08.24.18

Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., joined hundreds of diocesan youth in a walk to aid the plight of migrants across the world, during the recent Catholic Youth Day on Martha’s Vineyard. (Photo by Deacon Alan Thadeu)

Friday, August 24, 2018

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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Anchor, diocese bids farewell to longtime editor, diaconate director

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor davejolivet@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — Msgr. John F. Moore, a priest for the Diocese of Fall River for 58 years, a member of The Anchor staff in several capacities for 38 years, and director of the diocesan Permanent Diaconate Program for 17 years, died August 12 at Catholic Memorial Home in Fall River, at the age of 85.

Msgr. Moore was born in New Bedford, on July 1, 1933. He was the son of the late Patrick Moore and Rose (McCabe) Moore. He is survived by his sister, Margaret A. Grandchamp and her husband,

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The Anchor - August 24, 2018

Msgr. John F. Moore dies at age 85

Philip, of Adams and his brother, Kevin P. Moore, and his wife, Kathleen, of Penn Valley, Penn., as well as 10 nieces and nephews and 19 grand-nieces and grand-nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Rosemary Bowen and her husband, E. Howland Bowen.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., at St. Mary’s Cathedral on August

17, followed by burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery in New Bedford. Dozens of diocesan priests and deacons attended the funeral Liturgy, along with scores of family, friends and people Msgr.

Moore touched on his nearly 60-year journey as a priest of the Fall River Diocese.

Msgr. Moore attended grammar school at Holy Family School in New Bedford, and continued his education at Holy Family High School in the Whaling City.

He furthered his education at Cardinal O’Connell Seminary in Boston from 1951-53, and later attended St. John’s Seminary in Brighton.

Msgr. Moore was ordained to the priesthood on Jan. 30, 1960, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River

by Bishop James L. Connolly. His parish assignments included parochial vicar at Holy Name, Saints Peter and Paul, and St. William parishes in Fall River and at St. Joseph Parish in Taunton. Following ordination, Msgr. Moore earned a master of education degree at Bridgewater State University.

While in Taunton he also served as chaplain at Bishop Cassidy High School.

This was only the beginning of a priesthood that would be filled with a litany of titles and responsibilities within the Diocese of Fall River.

One of his longest and perhaps most memorable assignments began in 1967 when he was appointed as a staff member of The Anchor, the official newspaper for the Diocese of Fall River.

In October of 1967, Msgr.

Moore began writing a weekly column called “The Mooring.”

Through the years many thought the name was a play on his surname and the anchor theme of

the paper. However, Msgr. Moore explained the origin of the birth of “The Mooring,” in an Anchor interview in June 2005.

“It was an op-ed piece and why I came to calling it ‘The Mooring,’ which I guess is a play on my name, is a funny story,” he said. “Attorney Hugh Golden, the managing editor of The Anchor and longtime newspaperman, took me to lunch in Hyannis and asked me to write for the paper. As we mulled a name for the column, he looked up and said, ‘This place is called the Mooring. Let’s call it that.’”

A decade later, Bishop Cronin appointed Msgr. Moore as editor, and “The Mooring” slid over a few columns to become the weekly editorial, a spot it held for the next 28 years. He assumed the title of executive editor in 2001.

On July 1, 2005, Msgr. Moore penned his final “Mooring.” In it he wrote, “The 38 years have been a unique time in the lives of us all.

One learns much about life and Turn to page 21

Msgr. John F. Moore escorts St. Teresa of Calcutta during her visit to St. Lawrence Martyr Church in New Bedford in June 1995. (Anchor file photo)

Portuguese Charismatic Conference to meet September 7-8 in Fall River

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor davejolivet@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — When Father Henry S. Arruda, the diocesan director of the Portuguese Prayer and Charismatic Groups, was describing the Portuguese Charismatic Conference events in a recent Anchor interview, he mentioned how the people involved were so passionate about their faith.

“These people are so alive, not just in the movement, but in all aspects of their parishes,” he said. “It’s a powerful two-day event that we’ve been having for a long time in the diocese.”

This is the 40th year of the renewal movement in the Fall River Diocese, and the 51st nationwide.

It will be held at Espirito Santo Parish on Friday night, September 7 and all day on Saturday, September 8.

“And an important element of the conference is the music,” he added. “It’s potent. You can’t have a renewal without music.

“The people sing to their heart’s content.”

Referencing St. Augustine’s quote, “He who sings, prays twice,” Father Arruda told The Anchor, “These people pray more than twice, I think.”

The annual conference, which draws faithful from the area and a bit beyond, is well-attended.

“While this is spon-

sored by the diocesan Portuguese Charismatic Group, Father Arruda sends out invitations beyond the diocese,” said Debora Brum, a member of the group since its inception 40 years ago.

“We get people from Connecticut, and other areas, including Bermuda.”

“It’s a very Spiritual two days,” she told The Anchor.

“It’s centered around God’s Word, and there is praise, intercessions, prayers for healing of the sick, and Mass.”

“The Diocesan Commission of the Portuguese Charismatic Renewal chose as the theme of this year’s conference: ‘The Renewal Begins with You,’” Father Maurice Gauvin, pastor of Espirito Santo Parish told The Anchor. “The theme reflects the fact that each person must have his or her soul open to the Holy Spirit for there to be change in one’s heart. The commission this year has asked local prayer group leaders to serve as presenters for the conference; this is departing from the tradition of bringing presenters from outside the area.

This is one way in which we can experience the movement of the Holy

Spirit in the lives of those who will be speaking at the conference and share in their Spiritual journey.”

The conference, which

is entirely in Portuguese, begins in the parish hall at 311 Alden Street in Fall River, at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening, and

the doors will open on Saturday at 8 a.m. The conference will conclude with a Mass in the hall at 4 p.m., celebrated by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. “Last year was the golden jubilee of the Portuguese Charismatic Renewal nationwide,” said Father Arruda, “and we are echoing last year’s event this year.

“We will have three main talks.

On Friday the talk will concentrate on ‘Conversion,’ picking up on last year’s theme. On Saturday the first talk will be on ‘Baptism in the

Spirit,’ the very essence of the Charismatic Renewal.

And the final talk will concenrate on ‘Evangelization.’”

Father Arruda told The Anchor that it was Brum who first invited him to become a part of the diocesan group in 1986, and he’s been a part ever since.

“I’m glad that I got involved with the movement and with these people,” he said. “I’ve really benefited from this as a priest and a person.

These faithful are really very Church-oriented, and they are a great asset to their parishes. The Charismatic communities have members who are active in all ministries.”

For information about the conference, contact Espirito Santo Parish at 508-672-3352.

Visit The Anchor online at http:www.anchornews.org The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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Acushnet teacher leaves school to study for religious life

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

ACUSHNET — Some of Haley Ketschke’s former students at St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet are probably feeling a little bittersweet as they prepare for another school year knowing their beloved “Miss Ketschke” won’t be there to teach them.

Ketschke will, instead, be transitioning into the student role herself this year as she begins a whole new chapter in her Spiritual journey.

The second-grade teacher left last week for Ohio to begin her postulancy, or first step towards professing her religious vows, with the Franciscan Sisters Third Order Regular (T.O.R.) of Penance and the Sorrowful Mother.

“I could not have asked for a more supportive environment to discern for these past two years,” Ketschke recently told The Anchor before she left. “Everyone from the administration, faculty, parents and students offered many prayers and much encouragement.

My students knew of my discernment and would ask me many questions along the way. It was a gift to be able to walk with them all these last two years. I never would have had the courage to say ‘yes’ without their support.”

“Having Haley Ketschke as a member of our staff was a true gift,” said Michelle Russo, principal of St. Francis Xavier School.

“She exuded the joy that can only come from loving Our Lord deeply, and this allowed her to leave a lasting mark on our faculty, our student body, and our school families.”

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The product of a Catholic education, Ketschke has always valued that unique combination of religious and academic training and credits the experience with helping her to find her calling.

“My discernment came

they live out their charisms — not just what they do,” Ketschke said. “A vocation is not a job but a means by which one makes a gift of themselves in love and a call to Salvation. With that being said, I visited many other communities

celibacy. I learned that I was not rejecting Marriage and motherhood, but rather that religious life is living out a vocation as both bride and mother in another capacity.”

Given that pivotal moment, it’s no surprise

Haley Ketschke, center, a second-grade teacher at St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet, recently began her postulancy with the Franciscan Sisters, T.O.R., of Penance and the Sorrowful Mother in Ohio. She is pictured here with community members, from left, Sister Anna Rose, Tosha Young, Sister Mary Catherine, and Sister Elizabeth. (Photo courtesy of Haley Ketschke)

from having teachers remind me that in discerning your vocation it is not about what you want, but rather what God wants for you,” she said.

Ketschke first encountered the Franciscan Sisters, T.O.R., of Penance and the Sorrowful Mother at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she attended for her undergraduate studies. She was immediately taken with the work of the nuns who mostly serve the physically poor and Spiritually hungry people in the Ohio and Pittsburgh areas.

“When a young woman discerns a call to a particular community, she has to look at who the Sisters are, how they pray, and how

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

and felt attracted to the T.O.R. charism of ‘Making Known God’s Merciful Love through Poverty and Contemplation.’”

Although she was exposed to a variety of religious orders during her school years, it wasn’t until she began her undergraduate studies at Steubenville that she seriously began considering religious life herself.

“It was my studies (at Franciscan University) that led me to study at the Theology of the Body Institute,” Ketschke said.

“While taking a class on St. John Paul II’s teaching on human sexuality and Marriage, I fell in love with the Church’s teaching on religious life and

then that St. John Paul II holds a special place in Ketschke’s heart and has remained a role model throughout her discernment.

“He always encouraged young people to ‘be not afraid when love requires sacrifice,’” she said. “His numerous writings have encouraged me and challenged me on my faith journey and in my discernment.”

Attending and working for a Catholic school — first as student, then as a teacher — certainly helped Ketschke during her formative years and eventually helped her to hear God’s call.

“I went to Catholic school from third grade on

through graduate school at Providence College,” she said. “I was also very active in the campus ministry office at Bishop Stang High School and that foundation of having a relationship with Jesus was crucial for me. Being educated in the Catholic tradition formed me well in a life of prayer and virtue to be able to have the courage to answer a call to religious life.”

One of Ketschke’s friends, Father Christopher M. Peschel, associate director of Vocations and Seminarians for the diocese and parochial administrator at St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro, expressed great joy in learning of her decision to answer God’s call.

“In the summer of 2016, Haley contacted me and mentioned that she would be returning to the Fall River Diocese to get a masters degree in Education while teaching in one of our Catholic schools,” Father Peschel said. “She knew I was in the vocations office and had let me know she was actively discerning religious life. I had helped several guys in their application for seminary, but had never worked with a young woman discerning religious life. Working with her was a blessing for me as I came to a greater understanding and appreciation of discernment, application, and preparation for a young woman entering the convent.”

Now that Ketschke has chosen to become a postulant with the Franciscan Sisters, T.O.R., of Penance and the Sorrowful Mother, she’ll spend this first year getting to know more Turn to page 18

East Taunton church restores long-hidden altar treasure

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

EAST TAUNTON — In Revelations, chapter 21, Christ appeared to John in a vision and told him: “Behold, I make all things new.”

At Holy Family Parish, a group of determined parishioners have likewise been hard at work to make “all things new” inside their beloved East Taunton house of worship.

And one striking piece of artwork that was thought long lost — a three-dimensional plaster depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural, “The Last Supper” — has literally been resurrected and returned to its former glory after being stashed away in a neighborhood basement for some 40 years.

In a story that could rival the plot of an Indiana Jones film, it was during a recent church renovation project that pastor Father Kevin Cook remembered someone mentioning the once-prominent altar centerpiece.

“One day after Mass, one of our parishioners, Karen Daley, approached me and I asked her about an image of the Last Supper she told me about years before,” Father Cook relayed in the July 28-29 parish bulletin. “She mentioned how when the church was renovated in a more radical way back in the 1970s, the high altar was dismantled and buried in the back of the church property. In that altar was an image of the Last Supper that she said she would love to look at as a young girl at Mass and helped her pray.”

When the church was renovated in the early 1970s to reflect the Liturgical changes after Vatican II, the Last Supper mural was removed and Daley’s father, Robert Silva, humbly

asked then-pastor Father Robert F. Kirby if he could have it.

“This parishioner approached the pastor and asked: ‘Father, can I have that image? You know, it’s beautiful and it’s been there since I was a little boy in this parish, and I’d like to have it,’” Deacon Bob Craig told The Anchor. “So he said, sure, go ahead and take it. So the guy took it, but

houses down from the church, asked if he could have it,” said Silva’s granddaughter, Jessie Vieira, in a recent Facebook posting. “This sculpture sat in the basement of that home, throughout many years and many different homeowners.”

According to Father Cook, one parishioner who owned the house for nearly 20 years, Marcel Sorel, in-

The marble-like sculpture of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural of “The Last Supper” was recently restored and returned to its rightful place in front of the altar at Holy Family Church in East Taunton after being stored and nearly forgotten in a nearby basement for more than 40 years. (Photo courtesy of Jessie Vieira on Facebook)

he didn’t know what to do with it. I mean, the thing is like six-feet long, what are you going to do with that?

Put it up in your living room? So he put it in his basement and there it sat.”

“When the church went through initial renovations in the ’70s, they were going to bury this sculpture but my grandfather, who lived two

formed him that he was always very careful with the sculpture when he had to move it but he refused to get rid of it “because it was so beautiful and it was from the church,” he said.

Curious about the mural’s whereabouts and condition, Father Cook and Daley soon approached the current homeowner, a non-parishioner, who was only too happy to return it

to the church where it belonged. But years of sitting in a musty basement had taken its toll on the sculpture.

“Our plan was to get it and if it was in disrepair, we would bury it, but if we could use it, we would,” Father Cook said. “We came to find out the image was intact, but it had one main break across the table of the Last Supper and the side molding was gone.”

“Father Cook went to look at it and sure enough, there it was sitting in the basement of this house,” Deacon Craig said. “But it’s made of a plaster composite of a statuelike material. So they weren’t really sure how stable it was; so it took a couple of people to go help lift it up.

As soon as they lifted it up, it started to crumble. The back just fell apart.

They took it out of there in like four or five boxes.”

“It broke into about seven or eight major pieces,” Father Cook said.

“Amazingly, the main characters did not break, but everything else crumbled.”

Undeterred, Father Cook approached parishioner Paula Yetman and asked if she knew anyone who did statue repair work.

“Paula just had a woman named Patricia Brady join her (prayer group) recently,” Father Cook explained.

“Patricia just moved to Massachusetts from out of state, and had just mentioned to Paula she loves fixing religious statues and if she knew of anyone who needed any repair to let her know. God’s finger was surely at work on this project.”

“So the connection was made, but I remember Father Cook said, ‘I’ll have her look at it just in case, but you know I’m not expecting she’s goTurn to page 18

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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Anchor Editorial

Stay and pray

Words are totally insufficient to deal with the crisis the Church faces at this moment, the crisis which its leaders foisted upon it. And yet, in an editorial, we need to work with words to discuss the disgusting.

Kathryn Jean Lopez, a lay Catholic writing in National Review Online, wrote Monday in response to Pope Francis’ letter (which you can read on page 19 of this edition of The Anchor), “And learning of the evil that has happened and seeing slow action, people are feeling orphaned. ‘My Lord and My God!’ an elderly man exclaimed with all his might yesterday at the Sunday Mass I went to in New York. You could hear the struggle in his voice and also a certainty. Why would you ever go to Church in the first place, especially with all the evil that has been seen and will continue to be?

His exclamation/proclamation/continuing act of faith would be the reason.

Where Eucharistic faith is real and ever-growing, good will be done, for grace will be resplendent. Or so we have said we believe. As many have and will comment, words are necessary but they are insufficient.”

On page eight, Rose Mary Saraiva asks, “Will you stay?” She wrote her meditation on this coming Sunday’s Gospel before all of the horror of the atrocities in the Church came to light; she was echoing Christ’s question to the Apostles ( Jn 6:67), “Do you also want to leave?” A lot of Jesus’ followers had departed because they could not accept His teaching about the Bread of Life. Today people are leaving because they have a hard time believing that the Bread of Life could come through the ministrations of the clergy, so disgraced due to depravity and infidelity to the promises made at ordination.

In his letter, the pope applied Mary’s Magnificat prayer to this crisis.

“Mary’s song is not mistaken and continues quietly to echo throughout history. For the Lord remembers the promise He made to our fathers: ‘He has scattered the proud in their conceit; He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty’ (Lk 1:51-53). We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite.” In other words, the pope was saying that in the Magnificat, Mary is denouncing clerics for their sinfulness.

Lopez, in her above mentioned blog, reminds us that we remain in the Church not because of the clergy, however disappointing we are, but because of Christ in the Eucharist. However, this is extremely difficult for the victims. Lopez added, “I can’t get out of my mind one of the people who was abused by a priest as a child in Pennsylvania talking about how the very word God can be unbearable for her. What we need most was made into torture for her. Someone suggested for every minute spent reading about scandal in the Church, give equal time to prayer. Would it be crazy to do a work of mercy, too? Reach out to someone in love. ‘Blazing charity,’ like St. Catherine of Siena would put it.”

As has been noted here before, the Church is not just the clergy. All OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER www.anchornews.org

Vol. 62, No. 17

Published bi-weekly by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor@anchornews.org. Subscription price by mail, postpaid $25.00 per year, for U.S. addresses.

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PUBLISHER - Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Richard D. Wilson fatherwilson@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne R. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza k ensouza@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherwilson@anchornews.org

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The Anchor - August 24, 2018

baptized Catholics are the Church, even though they are not always treated with the dignity that they deserve. You can read throughout this edition of The Anchor about how the Church (through its laity, its religious and even its clergy) is engaged in prayer, in works of mercy, in spreading the Gospel, in showing love for God and neighbor.

“There is only one Father in the family, and whatever rank we have is not what makes us a member of the body of Christ,” Msgr. John Esseff, former spiritual director of St. Teresa of Calucutta told the National Catholic Register this week. “Scandals show us that rank does not mean holiness. Holiness happens only when we are personally committed to Christ, and that is open to everyone equally. When we were baptized, the Holy Spirit united us to the Second Person of the Trinity, so that every baptized Christian is Christ and has a personal relationship with God the Father Who loves the Son with an infinite love. The love the Father has for me, a priest, is the same that He has for every person. And it will take the Father all of eternity to tell me of His love for me. It will always be new for 10,000 years, 100,000 years and forever.”

Professor Massimo Faggioli of Villanova University in Pennsylvania tweeted, “What Napoleon and Stalin couldn’t do, the hierarchy of the Church itself did.”

The Church will survive not because of the clergy, but because of Christ — Christ Who works through all of the members of the Church, when they are open to Him. St. John Chrysostom, in the Breviary’s reading for today’s feast of St. Bartholomew, points out how Christ chose “fearful, timid men” to lead the Church, as a “proof of the truth,” that it is really God Who keeps the Church alive, not the hierarchy. This does not mean that God approves of their sinfulness — of course not. However, He is always ready to forgive them when they sincerely repent, as St. Peter did.

Patti Armstrong, who interviewed Msgr. Esseff above, asked, “While we were defending and praying for the Church to rise above old sex scandals, it seems that leaders within the Church kept them going. So now, how do we muster the desire to stay the course?”

We muster that desire with prayer and penance, as Pope Francis asked of us in his letter this Monday. Our prayer and our penance will unite us more to Christ. Our prayer and penance will help us to see that Christ is not abandoning us in the midst of all of this filth. Our prayer and penance will guide us in confronting these situations and their perpetrators, not with a sense of vengeance, but with Christ’s approach of purifying the Temple.

He did not make the whip of cords out of hatred for those who made the Temple a marketplace (those people in the Gospel were still probably objectively holier than the clerics about whom we have been reading of late), but because He both wanted to save their souls and save our souls (the Temples which He would create through Baptism). May our prayer and penance help in the Salvation of all souls.

Daily Readings Aug. 25 – Sept. 7

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Aug. 25, Ez 43:1-7b; Ps 85:9-14; Mt 23:1-12.

Sun. Aug. 26, Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17,18b; Ps 34:2-3,16-21; Eph 5:21-32 or Eph 5:2a,25-32; Jn 6:60-69. Mon. Aug. 27, 2 Thes 1:1-5,11-12; Ps 96:1-5; Mt 23:13-22. Tues. Aug. 28, 2 Thes 2:1-3a,14-17; Ps 96:10-13; Mt 23:23-26. Wed. Aug. 29, 2 Thes 3:6-10,16-18; Ps 128:1-2,4-5; Mk 6:17-29. Thurs. Aug. 30, 1 Cor 1:1-9; Ps 145:2-7; Mt 24:42-51. Fri. Aug. 31, 1 Cor 1:17-25; Ps 33:1-2,4-5,10-11; Mt 25:1-13.

Sat. Sept. 1, 1 Cor 1:26-31; Ps 33:12-13,18-21; Mt 25:14-30. Sun. Sept. 2, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Dt 4:1-2,6-8; Ps 15:2-5; Jas 1:1718,21b-22,27; Mk 7:1-8,14-15,21-23. Mon. Sept. 3, 1 Cor 2:1-5; Ps 119:97-102; Lk 4:16-30. Labor Day Proper Mass: Blessing of Human Labor. Tues. Sept. 4, 1 Cor 2:10b-16; Ps 145:8-14; Lk 4:31-37. Wed. Sept. 5, 1 Cor 3:1-9; Ps 33:1215,20-21; Lk 4:38-44. Thurs. Sept. 6, 1 Cor 3:18-23; Ps 24:1-6; Lk 5:1-11. Fri. Sept. 7, 1 Cor 4:1-5; Ps 37:3-6,27-28,39-40; Lk 5:33-39.

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Staying faithful as we endure and confront the crisis

wo weeks ago I wrote a column attempting to respond to many of the questions friends and reporters had about the crisis of sexual infidelity among clergy. Since that article, I have received many more emails and phone calls, and I would like to continue attempting to answer the questions posed as candidly as I can.

Much has happened in the last fortnight. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s report concerning nearly 300 accused priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses — even though most of the cases concern the period before 2002 when the Church started to get her act together with regard to the sexual abuse of minors — brought home once again just how sordid things can get when the priests and prelates get corrupted.

We have also seen many statements addressing the scandal, from Pope Francis, to various bishops, to articles by priests and lay faithful addressing the situation with the brutal candor and incisive proposals for the reform that the Church needs.

It is becoming clear that, unlike in 2002, when the U.S. bishops hastily adopted necessary but still inadequate reforms to address the sexual abuse of minors, leaving many other important aspects untouched, this time many Church leaders want to go beyond pruning some branches of clergy infidelity and episcopal malfeasance to addressing the evil at its roots. This is a sign of hope.

Let’s turn to some of the many honest questions posed by those who have been calling and emailing me.

What if I can’t stomach going to Mass at this time?

I think that we need to look at things from God’s perspective and not just our own so that we do not add to His sadness at this des-

especially at this time to be ecration of His Church and on guard against this diabolisacrilege against so many of cal temptation — and draw His sons and daughters by even closer to Christ. distancing ourselves from Why haven’t bishops Him and His Spiritual gifts.

When St. Francis de Sales simply eliminated from the ranks of the clergy priests who (1567-1622) was risking his are cheating on their vocalife to preach the Gospel to tion with men and women the multitudes in Eastern like they have attempted to do France who had turned to since 2002 with those abusing Calvinism because of the rampant scandals among the minors?

In a few cases the bishops clergy, he didn’t hesitate to may themselves be personally say that what the unfaithful compromised. In the majoriclerics did was the equivaty of cases, I think the reason lent of Spiritual murder by destroying people’s faith. Just as plainly, however, he called Putting Into them not to commit something even the Deep worse: Spiritual suicide through focusing

By Father on the scandals so Roger J. Landry much that they cut themselves off from is fear about the consequencChrist in the Sacraments es of a zero tolerance policy. and from the Church He I remember how much one founded. bishop friend struggled to “Those who forge scandeal with a situation of a dals for themselves [and] young priest theologically persuade themselves that poisoning his parish, preachthey will die if they do not ing against Marian dogmas, alienate the part that they mocking people’s devotions, have in the Church,” St. and giving advice opposed Francis wrote in a pamphlet to the people of Thonon, are to Church moral teaching in the confessional. He was “much crueler than the man concerned that once he startwho gives scandal, because ed to crack down on particuto commit suicide is a more lar priests, he would likely unnatural crime than to kill have to discipline a sizable another.” number of his clergy, which Jesus had said, “Scandals could lead to closed parare sure to come” (Lk 17:1) ishes, protests, overworked and had promised that a priests who remained, and scandalizer would therevarious other troubles. He fore “have a great millstone fastened around his neck and laudably removed the priest, thrown into the depth of the but the conversation taught sea” (Mt 18:6). But St. Fran- me about the “maintenance” issues that can keep good cis added that if we allow scandals to destroy our faith, bishops up at night — tolwe essentially tie a millstone erating unfaithful priests to keep parishes open at a time around our own neck — of priestly shortages — and and toss ourselves from the barque of Peter, where Christ how it’s essential to make is at the helm, into the depth such decisions “personal,” never forgetting the people of a sea of misery. The worst who suffer because of unsin against charity we could faithful stewards. ever commit against ourBecause of this episcopal selves, he said, would be to fear, I think that it’s imcommit Spiritual suicide in this way. We Catholics need portant for lay faithful who

want to catalyze reform to let their bishops know that they are prepared to be personally inconvenienced in the practice of the faith, with fewer Mass times and even fewer parishes, if that’s what it takes to ensure that they’re served by priests who keep their promises.

Should I stop giving any funds to the diocesan appeal until my bishop proves that he has his act together?

A few articles have tried to start such a movement.

Some think that the only means the faithful have to express their righteous anger is with their money, but such threats are, I believe, psychologically and ecclesiologically unbecoming.

Wouldn’t it be better to write one’s bishop and use a different, and less confrontational, type of a motivation?

“Bishop, if you take out your broom and start cleaning up this mess, I’ll be right there with you. If you’re attacked, I’ll defend you. If others cut their contributions, I’ll try to sacrifice more. I know that cleaning up corruption is a hard and often thankless task, but I’ll not just be grateful, I’ll support you and try to recruit as many as I can to help in the reform.” The latter approach, I believe, will prove far more effective.

Finally, what is the root issue for the crisis? Some are claiming that it’s “clericalism.”

Others the culture of toleration of unchastity among the clergy, especially sexuallyactive, same-sex networks.

Which is it?

Both are important factors, but I’ve been noticing that “clericalism” and “abuse of power” seem to be the talking points of commentators who want to talk about reform while ducking the problem of priestly and episcopal unchastity in general and same-

sex activity in particular. As we see in the case of former Cardinal McCarrick and page after page in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, however, the two go together.

Clericalism, an excessive focus on clergy privilege, helps to explain how some bishops were more concerned with the rights of abusive priests than they were the lives of those who were being abused.

But the worst forms of clericalism happen when priests forget that they are called, like Christ, to serve rather than be served, to sacrifice rather than receive, to share Christ’s teaching rather than their own ideas.

When priests begin to live in defiance even of the Ten Commandments, substitute lust for agapé, and think that they should still have the right to approach the altar and confessional, or use the rectory as their subsidized lair, one of the most virulent forms of clericalism ensues.

This clericalism is something we’ve seen in all its ugliness among actively unchaste clerical gay networks — like the predatory homosexual child abuse ring in Pittsburgh — when they dominate seminaries, or dioceses or religious orders.

To try to eliminate clericalism without eradicating clerical sexual infidelity would be like trying to address a rising river without stemming one of its major tributaries. The reform of the Church requires fighting both, but it’s a dangerous red herring to suggest that this crisis was caused mainly by priestly pride and not fundamentally by tolerated priestly unchastity and sexual sinfulness.

I hope to continue trying to answer such questions in upcoming columns.

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

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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o you too want to leave? A simple question that can be interpreted in so many different ways. If you are ready to leave a place, it is simply a means of asking if the other person is ready to leave as well.

In the Gospel, Jesus asks His disciples if they too want to leave after others found what He had to say too difficult and uncomfortable. Those who left returned to the life they knew, a life that may have held little or no promise, but it was a life they understood and felt safe in.

Jesus’ teaching dares us to step outside our comfort zone. He wills us to follow Him, knowing very well that we may stand out in a crowd, we may be ridiculed or ostracized, but fully aware that our yes to Him will bring us into eternal life. His disciples probably did not quite understand what Jesus was truly saying, but they knew for what it was worth, that following

Will you stay?

Jesus was the way to the a neighbor that may be Father. Peter responds to hard to tolerate, to look Jesus’ statement, by saybeyond the surface and ing “To whom shall we recognize the Spirit withgo, You have the words of in, and to step outside eternal life.” The Twelve our comfort zone. It is knew that going back was turning the other cheek, not an option, they had when all we want to do been changed — with is strike back. It is saying Jesus they found hope, “I’m sorry,” and grantlove, and a sense of belonging — a coming home.

We all know In the Palm what following of His Hands Jesus eventually meant for those

By Rose Mary first disciples, but Saraiva yet through every trial and adversity, they stood fast. They remained true ing forgiveness, when we to the teachings of Jesus, would rather hold onto a going out and spreadgrudge instead. It is weling the Good News to coming the homeless, the all those willing to listen. less fortunate, the addict, Jesus sent them the Spirit and all those who are to guide them, give them marginalized, accepting the words to speak, and them, rather than passing to be their strength when judgment or snubbing our the enemy bore down on noses at them. To follow them. It was the Holy Jesus is to let go of who Spirit Who remained we are and to let in the with them and in them, person Jesus knows we until they, too, were can be. sentenced to death. And Ultimately we are beit was the Spirit Who ing asked to “change” and guided them home after allow the Spirit to work their earthly journey was within us. We are not complete. asked to become someone Are we willing to folelse, but rather to allow low? A life in Christ who we truly are to shine does require sacrifice through. After all, we are and a willingness to love created in the image and likeness of God, what

we convey to the world, should bear witness to this fact.

Think of your own personal relationships, with friends and companions, like the disciples, you saw something in them that attracted you to them.

Often, it is how we are reflected in their eyes, and likewise, how they see themselves when they are with us, that draws people together. These are people who may bring you great joy, and sometimes pain and sorrow, but yet you would do just about anything to help them, and be there for them in thick or thin. It is pure love, a willingness to lay down one’s life for the sake of another. It is being yourself, but yet, part of something more because they are a part of your life.

It was this that compelled the disciples to stay, it was knowing that their lives would never be the same if they went back. They knew that something would always be missing, and nothing would ever completely satisfy their needs or wants like Jesus could.

This is the same as a woman or man leaving

home to start a life as husband and wife. Like the bridegroom, Jesus is extending His hand and asking us to follow, to trust, to believe, and to be forever changed. The opening verse for “The Summons” says it all: “Will you come and follow Me if I but call your name? Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?”

We are being challenged to follow. With all the challenges that one hears about, or reads about in the news or social media, I challenge all of you to dare to be different, to reach out beyond your comfort zone, and to allow the Spirit to guide you. My challenge for all of you is to actively look for Christ in everyone you meet — I mean, truly look at the person you encounter. When you learn to see past the exterior, the call to follow becomes an essential part of who we are. So I ask you, as Jesus did, “Do you too want to leave?” or are you willing to stay and “never be the same” again?

Anchor columnist Rose Mary Saraiva is a member of Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River and works for the diocesan Off ice of Faith Formation. rsaraiva@dfrcs.org.

Visit the Diocese of Fall River website at fallriverdiocese.org. The site includes links to parishes, diocesan offices and national sites.

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The Anchor - August 24, 2018

Religious of Jesus and Mary celebrate 200 years of service

FALL RIVER — Returning to the city of their first mission in the United States, the Religious of Jesus and Mary will celebrate the closing of their bicentennial year as a congregation on Sunday, September 16, at a 10:30 a.m. Mass in Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street in Fall River. The Congregation was founded in Lyon, France on Oct. 6, 1818 in the wake of the chaotic French Revolution. From the outset, the Sisters dedicated themselves to educating orphans and young girls at risk.

Within a few decades the congregation spread to missions in India, Europe and North America.

Committed to the apostolic call and style of St. Claudine Thévenet, the foundress, the members serve in various educational, pastoral, social and Spiritual ministries. Today more than 1,000 Sisters and their associates minister on four continents in 28 countries. Their mission is to reveal God’s goodness and forgiving love, as revealed in the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Several celebrations have been held during the year in areas of the United States where the Sisters have served.

The Religious of Jesus and Mary first came to Fall River in May 1877 as missionaries to the French-Canadian immigrants in the newlyformed parish of NotreDame de Lourdes. As the Sisters’ first U.S. foundation, the mission grew into an extensive network of convents and schools throughout New England, New York, Mary-

land, the South and the Southwest.

Auspicious Beginnings in Fall River In 1876, two years after the creation of Notre Dame Parish, Mother St. Cyrille Reynier, provincial of Canada, made an exploratory visit to Fall River to see about a new foundation where she could send Sisters whose health was too frail to endure the harsh Canadian winters, but who might be able to minister to the needs of the growing number of immigrants who were employed in local factories. Unsuccessful with the pastor of St. Anne’s, Mother St.Cyrille found an enthusiastic welcome with Father Pierre Bédard, pastor of Notre Dame, who promised to give the Sisters some property he owned near the church and build them a convent on the grounds.

On May 22, 1877, a pioneer trio arrived to take up temporary residence as guests in a house that was known as the “petit couvent,” a little-conventthat-could! By the end of May, they moved into a new home on the corner of Mason Street, large enough to house Sisters and school for the next 10 years.

The foundresses were Mother St. Xavier [Louise Gosselin], M.St. Benoit [Mathilde Fournier] whose family was from the parish, and Sister St. Sabine [Philomène Mari-

on]. Within weeks, seven more Sisters arrived to complete the original group. Early in September, they were teaching in makeshift classrooms in the church basement: 200 students in the elementary day school; nearly 100 working girls in evening classes; and 36 applicants for private music lessons.

Within a year, under the

pastor’s energetic leadership, they added a flourishing boarding school and a girls’ orphanage to their apostolic ministry.

In spite of their fragile constitutions, these were women of steely resolve, stamina, and dedication.

Growing Pains and Achievements In August of 1884, Father Bédard died suddenly of a stroke. Fear grew among the parishioners that his dream of providing a solid education for the children in their native tongue would die with him. Throughout New England, tensions had grown between bishops who wanted immigrants to be taught in English in order to be assimilated to the growing nation, and Church leaders who felt that “to lose one’s language is to lose one’s faith.” A series of disagreements and misunderstandings led to some decisions on the part of Bishop Thomas

Hendricken that were met with active resistance in the parish. In his frustration with their refusal to accept a pastor he had appointed to replace Father Bédard, the bishop closed the church and forbade services from February through August, 1885. The Sisters were deprived of the Blessed Sacrament in their convent chapel.

Despite setbacks and difficulties, they went ahead with the construction of a new conventschool building on St. Joseph Street at a cost of $50,000, paid for from their resources. It opened in 1888 with 40 boarders and more than 300 daystudents. Notwithstanding the crisis they had endured, the Religious of Jesus and Mary were grateful to God and the good people of the parish for the success of their first decade in the United States.

At the turn of the century, the Sisters began administering the new parochial Notre Dame School, where they took charge of instructing 1,200 girls and boys. The neighboring Couvent Jésus-Marie had become a well-known academy for young women, with 51 boarders from all parts of the diocese. At its 25th anniversary celebration in May of 1902, the Fall River Evening News reported that the institution, complete with chapel and infirmary, was “a

model of neatness from the well-kept dormitory on the fourth floor to the cozy refectories on the first.” Day students were admitted in 1927, and their numbers were such that the Sisters added a four-story wing to their main building. In 1939, they built an auditorium with gymnasium, a decision that benefited parish activities as well as school functions.

The rapid growth and success of the community’s educational work encouraged many vocations to priesthood and religious life from Notre Dame Parish. Thirty-six young women from Notre Dame School and/or the Academy chose to enter the Religious of Jesus and Mary in the 20th century. Twenty-five entered other religious orders.

Adapting to Changing Times After World War II, the parish and the Sisters were forced to reexamine their ministry to a changed population.

Their lives and work were also affected by the Church’s renewal after the Second Vatican Council. Social and cultural changes led to declining enrollment in the boarding school, which was closed in 1960. Jesus-Mary Academy became a secondary school exclusively for day-students. Population changes in the city and diminishing numbers of Sisters created economic and educational hardships. After deliberation and consultation with other religious institutions, Jesus-Mary Academy merged with two similar institutions, Turn to page 24

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Catholic Youth Day

outh ministry is an enigma — all parishes want it; most parishes don’t know how to define it. It is often the second thought of the Faith Formation program; tucked in after the important work of preparing youth for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

However, the U.S. Catholic Church has asserted that “Far from peripheral to the Church’s concern, ministry with adolescents is essential for helping the Church realize its mission with its young members.”

It is also essential to the Church’s future if we are to have disciples to carry on the mission of Jesus Christ.

It’s been more than 40 years since the Catholic Church in America recognized the need to have a new vision of formation for adolescent youth. As the cultural context changed, with its new media and creeping secularism, it challenged the primacy of faith in the lives of our youth. The Church called on its leaders to find a new strategy for forming disciples of Jesus Christ.

With each passing decade the battle for the souls of adolescents continued, and so the U.S. Bishops issued “Renewing the Vision” in 1997, a document that built

upon the insights from 40 youth ministry. Parishes years ago and serves as the may need to pry catechesis framework for youth minloose from the foundation istry to this day. and find creative ways of The document outlined handing on knowledge of eight components that the faith within alternative make up a comprehensive models to make room for youth ministry program: the other essential compoadvocacy, catechesis, comnents of their ministry with munity life, evangelization, youth. justice and service, leaderWe may be doing a ship development, pastoral care, prayer and worship. These are not just for a The Great youth program, but Commission are essential ministries within the

By Claire McManus Church. Isolating these ministries and making them the purview disservice to the youth by of a separate ministry to creating a youth ministry youth may be the root of silo. Youth ministry is built the challenge most paron relationships — they are ishes have in forming youth evangelized through relaministry. tionships with Christian The youth are the rementors. These can be their sponsibility of the entire peers, family members, or parish, not just a few adults people who are witnesses to designated to be their min- the faith in their parishes. isters. If parishes view the These are the people who eight components as essen- usually organize events and tial to its ministry with all activities for the youth; catparishioners, then they will echize them and pray with be much further along in them. It isn’t the activities integrating them into their that evangelize youth, but ministry with youth. Most the accompaniment of a of the time and resources caring mentor that makes of a parish are directed to- the difference. ward catechetical programs On a very hot and and preparing youth for the humid day in August, 220 Sacrament of Confirmayouth and their adult mention, yet this is only one tors travelled miles from essential component of their homes to board a

ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.

They then walked 4.2 miles in the sweltering heat as a show of solidarity with refugees from around the world. When they arrived at St. Augustine Church in Vineyard Haven they were welcomed with a freshlycooked lunch; a field full of games and activities; and the sound of Christian music blasting from the speakers.

The youth were entertained with the music of the keynote performer, Chris Muglia, whose hard-hitting message of what it means to live as disciples of Jesus inspired the youth to embrace the heroic life of a committed Christian.

This is youth ministry at its best.

Catholic Youth Day had a catechetical component that was provided by the chief catechist of the diocese, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. The pilgrimage in solidarity with refugees gave the youth a lesson in Catholic Social Teaching, bringing the need for justice into focus. They were mentored and accompanied on this pilgrimage by their priests, catechetical leaders, parents, peer leaders and youth ministers. They were

welcomed and embraced by the entire parish, with more than 40 volunteers providing food, fun, support for their four-mile trek, nurses, and whatever was needed to make the day a success. They prayed before the Eucharist at adoration; went to Confession with the many priests who accompanied them, or just came along to be a part of this special day. The closing Mass was truly a sending forth into mission, as they were sent home to organize a collection of items in their parishes and schools to fill a welcome box for new immigrants in our diocese; thus continuing their immersion into solidarity with refugees.

While we search for ways to bring back the adults who are abandoning the Church, we have right in front of us the opportunity to evangelize and form disciples with a generation of emerging adults. We may need to break down the walls that separate the youth from the essential ministries in the parish, but with a little creativity and the Holy Spirit, youth ministry will emerge in every parish.

Anchor columnist Claire McManus is the director of the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation.

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@ anchornews.org 10

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

Friday 24 August 2018 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — St. Bartholomew Day his week, dear readers, we are concluding our tour of a generic Catholic church — not any one particular church, you understand, just your average Catholic church.

I’ll call it St. Generica’s Church.

We have already toured the narthex and the nave.

We have seen the baptismal pool, the Paschal candle, the ambry, the Stations of the Cross, the pews and kneelers, the altar, the ambo, and the presider’s chair. Let’s take a closer around the Sanctuary, shall we?

Is that an altar or a table?

Well, it functions as both.

It’s an altar/table. It’s an altar of sacrifice for the commemoration of Christ’s death and Resurrection.

It’s a table (but no ordinary table) for the celebration of the Eucharist, our pledge of glory at the eternal banquet of Heaven.

The altar is covered with a cloth during the celebration of Holy Mass. In some very Liturgically-oriented communities, the altar is left bare before and after each Mass. That’s actually required only during the Easter Triduum, but still a worthy practice year-round, if you are so inclined.

Preparing for the celebration of Mass, one will be needing certain Liturgical items. You will need a missal or Mass prayer book (not to be confused with “missile,” which is something entirely different). You need at least two candles on or near the altar (best to omit the candles if you’re celebrating Mass in a medical facility with oxygen nearby). You need just one visible crucifix, either wall-mounted or freestand-

T

Tour of St. Generica’s Catholic Church

ing. You need a paten or At the ambo, a lectionbread plate (from the Latin ary is used to read the patella, meaning “platter”). assigned Scriptures. (Please, You need a chalice (from no newsprint “missalette.” the Latin calix, meaning The Word of God is not “cup”). disposable). Ideally, you With the passing of my could also use a separate old friend Father Frank and more ornate Book of Wallace, I have inherited his Armyissue field chalice.

The Ship’s Log It polished up Reflections of a nicely. It’s perfect Parish Priest for saying Mass at

By Father Tim the local nursing Goldrick homes.

Is that a pulpit or a lectern?

Well, it’s a stand intended the Gospels. to be used for the reading An ambo is not really a of the Bible, for preach“lectern,” though people ing the homily, for leading often call it that. A lecprayer, and for chanting tern is light and portable. the Responsorial Psalms It’s nothing more than a and Easter Proclamation. It convenient place to make started out as a stationary routine announcements. ambo, dignified and worthy It suffices as a music stand of the proclamation of the for announcing hymns, for Word of God, often slightly example. A pulpit should raised for increased visibil- never be used to point ity. In the 14th century it out that someone driving morphed into a pulpit. a red Lexus has left the You might say a pulpit is headlights on or that the an ambo on steroids. Some guild is selling homemade pulpits are mounted high gluten-sensitive brownies on pedestals or affixed to after Mass. A bake sale may the wall — so high one seem important, but it’s noneeds stairs for access. “Pul- where near as important as pit” comes from the Latin the Word of the Lord. Use word pulpitum, meaning a lectern, not the ambo. “staging.” Some pulpits are As for the presider’s topped by a structure called chair, it needs to be visible a “sounding board,” sonanto all, but it should in no tibus tabula in Latin. This way resemble the imperial was intended to amplify the throne of the Emperor of voice of the speaker before Japan. the invention of sound sysThen there’s the Tabertems. You don’t see this sort nacle. The veil or covering of thing in more recentlyof the Tabernacle in our built church buildings. churches (and secondarily,

the Sanctuary lamp burning before the Tabernacle) represents our belief that here, Our Lord is present to us in a physical way, as in the Old Testament Tent of Meeting.

The location of the Tabernacle remains a hot-button issue.

The consecrated Hosts reserved following the celebration of Holy Mass are kept in the Tabernacle for two reasons. One is to afford the opportunity for private prayer before Our Eucharistic Lord.

The other is to provide 24/7 availability of Communion to the sick.

On the other hand, the focus of the main worship area is supposed to be the altar. Personally, I don’t think these need to be

mutually exclusive.

Then there are the statues of saints. These images assist us in our own faith and devotion. They remind us of certain exemplary Christians, our brothers and sisters, one and all. As we join together at Holy Mass, we are surrounded (physically and Spiritually) by those who have gone before us in the faith. The photograph of my great grandmother on my bookshelf is not a graven image or idol. It’s a reminder of whence I have come.

So are the statues of the saints.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our tour of St. Generica’s Catholic Church. Do come again.

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

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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Barging in and out

I

t became visible in the distance at about 8 a.m. on the 28th of July. Pulled by a leading tugboat and nudged by another tug, it slowly became more visible as it made its way in the direction of Damien’s Landing (Kalaupapa Pier). By 10:30 a.m. it had nestled against the dock and was ready for unloading. Young Brothers Barge had made its annual July crossing to Kalaupapa to deliver to the settlement its 2018 “Christmas” supplies. It had docked about three hours behind schedule but that was OK since many events begin here on Kalaupapa time.

At one moment all was quiet, then almost as though a switch had been flicked on, the action began.

The Young Brothers stevedores hopped onto their transport equip-

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The Anchor - August 24, 2018

ment and began to unload vehicles, While the resident workers machinery, non-perishable food joined in the frenzied action, deand drink. No, I do not believe livering the cargo to its respective that Mr. Heineken or Miss Corona locations, others equipped with were part of this shipment as the clipboards, directed the delivery local bar has closed at this time. Of process and kept order so that course some there were of these no crashes. libations There were Moon Over may still several curiMolokai find their ous specBy Father way here tators on Patrick Killilea, SS.CC. eventually. hand. For There were example, household Sister Franappliances as well as cleaning supcis Theresa, here on a week’s visit, plies and diesel for the trucks and took up position inside the church other equipment. Then the huge boundary wall and chatted with gasoline trucks rolled off the barge some of the traffic directors, while to the delight of us residents who Sister Alicia Damien took her post had been warned of possible severe at the base of the Sacred Heart rationing after last year’s delivery. statue, like an undercover F.B.I. agent. For my part I slipped out, armed with a camera, even though

someone told me, “No pictures.”

Look for me behind bars in the next Kalaupapa Gazette. LOL. A hearty lunch was served to all on the church steps by Head Chef Tim, giving the workers a little break as well as nourishing chow. Then it was time to reload the barge with outgoing decrepit vehicles, work machinery, recycled bottles, cans, and other items as well as shipping containers full of scrap metal. The now-empty gas trucks rolled onto the barge, followed by the transport equipment, driven by the stevedores. By 4:30 p.m. the work was completed, the barge pulled away from the pier, and soon it was sailing into the sunset of the western sky.

Aloha.

Anchor columnist Father Killilea is pastor of St. Francis Parish in Kalaupapa, Hawaii.

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I’ve fallen and I can get up — won’t you join me?

llow me to preface this column by saying there are so many wonderful, pious, sincere individuals in a plethora of ministries in this diocese, in other churches, races, ethnicities and countries on this great, old big blue marble, and they are not a part of this column.

My View From the Stands

By Dave Jolivet

With that being said, I’ll begin. Last week I went into the office of my Anchor colleague Ken Souza to ask a question. On his desk he has a small crucifix, and all-thumbs me knocked it to the floor. As I picked it up I said to him, “And Jesus falls for the fourth time.” We had a good chuckle at that.

The anecdote led me to think of how many times in my life I have fallen — not physically, but Spiritually. I cannot even begin to calculate that amount. But I remember often the wise words of a priest friend of mine who once told me, “God doesn’t count the amount of times that you fall down, He counts the times you get back up.” That has brought me great comfort through the years.

It also serves to remind me that God is the ultimate Judge of all of us. I’m not quite sure that everyone realizes that. In the coming weeks and months, confirmation hearings will be held to determine if nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh will become a member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

I really don’t know why — why we need a Supreme Court. That’s because this

country is filled with judges.

They’re everywhere — in the media, in politics, regular citizens; those on the right, those on the left, those in the middle.

If others don’t think like we do, act like we do, and look like we do, we have come to believe that we have carte blanche to pass judgment on them. For instance, I have long hair and a beard, and I know this is an affront to some people.

They won’t say it to my face, but they’ll mention it to others. Does long hair make me a bad person? It’s never dirty, it’s always groomed.

And dare I say, most renditions of Christ show Him with a healthy mane. I am who I am, and my hair is not part of that equation. As I previously mentioned, I have often fallen Spiritually, but thankfully, God looks past my appearance, instead touching my heart and soul.

That gives me the courage to get back up again.

I mention this only as a small illustration of the venom that is pouring forth from so many people in this country — regardless of religion, race, ethnicity and the like. What is lacking in the judgment of others is looking past the differences and into the heart and soul of the person or people we consider different, i.e. evil.

More and more, God is losing His job as the ultimate Judge. And that’s too bad. I think He’ll do a great job if we only let Him. Our job in the great scheme of things is to pray for those whom we consider have gone astray. Our job is to show them respect and love. Our job is to try and

see things from their point of view — or as the old adage says, “Walk a mile in their shoes.” Our job is to keep our judgments to ourselves. Our job is to give God His job back.

I was talking to my kids the other day and I told them I haven’t seen this much hatred in this country since the 60s. Frankly, it

scares me. The hatred and emotional and physical abuse of those who are “different” is past epic proportions. And it’s not reserved for any one group of people.

Having spent much time on the ground after one of my countless tumbles, I see countless others in the same position. Some of those on the ground will

never get back up because they cannot forgive others their trespasses as the Good Lord has forgiven them.

My prayer is that we give our Dad His job back and start living as the brothers and sisters we all are — then we can truly say, “We’ve fallen and we can get up.” davejolivet@anchornews.org

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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Catholic Youth Day — Martha’s Vineyard 2018

More than 200 diocesan youth gathered with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., priests, deacons and chaperones on a ferry ride from Woods Hole to Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard for the first-ever diocesan Catholic Youth Day. After arriving on the island, the group made a four-mile walk to St. Augustine Church in Vineyard Haven, part of Good Shepherd Parish. The walk was to raise awareness and funds to aid the plight of migrants all over the world. The day was filled with making new friends, prayer, music, fellowship, games and Mass. (Photos courtesy of Deacon Alan Thadeu)

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The Anchor - August 24, 2018

Watch the Ordination to Priesthood Online

The 2018 Fall River Diocese Ordination to Priesthood is available for viewing on the videosharing website YouTube. Visit the diocesan website at www.fallriverdiocese.org and click on the Ordination to Priesthood image on the home page to access the video. The ordination took place on June 9 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 August 26 at 11:00 a.m.

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

Holy Union Sisters gather for transition of leadership

WARWICK, R.I. — At its recent annual assembly, the Holy Union Sisters of the United States Province participated in the transition of leadership. Sister Paula Coelho, congregational leader and Sister Teresa Finn, general councilor from Rome, joined Sisters and associates from Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island for the assembly. The Sisters and associates offered the outgoing leadership team — Sisters Patricia Heath, Yvette Ladurantaye and Mary Lou Sullivan — a blessing of gratitude for their years of service.

The incoming leadership team — Sisters Kathleen Corrigan, Joan Guertin and Carol Regan — were then called forth and the outgoing leadership team offered each of them an individual blessing. Then the entire assembly extended hands and prayed: “May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.”

Sister Kathleen Cor-

September 2 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Michael S. Racine, pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet.

Sisters and associates extend their hands in blessing for the incoming leadership team at the recent assembly of the Holy Union Sisters of the U.S. Province in Warwick. R.I.

The North Attleboro Knights of Columbus Council 330 recently donated $5,000 to Abundant Life in Attleboro, a ProLife ministry serving the Greater Attleboro, Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod areas. Abundant Life will be using the funds to purchase office space for their pregnancy center. Pictured, from left, Jim Riley, Abundant Life board member, and John O’Neill, Fourth Degree Knight, North Attleboro Council 330. (Photo courtesy of John O’Neill)

rigan, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. has served as pastoral associate for the past several years at Sacred Heart and St. Mary parishes in North Attleboro. Sister Joan Guertin, a native of Pawtucket R.I., has served as pastoral associate at St. Mary and St. Anthony parishes in Ayer. Sister Carol Regan, a Fall River native, completed a term as associate director of the Religious Formation Conference in Chicago in December. She is now doing research on the beginnings of the Holy Union Congregation in France in preparation for writing an updated biography of the order’s founder, Jean Baptist Debrabant.

The Sisters began their four-year term in early August.

The Holy Union Sisters, a small international congregation, first came to the United States to teach at Sacred Heart School in Fall River in 1886.

Through the years the Sisters have staffed elementary and high schools and served as Religious Education coordinators and pastoral ministers in the Fall River Diocese.

To learn more about the Sisters, visit www. holyunionsisters.org.

To become a subscriber, to renew your existing subscription to The Anchor, or to give it as a gift, contact 508-675-7151 or email subscriptions@anchornews.org The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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For and About Our Church Youth Chapters of a beautiful story

I

have often been asked how I can reconcile my faith with the loss of my brother. I have been questioned how my faith continues to grow despite the losses that I have survived. I guess to understand my answer to this, you should know that I am a bit of book nerd. As extraverted and outgoing as I am, I love to curl up in a big comfy chair and read a book. I love the whole experience of reading a book; learning and loving the characters, the twists and turns of the story, how each chapter can can lead you to a different view of the character, and how with each chapter, the characters’ whole story starts to form.

This is how I view my life.

The whole story of my life, not just the individual chapters.

Sometimes we can get stuck on the chapter and forget that there is so much more to the story. I am not downplaying the hard and tragic chapters of my story, but I am so thankful that they are only chapters.

Even in these sadder chapters of my story, one thing always remains. In each chapter you can

see God working in my life. We know that He is the author of all life but we also need to remember that He is the author of our lives. While we, the main characters of our stories, get to “choose our own adventures” (those were my favorBy Amanda ite kind Tarantelli of books growing up), our story is still being written with His ink.

I recently heard a song on the radio by Big Daddy Weave called “My Story” and it reminded me of how I see things. The song’s first verse is: “If I told you my story You would hear hope that wouldn’t let go And if I told you my story You would hear love that never gave up And if I told you my story You would hear life, but it wasn’t mine.”

This made so much sense to

Be Not Afraid

Isabella and Solia, two students who are attending summer camp at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford, greet George Boucher and present him with home-grown kale and string beans harvested from the school’s garden. Boucher will distribute the fresh vegetables to the patrons who visit the St. Lawrence Food Pantry. The children were very excited to share the “fruits of their labor” with the needy in the community.

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me. I have a story that is filled with hope that doesn’t let go. I think I have always trusted that God is a part of even the minute details of my life, that I look to find Him in every situation.

I place my hope in the fact that He is there.

With that hope comes the realization that I am loved with an unconditional and eternal love. Some of my chapters that are not the most pleasant are because I made the choice to use my own ink, to take the author of love out of the story. But as the story continues, I am able to see a love that never gave up on me.

However, it is the last line of the verse that I try to remind myself of every day. I hope that my story is one that allows others to see God. I want my story, when finished, to see that my life was one of Divine love and joy. I want

my story to not be my story at all.

I want it to be a story of how our God continues to write Gospel in the lives of those who know Him. I know that God continues to write my chapters and I need to try to stop taking the pen.

Author and writing coach Brian Falkner once wrote, “Life is like a book. Some chapters are sad, some are happy and some are exciting, but if you never turn the page, you will never know what the next chapter has in store for you.” I have learned that we can not get stuck on one chapter, even if it is an exciting chapter. We need to keep going no matter how much we want to stay where we are. God is not finished writing your story. Keep turning the pages and you will find His hope, His love and His life so beautifully intertwined with your own.

Anchor columnist Amanda Tarantelli has been a campus minister at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth since 2005. She is married, a die-hard sports fan, and resides in Cranston, R.I. She can be reached at atarantelli@bishopstang.org.

American Heritage Girls Troop MA3712 earned the Catholic saint patch for “Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal,” offered through the National Catholic Committee on Scouting. The girls learned about St. Catherine Laboure and the meaning of the symbols on the front and back of the medal. They made a Miraculous Medal craft, discussed ways to help to promote this devotion as well as memorized the prayer on the front of the medal: “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

Fledgling Mattapoisett Respect Life group launches successful ecumenical effort to support Birthright

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor davejolivet@anchornews.org

MATTAPOISETT — It all started with a small announcement in a parish bulletin this past winter, and it led to a donation of nearly $1,500 and a plethora of much-needed clothing for newborns and new moms in desperate need of assistance, through Birthright of New Bedford, Inc. And it led to the formation of an ecumencial friendship among three Catholic parishes and two Protestant congregations.

Early this year Alice Proia, a parishioner of St. Anthony’s Parish in Mattapoisett, asked her fellow parishioners to join her in starting up a parish Respect Life group. Feeling a “strong calling” to join, Donna Fortin connected with Proia and the two became friends and co-directors of the fledgling group that grew quite quickly.

“I read the announcement and called Alice up right away,” Fortin told The Anchor. “I felt the Lord was asking me to get involved in the Pro-Life movement.”

The group has a core membership of 16 individuals, including pastor Father John Ozug.

“We didn’t want to pressure people to have to come to regurlar meetings, but we did ask people to pray for the movement, for the unborn and for their mothers,” added Fortin. “Our goal was to educate people about being Pro-Life, and what the pro-choice agenda does. Everyone who joined the group was ready to do whatever they could.”

Fortin had a friend, Ann Tremblay, who is director and president of Birthright of New Bedford, Inc.

Fortin contacted Tremblay and learned the non-profit agency that provides love and support to women facing unplanned pregancies, was in great need of funds and supplies.

“Birthright is a wonderful organization that provides guidance for the women to find medical care, housing solutions, community services, day care and legal advice,” said Fortin. “Ann told me the agency was in dire need of financial support and layettes given to the mothers Birthright follows after they give birth.

“The St. Anthony’s group decided to raise money by asking for donations for roses after five Masses on one weekend at St. Anthony’s Parish and at St. Rita’s Parish in Marion.”

The group ordered the red and white flowers and when everything was in place, the flowers were offered to the parishioners, who responded far beyond the group’s expectations.

“We sold each rose for $2 and when all was finished we netted $1,384. We were blown away. People were coming up giving us $10, $20, $30 and one man bougth a rose for $40.

People gave from the heart, knowing what an important agency we were supporting.”

Fortin then contacted Nancy Machado at St. Joseph’s Parish in neighboring Fairhaven. “I knew the parish had a Prayer Shawl Ministry and asked if they would consider knitting blankets and hats for the layettes. The response was outstanding again. The women asked what colors and sizes we wanted.

I told them to do as they pleased.

“The group has some homebound members as

well and they happily took part and in the end, the colors and the items blended seemlessly. It was all so beautiful.”

Fortin, Proia and the group weren’t finished there. They contacted Rev. Jeanne O’Leary at the New Life Christian Fellowship in Fairhaven for assistance. “I’ve known Jeanne for years,” Fortin told The Anchor. “The congregation there was also eager to help and collected many beautiful items.”

Next up on the agenda was to contact Pastor Dennis Barrett from Victory Baptist Church, also in Fairhaven. “Dennis was eager to learn more about Birthright, and especially what happens to the women after they give birth,” explained Fortin. “I put him in contact with Ann Tremblay; that way she can advise him how he and his congregation can best help. Both congregations had great interest in seeking volunteer opportunities.”

With its inaugual successful venture, the St. Anthony’s Respect Life group is far from finished. It will continue to meet, educate and find ways to help all God’s people whose lives are in peril, from the elderly to the unborn.

“There has been much to reflect upon during this time,” Fortin said. “People have come together to support the children of God, not knowing them personally yet giving from their heart because of their ProLife beliefs, that everyone deserves the right to life.

“That is exactly what our Respect Life committee stands for, and why I have consecrated our ministry to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

This memorial at St. Mary’s Cemetery in North Attleboro will be the site of a vigil on September 8 to pray for the more than 59 million children who have been aborted since 1973.

National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Babies service to be held at St. Mary’s Cemetery in North Attleboro

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor davejolivet@anchornews.org

NORTH ATTLEBORO — For the past five Septembers, Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, Priests for Life, and Pro-Life Action League have co-sponsored a National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Babies, calling on faithful to gather at gravesites of aborted boys and girls and memorials dedicated to them, to pray for the parents and to end the scourge of abortion in this country.

For the last four years, Kathleen Hill has organized a local such remembrance, joining Americans across the country in prayer and remembrance.

This year’s vigil will take place on September 8.

“Vigils will be held to commemorate the more than 59 million children who have lost their lives to legal abortion since 1973, and to remind us of the humanity of these precious unborn children,” Hill told The Anchor. “There will be six vigils held in Massachusetts that day but the only vigil in our diocese will be held at St. Mary’s Cemetery in North Attleboro at 10 a.m.

“There is a Knights of Columbus memorial headstone dedicated to the unborn located there. Father Jack Schrader, parochial vicar at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and Sacred Heart parishes in North Attleboro, will be leading the vigil. He and Father Phil Davignon have led this service over the past four years.”

“I’m motivated to be a part of this to be in solidarity with all people who have suffered because of abortion,” Father Schrader told The Anchor. “We pray for those who have passed away, and those alive who are affected by abortion.

“It’s an important work of mercy to remember those who otherwise might be forgotten.

“Praying for the innocent victims of abortion and those affected by it is an example of the Lord’s love of life; His healing hands of mercy reaching out to those struggling in difficult situations.”

“It is a very sweet service with Scripture readings, prayers for the precious lost children, parents, abortion workers, song, etc.,” said Turn to page 20

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Acushnet teacher leaves school to join religious life

Parish restores long-lost altar treasure

about the order and transitioning into the religious community.

“I will be living with the Sisters and studying in order to discern further if this is what Jesus is asking of me,” she said. “After postulancy, I will officially enter the community, according to canon law, when I am invested into the novitiate. At that time I

ing to be able to do anything and then I’ll just have to bury this out where the other stuff from the old Sanctuary is,’” Deacon Craig said. “She came and looked at it in the boxes and said she could work with it. In a day, she had it all put back together and re-plastered!”

In another bit of Divine providence, Deacon Craig remembered meeting a carpenter named Michael LaPlante from St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. last year. He remembered LaPlante talking about the recent altar renovations he did at his own parish, so Deacon Craig reached out to him.

“He came over and built a rectangular frame that could be put into our altar and if you look at it today, it looks like it’s always been there,” he said.

Within a month, the meticulous work of restoring the mural to its original glory and the crafting of a suitable frame to contain it were complete.

“It was fascinating to see it come together at first like a puzzle, and then how they recreated all the missing and broken parts,” Father Cook said. “Michael reinforced the whole image and then incorporated it into our existing altar. Then Sutton Fleming, who we hired to repaint the altar and lectern, painted it to have an antique look.”

When the restoration work was finally complete and the Last Supper was once again back as the centerpiece of the parish’s Eucharistic table, many older parishioners were moved to see something they fondly remembered from their childhood.

“People who had been going to this parish for 50 years, the first thing they

continued from page four

is made up of much prayer, simple ministry, and study.”

Unlike the four- to sixyear process of getting a college degree, the road to religious life can take upwards of eight to 10 years to complete, Ketschke said.

“If I persevere to final vows, I just hope to be a faithful Sister,” she said. “I really have no expectations because at that point, my

On the morning of her departure to enter the convent of the Franciscan Sisters, T.O.R., of Penance and the Sorrowful Mother in Ohio, Father Chris Peschel, left, parochial administrator of St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro, celebrated Mass at his home parish, Annunciation of the Lord in Taunton, for his friend Haley Ketchke, right. As the associate director of Vocations for the diocese, Father Peschel has assisted Ketschke with her discernment over the past two years.

(Photo from Father Chris Peschel’s Facebook page)

will receive a habit and a religious name. Novitiate lasts for two years before the profession of first vows.

These first three years of formation are essentially to help a woman discern if she is both called to religious life and called to this particular community. The whole process of formation 18

life is not my own. I hope to be free and willing to serve wherever my community needs me. Based on where my community is now serving, I do not foresee that being back here in Fall River; but I will always pray for my home diocese.”

Her students, likewise,

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will be doing the same.

“Haley’s students will continue to keep their former teacher in their prayers and will write letters to her as she continues to discern her call,” Russo said. “The St. Francis Xavier community is extremely blessed to have been a part of her journey and call to religious life, and will continue to keep her in our thoughts and prayers.”

“It’s such a blessing for our whole diocese to know that even one person has stepped forward to say yes to the Lord,” Father Peschel added. “Though I’ve recently handed over the reins of vocations office recruiter to Father Jack Schrader, I’m nonetheless very happy and willing to support anyone discerning and answering God’s call in their lives.”

And even though she won’t have a formal syllabus to teach this year, Ketschke still has a life lesson to pass along to her younger students: keep learning.

“I would encourage young people to learn,” she said. “You can’t discern something you don’t know. I would also remind young people that God only desires our good and our happiness. He is never going to ask us to do something unless it is for our own good and happiness. Young people need to be encouraged to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

“Lastly, if and when they think the Lord is inviting them into a vocation with Him, have no fear and take courage. The journey has certainly not been easy thus far, but the joy, peace, and freedom that comes with a simple ‘yes’ is profound.”

continued from page five

saw when we had Mass that weekend was an image that had been in the church when they were children,” Deacon Craig said. “It was just beautiful. And to top it all off, when we asked (Patricia Brady) how much she was going to charge to repair it, she said ‘for the glory of God,’ and she wouldn’t take a penny.”

Sadly, the man who had the foresight to save the image from being buried and lost forever has since passed away and wasn’t able to see the restoration himself, but his granddaughter remains proud that it’s back where it belongs.

“It was restored and brought back to life and I got to witness how beautiful it really is,” Vieira wrote on her Facebook page. “I can’t even explain how emotional it made me, but I know that not only did it help bring me some closure from my grandfather’s passing, but I also felt his presence strongly in that church today. Every time I go back, I know he will be right there with me. I know that wherever he is up there, he was looking down and is now at peace that the sculpture he saved is right back where it belongs.”

Father Cook hopes the artwork will inspire people during Masses to more deeply contemplate and appreciate the gift that Jesus has given us: the Eucharist.

“It is an amazing story of how an image that helped so many people over 70 years to pray on the Last Supper and the Eucharist was removed, and how others instinctively protected this image,” he said. “Amazingly, God moved different peoples’ hearts to be in the right place, and using the gifts He has given them, to bring something back to the life of this parish.”

Pope Francis: Letter to the People of God The Holy Father responds to the new reports of clerical sexual abuse

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it” (1 Cor 12:26).

These words of St. Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons.

Crimes that inflict deep wounds of pain and powerlessness, primarily among the victims, but also in their family members and in the larger community of believers and nonbelievers alike.

Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient.

Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated. The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment to ensure the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults.

1. If one member suffers …

In recent days, a report was made public which detailed the experiences of at least a thousand survivors, victims of sexual abuse, the abuse of power and of conscience at the hands of priests over a period of approximately 70 years. Even though it can be said that most of these cases belong to the past, nonetheless as time goes on we have come to know the pain of many of the victims.

We have realized that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death; these wounds never go away. The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries out to Heaven, was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced. But their outcry was more powerful than all the measures meant to silence it, or sought even to resolve it by decisions that increased its gravity by falling into complicity. The Lord heard that cry and once again showed us on which side He stands. Mary’s song is not mistaken and continues quietly to echo throughout history. For the Lord remembers the promise He made to our fathers: “He has scattered the proud in their conceit; He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the

hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty” (Lk 1:51-53). We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite.

With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives. We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them. I make my own the words of the then Cardinal Ratzinger when, during the Way of the Cross composed for Good Friday 2005, he identified with the cry of pain of so many victims and exclaimed: “How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to [Christ]! How much pride, how much self-complacency!

Christ’s betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of His Body and Blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces his heart.

We can only call to Him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison — Lord, save us! (cf. Mt 8:25)” (Ninth Station).

2. ... all suffer together with it The extent and the gravity of all that has happened requires coming to grips with this reality in a comprehensive and communal way. While it is important and necessary on every journey of conversion to acknowledge the truth of what has happened, in itself this is not enough. Today we are challenged as the People of God to take on the pain of our brothers and sisters wounded in their flesh and in their spirit.

If, in the past, the response was one of omission, today we want solidarity, in the deepest and most challenging sense, to become our way of forging present and future history. And this in an environment where conflicts, tensions and above all the victims of every type of abuse can encounter an outstretched hand to protect them and rescue them from their pain (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 228).

Such solidarity demands that we in turn condemn whatever endangers the integrity of any person. A solidarity that summons us to fight all forms of corruption, especially spiritual corruption.

The latter is “a comfortable and self-satisfied form of blindness. Everything then appears acceptable: deception, slander,

egotism and other subtle forms of self-centeredness, for ‘even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light’ (2 Cor 11:14)” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 165). St. Paul’s exhortation to suffer with those who suffer is the best antidote against all our attempts to repeat the words of Cain: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9).

I am conscious of the effort and work being carried out in various parts of the world to come up with the necessary means to ensure the safety and protection of the integrity of children and of vulnerable adults, as well as implementing zero tolerance and ways of making all those who perpetrate or cover up these crimes accountable. We have delayed in applying these actions and sanctions that are so necessary, yet I am confident that they will help to guarantee a greater culture of care in the present and future.

Together with those efforts, every one of the baptized should feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need. This change calls for a personal and communal conversion that makes us see things as the Lord does. For as St. John Paul II liked to say: “If we have truly started out anew from the contemplation of Christ, we must learn to see Him especially in the faces of those with whom He wished to be identified” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 49). To see things as the Lord does, to be where the Lord wants us to be, to experience a conversion of heart in His presence. To do so, prayer and penance will help. I invite the entire holy faithful People of God to a penitential exercise of prayer and fasting, following the Lord’s command.[1] This can awaken our conscience and arouse our solidarity and commitment to a culture of care that says “never again” to every form of abuse.

It is impossible to think of a conversion of our activity as a Church that does not include the active participation of all the members of God’s People.

Indeed, whenever we have tried to replace, or silence, or ignore, or reduce the People of God to small elites, we end up creating communities, projects, theological approaches, spiritualities and structures without roots, without memory, without faces, without bodies and ultimately, without lives.[2] This is clearly seen in a peculiar way of clericalism, an approach that “not only nullifies

the character of Christians, but also tends to diminish and undervalue the baptismal grace that the Holy Spirit has placed in the heart of our people.” [3] Clericalism, whether fostered by priests themselves or by lay persons, leads to an excision in the ecclesial body that supports and helps to perpetuate many of the evils that we are condemning today. To say “no” to abuse is to say an emphatic “no” to all forms of clericalism.

It is always helpful to remember that “in salvation history, the Lord saved one people. We are never completely ourselves unless we belong to a people. That is why no one is saved alone, as an isolated individual. Rather, God draws us to Himself, taking into account the complex fabric of interpersonal relationships present in the human community.

God wanted to enter into the life and history of a people” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 6). Consequently, the only way that we have to respond to this evil that has darkened so many lives is to experience it as a task regarding all of us as the People of God. This awareness of being part of a people and a shared history will enable us to acknowledge our past sins and mistakes with a penitential openness that can allow us to be renewed from within. Without the active participation of all the Church’s members, everything being done to uproot the culture of abuse in our communities will not be successful in generating the necessary dynamics for sound and realistic change. The penitential dimension of fasting and prayer will help us as God’s People to come before the Lord and our wounded brothers and sisters as sinners imploring forgiveness and the grace of shame and conversion. In this way, we will come up with actions that can generate resources attuned to the Gospel.

For “whenever we make the effort to return to the source and to recover the original freshness of the Gospel, new avenues arise, new paths of creativity open up, with different forms of expression, more eloquent signs and words with new meaning for today’s world” (Evangelii Gaudium, 11).

It is essential that we, as a Church, be able to acknowledge and condemn, with sorrow and shame, the atrocities perpetrated by consecrated persons, clerics, and all those entrusted with the mission of watching over and caring for those most vulnerable. Let us beg forgiveness for our own

sins and the sins of others. An awareness of sin helps us to acknowledge the errors, the crimes and the wounds caused in the past and allows us, in the present, to be more open and committed along a journey of renewed conversion.

Likewise, penance and prayer will help us to open our eyes and our hearts to other people’s sufferings and to overcome the thirst for power and possessions that are so often the root of those evils. May fasting and prayer open our ears to the hushed pain felt by children, young people and the disabled. A fasting that can make us hunger and thirst for justice and impel us to walk in the truth, supporting all the judicial measures that may be necessary.

A fasting that shakes us up and leads us to be committed in truth and charity with all men and women of good will, and with society in general, to combatting all forms of the abuse of power, sexual abuse and the abuse of conscience.

In this way, we can show clearly our calling to be “a sign and instrument of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race” (Lumen Gentium, 1).

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it,” said St. Paul. By an attitude of prayer and penance, we will become attuned as individuals and as a community to this exhortation, so that we may grow in the gift of compassion, in justice, prevention and reparation. Mary chose to stand at the foot of her Son’s cross. She did so unhesitatingly, standing firmly by Jesus’ side. In this way, she reveals the way she lived her entire life. When we experience the desolation caused by these ecclesial wounds, we will do well, with Mary, “to insist more upon prayer,” seeking to grow all the more in love and fidelity to the Church (St. Ignatius of Loyola, “Spiritual Exercises,” 319). She, the first of the disciples, teaches all of us as disciples how we are to halt before the sufferings of the innocent, without excuses or cowardice. To look to Mary is to discover the model of a true follower of Christ.

May the Holy Spirit grant us the grace of conversion and the interior anointing needed to express before these crimes of abuse our compunction and our resolve courageously to combat them. † POPE FRANCIS Vatican City, 20 August 2018

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Domaniewice, Poland — Jan Chmurski, 88, died peacefully in the late morning of July 5 at Glowno Hospital following a long illness. Jan married his devoted wife, Cecylia, in 1962. She passed away on July 19, 2017. He was the caring father of Father Marek Chmurski, parochial vicar at Christ the King Parish, Mashpee; and Krzysztof Chmurski and his wife, Ewelina of Ostrow, Poland; and grandfather to their young daughter, Laura Helena.

Jan was born on Oct. 12, 1929 in Sapy, Poland.

He was the youngest of six children of the late Franciszek Chmurski and his wife, Jozefa Siek. Jan was preceded in death by his four brothers, Jozef, Andrzej, Walenty, Julian, his sister, Helena, and is survived by his sister, Malgorzata.

Jan’s formative years occurred during Poland’s politically turbulent times

Jan Chmurski, father of Father Marek Chmurski

of World War II, the Nazi invasion, and its subjugation to Communist rule as a satellite state of Soviet Russia until 1989.

Jan and Cecylia made their home in Domaniewice, Poland for 56 years.

Jan supported his wife and family his entire life as an employee of the National Railways and supplemented his income as a farmer during the Communist rule and beyond. Like so many families at that time, Jan’s work and the financial needs of his family required him to spend days at a time away from his family and home.

Despite the many hardships, Jan provided for his family not only food and necessities for the body but food and necessities for the soul as well. The life he chose to live was a true reflection of the man he was and of his sincere devotion to and trust in God, the Catholic faith, and a deep appreciation for and loyalty

to his family and their wellbeing, the Polish culture, and their country.

Jan was blest with Spiritual comfort and joy when he learned that his eldest son chose to devote his life to the service of God through the Church as a Roman Catholic priest, as did his maternal cousin and his paternal uncle, a Franciscan Friar. With the blessing and support of his parents, Father Marek answered the call to meet the shortage of priests in the United States. He left his parents, homeland, and all he had known to serve God. Later, Jan’s family grew with Krzysztof ’s marriage to Ewelina, followed by the happiness that only a grandchild could bring.

visiting these gravesites — and other memorial sites dedicated to aborted babies — as a regular part of their Pro-Life witness.

“By participating in the National Day of Remembrance, visiting these solemn memorial places at other times of the year, and spreading the word about this prayer campaign, you are helping to humanize our aborted brothers and sisters and deepening your own commitment to ending the injustice of abortion.”

The website offers visitors a comprehensive list of where there are gravesites of aborted children and memorials for them in every state.

The site also offers links to prayers that can be used on September 8 and throughout the year — “Prayer at a Gravesite or Memorial Site,” “Prayer of Mourning for Victims of Abortion,” and “Prayer for Those Who Have Lost a Child to Abortion.”

Urging faithful to attend a service, the website says, “Tens of thousands of these children have been retrieved and buried at gravesites across our country. The stories of how they were killed, how they were found, and how they were buried, along with the pictures and videos that document those events, are powerful tools to awaken the consciences of our fellow citizens.”

North Attleboro cemetery to hold service for abortion victims continued from page 17

Hill. “Mothers who chose abortion will also read their letters to their lost children which is a very powerful witness of the healing and forgiveness of God.” At the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children website (abortionmemorials.com) it stresses the importance of visitng gravesites and memorials of the unborn: “When people become truly aware of the reality of abortion, they can more easily cut through the lies by which some try to justify it, and the natural apathy to which human nature is inclined. Even Pro-Life people are thrust into a higher level of commitment and activism.

“Pro-Lifers should be 20

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

In the coming weeks, the family will be blessed with another grandchild.

Jan had a life well lived.

He survived the political unrest of his country, Nazism, and Communism.

He married, raised a family, and lived to see his sons grow up, one devoting his life as a Spiritual father and the other as a father of two children. Jan traveled to America for his son’s ordination in 1995, then again, in 1997 for an extended visit, and a final visit in 2010 to be present for the celebration of Father Marek’s anniversary of ordination.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Jan took place on July 11 in the Church of St.

Bartholomew in Domaniewice where Jan received not only the Sacraments of Baptism, Penance, the Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage and Sacrament of the Sick, but also where three generations of the Chmurski Family have been members. Father Marek presided at the Funeral Mass and FatherAdam Domanski, a close family friend, delivered the homily. Following the Funeral Mass, the procession moved on foot to the parish cemetery where the committal service and interment took place.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee at a later date.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Aug. 25 Rev. Joseph F. Hanna, C.S.C, Founder, Holy Cross, South Easton, 1974 Rev. Thomas E. Lawton, C.S.C., Holy Cross Retreat House, North Easton, 2002 Aug. 27 Rt. Rev. Francisco C. Bettencourt, Pastor, Santo Christo, Fall River, 1960 Rev. Msgr. Hugh A. Gallagher, P. A., Retired Pastor, St. James, New Bedford, 1978 Rev. James E. Tobin, C.S.C., 2008 Aug. 28 Rev. Thomas L. Campbell, C.S.C., 2012 Aug. 29 Rev. Joseph DeVillandre, D.D., Founder, Sacred Heart, North Attleboro, 1921 Msgr. William H. Harrington, Retired Pastor, Holy Name, Fall River, 1975 Aug. 30 Rev. Frederick Meyers, SS.CC., Former Pastor, Our Lady of the Assumption, New Bedford, 2008 Aug. 31 Msgr. Armando A. Annunziato, Pastor, St. Mary, Mansfield, 1993 Rev. Thomas M. Landry, O.P., Former Pastor, St. Anne, Fall River, 1996 Sept. 1 Rev. Jorge J. de Sousa, Pastor, St. Elizabeth, Fall River, 1985 Rev. James F. Lyons, Pastor, St. Patrick Parish, Wareham, 2008 Sept. 3 Rev. Thomas J. McGee, D.D., Pastor, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1912 Sept. 4 Rev. Joseph P. Tallon, Pastor, St. Mary, New Bedford, 1864 Rev. John J. Maguire, Founder, St. Peter the Apostle, Provincetown, 1894 Sept. 5 Rev. Napoleon A. Messier, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1948 Sept. 7 Very Rev. James E. McMahon, V. F. Pastor, Sacred Heart, Oak Bluffs, 1966 Rev. Raymond Pelletier, M.S., La Salette Shrine, North Attleboro, 1984

beth Seton Parish in North Falmouth, where he served as pastor from 1995 until he retired in 2009.

Upon his retirement in 2009, Msgr. Moore took up residence at his cottage in Cotuit, but remained very active on Cape Cod. He assisted at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville and at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Osterville.

He also established a faith-based mid-Cape cancer support group for Catholics in Centerville, similar to the one he initi-

ated at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish.

Msgr. Moore later moved to the Cardinal Medeiros Residence for Retired Priests in Fall River, and then to Catholic Memorial Home, where he died.

Memorial gifts may be made to FACE, The Foundation to Advance Catholic Education, P.O. Box 1470, Fall River, Mass. 02722.

Editor’s note: retired deacons Leo Racine and Lawrence St. Onge will offer their reflections on Msgr.

Moore in the next Anchor edition on September 7.

Anchor editor, then-Father John F. Moore, left, looks over an edition of The Anchor, while printer Carlton Gagno, and Ronald Evans, president of Leary Press, where The Anchor was printed for many years, look on. (Anchor file photo)

Msgr. John F. Moore dies at age 85, was longtime Anchor editor continued from page two

living, especially when you have to face the challenge of a weekly editorial. Yet, in all of this there is a great lesson to be learned; namely, do not take yourself too seriously. Keep your reflections objective and remember that virtue is not to be found on the left or on the right, but as St. Thomas Aquinas taught us, it is always in the middle.

“Above all, I always felt that it is imperative for an editor of a Catholic newspaper to have a love of and devotion to the Church. Editorials should not be ‘Churchy.’ Yet, they should reflect Church in all dimensions of her cares and concerns with honest fidelity. This has been my primary rule of thumb. I can truthfully reflect that I have done my best, given these limited talents. In this regard, the conscience is at peaceful rest.”

In 1986, Msgr. Moore was presented “Best Editorial Award,” by the Catholic Press Association.

Msgr. Moore utilized

the same fervor with every parish and diocesan assignment, that he did with The Anchor — whether it be as chaplain of the Taunton Area Scouting Program; the Pre-Cana Board of Taunton; moderator of the Taunton area and Fall River area Diocesan Council of Catholic Women; as a regional moderator of the Catholic Charities Appeal; treasurer of the Priest Senate; or director of the diocesan Office of Communications.

In June of 1976 Bishop Cronin established a new Permanent Diaconate Office, with the rebirth of permanent deacons being spawned from the Second Vatican Council. It was Msgr. Moore’s skills and drive that led Bishop Cronin appoint him the founding director of the fledgling program.

Under Msgr. Moore’s direction, the Permanent Diaconate Office became a successful and vital ministry in the diocese, existing still today, where the ninth

diaconate class will be ordained next year.

While wearing many hats, including being a parochial vicar and pastor at a number of diocesan parishes, Msgr. Moore never shied away from the responsibilities for which he was appointed. “I never minded working,” he told The Anchor when he retired from the publication in June 2005. “It was exciting to be running a parish, editing the newspaper, running the diaconate and the Communications Office all at the same time.”

In August 1999, thenFather Moore was named a Chaplain to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, with the rank of monsignor, and in 2012 he was named a Prelate of Honor.

In addition to his parochial vicar assignments in Fall River and Taunton, Msgr. Moore was named pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford from 1980 to 1995. From there he moved on to St. Eliza-

Visit The Anchor online at http:www.anchornews.org

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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Around the Diocese Our Lady of the Cape Parish, 468 Stony Brook Road in Brewster, invites all to the final event of its Summer Speaker Series, which will take place on Tuesday, August 28 with Sister Kathleen Hagerty, C.S.J., who will discuss “The Spirituality of Aging.”

Sister Kathleen is a Sister of St. Joseph of Boston.

She has served as an elementary and high school teacher and hospital chaplain and is currently conducting aging and Spirituality programs and retreats. A light dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. for a cost of $6 in the parish center hall. The talk will begin at 6 p.m. and last for about an hour.

St. John the Evangelist Parish, 841 Shore Road in Pocasset, will host a Fashion Show on Saturday, September 8 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the parish scholarship fund and the event is presented by the Women’s Guild. Tickets are $35 per person and will be available in the parish welcome center through September 1. For more information, call 508-563-5887.

The Cape Cod chapter of Massachusetts Citizens for Life will hold its Annual Breakfast on Saturday, September 15 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brewster. The group will also host a second Pasta Dinner with entertainment to benefit youth scholarships for the Cape Cod Bus for Life trip to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, October 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Our Lady of the Cape Parish in Brewster. For more information, call 508-291-0949.

St. Mary’s Parish, 106 Illinois Street in New Bedford, is having a Holiday Fair on Saturday, November 3 and Sunday, November 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. All are welcome. For more information, call the rectory at 508-995-3593.

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.

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 508-646-1019 or 508672-1523.

Holy Rosary Fraternity Gatherings are held in the hall of St. Jude the Apostle Church, 249 Whittenton Street in Taunton on the second Sunday of the month at 1:30 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, call 508-695-5430.

The Third Order of Carmelites meets on the third Sunday of the month at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee for 10:30 a.m. Mass followed by a teaching in Room A and daytime prayer in St. Jude’s Chapel. They meet every Sunday at 6:30 p.m. in St. Jude’s Chapel for evening prayer. All are welcome. For more information about the Lay Carmelite Order of St. John of the Cross, contact Dottie Cawley at 508-477-2798.

The Holy Rosary Fraternity in Taunton is seeking to grow. Adult Catholics interested in learning more about the Secular Franciscan Order are invited to contact Peter Fricano at 774-225-8874 or homevue@yahoo.com.

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

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The Anchor - August 24, 2018

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 — 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. 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 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

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

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. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 5 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.

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Anchor expiration date EXAMPLE

FALL RIVER — New mailing labels (right) were recently initiated on all Anchor publications, along with the notice of a $25 subscription amount beginning at renewal time. Below is a sample of the label that shows when the subscription expires allowing readers to renew to keep their subscriptions active. If no payment is received within 30 days of the expiration date, The Anchor will send one reminder notice at a later date.

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

Religious of Jesus and Mary celebrate 200 years continued from page nine

Dominican Academy and Mount St. Mary’s Academy, to form Bishop Gerrard High School for Girls. The last graduation exercises in 1971 marked the official closing of “JMA.” The large building lent itself to a number of new services. Space was rented for Headstart programs and other educational projects for disabled children. The community of

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Sisters continued to live at the convent and teach in Notre Dame School or elsewhere. The third floor was refurbished and fully equipped as an infirmary for the Sisters, complete with elevator. By 1977, the RJM centenary year, Sisters who needed assistance or nursing care were received at the province retirement center in Fall River.

A disastrous fire at

The Anchor - August 24, 2018

Providence College resulted in a more stringent fire code for Catholic institutions in New England. The facility on St. Joseph Street was judged inadequate to meet the new code. The community’s infirmary relocated to the provincial house in Hyattsville, Md. In June, 1982, the remaining Religious of Jesus and Mary closed the doors of the Fall River convent. Later

that year, the complex was sold to a developer of housing for the elderly, named Lafayette Place.

Sister Irene Castonguay, an alumna of the academy, was its assistant managing director until 1995. Sisters lived and served in Fall River until 2004, when they left their residence on Highland Avenue.

The Religious of Jesus and Mary treasure their

ties with Fall River’s religious and cultural history, its people and its Catholic life. If they have learned to be flexible and to “go with the flow” of changes in our Church and society, they have also held fast to the inspiration and zeal of the three courageous women who came in 1877. While there may be some nostalgia for a flourishing institutional past, these women religious have learned to “travel light” into their future. Echoing the words of St. Claudine Thévenet, their foundress, they praise the One Who began this good work 200 years ago and will bring it to fulfillment: How good God is!

The Sisters are planning a celebration in honor of their 200th anniversary as a congregation on Sunday, September 16.

Former students, relatives and friends are invited to join them for a 10:30 a.m. Mass of Thanksgiving at Holy Name Church and a buffet at White’s of Westport. Please contact Sister Diane Dube, RJM at 508-699-4427 or email dianedrjm@hotmail.com for information and reservations before August 31.