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The Anchor By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff
SEEKONK — A self proclaimed “classic cradle Catholic,” Seekonk native Paul Hodge is an illustration of someone who seeks to practice his faith not just in traditional prayer and worship, but by example in everyday life. Hodge grew up as part of St. Mary’s Parish in Seekonk, and one of his earliest memories of Church was a fascination with the Eucharist during Mass. “I remember the bells at the consecration, and I think even then I realized that was a special time; that something special was happening,” he said. The former altar server credits the experience of serving during Mass as a pivotal time in his life. “Looking back, I think a lot of seeds were planted and nourished,” said Hodge. “A lot of them fell on good soil.” His parents helped cultivate that soil. His father was a catechist, the family attended Mass on a weekly basis and both parents encouraged family prayer. “I remember as a youngster praying the Rosary, kneeling down and not facing the wall; my recollection was we were in a semi-circle with none of us looking at each other,” said Hodge. “I remember that, and that’s been something in the past few months I’ve taken back up.” Hodge attended public school up to eighth grade, went to Sacred Heart Academy in Rhode Island for two years, and then finished his schooling at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro. Within a few years after graduating from Providence College with a degree in social work, Hodge found himself working for a local state representative. Hodge never forgot his good Irish Catholic upbringing when it came to attending Mass. “I suspect there were times when I worshipped St. Mattress as opposed to St. Mary’s,” laughed Hodge, “but the importance of Church, the specialness of Church was still there.” Hodge married in 1978, and soon became the father of two boys. In 1983 Hodge went to work as a probation officer in the Fall River district court system. Life was good, said Hodge; his wife was working as a nurse and their boys were thriving — and yet, Hodge felt compelled to do more to live out his faith. They became foster parents, a calling they embraced for the next 10 years. “We had a total of five foster children over the years,”
Living by example
said Hodge. “From my perspective, they were all wonderful experiences. The tough part was when they had to go back.” Hodge is still in touch with one of those foster children, whom is now a married firefighter living in South Carolina. Even after sharing a heartbreaking story of an abrupt end to fostering a child after a judge decided to
Anchor Person of the Week — Paul Hodge. (Photo by Becky Aubut) return the child to its biological family during a court hearing date, Hodge said that “just being able to provide, albeit temporarily, some stability and some consistency in a loving environment” made fostering children worth
August 12, 2011 it.
“We realized how blessed and fortunate we were to have two healthy boys. We wanted to put our Pro-Life views out there in a different way. We are both Pro-Life people and wanted to demonstrate our Pro-Life views in what some may consider a non-traditional way,” said Hodge. “We weren’t participating in demonstrations at clinics, our activism took a different road.” That different road stemmed from his having a sister who was adopted and a brother-in-law who had learning disabilities. Having already two boys, the couple decided to adopt a girl with special needs. While still acting as foster parents, the couple registered through the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Agency. Soon Ashley came into their lives. Born premature, she weighed less than a pound at birth. She spent the first six months of her young life in an incubator where she sustained a series of strokes that left her with paralysis on the right side of her body. Profoundly deaf and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Hodge and his wife met Ashley when she was two years old. “She was transitioned to a foster home in Somerset where we met her,” recalled Hodge. “We knew what we were getting into, which was fine because that was part of what we were looking for. With Judy’s background as a nurse, we felt we could handle it.” Now 23 years old, Ashley is doing well. Hodge gives a tremendous amount of praise to the public services that got Ashley into early intervention. “We’ve been blessed with good teachers and caring individuals in academic settings,” said Hodge. “When she turned 22, she was out of the school system and now goes to a program called Cooperative Production in Dighton.” Hodge has been active in various ministries in his parish, including being a lector and an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. Most recently he was selected as one of four members from St. Mary’s Parish of Seekonk to be part of the Parish Founding Task Force. An additional four parishioners were chosen from St. Stephen’s Parish in Attleboro to create an eight-member group to help oversee the merging of the two parishes. “We were blessed to have two men who had a good working relationship,” he said of the two pastors of each respective parish who also helped ease the transition. “There was a bond between the two of them that filtered down to the members of the task force.” Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish of Seekonk celebrated its one-year anniversary this past Pentecost, and while there were the expected “growing pains,” Hodge said that each parish brought its own welcoming spirit to the merger. “An environment was created where we truly feel as one, that certainly was the goal,” said Hodge. “The nice part is you look around during a weekend Mass and you see faces you haven’t seen before.” As the president of the Attleboro district of St. Vincent de Paul Society, Hodge is in the preliminary stages of creating a fund-raising walk to help provide rental assistance for those living in the Attleboro area. Until then, the only walk he will be doing is down the aisle of his son’s wedding in the fall. “I’ve been blessed to have been mentored by a lot of good men, beginning with my father,” said Hodge, whose other son is already married and is the father to a little girl. “I know there is an expression that faith is caught and not taught. Hopefully I’ve given my sons a positive example and been a decent role model. I’ve come to the conclusion that God has been very good to me. I’ve lived a blessed life.” To submit a Person of the Week nominee, send an email with information to fatherrogerlandry@ anchornews.org