in their parish), and we had

to ask them to make that sacrifice.

And almost all of them told me, even though it hurts, they were willing to do it for the good of the Church.

Anchor: A lot of parishioners just heard about the changes for the first time at Masses last weekend, but this has been in the works for some time, right?

Bishop: Yes, I met personally with each (priest), and we talked about and how they felt, personally and emotionally. They explained they were connected to their church and their community, but they all said, “I know I was not ordained for this parish. I was ordained to do the work of the Church.” And none of our priests are assigned for life in one particular assignment. They all get an assignment and eventually they move onto another assignment because the needs of the Church are greater than the needs of any individual parish. So we need to always keep that wider view and the needs of the whole diocese (in mind).

Anchor: I think just the large number of changes this year has been a little unsettling to people.

Bishop: Once you start moving priests, the domino effect kicks in, and then you have to replace one with another. And then we had six priests who are retiring this year, so in order for us to fill in those positions — and with the combination of parishes — we ended up with that many assignments.

Anchor: While parishes have been combined or merged in the past, this idea of parish collaboratives is something new in our diocese.

Bishop: That’s right. It’s not a merger. We are linking the parishes and I think the difference is that we are not just telling the priest: “Here is your new assignment. You now have two or three parishes to handle.” But we have a blueprint of what these new collaboratives will look like. We have a plan from our strategic planning process that will

revitalize these parishes with new leadership.

So there will be a priest as pastor, and another priest as parochial vicar. There will be a lay administrator doing the management of the temporal (needs) — dealing with finances and personnel and buildings and grounds and all those things. And then there will be a pastoral associate — it could be a lay person, or could be a religious, or a deacon — to help the pastor with things that don’t require ordination; like preparing for a Baptism or Faith Formation, handling the preparation for Sacraments and things like that.

So priests can then be priests and do their priestly work. Many of them sometimes get caught up in the administration and they don’t have time to really do the priestly work of preaching, of counseling, of celebrating the Sacraments and doing the things that only a priest can do.

Anchor: Many priests have said that administrative duties take up so much of their time, it should be a blessing to have that burden lifted.

Bishop: Exactly. You know, when we did the listening sessions in the diocese, a lot of these things came up from the people — that we need to focus on Faith Formation, that we need to focus on youth, that we need to focus on bringing people back to the Church. So many things that priests have been unable to do because they don’t have the time or the resources. And now with this new plan and these new collaboratives, we are making it possible for the priests to have the time and the resources to do those things.

Anchor: Change is difficult, and many are upset and heartbroken that their pastors are moving to another parish. What would you say to those faithful parishioners?

Bishop: I know they are all feeling unsettled and upset that their parish community with their priest has been somewhat disrupted. I understand. I was a pastor for 11 years in one parish and when my superi-

ors told me that I needed to move, it was very difficult for me. There were a lot of tears. I cried and they cried.

But I accepted it, because that’s what I became a priest for — to follow the direction and the leadership of my superiors.

And when I was needed in some other place, I moved. And I never regretted having said yes to my superiors when they asked me to move. When the pope asked me to come to Fall River, I had no idea what Fall River was like and it wasn’t easy for me to adjust and to leave my familiarity with New Jersey where I had lived for more than 30 years. So it was a huge, emotional challenge for me to get used to, but we all get used to these things. I understand the feelings, and the emotions, and the sadness — all those things that people have to go through in times of change. But I also know that these things bring good fruit for the Church.

Anchor: And since we are in the midst of Easter season, it’s appropriate to think about new life and rebirth for our diocese.

Bishop: Well, maybe I can just conclude by saying that as we enter this joyful season of Easter — a season of change, but one that also brings new life and new hope for the Church — I am inviting all to see this not as a moment of dying for a parish that is losing a pastor, but rather a moment of rebirth and a new beginning. A new beginning that is going to bring new fruit, new life, new hope.

It may be for some people that they are going through the Good Friday experience right now. But knowing that Easter Sunday is not far away and the joy and hope of Easter is a part of who we are as a people of faith. We don’t stop at Good Friday ... it would be very sad if we did. When we are going through very difficult moments in life, we sometimes think we have been buried, but we have only been planted.

May 3, 2019 †

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Editorial

Time to be light

Looking in the online archive of The Anchor, one can see that many times in the last half year we have had to write about violent tragedies: against Christians (“The Martyrs of Jolo,” Jan. 23, 2019, after a massacre in the Philippines), against Jews (“Ending Anti-Semitism,” Oct. 31, 2018, after the massacre in the Pittsburgh synagogue), and against Moslems (“After Christchurch,” Mar. 20, 2019, after the attacks on mosques in New Zealand).

Just since the last edition of this newspaper we have had to mourn the massacre of Catholics and other Christians in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday and the attack on a synagogue outside of San Diego on the last day of Passover. The devil is certainly enjoying this.

In this darkness, we are called to be light — to let the light of Christ shine through us. He came to conquer the darkness, to vanquish evil, to set us truly free.

The devil, in turn, has so many “angles” to tempt us to do evil. One of his frequently used tools is that of changing religion from a means of following God into a means of fighting against God (when we think that we’re doing God’s will).

Joe Fitzgerald, a Protestant columnist in the Boston Herald, published a very thoughtful piece on this on Easter Monday, entitled, “Easter bombings show history’s lessons haven’t been learnt.” In it, Fitzgerald lists how just in the last few decades various Christians, Moslems and Jews have thought they were doing God’s work when committing mass murder. “The Almighty is the most misquoted entity in the world, which is ironic when you consider the gist of His message — at least as we understand it in Christianity — is redemption, love and forgiveness.”

On Divine Mercy Sunday Christians in Sri Lanka could not go to Catholic Mass or Protestant services — the threat level was so high that the church and civil leaders thought that having public worship would lead to more death. So, people were instructed to pray at home and to watch Mass on television.

Some Catholics here in the U.S. would be delighted to get such a message — “wohoo! A day off from church!” people would shout, like Homer Simpson being told Rev. Lovejoy had cancelled services. And yet, our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka were sad.

A newspaper from neighboring India, The Hindu, reported, “However, dozens gathered outside St. Anthony’s shrine, singing hymns and lighting candles, exactly a week after the horrific attacks. Rows of flags in black and white were put up along the street, as if to register grief, protest and solidarity at once.”

These people would not let the murderers keep them from praying in public.

Mohamed Buhari, a Moslem trader up the street from St. Anthony’s, told the newspaper, “We all know that all lives have to go one day. Death is OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER www.anchornews.org

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† May 3, 2019

not the issue. But no one has the right to take another human life in such a gruesome way. It is outrageous.”

Meanwhile, back in our country, a man, supposedly inspired by the attacks on the synagogue in Pittsburgh and the mosques in New Zealand, went to kill Jews on the last day of Passover in the Chabad Synagogue in Poway, California last Saturday.

“We need to battle darkness with light,” Rabbi Yisraol Goldstein said in a press conference in front of the synagogue.

On Monday, the parents of the gunman released a statement. They wrote, “How our son was attracted to such darkness is a terrifying mystery to us.”

The rabbi’s life was saved by Lori Kaye, a worshipper at the synagogue, who got in between the gunman and the rabbi, sacrificing her own life.

She had come to the synagogue that day to pray for her recently deceased mother.

The rabbi said that Kaye was always ready to help people whenever they were in need.

“No matter how bad the world is ... a little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness. A lot of light will push away much more,” Rabbi Goldstein said, with his hands bandaged from his wounds.

How can we be that light? First and foremost, as Catholics, we need to concentrate on the message of Christ in this time in which we recall the 40 days of His Resurrection appearances. Repeatedly He said, “Peace be with you.” We need to pray about that and see how we can be people of peace.

Nourished by the Sacraments, we will have His strength of help us bring peace to our world, to truly see everyone as our brothers and sisters, instead of rivals (or worse).

We also need to reach out to our neighbors, fellow Christians, Jews, Moslems and other people. We are called to work together — and to do that, we need to be in contact with each other.

An opportunity for that will be held on Wednesday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, in New Bedford.

Entitled “Multi-faith Conversations: How friendships among people of faith show the way forward in today’s divisive climate,” Father John Oliveira from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in New Bedford will be in dialogue with Rev. David Lima of the Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford, Rabbi Raphael Kanter of Tifereth Israel Congregation of New Bedford and Martin Bentz, the outreach coordinator of the Islamic Society of Southeastern Massachusetts. If you can’t attend that, there are many other opportunities to get to know your neighbors and visit their houses of worship.

Thanks be to God, many Catholics and other Christians joined the Jewish community at their cemetery on McMahon Street in Fall River on Tuesday, March 26, to pray there and mourn the desecration of that cemetery after Nazi symbols and other messages of hate were spray-painted there.

May we be part of the light conquering the darkness.

Daily Readings † May 4 - May 17 Sat. May 4, Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33:1-2,4-5, 18-19; Jn 6:16-21. Sun. May 5, Third Sunday of Easter, Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41; Ps 30:2,4-6,11-13; Rv 5:11-14; Jn 21:1-19.

Mon. May 6, Acts 6:8-15; Ps 119:23-24,26-27,29-30; Jn 6:22-29. Tues. May 7, Acts 7:51—8:1a; Ps 31:3cd-4,6,7b,8a,17,21ab; Jn 6:30-35. Wed. May 8, Acts 8:1b-8; Ps 66:1-3a,4-7a; Jn 6:35-40. Thurs. May 9, Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66:8-9,16-17,20; Jn 6:4451. Fri. May 10, Acts 9:1-20; Ps 117:1bc,2; Jn 6:52-59.

Sat. May 11, Acts 9:31-42; Ps 116:12-17; Jn 6:60-69. Sun. May 12, Fourth Sunday of Easter, Acts 13:14,43-52; Ps 100:1-3,5; Rv 7:9,14b-17; Jn 10:27-30. Mon. May 13, Acts 11:1-18; Ps 42:2-3; 43:3-4; Jn 10:1-10. Tues. May 14, Acts 1:15-17,20-26; Ps 113:1-8; Jn 15:9-17. Wed. May 15, Acts 12:24—13:5a; Ps 67:2-3,5-6,8; Jn 12:4450. Thurs. May 16, Acts 13:13-25; Ps 89:2-3,21-22,25,27; Jn 13:16-20. Fri. May 17, Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2:6-9, 10-11ab; Jn 14:1-6.

W

e are now at the time of year in which, in many parts of the country and globe, young people make their First Holy Communion. As pastors and catechists are well aware, the Spiritual significance of this event is sometimes obscured by an excessive focus on suits and dresses, parties and photos.

This year, however, the world has received an extraordinary reminder of the importance of this day from the First Communicants in Sri Lanka.

As Catholics were celebrating Easter at St. Anthony Shrine in Colombo and St. Sebastian Church in Negombo, young children were excited to receive for the first time Jesus’ risen Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.

Bombs detonated, however, at both Churches at exactly 8:45 a.m., killing 50 and 93 people respectively. Others were killed by similar terrorist explosions within the next 20 minutes in three hotels and in the Protestant Zion Church in Batticloa.

Among all 253 victims — 207 from Sri Lanka and 46 from 16 other countries — the 45 children slain have become the most poignant icons of the attacks. Among the children, those slain on the day of their First Holy Communion are most iconic of all.

Joe Palathunkal, a journalist and editor for the Indian Catholic magazine Living in Faith, wrote a poem — prose is inadequate — to express his grief at pondering so many children in line to receive Holy Communion, becoming the offertory procession in which their own bodies and blood would be commingled with the Eucharistic sacrifice.

“They went,” he wrote, “with the steps of a soldier to receive Him, the Supreme Commander Who had only one command: love your neighbor as yourself and nothing more.

Receiving the food of martyrs “But the little ones who lined up in the churches in Sri Lanka wearing the white of the innocence and turning the heart to the Table where the Bread of Life will bid them to fight the forces of darkness during that Easter Eucharist never knew that Judas had already taken a morsel dipped in Blood to turn it into 30 silver coins to sell their life to the ruler of darkness … [and] sniff out their life and the lighted candles in their little hands.

“And the First Communion they received turned into the Last Supper while the Risen Jesus welcomed them into His outstretched arms and told them to gaze at a mountain top [Calvary] where nails from perverted minds gleefully cried out ‘Crucify Him.’ “But when the Risen One told them to look into the tomb by the mountain, they found it empty with an assuring smile that the First Communion you received puts a seal of lasting life on you.

“Little ones, as you lie in white with closed eyes and folded palms holding a Rosary, remember your closed eyes are the most open in a world that has closed its eyes to [those who] have inked an agreement with Lucifer against him who said ‘The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’

“Rest assured, you have flooded the eyes of millions, and that is the Resurrection Mass that raises conscience and the first of the First Communions!”

Palathunkal’s elegy not only provides a moving tribute to those children dressed in white who died, but also provides a Eucharistic catechesis for first Communicants everywhere and for all those of whatever age who should receive Holy Communion as if it were their first, last or only time.

Every time we attend

Mass, we enter into the timeless actions of Christ in the Upper Room, on Calvary and from the empty tomb where Christ leads us on the new and eternal Passover. His act of total self-giving, the greatest act of love in all of history, was met not just by love and gratitude, but also by betrayal and sadism, and we shouldn’t be shocked that the evil one who was present in Jerusalem reappears with the same spite in Colombo, or Negombo, or closer to home.

But as Jesus was raised on the third day, those who hunger for Him, who eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, who long to enter into communion with Him, enter into communion with His risen life. The Risen One meets them with outstretched arms and inaugurates them into a communion within the communion of saints within the communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Holy Communion is meant to lead to Heavenly Communion.

St. John Paul II stated in his Eucharistic encyclical, “This pledge of the future resurrection comes from the fact that the flesh of the Son of Man, given as food, is His Body in its glorious state after the Resurrection. With the Eucharist we digest, as it were, the ‘secret’ of the Resurrection” (Ecclesia de Eucaristia, 18).

Palathunkal’s poem reminds us that receiving Jesus at Mass is not like receiving birthday cake at a birthday party. It’s entering into Jesus’ passion, death and Resurrection. We enter into Jesus’ martyrdom. He gives us His Body and Blood, tells us that no one has greater love than to lay down his life for his

friends, reminds us that we are His friends if we do what He commands, and then He commands, “Do this in memory of Me.” This imperative means more than, “Celebrate the Eucharist.” It means as well: “Make your lives a commentary on the words of consecration: learn to love others by giving your body, blood, sweat, tears, mind, heart and strength as co-redeemers.”

To receive Holy Communion is to receive the food that makes martyrs.

We’ve seen this throughout history.

We see it in St. Ignatius of Antioch in 107, who saw himself as “God’s wheat” who desired through his imminent martyrdom to become “Christ’s pure bread,” as he called the Eucharist “a medicine of immortality, an antidote to death.”

We see it in the altar boy St. Tarcisius, who in 258 gave his life protecting Jesus in the Eucharist Whom he was bringing to prisoners.

We see it in the martyrs of Abitene who died in 304 for coming together on Sunday morning to celebrate Mass despite imperial prohibition saying, “Sine Dominico non possumus,” that without receiving the Lord on Sunday’s they cannot make it.

We see it St. Nicholas Pieck and companions, the martyrs of Gorkum, in 1572, who were tortured and hung for their refusal to deny their belief in the Real Presence.

We see it in St. Oscar Romero, who on Mar. 24, 1980 celebrated Mass despite death threats and was gunned down at the offertory.

It was the reality of the Eucharist — and Jesus’ promise that those who worthily eat His Flesh and drink His Blood will have eternal life — that strengthened them to make those sacrifices, because they knew that just as Jesus had been raised from

the dead after His martyrdom, so God would similarly raise them.

Pope Benedict wrote in his exhortation about the connection between the Eucharist and martyrdom.

“The Christian who offers his life in martyrdom,” he stated, “enters into full communion with the Pasch of Jesus Christ and thus becomes Eucharist with him” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 85).

When St. Paul tells us, “I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your Spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1), he wasn’t just speaking symbolically, but describing how we should pray the Mass.

We’re called to offer our bodies, which are the Sacraments of who we are body-and-soul, to God, as a sacrifice of life. He calls this, in Greek, our logike latreia, which means, “the only worship that makes sense.”

Pope Benedict commented, “Even if the test of martyrdom is not asked of us, we know that worship pleasing to God demands that we should be inwardly prepared for it. Such worship culminates in the joyful and convincing testimony of a consistent Christian life, wherever the Lord calls us to be his witnesses” (SC 85).

As a priest mentor once told me, the Mass is kind of like a game of poker. Jesus says, “I’m all in.” And, even though we may have far fewer chips to play with, the only response for us is to go all in, too.

This is something hopefully first Communicants this year will learn well so that they may live the “joyful and convincing testimony of a consistent Christian life” and cash in on the jackpot of happiness in this world and forever.

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

May 3, 2019 †

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78th annual Catholic Charities Appeal invites diocesan faithful to ‘See All the People’ it serves

FALL RIVER — The 78th Annual Catholic Charities Appeal is underway in the Diocese of Fall River. Each year, the Appeal invites parishioners of the diocese and community supporters to bear witness to the good works that all make possible, together, through their generous support.

This year’s theme, “See All the People,” taken from a well-known nursery rhyme, is symbolic of the countless people who have benefitted from the agencies and apostolates of the diocese committed to serving anyone in need, regardless of race, creed, nationality, gender, or economic status.

Since its inception in 1942, proceeds from the Appeal have provided the funding for the charitable services and programs sponsored by the Fall River Diocese. The Appeal’s reach is vast: donor support transforms the lives of tens

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of thousands annually — from Mansfield, Easton and the Attleboros, through the Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford areas, and extending all the way to Cape Cod and the Islands.

This year’s Appeal runs from May 1 through June 30.

“Sacred Scripture reveals for us numerous accounts of Jesus’ special concern for the sick, the needy, the discouraged, and the disenfranchised,” said Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. In a letter in support of this year’s Appeal, Bishop da Cunha also wrote, “When we work together to provide for those most in need in our diocese, our diocese grows stronger.”

Through the Catholic Charities Appeal, the Fall

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River Diocese is able to meet the physical, emotional, and Spiritual needs of people in all phases of life — from children, to youth, to parents, to the elderly.

The foremost agency funded by the Appeal is Catholic Social Services, which, since 1924, has been committed to improving the quality of life for those in need. The far-reaching efforts of CSS include basic needs assistance, food pantries, emergency shelters, transitional and supportive housing, adoption services, ESL and GED programs, care for those with physical,

mental, and emotional disabilities, and much more.

Other services and ministries financed by the Catholic Charities Appeal include ’round-the-clock hospital chaplaincy, campus ministry, Marriage preparation, retreats and programs for youth such as the Christian Leadership Institute and Pro-Life Boot Camp, support for our retired priests and seminarians, and the weekly Television Mass.

Mim Sherman, CEO of the Catholic Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts, explained that this year’s Appeal theme exhorts us to remember the Church is an institution that draws strength from people.

“When we ‘See All the People’ who are actively engaged in the process of building a community dedicated to worship, fellowship, discipleship, mission, and sharing the Good News of the Gospel, we become inspired to help our neighbors in need,” Sherman said.

“This year’s Appeal theme demonstrates how the Church lives everywhere: in our parishes, as well as in classrooms and playgrounds; at our hospitals; in Faith Formation experiences; in the depth of experience and wisdom of our elder priests, and in the tangible energy of our young seminarians.”

The Catholic Charities Appeal has historically maintained a low administrative expense ratio: 94 cents of every dollar contributed is directed to the services and programs funded by the Appeal.

The 2018 Catholic Charities Appeal raised $4.6 million, the third highest total in its history.

Additional information on this year’s Catholic Charities Appeal is available on its website: catholicfoundationsema. org/catholic-charities-2019, including a video message from Bishop da Cunha and an overview of the many areas supported by the Appeal. Please check back in the days ahead as new content will be added, including a series of video testimonials and inspiring stories about those who have been helped by Appeal-funded services, and a summary of how philanthropic dollars raised through the Appeal have been distributed across the various ministries it supports.

Contributions to the Catholic Charities Appeal may be made either through a one-time donation or through monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual pledges.

Donations may be mailed to the Catholic Charities Appeal office, 450 Highland Ave., Fall River, Mass. 02720, made online at givefrdiocese.org/cca19, or dropped off at any parish in the diocese. Please contact the Catholic Charities Appeal office at 508-6751311 with any questions.

Deacons prepare for May 18 ordination continued from page four

Janice and they have three sons. He is an English and language arts educator at Barnstable High School.

“For years I have felt a tug toward this ministry,” he said. “After many years of prayer, contemplation and conversations with priests and deacons and my wife Janice, the time finally felt right to apply for the formation program. A wise deacon told me once that when the time was right, God would let me know. He was right.

“I could not be more pleased and impressed with the formation program developed by the diocese and led by co-directors Father Bob Oliveira and Deacon Frank Lucca. There has been a wonderful balance of theological and academic study, Spiritual formation, practical application, and mentorship.”

Leading up to the May 18 ordination, Caldwell told The Anchor that he is “excited, nervous, and a bit in awe. I keep thinking of the advice of my Spiritual director: ‘Just trust!’

“I hope that I can get out of the way and let God guide, inspire and aid me in my ministry.

“This has been a journey of deepening faith,” said Janice Caldwell. “It’s been a privilege to witness my husband being called to serve.

He has taught me how to go deeper in prayer. I have been a witness to his discipleship and commitment to prayer, Sacrament, and Scripture. I look forward to being witness to how God will use Keith’s faith for the good of the Church.”

Gary Donahue and his wife of 33 years, Nancy, are parishioners of Holy Cross Parish

in South Easton. They have two grown daughters. Gary has been an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice for 27 years.

“My calling to study for the diaconate was a response to the grace of God’s call,” Donahue told The Anchor. “I was fortunate to have great examples of love and service in my parents — examples of committed love to their family and their faith. Their commitment to the Gospel call to love another is something that motivates me to try to be a better husband, father and a deacon in service to the Church and the people of God. “There is an old expression that ‘Ships are safe in a harbor, but that is not what ships are built for.’ The last four-and-a-half years have been a great time in my life to pray and study along with my classmates. It has been a great privilege to study and pray with these eight men and to be taught and led by our teachers who have such a love for the Church.

“My hope coming into this new ministry of the ordained diaconate is that I can serve people as I recognize Christ in others. So much is done in my parish and in other parishes by the lay faithful who keep our parishes and so many of the good works of our diocese running smoothly. I hope that in my ministry I can serve and help motivate others to the call to service.

“My wife Nancy has also enjoyed the formation classes and looks forward to this next stage in our life together.”

Kevin Gingras and his wife of nearly 30 years, Allison, are parishioners of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton. They

have two grown sons and a 13-year-old adopted daughter who is deaf, Faith, from China. He has been a senior information technology analyst for 30 years.

“Around 19 years ago Deacon John Welch of St. Ann’s asked me to pray about considering the diaconate and I shrugged this off for a long time,” Gingras said. “Then, about 10 or 11 years ago I was at an Advent Reconciliation service and after my Confession the priest, whom I have never met before, told me I should consider the diaconate. The following Lent I was at another Reconciliation service and a different priest, also whom I have never met before said the same thing to me! I knew I couldn’t ignore the call from God any longer!

We were also in the process of adopting our daughter so I needed to wait for the dust to settle from that, but once it did I answered the call to the diaconate and began the process.

“I am very much looking forward to serving the Church in this ministry. I’m very excited as the next day I not only get to serve at my Mass of Thanksgiving but that morning I get to minister solo at my first Baptism.”

Allison told The Anchor, “Together since our teens, I have watched Kevin’s faith evolve, blossom, and grow.

As a wife, it has been an incredible joy and privilege to witness the formation of my husband. I’ve been blessed to attend some of the classes, and get to know these wonderful men called to the diaconate. I am truly excited to see what each will do as a deacon in the Fall River Diocese.

A parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Attleboro, David Harum is a convert to Catholicism, coming to the

faith in 1998. He and his wife Kathy have one daughter.

“As a convert I had a lot of zeal for the faith and several people remarked that the diaconate might be in order,” Harum told The Anchor. “At the time, however, our daughter was very young and the idea was put on the back burner. In a series of strange, seemingly random and coincidental events, the diaconate kept popping up. This culminated with a deacon from the 2013 class standing up at one of our St. Vincent de Paul movie events and announcing that there was to be a new class forming for our diocese. I talked to him about it and then talked to my pastor, Father Richard Wilson at the time, and suddenly I was applying for and entering the Aspirancy.

Kathy and I had both been asking God to direct us to ways He wants us to serve, and this calling kept rising before me.

“I hope and pray that I can, in some small way, be part of setting hearts on fire with love for our Resurrected Lord. As a famous evangelist once said, ‘Set yourself on fire and men will come from miles around to watch you burn.’ We need more and more Catholics to be on fire for the Gospel. If we achieve that, people will indeed come from miles around — and the fire will be catching.”

George Hults is from Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich. “I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me,” he said. “One thing I’ve noticed is that God’s plans are always much better, much greater than any plans I try to make for myself.”

Antonio Pimental is a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Acushnet.

In an earlier Anchor story Pimental said that he feels that as “regular guys” serving the Church, permanent deacons can “bring faith beyond the Sanctuary to proclaim the Gospel in unexpected and wonderful ways. To go places where our amazing priests can’t always be — the ball field, the Scouts meeting, the corner bar — that’s where our faith moves beyond theology and Sacred Scripture and is put into practice every day.”

From St. Ann’s Parish in Raynham, Paul Spearin has been a longtime resident of Taunton with his wife Josie, but for time spent in active duty in the U.S. Air Force. They have two grown children.

Paul is an outpatient liaison at Community Counseling of Bristol County.

“The call to the diaconate program was suggested to me by a deacon who was facilitating a retreat many years ago,” said Spearin. “It was years later when I was on another retreat called ‘Cursillo’ that this suggestion I heard years previously was actually a call to serve.

I was moved in a way (Holy Spirit) after the Cursillo, that I chose to become a daily communicant which changed my life forever. It is only through God’s grace that I continued to say yes, while things kept falling into place pointing me to serve.

I fell in love with our Lord and His call to love and serve His people.

“Through the diaconate formation, I have begun to 8 Turn to page 16

May 3, 2019 †

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† O bituary † Father Joseph F. Callahan, C.S.C. EASTON — Father Joseph Francis Callahan, C.S.C., 75, died at Sturdy Memorial Hospital, Attleboro on Easter Sunday, April 21.

He was born on Feb. 28, 1944 in Bridgeport, Conn., to Francis A. and Margaret (Shannon) Callahan, and attended Notre Dame High School in Bridgeport, Conn. He graduated from Stonehill College in North Easton, with a Bachelor of Arts in theology in 1966, and was received into the Congregation of Holy Cross on July 15, 1962.

He professed his First Vows on July 16, 1963, then obtained a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, in Rome, Italy in 1969. On April 1, 1970, Father Callahan made his final profession, then obtained his master’s in theology from

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† May 3, 2019

the University of Notre Dame. He was ordained to the priesthood on Nov. 21, 1970.

After ordination, Father Callahan returned to his high school, Notre Dame High School in Bridgeport, Conn., where he taught until 1972. He joined the Holy Cross Mission Band in North Easton in 1972, and from 1973 to 1977, served in Appalachian Ministry in Owingsville, Ky. He entered Province Service in 1977, serving as Justice and Peace Director, assistant provincial, and provincial councilor of the former Eastern Province over the course of five years.

In 1982, he was elected Provincial Superior of the Province, and served in this capacity for six years. In 1990, he obtained a D.Min. at the University

of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., then served in parish ministry at Sacred Heart Church, Bronx, N.Y., from 1990 to 1992.

From 1992 to 1994, he served as parochial vicar at the Church of St. Theresa in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., then as parochial vicar of the Church of St. Casimir in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. (1994 to 1999). From 1999 on, he served as director and Spiritual director of the Holy Cross Retreat House in North Easton, on the campus of Stonehill College, where he also resided.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Francis and Margaret Callahan; and sisters, Vivian Callahan and

Margaret Sanford.

He is survived by his sister, Patricia (Robert) Hoyt of Little River, S.C. A wake and Mass of Christian Burial were held on May 2 at Holy Cross Parish in Easton. Burial followed at the Holy Cross Community Cemetery at Stonehill College.

Memorial gifts can be made in Father Callahan’s name to support the mission and ministries of the Congregation of Holy Cross via: United States Province of Priests and Brothers, Office of Development, 500 Washington Street, North Easton, Mass. 023561299, or online at donate.holycrossusa. org.

‘The Heart of a Priest’ † St. John Vianney Relic in Fall River The incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney arrived at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River on Easter Monday, April 22 and was viewed and venerated during a special 7 p.m. Liturgy with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., and several diocesan priests concelebrating. The holy first-class relic, which was taken from the saint’s body after his death in recognition of his burning love for God and humanity, remained at the cathedral for additional viewing the following morning before continuing on a special tour sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. (Photos by Deacon Alan Thadeu)

May 3, 2019 †

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F

The bigger they are, the harder they implode

or four years they grew out of the ground like pesky skin tags. When completed the Brayton Point cooling towers in Somerset became, what I liked to call them, land warts — two massive structures, side-by-side, each reaching nearly 500 feet into the sky.

Homes that once had scenic views of the Taunton, Cole, Lee, and Kickemuit rivers, as well as Mount Hope Bay, now had what seemed like someone’s finger poking them in the eye.

The greater Fall River area has some of the most spectacular sunsets around, but for nearly 10 years, those sunsets included the silhouettes of land warts.

As nearly everyone in the area knows, the towers were ultimately shut down and were inoperative for quite a while. A decision was made to implode the structures that for nearly a decade were the black sheep of the area.

Many of us in this neck of Southeastern Massachusetts haven’t had the opportunity to witness the implosion of a building. In fact, no one, until April 27, had seen towers that size crumble within themselves.

There was quite a bit of fanfare leading up to the day the towers fell. Area restaurants and businesses had implosion breakfasts where patrons could dine and watch the removal of the hideous skin tags. A raffle was held to have the honor of pushing the button to set off the charges to bring the beasts down — with the proceeds going to a proposed Vietnam War Memorial in Somerset.

Implosion time was 8 a.m. and streets, parks, beaches, wharfs, and any decent vantage point quickly filled on a cold, raw, damp morning. All this for something that would 12

take less than 10 seconds from start to finish.

I was one of those compelled to watch the towers fall. Luckily for me, The Anchor office had a crow’s nest view of the towers so I was able to video the event from there.

As the crow flies, the towers were about two-and-a-quarter miles from my vantage point.

Below me, crowds ate up all the good vantage points at the top of North Park in Fall River. It was exciting to just watch the crowds.

At about one minute to implosion time I started to video record the towers with my phone. Despite my disdain as well as others’ for the structures, I felt a bit

† May 3, 2019

of melancholy waiting for their demise. It was almost as if they took on a life of their own — a life soon to be snuffed out. I felt kind of sad, almost guilty watching their annihilation.

Then it happened: one tower began to buckle in the middle, followed by its counterpart. The whole thing did take less than 10 seconds, but it seemed like it happened in slow-motion. The towers dropped as if to their knees and in a heartbeat they were gone.

It took about a half-dozen seconds for the sound of the explosion of the charges to reach my vantage point. And being in such a high sightline, there was nothing between the towers and me to deflect the concussion of the blast and the windows rattled. All that remained was a plume of dust that quickly settled — and just like that, thousands had a clear horizon again.

I’ve watched my video countless times, as well as others. And the feelings of sadness and melancholy didn’t come back. It was just in that live moment — a moment I can’t explain, not even to myself.

I took a ride to Brayton Point the next morning and got as close as I could without trespassing. The scene was eerie and quiet. Just a small shell of the towers remained. It had an apocalyptic feel to it. No melancholy there, I thought it was cool.

Well after 10 years of having our sunsets photobombed by a pair of hideous concrete structures, all of us in the area can take shots of the beautiful sunsets sans the towers. If only the sun would come out again. jolivetdb@comcast.net

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, May 5 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Christopher M. Peschel, parochial administrator of St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro

Sunday, May 12 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Kevin A. Cook, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, May 5 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in New Bedford

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, May 12 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from St. Anthony Church in Taunton

Connolly seniors adopt St. Mathieu’s Residence continued from page two

it’s clear that the Connolly students also gained much from the experience.

Dias said he enjoyed being able to help those who are less fortunate than himself and his classmates.

“I also appreciated being able to help the director of the residence, as she is responsible for most of the day-to-day operations of the residence and mostly works on her own, from what I had observed,” he said.

“The project did make me feel thankful and helped me experience the need for the ‘Option for the Poor and Vulnerable’ in Catholic Social Teaching, which I had learned about in my theology classes at Bishop Connolly.”

Borges said she felt joyful and moved by the experience.

“It showed me that service is more meaningful than it may seem at a glance,” she said. “When I was able to meet some of the women in the residence, it was really a lifechanging experience not only for them, but also for me.

“Seeing the difference I was able to make in the lives of others in such a small amount of time really spoke to me. It made me want to keep helping and want to keep giving back to others even if no help is needed in that time. It all reminded me of why I love my faith and community.”

Although much of the work was done during Lent — a time for sacrifice and almsgiving — Borges

said acts of charity should be done year-round.

“Even before the season of Lent, I began realizing that by giving up my free time I can make someone’s day or life just a little easier or better,” she said.

“It really just takes passion and drive due to our beliefs. I now have experiences that I will remember for a while.”

For Amber Ferreira the project became a labor of love.

“I loved being able to choose the paint colors for the rooms,” she said. “(We)were given a huge book of paint swatches, and all I could think of was how different an atmosphere each room would exude after being painted these bright pastel tones.

“After we actually painted the rooms, we were also able to bring in furniture and bedsheets, as well as paintings to cover the walls. My partner, Kailey, and I decided to bring in a painting including water and trees to contrast the bright pink tone of the walls, along with a painting of a violin.

“The violin was brought into the room with St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, in mind. We played music the whole time we were painting the room, and we knew St. Cecilia was guiding us in our work, so we left a sign of her behind.”

The Connolly students even helped repair and arrange furniture and made the beds with new quilts that were donated.

“I think some of those rooms haven’t been fixed

or painted in years,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy also recalled one of the residents who doesn’t speak English being deeply moved when some of the students used their cellphones to translate and communicate with her in Spanish.

“It made her cry,” Kennedy told The Anchor, “just seeing how they were reaching out to her.”

Ferreira felt that doing the work during Lent was apropos, given it is “a season of sacrifice.”

“I believe that my peers and I had this in mind when we were doing our service at St. Mathieu’s,” she said. “We sacrificed our time in favor of helping people who needed our time and resources much more than we did.

“Service is something that has always been important to me, but this service project, in particular — especially considering the time at which it took place — will stick with me for years to come.

I hope that I am able to visit and continue to help even after I graduate from Bishop Connolly, because this experience has been far more rewarding than I could ever put into words.”

“I have such gratitude to Mary, Marion, and the students of Bishop Connolly for sponsoring St. Mathieu’s,” Mazzarella said. “This partnership is a beautiful example of what our bishop is trying to do throughout the diocese: collaborate, eliminate barriers, share resources, and unify us as a Catholic community.”

May 3, 2019 †

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Bishop Feehan High School to honor alumni and friends with ‘Legends and Legacy’ awards May 10 ATTLEBORO — On May 10, Bishop Feehan High School will host its annual “Legends and Legacy: A Night of Feehan Honors,” which acknowledges alumni and friends for their contributions to the Feehan story.

“Legends and Legacy” celebrates athletics, arts, distinguished alumni, and more.

Hosted in the campus’ Shamrocks Recreation and Events Center with catered food and drink, the event salutes alumni and friends who have continued to support the traditions and values of Feehan.

Honorees for 2019 include: Athletics Hall of Fame Matthew Doherty ’05 Prolific winning on the football field and a smooth offensive game on the basketball court highlighted Matt Doherty’s outstanding athletic career as a Shamrock.

Matt played four years of varsity football for Feehan teams that went 42-3-2 and captured four Super Bowl championships. He starred on defense and offense — leading the conference in quarterback sacks as a senior, and scoring Feehan’s first touchdown at McCoy Stadium in a Thanksgiving Day victory over St. Ray’s.

In basketball, Matt was a two-time Sun-Chronicle All-Star after leading the Shamrocks in scoring as a junior and senior.

His 23 points per-game average as a senior included a memorable 29-point performance in a Senior Night win over North Attleboro.

After Feehan, Matt played football for a year at Fordham University and basketball at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, from which he graduated. He also developed into a talented amateur boxer, reaching the final of the 2011 New England Golden Gloves Championship as a light heavyweight.

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Jenna Roncarati Dailey ‘09 A prodigious talent on the soccer field and basketball court, Jenna (Roncarati) Dailey ranks among the best female athletes ever to play as a Shamrock.

Jenna was a soccer superstar, earning all-state honors as a senior and a spot on the Eastern Massachusetts Coaches’ First Team as a junior and a senior.

She finished her Feehan career with 40 goals and 44 assists. Her success continued on the basketball court, where she helped Feehan win a South Sectional title as a sophomore and averaged 19 points and 15 rebounds as a senior co-captain in 2008-2009.

Jenna then thrived as a student-athlete at Providence College, playing four years of Division I soccer and a year of basketball. She won PC’s Female Athlete of the Year Award for 2012-2013. She has continued her soccer career as a player in the competitive Women’s Premier Soccer League, and she serves as the girls’ varsity soccer head coach at Marblehead High.

Amy Lepley ’09 A standout for the Shamrocks basketball and volleyball teams, Amy Lepley received All-Scholastic Honors in both sports and served as co-captain in both as a senior.

She played an integral role in Feehan’s 2006-2007 South Sectional championship team that played at then-TD Banknorth Garden. Despite fighting injuries, she scored more than 900 points in high school, averaging 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals per game.

Lepley then enjoyed a terrific career as a student-athlete at the College of the Holy Cross.

She twice earned Second-Team

† May 3, 2019

All-Patriot League honors and played in the league championship game as a junior and a senior.

Lepley remains active on the local basketball scene as the girls’ varsity basketball head coach at Norwood High, where she also teaches math.

Arts Hall of Fame Alden Harrison Alden Harrison’s illustrious tenure at Bishop Feehan started as a fill-in director.

But since that impromptu work three decades ago, he has become synonymous with the school’s theater and dance programs and facilitated opportunities for thousands of students.

Starting with a production of “Oklahoma!” in 1988, Alden directed and choreographed more than 60 shows. Impressed by his talent and work ethic, thenprincipal Sister Faith Hardin, R.S.M., added him to the faculty to teach theater and dance workshops that have helped to fill out Feehan’s robust curriculum.

“I never applied for a job here,” said Harrison. “I feel it’s a miracle that I’m here because of my two angels: (former faculty member) Donna MacPherson and Sister Faith Harding.”

Away from Feehan, Alden is a fixture in the local dance community, with the Alden Harrison Dance Center dating to 1971. He also has worked with professionals at the Newport Playhouse and with productions in Providence.

Justin Jutras ’99 Justin Jutras once told a Providence Journal reporter that he’s visited more states than most people see in a lifetime. His outstanding work with national Broadway

companies has taken him coastto-coast and helped him carve out a career as a professional stage actor.

Justin’s time at Feehan included roles as Rolf in “The Sound of Music,” Sky Masterson in “Guys and Dolls” and the lead role of Julian Marsh in “42nd Street.” He described his time in theater classes as “Mr. Harrison trying to get my ego under control.”

Since graduating from Feehan and Rhode Island College, Jutras has taken touring roles in “Grease,” “The Wedding Singer,” and “Bullets Over Broadway.”

He lives full-time in New York City and maintains a tight affiliation with the New York Theater Workshop, a hub of the stage scene in the East Village of Manhattan.

Distinguished Alumni Michael Achin ’75 As his resume says, Mike became a “Person with Parkinson’s Disease” in 2009.

Since then, he has strived to inspire and energize everyone he encounters with his resilience, humor, and positive outlook.

Mike has immersed himself in several organizations that support Parkinson’s awareness and research. He has lobbied governments, attended international gatherings, written newspaper columns, spoken with medical students and written a children’s book, “The Adventures of Starkinsons,” about a star who manages a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

Some of his greatest influence is apparent in Greater Attleboro, where his “Team DominACHIN over PD” has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through an annual washers’ tournament, a shirt design and sale, and a Mount Washington climb. Mike also is well-known locally as a certified Rock Steady Boxing Coach — training as a boxer helps ease the Parkinson’s symptoms. He teaches several

classes in the sport at a North Attleboro studio.

A three-sport student-athlete at Feehan, Mike played varsity football at the University of Rhode Island and was inducted into the BFHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.

Distinguished Service Ogden and Jacqueline Dodge parents ’10, ’11, ’13, ’19 Few parents have supported and lifted up the Feehan family with the enthusiasm, wisdom and loyalty that Oggie and Jacqui Dodge have shown over the last 13 years. Their commitment to sharing their gifts, talents and time have strengthened nearly every aspect of the community.

Jacqui Dodge’s work for more than 10 years chairing the online portion of the Feehan auction helped make that event a pillar of the school’s annual fundraising. She coached volunteers, solicited and cataloged thousands of items, and worked seamlessly with Sue Rojee (parent ’03, ’05) and fellow chairman Fran Leonard (parent ’10, ’18, ’18).

The owner of an advertising firm, Oggie Dodge has offered his expertise and hundreds of hours to create much of Feehan’s visual brand, including the recent Shamrock Fund and Setting Our Hearts Gala presentations.

He also has served as a trusted member of President Tim Sullivan’s Advisory Board for the past three years.

The parents of Samuel, Madeline, Henry and Phoebe, the Dodges have been fantastic Feehan cheerleaders at athletic events, arts and music performances, and in the greater community.

For more information about “Legends and Legacy,” contact Gina Simoneau at gsimoneau@bishopfeehan. com, or call 508-226-7411, extension 137.

For and About Our Church Youth

On Good Friday members of the youth ministry at Holy Family Parish in East Taunton, left, acted out the Stations of the Cross for the congregation at 3 p.m. Karen Coughlin, director of Religious Education for the parish, commented: “A truly remarkable group of young people. Thank you for your dedication to Our Lord. While others abandoned Him, you sacrificed your time to accompany Him on His road to Calvary. Well done, good and faithful servants!”

(Photo courtesy of Karen Coughlin)

Fourth-grade students at St. Pius X School in South Yarmouth, below, presented a Living Stations of the Cross at the parish church on April 11. It was a truly beautiful representation of the Lenten season.

Four sixth-grade students from All Saints Catholic School in New Bedford, above, received awards at the 58th Annual Massachusetts Region III Science and Engineering Fair in the Junior Division. From left, Evan Amaral earned honorable mention with his project Basketball PSI; Amy Rho earned honorable mention with her project The Density of Different Ice Cube Shapes; Ariana Medeiros won third place with her project Music to My Roots; and McKenzie Kovalsick won first place with her project Salt Water Plants in Fresh H2O, and she also received three additional awards: Certificate of Excellence from the Association for Women Geoscientists, Certificate of Recognition from the Broadcom Foundation, and the Professor Helen Conrad Lifetime in Science Award. (Photo courtesy of Susan Massoud) May 3, 2019 †

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Diocesan Council of Catholic Women’s annual meeting slated for May 18 ASSONET — The annual meeting for the Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Women will take place on May 18 beginning with a 10 a.m. Mass celebrated by Father Michael Racine, DCCW Spiritual Advisor, at St. Bernard’s Church, 32 South Main Street in Assonet.

A brunch will follow at BK Tavern, 320 Airport Road in Fall River. The scheduled guest speaker is Ruth Warren from the Diocese of Portland, Maine.

Warren is currently the National Council of Catholic Women’s province director, acting as a liaison between the NCCW and the regional dioceses of Maine, New Hampshire and Fall River.

Warren, the mother of 10, is very active in her home parish where she is an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, of-

ficer, and Religious Education teacher.

She has served as Maine DCCW president, vice president and on the organization service commission, and is very involved in a number of community organizations. She is currently running for the office of secretary for the NCCW. Warren attended the University of Maine for sociology and nursing at Babson College. She has served as NCCW commission chairman, on the education committee and NCCW Associates. She has attended four National Council of Catholic Women conventions.

In addition to her parish and DCCW responsibilities, Warren is a small business officer; a substitute teacher working as a oneon-one aide for students with special needs; and she

is involved with other work and business ventures.

Warren is sure to be an interesting and inspiring speaker at this year’s DCCW annual meeting.

RSVP is required to attend and the deadline for tickets is May 13. To RSVP and to purchase tickets, please contact Beth Mahoney at frdccwbeth@ gmail.com or call 508-8216201. Tickets are $20.

For more information or to RSVP and purchase tickets, members may also contact their local representatives — Attleboro: Rebecca at 508-761-4638; Cape Cod and the Islands: Roberta at 508-743-5448; Fall River: Lynette at 508-674-7036 or Pauline at 508-678-6941; New Bedford: Terry at 508993-5085 or Nancy at 508995-1604; and Taunton: Virginia at 508-676-6515 or Fran at 508-824-5279.

Deacons prepare for May 18 ordination continued from page nine

experience God’s ministry which has brought me out to the fringes of society, in the nursing homes with the elderly, the hospitals with the sick, in the food lines with the poor. My hope is that this ministry would always be a part of my call, so Christ and His Church will be present to the most in need. I pray, I may always serve Christ, His Church and our bishop in love and joy.”

Matt Sweeney is a parishioner of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish in Attleboro.

He works as an engineer for the Pawtucket Water Supply Board.

Sweeney told The Anchor 16

that what led him to the diaconate formation program was that he “has a love for the Lord and I wished to serve Him as best I could. I think the formation was excellent. All of our teachers did a great job and I really appreciate the time and effort that they gave to us all.

“I hope to serve the Lord

by His grace while I grow in faith and trust in Him.” The nearly five-year road to the permanent diaconate is almost complete for these nine men, but in essence, it’s only the beginning of their ministry in Jesus’ Church.

“As servants of Word, Liturgy and charity, each of these men, in their own unique way, with their own particular talents, will be the face of the Servant Christ,” Father Oliveira told

† May 3, 2019

The Anchor. “I can truly say that I have seen that ‘face’ over the last five years of formation. It’s been a ‘face’ of fidelity as they have engaged in theological insight and preparation. It’s been a face of acceptance, as they have said yes to Christ with a willingness to serve. It’s been a face of courage, as they have given their hearts with steadfast commitment to the Church during most challenging times. And it’s been a face of encouragement, as they have been there for each other and are the living markers of hope for our Church, inviting us to be of courage for each other. The face of Christ’s love and service will surely be shining brightly and with great joy as we welcome nine new ‘foot-washers’ in His name.”

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests and deacons during the coming weeks

May 5 Rev. Leo M. Curry, Retired Pastor, St. Dominic, Swansea, 1973 Rev. Albert Rowley, SS.CC., in residence, St. Francis Xavier, Acushnet, 1985 Rev. Raymond A. Robida, Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River, 2003 May 6 Rev. Thomas P. Elliott, Founder, St. Mary, Mansfield, 1905 Rev. Asdrubal Castelo Branco, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, New Bedford, 1980 Rev. Ernest E. Blais, Pastor, Notre Dame de Lourdes, Fall River, 1994 May 7 Rev. Raymond P. Levell, S.J., Professor, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala., 1958 May 9 Rev. J.E. Theodule Giguere, Pastor, St. Anne, New Bedford, 1940 Rev. John P. Clarke, Pastor, St. Mary, Hebronville, 1941 May 12 Rev. John F. deValles, DSC, US Army Chaplain, 1920 Rev. Herve Jalbert, Retired Pastor, Blessed Sacrament, Fall River, 1986 May 13 Rev. Msgr. Osias Boucher, USA Ret., Pastor, Blessed Sacrament, Fall River, 1955 May 16 Rev. William McDonald, SS., St. Patrick, Falmouth, 1941 Rev. Msgr. J. Joseph Sullivan, P.R., Pastor, Sacred Heart, Fall River, 1960 Rev. Arthur dos Reis, Retired Pastor, Santo Christo, Fall River, 1981 May 17 Most Rev. James E. Cassidy, D.D., Third Bishop of Fall River, (1934-1951), 1951 Rev. Albert Evans, SS.CC., 2003

A

few years back, I gave a talk entitled “Thinking Through the Transgender Question” at a local parish. In the audience were several individuals supporting the transgender movement.

During the questionand-answer session, one of them, a young woman, raised this difficulty: “If someone wants to transition, how does that hurt anybody else? If my friend wants to be transgender, how would that harm any of us?”

Behind this line of argument, first, is the widely-held notion that each of us is an isolated unit and our private choices don’t affect others. Yet the old adage that no man is an island rings perennially true. Grave harms to others, in fact, follow in the wake of the radical personal decision to “switch genders.”

I recently spent some time with a husband and wife who had a son struggling with depression and schizophrenia and who

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or waynepowers@ anchornews.org

Nobody gets hurt? was convinced he was a woman. They shared with me how their son no longer spoke to any of his siblings or relatives, shutting everyone out of his life. He moved away to link up with the transgender community at his college for support, and his parents summed up his new way of thinking as the detonation of a bomb that had ravaged the whole family.

That kind of devastation has been thoroughly catalogued by those who have gone all the way through the process of transitioning, and years or decades later come to regret it.

Walt Heyer is one such individual who turned to hormones and surgeries to try to take on the appearance of a woman. Many years later, he “detransitioned,” and started writing and speaking about his experiences. He has summarized the painful effects of his choices on those

around him in several of his essays.

“Being transgender required destroying the identity of Walt so my female persona, Laura, would feel unshackled from Walt’s past, with all of its hurt, shame, and abuse,” he wrote. “It’s a marvelous distraction

for a while, but it isn’t a permanent solution when the underlying issues remain unaddressed.

Gender change is at its heart a self-destructive act. Transgenders not only annihilate their birth identity, they destroy everyone and everything in their wake: family, wife, children, brothers or sisters, and career.”

Walt had been married for many years, but after transitioning, he and his wife divorced.

Communication with his children ceased. He was fired from his well-paying job as an engineer, and became practically destitute. Virtually all the significant relationships in his life were damaged, some irretrievably.

In his essay, Walt follows the trail of breadcrumbs in his own life to its logical conclusion.

“It occurred to me after much self-reflection that asking a surgeon to modify my appearance through a series of cos-

metic procedures was simply a socially acceptable means of self-mutilation and self-destruction,” he stated. “Taken to the extreme, self-destruction leads to suicide.”

Follow-up studies of those who undergo sexchange operations have shown that they experienced highly elevated suicide rates, even many years postsurgery, revealing yet another of the grave harms associated with transitioning that brings untold heartache to family and friends, relatives and acquaintances.

Beyond wreaking havoc in the life of patients and those around them, other damaging societal consequences arise in the wake of transitioning.

In a recent article in Public Discourse, Dr. Monique Robles, a pediatric critical care specialist, stresses how schools and institutions of higher learning are now “enforcing the use of preferred gender pronouns and opening bathrooms and sports teams to students of the opposite biological sex. Educators who refuse to comply are losing their jobs. Parents who do not agree with the trans-affirmative approach for their gender dysphoric children are faced with legal consequences.

In the sports arena, biological males identifying as transgender are competing in women’s events with an unfair biological advantage. Biological females who claim

to be male are allowed the unfair advantage of competing while taking testosterone, which is considered ‘doping’ in any other circumstance.”

Coming to the conclusion that “no one gets hurt” whenever someone transitions is simply naïve, contradicted by the facts on the ground and by the tortuous lives of those pursuing this misguided “solution” to their gender confusion. They, along with their families and broader society, clearly deserve better.

Instead of propping up a fictitious and harmful understanding of human masculinity and femininity, we owe it to those struggling with gender dysphoria to address compassionately their underlying mental health concerns. Through evidence-based therapies, including appropriate psychiatric and interpersonal outreach and counseling, we hope to bring healing, preserve family unity, and help sustain important, lifelong friendships.

That’s what those struggling with their gender dysphoria deserve and all those who love them desire.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard.

He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.

See www.ncbcenter.org

May 3, 2019 †

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Around the Diocese The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet on May 3 at St. Joseph Church on North Main Street in Fall River. Mass begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public. The Mass celebrant will be Father Jay Mello, pastor of St. Michael and St. Joseph parishes. Following Mass, members will gather in the church hall for a hot meal prepared by White’s of Westport and a presentation by Deacon Brian Dunn, who will speak about the Maronite Rite. Members are welcome to participate in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at 5 p.m. prior to Mass. New members are always welcome. For more information contact Norm Valiquette at 508-672-8174.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society, 141 Washington Street in Taunton, will be doing registrations for Cathedral Camp in East Freetown on Thursday, May 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Applications must be accompanied by a current history and physical, as well as a current immunization record from a pediatrician. Applications will not be accepted any other time. The society will also be having a 50 percent off sale on baby carriages and strollers and other mystery items on Saturday, May 18 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The store will be closed for Memorial Day on Monday, May 27.

Immaculate Conception Parish and Holy Cross Church of Easton are sponsoring their annual 5K/3.1-Mile Run/Walk Race Against Hunger, with all proceeds donated to the Easton Food Pantry.

The event will be held on Saturday, May 11 at the family-friendly and beautiful Borderland State Park, 259 Massapoag Avenue in North Easton. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the race start time is 10 a.m. The entry fee is $25 per person (which includes all fees). Participants can register online at iccefp.racewire.com or email icc.efp.race@gmail.com.

All are welcome to a spring Day of Silence with the Masters on Saturday, May 18 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. John Neumann Church, 157 Middleboro Road in East Freetown. Come spend some time in silence reflecting on the teachings of St. Josemaría Escrivá, whose teachings are especially relevant to those with full and busy lives who want to infuse a deep Spirituality into daily life as “contemplatives in the middle of the world.” For registration or more information, contact Karen Howard at klhoward@aol.com or 508-947-0193.

St. John Neumann Church will host its 35th annual Lakeside Family Festival on Memorial Day Weekend, May 24 to May 27, with free admission on Friday from 6 to 11 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from noon to 11 p.m., and on Monday from noon to 5 p.m. There will be a huge Barn Sale all weekend, along with amusement rides, entertainment, a car show on Sunday (rain date is Monday), and a great selection of home-baked goods, assorted food booths, games of skill and a grand raffle. For more information, visit www.sjnfreetown.org/lakeside-familyfestival. Take the Chace Road exit off Route 140.

A Divine Mercy Cenacle group meets every Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, 306 South Street in Somerset. Meetings are held in the parish center, except for holidays.

Meetings include formation on the Divine Mercy message from the “Diary of St. Faustina,” readings from the Bible and “Cathechism of the Catholic Church,” and praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. All are welcome. For more information call 508-6461019 or 508-672-1523.

St. Anthony of Padua Church on Bedford Street in Fall River will host a recitation of the Holy Rosary and Litany with the Divine Mercy Chaplet every Monday evening at 6:15 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, call the rectory at 508-673-2402.

To submit an event for consideration in The Anchor’s “Around the Diocese” listing, please send the information by email to kensouza@anchornews.org.

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† May 3, 2019

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 — 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 — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds 6:30 p.m. Mass followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy Adoration at 7:15 p.m. every Wednesday evening.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John the Evangelist Church, North Main Street, Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-6:30 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.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every First Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending at 5 p.m.

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 — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of Padua Church, on the corner of Bedford and Sixteenth streets, has Eucharistic Adoration accompanied by music and prayer every first Wednesday of the month from 6-7 p.m.

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., and Thursdays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Friday at 8 a.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.

FALL RIVER — St. Joseph’s Church has a Holy Hour every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m., with Benediction at 6:45 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Michael’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

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 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Each First Friday Mass ends with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration continues until Benediction at 5 p.m.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration is held every Thursday, with Confessions, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Church. 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 4 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 4 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.

NORTH EASTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Immaculate Conception Church Chapel on the first Wednesday of the month beginning after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, until 6:40 p.m. Those wishing to make a monthly commitment can sign up on the parish website at www.icceaston.org or call the parish office at 508-238-3232.

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.

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 until 9 a.m.

Taunton — The Chapel of St. Andrew the Apostle, 19 Kilmer Avenue, Taunton, will host Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Taunton — St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Taunton will host Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 9 a.m. Mass and the St. Jude Novena, until 11:30, ending with Benediction. It will take place at Holy Rosary Chapel during the summer months.

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.

† O bituaries † Gertrude Degagne, mother of Father Richard E. Degagne FALL RIVER — Gertrude (Dumont) Degagne, 88, of Fall River, wife of the late Bertrand R. Degagne, died on Friday, April 19.

A graduate of Dominican Academy, she was employed

by Aetna Insurance Company and was a former Cub Scout,

Pack 50 Den Mother and a Marie’s Place and St. Anne Parish Bingo Volunteer.

She leaves five children: Very Reverend Richard E. Degagne, V.F., pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in North Easton; Normand J. Degagne and his wife Co-

lette of Fall River; Murielle P. Carvalho and her husband Joseph of New Bedford; Annette D. Degagne of Westport; and Maurice D. Degagne of Fall River.

She also leaves grandchildren Jenn Degagne, Kelly Beaulieu, and her husband

Joel; Meaghan Ferraz, and her husband Robert; Kara Rocha, and her husband Derek; Cathy Estrella, and her husband Paul; Allison Neville, and her husband Kyle; Lindsey Cordeiro, and her husband Kerry; and Sean Croft; along with greatgrandchildren Logan Ferraz, Emily Ferraz, Morgan Rocha, Gavin Rocha, Connor Estrella and Mackenzie Neville.

Surviving sisters include Jeannette Dubois of New Bedford and Laurance “Lori” Sorel of The Villages, Fla., along with nieces and nephews.

She was the daughter of the late Ernest and Germaine (Pelissier) Dumont and the sister of the late Beatrice Levesque and Evelyn Bizier.

A wake was held at the Auclair Funeral Home in Fall River, with a Mass of Christian Burial at Good Shepherd Church on April 23. Burial followed at Notre Dame Cemetery.

Donations in her memory may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, 309 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham, Mass.

02452 or to St. Mary’s Cathedral, 327 Second Street, Fall River, Mass. 02721.

Sister Mary Laurita Hand, former assistant school superintendent LEOMINSTER — Sister Mary Laurita Hand, 84, known in secular life as Lucille Hand, died April 8 at Presentation Convent in Leominster, Mass.

Sister Mary was born July 26, 1934 in Woonsocket, R.I., the daughter of Anna (Grennon) and Lawrence Hand.

She received her early education in Woonsocket, R.I. and entered the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Sept. 24, 1951, professing her final vows on Aug. 20, 1956.

Continuing her education, she received a Bachelor of Education in English from Regina Coeli College in Fitchburg; a master’s degree in English from Rivier College in Nashua, N.H.; and an administration degree from Providence College in R.I. Sister Mary served as chairman of the English Department and Drama Director at St. Bernard High School in Fitchburg and later at Bishop Keough High School in Pawtucket, R.I.

In 1977 she was appointed assistant superintendent of schools for the Fall River Diocese.

Her other accomplishments include geriatrics, Religious Education, summer theater, canon law and working at the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Pawtucket, R.I. Besides her Presentation Sisters, Sister Mary is survived by nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

She is predeceased by her parents; her sisters, Muriel Moscatelli, Irene LeMunyon, Doris Benoit, Mary Edna McCarthy, and Rita Salemi; and her brother, Lawrence Hand.

Sister Mary’s funeral was held April 12 with a Mass of Christian Burial at the Presentation Convent Chapel in Leominster. Burial followed in St. Bernard Cemetery in Fitchburg.

Memorial contributions in her name may be made to: The Presentation Retirement Fund, 99 Church Street, Leominster, Mass.

01453 or may be left at the convent.

May 3, 2019 †

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Anchor expiration date EXAMPLE New mailing labels (right) are now included on all Anchor publications. Below is a sample of the label that designates when the subscription expires, allowing readers to renew to keep their subscriptions current. If no payment is received within 30 days of the expiration date, your name will be deleted from the mailing list. Please renew before it expires to avoid an interruption in your subscription service. NOTE: We cannot accept credit card payments by phone.

Subscriber name Subscriber Street Address Subscriber City/Town/Zip Code

A subscription to The Anchor would make a wonderful gift for a loved one, a friend, or yourself. It’s a publication that provides a Spiritual uplift and keeps Catholics connected to our Church — locally and beyond.

One-year subscription — $25 Two-year subscription — $45 Name: _____________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________ City: ____________________ State: _____ Zip: ___________ if given as a gift, the card should read: From: _____________________________________________ Street: ____________________________________________ City-State: _________________________________________ Enclose check or money order and mail to: The Anchor, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720

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† May 3, 2019